update..long overdue i know!!

Goodbye 24, you have been an interesting year indeed!you arrived in style on a new continent, and you left on the same continent which was not the plan for your year. You brought a few tears and even more smiles. Thank you for the opportunity to grow and learn. Thank you for all the new friends you brought. today i turned 25...a quarter of century old..i am no longer in my early 20s..i'm in my mid 20s! lots of people at this point in their lives are married..have kids..have mortgages..i have a suitcase of stuff, a laptop, and a guitar..and the uncertainty of what lies ahead! Sometimes its scary to think of all the uncertainty ahead trying to find my place in this world. What am i supposed to be, what's my purpose..i don't know..but that's okay (or at least that's what i aiming for right now, that its okay not to know, to trust God completely that He has my life planned out and that He knows exactly where my place is in this life. I want to learn to trust God's goodness this year and to not only know it but to truly believe and rest in it. So today to celebrate the birthday, Lydia organised a dinner. Hannah, Emily, Jeanine, Bria, Mikayla and Isaiah were also there to share in the funtastic birthday goings on. So on the menu, BBQ chicken (I love lydia's BBQ chicken!)and mash potatoes..perfect! OH and BANOFFIE PIE for dessert!!:)

And then it was off to the cinema with Hannah and Emily for Toy Story 3..nothing makes you feel old like watching Andy go off to college!! good movie:)
So the first day of year 25 started off on a high notes and may it continue..i sure hope so:)
I'm thankful for all the birthday wishes i got today, i nice reminder of the many people in my life that i am truly blessed to know! So alot to be thankful for, alot to be hopeful for, and alot to look forward to!

KFC - no longer friends are we.

so this is why i really shouldn't leave blogging for a couple of days because i forget far too quickly what i did. With that said its also the main reason i should really try and write every second day at least because i want to be able to remember some of my time in canada!


ok so thursday Naomi, Lydia's best friend came to visit along with her beautiful baby. I didn't actually see them until friday because they arrive late thursday night. They stayed in my room downstairs which meant i was in the guest bedroom upstairs. The nice thing and sometimes the bad thing about staying in the basement is that it is always cold. It doesn't really bother me cause its nice to be able to wrap up in a blanket and where super wooly pjs all year round:) So the rooms upstairs are not exactly as pleasant! it was so hot (and the thing was, i happened to be fortunate enough to stay upstairs when it wasn't even that hot outside (well compare to the last few days) . So what i gained from my few nights upstairs is a new found appreciation for my room downstairs and much respect for josh and lydia and isaiah sleeping upstairs when its that hot!


So friday - i can't remember friday..

so Saturday- it was cookstown's annual Wing Ding festival thingy:) when i arrived last year, pretty much from the first day i was in cookstown i was told about the excitment that is Wing Ding. How could someone describe wing ding..basically its where the little town of cookstown becomes filled with lots of people selling junk that the bought in the last years wing ding and then purchasing stuff they can sell in next years wing ding..or another way to describe it is as a HUGE yard sale:) it was alot fun to walk around although i didn't get a chance to get candy floss:( but i'm sure my teeth will thank me later! So the quote of the day was definitely from Adrien who was walking samson. Adrien was telling about moving out on his own and all that entailed. He was walking samson and came to the conclusion that he either needed a wife...or a dog:)

so Sunday was the day that me and KFC had a falling out! i got a popcorn chicken snack box
and felt very unwell afterwards! so i won't be getting KFC anytime soon!
I took samson with me to wing ding on saturday and while we were at the simpsons jeanine came in with a worried look on her face and told me that samson had ate some of myas food...fast forward to sunday and i understood why she was concerned! So when we got home after church we walked inside and lets just say we were greeted by a not so pleasant smell! upon going through the house we discovered that Samson had been sick and pooped inside the house (which he never does..he's the best dog ever and never goes to the toilet inside the house!) so yeah not cool!

