Surprise Holiday

It's been quite a while since I've been home and I still haven't gotten around to posting more details about my surprise birthday trip to the mountains! It's been a crazy week here (Next post I'll explain!)
Since so much happened, I'm going to do a day-by-day description.
Thursday:
My cousin Heidi and her family surprised me by showing up at my door! The funny thing was that Sam looked out the window just before they arrived and said, "Heidi's not here yet, Dad!" Trev somehow fluffed his way out of that one, but not twenty minutes later, Heidi appeared at my door! I cried! We sat and visited and then Heidi & I went for a drive/shopping trip on our own. It was so good to be able to visit with her, to be totally candid! We picked up pizza on the way home and not long after we ate, I got a call from my dear friend Kirsty, begging me to bring the kids over to play. I told her I had surprise company and wasn't sure how long they'd be able to stay, but Kirsty said to bring her along.... Odd, I thought... Heidi agreed immediately to go for a visit, stating she'd wanted to meet Kirsty for a long time.... Odder, I thought. We walked into Kirsty's house and I wandered into the living room (I tend to make myself at home over there) to discover another dear one, Melissa! I kind of missed the point up till now.... I didn't really realize that this was to be a party, I just assumed that Melissa and Tim had popped by, until Melissa whispered to me mid-hug that they were there for me! I sat down and began to relax (or at least tried to, talk about a day of surprises!) I'd 'relaxed' for maybe 10 minutes when I heard whispering in the front entry. Before I had a chance to ask Kirsty what's up, my Mom & my big sister Christi turned the corner. I couldn't believe it! I had asked Christi what she was up to that coming weekend and she didn't lie, but... LOL! Mom had been telling me that I needed to tell Trevor to let me go to Edmonton and that if he didn't feel up to it (he'd had minor surgery the day before) I should leave him behind and come anyway! I settle in again and start visiting with my vast array of darlings and my sister, Sheri walks in! Surprise after surprise! It was exciting and exhausting at the same time! My sister presents me with a card...
After the party breaks up, Ben & Heidi jump in their van for the 4 - 5 hour drive home.... They made the drive for just a few hours of visiting! Thank you Werdals! It meant the world to me!
We (meaning my sisters, my mom, my hubby, my kids & I) head home and I start packing. I don't think I got more than a few hours of sleep that night... SO EXCITED!

Friday:

I woke up and was ready to go before anyone else was! I honestly thought I'd be upset about leaving my kids and Trev (and so did everyone else) but it was no problem. We jumped in Mom's CRV and off we went. We made the drive to Canmore in really good time and stopped for lunch at a little bistro downtown. We headed to the hotel after eating so that we could check in and so I could dig out my camera. I wasn't willing to do very much without my camera. The hotel suite was beautiful!

I wish you could have seen/experienced the wonder I felt when I saw those mountains. I was raised in Sundre, AB, so I had a good view of the mountains from the kitchen window of my childhood home. My grandparents lived in B.C. and in order to get there, we'd drive right through the center of them! Mountains were not a new concept for me. But it's been more than 7 years since I've seen them and I honestly felt like a 'mountain virgin'....

Anyway, back to the fun. We wandered and window-shopped and shopped the afternoon away and it was time to eat. I was hungry but no one could settle on a place to eat... Sheri had us wandering down Main Street one direction and then we had to turn around and go back the other way! We stepped into a beautiful furniture shop to warm up and Christi disappeared, saying she was just going to pop into the washroom. You have to understand, I'm not pleasant when I'm hungry.... Even when I'm having the time of my life! Christi FINALLY emerges and we head back outside to find a suitable restaurant. Wandering, wandering... And I hear my name being shouted from somewhere behind me! Up walks my younger brother Mark and my sis-in-law, Danielle! My sisters and mom were stalling until Mark & Danielle could catch up with us. We all walked together (to the other side of town, go figure) to The Quarry, a bar/grill type establishment. Sidenote: If you visit The Quarry, stay away from the ribs and the chicken! All 6 of us headed back to our hotel to visit for a while before turning in... So nice to see Mark & Danielle by the way... They're about to have Baby Gracie & happened to be on a final adult get-away in Banff at the same time

Saturday:

We decided pretty much as soon as we were up to get ready and get on the road... Okay, I decided that's what we were going to do!We jumped in the car and headed on the highway towards Banff. We exhibited our adventurous side by deciding on a whim to drive out to Lake Louise (after getting our Starbucks fix in Banff of course!) I've never been to Lake Louise and it took my breath away! We walked outside as long as we could and then headed in to tour the hotel so we could warm up. What an ostentatious and ornate place! We sat for a few minutes (they visited, I stared outside like a tourist) and then we went back out to walk. We made it back to Banff in time for a late lunch and some afternoon shopping.

Supper on Saturday was a hilarious gong show. We stopped at a Boston Pizza when we got to Canmore and placed a delivery order for 7... At 8, it finally showed up wrong and ice cold! To be fair though, the delivery driver was obviously embarrassed and sorry for the mistakes. He went to bat for us, getting us new pizza, dessert, & $15 cash back. We spent the evening enjoying ridiculous girly talk & so much laughter.

Sunday:

Final day of relaxation, of no responsibility, of quiet, of being without my beloved & the two little loves of my life. We ate a leisurely breakfast and headed out for one last hike on a little path through Canmore. We had coffee & stopped at a store so that I could buy the one thing that both caught my eye & would serve to remind me of the joy I felt that weekend.

It's been several weeks & little details have escaped me, but there were a few moments and just general feelings that I remember most clearly.

