Mr. Bell!

This is Mr. Bell Smiling.....

It has nothing to do with my post today, but as I said before, I think that Chihuahuas should rule the world!!!!

He may be smiling, because I have the best friends in the world....

At least I like them...

April 2 was my birthday...I turned 37 ..and i am not sure how I feel about that, as really...I don't feel 37..and i am not sure i act like it either! (LOL)

(As I am sure our church youth would attest....)

I got a phone call early in the morning..we were up because it was Sunday, and we were on our way to church...

It was Paul. (He is the associate pastor/worship leader at our church.) He told me he had laryngytus and asked if i would mind coming in early and singing...

When i got there the power was out, so first we all gathered and asked God, if He had time, would He please mind turning the power back on first as someone had hit a powerpole the night before, and it had been off all night.

We just finished praying and wouldn't you know it, the power came back on. I love those little faith building moments.....

After the first song, Paul kindly announced to the entire congregation of 300 people that it was my birthday, and they proceeded to sing Happy birthday to me...(I was soooo embarrassed..... ) I think that would probably be why Paul did it, but his birthday will be coming.....

After church we went for lunch...to Kelseys with some friends. We were all sitting around talking when Paul gave me an envelope with 280 dollars in it! For those of you who haven't been keeping up, we had a breakin and they didn't steal anything except for my guitar and my keyboard...Unfortunatly we had no insurance (which we do now) or an alarm (which we do now...) and so the guitar was gone. Kendal felt sorry for me and bought me another one..but it was money out of pocket. Fortunatly we did get some tax money and were able to put about 800 dollars on the new one, (which you can see if you scroll down the blog..) However it was going to be monthly payments for the rest.....

And this is why Taco was smiling...

and the reason i love my friends.

The 280 dollars wasn't just from my friends Paul and Tammy, (apparently he and my mother in law had been conspiring...and according to her are now good friends...) but it was also from some other friends from my church. AND

not just my church. There is more money coming from some friends in another church I used to go to but no longer attend.

Some of the money coming is also from family members....and .....

it is still coming!!! My 2 children who still live at home both donated...Brandy gave me 100. and my youngest gave me 50! My oldest apparently is also donating....

So far we have received 600 dollars.

It isn't the money that means anything to me...It is the heart behind the money. For example, after the break in...our friends Scott and Cori showed up on our doorstep after church...with a bunch of security stickers and a Washburn guitar for me to use...I am not sure how well i responded, since i usually am embarrassed when people do things like like that...old habits die hard...i guess i always expect people to act badly....but i was really touched that they would have thought to do something like that. We also called Paul and Tammy the night of the breakin, and Paul offered to come right over and pray for us even though it was midnight...you can say it is because he is a pastor, but i have known lots of pastors.......and they also brought us a bunch of security stickers....Thanks guys (even though i haven't sent the address of the blog yet, so you probably won't read this...hehehe) That is why i love Saskatchewan.... my husband and I have been blessed time and time again by the unconditional love and kindness from the people we have met here...We have made some of the best friends we have ever had in Regina.

It shocks me again and again to see the completely unselfish attitudes and love which have been extended to us over and over ...and which make us glad that we have moved here and chosen the friends we have..

( BTW...For those friends and family who live outside of Saskatchewan, we still love you too,...Jason and Shawna, Jeremy, Sandy, Scott and family and others....but you should move here!)

We just want everyone to know that we love you dearly....and I am blessed beyond belief to have the friends and family i have....(and Paul...your birthday will come....hehehehe...)

All of this has also proved to me yet again the grace of God in my life, that what Man intends for evil (the break in)...the Lord intends for good....(the blessing)

If the break in hadn't happened, then I would not have been able to witness just how blessed I really am....and this guitar means far more to me now, then my other one did. I feel like i have a piece of everyone in that guitar because of the gifts which helped to pay for it! I would rather have this one now...!!!

The thief can keep the other.........it was just mine.

Addictive site!

Addictive site.....

OK! I found this game on MSNs site of the day....It is kinda dumb....but really addictive....go ahead..give it a try!

http://www.game24.co.kr/flash/swf/clover.swf

Positive Post!

Well.....Here is a far more positive post today......

I GOT MY NEW GUITAR!!!!!! YAAA! and do I ever love it, although I haven't had lots of time to play it yet...I did get in about half an hour or so at worship practice last night.

and here it is!!!!!

December 28, 2005
TAKAMINE LTD2006 CAPTURES ANCIENT WISDOM OF TIBET




Over the past few years, Takamine has looked to nature for inspiration when designing their showpiece Limited Edition guitars. For 2006, Takamine invokes the spiritual realm for inspiration in creating the LTD2006.

