A Quiet and Beautiful Day

Ah...Friday. Due to my sweet work arrangement where I get to stay home with Kate on Thursdays and Fridays, Friday feels like Saturday. It was a bit rainy out and Kate was in a foul mood this morning, but things gradually improved for her to the point that as I held her small sleepy body tonight before putting her to bed, I couldn't believe how sweet she is and how blessed I am.

I've also been feeling really good (not tired) lately, so that's helped good days seem even better. Avoiding milk products including butter and cheese seems to be paying off. I can enjoy unsweetened soy milk as long as I flavour it with heaps of carob powder! Mmm, almost like Nesquik! (I like the vanilla flavoured soy milk too but am wary of the sugar content) I'm still consuming large amounts of sea salt so should probably check my blood pressure soon, but I'm pretty sure the salt helps immensely with my orthostatic hypotension (lightheadedness upon standing) and adrenal fatigue.

Here's a shot from the summer. We visited the Agrifair. What was Kate's favourite part? Not the horses, the cows, or the chickens...not the rides...no, it was the sandbox!

On buying the farm

I've always thought the expression 'he bought the farm' was kind of funny, although it isn't really. This expression probably originated among soldiers or pilots during WWI or WWII. According to urbandictionary.com, it means:

To die, especially in combat; most likely from the idea that a dead soldier's death benefit would serve to pay off his family's mortgage. Often shortened to "bought it."

There is, however, a story in the Bible about buying a farm--well, a field anyway, as told by Jesus in Matthew 13:44:

"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field."

What I hear Jesus saying to me through this verse is that He himself is a great treasure--greater than any other treasure I could possibly find in my lifetime. Everything else falls by the wayside in comparison to reaching Him. To "sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me" (Luke 18:22) makes complete sense when compared to the uncomparable Treasure that I seek. To "run with perseverance the race marked out for us" (Hebrews 12:1b) and to "press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:14) should be my mindset and the mindset of every disciple of Jesus. Oh, that I would realize His value! Oh, that in my joy I might buy the farm!

The Much Anticipated Solution

Here is the answer to last week's puzzle. It is a jar of whole wheat flour that sits on the counter. Some weevils (little bugs commonly discovered in corn meal) have been living in it for quite some time. They have stripped the flour of the good stuff (germ etc.), put the husks in a pile, and left the white stuff! It is neat to see the little tunnels they made along the edge of the glass--kind of like the ant farm my brother had in grade 7.

I checked the bag of flour in the cupboard, and found a few more bugs but not too many. Say, anyone want to come over and enjoy some nice whole wheat buns, fresh out of the oven? ;)

What is this?

Take a guess. I took this photo today. Was I on Mars? Traversing the Gobi Desert? Landing on the moon? You tell me. A clarifying photo/answer will be provided next week, as well as the announcement of any and all winning guesses.*

*Immediate family members are not allowed to enter this contest, aka Michelle!

Charred 2x4

Before we left for holidays, I tried to turn off the water in our condo and noticed that the stud which the hot water line is tied to was a bit black. It looks like the heat from the pipe has slowly burned the stud away (maybe by about a quarter inch in 15 years). Should I be concerned?

Vacation it Twas

Hello! We are back from our mighty vacation. Here are some pictures and random memories.

The border wait was not two hours as I had suspected; in fact it was only 2 minutes! We drove south to Seattle and then east on the I-90. Our first stop was Wanapum State Park. Before we got there I noticed all kinds of neat wind turbines dotting the countryside. A word of advice: if you notice your campground is in close proximity to a wind turbine, do not pitch your tent there.

Our next stop was a forestry site somewhere near the middle of nowhere, Montana. It was very beautiful and quiet. Kate started to get a bit clingy and did not seem to be fond of car rides anymore. I took this neat picture of a pine needle. :)

We continued driving towards Yellowstone Park but had trouble soon after hitting the road. I drove over a piece of metal of some sort and slashed the front passenger side tire wide open. So, on the side of the highway, I unloaded our trunk of its meticulously-packed camping gear, removed the spare tire (which I had remembered to inflate before we left), and changed the tire. While it is about the right size of a spare (not a spacesaver), the rim is not quite right so there was a bit of a gap between the discs and the rim. Hmm. But it drove fine about 100 miles to Butte, where we located a WalMart Tire Centre.

Unfortunately WalMart didn't have our odd tire size, but we were directed to another place that did, and they changed it fairly quickly, and we went shopping for a few groceries at the Butte Safeway, and were on our way. We had a long drive to the park and we were behind a bit, but we made it to our campsite before nightfall. The campsites were crammed close together so our neighbours were quite close; otherwise it was a very nice campsite.

Kate was not doing so well, still clingy, whiny, etc. After a couple of very cold nights in the tent we took her to the medical clinic beside Old Faithful. She had blood in her ear so we suspected an ear infection, and the doctor confirmed this and gave us some antibiotics. Kate had a fever and was not going to sleep quietly through the night so we booked a shifty hotel in West Yellowstone for a couple of nights. And yes, we saw Old Faithful too! Our friend Rachel from Denver stayed with us as well on her way up to Glacier Park.

We headed north and saw Mammoth Springs on our way out of Yellowstone Park. We found a sweet motel in a podunk town and the next day we made it to Didsbury, Alberta, where Michelle's parents live. We enjoyed almost a week staying with them and also with my brother-in-law, Michael. Kate loved playing on the farm with the cats, and I helped build a floor for a shed.

Despite the challenges and setbacks that we encountered, I found that there was always Grace in every situation. We were never beyond despair. It was great to get into a new space for awhile and see God's beautiful handiwork. Thanks to God for his Grace!

Mustard Rock

Today after church we are going to pack up the car and wait at the border for 2 hours and then start driving to Yellowstone. We have a few stops on the way as well where we will set up camp. It should be interesting with a 21-month toddler; hopefully there will be time for sitting in the camping chair with a good book in the shade, too!

Last week was fairly busy (for me); I almost worked a full 40 hours! 3 days were at Columbia, 1 day was split between a side job for my friend's mom's friend/watching Kate while Michelle went to a matinee, and 1 day was contract labour for my past employer Abbey Medical--that was a hot day to work outside! 32 degrees and we're not talking fahrenheit! I had prayed for strength for such a busy week, and God graciously gave me what I asked for.