My nephew, Isaac, and my niece, Egan. Are they not the cutest kids!

I have accepted Crystal's challenge to put on a picture of where I blog.
Can you tell who's blog I am reading?

This is Buddy and his favourite toy (for the time being). We have 3 exact toys like this. He rips out the squeaker, then wants to play fetch with it for about 1 - 2 weeks. Then he demolishes it and eats it. I don't know why. He does it with every single toy he has. My dog is weird.

Whenever Buddy wants anything, he pretends that he is really tired. I think it is because when he was a puppy, I would pick him up and cuddle him whenever get got sleepy. He wanted his toy, so he makes his eyes look tired.

This is Buddy playing dead. It is one of his favourite tricks to do.

I've been tagged

Crystal has tagged me.

Here is my list of ten simple things that make me smile and say "Life is good!"

1. Having my husband's sweet face as the first thing I see every morning and the last thing I see before I go to sleep.

2. Waking up well rested before my alarm goes off. Nothing feels better then that.

3. Hearing a song I love come on when I am in a restaurant or shopping somewhere.

4. When Gabe and I are in a frantic race to get out of the house and we stop and hug. All of my worries melt away in his embrace.

5. Cranking the tunes in my car and singing at the top of my lungs.

6. The way my dog greets me every morning, every time I come home, or anytime he hasn't seen me in the last five minutes. Whenever he is really happy, his whole body wags, not just his tail.

7. Putting on warm clothes out of the drier.

8. Spending time with my nephews and nieces. Overhearing them when I drop them off telling their parents, "Mom and Dad, you stopped being cool along time but Uncle Gabe and Aunty Sarah will be cool forever"

9. Getting to spend time with baby anything. Baby humans and animals. I love that.

10. Spending a whole day outside and never having to look at the clock.


This list was fun!!! Simple things are what make my world go round. I could have made a list of 100!

This is a scary picture of me. My sunglasses broke but I was still wearing them. My hair is also crazy. I never did anything to it today. These are the only two pictures on my camera.

Here is a picture of Gabe driving. I just got my camera, and I had to show his handsome face off.

The days gone by

Gabe and I just got home from the funeral. As far as funerals go, it was really nice. It is so wonderful to be a part of Gabe's family. It seems that after the death of his grandmother, and now after the death of his grandfather, that I have grown closer to his family in leaps in bounds. We had such an awesome time with Gabe's family.

In other news, I got a digital camera!!!! Woo-hoo! I will post my two pictures that I have taken. I just got it a few hours ago.

Also, Gabe needs glasses. We finally got him into the eye doctor, and $700 later, he has new glasses. We will have them in the middle of June.

Grandpa Alex

I haven't posted in a while. I do have a reason, though.

Yesterday afternoon, Gabe and I were called to come home to see his grandpa. We were told he wasn't doing well, and his vital signs were low. Gabe and I arrived in Saskatoon around 8:00 pm, and went to the hospital immediately. When we arrived, we were told that he was already not responding, but he was very aware of who was there and that we should go in and talk to him.

Gabe went and sat beside him, and his grandpa's eyes lit up as soon as he saw him. It was really sweet. Gabe grew up in the same yard as his grandparents, and he is the firstborn, so he has a very special relationship with his grandparents.

As soon as I saw his grandpa, I started to cry and cry. It was very difficult for me. I have never seen a person dieing. Everyone I have ever known that has died have all died suddenly with no warning. I had to leave the room. Gabe's dad came out and gave me a big hug, and stayed with me while I cried what I needed to cry.

We found out while we were there that on top of the medical issues that Grandpa already has (in 2001, he was hit by a car while crossing the street) that he also has cancer of the pancreas and leukemia. While this has been causing him pain for quite a while, he was not in pain for the last two days. What a blessing to have him in no pain and on no medication, so he was completely aware of everyone who was around him.

He was very cold and we knew that the end was near. He received a blood transfusion, that had some positive results. His color came back and his body warmed up. He fell into a peaceful sleep with his family around him.

We stayed with him for a while as he slept. He had one arm under his head, as if he was posing. It was really cute.

Gabe and I left him, snoring peacefully, as 11:30. We decided to head out to Gabe's mom and dad's place, to catch a bit of sleep and to head back into see him early the nest morning.

When we arrived home at midnight, we received the call that his grandpa had breathed his last breath, and passed away peacefully in his sleep. We had a good cry, but we know the he is finally in heaven with his wife, who left us last July.

We are both so thankful and honored that we got to be with him for the last few hours of his life. That is something I will remember and cherish for the rest of my life.