The ancient wisdom of Tibetan culture is captured beautifully in the LTD's "Mandala" rosette. The Mandala, representing the four elements of life – Air, Fire, Earth and Water -- is skillfully inlayed into the exotic wood and semi precious stone adorned rosette. The 12th fret is marked by the "Knot of Life", binding all things together in unity.

The LTD2006 is an OM sized cutaway guitar constructed with a solid Spruce top with solid Rosewood back and is powered by Takamine's CT4B preamp.

I hope that I have many happy years playing my new friend....

Just in case your curious about what was stolen from me here is a picture of my old guitar.




EF325SRC


6 String Acoustic / Electric

Body Shape: Dreadnought C/A
Rosette: Concentric Rings
Top: Solid Spruce
Inlays: Pearl
Back: Bubinga
Sides: Bubinga
Fingerboard: Rosewood
Electronics: Graph-EX
Tuners: Chrome
Features: Bound fretboard

Finishes Preamps
Gloss Red Stain


Well, what is done is done I guess

Maybe I will still get it back.....

Break In!

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

OK- well that had to be officially one of the worst experiences I have gone through recently!!! In case you didn't guess by the title....we were broken into.... It happened on a Friday night while we were at the church helping with Youth group. I even came home at 8 PM which I never do, because I had forgotten to pick up some stuff.... We came home at 12 to find that our back gate was unlocked... Judging by the footprints in the snow, it was definitely a man (size 11 shoe) and it looks like he broke in around 10PM....he came in through our patio door...which I have asked the landlord to fix several times.... At first when we walked in we started to panic because the dogs were missing. Actually panic is a mild word for the pandamonia that broke out when my girls thought the dogs were stolen or dead. We started hunting the house for them and a moment later heard whining.....from the shoe closet. The stupid thief had shoved my dogs cages nose down in their cages in the closet....I was pretty steamed....Kendal says he probably did it to shut them up, but he was kind of dumb considering he left the nosiest one out.... After we started to look around we realized that my keyboard and my 1200.00 guitar were both history...Was I ever choked....Aside from that all they stole was 150.00 in Canadian Tire money and some foreign bills which were worth nothing. Oh and they left a big mess for me to clean. That was very considerate of them.. Did I mention that my kids were terrified to go to bed for a week afterward, or that my 13 year old sleeps with the door open now....(she wasn't scared of the dark before.) or that they wanted one of us to stay home on Friday nights? My dogs bark at every little sound...I am sure they were thrilled to be locked upside down in a dark closet. It took the police 12 hours to get to our house and another 24 hours for the CSI to show up and fingerprint....I understand the police force in our city is understaffed, but WOW! I felt victimized again...Plus we couldn't clean our house until after the police were done.... Unfortunately at this point I still have heard nothing back about my guitar. I phoned every pawn shop in town, plus I have been keeping an eye open on eBay. Still praying for that to come back. We now have an alarm system installed...ADT to be exact.....and we feel a little safer, although, I think we will be moving to another house some time soon. We also have a special lock for our doors now..... .....and to the thief who was kind enough to take the most precious thing in my house(guitar) It had no monetary value to me. It was precious, because I used it to worship God. I played it a lot, and I doubt it will do you that much good. Pawning it will probably only give you a couple hundred, and no where near the pleasure it gave me or others who like to listen to me play. I am glad that you left my dogs unharmed, but you did damage to my kids.... all that said? I forgive you-because it is the right thing to do, and because your life can't be that good....but for crying out loud..... Get a real job.

False Search
<bgsound src="http://http://www.files.bz/files/8470/Casting%20Crowns%20-%20Your%20Love%20Is%20Extravagant.mp3" loop="infinite">

