Slideshow....

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Updates on us!

I haven't actually brought you up to date on our lives in a while. Frankly, the last month or so has been a bit of a whirlwind and it's kind of hard to even know where to start.

Eli had his birthday last week and we decided that we'd celebrate with just our family. Since Eli has always had a hard time in groups, we thought he'd probably enjoy the day more just being the center of our attention. It's hard to believe that he's 5 now and the reality of him heading to school in the fall is really starting to hit me. I'm not sure what I'll do with myself without Elias around to entertain us all with his antics.... Then again, Sam will keep me so busy without big brother around to play with, I'm sure the days will just fly by. We've decided to send him to the catholic school that's just down the street from our home. I like the idea of him continuing to learn about Jesus and that everything he learns will somehow come back to God's truth. Makes me feel like I can let go of my desire to home school him in order to protect him from the big bad world.

Sam's still Sam. He's crazy and fun and silly. He copies everything Elias does and says... Definitely is Elias's biggest fan. Sam can count up to 15 now, although I can't figure out where he learned it. I asked Eli if he'd been teaching Sam how to count and Eli said, "No, Mom. (Insert eye roll here) We just like to count stuff!" Sam is absolutely fearless, jumping off stairs, climbing walls, carrying around a hot sauce bottle like a juice cup (to clarify, it's not something we encourage.... He breaks into the fridge so that he can drink it!) I'm hoping he's going to get this adrenaline-junky, dare-devil part of him out of his system before he's a teenager and can do even nuttier things! He makes me laugh, that's for sure!

Trev is the center of most of my drama right now. Last month, he was driving home from Brooks in his concrete truck and he hit his head on the ceiling of the truck. After a couple of trips to the Emergency Room, a doctor ordered an emergency MRI on his neck. The MRI showed 7 herniated discs, 2 ruptured discs, and one disc that is effected by arthritis. He was told that he could not, under any circumstances, work for a while and so he was home for nearly 4 weeks, mostly on bed rest. I literally became the single mother of 3 children! I spent two weeks driving Trev to numerous appointments and waiting on him as much as I could without neglecting the boys. I'd rub his neck and head until 2 or 3 in the morning every night. I can't even begin to imagine the amount of pain he's been in. For more than a week, he was taking percocet every three hours just to cope with the pain... And that's on top of all the pain meds he was already taking! He just went back to work on Monday, doing strictly desk work. So far, all they've done is make him watch hour after hour of training videos (some made in the 70's!) Even sitting in a chair is difficult for him and he wasn't able to be at work for more than 5 hours. We are so thankful that he's covered by Workers Comp! They're paying him his full wage for 8 hours every day. Even now, when he's gone back to work part-time, they're making up the difference so that we're still being paid for full-time hours. Praise God! He's so faithful!

Since I've had to be so much busier this last month, my back has made me pretty miserable. I had a cortisone shot this morning and I'm looking forward to the relief the doctor has promised me! I have been so thankful for the friends that God has placed in my path. Last week, my dear friend treated me to a pedicure and lunch for my birthday! The last time I had a pedicure was when I was about to deliver Elias! Oh my goodness, it was absolutely amazing. But even better than the wonderful treat is the fact that I have someone who I can talk to when things get over-whelming for me, someone to help me break up the week with play dates, someone who understands the tough things that wives feel and experience that hubby's just don't get. I think sometimes wives forget that our husbands just aren't designed to be our girlfriends and that they think so differently than we do. I find that our marriage is easier because I'm not always dumping every thought and feeling on Trevor... Because it's not fair of me to expect that of him!

We have had visits from a few people this last month. Mom & Dad came down in the middle of November to help us lay new flooring in the kitchen. It was so nice to have them here for 5 whole days! I'm really missing Mom & Dad, having a hard time without them being near us to support us. We had such a good visit, playing games, sitting and visiting with each other. I think I've seen Mom & Dad more since they moved in August than when they were living here since they come and stay with us now. It's different when you get to sleep in the same house and enjoy every meal together. Love that! Trev's parents were here for the weekend following Mom & Dad's visit. Valerie looked healthier and was able to be more active than she had been in at least a year! The kids, Val, and I went on a long hike in the coulees and the kids really enjoyed that. Val also brought a cake to celebrate Eli's coming birthday together... So thoughtful! One other visit that was very special came last week... The last owner of our home, Mrs. Merrick dropped by with one of her old piano students so that she meet us and see what changes we'd made to the home she lived in for 60 years. She was so gracious and sweet. She was understanding about why we'd made changes (like the fireplace we tore out.... that her dead husband and brother had built!) She told us that she and her priest had been praying that God would use this home and that the people who needed it would be able to buy it. When I told her what had happened to us and that this house was indeed used by God, tears glistened in her eyes. She was thrilled that a young family of believers filled her home. Such a sweet little woman!

