Good memories (20 of 30)

One of my favorite stories from our dating days, comes from a time when Sari and I were not even dating at all.

Sari had been dating this guy, but they broke up. She had been planning to take said boyfriend of hers to see "The Nylons" at the Center of the Arts in Regina, but when they broke up she asked me if I wanted to go with her instead (We were buddies - why not right?).

In the meantime, before the concert date, Sari and her ex-boyfriend became "un-ex-boyfriend and girlfriend" again. When I heard that they were back together, I went to her and offered her ticket back... after all - she bought it planning to go with the "ex-non-ex-boyfriend" in the first place right? To my surprise, and I am sure to his surprise, she said, "No! I said I would take you and you and I are going".

The night of the concert, the car that we were going to take died. We needed a vehicle fast and could not think of anyone who would loan us one on such short notice. Then Sari said, "I know where I can get a car". She found her boyfriend and we had a ride.

So I went to a Nylons concert with another guy's girl, on his ticket AND I drove his car eight hours to get there and back! Nice, huh? :)

But that night was great! I had never been to the Center of the Arts. I had never been to a real concert. I had never gone to a concert with another guys girlfriend, in his car, on his ticket either.

As we drove home, we looked at the stars... we listened to the tapes we bought... we talked and talked... eventually Sari fell asleep against me.... and so the music of the Nylons has always been special to us.

This week, while sick at home, I found a whole bunch of old Nylons concert footage online. There used to be nothing but they have just re-released all their songs and videos under a new label.... so Sari and I spent part of tonight watching footage from the same tour we went to... we recognized their costumes... the sets... the choreography... it was really cool.

It was just like being the Center of the Arts in 1990 again... except that, at the end of the night this time, there was no other guy waiting for his keys.... and his girl. :)

Cash-a-polooza(19 of 30)

Shhh - Sari is doing our taxes (Seems to make sense that she looks after this part of our life... after all - most of our money goes through her.... ba dump bump!!!) :)

Actually - I am very proud of her. She has been working at the kitchen table for more than two hours and I have not heard one angry word spoken or one pen fly across the kitchen yet (Mind you... after what happened last night during tax preparation time - I have been hiding downstairs in the fetal position crying like a baby so.....)

Sari does a great job of not only holding down a full time job, but running our house, keeping track of the bills, being both the secretary and the accountant.... it is amazing actually.

I just hope that she does the taxes right and does not end up in the pokey. It is a long drive up there for me... and who would cook when she is gone? :)

To quote one of my kids... "I has a Freezer" (18 of 30)

How do I know when I am actually sick? I can stay in the same room basically all day and not care. I don't want to go outside. I don't want to move. I don't want to do anything.

I started running a fever last night and when I woke up this morning I said, "Ah - forget it".

I think this is about the 7th or 9th (or something like this) sick day I have taken in 21 years... so I am hoping I feel better soon... I am running out of motorcycle magazines. :)

When I grow up (17 of 30)

When I grow up I want to be Dave Hatch!

Who is Dave Hatch you ask? Well, he is sort of a dork (so I should fit in well) but he hosts what is maybe my favorite show on TV - a thing on TSN called "Motorcycle Experience".

In fact, there is really only one part of the show that I look forward to... the "Ultimate Ride" part. The rest of the show is ok - but this is the best part to me b/c every year Dave and a buddy of his take a week or two and go ride some really scenic and interesting road somewhere and film it. This year they are doing the "Blue Ridge Parkway" in North Carolina... it looks really nice, really pretty and really fun to ride.

So why I am I telling you this.... well a few reasons....

1. I am not feeling that great tonight and (in spite of having a really good day at church) did not really have anything interesting to write about.

2. Just as I was going to bed, "Motorcycle Experience" came on - so I thought I would mention that I am jealous of Dave Hatch (confession is good for the soul right?) Dude, has ridden across Canada more than a dozen times.... that would be fun, no?

3. Seeing guys on motorcycles makes me think - even just for a second - that Spring has to be on the way (It has to come sometime.... right?)

North Dakota still exists (16 of 30)

For (literally) 8 weeks, we have been trying to get to Minot and yet one thing or another (all much more important) stopped us. However, today we made it.

The girls bought lots of stuff (they have not forgotten how to shop - fortunately - whew!!!!.... where is the "sarcasm" smiley here????) and I went to a couple of motorcycle shops (just to look around... I found one that I really liked the look of... research is on-going).

Anyway - we had a good day.... nice visits (long car rides are the best place to talk - no distractions, no phones ringing etc).... and (nicely) when we got to the border on the way home the nice lady took our info and then said, "Have a nice night" (no duty for us!!! Woo hoo!!!)

