Going Green

I'm going to share some more of our winter with you in picture form.  I was just outside taking pictures so you can all be assured that I took these pictures TODAY.  It's just so beautiful.  Don't take this as bragging...just think of it as a nice taste of spring in the midst of cold, Canadian winter days. : )

 Some cool leaves that remind me of Paraguay every time I walk by them

April showers bring May flowers...unless you're in California.  Then it's December showers bringing January flowers.

A shot of the admin building with the palm trees that I thought would amaze me in the middle of winter.  Little did I know that they would become commonplace and I would simply forget that it is the middle of winter!

 

A little "hidden" playground that is all fenced and hedged in...so fun!

The trees are showing signs of all the seasons.  We have trees that are still green as ever, some that are beautifully red and yellow, some that are completely bare, and yet others that are already budding!

 

 Our little friend, Mr. Squirrel.  I'm pretty sure he has a name that someone in the court gave him.  But I can't seem to remember.  All the squirrels have been scurrying around since September preparing for winter.  Hmm...remind me again when "winter" is due to arrive?

 

fog.

One of the hardest things about infertility, for me, has been the overarching feeling of being suffocated under a thick blanket of fog.  Throughout much of the last few years that we've been struggling with our infertility, it has been hard to see much past it.  There have been moments, even month-long stretches, of breaks in the clouds where a few things in the periphery are in focus, and these have been wonderful.  But the time spent under the blanket has been exhausting.

In the fog of infertility, everything seems to hurt a little bit more.  Everything seems to take a little bit more energy.  Seeing truth seems to take a little bit more straining.  Relationships seem to take a little bit more intentionality.  Life is just different than it was before the fog.

This past year has been one of great steps forward.  I spent much of the year feeling quite optimistic about our hope to grow our family.  There were a couple months when I felt the best I'd felt about growing our family since before we started trying and I (foolishly) assumed that I'd moved safely past the worst of it.  But then there have been a few months that have been the hardest months since early on and, in some ways, these months have been THE hardest ones yet.

I've been re-reading, upon Nathan's suggestion, Pete Greig's book, "God on Mute."  The title pretty much sums up what the book is about.  What are we supposed to do/think/believe/hope when God seems to be on mute?  When there seem to be no answers to our prayers?  Admittedly, there have seemed to be no answers coming from heaven regarding our longed-for children.  It has been quite the spiritual struggle, in addition to our physical struggle, to bear children.  But God has been doing some pretty amazing things in my heart, especially over these past couple weeks...

I am feeling hope again.

I am seeing the light again.

I am excited for 2010, whether it brings an expansion to our family or not (and believe me, this is a big step!).

I found a poem and a verse in this book that I'd love to share.  I've been thinking about them alot lately.  The verse is Romans 5:3-5 (the Message):

 ^3-5There's more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we're hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we're never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can't round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit! 

And the poem:


first
there is
     prayer
and where there is prayer
there may be
     miracles
but where miracles may not be
there are
     questions
and where there are questions
there may be
     silence
but silence may be
more than
     absence
silence
may be presence
     muted
silence
may be nothing but
     something
to explore
defy accuse
     engage
and
this is
     prayer
and where there is prayer
there may yet be
     miracles. . .

(Greig, Pete; God on Mute; p.29)

Oh the places you'll go

The year Nathan and I got married was a year of many changes.  2005.  We started the year as unmarried students.  We ended the year as married adults living in a new town, new province, both with new jobs, new church, new friends, new car, new EVERYTHING.  Neither of us had ever lived on our own before.  At one point in the year we looked at one of those "stress charts" that rates different changes in life with a point value so that you can calculate how "stressful" your life has been.  We joked that the only thing that would have made our life more stressful that year would be if we had an unplanned pregnancy.

It's amazing how much can change in just one short year.

2009 hasn't had as many changes as 2005, but it's been close.  We started this year not sure where in the world (literally) we would be this Christmas.  Last Christmas, we were still "technically" employed at the church.  We weren't sure if we would be working at the church after our leave or if we would stay put but continue with our jobs/school or if we would be moving away.  We decided mid-January that a move was the right thing, so we formally resigned from the church and put our house on the market.  Within the next 9 months, we quit our jobs, applied and were accepted into seminary, moved our stuff into storage in Saskatchewan, found a temporary home for our Lennox, moved to California, and sold our house.  And now, almost one year since making that decision to move, we are settled in our apartment, have one semester finished, and are feeling at home again.  Wow.  It's so interesting to look back sometimes, isn't it?  It's amazing how quickly things some things can change.

