No more funny stories...

So, today I have no funny stories to share. I wish I did. I get so many more comments when I write things you thought to be funny. Maybe as I am typing along in this blog I some inspiration will hit me, who knows? I guess you have to keep reading to find out....

Today I left the room for, oh about 10 seconds, and when I came back Sadie was STANDING UP at the coffee table! She has been standing up with us for about a month, but not pulling up on her own. She has officially skipped crawling. Well, I guess she could still crawl before she walks instead of "cruises". After the fourth stand-for-a-while-then-fall-on-my-butt routine, she smacked her face on the table and cried alot. I figure this is the beginning of many booboos. And of course it happened right after John left for school, he never gets to see any of it, poor guy.

Speaking of John, he has left me. For a few days, that it. His Greek test is Wednesday morning, and between his Monday night class and Monday/Tuesday tutoring sessions/Tuesday group study sessions, blah blah we figured he should just stay in Cochrane at a friends house until the test is over. So here I am. I wonder if I should put on the WWW that I'm alone...... I mean, that is until my REALLY big body-builder friend comes over to sleep on my couch and protect me. This is a prayer request guys, not my being alone I actually like that sometimes, but John's Greek test. He's quite worried. And he HASHASHAS to pass Greek in order to graduate and get our butts out of here!

I would post a picture of my girlie standing....but I still haven't gotten my camera from Winnipeg (MARY!!!!!). I'm a bit lost without being able to document her every last waking move.

Now my World Map on the site-feed thingy should be much more interesting, Rach lives in Korea! Okay, um, I have nothing else to say. For Jessica - I need closure.
Bye

The Rest of the Story....

So, I guess you guys liked the deer story, eh? I suppose I'll tell you the ending then. After over a week of dead-deer-in-the-kitchen-wrapped-in-tarp-with-legs-sticking-up, he thawed and John took him to be processed. Now, before I get to that I should actually tell you that it was a REAL challenge having a deer in our kitchen when you have two dogs. Yeah. Anyway. John came home from the meat processor-guy with like 50 pounds of...... deer sausage. Yep, something possessed my husband to have pretty much the ENTIRE deer made into sausage, which we don't even really eat.... ever.

So, we loaded up the deep freeze (mini-deep freeze, apartment size in our kitchen) with the sausage and that was that. Until one day a few months later when I walked into the kitchen and caught a whiff of something. Something smelled rotten. Nasty rotten. This is when we found out that the cord to the deep freeze had come slightly unplugged, just enough to cut the power. So, all the sausage was rotten. All thrown into the trash. All of this for nothing.

I can't think of a moral to the story. Maybe that can be an interesting poll for the comments, what do you think is the moral to my kitchen-deer story?

You know what's funny? When this all happened I don't think I realized how incredibly weird it was.

Today the topic will be..... Random

So, I have several random things I MUST discuss today. I don't know why, I suppose I just feel like my Blogging Public must know everything that goes on in my life. Or maybe, because as John says, "This is my world" now. For a while I laughed and then I realized, it is. I'm home all the time with one car and a husband in school. I have no time to develop real relationships here, especially when I know we're moving in a little over two months. Plus, night before last it dumped a FOOT of snow on us so I can't even walk the dogs for a while! Anyway..... so here are the thoughts pondered today.....

1. Biscuit
So, I don't know what you guys did, but today she is FINE! I mean, she threw up for two days, and then had BLOODY poop. Yep, I said BLOODY poop. I KNOW you wanted to know that. So, I thought she was a gonner, but decided to hold off a day on the vet, and now she seems fine. Thank you to my blogging public, except Jessica who is too good to pray for a dog.

2. Shandra and the corn rows
THis is the only picture I could find. It's not very close, but you get the picture. This is my 27th birthday where we went to eat at an AMAZING Ukranian restaurant (I fell in love with perogies while living in Winnipeg) which we now boycott because the waitress was ultra-rude to us. I also rode the public bus for the first time that day. I remember I got on the bus and told the bus driver "Today is my birthday, and it's my first time to ride the bus" to which he replied, in an extremely deadpan voice "wo, slow down"

3. My Kiddo
She is still not liking to eat, but I have figured out that if I put a spoon in both hands I can sneak food in her mouth before she thinks about what I'm doing. She also is pulling herself up now and she has a tooth, which I know quite well because she has started using it during nursing......weaning is coming soon.

