Milestone!

Julia played her first song on the violin today. She's been diligently learning her bow hold, the song variations and all of the stuff that goes with Suzuki violin training and today she was finally ready to play "The Monkey Song"! How appropriate! Becky has been doing a great job teaching her and it's been so much fun watching her learn and develop. What a great moment!

Live to Tell

I saw this on Tina's blog and had to post it...it's just amazing! It's from Madonna's "Confessions" tour, its about 8 minutes long, but it is sooo worth it! Please take the time to view the whole thing, it is just beautiful! Thank you for sharing it Tina!

Nothing a day at Romeo's can't fix

Well, I had a bit of a freak out last night. Self pity, anger at the world, you know... those things that come when we're not getting our way! Anyways, I needed to feel good about myself so I ended up at Romeo's today and told Jeff to chop it all off... tonight I'm pleased with the results and feeling like a new woman, though I'm looking forward to my follow up color and accent appointment same time next week! I'm telling you, there's nothing like a good stylist to pick you right up... of course the scalp massage, hand massage, coffee and good conversation help as well! Corena, you're so right about that place! Sometimes a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do!

Happy Birthday Dan!!!

HAPPY 30th BIRTHDAY DAN!!!

We love you soooo much!

Simone, Elisabeth and Julia!

How to Stay Married...

I read this in the "Lion Brand" knitting newsletter that I receive weekly and thought that it was a cute story... so I'm sharing it with you.



How to Stay Married

A man and a woman had been married for more than 60 years. They had shared everything. They had kept no secrets from each other except that the little old woman had a shoe box in the top of her closet that she had cautioned her husband never to open or ask her about.

For all of these years, he had never thought about the box, but one day the little old woman got very sick and the doctor said she would not recover. In trying to sort out their affairs, the little old man took down the shoe box and took it to his wife's bedside.

She agreed that it was time that he should know what was in the box. When he opened it, he found two crocheted dolls and a stack of money totaling $95,000. He asked her about the contents.
"When we were to be married," she said, "my grandmother told me the secret of a happy marriage was to never argue. She told me that if I ever got angry with you, I should just keep quiet and crochet a doll."

The little old man was so moved; he had to fight back tears. Only two precious dolls were in the box. She had only been angry with him two times in all those years of living and loving. He almost burst with happiness.

"Honey," he said "that explains the doll, but what about all of this money? Where did it come from?"

"Oh, that?" she said. "That's the money I made from selling the dolls."

My Wife ROCKS!!!!

Well I've got to admit that I was caught off guard! Last night we headed out to our good friends the Sopers as is our new weekly tradition. We had supper ( real good take out pizza) , Deron and I went out to the back yard and enjoyed a nice cigar, and like two minutes after getting back in, the door bell rings and there are like 20 or 30 of the coolest people in the world there to wish ME a happy B-day!
Do you believe it? I am so BLESSED! The Lord has given me an AMAZING wife and more great friends than I'm sure I deserve! Simone put up with my belly aching about turning #&*%@*# and not getting a party (she had a good reason to not have a party, I'm going away on a guy's week end next week end). And didn't let on at all about the party, and I was turning into a bit of a baby about it too! The Soper's opened their home to us and it was awesome! People brought a lot of my favorite foods. we ate and drank, danced and were merry!
Thank you everyone! Thank you Simone, Thank you Sopers, Thank you all of my dear friends! THANK YOU LORD!!! I AM BLESSED
Dan<>{

Accountability

I just want to thank you guys so much for your responses to my last post. I really appreciate your support and encouragement. You know the funny thing? Once I put all of that out there, I seemed better able to deal with it. In fact, this is the first week that I've been able to stay "on plan" since last year! I've been watching portions, making better choices, counting points and doing all of the things that I knew I needed to do to get back on track. I know I'm far from being out of the woods, but know that your support (and the accountability the last post brought) is making a difference. Thanks again!

