With Christmas just around the corner....

We started to get some of our Christmas items crossed off the list.  Christmas tree out, dusted, set up and decorated?  check!  Christmas cards filled out and sent?  started... Shopping?  I don't even want to think about it!  You would think that kids would be easy to buy for, but honestly, I have no idea what to get for my own kids, never mind the nieces and nephews.  See, in our house, our kids only watch Tree.house which has almost no commercials, or movies or Net.Flix. We limit what we expose our kids to, for many reasons, but it bites us in the butt when we ask them what they want Santa Claus to bring them.
Yes, we are doing Santa....  there was a time when we considered keeping Santa out of our family Christmas equation but now that my son is in school, it's unavoidable.  They are learning about it at school and there's nothing we can do about it.  So we are going with it, but also teaching our kids that Christmas is the day we also celebrate Jesus' birthday.  It's something they get. When you say it's someone's birthday, they think cake and candles and a party, and really, Christmas is like that.  The family gets together, shares a great meal, some sweet desserts and everyone gets presents.
It's very important to us that our kids know about Jesus.  I grew up with very little exposure to Jesus/church/ the Bible, and lived for a long time, feeling like I was missing something.  When I found Jesus I realized just how amazing and wonderful He is, and the kind of life He wants for me. I want my kids to start off with that as their foundation, something to stand on, to build their lives on.  Jesus is talking about Himself in the following:
Luke 6:47-49 "Everyone who comes to Me and hears My worlds and acts on them, I will show you whom he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who has heard and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house on the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great."

Jesus is the rock that we should be building the foundation of our life on.  So this Christmas, when we are wondering what our kids/spouse/relatives would like to get we really should pause and remember what this holiday is all about.

And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.  In the same region there were some shepherd staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flocks by night.  And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.  But the angel said to them, "do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.  And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, "Glory to God n the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased."  Luke 2:7-14

Merry Christmas to you all, may God bless and keep you.  May His face shine upon you and be gracious and give you peace. 

KIDS!!!

It's amazing what and how fast, kids pick things up. Grace is talking so much now it's crazy and Zander's suddenly become a chatterbox. Today I was griping a little about a car that was parked a little to close to me and saying that I might hit it. Then I said that I should hit it to make a "freaking"point. The next thing I hear is Zander saying "why is that freaking car there?" or something like that. I asked him to repeat it just to clarify that he did in fact just use the word freaking, in a sentence, somewhat appropriately. And then I looked at my friend in horror. "You said it not me sister," was the response I got from her. So now I have to find a way to explain to my five year old that it's ok to say, "I'm freaking out," but not ok to say "why is that freaking car there." Trust me there was some internal forehead slapping going on. It could have been worse.
And then there is Grace. This girl is really going to give us a run for our money. She often says things that just crack me up. The other day she told me that she was sad. When I asked her why, her response was, "Well, because I am not happy." Sheesh, no kidding. The other day, I told her no for some reason or other and the reply was, "No, you don't say no to Grace, you say yes Grace." The reason that is funny is because a lot of times when I ask the kids to do something and they say no, that is what I tell them, but about not saying no to Mommy. We don't have a lot of rules in our house, but really the basics pretty much cover everything.
1. Listen to Mommy and Daddy and do what you're told.
2. Don't say no to Mommy and Daddy.
3. No hitting.
I know we'll have to add to the list eventually but for a five year old and a three year old, this is sufficient.

To sell or not to sell...