Gabe and I are back home right now, because his boss cannot find any replacement for him. He will be done night shift on Monday morning, and the funeral is on Monday. We are going to try and see if he can get his last night off, so that we can head down there Sunday morning.

I feel totally emotionally drained. I don't know why God created me the way he did, and why he made me to feel things so deeply. Out of all of the people in the room, I was crying the hardest. I need to be thankful that God has allowed me to be able to express my emotions so freely, while some people believe that emotion is not to be shown publicly.

I ask all of you that read this to pray for Gabe and I, and also for Gabe's family. Thank you.

I love long weekends!

I had my niece and nephew come stay with me this weekend. They spent Friday, Saturday, and Sunday with them. We had a lot of fun, even though the weather was horrible. It was cold and rainy.
On Saturday night, Pat and Jana went into the hospital. They were sent home, it was false labor. I am kind of happy for them. It was their anniversary on Sunday, and it is nice to have their anniversary be a special day for them.
Finally on Sunday, the weather picked up. We headed out to the lake. K.C. (my nephew) and I did some serious tubing.
Today it was very hot out. We spent another day at the lake and we got to spend lots of time with two of my brothers. I am now seriously sunburnt.
I can't wait to get a digital camera. I should be getting one this week if I can find one for a good deal.

Friends and Dogs

You know, it is so nice to have good people who you can vent too. I have been struggling with some things in my life, and it is so awesome to have these wonderful people who I can share all of these things with.

At the request of Crystal, I am going to share a story about Buddy, my wonderfully unique dog. Every morning when I leave the house, I put him in his kennel. As the time for me to leave approaches, Buddy hides somewhere in the house. Ordinarily, when you are anywhere in the house and you call him, he comes running as fast as he can (Outside, now that's a different story). Anyway, he usually hides under the blankets on our bed or in the closet. When I call him, he lays very still and will not move. He knows that as soon as I find him, he is going in the kennel. Some mornings he is so good at hiding, that it will take me 10 minutes to find him. I have never met a dog like him before. I always say when Buddy is around, it is impossible to be bored.

Hot Summer Rain

It was raining this morning and it was so hot at the same time. It made all of the flowers and trees in bloom smell so wonderful.

Our neighbor is a really sweet 92 year old woman. Anyway, to thank G for mowing her lawn whenever he mows ours, she baked us some cinnamon buns. I make good cinnamon buns, but hers make me drool, they are so good. She thought they might be gross because she is old and forgets things, but they are awesome.

There is some stuff going on at work right now, that I don't feel comfortable about blogging about (just in case the wrong person stumbles across here) but I do request that you will pray for me and for the things that are happening at work right now. (this isn't like me losing my job, or anything directed at me, but it is garbage that is happening)

These cinnamon buns are so good. I wanted to try to lose a little weight this summer, and it's not going to happen with these buns around.

Music, Yard Work, and Mosquitos.

Joshua Radin's music is moving me deeply. I am a big fan of music from Jack Johnson, Keane, Badly Drawn Boy, Pete Yorn, Elliot Smith, Iron & Wine, Damien Rice. etc. and I guess I would group Joshua Radin in this same genre, but he is amazing. I cannot stop listening to his music. I am drawn to it over and over again. I am begging G to let us take a summer vacation to some location where he is playing. If you haven't heard him yet, I advise you do. Except I guess you are hearing him now. I have his song, "Closer" playing right now on my blog. Silly me. Haha.

G and I did a bunch of yard work last night. We were up pretty late doing it. It was so hot here yesterday! We went over to mom and dad's place and borrowed their little truck. Then we went over to my brothers house and borrowed his hedge clippers and his grass seeder. Our garden is so huge! We are turning about 3/4 of it to grass. I had the garden planted last year, and it was so much work, and we hardly ate any of the vegetables. I want a small patch for peas, carrots, and lettuce. That's it. I would rather have the space for patio furniture and a fire pit. G and I would like to eat outside everyday.

The mosquito's are insane here! B, Buddy, and I all got bit a lot last night.

Tonight it our bible study, and I am feeling much better then I was at our bible study last week.

My Weekend.

Sorry I haven't posted all weekend. It was a crazy weekend. On Friday night when I got home from work, I got busy with getting everything ready for our church picnic. I

I was up early on Saturday, and mom and I headed off to Lloyd to go to a bunch of garage sales. We hit 2 and we had her SUV completely filled. We found some amazing deals on lot's of stuff (and a lot of it was still brand new.)

I had to cater that day, so at 3, I was off to that. It was a wedding. The lady I cater for forgot how many people she asked to be there. It was a supper of 130, and we had six people there catering! Normally we would have about 3.

