Big Questions

I had some of my students give speeches in response to "If you could ask God one question, what would it be?" I found this one pretty interesting:
"I will ask God why I was born in this world; sometimes I am really confused about what the point of living in this world is. After I die, I will lose everything- family, friends, money and belongings. People always say that after death you will go to heaven. Then I have a question, why don't we just go to heaven without coming to this world? The reason I think is that God is fooling around with us. This is a show, the world is a huge stage, and God is hiding somewhere and watching us everyday. Why does God want to help people and save people when they are in trouble? It is because if someone who is not supposed to die yet dies, then the show will be messed up. Why did God send Jesus to save us? I think Jesus is just a sacrifice to make us believe that God is actually good for us so the show can go on. And why will we go to heaven after we die? It is probably a gift that God gives us for our hard work in the show throughout our entire life."
Big questions. Interesting paradigm!

Cowboys are soooo cool

My weekend was fantastic!
I went to the Ladies Trail Ride down in southern SK- the Elford homeland (where my great-grandparents had their homestead). There were about 70 ladies there- a wonderful mix of the old, the very young and everything in between, and a variety of faith backgrounds, too. It was great to hang out with some of my mentors, great to meet a lot of new people, and great to have time with two of my favorite gals- Kathy and Sarina Bell.
The scenery left me gawking on numerous occasions. On Saturday night I thought I might faint due to amazement- talk about a serious revelation in MAJESTY. The sky was a massive bowl of the clearest, most magnificent stars. There are no words, really. Mystery and magnificence...am I EVER going to miss our "land of living skies" when I move to Hong Kong. :(
I slept in a tent for what may have been the second time in my life. And I rode a real horse, not a merry-go-round horse...and I did not get bucked off, and I was not afraid after the first five minutes. It was probably because I had such great chaps and boots, thanks to Grandpa.
So pretty much I galloped through the rolling grassland hills into the golden sunset, my long hair flowing behind me, and the theme song from "The Man from Snowy River" drifting through the soundwaves around me. And I forgot to mention, my cowboy looking so tough and rugged, riding alongside me on his stallion. Haaaaaa haaaaa!!!!
In all seriousness though, I think cowboys, and cowgirls are thoroughly "cool". I was joyfully immersed in the cowboy culture. I didn't sleep very much, and I was really sticky and smelly by the time I got home, and my butt really hurt (riding a horse, while I did feel so genuinely rugged, does not feel very "natural"...yikes), but it was no doubt worth it.

The Three Wranglers- Kathy, Me and Sarina. I just want to be Terri Clark...

A picture from the archives- maybe this was the last time I really rode a horse.
1987, with Grandma McMillan.

Feeling confident for sure. Meet my Appaloosa? horse. His name is Feathers. I like brown horses better, but Feathers was a nice guy.

Ropin'...or something.

The Day We Smashed the Living Daylights Out of Sponge Bob

That's right, we attacked poor Sponge Bob Square Pants. He's always kind of annoyed me, anyway. Today, to celebrate the end of Math for the year, I set up a pinata for my Grade 9's and we heartily enjoyed smashing it to pieces. We're not as violent as I make us sound, but it was an all around great way to celebrate the last day of school! DID YOU HEAR THAT?!!!! The last day of school!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yippeeee!!! Now just for final exams, marking and then tying up the odds and ends. I even packed a suitcase for Hong Kong tonight. It will beat me there by a little over a month, as one of my students here is taking it back with them in a few days.
June 21, 2006. A great day to pound a pinata! Here's the before, inbetween and after shots:

Coping

Thank you Lord for giving me friends to pass on strength when I need it most, for ushering peace into my heart in simple moments among the stress, for your voice spoken to me through your very good Book, and for football.

Gator Tough

Big game for the Gators tonight! Victory!

Heartshapers

This weekend was our church retreat out at Dallas Valley Ranch Camp. Dallas Valley is an amazing camp- soooo nice. Unfortunately it was rainy and windy this weekend, so we didn't get to enjoy the outdoors as much as we would have liked, but it was still really fun.
Highlights of the weekend:
-really good group discussions on the power and activity of God in our lives and in our church- awesome!
-good visits with friends
-being classically silly in a cabin full of girls- love you Tiff, Alicia, TK, Hao, Jilly, Melissa!
-the hot tub
-lots of laughter
-making new little friends, namely Ty Harvey- see pic, and loving the time with some ultra cute long time favorite kids- see pics!
-singing
-dancing (that's right, dancing) to Ellis' waltz tunes with Amy
-massage parties, my favorite...thanks Jilly!
-time spent with mentors, just "being" with people I love

Oh, Marcee!

