KEEN (a post about shoes! haha!)

If none of you have heard of KEEN...let me tell you about it/them! They are the most comfortable shoes I have EVER had! Really, truly, honestly! I bought a pair of boots at christmas and it was like they were made just for me...the were already broken in, never got a blister, soar feet...nothing! I loved them, and usually I don't like boots, I don't like the way they feel around my ankle. Soooo, I talked to Jason and told him about a pair of slip on KEEN's that I had seen and that my friend has...not to copy her...she showed me hers and I said..."those are the ones I want!" She has the same shoes as my boots too! So he said that I could go buy myself some since he didn't get me a mother's day present (not that he has to...but hey, great excuse to go shopping for myself!) I went there and because they're such a good shoe, she was out of my size in the ones that I wanted...and most other styles. She just can't keep up she says and the factory is done making their summer line...so no luck in even ordering some! So I was a bit disappointed. But then she brought out a few others for me to try in my size. Well, she brought out a pair of trail runners. I had seen them on the KEEN website and thought they were cool. I had just bought new runners last summer...but have never loved them, and didn't pay a whole lot for them, and they're just not that comfortable. So I tried them on...oh my! So now I am the proud owner of a new pair of KEEN trail runners. I've already gone for two walks with them and they are awesome. I swear...these shoes are the best thing that I've ever put my feet into! So if you're in the market for a great pair of shoes...get KEEN! (I got the green ones...thats all she had, they're brighter than in this pic....LOVE them!) Some may think they're ugly...but I don't care...they're funky and comfy and thats all that matters!

www.keenfootwear.com

A Great Day!

I had a great day today (so far anyways). I got a little bit further in my pre-requisites for the LPN program...I'm almost there, just a few more things to get done! And I got to visit with a great friend. Thanks for lunch Christy and thanks for the visit...it was great! See you sunday for sure...if not sooner!

The Weekend

Well its been absolutely beautiful out here the past couple of days...can't complain...except for the fact that I haven't been soaking it all up! No...I've been inside most of the time...dumb...ya, I know!

We were going to go to the lake on sunday...not the local one, which would've been much better...but to one a bit further away. The road to get to it was absolutely awful, so we ended up turning around and headed in another direction. We ended up going to Kalum Lake and met up with some friends there for a while. We then decided to keep going down that road and ended up in Aiyansh, stopped for a drink and a snack, then headed home. We saw eleven bear just between the lake and the town. It was crazy! But fun for us all, especially the kids! I guess its that time of year!

We had a great fire the other night out in the yard. We burned a bunch of scrap wood from our reno's...it was soooo nice to see that ugly old bannister go! I'm loving our new one...thanks to my dad and Jason...it just needs a few coats of paint and some end caps and it'll look fabulous! Slowly but surely the house is starting to look more and more like home.

Yesterday we took the kids and Syd's friend out for a day of fishing...no luck...but it was still fun. Our little boy is going to make a great fisherman someday. He didn't catch a thing...but wouldn't stop saying how much fun he was having...just casting over and over again. I can't wait until the day that he snags a fish...I'll never hear the end of it!!

Well thats about it. Nothing much else is new. I'm just so happy that the sun has decided to finally shine and to warm this place up a bit! Hope you're all well!

Mommy Quiz

1. WAS YOUR FIRST PREGNANCY PLANNED? Yes it was...I was on fertility drugs.

2. WERE YOU MARRIED AT THE TIME? Yes

3. WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS? Shock and worry and feeling blessed...as we had lost two pregnancies previously.

4. WAS ABORTION AN OPTION FOR YOU? No way!

5. HOW OLD WERE YOU? 23

6. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT?Well when you're on fertility meds...you pretty much know if you're pregnant or not and you always have a test near by!

7. WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST?Our parents.

8. DID YOU WANT TO FIND OUT THE SEX?Yes and no...but we never did.

9. DUE DATE? Nov 15, 1997

10. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS?Yes and no. I was sick here and there through out the day...but it wasn't awful...thank goodness.

11. WHAT DID YOU CRAVE? Can't remember with that pregnancy...but with my second, it was watermelon!

12. WHO/WHAT IRRITATED YOU THE MOST?No one/nothing really...just the worry of getting through those first three months was irritating enough.

13. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CHILD'S SEX? female

14. DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE SEX OF WHAT YOU WERE GETTING? Nope! I thought she was a boy, but when we found out that she was a girl...I was thrilled...deep down I had wanted a girl...but in the end, it didn't really matter at all.