Simone

Trying to wake up

Hi all,
I've been really struggling with my weight again... it's been really frustrating! I feel like I've been in a bad dream watching myself step back into every bad habit that I thought I had broken. It's been a strange sort of "out of body" experience for the last 10 months as I see myself make bad choice after bad choice (health/food wise)then struggle with the negative self talk that follows. I've felt completely unable to stop this destructive behavior... now I'm finding myself in much the same place as I was before I lost all of my weight in the first place, only worse! I don't fit into any of my clothes, and I can't even enjoy shopping for more, cause nothing fits right and I'm finding myself looking more and more in the plus size section of stores, feeling like that is where I will inevitably end up. The worst thing is that I don't feel like I can go back to Weightwatchers where I lost the weight in the first place because a year ago I was working for them, standing at the front of the room telling everyone how to do what I had done and that they could do it. The sense of shame and hypocrisy that I feel when I even consider reaching out for help just incapacitates me. This is really starting to affect my self-image again and I just don't want to keep going down this road. I really thought that I had overcome this mountain, and here I am going round it once more! I really don't know what to do... well, that's not really the case, after all, it used to be my job to tell people how to lose weight... the issue is that I need help, cause I don't seem to be able to do it in my own strength... and I keep asking God for help, but I can't seem to push through. I'm full of resolve one minute and tell myself all of the things that I need to do to succeed and the next minute I'm snacking on a piece of chocolate or some fries... I've even had to go so far this weekend as to hand my bank cards to Dan asking him to only give them to me when I need them. I know this whole issue seems like a vanity thing... but I know its not. When I was healthier, I was able to focus better, I was able to think more clearly and had more energy for my work and my family. I was disciplined and it showed in every area of my life. Now, not only do I feel physically terrible, but it affects my mood and my emotions... I'm discouraged and feel like I'm more vulnerable. Anyways, I would appreciate your prayers.

All is Well

Well, this has been quite the week! As you know from my last post, Dan got layed-off on Friday. I guess Tigercat decided that they could keep him a little while longer, so he's safe again. He has been transfered to another plant in Paris though. He will be working for rebuild and service now. This is very good as Dan has loved working for Tigercat and was very sad at the thought of being done. They have been a great company to work for. (those of you who don't remember, this is the same company that Dan was with before we went to the Arctic, so we have history with them) Please pray for the company though, that things would pick up. God is so faithful in all of this, He is truly showing us that He is our provider, and that we just need to keep trusting in Him. What a faithful God we have! Thank you Lord!!!

Lay-off

Hi Guys,

Dan got lay-off papers today. He's done as of next friday. His boss said they are still going to try to figure out how to keep him, but as of now, we're just sort of waiting. We would really appreciate your prayers as we spend the next few days seeking God's direction.

Thank you,

Simone

Well, we finally did it. We bought our first new car!!! We've been looking for a car for about a month now , we went out test driving a few times and found that we liked the Mitsubishi Lancer a lot, for a few reasons. 1. WARRANTY, 10 year/160000km. 2. Fuel economy and price. 3. IT looks Awesome!!
So after A LOT of back and forth haggling we finally reached a deal! And on Friday we picked up our newest member of the family!

Girl's Night Out

Julie and I are going to go see Hewit live at the Horseshoe in Toronto on October 12th. I'm really looking forward to it. For those of you who don't know, Hewit's lead singer and songwriter is my little brother Joel. He's a great singer and they are all amazing musicians. Maybe I'll see you there! Check out the link to their website located under "Websites of interest" in the sidebar for more info!

Hewit's song Big Ideas from CH morning live

Hewit video from CH morning Live

Insecurity

Isn't it amazing how, even after years of being a Christian, of doing bible study and spiritual growth, all it takes one small thing to totally make me feel insecure and throw me right out of balance. I can't stand that. Why do I still get so undone when these things happen? I go from knowing who God is, knowing who I am, to being overwhelmed with what a miserable person I am, certain that there is no good thing in me. Somehow the thoughts that are usually held captive escape all at once and I start second guessing everything I've come to know about myself and forgeting everything God has told me about who he's made me to be. Poor Dan then gets stuck with a blubbering mess. (probably close to the one he first met). Thank God for the husband he's given me, cause I can move from one side of the pendulum to the other pretty quickly when this does happen, especially when I'm tired. Dan is getting good at recognising when he needs to stop and pray for me, he's not afraid to shoot from the hip when he has to, but he is also able to do it gently. I so want to be in the place in my walk with God where I can just take what goes on around me and with me and stay steadily anchored in what God says... I'm alot better than I used to be, cause now when the high winds blow, I may get tossed about for a bit, but it doesn't take long before I feel the pull of the anchor, reminding me "This is as far as you should go" Dan is a big part of that for me. I really see him as provision from God, reminding me to turn to God, press in and hear what He is saying rather than what all the other voices are saying.
Thank you Lord for my husband. Bless him today Lord, in everything that he puts his hand to. Please help me to anchor even closer to you Lord, to shorten the cord that is holding me to you and to what your word says. Help me to find my security in you each day. I want to be right in the center of you Lord, so that nothing can move me but you. I want to be like your word says "Hidden with Christ in You".

