Why I Blog & 5 000 views

I can't believe it- the blog has hit 5 000 views!
For those who have read this blog so far- thank you!

I decided it was time to write a post about why I blog, and what I like about the whole thing.

Now I know, I'm not the most.. how to say it politely...gifted at writing. 
But I do enjoy it. 

I have always been a journaller.

I have journals from all of my mission trips and kept one throughout many years (to keep track of things God was teaching me along with my daily occurrences). 

It is really neat just going back through these years later and reading everything  that happened and just realising how much things have changed since that time. 

Even more so than journalling, I have always loved scrapbooking. 

If you ever visit my room or apartment you are sure to find many scrapbooks and if you catch me on a good day, perhaps you may see the mess of papers when I decide it's time to put some more pictures to paper.

That and gifts-- I love giving gifts that include anything picture-wise (just ask family and friends).

For me, blogging was a perfect mix of the two. 

I get to share pictures with others, and keep a journal of sorts. 

I can't wait to share this blog with my children and let them see that I too had times of difficulty and times of joy.

Along with that I want to be able to share stories of them growing up with them.

For me, blogging was the perfect way to do this.

 I still keep a prayer journal (such a cool way to see how God answers prayers if you sometimes think he is not listening to you).

I still scrapbook (nothing more calming to me than sitting down and scrapbooking- plus I love having that hands-on book when it is all done).

But as for blogging, I am very thankful for being able to be given an outlet for many of my thoughts and stories for the upcoming years.  

The Story of Us- Pt 3

[Make sure to check out Part 1 of our story and Part 2 ]

Wes now had the ring, and the permission to marry me. 

I knew it was coming (ask my friends), just not sure when. 

So, after waiting so long knowing Wes had a ring and the permission, it became a waiting game. 

On November 14 2009, Wes and I went on a trip to Niagra Falls (we had done this a few times beforehand so it wasn't anything out of the blue). 

We took me to a place overlooking the falls and I could see he was nervous but I just figured it was stress at work. 

It was really cold on this day, so I remember putting my hands in his sweater pocket and him acting very strange (apparently I had almost found the ring on him). 

As soon as I saw him get down on one knee (he had done so while I was turned away), I knew what was happening.  I was so excited I didn't really even let him finish his sentence. 

Afterwards, we went to the top of the Skylon Tower (basically it's like the CN tower but in Niagra), and had a beautiful candlelight dinner in the revolving restaurant while looking over the lit up falls. 

We were so excited that we were really at this next step (it had seemed like a very long time). 

We had a long engagement (a year and a half), but again, I was only 18 at the time he asked me to marry him so it was good that the engagement was long. 

Near the end of the engagement, we were busy planning the wedding and going to the wonderful showers our friends and family had planned for us (and of course- the bachelorette and bachelor parties).



If anybody has planned a wedding, you know it can be a bit stressful. 

Now write exams up until the day before your wedding... this was my life.

I rushed from my final exam straight to the wedding reception. 

We didn't have a firm place to stay until the day of our wedding (talk about stressful and having to let God take care of the details).

We didn't care though. 

We were finally going to get married.

The Story of Us- Pt 2

[For those of you who missed the first part to the story on how Wes and I met check it out here]

So now it was official- Wes and I were dating.

Now dating when you are 14 is different than dating when you are 20. 

But for me- this was a big step. 

As I said before, I wasn't much to date- Wes was my first real boyfriend- so when I started dating a boy who lived 40 minutes away (and nether of us could drive) it posed a bit of a problem.

Luckily for us, Wes had a sister.

Many times, I would "visit Em" but in all reality it wasn't Emily I was visiting (though it was still nice to see her as well!)

Our parents have a huge part in our story, as for years it was them who drove us back and forth every weekend. 

We would spend each weekend with each other, rarely missing a Saturday of seeing each other (except for the odd occasion).

One week, my parents got tired of driving us and told me that I would have to find my own way there this week or just not go (thinking that of course the only logical thing would be to skip the week). 

Instead, both Wes and I decided that we would bike to see each other. 

So there I was 6 am on a July morning, biking to Brantford (about 40 km for those who aren't familiar with the area).  Wes and I met up halfway and continued back to Brantford together.  It was fun and challenging all at the same time (we had a lazy day otherwise- watched alot of movies and tv). 

We councilled together at camp the following Summer (2007), making sure that we kept the whole "Febreeze and Flip Dating" thing on the downlow for the kids (our camp names).

Wes has always been somebody who can make me laugh, and who is able to cheer me up on bad days.

[Take this for instance: One day (in 2006) we were talking about how Wes should write me a poem to show me how much he loved me- This is what he came up with :

I was fiddling around with my flute

When I was stopped by someone so cute.

She said hey young man, wanna smoochie?

I said not from you , you friggin hoochie.

She had a cough and cleared her throat.

She said young man I ought to slit your throat.

She gave me a look I couldn't resist.

I said hey hoochie I want to kiss.