15. HOW MANY POUNDS DID YOU GAIN THROUGHOUT THE PREGNANCY? 30lbs

16. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER? Yes, my friend Vicki had one for me.

17. WAS IT A SURPRISE OR DID YOU KNOW? I knew about it.

18. DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY? I always had pains that felt like premature labor...turns out that they were gall bladder attacks...I had my gall bladder removed when my daughter was seven weeks old.

19. WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH? Saskatoon.

20. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR? I was gelled in the morning and then again in the evening and had her around 11:30 at night. Active labor was probably about four hours (it was such a long time ago!)

21. WHO DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL? My mom drove Jason and I and dropped us off...we didn't want to pay for parking at the hospital all day! haha!

22. WHO WATCHED YOU GIVE BIRTH? Jason, my mom and my sister.

23. WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION? Natural

24. DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN? Yes...I had and epidural, but I could still feel most of my labor...it just took the edge off.

25. HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH? 8lbs 1oz

26. WHEN WAS YOUR CHILD ACTUALLY BORN ? November 4, 1997

27. WHAT DID YOU NAME HIM/HER? Sydney

28. HOW OLD IS YOUR FIRST BORN TODAY? She is 9 and a half (can't forget the half you know!)

June 13, 2006—Perhaps not since the Cowardly Lion has an animal's appearance been so at odds with its attitude.

On June 4 a black bear wandered into a West Milford, New Jersey, back yard, was confronted by a 15-pound (7-kilogram) tabby cat … and fled up a neighbor's tree. Hissing at the base of the tree, Jack the clawless cat kept the bear at bay for about 15 minutes, then ran him up another tree after an attempted escape.

Finally, Jack's owner, Donna Dickey, called the cat inside, and the timorous trespasser disappeared back into the woods.

"He doesn't want anybody in his yard," Dickey said of Jack in an interview with the Newark Star Ledger.

Unlike cats, bears aren't typically territorial, roaming instead over vast areas that would be impossible to patrol for intruders. With a habitat that includes much of North America, black bears are seen fairly often in this region of New Jersey.

Full-grown black bears weigh between 200 and 600 pounds (90 and 270 kilograms) and measure as much as 6 feet (1.8 meters) long. Their diets can include fruits, honey, insects, acorns and animals as big as moose calves—a fact apparently lost on Jack.

I found this while browsing on the net the other day...I thought it was too funny. Those of you who know my cat Rosy...I could totally see her doing this! Some cats...are just plain dumb! haha!

Devotions with my daughter

I was doing devotions with my daughter tonight and the verse that I posted in my title is what the devotion was about. Its something that I have been dealing with over the last six months or so. I thought it so fitting as to what I need to do in my life. I need to look ahead to my future and to stop looking back and dwelling in the past. I cannot change the past, but I can make the future...my future the best that it can be if that is where my focus is.

Bury the Past (Phil 3:13)
Nobody's perfect, and Paul admits that. But he's not wasting any time on regrets and guilt over his past failures. He wisely concentrates all his attention and energy on making a total change in his priorities. He clings to what is truly valuable, both here on earth and for eternity.

You may have things you want to forget too. Maybe you totally blew your speech in reading class. Or you tripped in the bleachers and fell on top of a crush-worthy boy. Or maybe a memory that tortures you is more serious. Perhaps you let somebody down in a big way or - like the apostle Paul - you have really hurt someone.

We all make mistakes and do things we aren't proud of later. Even after we ask God's forgiveness, the guilty feeling can linger. But you can't change the past or control it in any way. Do keep the lessons you learned, but forget the incidents and the emotions attached to them. The best way to do that is to focus on your future, both here on earth and in heaven to come. Focus on growing in godly values, and forget other things - both past failures and past successes. Nothing on earth compares to knowing Jesus better and better each day.

Whatever happened before today - good or bad - is in the past. Concentrate your energy and thoughts on what lies ahead. You'll see improvement over past failures, but even more important, you'll look forward to the truly priceless victory over death and an eternity with Christ.

Now obviously this is taken from a young girls devotional book...not my own (I don't think I ever tripped over the bleachers in front of a crush...atleast not for many, many years..haha) but it was exactly what I needed to hear. Its funny how even a children's/tweens devotional can speak to us parents. I love that about God...He'll get us any way that He can!!

I'm Back!!!

It's great to be back in the world of blogging. Its been a while, but I've taken the time that I've needed and its time to get back in the land of blog!