Merry Christmas... a letter!

Dear family & friends (& random blog readers)

Each year at this time I think "I should send out a family Christmas letter" I love receiving them from others I just never quite get my act together enough to follow through with the good intentions. Life simply gets busy and I fail to make the time. This year I have been handed time in abundance, and I am taking advantage of it now to jot a few lines and finally get a Christmas letter out from our home to yours.

2008 has been an eventful year for us, a year filled with challenges and blessings. We have weathered storms and come out stronger for them. We have learned that a sense of humor can make even the toughest situations bearable and even the toughest situations could be so much worse. Through it all God has been faithful and we have been blessed over and over by the graciousness and generosity of friends and family. We could not have made it through with out their love and support.

The girls are doing well. They are growing up fast.

Our youngest, Shanna is 12 (13 next month) and in grade 7. She is our sassy, spunky, determined one, all things that will take her far in life & challenge us daily. She has a strong sense of right and wrong, there is very little grey in Shanna's life. Shanna brought home a stellar report card this week full of A's & B's. Last night we were at her school Christmas concert, and it was bitter sweet - I realized that this was the last of the elementary school Christmas concerts we will attend, ending a 12 year Christmas tradition in our home. The concert took us on an around the world trip of Christmas traditions - Shanna's group took us to Australia. Shanna has loved being "of age" to be part of the youth group at our Church and has enjoyed every moment of it. She enjoys babysitting... not to sure if it is the babysitting or the money she makes but she goes pretty much anytime the offer is extended.

Teryn at 14 (15 in Feb) has a zest for life that is contagious. She loves to make others laugh and is a chatterbox, there is never a dull moment when Teryn is around. 2008 has been a year of challenges for her, she received a prognosis of Irritable bowel Syndrome mid year, ending a very long period of medical tests, doctor visits and day trips off and on to BC Children's Hospital. Now that we know what it is that causes the tummy pain we are able to deal with it and move forward. Early this year Teryn was also involved in an accident at a concert in a church where the floor collapsed in front of the stage and 40 kids fell through to the basement (about 30 feet). Teryn and 2 friends were 3 of the 40. Thankfully the injuries were minor and no one was more seriously hurt. Teryn walked away with a very sore shoulder a few scrapes and a minor concussion. All this added up to allot of missed school at the end of grade 8, Teryn worked hard to bring home an honors report card for that term. Now in grade 9 she continues to work hard and do well. She plays percussion in the school band, her instrument of specialty being the Timpani drum. Teyn loves Christian music and lives for Saturday nights when "Extreme Praise" hits the airwaves of our local christian music station.

Ashlynn turned 16 in October is our strong silent one much like her Daddy. She is a joy, and an easy teenager to parent. She loves to read and draw and shop at Value Village. She has a keen eye and often walks away with designer items, it is fun to watch her in that element. I love that she realizes that you can find great stuff at a huge savings. Ashlynn is in grade 11 (where does the time go??)and is looking at a career in costume design. She has a fashion sense that is totally her own and loves to mix and match pieces to create that. Ashlynn is in the Sr. band at school and plays clarinet, and doing lots of talking at the moment about learning how to play the trombone next year. (There are currently no female Trombone players.... she likes the idea of the challenge!) She enjoyed a band trip to Nelson for a music festival in April and is looking forward to Europe in March with this group. She is also loving being part of the Dance Company at school this year.

All 3 girls continue to dance with Dance Imagination - It is a joy to watch them preform as well as work together with the other girls in the company. I love that they are all at the same place at the same time on the same days. I do not have to try to juggle and co-ordinate activities, and driving.

Royd continues to enjoy his work at the surveying company he has been with for 16 years. He does very little actual surveying these days, his job is more that of a draftsman. Which is very good on cold snowy winter days like today. He can sit in the warmth of his office and let the other guys do the field work. Royd is very involved with the worship team at Church - singing a couple of Sunday's a month and practicing weekly. Right now is in the middle of extra rehearsals and practices to get ready to sing on Christmas eve. He is a great dad and I am especially greatful when it comes to helping with math homework! He can often be found helping with homework after a long day at work. I am thankful for my husband, and the support he has been to me this past year, I know without a shadow of a doubt I would not have made it through with out his love and support. I am a blessed woman because of this man, he is my rock.