Ahhh Rest!!!

As you may know, I've been quite busy lately. So yesterday being my day off, I sat down with the book "Redeeming Love" by Francine Rivers and settled in for a good read. It's been a while since I've been able to relax enough to sit and read a novel! It was sooo nice! I finished it last night around 10:00 (started around 9:00am). We ordered in for dinner, then Julia spent most of the evening listening to her "suzuki" violin CD, while Elisabeth went over to a friend's house till around 9:30. Julie came over to spend the weekend and she crocheted on one couch as I sat on the other couch and read, it was great - a real "cold coffee" night. The whole day was just totally restful and good for the soul! The great thing is that I feel so good after just resting and doing nothing else yesterday that I've had lots of energy to clean and do laundry today... funny how that works! Everything has just been piling up cause I'm too beat after work to do anything... I guess the lesson here is that when you try to do too much, you get to the point where you can't accomplish much of anything, but when you rest (as God intended) you get everything done and still feel good! Not rocket science, but it sure is nice to have that reminder once in a while!

Blessings,

Simone

Cpl. Glen Arnold 1974 - 2006

This is my cousin Glen. Please pray for his wife and kids, as well as his parents, his 3 brothers, and his sister. This is a big loss for our family. He is the first of any of our family to die. Also, please pray for Pvt David Byers' family. He was from my home town as well.



Cpl. Glen Arnold, one of four Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan on Monday, was married and had five children.

My cousin died in Afghanistan today

My brother msn'd me to tell me that my first cousin Glen died in Afghanistan today. A Taliban suicide bomber ran his bicycle into a group of soldiers taking care of some Afghan families. He was one of the 4 who died. Our two families are very close and we went to the same schools growing up, he was only a year older than me. I'm very sad. He leaves 5 children and a wife behind. I've been speaking to my brother, who is also military and he tells me that this is exactly what they signed up for. To live with purpose and to die with purpose, giving their lives for others. He reminds me that no Canadian solder is drafted, they all sign up willing to give their lives.

I am struck that this is what discipleship is meant to be. Becoming more like Christ means to be living for others and also being willing to die for them. Because that's what He (Jesus) did. That the world may know the good news of the Kingdom of God. Hmmm...

Article about the 4 Canadian soldiers who died today.

Wikipedia Experiment

I saw this on Judy's blog and decided to try it out! On the Wikipedia site I input the day and month I was born, leaving the year out. Here are a few things that happened in history on my birth day;

328 - Athanasius is elected Patriarch bishop of Alexandria. - Here is a guy who walked in more fear of the Lord than fear of man. I read about him in "The Story of Christian Theology" and was amazed.

1502 - Christopher Columbus leaves Spain for his fourth and final journey to the "New World".

1994 - Nelson Mandela is inaugurated as South Africa's first black president.

Births:

1907 - Kathryn Kuhlman, famed evangelist (d. 1976)
1914 - Hank Snow, Canadian-born musician (d. 1999)
1949 - Billy Joel, American musician

This is pretty fun! You should try it! Wikipedia

Thanks Judy!

Letting Go

I'm realizing that if I want to do my job well, that I need to learn to let some things go. I'm seeing that I won't be able to do all of the things that have been done in the past, as well as the new things that I know I am supposed to do. This is very difficult for me, because I want everything to keep "flowing". Unfortunately, the Lord seems to be going in a different direction than that! Whenever I cry out that I'm about to drop one of the many balls that I'm trying to juggle, He's telling me just to drop it! (instead of just helping me to juggle better!) I guess He's sort of realigning the job into the one He's meant for me to have, not the one that's been walked out before me. It's a little frightening, because I'm afraid to disapoint people, (even though I know it's inevitable! Actually, it's already happened!)

