Through My Eyes: July 2007

Sunday, July 29, 2007

my new art piece

As many of you know or have already seen, I got my tattoo on Friday. I was and am pretty stoked about it. I think it turned out pretty good and has not yet gotten to the uncomfortable itching stage. It didn't hurt, but I can't say that it was comfortable either. It kind of feels like a cat scratching.
Camping this past weekend was a little more complicated in terms of trying to keep it clean, etc, but it ended up being ok. The words above the flower are in Hebrew and it says,
"Grace of God"

A Camping We Will Go...

Our young adults group from church headed out this past Friday to Falcon Lake for a weekend of camping. Now, I won't lie. Camping would not be my first, second or third choice for a weekend. That being said, I had a great time hanging out with amazing people and getting to know some others who I did not know as well.

Friday night we arrived at our camp sites and set up before it got too dark. We laid pretty low and just enjoyed each other's company and sat by the fire.

Above: Jon & Jess

Right: Bre & Odie

The morning dawned upon us bright and early due to some very loud, annoying and monotonous birds singing away at high volumes and the pumping of music at a nearby campsite. I think all 16 of us woke up feeling a tad tired, but once we got some yummy pancakes in our tummys we were in a much better mood (at least I was).

Making Breakfast

Hiking

Following breakfast we headed out to the Falcon Lake Ski Resort to do some hiking. I believe the trail was called "The Top of the World Trail". It was a beautiful trail to climb, but I can't convincingly say that we were at the top of the world since we were still on Manitoba soil, but nonetheless it was beautiful to sit on top of the rocks and look out over the lake and islands. The beauty of the surrounding creation was amazing!

Left: myself with Lauren & Sabrina

Myself with Laurie and Jess

Along our hike we discovered this random truck, so Jess & I thought it to be a good idea to take some pictures.

Along the trail we also discoverd many wonderful batches of blueberries that tasted absolutely delightful. They were a perfect little snack!

The Girls

The Guys

Left: Kendall & Ian

Right: Our photographer Graham

Beaching It

After our hike we headed back to our campsites to make some lunch before heading down to the beach. The water was beautiful and a very nice cool down after a hike. I unfortunately was unable to go past my mid thighs in the water due to my recent tattoo, but I still was able to enjoy the refreshment of the water on my legs - just enough to cool off a bit.

Deanna & Laurie

Jess & I did not go in the water for various reasons, so we discovered a new way to enjoy the coolness of the water without fully submerging ourselves in it. It worked out to be a wonderful idea. We were cool (in multiple ways) but we were also able to enjoy the sun and not have to worry about tattoos and stuff being exposed. It was fabulous!

Odie & Bre

Dutch Blitz

we had a fairly intense game of dutch blitz on Saturday afternoon. It was so intense that Aimee was unable to even put her popscicle down. We had a lot of fun!

Lawn Bowling

Falcon Lake has a lot of fun things to do around the town. We ended up choosing lawn bowling. I know that doesn't sound like your stereotypical activity for a bunch of young adults in their early 20's, but it was actually a ton of fun. We had many good laughs and just had a good time being "goofy" together. Some of us might be joining some leagues around the city, who knows :)

None of us really knew the rules of the game. We had some of the basic ideas down, but Graham kindly explained to us how to play. We discovered a lot of competiveness in people we didn't think had that.
I believe that team "Super Awesome Cool" (consisting of Josh, Graham, Deanna & myself) has some work to do before next year's game

Kristy & I found new purposes for the balls

After supper, the boys (and Melodie) decided to have a game of poker while us girls headed down to the ice cream shop for some ice cream and slurpees for those of us who needed those instead. The line up for the ice cream was crazy long, but once we all got our desert, we took a walk down to the main beach to watch the sunrise. It was a beautiful evening.

Above: The Friesen Girls

While walking down to the beach we discovered this wonderful inner tube that had the words "Big Mama" written on it. It only seemed appropriate that our beautiful pregnant girl hopped in for a picture.

All in all it was a pretty good weekend (even if camping does not come naturally to me). I had a great weekend with friends enjoying each other's company and the outdoors. I believe that the favorite quote of the weekend was the following:

Person #1: So what lake is this?
Person #2: Ummm..Falcon Lake

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Child like Faith

There is nothing more beautiful than watching a child dance and worship. Here is a video of one of the girls in my daycare dancing this morning. I just thought it was so cute!

Free MySpace slideshows, photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Weekend Plans & Reflections

I have a very full weekend ahead of me in the next few days. Tomorrow is a very big day in that I am going at 1:00pm to get my TATOO!!!! I am pumped, but also a little bit nervous. I will post some pictures tomorrow. The tattoo is going to be on my lower back and will be of a yellow jasmine flower in the middle of a vine with the words in hebrew above it: "Grace of God". My words do not do the drawing justice, so check back tomorrow for some pictures. My friend Jenn from school will be accompanying me for some emotional support.

Tomorrow after my tattoo is done (should only take about an hour and a half to 2 hours) our young adults group from church is heading out to Falcon Lake to do some camping. I obviously was not thinking when I booked my tattoo appointment that I would also be camping that very same day. Craziness!! I'm excited about the camping though. I'm not typically a camping sort of girl. I am more of the cottage type, but there is something about camping with friends that just sounds appealing. I hear it's supposed to be a beautiful weekend too!