So - there you go. It was fun and we finally proved that Minot still exists... we saw it with our own eyes. :)

Thankfulness (15 of 30)

This is not the deepest or even maybe the most interesting blog... but I am connecting a challenge to it - so please read to the end.

Yesterday I mentioned that the "Western Christian College Chorus" was in town and so we had to billet them into people's homes for the night. That meant that this morning a bunch of us were at the church building dropping these kids off so that they could get back on the bus and carry on.

When the last kid jumped on the bus, Bill said to me, "Well - what are you doing now? Do you want to go for coffee?"

So we asked around - some of the guys had already left - others could not go - but Bill, Dennis, Daryl, Darren and I went to "A and W" and sat there telling stories for the next hour and a half or so (We even included a guy from town who most of us have known for years - he was sitting at another table so he came and joined us).

The point: Thinking back on it.... I like the guys from our church and I am glad to be here. I like that I have buddies of various ages and that they can all get together and laugh about the same stuff. I am glad that I get included in spontaneous things like that all the time. It was just a very little thing, but it made me happy - it was just nice.

So - here is the challenge: Before you leave this page, think of one little nice thing that has happened to you in the last 24 hours - something that you could easily overlook or take for granted, but that you would miss if it was taken away - and be thankful for it. Then - if you are so inclined - hit the comment section below this post and tell me about it (I think it would be interesting reading).

Whether you leave the comment or not, the process of slowing down and thinking about what you have is a good habit to get into, right?

Blast from the past (14 of 30)

So the "Western Christian College Chorus" was here tonight to perform. It was really nice. They did really good job and we had a good "crowd" out to hear them.

It made me think about the fun of chorus tour. Those were good times. Oliver (the bus driver that went with us all the time) was here tonight too. It was nice to see him.

I thought about the fact too that it was on chorus tour in the spring of 1990 that we came to Estevan, I met Welland Drader for the first time, gave him my resume and asked about a summer job with the church in Estevan. I have been here ever since.

Also, after the drama portion, one of the girls introduced herself and I thought, "What? That can't be her!" Her parents used to live her when she was really young. It was cool to see her here now and to bug her a bit. That's what it is about though, right? Passing things on from one generation to the next.

All in all, a really good night of memories, reminders and "new beginnings". Glad they came.

The best we can do (13 of 30)

We held an impromptu prayer meeting at the church building tonight for a little three year old girl. She and her family is not from our congregation, but several of us either know her parents, or her parents parents, or family or.... Estevan really is a small town.

Anyway, Olivia is quite sick and no one seems to know why. Nothing has worked or turned up any concrete results yet, so some "less that nice" procedures seem to be on the way.

I can't imagine what her parents are going through... it must be terrible... so we did what we could do tonight... we invited people to come to the building and pray.

It turned out to be a really special evening. Some of the family came, some friends showed up, some of our church members were there (some who do not even know the family but just feel for them).... several different churches were represented... several people that Sari and I know from other places in town were there.... it just was a really nice.

I believe that God hears and answers prayer and I believe that we did something good by just getting together and sharing that time. It just felt good and right.

So thanks, Crystal, for arranging things... we need to do more of that.

And - if you are in the habit of prayer - please add Mark, Andrea and Olivia Moroz to your list.

"The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective" - James 5:16

No pain... no Paul (12 of 30) :)

So I would write a really long and funny blog tonight (and believe me... it would have been a doozy!!! A real humdinger... probably the best blog I have ever written), but I can't. In fact I can barely type. What happened?

Paul Quilliams flipped out on me!!!!

We were playing squash when all of a sudden Paul yells something like, "Die you little Moose Jaw Punk!" (or something like that) and then he just started hitting me with his racquet. The lady at the front desk saw this (fortunately we were in "Court A" - the closest one to her), so she SCREAMED, "Nooooooo not Tim!!!!!" and went running in a hysterical fit to get help.

Soon three huge guys from the weight room came running, broke right through the glass wall (because there was no time to go through the door) and jumped Paul from behind. He fought with Hulk-like strength, but they finally subdued him.

Anyhoo... it didn't really hurt.... it just looked bad! :)

Ok - the real story may be something closer to Paul wound up to take a backhand shot and I likely did not just him enough room.... he swung hard, followed through and hit my left arm about as hard as I have ever been hit with a racquet (and I used to play against Ian Muirhead!).

So now I have two really red, raised up lines on my arm (they look like those "Branded tattoos" that guys get)... one up by my elbow and one down on my wrist (on from each side of the head of his racquet).

