As promised...

I did promise to post a bit on our camping trip.
Even though it started off rough, by the end of the week, I was able to thoroughly enjoy watching Justin have fun.

Some of the things that he did:

He played with Sassy dog food bowl (yes, it was clean). He put his elephant, and various sticks that he found it in and then he would sit and spin in it! Such fun!














He also enjoyed (thoroughly I might add) playing in his rubber maid container with types of things. He had his plastic tub animals, as well as well...you can tell from the picture can't you! :)









One of the things we did almost every day was visit the house where Jim's mom was house-sitting. They have a pool. The three of them would go swimming. Justin enjoyed himself tremendously. One of the things he liked most was crawling in and out of the pool. He also like splashing the dog. Wiley is a old goofy golden retriever who let Justin do just about anything with him. Justin crawled over him, under him, took his toys, and had a blast. Wiley tolerated it all really, really well. :)


















One of the funniest thing I thought Justin did while we camped was....fool his mom-mom. I thought he was going over to check out our van, instead he decided that he should crawl across the road to another campsite! Fortunately I caught up to him as he was going over the road. When he got there, the garbage they left at the back of the campsite caught his eye and off he crawled as fast as he could. On the way there he came across this patch of long, really cool (as in to the touch) feeling grass. He stopped! He looked surprised. He turned and sat. Wiggled his bum. Turned and sat. He was just captivated by the feel of this grass. It was so nice, cool and soft to the touch. He completely forgot about the garbage (not that I minded) and just took in that grass. When he tired of it, dad-dad had made it back to our campsite and Justin thought we should go get him. Off we went!


Oh...we bought this screen tent for camping. We thought it would be a good way to keep Justin confined in a bug-free zone for playing. I had it all nicely set up. Justin played in it "properly" one time! And then he discovered it had a zipper! oh boy!!!! I can do that too!!!!! Up and down, crawl under, up and down, crawl in, up and down, up and down, up and down, oh...crawl out! Head for fire quickly (while loudly saying "ah") (have to warn mom-mom somehow!)

Silly boy.....
Had a blast. Made the whole camping trip worth while! :)

Unknown God

The reading today is Acts 17:16-34 (English Standard Version)

16Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. 17So
he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and
in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there.   

Paul taught the people.  They came and listened to him.  He taught them things they hadn't heard before and their response was to take hold of him and bring him to their place of teaching.   At least that's my guess what the Areopagus was.    Because it is a place where "Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new".   And it is the place where Paul ended up standing and talking in the midst of.

Paul was bothered by all the idols that he saw (see v.16) but did he say that?  No.  I find that fascinating.  That would be my immediate inclination...to attack what I saw that I didin't like.  But Paul didn't do that.

First he taught people in general, and then when he was brought before scholars... he taught them what they didn't know they already knew.

They worshipped an "unknown god".   Paul took the time to introduce them to this "unknown god."    Read his words: 

"Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. 23For
as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found
also an altar with this inscription, 'To the unknown god.' What
therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. 24The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, 25nor
is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he
himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. 26And
he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of
the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of
their dwelling place, 27that
they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward
him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, 28for

   "'In him we live and move and have our being';

      as even some of your own poets have said,

   "'For we are indeed his offspring.'

    29Being
then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is
like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and
imagination of man. 30The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31because
he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by
a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all
by raising him from the dead."

Paul didn't mock, attack or deride them.
He merely taught them.

As expected.... some mocked what he said, but others...ah but others said "we will hear you again about this."  Some people listened, they really did.

This gives me courage.   I know that many of the people that I meet in life will not really want to hear what I have to say about the Lord that I love.  But some will, some might really listen.    If my words and actions can get just even one person to consider God more seriously...or even at all...then I think I've done what I should as a Christian.

I have to pray that, like Paul, I will have wisdom in how I met their query.  Will I attack, deride, mock, or run away from that which bothers my spirit OR will I find that teachable moment...and teach?   I will need to pray more fervently that I will do the latter - especially since it is so easy to do the former!  

Chickens Strike!

Yesterday Justin had TWO blistery like spots on his body.  One on his backside, the other "in a hot spot".

Thought nothing of it really.  Just an anomally in the life of raising a boy child.

He had a hard time settling to bed last night as was still awake (but quiet) when I gave his bottle of water for when he wakes up in the morning.

This morning, he woke up, I got him up.  He seemed a wee bit dozey.  We did our morning  inspection of the property.   Then we got dressed properly for the day and he has spots over his back! 

Since we were planning on having a day trip to London (Jim has to visit a parishoner) I thought I'd do a quick stop at the ER.  Found out that he has chicken pox...and they didn't even do the whole check in thing.  The out-going doc just gave his back a quick peek and said "YUP!  That's chicken pox!"