In recent weeks we have tossed around the idea of selling our house... For a time there, we were unsure that we would be able to afford to keep it, but after a lot of phone calls, research, and thoughtful advice, we are still sort of up in the air. It almost feels like we've gotten a reprieve. I'll explain. At one point, we were worried about losing the house altogether so rather than chance that we decided to call an agent and list our house, when our tenant gave her notice, it seemed like the answer we were looking for and did go through with our listing. At the time, our mortgage company was being less than cooperative and it seemed that the only was to get around having to deal with them was to sell the house and consider renting for a while until we could get things straightened out. We looked at apartments and quickly realized that one, apartments where we live are, for the most part, disgusting and two, we'd almost be making the same payments as we are now... back to the drawing board. We then spoke with our Mortgage Broker. And he spoke with our lender about the treatment we had been getting... and magically we get a call from someone higher up apologizing for the way people had treated us. And then, the light at the end of the tunnel... If we wanted to renew our mortgage two months early, we would have to pay a penalty however, the interest rate we'd have to pay would be almost 3% less than what we are currently paying, which works out to a nearly $500/month savings. We couldn't rent for that! So now we have to cancel our listing.. rent the apartment and go from there. Some other pluses are that we stay in a great neighbourhood, our son starts school in the fall at a great school, and NO MOVING! Thanking God for providing everything that we needed and will need!

There are just some things I will NEVER understand

When I was driving past a nearby, very prominent hospital I saw a sign that was very disturbing. It said something along the lines of: "9 months... that's how much time you have in Canada to get an abortion... with no medical reason necessary." If I hadn't been driving I would have burst into tears on the spot. I remember having my ultrasound done at 10 weeks when I was pregnant with each of my children and marveling at the sound the the heart pumping the blood through the tiny human being that was developing. I could not imagine how someone could think that at that point, it was not really a life. But to then think of a person aborting a child at 22 or 23 weeks (or later) when so many have been born at this age and survived was heartbreaking for me. In the moment when I realized what the sign said, I glanced at my children in their car seats and I wondered if I feel such heart ache, what does God feel when each life is snuffed out?

things keep on changing...

Well, last time I wrote, my husband was working far away for three weeks at a time and then home for a week... It didn't last too long. He was voted in as the union steward and when he raised the issue of working outside in weather that was colder than what their safety manual allowed, he was fired. The Union (CLAC) did nothing for him! So he's home now and has found a job locally. He will have to commute a bit but at least he's home at the end of each day. I don't know about anyone else, but I know that economically these last few months have been tough for us. I keep hearing that the economy is turning around but I would have to disagree with that assessment. Has the unemployment rate changed? Maybe the number of people receiving unemployment has gone down, but is it because they are employed or is it because their benefits ran out? That was the case for us, in October of last year, EI benefits ended and it took a few weeks for my husband to find work. I was a scary time! We experienced that all over again in the last few weeks, not knowing if he would find another job, if I would get more hours at work or if he would get worker's comp. (there was a workplace injury at the last job as well) WSIB agreed that he had an injury and were paying his physio bills but they are declining to pay lost wages. I understand in a way, the company terminated his employment while he was still on probation because they didn't like the fact that he was bringing up safety issues that would slow down work on the job site. I guess when you are nominated as Union Steward, you should just take the pay raise and keep your mouth shut. Don't try to protect your co-workers from mistreatment by the company, just take the extra buck an hour and do your job. Seems to be the status quo lately.
The sermons at church in recent weeks have been about doing what is right in God's sight and you will be rewarded but the world doesn't work that way. Good things happen to bad people and good people who try to do what is right, get a smack down. God doesn't tell us that the rewards that we receive will be received here in this life, because really, we are not of this world. We shouldn't love this world (but it's hard because we like our material things etc) but aim to receive our eternal rewards. Jesus told us "do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where moths and vermin do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." -Matthew 6:19-21. It's so difficult to forgo the pleasures of this world but we are also told that "no one can serve two masters. Either you will hate one and love the other, or you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You can not serve both God and money." Matthew 6:24
I struggle with this one! How do I rid myself of the desire to have things? I don't know that I would be able to live a life of poverty, I don't want to struggle in that way. Life has been enough of a challenge without also having to struggle to survive! I am hoping that my kids will grow up with a respect and understanding of money but not the same desire for material possessions that I struggle with.