God's Precious Gift

Family Fun Day

Last Saturday, our church put on a Family Fun Day for the community. It was all free...inflatable game, hot dogs, popcorn, carnival games, balloons, crazy clowns... It was a great time even though it rained two days before our big day and most of Saturday. We decided to move it all inside that morning and although I'm sure we didn't get as many kids as we would have had if we had been on the front lawn, God blessed the efforts of his people and brought approximatley 100 - 150 people through the doors of our church! The reaction to everything being free was great. Lots of people asked where the donation bucket was and it was awesome to be able to tell them that everything was free, no string attached, because we just wanted to show our love/God's love to the community. Jen and I headed it up and thought it would be cool to be clowns too. We had lots of volunteers and it was a great day. It was a reminder to me that God always has a plan and knows what he's doing, even if it doesn't jive with what we thought was best.

Hanging out with Auntie Jen & Uncle Craig

Craig & Jen Glen, for those of you who don't know, attend our church and recently Craig was installed as our Senior Pastor after spending a year in service as our associate pastor. They are great friends and are Liam's Godparents. The definition of Godparents we are using is this...they are special people to Liam that have committed to pray for Liam, but don't have to be his guardians in case we pass away or pay for his college education...although we do bug them about that last one! We've been watching the Oilers games together and these pics were taken during one of those evenings. GO OILERS GO!

A visit from Sheila!!

Our friends Sheila & Heather came to visit from Alberta last week. They came over in the afternoon to visit and meet Liam. Later that evening we surprised Sheila with a bridal shower. Liam was the only man allowed at the shower. Pretty special if you ask me. We had a great and it was so good to see both of them again...and for Liam, the first time. Two very special hairballs!!

Ten Wriggly Wiggly Caterpillars

Daddy read to me last night before bed. We've been doing that a lot more lately. The caterpillar book is one of my favorites. I think that the Toy Story book my mom got is also going to be a favorite...especially if Uncle Brad does all the voices for me while he reads.

My First Sunday School Picnic

Daddy & Mommy took me to my first Sunday School Picnic. It was yesterday and it was a beautiful day. Daddy was in charge of games and those were pretty fun to watch from my stroller. I got to hang out with Stan, watch the kids play and have a nap in Mr. Sawatzky's arms. Ah...the life.

Trying to figure out the Jolly Jumper

Nanny and Brad were over yesterday and they were trying to get Liam to jump in his jolly jumper. We've tried ourselves several times but he just dances instead. His movement ends up looking like a cross between the highland fling and country line dancing. It's quite funny to watch. Uncle Brad got quite the kick out of it anyway. You may notice too that there are slippers taped on both sides of the door frame. This is because the door frame is really too narrow but we don't have anything wider that will work with the clamps of the jumper. When Liam gets deep into his dance routine he gets awfully close to bumping his head. So, to keep him safe I came up with the slipper and tape idea. It might also help you to realize that I often don't get enough sleep. :) We'll keep working with him and I'm sure he'll get the jumping thing eventually.

Is that you Bono?

My Dad and Mom just bought me these sweet shades. They are still a bit big for me head, but I'll grow into them. They also think I look a bit like Bono, the lead singer of U2. I sing...okay, it's more like screeching, but I have a ways to go before I hit U2 status.

Hockey Night In Canada

We all love to watch hockey and Liam has already chosen his team. I think with this selection he has shown us that his intelligence will be above average. Liam has had trouble sleeping lately though because the Montreal Canadiens were unable to win the first round of playoffs. Liam and I still have a good laugh because we know that Toronto still hasn't won a Stanley Cup in a long time!

Our latest family picture

This was taken a couple weeks ago at the Nipawin Bible Institute graduation. That Sunday always proves to be a fun but difficult day. It celebrates the hard work of the students but also for some it marks the end of their days as students at NBI. It's hard to say goodbye but exciting to watch where God will take them. We feel very blessed to have been a part of their lives and are excited that God is giving us an opportunity to continue in that ministry soon. I've also included some more pictures from that day.

More pictures from Graduation

Exersaucer

This fine piece of equipment is the latest in Liam's collection of "keep me entertained" toys. Thanks to a couple at church, we are borrowing the exersaucer and Liam is having a blast. He usually is quite active in it but just as I got the camera out he got into his poser attitude.

A decision has been made!!

It's been official for a couple weeks now, but I've been really lazy with the blogging. My apologies. Lindsay has been offered a job. Nipawin Bible Institute, located here in Saskatchewan (about 3 hours north east of Saskatoon) has asked him to come on as a faculty member/athletic director. After lots of discussion and prayer, we have decided to accept the offer. We will be moving back to Nipawin at the end of August and Linds will start at the beginning of September. He will teach two classes a semester (4 all together), coach both hockey and soccer, handle the admin side of sports at NBI and some extra admin stuff. Although we are somewhat sad to leave Saskatoon again we are very excited that God has called us back to NBI. In many ways it feels like we are headed back home. We will definitely miss family, friends and our church here in Saskatoon but it is only 3 hours away and could have been a lot worse as we were open to moving wherever. If you're interested in checking out where we are headed the NBI website address is: www.nipawin.org.

Number 19

The other day I was giving Liam a bath and noticed something funny while I was drying him. While drying his back I noticed a small sticker stuck to his back. It read, and I quote, "inspected by number 19". I don't know who number 19 is but I'm glad that he let Liam through...we sure are enjoying the little guy. The only thing funnier than discovering the sticker that morning was watching Liam's facial expression as I laughed.

