smiley-chelle...

The Face of Judgement

2011-11-05T00:01:00.000-07:00

It's been an interesting time lately. Between preparation for my first trip to Uganda and the first times spent with my boyfriend, the ever-present family stuff, and acclimatizing to a new job I am reeling. Recently I've been told, that I am quick to judge. This hurt and caught me off guard. I'm not gunna lie, I thought I was one of the least judgmental people out there. This comment confused me and I wasn't sure where it came from. But something happened recently that has been the catalyst for something I'm convinced will change my life. It's broken my heart and for the first time I've been challenged... like really challenged!

So I had a conversation with my binky for the first time in way too long. We were standing in the front yard out at the farm. Just us... and the horses - well the cat and dogs too for that matter who constantly provided some comedic relief when things got just a little too serious.

He said to me: "You ok?" Cue the waterworks! When binky asks me something like that, there's no stopping it.

"I don't think so...", I answered. *long pause* "Are you?"

"I have to be" he tells me. In my mind, this isn't fair. But maybe it's a "dad" thing.

"Why do you have to be?" I ask rather snarkily...

"Because we can never bring this up again." Now I start to pay attention.

I'm not going to be specific about the trigger incident but this is where my heart starts to change. During another long pause I wonder silently to myself what the hell he means! Why can't I talk about it? Why am I not allowed to be affected? But that's not what he meant. Sure I can be affected... I am affected. But there's only 2 guys I really need talk to about it - God, and Binky. So I explain to him that I've been called judgmental and that maybe I don't really know what judging looks like. My binky, gave me the most profound answer.

"You have to remember that because of low self-esteem, some people, whenever you give them advice or seemingly question something they do or say, automatically think they are being judged". Ok, I know that binks...

"So I don't say anything, unless my opinion is asked for". Where have I heard that before. "Ok dad, let me get this straight, you keep quiet not because your avoiding making waves but because your avoiding being judgmental?"

"yeah pretty much. Remember that Jesus sat at a well with a prostitute. He just sat with her and talked. He shared meals with people the 'righteous' thought he shouldn't associate with. How did he win their hearts? Just by his attitude and demeanor. He just loved."

This is where I start to tear up again. My God, is LOVE. So ideally in my heart my ultimate goal is to emulate my God... LOVE. Jesus didn't have a great retort to everything. He let people BE. Binky told me that like Christ, my attitude, and my remarks, and my behavior is what will change people. I'm a firm believer in not beating people over the head with the bible and here it is! I don't have to to get my point across! I don't need to give my 2 cents unless I'm asked for it.

So I guess, now, I need to work on listening; on supporting. I didn't really understand how to do that either but I think just by providing for the emotional needs of others without formulating an opinion on their situation (or at least one that I verbalize cuz lets be honest, I'm kind of opinionated). I dunno if this makes any sense to anyone else or if I've even gotten my point across but I can tell you one thing, my heart is changing for the good. and for the permanent I think too.

Weary

2011-10-23T19:16:00.000-07:00

I am tired today. It's not just a physical weariness but an overall physical, mental and emotional exhaustion. I feel like I come to this stage sometimes without even realizing I've been heading there for some time. I'm learning to communicate my feelings and thoughts more regularly and in a more productive way. Trying to be nice but not sugar coating it.

I'm living with 2 boys. 2 of my closest friends and that alone is exhausting. I said to myself, "I've lived with boys before - and loved it!" I still do. I have just found that growing up to me has meant becoming more... dare I say it... "girly" GASP! This... has be very difficult for me. While I am a princess in some regards (loving to have my nails done, playing with make-up and hair, having excessive amounts of bags and jewelry) in others I am not. Let me rephrase that - in others, I thought I was not. I have always been emotional, just not openly. I have always wanted to just as good at "guy" things as my guy friends. I have always related better to guys than girls. I think though, I just put up more with the *#$& of my guy friends to this point in order to be seen as "one of the guys". My friend (a guy) once said to me that I wasn't "one of the guys" to him and that crushed me.

Anyway, I'm finding the hardest part of living with my guys is that I am not social enough for them. I am a very social person yes. But at home, I just want to be at home. Not have to talk or explain things, not have to hear things and not have to entertain. One of them however, wants to be talking all the time - or so it seems to me. It's been tough for me to not go out of my skull and scream I don't wanna talk but its been good for me. I'm having to get over myself, go beyond myself and be a little less selfish. I'm not very good at it yet but I'm growing. This is good.

Family is also exhausting but gets ever better. We have grown leaps and bounds and are coming to rely on each other, coming to be honest with each other and there's nothing i've wanted more for us. We had family photos done for the first time in years! We all had a great time and love them so much! Melissa and I have been doing some awareness building and fundraising for my favorite organization - Invisible Children. I hosted 2 screenings - 1 at King's (my old university) and 1 at LCHS (my old high school). The biggest success was at LCHS! 800 students watched the documentary called "TONY". every single one of them was captivated and moved. I was touched to see so many join the cause I have believed in for so many years.

There are 55 days left until I leave for Uganda to meet my man! So many emotions all the time about that. I'll leave that story for another day :)

Long time no blog...

2011-09-24T10:51:00.000-07:00

I have felt guilty as of late about not blogging, but the more I think about it the less guilty I feel. Tis the nature of blogging I think. It's done at random, and I have asked myself, why do i think anyone cares about what I have to say? Blogging for me started out as a way to keep in touch when I travelled. Then, when I came home, it was about keeping up to date with friends abroad. I guess that's what I'll keep it about... but next time :P

My Ugandan Dream... Mike and Invisible Children

2011-03-11T16:18:00.000-08:00

**click on the red linked phrases below for more information on those topics**

The 2 biggest things in my life right now consist of my Ugandan dream: I am waiting for Mike to get his visitor's visa so he can come to Canada sometime soon and I am also participating in Invisible Children's "25" campaign.

The scoop on Mike is that this is the second visa application we are waiting on. the first was declined because I apparently do not have the finances to support Mike while he is here. When he went to pick up his visa and discovered this he explained to them that he would be supporting himself during his visit and he was told that he could not appeal but could reapply with new information. So Binky, Sandy (the friend who introduced me to Mike) and I all gave our financial information in hopes that this would seal the deal and Mike would get his visa. This was about a month and a half ago. We are still waiting.

The rest of the story about "25" is this: Invisible Children, as many of you know, is an organization I am VERY passionate about! Being one of the only organizations (that I know of) that is actively involved in trying to end the 25 year war in Central Africa between the innocent village people of Uganda (and now the Congo) and the Lord's Resistance Army, IC is doing PRECISELY the work I wish I was doing on the ground in Uganda right now.

My biggest dream is to run a rehabilitation school for child soldiers in Uganda or the Congo. The newest addition to this dream is that I want to do so with Els De Temmerman, a Belgian lady who has been partnering with IC in running their rehab school in Uganda. Again, IC is doing this and is now partnering with the local church in Congo to build the first rehab school there. All this being said, I was eager to involve myself in whatever tangible way I could from way over here in icy Canada.

So this brings me to what "25" actually is. IC has recently launched their boldest campaign yet called " The Protection Plan". This is a program that will do 5 things that have never been done in central Africa before:

1)Building an early warning radio network - By extending a recently existing Early Warning Radio Network, IC is giving the most vulnerable communities the ability to receive warnings of LRA activity and alert local security forces to LRA violence. This network will also give humanitarians the info necessary to best provide services.

2) Educating local communities and encouraging safe LRA surrenders - LRA abductees that seek to surrender risk being killed by local communities who see many of them as perpetrators of violence, not the victims to it. By bringing together the leaders of the Acholi and Azande communities, IC is seeking to increase understanding between both groups and to facilitate the peaceful surrender of LRA combatants into Azande communities.

3) Funding Search and Rescue Teams - the LRA is operating in an area the size of California and children are escaping daily, often hundreds of kilometers from their homes. IC is deploying search and rescue teams to find, identify and reunite these children with their families.

4) Providing Rehabilitation and Family Reunification - There are currently no professional rehab centers in Northeastern Congo. IC is partnering with experienced LRA rehabilitators and local community leaders to establish a rehab center that will prepare children to reintegrate into their communities and families

5) Promoting the ARREST OF JOSEPH KONY and other top LRA commanders - The international community is severely limited in its understanding of the LRA and the severity of its attacks. Invisible Children remains the driving force in gaining international attention and public will to support the arrest of Kony as legally mandated by the International Criminal Court. IC is presenting the case against the LRA in a visually compelling and data-rich format in order to give journalists, policy makers, analysts and humanitarians the tools and information to more effectively end this conflict and assist affected communities.

So now that you have an idea of what the "Protection Plan" is all about, "25" is a campaign to go along with that. On April 25, 2011, thousands of people world-wide (myself included) will be "using our voice without using our voice". In other words we will be going silent for 25 hours. that's right folks.. I, Michelle Berkeley will be SILENT for 25 hours! it will be a feat, I am aware but for this, I can and am willing to do it. Until April 25 I will be raising money for this cause. If you are interested in supporting me either financially or by mere encouragement, you can follow my fundraising campaign at this web address:

http://www.stayclassy.org/member/ic-fundraising?fcid=8758

I have cards to hand out prior to the event date that explain what I am doing and cards to hand out during my silence to let people know why I am doing what I am doing. If you would like more info feel free to contact me about it or visit the invisible children website.

Live a life that demands explanation.
xxoo
Michelle

The mysterious manner of God

2010-12-27T21:06:00.001-08:00

Well it is the end of December 27, 2010 here. In Africa it's the beginning of Dec 28, 2010. either way you look at it there are only 4 more days left in this year. What's happening here? Well, Carson mum and binky sit in the dining room playing crib... Carson probably texting Melissa who is currently nearing the end of her trip to Rwanda. I sit here with butterflies in my tummy for several reasons, and Mike... well, Mike sits on a bus bound for Nairobi Kenya where he plans on obtaining a Canadian visa within the next 3 days. Here's the deal:

If the visa is obtained, we'll book his flights here and God willing he will fly back with melissa and we will meet him for the first time in Calgary Friday Dec 31 at 3:50pm. If the visa is not obtained, he will see Melissa out of Africa and plan on coming later this year. Either way my baby sister gets to meet my boyfriend before I even do... weird. but ok. Mike and I have been seriously blessed with how all this has turned out! He has several friends in Uganda and Kenya helping out with the visa issue, I have been given some money to help out with the ticket fare and binky and Carson have been generous enough to offer their many airmiles to help him get here. Just when it was looking grim and I was beginning to have some small doubts about this whole affair working out, God works in his most mysterious manner and things take a turn for the best.

Granted, the ticket isn't booked yet and the visa has yet to be obtained. But I have a sneaking suspicion it will work out.

However this rigamorole has probably caused some serious anxiety for my boss because I keep changing things on my schedule and making her life abundantly difficult. Praise God she is basically the best person ever! Mike and I owe her big!

How do I feel about this whole thing? Excited, terrified, nervous, hopeful, blessed... and probably a whole lot more things that I can't quite put my finger on.

Did I mention that Mike is currently sitting on a bus travelling 1500 miles from Arua, Uganda to Nairobi, Kenya?! well he is. I think he's pretty serious, which is kind of awesome.

I should also talk a little bit about our family Christmas: Weird without Melissa and only a little bit of Bryan. I've actually seriously enjoyed myself! To be perfectly honest this is the first christmas since moving out I've felt really good about being at my parents place and with the family. Sounds awful yes I will admit that, but unfortunately that's the truth of it. But I feel like the winds of change are blowing and we are beginning to like each other the more we grow. Praise God for that on cuz that is a miracle that could ONLY be attributed to Him!

Anyways, so I got from my parents a cricut machine! It is definitely the neatest thing! Mum, dad, Carson and I have been playing with it for seriously 2 days!! it is neat! It is a machine for scrapbooking or card making or home decor creating or whatever your creative juices feel like doing. This thing cuts shapes and letters in very intricate designs, fonts and sizes! LOVE IT! today was adventurous going rock hunting with mum, (long story but it involved a tractor, bull dozer skidoo, and some crazy ploughing by binks!) and then letting her drag me around behind the skidoo after dark! super fun!

anyways, time to sign off. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a VERY Happy new year to all. An update on Mike will follow when there is more news to be shared :D
xxoo

just another "status update"

2010-11-20T11:48:00.000-08:00

While I don't want this to be just another "status update", I know I haven't posted in a while and don't have time for a biggie with photos (I hope to have time for that soon :S) But Hen has requested another post so here tis:

Let's go through my last status update and see what has changed...
~ I have finally adjusted to life on the opening shift (just as I am about to go off of it) - I am not nearly as exhausted all the time and I'm not having bi-daily melt downs :) I know everyone thanks God for that!

~ Michael and I have finished season 4 of Alias and are waiting for his finals to be over to watch the 5th and final season of it... Waiting with Bated breath I may add. And Hen... Alias is SO better!!

~ I have finished the first book I borrowed from Josh that I was reading (which I finished just after camping in September) and am now on the second... still :S

~ Still living with the Komishke's and loving it... only 1 kitten left now
PS - anybody want a kitty?? she is 10 weeks old, the cutest lil calico you have ever seen and is potty trained and everything

~ I have not gotten another job, partially because I like having a little bit of a life and partly because I may be switching shifts soon so I need to wait for that to happen

~ Unfortunately everybody knows global warming did not set in at the rapid pace I was hoping for and so now I am enduring an even more constant state of cold. For those of you who don't know, I am ALWAYS cold. I am a lifeguard who works in a 30 degree environment and I still wear a hoodie :) so winter is not really my thing.

~ Still seeking God on Mike's trip. Here's the scoop:
Mike still does not have his visa nor the money to buy a ticket yet. But, God works in mysterious ways and we are still believing that this will happen. Mike is very determined to make it over here and I am determined to have him. I you feel so inclined PLEASE pray and believe with us that this will happen. If you would like more details feel free to message me any way you know how.

A funny story to end off...
We have a BAD mouse problem at work. I hate mice. last weekend, Dany discovered that she had unknowingly brought that mouse problem home with her :S
Something smelled funny in our house. more specifically in her backpack which she carries back and forth from work with her. She was rummaging through this bag looking for what she expected to be a rotten piece of food causing the smell. She picked up something and when she could finally see what it was... She dropped it, screamed a few choice words and fell to the ground. That's right, a dead baby mouse was in her bag. GROSS I know. This was at 10 in the morning and I was still sleeping with head phones in so I could hear nothing. Hunter, comes Barrelling downstaris yelling "MEECHEE MEECHEE! MOM NEEDS YOU!" now Hunter is always trying to make up excuses to get me outta bed so I never believe anything he says early in the morning. He tells me "mum found a dead mouse in her bag!" I say "Hunter, that's the worst one yet. I'm not getting outta bed". He says "NO MEECHEE really! I pinkie swear!" "Well Hunter, the last time we did that you broke it so that's not happening again" and I roll over. "OK Meechee... let lightning strike me down if I'm lieing!" I think to myself hmm... thats a new one. Maybe he's legit!"Ok Hunter, I'm coming". so we both go upstairs and I find Dany sitting in the corner hyperventilating. Now that I am a first aid instructor you would think I know how to deal with that right? WRONG! in a morning situation where I'm a little frazzeled and overwhelmed I don't think well. What you should do is have the person your helping match your breathing. What I did was pace the kitchen, psyching myself to deal with the mouse myself and give her a glass of water. about an hour later I remembered what to do. hehe :)

anyways, lets just say I came home that night to an overwhelming bleach smell. Dany had disinfected the ENTIRE house at least twice. hehe.

funny anecdote of the weekend :D
xxoo

status update...

2010-09-30T17:01:00.000-07:00

Heare are a few things I have been up to the past while:
~ adjusting to life on the opening shift. Me up = 430am :S.
~ watching Alias with Michael (better than Prison Break even!)
~ reading one of Josh's books... still
~ having 2 weekly coffee dates (at least) with mum and the sis... LOVE IT!
~ living with the Komishke's (My second family, whom I LOVE!)
~ Playing with the Komishke kids (Peyton & Hunter)
~ watching 2 baby kitties new to our house hold
~ trying desperately to keep in touch with old friends :S (bear with me)
~ trying to decide whether or not to get another job
~ trying to finish my first aid instructor certification... to no avail
~ camping with Josh and Michael (WAS A BLAST!!)
~ movie nights with Alyce, Josh and Michael (ALSO A BLAST!!)
~ Hoping global warming sets in at a very rapid pace so I don't have to endure another winter!!
~ meeting with my friend/spiritual mentor Diana!! (LOVE IT!)
~ reading Nelson Mandella's biography
~ preparing myself for the paying off of Student Loans coming up
~ helping out with a friend's wedding (in which I will be participating as a bridesmaid/singer :D super stoked!)
~ seeking God about Mike's trip in December...

This one gets a little expansion. Where are we in this process?? Well for starters, I have become much more chill about this whole debacle. I am definitely having a faith lesson these days in regards to the financial aspect of the trip but Mike is determined to be here in December so we are confident it will work out by God's hand! Mike is still in the process of getting his Visa to visit... For this he needs to actually go to Kenya and submit the application. After that its all set and we believe for the money for a ticket! HOW EXCITING!!!

Here is what we are praying for at this point:
(in the words of a very dear friend who has committed to daily prayer on our behalf)
that Mike and I would both know, that we know, deep inside ourselves, the path that we are to take either together as friends or if there is more than that. That we would BOTH know, not just one of us but both.

and thats about all at the moment. Stay tuned for more (all-be-it few and far between) updates :)
blessings

"It is His mercy that sustains you, even when you hate Him"

Discussing a Mosque at Ground Zero...

2010-08-07T13:07:00.000-07:00

Invisible Children, an organization you all know I support and follow, has posted a blog recently about the debate in America over whether or not to build a mosque at Ground Zero in NYC. It's a heated debate and an interesting one at that. You can find this blog post here

The post is a sub-posting by a man named Brian Mclaren (his credentials are cited within the beginning of the blog) who says some things that I agreed with and stuck with me:

``But being blessed by God gave them no excuse to oppress others, so they were commanded to never forget – never forget what it’s like to be oppressed, so you never become complicit in the oppression of others. The command is repeated often, and even strengthened, as in Leviticus 19:33-34:

``When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him. The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the LORD your God.``

interesting artlicle. Food for thought.

best friends, ain't they grand!

2010-08-07T10:43:00.000-07:00

Who thinks they have the greatest best friends in the world?
NOT ME!!!!
I have the MEANEST best friends IN THE WORLD!!!!!!

Yesterday, the 2 of them (Dany - mom of 2 lady I'm living with, and Michael) enjoyed a day at Galaxy land at West Edmonton mall, an indoor amusement park that usually attracts loads of people in general, (and in my defence), people from all around the world. They were helping out our facility program leaders taking a whole bunch of young kids to spend the day there.

Around 1230 I got a very exciting text message from Michael saying "OMG I just rode the Mindbender with LEO!!!!!" so I messaged him back saying "Leo Dicaprio??" and yes he confirmed, that was who he meant.

I was skeptical at first. Michael knows that he is one of my favorite actors, but he said he got his signature on his wristband. When I asked about a picture he said no Dany had his phone in her bag. but if I didn't believe him it would be all over the news tonight. So I believed him. Dany confirmed that it was true.

So I walk into the office at work (because both Dany and Michael work at the pool with me) and am raving... RAVING about this and soon EVERYBODY in not only the pool, but the entire facility has heard me going on about how horribly jealous I am.

So I go to Michael's last night running down the stairs asking excitedly to see the wristband with the signature on it. Michael looks at me with a puzzled expression and then realizes. He says "Oh. You did believe me!" with a very large grin on his face.

Needless to say, Michael was called a few names before he had the chance to tell me it was Dany's idea.

Dany got an earful this morning. But we have a plan to get Michael back :) and I have a plan for Dany.

Dany says: "If we're not going to make your life exciting, who is?" with a giggle. Her comforting words are constant: "We only pick on you because we love you!" :)

Greatest. Best friends. In the world. right here. :P
Ain't best friends grand?!

The next big thing...

