Today is our 5 year anniversary. We're planning on going to see an early movie this afternoon with Andrew and going out for a bite to eat after wards.

This is a picture of us 5 years ago on our wedding day in the Registrar's office in Glasgow, Scotland. We eloped and go married at 10 AM with lunch at noon. Only Husband's parents were there as our witnesses. It was nice and stress free.

Doggy sweater I made for Scout. It didn't work out as good as I was hoping. In the end the pattern didn't end up making much sense and then I did some troubleshooting and flew by the seat of my pants and ended up with this. It doesn't stay on her all that well. I think she needs something with actual arm holes.

The No-Sew Fleece Blanket I made Andrew for Christmas. Initially I was going to make a smaller blanket and make mitts, a scarf, and a toque with the fleece. But after I watched some videos on how to make the no-sew fleece blankets I decided it would be best to make a bigger blanket so I didn't have anything left to make the other stuff. I think it turned out very nice. I don't know if I would make them again. It was quite an expensive blanket. $23. I think I would only make it again if I got a really good deal on fleece.

The hat that "Santa" brought for me this Christmas. I love the hat but a certain 4 year old seems to have claimed it as his own. It was time consuming with all the stopping and changing colours, but it is a good way to use up scraps and it looks hella awesome. I want to make more of them!

Now that Christmas is over and after all that time I spent making the round ripples for my friends wedding and I'm sick of crocheting I've moved back into my cross stitch that I anticipate will be complete sometime in 2012. If I squint I can sort of tell that it has trees. :P

Cheers!

Our very old washing machine has started leaking. Husband reports that one of the pipes on the bottom is cracked. We have been talking on and off about replacing the washer for about a year now. It's been a little temperamental since we moved in to this house 2 years ago.

We have some Emergency Fund money and some Christmas Money so I'm scoouring the internet for the best deal I can find....

Christ was not born at Christmastime
invoked by practised choirs,
embraced by plastic mangers
and fulfilling our desires.
No kindergarten was his home,
no drummer boy his page,
no earth had frozen snow on snow
when God had come of age.

Instead on the periphery,
eccentric through decree,
the power behind the universe
was born a refugee;
a refugee from heaven above
became the world's creator,
and chose an unknown peasant girl
as host and liberator.

-Final verses of "The Antichristmas Carol" by John Bell

So far I have spent $274ish on Christmas. This is presents for Husband, Andrew, the dog, the Secret Santa I participated in, and stockings for the 3 of us. Husband and I don't usually exchange gifts...but I did buy him a few little things this year. I told him about this, so I wonder if he's gotten me anything.

I've paid off $143 of it and I'm deciding how I want to pay off the other $130. I know, I know I didn't pay cash for everything. Spank me now. I can take it.

We have $30 in our house fund so I am planning on using that. That would bring the balance down to $100. I'm thinking of taking $1oo out of our Emergency Fund. I know Gail would scowl at, but really using the EF is better then having debt right? Spank me now. I can take it.

I still have to pay the sitting fee ($180) for the photographer for my whole family's portraits. The sitting fee is my gift to my whole family (ie. parents & grandparents and extended relatives). I don't have funds saved for that (except for money in the EF). I know, I know, spank me now. But i have a super secret plan. We almost always get some money for Christmas from people, so my plan is to use our Christmas money to pay for the sitting fee as we aren't taking pictures until December 29th. Super secret plan sound okay?

This is the really the first year that I have not stressed about Christmas. Actually, I've hardly given it any thought. Once I decided to do the photography thing and I agreed with my friends not to exchange gifts and Husband and I don't really exchange gifts. All I've had to worry about is presents for Andrew and Christmas stockings for the 3 of us. It's nice just being able to relax and enjoy the season...especially with 2 weeks off work!

How is it possible that it is only 5 days to Christmas? When did this happen? We only just put up our tree on Friday (and actually that is only halfway done because we can't find 1 box of decorations in the basement). I still have Andrew's stuff to make. We have not planned the Christmas Eve service yet (and I haven't even started to think about the January First Sundays service which is fast approaching). Our house is a mess (thanks to a busy November and December where everything got put the side and piled up).

Yarg. So much to do and so little time. It's times like these that I make lists. :P I haven't made a list in a long while, maybe that's been part of my problem with feeling in control and organized? I hope this helps me focus and get things done!

