The doctor

Rob has been gone for the last 6 days - 3 to Pastor's Retreat just north of us here in Alberta and 3 to Fond du Lac Wisconsin for Faye and Steve Daniels' wedding. He just returned home today and Spencer was VERY excited to see her Daddy. She kept running into his arms yelling, "You're home Daddy....you're home!" When everything settled down, she and her father had the following conversation:

Spencer: "Daddy, I'm gonna be a doctor."

Rob: "Really? That's nice. Will you take care of Daddy when he's sick?"

Spencer: "Nope."

Rob: Oh, why not?"

Spencer: "Cuz, I'm leaving right now."

Rob: "You're leaving to be a doctor right now?"

Spencer: "Yep."

Spencer left the room. Within 5 seconds she was back with her hand outstretched to say...

Spencer: " Dad, I need money!"

I so enjoy conversations like this one with my children. Conversations like this happen all the time. I need to take the time to really remember and enjoy these. I guess I also need to start saving for medical school. :0)

What to write???

February was a fast month. It seemed to go by in a flash. I was busy wrapping up a clinical session at the College, I was getting the house and the kids ready for Rob and I to go away, I was away on the cruise and then got back and had to immediately dive into another new clinical session. I feel like I hardly had the chance to breathe. So, now it's March and I haven't posted anything in weeks. So, you might be wondering what's new. So....here's the scoop...

Jonah was given an award this week at school. It is called the Timothy Award. It is awarded to one student from each class in the school who has shown outstanding Christian character over the school year. So, our young man [I want to say little boy - but he's not any more] was the recipient of this award for his class this year. He has a wonderful certificate which he is very proud of. We're proud of him too. Way to go Jo!!!

Seth is thrilled that his Mom and Dad are home. He struggles the most when life doesn't go according to the established routine. It is so great that he can now actually articulate how he feels. He has settled back into life easily and is enjoying his days. His class just had a skating field trip to Bower Ponds, a lovely park here in Red Deer that has wonderful outdoor skating facilities in the winter. They spent a morning last week outside skating and having a snack by the ponds. He told his teacher, "This was the best field trip EVER!!"

Lauren is already planning her birthday party. Her birthday is July 1st, but she has big plans and is already discussing her options. Right now she's choosing between taking a few friends to a movie, going bowling or having a party at home. She really wants to have friends from school so we likely will have the party before school is done for the summer. She wants to grow up so fast and it is a challenge to get her to enjoy being 7.

Spencer is a happy well adjusted 2 year old. She knows her own mind though and fought with her Grandpa about being toilet trained while we were away. I realize that many people are strict about toilet training. It's just not me. I figure that they won't graduate from high school wearing diapers so, when they're ready it will happen.

Rob has some exciting things coming up at work like a missions trip to Greece with the young adults this summer. So, he is on cloud 9 loving ministry. He wakes up every day excited to get to work and be part of what God's doing at CrossRoads and here in Central Alberta.

I am learning so much and even though I've had some difficult situations to work through, I can see that I'm growing and I really enjoy teaching. Watching nursing students grow in understanding and confidence is VERY rewarding for me. I am spending some of my $2500 of professional development money on a conference in Boston in May. So I'll be going with a few other instructors to Boston for the weekend, to learn how to be better at what we do. I'm looking forward to it.

On a darker note, my father was recently diagnosed with Prostate Cancer. It is in the early stages and he has decided to have surgery. So, he'll be having his surgery in April. I wish I was closer so that I could help out more once he gets home, but I won't be able to do that. Both he and my mom are happy that they have had such great care by their family doctor and the specialist and we are all very hopeful for a successful outcome. If you are so inclined, please pray for them, it is a stressful time.

Well, that's everything that's new with the Tannahills. Wishing you all a wonderful spring full of new opportunities.

The English Boy

Over the past few weeks I have been taking the time to make brunch for our family on Saturday mornings. It has become a wonderful family time. We get to share food that takes some additional time to prepare and is more special than the average morning breakfast, and most of all we sit and have time together. So over the last few weeks we have had bacon and eggs, pancakes, Eggs Benedict....well you get the idea.
This week I thought that I would do something different and I made French Toast. That is breakfast food I really like and it had been a really long time since we had enjoyed that.
So, I started making the French Toast and of course the aroma of the cinnamon and nutmeg started bringing little Tannahills from all over the house. Seth arrived in the kitchen at that time and the conversation went like this:
"Mom whatcha makin?"
"French Toast. Would you like some Seth?"
"No, I don't eat French Toast."
"Why not?"
"I don't eat French Toast because I'm english. I'm english Mom. Will you make me pancakes?"
So, we had French Toast and pancakes. :0)

For a boy that had little to no real self awareness a few years ago, I thought this was great understanding of self . It also shows that we need to do a little work around trying new foods!

The Old Man

You know how children say the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? All the time.

Well, Rob had that experience this week with Seth. Seth was getting his winter clothes on to leave for school and Rob was helping him get his boots on. Seth grabbed Rob's head and asked, "Dad, what has happened to your hair?" Rob replied, "My hair is wet because it still isn't dry from my shower." Seth then said, "No it's not wet, it's GREY! You are an OLD MAN Dad!"