That brings us to me.... it has been quite a year. If keeping up with the girls and all that their lives have been has not been enough.. my own life brought its share of challenges to our family this year.

In a nut shell. . . (if you care to read details follow this link then continue reading from there) in May I received a nasty mammogram result back, telling me that the tumor in my right breast had returned and that there would be more surgery in my future. September 24th, I had a mastectomy to remove the tumor and remaining breast tissue. All went well and all tests have come back clear. God is good! Life has slowed down considerably for me since then. As a result of the diagnosis and the realization that I could not do it all, Mary my business partner for 11 years, and I decided to close our Scrapbooking Store, that happened in June. This has allowed me to focus on my health without other distractions.

Early on in the journey I decided that I was not going to let this get me down... I did not want to become negative or whiny. Sure there are days that I feel lousy, that I hurt for no apparent reason, that I would rather stay in bed...BUT thankfully they are few and far between. This will not break me. God has promised that we will not bear any burden that he does not think we can handle.I have to take this to heart. I take comfort in knowing that God thinks I can handle this. I have been blessed over and over and over again by the support and love of family and friends. By people who have been there to take the girls to dance, pick them up at school, by people bringing us meals, offers to go shopping, cards and flowers.. the list goes on and on... I do not dare to try and list people by name for fear of leaving someone out. I know I am right where I am supposed to be and that this current challenge is all part of a bigger picture, one I do not see clearly at the moment, but know that God does and that he is in control. And in that I can rest, truly rest and let healing happen. The journey is not complete, I face 2 more surgeries in the new year, but that is o.k. it is always one step at a time, and hey I a guess I am 1/2 a step ahead of many of you I know what I am doing on January 9th.... do you??? I hope that if you think of me you will offer a little prayer for the surgeon's team as that is the date for my closest surgery. Then I am off to Europe with Ashlynn to chaperon the band trip - So excited about that, first I have never been to Europe and secondly but surely more important... Ashlynn is excited to have me come along! When a 16 year old still looks forward to having her mom around on a trip with friends It is a good day! I will face my 3rd and final surgery after returning from Europe. After that I will have to resume life and find a job, what that will be or what it will look like I am not sure, however I am sure that this has all happened for a reason and that life is pretty much what we make it and we have a choice everyday about how we are going to live it.

Looking back on 2008 I would say that it was a good year... not an easy year but a good year. One we will look back on in years to come and think WOW... that all happened in one year! As it comes to a close we are thankful for the blessing of friends and family and the gift of being able to spend time with them, weather in person or reconnecting online. We want to wish each of you all the best for 2009 and a very Merry Christmas. May you know that you are loved!

Blessings

Di (for the rest of the crew here!)

Happy Birthday little sister...(I do not even know if you read this!!!)

Birthdays & December traditions...

Today is my little sister's birthday. For the next 3 weeks, I will hear the traditional "I am only 2 years younger than you....." something that started long long ago when the math made sense and she was too young to understand the concept of a calendar year....sometimes over time things simply take on a life on their own. That, I guess is where tradition starts.

Dawna, may your day be all that you hope it will be. I am thankful that you are not only my sister but my friend as well. (We worked hard at getting to that place! It was well worth it!) My life is richer and I am a better person because you are part of it. Take time to celebrate with style, like only you can. Love you.

Growing up, December was always an exciting time in our house.

Birthdays & Christmas both to be celebrated. How many people get that much excitement in one month, toss in New years eve and it all ends with a bang too.

My sister's birthday is today (December 2nd) mine follows in 3 weeks. Growing up it was not uncommon to be woken up by the other jumping on our bed. Now it is simply trying to get a phone call in early enough to actually wake the other up. Something that I failed at this year. (I did think of calling at 1:30 am as I was heading to bed.. but that would just be rude!) So I did the next best thing, left messages on all possible phones, message boards and email. Quantity - making up for early!