I came home and showed my war wounds to Sari and she made me put ice on them for an hour or more... now I can hardly move my arm or my wrist (that is a true part of this story). I don't think anything is broken in my wrist, but it is really swollen now. I guess we will see how it feels in the morning.

So - it is a good story anyway.... I just don't know who is going to have to pay for the glass wall that the weight lifters ran through. :)

Ok - try this (11 of 30)

Ok - since no one commented on the video below, try this one. This is the video that I ended my sermon with today.... a sermon on busyness. Have a look.

Practical Advice (10 of 30)

Tim Hawkins has just made it onto my "mandatory videos to watch" list for anyone who wants me to perform a wedding ceremony for them.

Watch - think - discuss below. :)

Seriously? (9 of 30)

So without getting into a bunch of details... I had a really odd day. People FREAKING OUT over nothing (and I don't mean something sort of insignificant I mean something so tiny it is was a joke!!).

In fact, I have not been sworn at that much in the last 30 years combined... and - just for clarity's sake.... a. It was not a church member swearing at me..... b. The issue really had nothing to do with me.

So I calmly let the person have the fit.... then I calmly (and in the smallest words I could come up with - so that they would maybe understand).... told them they were an idiot. :)

Ya know... you think that maybe people would watch the news and get a bit of perspective on things.....

Has your home been washed away by the 30 foot wave?

Has your family been separated for more than a week while you wonder who is alive and who is not?

Have you completely run out of food and drinking water?

Are you locking yourself in your house hoping that by some miracle the towel at the bottom of your door keeps your house air tight so you don't get radiation poisoning?

If you answered "no" to those questions.... please proceed to the next step:

SHUT UP!!!!!

Now .... if you are facing a real tragedy, please call me. Honestly, I will listen to you with all the sympathy I can muster.... but if you are just going to complain and (literally) lose your mind about nothing.... please refer to the big letters in the two words that make up the previous one line paragraph. Thank you! :)

Ps. If anyone knows where I misplaced my "fun" or my "relaxing" or my "Boy that was great" please give me a call. It seems that they have been lost for the last month or so (I know... ironically... "please refer to the big letters in the two words that make up the previous.....") :)

PPS. As I was typing this, TSN was showing its "Top 10 list" of the day.... today's subject, "Top 10 Andy Roddick meltdowns" (google it - some of it is funny). Really made me want to go play tennis.... or at least smash a racquet and yell at someone ..... it looked like a lot of fun!

PPPS. Megan had a grand time at the big dance tonight.... hopefully a weekend update - but for now she is a sleeping beauty.

Scary days and an "Old" Buddy (8 of 30)

So these are scary days around here..... first Katie is driving and now (tomorrow night) Megan is going to her first school dance!

The fortunate part is that she is going with a bunch of really nice girls from her school (the dance is being held at a different one). The key thing to note there is the fact that there are no boys directly involved yet.

I have said it before and I will say it again: If I could stop time right now I would.... the girls are old enough to do fun stuff with (biking, hiking, camping, etc), they are fun and funny. I enjoy hanging out with them and they are semi-independent (so we do not have to babysit them all the time).... but they are not dating yet.

I know it will not last.... but I think things are sort of perfect right now.

Anyway, I know that she is going to have a great time.... hopefully I can get her to blog about it in the next day or two so you get her perspective of this big event.

As for the "Old" buddy (the "old" is in quotation marks because he is old in the sense that I have known him a long time.... not in the "decrepit" sense of the word).... Wilf Olson wrote to me yesterday and asked what I was doing for lunch today. Since my lunch appointments usually consist of "nothing"... I thought it was safe to say that I was free, so I met him at the Tower (he was down here for a meeting). It was really nice.

I first met Wilf in 1990 when I moved here. In fact, I basically lived at Wilf and Laura's during those first few years. One year he bought his kids a table top hockey game.... rod hockey to some.... and he and I about wore the thing out. Every night before I went home we had to play a best of 5 series on the thing. He and I golfed together and coached hockey together for a couple of seasons. We curled and played hockey together. I goofed around with their boys and teased Melissa all the time (She was about 3 or 4 when I moved here I think). Of course, Laura was fun to visit with too... and graciously put up with all the silliness (including the boys inviting me home for lunch after church one Sunday... when I arrived she asked me what I was doing there - the boys had not checked with her..... but I got to stay and eat anyway).

Now their kids are all grown up.... Melissa is married..... it is just not right (see my comment above about stopping time not working).