Jaleesa and Ty!

Mattias!

Birthdays for Brothers

Today it is my brother Billy's birthday!! Happy Birthday Billy!
On Tuesday, it will be my brother Steve's birthday!!! Happy Birthday Steve!
Big brothers are big blessings! :)

June 10, 2003

The day they stole my hamstring and used it to hold my knee together.
I'm glad I'm not on that couch anymore.

Paintball Paradise

This afternoon we transformed into warriors. Marvelously muddy, drenched, dirty paintball freaks. It was so much fun- my first time playing paintball. I do have a couple trophy welts to show for my heroic efforts, but since I am such an elusive cat out there, I didn't take too many hits. Ha ha. We played through rain all afternoon. I say it added to the warlike effect. Epic.
And just for added entertainment, I sorta drove the 15 passenger van half into the ditch on the way home (free of charge). Yikes- muddy dirt roads can be troublesome!

Coldplay kick

I can't get enough of Coldplay these days...so good!!!

Andrew's new (old) favorite game.

Goal or no goal?! We're going upstairs, folks!

Big winner!!! First in 60m dash, 100m dash, and high jump. Third in "ball throw" and long jump. She's our next Jackie Joyner Kersey...:)

Andrew is crazy about hockey these days! (his new PJ's..he's hiding the "Female Hockey" part)

Back in action...

The sun has set...

I'm a proud Phoenix fan...even though we're finished for the year. That was a pretty impressive run for an undersized and fatigued unit of guys. If Phoenix isn't going to win it all, I hope Dallas does...

What a woman!

One of the most influential people in my life so far has been my softball coach. She's quite the woman! Today her ability to influence people was laid out perfectly for me again- this time from another perspective. Our team played the group of younger girls she's coaching this year. I don't think I've actually ever played against her before. And because she knows me, and most of the girls on our team, things don't work quite the same- the left fielder moves way in when I hit (ready for the bloopers!!!) and our pick-offs never work at first because she's standing right there.
Anyway, we still beat the little whipper snappers (I feel old at the ball diamond these days!), but it would have been a faster game if it hadn't been for Darlene's late appearance. The minute she showed up, they were a different team. It was like they finally saw possibility. The woman's energy, passion and pure belief in people impacts in such a powerful way. She's exploding with excitement when it comes to softball. If you see her in the coaches box, she's usually jumping up and down waving her arms and whooping it up for some reason or the other. Yeah, she is a lot of fun- life flows out of her pretty naturally it seems.
Her example of a coach and teacher is such an important one for me. When she coached me, I knew she absolutely believed in me, and that made all the difference. Why, if she believed in me, I could surely believe in myself! I would like to be that kind of believer in people, too.
Anyway- her impact on my life was realized again today. I had to smile as I walked by to overhear her post-game comments on "learning experiences and the value of the process rather than the product"- things I heard so many times as a player myself.
Tomorrow is another day of ball- we're 3-0 so far and we'll be in at least the semi-final. Should be fun!

Mosaic

Phillipino breakdancers Scottish bagpipes dreams of Greece if only I could go someday I will incredible Aboriginal hoopdancer world champion you know butter chicken beautiful Indian people especially the little ones did I mention butter chicken Chinese pastry and oh those bonsai trees just like Shiyan German bratwurst on a bun squishable little German girls just so cute selling pretzels on a stick.
I feel well traveled!

Recently

It has been awhile since my last post. It's a smokin' day on the prairies- I think we're at 30 degrees. I love it! Particulary in comparison to last weekend's frigid feel. I played ball all weekend in Moose Jaw. And as fun as softball is, it's not really all that enjoyable in the rain and cold. Sopping wet cleats and socks make you cold all over! A rough bout with a nasty cold didn't help the situation. But hey, we won the tournament and the big money, too!
This weekend will be the other extreme, and I don't mind too much. At least not yet. It's better for my squeaky knees when it's piping hot. We're at home in Regina playing in a tournament. It should be a good time- I'm really having fun with the new team I am on (the Regina Royals). It's a mix of a few girls I've been playing with all my life, a few I've been playing against all my life, and then a few new faces that have been fun to get to know.
I'm still playing football but the weather hasn't been very agreeable on our game days. Plus, football seems to have an adverse effect on my knee. It will get over it, but I must be really old because my knees aren't liking this three-sport spring/summer idea. I thought it was a good idea!
Now that I've updated the sports department...
I love having my family home. It feels really good to come home and see the kiddos playing outside with their friends, Dad working in the yard, Mom watching Dr. Phil. Then Mom makes supper; I like that part too. :)
It looks like June and July are going to dissolve quickly. Tournaments, retreats, and family vacation time. Before I know it, I'll be boarding my August 2 flight for China. Actually, that would be precisely 2 months from today. Yikes!!! I am excited, though it feels there is a lot of preparing (yes, it is my favorite word EVER) to do before I leave. But, I do like dreaming and planning for my Grade 5 classroom. Now we are down to 13 classroom days plus finals here at Western (not that I'm counting!).
Well, I conclude by happily proclaiming that it is FRIDAY AFTERNOON and it's hometime! Time for a frap, perhaps? Then a ball game, and a chance to drop in on a few of the pavillions at Mosaic. Sounds good to me! Happy weekend to you!

