Almost a New Year!

I'm in the process of making mac & cheese for Morgan for lunch, yes, the lunch of champions and I'm contemplating my year.  2010 has been filled with many challenges, but more importantly many blessings!  We were fortunate enough to move into a place with a backyard, deck, and some garden space.  I was even more blessed once living here, to have the space and opportunity to have family stay with us more easily.  My family rallied around and has been so helpful as I'm getting back to health and I fully believe that it's all of them combined who have made life so happy for me to focus on positives.  Adam's parents joined us in our Alberta Adventure, by moving to Airdrie too.  It's been fantastic having family here all the time, they are both so helpful and their friendship is even more important to me than the fact that they are family!!!  (Hmmm....the water's not even boiling yet on the mac & cheese, so I have more time)  My husband was blessed with a great job this year and although I have my moments with the night shifts and on-call shifts, all in all it's been a wonderful opportunity that will help us have a comfortable future.  Comfortble future, those are words I've dreamed of saying!!! We also got to add a beautiful dog to our family and let me say, I've been so happy to have her here and share my evenings with her.

We've changed a few things too in 2010, we discontinued homeschooling and Morgan is now in preschool.  It was a healthy decision for us and everyone is the happier for it.  I'm still a huge advocate for homeschooling and I plan to do whatever I can to supplement the public education, because they can't teach everything, nor should they.  There are many things that are the parents responsibility to teach and I intend to teach them happily!  We also came to the spiritual conclusion that catholicism wasn't for our family and we went back to the United Church.  She is the best compromise between all our beliefs, where everyone gets spiritual nourishment and no one has to compromise on the basic principles of his/her belief.  It's been an amazing journey so far!

Now, with 2010 almost over and 2011 almost here I find myself wondering if a resolution is up for this year or if a simple outline of intention is more appropriate.  This coming year I intend to pray more, trust more, laugh more, love more, be present more, strive to be me more, and be more healthy.  As a family I plan to travel a bit more, have more movie nights, be more forgiving, live a little easier, play more, and teach and learn more!  I believe that 2011 will be marvelous and that with the help of my spirit and my faith I'll achieve all I'm meant to.  I believe my family will flourish in many ways.  I believe that all our challenges will be met with the strength and grace needed!  I believe, because that's the main thing I've learned in 2010, to believe, and I intend to keep believing in 2011.

So, to anyone and everyone reading, Happy New Year! I hope a little bit of my believing is passed onto you and you believe that happiness is possible everyday!!!

The Most Precious Decorations to Receive!

This past weekend Morgan had some surprise decoration baking, painting, and making to do at Gramma and Grandpa's.   While he was over there secretly creating, Adam and I kept extremely busy with our final Christmas errands.  We went to pick up our small artist, with no idea the surprise in store.

When we arrived our sweet angel faced child, happily gave us a fanstatic homemade card and a pretty box.  Inside the box we found a little more than half a dozen ornaments all painted with ribbon and glitter.  I looked at his face and the light that shone from him while Gramma explained that he made them himself.  Grandpa added that Gramma got the recipe from the internet and Morgan went to town. He stirred, he rolled out the dough, he cut out every single piece, and they baked them in the oven.  Then he painted every single one and added glitter, while Gramma helped with the ribbon. 

I saw these beautiful creations that our son so lovingly prepared for us and cried, just a little.  His little hands made them for US, us, because he loves us and wanted to make us happy.  He loved even more that it was a surprise!  Although Christmas is a few days away, this is one of the best presents I've ever received.  I will cherish the love of Christmas that was so lovigly made by my sweet boy for his parents and I will forever hold on to that lit up face, the face of giving!

Playing for a Change: Imagine Video

Imagine from PlayingForChangeFoundation on Vimeo.

Ten More Days to Enjoy the Beauty of it All

With only 10 days until the big day I'm finding myself noticing and focusing on what matters most this year.  I know it sounds cliche, but it's not about the presents nor is it about obligations, Christmas is about spending time cherishing the people you love. 

I've been so enjoying CBC movie nights with Morgan and having chats about what those presents under the tree might be.  For him it's still about the gifts, but I think he's learning how important traditions are and that those traditions are part of what embodies the spirit of Christmas.  We've been having very frank and side-splittingly funny conversations about the baby Jesus and how, in Christianity, he's God's only son.  I received a very, very well explained lesson from Morgan on the miracle of Hannukah during our talk about faith and miracles.  I honestly have never heard it explained so well before!  All of that time spent just hanging out together and learning from each other, has made me understand that my role as Morgan's mom is the greatest blessing I've ever been fortunate enough to receive.  I want to go a bit further though, I'm also fortunate enough to recognize the blessing in the moment and be mindful of the gift I've received in him!  Watching his little face light up when he gobbles the gingerbread house and snuggling on the couch for movies are moments that I get to keep forever and I savour them, because I know that one day he'll be "too big" for all that.

