it's all fun and games

sunday's sermon

sunday chris and i were able to sit in the service, what a treat! the youth pastor spoke and at the end of his message he played this video. it's 7 mins, so grab a cup of coffee....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGMG_PVaJoI

it brought me to tears. not because as most video's are designed to trigger that emotional response which leaves you a temporary feeling of extreme emotion, but doesn't change you one iota. the words in this video have stayed with me all week

i was brought to tears for several reasons.

1-it brought me back to a time of utter anguish and for 1 tiny second, i felt that prickle of pain stab through my heart sunday morning. i never want to go back there again.

2- with out going into deets. our church is taking a beating, it's rough. taking a stand is brutal

3-being in leadership is not for the weak. chris and i have taken a beating. we refuse to settle, we refuse to play church. our standards are high.

4-i let my passion for children's ministry slip. i have taken on an attitude of "no one else cares, why should i?" it happened bec i kept my eyes on what was happening around me.

5- do i REALLY want to be broken to a place of utter anguish again? do i want to take the pain? do i want my life to breath children's ministry once again? i realise that if the enemy can get to me and knock me down, he will get to chris.

6- i do want to be happy, i do want to please people, i want others to like me...and by choosing to care about how others feel about me i am automatically stepping away from the call god has given us. i can not serve man and god. it won't work.

7-it's time for me to step back up to the plate. passion for god, for chris, my family, my church. 1 comments

Posted by mel at 8:16 AM

our week away...sorta...

my parents delighted us with the amazing gift of 1 week nate sitting for chris and i to take off and get away. we did, sorta. we left mon-wed bec we had to teach the kiddo's at church wed night, then we left thurs p.m-sat morning. the first 2 days we went to hopewell rocks. we explored albert mines, check out the above pic

then we snooped in the woods and we found this cozy cottage. we untied the ribbon that held the door shut to find

a clean, furnished and well kept cottage. i am guessing a hunting log. note the fem touches that fill the cabin, even the table is set! there is no power or running water but adorable!

tues we spent the day hiking through hopewell rocks, then drove to fundy and spent some time exploring the place. we also discovered am amazing mom/pop restaurant that had the best food evah!

more water and rocks

hopewell fun

thurs morning we all went to the park to find those ducks and feed them

nate found them and chased them

and more chasing

walking with nana and poppa

ohhh more ducks to chase

thurs afternoon (after spotting a frenchies and spending some time there) we headed off to our next destination where we stayed at a b&b on the water

we discovered this amazing plantation, that housed over 5000 different trees. it was HUGE, every tree was labeled, there was also am amazing garden and hiking trails. we enjoyed it immensely! (jeff, you would have wet your pants :) ha

we walked along the beach, on the trail so my shoes would not get dirty

it was over 4 km's walk. it took us an hour. if i was alone, it would have done it in less than 30 mins

more beauty

beach

more beach

chris and i had a great time but to be honest. splitting the trip up was super sucky. out of the 5 days we were given nate free, 2 of them were spent doing something and enjoying our selves. next time, we are not splitting it up and we are going away farther!

nate did well. he didn't miss me much, which makes me happy. i know i can leave him again for a longer time (good for me!) and it makes me feel good that he is fine spending time with his grandparents.

so my next question is.....when can we do it again!?!

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Posted by mel at 1:21 PM

guess who's sooky free?

the whole sook thing was such an issue with me.

before nate was born it was the question: do i want to use it? i had heard much negative jazz about it. at 10 days, old while trying to eat out in a restaurant, i chose to use it. ha.

then it was: how often? when is to much? public? crib? car? age??? as nate grew i weaned him more and more. then at 1 yr, he only got it in the crib for naps and bed

then it was: how in god's wonderful, glorious, green, grass world will i take it away? i needed a game plan. i researched, bugged other mom's for wisdom and made a plan...some day ( i could not actually commit to the date) i would snip the tip of the sook off, after i clearly explained to nate that he is a big boy and big boy's don't need sooks. wonderful good. game plan, all set, all comfy and ready to one day take the sook away

then we went to jon and jess's and the dang sook got lost! so i made the decision right then and there, monday afternoon. nate was done with the sook. i put him down for his nap and due to his exhaustion he crashed after 15 mins...