Now the interesting thing will be finding out where we will be at this time next year and, even more exciting than that, the year after that once we are finished school!  Could be anywhere!

Empty Arms...

Infertility stuff has been really hard lately (as you may or may not have picked up from recent posts).  There has been alot to process and work through.  I don't have much to share right now.  But please take a minute to go to the link and watch the video.  Consider it the words that I couldn't put to our situation myself...because it expresses where we are right now perfectly (minus what it says about treatments).

Empty Arms

It will be a tough Christmas this year...if we'd gotten pregnant right away, our little baby would be turning 3...

Finished!

I finished my quilt in time for Christmas!  Not that it'll be used over Christmas...or that it needed to be done for Christmas.  But it's nice to have it done.  The last time I posted about it, I had just started snipping all the seams so that it would fray.  Well, after I posted, it sat in our spare room until just the other day when Nathan brought it out to the living room so that I had to look at it unfinished until I decided to finish it.  So quite a few hours of snipping later (and one pair of scissors that was sharp and is now dull) I am FINISHED!!

I did a random pattern on it, instead of making a design.  I played with multiple designs before I even started cutting, but kept coming back to the random one.  I just like how cozy and homemade it looks with no pattern.  One thing I don't like is that I had to wash it to get the fraying started.  And I like things to look and feel new as long as possible.  Before washing, all the flannel was perfect and soft and new...and after washing it is all balled up and not nearly as soft and it already looks "old".  *sigh*  I guess that's just the nature of these quilts. : )  I might take my lint shaver to it and see if I can at least get all the white balled up lint off of the brown squares where it looks the worst.  It is still a nice, cozy, heavy blanket though.  And believe me, I do have some dreams for it!  Perhaps snuggle my little girl in it one day?  Here's hoping!

Has anyone noticed anything different around here?  Anybody? 

Yes, indeed.  It was time for a change to the blog template.  It's so much fun to play with colors and pictures and fonts and stuff.  And now I think I've found a way to make it even easier to change.  Plus, I can display my own photographs on the header!  (some of you figured this out a long time ago, I know, but I'm experiencing this with newfound joy and excitement!)

So what do you think?  Do you like the new look?  It's pretty different from what I've ever had before...I think I'll have to let it sit a couple days and see if it feels like me... 

Trip...

A couple days ago, Nathan and I drove our friends
(fellow court-dwellers) to the airport in LA. We left on Tuesday morning and arrived around noon. We went straight to Venice Beach and had a picnic to the sound of crashing waves on some rocks right on the beach. Unfortunately, soon after opening our bag lunches, the sea gulls found us and we were chased away. We enjoyed walking down the beach, went out onto the pier, saw some shops, were offered weed twice, watched some great skateboarding, and took lots of pictures of waves crashing on the rocks before moving on to the next thing. After the beach, we continued driving into the core of LA...Hollywood. We walked down the walk of fame, where the celebrities get their coveted stars on the sidewalk. We saw the Kodak theatre (where big award shows and red carpet events are held - this picture is taken from there) and the Hollywood sign and the hand/foot prints of the stars. Nathan and I had been there back in 2007 when my family took our trip down to California, but it was fun to see it again, and especially fun to see how excited our friends were to see it for the first time. Then we took a cruise down Rodeo Drive (where the stars do their shopping for crazy expensive clothing and jewelry and shoes, and also where the "Pretty Woman" hotel is located). Once done the sight-seeing, we went back to the hotel, checked in, and went out for some supper. We ended the night with a movie in the hotel room and crashed decently early because our friends had to get up at 4am the next morning to catch their flight. The next day, Nathan and I had a lazy morning and checked out around 11am. We talked about doing some museum/art type stuff, but driving is so crazy in LA that we ended up just driving to IKEA and then home. It was a good two days. On the way home, it hit me that it's awesome that we could just jump in the car and drive down to Hollywood if we wanted to. It's only about a 3-4 hour drive to get to LA. That's amazing! And it's December and it was 21 degrees in LA! It was beautiful! Often it just feels like I'm nowhere special and that it's just still summer, but it just hit me that it's actually December and it's still beautiful and we live in a crazy fun place. Isn't it fun when stuff hits you like that? I like it. : )

Wishlist 2009

I'm keeping my Christmas wishlist simple this year...