One other thing happening right now. Trev's grandpa was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma a while back, but we've just learned that it has now spread through his entire lymph system. He starts chemo today. We've been so sad about this and are trying to figure out when we can get out there to see him. I told Eli a little bit about what was happening to Great-Grandpa the other night and he took it very hard. I really dumbed it down for him.... Told him that G.Grandpa was very sick with something called cancer. He asked if we needed to go to take him to the 'hopsicle' and I said that G.Grandpa was already in the hospital. I said that the doctors were working hard to help him feel better and that we needed to pray that God's will would be done quickly. I chose to warn him that sometimes God chooses to allow people to die, but since G.Grandpa is a believer in Jesus, he'd get to go to Heaven where he'd be healthy and whole, able to walk and talk to Jesus. Eli was not comforted by my explaining how happy G.Grandpa would be in Heaven... Eli was just too upset at the thought of losing him. Please join us in prayer for the whole Muirhead family, for G.Grandpa and G.Grandma especially and for Eli too. I gotta tell you, my knee-jerk reaction to this bad news was to hide it from Elias in order to protect him from sadness. I didn't want to take Elias to see him & I didn't want Eli to come to the funeral if it comes to that. I remember my Grandpa Bartell's struggle with cancer and his death (which I was present for) very clearly and, while it literally saved my eternal life, it was the hardest thing I've ever experienced. Watching this man who was bigger than life, who would visit the 'old folks' at the hospital (even though he was well into his 70's), who could dream up inventions waste away and die was something I wanted to shelter my kids from. I was already in my 20's when Grandpa died and was therefore better able to cope with his loss than a 5-year old boy. After talking to my folks, I finally decided that it would be hard for him, but God may be using this to help Eli better understand Heaven and death. My Mom and Dad told me that if I chose to shelter Eli from this pain and Heaven forbid something happen to someone even closer to Eli should die, he would have no frame of reference with which to cope with his pain. Oh, a mother's job is so hard. Mom told me that she STILL wants to shelter her kids from pain! How do I decide what to allow the boys to experience and what to hide from them... where's the line?

Anyway, you're caught up, I think! I'm sure I'll think of more I could talk about. I'll do a picture post soon!

Updated pics of the house!

Just thought I'd quickly upload some pics to show you how much has changed in our house since last weekend...

Friday, Trev & I moved the fish tank so that we could finish pulling up tiles and then paint that enclosure. We painted these walls the same color as the living room grey and the rest of the walls will be one shade lighter. We're going to paint the doors and trim honeysuckle white just like the rest of the house!

The living room is done, pictures hung and all!

Here's the kitchen floor all finished!
And the trim in the living room is all painted white now, courtesy of my folks...
including my china cabinet! YAY!

Ode to my Momma...

One tradition that Trevor started after I gave birth to Elias was to make as the boys' birthdays special for me as well as for them. His logic was that I worked harder on that day to give life to our kids and that they need to be grateful for it. Every birthday, he's gotten the boys to buy me a card and a gift thanking me for what I went through.

And now it's my Mom's turn.

Twenty nine years ago tomorrow, you gave birth to a screaming little redhead, Mom.... me. Thank you so much for all you've done for me over the years. For teaching me the little things in life like how to spell my name and the bigger things like how to cope with the loss of Grandpa. Thank you for showing me what love looks like, because with your servant's heart love showed through every thing you did, from doing up the bulletin for McDougal and playing the role of pastor's wife to the nth degree year after year, being everything to everyone, to playing with my hair when I was sick. Your love language has to be acts of service because even though I didn't recognize it growing up, the way you kept the house in order was one of your ways of showing Dad and us kids that you loved us. Thank you for worrying about me and praying for me. Thanks for answering my incessant cooking dilemmas in my first year of marriage and for praising my successes now. For teaching me how to love God and how to be a Mom to my kids. I love you Mom. Thanks for having me.

Just a few things on my mind....

Over the last couple of weeks (or maybe even months,) I've been thinking a lot about God's plan for my life. In the past, I have dreamed of becoming a nurse and in the last year or so, that goal has been something that kept me going on hard days with the kids. You know, "O.K., in about 4 years, I can go back to school and finish my nursing degree!" Since finding out what's up with my back, I've been considering whether God's using this injury to guide me in a new direction. Realistically, I wouldn't be finished my degree until I was nearly 40. To begin a career that is physically demanding at 40 when I have an injury that may (or may not) flare up again as I age seems a little bit ludicrous and it's forced me to consider my options. Long story short(er) I'm considering taking counselling courses so that I can counsel women who have been through rape and/or assault. I feel like God wants to use what happened to me for His glory. I have no idea what will be required in order to work in this capacity... My thought is that I'd like to work on a casual basis with churches to reach women who have been hurt in this way. God was the reason I was able to heal and move on with my life and I don't want to be restricted from being able to be honest about Who is responsible for my healing. Anyway, just thought I'd share with you what I'm considering and if you are led to pray about this, please do so.

This weekend, Trev had to go to the E.R. because of numbness in his arms, hands, and fingers and extreme pain in his neck(he had hit his head on the roof of his truck after hitting a bump in the road.) The physician on duty agreed that something has obviously worsened with his neck (he has 5 bilateral herniation's in his cervical spine,) but since he could still move his extremities, he didn't warrant an emergency MRI. This is so frustrating to us! The doc suggested contacting his neurologist this week and asking for an MRI on his neck. Unfortunately, it takes about 9 months to get in to see him! Please pray about this. Trev's in so much pain now, even though he's on several different pain meds. I don't know how he can keep existing like this! God has granted us both peace about this. The old Beckie would be freaking out right now, stressed beyond belief, losing sleep, not being able to eat... That's not the case now. God continues to remind me that He has plans for Trevor and that He is bigger than anything we could encounter. "For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you hope and a future!" Praise God!

