Vancouver - Day 1

(Ok, day 1 we traveled, so technically this is day 2.) Check out first night in Vancouver here.

As is typical in our house, I was out of bed way before The Officer. I woke up not feeling so hot so I grabbed some cereal and made my way to the couch (after I took a bath, a big girl bath all by myself). I read through an entire magazine in one sitting and watched the news about the Boston Marathon bomber being caught the night before. (If you're a  mom, you understand why these two things are worth noting.) It was a rainy day and I really wasn't feeling the motivation to move from under the covers.

Once my Knight in Shining Armor we bought some bus passes and headed out to the must-see Granville Island.*

 

We walked around the city for quite some time, making our way through the kids market (read: pricey toy store with play area, but a cool place), and many other little stops along the way.

 One of the most unique was this broom making store:

 

Granville Island is home to a cement company. We saw several unique trucks.

They also had set up an extensive marble type track outside the cement plant.

We were slowly making our way to lunch, getting hungry, but unable to pass up all the neat things to see. Like where they carve totem poles:

 

 And where you can pick noses:

We meandered into one last little shop where I asked the owner for a recommendation. He recommended the place just above his shop called the SandBar. We were already considering eating there so that sealed the deal. The man was so kind and helpful. We found this all over Vancouver. People were so nice.

We meandered around a while longer taking several pictures. We're kind of obsessed.This boat was about 150 years old:

 

We made our way to the old-school (read: it only moves if you hold down the button to the floor you're wanting) elevator and up onto the third floor patio of the SandBar.

 

If you know me at all you know I don't eat seafood so this place wasn't exactly my first pick. Would you believe I decided to order salmon? If it hadn't been such a nice restaurant I may have licked the plate clean. This was hands-down my favorite dining in Vancouver.

Did I mention the patio is adorned with heaters and BLANKETS on every chair? This is my kind of dining!

That doesn't even include the view over The Officer's shoulder:

Or the cozy arm chairs we sat in:

Here is one of the inside:

 

That tiny little corner under the bridge is where we ate. So glad we took the recommendation!

We wandered over to the market where there was fresh everything. I'm certain my children would have eaten straight from the bucket on this one:

We started scoping out souvenirs and a little something for our mamas. We didn't buy much. Vancouver is pretty pricey. I was holding out for something unique. If The Officer hadn't been with me I would have certainly bought him this "Freeloader Fork." We had a good laugh about it. I've always joked that I should have known he had no money when I met him. The first night we went out with a small group of people he didn't order and ate off my plate. He's still eating off my plate, love that guy!

I got to see an original Heidelberg press in action. Very cool for a graphic designer!

We made our way back to the Granville Island Brewery for a tour, only it was full! The Officer settled for some samples and I went straight to something I knew I'd like, a Heffeweisen a Hefeveisen, a hefferveisen. Sheesh, I had to look that one up! 

I left The Officer with the camera for a bit while I went and asked directions to a cigar shop he wanted to visit. He was wanting to find a place he could sit and have a cigar on site.

So we started the trek, and I do mean TREK. Shortly into our trek to the bus stop we realized that our bus stop was closed for construction (feels like home to me). The next bus stop was the direction of the cigar shop so we headed towards it. We walked, and we walked...

...and we walked. The bridge up in front of him says "WHY". This seemed really appropriate to me at the time. As in, WHY am I following you up this very long road to find a cigar shop? We finally found our bus stop and decided we would rather keep walking than wait. Just as we spotted the cigar shop we spotted the bus we didn't wait for whizzing by us and stopping right in front of our destination. We proceed into the cigar shop to find out that there is no smoking inside in Vancouver. Awesome. And, why did we walk all this way?

They gave us directions to a few places with heated smoking patios so he could take his cigar and go. The Hilton was highly recommended. Apparently it has a great patio. (Read: apparently this girl had no clue what a great patio was. It was tiny. And closed. And rainy. And WAY out of the way. We had another good laugh.)

After the TREK we headed back to the room and found that the rain had gone! Suddenly we could see the view from our room. So we did what do, we took more pictures. (Like I said, we're obsessed).

And we facetimed the kids while we were on wifi.

Since we missed the tour at the Granville Island Brewery we headed over to Steamworks Brewery in Gastown.

As with most places in Vancouver, the views were great. It seems like everything there is built with the view in mind. 

There was going to be a wait so we asked for a table right by the front door that was open. Based on our seating the place was pretty forgettable. However, when I made my way down to the restrooms I realized the downstairs of this place was pretty awesome! Speaking of restrooms, this shared stall gives a whole new meaning to girls going to the bathroom together.

Gastown was a neat part of Vancouver. Lots of little shops and places to eat like the other neighborhoods. But, also bricked streets and old timey buildings.

We went for our first taste of Poutine: hand-cut fries, gravy and white cheddar cheese curds. (Did I lose you at "curds". Sounded pretty gross to me, but it was actually good. In fact we ordered again in Whistler).

Again, I went with my trusty Heffe-whatever.

