Our New Place!!!!

Jeff and I moved into our new condo in Cochrane - and it's great! We love it. Now that we've got internet and power and phone and everything, and we've figured out how to run the fireplace, all is well. :)

To the right you can see our living room / dining room. If you look really close, or click on the picture, you can see the graveyard through the windows! (That's not one of my favourite things - the only thing I DON'T like about the new place.)

At left is a picture of Holly & Meredith's room! Someday, though, it's going to be a baby room (in September ;) and they'll have to give it up then... I'm really excited to be having a baby, and I pray that all goes well!!

You can probably see a spot on the wall on the right side that's white, not green - there's a couple spots in the place that we have to touch up ourselves. That's what men are for... :)

And here at the right is our kitchen - I've never had a dishwasher before, but I do now! I love all the cupboard space....

Finally, here is our bedroom. It's even bigger than our previous one in Fredericton. (This isn't a very good picture...)

And we've also got a laundry room - at last, I've got my own washer and dryer!!!! :) I love this place... But I do miss New Brunswick very much.

Oh, and Nicole, don't worry - your little girl (Willow Rose) is doing just fine! :)

My thoughts...

I was listening to Joy FM today, and the man who was speaking said: "IF YOU WORRY, IT'S BECAUSE YOU DON'T KNOW GOD". I really thought about this becasue I have been worrying a lot lately. I have so much on my mind and I am usually so exhausted that I don't spend as much time alone with God as I should. Just last night I was fretting and by the time I felt better I fell into an exhausted sleep without spending time with God. And then I realized that the reason I worry so much is becasue I'm not taking the time with God that I used to. And it's entirely my fault. So please pray that I will get back on track. If I really get to "know" God more, I will truly not worry half as much as I do now. I know the verses, so why don't I listen to them? ...

"So don't worry, for I am with you. Don't be dismayed, for I am your God. I will make you strong and will help you. I will support you wih my right hand that saves you."

"Don't fret... it only leads to trouble"

"Don' be anxious about anything..."

And those are only a few of the verses on worry that I have memorized....

Things will be tough for all of us at times, but soon things won't be tough at all. We are God's children, and it says in the Bible that He loves his children. We'll be OK. So Erin: DON'T WORRY! And we need to get to know God more and more each day to fully trust Him and His promises. And I want to know God more.

"Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (our needs -in this passage it is saying our food and clothes...). Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own" -Matthew 6:33-34

How I love IV starts! :)

I just LOVE to start IV's. I do! :) I started 2 IV's today and I just love it. I love it so much that I even tried to start an IV on Jeff a while back. But he wouldn't let me finish because he is a man and we all know how men are, right *cough cough*. But I love him anyway... :) AND I LOVE TO START IV'S! I hope I can still do it in Alberta. LPN's have full scope of practice there so we'll see.

Well, the countdown is on and we are leaving soon. I am getting used to the idea and I am excited to move. I know I'll shed a few more tears before we leave, but I also know that God is in control and that He will never leave us. We'll be OK...

But I'll miss you guys.

The Big Move

You know what? I am really excited to be moving across the country. I was praying about it this morning and now I'm not worried anymore. I was reading a verse in Philippians- 3:7-8 - that says:

"But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish that I may gain Christ..."

This verse gave me much needed comfort. Why am I so afraid of moving? I know why- it's because I'm going to miss my family and friends. But I can call and write, and I'm sure they will visit.

I do want to say that this year has been tough. It was the first time that I was in a serious relationship and that was a big adjustment in itself. I went from having a lot of time to myself to having hardly any time at all, and I did lose a lot of "friends" in the process. Some people weren't happy that Jeff and I were together and that was hard. My family was upset that I wasn't spending as much time with them and then there was my apartment situation. I found it to be very stressful living there and on top of that I had to pay a lot more money than expected because the people who were leasing it for a few months decided not to pay their last months rent. A lot of my friends had moved away, I didn't feel like I belonged at church or Sub 25... I would often think of how things used to be- when I was living with Nicole and we would have people over and have so much fun (and I would pick up her rotten apple cores and be sent to my room *smiles*) ... I was a group leader at Sub 25, I played the keyboard at times, I would go out after church and have a lot of fun... I loved dating Jeff and I really love being married to Jeff, but part of me felt lonely because a lot of people from church seemed distant, and I guess I seemed distant. It was tough.

