February Fun

This is a very late post now that it's the end of March. I'm still going back to revisit February however, since it was so much fun. It was full of a baptism birthday, multiple 13th birthday celebrations, Chinese New Year, basketball tournament in Ft Worth, Valentine's Day, school days, and sewing days. 

First up - baptism birthday. In retrospect I wish I would have started more meaningful traditions to mark my children's baptismal birthdays but I sort of dropped the ball on that one. So Zanna took matters into her own hands and declared that we were going to take her out to Golden Chick for lunch. Because nothing says baptism birthday like eating fried chicken;)

We also attended a chili supper at the local fireman's hall. It was pretty impressive as I had never seen so much chili in one place. They had giant vats of the stuff that people manned and stirred. It was good too! Especially when eaten with Fritos. 

We celebrated Chinese New Year which was a little tricky this year not having a local Chinese grocery store to shop at - or better yet, go out to Mandarin for lunch! But I had a stock pile of ingredients in my pantry and freezer and came up with my own version of authentic (boy, does that sound like the times we live in). 

Then there was the Quilter's Mystery Weekend that Zanna was a part of too. The sewing group at our church worked on quilts for the Comforter Ministry. The design on several of them are "Texas windmills" and they are gorgeous! 

Wayne and I also had a trip to Houston tucked in there somewhere. I don't have any pictures from it but the purpose was to attend the Grow Conference at Abiding Word. It was fun to go together and spiritually uplifting too! Zanna had a great time staying with friends from church. 

Then it was Zanna's birthday. Her thirteenth birthday, to be exact. Actually, it wasn't even her birth day - it was the day before and she had party/cake #1 as a surprise! It was a sewing day at church so I snuck in earlier and had the surprise ready to go for her arrival. The sewing ladies got her the first cake.

There was live music and everything! And to make her REALLY embarrassed, the song Amanda was rewritten to be Hosanna. Your welcome, honey ;)

On her actual birthday, we had to drive to Ft. Worth for her basketball tournament. My parents were in town that week so my mom came along with us on the adventure. 

We got cupcakes to share with her teammates for that evening. She had such a good time hanging out with her friends in the hotel lobby. I admit to hovering over her that first night but then I got tired and realized (after she reminded me, "Mom, I am 13") that the hotel was practically full of Hawks (our team) and was seemingly safe to let her have some freedom. Mom and I unapologetically found ourselves propped up in our individuals hotel beds, drinking wine, and watching cable while my new 13 year old daughter partied it up with her girlfriends in the lobby. And so it begins...

This was serious basketball stuff. Even the name denotes bigness: Big South. Between all the girls' and boys' levels, varsity, junior, varsity, etc - it took two huge sport complexes to hold this event. The complex we were at had 9 courts alone. All participants were homeschoolers. Wow! So much for weird, unsocialized homeschoolers ... these kids are awesome!!! 

Upon our return from Ft. Worth, it was time to properly celebrate as a family and that can only be done with a Dairy Queen cake. 

She requested a basketball themed cake but feminine (hence the purple trim). Oma helped put up some purple streamers and it was party time! 

But wait! One more cake to be eaten! When we picked up Will from Auntie and Uncle's in Ft Worth the next week, cousin Sarah had made this beautiful and yummy cake for us all to enjoy! 

Yes, February was fun. Add to that no snow shoveling or frostbite and it was very enjoyable! I still have to post about our March. That was fun too! (yes, we work, school, and generally live productive lives just with copious amounts of cake apparently). 

A Reason for Lent

Sometimes we forget. We forget birthdays, anniversaries, important dates. We forget names. We forget memories, songs, the voice of a loved one now in heaven.

We forget to turn off the light, to close a drawer, to lock a door. We forget why we went in a room or what we were going to say next. We forget assignments, directions, engagements - we forget to look at our calendar. We forget why it is we’re doing what we’re doing. We forget where we put it. We forget what matters.

We forget to pray. We forget to praise. We forget to worship. We forget to make time for the one that created time. We forget we need Him in order to breathe, to wake up everyday - to simply be.

It seems like we’re in the business of forgetting. It’s something we do well. Our Abba Father says - don’t forget. He knows this about us. He had the Israelites tie tassels on themselves as a reminder of his commandments knowing they’d forget. He commanded they celebrate the Passover celebration so at least they would tell their children once a year of how God protected them from the angel of death in Egypt. He knew in one generation He could be forgotten.  