Saturday was Halloween, which I hate, but one really neat thing happened to Eli at the tail-end of trick-or-treating. A woman down the street from us told Eli that he would get an extra handful of candy if he could sing her 'Jesus Loves Me.' Obviously, Eli knows the words like the back of his hand and he rattled off the song, making this dear woman's day. She told him that he was the only child who'd been able to do it all night and he deserved something special. Eli must have noticed that he was being rewarded for knowing praise songs because he decided to sing her the Doxology as well! The woman, amazed and delighted, gave him another handful of candy and $4! I took the time before bed to explain to Eli that we don't sing praises to Jesus because we get rewards from people, but because He loves hearing us praise Him. I think Eli got it!

I had an interesting visit this afternoon from a man named Butch, believe it or not! Butch's mother and Mrs. Merrick (the woman who sold us her home) are very dear friends and have been since the 50's. Butch stopped by this afternoon to tell me that Mrs. Merrick is just so thrilled that a young family is living in her old home and to ask if maybe he could bring her by sometime near Christmas! Of course, I said that they are welcome anytime. I've thought about Mrs. Merrick a lot while doing our reno's and have wondered what she'd think. The last thing I want is to upset her with the changes we've made and I asked Butch to be sure to tell her that we have made some fairly big changes so that she's not shocked when she walks in the door. I'm excited to meet her and to have my kids meet her. One cool side-note here.... Butch took piano lessons from Mrs. Merrick in this house in the late 1950's... A kindred spirit, to be sure!

Before And After Shots....

Trev suggested to me last night that I should post before and after shots to showcase the changes we've made. Can you believe we've only been here for a few days more than one month? I guess to me, it seems like this has always been our home.... Except for the neighborhood. I'm really having a hard time not knowing my neighbors. Our last neighborhood was so friendly, so easy to love. If ever I needed someone to watch my kids on short notice or to borrow a cup of sugar, I only had to run next door. I spoke to one of the girls from back on 7th last night and she reminded me that it takes time to get to know new neighbors and that fall and winter are awful times of the year for meeting the people living around you. I guess I'll have to make an effort once the weather is warm again and people are out and about in the yards and whatnot.

Anyway... blah blah blah.... You can always count on me to go on and on about things that don't really interest anyone! LOL....

A before and after slideshow!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

October

I've been a huge slacker, I know.... Here's a quick post to catch you up.
The last week and a half was pretty insane, starting with Thanksgiving weekend. My sister Christi and her family were here for the long weekend, although they spent most of it with Mike's bro and his family. James and Sharon were kind enough to include us in their family dinner and after dinner, Mike and Chris came over to see the new place. They spent a few hours with us on Sunday afternoon and then came over again on Monday morning to spend the day and night at our place. Mike and Trev worked their butts off putting up drywall in the morning while Christi and I watched the kids and made dinner. We headed to the pool in the afternoon and then just chilled and played games that evening. I've never had a sibling stay at my place before and I loved it!
After they left on Tuesday, I spent the day preparing for Mom & Dad's visit. They came Wednesday in time for supper and were here until Saturday morning. Mom and Dad were in town because their friend, Rudolfo, from Cuba was here, so they spent a good deal of time with him. Mom & Dad don't really know how to just relax, and I gotta say, I'm glad! Just kidding, but we got a lot done! My whole kitchen has been painted, walls and trim! They're such hard workers! I was honored to have Rudolfo (and of course Mom & Dad) for dinner on Friday night. I feel like I know Rudolfo pretty well through what I've heard from Dad, but it was really neat to visit with him. What a great guy!
Saturday afternoon, Trev's mom and his sisters and nephews came for a visit. We had such a great time together. The kids played so well and I really enjoyed getting out to do some shopping with Laura and Nicole. We got to take Gavin swimming for the first time and he loved it! Val bought me a house-warming gift, a 7 ft. tall apple tree! I'm so excited to see it in the spring, blossoms and all. I've never had so many people in my house at once, but it went really well... Lots of room for people to sleep and the backyard worked great for getting the kids to run off their energy!
So, perhaps you can see why I haven't been blogging.... Who has time when you're cleaning frantically in between company!
A couple of other things going on in my life....
I had an MRI last week to see what's happening in my back. I went to the neurologist on Tuesday of this week to get the results. Since I fell during my pregnancy with Sam, I've been having so much pain in my back and now I know why. The cartilage in the L5 disc has been torn and so the disc keeps slipping through the hole that shouldn't be there. It's putting some pressure on the nerves, which is causing the numbness and dead toes. Unfortunately, I don't qualify for surgery at this time, although that may come later. The doc put me on some nerve blockers and has booked me in for a cortisone shot (not until Dec 9! That's the earliest available appointment!) I kind of got the feeling that there's not much they can do outside of surgery and since cartilage has so little blood flow, healing is unlikely. The doctor told me that what I'm feeling is the same as when someone tears cartilage in their knee... very painful! In some ways, I was surprised to hear that it wasn't something simple to fix... Physio won't help since building muscle mass won't repair the tear and hold the disc in place. I was happy to learn, though, that it's not just all in my head. I think that was my biggest concern; that it was nothing and I was being a baby. Anyway, I'm going to my family doc next week to ask him some questions about promoting healing and what kind of activity I should engage in or avoid.
The other thing going on in my life is that I'm donating my hair tomorrow! My mom mentioned to me a while ago that I should think about donating my hair for a wig for cancer patients and although she was suggesting it only if I was going to cut my hair anyway, I've decided to do it for her. She's a cancer survivor and I'm so proud of her for winning her fight! I called a salon yesterday to ask about the requirements and learned that I do, in fact, have enough hair to donate and since it's not been dyed or permed or treated in anyway, it's perfect for this purpose! I'm really excited about it. I plan to grow it long again, but it'll be a fun change for now!
Anyway, now you're caught up.... Here's a slideshow detailing the last couple of weeks!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

A Long Time Coming....

