Thankful Thursday!!

So extremely grateful for a medical doctor that listens to their patients, is not rushed by a waiting room of people and is willing to do what she can to get a proper assessment of Iceman's learning challenges. She was very puzzled by the arrogant school board jackers test recommendations. She is not one to slap a label on a child and agrees that medication is not the solution to everything. I feel so extremely blessed to have her as my own doctor and for my children. This is such a HUGE relief to me. I have been falling deeper and deeper into that pit of feeling like I've failed my child somehow because of some egghead's jackery. I feel, for the first time in a long while, that we will get to the bottom of Iceman's difficulties and will finally be able to help him reach his full potential.

Thankful Thursday!!

Today is a day to celebrate because it is the birthday of one of my favorite people! She is an amazing woman with talents and gifts too numerous to list. She constantly astounds me with her craftiness and creativity. I've had the great pleasure of meeting her outside of cyberworld and she is so beautiful inside and out! Her family is a testimony to her "awesomeness" (stealing Iceman's word). I know that I do not tell her often enough just how much she means to me. She has helped carry me through some difficult times with her wisdom and she has given me hours of laughter with her wonderful sense of humor. So Happy Birthday dear friend! I am so blessed to have you in my life! Do something special for yourself! We will celebrate today with cupcakes in your honor!

Power of Prayer

Today I am thankful that my dear friend ReNee is home from the hospital. She is a brave warrior who has been fighting a battle with cancer. I pray that she will continue to tolerate the chemo, that her energy will improve and that her nose bleeds will not return. I will continue to believe for her healing in the name of Jesus.

And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. ~Matthew 21:22

Thankful Thursday!!

1. My massage therapist... she is an angel and ministers to not only my body but to my spirit. I'm so blessed that God led me to her.

2. Today I'm wearing my 4th pair of jeans in a week that I can pull down without unzipping or un buttoning. That means they are too big!!! That means I'm shrinking again!! Woot!!! It also means I need to wear a belt all the time but that will do until I go shopping for some new clothes. I had bought some fleece lined jeans and thought it was a fluke that I fit in them. You see they were from a regular store not a fat broad store and are a regular size... not a size with a W (that's for Wideload in my head, seriously could they come up with anything less obvious???) after it! Feeling a little proud of myself and doing a happy dance.

Do you know who you are?

Do you know who you are?  I'm so thankful that I've finally found myself.  It's taken nearly forty years and the road has been a rough one at times.  I finally feel secure in my self and my identity.  I am a child of the King of Kings, I am a woman, a daughter, a sister, a wife, a lover, a help meet, a other half, a mother, a friend, a warrior, an intercessor, a cry baby, a grump, a worrier, a dreamer, a teacher, a follower, a leader, a chef, a maid, a chauffeur, a CEO, a student, a gardener, a writer, a reader, a red head, a blonde, a brunette, ;), a hard worker, a procrastinator, a go- getter, a lazy lump, a list maker, a note taker, an insomniac, a sleepy head, a woman in pain, victorious, prayerful, funny, crazy, serious, sad, optimistic, loving, confident, unworthy, graceful, clumsy, inspiring, frustrating, passionate, woeful, joyful...... I am all these things and so much more.  I am thankful that I'm sure of my identity in Christ and that I am constantly growing, changing and evolving.  I'm thankful that I've finally come to terms with the lies of my past and the knowledge that I am not the words, hurts or labels that others put upon me.  I am me- good, bad and ugly.  Praising God for finally being at that place where it's ok to be who I am.

Philippians 1:6 

 ...being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;

*photo taken by Kodiak July 31, 2008

I *heart* my front porch

I love my front porch. I've always wanted a front porch. We created a front patio in the last house we owned because we wanted one so badly. The one redeeming feature about our current home is the front porch. In fact, I think it was the porch that swayed me to say yes to a place that was smaller than we were used to, attached to a neighbor and in a town that had little to offer our family. This is our 3rd summer with our front porch. It has become a peaceful little haven for us and brings many hours of solitude, laughter, quiet company or a place to enjoy the company of friends.