Poor Rob. I thought it was so funny and asked Rob if he was going to start combing Just For Men into his hair. :0) No mens' hair dye has shown up, so I guess he's made terms with it. Thanks Seth for keeping it real!!

Friends

I don't think that I have posted any pictures of our puppy Rex. This is a fairly recent one of him with Spencer. As you can see she loves him. She is forever petting him, feeding him, giving him commands and yes even cuddling with him. He is very accomodating. He is close to 75 lbs, so when he is excited he can be too energetic and knock her down by accident to which she looks at him and sternly commands, "NO REX!!" Usually with an outstretched pointer finger.

Mostly she loves him. As I look at this picture I'm thinking that he's in desperate need of a good grooming. I should get on that before we go to Mexico. He doesn't love hair cutting, combing and nail clipping so it can take a day to two to get all of the grooming tasks completed.

Rex is celebrating his first birthday this week. He has been with us since May. It certainly is extra work having a dog and there are moments when I have thought about whatever could have possessed me to get a dog, but mostly I love him to death.

He has such a protective instinct that I no longer feel scared when Rob travels with work. Which is good because I'm getting too old to go for days on end without sleeping and single handedly looking after 4 kids like I did for years when we lived in the States. Back then, when Rob would go to camp or ski trips or conferences I would be up most of the night listening to every sound and pacing around the house. By the time he would come home I would be exhausted. That's part of the reason why we picked a Giant Schnauzer. He is protective and I wouldn't have to worry about anyone breaking in - certainly not unannounced anyways. :0)

So, there's a recent pic of our boy. He is sweet and a nice addition to our family. Happy Birthday Rex! Thanks for all you've added to our family!

A long...LONG...L..O..N..G.. week!

This was a VERY long week. On Monday, the power steering on the van died. Tuesday it was fixed with just under $200 of parts, labour and fluid put into it. On Wednesday our good friends Chelsea Lefeber and Nate Boyer arrived. It is great to see them and I'm glad that they are here. It is the bright spot in this otherwise terrible week.

Thursday Seth woke up pointing at his mouth and saying "What is this?" His gum was huge, red and yucky looking so off Rob took him to the dentist. Verdict? An abscessed tooth. He's currently on 7 days of antibiotics and then will have the tooth removed IF he will co-operate with the dentist to have it removed. If he won't, then he will need to have an extraction under sedation and currently there's a 6 month waitlist for that in Red Deer. So, we would need to take him to Calgary to have that done if he does need it. We're praying he doesn't.

Then on the way home from the dentist, Rob's car died. The one he just got to replace the one that got totalled in the accident he had. So we are down to one vehicle with 2 people going all over town each day, 3 kids that go to 3 different schools and one baby that needs to go to her sitter every morning. The next few weeks are going to be interesting in the transportation department. I will be praying that it doesn't get really cold so buses don't start getting cancelled.

All in all not the best week, but I guess not the worst either. So, there's an update on us for this week. Enough said.

Happy New Year 2010!

It is January 1st 2010. Another whole year has come and gone. When I think about this time last year, Rob and I were staying in Ontario with our parents and we were preparing for a long 3 day drive to start our life here in Red Deer. It was a time filled with excitement and a lot of uncertainty. What would our life in Red Deer be like? Would it be all that we were hoping and dreaming it would be?

2009 was a wonderful year. After a very long, dark time for us, this past year was a sort of jubilee year for us.

Rob started out his ministry at CrossRoads Church. The young adults are a wonderful group. He has spent the last year meeting, greeting, counselling, consoling, rejoicing and at times grieving with the young adults of this congregation and community. He is working with men and women who love God and do ministry in a way that makes sense to us. He loves going to work each day.

I started 2009 working in the ER. It was job that I found was not something I could do, but I prayed and sought God about this and soon after our arrival, He provided me with a job that I enjoy more than any other I have had in my 14 years of nursing. Working at Red Deer College is a gift. The people there really are committed to helping each staff member grow and develop. I enjoy that so very much. Instead of hearing about all the areas that the nurses need to improve on....you floor nurses know what I'm talking about...finally I work somewhere where the time and work I put in really is appreciated and I'm told that it's appreciated. More mature instructors are coming alongside those of us who are green and are helping us develop the skills we need with instructing students.

Jonah struggled with his transition back to Canada and to a new school, but as 2010 starts he has great friends and really likes his life here.

Seth had issues with adjusting to a completely new life. Now that he is in the right school program for him, he is doing so very well. He is making progress in areas that he has really struggled in.

Lauren settled in with vigor. She does miss her friends in Wisconsin, but she has really never looked back. She loves life and adventure and started out the year committed to making new friends and trying new things. As 2010 starts she is looking forward to making even more friends and having new adventures.

At the start of last year, Spencer was a one year old that didn't like anyone but her immediate family. She sobbed and cried any time she was left and wouldn't talk to anyone. She has spent the last year at a wonderful day home and now will go anywhere and talk with anyone. She really loves life now, and she's a joy to take places.

Well, that's a little about where God brought us over the last year. As I look into 2010, I'm amazed that 15 years have gone by since I walked down the aisle to meet my wonderful husband and start our life together. We will be going on a cruise in February to celebrate this milestone. Other than that, the year is an open slate. I have no idea what the days, weeks and months hold for our family, but I know that God will be with us every step along the way.