you are mine...

Isaiah 43
Israel's Only Savior

1 But now, this is what the LORD says—he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters,I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers,they will not sweep over you.When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.
3 For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom,Cush and Seba in your stead.
4 Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give men in exchange for you, and people in exchange for your life.
5 Do not be afraid, for I am with you;I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west.
6 I will say to the north, 'Give them up!' and to the south, 'Do not hold them back.' Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth-
7 everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made."
8 Lead out those who have eyes but are blind, who have ears but are deaf.
9 All the nations gather together and the peoples assemble. Which of them foretold this and proclaimed to us the former things? Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right, so that others may hear and say, "It is true."
10 "You are my witnesses," declares the LORD,"and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he.Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me.
11 I, even I, am the LORD, and apart from me there is no savior.
12 I have revealed and saved and proclaimed- I, and not some foreign god among you. You are my witnesses," declares the LORD, "that I am God.
13 Yes, and from ancient days I am he. No one can deliver out of my hand. When I act, who can reverse it?" God's Mercy and Israel's Unfaithfulness
14 This is what the LORD says—your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:"For your sake I will send to Babylon and bring down as fugitives all the Babylonians, in the ships in which they took pride.
15 I am the LORD, your Holy One, Israel's Creator, your King."
16 This is what the LORD says— he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters,
17 who drew out the chariots and horses, the army and reinforcements together, and they lay there, never to rise again, extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:
18 "Forget the former things;do not dwell on the past.
19 See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.
20 The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the desert and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen,
21 the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.
22 "Yet you have not called upon me, O Jacob, you have not wearied yourselves for me, O Israel.
23 You have not brought me sheep for burnt offerings, nor honored me with your sacrifices. I have not burdened you with grain offerings or wearied you with demands for incense.
24 You have not bought any fragrant calamus for me, or lavished on me the fat of your sacrifices. But you have burdened me with your sins and wearied me with your offenses.
25 "I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.
26 Review the past for me, let us argue the matter together; state the case for your innocence.
27 Your first father sinned; your spokesmen rebelled against me.
28 So I will disgrace the dignitaries of your temple,and I will consign Jacob to destruction and Israel to scorn.



WOW, I LOVE this passage. I read it yesterday and although I think I have read it before a few times somehow these words ring so true for me right now. How amazing is His love for us. My favorite part is 'Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.' I can just picture the Lord looking into my eyes and with such intensity saying these things; 'you are mine Amanda!, I will be with you Amanda!, you are precious in my sight, do not dwell on the past, I remember your sins no more Amanda!' ...Very powerful words. 2007 was a hard year for me for reasons that some of you do and do not know of and the repercussions that I have dealt with mentaly and emotionally because of the hurdles that I have dealt with over the past 6 months or so have so often been exhastingly draining. BUT there has been one thing (especailly lately) that has lifted me up to reach new levels of joy and healing like I haven't felt for a long time. That thing is words. I have read such powerful words in blogs, emails, articles and in THE word that have been so powerful and important to me & have spoken directly to my soul in ways that I didn't even know I needed. I read a blog today that spoke about a hard time 'not being wasted' , an experience, although extremely difficult to deal with, not being a wasted experience... to be helpful, healing or validating for someone. I feel like we all have the ability, especially as sons and daughters of Christ, to be able to look at all of the experiences that we deal with in life either good or bad, easy or hard, to be used for the good of someone else. I was just really inspired by this re-realization over the past few days & wanted to share my thoughts.

Baby its cold outside...

Some pictures of the beautiful winter scenery around Three Hills...

