Floating in a giant bubble of "in between"

Lately I have been trying to figure out what I am supposed to do with my life! It's crazy to think that those poor 17 and 18 year olds are always forced to think about this in high school and decide on a path of school, or not school. I remember, I was there, and I was telling them (the teachers and facilitators) that I didn't have a clue.

And guess what, I still don't have a clue!!

I mean, I finished my teaching degree but now I'm not sure that is what I'm to do, at least for right now. That could be a future thing. I just don't know what I'm supposed to do in the meantime, while my child(ren) are young. (no, not pregnant, just planning for future children).

And today was for the most part, not helpful. The car is having troubles, and our computer bit the dust all in one day.

But as I am sitting down to do my Bible Study homework, this is what I read:

"Are you still searching for your calling? Are you still wrestling with your purpose on this earth? Our calling is to please Him (God) - to wake up every morning saying, "Yes, Lord." then live through the day to discover His questions."

and Genesis 5:24
"Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away."

2 Corinthians 5:7
"For we walk by faith, not by sight" (KJV)

Hebrews 11:6
"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."

So while I still do not have the details of my life figured out, I know what I need to do each day.

"Yes Lord"

Some older photos, but newly edited :)
And if you're reading this Mom, I am going to see and have lunch with Opa tomorrow! He called me today to confirm! He's so funny!

Thankful!

Ok ok, I realize that Canadian Thanksgiving has come and gone, but American Thanksgiving is just around the corner (next week) so I'm going with that.

But in reality, I am just thankful and neither thanksgivings spurred on these thoughts today.

I'm so thankful for:

...my son
who is now walking around the ottoman (holding on still) without much of a problem! He is also talking up a storm! While none of it makes sense to me, he sure has a mouthful!

...my husband
who tirelessly works to support our family, and loves to spend time with our son.

...great friends
who are good encouragers to myself and especially to my husband. They affirm his fathering skills and even challenge him without him realizing it as a challenge! It was brought up today that approx 70% of youth who are brought up in the Church, leave the church. And, the remaining 30% have one thing in common and that is that they saw/see their father reading the Bible and praying. That makes one think for a moment...

...an awesome photographer (http://juliekorstrom.com/)
who not only takes amazing photos, but also is willing to answer my many questions as I seek to become a better photographer myself! Plus, she can take amazing photos, while holding Landon in one arm, her camera in the other!

...my mom and dad
who are currently on a Caribbean cruise at the moment, and I miss them!

...my inlaws
who I get to see next week and spend an entire weekend with them. We get our Christmas shopping and baking all done in one weekend! Looking forward to it!

...my Savior
I probably wouldn't even be as thankful if I did not have Jesus.


And mostly because I know my mom will be reading this in the Carribean and because Linda likes seeing photos while at work, I'll not leave a post without photos! (But also for all the rest of you who don't mind a photo too)

I wanna do everything kind of day

I feel as though I should be writing this about a Wednesday in my calendar right now. On Wednesdays, I have ladies bible study in the morning, then I work (recently started back - short term contract) from 11:30 to 2:30pm, and last week I actually ended up working until 4:30, and then we had Matt's ball team's parent meeting and team dinner. This Wednesday, I've made plans with a friend to edit some photos in the evening. SO, if you haven't noticed Wednesdays are busy.

But here I am, it's Monday and I think the reason I'm writing this today is that I actually had some time to think as it's not quite a Wednesday.

Today I started work (last wednesday was training) by myself. I'm back at an old job at Mally Bibs, very part time, helping out over the holiday show busy time for the owners. And today was wonderful, it was SO good to be back.  Why did I leave in the first place?  I left when I started the teaching program. I was there for my three scheduled hours and didn't get nearly as much done as I was hoping to, and when I got home, I was still just-a-going. Thankfully I was able to get a little done around here on the tail end of my energy wave. However, later I was exhausted and the rest of the house shows it all too well. In fact, even Matt shows it in a way. He was a little frustrated with not getting much work done while I was absent. He's taking care of Landon while I work, so really, what is he expecting? It's only the second shift and my going back to work is trying on him and us as a family.

Tonight as I was doing my homework for the bible study (Living Beyond Yourself: Exploring the Fruit of the Spirit - Beth Moore), she asked the question:

"Are you doing too many things to do any ONE thing well for Christ?"

In the past (before Landon) I could easily say, YES. I have always lead a busy life, too busy.

Now for the past (almost) year, I've been on maternity leave with Landon and my life has gotten much more simplified, and I LOVE it!

I love being a mom.

I am actually enjoying preparing meals for my family (this is definitely new, never used to have the time).

I don't mind cleaning nearly as much as I used to.

I am growing to tolerate and do a much better job at grocery shopping and saving money in this area.

I am being fed by attending a Women's bible study.

I even signed on for a little bit of leadership (coordination) in the area of bible studies for the women of my church.

I am serving God and serving my family and I love my life.

Now that I'm going back to work though, I noticed my calendar this week is already JAM PACKED and it's only my first week back! AND, I'm only working 9 hours a week!

