Christmas Joy and Sorrow

My life has not been without great sorrow. But my life has also not lacked great joy. My friend Father Banga  said "Goodbye" to us on December 14th. It was sudden... and quick, thankfully. When I think of him, my tears are for myself and all of us who will miss him. But his time was up, his work finished. I am so grateful for the time I had with him. There are so many good memories; I often find myself crying and laughing at the same time. Fr. Banga left this world a better place.

Inspiration comes to me in many forms. Death is swallowed with difficulty but leaves me gasping with determination. Pain wants me huddled in a corner but instead often finds me bloodying my fingers with some task I would not have had the courage to do before. Joy sets my feet to dancing and laughing and creating joy for others. Peace cleanses me and puts me on the right path.

Christmas should be a season of joy. My sister has been a wonderful source of inspiration since she moved in with  us in June but especially in the past two months. As soon as Remembrance Day had passed, she got out all of the Christmas decorations and the house was festive in an hour. She has written numerous cards and letters and has sent care packages to people. She has spent money on gifts and time on creating joy for others. I look at her in awe. I am so blessed to have her as a sister.

Each day finds me loving my husband more. He is the most patient of men. He doesn't understand my hormones or emotions but he loves me. He cares for me, "in sickness and in health." He helps me to understand God. The other day, I had a half hour in between lessons and I went into our room. Jesse was there on his computer. As soon as I opened the door, he frantically cleared his computer screen. "Uhhmmm... just some last minute shopping." Christmas is going to be so much fun. He has no idea what I am giving him for Christmas and I have no idea what he is giving me for Christmas.

My mother-in-law is one of a kind: smart, gentle, very grounded. She is generous, yet stays within her boundaries. She is kind, but honest. She is very intelligent, very talented and generally amazing. Before I got married, I was very afraid I was going to marry someone who had a family I wouldn't get along with. So I prayed for a man who's family was one I could fit into. A family that would accept me and who I could accept. And I prayed especially for a mil who would love me. :-)

My friends, my coworkers, my fil, my sil, my cousins-in-law, Cornerstone Theatre peoples... so many wonderful human beings that fill my life with joy. I wish to be an inspiration to them... to the entire world. Someone who changes the world for better.

Merry Christmas. 

Wednesdays & Carrot Pie

Wednesdays are full. Actually, that's an understatement. So are the words 'busy', 'hectic', 'crazy' and 'crammed'.

Wednesdays consist of getting Lydia and myself out the door by 8:30 and to work by 8:45-ish. Therein, we work until 2 pm, go home and teach from 3:30 until 6:30, rush out the door for theatre practice at 7 pm and hope to be home by 10 pm.

Somewhere in that whirlwind of life-on-Wednesdays, we have to find time to eat, drink and use the facilities. It can be hard to remember to breathe, let alone sit down with a plate. I've found that using Ideal Protein meals can make it a little easier (shake, heat and drink), plus they fall into my diet plan. ;-) But even so, I still miss "real" food.

Because I teach until right before we have to go to theatre practice, there is little time for eating before we go... and absolutely no time for making anything. So my mother-in-law has been helping us out. Last week, she brought this amazing greek turkey pizza to the theatre. It was delicious and this is coming from someone who is really picky about what's on her pizza. This week, she sent Jesse a bbm informing him of the existence of pie and pizza at their house. Would he come pick it up? I believe his exact response to this was, "Hurray!"

Sidenote: Dianne makes carrot pie. Pure deliciousness. I never realized how good carrots can be until I tasted her carrot pie.

So, thank you. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to help with our busy schedule. I love the family I married. 

3 More Days!

Lindsey's here so we're going to be keeping busy all day. :-) Today: get wedding stuff to the Hall, go over a to do list that Samantha made for me, contact Laurette about potted flowers, try on my dress so Lindsey can bustle it, start making favors, getting spaghetti recipe from Shelly S., talk to the photographer, clean up around our house, get the trailer set up, wash beddings, and the list goes on and on... it's going to be a busy day!

A Post of Happy Things

Last night, I got back home late and found a picture of two of my friends kissing at their wedding. They had kept it quite secret so I didn't even know they were interested in each other. Furthermore, I definitely did not suspect that Kim was interested in *hugging*, let alone kissing. ;-) (Kim used to be the Queen of the Cootie Mania.) The funny thing was that our mutual friend Ben Palmer had predicted a match between the two about a year before he passed away. I think everyone laughed but wouldn't you know? He was right. And it is so right because they are so perfect for each other.

The weather here has finally warmed up! I am not planning on wearing a coat to work this morning (which means we'll get about 2 inches of rain this evening while I'm walking home) because Spring has arrived. Yesterday evening when Jesse brought me home, it was around 11 and it was still so warm that neither of us were wearing coats. I am loving this weather. :-)

Yesterday, we spent most of the day cleaning up at our house. Paul and Dianne came over and helped us. Together we accomplished a lot. On Friday, Jesse and I tore up the old deck. That took most of the afternoon, after which, we went back to the Twietmeyers and crashed. We were so exhausted. Lol. I think every single bone and muscle in my body ached and I have colorful bruises all over my shins! The old deck was like a death trap. You had to be very careful to walk on the treads, otherwise, you fell through the wood. It was really rotten in spots. Anyways, it was so good to get that out of there. :-)

We piled the wood up on Friday and left it that way. Yesterday, we hauled the piles to the dump and cleaned up the trash that had been under the deck. (We even found a rubber boot...) Then, we unloaded a trailer full of things that Dianne had bought from friend of hers who was moving back to Spain... And we also brought some things from our house out (ugly green chairs, etc) to the trailer for the yard sale we're having next weekend.

Yes, I did take pictures! And left my camera at the Twietmeyers. :-P Sometimes I wonder if my head is screwed on correctly. ;-) (I also left my tooth brush.)

Other than that, I've been busy with working at PharmaSave and teaching. The end of the teaching year is coming up so the students are working hard to perfect their songs. The recital is on the 29th so we have another week. This is a stressful time for me... the teaching is intense and keeps me on my toes. I am torn between my love for teaching and being happy it's almost over with.

Well, I should get my lunch together and prepare for work. Maybe tonight I will be able to begin the next season of the Sarah Jane Adventures....

P.S. Erin S. took these pictures at the bridal shower. Thanks, girls! :-)

I am seated between my two mothers. :-) Heidi to the left (blue) and Dianne to the right (dark hair). 

You can see Lindsey sitting down... purple shirt... 

The first performance went really quite well, I think. It feels good to have one night behind us!! Only one major thing went badly and that was Dianne missed a step on the stairs in the dark... she fell into the wall and hurt her knee quite badly. She is the main character in the play and she's also very dear to all of us, so between those two facts, we were quite worried about her and the situation! I hope she is feeling better by tomorrow night. That knee looked so painful...

And I need to get up at 7 or so tomorrow morning because I work all day. Then, another performance in the evening. My life is very busy right now. Lol. Thankfully today was restful!