Some random thoughts on a busy week

This week was pretty hectic. I am delivering three houses over the next 5 weeks plus we are in the middle of building a hotel so its allot to keep up with as far as managing everything goes. I feel like I don't have enough time in a day to get everything done! I guess that's what being a mom must feel like. Ive been so exhausted that when I come home at the end of the day I just want to veg and my house is a mess! I vow every day to fold that pile of laundry on my bed or put away that sewing stuff from when I hemmed my curtains but when it comes down to it I would rather curl up in bed and read my book! (too bad Moms can't opt out to just read a book hey?... maybe that's what I need, no OPTION, I HAVE to do it) I'm a huge procrastinator... I always have been and I think I always will be. In this case it usually ends with me racing around like a maniac on a Saturday morning trying to do EVERYTHING at once because company is coming over in a couple of hours and I haven't cleaned the house all week. (Jo-Ben loves this... hahaha, yeah right... I think I turn into kind of a maniac) Good thing I am living on my own right now, I would be pretty embarrassed if anyone else had to live with me in my demise! haha, j/k. but I have a feeling if I wasn't on my own things would probably get done a heck of allot sooner, out of sheer embarrassment of course... it kind of reminds me of when I'm driving by myself I always find that I drive more recklessly than when someone is in the car with me... its like even though when I'm by myself and I technically have more time to do things because I'm not distracted by anyone else I don't do things as whole heartedly as when I am with someone...like my dinners, you don't even want to know what I have been having for "dinner" lately but when Jo-Ben is around I make a "real dinner" pretty much every night of the week... weird. is anyone else like that? maybe its because I'm a people pleaser so I take better care of other people than I do myself, hmmmm. just thinking out loud now. hahaha :)

So, Jo-Ben's uncle sent me a really funny fwd (which I usually HATE getting from anyone) but this one was really cute so I'm going to post it on here:

Alice Grayson was to bake a cake for the Baptist Church Ladies' Group in Tuscaloosa, but forgot to do it until the last minute. She remembered the morning of the bake sale and after rummaging through cabinets, found an angel food cake mix and quickly made it while drying her hair, dressing, and helping her son pack for Scout camp. When Alice took the cake from the oven, the center had dropped flat and the cake was horribly disfigured. She thought, "Oh dear, there is not time to bake another cake." This cake was important to Alice because she did so want to fit in at her new church and in her new community of friends. So, being inventive, she looked around the house for something to build up the center of the cake. Alice found it in the bathroom - a roll of toilet paper. She plunked it in and covered it with icing. Not only did the finished product look beautiful, it looked perfect. Before she left the house to drop the cake by the church and head for work, Alice woke her daughter Amanda and gave her some money and specific instructions to be at the bake sale the moment it opened at 9:30 and to buy the cake and bring it home. When Amanda arrived at the sale, she found the attractive, perfect cake had already been sold. She grabbed her cell phone and called her mom. Alice was horrified - she was beside herself. Everyone would know! What would they think? She would be ostracized, talked about, and ridiculed! All night, Alice lay awake in bed thinking about people pointing fingers at her and talking about her behind her back. The next day, Alice promised herself she would try not to think about the cake and would attend the fancy luncheon and bridal shower at the home of a fellow church member and just try to have a good time. Alice did not want to attend because the hostess was a snob who more than once had looked down her nose at Alice because she was a single parent and not from the founding families of Tuscaloosa. But, having already RSVP'd, she couldn't think of a believable excuse to stay home. The meal was elegant, the company was definitely upper crust old South and, to Alice's horror, the cake in question was presented for dessert! Alice felt the blood drain from her body when she saw the cake! She started out of her chair to tell the hostess all about it, but before she could get to her feet, the Mayor's wife said, "What a beautiful cake!" Alice still stunned, sat back in her chair when she heard the hostess (who was a prominent church member) say, "Thank you, I baked it myself." Alice smiled and thought to herself, "God is good."

I thought it was funny. BUT he sent it to just me... does that mean he thought I reminded him of this lady? hmmmmmmm. hahaha, I hope not... but honestly, this WOULD happen to me. I think its just cause my name is in it.

