Christmas Memories

This is the first year I will not be home for Christmas! Due the nature of my husband's job we need to be here for Christmas eve as well as Boxing day because it is a Sunday and there are regular services. Leaving us with the option of driving to and from Kelowna on Christmas day... no thanks.

So many people have been asking me if we will be in Kelowna for Christmas, it made me start to think of my favorite memories as a child.

The day my Dad brought home the Christmas tree was always a big deal in the Burke family. So much so that starting December 1st whenever my Dad would come home from work we would all rush to the door, "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!" we would grab his hands and smell them to see if they smelled of pine. If they didn't we had to wait another day, if they did it meant there was a perfect tree sitting in the carport! When I started to think about it, many of my favorite memories were centered around the Christmas tree. A day or two after the tree came home it was time to decorate. All the boxes of ornaments would be dug out of the storage under the stairs and brought up to the living room. Mom and I would let the boys go at it first, but the special bows and the pearls were our job. Once they were finished we took over moving whichever ones we though were out of place. Then we would place the bows and pearls perfectly, it was always so beautiful. Next came many evenings of gathering around the tree after supper for long games I-spy as we listened to Amy Grants Tennessee Christmas or Nana Mouskouri's Christmas album. I also had my very own mini tree that I took great pride in decorating. Christmas morning our parents would let us open our stockings before waking them up, to get some extra much needed sleep. Every year we would decide whose room to open our stockings in based on how nicely they were decorated. I was the usual host of course! Until we got too big and didn't all fit into my tiny room anymore, so I would help my brothers decorate their rooms to meet my standards. Another memory is coming inside after a long day of playing out in the snow (back in the days Kelowna had snow for Christmas), to my mother having made real hot chocolate and popcorn. To this day I feel like the three all go together. Exhausted and chilled we would pull off all our snow covered things and find places for them to hang to be dry for the next day. Then we would all sit around our big table with a tingling fingers clinging to the mugs of hot chocolate. We would even dip our butter covered popcorn in the steamy hot chocolate, yummy!

I feel very blessed to have had such loving parents who helped to create so many wonderfully warm memories surrounding the Christmas season.

Thanks Mom & Dad!

Merry Christmas, I hope you can take time and reflect on the blessings of God in your life especially the one we have in Jesus Christ.

It is time...

... for an update!

It has been a while. In away it seems a lot has happened since I blogged last and at the same time nothing at all.

Here are a few numbers for you:

4- the number of months it has been since we moved to Burnaby.

12- dollars, how much I spent on our new Christmas tree.

1- the number of times I've fainted in my life, happened last week! Side note: I'm fine it was a simple fainting spell.

19-days till Christmas!

0-Christmas cards I have made and mailed... and number of presents purchased.

5-wonderful Christian women who I have met and are mentoring me without knowing it.

2-beautiful stockings

11-months since Matt was in the hospital last.

71- My dear husbands hemoglobin level, only 10 points higher than when when he was in the hospital with TB, UC and phenomena in 2008, when they gave him an emergency blood transfusion!

The last one is a bit of a shocker to us. We have been trying to find a GP since we arrived here but no one is accepting patients. Finally we found out that an elder at Willingdon is a Dr. Matt explained his situation and asked him for a referral. Dr. G graciously (and by God's grace to us) took both Matt and I on. After our first appointment Matt had some blood work and other tests done to see where he was starting from. Dr. G just called Matt tonight quite alarmed after getting Matt's results back. I don't know if you remember from before but the average man his age and size should be at 140, Matt's is at half that. No wonder he has been tired and had difficulty getting up in the morning. It is a miracle he can function at all. Thankfully he is having an emergency appointment with Dr. G tomorrow to figure out a game plan. I know this is very frustrating for Matt because this was the reason we had surgery in the first place, to stop him from constantly loosing blood. It has come like an unsuspected punch in the stomach. This is not where we are supposed to be with his health, it is supposed to be getting better after surgery not worse. We are so blessed to have a faithful, sovereign God. One who knew his hemoglobin level all along. This is not a surprise to Him!

Please pray for Matt, but also thank God with us too. He will be glorified in Matt, he has been sustaining Matt through 4 months of 50-60 hours of work a week. He has been doing great things though Matt at Willingdon. He has continued to provide what we need financially, he is so faithful. He has been teaching me and growing me so much in these 4 months, it has been very hard at points but His love is unwavering! We are so excited to be seeking His will for our lives where ever it takes us and how ever it looks.