Grateful Eight extended version

I realize that I am really behind in my posting and I missed last weeks "grateful eight" altogether, so I will make up a little this week.

Unfortunately there will be one more post after this one and I will be on a bit of a break. We have been a little busy lately and are getting ready for another transition. So hopefully I can get back into the blogging thing again soon, but for now there will have to be a brief "pause" in my bloggin!

So for the past two weeks, here are a few things I have been grateful for:

1. Nice fall weather. The weather has been gorgeous here and the colours are even more magnificent. Hopefully this weekend I can get out and capture some of the fall beauty with my camera.

2. Good health again. Zech has been sick and is slowly getting better. John has also been sick and had a bit of an eye infection. John had to see an eye specialist and it has cleared up now, but they want him to come in tomorrow to discuss the results of some of his tests that he had done. I think that he is fine, but of course he is a little stressed, so please keep him in your prayers and pray that it is nothing but good results (he still has 20/20 vision and does not wear glasses--I hope our kids inherit his eyes)! :o)

3. A chance to fly up to Edmonton by myself and see some of my family. I saw my grandparents which was quite difficult. My Grandma especially has failed and had no idea who I was!

4. Lunch with my sister, nephew and mom and then time to visit with my Aunt Laurel and the girls (thanks for the new boots too--they looked awesome with my interview outfit)!

5. An interview in Edmonton that seemed to go pretty good. Please pray that I get something soon! This is getting really frustrating!

6. Accident claims. We just settled an accident that John was in three years ago (he was hit on his motorbike) and were happy that it was finally over. However, the next day our neighbour backed into our van and did some considerable damage. We handled it extremely well, it is just a car and nobody was in it. Our neighbour wasn't too impressed, but thank goodness insurance will cover everything!

7. A wonderful scrap booking package from Mary. I entered a little contest on her blog and won! My little monkey got into it and I found him chewing on the little paper flowers she had enclosed--he told me it was his "vilo" (vitamin)!

8. My wonderful husband who is such an amazing father. He did a great job looking after Zech while I was away. It was the first time I had been away from both of them for two nights, three days! I missed them like crazy!

9. My sister, brother-in-law and nephew. They let me stay with them, chauffered me around and made some great meals for me. Plus I got Jonas all to myself and had lots of fun playing with him.

10. My in-laws! They have been so wonderful and supportive. My father-in-law just turned 68 last week, so we had a nice supper to celebrate. He is in remarkable shape for 68 as he rides his bike EVERYWHERE, every day!

11. My newfound love of BBQ shrimp. I am not a shrimp fan, but my brother and sister-in-law made shrimp skewers for the B-day supper. I thought I would give it a try as my taste buds have really changed recently and to my surprise and delight I loved them! I am still not sure about the raw shrimp, but the BBQ shrimp skewers in garlic butter--delicious!

12. Dreams and provision!

13. Good friends that I am able to stay in contact with no matter how far away we are!

14. The Bible.

15. Almost forgot about our new MAC laptop. Love MAC and don't think we will ever go back. We bought it for John as he is back at school and will be doing everything online. Our PC laptop has been plagued by viruses lately and our Desktop crashed, so we took the safe route and we are so glad that we did!

6 Random Things

Today I was checking out my friend, Melinda's blog and found out that she tagged me with this little game. So, just so she can read my responses, and any of you interested readers I've decided to play along.

The "rules" of the game are as follows:

1. Post the rules on your blog
2. Write 6 random things about yourself
3. Tag 6 people at the end of your post
4. If you're tagged, DO IT and pass on the tag 

* * * * * 

1.  I don't get a chance to watch much TV, but I have to admit that I am a huge "So You Think You Can Dance" fan! I started watching in Australia and it is the one show that I "plan" to watch.  I think that I would have loved to take some dance lessons.  I started taking some latin ballroom in Mexico and loved it.  Apparently I do have some rhythm(the many years of piano, band and dancing with Dad must have helped), but I have zero flexibility and lack a bit of coordination!

2.  I love to cook and bake and actually find it relaxing.  I love to entertain and share new recipes with friends and family, but never seem to have a place big enough to do so.  One day when we buy or build a home, the most important feature would be the kitchen and the dining room.  I want a HUGE kitchen with a big eating area.  I would also like to take some cooking or baking classes, just for fun.  

3.  I love the heat and hate the cold!  I dread winter and hate feeling cold.  I think this fear or dread of the cold happened when I returned from living in Mexico.  The day I left Mexico it was a beautiful hot day with temperatures reaching in the high thirties.  I arrived in Calgary to minus 20, wind, flurries and absolutely froze to death.  I prefer the nice dry heat though, versus the super humid, sweat non-stop heat.  