2010-06-29T19:38:00.000-07:00

finally being settled into routine back home, I've begun to consider what comes next. Most of you know I have just finished my BA in English and am now taking the next year off school to work at the pool where I am currently employed. My intention is to head into the education program at Kings in the fall of 2011 and spend the next 2 years working on becoming a teacher.

Most of you also know that it is my dream to teach in Uganda and eventually run a rehabilitation school for ex-child soldiers in the northern part of that country. For this reason I have thought alot about my decision to take a year off but I feel that a break is necessary at this point after my crazy full-on school year.

While most of you know these things, Only some of you know about Mike.

Mike has been my friend (from/in Uganda) for the past 4 years and since we first began communicating (yes via the internet) we have had some kind of a shall I say 'special' relationship. To make a VERY long story short Mike and I have, over the years, discussed dating (we have even given it a shot) and have finally both decided to try and make a relationship of that nature work. Now when I say both, I mean that Mike has never faltered in his commitment to me. So by both I mean that I have finally decided to try and commit to this 'endeavour'.

So... to the point now. Mike and I are believing together that God will bring us together, and soon. We are in the process of arranging a trip over to Canada (for him, obviously) this Christmas. We are hoping and praying faithfully that God sees fit to bless our relationship in this way so we can decide where we go from here.

If your the praying type, please talk to God a little bit about this for us :) if your confused, join the club. This is something similar to a very large leap of faith for me but I feel very positive and at peace about it so, I'll jump and see what happens.

here's hoping something good comes out of this...
xxoo

Finally... the final episode

2010-06-29T16:27:00.000-07:00

Well being back from Australia for just over a week I felt it was definitely time to post something... since I got rather lazy towards the end of our trip and posted nothing :S. silly me.

Alyce and I had a great time at the end. Alyce came back to Melbourne just in time for us to fly to Townsville. My uncle Pete, AUnty Barb, and cousins Bec and Dan saw us off at the airport bringing our time in my favorite city to a somewhat sad end. But landing in Townsville 2.5 hours later, Alyce and I began to enjoy some heat (because it was nearing winter at that time, southern Australia does, contrary to popular belief, get rather chilly)

For the last 2 weeks of our trip I am glad to say we did basically nothing!!! except lounge on the beach where I actually did earn a nice little tan for myself! Nothing compared to Alyce or other friends here but for me, it was more than just the usual freckles or burns that show up, so I was proud.

We spent our time between our hostel in Townsville, the beach 15 minutes away and Magnetic island (about 1 20 minute ferry ride off the east coast of Townsville) We loves the island finding the beach beautiful for lounging and swimming. We found several little markets in both places and since both of us are kinda suckers for a good market we spent alot of time in each.

Finally we flew back south to Sydney for 2 whole days before leaving for home. Here Alyce climbed the Harbour bridge and I hung out on a ferry in the harbour while she did so. we wandered around some shops and just stayed kind of mellow. well, I tried to convince Alyce to come home early (funnily enough) however this was very unsuccessful as all Alyce wanted was to be buried in the sand so I would leave her. That didn't happen either.

The long flight home was fairly easy although neither of us really slept at all and therefore... The jetleg hit us HARD!! I was a wreck for my entire visit to Vancouver. Thank goodness for Marvin and Josh who kind of guided me around like a lost puppy to and from a friends wedding, and providing me with the time of my life (as usual).

The drive back to Alberta for Josh and I was just as long as the flight from Sydney to LA but much more stimulating and I was beginning to perk up by then. ALyce and I have both settled nicely back into work and family life. Alyce living with her parents and sister again, me living with the beautiful family of my work friend Dany, and both of us back at the pool.

To our Aussie friends and hosts... Thank you a billion! we had a blast and love every single one of you!!! To the friends and family we have not seen in quite some time, we miss you and look forward to much quality time!!
Love, Michelle and Alyce
xxoo

an account of recent events...

2010-05-30T23:37:00.000-07:00

G'DAY!!!! (as they say here in Oz)

Well here I sit after a very full on weekend with some great-as friends at a beautiful beach house in a small town called Ocean Grove and I find myself... content. It's a nice feeling that has escaped me for some time now. Alyce has left me for the warm weather up north on the Sunshine Coast!!!! just a brief update on her... she's visiting some of her family's friends there. She left on Friday and will be back probably on Saturday just in time for us to head back in that direction on Sunday!!! She's taking surf lessons!! YAY Alyce :) so I hope she has tonnes of fun there although I dread seeing her walk off that plane all tanned and stuff when all I get in that department is freckly :( if not red.

I left Alyce to find the airport on her own Thursday night and went to a friends on the other side of the city to prepare for our big weekend the next day. Mic, Sharyn and their 2 kids Ethan and Lily are some of my closest friends here from my Melbourne days 3 years ago and I was excited to get to know anew their family!! On Friday, we packed up the car (and it was packed!) shoved the 2 kids and ourselves in where there was some breathing space and took off to meet Jayne and Rob at a Macca's (Canadians - this is short for McDonalds here and I want everybody to begin referring to it as such hehe) on the ring road out of Melbourne. We ate, played and left.

I must add as well that the kids were already referring to me as "Aunty Chelle" at this point... Sharyn must have been doing some prep! after Macca's it was time to pick up the house keys from Sharyn's friend Emma who is also a zoo-keeper at the Weerabee Open Range Zoo... and she got us in and gave us a tour for free!!!!! so much fun!! we saw hippo's, monkeys, meerkats, Lions - up close and personal I might add - and some African Dogs. It was pretty neat and the kids loved it, as did I :) now off to the beach house where we got everything set up waiting for everyone else to arrive!

The beach house was beautiful and included an outdoor, in-ground pool (too cold to swim in however) as well as an enclosed spa (hot tub). needless to say we spent alot of time in that over the weekend! eventually Mic, Jacob (Dippy - or Lil Miss Retart as I prefer to call him... for good reason :P) and Liz showed up and the party began!! This was my possy 3 years ago (with a few missing like Jenny, Jon, Kelly and Nathan who were all sorely missed) and I was so very happy to be back with them.

For you lifeguards, the time in the spa was not wasted... in no time I had Ethan floating and blowing his bubbles as we all joined in and sang "Tiny Turtle" my favorite preschool swimming game! (it was stuck in everyone's head all weekend long and now the thing I hear most from Ethan is "Chelle... we play turtle game? Mine BLUE!"
so very cute!! the weekend consisted of eating great food, catching up, eating, watching the underworld trilogy, "Spa'ing", eating, sleeping, eating, beaching, spa'ing, eating, sleeping, gaming, eating, spa'ing... well you catch my drift. mostly eating and sitting in the spa... so nice!

I was introduced to Mel Brooks movies such as "Robin Hood: men in tights" and "Spaceballs". I definitely loved Robin Hood, Spaceballs not so much. After we all parted ways I spent another night with the Snooks and today we went up Mount Macedon through the fog, survived a car breakdown and I got safely back to the Acklands thanks to Sharyn.

This week promises: the sending of postcards (sorry, I know they should have been sent long ago), posting of pictures, hanging out with the cousins, more of the Snooks, catching up with Jenny when she flies in on Sunday just before I leave, and having Alyce come back to me YAY!!!

I promise, Alyce will post an entry about her adventures when she gets a chance.
This will likely be the last before Townsville!
Love to all... we miss you :)
about 17 days left over here... dunno how we feel about it!
xxoo Michelle (and Alyce from afar)

a very quick update...

2010-05-19T05:55:00.000-07:00

...well, kinda an update. We just thought everybody should be aware that so far, as Canadians we have been exceptionally well and warmly received. But so far, Canada has only been associated with Polar bears... and Michael Buble.

That's right. The nice man at the sandwich shop in Tazzy said he'd love to visit Canada in order to go rock climbing. However, the only deterrent for him is the polar bears, which he is rather afraid of. We did try to assure him you have to go very far north to find our white furry friends and we realized after leaving that we probably could have got him caught up in the typical igloo joke and really convinced him that only hockey players were wealthy enough to live in real Canadian houses and that the rest of us only live in igloos. Sadly we were nowhere near quick witted enough for that and he completely missed our comments about the rarity of polar bears in the Rockies, so I'm not sure it would have been overly nice to convince him we live in igloos.

Today while shopping at the greatest factory outlet mall (thats right, a whole mall dedicated to brand name factory outlet shops with extremely awesome sales) a lady at one of the tills asked what our accent was. When we told her it was Canadian she simply replied "I love Michael Buble". We both giggled and left. (Alyce has just commented that she was in fact "kind of an odd lady")

Quotable Quotes from the journey thus far...

2010-05-17T22:51:00.000-07:00

2 weeks down and 4 to go, here we sit in Launceston's (Northern Tasmania) dinky little airport (as we have been for the last 4 hours) and we can't help but reflecting on some of the verbal highlights of the trip thus far. Here's a small sampling (out of context to ensure they are as funny as they can be :D)

Alyce: "THESE FENCES WERE MADE TO KEEP PEOPLE OUT!!!!" :(

Michelle: "There, I'm sitting on the candy now...!"

Alyce: "I think I just ate the paper :S"

Alyce: "LEFT LEFT LEFT!"

Alyce: " DEAD THING!!!!! EEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWW"

Michelle: "...sketchy enough to belong in that parking lot!" (since Alyce figures this one needs more context, and I guess I agree :P, we went to see Iron man 2 last night and parked in a parking lot across the road. While I was looking for change, Alyce looked over and saw a woman shooting up in the car next to us. SKETCHY! after the movie we were discussing said sketchyness and Alyce put her hood up and asked if she looked sketchy enough. I replied with "Sketchy enough to belong in that parking lot". ALyce doesn't want you to know this, but she didn't really look all that sketchy :P)

Alyce: "MICHELLE! THIS IS DANY'S BRAIN SPEAKING! GET OUT OF THAT TREE NOW!"

* Alyce has successfully completed her Koala apprenticeship and can now take a job as a Koala in Josh's front yard. She hopes this will be a paid position. If she does not return to work for the summer, you can likely find her there. being a koala.

Ps we have tried to post pics on here and it didn't work so we will try again later. There are so many other funny things said that unfortunately we haven't been documenting and so do not remember :(

another AWESOME side note... while wandering around in Launceston we found the NEATEST things!! all you pool people will appreciate this! there were croc BOOTS!!!! That's right ladies and gentlemen... boots that are crocs!!!! WHY DO WE NOT HAVE SUCH COOL THINGS IN CANADA???!!! a picture will be posted as soon as I can get the picture thing to work on here
Love to all, off to Melbourne we are
Alyce & Michelle
xxoo

Overdramatic Adventure #2...

2010-05-17T22:35:00.000-07:00

...Michelle learns to drive: from Alyce's perspective.
"IIIIIIIIRRRRRRRRCCCCCCCCHHHHHHH. LEFT LEFT LEFT!!!"

Over-dramatic Adventure Number 1...

2010-05-08T16:53:00.000-07:00

... Cross your fingers with us that NOTHING in the remainder of this trip gets even REMOTELY close to the drama we encoutered in the previous 36 hours!!!

First-of-alll, HI FROM DOWN UNDER!!!! ALyce and I have both made it safe and sound to Brisbane, Queensland and are staying with my nana and her dog Buddy! The weather is gorgeous and the chortling and cackling of the unique bird-life here has caused us to make a very important decision... Brace yourselves (You especially Dany) WE'RE NEVER RETURNING TO COLD CANADA EVER EVER AGAIN!!!!!!

ok before you make any rash decisions and decide how and when you are going to "hunt us down like the dogs we are" breathe and just think... YOU CAN COME AND STAY WITH US TOO!!!!!
Ok so we will actually come home on the designated day. (Alyce adds I guess,)but we'll be back (Michael and Josh just so you know, you will be returning with us :D)

Ok well here's the story:
Our flight from Edmonton to Vancouver was swell. In Vancouver we ate and found our flight. had our bags checked and (make a good note of this) got our boarding passes. Then we proceeded to the most exciting time of this leg - 4 hours of waiting for our flight to LAX. (at this moment Alyce is trying to decide whether she wants to sky-dive or do something out of character that will make her want to cry. Stay tuned for more info on this :D) well, at 2:45 we went to board our flight to LA and they let me through but the flight attendant informed us there was an issue with Alyce's booking. She had a booking but no ticket!!?? umm... excuse me, how does that even work? well she was going to tell us.

The Australian airline (Qantas) through which we had booked this whole thing, hadn't processed the visa transaction to pay for her ticket. Alyce was asked politely to call the airline to get it figured out and she was told this by the lady on the other end: "We're having trouble converting the Canadian to Australian dollars. can we put you on hold for 5 minutes while we get it sorted out?" Sure. fine. well, at this point, everyone else has boarded the plane except us and a pushy Asian lady who was anxiously waiting for one of us to end up not getting on the plane as her booking was a standby and she desperately wanted Alyce's seat. so there we all stood, Alyce still on hold, me questioning the flight attendant on how the heck we got past the check in AND received a boarding pass instead of being informed of the situation. The flight attendant tells me she doesn't think we will make the flight and that she needed a description of our bags to take them off. I give her the description and another lady tells me I should board the plane and they will take care of Alyce and put her on the next one once this gets sorted out. I assured this new lady that I was staying with Alyce as she has never travelled before. I also said if this was an issue they should let our bags go on and we could track them down later. No, i was not allowed to stay with ALyce. At 3:30, already 10 minutes past our departure time, I am forced to board the plane alone while Alyce is still stuck on hold with the airline trying to figure it all out. Let me re-phrase that, I boarded the plane very begrudgingly and with tears in my eyes along side a very VERY annoyingly happy and pushy Asian lady.

When I left Alyce, we were both very teary eyed, aggarvated and angry. I promised her I would do my best to get it sorted out in LA and then come and find her. Alyce tells me that once I left she had a mild panic attack wherein she screamed inside "BUT I'M JUST A BABY! I'VE NEVER TRAVELLED BEFORE AND I'M SO YOUNG! WHY ME?" Now, this is very comical to both of us, however at the time I'm sure that this conveys every ounce of anxiety Alyce was feeling. I arrived in LA and was fairly composed. And then I called my dad. He picked up saying "Hey! Your in LA! nearly half way there!" to which I replied, now sobbing just a little: "ALYCE IS STILL IN VANCOUVER!" There was silence on the phone. "What? ALyce is where?" my binky asked. "She's still in Vancouver and they wouldn't let me stay with her! I can't even imagine what shes thinking right now! and I don't even know what to do!" Binky calmed me down and we hatched out a plan of which I won't go into great detail because this part is kind of boring. basically I tried to switch my flights, I tried to switch her flights I tried to change anythign and everything, I tried begging as hard as I could to get us together and nothing worked. I finally got ahold of Alyce who was just about to leave Vancouver and her flights had been changed so she was now going LA to Sydney to Brisbane. This was the phrase I was dreading hearing. The last thing I wanted was Alyce having to land in Sydney and attempt to get through customs there. (Alyce adds: "*giggle* I got the random bomb search") I should also add, I was strip-searched trying to get through security in LA! Ladies my advice... don't wear underwire bras while travelling.

One more random experience Alyce had at the LA customs... the customs officer, upon seeing her passport asked her where her wings were. Alyce replied that she wasn't sure what he meant and he asked her again. She said she didn't have those. this was his reply: "But aren't you an angel?" Alyce giggled and then walked away. O boy, I think we are in for quite a trip with my cute little travel buddy!! :D

so we didn't meet up in LA, and after a 14 hour flight I arrived in Brisbane. promptly called mum who said she didn't have Alyce's flight number but that she was to arrive at 9:05 am. I headed to the domestic terminal and waited. I met that flight,no Alyce. I met the next flight, no Alyce. I met my nana outside and went back in to see if she would come off the next. Nope, No Alyce there either. I asked 3 Qantas representatives who said they couldn't tell me anything because of confidentiality. And then nan came in. She marched (and I mean marched) up to the qantas desk and laid it all out. (at this point, I would have been a little frightened if I was that lady behind the desk). After a little negotiating and no interventions from me, the lady said this: "Well maam, all I can do is advise you to be at gate 21 at 11:30". Thank you we said and went to wait near the gate.

Finally, to my relief and joy, Alyce was the 6th person to walk off that plane (yes, I may have been counting the people) and I felt the world lift off of my shoulders (and then apologized profusely telling her travelling is NOT always this bad!

then there was the baggage issue and here we wait at 4:45 Saturday for her bags to arrive. Hopefully that will happen soon. tomorrow we hope to go for a swim, fish and chips on the beach, then catch my cousins netball game and tea with my uncles family in the evening. Tuesday is Australia Zoo (YAY) and Wed off to Tazzy!!!

PS we have a mobile number: for folks in Canada it will be this: 011-61-4-3202-6479
try and give us a text if you like and we hope to text back :D
Love to all! Hope you made it to the end of this VERY long (yes, we know) post... but we thought it was worth sharing :D
xxoo
Alyce and Michelle

Off to adventure-land!!!

2010-05-06T01:06:00.000-07:00

Well folks, this one will be brief...
In about 8 hours Alyce and I will be boarding a flight bound for Vancouver, then Australia! Here is a brief itinerary:

Edmonton - Vancouver
Vancouver - LA
LA - Brisbane
Brisbane, Queensland - Launceston, Tasmania
Launceston - Melbourne
Melbourne - Townsville, Queensland
Townsville - Sydney
Sydney - LA
LA - Vancouver
Dani's wedding in Vancouver and then driving home with Josh :D
updates to come!

Ringing in the new year with a shot and myself :P

2009-12-31T23:30:00.000-08:00

Half an hour into 2010 and I am officially bored. I finished the first season of Gossip Girl, one of the tackiest shows ever but I am somehow intrigued. I know that if I start the next I will be glued to the computer screen for the next few days and will not prepare for my FINAL SEMESTER OF MY UNDERGRAD!!!!! That's right folks... on May 1 2010 Michelle Berkeley will be graduating from the King's University College in Edmonton Alberta with a Bachelor of Arts in English. This day is exactly 5 months away. you know what else is exactly 5 months and 5 days away? MY LONG AWAITED TRIP DOWN UNDA!!!!!! Back to my home I will go!!! YESSSSSS!!! I cannot even tell you how very very excited I am!

I got my second (and what mum hopes will be the last) tattoo today!!!! Super cool!! Located on my right foot it says the following:
"We loved because he first loved us" 1 John 4:19
I like it and find it relevent (well I wouldn't have had it put on me if I didn't find it relevent) because one of my goals this past year was to learn to love unconditionally. Honestly, I'm gunna need another solid lifetime of years to actually accomplish this but hey, it was a start.

Ironically enough though, I had a minor car crash today before getting it. SOmeone cut me off and so I slid out of control on an icy overpass and ended up hitting the guard rail, thankfully with only minr damage to my beloved accent and no second thought from the other dude. thanks man. When talking to dad about it he remarked "well this way when you kick him in th ass he'll be reading from the bible!" I replied by saying "yeah, ya know what is ironically funny... its about love" to this he replied with great roars of laughter. HA! yes yes. I get it. forgiveness and love forgiveness and love. hehe what a nice moment that was.

Well I suppose this occassion, the ringing in of a new decade, deserves some resolutions... so here they are. Hopefully somehwhat attainable and realistic:
Grow my hair out so I no longer "require" rad extensions to achieve the look I want from my unruly hair, use cool-as words like "rad" and "groovy", go to Australia (EEEEEEEEEEEEK), Swim, try to decide what ACTUALLY to do with my life, dive my heart out, keep my room clean (fingers crossed), officially and finally completely move out of mum and dad's, try to be completely open (stess the word try) to whatever else God's got in store for me. It's going to be a bumyp ride. But hey, who knows. Maybe I will learn to like roller-coasters :D
xxoo

Looks like February... wait, its October!

2009-10-14T17:34:00.000-07:00

Well, I have some unexpected time on my hands and i have been wanting to blog for quite some time and haven't been able to. But I am now sick in my bed with Pneumonia :( and bored of studying for my political science mid-term so blogging here I come!!

