my mom turned 60 years old yesterday. 

My dad and I decided to take her out for dinner on her birthday. I was coming home from seminary and they were to meet me at a restaurant in Leduc at 6:30. Little did my mom realize that my brother and I had been scheming for six weeks. I had created and sent out about 40 invitations to family, friends, and neighbors. Almost everybody responded by coming out, loaded down with gifts and best wishes.  Last night mom arrived to find EVERYBODY she loved waiting to celebrate this huge milestone.  Of course…she cried…and hugged and kissed..and was naturally a little embarassed and a bit mad at me. but she got to see people she hadn’t seen in a long time. Including, her best friend Gail who she has known since childhood. And her brother whom she has not had a lot of contact with in a few decades. People came from miles and miles to be there to wish her a happy birthday.

My mom is an amazing woman. She raised two boys by herself until she met my dad and had my brother and I. She is a mom to seven kids, and a gramma to ten little ones. she loves kids and spends hours hugging and kissing her grandbabies. She has a kind heart, and would let nobody go hungry or be cold. She loves animals, and treats our pets like her babies. She is a crafter of patchwork quilts that warm the body as well as the heart. She has spent her life raising her babies, caring for the elderly, and giving of herself to anybody in need. 

Growing up, my mom was my best friend, as well as a worthy adversary. She is my biggest cheerleader, and would go to the ends of the earth for me.  She gives so much of herself, and rarely gets anything in return.  She is cherished more than she knows, and i love her more than i can ever tell her.  I miss her when i don’t talk to her every day. I worry about her constantly. 

Mom is known for her warm quilts, her delicious coffee, her beautiful blue eyes, her kind heart, and the love she has for everyone, especially her family and friends. I wish that i could give her more than i have, and take her to places she has never been. I can never repay her for the gifts she has given me, but i will die trying. 

And she’s funny!  she’s my toothless old mommy with the great sense of humor who lets me take these crazy pictures of her acting like a dumbass! but she’s cool enough to get tweety bird tattoed on her arm and whip it out for complete strangers!

Oh mama…

Today I am reminded of all that i have to be grateful for. I’m grateful for a mom who makes me ham instead of turkey on thanksgiving day. I”m grateful for a dad who will go in cahoots with me to plan a huge surprise bash for my mom. i’m thankful for a brother who calls me “sis” and sends me a billiion text messages a day. I’m thankful for a niece who sticks to me like glue whenever i’m around. i’m grateful for a nerdy little nephew who lets me call him poindexter. I’m grateful for brothers and sis’s in law who make time for me. I’m grateful for Michael who makes me feel like an amazing person, even though i’m not. I”m grateful for good friends who love me for me, depsite me. I’m grateful for a kitty who misses me enough to “play hate” me whenever i come home. I’m grateful for a dog who loves us even though he is deaf and blind. I’m grateful for a warm, cozy house on a nippy fall evening. I’m grateful for family friends who see us through thick and thin.  I’m grateful for warm fuzzy slippers, and hot chocolate during a fall rainstorm. I’m grateful for a church family who is always full of hugs for a returning seminarian. I’m grateful for sunny skies and frost on the ground. i’m grateful for a smelly, rusty, beat up old Christine who always gets me home. I’m grateful for parents who give everything of themselves, expecting nothing in return. I’m grateful for text messages in the middle of the night, and early morning wake up calls even though they’re often annoying. i’m grateful for the kiss of a friend who misses me. i’m grateful for old posters from bygone teen years. i’m grateful for money found on a gas station’s bathroom floor. i’m grateful for a school who supports its students.

Most of all, i’m grateful for a god who has given me all the above, and more. I”m grateful for the things God does for me every moment of every day, even the things i do not see, hear, taste, touch, or smell. i’m grateful for blessings I don’t deserve. I’m grateful for everlasting grace that forgives me for the things i’ve done to God, myself, and others. I’m grateful for a savior who hung broken and bleeding on a tree. i’m grateful for 39 lashes, a crown of thorns, and nails piercing hands and feet. I’m grateful for a purple robe of glory, and for lots cast for a criminal’s clothes. i’m grateful for a dying Jesus taking on my sin, and the sin of the world. i’m grateful for a god who gives everything God has, an infinate number of blessings, too numerous to count, a drop in an ocean. i’m grateful that i have faith in a God who first had faith in me.

God bless you and yours this thanksgiving day.

Week three of seminary…can that be right? We’re already entrenched in papers and tests and whatnot that it seems like November and not the end of September.  This year seems to be so much busier than last year.  I’m taking four classes, not five. So that would lead me to think that it woudl be an easier year. Hence why I signed up to work in the library. Then i went and signed up for three committees and am actually involved in all of them. So there are a lot of extra things going on at the sem. its hard to be involved with social things, and every few days i just get so tired that i have to crash for a bit.  I think as seminarians we forget that we need to recharge and keep adding more and more things to our plates.  Gluttons for punishment are we!