4.   I have the travel bug and it is permanent.  Even with all of our moving around, I still love to travel and I get the itch all the time (I am grateful that my hubby shares the same travel bug--maybe it's contagious!!).  I would love to see more of Europe, and I would love to see South America and Central America. My dream trip is to go to the Holy Land and see all of the historical, biblical sites. I would love to see where Jesus and his disciples walked, where miracles were preformed, to see where the most well known biblical accounts took place.

5.    I miss living in the country and hope that one day my kids can grow up in the country and be free to explore, and enjoy the great outdoors like I did as a child.  There was a time in my life where I couldn't wait to get off the farm and into the big cities.  I did enjoy my time in the city life when I was young and single, but now that I am married and have a little one, I would love the simplicity, the peacefulness and the serenity of living in the country again!

6.  My favourite movies and books are those that are based on true stories.  I am not into fantasy, fiction, any of that stuff (I never liked cartoons growing up either--I know I'm weird).  I like bibliographies, historical accounts, archaeological findings, stories that are based on true events and movies that are based on true stories. They are easier to relate to and I love hearing about other people's lives, struggles, fears, likes, passions, etc. Unfortunately I do not have as much time as I would like to sit and read a great book, but one that I have read recently and couldn't put down was "Save me from Myself" by Brian "Head" Welsh (he was the guitar player for the extremely heavy metal band Korn and became a Christian---his testimony is remarkable.

You've been tagged:

1. Aunty Elaine - I know that you would have lots of random things to share and that I would thoroughly enjoy reading what you had to share!

2. Melanie - You need to update your blog, so this is a little push to do so! :o)

I don't really have anyone else to tag.  Melinda has tagged Heather, Crystal and Deanna and those are the blogs that I frequent too.  So you are double tagged in a sense! :o) 

Gianna Jessen Abortion Survivor in Australia Part 2

Part Two.

How true, God does have a way of making the most miserable thing beautiful! God is in control! In the midst of all the pain, hurt, and suffering in this world, it is so reassuring, so wonderful to know that our Father is in control!

Another challenge Gianna offers is to put aside our desire to be Politically correct (PC) and stand up and be morally correct (MC). I love my country, but I am so sick and tired of seeing stupid laws passed because we are more concerned about being PC rather than MC! I am tired of everyone getting this uncomfortable look and start shifting about as they look for the closest exit because they do not want to address these horrific realities! We need to stand up in Canada and we need to defend the weak, the unborn, the defenseless!

Why is it that a little boy's puppy that was shot to death makes more headlines than the hundreds, the thousands, upon millions of babies that die each and every day, each and every year? It makes me so sad to think that we value an adorable little puppy more than our precious unborn babies!

Gianna Jessen Abortion Survivor in Australia Part 1

This was posted on our friends blog and I had to post it on my blog.

Gianna Jessen is a remarkable woman. After watching her share her compelling story and speak out on the atrocity of abortion, I really do not understand how ANYONE could continue to think that abortion is a "personal choice" and/or a "woman's right"! I still fail to understand how some Christians and churches will not take a stance on abortion.

I like Gianna, will chose to be hated to declare life.

She poses a good challenge for myself and I think for all of us: how much are you willing to stand up and speak the truth in love and graciousness and at least be willing to be hated in the process?

Or in the end is all about you or me and living in our comfort zone? Wow, what an inspirational woman!

Grateful Eight

This week went really fast for some reason! Maybe because we have been so busy!

I am grateful for:

1. More subbing time! This time I was with the older kids, well namely the adults. Only had two 16 year olds (who gave a lot of attitude), and the rest were a lot older. It was a fun day!

2. The opportunity to go and see my assessment results for that horrible interview I did. Yup, I swallowed a lot of pride and did not want to go, but felt it was important. I am so glad that I did (still don't have a job, but I don't feel as bad about myself and now know where I need to improve)!

3. "Major Trouble"!! What a fitting name, especially this week (after the surprise he left in the bathtub, the countless glasses of juice, milk and water he dumped all over, not to mention the temper tantrums--yes the terrible two's are upon us)!!

4. My boys! These two love to play all of the time! Zech is such a Daddy's boy and I can see why!

5. Possible job opportunities. I have been applying all over and to lots of different jobs. Please pray that I get something and that God will direct and lead us to where ever it is He would like us to be.

6. My Aunty Elaine! She is a wonderful, passionate person! She loves to talk and interact with people, listen to all sorts of wonderful music, and shop, shop, shop! :o) We found out that she has breast cancer, so please keep her in your prayers!

7. Family time! I love spending time with my wonderful husband and my beautiful little boy! I am so grateful for the wonderful moments we have together and feel so blessed that they are in my life!

8. The newest addition to the Moll family! Silas Jonathan Moll arrived on Thursday, Sept. 4! We are so happy that he is here safe and sound and that his mommy, daddy and big sister are doing well! You can check out some pictures here and go to his Grandma's blog here for more pictures and a really sweet video!