Thanksgiving happened this past weekend so after 2 months in the city I finally had the chance to head back to the farm (which is something i do much more often under any other circumstances)! The reason it has been so long is because this year I am working full time as well as taking a full course load at school (5x 3 credit courses). So far it has been challenging but well worth the effort. I have even given up procrastination (most of the time) in order to help this endeavor!

I continue to work as a full time lifeguard/instructor/supervisor at the Leduc Recreation Center - which I LOVE! We recently opened our new facility to the public and we are so excited about this!! It doesn't change a lot for us lifeguards except that in an emergency we act as first responders throughout the facility - which is daunting and exciting all at once :) At school I am taking 3 English courses (Romantic literature, Modernist Literature, and Arthurian Literature - all very enjoyable) as well as Introduction to Astronomy (Which is alot of math which I am not fond of but sooooo much fun!) and Political science which is so far nice and easy!

(the scene outside my window in Edmonton, Oct 14/09)

Well as I alluded to in my title... IT IS SNOWING!!!!! The scenery outside looks like a day in February (granted there is normally a tad bit more snow at that time but just haiving snow right now is atrocious!) and is just as cold!!! Normally this time of year brings lovely colors (other than white), chillier temps (but not THIS chilly), scarves and mittens. But NOT winter jackets, snow pants and boots and terrible road conditions! Save that for AFTER halloween! So the snowboarders (like my lil sis) are getting all amped up as well as those planning on attending or participating in the Winter games to be hosted in Vancouver next February. However, here I sit in my warmish bed on the verge of tears wishing I had never returned from that beautiful, hot place they call Oz!! At least at work I get some warmth and humidity but alas I will not be working this week as my EMT supervisor figures I need to get some rest. Yes Matt, your right. But that is not what I would like to be doing. Well a great time for some massive studying and paper writing! I hope to get nice and ahead :)
This is my buddy Jared (pictured above). He is currently on his 2 year mission in Utah (yup he's a Mormon). He has been my pen-pal of late and I love getting and writing letters to him! I met Jared at work, he was a lifeguard long before me and we believe that God had a plan for us to meet up! nope were not in love or anything like that (Calm down Josh, were just friends :P) but he was meant to leave in January for his mission and ended up sticking around till June. If he had left in January, I would not have met one of my closest friends in the world. So the countdown has begun 20 more months until my mormon comes home!!! yay!!!Another little tid bit about today, this would have been Derrick's 27th birthday. (Pictured above) Derrick was a very dear friend of mine who died last February after sustaining severe injuries in a car accident. Happy birthday babe!

A cool event that I attended with my room mates in September called "Music is a Weapon". This group comes together to do random things to fight poverty, injustice, ignorance and for education. We attended this cool gathering in a park off of whyte ave where we participated in a drum circle, people twirled hoola hoops and flung frisbees all night long. There was a bunch of art showcased and just a whole lotta cool-as people to hang out with. The guy in the picture above was twirling a baton with fire ont he ends! Very cool! Soon they are doing an event called "Busk for Darfur" people are going to be busking throughout the city for a couple of days in shifts (playing their instruments or whatever kinda talents they feel like using) and all of the proceeds (money that random passersby feel like tossing at them) go towards aid in Darfur, Sudan - a cause I am very passionate about. So I most likely won't have time to get out and do any busking myself but I would sure like to donate and I am very excited about the idea and though many of you would be too :)

Well, I suppose this has been a long enough study break. I best get back at it. Love to all, and to all a good night :D
xxoo
Michelle

Summer '09 thus far

2009-07-19T13:44:00.000-07:00

Meet Mark :D (Canada day we went to an outdoor movie in the park!)

Well I seriously dislike how little I ever post on here! I always think about it and can either never find the time to do it, don't have anything overly interesting to say or can never justify spending my time this way when there are so many pressing things to do! SO I suppose I should rearrange my priorities if I want to complain about this here :)

Nicole, Me, Renee at the football game (I got free tickets! YEAH!)

Well my summer began with a lovely trip to BC, which was the last post I made at the beginning of May. This was a lovely week spent with great friends. I found out yesterday, through a phone call from my good friend Marvin, the Jamaican man featured in some of the BC photos, that his wife Andrea is in fact PREGNANT!!!!!!!! We have been anxiously awaiting this day here in Edmonton (and by we I mean myself and close friends who know Marvin and Andrea well) for a long time!!! CONGRATULATIONS Bravo's!!!!!!!! We can't wait! This has been one of 2 highlights of the week for me :)

Hanging out at the football game (Me, Renee, Josh)

The second being a missed phone call from Mike! My friend from Uganda that I have e-mailed quite frequently but haven't actually talked to on the phone since I was in Oz! How sad :( even more sad I missed his call. and I don't have a phone that can make international calls at the moment :( but how wonderful to hear his voice! :)

What else have I been up to this summer...
I was recently promoted to permanent full time lifeguard at the Leduc Recreation Center! This means i get wicked pay, full benefits, 3 weeks paid vacation, and guaranteed 40 hours a week! YAY! This also means that I will be working full time as well as going to school almost full time for the next 8 months in order to graduate from the King's University College next May! It will be a very full on year but one I am looking forward to!

I have spent the last few months living in a house with 3 friends and will be staying on in the same house with a new group of friends in the fall. For the summer I am living with Mark, Josh and Marie. Marie I have lived with for the past 2 years in residence at Kings, Mark and Josh both lived across the hall 2 years ago and have become my best friends. Marie will soon be moving to Montreal to go to grad school, while Mark and Josh will be moving in with another close friend Justin just down the street from us. In the fall I will have 4 more girls move in, all of them being close friends of mine. This excites me so much :D

Dani riding a torpedo at the Stasmpede!

I spent a weekend in Calgary with my girlfriend Dani and her dog Gemma! Gemma

We went to the stampede, saw some cowboys and just hung out at starbucks! Our favorite retreat :D It was a great way to spend my long weekend!

Me in front of the Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta

On the way back I stopped off at mum and binky's and found Melissa taking care of a very tiny and cute baby duck!Melissa and the ducky!

He was so friendly. Apparently Melissa and Bryan had found him on the side of the road next to his deceased mother. How tragic! They had to take him in. Melissa decided it would be best to take the baby to a neighbor who raises birds and would know best how to care for the duckling. But she checks in on him every day :D What a great girl!

Yesterday we went rafting in the North Saskatchewan River! (Josh, Myself, Renee, Mark and Gail) It was a blast! we spent roughly 3 hours pretty much just floating down the river enjoying the warm sun and lovely river valley scenery! Mark and I had bought 2 small dingy's for the event and tried paddling ourselves along to no avail and so soon hooked up with the borrowed canoe the other 3 were in and got pulled the rest of the way. The 2 of us did nothing but lay back and provide the comedic relief with much giggling and singing! What a lovely time!

Those have been only some of the highlights... O YA!!
Janine and Terry finally got married! While I was in Oz they got engaged and now they have finally made it official! Janine is a very close friend of mine who I met 4 years ago in my first year of college and we have been very close ever since! CONGRATS!!!!! I was so happy and she was so beautiful!

So yes, these are a few of the wonderful highlights. Enjoy the photos, and I hope the descriptions do them justcie :)
xxoo

Beautiful British Columbia

2009-05-19T18:35:00.000-07:00

Last week my best Pal Josh and I took a trip to Abbotsford BC! About a 12 hour drive from our house in Edmonton (which we did not make but insteas chose to fly), Abbotsford boasts green grass, bright colors, blooming tree buds and blossoming flowers! It was stunning! The smell was the very first thing we noticed upoin our departure from the aircraft. I knew right away that in a weeks time it would be very difficult for me to leave.

Let me tell you a little bit about what Edmonton is like at the moment...

Normally this time of year brings buds and greening grass here as well. The old saying "April showers brings May flowers" usually rings true. Nope, not this year. In 2009, May has been rather dark, cold and dreary. Often in the mornings we wake up to snow-covered cars!! NOT SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN!!!! We need precipitation to give the fields a bit of relief but must it be in the white fluffy form???!!!! I despise the cold as it is, and now it seems never ending. Can someone remind me why it is I cam back from beautiful Australia? I seem to have lost sight of that reasoning.Marvin and Josh @ White rock

Anyway, back to the important reminiscing on our week in Abby. We met up with wonderful old friends, Marvin and Andrea Bravo. Marvin (description - wonderful Jamaican man), is currently studying to get his masters in clinical psychology at Trinity Western University. Josh and I had the priviledge of sitting in on half of one of his classes our first day there. Later we just walked along the campus trails and took in the exquisite scenery.Josh found his "Enlightenment" tree on campus at Trinity :)

Marvin, Me and Josh at White Rock

Tulips were growing EVERYWHERE! these have a rather special meaning to me. Derrick's favorite flowers were tulips. I now understand why... because they are beautiful and grow madly there!
We spent that and the next night at Andrea's parents lovely abode.

Tuesday was spent at White rock. A nice tourist town on the coast which reminded me alot of surfer's paradise (only slightly chillier and less sunny). We wandered up and down the main street chatting like old times. Josh - post his first swim in the ocean

Josh had his first encounter with the ocean and so decided to take a dip! This was a very funny endeavour, enjoyed by all! That night we caught the 2nd in a 7 game series where the Vancouver Canucks (the local hockey team) took on the Boston Bruins and won! This was a great time for all of us as this was something we did regularly together when Marvin was our residence director/boss at King's last year (Josh and I were both Community Life Leaders under him)

The Kingma Residence (Andrea's gracious parents)

Wednesday we met up with one of Josh's former room mates Ryan! We are both quite close with Ryan and enjoyed seeing him again! Ryan took us on a tour of Vancouver and then for Greek food!! yummy! Josh and Ryan!!

we stayed the night at Ryan's place and in the morning he brought us back to Marvin's whoi later was kind enough to drop us off at our final destination... the Timmermans residence!Visiting grandma statue in the park :)

We spend Thursday night, Friday and Saturday with the Timmermans. This was the big reason for our trip. I was meeting for the first time most of Derrick's family. I know well 2 of his sisters and on brother but had only briefly met his parents and never met his 2 youngest siblings. This was such a blessing to all of us.The front of the Timmermans BEAUTIFUL home!

Thursday we hung out at the local pool and then enjoyed pizza at a nearby restaurant. Friday Case, Derrick's father, wanted to show me the business! He owns a landscaping company! So we spent the better part of the day touring the area and looking at recent job sites. We then saw Derrick's land cruiser - his baby! It was in the shop but just sitting in it was good enough for me. Later Jeanette, Derrick's sister took us to the Othello Tunnels, a group of old tunnels built in 1938 for the railway! What a sight!

When we arrived back at the house, the rest of the family was there waiting for us and Josh and I took a beautiful ride up the mountain with all 5 of Derrick's younger siblings. We rode in Corwin's (one of the brothers) pick up truck and arrived at the summit just as the sun was setting! Whata beautiful sight to behold! We had a brief fire then made our way back down to enjoy hot chocolate and family photos!

Saturday was the day of our departure and I was wanting to visit Derrick's grave sight. Jeanette gave us directions that ended up being wrong (LOL) and long story short Josh and I got to know Highway 1 very well in the 2 hours we spent driving back and forth on it. Sadly we never made it to the site but I was very content with that.

One more side story...
Friday morning I had woken early and opened my door only to find a note and flower from Corwin. I managed to get the flower on the plane back home in my water bottle and it still lives! It is very beautiful and means so much to me!

I figure that is enough story telling for now. Enjoy the photos.
Love to all

Musings...

2009-04-23T23:56:00.000-07:00

I've just finished reading a book called "The Shack" by William Paul Young. What a phenomenal book!! It took me quite a while to read because I went very very slowly, carefully making notes in the margins and really taking in everything that was said. It seems this read happened at the perfect time! I have been thinking alot on relationship lately and this book discusses it in detail! I have thought on so many different aspects of relationship like relationship with God, people, romantic or not; family vs friendships, the issue of power and control in relationship, selfishness and others. This was brought on by reflecting on my relationship with my baby sister Melissa who is about to turn 16 in June. Her and I are so very different and at times our relationship is very strained. I have come to realize that it just might be possible that a partial reason for this strain could be my desire for power and control. I often feel like she has no idea about how the world really works because she seems stuck in her own little bubble of what looks to me like selfishness. However I am now wondering if this reflects my own selfishness.

The reading of this book has also brought on other musings about going to church, religious rituals, obligations we put on ourselves and each other, freedom, how I perceive myself versus how I am learning God perceives me, living in community, patience (or my lack thereof), and countless other thoughts. It has been a great time but unfortunately I am in the midst of a move and a hectic work schedule so I have had minimal amounts of time to really hash out my thoughts.

I have also seen myself grow out of some things in my life recently (or have decided I want to) and grow into some things.
I have/am growing out of: hating my hair and being ok with letting it do what it wants :), being afraid to go after something, being unhappy with who I am; more specifically the volume of my presence (as I am a rather loud and boisterous person which sometimes makes me feel like I cause people to run in the opposite direction of me), being shy (what's the point anyway?) etc.
I am growing into things like: listening to and learning from my friends and family (so when Josh nicely and calmly tells me I should be a little quieter, I listen a little better rather than brushing him off right away), being able to hash out and therefore discuss what it is I really believe, feeling no obligations to do anything with/for anyone else, but WANTING to do things for/with others, having spare change or timmies cards on me to give to people with less than me even when I feel like I have nothing to give, and finally boldness in my faith and just in general getting rid of my shyness.

Anyways, thats an awful lot of words with no pictures to break it up but I felt the need to write this all down so that I, if nobody else, can go back and read it to try and organize myself :D

Card Making...

2009-04-07T00:06:00.000-07:00

Lately I have been on a card making frenzy! I am beginning to acquire more and more supplies to do it and with each step forward in that I get more and more excited! I have joined a monthly Stampin up! club (previously is a link to the stampin up! website where I get most of my supplies. others I get from Michael's or Walmart) where we meet every month, usually on a Sunday afternoon, and learn 3 new card formats. Somtimes it wanders on over to the scrapbooking end of the art but for the moment it's all about cards!I have begun filling up some empty wall space in my room with these cards. I have hung dental floss across the wall, drooping a little, and then placed each card on there. Among these hand made cards I also have some of the ones I got for my birthday from family and friends. 2 of which sing! Thanks to mum and Melissa for that :) I would love to be able to make my own singing cards! maybe I will run across an idea on how to do that!

forgive me for the poor quality in photos. If I remember correctly I took these photos in some very bad lighting and so they are a little blurry.

Birthday numba 21

2009-03-09T07:17:00.000-07:00

(BIRTHDAY CAKE!!!)

Yesterday was my official birthday and what a day it was. But I felt like it was a whole weekend full of birthday craziness! Friday night I went with some friend to one of the opening showings of WATCHMEN, which is one of my best friend Josh's favorite graphic novels, so as you can imagine, he was stoked about it... almost to the point of dressing up! but I think I convinced him not to! It was so fun to wait around in line for seats to a sold out show and then race to get good ones! after that, a midnight trip to Denny's! Open 24 hours for all your late night study needs!

(My favorite boys: Mark, Josh and JP)

Saturday was a lazy day at first! I slept in till 11, and after getting up at 3:30 a couple mornings last week to open the pool, this felt wonderful! a nice phone conversation with mum and Melissa which ended in mum wanting to speak with my roommate Renee... keep this in mind for later, it didn't seem suspicious to me at the time ans mum and Renee talk alot :P(Hen and I in our summer gear, protesting winter! you can't see it but we are in capri's and sandals and had just run through a bunch of snow!)

The day tottled (if that is a word, I dunno) on nicely in expectation of a small party that evening. Josh said that for my birthday we were going on a shopping spree to walmart because he had been given a giftcard for Christmas and wasn't sure how much was on it but I would get to spend it all :D I spent the $30 nicely and got a movie that I have recently seen called "The Secret Life of Bees" (you can see the synopsis here) I had mentioned to Josh that I had to make a trip to costco to pick up some chips for mum because she had to do snacks for Kids church. I already thought mum wanted way too much because she wanted 3 large bags of chips but I said I would get them! But what was funny to me, and now is even funnier, was that Josh tried to convince me to buy muffins instead. But I said I would just go with the chips to make mum happy. Now I think I should have called mum and asked her because she would have laughed really really hard hearing about it!

Saturday night came and my roomate Nicole was throwing a party for me so we were cooking pizza's, setting out chips, visiting with people, a friend came down fromf Fort Macmurray for the weekend and I was so excited to see him! and we played Cranium. I had never played before and needless to say my team lost but we had a blast! people went there separate ways and my roomies and I went out for drinks at the Sawmill nearby, stayed up till 1:50 (as 1:48 was the time I was born 21 years ago) and then went to bed only to rise early for church in a few hours.

(Cake on my nose!!! that would be Bryan... he also tried to shove my whole face in the cake and came very close to succeeding until mum intervened :P)

Sunday morning started off as any other allthought my roomie Henrietta was up considerably earlier than I thought she would be but I didn't think anything of it. I left on my own to church with the family and arrived there relatively safely. The roads were very interesting and the weather was and continues to be cold and very blustery. We had worship practice and as we were praying I looked out the window and saw a car drive in. I thought to myself "huh, the only person I know with a car like that is Tracy. I wonder who these people are". A short time later another car drove in looking similar to my friend Mark's car. I thought a similar thing to myself again with no suspiscion. and then I closed my eyes in worship at the perfect time just as my 9 closest friends piled into the church. I guess I was really worshipping as I did not hear the commotion at all!! I opened my eyes just as they were getting out of all their winter gear. I saw Josh and thought, but his car is broken! how did he get out here? then I saw Sam and Marie and wondered that is so strange! I don't understand how they... and then I saw the rest of them! Mark, JP, Renee, Tracy, Sophie, and Henrietta and they all yelled out SURPRISE!!!! with big grins on their faces!!!! I was so overwhelmed I cried a little! My mum, in cohorts with Renee and Tracy, planned this and got all of my friends out for the day!!( The group of us at mum and dad's)

I won't make this much longer and go over all the details, but it was quite an adventure getting back home from church in whiteout conditions with drifts higher than our vehicles all around us. Mark's car got stuck once and mum, who was plowing the way for us with the cadillac, lost a headlight and part of her front bumper in the chaos. (some very sleepy party goers!! JP's back was very sore after this... we also discovered he sleeps with his eyes partly open! CREEPY)

We somehow ended up watching ol home videos of me singing, telling stories of how we all met, discussing the sermon etc. Trying to leave later, Tracy's front axel was frozen solid and we spent an hour pouring hot water over it to get it unfrozen and then Bryan, with the tracor, plowed our way on 4 miles of gravel roads to the highway. This was surely my favorite birthday ever. And I think it always will be :D(This is what happens when you come from -20 weather inside a very cozy and warm house!)

