Saturday Fun

Be honest.  The only reason any one reads this blog is to see pictures of Izzie.  Don't worry, the only reason I write it is to share pictures of Izzie.  Since I have been behind on new pictures of Iz, I thought I would use today as a catch up.  Tomorrow, I will try to add a 10,000 Reasons post.

Let's start with Bulldogs cutest cheerleader.  I was a little worried about this weekend because every time we mention a Gator she says Chomp, Chomp and claps her hands like Gator fans do. Her daddy was not too happy about that.  I remedied it by teaching her something inappropriate.  Now she goes chomp, chomp and does the kill sign across her throat. And the Parent of the Year Award goes to....

What sport are we watching?

Baby watching the game

Izzie loves to read and color.  She is helping "Baby" and "Baby Dawl" color.

Izzie insisted that I pin her baby bottle in her hair with a clothes pin.  This is her Project Runway moment.

Make it work!

Ok...so the next one is probably a little wrong of me, but I couldn't resist.  When you are done with that, can you fix my toilet?

Just a little dress up.  No big deal.

This child loves the bath so much that it doesn't matter if she has water or not.

First Calgary Visit

We have been visiting Rusty in Calgary for the last couple of days, and it has been...well...interesting. 

We are staying in a hotel with the strangest staff ever; I am not sure they have it all together here.  I went down stairs to do some reading in the lobby while Rusty and Izzie were sleeping, and the front desk lady spent approximately 37 minutes talking about how she and her husband are traveling around to see Judas Priest on their final tour starting in Las Vegas. That is their favorite band, and the JP catalog in her brain was creepy, not to mention her enthusiastically foul language.  Then yesterday, the maid just walked in our room without knocking to make sure we were still checked in.  I realize that we have had the Do Not Disturb sign on for a couple of days, but Hello! would it kill ya to knock? Rusty was changing his shirt when she walked in, so you know, AWKWARD. Oh did I mention I talked to the creepy Judas Priest fanatic at least four times (discussing issues with the room) and each time she asked my room number.  So...yes...we are still checked in.

Rusty is working the night shift and sleeps during the day (hence the Do Not Disturb sign), so Izzie and I have to make ourselves scarce in the mornings.  We have had to be creative to find things to do that are inside (the temperatures are in the 20s in the mornings...at least I think so...I can't read Celsius...that is my best Fahrenheit guess) and not super expensive.  Fortunately, there is a web site that archives all of the family activities in Calgary. We went to this cool coffee shop that has a huge indoor play place for toddlers, a fun book store for kids with a free story time, and the outlet mall near our hotel has a free play place.  You can get good deals and wear out the kiddo at the same time.  Score!

This morning Izzie went to her first movie in a movie theater.  Before you wag your finger in judgement, I realize TV and movies at this age are bad for her, but I challenge you to find free things to do in a new city.  That's right, I said free. The local theaters were having a community day and showing certain movies for free.  We chose Happy Feet, and she did pretty well.  We only spilled half a bag of popcorn all over the floor, and she made it through 3/4 of the movie before her dancing in the aisle got too distracting to ignore. A general success, I'd say.

We are heading back to Fernie tomorrow which is probably a good thing since Izzie has gone all Keith Moon on our hotel room and destroyed the place.  In addition to general messiness, rhe ripped a full length mirror off the wall.  I'm talking dry wall falling on her head damage. At least we know someone who hangs things for a living. Rusty was able to fix it, so they won't know but Geeze!  The good news is Rusty will be off for 10 days starting Wednesday.  Yay!

I don't have a camera with me now, so no fun pictures.  I promise I will take plenty in the next week to make up for the lack of posts and pics.

Ciao

PS- I was just reading through this, and Izzie sneezed.  I didn't say anything because I was reading, and she said, "Umm, Bless you, Izzie" with a tone that chastised my rudeness.  I'm glad she keeps me in line. 

Life of a Ludite and Izzie Says

Bet you thought I had already given up on the blog...be honest.  Well that is understandable.  Actually we moved into our own apartment up here, and we haven't set up cable or internet, yet. What?  No TV?! That is crazy talk. I know.  Believe it or not, I am actually enjoying it, but don't tell Rusty.  My posts may not be as frequent for the next couple of weeks, but I promise to pick up the pace when the internet comes back.