Premature Balding

Linds had Liam on his shoulders the other day and of course I ran to get the camera. Liam's grip on Linds' hair was so tight that we were worried there would be chunks of it on his pillow the next morning. :) Liam's neck has been getting stronger every day. This past Sunday while in the nursery, Liam had fun playing in the exersauer for the first time. When Linds went in to pick him up after the service, he found him sleeping soundly in the crib. He apparently had fallen asleep while in the exersaucer and had his head gently resting on his hands. Too bad the crazy mom with her camera wasn't there to capture it.

It's a piece of cake...

We were getting ready for our C & C night yesterday afternoon and Liam was watching from his chair on the kitchen table. That wasn't exciting enough so he started playing with a whisk. Now there's excitement for you. Don't worry, no icing sugar on this one.

The big tub

Drum roll please.... I have graduated to having baths in the big tub. I'm happy because there is way more room to splash and mom brought out my bath toys. Silly mom...she knows that I'm not really old enough to play with them but I think she wanted this momentous occasion (not bad vocabulary for 3 1/2 months) to be extra special. Hey did you notice that I'm trying to make my eyebrows look like Winnie the Pooh in the close up?

New Toy!!

We had a gift certificate and some money left over from Liam's baby shower so a trip to Toys R Us last week produced this cool toy. Now we have something portable that can come with us to C & C Bible Study, family gatherings and road trips.

Who's that in the mirror??

The Birthday Greeting Series

Last week I pinned a "Happy Birthday Auntie Jo" note on Liam's t-shirt while he was happy in his swing. I wanted to take a picture of his big smile and send it along to my Aunt and Uncle in Washington State. He was happy while I wrote the little note and even when I walked up to the swing and started to explain my special plan. I had no sooner finished pinning the note to his shirt then he began to scream. Usually if he is grumpy he works up to a shrill squeal but he went right to maximum lung capacity. I took a minute to check if I had hit him with the pin but there was nothing and had been very careful. Maybe it was because I was blocking his view of the kitchen. Anyway, it remains a mystery but I did take some pictures and after downloading them I found them to be very funny. Maybe it's just a mom thing but I'll let you take a look.

Mommy's got the flu :(

Hi All! Sorry for the lack of pictures lately. I've been battling the stomach flu for the last three days. Don't worry...I haven't included a picture for this post. That would just be scary...and might make YOU sick. :) Hope to start blogging more again soon. Hope all are well.

Flexing

This is Liam after his bath the other day. Just as I was taking the picture he moved his arm to look like he was flexing...maybe he is. :)

Princess Leah or Larry Boy

You think my Dad would know that these slipper things are supposed to go on my feet. Duh... I don't see him playing hockey with his skates on his ears! Speaking of hockey...I watched my Dad play hockey on the weekend. He plays for the Breakers with Uncle Craig and they won their semi final game. They play in the final this weekend. I even tried to cheer for them. I got to hang out with my Grandpa and Grandma Anderson, my uncles, Auntie Sam and Nanny & Pappy. It was fun. GO BREAKERS!

Fun in the tub...

Bathtub time is extra special with Dad because he lets me splash. He just told me the other day that we are going to have to graduate to the big bathtub in the bathroom because I am getting too big for this one. I guess he's right 'cause Mom just took me to the clinic yesterday to find out my weight. I am now 13 lbs, 12 oz. I've gained approximately 15 oz in the last 2 weeks!! What can I say...I like milk!

He must be dreaming...

I put Liam in the swing last week and he fell asleep. I was working on the church bulletin at the time and as I glanced at him to check to see how he was doing I saw this...fast asleep with a big grin on his face. A big thank you to the Bendels for lending us this swing. Liam enjoys it.

Sharing a laugh with Nanny

Here's Liam and my mom (Nanny) sharing a few smiles and laughs. I was amazed I actually got a picture of our little guy smiling. He does it quite a bit now but it's always a bit difficult to catch them with the camera.

Saying goodbye to a friend...

On March 1st a close friend from our church passed away. Doris Masich had been home with their two children on the Wednesday morning when her heart just stopped. The paramedics found her kneeling in front of the couch in the family room. It is quite possible that she had been praying when God called her home to be with him. She is survived by many family members but specifically by her husband Stan and her two children, MacKenzie (4) and Marlow (2). Doris was going to turn 40 at the end of this month. As you might imagine this news came as a shock to all in our church. Doris was a very special person and touched many lives. She was committed to her relationship with the Lord. This was evidenced in her relationships with people, her love for the Bible and her love for her family. To me, she was a second mom and a friend. In my preteen years she took me under her wing when I didn't have any girls my age at church. We had sleepovers, went for rides on her Harley, cooked up her fabulous meals, played games and went camping with my mom. I thank God for the gift of Doris' friendship. Without her love and example I might not have decided to follow God down the narrow path. As I became an adult, Doris continued to be a wonderful friend and someone I could trust. We had just started to meet periodically to talk and pray when we moved back to Saskatoon this fall. I will always miss Doris but I praise God that she is not just lying in a cold grave. Doris is hanging out with Jesus...watching what he will do down here through her passing. God has already been at work. Two of her family members have accepted Christ since her death. My hope is that God will continue to work in our church as well. As humans it is hard for us to understand why God would allow a young woman like Doris to die, but there is hope in the fact that God knows what he is doing. He can see the big picture and is there to comfort.