I am painfully aware of how long it's been since I took the time to blog and I have a few quiet(ish) moments now so I'll do a quick post.
As you all know, we've moved into our new home and have been here for about a week and a half now. Trev and I were saying just last night that we feel like this has always been our home. I thought it might be difficult in some ways to leave our old place since it's the only home my kids have ever known, but there isn't really time for nostalgic feelings nowadays... We're already working hard on making this house fit our personalities and there have been huge changes in the days we've been here. Everything about being in this house is exciting to me; cleaning the bathroom, sweeping, cooking, peeling wallpaper... all of it is thrilling because it's mine. I'm afraid that my pride may be inching it's way towards sinful. It feels so good to own a home and to know that everything I do to improve this house will, in the long run, improve the value of our home.
So we've chosen paint colors, although I'm a little nervous about it. The color we're going to be using through all of the common areas is called "Volcanic Ash" and it's a bluish grey color. I'm worried that it might make the house look too dark, but, as everyone reminds me, we can repaint it if we don't like it. We're starting in the kitchen in the next few days. We're going to sand the cabinets, prime everything(walls, cabinets, trim) and then paint. The cabinets and trim will be updated a great deal just by painting them white, so I'm excited about that. The kitchen floor turned out to be in pretty bad shape under the carpet, so we're going to go ahead and order laminate.
The living room floor looks great as is, but we plan to sand it, stain it, and re-varnish it sometime this winter. Our old landlord owns a sander for hardwood and has offered to rent it to us for very cheap, so we'll be saving more money than we thought! I'm so glad we left our last place on good terms. Cliff has also asked Trevor to continue taking care of his properties whenever he and Lucille go out of town!
The kids are really enjoying the new house. Every time we drive up, Samuel gets excited and shouts, "Momma! The new house!" I'm sure this will eventually wear off, but they love it. Eli asked me yesterday if we can "stay in this house for as long as the dinosaurs have been dead?" So funny.
O.K... On to other stuff...
Trev's been working hard and in fact had his longest day this season just last week. I'm not sure why things seem to be picking up now, but we're sure grateful for the increase in hours. We're trying to decide if I should start looking for winter work now, just in case things get bad hour-wise at Lafarge again. He's still having a lot of pain in his neck and lower back. The cortisone shot he had only lasted for a couple of weeks and unfortunately, the doctor doesn't do injections within 3 months of each other. Trev has an MRI booked for Christmas Eve to find out whether the tumors are growing, but if his increased pain-level is any indication, we're expecting to hear that they have grown. Trevor has to be the toughest man I've ever known. Although he is in constant pain, he keeps going & keeps working. I worry about him a lot, but am reminding myself that Jesus can calm any storm with just a word... God has this storm under control too.
The kids are doing pretty well. The last month or so has been very rough on them and they've been acting out quite a bit. They've been physically fighting each other and Trev & I are trying to get this under control. At what point to we step in to stop the fights? We feel like they need to learn to resolve conflict, but they're starting to bruise each other. I've put my foot down in the last couple of days and have decided to be more consistent with discipline. My 'rents used to make Mark & I sit on the couch and hold hands when we fought and I'm gonna give that a try with Eli & Sam. Eli is very vocal about how he's feeling (just like his Momma) and so I'm struggling with how to teach him to be respectful even in his anger. Sam is just like Trevor, not showing his emotions until they literally explode out of him. That's not to say that Trev explodes, but he doesn't really express himself vocally about how he's doing. Sam's a tantrum-thrower... Hitting, screaming, kicking... Very physical. I'm struggling with ignoring the behavior because I'm convinced that he's attempting to get my attention with negative behavior. Today, while I was on the phone with my sister, Sam got very angry with me because I wouldn't let him fill a pitcher with water and dump it on the floor. He was screaming and hitting and pinching, so I quickly got off the phone, took his hand and led him to his room. I have him a quick swat on the bottom and sat him on his bed. I told him that when he was ready to be kind and to obey, he was welcome to come out. He screamed for a couple minutes and then calmly called me. He said he was sorry and asked if he could go play.... SUCCESS!!! Consistency is the key... Gotta remind myself of that daily.
Anyway.... You're caught up.... I have to make lunch now... I'll try to post more regularly from now on, but you understand.... I had a good excuse ;)

WE GOT IT!!!

Got the news this morning... we got the financing! The house is ours!
We're still trying to decide on when the possession date should be, but at the latest, we'll be in on the 25th of September.
Praise Jesus! He is so faithful! My verse for today was 'Be still and know that I am God.' And He gave me His peace that passes all understanding all morning... He is so good to me and my family.