4. Bread baking
Do any of you bake bread? I LOVE to bake bread, I have come up with a recipe perfect for me and I love every aspect of it, the mixing the kneading, the smell of it when it rises and then when it cooks....... my only problem is that I often bake that wonderful loaf and cut into it only to find....a HUGE hole! I've tried all kinds of things to stop this from occuring, I can't figure it out and it makes me furious!

5. Church, God, the whole matter.
I agree with Megan, although I don't remember where she said it. I think it was a comment on Jessica's post. Anyway, I agree that it's great we're all asking these questions. I hope we never STOP asking these questions and become satisfied with the norm.

6. A picture for Debbie
So, I found this picture yesterday in my crazy hours of photo-cataloging which totally fed my need for organization.....anyway. This was a few years ago here in Calgary. John's friend told him the meat would be better if the deer hung for a week first, so me, John, and Debbie set about hanging it. It was hilarious! I wish I had a picture of the actual "hugging" of the deer, to which was the only way we could actually get it hung. The best part of this story is that we weren't thinking AT ALL, the deer froze solid! I had, yep, a dead deer wrapped in a tarp in my kitchen for a week. Only the legs stuck up. One day Sarah and I came home and the legs were slumped over and Sarah said "The deer's ready." Yep, life in the Schaffner household.


7. Superwoman.

I typed this while eating breakfast, feeding Sadie breakfast, and holding on the phone for 30 minutes and 51 seconds with the Government. Yep, I am Superwoman.

Biscuit

So, my Biscuit is sick. John won't pray for her because he says "there are so many other things in the world that REALLY need prayer....", so will you? Not even just for her, but also because we are currently jobless on a VERY TIGHT budget and I really can't pay for the vet right now..... So the prayer is really for us that we are financially responsible and I won't pay 500 bucks to find out she has a belly ache!

Rock Stars

So, do you like it? I found this picture(the new Profile pic) the other day and forgot how much I enjoyed it. It shows the "inner Rock Star" alive in John and myself. This was two years ago, pre-pregnancies, and with the presense of, yes, a nose piercing. Did you know I had a piercing? Yeah, I was the talk of the seminary when we started. Then one day in class it came out, and before I could get out of school for the day and try putting in another one the hole had grown up. Yep, that fast. Lot's of blood trying though..... Here's a close up of the rocker-me, and if you look closely you can see the tiny stud....

We went shopping again...

Okay, so I like on xanga where you can put "what I am currently reading" and I wish that they had this option on Blogger, so I've added my own picture of what I am reading stolen from the amazon.com page. I suppose this is obvious from the "search inside" logo that came with it. Anyway. Here is what I am reading as we are on this journey to figure out what church is, how to do it, how NOT to do it, and all that jazz. Have you read this book????? I think EVERYONE should. It will amaze you, even disturb you a little. I know that I have been disturbed since beginning it. In the beginning I wasn't sure I believed what it was saying, it is that disturbing. Now, not only do I believe this, I WANT IT.

So, we went "window shopping" again this morning. We went to one of John's mentor's church (Rob Blackaby, yes he IS one of THOSE). He pastor's Trinity Baptist Church here in Calgary and it is truly a wonderful church. They are doing ALOT in the church and community, lots of missions, very welcoming and Rob can really teach. I really admire this man, not only for his church, but for what I have seen him doing in my husband's life. But, no matter how wonderful the church is, even BEFORE reading this book, I can't help but leave church wondering "Is that it?" We show up, meet and greet, sing some songs, listen to someone speak for a while, then go get lunch. Where is the power? Where is the difference? Would I truly want someone to find Jesus, radically change their life, and go to church? I don't know. I'm not trying to trash the church in any way, I love the church. I've been part of it my whole life, I'm just not sure if we are doing it effectively. Honestly, John and I both feel like we don't want to do that for the rest of our lives. I think I would spiritually suffocate. I mean, I think of my Oma who is not a Christian, I think of taking her to church. Do I really think it would make any difference in her life? Not really. I know that sounds pessimistic, and if you know my heart you KNOW I don't mean it that way, I'm just working through some stuff here.

My friend Debbie told me not long ago that she doesn't feel like she "fits" with church people anymore, and I wondered if that was a truly bad thing. I think Debbie has more Spiritual conversations at work and at home than the average "church" person. I think Debbie is searching for Jesus, not church, because she has be burnt by the church before. I don't know where this is going, I think I'm just trying really hard not to be disillusioned. Anyway. I hope you all still think I'm Christian.

