Well, I guess I'm up so I should write something to get these frustrations off my heart.
Everyone is sick right now. Amber was up all night coughing and aching and being pregnant. Josh and Daniel each woke up throwing up early this morning. I guess I'm the only one who is feeling okay.
I was supposed to work today and tomorrow, and then start a new job on Monday. I hope everyone's better by then.
Our plumbing is a mess in this new house. Our 8 month old dryer seems to have not survived the trips through the mountains, so we can't do laundry until Monday when the repair guy comes. Our landlord replaced the bathtub in our only bathroom but is doing the work himself and can only come over after work, so it's been 12 days and the tub is still unusable. Oh, and it appears that the people who were here before us must have tried to stuff a sheet of drywall down the bathroom sink because it's now backed up and if I try to plunge it, little rotten bits of gyprock and plaster come out. Fantastic.
But God is still good. And I will praise him always. My Saviour and my Lord.
Friday, November 25
Friday's Feast
Appetizer
What did you look like when you were a teenager?
Really dorky. In grade 9 I had glasses with blue plastic frames. I got pounded a whole lot in junior high. :(
Salad
Whose advice do you listen to?
Amber. For sure. I listen to a lot of other people, but I don't know if I consistently take anyone else's advice.
Soup
Name a book you would like to memorize.
The Bible. Man, that would come in handy ALL THE TIME. I should really make more of an effort to memorize even small parts of it.
Main Course
How often are you sick?
I'm not sick much at all. I often get a cold in January after the business of Christmas, but not usually too serious. I also apparently get very sick very often when I'm around cedar dust.
For more sick stuff, see my next post.
Dessert
Do you like or dislike change?
I thought the dessert question was supposed to be more of an easy one. I guess I like change more than dislike it. For someone that has moved 11 times in the past 7 years (4 times between Valentine's and Halloween this year), I have to like change or I'd go insane.
What did you look like when you were a teenager?
Really dorky. In grade 9 I had glasses with blue plastic frames. I got pounded a whole lot in junior high. :(
Salad
Whose advice do you listen to?
Amber. For sure. I listen to a lot of other people, but I don't know if I consistently take anyone else's advice.
Soup
Name a book you would like to memorize.
The Bible. Man, that would come in handy ALL THE TIME. I should really make more of an effort to memorize even small parts of it.
Main Course
How often are you sick?
I'm not sick much at all. I often get a cold in January after the business of Christmas, but not usually too serious. I also apparently get very sick very often when I'm around cedar dust.
For more sick stuff, see my next post.
Dessert
Do you like or dislike change?
I thought the dessert question was supposed to be more of an easy one. I guess I like change more than dislike it. For someone that has moved 11 times in the past 7 years (4 times between Valentine's and Halloween this year), I have to like change or I'd go insane.
Wednesday, November 16
Predicting the Future
My two boys have both been exhibiting behaviour lately that I think gives us a glimpse into how they will be around the new baby in 11 weeks.
===
Josh has become even more of a velcro-baby than he was when he was just weeks old. He has started clinging to Amber and cries and pouts quite a bit. The last few nights he's come into our bed around 1:00 AM and rolled around and kicked us until the morning. Last night he came into our room and I put up with about 3 minutes of this and decided it was time for a change.
I took him back to his bed and tried to put him down. I lay beside him for a few seconds but he's screaming and kicking and pointing at my room yelling, "This way! This way! NO!! This way!!"
This eventually wakes up Daniel (who's sharing a room with him again) and he covers his ears with his pillow and yells back, "Too loud!"
So, I take Josh back to our room and set him up on the floor with a big body pillow as a mattress and his pillow and blanket. This just aggravated him even more. So, for the next hour or so, I had a two year old screaming in my face and trying to climb up on my bed. Man, it's tough being tough. He eventually wore himself out and fell asleep.
I was pretty happy, but a few hours later, I hear a soft, sweet voice next to my ear say, "Daddy? Help up please?" He'd had a very rough night and I think he learned his lesson, so I pulled him up and cuddled him to sleep - no kicking.
This would have just been a fairly normal night, barely worthy of comment, but then we had naptime.
Amber put Josh down in his own bed this afternoon for a nap. He seemed to be cuddled up "nice and cozy" and ready for a few hours of dreamytime under his Nemo blanket. Amber went into the spare room next to his to do some computer work while Daniel and I were down the hall watching TV or something.
I came down a while later to see how the naptime was going and peeked in. I couldn't see Josh. I went to ask Amber, "Where's Joshie?"
"In his bed."
