Our Yu Adventure

Yesterday morning was beautiful. Ed went to the driving range for two hours while I prepped for our trip to Edmonton. Ed returned home and we were on our way by about 1:30pm. Since Lexi has to be rear facing for another 6 months we decided to take our Neon as the body is bigger than the Jetta. When we all take the Jetta my knees are cramped against the dash.


Anyway so here we are on our way to the City of Champions when Ed starts complaining about the car. He told me that the car wouldn’t go any faster than 100km/h. Since the Neon is getting old it really doesn’t like to go fast and I will rarely push it past 100, so I suggested that he not drive faster than that. I didn’t understand that he meant the car wouldn’t really go any faster than that. As we continued on Ed couldn’t go any faster than 80 km/h. At this time we felt we should turn around and go home. So we stopped in Olds, filled the tank, and headed back home on the country roads.

As we continued on our way back home our max speed was becoming less and less. We found that we could only go about 50 km/h and we were really struggling to make it up the hills. Finally our max became about 20 km/h and Ed suggested that I call a friend to come get the kids and me as we were only about half an hour from home.

As we putted along I asked Cali to say a prayer that we would get home safe. Not a second after this prayer my cell phone rang and a friend of mine was on her way to rescue us. We continued to putter along and then it started to rain. Then the rain quickly turned to freezing rain and wind began to blow. The freezing rain then turned to snow and Ed decided it was time to pull over and wait to be rescued.

With winds reaching the speed of 100km/h, and wet snow surrounding us, we waited. Due to the white out conditions our rescuer got lost. As I am always prepared for long car trips I had packed cookies, bread, apples, and lots of water to snack on. We also had plenty of blankets, and each other as sat in the car but our poor rescuer was all alone.

As Ed and I worried about our friend Cali filled the time in with wiping the condensation off the windows, singing songs, and eating snacks. To her it was a great adventure filled with cookies. Lexi also was a little trooper for everything she needed was there as well. I am just so glad that Lexi is a breastfed baby otherwise we would have been in trouble.

About an hour into our wait Cali informed us that she had to pee. I suggested putting a pull-up on so she should pee in it. Cali wouldn’t go for it. She was a big now and that was that. Luckily I packed a potty in the trunk… but it was in the trunk. Ed offered to go and retrieve it but he couldn’t open his door because the wind was blowing so hard. So I jumped out in my flip-flops and grabbed the potty. I sat the potty between Ed and me and Cali had a pee. Then a few minutes later she told me she had to poop. So we repeated the process and Cali had success. I opened the car door and flung the poop into the storm. Then a few minutes later Cali informed me that she had to poop again. Once again more poop was subjected to harsh weather outside. I am so glad that I thought to pack the potty.

After about four hours (that actually few by) our friend came to our rescue. The weather remained crumby but we made it home safe at an average speed of 30 km/h.

All in all everything went well. Ed was able to get a ride out to the car today and brought it home safely. Let me tell you that car will be replaced ASAP.

Thank Heaven for answered prayers, good friends, and family that can make you laugh even in the worst weather. With every adventure we are building memories.

This should make you feel better

I grew up in a spotless home. Making sure the house was clean was always my Mom's first priority. You would never find a mess like this in her home. I try hard but by the end of the week our house always looks like a bomb exploded. I am definitely not my Mom when it comes to cleaning. I do it once a week and if it gets messed up somewhere in between I don’t have the energy to do anything about it. I would much rather indulge in a few pages of my book than waste the effort on cleaning something that is going to be messy again the next day. Living in a messy house does stress me out a bit I will admit. I feel a bit embarrassed that my house looks like some crazy cat lady lives in it. (My house doesn’t smell like cat pee though.)

Today at church my friend Kristi I were discussing the state of our homes. We were talking about just how messy they were and how long it takes to them clean them up. It was comforting to discover that other people also have difficulty raising a family and keeping a spotless house. After I returned home from church today I surveyed the mess; the dirty laundry from last week lying in various spots, dirty dishes, and toys strewn about. I felt comfort knowing that it's just not me and my house. (Kristi also isn’t a dirty cat lady). So I decided to take a photo of our downstairs to bring comfort to someone else. I hope that this brings peace and comfort to your heart and mind over the holidays. Merry Christmas!

Thank Heaven for good friends!

Last night I was up far too late with some friends sewing Christmas pajamas. I had a great time as we talked. I just thought about how nice it was to talk to people who are going through the same stage of life as you are. Mind you it's also nice to have friends who have "been there" and "done that" so you can get great advice, but honestly realizing that you aren't alone gives a great amount of comfort.

Through the years I have realized that friends do come and go. That's not all bad; I find that God put people in my life when I needed them. We don't have to stay "best friends forever" for that relationship to mean something. I have many friends with whom I have lost all contact, friends who helped me through really though times in my life and taught me great lessons. I look back to those friends and I am so grateful for their presence at that time.

Here is a little story about one of those friends.

My first year of university was so hard for me. I had no idea where my life was headed, there were so many paths to choose and I didn't know which one to take. It seemed like everyone else had it all together; they had a career goal, they knew who they were. I didn't have a clue. One morning I walked to my sociology class and there a notice on the door stating that my class was canceled. I thought "great, I got up for nothing". As I proceeded to walk home, I recognized a girl from my class. I told her that the class was canceled and she felt the same way I did. So I invited her back to my apartment for breakfast. She came back with me and we sat and talked for hours. She was in the same place that I was. We never came to a conclusion or a solution to our problems but it was just nice to know that someone felt the same. Oddly enough I never saw her again, I don't even remember her name; but I will never forget our conversation that day.

When I was younger and would lose contact with friends, I would be so sad. Now I understand that that's all part of life. People are there when we need them, or they need us and we move on. I am just so grateful for all the good friends that I had to help me out after I had Cali. That was really tough on me and I couldn't have done as well as I did if it wasn't for your support and friendship. You know who you are; if we ever lose touch I want you to know that I will never forget how much you helped me.

Thank you all for being my friends! I wouldn't be where I am or who I am without you.