My Thoughtful Spot

are insane. This morning it was up at 6 am to take dh to work so I could have the vehicle. Back home, 15 min with my son before he heads off to school, then 15 min to myself before waking Bria up. She's headed to Rissy's today so she's more than happy to be up. I'll drag Katie out of bed kicking and screaming (not literally, but close) in half an hour. She wakes up like her mother used to.... poor thing. She loves to help at Cubbies tho and is happy to go once she's had time to wake up. James is a last minute wake up as he was late falling asleep last night. Not disturbing that bear until I must! Whether he'll participate today or not remains to be seen. I'm running the library today so we can just hang out in there if need be, no biggie.

Leaving one thought for the day. It seemed particularly appropriate for these days...

It becomes us to spend this life only as a journey toward heaven; why should be labour for or set our hearts on anything else but that which is our proper end and true happiness?
- Jonathan Edwards

I talked to Joel from the Daily Gleaner today. I'm to send in a story and a pic by December 11th for them to "see what they can expect from me". If they like it well enough they may even publish it. And hire me. 5 briefs and one story, with pic, a week. What a dream come true!! They also welcome pics other than the story one. Oh this could be so cool. I'm afraid to think I could get it!

six deadlines in a week.. I am crazy.

Check out the little elf by the tree on the right side of my blog. He's kinda cute and he links to a way cool sight.

Gayle, I sent the link to Geoff, the part about tracking Santa.. remember that christmas he got SO excited about something on the radio? I Don't imagine I really remember it but I've heard the story so many times I at least think I do!

To bed. Night.

Thats what reality just did to me.

Dad was my "clock fixer". He could always make them work for me. I have a
big, beautiful wall clock that mom and dad gave me when I was pretty young
that I have long loved. It hasn't worked for a while. Dad fixed it once for
me but it still just didn't work well. I just walked past it and thought "i've
GOT to get that back to dad". A microsecond is longer than how long it
took....

interesting how your eyes sting when you want to cry but don't.

how little I blog things of a personal nature. Then again, maybe it's not. This IS a public place, despite being my own little corner of cyberspace. Suffice it to say that sometimes life takes twists you should have seen coming but managed to ignore because you didn't want to see them. And then they wipe your feet out from under you and leave you laying in the dust wondering what on earth just happened.

Enough on that.

Christmas is 29 (?) days away and I'm so excited. Shoppers has had humongous animals that kids can climb up and sit on for sale. Like $80-$90. Katelynne wanted me to get one with my points, but even *free* stuff... well, I just wanted something more worth my money! And then. Didn't they put it on clearance. I used a few points and ended up paying $4. It was $29. It's an elephant and has the proper *blanket* (whatever thats really called) on his back. When you press his ear he sings, dances and swings his trunk around. I can see James on his back now. It IS going to be fun, despite really not having room for such a thing. I managed to talk Katie out of it even while it was on sale... but my husband was another matter. Since I kinda wanted it it was just too hard to talk TWO people out of it! I'll take a pic sometime when I get a chance. So James is mostly taken care of. Stocking stuffers and an "ammulance" and I'm done. Bria I'll have to look at my list but I'm pretty much taken care of for her too I think. I've ordered some of Katie's and have Bens in a shopping cart but I need a couple more things for them. I think I know what they are and just have to save up a little $ to purchase them.

I'm got some of my christmas cards made (family and very close friends only, others get regular store bought ones.... for this year anyways!) and I've written up some others to mail tomorrow. Along with another important item that I simply MUST get in the mail.

(I forgot to click "publish". doing so now..... after this sat in my taskbar for hours)

The picture below is my son and our youth pastor. Two guys more alike I've never seen!

Moments after I snapped their picture they came to life! The funny part was the people around who had throught they WERE manicans until they moved... HAHA

This toy was on a mega sale. We're talking over $70 off. I figured for $30 it was worth buying for Christmas...

and for his mom too. They were hit head on last night. Caleb (16 or 17) has a broken jaw and concussion. His mom is in far worse shape with two broken legs (tib/fib), a broken pelivis, broken hip and head injury.

Caleb comes to our church and is friends is Ben.

Some of you asked about how far it was from me. It's a 3-5 min walk, depending on which children I'm taking (or not). It's also here...

"Fort Meductic
Highway #2, north of the Village of Meductic

For untold ages, the Maliseet nation had gathered in spring on the broad intervale along the St John River near the mouth of the Eel River. Before it was flooded out by the construction of the Mactaquac Hydro Dam, the area was called Meductic Flat. When Europeans appeared in the early 1600s, they reported finding there a roughly rectangular stockade, constructed of logs bound together with spruce roots and supported by earth and rocks, the whole being surrounded by a defensive trench. Within the stockade was a long house, where councils were held, and facilities for storing provisions. A short distance from the stockade was the village proper. Archaeological excavations of the site occurred in the 1960s. A Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada plaque is located nearby along the Trans-Canada Highway.

I swim over top (or nearly) of where that stockade would have been located. A little piece of history!