We forget why we need Him.

  Easter rolls around every spring in it’s predictable way. We’re ready to whip out our spring clothes and white shoes. The easter baskets are filled with candy, the ham is in the oven and an Easter lily graces our table. At church we sing all the familiar Easter hymns and enjoy the sermon filled with good news - Christ has risen! He has risen indeed! Then why does it feel like we’ve forgotten something? Oh, yes .....

He had to die. 

The season of Lent starts with Ash Wednesday. It is 40 days long, not including Sundays. Lent is the time in the church year that allows for reflection, repentance and preparation for Easter. It’s the time to remember: Remember we need Him to forgive us. Remember we need Him to live a perfect life for us. Remember He suffered and died - for OUR sins. Remember that He humbled Himself on this earth - and He didn’t forget us! Remember all that and THEN come celebrate on Easter Sunday and shout from the rooftops Christ has risen! He has risen indeed!

What I'm Reading

Um, what just happened to February? Seriously. Fastest February I've ever had in my life that I can remember. That could be because it's the first February that I haven't been freezing and praying for global warming. 

There's been quite a bit going on around here that I'll get into later. This post is about books. These are a few of my favourite things. I'm actually slightly obsessed with books. When we were packed up on the Ottawa side of our move, our packer (one guy for our three level house, God bless him) said he never wanted to see any of my books again; there were so many. Or dishes ... but that's another post. 

So far my life down here offers a bit more margin, also the name of a book. This has given me more time to read and study. The stack pictured above is already outdated and I've moved on to other books and have many still in the queue. I love them all so much I want to share. 

Month by Month Gardening in Texas - because I'm a gardener now and I need something that tells me what to do. 

Ruth - Living in God's Unfailing Faithfulness - I know there are a lot of Ruth Bible studies out there but I would bet this would be the best, most thorough, deep theologically and relevant look at the book of Ruth. It's amazing for personal study and is set up for group study. I'm blessed to know the author and have studied the first few chapters with her on a group chat. She has done all the work for her readers and uncovered many treasures that we get to glean from her!!! So good.

He Restores My Soul - I have NEVER read a book like this that is not only so open and honest by real people, but coupled with real comfort from God's Word and the richness of hymns that are imprinted on hearts from childhood. Life is messy. We are ALL broken and everyone has a story. These are just some that a handful of women were willing to share. Every chapter brought me such emotion and reaction that I can't even explain it myself. Every chapter brought an awareness of what those around me might be going through. Every chapter brought such amazing perspective in light of eternity. Amazing. 

The Essential C.S. Lewis - So thrilled to have been gifted this one! It's the perfect complement to the free Hillsdale College course I'm taking on Lewis. 

The Art of the Commonplace - a great book to pick up and put down due to the essay format. Makes me think. Hmmmmmm. Not a good one to read when I'm tired. I'm looking forward to reading the author's fiction too. 

Eternal Treasures: Teaching Your Child at Home - I'm gifting this to my homeschool Lutheran mamas. I wish I had had this back in the early days!!! I'm retiring soon but there is so much good in this book, some of which I've done by the shear grace of God. What makes homeschooling so important? Even more ... what makes a homeschool Lutheran?! This book answers these questions and more. 

Handbook for Ministers' Wives - I have always joked that there is no handbook for this pastor's wife gig - until a retired pastor's wife/member slipped this into my hands one Sunday with a wink! Now I have no excuse ;)  This book was written in the 1950's and some content is either not applicable to today's times or our particular denomination. I'm getting a kick out of the chapter about the manners I'm supposed to have as a pastor's wife. Thankfully I don't usually entertain dignitaries or host weddings in my home. This has been a fun read and has offered little nuggets of wisdom that will never be outdated. 

Educated: A Memoir - This was last month's neighborhood book club read. I like to have memoirs in my book queue regularly. I want to expose myself to real people's lives, diverse backgrounds that are different than mine, and hard stories so I can better serve my neighbor. I may not always be able to understand but I desire empathy and openness to meet others where they're at and where they've come from. I want to learn from their lives and I'm so grateful when they're bold enough to write it down and have it published and share it with people like me. This memoir was a little slow going in the beginning but suddenly had it's claim on me at least mid way. About 3/4's into it, it became hard for me to read with just the rawness and reality of this being someone's actual life. But it was worth it and encouraged lots of discussion once we met together to talk about it. 