They had no bar and no dance, so the whole wedding was over at 10. We were out of there by 9, and mom and I went out to where Gabe works, so I could see him and bring him some food. We never got home until 11:30. I

I was up at 7:00 on Sunday, and was baking and getting all the details for the church picnic figured out.

The church picnic when pretty well. It is hard to keep all the kids happy, when you are doing activities for ages 4-13. Some think the games are too babyish, some think it is to hard. Oh well. If few had fun, that is all that matters.

Next thing I am planning, PAINTBALL. That will be fun!

We got home from the church around 4:00. Gabe mowed our lawn and I dug in the garden for an hour, and then we headed out to our friends house for supper.

All in all, it was a busy weekend, but it was fun.

Joshua Radin

Okay, I have just discovered my new favorite musician. His name is Joshua Radin. This is his song "Closer" playing in the background. You may have heard the song on Scrubs.

He has a voice of honey and I want to melt when I hear him sing and play.

If you want to hear a few more of his songs, check out his myspace here.
I highly recommend it.

He is awesome.

Happy Mother's Day.

Since Mother's Day is almost here, I thought I would make a list of why I love my mom.

I love my mom because:
1. She is unbelievably generous
2. She has the kindest soul I have ever known
3. She is always there for me
4. She will talk for hours with me...about nothing
5. She always see the positive in everything and everyone
6. The simplest things bring her the most pleasure
7. She is honest and fair
8. She raised 6 of us kids- not an easy feat
9. She took care of all of our needs
10. Whether they be physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually
11. She loves Jesus so much
12. It shows in her actions and words
13. I love her how naive she is.
14. The way she dances while she is cooking supper
15. How easy it is to sneak up on her and scare her
16. The way she never catches on to jokes
17. The way she taught me to fight my own battles
18. The way she has been such a loving wife to dad, always
19. How much she loves my dog, and how much he loves her. His ears perk up and he jumps all around whenever we say the word, "Grandma"
20. How funny she is when you try to talks to her when she falls asleep on the couch
21. Her playfulness
22. Her inner child.
23. She is an awesome cook!
24. How is fridge and freezer are always overflowing with food
25. How she buys little things that remind her of people
26. Her completely selfless character
27. She is an awesome gardener!
28. The way she acts likes she received the most priceless gem in the world whenever she receives a gift.
29. The way she reaches out and helps everyone she can.
30. Everything about her.

I just want to share a story about a Mother's Day when I was about 7 or 8. I wanted to bake my mom a cake. I made the whole cake completely by itself. Then I made icing, and I made a lot of different colors of icing. I iced the cake so there was green grass, a blue sky, a sun, a big tree, a swing in the tree with my mom pushing me on it, and a bird flying through the sky. I remember it taking me so long to do and I was so proud of how nice it turned out. As I was walking down the stairs to take the cake to my mom, I tripped and fell. The cake flew out of my hands and dropped on the carpet, icing side down. I started to cry and cry, because when I picked it up it was just a smear of colors. There was no picture left. My mom walked over and instead of pointing out that I dropped the cake, she told me, "That is the most beautiful cake I have ever seen. Look at how you swirled those colors. You are such a talented artist and I am so happy you made my cake look just like this. I wouldn't want it any other way." My mom made me feel so good. I still remember that. To this day, I will often ask her. "Hey mom, remember when I dropped that cake that I worked on so hard for you?" And she will always answer, "Oh yes. The one with the beautiful swirls of colors." Thank God for moms!

Happy Mother's Day.

A Day Off Work

I never went to work today. I couldn't get out of bed and I felt sick. I slept until 11:00. I was awake from 11:00-1:00 and then I feel back asleep until 4:00. For the first time in a long time, I finally feel as if I have gotten enough sleep.

I am feeling super lonely (as I always do when G works nights.)

I burnt my thumb pretty badly today. I am making clue notes for a treasure hunt for our church picnic. I found a cool font that looks like the writing on treasure hunts. I made up little poems for each clue and typed them out. Now I am burning the edges with a lighter. Hence, the burn on my thumb. I am not even finished them, but I am dreading going out to do the last 3 notes.

After I finish burning the edges, I am wiping a wet teabag over the notes, to make it look like old paper. I am also crinkling them up. I did a test one yesterday, to make sure the writing would smear when I rubbed it with the teabag. They look pretty cool.

For those of you who are interested, the prize at the end of the treasure hunt is....Candy. What else?

We are also going to have a big water balloon fight. I have already filled 120 balloons and I have another 120 to fill. I like that better then the burning.

Have a great day!

100 Things About Me

I got this idea from Crystal's blog. So here goes.

