The Best Thing Ever.

These are my parents.

My father is currently in Mexico. Building something, I think.

Today he called, and we missed it.

My mom cried. And though she's now fidgeting with things to keep herself calm, I can tell the only thing she wants to do is cry over how much she misses him.

Marriage is the best thing ever.

Fortune Cookie Fail.

Toe Seizures.

I discovered the other day that I only have canvas shoes.

What caused me to realize this was two inches of snow and -10 degree weather.

When I wear my canvas shoes in the cold, my toes seize and send sharp shooting pains through my foot. Remedy? Solid, warm, Canadian winter built shoes.

Where would one discover this remedy?

Not in Moose Jaw.

SO better than Christmas.

I'm really attached to Thanksgiving. Really attached. I begin to anticipate its arrival as soon as school starts. I bring as many people as possible home with me, so they too can enjoy the beauty that is Thanksgiving.

I love this holiday so much that I've started telling people it trumps Christmas; which it obviously does. My reasons for this are valid. Let me explain.

Thanksgiving is way more chill than Christmas. There's hardly any hype. We still get time off, we're not expected to work (other than homework), the food is all the same and we cherish the time spent with friends and family. Because of these purely personal preferences, I've begun to question why we as Christ followers prefer Christmas; and I think I've come up with the start of an answer.

I posted a blog about a year ago regarding the Christmas season. Here's a little excerpt.

. . . we see the wreath hanging on our door and the lights from the tree on our desk and the hope we once had fills us again. It's going to be okay.

It's going to be okay because love came to earth to save us from the plights we had gotten ourselves into. Jesus Christ came to save us. And though it happened in the past and we still have to 'suffer' through our [lives] now, he came; he lived; he loved; he died; he saved.

It's going to be okay.

We're going to be okay. What a relief, we say, and we settle into the peace and relaxation of Christmas. Don't get me wrong, this isn't even close to a bad thing. But what we fail to realize is that two months before that, we are presented with an opportunity to recognize with thanksgiving the beauty of what is to come - Christmas.

We have a tradition in my house that before we begin thanksgiving dinner we all have to say what we're thankful for. Too many times I've had to scramble for an answer. Not because there's nothing to say, but because I haven't tuned my attention to all there is to be thankful for.

Christmas comes and presents us with something - peace, grace, salvation and usually a lot of stuff. Thanksgiving comes and expects something from us. Something that we, as North Americans, aren't always ready to give - thanks. Thanksgiving is hard because it requires us to be intentional. It requires us to turn our eyes away from our selves and up to the One who provides; to humble ourselves enough to feel small and open our hearts enough to accept the blessing.

May we today, in the midst of rest, homework and turkey, feel small and become aware of the immense gift we have been given.

The Joy of NBC.

Like most of North America, The Office, brings me great joy.

This is one of my favorite scenes of all time.

Michael: I’m gonna toss the ball, and when you catch the ball, I want you to say the name of somebody. Somebody really important to you, somebody really special who died. And you may cry, if you like, that is encouraged …

Pam: Let’s see. I had an aunt that I was really close to. She was this amazing female boxer. Anyway, she was injured in a fight and she was paralyzed. So you can imagine how upset I was when I found out that she asked her manager to remove her breathing tube so she could die.

Michael: Wow. If you want to cry, that’s ok.

Ryan: A few years ago, my family was on a safari in Africa, and um, my cousin Moufasa was, um, he was trampled to death by a pack of wildebeasts. And, um, we all took it really hard. All of us, kind of in the audience of what happened.

Michael: Do you want to talk about it anymore?

Ryan: Oh, it would probably take another hour and a half to tell that whole story.

Kevin: Me me me me me. YES. Ok, I was trying to throw this party with my friends and everyone was over for the weekend. And then my uncle Bernie died so me and my best friend, we had to pretend like he was alive.

Michael: Wait a second. That’s weekend at Bernie’s.

This is taken from Season Three Episode Four, if you'd like to watch further.

Babies Having Babies.

Last Monday, my baby, had her babies. What a blessed event.

I got to watch the whole thing, which, gross as it may sound was amazing.

So this is the first baby. I thought she was black but turned out to be stripped

just like her daddy. Cute.

There are two stripped ones and I am unable to tell the difference. Either way, Duckie is extremely protective of all of them.

They especially enjoy using each other as headrests and blankets while sleeping. This pic features the black male kitty.

This is Olive, she will be Ben's baby. She is definitely the runt of the litter. Her size is hilarious and she's feisty so she's not afraid to fight for prime placement on Duckie's belly.

Here is me and the proud Mama. She's good to her babies.

Neither Duckie nor the baby were very happy about this picture taking place,

but it had to happen sometime.

If you're interested in a kitty let me know. I'd be happy to supply you with one.

Psychological Dissociation.

I experienced some psychological dissociation last weekend, while driving the long, dark road home from Hudson Bay, SK. Just as an aside, never go to Hudson Bay, SK.

It was around 12.30 and we'd been on the road for about two and a half hours. My mind kept telling me that the road was about to curve when it clearly was not. I began to feel more and more like someone else was driving the car I was in control of.

Then, I saw a sign telling me that the road was in fact about to curve so that I could prepare for it. As I snapped back to reality and into control of my vehicle I began to think about the fact that no matter what road I am on, be it a major highway, minor highway, gravel or dirt road, there will always be a sign telling me that the road is about to curve.

What a wonderful aspect of American travel. As I thought about this, I began to feel an imense amount of gratitude for the men who, decades ago, put up every one of those signs. I began to wonder who they were; why they were hired for that task; if they belonged to a union of highway workers that simply got stuck with the job. Perhaps it was a make work project during the thirties. Who will ever know?

So next time you're driving in the early morn and you're not sure what exactly is ahead of you, be grateful for the assurance that at least regarding the road, you will always know what's coming.