Magnolia Table - Yes, I read cookbooks too. Sometimes I even cook, haha! I'm making my way through this one and I have several recipes on the back burner to try this month. Since we're in the south I've made biscuits and gravy for breakfast several times for houseguests. I made Bobo's classic gravy but I'm too lazy to make homemade biscuits. Plus a neighbor down the street had a biscuit making party with her friends to see if they could make biscuits like grandma and in the end she said the frozen Mary B's that I can get at Walmart is just as good and a lot less work. I also made The Best-Ever Fluffy Pancakes for Z's birthday and my dad actually said they were the best pancakes he's ever had even without knowing the name. They weren't as fluffy as I was going for but that was due to still getting to know my stovetop and the griddle. I made a batch of Last-Minute Party Dip over Christmas time. It has cream cheese in it so I knew it would be a winner! And it was.  My mom made Chicken Piccata with artichoke hearts for us a few days ago. It was REALLY good. Company good. Impress your friends good. For March when Will comes home I have plans to make: Chicken Pot Pie, Gaines Family Chili, Sunday Supper Beef Tips, Beckie's Mac and Cheese, and Curry Chicken Salad. 

I'm still working on Walther's Law and Gospel using a very useful study guide I found here. I have to finally finish The Hammer of God already. I have the ebook and it just isn't working. I mean it technically works but I need an actual book to hold in my hands. So really I should just start over with the actual book I've borrowed from my mother. And our book club pick for March is Castle of Water. 

Now I should probably wrap this up and start cracking open one of my cookbooks to figure out what I'm making for supper tonight. A girl can't lay around reading all the time!  

The New Normal

    

When your eggs speak Truth! Amen.

     It’s been about 6 months now that we’ve called Texas home. There’s still a fair amount of things we’ve getting used to and plenty that we’ve embraced without question. Sometimes one of us will balk at the change and other times we just quietly accept it. 

     I’ve previously mentioned the whole “wearing shoes in the house” issue.  While not included as a commandment in the Bible, I’m pretty sure He left it out because He figured it was a no brainer for most of us.  Unfortunately, that is not that case and there is no 11th commandment that reads, “thou shalt not wear outdoor shoes inside”.  And while most of my life I was ignorant to such atrocities, it’s only been in my adulthood lived in Canada that I had come to see the light.  Now I must bloom where I am planted and I happen to be planted in a country that considers it appropriate to wear the same shoes you’ve just trampled around in God only knows what and then bring it indoors. I am the one that must change.  I’m happy to report that after throwing a New Year’s party with everyone wearing their shoes all over my house, I did not have a meltdown and actually managed to enjoy myself. I wore slippers. 

     Thankfully, I’ve had some American experience prior to the last 16 years and could teach my family that if you have items to be mailed out, put UP the flag. In Canada, average citizens are not trusted with the flag and it is only for the mail carrier to put up if they have mail for us. Also, because we live out in the country we get rural delivery. Our mail lady is a hoot! She drives like a bat out of hell in a truck we can hear a mile away. (It’s between her or the sound of Wayne’s car and Zanna and I can usually tell which one) If she has a package for us, she lays on her horn and I scramble to the front door from wherever I am in the house to kick off my indoor shoes, find the nearest pair of outdoor shoes, and run out to meet her and retrieve my package. Nice gal, she wears makeup that rivals Tammy Faye Baker and the nicest drawl to greet me! She also has very moisturized hands according to the row of Gold Bond creams she has lined up on her dashboard.  And … the cherry on top … Saturday delivery!!!!!Yep, gotta love the U.S. Mail! 

     Over dinner one evening during Christmas break, I gently brought up with the children that although their overall level of politeness met (if not exceeded) that of your average kid in Canada, it was NOT going to cut it for Southern charm. I suggested that they might want to up their game. Perhaps they might want to throw into their vocabulary  some “yes, ma’ams” and “yes, sirs” - even when it seems excessive. I get called “yes, ma’am” everywhere I go from the grocery store to the local homeschool basketball games. If I say to my check out gal at Walmart, “have a nice day!” - she’ll respond with, “yes, ma’am!” as if I had just given her an order. Pretty impressive, I must say.  And while it’s certainly possible to be this outwardly polite all the while silently cursing the person you are “yes, ma’aming”, true southerners never come across this way. I really think they’re just honestly polite and their Mamaw taught them well. 