So we came home, had a nice breakfast, Justin got a bit fussy and back to bed (with a bit of tylenol in him).   He's having a nice nap.

Does this bother you????

I get this kind of stuff in the mail and I find it .... I want to say offensive, but that's not the word I really want.  I find it irritating, bothersome, unchristian, unbiblical and just wrong.

What kind of stuff am I talking about?
This kind of stuff
"If I don't get this back, I will know you really didn't read it.  I got this from someone and thought the last part was really a good thought. "

So far...not too bad...just lines to try to keep something circulating.  I generally delete the "if I don't get this back I know you didn't read it part".   IF and  ONLY IF I choose to pass it along to someone.  AND  IF I do...I do not send it back to the original person... seems silly to me to do so.     If a person really wants to know if I care, they can ask, OR write me an email and see if I respond at some point within the next three months.    :) 

The email continued....   "Too bad that the  person who sent it to me did not know 10 people who would admit to knowing the Lord.   If I send this to you, please send it back so that I will know that my friends do know the Lord.         I konw 10 people.  Do you LOVE HIM?     This is a simple test:   If you love Jesus, send this to at least 10 people including the person who sent it to you!"    

So my query is simple....what does sending an email have to do with "proving" if I love Jesus or not?    Doesn't my life and personal witness (my walk and talk) indicate that? 

Maybe I'm missing something here, but this just seems like blackmail in a way.   I know you don't really love Jesus if you don't forward this picture and poem on to at least 10 people.  What?    I don't love Jesus if I simply delete it?  I don't love Jesus if I send it to only one person?   What about 9  people?    

I just find the mindset irritating.   And I probably shouldn't vent when I'm tired and more easily irritated!   :) 

The other emails that bug me are the ones that come through... you get this really nice poem or picture or letter and at the bottom it says something along the lines of...if you don't send this then bad luck will come to you!  As a Christian I can't abide these ones.  And when fellow believers send them out, I tend to ask them, what are they trying to say with this email?  Are we to trust in the power of the internet, or are we to trust in God?   I teach them to do a cut and paste or a Highlight and delete before sending these types of emails on to others.  Why continue the fraud?

AND even worse are the ones that are warnings that if a person just went to snopes or to truth or fiction .   They would find out that it was wrong and save themselves and the world a lot of wasted time.   It's like think about it folks!  

I can honestly understand people who don't know about these sites.   So I always tell folks about them.   Check it out, I did, this is what I found out, could you let all the people you emailed know that it is Or is not true.  And please also let them know about these sites so that they can check things out to.     It does however bother me when the snopes address is right in the body of the letter ... and people still didn't bother to check it out.  Are they not reading what they are sending out?   ARGH!!!!   :) 

It does however serve a purpose.....teaches me patience!   :)   And that in turn does benefit those around me.   Oh...it also teaches me how to tactly tell people to get a brain. to think more carefully before they just willy-nilly send on emails to other folks.  Spam is problem, why should we add to it?

That's my rant for the week.   What do you think?  Am I off base here?  Am I missing something that I shouldn't?   Or am I on target?

God's Glory

I asked my hubbie the other day why people fail to see that God does all things for his own glory. His response was "people are too self-centred and it doesn't make sense to them."

It's one of those things that I keep pondering. And sometimes I wonder if I'll ever figure it out. But seeing his glory, and seeing how he works all things for his glory... it's just one of those things that lights my heart and makes my mind ponder him and his ways just a bit more.

God does all things for his own glory. He allows us to handle pain and suffering and gives us all that we need ... protection from the elements in a variety of ways, sustenance for survival in a variety of ways. He meets all our needs through Christ. AND he does it all for his own glory.

God doesn't have to do a thing for us, but he chooses to do so. That to me is such a marvellous thing, and I kept pondering that as I walked the dogs this morning. Without the boy for the first time in almost three weeks! woohoo!!! me time!!!!

I was reading Psalm 89 with these thoughts still on my brain. And I read these words.

5Let the heavens praise your wonders, O LORD,
your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones!
6For who in the skies can be compared to the LORD?
Who among the heavenly beings is like the LORD,
7a God greatly to be feared in the council of the holy ones,
and awesome above all who are around him?
8O LORD God of hosts,
who is mighty as you are, O LORD,
with your faithfulness all around you?
9You rule the raging of the sea;
when its waves rise, you still them.
10You crushed Rahab like a carcass;
you scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.
11The heavens are yours; the earth also is yours;
the world and all that is in it, you have founded them.
12The north and the south, you have created them;
Tabor and Hermon joyously praise your name.
13You have a mighty arm;
strong is your hand, high your right hand.
14Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;
steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.
15Blessed are the people who know the festal shout,
who walk, O LORD, in the light of your face,
16who exult in your name all the day
and in your righteousness are exalted.
17For you are the glory of their strength;
by your favor our horn is exalted.
18For our shield belongs to the LORD,
our king to the Holy One of Israel.