1. I work at a school
2. I sometimes feel too young and at times feel too old.
3. I married a man that only existed in my dreams
4. When I met him, I thought he was faking who he was
5. He wasn’t. He truly is the kindest person I have ever met.
6. I need people who are kind.
7. I love to cook.
8. My favorite thing to make and eat is appetizers.
9. I would like to learn to speak French.
10. I want to travel the world
11. If I could go anywhere, I would go to Italy to see the Sistine Chapel.
12. On my way home, I would stop in Alabama, to meet my friend Crystal.
13. I am obsessed with music.
14. I was born singing
15. There rarely is a time when I am not singing
16. I play the piano and the guitar
17. I am able to figure out how to play other instruments quite easily.
17. I love to snowboard.
18. I love to wakeboard.
19. I never get to do either sport as much as I would like too.
20. I would love to continue to dye my hair all kinds of crazy colors.
21. But I am scared that I would be seen as unprofessional at school
22. I watch when my neighbor plants her flowerbed, and then I do mine.
23. Same as in the fall, when she takes hers out, I take out mine.
24. I have my nose pierced.
25. I have had my bellybutton pierced.
26. I have had my tongue pierced.
27. I took them out as a birthday gift for my mom.
28. I have had multiple piercings in my ears
29. I had to take them out because my hair kept winding around them
30. I have a tattoo on my back.
31. I would like another one.
32. I have a phobia of needles
33. Giving gifts gives me the most pleasure.
34. I love going to concerts
35. I have trouble sleeping when G works nights
36. I am terrified of bears
37. I am not really sure why.
38. I am not assertive enough
39. I have always had trouble telling people, “no.”
40. I would like to have 6 children
41. G thinks I am crazy.
42. He only wants 2.
43. I have always dreamed about being a stay at home mom.
44. I have broke my nose 6 times
45. It is still fairly straight, surprisingly
46. I had a hutterite leave the colony for me and asked me to marry him
47. When I was 14.
48. I was not even remotely interested.
49. I have been skinny dipping.
50. It really is exhilarating.
51. I was once in a horrible care accident, where I believe I died or came very close to death.
52. I think an angel had it’s arms wrapped around me.
53. I never felt more at peace.
54. My in-laws are French.
55. I love goofing off with G.
56. We play numerous pranks on each other, daily.
57. I question God daily
58. I would love to do a job where I work with animals
59. But I would hate to be a vet
60. I can’t stand the sight of blood.
61. I have 4 brothers and 1 sister
62. I have 2 real sister in-laws, 3 almost sister in-laws, and 4 brother in-laws.
63. I love the Beatles.
64. I sing karaoke, online
65. I was President at my college.
66. My father was an alcoholic. ( I guess you are always technically an alcoholic)
67. He quit drinking when I was 2
68. I have no memory of that.
69. I hate seafood.
70. I love almost every kind of fresh fruit.
71. Peas and carrots from the garden are my favourite.
72. As well as fresh rasberries from my garden.
73. I wish I still had many of the friendships that I did as a teenager.
74. I made fun of computer geeks in junior high
75. I am now a computer geek.
76. I can’t wait to be a mom
77. I don’t eat seafood
78. I don’t understand people who don’t like watermelon
79. I find it difficult to eat out because I used to waitress. (All of you who waitresses will know what I am talking about)
80. I don’t mean anything gross about that.
81. I cater on the side
82. I love it (most of the time)
83. I have never had to work at doing well in school
84. I am a perfectionist
85. except for when it comes to being organized
86. I have blue eyes
87. Both my mom and dad have brown eyes.
88. I love American and Canadian Idol.
89. I was a judge at a Canadian Idol competition held at our school
90. My heart breaks for many of the kids I work with
91. My mom and my dad are a huge inspiration to me
92. I would like to be pregnant by my 3rd anniversary. August 16, 2006.
93. When I get tired, I go deathly pale
94. People think that I am ill or that I am going to faint
95. My whole family gets like that
96. I am saying this because I am tired
97. I never knew I had a Canadian accent until recently.
98. I was in the musical ‘Grease’ in high school
99. I played Sandy
100. I am done this list. Woo-hoo!

Untitled.

Today I feel much better then yesterday. I have no headache and I am not nauseated at all. I just feel really tired. That's okay though. I would rather be tired then have a head ache and feel like I want to puke!

I just ate some really delicious grapes. I could have eaten the whole bag. I love when fruit is that good. Sometimes you buy fruit and it is just okay, but I love when you get some really awesome fruit. I think I am sounding a bit geeky. (I was going to say fruity, but that would be totally lame)

I have to get planning picnic games for our church picnic. I am hoping to not have to get too much organized because I have to cater on Saturday.