Whirlwind

What a whirlwind this week has been. Four days ago, we found out that we had to move in no time at all and this morning, we're waiting for news about whether the 'counter-offer' game is finally over. On Wednesday, we found 'the' house... An old (1914) 3-bedroom house and made an offer. We're amazed at how far the owners have come down from their original price... It looks as though we'll be settling $20,000 below the asking price!
Sarah, since you're not on FB, you haven't gotten updates and I've been too busy to sit at the computer for more than a few seconds at a time, but if you want to see it, go to MLS.ca, click residential properties, then enter in 9284 in the MLS number feild. Let me know what you think.
I'll write in more detail once we get the final word today... We're hoping to head up there this weekend to show the kids the house, so I'll take my camera and show y'all more pics.
Please keep praying... Our only concern now is financing... The bank had no trouble approving our mortgage, but we have to wait on the big guns now... God's paved the way this far and we believe whole-heartedly that He will continue to do so.
Moving day - September 25!

Nothing we can do... Cliff's within his rights. T minus 22 days.

Oh My Gosh, Our Lives Are Insane.

So Sunday was my Sam's 2nd birthday. We decided to have a quiet family only celebration here at home, so when Sam went down to nap, we got to work decorating for him. I hung streamers from the ceiling and inflated tons of helium balloons. He got up from his nap and his reaction was adorable... His eyes widened like saucers and he said, "Whoa." No smile, no laughter, just "Whoa." So funny. A slide show to follow...

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Unfortunately, Sam's birthday was over-shadowed by some rough news. As we were sitting in the living room, opening presents with Sam, our landlord knocked on the door and asked Trevor to step outside with him... in the MIDDLE of our little party! Anyway, he told Trev that if he(meaning Cliff, the landlord) can't rent our basement suite by the 15th of this month, he won't be renewing our lease... meaning we would have until the 30th of September to find a new place to live. We were obviously upset by this, but put it out of our minds as much as we could. Yesterday, at about 2 in the afternoon, Cliff showed up again to serve us with official notice that we need to be out by noon on the 30th of September. That leaves us 22 days to find a new home that we can move in to almost immediately, to pack, and to clean this place behind us. Over-whelming? Uh, yeah.

I'm hearing over and over that what Cliff is doing doesn't sound legal and so I'm going to call the Service Alberta Consumer Contact Center this morning to ask straight up whether or not he can do this. PLEASE pray that Cliff is in the wrong here and that we have more time. If we can just get the pressure off as to when we need to be out, that would be so helpful.

Yesterday was probably one of the hardest days of my life. I took the news very hard and spent a good part of the day in tears. Every time someone phoned, I was crying. I kept saying, "If it was just me and Trev, we could put our stuff in storage and live in the car for a few weeks, but how can I do that to my babies?" Time and time again, people reassured me that it won't come to that. I am so blessed to have dear friends and family who are willing to stand by us now.

Last night at 9 p.m., we received a call back from TD's mobile mortgage broker. Long story short, we learned that it will be no problem for us to get a mortgage... and the interest rate we'll be paying is 5.8% WORST case scenario. Easily doable. We felt like that phone call was 100% sent from heaven. A weight was lifted off our shoulders... not everything, but a big weight... and we could do nothing but praise the Lord! How many business people return a call on a holiday Monday and late at night when she first got the message? Most people would have waited till morning to call, but God knew we needed to have some answers in order to rest. We went to Him in prayer, crying and thanking Him for a glimmer of good news in the midst of our crisis. Please continue to pray that things will move quickly, that we will find a home that's 1. within our budget, 2. that we can move into right away, 3. that we can get everything done that needs to be done in the next month. Also pray for peace and the ability to rest at night. Pray that our kids won't be afraid and that we'll be able to control our emotions in front of them.

Last night, Trevor and I made a choice to pray for Cliff and his wife, Lucille. God tells us to pray for our enemies and right now, that's what I feel like they are. Would you join us in praying for them too? Pray that they will be blessed, that they won't continue to lose money on this house. Please pray that we will live lives honoring to Lord Jesus and that they would see Christ in our behaviour.

This is a hard time for our family, but I'm so grateful for you. Your prayers are being heard loud and clear and God has something big in store for our family. We don't understand His ways, but I know without a shadow of a doubt that all these things are going to work out for our good... Because that's what the Bible tells me.

My Baby is Two...

I cannot believe that two years ago, I delivered my baby Sam. I can't imagine life without him so it seems like he's always been around!

Anyway, I put together a quick slideshow of pics of Sam in the hospital... There were lots to pick from since he was in the NICU for almost a week! Hard to believe he started out so small... and so yellow!

Make a Smilebox photobook

Trip to Saskatchewan... Pictures

Make a Smilebox slideshow

August 27, 2009

What a day yesterday was. It all started with Sam being a complete twirp... While I was in the washroom, he climbed up on the kitchen counter and I caught him playing with a big butcher knife. Later, I showered and just as I was conditioning my hair, Eli knocked on the door to tell me that Sam took off his diaper and pooped on the floor. I quickly rinsed off and went to clean it up. While I was cleaning it up, he PEED on me! Ugh, what a horrible way to start a very busy day.