Things that made me love you

2009-02-23T14:12:00.000-08:00

~ Left over Mashed Potatoes after CHRISTMAS dinner. ~DROPPING those potatoes and in turn your attitude towards your investment LOSS.
~ Spending 45 MINUTES at 2:30am rearranging MAGNETIC fridge words into abstract, NON-SENSICAL phrases.
~ The Fact that EVERYONE knew and LOVED YOU!
~ Your intense concentration LOOK.
~ The Way your EYES get big and you raise your eyebrows during an INTENSE and deep CONVERSATION.
~ The way your HUG COMPLETELY ENGULFS me and I feel warm and PROTECTED. Cared for.
~ Your SMELL.
~ Your MANY facial expressions. You’re DYNAMIC.
~ Online poker and HIDING your laptop.
~ The way your adams apple moves when you LAUGH.
~ Your BIG Laughter and BEAUTIFUL smile. ~ Your VERY late night visits.
~ Your HANDS.
~ The way you WATCH me SING. ~ PRANK WARS!
~ The WEEKEND Jen and Jeanette visited - CHURCH in Dani’s van.
~ The way you PATTED my back @ Jason Upton before LEAVING me with strangers :)
~ CRUISING Whyte in SUB-ZERO weather, windows DOWN, TECHNO playing.
~ How FUNNY you look SCRUNCHED up in your car. ~ Your FUN Nature.
~ Your TRAVEL bug and ADVENTURE.
~ Your dedication to school BUT mostly to us, your FRIENDS.
~ How TALL you are.
~The way you LOOKED at me, especially when you would sit on the COUCH arm and talk to me when I WAS sick.
~ your BEAUTIFUL.
~ How ANGRY you got when we PRANKED your underwear. It made me MISS YOU and realize you have GREAT boundaries!
~ Every time I see “THE JENSEN’S RULE” on the other roof, I smile.
~ Your LOVE for your ROOMMATES. ~ The way you SPOKE of your FAMILY.
~ The way you let my SISTER chase you for 30 minutes before you had EVER met her.
~ Your Excitement over the HOLY SPIRIT.
~ How EVERY Sunday we didn’t leave for church UNTIL it had already STARTED.
~ Wearing a T-SHIRT in the snow.
~ Tobogganing.

joined New Online Scrap-booking community

2009-02-09T23:39:00.000-08:00

This evening I have not been able to fall asleep and being on a 40 day facebook fast has left me wondering what to do with myself. So I have been blog-surfing and came upon a very interesting one. This lady was posting everyday and had been doing so for 40 days. Every post included a new picture and I eventually found my way to the beginning where she went on recommending this other chick's blog where I found a lil thing called "Project 365". After some digging around I found that there was a kit for this project that is well-priced and something I would love to have but sadly they are out of stock. Hopefully it will not be long before I can order it as I am thinking I would love to start this project on my birthday in less than a months time!!! even if I don't get the kit by then I think I will begin it on here :) this could be a very fun adventure! I then looked at this site and joined their little community which I am also excited about. I think there are some great ideas here!
nighty-night :)

one year later: A story and tattoo

2009-02-05T22:02:00.000-08:00

Almost exactly a year ago my best friend Derrick passed away from injuries sustained in a car accident. When I wrote of that a year ago I did not write about what had happened between us the day he left Edmonton... Feb. 17

It was a Sunday and Derrick and I were meant to go to church together but when I went to wake him up his room mate said he had already left for home, which is a 12 hour drive South-west to Abbotsford British Columbia. So, a little miffed I hesitantly went to church on my own. Now, this was a new church for me and I only knew people through Derrick so I was pretty upset with him for not telling me he wasn't going and that I had to go on my own. But when I got to the church the door was opened for me by none other than him with 2 cups of coffee in his hands and a grin on his face from ear to ear! It made my day and melted me completely.

He was so excited! He handed me my coffee and said "I know, I'm sorry I should have told you but I couldn't sleep and I wanted to catch the early morning course they had going on so I came on my own. It was so great and I received the gift of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues!" Now Derrick has been Christian Reformed all his life and one thing they do not do is speak in tongues but it was something Derrick and I had talked about before because I have had the experience and continue to speak in tongues. So He was ecstatic and I was as well. He then said there was something he wanted to talk to me about but it would have to wait until after the service and then be quick as he had to drive home for reading week.

So after the service we went out to his car, which was a funny sight. Picture a 6 foot 7 guy in a tiny little red car. I barely fit in it! but he pulled out a beautiful teddy bear, handed it to me and said happy belated Valentines day! I was a little surprised and felt a little bad because I hadn't gotten him anything. but I said thanks and gave him a hug. He then said something that changed my whole world.

"Do you remember that weekend in November we spent hanging out, playing around in the snow watching movies, hitting up random concerts and coffee shops and stuff?" he asks me.
Ya I do! "Well... I think... I think that was the weekend I fell in love with you" he says. I swear I almost collapsed right there! I had had a crush on Derrick since almost the first time we met in September but that same weekend I knew I had fallen in love with him. But to hear those words come from him!! I was definitely dreaming! So i told him the same thing and we hugged, held hands for a little bit, he kissed my forehead and said good bye. But then I said I wasn't going to tell anyone until he came back, which I thought would be the next week. And he said ok we'll make it a date.

That night he drove to Calgary and stayed with some friends. The next day he drove into BC and just across the border near a little ghost town called Revelstoke he hit black ice and slammed into an oncoming car. Both Derrick and Stan, the other driver, were pulled out with the jaws of life and soon after passed out. Derrick never woke up again.

For the last year I have been saving up and thinking about getting a tattoo. Derrick and I spent alot of time discussing our faith, families fears and hopes. A bible verse that continued to come up in conversation was Philippians 4:6-7 which says: "Do not be anxious about anything, but with prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." So the tattoo is a yellow tulip, a red tulip (those were his favorite flowers) and ribbon with that verse in it.

This is the very beginning, just an outline.
With some shading

And the finished product. In case your wondering, it's on my left hip.

New Year... More posts??

2009-01-12T20:17:00.000-08:00

My best bud Josh Noble and our buddie Justin just before he took off to scuba dive in Madagascar for 6 weeks! Lucky dude!

O goodness it seems it has been a VERY long time since my last post!!! please do forgive me for that. Life was crazy last semester and I hope to keep myself more organized this year.
(funny that as a student your whole life is broken down into semesters! Sept-Dec and Jan-April!! Hopefully now that I am no longer a student I can get away from that. But to be honest not likely as I am still living in residence with friends :D)

So to cover the past 4 or 5 months...
Sept-Dec 2008 was a very crazy time for me. I found myself a full time student as well as working full time (Part time at 3 very different jobs)
In school I took a course on teaching with Children's Literature, a Childhood and Adolescence Psychology class, and an old english literature class. I enjoyed all 3 but later on began to feel like they were irrelevant as I no longer want to teach (that's right I pretty much had a mental break down and decided I no longer want to. More on that later) but I then decided that no learning is ever wasted. I did surprisingly well in all of these classes considering my schedule. For work, I spent Monday evenings with the Robin Hood Association doing in home work with a family with a boy who has a severe and rare form of epilepsy. Tuesday, Thursday and Friday night was spent at Blessings, a Christian book store near school and Wed evenings and weekends were spent at the Leduc Recreation Center doing programs and acting security/skate monitor for public skating. It was quite alot but super fun.

Now about my breakdown lol...
After a summer filled with kids and nannying for a couple of kids early in the fall, I had enough! and discovered that I don't think I can teach forever and be really happy and satisfied with it. I am of a very strong belief that teachers need to be enthusiastic, energetic and happy with their jobs, no matter how long they have een teaching. It is such an important job and I really don't want to be one of those bitter or angry teachers who hate their students.
So now my thoughts are either nursing or bible college in Melbourne. But for the moment I am lifeguarding in Leduc and Assistant coaching a highschool junior varsity boys basketball team! which I love!!!
So the past months have been ones of change, thinking and organization. I have recently become a certified life guard and am working on getting my instrucotor's certificate so I can teach swimming lessons as well as my water art certification to teach aquasize. Later on I hope to become a certified a certified scuba diver and finally an instructor!! I am super excited for all of these things and LOVE LOVE LOVE being in the water all the time! It has been probably about 8 years since I was really active in the water and I am so happy to be back into it. This is also keeping me VERY active as I swim laps every day and teaching certainly demands alot of activity.

Over Christmas all of us Canadian Berkeley's went to Mexico for a week!!! SUPER FUN!! It was gorgeous weather and the ocean was wonderfully warm and it totally beat the horrible -35 weather back home! It was so great to be together as a family, get a fairly nice tan (or burn in my case, as usual) and do some great activities like snorkeling, quading, and horse back riding on the beach! Great Food and even better comapny!

On our Mexican quad trip Christmas day, we got to hold a lil baby Crocodile!!

At our wonderful Mexican resort!

a small state of humble

2008-09-18T22:33:00.000-07:00

I have recently become mildly involved with an organization called "Invisible Children", their website can be found here. I am in the process of trying to organize a visit to our school from their team during their spring tour next year. I am very passionate about this organization as they are doing what I long to do; working towards ending the 20 year war in Northern Uganda where children are abducted every night and forced to become soldiers and murder people, steal from people, rape people, all the while being forced to take drugs while doing this so that they feel like they are invincible.

Many of these children have become "night commuters" which means they run a significant distance before dark every night to a nearby town where they can be safe from abductions by the Lord's Resistance Army led by Joseph Kony. Then, in the morning, they take time to pray together and they take off running to wherever it is they came from the night before. These children are between the ages of 7 &14. They continue to do this every night and it is not like they come with a parent or someone who takes care of them. No they run this way every single day, twice a day, on their own. With nobody to hold their hand.

Invisible children have started a movement in the states called "Global Night Commuting". This is the link to a trailer for it on youtube. This movement is to raise awareness in the US about Night Commuting and to try to end this unseen war.

Today I had the opportunity to attend an event called "A Refugee Camp in the Heart of the City" run by Doctor's without borders (MSF). They set up a mock refugee camp and gave guided tours of what it would be like to be a refugee living in those conditions. You get a small glimpse of what life must be like but nothing near the reality of it. Overall my day has been very thoughtful and I feel like I am equipped with so much more, knowing a little about the state Uganda is in. I am beginning to think more and more now about my upcoming trip to Uganda and the possibility of a 6-week volunteer position teaching with the "Invisible Children" movement after I have finished my program at UCU. I continue to pray about this and know that "The good thing I desire will become the best thing when I allow God to give it to me in HIS time." I cannot remember exactly where I heard that but it has stuck with me.

summer gone

2008-09-10T08:58:00.000-07:00

WOW It has been way too long since my last post!!! I thought about writing a few times over the summer and just never got around to it! I had a great summer but it was packed full and I don't really feel like it was much of a summer. I pretty much had to come back to school to go on vacation!!!

Where to begin...
Well It was a rocky start as I dealt with yet another death in my life. My pastor's nephew who was a friend of mine, committed suicide early on. I felt completely overwhelmed and like every time I was getting close to being ok with everything else and ready to move on I was hit with something else. But God dealt with me and my hurting heart and although it has been a rough go I feel like I have been able to give God my 2 friends even though sometimes I get really frustrated and upset, God reminds me that He loves them even more than me. What a crazy thought but so comforting!

I had a bunch of friends staying in the city for the summer which was so nice. I didn't feel like I was left all alone :D so we created "The Finer Things Club" and got together for some random things... not as many as we would have liked but we had fun. We started with a bonfire at my place which was awesome!!and then we had another one at Mark's place where there was a huge surprise! on e of my room mates from last year had spent the previous 4 months in Europe and when she came back she spent the summer in Smithers, BC where she is from. Well she came over for a surprise weekend and surprised the heck out of all of us!!! Needless to say, it was a great weekend!

In May I submitted an application to the Uganda Studies Program and in June I recieved word that I had been accepted!!! So since then I have been preparing to head on over to Uganda for 4 months (from January till May 2009) I am now just waiting on God to provide the finances for that!!! I am super duper stoked!!!

Then in July, my aunt came out from Australia and so my cousin and her kids came over from Manitoba!!! We had a fantastic couple of days with them! I was reminded of Australia again and how much I miss it :( but I also know that my place is here for now.
Also in July, I organized a weekend camping trip with some friends to Drumheller where we hiked in the hoodoos, tented in the badlands, goofed around with some cool dino's and saw the Badlands Passion Play!The Passion Play is a huge play put on outdoors, rain or shine, in the Canadian Badlands. It tells the story of the ministry of Jesus, his death and resurrection! Over 200 people act in the play and it takes so many more behind the scenes to pull it all together. They have such realistic costumes and use live animals including chickens, donkeys, horses, goats etc. The Badlands is the perfect setting because it just looks so real!!! We were all deeply touched by it.

The next weekend in July, I went tenting with some friends from my church in the city. We were at a camp conference with guest speakers John and Lisa Bevere. These are 2 of the most annointed people I have ever met or heard and also 2 of my favorite authors and speakers. Here is where God dealt with me and my feelings for Derrick and about his death. God is so merciful and has so much grace for me and I am so grateful for it!

After that it was work work work for me!! My job as a summer program coordinator was awesome and I met so many great people and kids throughout the summer. O ya in August there is always a Mulhurst Days Parade in which our church always has a float. so I got to dress up and be a clown this year which was fun!!
So now, I have moved back into Edmonton where I am living in residence at the King's University College. I am taking 3 courses and working at a Christian Bookstore called Blessings. I am thouroughly enjoying myself right now and feeling far more organized than last year which is nice. I have been doing soem recording over the course of the summer but didn't get as far as I wanted to on that. So hopefully I can continue that when I get some extended periods of time.
thats all for now :D
tata

Long Time No See!!!

2008-06-05T19:28:00.000-07:00

Wow it has been a very long time since I have posted!!! That is probably because not alot exciting has been happening!!! Since my last post... I went on choir tour to southern Alberta and while I was travelling with that my car was smashed into and totalled!! The poor guy had a stroke the day before and apparently had a blood clot pushing on his optical nerve and he blacked out and hit my car parked on the side of the road at school!!! So I am in the process of getting insurance money for that and I just bought a car which I will pick up tomorrow!!! A 1999 Chevy Lumina LTZ which is pretty much fully loaded!! So I am stoked for that but i sure miss my malibu!! I have been driving my parents Durango and with gas prices here continuing to climb that was just too expensive!

Now I am working for the City of Leduc as a Summer Program Coordinator and absolutely loving that!!! I am also working for the Robin Hood Association working with kids with disabilities in programs for them and also going into homes and doing respite (kinda pretty much babysitting) for them. Its great fun and right now I am working with a little girl and her brother as well as another little boy and they are all so adorable!!!

I am living at home with my parents and saving to pay off school. Bryan is home right now for his birthday so it is so much fun having him around again!! Most of my friends have stayed in the city this summer so i get to see them alot which is soooo nice!!

I guess thats all that is interesting so I will post some pics!!
xxoo Michelle Nixie playing chess with me!!! woot woot!!

Chris sleeping and Justin licking his face!!! haha
I don't have too many from choir tour cuz they were mostly taken by other people and I am still waiting on them. sorry

Glasses

2008-04-15T13:20:00.000-07:00

I got glasses yesterday!!! I have had reading glasses in the past but these I will wear all the time as apparently my distance vision has deteriorated. not by much but this way I will not get so many headaches from the difference between close up reading and far away things!!
here's a few shots:

Spring has Sprung!!!!

2008-04-13T00:26:00.000-07:00

Today was officially the first nice day of spring!!! it got up to +19 here in crazy ol Edmonton and we soaked it up!!!! I spent most of the day outside...
first of all coming home in the morning from a sleepover and I found a friend sitting outside!! so we sat and chatted for a while until he had to leave to visit a friend. I went inside and had an omlette with Marvin and Andrea (the rez director aka my boss and his wife) which was lovely. went upstairs attempted and failed at beginning a paper when my roomie Tracy came home.
We blew some bubbles and chatted with the boys and decided to go for a walk with our other roomie Nixie (Nicole) this was about an hour long walk which was lovely!!!!
upon our arrival home we decided to study outside along with half the other rezlings!!! what a wonderful day for some pictures we thought!! so for of us roomies sat outside and took photos!!!
we then had KFC for dinner with josh and proceeded to discuss some rather disgusting things that I am blocking from my memory!! here are the photos!!!

Moi, Nicole (on top of me), Tracy (beside me) and Jiai (on top of Tracy

Me and tracy!!

Romeo and Juliet

2008-03-22T15:20:00.000-07:00

This semester I have had the pleasure of being involved in a drama class!!! (as in almost every semester) It has been so much fun and I have gotten to know so many people i would not have other wise and strengthened relationships already formed. The play is Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet!! I play Lady Capulet and a Capulet possy member!!! very fun!! lots of great acting and stage fighting!!! there have been some great photos taken and some funny things happen!!!

The Mercutio's!! (we have 2 casts - one for 2 nights and the other for the last 2. I am only on for 2 nights. The reason being is that we have too many girls and not enough guys so the girls have to share!!)
One of the Juliet's (Hannah, the other is Lauren) and Romeo (Bryce!)
Beginning of the opening brawl!! from left to right - Lauren (other Juliet) Susan (Juliet's nurse) Melissa (Friar Lawrence and Montague extra) Becky (other lady Capulet but right now Sampson) and Becky Graw (other Mercutio but right now Gregory)

Bryce stretching on the chair backs!! this pic look super trippy to some. Like the chairs are on the wall and he is standing on the floor. but really the chairs are on the floor and he is holding himself up on them!!

Benvolio (Josh) and Mercutio (Brittney) dancing around. They are drunk at this point I think!! O nope. this is how they are normally! lol

My Skating Birthday

2008-03-18T08:51:00.000-07:00

I have been meaning to create this post for over a week now!! so finally here it is. There are not nearly the photos I wanted to post but I am still waiting on some from different friends and what not.

So March 8th was rung in very early in the day!!! My roomies and best mate Josh stayed up until 2:15 am to eat birthday cake and celebrate!!! Since supposedly I was born at 1:48 am, we sang and had cake then. but by that time, we were all about ready to pass out from exhaustion!!! Tha wasn't even as late as we have stayed up before!!! 5th floor is notorious for its great community which leads to many late nights!!!! nobody told me that when you turn 20 you get tired!!!I had drama rehearsal that morning from 10 am till 1pm. My roomie Tracy got up at 8 and made me french toast for Brekkie!!! i couldn't believe she still got up after i had her stay up till all hours of the morning!! that's just how dedicated she is!!!

So off to drama which was extremely productive and fun! then when I got back, one of my other roomie's, Marie, and i went to look at the house we are hoping to live in this Summer!!! very nice!! it has a great veranda off the master bedroom that we plan on using quite often!!! it also includes a barbie!!! woot woot!!! break out the prawns ya'll!!! haha
Later a bunch of us went skating. who all showed up?? hmm let me see, Ken, Tracy, Sam, Lynae, Nixie, Nick, Lisa and Jiai. then we went out for supper and even more friends joined!!! Justin and Amber!!! it was alot of fun and the food was spot on!! after wards, i hung out in the guys apartment and chilled playing nintendo!!
The next day i took off to my Finishing Touch Ministries to see everyone there and hook up with my family!! it was a great service and i was glad to have some great worship! After that, we visited grandma, who shares a birthday with me, and my brother came home from up north!!! That was the highlight of my weekend!! was seeing Bryan!! we barely ever get to chat anymore and he is growing up so fast!!! He gave me the sweetest card and the biggest hug!! It was great to be all together again.

We hung out at home eating finger food and watching Deja Vu!! it has Denzel Washington in it so I was happy. Sandy, a friend from church came over later and we chit chatted about Uganda, a place I may be visiting next year :D but stay tuned for more info on that one!!!
After that i headed back to the city where I hung out some more with friend, Andrea and Marvin and had a nice talk that was long overdue!!!

All in all my birthday weekend was pretty dang good!!! it hurt a little that it didn't work out quite as was first planned because i couldn't share it with Derrick. but i know he was there in spirit and i had enough fun for the both of us :D
hugs and kisses to all :D
AND... Thanks Barb and pete for the package!!! The book is beautiful!!! Kel and Bruce, lovely card!!!
Michelle
It's funny, I feel like i have taken on a rather aussie accent with this post!! hmm lol. what I always wanted!! :D
This is my crazy roomie Jiai. that's a lemon in her mouth!!

Bitter-sweet Weekend

2008-03-03T10:50:00.000-08:00

Mountains from above!

I spent a beautiful weekend in Abbotsford BC. The purpose... the hardest in my life so far. But it ended up being bitter-sweet. I flew with 5 of my closest friends (the boys next door) on Friday to Abbotsford for Derrick's funeral. When we arrived I was greeted at the airport by another friend Leo, who stayed with me this weekend at the Kingma residence (parents of another friend). The Kingma house!
Leo and I rented a car, sayed good bye for now to the boys and headed for a look around. It began to rain hard but never-the-less we were awed by the beauty of the mountains, the green grass and amazing houses. it was alot warmer than Edmonton as well so we were sad to think about leaving on Sunday. That night was the viewing of Derrick's body. Leo and I arrived there before anyone else which was nice. We could say good bye on our own and not worry about crying our eyes out in front of lots of other people (which we did later anyways). When Derrick's grand parents arrived they were so happy we had come all the way from Edmonton to be there and introduced us to everyone who came in. Eventually the boys came and i was able to be with them. it was such a comfort to have them there especially Josh. We talked, cried and prayed together and then went our separate ways again. Josh and Herbert on the plane!