Can you see God's glory? Can you see that God has everything? The seas, the skies, the heavenly beings, and so forth. NOTHING is equal to God. God handles it all!

God helps his people. He scatters his enemies. No one can outwit him and no one can humble him. God is God!!!! Greatly to be praised. He is the one that helps us.

He is the one that punishes people for turning away from him. He is the one who humbles those who side with his enemies.

To Him be ALL the glory forever.

Man one, bear zero

My hubbie pointed me here.

Made me think of how here in Ontario this dog is banned.  This man lives in Waterloo, Ontario, one of the first cities to bann pit bulls and their ilk.   Pit bulls and their progenitors have to be spayed or neutered, wear a muzzle in public, always be on leash and be in a kennel.   They aren't ever allowed be without supervision when out of a person's house.

And this dog did what most all owners would want their dogs to do.   Warn them of danger.  

His American Staffordshire dog growled a warning, then rushed to his
defence as the bear came at them on a trail north of Wawa on Friday.

Current Ontario law says that if these dogs are not sterilized, muzzled and leashed when in public, their owner can face a fine of up to $10,000 or as much as six months in jail, or even both.

This article   tells abit about how the court case against the government and this law are going.  I really hope the law gets overturned as unconstitutional.  I"m not sure what will happen, but I do hope for the sake of a lot of dogs, that is overturned and that the Ontario government is then forced to come up with a well-written dangerous dog legislation that will actually do what they are hoping to have done.  Force people to train their dogs properly, and to have truly dangerous dogs destroyed.

Makes me wonder, what will happen to this man and his dog.  Will he go to jail for having his dog off leash?  In the picture it is shown without a muzzle, will he be charged for this?   If he had been obeying the law, would the outcome have been the same?

This legislation still irritates me and I truly wish that it will be overturned. 

What say you?

Wondering if it was just concidence times two

So, we got rained out at the Folk Festival and arrived home a bit early.

Therefore I thought I'd make good use of my time, and Justin's energy (not sure where he got it from since he'd only had a 45 minute nap all day).  BUT used it I did!   We pulled weeds.

And yes, I know you're all wondering....how can a one year old help his mom-mom pull weeds?  Wouldn't he just make the job tougher?

Well it was funny, and not exactly what I was expecting.  I was weeding the front bed which I call the kidney garden (due to its' shape), pulling out some extra poppies that had gone to seed.  Well, I left a couple, one was just missed, the other was big and still flowering.

Justin was busy crawling around, pulling the weeds out of the bucket that I put them in, and when I moved on, he thought he should crawl into the garden where I was weeding.  I figured he was just playing with his toys there, it was an open spot so I wasn't worried about plant damage.   Anyways, a minute later he comes crawling over to me with a small poppy in his hand!  Dumps it VERY proudly into the bucket and crawls on back.  I figured, strange concidence but okay.  Helpful little boy.  I told him he was a good boy for helping mom-mom.   

A couple of minutes later I hear a very frustrated cry from that little boy.  I look up to see him TUGGING away at the big poppy!  Boy was he mad!  He wanted to pull that poppy up and it just wasn't coming for him!  :)   Made me shake my head at him.    I chuckled at his determination too.    I had to move him to another part of the garden and let him see another old poppy that he could pull up before he would settle down.  Fortunately, he wasn't all that hard to distract!   For the rest of the time I was in that garden, he moved back and forth pulling weeds out of my bucket, showing me old poppies and just being a busy little boy.   

So I ask... did he know, really know what plants to go after OR was it just coincidence?  And would you expect this from a one year old?

A wish list

I found this at: http://www.geocities.com/babiesinheaven/wishlist.htm

It sums up a lot of what I am thinking about now. Granted, I don't think all these things, but I do think some of them. I thought the first couple of things most with our first miscarriage.

A Wish list

1. I wish you would not be afraid to mention my baby. The truth is just because you never saw my baby doesn’t mean he or she doesn’t deserve your recognition.
2. I wish that if we did talk about my baby and I cried you didn’t think it was because you have hurt me by
   mentioning my baby. The truth is I need to cry and talk about my baby with you. Crying and emotional outbursts help me heal.
3. I wish you wouldn’t think that I don’t want to talk about my baby. The truth is I love my baby and need to talk
   about him or her.
   
