Merry Christmas Mom

Dear Mom,

It's Christmas morning. This is the 8th one since you passed. Can hardly believe it's that long. Most days it still feels like yesterday.

Christmas isn't the same without you. I don't know anyone who loved Christmas as much as you did. You made Christ the centre and celebrated His birth and made sure we grew up knowing what Christmas really meant. You always made family a priority but even more so on Christmas day.

When things changed and we weren't always together on Christmas, you did everything you could to carry on traditions and made sure we were still able to celebrate together. I may not have understood or appreciated it as much as I should have then...but I sure do now.

Today we celebrate with Maren Kathryn, your granddaughter. She is a beautiful angel which is fitting because you loved angels. We will do all we can to raise her as you did us, knowing Christ and knowing the hope and joy found in loving Him and serving Him. We will also raise her knowing the great woman her grandma was and how much her grandma would have loved her.

As I look across at our tree, a real fir tree, atop the tree sits your lace angel. The same one that sat on your trees year after year. It will stay atop of ours as long as it stays together. Seeing it there just makes me miss you all the more.

Thank you for all of the traditions, the love, the hugs and the gifts. Nothing in this life can ever replace what we lost when you pasted away.

Love you mom!

Edmonton Oilers Draft/Free Agency - My Favorite Time of Year

Well it's been a great while since I blogged anything so I figured I'd better get to it. I started sending a Facebook message to one of friends and figured this would be a cool thing for me to blog about. This way people learn a bit more about me and something I dearly love...the Edmonton Oilers. Oh yes I am a fan!!!

Let's begin with the return of #Ryan Smyth. Outside of #Wayne Gretzky I am not sure their is another player that more represents the spirit of the Oil than Smyth. His exit from the city was unceremonious but I blame that entirely on Kevin Lowe. How do you give up arguably your top player and heart and soul over $250K a year...it is a lot of cash but not in the pros. That is almost pocket change. Regardless of Lowe's mistake, #Steve Tambellini has been able to right that wrong and he's home. Ryan will bring strong leadership to a young team. He is a grounded and mature guy who also brings faith to the locker room. Welcome home Ryan.

I like what Tambellini has done so far this off season. He drafted well. #Ryan Nugent-Hopkins first overall was a no brainer but the whole draft will help us restock the farm and give us so strength in the next 2-3 years. With Kefbom, and Musil we should have some good D in a couple of years. Perhonen may be our goaltender of the future.

Tambellini did well in free agency too. Picking up #Ben Eager gives them some good toughness and he can play a little. #Darcy Hordichuk more grit and he is a big upgrade from Steve McIntyre. #Eric Belanger gives them more speed and some more scoring up front. #Cam Barker is a risk but a low cost one. He is just 25 and former 1st rounder who really hasn't worked out. He'll now be with a young team and a coach who works great with young players. Time will tell but not a bad gamble. #Andy Sutton was a big pick up too. He is past his best-before date but a good solid stay at home guy who can get the puck out of our end.

I'd still like to see them sign a mid-range D man if they can afford it. Although Colten Teubert may be ready to play this year. When they sign RFA's #Taylor Chorney and #Theo Peckham, the Teubert would be competing with #Alex Plante and #Jeff Petry for the 8th spot. If any of those three are ready to step up full time then signing another D man wouldn't be necessary, just preferred.

I think that Andrew Cogliano (RFA) is done. He wants too much money (#Sam Gagner type money) and they have 14 signed NHL forwards now, assuming Gilbert Brule is healthy enough to go. This doesn't include Nugent-Hopkins either. I don't think he'll play in the bigs this year.


I still wish we had another option to the Bulin Wall. #Nikolai Khabibulin is a good tender, just not great anymore. He had a good year last year and maybe he can keep it up this year knowing he'll face fewer shots with our improved defense. # Deven Dubnyk I think has proven he can play so maybe he can take the #1 role away this year. We do also have Olivier Roy down on the farm so goaltending shouldn't be our down fall. If it is, I did let Tambellini know that even though I am older than #Dwayne Roloson, I am good to slap the pads back on and to take it for the team.