Monday..was a quiet day..too quiet..so i called hannah and asked hannah if i could come over before i lost my mind to boredom! So she was nice enough to let me come visit and we chilled..did some grocery shopping..got starbucks..it changed her life (even if she won't admit it;) We looked at pictures..ate chips..looked at more chips and then it was time to go home. I like visiting the belvederes (i didn't hesitate this time typing your name;)

Naomi came to visit with her beautiful baby girl:)

me and Naomi

one of the many reasons i love lydia:) and also another reason why she should never stay up late!

walking through cookstown during wing ding:)

wing ding in cookstown

Isaiah running his little heart out trying to catch the birds:)

Isaiah's defeated walk back because he didn't catch the birds:)

wednesday rain..

so it was only a matter of time before the rain clouds came back to town! it was strange though..because as i sat on the porch with lydia and isaiah listening to the claps of thunder and then the subtle drops of rain it wasn't the usual dread i felt at seeing rain. This is one of the things i like most about Canada. It has actual seasons which means that it doesn't rain 355 days out of the year. So when it does actual rain, you appreciate it! you can see visibly the changes in the colours around you. You appreciate a break from the heat. This is not the case in ireland. It rains, then rains some more, and oh yeah it rains again..and this is pretty much the theme throughout winter, spring, summer and autumn. I like canada :)

so me and isaiah went jumping in puddles..something i haven't done (well intentionally anyway) since i was a kid! And then we sat for about an hour outside watching the rain while wrapped in our blankets. All in all a very enjoyable afternoon.

So i finished the first book i got from the library..it was ok. It was really predictable but i was glad it was an easy read:) so i started my next book - the last jurort. Hopefully this one will last me more than a day!

Isaiah loves his mammy:)

...catch up...

so i have neglected to write anything for a couple of days..but i really should write something because already i'm struggling to remember what i did the last couple of days..is it normal for someones short term memory to be so bad..

i watched finding nemo today..dory is my hero:)

right so-Friday

so the exciting thing for friday was going to cookstown to pick up the yaris. Jeanine said i could borrow their car while they were gone to NEXT. so it was exciting, the idea of having a car for the weekend:) the one drawback..95% of the people i know in canada were also gone to NEXT...

So after picking up the car it was off to Hamiliton for Lydia's friends suprise birthday party. It was fun hearing lydia's college stories:) I got the task of driving home...we got a touch lost but we eventually made it home:)

Note: i don't like driving at night and i need to learn to pay more attention to road signs!

Saturday:

I tried to think of somewhere exciting to go considering i had a car..I went to walmart..FAIL!

i can't remember what i did for the rest of the day on saturday..ah well

Sunday:

Church was good..quiet..but good. Heard a great message from..i can't remember the guys name (shocker i know) but it was really good. It was about the importance of preaching the gospel clearly.

It was Samson's birthday:) so lots of birthday lovings for him.

I went to the cinema to watch Letters to Juliet. Really good romantic comedy:)

Monday:

..........................................blank...........................what did i do............ah well..swiftly moving on..

Tuesday:

Joined the library in bradford, then realised that i know diddly squat about books because i don't read books very often (or more accurately..not at all) so ended up reading magazines for most of the time i was there...Library fail! But i did take out two books so hopefully i can limit my time spent watching tv and use my time more effectively..well that's the plan!

weather is still so nice:) i like sunshine!

adventure time:)

so this is actually two days combined cause i didn't write a post for yesterday.

so firstly yesterday:

so i got to spend most of the day with isaiah while lydia went and helped her hubby out at work. its so much fun spending time with isaiah. I love spending time with him because the outlook on life from a 2 year old is so fun and you cant help but get caught up in his way of viewing life:)

so i took him to the park but before we could leave he insisted that i bring his friend hippo (a really cute cuddly teddybear) So we went to the park and isaiah insisted that hippo go in the swing next to him so i ended up having to push both hippo and isaiah on the swings. and then it was off to the slide where...yep hippo and isaiah both took turns going down:) so a little more playing and nap time. After nap time we made our way to isaiahs kiddy pool. so yesterday like the rest of this week was hot..so the only to cool down was to get into the kiddy pool with isaiah. We spent a long time sitting and playing-so fun! and then it was inside for both of us to watch the lion king for the umpteenth time-i can pretty much quote the film word for word now. yeah i know i don't think that skill will get me too far in life! all in all a pretty awesome day with isaiah.

