The fleeting things are beautiful

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I don't feel like writing, or doing much of anything these days. Up until a couple of days ago I was baking and cooking like crazy, organizing, making lists and daydreaming about my new life on the island. And then I had to say goodbye to Holly and since then I have just wanted to curl up into a ball and eat chocolate. I have not let myself cry up until this moment. I have been strong, I have been focused on what the future holds... Truthfully, I loath having to give her up. Her presence has been such a blessing in my life this past year. As most of you know I was brutally lonely my first year in the Chilcotin. I felt invisible, unwanted and a bit of an outcast. I liked the people around me and desperately wanted to have friends yet, for some reason or another, never felt as though I did. In my opinion it was an exclusive club and I felt like an outsider. Thankfully, that began to change as new families arrived and the dynamic changed. I began to feel more like myself, happier, welcomed and appreciated. Nathaniel and I started to talk about extending even though he had already been granted permission to move to Naniamo. A couple of months later, in January, I met Holly for the first time when she and her husband came to meet our crew. I liked her immediately. Over the following weeks she pursued my friendship with such intensity that I was blown away. Usually I'm the one that pursues people, so it was immensely refreshing to have the roles reversed. I loved the fact that she took the time to get to know me even though she knew full well that I was leaving in a couple of months. To make a long storey short, after many thoughtful conversations and after weighing many pros and cons, we stayed. When it all came down to it, Nathaniel wanted to stay because he appreciated and respected his boss, and I stayed because of Holly. And now we have to say goodbye. Normally we would have bid another farewell at our transfer party next week, but Holly and her man have left for a much anticipated vacation overseas and will not be back until after we have moved. *sigh*

It has been a good year, a GREAT year. I am so glad that we stayed. I think that it was a good decision for so many reasons. Here are just a few things that I will miss doing with you Holly..... at least until we hang out again.

1. Playing dress-up in your closet and creating outfits.

2. Discussing fashion and home design

3. Swapping magazines

4. Road trips into town together (errands, shopping a joe fresh, getting our hair done, clothing shopping)

5. Eating yummy things (namely pizza from Red Tomato Pie)

6. Watching our "shows" together and discussing them afterwards

7. Middle of the day conversations about how our day is going and lamenting about our children

8. Baking (whoopie pies, cake pops......)

9. Long, in depth conversations about everything under the sun while we hoofed it up and down those hills pushing our babies.

10. Exchanging stories about traveling and dreaming of far flung places we want to still visit.

11. Just hanging out in our pj's drinking tea after the babies were in bed

12. Etsy, pinterest, asos, forever 21 (our mutual love of online shopping)

13. Rose and her blog (need I say more)

I could just keep going but  I must retire to bed.........

A "pinterest" breakfast

For those of you who are not familiar with the term "pinterest" you are missing out on something fabulous. It has been around for awhile now, and slowly I am getting all my friends addicted to it. Basically, it is a website where you can pin the neat stuff you find on the Internet: photos, recipes, arts and crafts, fashion.... anything. You can create your own boards or just stalk your friends' boards. Here is a link to my pinterest account if you want to take a peek. If you want an invitation to create your own, let me know and I will invite you.

My friend Holly and I had been avid "pinners" for some time now, when she suggested that we have "pinterest" inspired breakfast. Now let me tell you- breakfast at Holly's is always amazing so I was excited to see what sort of dishes she would chose. Traditionally we dine on hash browns, bacon, scrambled eggs, orange juice french toast, waffles, whipping cream, and  berries. So delicious!!! We sit around in our pj's and watch "The Price is Right", although I am rather useless at it since I have only watched it a handful of times. This time she pulled out all the stops and wowed us with another stunning spread. In addition to the standard side dishes, we sampled flower power eggs, fruit and yogurt parfait, mini pancake skewers, smoothies, baby fruit salads, baked apple cinnamon french toast and these breakfast muffins that just rocked my world.Needless to say I stuffed myself. I've included a few pictures so that you could feast your eyes on this delectable spread. Thank you Holly!

Flower power eggs

Fruit Cups

Baked Apple Cinnamon French Toast

Granola Yogurt Parfait
 ( I "helped" with this one... and kinda messed it up). It still tasted delicious!

Waffles with Peaches and Blackberries

Mini Pancakes Skewers (so fun) :0)

My measly contribution was this plate of Homemade Cinnamon Buns.

Orange Pushup Smoothie

Breakfast Muffins (Delicious)!!!!!!!!

Our happy stuffed family.

Rambling...

I think that I must have at least a dozen half written posts in my "draft" folder, which for one reason or another, rarely get published on this blog. I will get an idea and start writing, but then get distracted and then when I finally have a chance to return to my post, the moment of inspiration has past. It is 11:30 at night right now and I should be sleeping, but I was lying in bed wide awake so I decided to log in and ramble for a little while. The house is quiet, tidy and it will remain that way for another 6.5 hours. Then, the chaos of another day will begin.

