Sadness in my head. Love in my heart: Verse of the Week

 

Yesterday, February 25th, in the early morning hours while at work, it began to snow. And it didn't stop. Big chunky, pretty, feathery flakes came quickly but peacefully.

Near 6:30 am a co-worker came in telling us she witnessed a fatal car accident less than an hour before. A family traveling from Alberta. A mother, a father, and a young child -- killed on impact. Another, a baby, less than a year old, airlifted to hospital.

My stomach was in instant knots and I felt sick. I wanted to be home immediately with my two little treasures, hugging them, holding them, loving them. And I wondered, what was the last thing they all said to each other? Were they on their way to see family? I can't even begin to imagine. I honestly don't even know how she still made it into work given the weather and witnessing what she had. I asked her probably 20 questions and started praying almost immediately for that family and that poor baby who is now without parents and a brother or sister. Alone in this big scary, mean world.

I also questioned God.

It's just so hard for us to comprehend His reasoning sometimes. Especially for things such as this. John 16:33 - we are told there will be suffering. But there is also the gift of free will. The opportunity to choose. Choose to do something good, something right, or to do something bad, wrong -- sinful.

And there will be love. No, not will be, there was -- there is love. God did not create evil. However, he did create the potential for evil. Because this (free will) was also the only way to create the potential for goodness and love amongst us. It was us who brought this evil into the world. Humankind. And I think its important that we remind ourselves of this. We are always so quick to blame God and get mad. But He also gave us love.

And real love always involves a choice. Love has the highest value in the universe.

I love how C.S. Lewis put it:

"Why then, did God give them free will? Because free will, though it makes evil possible, is the only thing that makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having.

If we were all programmed like robots to say "I love you" it wouldn't actually be love, would it? My daughter's doll that says, "I love you, Mommy!" Does not actually love my daughter. C.S. Lewis goes on to say:

"Of course God knew what would happen if they used their freedom the wrong way: apparently, He thought it worth the risk."

This is one of my favourite quotes of his. This end of the quote also reminds me of Romans 8:28.

Let's just rejoice for a moment, in this moment of heartache, in knowing that it's not over -- it's not! Because sometime soon, we will be with Jesus and we will be with our loved ones once again, if we just ask Him to be our friend, our saviour, and know that he hung up there on that cross with us in mind. Can you imagine that day? Can you imagine the happiness, the joy? The smiling? God says there will be no more pain, no more sickness or tears. But I wonder, will there be tears of happiness?

I didn't actually plan on this post being a Verse of the Week post but, God works His ways, doesn't He? What other way to end this post but with a verse and a prayer? So here it is: Romans 8:18.

 

Dear Father in Heaven, I am grateful and honored that you would share this gift of love with us, the gift of free will, and the gift of eternal life with You in Heaven. Although our hearts may break for those in pain and suffering, you tell us to have courage and to seek you in times of need. Please provide this family with love and comfort and encouragement and may they seek you, Father, and find you during this horrible time in their lives. To you belongs all the glory forever, Amen.



365 Photos: week 8

50. We don't go to the book shop nearly enough

51. My first ever Scentsy product, and I love it. (Leah's choice)

52. New blankie and an XL coffee. Yep, Extra-Large.

53. My little buddy was so chipper and content on our shopping excursion.

54. Yummiest dinner of the week. Chicken/veggie stir fry and white rice.

55. The best photo I could get of them. The cuteness kind of melted me. It's usually a battle when it comes to HIS chair.

56. Poor babe fell in his crib somehow and bashed his nose and but through his lip. I woke up to matt cleaning up a nose-bleed. :'( 

Top 5 Favourite Educational Kids Movies

We don't have cable TV. So basically we watch all our stuff online or we rent from the library. The best part, its all free! Yay! My kid's have their favourites that I definitely don't mind them watching, and I kinda like them too. Here's our current top 5!

The Wiggles!!

Word World! So cute.



Leap Frog!

Super Why!



Bubble Guppies!

Verse of the week

Well, as I said in my previous post, I've been working midnights and also, 40 hours. I don't think I've ever worked 40 hours in a week. And I know I've never done midnights. So this has been a hard couple of weeks.

But, God knows every possible trouble we may encounter and His Word is there, filled with words of wisdom and encouragement and guidance to keep us going. I chose Matthew 11:28 this week.

In the wee hours of the morning when my eyes are feeling heavy, my mind clouded and my body aching for my bed, I'm hoping this verse will give me the encouragement and strength I need, and an energy boost too would be lovely (please and thank you, God!)

Hope you all have a safe and great weekend! It's freezing cold here, and I would just love to spend it wrapped up under blankies in my bed with coffee and movies and my husband next to me.

Ha, yeah, right. Maybe when we're retired. lol

Dear Lord, Thank you for your unconditional love and support. Please remind me, when I need it, to seek your strength that you generously offer. Please give me rest and renew me for the week ahead. Amen.

365 Photos: week 7

I've been so busy this last week, working the midnight shift, so I'm a couple days late with my 7 photos. But better late then never right?