I was moved nearly to tears several times over the weekend because my sisters and my mom took time out of their schedules to plan and execute a trip simply because of me... I know and have always known that all three of them love me so much, but I've never felt like I fit in with them. This weekend made me realize that regardless of age, financial situation, location just being family creates a love and acceptance that I've never felt.

On the drive to and from Lake Louise, we stumbled into serious conversations and we each treated each other with kindness and respect. I have a genuine desire to learn from all three of these women things that they have done right with their kids, how to best relate to our husbands, how to accept who we are... They are chalk-full of wisdom!

Listening to music, especially Bart Millard. It made me think of my childhood, listening to Sheri & Christi sing, but being too young to join in... All 4 of us sang old hymns together & praised God together. Music is so important to me and it's something that I have in common with each of them. I happen to be listening to him right now!

Anyway, thanks to each of my 'surprisers.' You were just who I would have asked to be involved had I planned it myself. I love each and every one of you and I thank you so much for loving me!

I'm planning on posting a detailed account of my amazing weekend away, but I'm a little busy today... I'll post some pics now and do another post later.

Customize your own free slideshow design

Free photo slideshow generated with Smilebox

I've always got these fantastic intentions every time I finish writing a post... I feel like a weight has been lifted nearly every time and so I tell myself, "Wow, that felt good! I'm going to be sure to do this more often!" And then weeks go by without another passing thought regarding my writing. I'd like to say, "Well, I really don't have the time. I'm simply too busy!"Transparency time... I'm not too busy, I'm too lazy ;)

So news update first.... Trevor did SWIMMINGLY on his midterms.... He scored 100% on his programming midterm and while he didn't earn a perfect score on any others, he did receive wonderful marks. I'm incredibly proud of him.... He's my superstar!

Eli's arm isn't healing as quickly as we'd hoped. We saw Dr. Riaz, an orthopedic surgeon one week after his arm broke and our hopes of a quick recovery were dashed. On that very first appointment, he told us to expect him to be casted for 5 to 6 weeks and suggested (well, I'm being polite here.... ) that Eli should avoid all physical activity, at least until the 3 week mark. We've been back to see him twice since then and this last Friday, he took x-rays and could clearly see the break in black, rather than grey (which indicates healing.) Dr. Riaz changed Eli's cast and then lowered the boom on us. Rather than returning to recess and full days at school tomorrow, he's chalked on another 6 weeks from now of inactivity. Yes, the cast comes off on November 26, but for 3 weeks after that Eli's not to be playing like a 5-year old. Big, fat bummer. I'm more than willing to enforce what he's 'suggested' simply because I don't want to take unnecessary risks, but we're not happy about it. That brings us to the end of the first semester.... Meaning the first half of his first year of school is totally restricted.

I have been volunteering about once a week in Eli's class for the last month and a half or so (thanks to my dear, local 'family' Kirsty) and I have learned a lot about myself. First, and most surprising, I'm not a child-hater after all. I've spent my entire adult life believing that I couldn't stand random children to whom I had no personal tie (and even if I had a personal tie, sometimes I STILL couldn't stand them ;) ) Second, I learned that maybe God does have a different plan for my life than to be a nurse. I should know better than to believe that because I injured myself, God's plans for me simply ceased to exist. Since I 'KNEW' that God created me with nursing in mind, I felt like I no longer had a purpose of any kind once I learned that my back wouldn't allow it to happen. I know that it sounds ridiculous on so many different levels, and I certainly didn't believe it on a conscious level but I think that's why I was so lost when my doc told me to let it go. Anyway, I've been enjoying working with Eli's class so much that I wonder if maybe teaching (or becoming a T.A.) might be an option for me. I love teaching kids new things. I love listening to the funny and interesting things coming out of their mouths. I know that I really wouldn't have any interest in working with kids older than 9 or 10 unless I taught high school bio or something like that. I don't know.... I've still got at least 2 years before I can start to pursue anything at all, but I do feel encouraged because something other than nursing has captured my attention, for now anyway.

Our pastor spoke on gifts a few weeks back and since then, I've been wondering a lot about what my gifts are and where God wants me to work within the church. I haven't felt a lot of peace regarding worship and I'm not sure if God is telling me that He wants me somewhere else or if it's Satan attacking my desire to lead people in worshiping. I don't really feel like I fit in or that I'm needed on the team I'm on and I really feel like 4 years away from public singing has taken a toll on my voice. Different people have mentioned to me that maybe I should use my past and testimony to speak to teens and young adults about consequences. One lady said that she didn't believe that kids really understand why partying and whatnot are so bad.... If God will forgive them, why not have some fun while they're young. Boy, did I ever live that way when I was younger.... And I'm still paying for many of my decisions just like Trev is still paying for his past choices... Anyway, believers, you can be praying for wisdom from God that I would know where He wants me to be.

Trev's having surgery this morning (I started this post a few days ago and now it's Wednesday).... He's having his uvula removed! I may have spent my last sleepless night waiting for my husband to be transformed into a horrible noisy pig! Trevor was explaining to each of the kids last night what the doctor was going to do and both kids had hilarious reactions! When Trevor told Eli that his surgery would stop his snoring, Eli said, "Oh, so Momma won't have to sleep on the couch anymore?" and Sam said, "You mean so that you can sleep with Momma? In her bed?" Funny that they both have basically the same reaction.... They've seen us sleeping separately so often (and have been wakened themselves by his noise) that it's just become normal for them.... They can't imagine having their parents sleep together!

My 30th birthday is coming on Saturday and I have a feeling something is up.... I'll let you all know when I know!

A quick slideshow....

Photo slideshow created with Smilebox