Oh! Also I found a terrific new recipe for Biscotti. I made a batch before Christmas and it turned out ok & last week I decided to make another batch and it turned out SO good. Its actually from a calender that I picked up at our Sobey's here in town. Its a coffee flavored, chocolate chip biscotti and its made with this new Nescafe instant coffee that I discovered this summer which I love love LOVE. I don't usually drink instant coffee because I'm such a coffee snob and I like my coffee to taste just so but I found this coffee that comes in individual pouches by Nescafe and all you do is add hot water to it and it actually foams up like a real cappuccino, they are amazing! I especially love them to take to work because I don't like our coffee at work (its VanHaute, blech) so I usually have one of those instant coffees in the afternoon. Anyways, this biscotti recipe includes a couple of pouches of this instant cappuccino & they are great! I would highly recommend trying the coffee (and the recipe) sometime. I'll post the recipe when I have more time, I can't seem to find it online :(

ALSO, speaking of coffee... I AM SO MAD! My wonderfull Starbucks one cup coffee maker (which I talked up in a previous post) travel mug is LEAKING! uughhhhh... its not the actual machine so thats good but the seal on the bottom of my amazing mug is broken so it leaks all over the place. grrrrrr, wonder if I can bring it to my local (by local I mean an hour away ... gotta love small town Alberta!) Starbucks and get a new mug even though my machine was bought by my bro in law in North Carolina...

Well, I should get back to some real work since I am so SWAMPED & coffee break is over... caio!

oh PS: Ang- I think that you and your shop idea are a match made in heaven... I only wish I was living out there so we could be business partners! I totally think you should go for it!

Just an update!

WELL, I'm out in Wabasca this weekend for my "conjugal visit" heehee, I drove up here yesterday with my husbands bosses wife and their three kids (wow, 10 hours in a van with three kids under 8 will make you think twice about starting a family! :) ) anyways, i got to see Jo-Ben last night after two weeks apart which was lovely! I'm spending the weekend at the Riverside motel which has and will consist of lots of sleeping, watching movies and doing a little work that I brought with me while I sit in the hotel room waiting for Jo-Ben all day. He works every day while he is up north so he is working the whole time I am here :( oh well, I will take spending a couple of hours at the end of the day with him over nothing at all that's for sure. Its always kinda weird seeing each other after not seeing each other after a long time but also SO good. I miss him so much when we aren't together... its like that Jack Johnson song, "its always better when were together" Even stuck in the middle of nowhere! :) I wish I would have brought my camera, Wabasca is literally the middle of nowhere... its so barren. It basically consists of a bunch of logging camps for the rig guys, a hotel/motel, two restaurants (the burger baron and the hotel restaurant), a home hardware and a small overprices grocery store. So yeah, there is literally NOTHING as far as entertainment but just spending time together is good for us! Its funny how you take things for granted like cuddling up and watching Sports Center with your husband until you don't have the option to do so! In other news my baby sister found her wedding dress... REALLY wish I could have been there for it but very glad that her futer sis in law, mother in law and my mom could all be there. She sent me pics today and I'm almost glad I wasn't there because I would have been a mess, I almost bawled just seeing the crappy camera phone pics in my email! Very exciting. Also saw some new pics of my little nephew! Hes almost 5 weeks old now and I just love him more and more every time I see the little monkey. Hes VERY long, already 24 inches and over 11lbs. Big boy! Can't wait to see him and hold him... my family calls me the baby hoarder because when I get him in my arms I just can't give him up to anyone, I just love him! So I've posted some new pics of him because hes so darn cute! Well, from Wabasca to wherever you are, have a fabulous weekend... I'll be hanging out with my best bud!

Coffee, Curtains, Church and a Concert!

