MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE CANDLINES

 

 

It is hard to believe that another year has come and gone.  We have so much to be thankful to God for that I find it hard to take it all in.

 

The year began with us wondering how we were going to fix the situation we found ourselves in.  Barry was working at a Finning Branch in Edmonton, leaving Sunday afternoons and not getting home until Friday evening.  I was still commuting to the Airdrie RCMP Detachment.  Needless to say, we felt we couldn’t keep going with this arrangement indefinitely.  Once again, we came to realize that we were not meant to fix the situation at all, we were meant to trust God, and allow Him to work in our lives.  In early February, an opening came up at Finning’s Calgary Branch, and Barry was able to come home.  While we were very thankful to have him home with us every night, both Barry and I were still facing fairly lengthy daily commutes.  It began to look as though a transfer to the local detachment was simply not going to happen for me.  At the eleventh hour, God literally worked miracles for all the details to fall into place - and I love my new role here in Didsbury!

 

We made a trip to Vanderhoof this spring, as Barry’s Dad passed away quite suddenly.  While it was a trip for very sad reasons, we were blessed so much by his family, and took the opportunity to focus on the lifetime of memories with Papa that we have to cherish.

 

The May long weekend saw us heading to Sun Peaks to celebrate my Dad and Uncle Bruce’s 60th Birthday.  What a great reminder of how important it is to carve out time for our loved ones.

 

After such a hectic 2011 and start to 2012, we decided that we needed a quiet summer, with some time to relax and rejuvenate as a family.  We spent a week in Sylvan Lake with friends, and were thrilled when my dad and a close family friend that we haven’t seen in many years joined us for a few days.  The rest of our time off was spent putting new flooring and paint in Matthew’s room.  He loves his new decor!

 

Along with back to school (grade 4 for Matt this year) brings the start of hockey season.  We are on the run all the time between Matt’s games and Barry’s responsibilities as the President of Didsbury Minor Hockey.  We loved having my parents here for the first game of the season, and then Barry’s mom, sister, and brother joined us here in Didsbury for a tournament in November.  Matt had his very own cheering section!!  While the pace seems crazy sometimes, we love watching him, and he loves playing:)

 

With Christmas upon us, and the future still uncertain in so many ways for many of us, it is our prayer that we all take some time to be with God, to place our trust in Him, and to give thanks to our Father for the year that we have had, for all that lies ahead, and most of all, the gift of His Son.

 

With much love,

 

Barry, Laura and Matt

Finally!!! 2008 In Review

I have finally gotten around to putting together the year in review slide show for 2008. God has taught me some valuable lessons again this year, although this time, I see a different thread of consistency running through the pictures that I was drawn to, and the song that just kept coming back to my mind - to represent where we began 2008, and where we are at now.

2008 began in a new community, a new full time job for me, a new company for Barry, and a whole new world for Matthew. At first, I found myself striving to change all that. I convinced myself that I would start to enjoy each day once I had figured out a way to go back to school, to finish my education and then land the job of my dreams. Perhaps every moment would be filled with joy once Matt was in school, and he felt a bit more settled, instead of still being the "new" kid at day care. What I'm getting at here, folks, is that I kept putting my life on hold - I fell into that trap of thinking that once the next goal had been met, once that bill was paid off or that course was finished or all those appointments were over, whatever it may be that took over the horizon - the "thing" that needed to be overcome....once that is finished, or out of the way...then I'll really enjoy my days. I'll be happy and I'll stop worrying about the things that I haven't done, and I'll enjoy the abundant and full life that God has blessed me with.

There will always be something that could steal my joy - but reality is - right now my life is going by...and it will not wait for me to reach my next goal. If I don't fly a kite with Matthew today...I'll blink my eyes and he'll be past the age of wanting to fly kites. I must enjoy taking him to the dentist, and helping him with his homework, because even the difficulties and the struggles and the things that we wish we could change, are part of living life today. It is these little, mundane, seemingly "get it over with and then move on" things that make up our days. Not every day will be filled with breathtaking experiences. But we can take deep breaths and enjoy even the simplest, quietest, or most frustrating moment each and every day.

So, I chose this song because it speaks exactly about these things. It talks about loving, about crying, about sunrises and freshly cut grass....and how these are the things that we are really living and experiencing.

What I would like to leave you with, is just the encouragement to experience today - whether it is filled with great joy or great pain, or great mediocrity. At the end of the day, my prayer is that you will feel as though you lived it, and didn't just wait for it to end.

Much love,

Laura

P.S.
I need comments.

According to Matt Part II

Matthew is walking out of the TV room.

Matt: "Just walk away, Matthew, just walk away."

Me: "Matt, what's going on? What are you walking away from?"

Matt: "It's Johnny Test. I just don't like what the twins are doing. I'm alright Mom...just walk away, I learned that at school."

Johnny Test is a cartoon. The twins are his older genius scientist sisters who frequently test their hilarious experiments on Johnny (and his faithful sidekick - "dog," the dog).

Happy Friday everyone!

According to Matt

The other night, Matt hew and I were in the car, waiting for Barry to join us.

From the backseat, I hear this little voice tell me. "Mommy. Your hair is a little bit crazy at the back."

Of course it was tossled at the back. I had been cleaning and doing laundry all day.

"Mom...you know those commercials who have ladies in them...and their hair is all nice and smooth all the time? That's what you need to get. That will make your hair all better. Okay mom? That's the stuff."

What a little rat.