We can be secret voyeurs of our neighborhood if we sit in certain chairs on the porch due to the planter boxes and hanging baskets or we can be active in the happenings of our street, waving hello or chatting with those that go by. The Hero built me a fountain this year which pleasantly drowns out any noise I don't wish to hear. The beautiful mature trees in our front yard provide us with shade during a hot summer day and shelter from winds on more miserable days. The Hero and I spend many evenings on our safe little haven. We are thankful to have a place of reflection and solitude, as well as, one of gathering and laughter.

True North, Strong and Free...

This has been a hard week emotionally. It's hard to stand back and watch the Hero so disheartened and frustrated by the actions of those that govern our town. It's hard to hear more and more evidence of their lies and underhanded ways come to pass. It's difficult to see the faces of men who have dedicated over 20 years of volunteer service to a community struggling to come to terms with having that service mean nothing to those that govern our community. It's been a rough week... for me, the Hero and all of those touched by this travesty.

In the midst of the emotions comes gratefulness that we live in a country that has freedom. That no matter how corrupt our local government may appear they cannot shoot us or imprison us for having a voice. We have freedom of speech. We are free to lean on the Lord during a time of turmoil and uncertainty. We can chose to give our time where we see fit. We don't have to fear losing our home because the government doesn't like us or wants to teach us a lesson. We can fight the corruption with our votes and our voices. We are free to speak our mind. We live in the true north, strong and free. We have plenty to be thankful for.

Happy Birthday Iceman!

Happy 8th Birthday Iceman! You bring such joy to our lives and we love you so much. We love your sense of humor, your intense line of right and wrong, your passion for all things fire rescue, your kindness warms my heart, your endless facial expressions and exhuberance to life make us all better for knowing you. Have a wonderful day!

I recently ran across all of my birthstories and thought I'd share Iceman's with you today.....

Volume 3 ~ Iceman~ July 31, 2000
Months 8 &9
Oh My Cow I didn’t think that this baby would ever get out of me. We had tried for 6 months to conceive Iceman, doesn’t seem like long to some of you, but for us who had 2 prior oops that’s a surprise pregnancies it seemed like an eternity. Once he was nestled in there he was quite comfortable. The last month or so I felt like complete crap, there is no other way to describe it. The pressure was so intense I was sure that if my water broke he’d come shooting out of me. I was miserable. Kodiak and La Diva played in our bedroom while I lay in bed. The Hero would put food on the bottom shelf of the fridge and dry snacks in our room and the kids would graze at their leisure. I felt like a complete failure as a Mommy.

Labor & Delivery
On July 31st I was induced at 9:30 am with the cervix gel. By the time we made it down to the car the contractions had started. We went for walks around the mall near the hospital and then home. The contractions were coming on very intense, stronger than I’d ever had with the prior labors. However, I just knew it wasn’t time to run to the hospital and wanted to stay home as long as I could. I made it til about 7:30 p.m. and then we made our way to the hospital. We were checked in right away b/c the Hero had made friends with all the nurses by bringing them Timbits on our many trips for non stress tests, etc during months 8 &9. He cleared and made beds for them while I was hooked up to the monitor. We got one of the new beautiful rooms in the overflow area and were pretty much the only ones there. I did many laps of the ward waiting for things to progress a bit faster. The contractions were extremely intense but I was not dilating very fast. By about 9 p.m. I was in bed, shaking uncontrollably and blacking out from the pain. The epidural was administered about 9:30 p.m. It took the edge off so that I was able to sleep for 20 minutes. When I woke up I was refreshed and ready to get started. They didn’t figure that I’d be dilated enough but were very surprised when they checked my progress. The started getting the bed set up for delivery, I started pushing and they figured it would be awhile as he was up quite high still but in about 4 pushes he was out, the doctor got in position just in time to catch Isaac. The room was very calm and peaceful. We had praise music playing softly in the background. In fact the song that was playing at the moment Iceman was born is called Joy and one of the lines is “let me be a joy to you always” very appropriate. Another perfect baby. I remember thinking that he was huge and so fair compared to the other two. He nursed immediately.