Well, first Id like to post about my favorite Christmas gift this year (ok, ok second fave, that diamond necklace was pretty spectacular... thanks babe!) Anyways, my brother in law sent me an aroma solo one cup coffee barista from Starbucks and I LOVE this thing... Its a "one cup" brewer... it technically brews two mugs but the large travel mug is considered as one cup I guess... and the coffee brews piping hot right into the insulated travel mug. The best part is that the coffee stays hot, like REALLY hot, for a good two hours. I am pretty picky about the temperature of my coffee, luke warm just grosses me out so I am pretty stoaked about this. I use it everyday and I think that it is AWESOME. SO, this morning when I decided to post about it and talk it up I thought I should find a picture of it to post too. So I googled the product and found a picture but I also found this blog:

http://www.nickotto.com/2005/09/19/starbucks-barista-aroma-solo/

Its pretty hilarious. Seems like ALLOT of people don't like my favorite Christmas present. Weird. There are a couple of people who decided to post an "odd man out" comment professing their undying love for the aroma solo so I don't feel TOTALLY alone on this one but wow, I had no idea that people in general hated my beloved machine so much. Well, I still love it and I am shouting it from the roof tops, LONG LIVE THE AROMA SOLO!!! :) After reading allot of the posts I am thinking that people are just stupid and don't know how to use the dang fangled thing. Read the directions people!!

This weekend was a good one. I was dreading my first full weekend of the winter apart from Jo-Ben but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Friday night I chillaxed by myself (tidied the house, watched some TV, put together my new bed frame and had a bath) On Saturday I slept in till about 11 am which was WONDERFUL & after lunch (well, breakfast for me!) my friend Kate and I went out to Calgary for some shopping. It was SO much fun. She just found out she is preggers so we went to Thyme and bought her first maternity shirt and tried some stuff on.... they have these bellies that you can try on so you know what your clothes will look like in a few months so we tried them on and played pregnant lady. Fun times :) We also found some killer deals. We went to Market Mall and I loved it. I was looking for boots but didn't find any for a reasonable price but we popped into Payless ( I never usually find anything worth while in there so I had pretty low expectations) We found some great shoes on sale, like REALLY on sale for 75% off... got two pairs of really cute shoes for 40 bucks. Awesome. Then at H&M I found really cute green jacket that is perfect for spring that I have been looking for forever marked down as well and an awesome HUGE white purse- also on sale! Felt like a very successful trip. After the mandatory Orange Julius we headed out of the mall and off to Ikea. I picked up curtains for basically my whole house. Chocolate brown for the living room and computer/one day may be massage room & khaki beige for our bedroom and the "boys room" (the room with the TV, recliners and sports memorabilia. So Saturday night Kate and I were busy hemming and putting up my curtains. They aren't all quite done but are already making the house look more homey. We did this really cool thing with our bed... Our King sized bed takes up most of the room so it is the focal point weather we like it or not and the way our room is situated there is no other place for it to go other than under the window so I have been having trouble finding a headboard that a) I like and b) would fit under the window or not look totally weird blocking the window. Kate and I came up with this great solution at Ikea... we hung ceiling to floor curtains behind the bed on a double notched rod holder and then hung a single notched rod holder from the ceiling at the foot of the bed and hung a curtain from the ceiling making a canopy bed. It looks SO cool... I really hope Jo-Ben likes it. I don't have any pictures of it on the computer yet but once I do I will post them. We are really proud of our "craft"... Kate wants to do it in their house but we might try it with sheers at her place.

Sunday was pretty awesome too, I went to church in Linden (about 15 mins away) to an alliance church that we tried in the summer but didn't really like. I thought I would give it another go and I am so glad I did... the congregation was probably twice as big and the worship was really good, it was just a better feeling than last time I went. Probably has to do with the fact that it was summer and church just isn't the same in the summer time with so many people gone on holiday and stuff I guess. Anyways, a friend of mine preached and it totally felt like his message was geared toward me and what I have been thinking/learning about this week. It was pretty neat. After the church service some kids from the college put on a lunch by donation to raise funds for a trip to Isreal that they are going on in the spring. It was all Mediterranean food and it was SOOOOOO good. It was really cool to meet some people too and I met a really cool couple that are our age that I am pretty stoaked to hang out with again and have Jo-Ben meet. The guy even knew a friend from back in Abbotsford and his brother and sister went to CBC so we probably have even more people in common... what a small world. I spent the rest of the afternoon fiddling with my curtains and chatting with Jo-Ben on our web cams & calling my moms. All in all a great weekend, now I just need to get through the next four days and I am off to see Jo-Ben on Friday! Shouldn't be too hard to get through this week, I am seeing Michael Buble in concert with some friends from work tomorrow night- should be fun!