This week all this stuff needs doing:

• Organize First Sundays Material.
• Find that box of Christmas Decorations! (it has all my heirloom decorations, that's why I'm worried about it)
• Read "Mission Shaped Children"
• Plan Christmas Eve Service
• Make Andrew's Blanket, scarf, mitts and toque
• Put away laundry (there's about 6 baskets waiting to be put away)
• Decorate the rest of the house (aka find homes for the decorations sitting on the coffee table)
• Work on Personnel Policies for daycare
  
• Clean, Clean, Clean

I think this is the skin I've decided on.

It makes me feel....different. It feels like fireworks, if that makes any sense.

I'm tired of this skin. It doesn't look so crisp and fresh to me anymore. I'm ready for something different. I'm browsing and googling....Get ready for a change folks.

This is a video of the church 1conference that I went to in November. The workshop that I went to in the morning was for youth and it was so encouraging because there was actual real live youth there! Sometimes I get discouraged because I am very nearly the only person between 12 and 45. It was also very encouraging because the Moderator of The United Church of Canada was at that workshop. It was a big honour to have her there with us, the young people of the Church and the folks that work with Youth. The afternoon workshop was about how community gardens and markets can change neighbourhoods for the best. It was very inspiring.

Well, it's been a while. I haven't posted in almost a month. I've been uber busy and not had much creativity. I've also not been working on anything that I usually post about. We've fallen off the money bandwagon sort off (I'll admit that I've pulled out my cc a few times in the last month), I've barely made any crafts/crocheting (honestly!), and I've not been in the mood for any lists. :P

I went on holiday to Calgary (see that expired ticker up there?). Had fun. Took a zillion pictures. Went over budget (but not by much). Came back. I've been busy, busy, busy, busy since then. Actually, this post has taken me 3 days to write. :P The Children's Ministry is going well. I find it hard and scary and chaotic, but exciting, rewarding, and fun all at the same time. My full time work is there and boring. Same ol' same ol'. At home we are in full swing for Christmas now. Getting things ready and getting organized is tough work. lol. I've got a zillion things I want to do before Christmas...and I hope to get 5 done.

Due to a stroke of luck (ok, it's not luck, it's called being a Public Servant) I received an extra week's vacation this year. woot for me! I thought about saving them for an 'emergency', but then I said fuck-it and booked off the Christmas Break. I had a few days left of Annual Leave as well, so I am off from 19 Dec to 03 Jan!!!!!!!!! 2 weeks!!!! I'm so excited and have big plans....but will be happy and settle for lazing around and watching TV.

It's good to be back! How is everyone else doing?

I was talking about what I should name by Crafty Business.

Sadly, I still have not made a decision and it's 365 days later. I ended that post by saying that things were happening...but just slowly. So, I guess the definition of 'slowly' is really 'standstill'.

I gotta get moving on that -- slowly. :P

We bought this fleece for Christmas Presents. We got 1.5 metres of each for a total of $24.

I've got big plans for this 3 metres of fabric. I'm hoping that I'll be able to get 4 items for presents for Andrew (possibly 5). Andrew loves cars, so this fabric is perfect for him and it was not too expensive, only 8.99 metre. The solid blue was on sale for 4.99/metre, so it was all good deals!

1. No Sew Fleece Blanket - We got a blanket like this from my half sister a few years back. Everyone loves it here and Andrew has a small baby blanket version, but he's rapidly outgrowing it. If this blanket is successful and not too difficult to make, we will make more of them for other people for Christmas.

2. Fleece Hat -- I'm thinking a simple one like this, but with some spikes added down the top ala dinosaurs.
3. Fleece Scarf -- A nice easy scarf.

4. Fleece Mittens -- Just some simple mittens for Andrew that match the hat and the scarf.

5. If there is any fabric left over perhaps another scarf, hat, and mitten set for my young cousin for Christmas.

I think the no-sew blanket is perfect for us because Husband can do most of the work (ahem, tying ;P) for the blanket.

We were at Value Village on the weekend. Husband needed some new pants and Andrew needed ski pants for the winter. I was browsing in the housewares department (cause I love housewares) and found these wonderfully fantastic melmac bowls. Andrew is hard on his bowls and we've thrown quite a few of them out because of questionable uses and finding them under the couch with food molded into them and him leaving them outside...or whatever.

I got 4 bowls (there's only 3 in the picture because I'm soaking the price tag off the 4th) for $2.99.

These things are crazily unbreakable!

What an incredibly awesome idea! I'm trying to figure out how to work this into one of my Sundays....I could have the bulk of the bag done (ie. the 2 seven foot squares and have all the batting) and then we could put together?

It's also a wonderful way to upcycle and reuse and recycle and reduce what would otherwise be thrown away. Saving the Earth and helping the homeless--what a good combination!