then we went home. monday night. night 1 with no sook. he cried for about 20 mins. it took over an hour for him to fall asleep but he did well...after crying "oh no" and pointing to his mouth...and asking for countless glasses of juice....

tues nap time. it took an hour to fall asleep and countless trips to his room. then he crashed for an hour...with all the constructions, paving and landscaping it is really loud and it's hard for him to sleep.

tues night. 15 mins of crying, 3 trips to his room (ok, i admit, i enjoy the cuddles) 1 glass of milk. 45 mins to fall asleep.

wed nap. 45 mins to fall asleep, 2 trips to his room and no milk.

wed night. 45 mins to get to sleep, no crying, a lot of talking and roaring, 1 glass of milk.

we are sook free. i can say it because i am his mother and i made the choice. i hope and pray he naps well this afternoon and night. all this sleeplessness has created 1 cranky monster boy!

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Posted by mel at 11:40 AM

labour day at jon&jess's

what's a trip to uncle fun and aunty gus with out a stop at the train and sand box? nate played, chris and i indulged on coffee

we decided to explore a trail by jon's house. we found an awesome rock pile on the river. many rocks were tossed into the water

then we found sticks and carried them around

nate was helping the big boys cut down trees; over all acting manly

nate did the grunt work

i flew a kite

then we made a fire, to burn off some wood. nate was having a chat with jon

chris and jess thought it would be brilliant to add a "couple" feet of extra string to the kite. which worked well, until it got stuck in a tree

nate and i cuddled by the roaring fire with milk and apples

chris and nate rolled around in the grass

much fun was had

then it was time to go

nate found his toes to be extremely fascinating and spent quite a bit of time inspecting them

we had a great visit. there is something to be said about simplicity. we spent our time outside in the quiet country setting, nothing but the sound of the wind through the trees. fall is in the air and it truly is the most wonderful time of year

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Posted by mel at 10:58 AM

fall!

nate and i went on a hike this morning while daddy and our neighbour helped blow insulation in the house. on our hike we saw the first change-of-color leaf!

then tree!

nate loved being in the woods! we had a great time. nate found countless rocks, sticks and insisted on carrying them around. and of course we stopped to throw rocks in the water. that is a must on any outing! ha

have a great long weekend everyone!

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Posted by mel at 3:23 PM

we have sidewalks!

first they dug up our nice grass

then they dumped loads of gravel, smoothed and packed it down

and voila. a new side walk!

the whole process started last wed and they finished 2 houses down yesterday. they are now working on the rest of the street. it was one busy, LOUD week.

on top of the sidewalk making. 10 houses on our street had their driveways paved and landscaping done. our street is jammed packed with trucks of every shape, color and size. it has been so incredibly loud...preventing me from taking that desired p.m nap...

the sleep issue. i have a great night (6 or so hrs) then nadda the next few nights. i just want to sleep!

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Posted by mel at 12:32 PM

park day

nate and i had a delightful day at the park. i let him go free in the woods and discovered that he loves running, climbing and discovering the wooded areas. when he would tire, i put him in the stroller, push for a bit then stop at a new place and let him run free. we had such a great morning!

one can not go to a park with out feeding the ducks, or chasing them

i tore the bread into pieces and put them in a pile so nate to feed the ducks himself. he would grab a piece of bread, run to the ducks, stop and use every bit of strength in his wee body to throw it. so. cute.

then he got tired of feeding the ducks

and fed himself instead. we spend over 2 hours at this park. some of the trees are changing colors. so wonderful, fall is the most wonderful time of the year...