All I want for Christmas is a baby and a Caramilk bar. : )

Done.

(They just don't have Canadian chocolate here in the States...it isn't nearly as good down here which, I suppose, is good for keeping the Christmas pounds off...)

BabyGate

Nathan here,
A while ago Niki let me do a guest appearance on her blog and I wrote about how I had won the biggest loser contest at work (and yes I’ve put it all back on thank you for asking). Now that all my school work is done though, I thought it would be fun to write a blog post for Niki. Especially since she needs to be reading Lohfink and not thinking about entertaining all of you with her incredible depth, humor and insights. Since it’s Christmas and babies are in the air I thought I would tell the world what I think about babygate as it shall hence forth be known. Babygate is that conspiracy of unknown forces that have not allowed us to naturally conceive a child in the last three or so years (unlike Niki I do not keep a count... at least not yet). I have to say that for the first... oh... three or so years I have been on the... what’s the word... not indifferent... but willing to let the baby stuff happen or not. I’ve been all for the sex part (If Niki can always be honest here so can I right?) and I have been supportive and willing to see it happen. But it hasn’t been a real priority for me. It’s not that I don’t want kids, it is just that I wasn’t ready. Let’s face it, becoming a parent means a drastic change in life. I know people with kids, and they just aren’t fun any more (Just Kidding Brad :D ). Well it’s more that parents have to be unselfish, they have to give and give and give, and in all honesty I wasn’t really ready to be unselfish (I’m working on it though). Well over the last few months... probably since getting to know our neighbors little girl K (see pictures) my heart has been rapidly changing. The other night I couldn’t sleep and I was like, “ok God time to get moving here!” My heart has been opened, and having a child is something that I too really want to happen, and soon. I’m starting to get impatient, and I’m really not sure how Niki has been dealing with the pain for so long.

As I mentioned before December is the baby month, the month when families are supposed to be together, and when all we talk about is Jesus as a baby. So with our family smaller than Niki and I think it should be, I had an interesting devotional thought. I am reading the MB seminaries Advent devotional (free here) and I was reading the entry for Dec 6, and this thought struck me. There is absolutely no reason for the Zechariah and Elizabeth story in the Bible.... well.... maybe it was to encourage Mary and open her eyes to see God was up to something, but she had just seen an angel so I would think that would have been heads up enough to know that God was doing something crazy. Seriously, why the story about a barren woman conceiving a child? As far as I can see it doesn’t make any difference to God’s greater plan whether or not John’s mother was barren or not. This part of the story is completely unnecessary to the greater story. I can just see Luke’s editor looking at it and saying, “Look Luke, this has gotta go, it’s just fluff, let’s just keep the story going.” Since the beginning of time God has used thousands of men and women who’s mothers bore them with no problem. So why the story of John? Why in a story about Jesus, does Luke toss in a fact about this woman and her supernatural conception? For me, my hope is that God takes pleasure in causing women to be surprised. My hope is that God likes to take pleasure in unnecessary pregnancies. I can see no reason that God chose Liz instead of any number of other women with a healthy uterus to bring Jesus’ herald into the world, but God chose to do a miracle. And so this Christmas season, I am hoping that God will do one in our lives, and that babygate will become a conspiracy of how God surprised us with a healthy beautiful herald of God’s goodness.

Another perk

I went out for a walk today (beautiful day...sunny...14 degrees) and on my way back, I picked some flowers here on campus. Then I walked into our apartment and saw our Christmas tree and realized that, as far back as I can remember, I've never picked fresh flowers while the Christmas tree has been up! I like it. Aren't they pretty?

Over the Top

I got this award from my good friend, Kelsie-Lynn. The rules for accepting this award are to copy and change the answers below to suit you and pass it on. Answers can only be one word! Pass the award to a deserving blogger and alert them they have been awarded.