4. I wish you could tell me you are sorry my baby has died and that you’re thinking of me. The truth is it tells me
   you care.
5. I wish you wouldn’t think what has
   happened is one big bad memory for me. The truth is the memory of my
   baby, the love I feel for my baby, the dreams I had and the memories I
   have created for my baby are all loving memories. Yes there are bad
   memories too but please understand that it’s not all like that.
6. I wish you wouldn’t pretend my baby
   never existed. The truth is we both know I had a baby growing inside me.
7. I wish you wouldn’t judge me because I’m not acting the way you think I should be. The truth is grief is a very
   personal thing and we are all different people who deal with things differently.
8. I wish you wouldn’t think if I have a good day I’m "over it" or if I have a bad day I am being
   unreasonable because you think I should be over it. The truth is there is no "normal" way for me to act.
9. I wish you wouldn’t stay away from me.
   The truth is loosing my baby doesn’t mean I’m contagious. By staying away you make me feel isolated, confused and like it is my fault.
10. I wish you wouldn’t expect my grief to be "over and done with" in a few weeks, months or years for
    that matter. The truth is it may get easier with time but I will never be "over" this.
11. I wish you wouldn’t think that my baby wasn’t really a baby and it was blood and tissue or a "foetus". The truth
    is my baby was a human life. My baby had a soul, heart, body, legs, arms and a face. My baby was a real
    person.
12. My babies due date, Mothers Day, celebration times, the day my baby died and the day I lost my baby are
    all important and sad days for me. The truth is I wish you could tell me by words or by letter you are thinking of me on these days.
13. I wish you understood that losing my baby has changed me. The truth is I am not the same person I was before and will never be that person again.
14. I wish you wouldn’t tell me I could have another baby. The truth is I want the baby I lost and no other baby can
    replace this baby. Babies aren’t interchangeable.
15. I wish you wouldn’t think that you’ll keep away because all my friends and family will be there for me. The
    truth is, everyone thinks the same thing and I am often left with no one.
16. I wish you would understand that being around pregnant women is uncomfortable for me. The truth is I feel
    jealous.
17. I wish you wouldn’t say that it’s natures way of telling me something was wrong with my baby. The truth is
    my baby was perfect to me no matter what you think nature is saying.
18. I wish you would understand what you are really saying when you say "next time things will be okay".
    The truth is how do you know? What will you say if it happens to me again?

oh... and one I might add. I wish you wouldn't tell me that I shouldn't name my baby. The baby was real, and is still part of my thoughts. Having a name is important for a little person (and for their parents too).

For those who might be interested, our lost wee ones are named "dani" and "angelina'.

Personality types and parenting

I was at Mommy Life. She is a new-to-me blogger I met through the Blogger of Beauty awards.

Which led me to this:

You Are An INTJ

The Scientist You have a head for ideas - and you are good at improving systems. Logical and strategic, you prefer for everything in your life to be organized. You tend to be a bit skeptical. You're both critical of yourself and of others. Independent and stubborn, you tend to only befriend those who are a lot like you. You would make an excellent scientist, engineer, or programmer.

You Are An INFJ

The Protector You live your life with integrity, originality, vision, and creativity. Independent and stubborn, you rarely stray from your vision - no matter what it is. You are an excellent listener, with almost infinite patience. You have complex, deep feelings, and you take great care to express them. You would make a great photographer, alternative medicine guru, or teacher.

What's Your Personality Type?

Which, when I went back to Mommy life, I was lead here where I learned this:

The individual-integrity mother (INTJ)
This mom is introspective, defining her own success from within, and is generally confident in her decisions. She's unlikely to be persuaded by her kids' saying "But all the other moms are doing it." She's competent in providing for her kids' basic needs, but she's likely more focused on building their confidence. She puts great importance on independent thinking and self-sufficiency. This mom works hard and takes life seriously; she lives for those moments when she can impart knowledge and offer her kids new perspectives on life.
Stay-sane tip: It's essential for you to have a project to call your own. If you don't have a job, try volunteering to meet your need for mental stimulation and adult conversation.

Or this:

The know-thyself mother (INFJ)
Sensitive and family-focused, the INFJ mother encourages the unique potential of each child. Her aim is to help her kids develop a sense of identity, and she seeks a free exchange of feelings and thoughts to that end. In fact, she may value the mothering experience as a catalyst to her own personal growth. She is conscientious and intense, as well. Probably no one takes child-raising more seriously than the INFJ. She approaches it as a profession requiring her best self.
Stay-sane tip: Make time for yourself, try to live in the moment, and take life a little less seriously. Instead of trying to make life what it "should be," enjoy it for what it is.

I have to admit, I see myself more as "The individual-integrity mother". I really don't look at mother-hood for what it will teach me about myself. I"m more into helping Justin learn who he is, and helping him be confident and self-sufficient, and grow into a person of character who dearly loves God. The rest well...it's all part of the package right?

God acts.....a man is saved

I was reading in Acts this morning, about how Paul and Silas were imprisoned.

Acts 16:16-34. 16As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. 17She followed Paul and us, crying out, "These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation." 18And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." And it came out that very hour.

