Happy Halloween!

It's a quiet night around this house - it's been a long day, my head hurts and I'm just pooped out. Dominika and I had this whole thing planned for tonight while we were going to hand out candy, but we're both just not feeling up to it. Our original plan was to dress up as white gangsta's and essentially make complete fools of ourselves but have a good time doing it. It seems as though Halloween has snuck up on us - we didn't carve any pumpkins - Dominika just happened to have a pumpkin that one of her students carved for her that we stuck out on our front steps, but that is the extent of our festivity. Perhaps next year will be better. Tonight my evening will consist of playing with my new camera, putting together a puzzle and curling up on the couch to watch some good quality television while perhaps munching on some Halloween candy.

This next little tidbit is more on the sad and disturbing side, so animal lovers read with caution.

Last night when I got home from work at 9pm I had no idea what I was up against for the next 2 hours or so. My parents were getting their ducts cleaned yesterday and that required doors in the house to remain open for a good 6 hours. We have a dog and a cat - particularly a cat who loves to escape at any given chance. It is not unusual for him to wander the yard and the back lane and usually comes back to the house every hour or so to check up. Yesterday however, nobody saw him from 9:30 in the morning until 9:30 at night when he had come to the back door with a painful meow. At first we even questioned if it was Kitty as this cat looked quite dishevelled. It was Kitty, but something was off about him. At a closer look we discovered that he had been hurt - his stomach was bleeding, but he wouldn't let us check out the extent of his injuries, but we knew that they were quite bad. Kevin and I rushed him off to the vet where we discovered that Kitty had been in a cruel fight with some animal that had done a fair bit of damage to him. Poor Kitty. I'm not an avid animal lover but I do happen to like my own and I felt awful that Kitty had been hurt so bad. The vet was able to look at him right away and it turned out that the cut we had thought was going across his belly was instead going lengthwise up his entire body - approximately 8 inches. Thankfully his abdominal cavity had not been opened, but he was going to need surgery and LOTS of morphine. I have never seen something quite so awful in a very long time. The emergency animal hospital was great - they did the surgery that night and called us at 1am to let us know that Kitty had done very well and that he was going to make a full recovery all for the low price of $1200. You might be thinking we are crazy for paying that much for a cat, but it's Kevin's cat and he loves him very much. Kevin and I talked at the vet and debated whether or not it was worth it, but the vet assured us that this would be a one time cost and that Kitty would make a full and complete recovery. Kevin was willing to pay the money, so that was that. By 11pm Kevin and I were home in bed and Kitty was getting fixed up. We were amazed and slightly appalled that a cat receives better treatment at a hospital in comparison to people. Kind of sad! We're not sure what exactly happened to Kitty, but the vet thought the tooth marks on his body resembled that of a dog, but it could also be another type of animal. Only Kitty knows for sure.

Kitty came home today and is fairly groggy and slow moving - not his typical self but he will be in a few days. He is no longer going to be an "outside" cat but rather an inside only cat

This is Kitty sporting his new looks - I feel so bad that he is in so much pain. Never did I think I would get this attached to a cat, but I did!

To end off on a happier note, I got a very special present today from my parents: My Camera! It was a grad gift from my parents and it finally came after a long wait. I'm pumped to start using it and I anticipate lots of picture taking in the weeks and months to come. Amber, we'll have to get together sometime after the baby is born to "play around".

God in My Life

Over the coarse of the last 2 months, I have seen the hand of God in my life in ways that I never have before. My life has taken some interesting and unexpected twists and turns this fall and as I have spent time trying to decipher the purpose and reasoning behind these events, I have been blessed by how God has been working.

For the past month and a bit I have been getting together with a friend of mine on Thursday mornings to spend time in prayer in hopes of trying to discern what Jesus has to say. A common theme that has been speaking to both her and I is who does Jesus says he is. Jesus' words "I AM" are ones that flood my mind day in and day out. I have been failing miserably in allowing my heart to trust the hand of God in life's circumstances. As I sit and reflect I can't help but be somewhat ashamed of myself and the fact that I felt as though I am worthy to question the motives of God. Who am I that I feel as though I can question God's authority and His power?? All that I am required by God to do is to trust that He is and will be present and that his timing is perfect. Too often I have been finding myself questioning God's presence - or lack thereof. That is a lot of time and energy spent on worrying when instead I could be spending that time looking for the God moments in my day. Can I trust that God's presence is enough?? Can I be satisfied that his love and desire for intimacy with me is enough?? Can I allow myself to just sit in his presence and just ask him to show up and be content in that??

When Jesus responds to us with the phrase, "I AM", can I be satisfied with that answer and allow him to work in the ways that he needs to? I will be honest and say that allowing Jesus to have full authority over my life, the life of others is so much easier said then done, but if I can't trust that Jesus can handle my problems, then I have bigger problems on my plate then I originally thought.