My dear friend Sabrina posted something on her blog yesterday that really stuck with me. So often I think of only what is going wrong in my life and concentrate my prayers and efforts toward "fixing" that problem. I fail to recognize the graciousness and the gifts that God has so richly blessed me with on a daily basis. So, in attempt to be more reflective of the little things in my life that are awesome, here is my list (Sorry Sabrina, I am copying you).

I am thankful for:

Incredible friendships that encourage, strengthen & bring joy
Beautiful sunshine
Slurpees to cool off with on a scorching hot day
A wonderful church family with whom I can worship and come to the throne of our Creator with
Lemonade stands with adorable children
Music
Smiles
Hugs that let you know you are loved
Family
The ability to run and feel refreshed
shopping trips with my mom
an air conditioner that my dad surprised me with for my room
peaceful sleep
freedom to come and go
wading pools
starbucks coffee that is enjoyed with friends
the sounds of children's voices as they play and imagine
a rainfall that cleans and washes away

That is my list so far. There are so many other things that I could add. I too, like Sabrina am content. I encourage you to look at the little things in life that add to the big picture. I pray that you too would feel contentment and joy within the small things.

Monday, July 23, 2007

Escape from the Heat

I was very thankful this weekend to spend it at the cabin to escape some of the extreme heat Winnipeg experienced this past weekend. When it's 37 degrees celcius in a house with no air conditioning, it can seem almost overwhelming at times. For those of you who don't know I sleep on the 3rd floor of a big old house. It's the kind of room that's cool in the winter and hot in the summer. So last night I spent the night sleeping in the basement so that I could at least fall asleep. Oh how I missed the cool breeze off the water at the cabin!

The weekend included playing games and watching movies late into the night on Saturday night with everyone. We had jumping and diving contests out at the dock with Kevin, Dominika & Derek. Quad riding to go for ice cream at the store. Spending a lot of time reading and laying in the water soaking up the sun. I am even proud to say that I did not get burned. I have been doing sooo good this summer. Yeah for me!!

Hanging out on the beach

Left: Derek taking Becky for a tube ride even with the waves. It was an extremely bumping ride. I opted for just driving. I wanted all my limbs still attached at the end of the day. I think Becky was sorry she decided to go for the ride.

I am not looking forward to this week very much. I have 6 kids to look after each day this week and with the forecast as hot as it is saying it is going to be, I am not looking forward to being outside with the kids. However, I did score a small pool from the cabin for the kids to play in. I'm guessing that in a very short while we will be heading out there for some cooling off.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Shopping

So I just came back from an evening shopping with my mom at Polo Park. I was looking for a couple things in particular. One of those things was some shorts that were long enough and comfy for when I am playing outside with kids. It was a lot harder than I thought. Here is what I ended up getting at Old Navy.

I realized as I was walking through the mall, that I really don't enjoy being there. Everything looks the same going from one store to the next. That being said, the mall tends to be a lot more affordable than the little boutique shops that I love to shop in. Oh well, I managed to get a few other things that were just fun, but it just wasn't my favorite shopping experience. I am planning on heading down to Grand Forks in August, so I will save my excitement and money for that trip.

To end off the evening, I decided to introduce my mom to Eva's Gelati. She was very impressed and I too enjoyed every last drop of the ice cream. What a way to end off the day!

Friday, July 13, 2007

A little update

DAYCARE: The week has seemed to have flown right by.

I'm not sure where the time went. It has been a good week of daycare. I have wonderful kids and have had a lot of fun with them despite all of the rainy days we have had this week. There were moments when I thought I was going to scream due to the abundance of energy that the kids had inside of the house - unable to express it outside. Oh well. The week included tea parties, birthday parties, nail painting an afternoon at the park yesterday, tons of books and baking.

BOOKS: I have started to dive into the many books that I have piled up that I want to finish reading by the end of summer. I am loving it! I enjoy the quiet moments of my reading when there is no guilt attached such as studying. Currently I am reading The Fourth Summer of the Pants (part of the Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants series), Forever Sisters (by the same author of the travelling pants), Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World, and the Second Assistant. I suppose I should have staggered my reading a little, but I couldn't wait to read them all, so I started them all at once. Thankfully they are all very different types of books, so depending on my mood I can choose accordingly.

CABIN & FRIENDS: I have been very much enjoying the summer so far. It is such a

nice break from school and homework. I would describe it as a breath of fresh air. I have been enjoying the time spent with friends and family. It seemed as though I abandoned them during the school year and now I can see them almost whenever I want!!! How great is that! I have been able to enjoy watching Canada's Next Top Model with Aimee and Kristy, spending weekends at the cabin with family, etc. This is the first summer that I have desired to venture out to the cabin as much as I have already since my Grandpa died 6 years ago. For the past few years I have neglected to visit those fond memories of summers at the cabin with Grandpa. Him and I were close and being there just reminded me of his absence. So I guess you could say that I have grown. I am able to be there and enjoy my surroundings rather than wallow in the past and the sadness. God has filled me with peace and it feels incredible.

Speaking of the cabin, I am off there tomorrow morning with my brother and Dominika. I like spending time with them, so I am looking forward to it. Hopefully the weather cooperates so I can get some sun (although most people would be impressed with my summer color already). Yup, that's right, I have tan lines!!!

Cheers!