tidbits.

jan 30

I came home from the youth retreat to a floor that smelled amazing - and the beautiful news that it was our neighbours cooking a roast beef dinner, which they were going to bring over and share with us!  Coming back to a delicious home-made meal, and sitting around the table with friends enjoying eachothers company was so lovely! By the time they left, I think I was getting to the point where exhaustion elminates all strands of sanity.  I'm not entirely sure what was so funny, but I remember being on the ground laughing and crying, and then sliding myself down the hall so my neighbours wouldn't see me when they came across the hall to drop stuff off.  I'm kind of glad I didn't take this as a hint that I should go to sleep.  Instead, while Rachael went to the store to get us some icecream and smarties, Amber and I decided to light all of our candles, play some classy music, and put on fancy dresses to surprise Rachael.  And when she came in, we spent the rest of the evening laughing, taking silly photos, and enjoying icecream with smarties, caramel sauce, whipped cream and cake.  

feb 2

I don't think I can remember ever being as happy as I was by the end of this day - It was one of those days that just kept getting better and better and better.  And in case I ever forget the feeling, I just want to have a written record of how amazing it felt to be so overwhelmed with joy that i just wanted to jump around and scream, and sing, and dance, and smile until my lips touched the sky.  Seeing God work in my own life, sharing him with others, and watching him change lives - I can't even describe it.  

feb 4

Ottawa doesn't have real hills.  Which is sad, because it does have snow, and the two go so well together.  Unless you are driving I suppose.  After driving around in several circles with Sam, trying to get sleds and people, and get to "the hill"while talking, we made it to Green's Creek and met up wit the rest of the GYG.  Standing at the top of the hill, bundled up in my coat and mitts and toque and borrowed snowpants, I felt like such a little kid looking down it! I was scared! Lucky for me, I have friends who are kind enough to send me sliding down hills against my will, and lucky for them, after the first few seconds of my desire to kill them melted into my love of tobogganing.  And the bonus of living at the top of a real hill for so long? While others felt that walking up the hill wasn't worth the fun of going down, I would have been content to just go over and over and over again. I love the closeness of everyone jumping on a toboggan, or pilling on top of each other on a tube, and laughing, screaming, and getting covered in snow together.  And I love how nice it is to come back inside, take off boots and wet clothes, and warm up together.  What a great night.

feb 5

I guess the one good thing about having conflicting schedules and crazy lives, is that when you finally are able to catch up with people, it's soooooooo nice.  And the nice thing about the 5th of the month, is that it's only days before the end of the billing period, so I don't need to worry about using all of our internet when I skype!  The day was so relaxing.  I did some cleaning and a little bit of work, but for the most part, I spent it skyping with my family and friends in Sooke/Victoria.  I spent the evening playing the guitar and then listening to some beautiful music while doing dishes and tidying up, and then Lane came over.  I really love Sunday Afternoons, and having girls over to bake, but I do miss just talking to him every week after church.  We cooked a late dinner, and then talked for a long time.  When he left around 11, we ended up standing otuside talking, so I decided to walk to the bus with him - and it was so warm outside, that I was fine without boots or a coat!  Sunday and Monday were both really warm as well!

feb 9
You may have read this on facebook already, but if not.... I LOVE HAVING VISITORS! We had some  guests from Movein over for dinner, just to talk about how things are going and pray together.  I love cooking for people! And I love that visitors are a good reason to make dessert without feeling guilty about it! And I just felt really blessed by the conversations we were able to have - even though they were  with people I'd never met before, we were able to have good, deep conversations.

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Amber and Rachael are both away for the weekend, and I'm looking forward to spending some time alone - but also to lots of exciting plans, which I'm sure you'll hear about or read about soon.