I got to watch my dear friend Kirsty's kids yesterday morning. We haven't seen them in a couple of weeks and the two youngest had a hard time for about 20 minutes, but we had a blast once they felt comfortable. I just have to tell you how much this friendship means to me... It's so neat to have a friend with kids the same age and sex as mine and since Kirsty's a stay at home mom too, we get to see each other quite often. She has an uncanny ability to make me laugh and I really feel like we have the same ideals and values. I love her! I was so happy to help her out by watching the little darlings... A couple of pics and a video of the boys playing together...

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Things kind of went downhill after lunch. Not only were my parents leaving Medicine Hat for the last time, but another friend of mine, Jodi, was moving too. Both Mom & Dad and Jodi wanted to get together at roughly the same time. It was pretty stressful trying to nail down times to see everyone and in the end, I never did get to say goodbye to the Eason family. Mom & Dad met the kids and I at a park and then we headed over to the house for our final goodbye. I really didn't expect to have such a hard time. I was fine until I was strapping the kids in the car and hugging my parents. I've only lived in a different town than my folks for about 6 months of my life and it's very hard to think of having no family any where near us. Mom & Dad have always been such a huge support to us. They've been here for every one of my kid's birthdays. They know my kids better than anyone else in the family. I cried and cried all the way home and still have some tears in my eyes now. I feel pretty alone now. We're 3 hours from the nearest family member now, six hours from Mom & Dad. I have a feeling that we won't see much of any of my family now since the 'rents are gone. Boo. Makes me so sad and isolated. The folks are planning a visit in October over Thanksgiving, so I'm looking forward to that time a lot... It'll be the first time anyone from my family has stayed in my home! Trev also told me that we can try to get up to Edmonton to visit them between now and Oct, although it's unlikely.

A positive note from last night... Kirsty called me to check up on me and she cheered me up and made me laugh so hard I was crying... good tears this time!!!

A pic of Mom & Dad and the kids from yesterday... I wanted to do more, but they had so much to do.

August 23, 2009

This past Sunday, we celebrated Sam's birthday (Sept 6) and my Dad's birthday (Aug 24). My parent's are moving tomorrow, and we wanted to have them for dinner before they left, so I figured I could guilt them into taking the evening off by calling it a birthday party... Just kidding! We had a great time and a delicious dinner, if I do say so myself... I roasted a chicken, made stuffing, steamed carrots, Mom made gravy to go on the creamy mashed potatoes.... Yumm, my stomach is growling! I bought the cake from Safeway... Anyway, a slide show of that fun...

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My parents blessed us tremendously by giving us a bedroom set INCLUDING a mattress!!! We have a grown-up room now... Matching furniture and a bed that doesn't have springs poking through it! Thank you so much Mom & Dad... We are so appreciative!

Something really neat happened last night with Elias and I just had to share it with you. We were about to say bedtime prayers... I'll give you a script of what happened.

Elias: "Mom, it makes me really sad that Jesus died on the cross."

Me: "Well, Eli, Jesus did that because He loves you so much that He wanted to give you a way to get to heaven."

Eli: "But Mom, I don't want Jesus to be in heaven. I want to play ball with Him and hang out with Him. I want Him here with me!"

Me: "Eli, you can have Jesus here with you. If you ask Jesus to come into your heart and to be your best friend, He'll be with you forever! He'll be right beside you even though you can't see Him. He'll be like an invisible friend that never leaves!"

Eli: "Mom, I want that!"

Me: "Tell Jesus."

Eli: "Jesus, I want you to come into my heart and be my best friend forever."

I wept!!! So amazing... He asked me if Jesus was my best friend, Daddy's best friend, and so on. He asked what he could do to make Jesus stop being his best friend to which I replied that Jesus loves him even more than I love him and NOTHING he could do would change that. What an amazing thing. PRAISE GOD!!! He even told Nana & Papa this morning that Jesus will be best friend forever!

AMAZING Band... Among The Thirsty, Song "I'd Need A Savior"

My sister introduced this band to me this morning and it's just so amazing. I had to share it with you.

Not too much to tell...

I realized that I haven't blogged in a while, so I figured I'd do a quick post, even though I don't really have anything new going on...
Last week on Monday, the kids and I FINALLY got together with Tanya and her kids... I haven't seen them since the triplet's birthday in November! I had such a good visit with Tanya and the kids played really well together. Forrest appeared at my side almost as soon as we arrived and we were best buds the whole morning... Such a cutie! Connor seems to be a little bit more reserved and shy... Apparently they work together to torture their sister though, little turkeys!
My sister, Sheri and her brood of darlings were here on Sunday night, along with my Mom, for dinner... Our time together was really short, only one evening and the following morning, but we made the best of it and enjoyed each other. The only bad thing is that now my boys are pestering me for a dog just like Chewie (See the pictures... Cute dog, but not gonna happen!) Sam prays for his cousins and Auntie Sheri, telling God that each of them are so fun... "Jesus, Thanks, Fun Sheri, fun Joah, fun Braeden, fun Dawson, fun Amaris..." and somehow this dog gets 3 fun's! "Jesus, FUN FUN FUN Chewie!" Little turd! It makes me sad to think of how long it'll be before we can see them again... I don't feel like I know Sheri's kids as well as I want to!
My sister-in-law Nicole had her baby on the 14th... Little Gavin Alexander Inglis joined the family after nearly 26 hours of labour! He's so adorable and we can't wait to meet him... Hopefully next weekend, depending on how Sam's doing.
Other little tidbits that most of you know already... I'm doing this for the benefit of those who aren't on FB...
Sam's been quite sick... coughing for about 3 weeks now. I'd been treating him with a bronchial dilator as needed, but he wasn't improving at all. I took him to the walk-in and now he's on a steroid twice a day, an antibiotic twice a day, and the same bronchial dilator I'd had him on before. I thought he was improving, so I didn't give him his nebulizer treatment this morning... Now he's coughing and gasping again and also has a high fever. Poor baby.
Sam broke my rib about a week ago... I was lying on the couch and Sam jumped on my chest. Pretty awful pain, even now! I haven't ever broken anything but toes, so it's really sucky for me.
My parents are moving away from Medicine Hat next week. I've been over at Mom's quite a bit this week helping her to get packed. It's really bittersweet for me. I am SO happy for them, moving on from here since I know they haven't been happy. However, I'm really sad for me and my kids. They're moving about 6 hours away, so we won't see them much at all. I've only lived away from Mom & Dad for about 6 months of my life, so it'll be a big adjustment I'm sure.
Anyway, some pics...