Dinner was always the choice of the birthday girl - a tradition we carry out in our house today. In between was a frenzy of birthday parties, with friends and family (several of my cousins have birthdays late in November or December) shopping, hiding and wrapping gifts. (only one year of snooping.... never again - it really is no fun on Christmas morning knowing what is in the special packages) and always the traditional trip downtown to visit Santa at Woodwards. Woodwards had the best window displays EVER! I wish I had photo's of those. The best thing for me having a birthday 2 days before Christmas was that I never recall being at school on my birthday! I always had a holiday for my birthday. Pretty cool if you ask me.

One of the biggies in our house was that the Christmas tree never went up until Christmas Eve. My Mom & Dad's way of keeping everything separate. Think about that for a moment... we put the tree up on Christmas eve, it was always a fresh tree, it was often bought that day too. Now if you have ever visited a Christmas Tree lot on Christmas eve, you will know that the pickings are slim. The best trees have been picked and have likely been decorated and in living rooms for weeks. One of our favorite stories is that one year we went LATE on Christmas Eve to pick our tree, probably around 5 ish, but to a young girl dark meant midnight. I think the guy at the tree lot felt sorry for us, he was probably getting ready to go home and in we walk. Dad, Dawna and I. We looked at every tree that was there, maybe 12, and sticks or twigs were a more accurate description than TREE. WE eventually chose one and when we went to pay for it, the guy said he could not take any money from us and let us take the tree home for free. He probably thought we were poor and could not afford a tree. When the truth was we were just sticking to tradition.

The other thing that my mom was firm about was that Birthday gifts were just that birthday gifts and she never wrapped them in Christmas wrap. Nor did I ever receive a combined gift from a member of my family. I have only EVER received one combined gift.... (that is a story for another day.. lets just say it only happened one time and it was a great gift and that my hubby is a very fast learner!) Birthdays were birthdays and Christmas in our house came 2 sleeps after my birthday. Where in your house you would have had to count way more sleeps if you ever kept track.

Happy Birthday Dawna! And to the rest of you out there, Happy December! Enjoy your day!

Stress thy name is travel...listen to the little voices in your head!!!

I have done a fair bit of traveling, I love it. I love planning, I love the airport, I love the anticipation of a new adventure. However today I was not loving the travel agency location I had been working with.

We are planning a trip! It is something we have talked about for years, but decided 3 weeks before we were to leave that this is the time to do it. A little last minute, but not a problem I am assured from the travel agent. Great, we find a package and booked it and paid for it, and were waiting for the travel documents to arrive. Which should have been this week some time. So today I was going to place a friendly touch base email....... here is how it went from there

4:05 - Send email just asking for an update and when I could come in and pick up my documents.

4:15 - Receive a "bounce message" email is not able to be delivered (strange I know the email address is correct I simply hit reply to one of their earlier emails)

4:15:30 - I tried to phone, and get a " we are sorry the number you have dialed is not in service" My stomach knots. I try a few more times just to confirm I dialed correctly.

4:22 - Teryn and I are in the car heading to the mall where the agency is located... maybe they are having phone issues / Internet issues... I am feeling like I want to vomit. I have one child on the way, driving with friends we are to meet up with them on Saturday when we FLY in!

4:45 - We arrive at the mall.... head up the escalator, I look to my right, and notice that the agency office has no lights on..... I am shaking... this is not good. We walk up to the door and there is a sign that reads " This ______ travel agency location is now closed. Please contact your CC company for any services not provided." Now what?????? My hands are shaking, I am close to tears, thankfully Teryn was with me.... I have to stay strong for her....

4:47 - We are back in the car, with a little plan. I get on the phone and call a few people to pray and head to the other mall where this particular agency has an office. Hoping they will be able to help me.

5:10 - Arrive at the second mall - I say to Teryn... lets see what will happen.. remember our God is bigger than this! Inside I am thinking.. what if this does not work out what are we going to do. Shanna is in the US, with no ticket home (I know I was not quite thinking rationally at this point because Shanna would just end up having a long drive home that was un-planned. She would be happy and safe...) I was feeling ripped right off! A mini pity party was going on in my little head. What would I tell Ashlynn and Teryn.... how would I deal with it! I was a mini mess!

