Theology Books, Hobbies, Chalkboards, LCD Screens, Star Wars, Corn Fever, Age and New Beginnings

Well I have succeeded again at avoiding my blog for endless amounts of days. But to be fair I always do come back. This post will be a mish mash of info and updates and due to this i am going to adopt Sheena's way of doing a nice jot list of it all...

-So we never ended up moving to Vancouver. Many of you may already know this. To me and Jeremiah this is a rather anti-climatic event, bittersweet if you will. House searching in VAN took its toll on us and we thank our good friends for all the support during the multiple trips down broadway in search of the perfect suite. Due to tuition costs and living costs and being unsure of it all, we decided in the end VAN was not for us, not for now. One problem with this decision was that we fully had intended to move and as such, had trucked Jeremiah's theology library across the rockies to the west coast. Not staying resulted in us trucking those books across the border, washington and oregon, which was quite a feat which the Saturn did not prefer. Anways it is with sadness we will not get to experience VAN and all the good people we love there, however it is with hope that we re-evaluate things and stay in Okotoks for awhile.




-Since we didn't have the excitement of moving to a new place, we figured we owed it to ourselves to have something new and exciting for our "new" old place in Okotoks. This resulted in a flat screen T.V. and mac mini. There is just something about commercial goods that sometimes seem to mend a troubled heart. So now Jeremiah and I enjoy both being able to be on the computer at the same time with no squabbles, as well as watching movies on a decent size screen....bye bye macbook for media entertainment purposes. Another addition to our house was a chalkboard which we made together. I have always thought chalkboards ruled and I am excited to now have one!!!! It has already been very useful as you can see in the photo, as we were able to publicly document the recent Star Wars marathon we had, including movies ratings and favorite characters...so definitely very useful :)





-Recently I have been realizing that I don't have a lot of prominent hobbies. I definitely have things I enjoy, but nothing that really seems to be my thing...This was made more evident to me yesterday as Jeremiah was busy with school (he is taking an online course) and I was just lulling about the house, with what seemed like absolutely no idea what to busy myself with. Jeremiah says to me, "why don't you just find something that interests you and do it". Hmmmm good idea, but what do I like to do. That is the question. Feeling a bit bad that I don't seem to have any current hobbies, I up and took a jewelry making class, which resulted in 5 semi-nice pairs of expensive earrings, but also a new skill I guess which was fun.


The Five First Pairs



-Has anyone else realized that sometimes eating just corn and corn type products for a meal is the perfect thing? We like to call it CORN FEVER and definitely recommend it.



-Age of Empires. Heard of it? Well I have, mainly because I know that it is the game that can keep my husband from snuggling me at late hours once in awhile. However this game took on a new meaning last night, as I gave in...and I played it with him. Now this is hard to admit, and though I know I will likely not development a type of addiction to the game I can now see a glimpse of admiration for the game. Cons of playing: Very sore neck, I was terrible and I actually had a full out dream that I was battling all night leading to unrestful sleep. Pros of playing: I can now be included in Jeremiah's love for age. Kind of nice I think.


Ok, that is enough randomness for now. But for those of you that are still faithful to blogging, I am still here and please drop in from time to time.

A Little Motivation from Jamie!

Jeremiah and I have an interesting cooking style. Though we both enjoy cooking fun/cultural/tasty meals, it doesn't seem to happen that often. I think the combination of being busy/lazy in regards to the time it takes to cook and the effort to keep a clean and organized kitchen is somewhat of a deterrence. Jeremiah recently discovered Jamie Oliver's new book Food Revolution, and now there is a new hope for an Overland kitchen revolution. Jamie teaches that you can actually eat nutritional, cheap meals that take little time to prepare. Wow. Sounds great. So we made tasty chilie con carne last night, and are going to try Jamie's spaghetti with simple tomato sauce (with way less salt than store bought sauces). One thing I am excited about is this revolution has motivated me to tackle my spice storage. I have always disliked how my spices are stored...if you need a teaspoon of oregano for example, you try to shove the teaspoon in the small spice shaker with so much force that eventually spices are are all over the counter. I have tried to think of a solution. My brother Josh, has his spices wonderfully arranged in ikea jars, which was my dream, but I was trying to think if there was a cheaper solution. Then I saw an add on kijiji for baby food. The lightbulb came on and I figured these jars would be perfect as a teaspoon fits in (because the baby eats out of a jar)! So I called up the ad people, and found myself meeting up with a random husband man in wal-mart to rid him of his baby food. A very random excursion. But I think it has worked out quite well! Hopefully we will continue to be motivated and mac'n cheese, Mcdonald's and chunky's will be the type of "cooking" that won't happen that often!