Saturday we awoke to a gloomy and very rainy day. There was a little bit of confusion concerning Leo and rides to the cemetary. Leo was asked to be a pall bearer and was told he would be picked up before hand and taken to the site. Well long story short, he left then they came and left, he came back and they ended up missing each other and Leo had to find his own way to the site. Meanwhile, the bouys picked me up and we went to the grave site together. The hardest part about both the viewing and burial was leaving Derrick there. seeing him lying in a coffin that looked too short for him and then leaving him to stay there. Althought it didn't even look like him, it was hard for all of us. And to watch him let down into the ground was so hard. so much finality in that. It was cold and rainy that morning so we were all shaking when we got back in the car. The boys were ushers so we had a quick coffee with Derrick's sister and then to the service.

The funeral was the most beautiful funeral i have ever been to. It was a TRUE celebration of Derrick's life and alot of worship and sharing stories and songs. It was so hard but so final and good at the same time. I spent the rest of the day meeting Andrea's family (I stayed with Andrea's parents as well as her and her hubby Marvin, and Leo) Andrea's parents have 5 kids and now 12 going on 14 grand children. All were piled into one house and you can imagine the noise that made!! it was so much fun and great to see so much unity! We then headed back home where we met the boys and Derrick's family for a dip in the hot tub. this was your standard hot tub to fit 6-8 people. we jammed in 15 at one time!! it was so much fun. We hung out till about 1:30 and then realized Derrick's sister had locked the keys in the car!! so we spent another hour breaking in. Andrea, me and Marvin at the top of the mountain!

At 5:30 we woke again to head to the airport. even though we got up then we did not leave for another hour and ended up at the airport right as the plane was boarding. luckily, Abbotsford is small enough that all we had to do was walk through security.
Fire and the sunset on the way up the mountain
We came home to -20 weather and more snow!! it continues to snow as I write this and i keep wondering why i came home. Swinging in the mountains!! note the wonderful green grass!

This weekend was not a restful one but it was good. I said a final good bye to my Dickie (that's Derrick's nick name) with the knowledge that it will continue to be hard to go on without him for a long time. I made some new friends, reinforced old relationships and may have even got a place to live and work out there this summer If I choose to. It was beautiful scenery and a beautiful service but i have never felt so sad and cried so hard in my life. Dickie was the solid friend, my faith friend, my accountability mate and a potential boyfriend had he come back from his trip home. I am guessing this is God's clear answer about that relationship and i am thankful we were not dating as i would have probably been an even bigger mess.

2008-02-21T14:45:00.000-08:00

my best friend died today. they told us that the last time he was conscious he was being pried out of his car, where his legs had been crushed, by the jaws of life on the side of a highway near Revlstoke Alberta. He was in good spirits, as Derrick always was. This was 6 pm Monday February 18.

Last night we were told that they had fixed his legs and stopped the bone marrow leaking into his blood but the damage was done and if he had another stroke it would send him over the edge. He had fallen into a coma early yesterday morning after the surgery on his legs.

This morning we were told he was 99% brain dead and the family was deciding how to donate his organs.

The world is a sad sad place today. I feel it is fitting that the sun is shining and the snow is sticky so we can make a big snow man, as Derrick would have done. So many people are at a loss today. so many lives that could have been touch, would have been touched are going without. we don't understand. Please keep the Timmermans family in your prayers and the community of The King's University College as well while we morn.
I love you Derrick. you were my light and your smile made everything ok.
Michelle

sad sad news

2008-02-20T15:20:00.001-08:00

Yesterday evening i received some news of a friend who has been badly injured in a car accident near Kelowna. On his way home to Abbotsford, Derrick hit black ice and spun into oncoming traffic. He hit another car. Somebody, we are not sure who, called 911 and a helicopter was sent to air lift Derrick to Kelowna hospital. Derrick sustained several big injuries including a broken femur (thigh bone), 2 broken ankles, 2 broken wrists, 2 black eyes, and a broken shoulder. The break in the femur was very serious and was and still is leaking bone marrow into Derrick's blood which caused him to have a stroke Monday night. Last night he had surgery for this problem and they thought it was fixed and were 95% sure he had no brain damage.

This morning I awoke to a different story. My boss Marvin, the residence director here at Kings recieved a call and was informed that Derrick was not expected to make the day as they could not stop the bone marrow from leaking and going to his brain. Derrick has been in and out of consciousness since the accident and is now completely out of it.

The driver of the other car is in critical condition as well but the passenger is relatively stable. We have held several prayer meetings and made many many phone calls to relatives, and friends who are not here. We are standing firm on God's promises and believing that Derrick will come through this without any permanent damage. If you feel so inclined, please pray for one of my best friends.

Derrick and I have been friends since September and in that relatively short time have grown very close. We go to church together every Sunday and i see him as a big brother and i love him that way as well. Derrick is a man of God. Always seeking God's will and heart and speaking the truth. He has touched the lives of several people, no not several, many many people here at King's and is a good friend to everyone. On Sunday before church, Derrick received the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues! Derrick is a strong man, a landscaper and accountant. he is graduating in May as well as heading to Rwanda with our church on a missions trip. I am believing both of these things will happen in Derrick's life and that God will heal him so miraculously that everybody will know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God saved him. Many many more people are going to come to Christ because of Derrick's faith and now this incredible story that has yet to be written. We love Derrick and miss him and pray for him constantly. please pray with us.
xoxo

Photo Booth

2008-02-17T18:25:00.000-08:00

I have been doing loads of playing around with my new macbook!! which is turning out to be quite nifty! I have made a professional looking dvd for a friend and former roomie who is in Holland right now, using 2 different programs (imovie and idvd), organized my photos and done some sweet editing with them in iphoto, recorded some songs of my own on garage band (i am hoping that i can eventually cut my own cd to send out to friends and family when i get the kinks worked out!) and taken som awesome photos with photobooth!!!! here are some:

This is the x-ray vision effect

The pop art effect:

The comic book effect:

This is the glow effect:

And the thermal camera effect:There is also black and white or sepia or a colored pencil thing which is pretty much just lines going diagonal across the picture!! pretty fun!! and i love it because with the built in web cam/mic, you can see yourself before taking the pic with this program. too much fun thats for sure!!
xxoo

Birthday invitations

2008-02-15T00:24:00.001-08:00

I have been working on 12 birthday invitations for my 20th party on March 8!!! Although i have sort of changed my mind about what i want to do, the original plan was to have a card making party but that costs money for everyone and i am sort of done with the card stuff right now. maybe we will go out or something. i really want to find something fun, new and interesting here in Edmonton, which is always a challenge. but i will do some surfing and figure it out!!

Today was valentine's day, which is a holiday i think is lame and expensive and i disagree with it. i guess not totally as i did get my room mates some goodies, but i think that i would rather have my special someone do a random show of kindness and love on just a random day instead of just the cliche of valentines day when you are supposed to!! i want him to want to do it and not feel obligated and Valentine's day is just one of those excuses to spend more money on chocolate and roses that go to your hips or day in a week anyways. plus the prices are all jacked up around this time for this reason anyways. all the more incentive to make a random act of love on a random day when the prices are not so inflated.
anyways toodaloo!!
xxoo

2008-02-12T22:47:00.000-08:00

my computer is being funny and mot letting me view my blog so i am trying to see if writing a new one will work. bear with me here...

rehearsal crazies!!

2008-02-10T10:17:00.000-08:00

Monday is open mic night here at Kings and this is a night where students come from all around to show off their talents (or lack-thereof!) and have a great time! I have been rehearsing a song called "I can only imagine" with a couple of friends. These 2 friends, Dani and Andrea, are also doing another song Andrea wrote for her husband Marvin, who is the residence director/my boss here at Kings. Andrea and Dani are almost too much fun! but i love it. they have time and again proven to be a great outlet for me and when the 3 of us are together lets just say it gets kinda loud!!! but so much fun.
anyways, our rehearsals are no exception!! Here are some pics taken with my new mac:
Dani, me and Andrea
Moses, Dani & Marvin Dani and i also enjoy playing around with the photo booth feature on my mac when we have no time to kill at all but can not bring ourselves to actually do some homework. like this time for example:
Hugs and kisses to all :D
xxoo

Freezing Cold Part 2

2008-01-31T00:21:00.000-08:00

So here are some pics form the frigid weather in Edmonton. We his ta record breaking low Sunday night with the windchill the temperature was -55. the next day we set another record without windchill it was -47!!! YIKES!!!!! not nice at all. and pics just dont capture how it feels!! cars in a blizzard (from our living room window!)
some great snow removal was done here!!!
Binky's frozen moustahce!!!
Binky tryin to start my car (it tok some frozen hands, choice words and a new battery but he got 'er!)
These totally do NOT capture even remotely the cold we have felt here this week. Binky drove in twice to try and get my car started and ya the second time it worked.
it is nasty tho. I am not entirely sure why we are all still here, why we still in habit this awful place. Why do I still live here?? o ya a lack of money!!
ooooo exciting news!!! Mike might be coming to North America next month!!!!!! I guess he is travelling to the states for some reason he has yet to tell me but ya hopefully he will get up here or i can get down there!!!! and i hope also it warms up or he might freeze to death!!!
xxoo :D

FLIPPIN COLD!!!

2008-01-28T10:07:00.000-08:00

so early this morning, the temperature here was -55!!!! thats with the wind chill but o man!!!! and the wind is just-a-howling! and snow is drifting and i continue to ask myself why people still live in Edmonton and more specifically why the heck am I still here!?? i will try to post some pictures of the crazy drift and wind after class!!

ok so maybe i am not using this as a journal...

2008-01-23T09:35:00.000-08:00

So since i have either been lazy or just too busy to post, i guess i won't be using this as a journal!! i am writing my day out though in a notebook with a picture for everyday, so at least I am keeping up with something. So I am preparing to begin my monthly themes and February is going to be "buy only what I need month" so hopefully i will be able to stick with it.

So since I have last written, my life has only gotten busier. I have almost gone on 2 trips to Mexico, one with the parents and one with my friend Carlos, both have fallen through, We have began rehearsals for our adaptation of Romeo and Juliet which will show at the end of March, I have taken the part of Lady Capulet (as well as a minor role in the beginning), I have produced a video to send to my room mate in holland, (yes I hope to make on to send to Africa and Australia), I have forgotten to turn on my alarm 2 days straight and so have slept through 2 of my history classes!! (NOT GOOD!!) and taken up "Hip Hop Abs"!! I am doing it with 2 of my roomies and it is a fun video that uses hip hop moves as a work out. I have also done alot of babysitting which is great.

Anyways, i want to post about an amazingly spontaneous and super fun trip to west Ed i took one night with a group of friends. I was roped into taking Melissa to a big dance party called "Rock-n-Ride" at Galaxy land and it ended up being a great photo shoot with 4 of my friends.
We were there from 10pm-midnight!! surprisingly there were lots of people wandering around. Although i know they are chaperones as well wandering while their kids rock out. It was so great and the friends i went with are super fun and absolutely hilarious!!! Dan, Justin, Marie and Dani are their names and i think i had the most fun i have in quite a while!! Dan mimicking the manikin at a lingerie store!!
Dan and Dani riding the turtle in China town
Dan's career in racing was rather short!
The Group!! Dani, Dan, Marie & Justin
Our Iraqi Justin!

Thought for Food

2008-01-16T12:56:00.000-08:00

Today and tomorrow my college is holding its semi-annual IS conference, or Interdisciplinary Studies Conference. The topic of this semester's? "Thought for Food". I am sitting in the second keynote speaker right this moment listening about Food systems and how the Canadian food system is not doing its primary job of nourishing the entire population.

Lately I have been thinking alot about issues such as poverty and hunger and trying to be more conscious of these. I have also been thinking ALOT about the issue/idea of community. So much so that i will be leading a worship session in February on Community. but i will mention my thoughts on that later.

I have made some decisions today. First of all, i think i plan on using this blog as sort of a journal for my thoughts on these things. (as well as i will be writing these in a notebook) So I am hoping that it will not get too boring for those of you who do end up reading this. Second, for at least this year, i would like to have a theme for each of my months, beginning in February. For the First month of this experiment, I plan on not buying anything i do NOT need. So, the habit I have gotten into of buying clothes from work whenever i like something... GONE!!! this is going to be rather difficult I think. Also hopefully this month i would like to begin buying everything from organic stores and farmers Markets. On Whyte ave. there is a market called Planet Organic. I am hoping to shop there more often. As well as on Whyte ave. there is a farmers market every Saturday. I am hoping this will work out with work and everything. Thirdly, I am sort of copying my couisin Bec, who is spending most of this year in Manitoba with her family, i am doing a project called "My Year in Polaroids". SO i have been taking a picture everyday and pasting it in my journal. I want to expand on this and use an idea that has been showcased at college for this conference. I would like to photograph all of my meals this year and see how they differ and progress. kind of radical and crazy i guess but i am excited about it. I am hoping that this will also help me to actually look at what i am eating and improve it. should be fun. So through all this i will probably be inconvenienced a heck of alot as i will need to drive further to acquire my groceries and spend more money on them, and buy less junky, easy and fast foods. (one of these months I also hope to not eat out AT ALL! we will see how that goes :D)

anyways, now for my thoughts on community:
I have been doing a study by Max Lucado (to be honest, i have only done the first one in the last 3 days :S) on the book of Acts. It has been rather inspiring. In Acts 2 vs. 42-47, it talks about the apostles and their first followers. It says "They devoted themselves to the apostle's teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers." I think we might have the while idea of fellowship wrong, more specifically church fellowship. It seems that, sontrary to the first church, we only meet once a week and then go out on our own for the rest of the week and do whatever it is our fleshly selves want to do. (most of us anyway) I think we need to meet every day of the week, and meet not only with our earthly brothers and sisters but with God as well. But for this you need unity and like-minded people. It also says they sold everything so that those in need received whatever they were in need of, and they shared everything. I know in a place like Alberta where we are so rich we no longer need God, it is so hard to sell everything and follow God without being a homeless bum on the streets. However, i think we, moreso I, can live a far more simple lifestyle so that it is possible for me to drop what I am doing and meet with God whenever and wherever I am, want or need to. anyways, the conference is wrapping up and i must be on my way. Sorry if all these thoughts are too much for one little blog or scattered all over the place.
xxoo

Frosted Over

2008-01-03T18:22:00.001-08:00

Well the weather has been absolutely gorgeous most of the time over the holidays!! We have done alot of quadding and playing around outside. There is not quite enough for the skidoo to come out yet. But i seem to remember saying all this in the previous blog.

Melissa has bought a little Shitzu puppy!!! Seen in the pic on the right. He is so adorable and cuddly!! I took him to the vet for a check up yesterday and he slept in my lap the whole time!! But when you get him riled up he can really go!! He's teething as well so he likes to chew on things. Things like: our toes, the wood of the walls, rugs, chairs, his toy monkey which he rips to shreds all the time, hes little t-bone and a little chocolate milk bottle. Mostly he chases after this and barks madly at it!! So cute!!

This next pic is the view out our apartment window!! The city and surrounding areas have been covered in a beautiful hora-frost recently!!! I love to go out to mum and binky's whe

n there's horafrost, i think it is the most beautiful place in all of Canada. People are just beginning to come back to school from the holidays so i have been meeting up with all of my friends and it is so nice to see them all again!! As much as i loved how productive i was in this apartment all alone, i was missing my friends. I knew it was time for them to come home when i spent New Year's eve reading "The Life of Pi" and going to bed at 11!!! What is that!? pretty boring without friends i tell ya!!

So as i said mum and binky's place is absolutely gorgeous when the sun shines through the trees and the frost sparkles!! Here's apic to show you. Love you all

xxoo

Holidays... so to speak

2007-12-29T12:40:00.000-08:00

This Christmas break has been an extremely productive one. I have worked every day except 3 over Christmas and now 4 for New Year's! and because of this working it has been convenient to stay at school and go home only over those days off. This has also been very productive as i have cleaned the apartment, organised cupboards and read 3 books already (out of the 7 I want to) I have also planned a great deal for the coming semester as far as events go.
But those 3 days at home were great!! Sunday the 23 was spent outside on the quad as was the 25th!! The Sunday night church service was awesome and Christmas eve was spent hangin out, getting rig gear for my lil bro who has now headed of for the great white north to work on an oil rig, and playing 'Are you Smarter than a fifth grader?' with the extended family!! It was a great time! Quading was heaps of fun!!! The weather was gorgeous and we took out the quad because there wasn't quite enough snow for the skidoo. But after hooking up the toboggon by rope to the back we were whipping through the snow at great speeds!
It is rather difficult (for me anyways) to hold on for long with big mittens on and with binky and Bryan driving like maniacs i had no hope of staying on for any length of time!! But the best part is flying off!!! Bryan and Melissa love to try and jump onto the sled while it is moving which usually ends up ith them in a heap of snow and a great laugh had by all!! Binky is so much fun to watch in the sled! As a driver he is crazy but when we get him in the sled it is hilarious!! He yelps like a little puppy. Or was it screaming like a girl?? one of the two anyways!!
On Christmas day, after i succeeded in rolling binky's quad and bruising my hip and shoulder real nicely, we watched Lord of the Rings (2) and ate turkey with all the trimmings. Below Bryan is seen passed out on the carpet with a bottle of who knows what!! naww, we had some wine but none of us are much for wine drinkers so we turned to sparkling apple juice!! So Bryan decided to lay on the floor with the empty bottle when he discovered there was none left!
Melissa got an ipod for Christmas and here we see her and Bryan enjoying a lovely sibling moment as he watches her playing solitaire on it. I seem to recall this ending up in a little bit of a wrestle. well, it was nice while it lasted!
And that summarises the goings on of our Christmas!! Who knows what the New Year will bring!! Merry Christmas and Happy New year to all!
xxoo

Evening of the First Snow

2007-11-12T15:04:00.000-08:00

So finally i have been able to write about the first snow which was a few weeks ago now and we are on probably the third snowfall this week and it has finally been cold enough for it to stick around!! which is too cold for me but we get all dressed

up in our snowgear and play outside, usually very late at night!! hehe ahh the life of a college student!! but this first snow was just a special weekend here at Kings. I had my sister staying with me that weekend and it was neat to see how social she is as she seemed to fit right in with all of my friends here. We hung out with Carlos (seen at the top with me) and Mike most of the weekedn going out to eat, watching basketball games, watching disney movies and having late night snowball fights!! our snowball fight ended up a huge event!! it was 1am when 4 of us went outside. we saw some people watching us from a fourth floor window and encouraged them to join. some did and others had snowballs thrown at their window from all of us down below!! people just kept comin out and we built a great snowman!! then at 2am Derrick, from next door, came home and we goofed around with him for a bit and then decided we were all getting a little cold so we went back upstairs where we visited, dried off and eventually made our way to bed. The next day Melissa and I went to church with some friends and after we had a birthday potluck for one of my amazing room mates!! so many came out for that too!! it was heaps of fun!!

and that is the saga of our first snow adventure!!

xxoo

Pumpkin Carving

2007-10-31T22:05:00.000-07:00

Nixie and Marie getting started on our "Noah's Ark" pumpkin (which i forgot to photograph before it was smashed :()
ok so yes i know it has been quite a while and i have neglected my duties as a blogger. O how i miss the good days when i actually had something interesting to blog about other than carving pumpkins! yes i have been stuck in a rut these past weeks having done nothing interesting like visiting the ocean as i usually do or having once in a lifetime family gatherings... wait that was on another continent!! o man i miss those days. How far away they seem now.

So i seem to have taken up quite a melancholy tone tonight which is reflective of my mood as of late. I have mid-semester blues!! yup it is sweeping through the school and especially our apartment. If you could imagine one emotional girl (like myself) and multiply that by 6... you have the general atmosphere of our apartment!!! add as well the flu and my stomach difficulties and we have a whole amusement park instead of one emotional rollercoaster!!! But we love each other and continue to keep on truckin!!

Ok so out of that sad phase... Today is Halloween... goodness its almost over!! but the past 2 days have been nothing but parties and pumpkin carving and candy!! just what we need to get us all through the last leg of midterms!! I hosted my second Lounge Cafe last night and that contained lots of games, music, prizes and great pumpkins, some of which are featured here!! I love these things as the fellowship is great and you see people that you don't normally see!!