5:12 - I see the agency and breath a small sigh of relief the lights were ON and the doors were open! The agent was busy and on the phone but they were open!

5:20 - I sit down with Nancy and ask her if there is any way she can help me. I explained my dilemma. She smiles and says, oh this is all I have been doing ALL DAY! Poor thing, I can only imagine the frustration she dealt with today. I am so thankful that we booked on the Credit Card and did not pay cash. Nancy was telling me of others who paid cash, and the packages were not booked - yikes! So sad and maddening for those people.....

5:25 - 5:55 Thankfully I had printed off and brought with me the emails I received from the first agency. For the next 1/2 hour Nancy made phone calls, trying to figure out what had happened, and IF (big IF) the package had actually been booked. I sat and prayed, tried to think of a positive outcome, all the while thinking about how we could fix it and salvage the vacation. Pretty stressful...... HOWEVER our Angel Nancy was able to find and confirm that everything was booked, and I now have all the documents in my hot little hands. WHEW! Stress like that is not fun! God truly is bigger than it all and things worked out.... I feel blessed!

The strange thing is last Friday when we dropped Shanna of in Langley with our friends I made a comment about not having the documents in hand and the possibility of something going wrong and Shanna having to remain with them for the remainder of their family vacation..... I should have listened to my gut and followed through, I should have listened to the little voice in my head....
Why is it that we do not listen to the small voice in our head... the niggley feeling that things are just not right? You would think I would learn, it is not like this is the first time....

Should have Could Have.... didn't
But SO VERY GLAD it all worked out.

California here we come.... if you are ready or not (We are!!!)

Counting down....

Tomorrow marks the first Sunday of the advent season. It means that at the church we attend we will start to see the decorations go up and the signs & symbols of the season be displayed. The first candle on the advent wreath will be lit.

The candle of HOPE.

Life with God offers hope.


If there is one thing I have learned this past year - is that hope is what makes life worth living especially in the middle of crisis. If we have no hope life seems to lack meaning. It is often said that it is when people loose hope that they loose their desire to live. When I received the news of the re-occurrence & re-appearance of breast cancer, the first thing the Doctor offered was hope.

She did a great job of just that. From a medical point of view the tumor was one of the best to get. Phyllodes though it does not respond to traditional forms of cancer treatments, it is highly treatable with surgery... HOPE! In most cases of cancer it is the treatment that makes one feel sick and beats up the body. I am so thankful that I did not have to walk down that road. The hope that was offered was a life line that I clung to. Knowing & believing that God sees a bigger picture of life than we do offered another type of hope. Hope that this will not be for nothing that some where further down the line I will be able to offer hope to another woman, and her family because I know what it is like to walk the same road. HOPE!

What are you hoping for this season?

My hope for each of you is just that. . . . hope!

Hope of a restored relationship
Hope for health
Hope for kindness and LOVE
Hope for those things that mean the most to you ........ HOPE

One month and counting....

November 25th!

One month until Christmas.

In our house that means the count is on. When the girls were small, we made paper chains and just before bed they would cut off a link, counting down. Counting sleeps & advent Calendars filled with chocolate were all ways to keep track until the anticipated event. Birthday's, Christmas, special occasions they were looking forward to we count To this day we still count sleeps to awaited events.

This year there are several different counts going on, how many sleeps until we go to Disneyland, how many sleeps until school is out, then the big one.. how many sleeps until Christmas. Part of the fun in life is anticipating is looking forward to,expecting, awaiting, hoping for great things to happen. Last night we were visiting with some friends talking about "surprises" versus "anticipating" I am more of a gal that likes to anticipate than be surprised. Sure I love the surprise of Christmas gifts and such, but I would much rather anticipate a trip or a party than have it sprung on me. That being said, I would quickly recover and enjoy myself if someone were to surprise me with a trip or a party. (just for the record!) Christmas is one of those good things we look forward to each year, and after the year we have had we are anticipating and looking forward to a good December.

History in the making...