Here are my answers to these questions:
1. Where is your cell phone? nowhere
2. Your hair? frustrating
3. Your mother? loving
4. Your father? steady
5. Your favorite food? pizza
6. Your dream last night? forgotten
7. Your favorite drink? water
8. Your dream/goal? kids
9. What room are you in? living
10. Your hobby? crocheting
11. Your fear? hopelessness
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? motherhood
13. Where were you last night? home
14. Something you aren’t? energizer-bunny
15. Muffins? please.
16. Wish list item? house
17. Where did you grow up? Hudson Bay
18. Last thing you did? sneezed
19. What are you wearing? comfy-ness
20. Your TV? football
21. Your pets? faraway
22. Your friends? thankful
23. Your life? transition
24. Your mood? lacking
25. Missing someone? yes
26. Vehicle? Toyota
27. Something you’re not wearing? Sunglasses
28. Your favorite store? Superstore
29. Your favorite color? lots
30. When was the last time you laughed? ??? uh-oh
31. Last time you cried? ???
32. Your best friend? Nathan
33. One place that you go over and over? email
34. One person who emails you regularly? Nathan
35. Favorite place to eat? parents'

I will pass this award on to Marsha! Because I'm always curious about what I'm going to find there...

is there any point in posting...

Lately, while everyone else is feeling more relaxed, I have been feeling more busy. I'm thinking it's because I had nothing much to do while everyone else was doing homework and now that homework is wrapping up, people have time to socialize again. It would be great, except I always feel like I should be doing my homework! Don't worry, though, I'm overcoming that feeling quite effectively. Most of my books are still sitting on the shelf unopened.

Seriously though, I do need to get down to work soon. I've finished two of my seven papers that I need to do before next semester starts. That's 5 books to read and 5 papers to write in 6 weeks. My practical side says that I should just dive into it and put out paper after paper until I'm done. My procrastinating side reminds me (over and over) that they're not actually due until the end of January and I have nothing to do between now and then, so why not take a few days to relax? I'm just afraid that I'll take too many days to relax, then suddenly realize that I have two weeks to write 5 papers. Hopefully I talk some sense into myself soon!

Speaking of homework, I downloaded the syllabuses (yes, it is just as technically correct to say "syllabuses" as the more annoying sounding "syllabi" - I dictionaried it) for my courses next semester. Then I opened my calendar and plunked all of my assignment due dates onto it. And my heart kinda stopped a little bit. Or maybe that uncomfortable, tight feeling is more of a stomach cramp. Whatever it is, I'm realizing that I'm going to be a real, stressed, busy student in a matter of a few weeks. Yikes. Perhaps it really is time to get going on those papers so that I can finish them and start reading ahead for my other classes!

Well, Nathan is antsy (didn't take long after classes were done!) so we're going to go out for a bit. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Winter and Teaching (two separate things)

So, I know I talk about this way too much, or at least I think about it way too much (I do try to monitor how much I talk about this) but winter in California is SO different!

Canadian winter = -20 degrees (or -30 or -40, you get the picture).
Californian winter = +10 degrees (may freeze at night every ten years...this is one of those years)

Canadian winter = snow.
Californian winter = no snow unless you go up a mountain

Canadian winter = scarves, toques, down-filled jackets, long underwear, boots, etc
Californian winter = scarves, beanies, down-filled jackets, long underwear, boots, etc.

Notice the differences? The weather is colder in Canada, there is no snow in most of residential California, and yet people are wearing the same thing! Of course, Nathan is still wearing shorts, though he traded his sandals and bare feet in for socks and shoes a couple weeks ago. But still...it's not THAT cold!

I was driving to Wal-mart today and I saw this guy, probably in his 20's and he was wearing a huge jacket and was holding his scarf across his face as if it was too cold outside to breathe without it. And here's the best part...I glanced down at my in-car thermometer and it was 10 degrees outside! +10 degrees! This would be considered a decent spring or fall day in Canada! Definitely t-shirt weather in much of Canada. These poor Californians are freezing their butts off. haha.

We've also noticed on the news lately that there are warm-up shelters put up for the homeless because it's getting down into freezing temperatures at night (-2 is the coldest we've had). I say it's a great idea, it would be very uncomfortable to sleep outside in this weather, but what about the homeless people in Winnipeg or Saskatoon or Edmonton? If there's no room in the shelter, what then? I bet Canadian homeless would be thankful for -2 being the coldest that winter nights got.

We also heard warnings on the news for people to be sure to bring their pets inside at night because of the cold temperatures. PLEASE! Animals were made to be outside. I can understand bringing your animal inside when it's -20 (if they usually stay outside) but when it's only getting down to zero? They can handle it. Then again, the majority of dogs down here are chihuahuas...maybe those little guys can't handle it. But isn't that what doggy-sweaters are for?

Needless to say, I'm getting a kick out of this...