Anyone else hate snuggies?? Do you know what I mean, those totally lame awkward monk suits that claim they have the alternative to the already perfected blanket... well then you will like this one. Enjoy

Inspirational Girl

In reading some online news tonight I read about a young teen girl from Southern Alberta who just passed away from a rare aging disorder. Intrigued by the disorder (progeria) and her story I read a bit about her and have been blessed and inspired by a video made by this girl Ashley. Sometimes when life feels/is tough, it is amazing to see what others have been through and the positive outlook they have had on life and the role model they are to others. I hope you can feel blessed and encouraged by this young girl's life and this video.

Where To Go

As many of you are aware, Jeremiah is planning to do a graduate degree in the fall for biblical studies. This is very exciting, however the difficult thing for us right now is figuring out where to move to accomplish this. Just as we think we are narrowing it down, new reasons come up as why to reconsider the other options. Currently the options are Toronto, Vancouver & the newer option of Fergus. By June 1st we should have an answer. So stay tuned for the official posting of where we will go. In the meantime we welcome all prayers as we try to figure out where God is leading us to for our new adventures in life.

Does Spring Even Exist?

So I have been having a somewhat off day today and haven't really been able to pin point down the reasons as to why. However with a bit of thinking I believe a lot of how I feel is reflected directly by the weather we are having here in Calgary/Okotoks. Now my sister-in-law can attest to the fact that there was no snow anymore in our yard today and I was excited about this this morning. The problem is, that we will finally get rid of the snow, get excited about putting on our flip flops and the summer activities that can begin, only to find another massive dump of snow on its way in. It is very frustrating. Lets hope this doesn't last too long...however that is also what we said of the last downfall.

PIctures of The Blooming that was happening and the now back yard..... arg.

Done...!!

After 7 years of post-secondary school (CLBI 1 year, MRC Disability Studies 2 years & Nursing 4 years) I can now say that I have completed my student career. Nursing school has had its challenges, but I believe there has been a divine force at work that has kept me going. I am now done all my requirements to receive my Bachelor's Degree in Nursing which I will get at my graduation on June 5, 2009. I want to thank all of you that have supported me and prayed for me along this journey. I ask that you continue to pray for me as I prepare to write my RN exam and make the transition to being an autonomous nurse. I am very nervous about this and am hoping and praying that I will find my place in the big scary nursing world. Right now I have interest in public health, senior's health, mental health and palliative care and no interest in internal medicine, ER, ICU etc, so we'll see where I will end up. For the summer I will be working a casual position on a senior's rehabilitation unit in Calgary at the Rockyview and also in public health in Okotoks/Black Diamond.

My last couple months in nursing have been a good experience. I had a really great and supportive preceptor in public health in Okotoks/Black Diamond as well as a inspirational faculty mentor. It was a special way to end this program. On the final day of school we were presented with a rose and a certificate to commemorate finishing the final course requirement to graduate! When I got picked up by friend Mel and her sister I was surprised by a unexpected silly string attack, which I cleaned up due to my conscience and apparently my loyalty to Mount Royal College.

So I say farewell to being student nurse and say hello to hospital nurse and rural nurse as the titles of dearly loved Cherry Ames nursing novels would put it.

Funerals

Just last week, Jeremiah's grandfather passed away. A very last minute decision had me joining the family on a 17 hour trek in the Buick leSabre to Minnesota to be there for the funeral.

Though I find funerals very sad, I also seem to enjoy the bonding and fellowship that is created when family comes together. Though I barely knew many of these family members, I felt immediately a part of it all. I am glad I was able to go along, support my husband and in-laws during this time. Also funerals for me, bring me back to the fact that there is meaning to this life and hope for the world to come.

These are pictures that Josh, Jeremiah and I had fun taking near the church, as well as brothers laughing & the beautiful cemetery.

Big Love



I have recently been watching a show that airs on HBO called Big Love. It is on its third season, but I am just starting the 2nd. It is about a family who practices polygamy, but are separate from the compound which some of them were raised. A big part of me doesn't know why I feel compelled to watch it, as during some episodes I find myself so angry at their lifestyle choice, but then another part of me is intrigued and gets pulled into the drama (plus I love Ginnifer Goodwin). Polygamy is something that though looked down on highly in the US, it is still practiced in a number of countries around the world. Thinking of this makes me feel blessed that my husband can share his whole self with me, his one wife...

However if it weren't for sharing a husband, polygamy could have its benefits, for example I would probably be able to have a girl's night every night that Jeremiah is working (like tonight). Right now I would probably be watching a movie, eating popcorn and not writing this blog. Just a thought.

~Amy

Quarter Century

Yesterday marked a big milestone in my life. It was the day that I turned a 1/4 of a century old. Up until now, I haven't really thought much about my age when my birthday has come around. However, this year I couldn't help but reflect on the fact that I am closer to 30 than 19, and in fact I am on the road to true adulthood. I am encouraged by friends and family who have turned both 25 and made it past, and show true youthfulness. There is hope for me. I think I still feel young at heart, and I hope I will for years to come.