It is not very often that we get to see world changing history being made, those events that make you stand up and take notice and think THIS IS a historical event. . . In my lifetime I can think of a few such events:

Terry Fox's Marathon of Hope and the ripple effect that had on cancer research. A legacy that still thrives today around the world.

The fall of the Berlin Wall all that represented for Germany, European countries and the world. I remember being glued to the TV watching as people climbed the wall tossing bricks swinging sledge hammers... thinking, WOW who would have thought...

The untimely death of Princess Diana - how it changed the face of the monarchy. That night the world was in shock!

I certainly know there are more, peace treaties being signed, wars being fought and ended, people in every country trying to make a difference. Every day history is made, by people making choices to change them selves, alcoholics that stop drinking, kids getting off the street, children being adopted... everyday the world changes hopefully for the better one decision at a time, one person at a time.

I am not a huge follower of politics of any kind. It is not that I do not care, mostly I do not understand, my creative mind gets lost in the heady stuff. I do know the importance of and exercise my right to vote. I have rarely missed an opportunity to do so since I came of age. I usually feel that my little single vote will not make or break the outcome, but if I do not vote what right do I have to comment or discuss the outcome. I have to make the effort to make an educated vote based on what I feel would be the best thing for the municipality, province or country depending...


I do however know that tonight in the US history was made. I was impressed with the turn out at the poles, long streams of people waiting to vote. Standing in line WAITING - wow we do not see that in Canada, or at least I have never seen that.... the passion of the people to be part of a history changing event in their country was inspiring.

I see the HUGENESS of the Obama win tonight. Tonight Obama's win as the first African American President will have a huge impact on the world. Dreams have been realized, and many more are being made. I imagine somewhere there is a young black girl thinking... Wow if HE could do it then so can I! Maybe I will be the first African American FEMALE president of the USA. Young boys are thinking of all kinds of things that they could do. How cool is that. Dreams are being made all over the world by young people, hope is being offered to all. Dream big kids! They do come true - you CAN change the world.

3rd times a charm...

Every survival kit should include a sense of humor.

~Author Unknown

Or in our house every first aid kit..... because if we did not laugh I am sure that this week I would have gone crazy!

Today at 6:15pm the couch jumped out just as I was walking by and snapped my baby toe to an unsightly angle. OUCH! We pulled the peas out of the freezer and wrapped up the foot and hobbled to the car. Our destination: The local Emergency Room. This is our 3rd journey to an ER in less than a week. 3 trips, 3 reasons, 3 people.

3 photo's of my toe, confirmed what I already knew, the toe was broken. A toe can not possibly be at a 60 degree angle and not be broken. A less than 5 minute consult with the very young doctor one tug and a little pain the toe was buddy taped to her neighbour and we were sent hobbling on our way. In and out, and home inside of 2 hours. Not too bad if I do say so my self.

So just as I was beginning to re-gain some "NORMAL" in life, here we are. I am back to no driving for a bit, T3's are now my friend again and I have to rest for a day or 2. If you do not laugh you would go crazy! I think I may have to redefine "NORMAL"

I said that this was trip 3....

Trip 2 resulted in a 2.5 hour visit, 8$ in parking, an x-ray of one thumb and a plaster splint for Shanna. Who says she "fractured a ligament" when in fact she pulled a ligament and fractured the bone. She just got it a little muddled.

Trip one 5 hours, extensive blood work, ultra sound, 18$ in parking and a diagnosis... just the same old thing... Teryn's IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) was acting up. It is not an odd thing for Teryn and I to spend time in the ER, however you begin to wonder if you are there too many times when the Doc comes in and says..."hmm, I remember seeing you before"

Despite the fact that we have spent so many hours in various ER's this week I am thankful that we have the ER to go to. We are fortunate, we are privileged to have such service provided for us. Sure waits are long at times, but think about how many people in this world do not have that privileged, who may never actually have the chance to see a doctor let alone have an x-ray taken or blood work done. I do not mind waiting knowing that my family will receive the care they need. Perspective is a great thing!

I wonder what experiences this week will have us laughing. Let's just hope we can leave the first aid kit packed.