19But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. 20And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, "These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city. 21They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice." 22The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. 23And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. 24Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

25About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, 26and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's bonds were unfastened. 27When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. 28But Paul cried with a loud voice, "Do not harm yourself, for we are all here." 29And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. 30Then he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" 31And they said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household." 32And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. 34Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.

Paul and Silas. Two Roman Citizens. They had privileges that most people didn't have in their society. They were part of the conquering people. You needed to have a good reason to treat them like criminals.

They sent a demon out of a slave girl because she was annoying them. Paul did this through the power of Christ.

Her owners were rather annoyed by this. Imagine it....this slave girl probably brought them in a good penny or two because of her possession, and now their penny or two was gone because Paul, through the power of Christ, sent that demon packing.

As a result, they were accused of being jews, the crowd got all excited so the magistrates, instead of asking good questions of Paul and Silas, caused them to be beaten and thrown in jail. My assumption is that they were somewhat frightened of the crowd about them and just wanted the problem to go away. So, beat them, imprison them, and then in the morning when things are quieter, send them away.

BUT GOD had other plans.

First he had the slave girl annoy Paul.
Then Paul, through Christ, sent the demon out of the girl.
The owners complained, got the crowd excited and the magistrates beat and imprisoned Paul and Silas (roman citizens).

Paul and Silas spent the night in jail. They were singing hymns of praise to God and praying. The other prisoners were listening. Can you imagine the witness they had? People just didn't do that! Being beaten and imprisoned doesn't tend to leave one wanting to do anything except cope with one's own pain and misery. And here they were, praying to and praising God!

Read on to see what happened next!

26and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's bonds were unfastened.

You need to understand something. If prisoners escaped while under the watch of the jailer, the jailer would be punished. It was failure of duty. Doing so was punishable by death!

"He knew the Roman law in that case, and it was executed not long ago upon the
keepers out of whose hands Peter escaped, ch. xii. 19. It was according to that of the prophet, 1 Kings xx. 39, 42, Keep this man; if he be missing, thy life shall go for his life. The Roman lawyers after this, in their readings upon the law, De custodia reorum--The custody of criminals (which appoints that the keeper should undergo the same punishment that should have been inflicted on the prisoner if he let him escape), take care to except an escape by miracle."
see: http://www.ccel.org/h/henry/mhc2/MHC44016.HTM

So the jailer seeing the doors down assumed that the prisoners escaped and thought to kill himself (an easier death than what he could have expected otherwise). Paul and Silas would have heard the sword being drawn and called out to him not to kill himself because everyone was still there.

The Jailer needed to see this for a fact so he called for lights, saw it was true and immediately wanted to know what he needed to do to be saved.

29And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. 30Then he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"

Paul gave him the answer"Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household."

They spoke further with him and his household. They believed. They were baptized. And the Jailer rejoiced that "he had believed in God".

Isn't it marvellous how God orchestrated that whole thing?

I just find it amazing how God acts. Makes me realize all the more that God does know what he is doing in all circumstances.

I would hope and pray that if God would put me into an untenable situation that I too would be able to pray and praise God. That the circumstances wouldn't beat me down. That I could be a true and faithful witness.

Cyborg Name Decoder

You can try it for yourself here.

The Woes of Having an Older Dog

Riley and Sassy (our dogs) went camping with us this past week.

Our camping neighbours LOVED our dogs.  See...our dogs... they don't bark when we camp.  They are very quiet, well-behaved dogs.   Sassy also LOVES people and is a total wiggle butt and people seem to really like that.  :)   They even seem to like that Riley is a big stand-offish until he gets to know you.   They aren't aggressive with passing dogs and they just lay out quietly watching the world.   Sassy impresses people with her frisbee and ball catching skills and.... she even did some freestyle moves for our dog-loving neighbours.

Sassy (who is our barker at home) only barked one time and that is because she was eating her supper and a neighbour (Lee) tried to visit with her.  It was more of a "hi, I'm friendly bark, but I'm eating so leave me alone."     What can I say...she was REALLY hungry (that's what comes from not eating most of her supper the night before).

Anyways, Riley spent the last couple of nights we were camping OUT of the trailer.   Why?  Because he got the runs and didn't know it.   He was still lying in it when I when I asked my hubbie to put that dog out!   ICK!!!!   We were up at 5 a.m. cleaning up the trailer and TRYING to do it quietly AND then our boy woke up and well....what can I say...it was just a mess.    We did succeed though in keeping quiet.  None of our neighbours got upset with us, or even seemed to wake up through the whole mess.