So, in 10 days I get to treasure another Christmas morning where my sweet boy's face is filled with joy and wonder.  I get to carry on some of my traditions of danishes, donuts, and stove-top cocoa with Morgan and my family.  Adam gets to carry on some of his traditions of family all around Christmas morning, Santa coming, and reading the Night Before Christmas.  We get to continue some new things and enjoy each other.  Santa is even bringing stockings for Gramma and Grandpa this year :)  I can't wait to sit down and watch It's A Wonderful Life on Christmas Eve and see my four year old baby sleep.  It's a time of great joy and I plan to revel in it, in all it's tired, happy glory!

Great Character Rocks and it's Ours if We Choose

Does Character Matter? a post by The Old Geezer

After reading the above post I was inclined to comment and then realized that my comment would have been far too long, so I'm going to blog my comment instead.

I think that great character is the single most important thing for a person to exhibit.  How people love, shows their character.  How people assist others, shows character.  How people react and act, shows character.  Whether that character is a good quality or negative quality is not only in the eye of the beholder, but in the imprint of the soul of the person exhibiting the positive or negative character qualities.  All the faiths, religions, and philosophies of the world hold true to the same basic character qualities for a person to live a happy life.  Some of them include patience, humility, reverence, love, forgiveness, helpfulness, a good attitude, honesty, selflessness, and many, many others.  Our most sacred texts, like the Torah, the Quran, the Bible, Buddhist texts that are too numerous to name, and others teach these qualities.  The qualities that exhibit good character aren't something you do, they are part of who we are! 

The only thing standing in the way of this utopic happy world of stellor character is free will and the desire for personal gain.  Oh! I almost forgot, the fact that we as a people are not perfect. We make mistakes for many reasons.  Sometimes, it's selfishness or pride or greed that stands in our way, but those things and lack of good character in those areas don't make us bad people.  Let's not forget that one of the greatest signs of character is the ability to forgive!  If we aren't forgiving of others mistakes and lapses in judgement of character then perhaps we have to check and see where our own character lies and re-evaluate.  This might sound idealistic to some, touting things like forgiveness and "people in glass houses...".  It's not for me to say how someone's character is affecting his or her soul, that's for that person and God to decide.  I just know that being judgemental is a negative character quality and it's a character flaw that I'm extremely, personally familiar with.  Forgiveness is the fastest way to relinquish the effects of judgement.  That's also not to say that you forgive and allow a person to continue harm, no, no, no.  That's careless; however, all people are deserving of forgiveness, whether they are sorry or not.  It has nothing to do with them, it has to do with the person doing the forgiving.  Forgiveness frees the forgiver of the negative control that resentment, judgement, and possibly hate have over the soul and opens them up to exhibit the good character they already possess.

I personally find my example of positive character in the example of Jesus' and in people I know in my daily life.  Jesus said that we are to love each other.  He didn't qualify it with things like, "as long as they're good people" or "only if they're deserving", because Jesus knew that it wasn't our place to judge someone's worth for kindness and understanding.  In that example, I see and learn from women and men in my life, that it's important to be understanding and thoughtful.  We shouldn't be quick to judge or revoke our love, because we determine that someone doesn't deserve it.  God loves us unconditionally and it's our job to show that kind of love to our family, friends, and even strangers. Again, that's not to say that we just allow harm into our lives, no.  Sometimes the only way to show someone how much we love them is to not allow them the opportunity to harm us and we need to keep our distance, until that person learns what we've learned and that's the undeniable truth that he or she is deserving of love and forgiveness.

Some of the most honest examples of good character come from children.  Just sit back and watch them, you'll see how they exhibit amazing character.  You just might learn something, I know I do :)  Little lessons that we've forgot along the way in adulthood, they still have and they are very willing to share.  The next time a little one points out that you're not speaking nicely, maybe you should listen to them, instead of asserting authority.  They call it like they see it and the rules for their behaviour should be no different than the rules for ours.  I've been blessed with a spirited, outspoken child, who has my respect, because he requires the same from me as what I teach him.  It's been one of my most valued lessons, the lesson of not being a hypocrit!

I'm most certainly not the prime example of great character, but I try.  Sometimes I get it and sometimes I don't. Sometimes I'm open to ideas and sometimes I'm etremely close minded.  Sometimes I'm quick tempered, not understanding, and other times I'm cool as a cucumber, ready to receive whatever gift has come my way.  I've made many a mistake, but I've made my ammends where I can, forgiven myself and others, and I continue to keep myself in check (when I remember). I also know I've been forgiven by my Creator. Again, that doesn't make me some expert or perfect in character by any means.  None of us are!  Let me repeat, none of us are of perfect character.  All of us are a work in progress.  My work in progress is helped by my faith, my understanding family, and my love for my son.  That love healed many things, but most of all, that love gave me the desire to be as good of a person as I possibly could.