 

 

 

 

 

43. driving buddies.

44. watching minion movies on daddy's phone has to be on his list of his top 3 favorite things.

45. the book I just finished reading. And honestly? Eleven stars. Holy whoa.

46. sour cream and onion chippy face.

47. I felt like a hippy and the sun was shining, so, selfie.

48. chubby snowflakes

49. sweet slumbering babe

Perogie, Bacon and Sausage Casserole

Yum, yum, yummy!! This was totally random and totally delicious. Some night, okay - a lot of nights I have no idea what to make for supper. I just can't decide. Something (mostly) healthy, and something the kids will eat. It can be hard for us. Leah is so picky, and James is getting picky too. Both kids loved so many different things at one point and then BAM, picky-eaters. I was a picky eater too. So I have hope and faith that one day they wont be pick any longer. One day they'll eat veggies.

Anyways, in a bout of frustration and motivation and randomness, I whipped up a totally unique and randomly delicious dinner.

Here's what I used:

• one pack of perogies
• half a pack of bacon
• 8 mini sausages
• 1 onion
• 3 cloves of garlic
• snow peas (but any other veggies you like as well)
• brick cheese
• ranch dressing

So as my perogies were unthawing, I chopped my sausage and fried it up, then fried the bacon and set it aside.
Next I tossed in my snow peas and onions and garlic and sautéed that just how we like it and set that aside.
As I cooked the perogies in the frying pan , I grated my cheese (enough to cover the top of my baking dish)
Once everything was mostly cooked I transferred it all into my baking dish and started layering it up!

• first, a small layer of the fried veggies
• second, all the perogies
• next, I tossed the fried sausages over and just let them fall wherever
• another layer of the rest of the friend veggies
• and then the bacon! Mmmm.....
• And last of all, I topped it with the grated cheese!

I baked it at 350F for about 20 minutes, until the cheese was nice and melted.

Once you serve it up, drizzle with ranch dressing and ENJOY! It was SO good. Both kids and husband loved it!!

14 Days of Love: completed!!

We did it! It's finally done! Okay, so as it turns out, 14 days was a long time. A lot of clues. A lot of thinking. Especially when we were both working full time hours. But together, with me hiding them and him finding them (not always on time) we managed to get to Valentine's day feeling extra loved and accomplished! At least me, anyways.

The Dollar Store was a great place for me to get all of my little knick-knacks and treats. Most days when he found his clue, there would be a treat or little gift. Although, there were a couple days where he didn't find it, merely because he forgot to look. And other days he started to look before I had a chance to hide it! haha. Oh well, it was fun and unique.

On Valentine's Day he had to find his 14th clue. The last clue that would lead him to his valentines gift. I had it locked up in his gun locker.

 

I think next year, if I do this sort of thing again, I'll probably only do 7 days. And I might do it for Leah next year rather than Matt. She would colour pictures for him and hide them, expecting him to find them. Sweet girl.

 

And since it's still February, I'll leave you with a cute little quote I found and really liked.

 

Leah's First Haircut!!

BEFORE

DURING...

 

AFTER!!

 I wanted her to go about a half inch shorter, but oh well. I love it. And so does Leah. She was playing with it all evening! Maybe we'll go shorter for the summer!

A Dairy Sensitivity

I think James was probably only 2-3 months old when I figured he had some eczema on his back. Like Leah, he too got a bad bout of "newborn acne". Those annoying little red bumps covering their beautifully sweet and new baby faces. It bugged us, not them. And it really felt like, for both children, that it seemed to last a lot longer than what the "estimated time" was.

He's now almost 17 months old and although "newborn acne" is 14-15 months in his past, we've still been battling extremely dry skin, mainly on his back and shoulders and backs of the arms, and occasionally lower legs too. I thought maybe it was worse because of the dry winter weather. I used so many different types of creams. And none worked. I mentioned it to my doctor and she didn't prescribe anything other than just to "moisturize more". Well, I was.

Anyways, my very good friend who also happens to be Holistic Nutritionist told me that the most common cause for eczema was dairy.

James can drink 3 sippy cups of milk a day. We go through almost 4L of milk in a week. Plus he had a yogurt or two each day along with cheese as well. Basically, my 16 month old was a walking little dairy product. I would say 85% of his diet was dairy.

She recommended goat's milk as a substitution. At first I bought 2%, and he took to it immediately, not even noticing a difference. Then my husband bought the 3.25% for the fat content. Obviously James didn't argue. The kid loves milk. Actually, I like it too! I find it tastes cleaner somehow, and creamier. Leah drank it too without hesitation. Until her father asked if she liked the goat's milk mommy bought. Ha!

So, yeah, apparently goat's milk is actually the closest thing to human milk out there! It's almost 3X the price that I was paying for 4L of regular cow's milk, but it's worth it. Because his eczema? It's still there, still "dry feeling" but its improved incredibly! It's like magic!!

Today I went to pick up another 4L (haha!) and while I was there I also picked up a container of goat's milk plain yogurt. I am not fan of that. It's sour tasting and I think probably an acquired taste. But I defrosted some strawberries and added a small amount of sugar and mixed it all together and it was a hit with James!