It was kinda funny later on.  Riley was just a stinky mess, it had rained the night before, and I wanted him cleaner.   Riley is normally a dog who will splash through puddles and wade around.  NOT this morning!   Oh no!  When we want him too he won't!    Silly dog.     So here I am, the big meanie that I am, I make him SIT in a puddle and I swish him around in it.   Got most of the poop off, he's complaining to beat the band (whine, whine, whine).  You would have thought I was killing him!    I let him up.  I note that he's still a bit poopy so the next big puddle I have the audacity to do it again!   (repeat performance on Riley's part)

You have to understand something here.   When Riley is displeased by something...the whole world knows the life is not good.  Must be the combination husky-shepherd ...husky's are talkers and Riley talks.  Shepherds are facially expressive and Riley can pull this "Ah, life is not good look".   It was funny. BUT he was cleaner!  Not as smelly!  YEAH!!!!   yes, I know...I'm a big old meanie for washing him in a puddle....TWICE!!!

But on a sadder note, Riley has been doing this pooping thing without knowing it, much more frequently lately. I am getting tired of the cleanup - happening way to frequently lately.    And there are days when he looks like SUCH an old dog.      I don't like those days when he's looking so old and so sad.  Makes me worried for him.   And the days that he just seems to get tired going for a short walk ...   He's getting old...

I called our vet the other day to see how much it would cost to put him to sleep.  Not as bad as we thought...$35 - We'd have to bury him though.   Jim says, the backyard, a big hole and a nice marker.   It will be hard to let him go....but we're starting to think that in October (when the weather starts to turn too cold to let him out all day and early in the morning) that we'll have to say good-bye to this good old dog.

Oh...I was going to add...the last night we were camping two little coons came by our campsite.  We had supper garbage bags hanging out and they were curious.   I woke up to the "grr" noise that coons make.  They had noticed Riley out in the x-pen and where making "we're not scared of you" noises and "see how big we are" noises as they are flattening themselves to the ground.   Riley's response seemed so classic "What? I'm here you're there.  I"m not doing anything.   What?  I don't get why you're making such strange noises...."   Stupid baby coons!   :)  Made me laugh (quietly mind you so I wouldn't wake up the boy)

The Start of our Vacation

Ah...the joys of summer vacations....through the eyes of a one year old boy.    More on that later....once I get pictures that I can access at least....

My hubbie had his birthday (40th) this past Sunday and he didn't want to work on his birthday so he decided that this past week would be a great time to take off.

It worked out, providentially to be good timing.   Most folks didn't know, but at least that I know of, guessed... I was pregnant, and at the beginning of our vacation week, I lost that child.   It's our second miscarriage.  Still not a pleasant or good thing.   I had just gotten to the point of looking forward to this little one, when God in his providence, chose to take that child home.

This wee one, I called Angelina, will be missed even though we scarcely knew her.   (and yes, I know, we can't know if the baby was male or female, but the baby just seems an Angelina to me).

We took off.  Spent the first couple of nights at my mom-in-law's house since she was away pet-sitting.  I didn't feel comfortable going to a camp-ground at that point.   On Wednesday we headed up to Fanshawe Conservation Area in London.   We spent the days just kicking around.   Did some window-shopping, walked the dogs, swam at the place where Jim's mom was staying (nice pool that my boys enjoyed thoroughly), and just relaxed with each other.

My boyo just had a total blast camping this week.   He got so wet and dirty!     But I'll write more on that later.

We're off

Today we are off.   My hubbie is on holidays so we're going camping for a week or so.   Not entirely sure yet what all we will be doing, but my best guess is we'll go to a local park so that we can use my mom-in-law's backyard to store the dogs if we do a day trip.  

She's not home as she's pet-sitting so she won't have to worry about them either.  :)   This will keep the dogs safe and release us from worrying about them at the campground.  :)  I even have their food all packed for the week.  Frozen so we can thaw one meal at a time for them.

Anyways, I'll be back and I'll be sure to update you then.

Prophets

The other day I queried why God didn't use "his true men" today like he did the prophets in the past. Why a prophet in the past could call down curses on people, and have bad things happen to them and yet today's preachers...you know the ones... the ones who are truly men of God, don't seem to be able to do the same thing.

Sometimes I wonder if God just chooses to work in different ways in this time and age, or if it's a lack of faith on the part of these men of God, or what it is.

Sometimes I wonder what we can learn from the prophets of the past ... instead of just being amazed at the things they could do in the power of God.

So today I was reading from James 5 and I read these words

9Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. 10As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

and later in the same chapter

13Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. 14Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. 17Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.

We can learn from these men. We can see the example they laid down for us. They persevered through all sorts of stuff. They kept on keeping on for the Lord and they had results in faith. Job had his family and possessions restored to him, Elijah prayed and no rain came, he prayed again and rain came, Jeremiah was a weeping prophet, Hosea married a harlot and showed Israel their relationship with God and so forth.

We can learn from these men. We can see their patience, their suffering, their very lives laid out before God and his people. And God was so gracious to them. Their righteousness made a difference. And ours can too!

Just thought that was neat.

I'm sorta weird

Kim over at the Upward Call gave me this link.