I go and take a better look in his room. "Nope, not in his bed or Daniel's."
We both have the same idea and go to our room. We crack the door open a bit and see a little turkey sleeping quietly on our bed. What's it going to take to keep him in his own bed?
===
Daniel's story is short but just as telling.
Yesterday we were trying to set up our bedroom and found that we had room for the bassinet. We set it up in the corner and it fit just perfectly. Daniel came in and said, "Is that the baby's bed? Is that the baby's crib? The blue and white crib with polka-dots?"
"Yes it is."
Later that day he came to me and said, "Daddy, I gave the baby all my toys to share." We peeked in the bassinet and he had put in his pillow and flashlight and his blue bedtime bear - all his favorite things, his most necessary bedtime stuff.
It seems like Daniel is going to do very well with the new baby. He's great at sharing. He's so loving and caring and thoughtful.
Josh, on the other hand may be the jealous, regressive type. I can imagine him trying to jump up on Amber's lap when she's holding or feeding the new little one.
We'll see how this works out
===
Josh has become even more of a velcro-baby than he was when he was just weeks old. He has started clinging to Amber and cries and pouts quite a bit. The last few nights he's come into our bed around 1:00 AM and rolled around and kicked us until the morning. Last night he came into our room and I put up with about 3 minutes of this and decided it was time for a change.
I took him back to his bed and tried to put him down. I lay beside him for a few seconds but he's screaming and kicking and pointing at my room yelling, "This way! This way! NO!! This way!!"
This eventually wakes up Daniel (who's sharing a room with him again) and he covers his ears with his pillow and yells back, "Too loud!"
So, I take Josh back to our room and set him up on the floor with a big body pillow as a mattress and his pillow and blanket. This just aggravated him even more. So, for the next hour or so, I had a two year old screaming in my face and trying to climb up on my bed. Man, it's tough being tough. He eventually wore himself out and fell asleep.
I was pretty happy, but a few hours later, I hear a soft, sweet voice next to my ear say, "Daddy? Help up please?" He'd had a very rough night and I think he learned his lesson, so I pulled him up and cuddled him to sleep - no kicking.
This would have just been a fairly normal night, barely worthy of comment, but then we had naptime.
Amber put Josh down in his own bed this afternoon for a nap. He seemed to be cuddled up "nice and cozy" and ready for a few hours of dreamytime under his Nemo blanket. Amber went into the spare room next to his to do some computer work while Daniel and I were down the hall watching TV or something.
I came down a while later to see how the naptime was going and peeked in. I couldn't see Josh. I went to ask Amber, "Where's Joshie?"
"In his bed."
I go and take a better look in his room. "Nope, not in his bed or Daniel's."
We both have the same idea and go to our room. We crack the door open a bit and see a little turkey sleeping quietly on our bed. What's it going to take to keep him in his own bed?
===
Daniel's story is short but just as telling.
Yesterday we were trying to set up our bedroom and found that we had room for the bassinet. We set it up in the corner and it fit just perfectly. Daniel came in and said, "Is that the baby's bed? Is that the baby's crib? The blue and white crib with polka-dots?"
"Yes it is."
Later that day he came to me and said, "Daddy, I gave the baby all my toys to share." We peeked in the bassinet and he had put in his pillow and flashlight and his blue bedtime bear - all his favorite things, his most necessary bedtime stuff.
It seems like Daniel is going to do very well with the new baby. He's great at sharing. He's so loving and caring and thoughtful.
Josh, on the other hand may be the jealous, regressive type. I can imagine him trying to jump up on Amber's lap when she's holding or feeding the new little one.
We'll see how this works out
Thursday, November 10
Friday's Feast
Appetizer
If someone made a statue of you, in which pose would you like to be?
I would like it to be like this: \o/
But if the sculptor was around lately it would be more like o-<-<
Salad
What perfume/cologne does your best friend wear?
I think Amber sometimes wears Imari something from Avon. Very nice.
Soup
Name something satisfying about your work.
Hahahahaha! No, seriously. Well, I guess I'm a stay-at-home dad now, so every day has satisfying moments. I love it when the boys learn new things.
Main Course
What was the last excuse you made, and why did you need to make it?
I tried to make an excuse to get out of getting help for our move from strangers. I don't know why I didn't want them, but I was cranky and my excuse was something like, "Our house is going to be full and we won't have anywhere for people to sleep and we don't need... Aaaaarrgh!"
Dessert
Complete this sentence: I wonder why _________________.
I wonder why God keeps leading us around the country.