There's so much to do, but instead I'm procrastinating. I'm surfing the net while my child is absorbed in watching "The Magic School Bus". I should be cleaning up or organizing my church stuff or finishing planning for my service or exercising or anything. I'm so good at this procrastination stuff. :P

I'm validating this lazy behaviour by making advance blog posts for days when I don't have so much to say.

Has anyone had time to think about Christmas yet? Crafts and presents and baking and shopping and decorating--oh my! I've not even had a minute to think about any of it yet this year.

It is comforting knowing that we have just under $100 saved for gifts, we just need to sort out who we're buying for and what we're planning on buying for everyone.

Today, I've been thinking about regrets. Do I have any? What would I take back if I oould? What would I choose to do again?

Would I still take Religious Studies in University? Would I still have sold my first house to move to an apartment? Would I still take the job with the Govt? Would I still have stopped playing Ringette when I was 14? Would I still have gone out with my first serious boyfriend?

What is regret? Is it hindsight? Or is it more? Is it a feeling of loss of taking the wrong road? If I chose differently on just one of the above parts of my life how much more would have changed? What would I have changed though--what would I alter? If I hadn't taken Religious Studies what would I have taken? English or Education or Anthropology? Would I still have discovered or felt my call to ministry? Would my call have been to a different vocation like teaching?

Do I regret things that are happening right now? Do I regret sending our son to Nursery? Do I regret planning this trip to Calgary instead of putting money on our debt? Do I regret gaining all this weight? *Sigh* It's like playing the 'what if' game, except I do it all the time. Over and over and over and over again in my head.

Do others do this too? Or am I alone in the pseudo regrets?

I thought that I had posted pictures of our newest family member...but I guess I never did. Check them out! Husband loves to take pictures of her. We have zillions of them.

Tonight was one of my church events. We went to "Boo At The Zoo" -- an event put on by the zoo here. It was good fun and I'll think we'll do it again next year.

Some pics of my kidlet having fun...

One year ago I was being very industrious and crocheting up a storm for Andrew.

Check it out here

I wish I was that organized this year. Between working full time, part time at the church, keeping up with the house & Andrew & Husband & Dog & myself, and starting this call to ministry I just have not had time to do much crafting. I made the round ripples for my friends wedding, but after a while that became work, not relaxing fun. Now, I'm starting in on Christmas stuff....:P

appreciate what you have


I posted this last year on thanksgiving, but I do think it bears reposting. We often get caught up in the hype of bigger, better, faster, and more. I know I do. Seeing these images and statistics reminds me how lucky I really am, being an educated, employed woman living in Canada in a home I own with a car that I own and a happy, healthy child and a wonderful husband and being able speak my mind and live freely attending the church I choose under the watchful eye of God.

I am truly blessed.

Well, there's many pictures I have to share today because we finally took them off the camera. :P

Starting out we have Andrew's first day of school. Husband dropped him off and snapped some pictures. I can't believe how grown up he is looking!
I can't believe that I am a Mom to a school aged child! I often wonder how and when all that happened. Here he is being silly as usual. :P I wonder who he gets that from?
And here he is sitting during circle time....protesting...cause he doesn't like sitting still. I sure hope that his teacher can handle him this year. :P



Next up we have my Round Ripple Afghans. I made this green one for my friends wedding.
I love the colour combinations that I went with (kudos to Husband as he's the one that picked them out!)

It is a green blanket for some very green people. My friends are into fair trade and organics and recycling and reusing...so we thought it fit well with their green lifestyle.
The Green blanket didn't get as big as I was originally planning so I gave them my scrap Round Ripple as well. It ended up being HUGE and will fit a double bed quite well.
I am pleased that I used up quite a bit of acrylic yarn I had laying around the house. I want to make a million more round ripples. They always end up being so eye catching!

I'm thinking that if I ever get my act together and open up an Etsy shop that this picture would make an excellent banner. Have my shop name over top it. It's got so much clear detail and shows the round ripple pattern very well.

I have less then 24 hours to go before my friends wedding and I still have many rows to do on their wedding present. Gah! Why do I do this to myself? & now I'm stuck upstairs in the computer room waiting for my kid to fall asleep.

It'll be me and the wee hours of the morning and my round ripple tonight. *sigh*

Yesterday was my First Sunday Service. It was chaotic, fun, exciting, vibrant and all over the place all at once. We had 12 children!! That is a plethora of lively, crying, laughing, running-all-over-the-place children! It might not sound like much, but before we started the First Sundays Ministry there was 1, maybe 2, and at the most 3 children attending my church. It is wonderful to be part of this exciting worship.