I’m trying to pinpoint why this year at seminary is so different than last year. Largely, its the same number of people. There are a few people that have stayed from last year’s middler class, and of course new freshies and seniors…but its more than that. It has more to do with my class..what is it about these people that have changed so much over the summer? maybe its just a settling in that has happened, or a maturing has taken place.  I have no clue, really. 

Maybe its just me? As CTEL pointed out, my outlook and my ways of reacting to things has definately changed. I had a really positive developmental intrview with them this past weekend. I had two different people doing the interview, and i felt a lot more comfortable with them, so that may have been the reason. But i also had an amazing interview with my bishop.  So i think there has been a change within me, and now all i have to do is figure out how that came about, and in what way.

This is a ridiculous entry, isn’t it?

In 18 days I will be on fall break. And celebrating my mom’s 60th birthday with a huge surprise party for her!  i can hardly wait. hopefully my entire family will be able to come together for that event, something that doesn’t happen all that often these days.  I can hardly wait

Seminary is off and running. I’m still in denial that seminary has actually started again. I am so behind in my coursework. I have lots of reading to catch up on.  Hopefully this week will be the week that happens. I spent all weekend getting things ready for an event in October, plus typing up minutes and whatnot.

And going to the zoo

Where Cory petted a very cute miniature goat.

Where a very adorable porcupine munched on carrots and apples.  He was a very loud eater!

A huge grizzly bear looked ultra bored. or very very depressed.

A cute swift fox sunbathed.

two prairie dogs got fresh in broad daylight.

a nuclear deer family. 

huge frickin buffalo!

Pretty sheep. Again, looking bored.

This cougar was something else. he was huge and gorgeous. There was a crowd of people looking at him. One guy had a toddler. He picked the little guy up to show him the cat and the cougar must have thought he was going to be fed. He growled and got very excited. the dad put the little guy down and the kid started walking and the cougar started stalking him, growling and drooling. Can anybody say lunch?

So that was my sunday.  Thanks Kristen and Cory for the adventure! We also went to the Berry Barn:

We waited for about an hour to get a table, but it was well worth the wait. Gorgeous place in a gorgeous setting! Saskatchewan is so beautiful in the autumn!

So tomorrow its back to the grind. One class, then i have to get lots of reading done and work in the library again tomorrow evening. Fun and games

So since nobody was around tonight idecided the next best thing was going to good old blockbuster and renting Dyanna up some movies.

Did i choose a chick flick? no.

Action? no.

Comedy? no.

I had to pick up the movie from hell.  Cloverfield.

I loved it. But it also made me extremely nauseous and dizzy.

I never get motion sick. I survived hours upon hours of flight all over the world without so much as a headache. I drove for hours in a rusty old beaten up bus with no shocks over African red sand dirt roads without breaking a sweat.

But i got motionsick during Cloverfield.  That movie puts the Blair Witch to shame.

The premise of the movie is that there is this huge creature (that kind of reminds me of Gollum) attacking Manhattan. Its crushing cars, toppling buildings, eating people, and unleashing little creatures all over New York City.  The four main characters are armed with a camcorder, and the entire movie is shot from the perspective of this one piece of equipment.  Needless to say, the camera is wobbly and flying all over the place.

And the fact that i took my medicine half an hour before watching this movie from hell, only added to the motionsickness.

I now feel like my bed is the Tilt-a-Whirl at Klondike Days. 

The highlights were definately worship. I had not gone to church a lot during the summer months, so i was both dreading and anticipating worshipping every day, sometimes twice.  There is something incredibly magical about worshipping at our seminary. There aren’t always a lot of worshippers during chapel, but everybody sings with all their heart, and actually knows what to do with the liturgy.  Even when there are hymns we don’t know, there are always those who are musical and can lead us less than talented people through it.  I’m so glad to be worshipping with our community again. I truly love it, and have missed it.

Another highlight was getting back into academics.  I’ve missed studying over the summer.  And the classes i’m taking are of genuine interest to me, which certainly helps.  It’s also been awesome to get together with old friends, and to be making new ones. Its neat to see whose personalities mesh, who avoids who, and who seems to stick to who like glue. 

A lowlight is the fact that healthwise, things aren’t good. i’m not into insomnia mode again. I can’t sleep until about 3ish, and wake up constantly. Added to this is even more back spasms and continued arthritic pain. the new medication is working wonderfully. Its all time released over 24 hours, so every couple hours i get a nice rush of relief. If it weren’t so expensive, i would definately choose this over codeine.