Post Partum Heaven
Third time smart. We reserved a private theme room and I was able to sleep in the same bed as my husband. He never left my side. I can’t tell you how awesome it was to wake up to the Hero holding Iceman and giving me the recoup time I needed. The nurses were fabulous!!! It was like being in a hotel and the almost had to kick us out.

First Weeks Afterwards
My Mom didn’t stay with me at all this time. Between La Diva and Iceman, the Hero and I had been separated for awhile and she probably would have been happier had we divorced rather than reconciled. Her reaction to our pregnancy announcement was basically “Whatever were you thinking?” We managed very well on our own. I had meals delivered every night for two weeks from the ladies of our church and I had done tons of muffin baking, casserole preparing beforehand. Iceman was a great baby and nursed without troubles. We had learned of chiropractic care by this time and he was adjusted when he was 3 days old. We would have done it immediately but he was born on a Friday. This was the easiest time I had as a mom because I had a network of people that lived in Cowtown that supported us through it. We knew others who had babies now and could share our war stories, breakdowns, and happiest moments. We think of Iceman as our covenant child because he is a symbol of how far God has brought us. He was even conceived during a marriage conference. His name was chosen because it means “laughter” and “victory”. Sarah laughed when God told her she would bear a child and six years ago I would have laughed too had anyone told me that my marriage would be what it is today. It would have been an impossible dream to me then but I now know that nothing is impossible with God.

I'm so thankful that God has chosen to bless our family so. I don't take it for granted for a minute. I know how much we have fought to get where we are today and I know that without Him we would be not be the family we are today. I try to count my blessings daily. Iceman is so good at knowing just when someone needs a snuggle and his ability to bring laughter to our lives has helped to break the tension, the disappointment and the stress that life can bring. He is a unique child, as all of ours are, but God seemed to know just what we needed to help knit us closer together and He graciously gave us that gift.

What are you thankful for? Take a look around you... life doesn't suck as much as you thought it did and even on the hardest days if you dig deep you can find the joy. Share with me what makes you thankful or join in with Fussy and her friends and make it a weekly exercise in remembering your joy.

This is a fun summer!

We have been so busy this summer. It's been so much fun. We have relaxed on our awesome front porch, went out with friends, puttered in the yard, gone to the movies, jumped on the trampoline, had dinner with friends, been to the Marble Slab more than once, laughed so much, took in NASCAR (officially Albertan rednecks now), played Rock Band (I completely suck at it btw), enjoyed our children and we still have a whole month of summer left!!! Right now I'm waiting for the Hero to return and sitting in a hotel in Cowtown. The crew are visiting the grandparents, Freedom is at the kennel and we are honeymooning in the place we met (with some work thrown in for the Hero). I'm so thankful for being content, having my Hero's love and support, great kids, new friends and some sunshine today!

I hope that you are all enjoying your summer as much as we are.

Today is one of those days that I have to dig a little deeper than usual to find that non sucking bit of life. I hurt and have a killer headache, the Hero is grumpy, the kids are pouty and bored, the weather is miserable...... oh yeah this is supposed to be about the not so sucky things. ;)

Let's see.... in a recent discussion on a message board I've been reminded of something that I take for granted- health care. I live in Canada and while our system is far from perfect I'm extremely grateful for it. I have found that it is a system largely misunderstood by those that don't live here. I still can't figure out where some of the perspectives come from, many of them complete misconceptions. It would seem that the media has done an awesome job of villifying socialized medicine and some people won't hear truth from those that live and experience the very system they are so against. Whatev....I'm thankful that I have great health care at my fingertips.....even with the frustration of getting a diagnosis for a my mysterious torment I'm thankful.