_______________________________

And now for the teaching part of my post. I have always enjoyed teaching. It doesn't really intimidate me, as long as I know what I'm supposed to be teaching quite well. In the past I have taught camp devotionals, children's church lessons, kindergarten reading/alphabet, and piano lessons. I have also taught crochet.

I guess it started in high school when my friends wanted to learn to crochet. We sat down together and I taught them (remember crocheting together, Marsha?). Then, in Bible school, crochet was the big thing, so I whipped out my stuff and taught whoever wanted to know how along the way (my favorite lessons were the ones I gave to Nathan!). In Altona, I taught one of my friends to crochet and we got together a couple times to crochet together. It's always been such fun.

When we first arrived here at school, I felt a desperate need for a project so I pulled out my crochet hooks and bought some yarn. I would take my crochet projects to various movie nights and hang outs and before I knew it, I was teaching people here how to crochet. By now, crochet parties have become quite the common occurrence, especially among us student wives. And it is not unusual for someone to come to our door at least every second day to ask how to make something or how to do a new stitch. I'm loving it. As a result, I'm crocheting SO much more myself. Since moving down here, I have made a hoodie, a couple toques, a pair of mittens, a cowl, an afghan, a scarf, a shawl/wrap, tons of stars for decorating our place, a baby toque/mitten set, another baby hat, and I'm in the process of working on a hammock.

Perhaps I should drop out of school and just start selling my stuff on Etsy. What do you think?

The latest...

I just had to share what I made today. Isn't this toque adorable? I made it for the newest little baby that I know. : ) I wasn't sure about adding ears onto a green toque, but Nathan just said that it was an animal dipped in a pail of goo and that I should do it. Goo. Of course. Why didn't I think of that?

Christmas-ey!

Well, the season of receiving and mailing Christmas cards is here! And what better way to feel loved than to display all of the holiday greetings? I usually display all of the Christmas cards on the top of the piano, but seeing as we have no piano this year, I went the way of so many people and strung a string! We only have two cards thus far though, so to keep the string company until we receive more cards (hint hint), I crocheted a few stars of different sizes and hung them at varying lengths from the string. It still looks pretty empty, but at least there is some festive quality to the string! I'm contemplating making a few snowflakes to add yet. I'll keep you posted...

Is "lethargism" a word?

Some days don't you just get TIRED?! I mean deep down exhausted tired. Wow. Why does this happen? I vote for predictable energy levels. Seriously. All day today I've just been ready for a nap. But I've been busy all day, so alas, no nap for me. Perhaps I'm tired because I'm an introvert and have been so "with people" lately? Maybe it's the change in weather (much cooler and darker lately). Maybe it's just the end of the semester and everyone else's lethargic feelings are rubbing off on me. Whatever it is, I'd like to kick it's butt. Because seriously, I'd love to be Christmas baking and cleaning the house and decorating for the holidays and hanging out with friends who will be leaving soon, and all I want to do is wrap myself in a blanket on the couch and sleep. Oh well. Maybe I'll try to have a relaxing evening tonight and a good long sleep. Then we'll see where I'm at tomorrow. Wakefulness and abounding energy have to return sometime, right? Right...? *sheesh*

J, E & K

I took family pictures for some of our friends, J & E and their beautiful daughter, K. Happy first family pictures, guys! Hope there are many more to come! I couldn't pick just one or two...there were so many good ones.

California in December

California is quite beautiful in December. The temperatures can be quite chilly, especially at night (lows of 3 degrees) but most days it is still sunny and it can get up to the high teens or low twenties. Lately it has been around 10-15 degrees.

When we got here, it was mid-August and I really wasn't sure what to expect come fall. Would the trees change? Do trees change color and lose their leaves when there's no snow coming? What do Californian seasons look like? Well, I've since learned that it is pretty much like summer (a Canadian summer) until at least the end of October. That's kinda when the leaves start to change and right now, early December, they are in their peak of beauty. There are bright yellow, deep red, and, of course, green like always.

It is orange season here in Cali. I remember, now that I see orange trees, that when I was little and would draw a picture of a tree, some of the time I would draw red circles for apples but more often I would draw orange circles for oranges. Oranges were by far preferred over apples for me. : )

These oranges are SO good too. They're pretty sour, but all you need to do is cut them open to know that they're straight off the tree. They smell amazing, and the flavor is like nothing you find in a store in Canada. How ever am I going to go back?! Yesterday I cleaned my kitchen with an orange straight off the tree. Then I garborated (sp?) the rest and the whole kitchen smelled SO good! Lovely!