I had a lovely birthday surrounded by family and friends. My dear husband organized our friends to play curling, which was very fun and something different. I was reminded that I actually met Jeremiah for the first time at a curling rink during LCBI years. I was cut from the team, but got to go along to a curling meet as an alternate. I remember sitting by Jeremiah when his team wasn't playing, and I said "I like your shoes." Little did I know, those same shoes would find a home in OUR home in years to come.

Following curling, we had a lovely supper at my old place the "girl's house" provided by all my friends. The cake was made by brother-in-law Joshua and Melody. The cake followed the theme of "curling", however a main joke of the evening revolved around the likeness of the curling rock handle to a... :)

It is wonderful to have friends and families who care and want to celebrate me. Thanks to all the phone calls and facebook messages that made my birthday not only bearable but memorable.

Thanks!

P.S. I also won settlers which was a perfect ending to the day!

Hello All. Since being in Hawaii I have been using my family's Hawaii blog to make things easier. However I am missing my own blog and am feeling sorry for it and that I have neglected it. So here is a quick hello. I am doing well and Hawaii weather is amazing. Thanks to my lovely sister in law I was able to update the look of my blog, which I am happy with for now.

I hope all is well with the blogging world and that you are finding yourself enjoying the advent season, with Christmas very soon. I am off to lunch now for some mahi-mahi, a type of fish that is really quite delectable! Yum. Jeremiah is in the kitchen now serving it, I am sure, so I will give him a greeting as I go through the food line. He has a hard job and I am proud of him. Tomorrow, we have work off and get to sit in on a DTS class and see what the students are learning. This will be fun for us both.

Talk to you soon.

Hawaiian Update

For those of you that check out my blog, and haven't heard yet, I am now in Kona, Hawaii, about to volunteer as a Mission Builder at YWAM. I am here with Jeremiah, my mom and brother Jesse. We will be volunteering for 5 weeks and spending Christmas here with my Dad and sister Kara too. While here, I will be posting mostly on our Hawaii blog as it is hard to keep up with two. The link is on my page: Ywan Hawaiian Adventures. Please do check it out and post comments. We'd love to hear from you. There are pictures from our San Francisco layover and will soon be pictures from our first day here. It is warm and beautiful here. I will be working in the Go Centre, cleaning as well as doing food prep in the kitchen. Jeremiah will be in the kitchen, so I will spend a couple hours each day working with him!

If you want to make a comment on the YWAM blog and don't have a gmail account to loging just use the following:

user name: ywamhawaii
password: friendsandfamily

Cars Cars Cars

So today marks a day where we begin the relationship with yet another car. Jeremiah and I have been through our fair share of cars, with us usually ending up with bad luck somehow........

Car 1: Jeremiah had a sweet old oldsmobile at CLBI maybe a late 80's car. Unfortunately hit a deer. Tragic Death.

Car 2: We somehow took over Josh's old brown mazda 626 '88. We had it maybe a year or less, when I was cruising Macleod Trail and the strut fully punctured the tire and it wasn't able/ worth it to be fixed.

Car 3: We took over Jer's parents buick, which was a luxury mobile by our standards, maybe a 92', but alas an intense maybe 2000$ fix was necessary, so it was not worth the fix.

Car 4: For 200$ donation to the church (sellers request) we got the 1992 Nissan Sentra. It was a good little rusted car that required me to learn standard, a skill I am happy to now own. Though it made a good trek to Florida when Jeremiah and Josh went, in just over a year it needed a new clutch for over 1000$, and being the rust bucket it was becoming, it again was not worth the fix.....which led to car #5

Car 5: This was the first car we truly looked up ourselves and decided to buy. We thought it was an ok deal, $2500, for a cute little toyota tercel with low milage. Unfortunatly turns out it was all rusted out and the engine finally died in less than a year from when we bought it, when Jeremiah was cruising into Calgary one day. Another 2000$ fix, not quite worth it for this car.

Car 6: This is our most newest car to add to the bunch. It is a 99' Saturn. We bought it at a family member home auction. On the day of the auction it actually ended up being in the shop, which caused, we think, us to get it for a bit less than they wanted as others weren't able to actually see the car. Then it turns out they had to do a major fix on it, and pay a cut to the auction company. In the end they got a lot less for it, which was unfortunate for them, but I guess you could say helpful for us, as this major fix was done and we got a reasonable price.


Anyway, as you can see we have been through 6 cars in 6 years. We are hoping this one will make it a little bit longer. We are grateful to the sellers for selling us the car, even though given the circumstances, had they went with a private sale could've gotten much more. It is a true blessing.

Here are a couple picks of us with the old car and the new saturn. Can you tell we like mint-ish green?? :)