Went for coffee with Avery at coffee culture. It was great to just chill and chat. The thing about sundays at church -its hard to to really talk cause there are so many people to talk to and time is limited so i really do enjoy times i get to spend with people when its a more relaxed.

Part 2 (thursday)

so yes another beautiful sunny day:) isaiah had a doctors appointment in downtown toronto at 10. We left at 8.30..which if there was no traffic would have been plenty of time..but this is downtown toronto and traffic is just a way of life it would appear. So we sat in traffic..and then sat some more..moved a little and then sat again and this was pretty much the theme of the trip. So we managed to get onto the right street a little after 10. So as we were running late we decided that i should just take the car and park while lydia and isaiah ran for their appointment..so lydia pulled over so we could switch drivers. So in the rush of trying to switch drivers (while being double parked) we somehow managed to lock the doors with the keys inside..and also with isaiah inside while me and lydia stood outside helpless! Thankfully the car was still running and the air conditioning was cranked up high so isaiah was fine inside. So i can't even imagine the panic a mother must feel when your two year old is stuck inside a car and no way in. Lydia was just about to bust open a window...don't ever mess with a mother when her kid is in harms way! So i ran accross the road to try and get help at a TD bank. God really blessed us with some lovely people who came to our rescue! There were some construction guys working on the street who came over and managed to get the window down and we got into the car! Really its so great when strangers come to your aid! So I think isaiah may have been in the car for about 20 minutes but at the time it felt so much longer! Even though lydia and isaiah were super late for their appointment the doctor still saw them:)

After the hectic morning we made our way down to the harbour front. It was my first time to walk by the harbour front and it was beautiful (especially with the cool breeze coming off the water) We decided we should try and get something different and exciting for lunch..something we couldn't get at home..so we got pad thai (which we always get in bradford;) well the day had already been different and stressful enough so why get too crazy right! and then we sat by the water and had our lunch:) so what had started out as a disaster morning turned out to be a wonderful day:) I was thankful for fun times with isaiah and lydia.

our view from we ate lunch:)

(so across this street is where we had double parked!)

hyped up on sugar!!!!!

so i've noticed a theme in my blogs - I usually start off my blog commenting on the weather...its such an irish thing to do..but i can't help myself. I need/want to comment on the weather! very odd..but today was 28 and felt like 32..oh yeah:) so i just finished googling the highest ever temperature recorded in ireland...33 degrees recorded at kilkenny castle in 1887 (yeah i kid you not!) in contrast Canada's highest recorded temperature is 45 degrees recorded at Yellow Grass Saskatchewan.

The coldest ever recorded temperature in canda.. -63 degrees in Yukon Territory (where ever that is)..yikes..i just got a chill..well that could be from the air conditioning but still oh i can't even imagine what -63 degrees would feel like! The lowest ever recorded temperature in ireland -19.1 recorded at Markree Castle, Sligo 1881..wow the 1800s in ireland had some crazy weather!

well all that to say..another sunny day in canada:) ok yeah i know..enough with the weather;)

right so today...what did i do...mmhmm...what did i do... ok the day is not even over and i am struggling to remember what happened. This is why its good to have a blog to look back on:)

ok so i woke up..went outside..worked in the office for a bit..then went outside to warm up...the basement which is already a touch on the cold side is feeling increasingly chilly. But its actually a nice feeling to come in from outside where its roasting and then have to wrap up in a blanket. Its like the best of both worlds:) although definitely have to close the vent in the bathroom..a cold bathroom is never pleasant!