There are also still tons of flowers blooming around campus (and everywhere, really). I kinda hope that this lasts all "winter". These yellow flowers seem to be in season right now (I've noticed a few bushes of them on campus and around the city). So happy-looking, eh?

The roses also seem to be in some kind of peak season. BUT...I have a sneaking suspicion that the ladies in the administration office are cutting them and taking them to their offices. There is something about entire bushes that are full of blunt cut stems that were loaded with buds a day ago that makes me think they're not just naturally fading away...

I did manage to find some beautiful roses to stop and smell though...

This is a fountain over at the campus next door. We are connected physically to them, but are actually separate schools. It is a very beautiful campus. Ours is too, for that matter. There are fountains, stately columns, and lots of trees.

This is my favorite view here on campus. This was taken right outside the library where I found Nathan while I was out taking pictures. How did I get so lucky?


So you can see that most things around here don't look very Christmas-ey, as far as what we're used to. But I've realized that these are the climates where we get our inspiration for the plants we use to decorate at Christmas. Crazy, eh? I think of Christmas every time I walk by this bush...I remember my grandma having a plastic version of this plant that came out at Christmas time.

And last, but not least, we have carolers. I was just about to run out the door to pick some things up at Walmart and decided to check something online right before I left. I was sitting here with the laptop and all of a sudden I heard music that sounded like it was in our house. I was very confused. I looked outside and there was a whole brass band in our courtyard. I didn't notice them arrive at all, but with our windows open, I couldn't miss the beautiful carols that they played. I must say, I've never seen carolers that weren't bundled from head to toe. I've never seen carolers with a tuba player either!

So that's a taste of California in December. If it looks so good that you want to come see it yourself, by all means come! Then again, I'll understand if the blanket of snow and promise of freezing cold temperatures over the next couple months have you completely content with where you are...

My days...

have consisted of nothing very exciting lately.

Lately it has felt like life is nothing but routine. I am one who appreciates routine a fair amount (especially after prolonged periods of no routine) but sometimes I wish I could just throw something completely different into my day. Ever get that feeling?

My routine has included:
- cooking meals
- going to my 2 classes a week
- doing homework as I try to switch an audited course into one for credit
- crocheting (lots of crocheting)
- cleaning
- reading

That's about it! And seriously, as far as routines go, it is a pretty fabulous one! But today I just feel like doing something different. Like REALLY different. Like unfeasibly different. I feel like getting in the car and driving across the country. I feel like exploring. I feel like making memories and taking pictures and traveling with my husband. I feel like just getting in the car and driving up to San Francisco, because really, it's only a 3 hour drive or down to San Diego. Or even just driving to the other end of the city and going out for supper with Nathan would be lovely!

But those dreams would take time and money and we have neither, so we will sit. And really I don't mind sitting. I don't mind routine. I don't mind crocheting and reading and even the occasional homework. It really is lovely. I just feel like doing something different today.

Maybe we'll have to see what I can dream up...

If I had a Million Dollars...

Ever played the game of trying to think of what you would do if you had $1,000,000 in your bank account that was yours to spend? I'm not sure I know anyone who hasn't at some point thought about what they would do with a large sum of money. But anyway, here are some things I would do "If I had a million dollars..."

- I would put a certain amount into a "reserve" fund and then at later dates, I would surprise family, friends, and charities with gifts as they were needed.
- I would put some into the pursuit of growing our family.
- I would help people I know with fertility treatments and/or adoption costs so they could grow their families.
- I would buy a moderate family home where I could grow old with my husband...sidenote: it would probably be on an acreage.
- I would save a chunk for a rainy day and use the interest (when the interest rates actually mean something) toward something important...not sure what yet, but it wouldn't just sit there and do nothing.
- I would go on a worldwide trip...Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, and North America. As I'm sure I've mentioned before, I would skip Antartica and possibly also the north pole.

The thing I love about this game is that we always dream big, but how much of this would we actually do and how much would be different? I do like to think that I/we would be generous with it...

Mmm...

One of the best things about Thanksgiving? A couple days later when I have tons of leftover chicken to make Chicken Pot Pie. Seriously, one of my favorite comfort foods. All loaded with chicken and veggies and pie crust and creamy goodness. Wow. AMAZING!!!