After Steamworks we made the cold trip to the "best smoking patio." I've already told you about that one! This concluded day one. A fun and full day. Read more about our trip here!

*(Note to self: we bought a day pass, but really the book of tickets would have made much more sense. We later bought the book and barely used any of them. Nobody checks your tickets on the train and you only have to pay one zone on the weekend days. Of all the expensive things we saw in Vancouver, public transit was not one).

Wish I Had

A few months back we came home with this paper monster robot thing in a happy meal. It's one of those that requires a lot of parental guidance a parent to do it for them. Beemer picked it up several times and asked me to do it with him. "Not right now baby," "Not today," "Mommy can't right now." Here we are a few months later and that robot is still sitting there. Untouched. After a while he forgot about it. Occasionally he picks it up and I throw out another too busy excuse.

Days like today are harsh reminders that I don't want to wish I had. I don't want to wish I had finished that robot the first time he asked me.

I don't want to wish I had taken more pictures, or been less worried about them being perfect and more worried about capturing the moment.

I don't want to wish I had volunteered less to others and more in my home.

I don't want to wish I had read the book he picked instead of picking a shorter one for him.

I don't want to wish I had done laundry instead of laying in the middle of the garage floor, on a stray piece of carpet when I was invited there by my children.

I don't want to wish I had been more tender and less irritated.

I don't want to wish I had spent less time looking at a screen and more time looking at real life.


I've always tried to live this way with my children. I don't want to live in fear, but I often ask myself how I would feel about this decision if tomorrow didn't come for someone in my family. I try to live this way with my husband. When he became a police officer I realized I could make the most of our time together by picking my battles and not wasting time fighting. We don't have much of it and if the worst ever happens I don't want to wish I had.

Like many of the rest of you, I laid in bed and snuggled my little boy a little longer tonight. Tomorrow morning, I'll be making a robot. Because I don't want to wish I had.

What's your Verse?

What would your life be like without your favorite verse? Or without your Old Testament? Or without your Bible all together?

What if you had never drawn strength from Philippians 4:13?
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me"

What if you didn't know that you could believe in Christ for your salvation from John 3:16?
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

What if you had never sought comfort from the 23rd Psalm?
"The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever."

What if you never knew you could trust in God from Proverbs 3:5-6
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."

There are groups of people all over the world who don't have the common luxury of a Bible in their language like we do here in America (something we take very for granted might I add). This afternoon I received an email from a friend with Pioneer Bible Translators. They are asking God to provide the specific funds to complete the Bible in the Bundeli language. They have already completed the New Testament and are working to complete the Old.

The cost? $5 a verse.

Would you join me in considering a gift to Pioneer Bible Translators today to keep the momentum going for this project? Would you share this with your friends? $5 is really easy to let go of,  I wonder how many verses we can pay for together? Consider your Bible and what it means to you and please consider making a small (or large!) donation to help make it possible for someone else.

You can read about annual gift giving opportunities through PBT here:

http://pioneerbible.org/annual-gift-giving-guide

You can donate to PBT here:
https://dlq4.donatelinq.net/qv10/default.aspx?MerchantID=PBTI
If you specifically want to give to the Bundeli Project you can select "Annual Gift Giving Guide" and then choose "Bundeli" in the subcategory once you are on the Giving Page.

The Poop Tree

Undoubtedly, the quote of the week:

"Mommy, I pee peed on the poop tree"

My response, of course was "You WHAT?!"

"I pee peed on the poop tree"

 Given his location by the back door I had just heard close, it didn't take me long to figure it out.

"You the mean the tree out back where the dogs go poop? You pee peed on it?"

Yup. He walked outside my back door, to the back of the yard, and took his morning pee on a tree.

The. Entertainment. Never. Stops.

Boys will be boys. I hope the neighbors weren't awake!

How to sleep with a 2 yr old

First of all, rewind four years back in your life and swear you'll never let your unborn children sleep in bed with you. Ok, carry on.

Blissfully drift off to sleep. Alone. Stay this way for some time.

Feel your cat sleeping on your face. Remember that you don't have a cat. Assume your four-year-old has crawled into bed with you. Realize your two-year-old Houdini has somehow escaped her closed and locked bedroom door and is now in bed with you.

Groan. She is not easy to sleep with. Attempt to go back to sleep.

Whatever you do, do not take her back to her bed. You are far too tired and half asleep for this. Lie to yourself and tell yourself that maybe you'll both fall asleep soon.

Push her off of you a few times. Roll around in bed to avoid sleeping next to her. Pat your husband's (empty) side of the bed to see if he can take her back to bed. Do this for some time, eventually you will drift back to blissful fitful sleep.

Wake up and search frantically for the pillow that used to be under your head. Ponder how it is that you have ended up smack dab in the middle of the bed, entirely too close for sleeping comfort to your husband.

Find your pillow. Under the body of said two-year-old. Don't dare move it. You do not want this process to start all over and you are still too half asleep to take her back to bed. Find one inch of pillow to cautiously slide under your head. Roll back into sleeping position.

Groan. Kick Nudge the dog out of your way who has taken up residence where your knees should be.