It's exciting, but for me it's also scary. Planning and presiding over a children's service is definitely fly by the seat of your pants! The kids never do what you would expect (or hope) them to do, but it is still good fun.

I want to learn more about public speaking because I always feel lost or rushed or confused while I am presiding over the service. I was thinking about toatmasters? Anyone know anything about that? Any other tips?

I've started updating my side bars. It's slow going because...well...I'm slow at it. :P

EF is still plugging away. A few months ago we used some money out of the fund to help cover costs.

UK trip is trucking along nicely. I hope we save up lots!

My Christmas Jar is doing pretty good too.

I didn't make a saving tracker, but we have all our money saved up for our little trip to Calgary to stay with my aunt. Husband, child, dog, and me are going to drive up to Calgary for 10 days in November. I've got $500 earmarked.

The only sidebar I haven't updated yet is the LOC. I can't remember the log in to the bank account. lol.

Husband took our car in for servicing the other day. It needed an oil change and was making some noises while we idled. They tightened some belts and flushed the engine and did some other things. The total was $76.

In the past this would have meant scrambling and worrying and probably putting the $76 on a cc. However, because I have been saving $5 a week for the last 6 months we have that money saved up! All I did was set up a transfer to move the money from savings to our chequing and tada the cost is covered! I'm very proud of us. The best part is that there is still money left in the Car Fund!

I know it's not much, but it's something.

I really gotta update my side bars. They are so out of date. :P

This is the letter that I wrote to my Church Council to be accepted as an Inquirer within the United Church. It was a hard letter to write. It took me a good 2 weeks to put this to paper. I'm very proud of the letter, and I hope that I don't sound silly in it. I'm so incredibly pleased to report that I am now officially an Inquirier within the United Church of Canada!

Brothers and Sisters,
Please accept this letter and attached form as my formal application to
receive official Inquirer Status within the United Church of Canada in
order to begin to discern my call to ministry.

While my call to ministry has not been dramatic, it has grown slowly
over the years. I have been a member of the United Church and part of
the Christian faith my whole life. I first felt a gentle call while in
University and at that time I explored this feeling by majoring in
Religious Studies. After I graduated I registered as a student in the
Masters of Divinity program and completed one course. During this time
I struggled with my faith, but through reflection, discussion and prayer
I was able to once again feel and recognize the love and support of
Christ.

S United Church has been my home congregation for many years now
and I have been an active member of the spiritual and communal life at
S. Reflection, prayer, and membership at S have not only
furthered my call to be a Christian but also to be a leader in the
church as well as wanting to serve within the church as a servant of
Jesus Christ. What was only a small feeling or a gentle nudge has now
become something more. There is now a sense of urgency that was not
there before. I have eagerly accepted the role of "First Sundays
Ministry" coordinator at S and am looking forward to seeing this
position grow and in seeing how this position allows me grow in faith
and leadership.

I believe that among others, I will bring the gifts of compassion,
patience, and love to the church. These three gifts have provided me
with a solid foundation to follow in my spiritual life and public life.
One of the best ways that I have used these gifts at home is by passing
my faith on to my young son. We enjoy praying together in the evening before bed and
attending church on Sunday is one of his favorite
activities.

I look forward to participating in the discernment process and
discovering how I can serve Christ and the church more fully. Thank you
for your time.

Respectfully submitted,

~dinah

There's been a lot happen since the English were here for their visit. I'll try to remember everything...

• It was a 4 week visit. Honestly, it was hard for me and I missed my space and quiet house. Andrew loved having his grandparents here with him. So did Husband. Mother-in-law had a bit of a fall about a week before they left, so she was quite sore and in low spirits the last week. But, we were all sad to see them go. Next we are going to visit them, so everyone is very excited about that.
  
• We went fake camping in the Yurt. It was good fun, especially for me because my church was having a camping weekend too. I talked lots, enjoyed good company, drank lots, and enjoyed good fellowship. It was super duper hot (like we're talke 32-34 degrees) so I got sunburnt and bug bitten and was exhausted, but I can't wait to go again next year. I have pictures somewhere around here, I should post them.
• My family ministry project is going wonderfully. It's now named "First Sundays Ministry" and I've got a zillion projects on the go. The Church Council also approved to double my hours (from 4 hours a week to 8 hours a week) and double my pay (from $200 to $400 ish a month).
  