So with all of this, I have to keep praying that the Lord would help me to grow in the fear of the Lord instead of fear of man... so that I can be secure when the Lord tells me to drop something. I pray that I don't get so tangled up in all of this "important" stuff that I can't let go of things when the Lord tells me to! As Tina says "don't let the tail wag the dog!"

Into the Groove

How did September arrive so quickly? Just a minute ago I was planning my summer and now I'm back into full swing with the fall schedule. Tomorrow, Elisabeth starts her guitar lessons, then we have small group. Swimming lessons start on Saturday then Pioneer girls starts on Tuesday of next week (along with Dan and my date nights - gotta take advantage of the girl's busy schedule to get some "us" time). Elisabeth came home from school today totally thrilled to let me know that she is now a "junior"! Where did the time go? The girls' first day went very well. This is such a blessing considering the tremendous stress they were vocalizing because of the transitions they have experienced in the last year. Their old friends recognized them both right away and totally welcomed them back. Thank you Lord! The biggest fears had been "Will my friends remember me? Will they still like me?" But Elisabeth's friends swarmed her with hugs and cheers when they saw her, and Julia's friends were excited to see her as well. Well, that's all for now folks!

Blessings,

Simone

Dan's Coming Home!

Finally! After two weeks away, Dan is coming home! It's been quite the adventure for all of us having him so far away. He's been out in the world and meeting all kinds of people, going to business dinners and such. I've been at my new job, trying to figure it out and running after the kids and the housework and everything else all on my own. I sure miss him! It's amazing how much we take for granted when we are always together! I'll certainly be glad to see him and be able to talk to him face to face! Anyways, I should go,

blessings,

Dependence

It seems to me that as soon as I come to the point of thinking that I've come to the place of dependence on the Lord, He calls me to go even deeper. It's amazing to me that when that call comes, I still hesitate, like as if I forget, just for the moment, the depth of faithfulness that He's already shown me!

This new season is one of those, a call to even deeper dependence on my God. It's not the same as when I went to Iqaluit, and needed to trust that He was calling. Nor is it the same as when we came back, and needed to trust that He was calling, and that He would provide. Neither is it the same as needing to learn how to receive while living at Tina and Jeff's and while we were preparing to move into our home. There is another level of dependence that God is calling me into... One that I have to confess I thought I already had achieved... Learning dependence on Him in the midst of the business of life. Depending on Him in the craziness of working full time, parenting my children, being a wife and trying to be faithful to the call he's placed on my life. Nothing new, but for some reason it's feeling huge again...

I guess this southern Ontario lifestyle is starting to get to me... It's such a huge shift from being up north! I am realizing the need to connect with God is so much bigger right now, like I just can't make it through even part of the day without plugging in... I just can't do it anymore!!! I know that this is a good thing, but the thing is for some reason this has been difficult for me!!! I'm seeing that there is still a part of me that takes pride in thinking that I am strong and able to do things on my own... Only I've come to the place where I just can't do anything anymore without Him! I've lost my strength!

Since I've been back from the Arctic I've been waiting for my strength to return, expecting that any day now I will be strong again and be able to do all that I was able to do before! I'm beginning to see that I had been in a huge season of grace, where the Lord was letting me do the things that I was doing by relying on my gifts and talents to get me through as much I was relying on Him. There is just no way that I am able to get away with that anymore!!! I'm so needy! I feel like He's showing me what I'm really able to accomplish on my own and calling me to complete depend on Him, and not in myself. It's good, it's just a big humility pill to swallow... Again... I'll let you know how that goes... Did any of this make sense?

Julie... we scored the same, how funny is that!!!

Your Personality Is Like Acid

A bit wacky, you're very difficult to predict.One moment you're in your own little happy universe...And the next, you're on a bad trip to your own personal hell!

What Drug Is Your Personality Like?

what kind of coffee am I?

You are a Black Coffee

At your best, you are: low maintenance, friendly, and adaptable At your worst, you are: cheap and angsty You drink coffee when: you can get your hands on it Your caffeine addiction level: high

What Kind of Coffee Are You?