I'm proud to be Canadian and health care is just one of the many reasons I'm thankful to live in the greatest country on earth.

The Fabulous Mrs. Fussypants has started a new "meme", weekly post topic, whatever you want to call it. Unlike Fuss and her fabulous friends I'm a mere speck in the blogosphere but I do think it is important that we remind ourselves why we are blessed so I decided to play along.

We've had some behind the scenes things going on in our little town lately. Unfortunately I've been unable to speak of them but come tonight that all may change. ;) Throughout these tests and trials I've been proud to say that despite the best efforts to destroy my Hero and others like him we can hold our heads high. Unlike the destroyers, my Hero has integrity. I'm thankful that we know that our victory is in the Lord and no matter what the earthly destroyers can throw our way we will have victory. When one door closes another opens and we've been so blessed to see that play out in our lives on many occasions.

I am thankful that my Hero loves me so very much. Our little town is full of broken down families and marriages on the brink of destruction. It really breaks my heart to listen to how people who supposedly love one another treat each other and talk about each other when their spouse is not there and sometimes even in front of them. We've come such a long way and I'm so grateful that we have love and respect for each other. Our marriage is a blessing and even the hard stuff in life sucks far less because we are a team.

The crew are our constant source of joy. Even in the midst of teen/tween angst and hormonal overload, mean girl drama, close quarters, little boys getting independent and all the other challenges that come with raising 4 children we are blessed with great kids.

I'm also thankful that I'm beginning to see some light in the midst of my quest to figure out how to manage my torment. I'm thankful for medical professionals and alternative health care providers. I'm thankful for understanding friends who don't write me off because of my challenges. They love me even when I totally suck some days.

I am grateful for the beautiful weather we have been having. I love watching my garden grow under the beautiful blue skies.

What makes your life suck less today?

Thankful Thursday

I've been inspired to count some of my many blessings today. I've been wallowing in my misery for too many days. I really am blessed and I need to concentrate on that more often. I think putting it here will help me to refocus on the blessings when I'm throwing a grand old pity party. Today my heart is full of thanks for a few people that make my life richer.

• j9~ a sister of my heart. I'm so thankful to have a prayer warrior like you in my corner. You bless my life in so many ways. I long for the day that we will finally see each other face to face.
• CNE~ together we are a Dar Williams song. According to them we should be at war with one another. Yet despite our differences we are family. I treasure our friendship and my life is richer for knowing you and your family.
• cza ~ you seem to instinctively know just when to call. You've helped me to see the beauty within me and to view my outside in a gentler way. That is no small feat and I am so grateful for you.
• mme~ your generous heart and loving spirit are a blessing to me. I'm in awe of your creativity and vision. Thanks for always making me giggle and feel all warm and fuzzy.
• my favorite hockey mom~ in recent months I've silently become more aware of and stand in awe of all that you bear and that you do it with such grace and dignity. You never whine and moan, you just take the lemons life has dealt and turn them into lemonade. Thank you for giving me the courage and strength to do the same.
• lucky buck's wife~ I live vicariously through your travels and all the cool people you meet. You inspire me to dream of the world beyond and the possibilities that lay ahead of me. Your support through my craziness has been a gift.
• jacker~ I wish you could see yourself through my eyes. I know He has amazing plans for you. While you think that I offer you so much in this journey, I am thankful for what you unknowingly teach me as you give me the gift of your confidence and friendship. You are an overcomer!
• chiefndisaster~ girl you make me laugh! I so appreciate what you have added to my life. You take me as I am, understand that I suck at phone calls yet you don't let me hide when I feel like crap, you even put up with the wacked hero. Thanks for the joy you bring to my life!! I so needed someone like you in my real life.
• pam~ You inspire me with your heart for ministry, your perserverance through personal challenges, attacks and frustrations is inspiring. I admire your heart to see lives touched and changed by the ministry God has placed on your heart. You are a warrior and I'm honored to know you.