• Church Council also approved my application for official Inquirer Status. I am scared and yet excited at the same time to start this process. I will be an Inquirer for 12 months and will meet with the discernment committee a minimum of 6 times.
• The dog is good. Cute as ever. Loves to walk still. Sleeps a lot. No further unexpected costs.
• My work is boring.
• Husband had some issues at his job, so after much consideration and number crunching we have decided to change how we live and work. Andrew is no longer in daycare and is going to nursery school. Husband is staying home with him in the afternoons and will pick up a part time job to meet the hole in our budget. It's been 1 week and so far it's going well.
• As I said before Andrew is going to Nursery school. He is so grown up! I have pictures of his first day...I should post those as well.
• Our finances...well...after the 4 week visit with the English...and the costs around the dog...and the unexpected stay at home dadness...and some frivolous spending our finances could better but they could be worse as well. I have to update my side bars. I haven't done that in forerver!
  
• On the craft front - I was making a huge cross stitch for a friends wedding...but I have woken up and smelled the coffee so to speak. i realize i won't be done until 2011 sometime. Instead I am making them a nice round ripple blanket.

So, I'm here, but I'm not sure what to write about. Having some writers block I think....

What does everyone want to know about?

Guess who's back? That's right I'm back. :)

The in-laws are here for their yearly visit. So, I will either be having a lot of computer time in the next 4 weeks (hiding from them) or I will not be getting hardly any computer time (out doing stuff). Anyone want to take bets about which will happen? :P

it's getting all cluttered here again. i hate the feeling of having stuff in piles and having too much stuffed in cupboards and having stuff all over the floor. it makes me feel a little on the crazy side. a little off kilter. i want to get rid of the stuff....but when i look around everything seems needed. i want to get rid of the stuff...but my ocd/phobia makes it hard. i want to get rid of the stuff....but....i don't know, everything just gets in the way.

i wish i had a very nice big desk. i could have my computer at the desk, with all our personal/financial admin stuff, my church materials/resources, with my favourite books, with my crafting materials arranged all nicely next to the desk. it's my dream.

i want one side of the room to look like this


and the other side of the room to have a cra7fting station like this.

we've had our dog for 40 days now, and these have been the costs

$199 to adopt from winnipeg humane society (this includes spaying and shots and stuff).
$12 for leash because you assumed the humane society would give you a leash and you can't leave without having the dog on the leash, so you end up buying a leash at the humane society store.
$40 for giant bag of dog food that dog will not eat.
$12 for food and water dish and $20 for dog bed that your child exclaims are the most perfect things ever (it's sad when 2 weeks later dog chews 1 dish up and rips stuffing out of dog bed),
$6 for bag of treats,
$12 for pit stop at McDonalds because your child had to poop and there was no bathrooms at the store.
$16 for bag of dog food that the dog will eat because she hasn't ate anything in 3 days.
$40 for a variety of toys that dog does not play with, but child enjoys on a daily basis.
$99 for obedience training because you realize your calm placid dog turns into a hell hound whilst you are gone to work.
$28 for a bigger bag of dog food that dog eats
$8 for teeth cleaning treat things that are supposed to last for hours and hours and clean teeth at same time. dog consumes in 4 minutes.
$120 for crate because you realize that obedience training is not going to save your wall.
$135 for trip to vet because dog develops bald spots on legs, apparently from the 'hard' surface in the crate because the dog pushes blankets aside (and doesn't have the nice cushy pillow because she ripped stuffing out) and lays on the plastic tray thus causing her fur to thin and fall out, and whilst there you get told that you need heartworm medication as well.

i'm not even adding it up. seriously. the dog has cost more then the kid did in his first 6 months. needless to say we have been dipping into savings.

can someone help me out with swagbucks? i have the toolbar and i'm slowly getting bucks....about 1 a day or so...my question is how do i make more bucks faster?

this is my referral link...so if you want to sign up and make swagbucks please use this link cause i think i get some bonus bucks. :P

oh, it's true. i did a bad thing. yesterday, we bought me a lap top. oh ya, i'm typing this on my new laptop that cost way more then we ever should have spent and we did the unspeakable and put it on my credit card. we'll be paying interest for a long time and paying it off forever and blah blah blah blah.

truthfully, i don't feel guilty at all though. not in the least.

i'm lovin' my new baby. what should i name her?

I'm still here. I've been thinking about what to write. Been coming up dry.