Interesting...

You Are 89% Grown Up, 11% Kid

Your emotional maturity is fully developed, and you have an excellent grasp on your emotions.In fact, you are so emotionally mature - you should consider being a therapist!

How Emotionally Mature Are You?

What's My Personality Type?

You Are An ENFJ

The Giver You strive to maintain harmony in relationships, and usually succeed.Articulate and enthusiastic, you are good at making personal connections.Sometimes you idealize relationships too much - and end up being let down.You find the most energy and comfort in social situations ... where you shine. You would make a good writer, human resources director, or psychologist.

What's" Your Personality Type?

Need to do this more often...

Hi there,

Well, Dan is in Warren, Arkansas! He got there yesterday afternoon and it is hot and humid there, averaging about 35C with the humidity... though it was over 40 yesterday! He's busy and I'm settling into quite a busy time at work. It's pretty quiet when I'm home though, especially after the girls go to bed... all of a sudden the house becomes very still...
Tonight was good though, Corena and her brood as well as Julie came to visit and it was great to just hang out with the girls... it's been way too long! I realize that I really need to do this on a regular basis, so I'm looking at my schedule to carve out some intentional girl time. Dan's been hanging out with his guys once a week for years, it's become second nature. So now its time for me to learn the lesson and just make the time, before another year goes by and I find myself saying once more..."We need to do this more often!"

All I have to say is WOW

Well I must say that I thought I knew how busy my new job would be... but now, the more I know, the more I realize that I am definitely going to need some big prayer support to pull this off well!!! I'm watching the calendar of events that need to get planned get heavier by the minute it seems!

Of course my new job may not be the only reason I'm feeling overwhelmed... Dan found out today that he needs to go to Arkansas for work for 2 and a half weeks!!! He could be leaving as soon as tomorrow!!! That means that everything else that we have on our plate gets dumped on me as well! Not to mention the fact that I have to figure out what to do with the girls on Sundays until he's back because I can't really be watching them while I'm running around at the church for work (considering I need to be there at 8am). So tonight, I think I'm going to run to Chapters, pick up a knitting magazine and get myself a nice yummy Starbucks Latte, and try to forget all about my to-do list for a while!

Simone

Bye Bye Bank, hello Cambridge Vineyard!

As most of you know, I have left my job at the bank and have accepted a position as Administrative Coordinator with the Cambridge Vineyard. I am really excited! (At first I was mostly just terrified, cause Kim did such an amazing job I was overwhelmed with trying to duplicate what she did!) But now I'm seeing how I can make it a little more my own and it's inspiring me! I started on Sunday by shadowing Kim, and now I've had two days in the office getting to know some of the other staff a little better and settling into - get this - MY office! (I think it may need a few touch ups to really make it mine... first off, the peach walls will probably disappear some weekend, and switch to something more contemporary... by contemporary I mean maybe a nice soft stone colour, or you know me - red! Don't worry, I'll check with the boss first!) I've got my work cut out for me though! I've got a conference to plan for October, quite a few other things before that and you KNOW that I will definitely be using my "Phone a Friend" option at least a dozen times to tap into Kim's vast knowledge! All in all, as I sit back and realize that I'm actually working at the church, I think WOW God, I did not see this coming at all! I'm really thankfull to have this opportunity.

No Photo Available

You'll notice that I took the pictures of the kids off the posts... I was reading http://www.spillingthebean.blogspot.com/ (Corena's Blog) about internet safety and it made me think... maybe I'm over reacting, but hey, better safe than sorry. If you want to see pictures of the kids, come on over, I'll put coffee on and brag all night long about my beauties!

Critters from the Sea!!!

Here is mister crab. Dan found him at a little beach in Mader's cove just outside of Mahone Bay.
We set him free!

The first starfish we found... we let her go too!

Searching for more treasures!!!

More Campfire pictures, I must say, I really miss having a campfire everynight!

You'll notice that I took the pictures of the kids off the posts... I was reading http://www.spillingthebean.blogspot.com/ (Corena's Blog) about internet safety and it made me think... maybe I'm over reacting, but hey, better safe than sorry. If you want to see pictures of the kids, come on over, I'll put coffee on and brag all night long about my beauties!