Today, as one of 3 CLL's (Community Life Leaders) i had the oppurtunity to visit every apartment and hand out candy - reverse trick-or-treating!! how fun that was!! Not many people dress up when you get to the college level unfortunately, but my good friend and neighbor Derek sure did!!! Meet the Sheep-o-lantern!!!

yup Derek carved out a pumpkin and put it on his head and then wore sheep fur it looked like and walked around school!! pretty sweet i say when the rest of the dresser-uppers were pretty much cowboys/girls!!! so we have had a nice halloween. lots of fun!! Friday promises to end up in lots of danicing and a time to break loose at our favorite club - the Ranch!!! woot woot!!

so i am going to get back at the 3 papers i have due for Friday and hope ya'll have a great weekend and halloween!!
xxoo

Jack Skellington

looks like a mafia pumpkin eating a poor unsuspecting passerby!

Thanksgiving in Slave Lake

2007-10-08T21:01:00.000-07:00

So this past weekend was the Thanksgiving long weekend and as the title sort of points out, we spent it in Slave lake visiting Uncle Rob (featured below)!! We drove up early Saturday morning and spent the day quading the trails of the area! Uncle Rob and melissa took up their dirtbikes and the rest of us headed up on our quads!

Mum spent most of the time behind me puching me up the hill because my quad just didn't quite have the gusto to do it itself!! but i actually surprised everybody once and made it up all by myself!! it was such a blast. although mum had some issues with the mud and some scary steep parts but all in all we made 'er alright and had a blast! we spent the night in a hotel, splashin in the pool and the waterslide and on Sunday Mum and binky went rock hunting with Bryan while Melissa and i hung out with uncle Rob. Later we enjoyed a great meal with Grandma, grandpa, Uncle Rodd and Auntie Marlene (as well us us and uncle Rob) who had drove up that morning!!
What a great weekend! i think so far thats the best thanksgiving we've had!! i am glad to be back in my apartment now swapping stories with my roomies. Some of whom traveled quite a distance to be with their families and some of whom didn't see their families at all!
so HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL :D
xxoo
PS here are some crazy photos o fus on the way home!!

CLL'ing

2007-10-02T22:14:00.000-07:00

so the most recent addition to my crazy busy and most diverse schedule would be that of my job as CLL at King's. CLL stands for Community Life Leader. I am one of a team of 4 people who run the show in rez. Marvin Bravo is from Jamaica and he is the assistant resident director so pretty much my boss (sorry no picture of him at the moment and for that matter, any of the 3 of them :() Hilary is the Administrative coordinator and so handles the delivering of mail, change for the laundry rooms, and other tasks that would be labeled as 'administrative'. Josh is the Ministry coordinator. He runs a cell group for the people who run other cell groups. He also puts up bible verses and coordinates events like see you at the pole which is an international student led event where students and teachers meet at their schools flag pole one morning in September and pray for their school, nation, province friends etc. Josh also runs a weekly event called House of Prayer where people can come and have quiet time with the Lord and read their bibles in a nice soft atmosphere. As for me, i am events coordinator. SO my first event last Thursday was Lounge Cafe. People gathered in the apartments lounge and had snacks and tea, played games and listened to kings students performing some music. This is to be a regular tri-weekly occurence with different themes and games each time. should be fun. I also am about to start a weekly hip-hop abs meeting where some of us will gather on Monday nights and do some hip-hop to DVD's i have its so sweet and a great work out. I am also hoping to do an amazing race and an ongoing game of assassins and different things like that! so thats what's new with me for now!! i am having alot of fun with everything i am doing and making alot of great new friends!! :)Love to all

Michelle

PS here are some random pics of some of my friends:

Tracy, Dani n me

A bunch of us at the bar 2 steppin!!

some peeps at the farm!!

Me n Nixie had our faces painted :D

New Beginnings

2007-09-17T18:35:00.000-07:00

well the GOSPEL youth group of Finishing Touch Ministries kicked off this past Friday night and what a kick-off it was! We had great fun and food. I felt a little flustered as i discovered the older kids are not as receptive as i was hoping and really don't want to be challenged or talked to they just want a good time. and well as much as i would love to provide them with that, my vision which i truly beieve is God given, is much more than that.

So i am afraid i may have to crack down a little bit and make them realize that i am their friend and am not getting paid to play babysitter while they goof around. nope they are going to be challenged in their faith (which most of them are a little, how shall i say it, flimsy with anyway) and grow in it as well.

On Saturday morning after the kick-off night I was at our ladies prayer meeting and my vision was confirmedi believe by someone elses. we were reading a section out of a book called Contact with God and the section was called Prayer: Option or Necessity, when i came across this and got major shivers up my spine! this really falls in line with what i am believing God for:

" The great leaders of God will tell you when something is nonesense and frivolous instead of Godly and genuine. In a great prophecy I once heard, God called the excesses of fleshly behavior 'chaff' instead of the wheat kernels of wisdom. God said the following: [ and this is when my shivers started]

I will never bless the chaff. Don't come and offer

that to me, because i don't want it. It doesn't please me;

it only pleases your flesh.

And if you are not careful, you will bring up a generation

who loves nothing but that which pleases the natural senses-

not the spirit, but the flesh.

and when you begin to draw people out of this excess, taking them over

into realms of God, where real life dwells, they will revolt. They

will revolt because they would rather have the flesh than the

true works of the Holy Spirit.

Ok so i was really blessed and encouraged by that. I guess i needed to realize that they will revolt because that is new to me. I mean yes my flesh does revolt... ok so i revolt every once in a while (ok so all the time :) but i was always so much more receptive to the leaders! i don't understand why they do not want to hear!! well i guess now i do! what a great learning experience. But ya it is tough as well when it is your own siblings who have a tantrum whenever you say something. a little discouraging but i guess thats the way it goes lol

so we played these 2 great games one was sucking through jello with a nylon on your head trying to suck up a banana slice. what fun! and then we played apple/ marshmallow bobbing! so we bobbed for apples in water and immediately after went bobbing for marshmallows in flour!! so fun! so here are some pics with all our white faces!! the younger ones loved it so i was happy with that!

and yes the beginning of this year has been great in school terms although i am feeling a little bit overwhelmed with the amount of reading to be done. but i am getting there. and on top of it i am super sick at the moment and cannot seem to keep anything down. so i am super hungry too. how sad cuz one of my room mates made a wonderful dinner tonight an di can't even eat it :'(

xxoo

Settling In

2007-09-05T21:12:00.000-07:00

well, after much frustration and anger, i managed to get my rez-net workin!!! well, Geoff got it workin. haha i feel like a total DAG!!!! ya so we were both going crazy about me not having net and he looked under my desk and discovered there were 2 plugs for the phone/net connection. ya so he tried the other one and wala!! it worked!!! so as silly as i feel, i am super glad to have it running as most of my courses have all assignments done and handed in on the net. so thanks hunny!!!

so i am settling in well in my new apartment. Mondays wednesdays and Fridays i have courses starting at 8 in the mornin which is a little interesting but pretty good. it will give me a whole day full of stuff!!! After i drop this drama course i am in, i will have nothing on Tuesdays and Thursdays so i will be workin hard!!! here are some pcs of my room in the apartment.

I am living with 5 other great girls!!! Renee was my Residence assistant last year, Marie was a friend from rez last year, Nicole i met in choir and Education, Tracey i have been friends since junior high and Sophie i had never met but we clicked right away!!! i am so excited to be with these girls! Nicole and i have discovered we both love to scrapbook and take pictures!! :D Tracey and i are not so into hot drinks right now, Sophie and I are into organic stuff and going green, Renee and i love to talk!! and marie and i are just into talking with each other right now! we all meld so well and have alot of fun together!!!

I have also made some new friends through janine, who was a friend from last year and is now an education student. it is so nice to have friends in the ed program! i will get a feel of all the goings on!

Everyone is enjoying my scrapbook and talking about my trip! it is so strange to see all these faces i recognize in the halls!!! I love it!

anyways it is past my bedtime and i still have much reading to do!!

My courses this semester are Geography, Education, Psychology and Theology!!! lots of fun and work!!

Love you all

xxoo

o by the way... this is my new kitten Samara!!! I can't have her at school but Melissa looks after her through the week!!!

so many things... so lil time!!

2007-08-29T22:10:00.000-07:00

well as this week comes to a close my head seems to be in a mess!!
i have so many things going on in my life right now and trying to keep it all balanced as well as creating a space around me that feels right is a challenge.
but i am hoping that by the time this week is over i will feel a little more relaxed!

So here are some things on my mind...
on Friday, so pretty much like 2 sleeps away, i move into rez at the King's University College. i am so stoked about getting back into school and seeing all the 7th floor girls again (my floor in rez last fall) so on friday i will not have to worry too much about that. but then there's my student loan. now this is not much of a big deal except that somewhere down the line i will need to pay it off. ya i am in serious need of divine intervention here!!! but God has already promised this to me. next is the youth group i am now running! there are t-shirts to make before the 14th, invitations to go out, a bonfire to plan, actually a whole semester to plan as well and outlines to be made. this i have shceuled for next week after i have moved!!
then my relationship (if u can call it that... well yes i guess it is) with Mike in Africa! we both agree that Africa is not my focus at the moment but school is. ok so great. but i am having some serious reservations about even being called to Africa. i think i am but so many things are unsure for me right now that i just don't know. and i have mum telling me that Mike shoujld just be a friend and nothing more. i just don't know. and i do know however that nothing can be known for sure until like 5 years from now when i finally get to meet Mike. but until then, do i move on? date other people? not that i am really interested in a relationship other than this long distance one because school really needs to be my focus and i think i have proven that i don't focus on school when i have a guy right there to be with. so it is nice to have a guy but not in my face i guess, not that he would be if he was here but u catch my drift. so anyways, i think i have decided just to stick it out right now because Mike is super understanding when i tell him all this. so we have both just agreed to pray about all this and see what we are told!!
anyways thats my rant for the day. after Friday i will try and post pics of my new home!! yay!!
love ya'll ciao!!

the farmin game...

2007-08-20T20:37:00.000-07:00

so i am about to post on some of my previous crafty doings. As i was e-mailing my cousin bec yesterday i realized how much i missed being crafty and discussing craftiness with her. so since i have no time to be crafty at this moment i am going to post on some previous ones. But first...
THE FARMING GAME!! duh duh duh
so mum bryan binky and me just finished a week of playing this dumb game (cuz it takes that long) and i lost again. guess who won... my crazy little farming brother. yup he always wins and i can't stand this game anymore!!! i do not like farming in the real world so tell me, why do i get talked into playing one on a silly little game board? yup i dunno. maybe i had nothing better to do or maybe i was just agreeing to a little family bonding which i have to admit is not so bad. but i think next time i should get to pick the game and guess what folks... it will NOT be the farming game!!! but i took some neat shots of the game board and my farmer brown!!!

ok so here's a quick rundown on how the game works. so each player rolls the dice when it comes to their turn. you move the number of spaces told to you by the dice hehe. and you follow the instructions on the space you land on. if you land on one that says draw OTB (which stand for option to buy) you can pull a blue card and see what it says. now if you are still in the winter months (every space counts for a week of the year) you can buy on your next turn if not you must wait until you get to the next winter. If you land on a space that says draw a farmers fate, you draw a pink card and follow its directions. often this says things like pay so much money becuase your corn has died or something like that.
or you could land on a harvest space (green is hay, yellow is corn or wheat, and red is fruit) so when you land here you follow the instructions on the space and then you roll the dice again for your harvest. so the number on the dice corresponds with the number of acres you own which tells you how much money you make each harvest. (this is done on a little graph thing)
so the highlight of the game for me was when i landed on a draw farmers fate space.
so i did and what did it say?? something like this...
Mount st. helen's has erupted. luckily your crops are out of the ash range but the other players must roll the dice to see if they are. If they roll an odd number they are out of range. if they roll an even number they are in range and must pay $1000 per acre to replant. so what do you thing happened... they all rolled evens!!!! o ya i was o happy and laughed so hard especially at mum who had like 60 acres of grain and 40 acres of hay and 10 acres of fruit!!! haha o and did i mention that i was paid $1000 per acre as the prices for everything rose and i got to sell my harvest!!! yuppers!! i made a tonne of money!! and then they all caught up. boohoo

ok so the pic dont wanna upload so i will do dat later gator!! lol

Mulhurst Dayz Parade 2007!!!!

2007-08-05T22:12:00.000-07:00

this past Saturday, so yesterday i guess and the 4th of August, was the annual Mulhurst Dayz parade. A bunch of faithful followers from Finishing Touch Ministries (our church) met at 8 in the morning to decorate an dhelp out with our float. This was the best float we have had in all our years of entering! which is like 6. Here's a bit of history of our floats. For the first 2 years, it was mum, my friend Pam and I dressed up as clowns in the back of Pam's truck. Mum would drive and Pam and I would hand out balloons and throw candy. the 3rd year we had my dad's flat deck trailer with a bunch of people on it as well as one of the ladies dressed as a clown and all the kids faces painted courtesy of moi. the 4th we had the flat deck trailer with pastor Lorne's scissor lift on it and him and my brother went up and down in that thing as the kids and i threw Candy last year we didn't do it but this year... whoo we went all out! we had the trailer with like 30 people on it (ok so maybe almost the whole church), the scissor lift with Lorne and i goin up and down and throwin candy, people on the trailer throwing candy and blowing bubbles, Lorne's grandson on his lil quad behind us with Lorne's wife Wendy and some other people in Lorne's Lincoln behind that, with George and Cynthia (an older couple in the church) walking with a sign that read "Jesus... King of Kings and Lord of Lords" and then 5 people on horses behind that! wowzers! we blew up 250 helium balloons to hand out but it was so windy they all got tangled and it was tough to give them out but some people were determined and got some of them untangled. We had so much fun and got some good advertising. But really we were all just there to have some fun and spread joy to the little Hamlet of Mulhurst Bay Alberta!!!!

Balloon crew: Pastor Lorne, Caylar, Joanne n Me!!

Binky!!

Candy from Heaven!!!

back to the grindstone!!!

2007-07-31T18:09:00.000-07:00

well i have been back in Canada for like 11 dyas now and already i have found a job and been working for 2 days. HA!!! way more luck than i EVER had in melbourne. But i guess it helps that i am a Canadian citizen.

Well things have been great and i love my new job at Penningtons, a clothing store in South Edmonton! i have talked with many friends and family from Oz and miss them all greatly. But i guess there is no place like home. wait a minute... wasn't melbourne home?? wow i feel a complex coming on!!! i actually consider both Edmonton and melbourne my home. Melbourne just has better shopping, no offene penningtons!! lol

The family is well and friends are good. I have been super busy with the planning of outh group... wait. thats a lie. i really am procrastinating. but i have looked over some things and talked to pastort lorne about things and i hope to start September 7th. I also want to create a myspace page for the group (ok maybe i might be copying this one thing from RIOT but hey, copying is the best form of flattery and i do love you guys!!)

well i better go and do some workin. I love you all ... o and am glad to say Joy wrote me!!! woohoo! for thos of you who know joy Johnson from MPBC. It was great to here from her.
Mike is finishing up courses in Kampala and then going home to Arua to his sick mother.
Hopefully all goes well there. Happy 22 birthday kelli!!! miss you!!
Michelle
xxoo

sigh Home!!!

2007-07-25T11:21:00.000-07:00

hiya!!
i tried posting this on my laptop a couple days ago but ya the internet connection downstairs keeps cuttin out sometimes. so i lost it!! o well i'll just inform you all now!
I got home Friday night at like 6:45 pm. i was SUPPOPSED to get home at like 2:10 pm. But i discovered in Vancouver that my luggage had been lost!!!!!!!!! o man. so trying to get that sorted out caused me to miss my 11:05 flight. but ok no dramas. So i am put on another flight that is meant to leave at 1:15. well the plane did not even arrive at the terminal till 1:30! so they unload all the previous passengers and make it look all perdy again which takes till like 2:15. then they tell us there is a problem with the winscreen de-froster and it will take another hour. so aqn hour and a half later it is fixed and we board. after taxi-ing out, they discover another computer problem and we have to go back to the terminal. so after they rebooted the computrer we are finally set to go at like 3;45. what a long day that was!

I did not get my luggage back until Monday when i went in to the airport baggage service to get a lost luggage claim form. When i did the nice gentleman told me they had all just come in this morning! Praise God for that! so now i have my scrapbook and stuff so i am very happy!
my room is a mess but i am happy none the less.

The weekend was so good. It was awesome to see the smiling faces of my family again!
my mum and sis did not recognise me cuz of my short hair but they eventually got it. :)
Sunday at church was wonderful! i cam back at an exciting time! i am taking on the role of youth leader in our church and possibly children's choir director. Our church is also possibly buying a building. An old luthern church near Wetaskiwin. Sunday mum dad and i went to Red Deer to see our missionary girls and their team of evangelists. Lori, Dorothy and Velma are the main team of NTOMI, New Testament Outreach Ministries. We have known them for a few years now and have become close with their whole team! i was so excited to be able to see them again as it had been almost exactly a year to the day since we had last seen each other.

This week so far has been busy and promises to stay that way. I have applied for a job at a clothing store in Edmonton, seen 2 school friends, seen Chuck and larry, bought groceries, been to the city twice and am on my way to a birthday party! i am so excited to finally be driving again! i missed it so much. I have also kept in close contact with friends and family in melbourne.
Danny (my cousin) and i talk pretty much at least once a day on msn. i have had a skype phone call with mic and Sharyn who have just bought a new house! congrats guys! i have talked to several RIOT youth people through myspace etc. if any of you have Facebook, please add me. and if you dont, then GET IT!!!
Love to all
xxoo

last week in Melbourne!

2007-07-17T06:15:00.000-07:00

hey all

This is a summary of what the last couple weeks have been like since i have come back to my home away from home in Melbourne.

This past weekend was so crazy and emotional and draining but very good none the less.

well Thursday was spent with Pete wandering a few neat streets with some fairly different shops on them. that was fun. Friday night we saw a movie called Evening. It was a very different movie but really good. Nonna (a long time friend of Barb's) Bec n Jasper, Barb, Joy ( a friend from church) and I all saw it and had ourselves a nice little cry in the theatre. Then we had coffee or in my case a chai latte nearby and had a great little chat!

then off home at like midnight! Saturday was spent with the Funk's and Kelli and Bruce bushwalking! so much fun and so many pictures were taken! That night Barb Pete and I went to a fundraising Gala and got all dressed up. It was alot of fun especially my super high heels! yup that was the best!! Sunday was a very emotional final church service where pastor Geoff got me up in front of the church and i did a little talk about my time here and then the whole youth group cam up and prayed for me! it was so amazing and yes a tear jerker! then the youth leaders all went out for lunch to celebrate Rob's 18th birthday and everyone signed and doodles on my teddy bear. We then spent the afternoon at Mic and Sharyn's hangin out and chatting and curled up watching gilmore girls (much to the guy's dismay :) and when it was time to leave there were more tears but no good bye's only cya laters! so back to Pete and barb's where the Funk's were still visiting from the massive gathering that was held there with friends from western Australia and inner Melbourne all around. So we talked a bit and then Barb and I headed off to prayers at the church. then home and to bed again.

Monday Pete and I took joy and her daughter Abigail to Sovereign hill, a much bigger version of Fort Edmonton. It was so cold but so much fun! then Kelly and Nath came for dinner in memory of Nath's dad Dave who spent every MOnday night at our place for a meal. Much was discussed and kelly and Nath hope to come to Canada for Christmas next yea with their new bub (to be had in Feb) today was spent scrapbooking and a dinner for me at the Funk's where i said a final cya to Gord who is going away for work tomorrow. but in about 8 months time i hope to see him in Canada as the Funk clan is coming over (since Gord is from Manitoba) so tomorrow i hope to spend a couple hours at Sharyn's then finis scrapbooking and then cvisiting with kelli and Bruce. Thursday is Dann day and Friday is the big flight! Kelli and Bruce will be there as they are driving me because Bec Piper Jasper and Pete are flying the same time to Cairns where Pete's mum is in hospital after having her leg amputated below the knee and then having a heart attack. so its all happening around here and Friday is a mass exodus!

well i will stop the babbling and show the pics

love you all and c u soon :)

xxoo

pics from family night

2007-07-11T05:18:00.000-07:00

Hey all here are some pics from our amazingly huge and exciting family gathering on SUnday Night!! Enjoy :)

(from left)Dave, Dan, Barb & Piper, Me, Gord & Jasper, Peter

5 cousins - Dave & Kelli, Bec & Dan, Me

Piper & I pie eating (believe it or not Piper ate most of it!!)