Thanks for taking the Weird Quotient test

Of all the weird test takers:

35% are more weird,
9% are just as weird, and
56% are more normal than you!

For your hard work, here is a prize:

And we laughed

It was funny today.

Justin discovered that disposable diapers from Pampers have pictures on them!   Wow!  What a huge discovery for a one year boy.   He woofed at Grover, I woofed at Justin!   Justin looked at me in amazement.  he woofed, I woofed, he smiled, I smiled.  He woofed, I woofed, he giggled, I laughed.   We woofed at each other for a good minute.  We had so much fun with one diaper.

Who would have thought that a little boy could make a mom-mom smile over a diaper?

God, I am sure, smiled along with us. 

What is it.....

Okay, here's the situation, as we read it in 2 Kings: 1-3, the King has fallen through the roof of the house, he's not feeling good as the result and has gone to bed.   He sends a man to inquire of a false god (Baal-zebub) to see if he will get better or not.   The prophet Elijah (of the real God) meets that man along the way, tells that man that since the King sough after a false god that he will not rise from his bed.

The king was....shall we say unimpressed by that news and wants to talk further with Elijah, so....he sends 50 men (with their captain) out to bring Elijah in.   Elijah's response was simple "If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty."   And lo and behold "Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty."

And the king sent another group out.    And it happened again.

And the king sent another group out.   But this time the captain begged "O man of God, please let my life, and the life of these fifty servants of yours, be precious in your sight. 14Behold,
fire came down from heaven and consumed the two former captains of
fifty men with their fifties, but now let my life be precious in your
sight."  (v13-14) An angel of the Lord told Elijah it would be safe for him to go with this man.

And Elijah, in person, told the King the message he told sent earlier "Thus says the LORD, 'Because you have sent messengers to inquire of
Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron--is it because there is no God in Israel
to inquire of his word?--therefore you shall not come down from the bed
to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.'" (v16)

Later on Elijah and Elisha are on a journey from God, they come to a brook, "Then Elijah took his cloak
and rolled it up and struck the water, and the water was parted to the
one side and to the other, till the two of them could go over on dry
ground."   

Later on we read about how Elijah dies and then Elisha replaces him, and some of the first things that happen with Elisha are surprising (at least to me).   Elisha is harassed by some boys, he curses them, and two she-bears come out and kill most of the the boys.   And at his word Water from a town that was bad, was made good!  (v.19-22)

So what is it?  What's makes the difference between then and now?

These men are proclaimers of the Lord God.  They speak his words to the people.   They get angry, they sin, they do things they aught not, they do speak things that seem terrible, They speak God's word to the people.   Things happen that I just find amazing.   It makes me wonder...was it just an old testament thing?

See, my hubbie is man of God,  He's a preacher, he proclaims God's word, but he doesn't do this type of stuff.   And he truly does the very best he can to proclaim God's word to the people, and he too is imperfect, he gets angry, he sins, he does stuff he aught not, he speaks God's word to the people God has placed in his life.  And yet, I don't find him able to "split water so he can walk on dry ground", or "call down fire upon people".   Not that I mind that...not sure what I'd think if suddenly he could call down fire on truly unrepentant people just for being a solid man of God.  That would shocking and terrifying....

I just wonder sometimes...could God use people in this way again?   Why doesn't he do it now-a-days?   If he did, could you imagine how it would shake up the church?  How it would impact the world around us?  ESPECIALLY if it couldn't be explained in any other way..... Just makes me wonder.

   

He's One Year Old today!

Can you believe it's been a whole year already!?!?!?

My boyo is a whole year old!   No party today, that comes on Saturday, but he's one year old.  He celebrated by walking across the kitchen completely unaided.   Wow...what a boy!

Daddy took a picture of him eating a VERY messy lunch-time meal.  Not sure that he has it downloaded yet for me to post, but it was very messy and very full of smiles.  :)  When it's up, I'll be sure to post it...everyone needs to see a messy, smiley boy once in a while eh?   :)

Oh...he even got a present today!   One of the ladies from church stopped over with a brand new truck for him!   What fun!  :)   Justin even liked the card that came with it.  The truck of course went zooming all over the floor.   Oh boy...trucks are fun!  

Tomorrow if it's nice he'll go swimming in his pool, go shopping for his party on Saturday, and go for a nice walk with the dogs.

Silly Dogs

I have for the most part decided that we have two very silly dogs that share this household.

Two dogs: Riley older husky-shepherd cross male. Sassy younger complete mix.

We've in the past couple of months switched them to a raw food diet (actually known as a B.A.R.F. diet) that stands for biologically appropriate raw food diet. To learn more go here.

They get fed outside because, well, raw food is a tad bit messier than kibble.

We've seen good changes in them, and can do it for about the same cost as mid-range kibble.