Anyway.... we had a really nice visit. It was great! And it is great to have good friends who care about you over a long period of time (We have been fortunate to have many people like that in our lives over the years here). So - I am not sure if Wilf or Laura ever read this thing (I think Jeremy does once in a while).... but maybe someone give them the blog address and tell them to come on by.

It would be too bad to say nice things about them and not have them see it. :)

Awww (7 of 30)

March 15th.... the "Ides of March" was also my Grandma's birthday. This is the first year since I was old enough (or responsible enough) to remember that the first part of March did not include a trip to the store to buy a card for her.

It has not been a sad day though.... just a day filled with good memories of a good Grandma. :)

Value the people around you... make them important... make time for them... tell them how you feel about them.... you will be glad that you did.

It is for a good cause - and you can help (6 of 30)

So most of you know that I have an old motorcycle and I have to say that I really like it for lots of reasons (some of which include)....

1. I actually enjoy riding it (I know that sounds dumb but many guys who own one don't - they just like saying that they have one).

2. I like working on it (Not big stuff... if it is one the edge of cratering then it is not so much fun.... but little maintenance stuff and tinkering is good)

3. I like the fact that other bikers wave at you as you ride (If you have two wheels, you are in the club).


BUT beyond all that good stuff....

4. It is an tool for evangelism. I have had tons of conversations with tons of guys who would never talk to a preacher at any other time or for any other reason simply because I have a bike. Case in point.....

Sari, the kids and I were out walking the dog today and this guy down the block is shovelling snow out in front of his house. As we go by he says, "Ya got that motorcycle ready to go?"

Now I really do not know this guy. In fact, though he knows my name, I don't know his. I know that he works for "McComb Automotive". I know he tried to sell me a motorcycle one time (He somehow found out that I may be looking, called me up and offered to let me take it for a "test rip".... "The keys are in the mailbox. Just take it"). I know that we wave at each other when we pass in our trucks.... but today I stopped and had a 45 minute conversation with him about which bikes are good, which ones are fast, who has one for sale, etc, etc, etc.

But here is the problem (And where you can help)..... my bike is getting old and I could really use an upgrade (If mine breaks down, I am out of the club. OUT OF THE CLUB!!!!!).

Now, since I am making all these new found friends because of my motorcycle and because it is causing people to talk to me, I got to thinking.... I think it would be in their best interests for the church to buy me a brand new bike.

Now, here is where you come in: If you agree, please leave a comment and your name will be forwarded to my elders. (It would probably also hold more sway if you could include your banking information and a pin number that we can use to access your online bank account. To be fair, we will let you choose a "Contribution range".... they are as follows: $0-5 000...... $5 001- 10 000 and $10 000 and up. We will determine which end of the range you will fall on and let you know at a future date).

Now, I know what you are thinking........"Lousy Preachers... always asking for money and stuff. Let the cheapskate buy his own motorcycle like everyone else".... but this is different.

It is not for me...... it is for the good of the church. ;)

The Bachelor LIfe (5 of 30)

So Sari and the kids have been gone for a couple of days now and ... whew... what a wild couple of days it has been!!!

I have shovelled snow. I went to Canadian Tire (twice). I have checked the tranny fluid on my truck. I have watched so much TV that my eyes are bugging out. I went to a hockey game last night (without asking anyone if I could go). I even bought myself a snack. And now I am going to go walk the dog!

But - the best part - I bought groceries!!!! Oddly enough, though, when I walked up to the register the girl behind the counter said (seriously - I am not making this up) "I am not ready to have a baby"..... to which I thought, "Good b/c I just came over here to pay for my groceries".

In context, there was a screaming baby in the next line over - and she was commenting on him (She also went on to tell me how she sat at Boston Pizza last night and watched some parent let their kid spill the entire contents of a salt shaker on the table and play with it. Then they let him do the same thing with the pepper.... it was a crazy night at BP's too I guess).

So there is hockey on TV tonight... I recorded some curling and a Truck race from Darlington, South Carolina, so needless to say....

I hope my family gets home soon! :(

Hmmm (4 of 30)

Hey y'all. Doesn't seem like this "30 blogs in 30 days" thing is going so well does it? Well, I have been busy every night this week, so I guess you get what you get (thanks to the girls though for filling in a few days). Maybe I will get back on track starting today.

So the kids and Sari are in Dauphin visiting her Mom and Dad. I hope they have a good couple of days. I - on the other hand - am just hanging out at home, working in my garage some (nice to have a garage in the middle of a snow storm when you can't do anything else), looking up motorcycles and MC parts online, maybe going to the Bruins' game tonight (if it is not cancelled due to weather) and generally just enjoying doing whatever I want (like staying up until 1 am watching four shows of "Wipeout" last night.... I think I could win on that show.... it is funny anyway). So that is it.... I have a weekend to myself so I am just going to hide, read motorcycle magazines (thanks Paul) and relax..... it has been a tough/busy month so it is nice to do nothing for a change.