Desire, in this way is a good character quality.  Desire, like love, forgiveness, and the others, can't truely be appreciated without it's negative counterpart.  Light can't exist without a bit of darkness, but the light outshines the dark.  Much like, desire for good, outshines the desire for bad.  It's all about choice and if we choose good, whether it be good character, good food, or good faith, we outshine the negative things within us and they slowly dwindle down to near nothing, but they stay just a little to remind us to appreciate the good we've chosen.  We are so blessed! Whether we choose to see the blessings or not, they're still there.  Whether we choose to see the good or not, it's still there.

These aren't ideas that I'm simply talking about to hear myself think, or natter on.  I really, truely believe it.  I believe that the days I exhibit positive attitudes and behaviour I'm making a choice.  I also believe that I choose to be cranky, and negative.  Either choice helps me learn and grow in life and faith.  It also blesses me and it's my choices that determine whether I see my blessings and I'm happy or whether I miss those blessings altogether and experience a bad mood.

Today, I'm going to strive to be as strong and good in character as possible, not because it's pleasing to others, but because it's good for my soul.  With a little hope and prayer, I'll make the same choice tomorrow and if I don't, I hope I'll have the presence of mind to not waste my whole day in the other state of mind for too long!

Now Our House is a Real HOME

After all the talking and deciding, we thought all we wanted was a cocker spaniel. Then we met Rory, a beautiful, 16 month old Golden Retriever.  I didn't know I wanted a G.R. until I met her and she won my heart.  She came from a very loving family, who simply didn't have the time to give her that they felt she deserved. They loved her so much that they wanted her to have an even better life than the one they could provide, which was a pretty good life.  These wonderful people set out to find the best fit for Rory and we became the fortunate family to be granted the pleasure of bringing her into our family.

I get it now, Dog Love.  When you see the prettiest dog in the world and you just fall in-love with her and know that she's meant to be added to your family.  She's smart and loving, gentle, playful, obedient, and most of all, she's already bringing out the best in us, because we want to give her a happy life.  You can tell that she's already been so blessed and by that we now feel honoured and blessed to have her in our lives!  Rory!  What a great name and what a great girl!

To Welcome a Dog or not yet?

We've been talking a lot lately about welcoming a dog into our little family.  We already have a cat, Stella, and she is a special little thing.  Dogs, well she's not fond of them at first, but as long as they don't try to eat her she warms up after awhile.  Dogs also seem to calm her down a bit, since she's a tad dominant and bites when her food bowl gets slightly low.  We love her and all that entails!

Now a dog would be more work than our lovely feline, yes.  Our reason for contemplating a pouch is for the love and comanionship that a dog can bring to the whole family.  They are such a joy and I'd love to share my home and life with another little being.  We are all dog lovers and of course puppies are cute; however, my only hesitation is the sometimes dreaded puppy years of drive me out of my mind, yet loving craziness.  With that said, the work and that stage is worth all the effort when that sweet puppy comes into his/her adultness a little calmer, stable, and happy in his/her bliss.

When I say we've been talking about a dog, I mean that for the last 6 or 7 months we've been discussing breeds and what we're ready for and able to do.  My husband loves big dogs, the bigger the better and I on the other hand recognize that a large breed dog would be too much of a challenge for me as a growing puppy since I'm rather small.  It wouldn't be fair to the dog nor to me for me to be upset when I ultimately get injured from the poor, sweet, gigantor getting excited and jumping up and knocking me down.  I prefer little dogs, but my Adam isn't fond of puppies that stay that way since he's a bigger guy and is terrified that he'll accidentally hurt the sweet, muffin sized creature.  So, with that all weighed out we've atleast come to the consensus of a medium breed dog, one who is about 20-30 pounds full grown, give or take a few.  A manageable, cuddly and trainable size on my end, yet big enough to play with and see when walking down the narrow hall on my husband's end.

We're really taking this decision seriously, since our last dog had to remain in Ontario at my families farm when we moved into our apartment in Alberta.  A dog her size and temperment wouldn't have adjusted to life in an apartment and it was a very, very painful decision for us to find her a new home.  It was the best decision for her though.  She is extremely happy on the farm, with her other dog friends, ponies, and chickens.  The sadness that it brought into our home to not have her with us was a lot and Morgan still cries sometimes, because he misses her so much.  Because of this I want to ensure that when we do add a dog to our family again we do so for the right reasons, because we want to give love and teach love and help a sweet being become a member of our family!  Although we will get love in return, I think that adding a dog to a family should be done out of the desire to give to the dog in order for it to be successful.

We still have some talking to do, but if we're ready now or later, we've pretty much agreed that a cocker spaniel will be the best breed for us, because we'll be able to give a cocker spaniel what he/she needs to be the best dog he/she can be!  We had a cocker spaniel when I was growing up and she was a lovely temperment, loyal, happy, and a perfect size for everyone.  I know the health issues that can come with the breed and we're prepared to for them if they happen.  I think a cocker spaniel could make a beautiful addition to our family, when the time is right!  Now it's just finding the right time :)