Anyways, why are they silly?

1. We tie them up when feeding because Riley is a thief. No other polite way to say it...he is an unrepentant thief.

2. So here is Riley, he is NOT done his own food. He is stretching out as far as he can on his lead-out with his nose in the air sniffing. And then he starts his infamous woofing. I want off! I want off! he woofs! I kept telling him to be quiet.

3. I go out to see what is taking Sassy so long to eat her food. What do I find? She's guarding her food against flies! Silly dog! Just eat! I told her to go ahead, eat! Even scared the flies away. She ate! ARGH!!!!

Silly dogs!!! Both of them!!!!

Neither completely finished their meal. That's not unusual for Sassy, and a good sign with Riley. I"m testing just how much he eats, and will give him filler (rice) to help him feel full so he won't woof and beg to be let off so he can steal from Sassy. (not that it worked tonight...perhaps I'm deluded in thinking I can change him....) Tonight I gave him just a tad bit too much filler. Sassy tends to eat her quota one day, and then the next day, she leaves some behind. She's a bit harder to figure on this new diet.

I used to keep the leftovers for the next day, but have stopped doing that. I either flush the leftovers OR if it's pieces of chicken, I dump it out in the compost for the neighbourhood stray cats (at least that's my assumption as it's always gone the next morning!). Besides, whatever is eating it, the scent gets Sass all excited the following morning! Good to have a rush isn't it? (grin)

My Girlie ROCKS!!!!

The trial: Jumping for Joy Trial in Maryhill, Ontario.

The date: July 1, 2006

The judge: Billie Mclean

The organizing body: Agility Association of Canada (AAC)

The events entered: Advanced Standard, Advanced Gamblers, Advanced Jumpers.

MY GIRLIE ROCKS!!!!!  

Yes indeedy!   A hot day, camping with fireworks.  Nervous girlie.  Had a hard time settling, wouldn't eat her supper or her breakfast (needed to bribed of all things with BACON!!)   She ROCKS!!!

The night before: dropped Riley (actually on thursday night at my hubbie's mom), dropped our son at my parents (on Friday).   Headed up to the trial site.  Camped.   There were fireworks.  Sassy was unimpressed.  One of the participants drove onto a stump, that caused a kerfluffle, Sassy was unimpressed.

First the standard run.    Sassy was one of the last dogs to run.  NO OTHER DOG completed the course clean and under time.  I got a tad bit nervous at that point.  The standard course time was 67 seconds, Sassy squeaked...literally squeaked through at 66.70 seconds!   WOW... call that cutting it close.   Wouldn't have been so close if the weaves hadn't freaked her out a bit.  Took three attempts to get it right, (she kept missing a pole here and there).  BUT she did it.  She got those poles completed, she picked up some speed, and we squeaked it through!!!  YEAH FOR MY GIRLIE!!!!

Then we had the gamble.   For some reason, I like doing the gambles but I find them somewhat nervewracking trying to figure out what I think is best to do for me and Sassy.    BUT Sassy did EXACTLY what I asked her to do, at a rather pokey speed, but everything that I asked, I had planned a bit more in case she wasn't pokey, but that would have just been gravy.... She sended with 64 points!  Yeah for Sassy.
She did the gamble!!!   She was one of I think two dogs that completed the gamble.  Comments overheard afterwards: "Nice gamble by that dog", "Good run!"

She started to relax....good dog!   :)  Ate some food!   Yeah for stressors leaving! 

The Jumpers course.   Looked challenging, proven to be in some ways to almost everyone out there.   I was conflicted about how to do the opening, to I run on one side knowing that would draw her to the wrong side of a tunnel farther down OR do I risk a harder opening and know that, that wrong tunnel will be less attractive?  I chose the latter.   So....Sassy unfortunately got a refusal at a tunnel because I didn't clearly indicate it enough thinking it was just a straight run.  BAD HANDLER!   BUT!!!!!   She still came in first!!!!!!   :)  She had 3.23 time faults and 5 faults for the refusal.   She gave it an honest try...just had a really sucky handler!     Didn't help at all that we had taken the trailer down so we could get going as soon as possible after the trial was done so she was all stressed that we were leaving and she wasn't allowed in the van.  She is such a silly dog sometimes.

Would I trial under Billie again?  Yes, I like her open courses.

Would I trial at Jumping for Joy again?  yes.  I would love to not have quite so many mosquitos, but it was a good trial.  Well run.  Met lots of nice people.   Calm, relaxed atmosphere.  They treat their volunteers decent.  Good place to exercise your dogs close by.   Just very nice place.

Part Two of the Chalcedon report

Steve over at the Hemmeke blog pointed my way to the final part of the Chalcedon's report on the RCA's problems with, and responses to, liberalism.

If you want to know more about the struggles within my larger denomination, this is a good place to start. :)