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The last week or so...

Since I hate uploading pictures to Blogger, I'm going to do a series of Smilebox's cuz they're faster and easier to do...
Last Sunday, we headed out to Echo Dale for a few hours of beach fun... Eli and Trev started building a sand castle, but Eli found out quickly it's more fun to wreck it than to build it... Poor Trev!

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Yesterday, Elias and I took off for a while in the afternoon, just us. I LOVE spending time with Eli on my own! We decided to go down to the river to toss some rocks, a favorite past-time for most boys I'm sure! When we first arrived, there was a fire truck parked at the boat launch dock and the firemen were on the river practicing rescue maneuvers. They'd cruise by and the wake would come crashing to shore and Eli had a blast leaping over the waves. As we searched for rocks, a man rode his bike up to us... Now, I hate to admit it, but I judged this guy by his appearance first and he scared me right away. He got off his bike about 4 feet from me and just stood there looking at us. A lot of you know about my history... being raped and struggling with pretty crippling anxiety for years afterwards... and it all came rushing back. I didn't want to scare Elias, so I maintained my cool (I think) and asked if I could help him. He told me no, he just felt like watching. Creepy, right? Elias was to my right playing by the water, this guy was to my left and I had my back to a bunch of bushes. No way was I going to turn my back on this creep. After roughly 10 minutes of him standing there awkwardly staring at Eli & I, he got on his bike and started to ride away. I watched him leaving and noticed that he rode onto a path that went by the bushes I was standing next to. I watched until he was out of my view and then I heard leaves rustling behind me... I'm fairly certain he got off his bike and walked into the bushes! I was more than sufficiently afraid at this point and I called to Eli that it was time to go. Eli asked why and I told him that some strangers aren't safe and I didn't trust the man who was watching us. Eli readily agreed and we walked back to our car. Just as we were getting in, another fire truck started backing into the parking lot and as soon as the truck stopped, a fireman jumped out and called to Elias! "Hey buddy! Want to come check out my fire truck?" Oh my gosh! Elias and I were both flabbergasted and so excited! These men were so amazing to Eli. They each took turns showing Eli where they sat in the fire truck and explaining to him what the equipment was for and what their jobs were. They let him 'drive' the truck, wear a fireman's hat, and hold the nozzle and hose! What an amazing thrill! When I asked Eli later what he thought of the firemen, he was so funny... "I was scared, Momma, because they're so HUGE!"
Will you allow me to dig a little deeper into this exciting adventure for a minute? God has been speaking to me a lot lately about how I've been held prisoner by fear and anxiety after being raped. I've been trying very hard to let go of my fear, but I really felt like yesterday was meant to be a reminder for me. I was terrified of that man. I don't know for sure what the heck he was doing, but I was scared stiff. And while I'm shaking in my boots, dragging my son away from some one-on-one fun with his mother & running to hide in my fear, who shows up but 5 of the biggest & strongest civil servants I've ever met. God didn't just send one nice gentleman or a polite couple into my path... Oh, no. God sent me an army of protectors. Like He was saying to me, "Why are you still so afraid, Beckie? When are you going to learn to trust that I'm here and watching everything that happens to you?" Pretty cool, right?
Anyway, I am ashamed to admit that I didn't have my camera on me and had to take these pics on my cell phone, but you get the idea!

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After we got home from the river, we picked up Sam and Trev and headed to Central Park to play...

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Today we headed down to Kin Coulee to support our neighbour's fundraiser for her cousin. "Angels for Angela" was meant to raise support for Angela's cancer treatments that are not covered by Alberta Health Care or her insurance. It looked like they had a great turnout!

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And there you have it... A quick update on our lives from the last week!

Praise God for bad days, cuz it makes the good days stand out!

Oh my... Today was so much better than yesterday... I can't even tell you how vast the difference was. Eli did great this morning, despite a somewhat rocky beginning. He was quite nervous to begin with, but his teacher, Shannon, was a great help putting him at ease. When I went to pick him up at noon, she said he was like a completely different child today, smiling and playing and participating. Can I just say, I give God all the glory here? I covered Eli in prayer before we went and throughout the morning and I believe that's what made the difference for him. Extra special thanks goes to Lisa, my dear neighbour, for helping me out with Sam when I really needed to focus on Eli... I sure appreciate good neighbours because of Kevin and Lisa!