Drift back to blissful fitful sleep. Attempt to roll to your other side. Get kicked in the face. Reclaim your pillow. Realize you have an hour until wake up time. Contemplate taking your now perpendicular toddler back to bed. Give up and try to sleep.

Wake up and search frantically for your phone. Don't dare let that alarm wake up two-year-old in your 15-minute snooze window.

Concede defeat and get out of bed. Proceed with your day.

Right Now

My friend Deborah tells me that "right now not later" has become like her middle name and I love it! I'm trying so hard to make it mine. "Right now not later" runs through my mind all day when I see little things that I can take care of in the moment. It's really helping me stay on top of things. But, sometimes right now is so demanding!


Right now I should finally eat dinner, it is 9pm after all.

Right now I should go get the clothes out of the dryer. It's singing to me and they'll wrinkle if they sit.

Right now I should work on my Bible study for tomorrow, I'm behind.

Right now I should make those client revisions.

Right now I desperately want to curl up on the couch in a heap of absolutely nothing.

Right now I should finish the dishwasher so that in tomorrow's right now I'll be able to pack lunches for my kids and have sippy cups (labeled of course) to take to nursery.

Right now I should find that address for Cigna so I can send them that insurance claim for the fourth time. They better approve it, RIGHT NOW!

Right now I should go check that text message and see who it was from.

Right now I should make a grocery list before we have to start hand-making toothpaste and soap out of desperation.

There are so many right nows that I can't decide which right now to work on Right Now!

Right now I should probably make a to do list for all these right nows that shouldn't wait until later.

I'm tired just thinking about it. Right now might just have to wait.

Misplaced Hope

My hope is in the wrong place and I'm not sure how to move it.

Two years ago, Beemer was in day care when he ran teeth first into a shelf. I know, I know, it takes talent to run yourself into a shelf and have it hit you directly above your front two teeth.

{Fast forward six months}

We visit our very well loved dentist to find that he now has an associate who is doing our exam. She takes an x-ray, comes back and says he has an infection and you're gonna need to pull his front tooth.

{Enter freak out mode}

I decide not to have his front two teeth pulled without a second opinion. Oh yeah, did you catch that discrepancy? I did too, after I looked at her paperwork and found that she actually wanted to pull BOTH his front teeth.

{Enter Bible Study prayer request}

I head over to a well respected, highly recommended dentist who told me she saw no infection. It did not need to be pulled, but to watch it for signs of an abscess (pimple on the gums, puss, pain, etc). If it ever developed an abscess it would need to be pulled unless, by a rare chance, antibiotics could kick it out.

{Fast forward 18 months}

Beemer heads to the dentist for his regular checkup. They find a couple cavities, one of which is in his front, dying, tooth. Since it's not bothering him and has shown no infection we go for having it fixed. This is going to require a minimum of 30 minutes anesthesia, most likely more.

So I hope. I hope for a minimum of 30 minutes anesthesia. I hope for no additional cavities. Neither of which happen. Additional cavities are there and we are sent into not only an additional 30 minutes of anesthesia, but an additional 60. The good news, that dying teeth no longer looks gray because it and the tooth next to it have brand new crowns.

{Fast forward 1 month and bookoos upon bookoos of dollars}

The crown isn't meeting up to the gums on the front, dying tooth so I take Beemer for a follow up at the dentist. He takes an xray and says "Good thing we xrayed it!" Not what I wanted to hear. He has an abscess. One month after surgery.

So I hope. I hope the antibiotics will kill it. I hope we don't have to have his front two teeth pulled. I hope to not have a 4 year old with a huge gap in his mouth. I hope to not drop a couple hundred more at the dentist, those that's like pocket change at this point.

{Fast forward three days}

My hope is squashed. He's woken up with pussy gums three days in a row. The doctor says we're probably going to need to take them out. We decide to ride it out over the weekend. Six days into the meds the puss goes away. I am convinced he has been healed by the Almighty.

So I hope. I hope that he is healed. I hope that when I call the dentist they will tell me he is probably going to be fine. But they don't and my hope is shattered like a broken mirror. They tell me we need to schedule it to have the teeth pulled. I don't understand, the puss is gone. He says it doesn't hurt. They say they will xray it first, but we schedule the pulling.

So, what am I left to hope for? When I think there's a fighting chance to keep his teeth I HOPE! When my hope is gone I lay on the couch bawling my eyes out as though they have told me something much worse. I'm actually considering family photos before the teeth are gone.

My hope is in the wrong place and I need to move it. I can't keep hoping in good outcomes. Good outcomes are faulty. I can only hope in God. I can hope and believe that somehow, some way this is part of a master plan to make us more like Him. I want to protect my baby from heartache and physical pain, but I have to let God mold him to be a grown man some day. A grown man who knows how to deal with heartache and physical pain. I can't hope for anything in this world, because this world will always let me down.

My hope is in the wrong place. I think I'm going to have to let go of all my perfect plans before I can move it.

"I rise before dawn and cry for help; I have put my hope in your word." Psalm 119:47

"'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.'" Jeremiah 29:11