This Sunday is my Family Sunday service and I'm feeling a lot more focused and ready for this one. I've made a blog for my 1st Sundays Ministry, but I've used a different log in because I'm very very very hesitant to have it linked to my blog here. for that reason I'm also very hesitant to post the link to it here. I like to try to keep my personal life separate from my internet life. but i will brag (even though no one can check up on it) that it's a very nice blog so far. :P

The dog is time consuming. She has scratched quite a bit of our wall in the living room trying to get at the stinky garbage in the kitchen. & there are some other small problems so we're starting obedience school this week. I hope it goes well.

Other then that, things continue on. How are all of you doing?

Ever since I’ve been a little kid when I’ve been at church I’ve always pictured myself at the front leading worship. Always. Even when I was 6 and had no idea what was going on. As I aged I tried to ignore this fantasy more and more. After all, what kind of a fantasy was it? As a child at church weren’t you supposed to daydream about flying off in a rocket ship or dream about a day at the beach; not picturing yourself preaching or leading prayer or wearing a stole.

It was a funny contrast because I also spent a good portion of my childhood church experience sitting in a pew with my mother trying to convince myself that I was an Atheist. How could all this be true? How could God exist? How could it all make sense? How? In the end the only plausible answer could be that God did not exist. There was not Holy Spirit. Christ was not resurrected. The church was a sham. It was a lot to think about as a youngster.

On the one hand the Holy was dramatically calling and on the other hand the secular had this pull on me. I played both sides of the field. Reverently faith filled one week and an unabashed nonbeliever the next.

This continued through my life. Even as a youth I had this self propelled urge to be confirmed. I initiated it. & yet, I still could not really imagine a world where God existed. My creative writing at the time certainly reflected that. All doom and gloom and shame on the world. The same happened in University. My Religious Studies classes did nothing but serve to show all the inconsistencies in the Bible and the errors in everything faith related. But, it was still there, this…thing somewhere in the back of my mind. I finished my BA and still wanted to know more. I did enrol in the MDiv program, but I wasn’t ready, I guess. I could not conceive that one could study theology with such care and passion and such BELIEF and such certainty.

The big question I realize now that I should have addressed when I was younger was this, “why did I have to CONVINCE myself that I was a Christian?” Why couldn’t I just believe?

Why do I still, on some days, feel the need to be convinced? Perhaps the answer another day. :P

I realized I hadn't updated my side bars in a very long while...so here's the new scoop:

89% towards our first goal of 1K!
14% towards our UK trip!
& $43 saved for Christmas!

I can't find the bank card to log into the LOC so I'm not too sure what the stats on that are.

We used some money in the house fund...for house stuff! It's sitting at $9 right now and we're building it back up. The car fund has $69 in it and Scouts fund is sitting at zero.

Kathy left a comment about how it would be easier or a better idea to have everything in one account and I agree that it would be easier and for some people it probably would work better, but I know me and I know that if I didn't separate everything I would spend it on things I shouldn't (ahem, as in dinners out and booze and nights hotels). Everything sits in one account, but I've got it all separated according to my different funds in my Excel Saving Sheet.

I've decided that After we hit the 1K in our EF I'm going to scale back the weekly savings in that account from $20 a week to $10 and put the $10 a week into my other funds somehow. It will be nice to have that $1K cushion, but it will also be nice to know that if the muffler on the car goes then we will have money to repair the car in the car fund instead of the EF (which should be for when we are absolutely destitute, y'know?)

I have been doing a lot of thinking and reflection for the past few weeks. I finally decided that it was time to approach my minister and ask for him to begin the process for me to discern a call to ministry. It's a long process, and while I still feel hesitant in some ways about the whole thing I also finally feel some level of peace surrounding feeling a call from God.

The first step is the Inquiry Stage where Presbytery will set up a Discernment Committee that I'll meet with over a period of 1 year to ascertain if ministry is indeed my calling and what kind of ministry I would do best at.

Over the next little while I want to write more about my call and about the church and about jesus and my place within all of this.

Right now I'm excited, scared, nervous, serene, and curious.

With the arrival of Scout and Husband's holiday pay being disbursed on every pay cheque we need to re-evaluate our saving scheme. It feels like I spend quite a few many posts doing this. :P But that's okay, because life is always changing! Nothing in our financial plans should ever be set in stone.

The new plan for our savings program:

Currently saving $210 a month. Husbands holiday pay is about $80 a cheque (so $160 a month) and adding in money for Scouts fund.