Bec and Dan... Didn't Barb and Pete raise lovely kids?? :)

Family Dinner!

2007-07-10T06:42:00.000-07:00

Sunday night was the biggest mist awesome family gathering in the history of family gatherings in Melbourne Australia! Especially for us Berkeley's!!
so in 2 days many a random text message and phone call went out to members of our extended family in Melbourne. Dan and Dave accidentally figured out they were going to the same family thing due to a random text from kelli to Dave! (they r brother and sister)
So here's that story:
Dave and Dan went out partying Saturday night. Dave tells Dan hey, kelli wants me to go to some thing with Bruce (her boy friend) and his parents (who are greek by the way). O sweet says Dan. Hey i'm going with mum and Dad and Michelle somewhere too and i think Bec, Gord, piper and Jasper are coming too. Sweet say Dave. So then Kelli texts dave saying we are going to the Flying Duck for dinner (where she works) Dave tells Dan. Dan says hey thats where we are going to let me check if it's the same thing. Sure enough Dan discovers that yup we are all going to the same place at the same time and so Dave catches a ride with Dan who is catching a ride with us. WOW it was so cool! I was so glad to be able to be with them all at the same time!

Dan and Dave have such a good relationship and the are hilarious together! o by the way, here is the family tree for this event. Barb and Pete are the parents of Bec and Dan.
Bec is married to Gord and they Have Piper and Jasper. I am living with Barb and Pete as is Kelli. Kelli and Dave are siblings. Bruce is kelli's boy friend and his parents are Gina and Kon.

Bec and i talked later about how phenomenal this was for us as we both grew up having no extended family nearby and how cool it was to have most of the cousins all together! Wouldn't it be great to get EVERYBODY together for a Christmas in one place! That would take just a few more random text messages i think! haha. But it was soo much fun and the food was great!
The best part was when we ordered a GIANT piece of Lemon Mirangue pie and Piper ate almost all of it by herself!!! wow it was so funny!

Well i am so glad we could do that before i left! Thanks guys for making my stay here so memorable!
Love n stuff
xoxo Michelle :)
PS my computer is bein funny so i will upload photos tomorrow

The Success of Little Fight Night

2007-07-09T04:51:00.000-07:00

Hey guys
a couple months ago i sent out an e-mail about little Wyatt Broughton, a little boy i know from Canada. He is such a little fighter and since his birth 5 years ago has been through more surgeries than all of us would ever want to experienc in a life time. Wyatt spent his first 15 months of life in hospital with his parents very rarely allowed to hold him.
Wyatt has overcome soo much and is one of my heroes! His big smile light up every room and is one of the happiest kids i know! Well The fundraiser held on the evening of June 2 in Warburg Alberta was phenomenal! The financial goal was $40,000. The little fight night raised not $40,000, not $80,000 but $140,000! Here is one of the media reviews of the night:

‘little FIGHT NIGHT’ DELIVERED PUNCH AFTER PUNCH
Surprise guests, major announcements, a knockout auction, and a grand total of more than triple the original goal place the small community of Warburg in a class all its own!
Amazing. Awesome. Inspirational. Miraculous. These are just some of the words that have been used to describe what happened in Warburg on Saturday, June 2. ‘little FIGHT NIGHT’, a unique FUNdraising event to help four year old Wyatt Broughton of Red Deer fight his many medical battles, will be etched in the memories of over 600 people for a very long time.
As promised, the core committee of six delivered an event that was a cut above! Upon entering, guests were not greeted by usual smells and sights associated with a hockey arena but by the sweet scent of fresh flowers and aromatic candles. They were welcomed by many smiling faces including members of The Edmonton Rush and the RCMP Red Serge. After a stroll down the red carpet, guests entered into an arena that had been transformed into a theme-based venue cloaked in red, white, and blue. Draperies hid concrete walls, boards, glass, and bleachers; specialty lighting illuminated feature areas; beautiful centerpieces added a touch of class; and, an official boxing ring provided a unique stage. A tower of 720 boxes of Scotties showed guests how many tissues Wyatt uses in a year and demonstrated some of the hidden costs of raising a child with special needs.
Jackie Rae from CFCW/Big Earl was the emcee for the evening. With charisma and character aplenty, Jackie entertained the audience through a program full of surprises including Olympic boxer Scotty “the Bulldog” Olson who shared inspirational words with the family and encouraged them to keep believing in Wyatt despite whatever challenges they might encounter. He applauded Wyatt for his courage in the face of adversity – adversity beyond any he had ever encountered. Country star Paul Brandt, Olympic gold medallist Lori Ann Muenzer, and rising country star Gord Bamford sent videotaped messages of encouragement to Wyatt and his family. Bamford even announced a November concert in Warburg - news that Jackie Rae matched with a commitment to have CFCW Little Critters celebrity hockey team challenge Warburg in a charity hockey game! If that was not enough to get this small village excited, Corinne Szepesi, Committee Co-Chair, announced “all proceeds raised from these two events will be donated back to the community as a show of thanks for making ‘little FIGHT NIGHT’ such an remarkable success.”
One of the main factors contributing to the event’s success was corporate sponsorship. Close to 200 businesses and corporations donated cash, goods and/or services - many of whom were on hand to make special presentations to Wyatt. Others who held their own fundraising events to help Wyatt also took to the stage to share their stories including Dawson Boyd, Film & Media Studies Teacher from Leduc Composite High School, Dwight Penney, owner of the One Stop Newfie Shop in Fort Saskatchewan, Vicki Fritz from Warburg School, Lanny Burtch, President of Calmar Custom Wheels Auto Club, as well as Tara Scott and Chris Martin representing the Collicutt Centre in Red Deer.
But perhaps the greatest wallop of the evening came from the big-hearted, gentle-man from
Fort McMurray. John Foy, founder of Kids Forever, announced that even though his organization had already donated $5,000 to Wyatt they would bestow an additional gift of at least $15,000 in September. Furthermore, they have chosen to provide financial support to another child from the Warburg area.
As the formal program drew to completion, Szepesi thanked everyone for the diverse ways they had supported the event and drove home the idea that this was a success because the greater community made it so. “It takes team work to make the dream work” concluded Szepesi. Shelley Broughton, Wyatt’s Mom who grew up in Warburg, shot straight from the heart as she graciously thanked every person in attendance for “not just sitting at home and thinking about doing something but for actually getting out and doing it”. The culmination was an emotional film about Wyatt’s fight for life.
The special touches didn’t end there. The absolutely delicious meal featured hand-carved roast beef. Robyn Metke, a Grade 5 student from
Warburg
School, won a poster contest about Wyatt. Along with bragging rights and a brand new i-Pod, Robyn won the right to attend ‘little FIGHT NIGHT’ where her professionally framed poster was the first live auction item of the evening. Robyn’s artistic creation netted $600 from the generous crowd. Renee Prusak, aka Miss Kokanee, was also on hand to assist in the live auction. Renee displayed many of the ten items, including a Team Canada jersey signed by Wayne Gretzky and a pair of WestJet tickets. The live auction brought in $18,000 and the 180+ items in the silent auction netted $22,000 more.
Immediately following the live auction, Brett Barrow and his band brought the energized crowd onto their feet. And the final surprise for the evening was a special guest appearance by Tera Lee from Big Earl who displayed her musical prowess by belting out a few tunes.
While this might seem like a costly evening, it wasn’t. The committee was able to pull it off with negligible expense and in the end make a donation of at least $140,000 to Wyatt – a far cry from the initial goal of $40,000. The family has already received the specialized pediatric bed for Wyatt and they have observed a notable reduction in his nighttime choking episodes. Other immediate purchases include an air filtration system, prepaid accounts with medical suppliers, communication tools, and a remedy for the black mold discovered in the Broughton house. Wyatt’s medical team is also evaluating his suitability for a $14,000 Smart Vest which will help reduce the secretions that create a choking hazard. A significant portion of the money will be invested so the family can provide for Wyatt’s needs for many years to come.
While the committee was ‘a little off’ in their financial projection they certainly demonstrated their accuracy in one area of planning - they gave Warburg area residents a social of grand proportions and a reason for locals to be proud of where they come from. Many times that night people were heard saying “This is the kind of event that you expect to see in the big cities not in a small village community.” Way to go Warburg, Breton, & Thorsby! You have proven that you truly are small communities with VERY BIG hearts!"

I know the Broughton family is so appreciative of this and did not even dream of achieving this! I can imagine the look on Shelley's face when she was told this! It would have been phenomenal.
Wyatt, you will continue to grace my prayers and thoughts. Keep on smiling wyatt u mean so much to all of us even those who don't know you are inspired!
TO HONOUR FAMILY
TO BUILD COMMUNITY
TO SHARE COMPASSION AND HOPE
TO DO WHAT IS GOOD AND KIND
For Wyatt,
Love Michelle

Feels like Home to me...

2007-07-05T18:45:00.000-07:00

well this is titled after the Chantel Kreviazuk song from "How to Lose a guy in 10 days"

very good song. Well i am home again in Melbourne! It is so nice to be back with aunty barb and Uncle Pete and Kelli! Even Denise is here too! And i am so glad to be back with my friends!

Sharyn, Mic, Nath, kel, Jenny, Jacob (lil miss retart), Jon, liz, Tony and everyone else at mill Park Baptist church and RIOT youth! And i have great news! KEL IS HAVING A BABY!!!
YAY! o man i am so excited and sad i cannot stay till Feb to meet the bub. Sharyn is expecting in December too so it would be so nice to be here but i can't and i miss my mummy too much :)

so i am forcing them all to come to Canada soon!

Well it has been too long since i have put pics on this site so here ya go peoples!

Thanks to all who put up with me for a while during this adventure! I love you all and had a great time!

Love you all

BRISBANE

Me n nan

Me n Barb Murphy

Feeding the Larikeets

MACKAY

Uncle Hal

Catamaran to Hamilton island

Platypus

THE HACONS

Robert and Pat

Where in Queensland is Bunda Ryan?

mustering

more mud

2007-06-26T18:19:00.000-07:00

hey all
well i apologise for having no pics to upload right now but when i get back to melbourne and get things sorted out, i will put some on here.

I went for a wander yesterday to discover the place and ended up not going very far but i did some thinking. i sat in a tree in the backyard singing along to my ipod and thinking about my binky. I have discovered some amazing things on my trip here and have realized some things and feel like i know dad a bit better somehow. Especially here where there is so much of nothing. I mean it is beautiful really. And the other day stuck out in the mud i realized that i was so busy at home. And i really want to be that busy again. But being out here i just realized the meaning of the passage "Be still and know that i am God". Wow that is a beautiful passage but you don't realize it till you have an hour to kill stuck in the mud in the middle of absolutley nowhere and getting stressed out about it is silly because there is nothing you can do to change it. yes i know this has gotten more philosophical than i thought it would given how much i hated that philosophy class. but i guess this is what i wanted out of this trip. To be still and Find God.

and now back to the binky bit...
Out here i feel closer to dad than i have been on this whole trip because even though i have been in his country for the last 6 months, it has taken me that long to get to a place where he actually was. Where so much of his time and energy was spent. and i feel like this has been a journey up to this point and i am at the pinnacle of finding myself and dad. i know this is not sounding right but i am not sure how to say all this so i am just saying the first things that come to my head. But i started off in melbourne with aunty Barb and uncle pete and hearing about dad through someone elses mind was good. I got a little closer. and over the months there i realized some things that i did last year that i can never make up and never take back towards binky, and mum but this is about binx. and i told him and now all we have to do is move on and it feels so good. Then i went to Darwin with Aunty Jan and really did not move forward much with this journey really. Well i guess i did getting to know his family. And then to nan. his mum and being in Brisbane his old stomping grounds but being here, on Euraba station where he actually was! All those other places were about his people but not where he was. But yesterday i could have walked in the same place he did years ago. wow
well now i need to let Pat use her computer. But i miss you all and can't wait to see you
:) Michelle xoxo

g'day from the outback!!

2007-06-24T19:14:00.000-07:00

hey all!
yes yes i know it has been wuite a while since i have posted but i have been through alot!! i tell ya! In ackay, Uncle hal fixed the internet problem on my laptop but then the silly thing restarts every 10 minutes! so i dunno maybe i will just get a new one when i get back depending on the cost of fixing it. So in Makcay i took a catamaran trip out to Hamilton island, which is one of the beautiful 74 whitsunday islands. Uncle Hal and i had a great time and walked the thing and saw it all.

The next day we went 'up the hill' to a national park and we actually saw 2 'platypi'!! well i guess it is actually 2 platypus. we were so excited because a) most people don't see them around noon when we did and b) my mum never got to see one when she was here!! yay! but then she reminded me that she swam with dolphins and i didn't. :( boohoo.

so then i left uncle Hal on Tuesday and had the longest bus ride of my life! I left Mackay late at like 7:30 am then like an hour later at a lil town called proserpine we 'ran out of fuel' well so we thought. It ended up that there was a broken wire. but we did not discover than until sitting on the side of the road for 5 hours waiting for the probelm to be fixed. finally, after losing 15 passengers to hitch-hiking and sitting in the rain or over heating on the bus, another bus picked us up and took us to Airlie beach where the 7 of us left going to Townsville waited another hour and a half for a bus to Townsville. When one arrived, we were almost left behind. In Airlie beach there were many many people waiting for the bus to Townsville as well. So we were picked last to get on the bus and there were no seats left for us. So, the nice driver let us on anyway and 4 of us packed into the bunker at the back and the remaining 3 of us sat in the aisle and on the stairs for another long while till Bowen.

Finally when we got to Townsville it was 7:30 pm and i had missed my booking at the youth hostel. Even though i had tried all day to get a hold of them they never answered. and by the time i got to Townsville, they were closed. So God blessed me with the nicest Cab driver in the world! he drove me all around the city looking for a vacancy in any hotel. Well there were NONE!!! it was insane! i was terrified and on my own and all i wanted was to be at home sleeping in my own bed whether that be in Melbourne or Canada i just wanted someone i knew.
When the cabbie drove away, leaving me finally at the bus terminal at 10 pm that night, it took everything in me not to cry. i was preparing to spend the night outside the terminal when i remembered uncle Hal had said marg's brother lives in Townsville. So i first tried calling pat and Robert, the people i am was travelling to stay with, and got no answer. So i called Hal and asked is i could stay at Marg's brothers place. Well, he lives like a 30 minute drive outside of Townsville. SO uncle hal hung up promising to call me back in a few minutes. And when he did, he had called around and found some nice guy at the Reef lodge for backpackers that would let me have a single bed for the night.

Uncle Hal became my new best friend! so i called another cab and got to the lodge and stayed there for the night. I didn't sleep however. I was still shaking and nervous from the previous experience and terrified i would miss the bus the next morning.

Well i didn't. I caught the bus and this time it did not break down but there was a downpour of rain. and it hasn't stopped since i have got here. O wait thats a lie. it didn't rain all day yesterday till like 10 pm. and now it continues to rain. 2 days ago Robert and i went out to pick up his daughter in law, Tracey, and to get his son Ryan unbogged. Well lets just say, Ryan got himself out and we needed a tractor! It was great! Ryan and a neighbor, Robert, met us on a tractor. Ryan and tracey loaded all of tracey's food onto the loader of the tractor and they sat on the back. So Robert Hacon and i set out for home only to be bogged a little way down the road. So we waited there for quite a while to be rescued by the tractor. and when we got out, we made our way slowly but surely home. I had a tonne of fun and have never seen so much mud in my life!
so here i am making cookies this Monday afternoon in the outback watching this wet phenomenon pooring down. Yup, its the dry season here and God has blessed the land with like 5 inches of rain. Please God, may i be allowed to make it to Julia Creek mext week to catch the bus to Townsville so i can fly back to Melbourne!!

Keep me in your prayers :)
Love you all xoxo

Brisbane and the Gold Coast

2007-06-13T03:30:00.000-07:00

hey all!
this is my last night in Brisbane and unfortunately i cannot post any pics here as nan does not have the right tools. But thats ok i am sure you will all see them in my scrapbook later and if i get a chance i will post them in Mackay.

Well i have spent 9 days here and most playing mah jong with nan. I have come to love this game and wish i could get a set here but am worried about getting it home (i have too much stuff already!hehe) so maybe i can pick one up in China town at home.

I have gone to the coast or more specifically surfers paradise and Carumbin beach! I guess surfers paradise is binky's old stomping ground! it is always so neat when i think that binky was here years ago. its an awesome feeling!

At the Carumbin wildlife park i was accosted by hungry larakeets (smallish parrots), fed and petted several kangaroos, held a koala and saw many birds and native Aussie wildlife! soo cool!

Well i must be off and i hope to be able to post something soon!
Love you all
Michelle

pics of nathan n Me!!

2007-06-03T17:37:00.000-07:00

hey all!

uncle Pete was having a cry cuz i had not posted any pictures of Nathan so here you are!!

love ya Pete :)

Me n Nathan at Territory Wildlife park

Our kookabura and nemo friends!

My cousin Nathan

2007-06-02T20:42:00.000-07:00

So for the first time i have finally met Nathan. he is Auntie Jan's son and so i have been living with him for the past week here in Darwin!
Nathan is a great kid! a tonne of fun! he will turn 14 on June 11 so that means he is 10 days older than Melissa.

Nathan and i have had one great water fight and 2 big drowning competitions in the pool!
and all 3 times i lost terribly. We have had a lot of fun together, picking on one another and playing cards and in the pool. Nathan plays cricket at the moment and barracks for the Brisbane bronco's rugby league team! he also wants to play in the rugby league when he gets older!
Go Nathan go!

Last night i taught Nathan some classic Canadian card games like crazy 8's and double solitaire!
I also had him almost convinced (with his mother's help) that Canadians do in fact live in igloos during the winter and tee pees during the summer! everyone except the rich hockey players who make so much money they can afford to buy a house! and i suppose this is getting to be true now-a-days! maybe we should all go back to living in tee pees and igloos so that we don't have to pay the enormous prices for our homes and electricity and gas hey!!
anyways i am off to see Spidey 3 again with Nathan.
Love you all
xoxo Michelle oxox

new friends!!

2007-05-30T23:49:00.001-07:00

Hello all!

Well i have been in Darwin for 4 days now and am loving it!!

The weather here is hot and humid! never reaching uch below the 25 degree mark!

barb and i are staying with aunty jan, binky's second oldest sister, her son nathan and husband john. Aunty Donna and her new husband John stayed here for the first 2 days with us and i enjoyed hearing stories about all 3 of them and binky as well. he binx, remember that time when u had a carbunkle or something... haha and the milk money... i will say no more!! lol

well, across the street here there is a big park and every night a bunch of Sudanese kids gather and play. Well on our way to the shop last night barb and i stopped to ask if we could take their pictures! and they let us! When we came back a few moments later i crouched down to talk to a little girl and all the older girls gathered around and braided my hair! so there i sat for the next few hours having my hair plaited! they are so adorable and i am just on my way out to play with them some more!!

Love you all!

michelle xoxo

goin on a lion hunt...

