Our Family & Our Life

Dear Diary, I am " At the Well " today with hostess, Tracy of Thirsty for Him discussing the very timely topic of Keeping Christ in Christmas. I grew up in a Christian home where we had a Christmas tree, decorations, turkey and visits to Santa at the mall. We also exchanged gifts with the immediate family but never on Christmas Day, usually the Saturday before Christmas Day. I don't recall any traditions but we always went to church on Christmas morning and as kids we knew why Christmas was celebrated. In my young family to date we have two tradition: ~ new pyjamas, which was started by my husbands family when he was growing up; and ~ a family photo by the tree. Between my husband and I we discussed how we want our daughter to celebrate Christmas as she gets older. Unlike some Christians, we will celebrate Christmas. If I understand correctly, some Christians do not celebrate because many traditions e.g. tree and Santa, are rooted in pagan beliefs and there is no biblica...

Dear Diary, Yesterday we had a really nice Thanksgiving lunch with Merlin and Janet Moore. We (Colin) cooked and they brought a delicious pumpkin pie for dessert. I could eat pumpkin pie all year long! This was Colin's first Thanksgiving ever since it is not celebrated in the UK and I think he enjoyed himself, even if it just meant getting a couple days off work. Nothing exciting has happened lately but we did finally get the van registered in Colorado. Out with the Ontario license plates and in with the Colorado plates. We went a few weeks ago to the DMV to get it done but we didn't get the right forms completed by Border Control when we crossed over in October. We had to go to a Border Services office near Denver airport for a VIN check and complete the importing forms. No hassle, no fee, no fuss ~ just the way I like it. Anyways, back to the DMV on Friday morning at 7:45 and we were out of there by 8 a.m. Now we have to work on our drivers licenses. I'm dreading this ...

Dear Diary, ... he leaves comments like this on our blog: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Heather dear, I just wanted to let you know that I have thoroughly enjoyed your posts about us over the last few weeks. As you know I love you more today than yesterday but not as much as tomorrow.. And I also want to say 'Hi' to all the wives out there that are giving Heather the ideas to blog even better.. Colin.. (Heather's other half) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It's comforting to know that he'll always stand by me... Thank you Colin (but you made me cry when I read it!!!)

Dear Diary, It's that time of the week again, Thankful Thursday hosted by Iris of "Grace Alone" (I know it's Wednesday but Thursday in some parts of the world!) . As I mentioned in my previous post, next week is Thanksgiving and so I (and maybe others) tend to think a little bit more why we are thankful at this time of year. This week there is no particular theme to TT which is good because it's time to be thankful for the everyday aspects of life. In particular, I'm thankful .... 1. ..... we have a warm, cozy home. The winter cold is coming and I take it for granted that we have a roof over our heads but there are others in the world who live in mud shacks, cardboard boxes or nothing at all. Or in the alternative, what about the thoughts of wanting a bigger house, a bigger garage, etc.? Am I truly being thankful for what has been given to me? 2. ..... that we are able to prepare a Thanksgiving dinner next Thursday. What about those people living in countrie...

Dear Diary, Today I'm in a rambling sort of mood. Things just come to mind and I think to myself that maybe I should blog about it. Bare with me, this is a long post of stuff floating through my brain. First an update, we didn't sell our house Larne . This is not the economy to make a lot of money, if any, from the sale of a house but what she offered us was a negative equity offer. We are going to have it listed again today or tomorrow and we pray that we have an offer well under way before January 5 when the tenants move out. There are " if's " right now running through our head ~ if we sold last year at this time our profit margin would've been MUCH more than we're lucky to get now ~ but selling and moving wasn't part of the plan last year so there is no sense beating ourselves up. Right now, we'll be happy just to get it sold and pay off our mortgage in order to move on. We'll have to start all over again but that's OK, we can do it, we...

Dear Diary, Our beautiful girl is 9 months old! It's been exciting and so much fun watching her grow and learn new things. Just yesterday in the church nursery she started to pull herself up on furniture AND she went from the crawling position to the sitting position. The look on her face said it all. So cute, I just wish I had a photo to capture the moment! For now though, these will have to do. Her hair is really starting to fill out and it is a lovely shade of brown. I wonder if it is similar to my natural hair colour? A very typical pose these days, smiling! These two photos are taken in her bedroom. Her nightlight was the inspiration for her room colour scheme. We can't paint the walls but we tried to use the purple, yellow, pink and green as much as possible. It's also nice that her name is four-letters, one letter per colour! She is a joy in our lives and God has been good to us, she is our greatest blessing! 'Til next time, Heather, Colin & Isla

Dear Diary, Today is At the Well Monday, a meme hosted by Chelsey of Joyfully Living for His Glory . The topic today is Marriage. Colin and I have been married about 2.5 years (August 28, 2006) so we don't have a ton of experience but both of us have examples of good marriages in our families. However even though we are newly married (not newlyweds, that's only the first year) we have had our share of trying times and many happy times as well. We have learned what it means to be a husband and wife to each other. We are not perfect, nobody is, but we are doing best to be each others (2nd) best friend by following the biblical teachings of marriage. The topic questions this week that I will be addressing from my perspective are as follows: What does commitment in marriage mean? What kind of wife are we called to be to our husbands? What are ways that we can Biblically stand for our marriage? I read somewhere that Christian marriages tend to be "better", that is, they re...

Dear Diary, Just a bit of Saturday night fun... I've highlighted and italized all events that I've completed in my 34 years.... 1. Started your own blog 2. Slept under the stars 3. Played in a band 4. Visited Hawaii 5. Watched a meteor shower 6. Given more than you can afford to charity 7. Been to Disneyland/world 8. Climbed a mountain 9. Held a praying mantis 10. Sang a solo 11. Bungee jumped 12. Visited Paris 13. Watched a lightning storm at sea 14. Taught yourself an art from scratch 15. Adopted a child 16. Had food poisoning 17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty 18. Grown your own vegetables 19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France 20. Slept on an overnight train 21. Had a pillow fight 22. Hitch hiked 23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill 24. Built a snow fort 25. Held a lamb 26. Gone skinny dipping 27. Run a Marathon 28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice 29. Seen a total eclipse 30. Watched a sunrise or sunset 31. Hit a home run 32. Been on a cruise 33. Seen Niagara Falls ...

Dear Diary, Look at the view from our balcony this morning. Isn't it pretty? Sadly, most of it was gone by lunch. Oh well, maybe next time it will stay a bit longer.

Dear Diary, I joined the group of ladies who give thanks every Thursday because I don't want to wait until Thanksgiving each year to give thanks. This weeks theme is life. In my life give thanks everyday for: 1. Colin and Isla and the joy and love they bring everyday into our family life. 2. for knowing that I am heard each time I pray and never being alone in both my earthly and spiritual life.