Mr. Bell

OK- This will be my third post today, I am getting carried away here, but this is worth posting for! A smiling Chihuahua! That is always worth posting for! I think that the world should revolve around chihuahuas. I have one. His name is Mr. Bell. ( Guess why?) That would be Taco to his friends... This is him licking his own nose! If we did this, it probably wouldn't be socially acceptable, but it would save a lot of money on kleenex! He does a lot of other socially unacceptable things too, but we won't talk about those either! Taco is two years old now. We weren't really looking for a dog at the time, especially not a $500.00 dog, but he was a gift from a friend of mine, who felt bad for me when my other chi was hit by a semi. We were actually looking for a Pom cross, but for some reason the kennel owner brought Taco with him as well, (just in case we might be interested!) When I stuck my head into the box to look at him, he jumped up and bit my nose, and that was it...I was in love! Even though I was driving, he didn't want to sit with anyone else the whole hour home. Training him has been a lot of fun. He is very smart, and like my other chi can do all kinds of tricks, but the funniest is when he crawls on his stomach from one end of the room to the other! Guaranteed Party Pleaser. (we know...when the party is going no where...we've tried it....we have really boring parties! ) The nose biting thing is pretty funny too! The first time my friend Krystal looked into the play pen, where he lived his first couple of months, he jumped up and bit her nose too! Only he didn't let go. Funniest thing I have ever seen in my life was my girlfriend with a baby chi hanging off the end of her nose while she jumped up and down screaming! He's an adult now, and he doesn't do it much anymore---except to my husband---Kendal can't sit down without the chihuahua attacking his nose! Maybe Taco is trying to say something dear......kidding.... When he isn't eating, he sleeps (Taco, not my husband....hmmm...) If he could sleep 24/7 I am pretty sure he would. If I sit, he is on me sleeping. I was sick for a week once, and all he did was sleep the whole time. When I got better, he seemed dissapointed..... The only real problem we have with him, is that we live in Sask. and it's freakin cold. Far too cold for a little Mexican dog with no hair! Did you know, that Chihuahua's apparently used to live in the wild in Mexico? They sleep in holes in the ground, and people used to eat them. That was my useless piece of info for the day. Life must be great as a chihuahua. People carry you all over, and all you do is sleep and eat. People say that they are cranky and they bark all the time, but I have had two now, and they were both the quietest dogs I have ever had, and if you socialize them properly, then they are also pretty friendly! You can also litter train them. (NOTE TO SELF: after spending countless hours in -40 waiting for him to do his buisness I might want to do that next time!) Apparently they also live for about 20 years. (if they aren;t hit by a bus. ) Which is kind of what happened to my other chi! --Kind of... Here is another picture of my chi! Live long and prosper Taco....oh wait...wrong show. oh wait--one more picture.... 1 comment Awwwwww!!! What a SWEET face! Him and Burly definitely would be big buddies. Kiss that sweet lil nose for me.

New to this

Well, this feels a little weird, but Kendal and I felt that the best way for us to keep everyone updated on our lives was to do an "online journal" so that everyone could keep up with us! It is easier for us then phoning (since as so many of you have pointed out, we are just never home) and writing letters! (right.....) I do have time while i am at work however, so here we are! Unfortunatly, by the time many of you get to read this it will probably have been a couple of weeks, since we are keeping what we are "up to" a secret for a while....because we love you and don't want to dissapoint you! Let's see here, what have the Jone's been up to.... Well, Kendal and I almost bought a house this week, but unfortunatly the deal fell through at the last second. It was a 4 bedroom house built in 1973 for 119000.00 It had a double garage and a swimming pool in the back yard! Can't get better then that though! Must have been some reason that God didn't want us to get that particular house though because right before we were gonna sign the papers, someone else outbid us..... Here is the site though if you would like to see what we are looking at! http://www.mls.ca/PropertyDetails.aspx?PropertyID=4182168 We are dissapointed of course, but recognize God's guiding hand in this. We will keep looking. The girls are mostly still doing ok. Krystal is working a lot.... She says that she has the possibility of a full time job right now working for a cab company. The other job she is interested in is at a daycare. She said they might pay up to half of her tuition to take Early Childhood Education. We will see. She has also enrolled herself here at an adult education program to finish her grade 12. I hope that she does well with that as I think that she is a smart girl. Brandy has been a complete joy ever since this summer. We did have some trouble with her in the summer when she decided to take several midnight excursions at 2 am.....Unfortunatly for her, somehow although her bedroom is in the basement, we woke up each time, and unlucky for her, i found her wherever she went (LOL) I finally ended up nailing her bedroom window shut! At this point, we are very pleased with her. She is making some very good choices for herself. She is hoping to change schools though in the fall, which is why we want to move, so that she can make some healthier friends and get into some better programs. Get this. She is choosing to not date until 18, because she says her friends are always getting their hearts broken, and she doesn't want to do that. Lucky me, or what! She does have a crush on a boy in our youth group though, but i promised i wouldn't say the name outloud...ever...... Little Miss Bree is still as independent as ever! She is doing awesome in school. She is in grade 8 now, and is getting almost straight A's! She didn't do so well on French or she probably would have got on the honor role! She is also not too interested in dating yet, although i doubt very much if she has made Brandy's decision about boys. I will try to post pics of everyone soon...... Kendal and I are doing great! Buisy as usual, but what else is new! He is still working at Crown Enterprises, and enjoying it! I still work at Bobcat and I have my days..... We love our new church and we have also found 101 things to love about Regina, including all the great friends that we have made here! Oh-and here is the reason that i can't send u the link to our webpage yet.....Kendal and I are trying to have a baby! After 10 years of being married, we decided that we wanted one of our own after all! We don't want to tell ya all though until it happens as there are so many things that could go wrong...so you will just have to wait! So far-no luck....although I am supposed to be testing on Sat. as my basil temps have stayed high for an unusual length of time this month so maybe i will have something to share with you soon..... are you suitably shocked?