A Holiday Blog

It seems I have not posted a blog since before American Thanksgiving!  So, here is my holiday blog!

Back in late November, we were invited to Kyla and Paul's Thanksgiving with their family.  Nice Americans inviting us to their festivities!  Andee was supposed to work all day Thursday, but ended up arriving home at 9am - just in time for the Macy's Day parade!  I guess no one wanted to be in the hospital for the holidays!  All three men at the lunch were on-call, and no one was called in!  A Thanksgiving Miracle!

We were also invited to a couple Holiday parties in December!  We celebrated with some of the Residents at Paul and Rachel's place, and the PLC staff at the church!  I always appreciate when people take the time to plan out a fun celebration for all their friends and family to enjoy!

I also received a wonderful Christmas gift from my parents - a new Keyboard!!  Now that I have a piano in the apartment, all I do is play and sing!  It is so much fun!!

The best part of this Holiday season is that Andee and I were able to drive home for Christmas!  We traveled 12 hours each way with a very uneasy kitty, but as long as he was sitting near us, he was happy and sleepy!  I love my Aloe Cat!

Andee was able to take a half day on the Friday before his vacation week, which left just enough time to make it home for Christmas with my Dad's side of the family!  It was great to see everyone all in one place - Christmas is wonderful like that!

We were also able to get together with our High School friends that we love!  Everyone was somehow free on the same day at the same time.....a Christmas Miracle!  Since 4 of us are living outside of Canada for the most part, it was really great to see everyone!

We spent Christmas Eve Dinner at Jamie and Tiffany's place in Toronto!  Delicious food was everywhere, and we got to hang out with some family that we hadn't seen in a while!  Excellent!  We were also able to spend Boxing Day Dinner with Andee's family, and more delicious food was had by all!  We gave and received some nice gifts too!

We were also able to spend Christmas morning with my family, and Christmas Dinner with my Mom's side of the family!  Again, everyone was in one place at the same time!  So great!  We opened some fun gifts, had a delicious Christmas breakfast and a delicious peameal roll dinner!  I love my family, and I am so happy that we were able to see everyone this Christmas!!

We also made a pit stop on our way back to Iowa to Route 80 World's Largest Truck Stop!  We got some food, and looked around at all the fun trucker stuff, including a huge truck inside!  Fun!

And of course, no blog of mine would be complete without a plethora of adorable cat pictures!  Also included is me and a leopard Christmas Tree.  Perfect!!!  I know you were anxiously awaiting them, so here they are!!

The kitties also received surprise gifts from Aunt Nancy - Cat tents!  They seems interested, so we let them try them out.  Aloe cat quite enjoyed his cave.....and then Mr. Purr.....well, see for yourself!  Enjoy!

Well, it is now New Years Eve, and we have safely made it back to Iowa!  Speaking of safety, I am filled with joy at the wonderful plan God had us on this year in 2014, and the assurance and safety we have when we rest in His will!  There have been so many blessings for Andee and I this year, that I will definitely miss some, but here is a brief list of all the major blessings that God has given us this year!  Be warned, this year has been AMAZING and so filled with God's faithfulness!!

• Finding peace in God's will during the Residency Application and Interview process
• Andee matching at Northeast Iowa Family Residency Program
• Having over a month off to visit Home in Canada
• Andee Graduating from Medical School and a Family trip to New York
• An "all expenses paid" Family Graduation trip to Mexico 
• A smooth transition moving from Illinois to Iowa
• A much simpler Visa application process
• Finding a wonderful Church and Apartment in Iowa 
• Getting a work permit after 4 years of volunteering
• Andee and I both making actual money
• Finding a paid position at Prairie Lakes Church and being part of the Worship Team 
• Andee and I being treated amazingly at our jobs
• Able to travel home for Christmas 
• An increase in our faith and our desire to trust and follow God's will for us....because He is good and He is faithful!!

WoW!  We are truly blessed!!  May your New Year be filled with many blessings!  We love you!

Hello Fall, Are You There?