So far my favorite class looks to be ecumenism. Mostly because Gordon Jensen is teaching it

At about 7:00 i started to feeel little twitches in my back and knew iw as in trouble. I ran out of my meds a few days ago, and my spasms started again. So i didn’t get any sleep last night, hardly. And suffered through OT Theology, chapel, and the LTSSU meeting. Then i went to a mediclinic, and had to wait for an hour. So i got my cyclobenz again (thank God and thank Elizabeth for her expertise) and i’m also on an experimental narcotic trial for 10 days to see if i can ditch the codeine and go for a less dangerous and less addictive painkiller which will also gt rid of the naproxen. For those of you who could care less, this info is mostly for Elizabeth who will likely grill me later on lol.  So this drug is supposed to be pretty powerful, so i am looking forward to being stoned the next ten days.  Its going to help wth my arthritis, hopefully.  The doc told me that people get the prescription, crush the pill and smoke it. i will not be doing any of this, and had to do some smooth talking to ensure him i am not a drug dealer. I wish i had worn a collar or at least a cross or something lol.  It might have helped. I am also told that i need to start doing strength training to help with the back spasms. Apparently i have terrible posture, and this is leading to atrophy in my back muscles, which is causing the spasms. Go figger. So i’m going to join the Y and start going there like i did last year, except this time far more often and more dilligently.

Classes are going well so far.  I’m really going to enjoy Ecumenism. OT Theology was stale, but i already like Dr. Uitti so i think it’ll be ok.  and i’m really looking forward to the Psalter with Walter. I’m trying to be more optomistic this year, but its been tough already.  I also volunteered for several committes, and already have some ideas to throw around.

And i’m going to make my own stoles! i can make one for 23.00 which is hundreds of dollars less than if i went to Almy.  yay! go me.

Now to sleep.  blessed sleep

My sister was killed by a drunk driver. She was 14 years old, and riding her bicycle home with a friend. A drunk driver came upon her,and in that split second, took her life. He then proceeded to drive back to the bar, where he got even drunker.  As awful as this is…the worst part is that the justice system failed my sister. Her killer never was charged. The fact that he drove back to the bar, helped him. The police could not prove that he had been drunk before hitting Marie. He wasn’t even charged with the hit and run he was so clearly guilty of.

I don’t understand life. What makes a 20 year old drive home drunk, get a DUI? And worse yet, what makes him brag about it at a party? And tell people that he wasnt’ drunk, after clearly stating that he had gotten loaded, then slept for two hours. Two hours elapsed between his drunken revelry and the drive home which resulted in a DUI. What gives him the right to act as though that weren’t a serious crime?

What if he had killed someone. Would it have beensomething to brag about? Joke about? Talk about as though it were no big deal?

and what gives one’s friends the right to take advantage of them when they are drunk? 

Why am I writing this at 11:30 on a Saturday night?

Worse still…why am i pushing the “publish” link?….

September 22nd. if i can make it until then, then i think the crisis might be over. 

Because then…..

Ales Hemsky

Mathieu Garon

Ales Hemsky

HOCKEY!! HOCKEY HOCKEY HOCKEY!!!!

I am waging a seemingly one-womane war to oust Dwayne Roloson. 

Interestingly enough..readership of my blog has suddenly quintupled over about five days ago. Neat Or as Laureen Marchand said today….groovy.

** incidently, i do realize that is not ales hemsky but shawn horcoff, but i can’t figure out how to edit pics.  bah oh well

)

So seminary has started. It felt kind of weird to be back today.  I was reminded so much of last year, especially during Kevin’s sermon. It was interesting, but the emphasis was on people having sunday school theology being ministers. He compared it to boy scouts doing brain surgery. I was like…hmmm…i suddenly feel so inadequate and out of place. I remember feeling that last year during his sermon too.  It begs the question…if sunday school teachers have such crappy theology, then obviously their pastors didnt do their jobs. But whatever.

Went out on the town last night and had a great time, despite being slightly embarassed and feeling a little uncomfortable at times. And a little disappointed that i didn’t get a chance to chat up a few of the folks there, like Erik, Allison, and Kristen.  I was sad to see that everybody kind of migrated towards their own friends (i guess i was also guilty of this) and didn’t mingle. The intention of the evening was to get to know each other, and i hope that happened.  I had a great time, despite drinking a little too much. I hope i didn’t say anything too out of character for me.

Its awesome to see so many new faces in the residence!  I only recognize a scant few. its going to be fun getting to know everyone again. I only recognize one face in my quad. 

It felt way too easy to settle into my dorm room again. i am getting way to comfortable with these things. Everything’s back the way it was. I’ll be glad when i can finally bust out of these walls and be on internship.

Anyhoo…the boredom must end. and it must end with sleep.