So in order to seal the words and characteristics of Jesus in my heart and mind, I have created the following list to carry with me on the days when trusting Jesus to handle my "problems" becomes difficult.

So who does Jesus say he is?

• Redeemer
• Counselor
• Healer
• Almighty
• All-knowing
• Mighty God
• The Rock
• Bread of Life
• Saviour
• Alpha & Omega
• Just
• Jealous
• Passionate
• Burden Carrier
• The Great Shepherd
• Emmanuel
• Holy

Will I allow the characteristics listed above to be enough for me?? I'm praying that over coarse of the next few days and weeks ahead as more shit falls down around me, I will allow the words on that list to ring true in my heart and to give me an inner peace. 

Celine Concert

Summer 2007, my mom, Dominika and myself purchased tickets for Celine Dion's World Tour here in Winnipeg. The date of the concert: October 28, 2008. That's right, we waiting almost a year and a half to see her and I must be honest, she was well worth the wait.

Dinner at Earls before the show

Never in my life have I witnessed first hand what vocals like hers sound like in person. The show was phenomenal to say the least. The concert was a good 2 hours and she performed most of her top classics along with a few new songs that I did not recognize.

Our seats were situated in the 3rd balcony, row 6 seats, 7, 8 & 9 - all for the low, low price of $160. Prior to the concert I must admit that we were a little skeptical if our seats were worth the money, but we thought, how often do we get the chance to see her live?? When the concert ended, the 3 of us looked at each other and said that if she ever came back and we had the chance to see her again, we would pay the $400 - $600 to be on the floor.

Her facial expressions were quite something!

Not only was her voice unbelievable but her dancers and the show in general was awesome. Never a dull moment. Everyone on stage gets quite the workout! Celine's outfits were spectacular. I think that her wardrobe is worth more then my entire life!!! Her shoes...AMAZING!! If only I could pull those off!

I purchased some boas earlier in the day for us to wear to the concert because you can't go to a Celine Dion concert without looking a little like a diva. My mom was a good sport about everything. For those of you who don't know her, she is quite prim and proper so wearing a boa and going out to a concert with Dominika and I being slightly goofy was a stretch for her. Way to go mom!!! We no doubt made complete fools of ourselves with our singing in particular - we were belting it out and I think the people in front of us were getting slightly annoyed, but we figured, it's a concert; You are supposed to sing along and dance. NOBODY in our section even stood up!!! If I'm paying $160 to go to a concert, you better believe it I'm singing and dancing along and having a good time. I don't just want to sit in my seat silent. Is that bad????

No song would be complete without her chest pump action!

I crawled into bed last night with a killer headache from all of the noise, but extremely pleased and happy after a wonderful evening out. Thanks mom and Dom for a delightful time spent together - I couldn't think of a better way to spend an evening.

My 23rd Year

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A Very Happy Birthday

I have had the greatest day. I have been spoiled rotten by many phone calls, gifts galore and tons and tons of emails. Thanks everyone. I have felt very loved and blessed by your words. This year's birthday was definitely more low key then other years but in some ways it was even more special.

I was awakened this morning with boisterous singing from some of my family members. I wouldn't say that singing is a talent that my family possesses, especially at 8am, but I very much appreciated the thought behind the gesture, plus it definitely made me laugh - what a way to wake up to the day!!

Due to life circumstances I have not been able to spend very much time with Cole in the last month and a bit, but yesterday it worked to hang out with him for a good part of the day. This was by far my favorite birthday gift. Oh, how I have missed this little boy!!! We ventured off to the Manitoba Museum to meet up with my friend Heidi and her 2 girls for part of the afternoon. Cole and her girls get along so beautifully and probably just what Cole needed.

I've missed these cuddles

Silly Kids!!

Awesome Friends

Following the museum, we went back to my parent's house for delicious Oreo ice cream cake that Dominika made me. Soooo yummy!!





At 5:00 I had to have Cole back and I was sad to see him go. This definitely needs to become a more frequent thing for him and I to hang out. We went from seeing each other everyday and spending a good chunk of time together to almost nothing at all. Hopefully we will never go this long without a good Kara/Cole day again!


Due to work schedules with my brothers and their significant others, we had a late supper at Olive Garden once everyone was off work at 8pm. I could eat the salad and breadsticks all day if I could, but I opted for the Seafood Alfredo and it was delicious. The nice part about going so late was that by the time dessert came around and my family wanted the staff to sing to me, most of the staff had gone home already, so there was no song. They were all out of the birthday dessert, so I didn't get any of that either, but that's ok because we were all pretty stuffed anyway.

BIRTHDAY DRINKS

My hommie, Dom!