Sweet Dreams

If anyone ever tells you that you will not sleep better in a bed that is beautiful...they are lying.

We came to notice that we were not sleeping particularly well. It was difficult to fall asleep...then I'd wake up at 1:00am and that would be it for the rest of the night...no more sleep for me. Finally, we decided to take action.

We bought a king sized bed.

I love it a whole lot. There was just one thing missing. A beautiful duvet cover. I have had the sort of "look" that I am after all pictured out in my head for a very long time...and I assure you, that turns shopping into absolute torture. It is much easier to go without any expectations. That way, if you see something you like, you simply purchase it and go merrily on your way. Oh no. I can never seem to do it that way. I search and search and search until I find EXACTLY what I'm looking for. It has taken me almost two years to find what I'm looking for.

It was worth the wait.

Don't criticize my taste, okay?? It's pretty much plain. And beige.

Yup...it screams "me."

Matt

So, for those of you who aren't on facebook - here's what's been going on with our boy. Been a rough couple of weeks, but God is good, and He always knows how to give me a new perspective right when I need it.

Here we go:

School: Matt hasn’t been crazy about his school ever since he started there this fall. He cried about the bus ride and begged me to drive him each school day. I told him that he’d be fine, and it settled down a bit once his seat partner actually started taking the bus (it’s a little boy in his class). Then he started telling me that the kids there don’t like him, “Mommy – the friends at school don’t even like the name of me, and they don’t want to play with me.” What a dagger into the heart of a mother!! I sooo want to see him happy- and confident and all those good things. I also don’t want him to be a follower, or to base his decisions on getting approval from his peers – and his teacher says she sees a bit of that. He’ll act like a baby to make the other kids laugh. This is not a good sign….and I don’t know how to handle it. Do we change schools?? Will it be any different anywhere else?? The kids at daycare love Matt and he seems to fit in REALLY well there, so why doesn’t he at the Christian school?? Is public school really the answer??

Health: Matt got sick during the last week of RRSP season. This is very bad timing for me. I work at a financial institution. It ended up in him feeling very much like a sick yo-yo who wasn’t able to just stay at home and get better.

The week after RRSP season wasn’t much different, and by now Matt was crying every night saying that he just wants to stay home, and he doesn’t want to go anywhere in the morning. “Please can we just have a home day?”

Things just piled up and piled up. Then Matt’s whole body broke out in eczema and he REALLY didn’t want to go to school because they are having swimming lessons at school right now – and all the kids would see his rash.

We were stressed – so Matt was stressed – he was getting more and more upset about school and the night I posted that my heart was breaking, he was so worried about going to school in the morning, and so sad that he wasn’t going to have a home day – he cried and cried and cried and then lay awake in his bed until almost 9:30.

Things are getting better. He is healthy again and his eczema is much better. It’s truly amazing how a few nights of sleep can make the whole world better.

Have a great weekend every one - we're taking it easy here in the Candline house!

Issues

So, those of you who know me will not find this shocking in any way.

I have some personal space issues. Several of them actually.

I really don't like other people to be physically near me. I'm also not really one to wear my heart on my sleeve.

These perfectly reasonable boundaries have been tested lately. I'm not very happy about that. I like my boundaries, and I have no plans to deal with my issues any time soon.

So, there I was innocently watching Matthew's hockey practice - and one of the other moms came over to me and started a conversation. To date, I have been largely excluded by the other hockey moms. I am not from our little town, and thus, I am an outsider, and have been looked at, however, not spoken to, while sitting in the stands. Just a little reminder - we are quite a ways into the season. There is only one ice time left.

Okay, back to the horrifying experience. She began by asking me which little one is mine. Totally reasonable. She asked how many kids I have - also very socially acceptable.

Then she jumped right into, "Which guy is your husband?? He looks a bit older than you - how much older?? Has he been married before?? Does he have other children?? How many, how old, what happened to his first marriage?? How did you meet?? How are you finding the whole blended family thing, do his kids like you, do they like Matthew???" Somehow, in the midst of the gunfire-like questions, she managed to tell me her entire life story...in terribly graphic detail.

I think I'm fine with sitting by myself and being looked at occasionally by the other hockey moms. Yup, pretty much fine with that.

Now for the personal space story. As if that incident weren't damaging enough. There's more.

We have started going to the early service at church. I like being home at 10:45, it feels like we still have a day left, instead of getting home at 1:30 (starving) and by the time lunch is done...you get that sinking feeling that the last day of your weekend is slipping through your fingers with alarming speed.

Anyway...back to the point. Our church has that awful 2 minutes where you are supposed to move around and greet people. Shake hands (AAGGHHH - touching)chat with the people you know and introduce yourself to those you don't. I try very hard to be in the ladies room during those particular two minutes each Sunday morning. Don't get me wrong - I don't have a phobia of going outside and I'm not afraid of placing my hands on the grocery cart. I just don't like people I'm unfamiliar with to be too close to me.

There I was - caught in the church when the two minutes of greeting came around. I was trying to make my way through the crowd to the door, when this well meaning individual stepped in front of me, and said, "Good morning!!! Come here! I need to hug you. I'm not a hand shaker - I hug everyone whether I know them or not. I just have to give out as many as I can every day...don't you just love a good hug!??" Oh. My. Goodness. You have no idea. The bright side is, I lived to tell the tale.

Next Sunday, I will be much more prepared. I will plan ahead.

I really am a nice person. I just like to be a nice person from a safe distance. That's all.