     Finding a new doctor is definitely a stressful thing when moving to a new area. It’s right up there with finding a new hairdresser. After several referrals, I finally picked a family doctor for our crew. Armed with my trusty insurance card, I went to meet him to get an overall feel for how he could meet my families needs. Over the normal introductions and questions, I shared that we hailed from Canada and he shared that he’s not just a doctor but a pastor, father of 7(?) and a homeschooler. Of course he is! This is the south. 

     Our next meeting came about because Will needed to see him while he was home over Christmas. The doctor enjoyed talking pre-seminary college with Will and encouraged him in his Greek study. We also met with a doctor doing his residency there. Nice guy - getting ready to move on with a practice in Minnesota. What are the chances? I suggested he might want to trade in his cowboy boots for some nice, warm snow boots. You know the kind - with fur. Anyway … he was very helpful in his explanation of how the human body works and how it’s “created to fit like this” as he showed us what that meant. My eyes met Will’s in response to the acknowledging of a Creator and afterwards we both said, “Never in Canada!”. 

     My last meeting with our new doctor was for just some new patient blood work, etc. Keeping in mind this was the third time in his office, I was pretty surprised when he went in to hug me!! Now the old, Canadian Rachel would have been FREAKED OUT and contemplating turning him in to authorities… except the current Rachel has been hugged so many times in the 6 months we’ve lived here that although it surprised me, it really didn’t phase me. Which brings me to ….

     Huggers. Yep. I’m surrounded by them. I’m pretty sure in my previous life (the one before Canada) I was more prone to hugging but Ottawa beat that out of me. Shoot, we could barely look one another in the eye. Down here it’s personal space be darned. Bring it in and let’s hug it out. Happy to see you! Let’s hug. You’re going? Time to hug. How was your day? I think you need a hug. I have to say it’s nice. No … it’s more than nice. It’s warm and caring and more than acknowledges that we are fellow human beings walking this life together. So go hug someone. Maybe the Walmart check out lady. Yes, ma’am! 

     We live in a “moist” county. That’s another thing - we have counties. I’m pretty sure that’s new. Anyway …. moist county. That means that you can buy beer and wine but not booze. I’m guessing this is due to the influence of the Baptists although I’m not sure if they know you can still get really drunk on beer and wine? Maybe not as fast? The prices for alcohol in general is crazy cheep compared with the LCBO, government run monopoly. It’s also not as convenient to get the rum needed for my Eggnog Rum Loaf that I never made over Christmas because I really didn’t want to set foot into Cooter Brown’s Liquor (Seriously. You can’t make this up, folks!) off the interstate on the county line.  

     Telemarketers. Sheesh, it’s crazy down here. I have some lady named Wendy’s old phone number and I get calls and texts for her all the time. She apparently had some financial issues as that seems to be the theme of most of them.  And apparently she could use a job. It’s driving me nuts!! I block the caller/texter after each one and it helps for a little while until they find me again. 

     I get to wear shoes again other than flip flops/Birks in the summer and thermal lined snow boots in the winter. It’s pretty exciting because I get to wear shoes now that before I had only a small window of time to wear - pretty much when it got too cold for open toed shoes but the snow hadn’t started flying yet. In other words …. a month. Bring on the fashion boots with a heel, my cowboy boots, ankle boots, and loafers. Flats, wedges, canvas, and runners - a whole new shoe world is open to me. Actually, anyone who really knows me would know that I love the idea of shoes and looking at shoes but am terrified of buying shoes for fear that they will be uncomfortable and I won’t discover it until too late. But that’s not the point. The point is … I can wear shoes again. (Outdoor shoes, as opposed to my indoor shoes)

     If someone had told me a year ago that last night I would be sitting in on a Master Gardener class to listen to a presentation on blueberry and blackberry plants, I would have been very puzzled and probably thought you were off your rocker. Alas, there I was at such a class to learn how to keep my berry patch garden going! But my Master Gardener girl friend (the Lord provides!!) assures me I can do this! 