I'm actually excited to see how well his skin is doing within the next couple of months!

365 Photos: week 6

Six weeks into 2015 already! Here's my next 7 photos!

 

36. He's nap-time weaned but sometimes, he asks for some when I'm home from work. And often? I don't say no.

37. A lot of times when I go upstairs to go to turn in for the night I find her in my bed asleep, she'll scare the life out of me and then melt my heart.

38. He'd rather play in the bath with his sister than play in there alone. I'm sure that will change very soon.

39. |Cutest, and quite yummiest Valentines baby cupcake.

40. Unedited photo of his little eye. Those lashes. One day his wife will look into those eyes.

41. Everyday after work he cuddles me for a couple hours. Yes, HOURS! It's something Leah never did. And I cherish it so dearly.

42. Happy little sun-pup 

DIY: Bow & Arrow QUIVER!!

I have a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Fanatic on my hands, aka Leah. She's obsessed. And by obsessed I mean claiming that she has ninja turtle brothers and a "father" named Master Splinter. I've started to call her "Leahnella". She doesn't like it. Oh well.

Anyways, she got a Rebel Nerf Bow and arrows for her birthday a couple months ago and it never came with a quiver to hold the arrows. So I thought I could probably, easily just make her one. Behold, Pinterest. I found this awesome tutorial on how to do it with an old Pringles can. Here's what I did!

Supplies:

• hot glue gun
• double sided tape (not crucial but I used it as an extra holding mechanism for all that ninja turtle fighting)
• iron
• old Pringles can
• wide ribbon
• measuring tape (not shown)
• can opener (not shown)
• 2 different types of fabric (if desired), enough to cover can

That's it! No sewing!

 

Okay, so first I took my measurements and cut what I needed of the fabrics. My next step was to fold over all the edges of the fabric and iron it down. Then I stick my double sided tape along the width of the Pringles can. Next, I took the can opener and "punched" a whole along the bottom and threaded the ribbon through. Then I started my gluing along the edges of the can!

Ta da!

Next up, I took my second piece of fabric and glued it on, leaving extra at the end to fold in and glue inside as well.

 Almost done!! Just measure the ribbon over your little one's body and glue the ends of the ribbon together! Toss in your arrows and your ready to shoot some targets!!

 Leah's got a hit on Shredder! haha! I could of made the length of the ribbon shorter for her but she insisted it was perfect and she liked it that long. As long as she's happy then I call it a job-well-done!

To know when your family is complete

How do you know? Do you just... know?

Do you just wait? Wait and see what God hands you? Wait until you're children are grown into teenagers and are finishing high school?

How do you know?

I've got 2 children. A boy and a girl...and a dog. The "Million Dollar Family" is mine. Life seems to just work. A child for each of us to be "in charge of". Two car seats in the back and breathing space. We don't need a minivan. We have just enough seats around the dining room table. When we go to a restaurant, most tables are made for four. We have a three bedroom house, perfect.

But are we done? I don't know. Maybe. Maybe not.

My husband has recently asked me if he should go get "fixed". We've talked about it before James was born and he agreed that when it came time he would go. But I told him no. We are young, our children are young. What if?

Do we ever really know? I think some people, somehow, know. I don't know how, but after one child they seem to be done. At least for a few people I know this has been the case. And they were so sure that they already went to extreme measures to ensure that they were done.

Babies are beautiful little beings. Amazing and sweet and so very soft and then they are not babies anymore. They come with so many responsibilities and before they are even born your agenda is full. Your life is full and busy. But it goes by so quickly. They are on their own and independent far longer than they are in your arms or in your home.

It's the sad reality of raising human beings. You don't get to keep them.

I think it's easy enough to just say, for now, our family is complete. Our family is just right.

And really, I think that's all you can say, unless you take precautionary surgical measures to ensure there will be no more children.

It's a tough question. People ask me and I reply, "Probably. Maybe. I think so. ....I don't know." I am happy. So very happy and busy and euphoric with the two little beings I have. They are the only little people that are half of me at this point and unless another baby "happens". We are complete.

How do/did you know when your family is complete?

Fifth Disease

On Friday past, I noticed Leah's cheeks were kind of blotchy and red. Although it wasn't bothering her whatsoever, I wrote it off as an allergic reaction to something and gave her Children's Benadryl. By Sunday there was no improvement. Monday was a snow-day, so she stayed home. But on Tuesday we got a call from her school asking us to come pick her up because she was showing symptoms of Fifth Disease and her teacher is pregnant.




Once we were home I decided to do some Google-Diagnosing-Research and realized that she may very well actually have this Fifth Disease, so I made an appointment with our doctor.

Turns out? She's got Fifth Disease. Odd. Something I've never even heard of.

The rash can last up to 14 days and when the rash appears she's actually no longer contagious. So she can return to school. I've apologized profusely to her teacher and principal. I feel terrible about it.

The good news is: it's nothing serious and she will recover perfectly fine.

Anyways, that was an experience!