Randomness

So I have discovered over the past few days how totally random my life has become now that I'm "single". Don't get me wrong, I know I'm not single, but I am living a pretty single girl kinda life at the moment... Jo-Ben is up North for the winter/partial spring (as stated in my last post, if you haven't read it then... read it!) so here I am, a married girl living a single girl life... without the perks! ;) hahaha. Its actually pretty lonely and boring but I am learning allot about myself. The BIGGEST thing that has changed is my eating habits. When Jo-Ben is home I tend to try to be a good wifey and make nice dinners that are well rounded and chalked full of things he likes, now that hes gone that has all gone straight out the window! At the grocery store it was weird, I had to really think about what I was buying because I am the only one who's going to eat it... I can't count on my human garburator (my hubby) to mow down all of the left overs, if I don't feel like eating them no one will and they will go bad... and I LOVE cooking but I'm used to cooking up a "normal sized" dinner (for 4 people) because Jo-Ben will eat enough for two and then take the rest for his lunch... now I'm cooking up a measly half of a chicken breast and a half a cup of rice... hardly seems worth it and just isn't quite as satisfying. and what if I'm in the mood for roast or lasagna, am I supposed to cook up a whole one and eat it all week?! so with all of this dinner weirdness my dinners have become pretty random. last night I had chips & guacamole and a fruit bowl, the night before was cheese and crackers and a bowl of lucky charms. I think its weird to me because I never lived on my own before I got married so I guess in a way I'm living on my own for the first time...and "cooking" for one for the first time (I say "cooking" because I'm not really cooking at all). I miss Jo-Ben and roast beef, mashed potatoes and green beans, a very satisfying combination that no amount of "me time" and lucky charms could ever replace.

day one

Well, here we go again. About a year and a half ago my husband and I moved to Alberta so that he could start a new job (Radioactive X-Ray Inspector guy on the pipeline) and we knew that it would entail a portion of out of town work when we signed up but now that it is here again we are both pretty broken up about it... Allot of tears shed last night and even more this morning after my best bud left. He is working about 6-8 hours north of where we live out of a secluded logging camp in the middle of no where and they have a "good contract" this year which means that there should be allot of work until at least mid April. Last year he worked 93 out of 94 days, usually 12 hour days and sometimes call backs that made him work till the wee hours in the morning in -30C. I only got to see him a total of 6 days out of those 94 and he was working for all but one of them (some how we lucked out and I was there for his fluke day off) and when I went to visit him it would consist of me sitting in my hotel room literally in the middle of nowhere, all day just waiting for him to get off of work so that I could spend a couple of precious hours with him at the end of the day. Its rough. So yeah, here I am, the morning of day one of all of this wishing it was day 100.

more pictures of Christmas & New Years times in BC

Christmastime

WOW. I cant believe that its all over. I'm back at work for the third day now and I am finally getting back into the swing of things and all caught up on sleep. When we finally arrived at home on Tuesday I felt as if i needed to recuperate from my "holiday" so last night I finally got a good rest and slept for almost 11 hours! :) OK, so the holiday in BC... I'll start at the beginning.

Jo-Ben and I drove out to Calgary on Thursday the 20th after I got off of work and dropped off our car at his cousins house and had a little visit while we were there. (thanks Heather!) Our taxi never showed up so Heather zipped us to the air port in our car (thanks again for getting it back in one piece!;) ) We thought we were cutting it close but our flight was delayed so we had plenty of time. The flight was great (gotta love West Jet) and time flew by, those satellite t.v.s they have are awesome! My sister and her boyfriend were waiting for us at the airport and we were so happy to see them both, no classic airport pics :( We headed to my parents house and talked for a while but soon went to bed as it was really late.

