All About James

At supper this evening James quizzed us about his life. Questions like; how long have I been playing the WII? Why do I like cars? Why do I ride my bike to school? Why do I like the WII so much? Why do I put a check mark on my reading charts at school? Why do I like milk?

He gave us a chance to answer, then he told us if we were right or wrong. Most of the answers we got correct, but there was one that completely stumped me.

Why do I like apples?

Because they tickle my teeth...

Who would have even imagined that answer...go figure.

Change

More change in our lives. Ron got laid off on Monday. Not for long, only till Nov 22, but he is not going back to his regular schedule, and he is not even going back to his old site. All kinds of changes. He is now going back to work in Nisku, from Monday to Thursday. Nisku is 513kms from our house...and his accommodations are not paid for...his meals are not paid for...and his transportation is not paid for.

BUT, I am not complaining, just venting (is there a difference?)

I was just getting used to his old schedule, two weeks away and a week home. But now we will get him home every weekend.

We have old vehicles which will not do a thousand km trip each week.

Pay our tithing, read our scriptures, family prayer and family home evening, and it will all work out! I know it will, because I have faith. (Besides, it kinda nice having Ron home for a little while.)

Shopping

Have I ever mentioned that I HATE shopping. Yesterday James and I went grocery shopping and my back ached, my head ached and I had to pee. I dislike it so bad, I'm sure that as soon as I decide to go, my body automatically rebels and goes into an allergic reaction.

But I made it. Groceries here and put away...and James really helped. Thanks buddy.

Family Home Evening

James and I had family home evening last night. He continually amazes me with his insight. I told him the lesson was on our Heavenly Father so he got to pick the songs. He picked "A Child's Prayer" for the opening and "I Am a Child of God" for the closing...without any prompting from me.

The last line in the lesson manual is: Ponder what you can do to draw nearer to God. We talked about it for a minute then I told James I was going to try to have more meaningful personal prayers. He said that he was going to stop all electronics and playing with friends on Sunday. He told me he felt Sabbath (his words) worship was the best way he could draw nearer to God, because it is His day after all.

He is only seven, and he is teaching me life lessons I should have learned a long, long time ago. His testimony astonishes me. I am thanking the Lord for sending him into our lives.

180th Annual General Conference

One of the talks I loved the most was by Claudio R.M. Costa. He listed 14 Fundamentals in following a Prophet. He quoted Ezra Taft Benson.

1. The prophet is the only man who speaks for God.
2. The living prophet is more vital to us than the standard works.
3. The living prophet is more important that the dead prophets.
4. The prophet will never lead the church astray.
5. The prophet is not required to have any certificates, diplomas or any other credentials to speak on any subject.
6. The prophet does not have to say "Thus saith the Lord." to make it scripture.
7. The prophet tells us what we need to know, not what we want to know.
8. The prophet is not limited by man's reasoning.
9. The prophet can receive revelation on any matter, spiritual or temporal.
10. The prophet man be involved in civic matters.
11. The two groups who will have the greatest difficulty in following the prophet are; the proud who are learned and the proud who are rich.
12. The prophet will not necessarily be popular with the world or the worldly.
13. The prophet and his counsellors make up the highest quorum in the church.
14. The prophet and the first presidency:  follow them and be blessed, reject them and suffer.

Cell vs Land Line

I went away last weekend. I came back to 25 calls on my phone. Only two were personal. TWO!!! That is 23 unsolicited calls. 23 WHAT THE HECK!!!   We are seriously considering getting rid of our land line and just going with our cells. The price will be comparable, and maybe then my phone will be for my personal use and not for the convenience of all the telemarketers.

Telus says they can assist me by blocking those numbers, but can the block ALL the telemarketers???

Aylish

So, I get this phone call the other day. It's my two year old niece Aylish. She says "Gramma go home". I know what she is talking about. Her grandparents (my brother and his wife) were over from Wales for a three week visit. So I tell Aylish "I know your gramma went home. How are you?" She tells me she is going to Stay and Play. Then she says "You come too?" Awwwww. I guess if gramma can't come, then  Aunt Dianne will have to do.

And yes, I really enjoyed Stay and Play! Thanks for the invite Aylish. Ask again, ok?

School Frustrations

We've moved from an elementary school where the children ALWAYS come first. Now we live in a place where the children seem to be the last thing on the teacher/principle's mind. When did the children's safety EVER not be the MOST important thing. Aside from learning, safety should the NUMBER ONE!!!

A child was hit by a car in a marked crosswalk very close to my house. I will say, it was an unsupervised crosswalk, but then, all the crosswalks by this school are unsupervised. Some of them have children patrolling them, but to me, they are still classified as unsupervised. Since when do adult drivers pay any attention to little children holding stop signs. It just doesn't work that way.

Smarten up and get some supervision. At least on the highway crosswalks!

Reality TV

Oh my gosh! I love, love, love reality TV.