380 a month into savings and planned spending to be distributed in this
way:

$80 - EF
$20 - Scout Fund (this is for trips to the vet, medications, unexpected things like that - her food and treats will come out of our general
spending)
$20 - House Fund
$20 - Car Fund
$240 - Holiday Fund

I know it seems like a lot to put towards the Holiday Fund but we really really really want to go to the UK next year for husbands friends wedding. Husband looked up plane tickets for the 3 of us to Manchester and it was 4K, so it is an expensive trip and we are hoping that his parents will help out with the costs seeing as how they won't be coming here that summer for a holiday.

Once the EF reaches 1K (our first goal) I was thinking of reducing our monthly contribution amount from $80 to $60 and redistributing that $20 a month into our planned spending. Yay or nay?

I've been plugging away at my cross stitch. I had a bit of a slowdown because I spent most of last week preparing for the Family Sunday at church. But, I think I've been making some nice progress. At the rate I'm going I estimate I'll be done by.....next June....about 1 year after I've started. :P

I hope I get faster.

Oh yes we're crazy. We've been talking about getting a pet and adopting a dog for months now. Husband really loves dogs and wanted one, Andrew did too....and as much as I might complain about dogs I really like them too.

We adopted this gorgeous dog from the Winnipeg Humane Society this evening. She's 4 years old and is so calm and good with Andrew. I'm so excited to make her part of our little family.

We bought Andrew (4 years old) Amazing You: Getting Smart About Your Private Parts and It's Not The Stork a few weeks back because he'd started asking questions about where babies come from and how he got into my tummy and how he got out of my tummy.

He's been very interested in them and as a result it's been all we've read for weeks now.

He gets that he came from a sperm. He doesn't understand how the egg comes into play. He talks a lot about sperm and where sperm came from the point that he clearly announced to our waiter at supper the other day the following, "I came from Daddy's Testicles".

Awesomest moment ever.

Ever.

I bought a red pepper flat a few weeks back.

I planted them in our biggest planter and I've put them out in full sun and have been giving them frequent watering as instructed by the little card that came with them. They seem to be s-l-o-w-l-y growing. They haven't died yet. I guess that's a good sign.

They seem to have buds on them right at the top. I can't wait to see what happens with them.

Maybe I do have a green thumb?

PS. I added a tag cloud for my post labels. Isn't it adorable? Thanks Lorien for your help...way back when.

~dinah

Don't worry. I did survive...I've just been recuperating. Phew! It's hard work planning and carrying out a service like that. As soon as we got home on Sunday I needed a nap. Thank goodness Andrew played quietly with his toys and then watched a movie.

Husband took lots of pictures so I'm going to share some of them with you all in Blogland. I'm hesitant to post pictures with any of the kids in them due to privacy reasons for the chitlins, so I'm only going to post set-up photos and one and Andrew. If the pictures of everyone do go up on the churches website I'll post them here...

First Up!
My letters--They say "Sending Christian Greetings" which was the theme of the week. While they did take forever and a day to make I think it was totally worth it.
Initially I was going to hang the letters vertically and made the letters reversible. Once I tried to figure out how I would actually hang the letters vertically I realized it was next to impossible so I decided to hang them horizontally on a clothesline with clothes pins (thanks Google for the help on that one!). Because of this last minute Saturday afternoon change the letters on the backside are all backwards...it says sgniteerg naitsirhc gnidnes. People didn't get it. Quite a few asked what it was supposed to say. Yay for seniors. :P
You can see that we very creatively hung the string off the chandeliers in the hall. :P Husband thought of that & he's a genius! Husband also hung the string and put up all the letters on Sunday morning for me. He's a sweet Husband.


Next Up!
My banner - Husband sat and took some pictures of it on Sunday too. I can't believe I made something so big! It was supposed to be for the kids to march around with on Family Sundays but really it's too big for them. They can't see where they're going when they carry it. lol

You can see how I had the stage set up. To the right of the banner was the power point screen. It went better this time because we used the stage. The kids seemed to get the idea of where they were supposed to be better then the last two months. The set up is more traditional then the church has been used to since moving to the hall space. I know they have grown to prefer the semi circle or full circle seating plan, but it almost made it too difficult for the children to keep focused.


This is the little altar I made up with the books we were reading/discussing, the cross, and the radishes that the kids planted last month (oh and btw, can anyone tell me why the leaves are turning this orangish colour?). I meant to mention it during the service...but of course I forgot. Boo on me. I don't know how ministers/preachers remember to say everything they want and plan on saying.

& Andrew being Andrew beforehand.

The ideas for next time....

• play stump the vicar (we always call our minister vicar) - play for five minutes and if someone stumps the vicar with a question about church/religion/the united church they get a prize
• be more focused - have less small activities and one big one instead
• GET LOUD! Make a joyful noise!
  