More pictures of Daniel's Mud Flats and Hopwell Rocks, in New Brunswick

In the Car... Are we there yet?

Julia jammed out to Crazy Frog most of the way (after Julie picked up the cd from Walmart the second day of the trip!). If you haven't heard of Crazy Frog, we 've got some cd's you've got to hear. They are basically remakes of the songs that were cool when we were young and a few years before that, done as dance tunes, with all of these weird little "beep beep's" thrown in and totally censored for little kids...needless to say, we ended up almost wearing them out by the end of the trip because the grown ups liked them as much (okay, maybe more!) than the kids did! Ask Dan if he likes to party and you'll see!!!

Just to note that I've taken close up pictures of the girls off of the site for security reasons. We live in an age where we need to be careful with our kids.

More Museum Fun!

It's pretty interesting to explore the different boats they have at the museum!
The Bluenose II - Wow... it's so beautiful!


Julia learning to tie a knot from one of the original crew members of the Bluenose!

Friends by the Campfire

Here we are back at the campsite the first night that everyone showed up, the Zanes, the Siders, the Rae's and some lovely folks from Sarnia, as well as a couple from the Halifax Vineyard all joined us for a campfire!

This campfire is at Hopewell Cape, by the rocks... I had spent much of the evening discussing theology in french with a lovely man from Quebec... (note to self, brush up on french theological terms...could come in handy someday again!)

I just can't help it, I like burnt marshmallows!!!

At the Beach!!!

We spent three days at Risser's beach after the lady at the Super 8 in Turuo swore to us that it was the best beach on the South Shore... she was sooo right! I love it there, I think we're going to try to go at least every other year, it was absolutely fabulous!!! The first day we went, it was cold (18C) but the water was warm. We only went the 6 of us, Us and the Lewis'. The second was scorching (28C) but the water was cold (13C) We went with a Paul and Mary from the Sarnia Vineyard... we had loads of fun! The third day was just as hot (28C) but the water was even colder (12C). That day we went with Mark and Jane Sider and their 6 kids, Art and Cindy Rae and their 4 kids, Mark and Linda Zane and their two kids, Tim and Julie and of course us, the Caldwells!!! What fun!

This is the House that I want in Lunenburg!

Our campsite is by the historic village of Lunenburg which is soooo beautiful it's like walking through a movie set! When I grow up, I want a house like this!!!

Dan and Tim at Hopewell Cape - packing up!

The first few days it rained... in fact we were already pretty waterlogged at this point and had become somewhat indifferent to the constant drizzle... except that we were tired!!! Here are Dan and Tim packing up... can you tell how tired they are? (This is the point when we decided to scrap half of the trip and just go to our final destination - 4 days ahead of schedule and just find a beach!!! Best idea ever!!! I love the beach!!!)

Daniel's Mud Flats - Also at Hopewell Rocks on the Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick

This is a picture of Daniel's Mud Flats at Hopewell Cape, taken from the Hopewell Rocks observatory. Dan took one look at this vast expanse of mud that gets exposed whenever the tide in the Bay of Fundy goes out and said... "we've got to go check that out!" that is how this all started!!!
So we get back to the campsite and we start talking with one of the teenagers who works there. She says "Oh yeah, make sure you wear the oldest stuff you have; we usually go to a second hand store to get clothes cause the mud will stain your clothes... then you run and dive, you'll slide forever its so much fun, we go mud sliding alot!" And that was it! We got out our pj's (the girls anyways) cause we hadn't brought any "mud sliding" gear with us and off we all went. We had to cross a swamp to get there, but finally we arrived!!! It was amazing!!! Poor Julia, who spends much of her time listening to us tell her to stay clean didn't know what to do with herself at first... she was actually paralysed at first watching mom, dad, Julie and Tim sliding around on their bellies like penguins in the mud, doing mud angels and acting like they were crazy, but she finally came around and we all had an amazing time! This is definitely something we will do again and next time I'm bringing some of the clay home, cause the next day my skin looked like I'd been to the spa!!! This was by far the Event of the trip... and it was free!!!

Hopewell Rocks in New Brunswick

These are the famous Hopewell Rocks, also known as flowerpots! We got to go and walk on the ocean floor and explore these awesome natural formations... what a blast!