2007-05-27T01:11:00.000-07:00

ok ok so i am not goin on a lion hunt! but i am goin on a GREAT BIG ADVENTURE!!!
yup so in about 3.5 hours time i will be jetting off to Darwin for the first leg of an incrdible journey! I have died my hair black!! with some blonde streaks that did not turn out so blonde!
yup i was just sorta bored and wanted something new and this is what happened!! hehe
sorry mum i lied and did not shave my head for cancer! just wanted to give ya a lil scare!

well i am off. love you all and i will try and update as much as possible! :)
wish me luck and leave me your comments!! I would really appreciate hearing from all of you
xoxo
Michelle

A belated Brthday trip

2007-05-23T00:35:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, Bec and Gord, Piper, Jasper and I went into the city for part A of my birthday gift from them. Bec wanted to show me a different side of Melbourne besides all the touristy stuff. Well we met up with her friend Samara (which is funny because i would really like to have a kitten and name it Samara :) Samara works for an organisation called Urban Seed. The even we went to is Credo Cafe. This is similar to our mustard seed i think.

"Credo Café is the venue for Urban Seed’s open lunch program. The lunch program forms the heart of the organisation’s activities and the relationships established during lunch form the basis for most of the other activities undertaken by Urban Seed." So we went to the cafe and had lunch with a bunch of very interesting people. It was great! I love the community feeling of it! bec and jasper and I went for coffe with Samara afterward at a small coffee shop called Sahara. It was nice to sit and talk and get to know a little bit about Samara and Urban Seed.
visit Urban seeds websit at: www.urbanseed.org

This pictures Bec and I decided to get done in a photo booth while waiting for the train back to their place! it was fun. I also watched the clock come down at Melbourne Central. The clock, is this massive pocket watch hung on the wall and when it comes down, the back part comes down revealing little birdies and cherubs trumpeting 'Waltzing Matilda'. Melbourne central is a shopping centre on top of a train station. very cool

Books!!

2007-05-13T03:15:00.000-07:00

Hello all!
I am feeling like blogging and so i thought i would tell you all about the books i have managed to read on this fabulous trip i have taken! So i started off the trip with some great books by one of my favorite authors, Ted Dekker. I recommend his books to all of you who enjoy a thrill. This is a trilogy and the pics are sort of featured all around. Black, Red and White.

- Chased through the streets of Denver by mysterious assailants, Thomas Hunter is shot---and endowed with a strange new power. Suddenly his dreams are as vivid as waking reality. Can he distinguish truth from fiction before it's too late?

-Thomas Hunter is caught between 2 shocking realities, each facing a meltdown of epic proportions. When he dreams in one world, he awakens in the other. In one, he is a respected military leader urgently trying to deliver his people from a calamity that will end life as they know it. In the other, he's trying desperately to work with the world's top leaders to stop the release of the deadliest airborne disease ever.

- In one world, the virus has been released and threatens to destroy all life as scientists scramble to find the antidote. In the other, forbidden love could forever destroy the ragtag resistance known as the circle. Thomas can bridge both worlds but is quickly realizing he may not be able to save either.

These are great books and I recommend them to everyone. His other books have never failed to be great! Take a look!

Then i moved on to one Wendy lent me called "DragonKnight" by Donita K Paul. Once again this is a great read! and also part of a series but i have been unable to find the others here :(

- Before vowing his allegiance to Wulder as a knight, Bardon heads to the mountains for solitude. His life is suddenly complicated by a woman and her grand daughter, N'Rae, on a mission to rescue the woman's son trapped in a chamber of sleep. Bardon learns that more of Paladin's knights are imprisoned and suspects one of them is the Dragon Keeper Kale's missing father.

Once again a great read and i am always impressed at how these Christian authors parallel life's journey. Well i mean of course they do because of like the golden age archetype etc. etc. But i mean like this one parallels a Christians life with fantasy characters. it's all about working for God and learning and growing and all of that. I love it.

So then i sorta went on Hiatus from reading for a while and took up cross stitch (which, uh oh is still not done yet :() and then decided i wanted to read again. So, Pete and i went out to the library and i picked up 2 books. One has become my all-time favorite because it is beautiful. "The English Patient", written by Michael Ondaatje, is amazing in its style and attention to many small details. I also love it because it is set in Florence Italy and i love that place so much! It's also great because the main girl in the story is Canadian eh!!

The English Patient is a 1992 novel which deals with the gradually revealed histories of a critically burned man, his Canadian nurse, a Canadian thief, and an Indian Sapper in the British Army as they live out the end of World War II in an Italian villa. The novel won the Canadian Governor Generals Award and the Booker Prize for fiction. Frankly, i am surprised that's all it won. But i loved it and i recommend it to those looking for a good solid read. It is not for sissy's though. If u r looking for action or a lot of romance i wouldn't recommend it. But to those English majors like me :) it would be great for you to read!

So now i have gone to the library again and have 6 books to read! well i have finished on already and intend to finish the rest in the 2 weeks i have left here in Melbourne before i go up north.

The one i have read is called "The Rising: Antichrist is born" It is a prequel to the Left Behind series and just as good as it is written by the same authors, Tim Lahaye and Jerry B Jenkins. The one i am Reading now is the book following that called "The Regime: Evil Advances"

I tell ya, this anti-cChrist dude is pretty successful in these books and was not a very nice child!

i bet he couldn't be nice even if he wanted to being what he is and all but yes very interesting these 2 books.

The last 4 are in one big book so its sorta like the bible just a lil shorter :) "The Song of the Lioness" series by Tamora Pierce. I read one of her later books about this protagonists daughter in grade 12 and loved it! so when i found these i was thrilled! should be a good read and between all this reading, cross-stitch and scrapbooking, i should be kept pretty busy these next weeks :)

Thanks for reading my rants!! xoxo

Jasper Sage Funk

2007-05-12T02:48:00.000-07:00

So This morning, before footy, Barb, Pete, Kelli and I all made our way to the Funk residence for Kel and I to meet little Jasper Funk. Now, i have gotten used to holding baby Ethan Snook lately, (my friend Sharyn's son) and he is 5 months old but the size of a 7 month old but very cute and entertaining. Well lets just say, little Jasper is just that. LITTLE!! he was so tiny i barely even knew i was holding him! and so quiet! except for a bunch of grunting after while! He looks like a Funk thats for sure. But Kel thinks he has sort of Berkeley chincuz he gets a little dimple in it and Kel says some of us get that when we smile

I bought him some cute little clothes and i also got Piper this wicked bubble blaster gun! man i think i bought it more for me than for her but it is a blast! and Piper loves to chase after bubbles and shoot the trigger. We have to work on holding for a count of 3 and then letting it go to get more bubble solution however, but this all takes time :)

So we all went for a walk to the park where Bec, Gord and Pete played some Frisbee, Kelli held

Jasper for the majority of the trip (after i held him on the way there) and Barb and i played with Piper. We had so much fun and were all so glad to be together because its not very often that ever happens. and i don't think it will again for quite a long time. So we went back to the Funk house, had some yummy rolls for lunch then Barb and Piper made their way back home, Kel took Pete and I to the footy and then she went off to celebrate her anniversary with her boyfriend Bruce. It was such a lovely time. we also tried to figure out how

the second cousin thing worked cuz Kel and i thought we were second cousins to Piper and Jasper but it turns out we are first cousins once removed and our second cousin is like Nan's cousin or something like that. it is complicated but at least we got it kind of sorted out! well i will sign off now and do some reading. Or maybe i will blog about my reading. hmm decisions decisions. O no. I will write an e-mail with pics about today. haha xoxo

FOOTIE!!!!

2007-05-12T02:29:00.000-07:00

So today was a great day! First of all it was Kelli and Bruce's 1 year anniversary so congratulations on that guys! honestly they are so cute!! And, Kel, Barb, Pete and myself all made our way over to the Funk household this morning for Kelli and I to meet baby Jasper! o man he is so cute! but for now i will talk about the other half of the day, our trip to the footy game!

So after visiting the Funk's Kel took Pete and i to the Jolimont Train station where we met with some friends from church Joy and Craig-> from there we walked a short distance to the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) where we would watch the long time rivals, Collingwood Magpies vs. Carlton Blues. The game was pretty intense i tell ya! There were 77, 321 people there but the stadium can hold something like 120,000. it was pretty full! we sat right in front of some real fans! yelling and screaming and swearing and bouncing and drinking and smoking! o man i was really introduced to it all! It turns out that Joy is also quite a fan! she did a lot of bouncing and throwing around her scarf and twirling it and some clapping and small sobs. I just laughed and clapped for both teams cuz i was not sure which one i wanted to really barrack for! It turns out that while Joy barracks hard core for Collingwood, Craig is all for Carlton. But he is not so... hmm what shall i say, vocal about it :) I had so much fun and enjoyed learning from Joy all about it! Thanks Joy and Craig for that awesome experience! i loved it a lot!

So in the end, Collingwood one 119 points to 95. People here really get emotional about it (sorta like the craziness on Whyte ave after the hockey playoffs last year :) like there was a big brawl between a couple fans and all the Carlton fans left early when they figured they had no chance of getting it back! and all the Collingwood fans say good bye to the Carlton fans as they trudge out looking very upset. I don't think the loud cries "goodbye Carlton" helped much :)

Then at the very end, the Collingwood song was played and everyone sang along!! it was crazy the whole stadium stood up and yelled out this Collingwood song that i could not even understand!! yikes! the trains were PACKED going home too! that was crazy and lots more screaming fans!

well i hope this description captivates you and somewhat gets the gist across about it all. The top shot is a panoramic thing Pete did with a sweet-as program on his computer!! xoxo

Youth Leaders camp

2007-05-06T05:07:00.000-07:00

Well i feel very honoured to be called a Youth Leader here at Mill Park Baptist Church! This weekend I was included in a camping trip to Tourquay with all my buddies! I had a blast and even got to pet a possum and almost pet a kangaroo! I got to know my new friends a bit better and had a great time! The weather was pretty good as well as our moods! the funny thing is that the only heated debate we had was over whether or not the kids should do the dishes on the next camp in August when these guys take the whole youth group camping! wow was that interesting! i had to leave the cabin! but other than that it was great! Sharyn cooked great food, Jacob and I did the dishes real well (with help from Jenny and Jane) and everyone pitched in to make the trip a success!

So I am now affectionately called "miss America" by Jacob whom i loving call "lil miss retart!" and nope that was not a typo! he honestly thought that the word "retard" was spelled "retart" and had to consult his majesty the Internet to find out the truth! haha Jacob you are too funny! what a great time we had together and how close we got! I feel so blessed to have met such amazing people here! I could not have asked God for better friends in such a time of need! I know these friendships will last long! They have all vowed on their lives to come to Canada for my wedding whenever it happens!

Also this weekend my second cousin, baby boy Funk was born! Now Piper has a lil brother who does not yet have name. I have not met the cutie yet but i am told he is precious and definitely is a Funk! More to come on that later! Love you all and many blessings! xoxo

Michelle

Beauty and the Beast... Aussi Style!

2007-04-29T00:21:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Saturday, Barb and I attended a performance of Beauty and the Beast put on by a local private school. This play holds a special place in my heart for those of you who don't know because in December 2005 I played in my school's production of the same play in the role of Mrs. Potts! What an experience that was!! Well i have to say this one was pretty darn good! I am a little biased so i would like to say that ours was better but honestly, we did darn good and so i think these guys were tied with us! Although i must say it was give and take cuz some aspects of theirs were better than ours but some of ours were better. Here are some of the things:

I think Kelsey Johnson, our Belle, was better than this Belle. I liked Kels's voice better and her acting, but this chick's costumes were rocking!! Although i love Dan, our beast, I have to say this guy did a better job and his costume was a little better. This Gaston was AMAZING!! As much as i adore Brenan, this guy was hilarious!! OMG!!! ya he was good. I preferred our Lefou. he was shorter and just seemed to fit the part better although this guy did make me laugh. I have to say i think i made a better Mrs. Potts and i don't say it in an arrogant way but really i was. This girl was good but i wasn't overly impressed with her singing or her acting. Our Lumiere and Cogsworth were better, Costumes, acting and all hands down. Although these guys had great makeup!! I felt that we had better choreography and moved around alot more. The opening scene here just felt a little off. People just sort of stood in the same place and i was impressed with our people more so. The music was really well done but i felt that the songs were not nearly as good as ours. These ones were quite slow and had a bunch of talking through them like they would sing something and then talk a line and it was just slower. The set though. I dunno.

The way i see it is this. This is a rich private school who had the people and funds to build it professionally and so it was amazing. But ours was just as amazing because we built it ourselves and painted it and it was darn good without much of a budget. Also these guys made most of their costumes when we brought them in. They made all of them except Belle's yellow dress (which was as big as my Mrs. Potts dress :) and something else i don't remember. Their plates though and cutlery, spot on Mate!!

I Pledge...

2007-04-27T18:42:00.000-07:00

Ok so last night was youth Alive and for those Canadians that attend YC this is similar. This was just a regional Youth ALive so there was only a couple hundred kids there but it was loud an d obnoxious anyway! I had a blast rockin out with the kids and the leaders! But what i wanted to tell you about is more a personal decision we each made.

On April 15, two 16 year old girls, Jodie and Stephanie (seen above) went missing in the Victoria Bush.On April 22 both girls were found hanging from a tree in the Dandenong Ranges National Park after an apparent suicide pact. These girls were only 16 years old.

At youth Alive last night we were all encouraged to take a stand against suicide because the statistics for Australia for suicide are that every 5.4 hours a teen in Australia commits suicide. This has raised from every 17 hours in 1998. This is terrible and my heart goes out to the families affected by these recent cases and those past.

The pledge we took was to stand against it. SOme of the causes or symptoms (there is great debate of which it is) of suicide are the use of illicit drugs, alcohol abuse and sex outside of marriage. So here is the pledge. Every morning when i wake up, i will take a black marker and mark a cross on my wrist (like the one shown in the pic) This is to remind me of my promise. I encourage all of you to do the same because if we all walk around with a mark on our wrist, people will wonder what its about and you can tell them and they can take the pledge too! This could be a world wide stance against Suicide and the abuse of one's own body!

SO here is the pledge:

~Do not use illicit drugs AT ALL!!

~Do not have sex outside of marriage, and if you have make a concious decision not to let it happen again

~ Do not abuse alcohol. This means if u are under the age of 18 it is illegal for u to drink. SO DON'T! If u feel u want to drink ok have a social drink but do not abuse it. Make sure u r able to think clearly!

That's it! Some people might find this a bit of a challenge but it's worth it! If this could save even one teen from killing themself i will do it! We can change the world guys and make it a better place! All it takes is a small step from everyone!

Rest I Peace Jodie and Stephanie. I hope you found the peace you were looking for.

xoxo

Food, Glorious Food

2007-04-26T21:39:00.000-07:00

So since today i have been itching to write something and have not much to write about, i figured i would tell u all about the food i have been eating over here!!

Exhibit A: MUESLI!!! This is an Aussi word for Breakfast cereal! This stuff is organic and very tasty! It contains bran flakes, raisins, hazel nuts, Almonds, tasty little Fibre thingers and oats. I love to eat this stuff with added banana's and vanilla yogurt (thanks to Bec and Piper for that) as well as put Milk on top!! mmmm Very yummy any time of the day! This is a great way to start your day with an extra little push of energy for ya!

Exhibit B: Citrus tart and Cappuccino! mmmm I tell ya this is a great combination but honestly, the coffee here is NOT for the faint of heart (or taste buds!) It is S-T-R-O-N-G!! So i have taken to drinking Chai lattes more often but the odd coffee isn't bad. The Citrus tarts are like little Lemon pies and boy are they good!!! They are so cute with a lil dollop on top! (i love that word!) The tart is great to share or just to indulge by yourself. Yes these 2 items are perfect for any cafe experience!

Well you guessed it! These tasty lil morsels (or creepy looking creatures) are PRAWNS!! These puppies are huge and put our shrimpy (haha) lil shrimp rings to shame!! These guys are fat and juicy and my 2 experiences have been delightful! I have learned how to Shell them and then eat them. They are real good with fresh Avocado! My favorite way to eat them is as a sandwich! Prawns and avocado spread on fresh bread is marvelous!!!

And for the final exhibit, I know what you are thinking! Nobody should be allowed to eat those disgusting looking rotten apples! Well let me tell ya people do eat them! These are Custard Apples and Barb and Pete Love them! I am not much interested in them. They have a funny texture and a different taste that i just can't seem to take to. O well, more for barb and Pete!!

I have also eaten a lovely eggplant dish made by Kelli and some kangaroo bolognese! I really enjoy the kangaroo as opposed to beef. There is an extra flavour that is real nice! I have discovered that Red peppers here are called Capsicum! very interesting. We also purchased an organic pumpkin this weekend and had a lovely pumpkin soup made by Pete and a great Pumpkin Pie compliments of Barb! Now that i have the recipe i will not have to wait until Thanksgiving to eat Pumpkin Pie anymore!! yay!
Well i hope that this was an educational and entertaining read for you all!

xoxo

April 25

2007-04-25T06:02:00.000-07:00

Well this is my first blog on this new site! I have not done much this week. Monday I babysat piper and we took a walk to Princes Gardens, a nearby Park. We had alot of fun playing in the park and in the leaves!!

When i am with Piper i do alot of reading nice stories! Piper loves books! and she is super smart!! Monday she called me a mojor-domo! now only her and i would really know what this means unless u r a BIG disney person. And i mean BIG!!! Zazu, the Toucan in The Lion King, is referred to only once in the story as the King's major-domo!! holy i thought!!

Piper is also quite computer Savvy! I guess with her parents, Bec and Gord, She would have to be! yup they are exceptional when it comes to the ways of the computer!

Speaking of Bec, her baby was due today but there was no sign of it yet! I got a bit of a shocker when Aunty Jan called and told me she was in Labour! But after my heart began beating again, we worked it out. She wasn't in fact in labour but Jan had not even known Bec was Pregnant so she had talked to nan who must have said something about the baby being due today and she just thought Bec was in labour or something to that effect!

Well the highlight of my day was a phone call from Mike!! It was so good to talk to him! It is always encouraging to hear his voice! I was happy to hear that he is feeling better (as he was sick a while back) and he convinced me to sing to him! So i sang A whole new World over the phone and he liked it :) I was informed that i should learn guitar so that it could make my recording career alot easier some day. which yes is true. Mike is a man of many talents! He plays the drums and guitar and sings and does all these projects for the people in Africa as well a take great care of his mum and think about me!! I feel honoured to have such a special place in his heart!!

smiley-chelle...

The Face of Judgement

Weary

Long time no blog...

My Ugandan Dream... Mike and Invisible Children

The mysterious manner of God

just another "status update"

status update...

Discussing a Mosque at Ground Zero...

best friends, ain't they grand!

The next big thing...

Finally... the final episode

an account of recent events...

a very quick update...

Quotable Quotes from the journey thus far...

Overdramatic Adventure #2...

Over-dramatic Adventure Number 1...

Off to adventure-land!!!

Ringing in the new year with a shot and myself :P

Looks like February... wait, its October!

Summer '09 thus far

Beautiful British Columbia

Musings...

Card Making...

Birthday numba 21

Things that made me love you

joined New Online Scrap-booking community

one year later: A story and tattoo

New Year... More posts??

a small state of humble

summer gone

Long Time No See!!!

Glasses

Spring has Sprung!!!!

Romeo and Juliet

My Skating Birthday

Bitter-sweet Weekend

sad sad news

Photo Booth

Birthday invitations

rehearsal crazies!!

Freezing Cold Part 2

FLIPPIN COLD!!!

ok so maybe i am not using this as a journal...

Thought for Food

Frosted Over

Holidays... so to speak

Evening of the First Snow

Pumpkin Carving

Thanksgiving in Slave Lake

CLL'ing

New Beginnings

Settling In

so many things... so lil time!!

the farmin game...

Mulhurst Dayz Parade 2007!!!!

back to the grindstone!!!

*sigh* Home!!!

last week in Melbourne!

pics from family night

Family Dinner!

The Success of Little Fight Night

Feels like Home to me...

more mud

g'day from the outback!!

Brisbane and the Gold Coast

pics of nathan n Me!!

My cousin Nathan

new friends!!

goin on a lion hunt...

A belated Brthday trip

Books!!

Jasper Sage Funk

FOOTIE!!!!

Youth Leaders camp

Beauty and the Beast... Aussi Style!

I Pledge...

Food, Glorious Food

April 25

sigh Home!!!