This has got to STOP!!! 15 Years ago I had an incident with 90210 and put my TV away for two years. Do I need a self imposed 'break' from TV?

Now my friends want me to watch:

...that would be at least 12 hours of TV including news. Can I afford 12 hours of TV per week?

The Week My Man Comes Home

My life runs in cycles. Two weeks with my man away, one week with him home, then back to work he goes for two weeks.

The week my man comes home, our whole schedule goes out the window. I've been trying to change that with school starting, but it is just weird. I used to put off making any decisions about the week he was home, just to see how he was feeling and if he wanted to do that particular thing or not. Now I just go ahead with my life, and he just has to fit into it.

I know it isn't the exact way he would want it, but it is very hard to change my life every two weeks. I like the life I've made for myself and James, and I would love to include Ron in it, every day, but alas, that is not how our life is right now. I hope Ron can adjust to our lives and our routine.

Too Old To Quad?

I tipped the quad over and as I was trying to leap free my foot got caught under the back tire. The large bruise at the top is from the tire rim. I am so lucky that nothing broke or I wasn't hurt worse. Some swelling and bruising, but I can live with that.

Why We Moved To Raymond

Ron left today. My sweetheart works up north for two weeks, then he comes home for a week. I always feel pretty down the day after he leaves. Now for the reason I moved back to Raymond.

Family

My mom called me this morning to ask about something and realized I was having an off day. She didn't try to cheer me up, she didn't ask what was wrong, she left me alone. Exactly what I needed today. All I needed someone to call to let me know they care. I have the best family in the whole world.

This weekend we had a family get-together. Jesse and Michelle flew over from Wales and we really enjoyed the visiting time with them. The only people missing was most of Dale's family and all of Curtis' family. I'm glad Lynette came anyway.

I Love Sundays

Sundays are my day. I love the peace and comfort that comes with the Sabbath. Today in Relief Society we sang Be Still My Soul. Sometimes my soul has a very hard time being still.

I'm coming down from my mania this week, but coming down is almost as bad as going into one. And, I can look forward to a down sometime this week. Always, always, always, a low follows the high. So at least today I can be weepy while my soul becomes still.

Ron comes home this week. I always have a rougher time the Sunday before he comes home. I don't want to wait another day, I want him home today.

I have a very busy week coming up, so I'll let today be my 'still' day.

Actually, I remember there was a time when I had one event during the week, and I considered that a busy week. I would stress and fuss until the event was over, then I felt I could relax and get on with my life. Wow, how times have changed for me. I actually have something going on every day. For me that is really, really huge. I am leaving my house for something EVERY DAY this week! Congratulations to me!

Weirdness and Acceptance

Sometimes I forget I'm bipolar. The other day I went to a movie highly recommended by a friend. I was so excited to see it. I watched all the trailers and read the reviews. I felt I was ready for an awesome experience.

It was terrible. I couldn't follow the story-line. That NEVER happens...well...almost never. It only happens when I am going into a mania. I was so oblivious that it was coming that I didn't even realize it. And to top it all off, I got lost on the way home.

ME LOST!!! Again, NEVER happens...well...almost never. I can recall only a couple of times I have gotten lost. Both times I was approaching a mania.

How come, after all these years of living with this disease, I cannot read the signs? I'm just living my life, blissfully, unaware (or trying to be unaware) that there is anything wrong with me.

THANK GOODNESS FOR FAMILY!!!! I was reminded that maybe I was going 'high' or 'low'. Duh. When this happened before, I would get so embarrassed, I would hide and not show my face for a couple of months. Not now. I am loved and accepted for who I am, and what I have. I cannot express my gratitude for that acceptance.

Stephanie Neilson

As I sit in my chair, deep in pain, feeling sorry for myself, I turn to the LDS website. I haven't been able to go to church today, so I feel I need some sort of lift. I click on the video. It is about forgiveness. I can relate. I've dealt much with forgivness. Then I click on another video. It is about a boys home which is non-LDS that received help from the church. Again, I can relate. I love to give to those in need.

Then I click on another video. My New Life with Stephanie Neilson. It is about a woman who was in an airplane crash and severely burned. She survived and now counts her blessings daily. I too am scarred, only my scars are not visible on the outside. I feel bad even comparing myself to her, she deals with so much each day. Stephanie's Blog

I'm grateful to Stephanie for making me realize that there are other things in life to be grateful for. For a husband who loves me. A beautiful son to fill my life where there would otherwise be emptiness. For parents who treasure me. For siblings who would do anything for me, and their spouses who have accepted and (I think) grown to love my eccentricities. For neices and nephews who allow their aunt to shower them with love, and return that love. For all the love that is shown me...

NOTHING TO SAY!!!

I created this blog because I ALWAYS have soooo much to say. Now I can think of absolutely NOTHING!!! WHAT!!! Anyone who knows me know I NEVER run out of things to say. It'll come, believe me, it will come. Stay tuned...