A weekend away.

As I mentioned earlier, I went to Calgary this past weekend with my fantastic friend Devon. I stayed with Deanne as she was having a going-away party and I just had to be there for it! Kristie showed up too:) :) so the three of us had some time to catch up and just be. Boy do I love those girls. Girlfriends are irreplaceable. Devon and I shopped till I almost dropped Friday evening:) Really, it was four hours of scouring the mall and I could barely walk as we left... so I went to the doc today and apparently I may have caused some inflamation with all that walking. When you're pregnant your joints loosen and your hips actually move out about 1/2 inch - thus the reason for any akward, clumsy pregnant women you see tripping over themselves for no "apparent" reason. Anyway, she advised I avoid anything which escalates the pain and take extra good care, as the next 10 weeks are the most critical - more so than the last 8-10. So no more lengthy shopping trips or walks up and down the road to the river for awhile. Anyway, here's a pic of myself and two of the fabulous girls I grew up with:) Deanne is in the middle, she is going to Guatemala for 5 weeks to learn spanish for her job; Kristie is on the left and she just left to travel Croatia/Ireland for 3 weeks. I on the other hand, travelled 3 hours back to Invermere to see my husband and daughter and wouldn't trade it for Guatemala, Croatia or Ireland - unless of course, they were there:)

A weekend away!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can you believe it?! I almost can't. I haven't spent a night away from Atalie yet. Kevin and I have probably had a night or two apart (although I can't remember when) but generally we do everything and go everywhere together. Is that normal? Maybe it seems wierd. I guess we've just always been friends and always enjoyed doing the same things together. Of course having similar schedules works well... and when you have limited funds you tend to plan any "away" time as good times together. Plus you can't really go far when you have a little one. But not tomorow:) Devon and I are going to Calgary together for the weekend! My longtime buddy Deanne is having a little going away party, as she'll be leaving for Guatemala next week, and she invited me to come (to the party that is:)). My automatic response was, "shoot. too bad i can't go." And then that thought was interupted with, "wait - why not?". We're not building a house yet, I haven't delivered a baby yet (and have 4 months to go) and when that all happens I simply won't have time to go anywhere alone for, well, likely quite awhile. I had a good laugh at myself after Devon and I had planned out our weekend a little. We decided to try to get to Calgary before rush hour, which leaves us an hour or two to scour the mall before Deanne gets home from work. The thought of this was so exciting I could barely stand it. A mall??? A real mall?? Who'da thunk that small town life could affect a person so much:) So although I don't really have much $$ to spend, I'll enjoy the hunt of at least one good bargain. Yea! Aaaand, my other longtime buddy Kristie is also going to be there, who I haven't seen since July 2005 (shocking I know!). It's all too exciting for words!

Buuuuuu

Atalie loves birds ("buuuuuuu") so I took her down to the lake this morning to see the huge flock of ducks that were huddled along the shore... of course they dispersed somewhat once they heard us (Atalie) coming ;)

Little lasagna hands allllll over!

Here we have our little "meat and potatos" girl, chowing down on lasagna. She was determined to smear it in her hair and everywhere else she could possibly reach... she must cleverly know that means it's time for a bath... which she looooves! Little stinker. In other Atalie news, a person would think we let her watch MTV (music television) all day or something. She's got more moves than Madonna. She does this adorable little shoulder shrug - one at a time - perfectly in time with the music (well, that lasts about 5-10 seconds at a time)! I'm stunned. Any of you who know us know that neither Kev or I dance... not well and not seriously anyway:) Attie doesn't even have to have music playing, as long as you clap your hands a little she'll start to jive around. Totally priceless!!

In reference to "Blessings" Post

Hmm... perhaps I should have called that post "Blessings and curses". I've had numerous comments (not all were on my blog) and conversations about this, following my entry on the topic. I've truly enjoyed discussing this and hearing similar/different viewpoints, but have been getting the idea that perhaps I wasn't sending quite the message that I was going for. I'll try to sum it up again, hopefully much simpler this time. I think that we must be careful what we say, as the devil takes full advantage of our words and can use them against us; I think that a simple sentence can bring upon curses in peoples lives when said either as fact or fiction. The point is, he's out to destroy and the fact that we most often to not see the spiritual realm is something I think he takes advantage of. For example, if I were to have said to Kevin this morning, "Bye love, have a good day... make sure you have your cell phone incase your truck breaks down!" what am I setting him up for? I'm not only verbally letting the devil hear my doubts to take advantage of (which he WILL do - either by putting further doubt in my mind the rest of the day; or by placing doubt in Kevin's mind; or by letting a dear run infront of him while he's reaching down for his coffee cup; or perhaps he'll get creative and mess around with the engine so that it breaks down), but I'm also doubting God's ability to keep that vehicle running. So I'm suggesting that instead of saying the above, I should say something like, "... make sure you take your cell phone, drive safe and pray that the truck keeps running for a long time yet!" This way we are telling the devil that he has no hand in our circumstances by taking an active step of faith, rather than saying the first thing that comes to our heads and then silently hoping God will come through. We are also practicing discipline in our language, which re-trains our minds to think in a pattern of faith and hope, instead of doubt, fear and worry. Also, I still haven't been able to find that verse. I heard a friend quote it the other day so I'll have to tag him down and get it from him. I believe it's in Proverbs but perhaps I'm missing it b/c I read a different translation. Hm. I'll get it yet!

The waiting game...

Well chapter one is over. I got a call from the bank today, saying that our mortgage application was declined. Very disapointing, I will admit:( Especially when you've got all the plans in the works - quotes, blueprints, interior ideas... but we're not giving up just yet. We have a friend in Kelowna who is a mortgage broker and I remember him telling us that banks are pretty stiff when it comes to getting a mortgage; and having worked in a bank (the same one that just turned us down infact) I know that they exist to help you help themselves - their key priority is to protect themselves in any case, with lots of rules and tight stipulations. Now don't get me wrong:) I have no hard feelings against banks, just frusterations wtih their policies & procedures. So on that note we're starting from scratch with finances, and we'll have to start from scratch with the lot offer as well... which will be a nice break actually, as the realtor was constantly breathing down my neck about the finances. So I'm off to call a mortgage broker, in hopes they'll be a little more flexible. So please continue to pray with us as we figure this out. Thanks all!!!