So I am now trying to decipher God's plan for my life after this 4 week contract. I've signed it, I enjoy it, I will certainly fulfill my end of the deal so long as God permits me to. But what next? Is this a taste for Matt and I to see that maybe I should continue to look for similar work? or is this a taste for us to realize that God will take care of our needs and that I should stay home and serve my family?

Really, I want to do everything! I want all the time to spend on my family, plenty more time to serve in the church, a little more time to spend on friends than I currently do, and I want to work in a job that I love and feel invested in. Oh and I certainly don't want to give up any sleep for that.

Obviously much prayer is in our future.

A friend of mine mentioned just the other day that she wished a week was 10 days long instead of 7 so she'd have more time to do everything she wanted to do as well. Guess I'm not alone on this one.

Here are some photos for your viewing pleasure.

Remembering

Today I remember my Grandpa. He fought in WWII and while he survived it, he passed away quite a few years ago. He stood beside many who died for their country.

Earlier today my thoughts also wandered to how Jesus took on the sins of the ENTIRE WORLD, past, present and future, and died for literally EVERYONE, should they accept the gift.

Considering then, the ceremonies and all the formalities of Remembrance Day (Veterans Day USA), how much more should we be remembering and THANKING Jesus for his sacrifice. It got me thinking about Easter and how much more important that holiday and the ceremonies around it should be.

Landon agrees...

When Landon was Measured for his Helmet

These are just a couple photos I was able to snap when we took Landon to BC Children's Hospital to get his head measured for his custom Starband helmet.

He got to play with toys, the hospital is very friendly as it is for children.

They put a thing on his head. It was tight in order that his hair would not interfere with the scan. Also, you might notice there are stickers by his ears. He did not like being in this scanning machine however Daddy and Mommy were right there the entire time. 

Feel free to ask me questions about how this all went.

We've been busy!

It has taken a few days to get back on here, but here I am.  And I am excited for Christmas. I love the whole season so much and last year my son was born right in the middle of it. Therefore, we had to miss my husband's family's celebration because we could not cross the border with a baby with no ID. We stayed close to home last year so this year will be our first complete Christmas with our son. 

Now I should tell you, the reason my thoughts are on Christmas is because my mom and I went down to Burlington and to Aunt CJ's Cash and Carry Partylite show to start shopping for Christmas. We got great deals from Aunt CJ and from JC Penney's. So now I cannot wait til Thanksgiving because we have a tradition.  We eat Thanksgiving on Thursday, then Michaels opens from 5-9 for a pre-black friday sale which is awesome, and then we (and by we, I mean Matt's mom Linda, his sister Sarah, and I) go shopping at the Seattle Premium Outlets but we wait til around 2am because it's nuts at midnight and we have no reason to be there when it opens. We don't need the zoo.  So we shop from 2am til around noon on Friday, heading to Smokey Point after the outlet mall, then to Mt Vernon to JC Penney and the Cascade Mall.  Then on friday, we have a nap and rest up. Then on Friday evening and Saturday we do ALL of our Christmas baking and get it all done and over with. So in 3 days we get all our Christmas shopping and baking finished so that we can totally relax and enjoy the entire Christmas season all throughout December. 

I could probably write for hours on my Black Friday shopping experiences over the last few years, but I won't bore you with the details right now, maybe a few days after I actually go this year, you'll get to hear my stories, but for now, I'll leave you with a few older photos. 

The first is me in May when we dedicated Landon to the Lord. This is at the "after party" at my parent's house.

And this one is from September, out at a park near our home.

Hope your week is going well.

Some of my latest edits

Matt's parents came up to visit today and we began choosing some photos from this past year to go on their wall in their hallway. So here are a few that I edited so we could get them printed.

The first four are from Justin (Matt's cousin) and Shawnie's wedding on Labor Day weekend in Moses Lake, WA.
Matt's sister Sarah and I.

Landon with his Great Grandpa!

Landon with his Great Grandma and Great Grandpa while we visited them in Arizona in April.

Looking back some older photos, WOW have things changed. Especially Landon. He has grown so much.

Bathtime with baby

A couple more from last night

Teething much? Look at those cheeks.

Teeth

Landon got another two teeth today. His bottom front two teeth are sharp sharp sharp. You still can't see them though, however I did manage to get a photo of his top tooth, his FIRST tooth.

And as you can see, Grandma Linda (Matt's mom) came to visit this evening. She likes to give Landon a bath, which he needs more often now as he sweats in his little helmet. Funny story, to go with this. Linda has come for the last three weeks in a row on tuesday nights and has given Landon a bath each time. She gets him undressed completely and then holds him while Mommy gets the bath water and tub ready. 2 out of the 3 times she has done this, Landon has PEED on her. You would think she would have learned after the first time (yes, she reads this, but she said this herself so I can quote her), She just gracefully laughs it off. We all had a good laugh. My mom has always said "a mother knows that you don't wear cloths that can't be washed," and to Linda, it's totally worth it. Though, I think from now on, she'll start packing an extra shirt to wear home. I look forward to telling Landon this story when he's older to help communicate how much his Grandma loves him.

Here you can see his tooth.

There he is with his Grandma.