My Oma

My Dad called earlier this week to tell me his mom, my Oma, has breast cancer. I'm asking for lots of prayer for her because she does not know Jesus. It has spread quite a bit and she's in her 80's, so the chemo will not be easy. Plus, we really don't want her to be in pain! So, yeah, thanks for the prayers. Hopefully in the middle of this they will be more open to hearing about Jesus.

Ravings of a sleepy woman

We were idiots. Yes, I must say, we were idiots. John came across a little video the other day when looking for his well-worn "Rambo: First Blood", it was a video that Ms. Jessica made of our first trip to Spring Assembly at Tall Timbers. As John said on the video "to boldly go where no Filipino has gone before: Amyland", this was, of course, before John realized he wasn't really Filipino. A caravan to good old Pitkin and Jessica saying on camera "I think that's Amy's mom, I think her name's Barbara, but I haven't met her yet." Oh, so long ago..... thank God we've changed. It was fun, but we are all much better looking now.

On a totally different note, my daughter is on a eating-strike. She waves her arms wildly in front of her every time I try to bring the spoon to her mouth. She'll eat anything she can feed herself, but COME ON!!!!

And a note even further from the first one: My husband has gone healthy on me. FINALLY. I have been given permission to feed him healthy foods, yes permission ladies. Today he ate oatmeal and fruit with me for breakfast, I sent him to school with a lunch of whole wheat bread peanut butter/banana sandwich and fruit for snack, and tonight I get to cook a meal WITHOUT ANY MEAT! He may have gone crazy. I'm not sure yet, but I'm riding this wave as long as it may lead to me losing weight.....

Snow Uncooperative

Okay, I know it's blurry but that's because I took it with my webcam which takes sucky pictures. But, here is my beloved chubby girl. This is generally what she is doing while I blog, sitting in her high chair stairing at the screen. Notice the semi-red outfit in honor of Valentine's Day. We were all ready to go for dinner at our professor's house, but now we're stuck here because the weather has decided not to be cooperative. So, what do you do snowed in for Valentine's Day.......... (not that Jessica), you rent a movie and eat scrambled eggs. yep. scrambled eggs.

Let the Window Shopping Begin!

Yes, we are window shopping. I mean, there is no point in going in and finding something we really want to buy when we have no money right? Well, this is church for us right now. We know that in May we will be leaving this God-forsaken place (who knows where though....), but we have months to go with no church home, so we are window shopping. It's a little bit of heaven, not forever, but for now. Last Sunday we were in Winnipeg and went with some friends there, and this Sunday we went with one of our Profs from school. It's so nice and freeing to just sit and soak like everybody that we always told NOT to sit and soak. Today we waited to go for lunch while Dr. Peacock talked to people, and after everyone in the church had already left but us John says "I'm getting hungry" and I just laughed. This is my life, I said, only it's usually you doing the talking! Then we shared a mutual laugh and sigh. We are enjoying waiting on God for a while. We love the ministry, are revving up to head back in, but enjoying our period of refreshment.

That's what this is, a period of refreshment. Life is getting sweeter. Dr. Peacock preached this morning on "Remember Who You Are" out of Exodus 19 (I believe) and I was struck by the fact that that is exactly why I think we've had the problems we've had in Calgary. Satan (yep, I said it) has been attacking me personally from day 1 here, from every angle, and what have I done? Cowered. In the beginning I was attacked with major depression, was medicated, and I let it defeat me for a long time. Then came the miscarriage, then came the whole "Sorry, you can't ever have children" thing, and all of this left me very me-focused. I have to figure out how to fix me and no one else matters. I forgot who I was. I forgot I was a child of God. I used God a lot to try to figure out how to make my life better, but I think I forgot the whole gist of the Christian life. I forgot Jesus, who he was, what he did, his mission, his focus. I don't think it mattered to me for a while. I have been very ineffective here. Shipwrecked as the Bible says. We began pastoring and I actually tried to minister out of this silly outlook, what was I thinking? Anyway, this is stuff I've been mulling over for a while, but today Dr. Peacock put words to it.