 At the moment things are going pretty smoothly in the Lord household. I feel like we have a good routine going at the moment. I am on day 12 of my 30 day shred. I am feeling strong, energized and confident that I am going to get some definition somewhere on my body. My weight is up a bit, but I keep telling myself it is due to my new "muscles". Oh the stories I tell myself...... Anyways, yes.... Claire is sleeping much better during the day as well as the night and Amelia is thoroughly enjoying spending a large part of the day outdoors. I have been purging, emptying closets and filling garbage bags full of things I no longer want to deal with, trip over or see again in my life. Ah! It feels so good to get rid of stuff. It is so freeing. Years ago when Nathaniel and I had put our previous home on the market, we had put a good deal of stuff into storage, at our realtor's request, and I was amazed how much easier it was to keep our home clean. I think I have become much more ruthless with my stuff now that I have SO much of my girl's stuff to contend with. I have come to the point where, if something doesn't have a place (like some random McDonald's toy, or a magazine that I won't read again) and I don't want to find a place for it, that it is banished from my home.

Well, it is 11:43 now and I really should get my sore body to bed. I am taking the girl's to strong start tomorrow and I don't want to be a zombie.

Playing dress up with Amelia earlier today

A few delightful things......

1. These healthy cookies stuffed to the brim with dried cranberries, honey, cinnamon, oatmeal, pecans and wholewheat flower. Yummy, filling, guilt free treats. Yum! Here is the recipe if you want to give them a whirl.

2. This flash mob video. It made my heart sing. Loretta, I think you will enjoy this one.

3. Watching these horses run in the meadow.

Hope you had a delightful day!

My provider...

Psalm 91:4 — He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection. There is absolutely nothing to fear about tomorrow; for God is already there.

This verse has been on my heart for awhile for various reasons. Let me explain.......

In January, I was crunching numbers and trying to figure out how our family was going to survive on a single, fixed income and pay a mortgage when I started getting incredibly anxious. Every time I thought about our potential financial situation, I felt a huge lump form my throat. It took me a little while to realize that I needed to give the situation to God and chill out. So, I did, and then I stopped looking at homes on mls.ca and instead, focused on living on a budget and saving some money.

A month or so later, I was speaking with our realtor when she suggested looking at newer homes with legal basement suites. Eureka! A solution had been found.

A couple of weeks later I was lamenting to Nathaniel about the state of our mattress and trying to figure how much we would need to save to purchase a new one when I received a phone call a friend, asking us if we would like to have their FABULOUS king sized mattress and box spring! The company they had bought the mattress from was upgrading their mattress and didn't want the previous one back, so they offered it to us. I was THRILLED! You have to understand how awful our present mattress was. Most people are rather horrified when they learn that I purchased our queen sized foam mattress on the side of the road for 10.00$ It was actually a king sized mattress at the time but used an exacto knife to cut in down to a queen so that it would fit on our box spring (to put it mildly, it was a hack job). That was seven years ago. The mattress was quite old when we bought it and it hasn't improved over time. Picture a concave mattress with suspicious stains. Nathaniel despised sleeping on it, but I didn't mind that much. Truthfully, neither of us has slept a full night on it in months since we are both still camping out in our living room in our sleeping bags. Why, you might ask, well..... we sleep better when are not sharing our room with a sleep anarchist (our daughter Claire). Let's just say I am looking forward to her having a room of her own! But I digress..... oh yes, the mattress.... it is like sleeping on a cloud. I am not kidding. It is the  MOST amazing mattress I have EVER slept on in.my.life. Dead serious. I smile every time I pull back my covers and climb in.

The point of this post is to remind you that we don't need to strive, we just need to put our trust in the One who knows us more infinitely more than we could possibly imagine. It is an utterly wonderful thing, knowing that I can place my future, my family, my finances, and my marriage in God's hands and rest in the knowledge that He is in control and can see the "bigger picture".

Sometimes I caught up in trivial details, and I get anxious about the future, but then I remember how FAITHFUL and GOOD my God is and I can't help but relax. He always has my best at heart and he knows what I need. He is aware and interested in all the details in intricacies of my life. He knows my heart's desires, my fears, my deep dark secrets and He loves and adores me. Some may think that such a statement is lunacy, that such events are mere coincidence or even karma, but I attribute them to the hand of God at work. This kind of thing has happened WAY too many times to be anything other than the later. I can think of countless instances where similar things have happened. Jobs that landed in my lap when I needed them, money that appeared in my bank account when I was broke, a precious friend that appears to help me through lonely times, help from a perfect stranger in a foreign country, ......

He is there and He does care about your situation, whatever it may be. Give it to Him and watch Him be the amazing, loving, lavish God that He is.

Love Jocelyn

 

For all the mothers out there......

I found this while I was online the other day and I HAD to share it. It reminds me of how important and valuable my job is. I often feel weary of the day to day mudane tasks that define my life as a mother- the long days, the endless laundry, the whining, the sleepless nights - but this video encourages me to remember that they do add up to something greater. Enjoy.