If someone made a statue of you, in which pose would you like to be?
I would like it to be like this: \o/
But if the sculptor was around lately it would be more like o-<-<
Salad
What perfume/cologne does your best friend wear?
I think Amber sometimes wears Imari something from Avon. Very nice.
Soup
Name something satisfying about your work.
Hahahahaha! No, seriously. Well, I guess I'm a stay-at-home dad now, so every day has satisfying moments. I love it when the boys learn new things.
Main Course
What was the last excuse you made, and why did you need to make it?
I tried to make an excuse to get out of getting help for our move from strangers. I don't know why I didn't want them, but I was cranky and my excuse was something like, "Our house is going to be full and we won't have anywhere for people to sleep and we don't need... Aaaaarrgh!"
Dessert
Complete this sentence: I wonder why _________________.
I wonder why God keeps leading us around the country.
Friday, November 4
Friday's Feast
Appetizer
What was the last game you purchased?
Star Wars Risk - for my brother-in-law's birthday in the hope I would get to play it with him. Now that we are going to live in the same city again, maybe I can. :)
Soup
Name something in which you don't believe.
Horoscopes
Salad
If you could choose a television personality to be your boss, who would you pick?
Steve Dotto. A jolly Canadian computer tech expert. He just looks like a fun guy to work with. I bet the Christmas parties are a blast.
Main Course
What was a lesson you had to learn the hard way?
I apparently don't like living in a small town.
Dessert
Describe your idea of the perfect relaxation room.
Big comfy couch. Nice warm blanket. Nice big cold Coke. Big TV. And a DVD player that holds all 6 Lord of the Rings discs.
What was the last game you purchased?
Star Wars Risk - for my brother-in-law's birthday in the hope I would get to play it with him. Now that we are going to live in the same city again, maybe I can. :)
Soup
Name something in which you don't believe.
Horoscopes
Salad
If you could choose a television personality to be your boss, who would you pick?
Steve Dotto. A jolly Canadian computer tech expert. He just looks like a fun guy to work with. I bet the Christmas parties are a blast.
Main Course
What was a lesson you had to learn the hard way?
I apparently don't like living in a small town.
Dessert
Describe your idea of the perfect relaxation room.
Big comfy couch. Nice warm blanket. Nice big cold Coke. Big TV. And a DVD player that holds all 6 Lord of the Rings discs.
Wednesday, November 2
Prayers
4 posts in one day? I must be unemployed or something. ;)
I've had the chance to put Josh to bed a few nights this week. Usually Amber and I split up at bedtime and I do Daniel and she takes care of Josh, but I think it's a good idea to switch it up sometimes.
Josh is such the pray-er. He loves to thank God for everything. He always remembers his grandparents' puppy, Bijou. Josh loves Bijou and loves giving him cookies. While we were visiting Josh started giving him hugs and letting Bijou kiss his hands.
Anyway, this was quite the long intro for one of his recent prayers:
"Dear God. Thank you today. Thank you Daniel. And Mommy. And Grandma, Grandpa, Bijou kisses. And for Bijou cookies. And Bijou's Grandpa. And my Grandpa. And Bijou kisses and grandpa. And umm... Bijou cookies... and ummm...."
"Thank you for Daddy?"
"Yeah, thank you Daddy, Mommy, Daniel, Bijou cookies"
"In Jesus' name"
"Amen"
I wish my prayers could be like that more often. Just an open connection with God to share all the exciting things in my life. I learn so much from the boys.
I've had the chance to put Josh to bed a few nights this week. Usually Amber and I split up at bedtime and I do Daniel and she takes care of Josh, but I think it's a good idea to switch it up sometimes.
Josh is such the pray-er. He loves to thank God for everything. He always remembers his grandparents' puppy, Bijou. Josh loves Bijou and loves giving him cookies. While we were visiting Josh started giving him hugs and letting Bijou kiss his hands.
Anyway, this was quite the long intro for one of his recent prayers:
"Dear God. Thank you today. Thank you Daniel. And Mommy. And Grandma, Grandpa, Bijou kisses. And for Bijou cookies. And Bijou's Grandpa. And my Grandpa. And Bijou kisses and grandpa. And umm... Bijou cookies... and ummm...."
"Thank you for Daddy?"
"Yeah, thank you Daddy, Mommy, Daniel, Bijou cookies"
"In Jesus' name"
"Amen"
I wish my prayers could be like that more often. Just an open connection with God to share all the exciting things in my life. I learn so much from the boys.
Dwell in the Father
A couple of great reminders from God this early morning:
Psalm 91
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the LORD,
"He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust."