So, it's getting much better. How simple it is, really. How much sweeter is a relationship that you actually take time to cultivate?!? So, I told you what I'm studying right now, but it's not just the studying, I've found Jesus again. The funny thing about that is, it makes life so much sweeter, but a lot of the times it makes church so much harder. I don't find Jesus in a lot of churches (I wonder how many people I just made really mad, and how many people said YES!). I don't find Jesus in a lot of Religious people I am around who are as nice as can be to me, and then act like the waitress doesn't exist. I don't expect to find Jesus in people I KNOW don't know him, but what about the ones who claim to? How in the world can we expect people to want to know our Jesus if the Jesus we portray is not the real one of the gospels? Okay, now I'm ranting and it's getting long. Anyway, we are window shopping and hoping maybe we'll find Jesus in a few churches around Calgary.

Still on the first few verses of James 1, I can't seem to move on from them, how do you ever get past finding joy in the middle of trials? Also still stuck on Proverbs 31: 12 "She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life". I think I've always read that as "yep, I don't do any harm to John, check!", but this time God stopped me at "she brings him good". "Brings" - action word. Am I actively striving to bring good to my husband every day? Anyway, I honestly have been stuck on studying this one verse for weeks. This study may take me years.

I smell the sweet scent of brownies cooking and must go. Could some of you please comment????? I know I have TONS of lurkers who say nothing, and my poor husband read the blog I wrote about him yesterday and wants to know if anyone commented about him.


Habakkuk 3:17-18
Though the fig tree should not blossom And there be no fruit on the vines, Though the yield of the olive should fail And the fields produce no food, Though the flock should be cut off from the fold And there be no cattle in the stalls, Yet I will exult in the LORD, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.

John

This weekend we went to a marriage retreat. It was...... okay. It dealt with alot of things that John and I have been dealing with for over a year now, made lots of progress on, and are moving on from it..... so I think people thought we weren't very deep people. When we had to sit and talk to each other about things that the session was about there was lots of laughter coming from our coupletime and I wonder if people just thought us silly. Evenstill (is that a word?), I learned that I am a Golden Retreiver and John is a Lion. Have you guys done this personality thing? I found it very interesting and right on the money with us. John pointed out something very interesting..... A Golden Retriever and a Lion mated, so Sadie Ann must be a Retrion.

Two things today that made me very happy:
1. My husband, who hates dog parks, took me across the city to my old dog park to let my Boudreaux swim in the river. It was his idea. He's great.
2. My husband, who loves me very much, made me scrambled eggs for supper because that's what I wanted.

Something that made me very sad today:
1. At the babysitters, Sadie only cried when I walked in the door to pick her up
2. We had to throw out a pot that we got for our wedding because I burned water in it (yes, I did), and we couldn't salvage it.

I'm adding this picture of John because I love him, and I always like this picture. Enjoy.

Winnipeg

So, we just returned from the Winter Wonderland of Winnipeg. We went for a short weekend visit to see friends and move our beloved Sarah. We miss Winnipeg, and now we miss Sarah. Those people are family and we forget how good it feels to be loved until we are in a room full of Winnipegers. We laughed, we ate, we drank wine that was way too sweet, we listened to Chris sit in the corner and play his guitar, we watched the Super Bowl, we even waxed my legs (Mary, you were right, they are very smooth now that the red rash from hell is gone). It was great and it is never long enough when we are there. Although, most of the people who came to Chris and Heather's house for a "reunion" party don't go to the same church anymore, so we wonder if it would ever be even close to "the same" if we moved back. I know one thing is for sure, I totally forgot about Winter. Calgary has spoiled me and I just don't know that I could live in that kinda snow ever again!

John also forgot about Winter. Halfway there he got out of the car to fill up the tank and then said "wow, it's getting cold out" and I said "put on your jacket" and he said "I don't think I brought it" and I said "did you pack a sweatshirt in your suitcase" and he said "I don't think so" (did you like my dialog? I should write books, really). So, my husband is outside in the butt-cold winter with a t-shirt and his crocs on, which have holes in them, freezing. He had to borrow a jacket and shoes when we got there. Then, on the way back, we forgot about calling ahead in order to find out if the roads were driveable and left at 10 at night (so Sadie would sleep) only to spend several hours trying to drive in a total whiteout and then hitting a patch of black ice and ending up in the ditch. My expert driving kept us alive(um....), we SHOULD have rolled over, and we SHOULD have been stuck in a ditch for six hours, but for some reason we didn't roll and we pulled right out of the ditch and got a motel room. So, we got home last night around 10 and we are exhausted. All in all a great trip though, insane trip into the ditch not withstanding.

I will post pictures of my beautiful Winnipeg friends as soon as I get my camera, which I left at Mary's because I was in too much pain from waxing my legs to remember my it.