So I thought I would catch you up on Izzie Says because she has been cracking us up and quite frankly amazing us.

Izzie Says...
I have two good stories from this week.
Last Tuesday I went to see a movie with Iris and left Izzie and Rusty to hang out together for the evening.  I came home at 9:30pm (an hour and a half past Izzie's bed time) to find them sitting on the couch eating cookies. 

I asked them, "What's up, guys? Why is Izzie not wearing the PJs I laid out for her?"
Izzie jumped down ran to her room and said, "Water!" Completely telling on her Daddy.

Rusty said he put her to bed with a sippy cup of water (forgetting to put the stopper in it).  A few minutes later, she was screaming.  He went to check on her and noticed her water was empty. Her head, clothes and bed were soaking wet.  He picked her up, and she said, "Towel, Daddy."  He felt so bad he let her stay up and eat cookies. 

 Here is a sweet shot of the culprits from earlier...

Story Two
Day before yesterday, I was late getting dinner ready.  I was feeding Izzie as I cooked, and by the time Rusty and I sat down we just started digging in.  Izzie held out her hands and said, "Pray!" Rusty and I felt so bad, but we are thankful our 19 month old is holding us accountable.


More Izzie Says...
Sockett Ball                  Translation: Soccer Ball
Dawgs...Woof!              Translation: Goooo Dawgs! Sic em! Woof, Woof, Woof!
Ear She As: Daddy!       Translation: There you are, Daddy.
Oh Boy!                        She says this when she is excited.
Weaky! Weaky! Weaky!  Oh No! Where Weaky Go, Dowa?  Boots?  (This is actually a reenactment of an episode of Dora in which Boots lost his rubber toy named Squeaky.  We hear this at least twice a day.)

Have a Great Week! Oh and if you are in Canada, Happy Thanksgiving!

Daddy Love

If you know us, you know that we change our plans as often as we change the TV channel.  This is where we currently stand:
Rusty has been interviewing at a local coal mine (Before you get nervous, it is an open mine, and he would be driving a giant truck. Health risks are low), but after going through the process, he doesn't believe it is the right thing for us.  He would have been able to come home every night working four days on four days off, but we would have to be up here longer in order to accomplish our goals.

So, we are back to the Oil Rig (You can be a little nervous. Canadian rigs are safer than American rigs, but there is still danger involved in drilling).  He is out of town now taking a course, so he can start soon. Taking a job on the rig means working two weeks on (two weeks in a camp up in the middle nowhere, and I mean the real middle of no where.  Not where we currently reside) and one week off.  This is seasonal work, so he will be done in April which is the main appeal. Also, it is the same price to fly to Atlanta as it is to the closest airport here, so Izzie and I can stay in Georgia if we decide to do this again.

The hardest part is that we will be without him for two weeks at a time.  Izzie is changing and growing so much that I hate for him to miss it.  She LOVES her daddy, but has has a tendency to be a little distant and kind of mean to him when he returns from being gone for a while.

I have been praying for God to reveal what is right for us, and I believe this is it (for the moment...ha).  I just ask for prayer that Izzie and her Daddy continue to have a strong relationship even if he has to go away periodically.

I am so thankful for the prayer warriors I call friends and family. We love you all!

By the way--this is the silliness that goes on when Daddy watches Izzie.

The 2nd Avenue "Bapple" Thief

Be On the Lookout: RCMP is searching for a notorious "Bapple" thief.  Witnesses described the Person of Interest as just a couple feet tall, has crazy hair and sounds foreign. It has been said that she frequents the local parks and hangs out near the Apple Tree on corner of 2nd Avenue. Consider her very sneaky.  She will use her considerable cuteness to melt your heart and turn you into an accomplice.

Little Conversations

Izzie is at such a fun age.  She is learning so much, so quickly.  Who knew I could be so entertained by watching a 1 year old's mind work, and boy does it work.  That little runt is sneaky.  Yesterday, she really wanted to go outside, but we were all in the middle of something.  It wasn't a good time to go out despite her persistence.  So this little stinker got a tennis ball and threw it out an open window and said, "Uh oh! Outside!" hoping that would be her ticket to freedom.   