Pictures from Pine Lake

My May Long was a great time. I had wonderful company along the journey- on the way there I traveled with good friend Deb, and on the way back, with my Uncle Dave and Aunty Heather. It's cool when an 8 hour ride just flies by with good visits and laughs.

It was fun hanging out with Aiden, Syd, Andrew and Autumn over the weekend- watching them enjoy the foamy, leachy waters of Pine Lake, eating supper in Syd and Autumn's treehouse (they make a mean steak), and playing some 2-on-2 hoops with the kiddos. It's clear that Andrew and I had the advantage. That is, until ol' Stilts (as Steve tagged her) came along. Ha ha.
Of course, then there were the smiles and cuddles and the overall adorability/squishiness factor of sweet Marees. She's so wonderful, wonderful. My mom thinks she is quite clever. I agree! I could watch a baby all day long. Someday I'll have my own to stare at! Ha ha.

And, it was so good to sit in on my brother's talks. He definitely left me with some things to work at- perhaps I will save that for another blog, because I've thought about his lesson on "blessing" a lot during my teaching days this week. Powerful.
Okay, I will let the pics tell the rest for you. It's back to learning about the Human Development Index for me. It's very interesting, and I'm being serious!

Peterson the Poet

I love this song by Andrew Peterson- from his latest album, The Far Country...especially the line about the bells! :)
This is not the end here at this grave
This is just a hole that someone made
Every hole was made to fill
And every heart can feel it still--
Our nature hates a vacuum

This is not the hardest part of all
This is just the seed that has to fall
All our lives we till the ground
Until we lay our sorrows down
And watch the sky for rain

There is more
More than all this pain
More than all the falling down
And the getting up again
There is more
More than we can see
From our tiny vantage point
In this vast eternity
There is more

A thing resounds when it rings true
Ringing all the bells inside of you
Like a golden sky on a summer eve
Your heart is tugging at your sleeve
And you cannot say why
There must be more

There is more
More than we can stand
Standing in the glory
Of a love that never ends
There is more
More than we can guess
More and more, forever more
And not a second less

There is more than what the naked eye can see
Clothing all our days with mystery
Watching over everything
Wilder than our wildest dreams
Could ever dream to be
There is more

Mother's Day, and My Mother is Home!

Only a helpful heel gives me the edge over the ten year old...long legged beauty she is! And you can't see it here, but Mom now has long flowing locks!!! Beautiful!

Arm around picture number seventy-two. It's classic.

LOVE the eyes!!!

My family is home, and it is goooood. Plus, a NWT license plate showed up on our driveway last night- surprise! Heather is home, too! Today we enjoyed a Mother's Day brunch, some tennis and supper with Aunty Carolyn, Bonnie, and Ronan. The squishability factor on this kid is excellent! Cuuuuutie petutie!
So Happiest Mother's Day wishes to my Mom. You're the best Mom a girl could ask for- love you oodles and so so so happy to have you home!!!!!!!!!!!

Nerd Day

Gorgeous!

Paving the way to Asia...

I'm feeling it today. It's that unlikable feeling I call the "friend void". My soul sister, Miss Sherri Kasper, is in Vancouver getting ready to fly over that big blue pond to Korea and beyond. Sher and her sister are traveling around Southeast Asia for the next year. Awesome, hey? I'm so pumped for them, and even more excited that we have plans to meet up somewhere during my spring break next year. How about the Phillipines? Indonesia? Cambodia? Vietnam? Sounds good to me! Anyway, tonight I went to Starbucks in honor of my friend- offered up a vanilla latte in memory of great conversations in that place. She's an amazing gal- I miss her already!
I'm just picturing her dancing up a storm in some Korean karoake hotspot...ha ha...something like this picture...love ya, Sher!!!!