On the 21st I got my hair done at my favorite place, Au Natural right by my parents house. I am finally blonde again after over a year of trying to get back from a horrific dark brown dye job that I got in Medicine Hat. YAY! While I was getting my hair done Jo-Ben and my sibs were last min shopping and not just for Christmas presents... more about that later. After I got all gussied up Jo-Ben and I went over to Josh and Anya's to meet my little Mateo. I just LOVE him. Everyone keeps calling me a baby hoarder because I love to hold him and once hes in my arms hes hard to get back! Hes amazing. SUCH a good baby. Ive only heard him cry when hes getting changed and hes got some pretty incredible parents and one amazing grandma!!! (picture to the left of the two of us, I look kinda weird in the pic... just couldn't contain my excitment!) We had dinner that evening with my parents and Rebecca and her boyfriend Josh. SO good to see everyone and spend time doing regular things with them!

On the 22 I had the privilege of going out for brunch with my favorite girls in the world, my best friends from high school. Always good to reconnect with that gorgeous bunch, spent many hours of munching and gabbing. LOVED it.

Pics below from L to R: Ali, Nikki, Lise, Kristen & Amanda

We had TWO family gatherings that day, one small one for my moms side of the family which was more like a drop in at my Oma's home to see her. we got to see some aunts and uncles and my cousins Kyle and Lynette who just returned from a two year mission in Hungary (welcome home guys!) after a short visit and a few cookies we headed over to my grandma and grandpa Thiessen's for my dads side of the family gathering. EVERYONE was there so it was a biggie and LOTS of fun. We played our annual $20 gift exchange game which is always boisterous and fun times, the food was AWESOME (of course, Thiessen women are the best cooks) and the highlight of the night was my cousin Angela's daughter Hope who, coming from the shyest parents, is a little outgoing performer! She got up on the pool table and belted out a few tunes and accomplished what no one can and completely quieted the entire Thiessen clan. So cute. It was so great to see everyone.

Picture above of little miss Hopey singing to all of us atop the pool table, below: Sara & Jessica (I think Hope took this pic), a couple of pics of some of us playing the gift exchange game & one of Carter eating a toy car. SO cute!

The 23rd we saw most of the Thiessen clan again at my cousin Heathers baptism. It was really beautiful and they even served us a great turkey lunch afterwards. It was also sister in law Hannah's 26th birthday so after an afternoon of shopping with my favorite guy (and buying his much yearned after and rather expensive remote control helicopter) we went out to Langley to where Jo-Ben's parents and grandma were staying and had a lovely birthday dinner and visit with everyone including Josh, Anya and the baby. Lots of fun and Hannah got some great gifts including a ring Jo-Ben picked out just for her, I was very impressed!... hope she liked it! again, no pics of this time together, i was pretty bad about not taking pictured because I was having so much fun! I will try to get Hannah to send me some because I remember her clicking away!

The 24th was Christmas with the immediate Thiessen Fam... we always do a big Christmas eve thing and usually have family friends over. This year we had my moms friend and her kids and the entire Siemens fam over and my friend Lise so there was a big group of us. We had TONS of great food as always and played games and just hung out till late into the night and then when everyone lefts we exchanged gifts. Us kids got Dad a BC lions jersey with his name on it and my mom some dishes that she loves. My mom spoiled us kids yet again and got us tons of stuff, my fave gift from my parents was our new king sized fleece sheets for our new bed... so warm! My favorite guy got me a BEAUTIFUL diamond necklace and he LOVED his helicopter. My dad and I wrapped up a plastic kids toy helicopter and weighted the box to trick him, I think we thought it was funnier than he did! We missed Rebecca's boyfriend Josh as he was in Palm Springs with his fam!

Pictures below: 1. Jo-Ben and Dad on Christmas Eve, not exactly wanting their picture taken. :)

2. Jo-Ben's trick helicopter, pretending to be excited. (insert Amanda and Dad laughing hysterically in the back ground)

3. Me and a Willow tree ornament that my Mom got me.

4. Mom and I.

5. Dad and his "Hank" jersey.

6. Dad opening his traditional Far Side calender from us girls, he just looooves having his pic taken, can't you tell?

7. Jo-Ben opening up the real deal helicopter that my Dad so wonderfully wrapped for me with about 3 different kinds of wrapping paper.