PS. Roberta... currently we do not record my sermons in any form (video, cassette, MP3 - nothing) but if you really are interested I will look into it and find out what it would take to post them online. Ok? OK! :)

basketball almost over (3of 30)

my first post (me being Megan and all) is about basket ball. anyway i had districts this past weekend , we played two games (one on Friday and one on Saturday) we lost both games but we played hard enough to finish quite close.our last game is tomorrow and then basket ball is over for the season, we play against pleasantdale school on Wednesday at hillcrest, i am so excited about it because we played against them at districts and gave them a run for there money and we are going to do the same again but more!!!! =) our team could get in to the Guinness world records for the most injuries in 2-3 months of basketball, three or four of us got sprained fingers, two- three hurt there ankles, and the rest if not all had some sort of injury. I'm going in basketball next year so I'm excited for next year.

A Momentous Occasion (2 of 30)

Today has been a memorable day for two reasons. 1. This is the first time I, Katelyn, have written on this blog. And 2. I went driving for the first time since I got my learners!

On Friday was my fifteenth birthday. It was a really nice day!I had tons of fun with people at school singing to me and thoroughly embarrassing me at the same time, then coming home and having my favorite supper, and finally watching a really cute movie!But by far the most exciting part of the day was when mom took me to SGI and I officially got my learners license!
I was so excited!Mom offered for me to drive home but i have only driven a handful of times before in the country so I didn't want to risk crashing on the way home.

Today after church and singing at Creighton lodge I wanted to go driving. But mom's friend just got back from London and on Saturday invited her to go for coffee and look at pictures from her trip. So I told mom we could drive some other time. Dad and I dropped her off and headed home. Just as we were getting closer to home dad turned to me and asked if I wanted to drive with him. So I did!!!!

We drove all over our half of town and we even drove on the highway a little bit!!!It was really fun!
So everyone watch out and consider yourselves warned!I am officially on the road!!!
Katie

Stuff (1 of 30)

As we begin our new "30 blogs in 30 days", I thought I would just update you on some of the things that have happened in the last two days (b/c the past couple of weeks have been well documented.... if you have not heard how it went for us... ask). In point form, here is what has been going on.....

- We went to Bienfait (twice) to watch Megan play basketball in "districts". That was lots of fun. We have seen a lot of improvement in both the team and in Meg's herself. It has been a great experience - win or lose.

- As of this week, we now have a 15 year old in the house... not to mention a licensed student driver. We have not tried that adventure yet... but we are looking forward to that too.

- Sari's brother Joel and his wife Amy came over last night to celebrate Katie's birthday and to work on his car. He and I pulled an oxygen sensor and replaced it. I had never done that before, so it was interesting. I am thankful for a nice warm place to go to work (and to hide in when the girls decide to watch a "Chick Flick".... like they did last night)

- Today we watched one more basketball game and then all four of us went to the Bienfait curling rink and spent the afternoon playing in a bonspiel. Thanks to Andrea and the rest of the Muirheads for organizing this.... it was great! In fact, we had so much fun that we are even talking about joining a "fun league" as a family next year.... I think that would be a lot of fun.

- We have also been going to a lot of Estevan Bruins games in the past couple of weeks.... they are in playoffs now..... fun to watch, fun to visit with people, fun to hang out with the kids.... good time all around.

- I am looking forward to church tomorrow..... I am really enjoying my classes and the sermon series I am doing.... you are welcome to come and join us anytime! :)

Ok so we are off..... Keep checking back - as I said, I am hoping to get some of the others to write too so that could be fun. Thanks for coming by. :)

It is Back!!!!!!!!

30 blogs in 30 days is making its long awaited return (Ok - "long awaited" may be stretching it a bit.... I am pretty sure that no one has actually been waiting for it at all - but you are getting it anyway so there is no use in whining)........ no promises on a start time but I am thinking later this week.

If you have continued to pass through this blog once in a while - thank you. Hopefully the newest 30 in 30 will give me some momentum to keep up better with this thing..... as well - I am going to try to get girls to add some stuff on here (In the past they have been reluctant to write, but rest assured that I have lots of "compromising stories" on them.... all three of them.... and if they want to keep them out of print........) :)

Anyhoo.... I have lots of stupid stuff in my head and I need someone to force it on..... so thanks for stopping by! :) Talk to you soon.