     A lot can happen in six months! I’d say we’re settled but there’s still transition. We’re still waiting on immigration for Wayne, still filling out change of address forms, still learning about our surroundings. But we also still have hankerings for Ottawa and sometimes what I’d really like is a nice, hot blueberry tea. I’ve got the Red Rose in my pantry, bought in bulk before we left Canada. But I still need Amaretto and Grand Marnier and there’s no way I’m going into Cooter’s. 

Making Memories

This last month went by so fast!! But we still managed to cram in fun, friends, and firearms;)

It was an emotional month I think, because I went back and forth between the interest of preparing for Christmas in a new church not really knowing what to expect - coupled with the precious memories from Ottawa that defined our celebrations for so long and then wondering how everyone was doing back there and how they were getting along. A couple of ladies from DW were thoughtful enough to send pictures of their Advent by Candlelight and the fun fellowship outing to the local tree farm to make fresh, homemade wreaths. It was fun to see the pictures and made me homesick something fierce for them! 

It was also interesting to see how our current church decorates, prepares, and worships. It was a lot to soak in and I enjoyed watching it all unfold!

Our family all participated in music with Will playing the bongos and Zanna on the triangle for one of the choir songs!

After church on Christmas Eve, one couple invited the church members over for wine and apps and the evening was very relaxed as we enjoyed the company around us! After church on Christmas Day we enjoyed a Christmas potluck brunch. Later in the afternoon we were invited over to another member's home for games and more food. It was fun to play Mexican train and visit with church family.

My mother-in-law, Fran, was also visiting from Calgary and we enjoyed having her for Christmas week. 

Zanna had made Grandma a quillow (part quilt, part pillow) and was so excited to give it to her for Christmas. It was a hit!

Speaking of which .... Zanna made a last minute push to finish Will's quillow in the days/hours leading up to Christmas.

We have the church ladies' sewing group to thank for picking up where Auntie Karen left off! Zanna continues to practice and learn sewing skills she'll carry with her through life!

One gal even let her have a shot at the big quilting machine!

Not only was it interesting to observe how things were done at church, but it was also fun to have a new home to decorate for Christmas! 

 This was the tree with 9 strands of lights. The problem is that they kept blowing a fuse and Wayne was replacing them almost every night. I finally had had enough and one evening while he and Will were at the gym, I went to find the box from one of the lights to see how many strands were designed to link together. 4. Oops. I took every single ornament off, unwound the lights until 4 were left and then was too tired at that point to put the ornaments back on. Wayne and Will returned home and they didn't even notice that A. there were less than half the amount of lights on the tree that there was before and B. that there were no ornaments on it at all when we have about 1000. (or so it seems when I'm packing them all away)
Boys! 

The entryway

Will's nutcracker collection

Our little music corner with a mini tree decorated with music ornaments

We had a lot of fun having Will home for almost 4 weeks! He had an opportunity to help out at Camp Shiloh with their switching over to LED lights. He also was a great help in distributing the giant truckload mound of mulch we had delivered early in December. I was beginning to think it was multiplying behind our backs even as we were hauling it off! 

Zanna had her violin Christmas recital which she rocked. She ironically was given "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas". She really does miss the snow and cold (she claims) and the song originally was practiced as more of a dirge- haha! But she finally pepped it up and did a great job! 

As much as I miss Canada (I'm currently wearing my Canadian leggings and red Canada olympic sweatshirt - and I started my day with a Canadian mug of Red Rose tea) I am not at all missing the weather. We've had beautiful, coat-free, yard work friendly, hot tub evening, chat on the porch weather and I'm in love. We love to watch our cute, new neighbors from our perch in the backyard:

Those little ducks are so adorable. And cranes are hilarious to watch! Those stupid nature shows with the boring narrators I had to watch when I was younger is now my life and I'm the narrator! I make believe what they're saying to each other - with the voices (how would a crane sound if a crane talked? hmmm). 

I'm still a city girl at heart though so while Will was here and after our NewYears Party (oh, yeah, we had a party)....

... we took off for a few nights in Ft. Worth and explored the area.

outdoor water garden

visiting a museum featuring art from northern NewYork state

ha - he's the only one who would pose

playing gin rummy at Billy Bob's

For Christmas, Wayne and I exchanged some Texas themed presents to help us fit in more to these here parts. I received a gorgeous James Avery necklace with a Texas charm. Wayne picked out some boots and a belt!

We have a winner, folks! 

We were so blessed to have enjoyed our time together as a family with good health, sweet memories and new ones being made! Thank you, Jesus!