Christmas morning was so much fun! We went to Langley and had a big Christmas brunch with Jo-Ben's entire fam, minus Jason who stayed back in NC, and it was fabulous. (thanks mom!) We then proceeded to take over 3 hours to open gifts! We ended up bringing home 2 extra suitcases full of gifts. We all really got spoiled this Christmas. It was SUCH a fun time, sharing and celebrating with BOTH of my families this Christmas, it was just incredible. I am so blessed. Later that day we went back to my parents house for yet another turkey dinner with my family and my grandparents (Thiessen) . It was SUCH a great Christmas. I just love the picture below of Babaw and her very first great grandchild. She is elated as we all are! Oh and also, notice the pic of me and my new Starbucks one cup brewer, MY new baby.

Boxing day morning Jo-Ben, Rebecca and I had a big breakfast of my famous crepes, bacon and eggs. Rebecca and I went shopping with my mom all day and snapped up some great deals.

The 27th Rebecca and I spent some time with Anya and baby Mateo and in the afternoon Jo-Ben and I went with a group of family and friends to Richmond to go go-carting, it was pretty hardcore. These go-carts went like 60 km an hour and we did a 30 min Indy style race. My contact came out cause my eyes dried out from the wind in my face (because i was going so fast, hahaha) but it was allot of fun. Jo-Ben LOVED it. Jo-Ben and I went out for dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory with Jesse and Lori which was good times as always (love you guys!)

Jo-Ben and Bryan at the go-cart race track lookin' all professional! heehee!

The 28th Jo-Ben went snowboarding with Jesse and met the Moreman boys for some fun up at Hemlock. The weather was crazy but they had a good day. I went out with Mom Barkey and Babaw to the Old Clayburn tea shop for a great lunch and visit, I knew they would love it there. Jo-ben and I spent the evening at my parents house and had a "pizza party" (to quote my Grandpa Thiessen) with my grandparents, John, Heather & Carter, Rebecca & my parents. It was lots of fun. I love spending time with Carter... hes such a big happy boy and he loves eating, a little man after my own heart! We went to a movie with Rob & Kelsey and Ken & Andrea that night. The 29th was the big Barkey fam gath. We rented out the basement at Bakerview church and spent the afternoon playing games and had another fabulous turkey dinner. Awesome company and amazing food.

On the 30th I went out for brunch with my lovely cousin Jessica, always a good time! ;) In the afternoon Jo-Ben and I went to a Canucks game (which was awesome, we beat the Ducks. YAY!) After the game we went to our friend Travis' apartment which was a blast. He lives on the 19th floor at the end of Davies street and Pacific and has a panoramic view of downtown and the harbour. We had lots of fun with our friends we met in Mexico and partied early into the morning.

New years eve day we hung out at my parents house and had portzilchy (Mennonite doughnuts, a New Years tradition) and watched football, went to have dinner with my in laws and one last visit with everyone (and one last cuddle with my nephew:( I'm going to miss everyone!!) Heard some good stories from Babaw and recorded them on our video camera, shes so cute! That evening my sister's boyfriend Josh became her FIANCE! He popped the question on bended knee in his parents living room which his sister and mom "romanticized" (Jo-Ben and I got to see it that afternoon and the ring, its gorgeous!) Rebecca is so happy, I cant wait for the wedding this summer. YAY Rebecca & Josh!!! We had a pretty low key New Years eve, spent at the Siemens with friends and fam that lasted till about 4 am.

The next day we went out for coffee with Rebecca and Josh and flew out to Calgary and drove back to Three Hills. It was an exhausting vacation but probably the best Christmas Holiday I have ever experienced. I feel so blessed and loved, what amazing family and friends I have. I will post some more pics as I get them! Hope you all had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year too!