• work completely of taped music - the man who plays our piano on Sundays doesn't seem to get the idea of lively children's music...
• Have 'stations' set up around the church for children to go to if they're bored - quiet things like a puzzle, play doh, felt board.
• Rely less on books and other peoples ideas and do more of my own 'stuff' aka my secular and non scary way of saying preching. lol.

Make this. Fix that. Bring this. Paint that. Outline this. Tape that. Print this. Type that. Find that music. Find the right lyrics. Bring that music. Make sure it is all in the right order. Make sure the old people can read it. Check the animation. Make it look pretty. Cut this. Translate that. Spell check EVERYTHING. Type some more of that. Type some more of this. Tie it all together. Write that prayer. Don't forget ANYTHING.

Stay up real late.

Don't get enough sleep.

That's pretty much my day so far. Tomorrow is the big day.

& sometimes it's just so hard.

sometimes the words don't want to come out, the ideas stay firmly planted inside myself. i think that i have something viable to say, but when push comes to shove i make powerpoints and scan story books and work from the works of others. & sometimes i feel so uncreative i hurt.

i've sat here for 1 month trying to decide what to say on this upcoming sunday and still there is nothing.

i want to say be passionate. teach your children passion. show your neighbors children your passion. show the world your passion. help others find their passion. help people discover.

take your knowledge and go out into the world. be servants of christ. be good. do good things. spend your money wisely. be kind. be tolerant. love your family. love strangers. love the world. be open to the world.

i want to say that it doesn't matter who your neighbor calls God or who people in other countries call God. i want to say that it doesn't matter. christ taught us to love everyone.

i don't have the answers. i don't even know where to start. i want to say that i just want to show images and words and thoughts and text and let them draw conclusions. i don't want to tell anyone what to think.

i want to say that i feel like a fake because i picked this theme of Sending Christian Greetings when really i have spent most of the month wondering why we aren't just sending Greetings to the world? why did i choose to restrict our greetings to such a select few? i want to say that i've spent most of this month wondering why i find the theme i picked so sad.

I've got basil! It's finally starting to grow. I've been pinching of new leaves occasionally on the advice of several gardeners. I don't know if it's the right thing to do, but the leaves sure do smell good when I pinch them.

Can you tell we're really enjoying our new camera? :P

I'm working hard at prepping for my Family Service on this Upcoming Sunday. I've not had much time for real blog posts. I'm super excited about the service. The them is "Sending Christian Greetings" and I've got lots of fun and exciting stuff lined up.

We are really enjoying our new camera. It takes very nice pictures. Here's a few from our Canada Day at the Carnival...

My husband is really enjoying his new job. He likes the people he works with, he likes the variety and he (we! Hah!) like the pay. This boss pays the vacation pay out on every cheque.

Now we need to decide what to do with this extra money. Before taxes it's about $80. With his last 2 paycheques we've just spent the money willy nilly but I'd like to do something responsible with this money.

I've been thinking about it and have come up with these 4 options:

1. Put the holiday pay into an account for when we do take holidays.

PRO: Holiday Fund would become quite large quite fast as we are already saving $110 a month towards UK 2010

CON: Well, not really a con but just that -- that we are already saving $110 a month and that perhaps the money should funnelled elsewhere (either planned spending or going towards improving cashflow)

2. Put the holiday pay towards paying off the LOC

PRO: It's always best to work hardest at becoming consumer debt free.

CON: There would be no 'pay cheque' if/when we actually take holidays, kwim?

3. Put the holiday money into planned spending accounts.

PRO: We could identify more areas to save for (ie. Paying house insurance in one shot instead of monthly) & have savings for a variety of fun stuff (ie. new tv, new car)

CON: Interest is still accruing on LOC, holiday fund not growing quickly.

4. Some crazy combination of all of the above.

As usual do things the wacky dinah way. A little of everything.

What's your vote?

I did a stint of a large chunk of black this week...and my oh my black is hard to work with. It's absolutely impossible to see where the stitches start and end. I'm done with black for a while now. Moved on to other colours.

It still doesn't really look like anything to me...but I continue on. The bottom right black portion is the beginnings of the man. I got really excited when I realized that. :P

Just for fun I'm throwing in what my master grid looks like. I've got it taped to the wall in our living room. I'm keeping track on individual sheets of paper as well, but I like to fill in the blanks on the master grid. I think it helps to keep me motivated.

& the close up of my master grid. I think I've done a fair bit in 2 weeks.