She has been talking in sentences for a while, but this morning we had our first real conversation.
Well our first conversation other than her asking to watch Dora.  We have this little gem every morning:
Izzie: Watch Dora?
Me: No, Izzie, we are not going to watch Dora.
Izzie: Watch Dora?
Me: No, Izzie, we are not going to watch Dora.
Izzie: Boots?
Again, she is a sneaky little thing.

Anyway, we had our first conversation this morning, and even though it was about stinkin' ol' Ross, it melted my heart.  Here it how it went:
Izzie: Wanna see Uncle Ross
Me: Ross isn't here.
Izzie: Where he go?
Me: He's at G's house
Izzie: Wanna go to G's house.

How sweet is she?

This got me thinking...since this blog is supposed to be about keeping you folks in the loop, I thought I would start another weekly series called Izzie Says.  I will record the memorable things she has said for the week.  I say this is for your reading pleasure, but we all know it is really for my benefit.  I want to be able to remember all of this stuff.  I mean, I am going to need good material if I plan to fulfill me parental obligation of embarrassing her any chance I get.

This week in Izzie says:
I wanna hold you.  Translation: Hold me.
Bess you, Ross.    (This is said anytime he makes a noise that sounds anything like a sneeze.)
Pease, Mommy!    Translation: I know you will give me what ever I want if I say this.
Dank Kew!            Translation: Thank you
I Sneaky!               (She yells this very loudly while tiptoeing to sneak up on someone.)
Reach Bapple         Translation: Can someone taller than mommy take me down the street to steal apples out of the neighbor's tree?
Poo Poo                  Translation: I want to sit on the potty and not do anything, so that you will give me a piece of chocolate.

Now for your daily dose of Izzie.  This is a picture from earlier this summer, but I just love it so much.  She rarely smiles for a camera

Have a great weekend!

10000 Reasons

Bless the Lord oh my soul, Oh My Soul...Sing like never before

I can't stop singing Matt Redman's 10,000 Reasons. The first time I heard it was in church two weeks ago.  We had a Service of Praise because we were celebrating the miraculous return of a local three year old boy that had been kidnapped from his bed. I heard it again last Sunday, and I have been humming it since.  I can not remember the last time a song has had this kind of hold on me.

Now I don't know if many of you are like this, but I am the type of person that will be really into the music of a song but have no idea what it even says.  Several times I've found my self singing along to a super catchy, slightly raunchy song and then have to do a double take because I had never paid attention to the lyrics before.

What ever may pass and whatever lies before me, Let me be singing when the evening comes


I downloaded it this week and really focused on the meaning of this beautiful song of praise.
No wonder I was tangled up in it! It is amazing how God speaks to you even when you are not fully listening.

I have been in such a negative place lately.  I HATE uncertainty. It makes me a nervous wreck, but that has been the status of my family's future since December.  I know everyone thinks we are crazy for picking up and heading to Canada for Rusty to work, and they are right.  We are insane, and I have been letting those thoughts consume me to the point that I have not been a very loving wife or patient mother...forget about dutiful servant of the Lord.

I recently regaled two of my best friends with a long ventfest/pity party about how we have no certain plans right now and how angry/scared that makes me, and they reminded me that my Worst Case Scenario for the future is that I get to be with my husband and child while we work toward a better future for our family.  God has a plan for us, and He is greater than anything I can worry about.

For all Your goodness I will keep on singing, 10,000 reasons for my heart to find


I am starting to believe the Lord brought me here to pull me away from hundreds of distractions and  to set my heart on fire.  I think He is as tired of me being luke-warm as I am.

I hope you will hold me accountable for singing a symphony of His praises rather than the cacophony of complaints that usually roll out of my mouth.  I would like to start by doing a weekly "segment", if you will, listing some of the 10,000 reasons I have to praise Him.

10,000 Reasons Week One: I praise you Lord for your wisdom in my ignorance for your strength in my weakness.  I praise you for the healing power of music and good friends.  I praise you for answer prayers I haven't even prayed yet.

And, I praise you for this face and the joy it brings me everyday.

And on that day when my strength is failing, The end draws near and my time has come
Soon my soul will sing your praise un-ending, 10,000 years and there forever more


10,000 Reasons by Matt Redman. Check it out.