I also wanted to share some pictures from Elias and Trevor's flight over the city this afternoon. Eli LOVED it! He could hardly stop talking and couldn't take his eyes off the ground below him. What a cool thing for a four-year old to do!

What a Day!

I've had quite a day today... even more so, Elias has had quite a day today... Thought I'd share with you some of the highlights (or low-lights, as the case may be.)

Elias started VBS today. He always talks about how badly he wants to go to school, so I expected him to do really well. We arrived a few minutes early and Eli looked around and said to me, "Mom, I don't know these kids. Don't leave me here!" I knew that our neighbours would be arriving right away and that Eli would most likely be fine once Justin (who is the same age as Eli) got there, so I told him I'd wait with him for a bit. Eventually, he settled in with J. and I came home with my very sick little Sam (more on that later.) When I went back to pick him up, no one asked who we were and who's kids we were leaving with, which struck me as a bit strange. Eli told me on the walk home that he didn't want to go back tomorrow and as soon as we were in the door, he lifted his shirt and showed me why. He had a quite a large rug burn on his chest and he said some girl pushed him down. Naturally I assumed that he was talking about another child, but bit by bit, the story came out... well, Elias' side of it anyway. He told me that he was having a hard time being without me and in such a big group and he needed some quiet time. He crawled into this little room where kids were watching movies (Really? Movies at VBS?) Well, his teacher caught him going in there and said that Eli had to come out with her. She then, according to Eli, grabbed him by the arms and dragged him out on his stomach, causing the rug burn. You can imagine how irate I was. I called Trevor at work and told him what Eli had told me and he said I needed to call over to the church right away to find out what the heck was going on. I was looking up the number when my phone rang... It was the teacher. First off, she asked if I had come for Eli or if he'd left on his own. Umm, what? I assured her that I picked him up and then told her that I was about to call there to find out exactly what happened to my son that morning. She told me that Eli was having a great time until it was time to move to the next activity. He was really quite upset and confused at being moved around so much and had to be 'restrained' from leaving the building several times. She had a bit of a different story to tell than Eli had... Eli DID crawl away to find some quiet, and when the teacher told him he needed to come, she touched his ankles and he fell on his stomach, causing the rug burn... Hmmm... O.K.. She asked if Eli had some transitional and social anxiety that they needed to know about. Now, I've always known that Eli doesn't do great in big crowds (and I informed them of this when I registered him) and this was his first time ever being away from me for an extended period of time, so I should have anticipated some bumps in the road. But to touch my child in order to get him to do what you want? Not okay with me. Elias was wrong to behave the way he did and I told him so. I told him that he should have obeyed the teacher & that he shouldn't have been trying to run home. I am not placing all the blame on the leaders there. I'm taking a lot of the blame myself, believe me. Anyway, this woman and I talked and agreed that if Eli is at all open to going back tomorrow, he should. At this point, in his 4-year old brain, he feels as though he's been attacked and physically restrained from seeing his mother. He needs to understand that this is not the way things happened and that school is a fun and safe place to be. I WILL NOT be carrying my son in there tomorrow kicking and screaming... if we have to take a day off, we will. But at this point, he's telling me he never wants to go to school. He needs to get back on the horse, so to speak. We (meaning the teacher & I) laid out a plan of action... She's going to start by giving Eli warnings about moving to the next activity... A two minute warning for example, like I do at home. She's going to watch him and be ready to take him for some one-on-one time if need be. And if he gets as upset as he did today, she'll call me to come get him. We plan to meet when we go the next time face to face and I'll ask her then to keep Eli & Justin in the same group so that Eli has some familiarity there.

All that being said, I'm really dealing with a good dose of Mothers guilt right now. Did I cause this anxiety in some way? Have I kept him too sheltered or is this a natural part of his personality? Is this genetic, since I've suffered with a good deal of anxiety in my life? How can I help him learn to cope? Is he going to struggle with this for the rest of his life? I read up on transitional and social anxiety on the 'net today and I didn't love what I saw. A large portion of the children who have anxiety learn to hate school and end up doing quite poorly. The articles I read stated that if social anxiety is left 'untreated' it could be very detrimental in the future. So do I assume that he had a hard time today because it was new, or do I try to nip it in the bud and find some sort of 'treatment' for him? I don't even know what kind of 'treatment' he'd need or where the heck to find it!

Anyway, other than dealing with all this, I've been pooped on, peed on, sneezed on, boogered on and slept on all in one day. Poor Sam... He's feeling absolutely awful; running nose, sneezing, watery eyes, fever, and a cough. He slept almost the whole time Eli was at VBS this morning, which is probably good because he cried for Eli the whole way home.

Can I just say... this has been one horrible day. I'm feeling totally over-whelmed and confused and tired.

On the upside, Eli and Trevor are going flying tomorrow! There is an airshow in town right now and for $15/person, you can take a flight around the city! How do you pass that up? I'm really excited for him.

Fun with the Campbells

My sister Sheri and brother-in-law Jeff brought their kids for a very short, one night visit yesterday... Not to worry, we'll see more of them later in their vacation. We decided we needed to make the most of the time we had and make some memories, so we headed out to Echo Dale yesterday for the afternoon and evening and to the park this morning... Here are some pictures of us having some fun...

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Weekend with the Muirheads

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Family Pictures, July 2009

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