I just got this e-mailed to me, so I thought I would pass it on.

Thought for the Day:

If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it.

If He had a wallet, your photo would be in it.

He sends you flowers every spring.

He sends you a sunrise every morning.

Face it, friend - He is crazy about you!

Not the best of days

Today I am feeling pretty out of it. I have had a horrible headache all day! Nothing will make it okay. I also feel nauseated when I do any sudden moves. Sounds fun, huh?

I am just watching American Idol right now. It's just not the same without Paris. I absolutely loved her. Now I am hoping Chris will win all the way. I love both songs he sang tonight.

I am going to keep this short, just because I feel so gross. Thanks for listening.

My weekend

I spent a all of Saturday with my nieces and nephews. It was a lot of fun. I loaded them up on sugar (like I always do). Hey, it's my job to spoil them. Everytime I come to visit, I bring them candy. Don't get me wrong, I don't give them so much they get belly aches and go completely buck-nutty.

I got a pretty bad sunburn on my arms, my face, and my legs. Ouch. I am still hurting today. I get sunburns pretty much every summer day I go outside, so I am pretty used to them. Oh! The joys of having fair skin.

Saturday I spent with my brother and his wife. His wife, Jana, is about to have their baby pretty quick. I am pretty excited.

Our church is having a church picnic next weekend, that I am organizing. We are have burgers and hotdogs, lots of salads and desserts, and then there will be games, prizes, a treasure hunt, a big bon fire, and a water fight. I am hoping the weather will be beautiful, because if it isn't, we lose a lot of the activities we have planned. I guess we could play the games inside.

I also get back into the catering swing this week. I will be catering on Saturday, and this somewhat marks the beginning of the summer. I cater all summer. I love it, but I am not looking forward to it this Saturday, because I was hoping to get a bunch of picnic stuff figured out. Oh well. You need money to live.

I have to run to school. It is time for that Monday morning staff meeting. Yeaaaahhhh. *note the sarcasm*.

Private Ryan Carter

These are pictures of Private Ryan Carter. Ryan is like a brother to me. He pretty much grew up at my house and is my younger brother's best friend. Right now he is "peace making" in Iraq. All other countries have left the area that they are in, so it is just Canada. Everyday I watch the news and I pray to God that he will be okay. We have heard of many Canadians that have died, but Ryan is still okay. He just e-mailed me these pictures this morning.

The part that really bothers me is his eyes. They have changed so much. Eyes that were once full of laughter and mischievousness are no more. His eyes have seen things that no man should have to see. I can't believe the sorrow that I see in his eyes.

I guess we also need to thank God for people like Ryan. I begged him not to go. If everyone was like me, we would have no one to go and fight. Please keep Ryan in your prayers. We would all love to see Ryan come home safely.

King Kong.

Lat night I watched King Kong. G and I borrowed it from some of our friends. I haven't even decided if I like the movie. There was way too many things in it that freaked me out (i.e. the natives, the dinosaurs, the bugs, all the bones). The love that exists between Ann and King Kong is heart wrenching. I bawled my eyes out.
I am a pet lover. They just kept focusing on his eyes, and you could see the deep love he held for her in those eyes. I just wished there was somewhere they could have gone away and be happy together. I cried for about 10 minutes after the movie. Okay, so maybe I have been a bit moody for the last couple of days. I don't know. The movie is just so sad.

Have you seen it? And if so, what did you think?

No electricity!

Well, I am feeling better today. Work today was very slow and boring. I work up in the morning to find out we had no electricity. I was in a panic, when I discovered that we still had hot water (thank goodness for our gas water heater!) I showered and went off to work.
Our superintendent informed us that if we had no power by 9:30, we were to send all the students home. That is exactly what happened. We had a bit of craziness, trying to find kids rides, etc.
We had no electricity until 12:00, so for that entire time at work, we just stumbled around in the darkness.
Afterwards, when the power came on, I did bulletin boards for the afternoon. I prefer when the kids are at school. The day flies by much faster!
Besides that, not much else exciting happened.
That's all for now.

My mood

It's raining outside and I feel tired and sad. Do you remember the song, "Rainy Days and Mondays" by the Carpenters? That is my song for today. It is a rainy day and a Monday. Maybe that is why I feel so down?

Talkin' to myself and feelin' old
Sometimes I'd like to quit
Nothing ever seems to fit
Hangin' around
Nothing to do but frown
Rainy Days and Mondays always get me down.

What I've got they used to call the blues
Nothin' is really wrong
Feelin' like I don't belong
Walkin' around
Some kind of lonely clown
Rainy Days and Mondays always get me down.