After one kiss it turned to more ,

they will love eachother forever more

Love you Bre

From Me ( Wes ) haha u r not a hoochie though

Like I said, we aren't the most romantic couple ;)]

Wes and I continued dating, we went to each other's proms and semiformals as well as sporting events, etc.

After a while we started to talk about our future's and whether or not we were in this whole thing seriously or not.  We were. 

Wes bought my engagement ring right before my high school graduation.  We had looked at rings a bit beforehand just to show him what I liked and didn't like. 

I had two big things I needed Wes to have done before I would agree to spending my life with him:

1. He had to have a good paying job (not just part-time but a career job)

2. He had to ask my Dad's permission beforehand (I knew my Dad would be honest as to whether or not he thought Wes was the guy for me- which I knew he was)

In summer 2009, Wes and my Dad went out for dinner and he asked my father's permission to marry me.

   

Testimony Tuesday- Meet Eliana R.

I met Eliana while dating Wes (at this time, I didn't know her too well as I would just see her occasionally the weeks I went to Wes' church).  Later on, I had the privilege of meeting her at camp and the next year of having her in my cabin.  While counselling her, I realised that Eliana really does have a heart after God's own heart.  She would always be the person trying her best to include everybody into the activities and making sure that nobody was left out.  I have been able to see her grow into the woman she is today, and hope to see her continue on the path she is on.  Meet Eliana R.



You could say I was a typical church kid growing up. Though I go to church every Sunday, when I was younger, I couldn’t really see the point of going every single Sunday. It seemed a bit too tedious for my liking. I knew I loved the Lord, but I didn’t enjoy church as much as people expected me to. Maybe I was just lazy, or maybe I just got bored easily, but it wasn’t until I was older that I came to appreciate church.

In grades kindergarten through eight I went to school at a Christian elementary school. Other than church and home, that was the place I was firmly rooted in my faith. The teachers there were a real encouragement to me as I went through the grades at that school. I made real friends through my experiences there.

Although I didn’t like church nearly as much when I was little as I do now, I loved Jesus, so when I was six I accepted Jesus for the first time. I remember being so pleased with myself and so happy. I realised that I could not make it to heaven on my own because I was a sinner. Jesus died on the cross to take away my sin because I couldn’t do it on my own. It is very hard for a child to really understand why their little sins should keep them out of heaven, but by age six understood that God sees all sins equally, and then I knew I was ready to be saved. When I was younger, I used to have a habit of accepting Jesus into my heart over and over again (every few months or so). I had this attitude that I knew I was going to heaven, but why not just except Jesus one more time just to be sure that he heard my prayers, and I was going to heaven. I did not understand that you only have to accept Jesus once, and then you are in his family of believers. I grew out of that habit once I was older because I now know that Jesus heard me the first time.

When I was eleven, my parents split up. I was extremely lost and angry for a while. Eventually I got over it, but this event left me weak in my faith. I wasn’t angry at God or my parents, or the world, but I distanced myself from God. I stopped praying every night, reading my Bible, and singing from my heart in church. When I was in church, instead of listening to the message, I would let my mind wander. I would sing in church just for the sake of singing, and the words would be empty. My spiritual flame was dwindling, and I suddenly was too busy for God. I knew that this event was part of God’s plan for my life, but I honestly could not see how ripping my family in half could do any good in my life or anybody else’s. This attitude went on for about two or three years. I would go to summer camp, or a youth retreat, and my flame for God would be burning bright again for about two weeks, but as I fell into regular routine with schoolwork and friends, my devotional got dusty, and God was pushed to the back of my mind.

           

At my grade eight graduation and the beginning of highschool, my life was turned in a different direction. At Grade eight grad, I was extremely sad to leave my good friends and my childhood behind. I knew that God has a plan for my life, but it was hard to let go of all that I knew and was so familiar with. I knew that I had to move on. When it came time for me to start highschool, I was nervous. Not because of so many new people I would be meeting, but because it would be so different than what I was so used to. I would be going from a Christian school to a catholic high school. It turns out going to a Catholic high school actually strengthened my faith, believe it or not. From when I was little I have been learning about God and how to serve him but I never had the chance to actually share my faith with others because I was always among people with the same beliefs as me. Being able to share what I believe with others was what strengthened my faith to the point where I felt the connection with God again. Being challenged by Catholics and people of other faiths has really caused me to think deeply about what I believe, leading to my change of heart.

I’m not saying that I’m a perfect Christian. Not by a long shot. I still fall into old habits and forget God sometimes, but I always come back to him and know he is my God. So when my relationship with my dad is rocky, I know I will always have my relationship with my heavenly dad that I can count on.

Gender Reveal Party?

As many of you know, Wes and I are going to be finding out the gender of our baby very soon. 

We still have not decided if we want to do a gender reveal party for friends and family and find out at the same time as others, or find out before-hand while at the ultrasound.  I have been researching some options (for those who haven't read the previous post of all the Gender Reveal Ideas).

I thought it would be fun to see what others think, as I love hearing opinions and whether you have enjoyed going to these parties:)

So should we have a Gender Reveal Party?  If so, please comment with the idea you like best for revealing the gender:)