We still lack some depth on the farm. If we face injuries, it'll be tough. No NHL experience sitting down there at the moment. #Tyler Pitlick, #Chris Vande Velde and #Ryan O'Marra (RFA) are good and might be able to fill in but not sure any of those there are ready to make a jump.

I am glad to see the Souray debacle behind us for good. We can stop talking about it now. I just hope that he doesn't come back to haunt us in Dallas.

All-in-all we are in a good place. We do have a shot at playoffs this season but I am not thinking we are going to take the cup...just yet!

Trip Recap...by the numbers!

Okay, so what's a trip with out some good supporting numbers. Statistics are a man's best friend.

We did have a great time in Eastern Europe. We met and spoke with MANY wonderful people and learned a lot about youth culture and JV culture too!

I thought though you might be interested in some travel facts so here they are.

Since leaving Victoria on April 29 we will have logged more than 20,300 kms. The majority of those (19,229 kms) have been for our trip.

Interestingly for the trip mileage, 17,301 have been by air and 1,948 have been car, bus and train.

Not counting our Victoria to Airdrie trip, when we arrive home we will have spent more than 21 hours in planes and 32 hours in buses, cars and trains.

We will have encountered seven languages - eight if you include you include whatever it is JV's Terry English speaks. He is from Britain and says he speaks British but I am not buying it. These languages are British, Polish, Czech, Lithuanian, Latvian, Russian, Estonian, German.

We have also used five currencies (well six really but we used US because we didn’t have Euros at the time). Pounds - Britain, Zloty's - Poland, Korunas - Czech Republic, Lats - Latvia, Euros - Estonia and Germany.

From April 27th, when our furniture was picked up until we return home on May 29, we will have slept in 14 different beds.

While in Latvia/Estonia we saw daylight for 4am till 1030ish pm

We started at 51 degrees Latitude in Calgary and went as far north as 58 degrees in Estonia. 58 degrees on North America would be equal to Juneau, Alaska.

AND HERE IS THE BIGGIE...

Since we left Airdrie for our trip, I will have used TWENTY NINE DIFFERENT BATHROOMS.

I am sure there are some more stats...and I will likely compile them but this is it for now!

If you've never been to Eastern Europe, plan to do it. It isn't a place that typically jumps to mind when you think of holidays but it is beautiful, there is such a rich history and the people are amazing.

Catching up...for lost blogs!

Wow...talk about slacking off. I went to check my blog. Thought it was about 4 weeks ago since I wrote something. Try THREE months. Yikes. Sorry blog world.

This won't be anything spectacular but it will reset the clock. Heck I am not even gonna proof for typos and misspelled words.

Today I sit in pain...with a toothache...waiting to see the dentist this afternoon...not my dentist though, he's on holidays for spring break...but thankfully another dentist friend. I did mention I am in pain though right?

Really my thoughts today are more about the absence of pain and on how God just remains faithful to us.

We have had a very, very eventful couple of months with the selling of our house and purchase of a new one as we relocate to Alberta for our ministry work. The process took forever...we made it painful at times for ourselves...in retrospect though (hindsight is a good thing) it really did all happen in God's timing. We can see the plans He had and how things came together in perfect timing.

The offer we received had a closing date of April 29. Significant because we wanted Erin to work up to very close before we have our ministry trip Eastern Europe...we leave around May 6 for that. One of Erin's has been her work. They have been so wonderful to her and to us. Erin felt bad for having to leave but in God's plan He had someone already part of their work family who is able to join the organization on March 30 and after training with Erin will be able to take on her role.

He looked after all the details...He is the big Kahuna after all. Because of the short time I have been with JV and having to raise support, it made qualifying for a mortgage a little more challenging and a little unconventional. We had some amazing people who worked with us and getting that done was a breeze (in the midst it felt like chaos to me because I am so not used to that).

Our role in all of this has had only a single focus...to seek, trust and follow...we have but in our own strength we also caused ourselves some pain...through it all He has just been so faithful!

Thanks for loving us when we are less than lovable, thanks for your grace which we so do not deserve, thank you for your forgiveness which we need so often...thank you for the empty cross we will celebrate in just a few weeks!

Peace