Lydia washed out isaiah's little pool which was class. Isaiah was so cute splashing about. I have pictures but I can't remember where i left the camera..(yes another common theme..i tend to loose track of three things pretty much everyday..1. my wallet 2. my phone and 3. my keys)

But it was fun to sit outside and chill with our feet in the pool and watch Isaiah play:)

Oh and the meat man came..yeah i should explain the meat man. Josh and Lydia buy Ontario natural fed (or something like that) meat from..well they just call him the meat man.. I've never questioned who this meat man is..all i know is that his meat is awesome. Well anyway it makes me laugh when the meat man delivers cause who knew a delivery of meat could bring someone so much joy...well for Lydia it does:) its almost as good as when she gets flyers on Thursdays (or well used to get).. I've never seen someone get so much enjoyment from flyers as does our Lydia:) and actually i must admit i too enjoyed going through the flyers when they came and looking for good deals. I also find myself in the grocery store now that i too gain much amusement if something is on sale! stuff is always better on sale.

So i watched prison break - the final break tonight...absolute pants! it was so bad. They really should have stopped making this tv show after the first two seasons. There is only so many times someone can break out of a prison in all fairness! ok so it goes like this

season 1 : break out of prison

season 2: on the run after breaking out of prison

season 3: back in prison

season 4: break out of prison again and bring down "the company" yeah its just called "the company"

the final break: wait for it..go to prison (shocker i know), break out & finally die in the process.

but hey at least the first two seasons were good so i can't really complain!

so i'm still running high after getting a slushie from petro canada and eating sour patch kids and sour cherry things..not wise to do if you have any desire for sleeping!

song for today - phil wickham - you're beautiful

i like trees:)

another beautiful sunny day today! a touch on the hot side but still so nice:)

the first day that the air conditioning was turned out..i still find it so strange to hear myself say.."close the door and keep the heat out" This i guarantee you is not a phrase you will ever hear uttered in Ireland..that is for sure! You will hear instead phrases like "were you born in barn, shut the door and keep in the heat" or as my mother pronounces it "hate" yes not sure how someone could pronounce heat like hate but thats the west Clare accent for ya! but yes, that is definitely phrase i associate with my childhood for sure..and no my mother did not ever appreciate the smart ass comment of "oh no, actually i was born in hospital..swinging doors"...my mother really was a very patient woman!

I almost had a sleep in this morning..but unfortunately the neighbours next door were not aware of my desire to have a sleep in! but i can't complain too much as they happen to be really nice people with a strange need to cut grass every second day it seems sometimes!

so another nice drive along the canal road today which reminds me I promised Lydia today that I would grow out my nails..I will grow out my nails..I will grow out my nails..I will grow out nails..I hope I can grow out my nails. Wouldn't it be great if sometimes good intentions could be enough!

But I'm going to look at this as a very minor and probably not too important test of self control..something i greatly lack! so i figure if I write it down then hopefully that will help me remember not to bite them!

k so what else did I do today...the day is not even over and already the day is a blur..oh i remember now..

ok so i had this strange desire to make homemade lemonade today:) so i did..i'm not going to bother to put down notes because well i can't remember what ratio of lemon to sugar to water to ice it was but it turned out ok. Actually i was thinking on my drive home from the Kerrs that next time i should use carbonated water instead of still water to give a little fizz..yes i will try and remember that for next time.

so Isaiah cute moment of the day had to be when he opened my guitar case and realised that the inside lining of my case is super soft...so adorable..see pictures:)

So tonight i went to the kerrs to play..dun dun...MONOPOLY:) its the only board game i like. It was such a good game..and yes i am just saying that cause i won! i'm such a bad winner too..i should work on that-i have such a competitive nature which comes out in games..as some may testify too i'm sure!;)

but yeah it was fun to chill and relax and drink more lemonade and count out how many $500 dollar notes i had..hehe..oh good times indeed!:)

so my goal for this week is to have half of romans 8 memorised. I have up to verse 11 learned although its not exactly word for word so i need to work on that. But yes that's my goal for Sunday.

oh and new music today - Paul Colman - The one thing