If you make the Most High your dwelling—
even the LORD, who is my refuge-
then no harm will befall you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
"Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
He will call upon me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
With long life will I satisfy him
and show him my salvation."
=============
Matthew 6:25-34
I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Psalm 91
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the LORD,
"He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust."
If you make the Most High your dwelling—
even the LORD, who is my refuge-
then no harm will befall you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
"Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
He will call upon me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
With long life will I satisfy him
and show him my salvation."
=============
Matthew 6:25-34
I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
What Daniel Likes
I seem to write more about Daniel than Josh. Maybe that's because I spend more time with him. Josh has sort of become Mommy's boy and Daniel is mine. Maybe as he grows up a little more and when the baby comes, he'll come over to the "boys' side" ;) I'll try to think of a Josh story to tell next time.
Anyway, I was putting Daniel to bed last night and I asked, "Are you having a good time in Calgary? Do you like visiting Grandma and Grandpa's?"
"Yeah, I like Calgary. And Nakusp too."
Grrr... The first time he says he likes Nakusp is the day we are looking for a house to move back to Calgary to. "What do you like about Nakusp?"
"Our TV, and our movies, and my Madagascar bed..."
"What about things that aren't in our house?"
"Ummm... our couches, and our big black chair"
"No, what do you like about Nakusp that ISN'T our house?"
"Hmmm... our van? My sandbox?"
"What do you like to do in Nakusp? Where do you like to go?"
"Ummm... I like to go... I like to go to visit Calgary."
"Okay, sweetie. Have a good sleep."
I don't know what to think of that. Either he couldn't understand the question, or he doesn't like anything about Nakusp on its own. Or, possibly and perhaps more frighteningly, he sensed that he shouldn't have said he likes Nakusp and was trying to backpedal. This kid is so mature at times, I wouldn't be totally surprised if that was part of it.
Anyway, I was putting Daniel to bed last night and I asked, "Are you having a good time in Calgary? Do you like visiting Grandma and Grandpa's?"
"Yeah, I like Calgary. And Nakusp too."
Grrr... The first time he says he likes Nakusp is the day we are looking for a house to move back to Calgary to. "What do you like about Nakusp?"
"Our TV, and our movies, and my Madagascar bed..."
"What about things that aren't in our house?"
"Ummm... our couches, and our big black chair"
"No, what do you like about Nakusp that ISN'T our house?"
"Hmmm... our van? My sandbox?"
"Ummm... I like to go... I like to go to visit Calgary."
"Okay, sweetie. Have a good sleep."
I don't know what to think of that. Either he couldn't understand the question, or he doesn't like anything about Nakusp on its own. Or, possibly and perhaps more frighteningly, he sensed that he shouldn't have said he likes Nakusp and was trying to backpedal. This kid is so mature at times, I wouldn't be totally surprised if that was part of it.
Abandoned
We are in Calgary visiting and making preparations to move back. All this change is really getting to Daniel. We were out driving around looking for a house quite a bit yesterday. As we were on our way back to the place we were staying the boys were getting quite rowdy. Screaming like little girls rowdy. I became the father I didn't want to be and yelled,
"Do you want me to stop and you can get out and walk the rest of the way to Grandma's"
Poor Daniel, who is already a bit clingy, tried to process this idea along with other things we've told him about running off on his own and going into the street.
"Then you and Mom and Josh will drive to Grandma's? And I will have no family? And then I'll get hurted in the street? And runned over from the cars? And then I'll get all bleedy?"
Oh my! I'm glad we were only a block from Grandma's because I could barely contain myself enough to drive. I look over at Amber and her heart is breaking just the same.
"No, buddy. I would never leave you. I would never put you in the street by yourself. You will always have your family. Just please stop screaming."
Hopefully one of these days our lives will get settled and normal. I won't hold my breath.
"Do you want me to stop and you can get out and walk the rest of the way to Grandma's"
Poor Daniel, who is already a bit clingy, tried to process this idea along with other things we've told him about running off on his own and going into the street.
"Then you and Mom and Josh will drive to Grandma's? And I will have no family? And then I'll get hurted in the street? And runned over from the cars? And then I'll get all bleedy?"
Oh my! I'm glad we were only a block from Grandma's because I could barely contain myself enough to drive. I look over at Amber and her heart is breaking just the same.
"No, buddy. I would never leave you. I would never put you in the street by yourself. You will always have your family. Just please stop screaming."
Hopefully one of these days our lives will get settled and normal. I won't hold my breath.
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