There have been lots of changes since my last blog, the first of which I am always overtly unhappy about.  In a matter of one day, Iowa has officially moved into the miserable season of Winter.  And when I say one day, I mean that we went from a beautiful high of 17 degree early November day, to a high of 0 degrees the next.  It literally happened in a day.  We went from what I would consider a warm September day, to freezing January temperatures overnight.  Since then, the temperature has not risen above freezing for almost 2 weeks now, and has only gotten colder and more disturbing.  Is this really November??  Get me out of here!!  Oh wait, this coldfront is happening across the US and Canada.  I think it is time for a vacation!  There.  All my Winter pessimism is out (for now), and I shall continue with the much less depressing and much more entertaining blog!  At least we are not in Buffalo, which accumulated over 6 feet of snow!  It's the little blessings!

Let's talk about the Fall - and I mean the REAL Fall; not this sneaky Winter pretending it's Fall.  On a beautiful warm fall day in late October, Andee and I decided to take a walk around one of the Prairie Lakes near our church.  There were little critters everywhere, including grasshoppers, fuzzy caterpillars,and we even spotted a preying mantis!  I had never seen one in real life!  It was super amazing!  One of my favorite things on this earth is admiring the creativity and diversity of our great God revealed in nature and wildlife.  Of course, I am a lot more appreciative of this when it is warm outside - Ha!  In the late afternoon, Andee and I also managed to carve a couple pumpkins to get in the Fall spirit!  I decided to veer from my standard pumpkin face and move to something a little more creative - a cat.....okay so maybe not so creative.  I like what I like!  A wonderful day of Fall festivities!

The following week was Halloween!  I love dressing up, but on a tight budget, we did what we could!  I was a cat (so predictable) and Andee made his second appearance as Howard from The Big Bang Theory!  We went out for dinner with a few friends, followed by an get-together with some of the Residents.  Fun!  Happy Halloween!

Continuing our Canadian tradition, we decided to put up our Christmas tree the day after Halloween!  With Canadian Thanksgiving in early October, we get a full two months of Christmas prep!  Just as it should be!  And no one was happier about this than our sweet little Aloe cat, who quickly claimed his spot under the tree.  The holiday season is always one of my favorites, excluding the crappy weather of course.  It's the most wonderful time of the year!

The same day we put up our tree I received a very long anticipated item in the mail - my Employment Authorization Card!  Which meant, in God's perfect timing, that I was officially able to start work at Prairie Lakes Church as the Receptionist - just 2 days after receiving this card!  God is so Good!!  So, for the first time in over 4 years, I will be receiving a regular paycheck!  Hallelujah!!  Four years ago we entrusted our bleak financial situation to the Lord as we embarked on this fantastic, difficult, and expensive season of life, and He has blessed us so much and given us everything that we needed and continue to need in terms of financial provision.  We are now even in a state financially where we can start to bless others - and I am loving this!  I seriously cannot praise Him enough!  They even had a nice sign at the front for me when I started my first day!  PTL! 

Later in the month, a few of the Residents were able to be involved with a Resident Jeopardy competition in Des Moines, where all the Family Medicine Residency programs in Iowa competed for a trophy!  The University of Iowa even put us in in hotel for the night, and we enjoyed a glass of wine and hors d'oeuvres during the competition.  Northeast Iowa Family Medicine Residency program came in a respectable third place, and it was fun to make the trip to Des Moines!  For dinner, Andee and I went to Zombie Burger and had the most deliciously disgusting fried Mac and Cheese burger with a side of fries and gravy.  It was amazing!!  Too bad it's 2 hours away!

The next day we visited the big mall in Des Moines - Jordan Creek Mall.  If you know me well, you know I am not much for shopping, but what I do enjoy are Christmas decorations and atosphere - and that is exactly what we found!  And not only that, but there was a giant Bass Pro Shop in the mall, where we found lots of old animals that lived a long life, and after passing gave their lives for us to marvel at their beauty and sheer size and strength!  God made some pretty amazing things!  We didn't buy much, only a couple Christmas gifts, but it really got us in the Christmas spirit to see so many beautiful decorated trees!  We arrived home just as the snow started to fall, and were greeted by a very needy kitty!  Life is good!

Since August, I have been a part of PLC's Worship Team, and I just love worshiping the Lord and leading others into worship through singing!  It is one of my favorite things to do, and I am so blessed to be part of such a great team!  Somebody captured this great shot!  Love it!

Andee and I are also very excited to announce that we will be home for Christmas!  In just one month exactly today, we will be driving through the U.S and Canada making our way home to Christmas shenanigans aplenty!  We were extremely fortunate to get this week off, and we are making the most of it by trying to see as many of our Canadians as possible!  Hoping and praying for good weather for the drives, and we will see everyone soon!