But now I think I know why things were so tough. God wanted me to come closer to Him, and I did the opposite. I pulled away. But now I'm trying to stay focussed on what's really important. God loves me. He loved me when I met and married Jeff. He loved me during the times when I felt lonely and sad. He loved me when I felt that everyone was leaving. He loved me when I felt like I let Sub 25 down and let people from church down. God will always love me. I can't try to please people all the time. Yes, I need to try to "live at peace with everyone", but most of all I need to be at peace with God and put Him first in my life. And that's why I'm now excited about this move (I know, I'm hard to follow). :) I need to put God first. He wants to teach me so much. He wants Jeff and I to move. We both know that. And by trusting Him, He is going to teach us so much. I know I'll meet people and I know that this is going to be a very exciting year. All of my "trials" happened for a reason. God wanted me to see that He is there in the tough times. He wanted me to realize that at those times when I feel like I've lost everything I need to look to Him and "consider them rubbish that I may gain Christ".

So let's pack our bags: I'm moving to Cochrane, Alberta. :) What? *smiles*

I Need Help!

Guys: I need help with my stupid cats. Sorry for saying they're stupid, but I've just realized that I'm a horrible mother and that Willow and Felix are the way they are because of me... :) *sob sob* *smiles*

When I woke up this morning, Felix had knocked over Jeff's cereal box. There was cereal everywhere... I mean EVERYWHERE. There are now teeth holes in the box- Jeff isn't going to be very happy. And now he's locked up in a cage (Felix, not Jeff) because that's the only place he'll behave. He is SO bad, and every day he's getting worse. Last night he knocked over the laundry rack, banged on our door several times, and had to spend about 2-3 hours in his cage so we could get some sleep. He beats on the door and then runs away. I guess he thinks it's a game.

So I am taking the first step by admitting that I have a problem. :) And now I am asking for help. I don't want my child to grow up in a cage *grin*. So please: HELP US!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Why do people fight?

I was just thinking: Why do people fight? -married couples, especially. It's crazy. You love each other, but you get upset over crazy things and end up hurting the other person time and time again. I'm newly married and I'm still learning *smiles*, but here's a funny story for you:

The other night I was SO tired after work. I crawled into bed at 9:00 or so and fell asleep. I was out cold, and then I hear it: Crinkle. Crinkle. Crinkle. :) It was Jeff's granola bar wrapper! He was eating a granola bar and woke me up. And here's the bad part: I was SO mad. The crinkle of a granola bar wrapper infuriated me! :) It's crazy. Here's my poor husband thinking: "I'll never crinkle a granola bar wrapper again in my life"! :) Go ahead and laugh! It's OK! *grin*

I still feel terrible. I know we are human and fighting in inevitable, but why do we get angry over the little things? Dishes in the sink and empty toliet paper rolls are hardly anything to get upset about. We are supposed to be acting as Jesus would. So smarten up, Erin! :) The next time my sweetie crinkles a granola bar wrapper, I'll remember this verse: "Remind the people... to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all" -Titus 3:1-2- And this goes for the bigger things. We need to (I need to *smiles*) act our age, and stop being crazy. We need to love God and love each other. That is what we are called to do...

Does anyone want a cat?

FELIX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What a dumb cat. I'm sorry, but it's true. He beat on the door three times last night with his paws. Three times! And each time he was greeted with angry footsteps and a plunge into cold bath water. And each time he would return to the door and beat on it with his paws. And he would beat on every door in our apartment- the bedroom doors, the closet doors. Stupid cat. :) Any takers? *grin*

My first post!

Well, let's see if I can figure this out. Jeff is away for the night working and here I sit, all by myself. :) It's funny how things change, isn't it. One minute you can be in school, almost worry free and surrounded by friends. Then, as time goes by, people move away, yet where you are stays the same. Well, in a way. The buildings are the same. The movement is the same. But the people aren't. And as a result, you aren't. I remember all the fun times I had with my friends. Many of them have moved away- to Calgary, California... I went from having a circle of friends to a handful of friends in the area. But you know what? It's life. God has a plan for all of us. His plan for me included getting married to a wonderful man of God whom I love dearly. His plan included moving away and supporting my husband as he goes back to school. And His plan for me included some time alone to realize that God is the only One I need. All the other things are blessings, extras. But we can't forget that God is the One who gives us those blessings. And most of all, we can't forget that we need God. So what am I trying to say? I guess I'm trying to say that if you ever feel lonely, God is there. Just go to Him and He will give you strength. "'For I know the plans I have for you' , declares the Lord. 'Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future'". God is in control... we'll be OK. :)