This past year has been a good one. I was doing some reflecting last night about what has all gone on in the past year and I have to say that I have grown a lot. It's neat to be able to take a step back and look how God has moved and worked in your life. If I had to pick a theme to sum up this past year with Jesus, it would be Trusting that God remains faithful to his promises, trusting that God has a spectacular plan for my life and Trusting that Jesus is who he says He is. God has been quite vocal, especially in the last few months in these 3 areas through His Word and through some pretty neat people in my life.

There have been some pretty neat things that have happened this last year:

• I got to meet some adorable little babies - Gavin and Norah and it has been a joy to be able to watch them grow and develop into these funny little characters. I'm anticipating some good times down the road!
• I moved back home - something I thought I would never do, but there has been incredible healing that has changed my family and that has been cool to see.
• I graduated and now have an awesome job that I LOVE - despite the weirdos and creeps that I see from time to time. I get to interact with some awesome people on a day to day basis.
• The meaningful times with my friends continues to bless me and has made this last year full of joy and life. When God says that through him we can have life abundantly, I truly believe that he has allowed me to see glimpses of him and grow through my wonderful friends and has truly allowed me to live life to the fullest as God intended it to be!

As I close this 23rd chapter of my life, I am thankful and blessed for this last year and I am pumped for what God has in store for me in the coming year. I have a feeling "24" is going to be a fabulous year!

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

I have just returned home from a delightful weekend away with 4 AMAZING friends. Actually, amazing doesn't do these girls justice - I'm not sure there is any one word that can fully describe how much they mean to me. I could go through each of these women and list off the incredible qualities they possess, but that would take much longer then I have time for right now. Perhaps one day I will be able to sum these fine ladies up for you.

Initially when Kristy and I planned this weekend, we thought it would be to celebrate our birthdays as we both share birthdays in October. However, we realized we were going to have a party regardless, so we changed our weekend from "Birthday Celebration" to "Girls Weekend Away to have a good time and to Shop".

Saturday morning, we packed up the van, which Kristen's parents very kindly let us use and made our way across the border to Grand Forks. The shopping was good, the conversation was great and the company was incredible.

Kristen's mom surprised us by packing some sustinance for us - what girl is going to turn down cookies, licorice, a bag full of mints and gum?? Not us!!! Apparently the ornament Kristen is holding in the above picture is a little something that has accompanied the Toews family on many roadtrips and it came with us on this one.

Saturday we pretty shopped until some of us dropped, although I think Kristy and I could have kept going for a lot longer.

Who is that HOT woman wearing those extremely sexy looking shades??? Why, that must be Sabrina! What a hot mama!

Initially we had booked a suite for the 5 of us plus Norah so that we wouldn't be so squished, however, at 11pm when we pulled out the pull-out-couch, we quickly realized that no one deserved to sleep on a bed that uncomfortable. Rather then laying comfortable on the mattress, the springs inside were poking up, stabbing whoever was laying there in the back. NOT acceptable by any standards. The front desk graciously gave us a cot to use as well, however when unfolded the bed, we discovered the hollow in the mattress and none of us were going to be able to sleep here as well.


In the actual bedroom we had a King size bed, but despite how much we actually like each other, sleeping 5 girls in 1 king size bed was not going to be a reality. Sooooo, our confronters in the group: Kristen and Sabrina headed down to the front desk. Our main man Ron kindly offered us a second room with 2 queen beds for 3 of us to use at no extra charge. Yeah Ron!

Eventually we all fell asleep, some of us slept longer then others, but we woke up Sunday morning ready to face another day of shopping and good conversation.

Sunday morning we had some time to kill before we checked out of our hotel and before shops opened, so what better way to kill time then taking pictures!

I wish I had words for this picture, but this one cannot be explained other then Aimee, just being Aimee. I love her!!

mmmm...Coke!

Norah says, "I'm tired of taking pictures!!!"

Our trip home turned out to be quite entertaining - everything from games, to singing Bullfrogs and Butterflies to almost running out of gas occurred. Kristy came up with a game for us to play on the ride home. The game had no official name, but if one were to be made it would be called "Who can keep the mint in their mouth the longest without it dissolving".

The Winner!!!!

At about 20 miles away from the border going home, Kristen kindly informed the rest of the van that the gas light had gone on. In Kristen's very sweet voice she asked if any of us knew exactly where we were and if there was a gas station close by. None of us had any idea - we were too busy concentrating on not letting our mints dissolve. We hadn't seen a sign for any town in awhile, so we were just hoping and praying that a gas station was coming soon. Eventually the wonderful green sign informing us of our whereabouts came into view. We were 11 miles away from Pembina. Phew! Hopefully we were going to make it there.

Long story short, we did and it turned out to be a very successful gas stop because Aimee learned to pump gas for the first time!! Very exciting.

Thank you ladies for splendid weekend. You are definitely the best girlfriends I could ever ask for. Next time, we'll have to do Minneapolis.