God met me today

Today was a day that i won't forget for a long while. God met me exactly where i was. In church we sang a song today that narrated what i needed to do....
I am going to the river,
bringing sins i cannot bear,
Come and lead me, lead me closer
Lord i need to meet you there.
Precious Jesus, I am ready
to surrender every care,
take my hand now, lead me closer
Lord i need to meet you there.

Triathlon Blues

man, i am super disappointed. The trochu triathalon got cancelled due to the poor air quality from the BC fires....i totally understand why they cancelled it....i guess it is just anti-climactic after doing almost 3 months of training for this one day....and then the day before to hear it is a no go? argh! I am currently searching for another tri to participate in....but we are nearing the end of the season and it is slim pickin's out there....
I do have to say that i don't think the training was a waste at all.... I have so enjoyed training with the 'team' and seeing improvements in my endurance and fitness. Who woulda thought i could pump out 24km in an hour and 10 minutes and actually look forward to biking that again??? not so much the hills where i was practically rolling backwards i was going so slow....but hay....at least i didn't get off the bike or stand up on the pedals...i just used the gears....right down to the very easiest gear one could use.....very rewarding when you crest the hill and look back to see the mountain you just biked up. yup....it has been fun, challenging and exciting to train for this triathlon. Here's to hoping we find one to race in this summer...if not....why not an impromptu three hills triathlon....anyone else care to join in? I have an extra bike....

Kaitlyn turns 3

Wow. how can 3 years go by so fast and yet some times seem so slow? She is such a little girl now....definitely not my 'baby' anymore. Her new thing to say is.....I don't need any help....I'm 3! and she holds up three of her fingers just in case i need some visual help :) so hilarious.
I love watching Kaitlyn interact with Lily, when she 'mothers' her in a gentle way or when she crouches down to Lily's eye level and talks in a high pitched voice and puts a soft hand on Lily's shoulder....it melts my heart. so loving and adorable.

Kaitlyn making her birthday pizza!

Oh Kaitlyn, you are so sweet. so full of life. you love to sing....about everything....inevitably whatever is happening will soon be narrated by a song that you are making up in that moment. You love me. and i love you. we love eachother even when we have our moments of selfishness (many of those) and impatience......we say sorry to each other and give hugs and start fresh in that moment. You love your daddy....and your sister Lily too.

Phil's artistic skills....

What more could we need?

Amazing. Just absolutely amazing. I really think Phil and I should start writing a book, or at least get better at recording all the ways God has provided for us....in both big and small ways. We often compare ourselves to the Israelites who forgot so quickly how the Lord saved them or provided for their every need in the moment....if we look back on even the short time we have been married (5.5 years) we can see how God has been preparing the way for us, guiding us along, during which 'waiting on the Lord' was the lesson to be learned, which to be honest has not always been easy. Phil and I admitted today how we are more impulsive than we would like to admit, but the Lord is working on us in that department. And honestly, the wait is ALWAYS worth it in the end. We gotta remind ourselves of that each time we are tempted to go ahead at lightning speed and get what we want or need....
Praise the Lord. He hasn't and won't even give up on us....even if we frustrate Him like crazy...which I KNOW we do! Thanks God, for blessing us in so many ways. May the Glory be only for You.

God in my living

God in my hoping, there in my dreaming.
God in my watching, God in my waiting.
God in my laughing, there in my weeping.
God in my hurting, God in my healing.
Be my everything.

I love the lyrics to this song as it reminds me of how God is standing with me as i journey through this life, i know at times he is carrying me, or holding my hand, or protecting me from things i cannot see or crying with me, or laughing with me.
Oh how He loves us, and wants to be everything to us. It is us who choose not to let Him into our days. I am at fault. I don't know why i think i can do it on my own and have the same results as when i bring my day before the Lord. Especially now with Kaitlyn and the precious age she is at where it seems like every 5 minutes there is some sort of correction needed (aka terrible 2's!). I feel so overwhelmed sometimes with how emotionally exhausting it is and there are times where a good scream outside sounds good to me! :) But as my wonderful friend encouraged me with the other day, the Lord gives wisdom to those who ask for it. That is something i need to rely on ALOT these days.
As i trudge through some of my days, i need to remember to invite God to be in everything that day, and to rely on His wisdom in raising my kids. I am so thankful for Him.

Amazing Care

We are back to the usual routine, now that Lily's surgery is over and she is doing great. Our experience with Lily's surgery has made us thankful for many things, but there are two that stick out to me quite clearly. One being that we are so thankful for Lily's health, seeing so many children who are battling terrible illness makes you realize we take our health and the health of our little ones for granted. What some families have to go through for months on end. We stayed on the oncology/transplant unit where we heard more than once how the families that come to that unit are there for months, dealing with major illness. Can't imagine what it would be like to see your child suffer and not be able to help them. We got a taste of what it is like for a child to be in the hospital, and can see how hard that would be to have a child living there for months on end, no matter how good the care is, it is still a hospital.
Secondly, we once again realized how blessed us Canadians are for the healthcare we receive for pennies compared to other countries (our neighbours to the south especially). From the moment the cyst was found on lily's ovary, we have experienced amazing Doctors, nurses, specialists, surgeons and overall concern and care that far exceeds our expectations. We stayed in a private room (in a city hospital....unheard of!!) and felt like lily was the most important patient there (i know this is actually not true, but my point being is how attentive they were). In the two days we were there, we even had the chaplain come around and introduce himself as well as the activities coordinator bring by some toys and a mat for lily to play on. Amazing care.....
Those are some reflections on our stay in the 'hos-a-pital' as Kaitlyn would say, and we thank the Lord for his care and blessings!
2 thumbs up to the staff at the Children's hospital

This is us. Lily, Phil, Kaitlyn and myself.

I"ll give this a try

Here i am, Sunday afternoon.....finally decided to start up a blog. This is a great way to record my days of motherhood, marriage and missions (future!). Hopefully i will be more faithful with this than i have been with my actual journal. This will be a record of the Lord working in my life, leading me, sustaining me and encouraging me. Who knows what will happen or where we will be in the coming years, but one thing i am most positive about is the constant daily presence of the Lord in my life....at times i have chosen not to accept His hlep, other times i reach out in the darkness and pray He will carry me through. Being a mom has brought me to my knees on some days, made me cry on others and had me smiling so hard it hurt my face.....i still wonder how something can invoke such opposite emotions, but i do know how thankful i am that the Lord has given me two beautiful girls. I also am sooo thankful for my wonderful husband Phil who is more than i deserve by far. I love him. Happy 30th babe. I pray we will have many more years together.
Thank you God for a Wonderful Life!