Jacob Hoggart (top 3 finalist in Can-A-dian Idol) or rather his band has a web page. He has even written some prose in journal entries there....

http://www.hedleyband.com/

Well, Princepessa Amandalena had her first ever dance lesson last night! She's taking Worship Dance. It is offerred at Emmanual Baptist Church, and is taught by a wonderful woman who is, herself, a dancer. She teaches the girls various styles of dance including some ballet, jazz and even some hip-hop. Amanda is in a group of grade 4 to 8's, and it's so different to see her not be the tallest girl in her group:) When we came to pick our girlie up at the end of class last night, she was already doing a new dance she had just learned. Les said that he couldn't tell who liked Amanda's dance class more, her or me! I guess this look overcame my face as I watched her. I love dance! I wanted to be a ballerina when I was a little girl, but never got lessons, so a few year's ago, I enrolled at Juliet's School of Dance for the adult class. It was wonderful! Last year, I encouraged Amanda to try ballet, but she wasn't as interested, so I didn't push. Then this class came up this year and it's perfect. Amanda is so excited, and I'm just thrilled for her:)

Next, I'll have to make her a circle skirt....

Words mean alot to me, and these lyrics are so personal they are hard to share...

Anyway
Nichole Nordeman

Bless the day
This restoration is complete
Dirty dusty something must be underneath
So I scrape and I scuff
Though it's never quite enough
I'm starting to see me finally

A gallery of paintings new and paintings old
I guess it's no surprise that I'm no Michelangelo
Every layer of mine hides a lovely design
It might take a little patience
It might take a little time

But you called me beautiful
When you saw my shame
And you placed me on the wall
Anyway

You who have begun this work will someday see
A portrait of the holiness you meant for me
So I polish and shine
til it's easier to find even an outline of mine

But you called me beautiful
When you saw my shame
And you placed me on the wall
Anyway
Anyway
And you placed me on the wall
Anyway

I'll admit, I was hesitant to try it, being the true tea-girl that I am, but I tried one today and all I can say is mmmm, Tim got it right!

New Steeped Tea!

"Over the years, the one thing we’ve learned about making tea, is that there’s no improving on tradition. Tim Hortons is proud to introduce a new way of making tea using a time honored tradition – loose tea leaves. Why loose tea leaves? The secret behind great tasting tea is allowing the water to flow freely, surrounding the tea leaves and coaxing out every last drop of flavor. But we didn’t stop there. We asked a third generation tea master to design the ideal machine for making perfectly steeped tea, cup after cup. A lifetime of tea experience went into our new tea steeper. It gently steeps Tim Hortons own unique blend of orange pekoe tea leaves for consistently full-flavored results. So tea lovers, try a fresh cup of our new steeped tea."

Now if only it came in that cute cup with the spout in the picture...it's just not right drinking tea from a disposable cup (with NO saucer I might add)!

Upcoming concert dates to remember:

• September 30th - Amy Grant & Vince Gill - Despite the fact that it falls between the two day crazed inventory count at work, I'm excited about this. This will be Les & my next date. I'm very excited. I have never seen Amy in concert but have listened to her music probably since I was 13. Les is also pretty excited about Vince Gill. I don't think Les is a huge country music fan, but Vince is an amazing guitar player, so Les is pumped!
• October 24th - Carolyn Arends - She is probably one of my very favourite artists. I love the way she writes. Her lyrics express my heart:)

He said he was taking me out on Friday. I didn't know where, but when I got dressed, I just felt like dressing up. I put on the strappy black dress. He seemed to like it:) He took me to The Granary. We sat in a booth. Candle-light, dinner, the eyes of the man I love... When we got home again, my husband went down on one knee and asked me if I'd marry him all over again! YES!

(10 days from today is the second anniversary of the first time he asked me:)

Back to School

I loved this time of year when I was a child! I loved school! I was always excited to find out who my new teacher was...I loved teachers (even wanted to be one!) I loved getting new supplies...new pens, notebooks...kind of like a fresh page to start again:)

Yesterday was registration day for Amanda for grade 4. Afterward, we stole a little time alone for another 'Mom and Me Having Tea' time. Amanda's big prayer request these days is 'confidence...heading back into the new school year.' Here is this adorable girlie who is bright and imaginative, who is respectful and attentive, who is at a reading level grades beyond her age, and yet she is still a bit nervous about a new grade. I remember feeling that way too. We've been praying for Amanda's new school year that she would get the perfect teacher and the right class for her.

I took Amanda to her first day of classes this morning and stayed through the shuffles as they sorted out who goes where. At first Amanda was in a straight grade 4 classroom, and I was pleased because she's been in a couple of splits the last two years. I'd also heard good things about the teacher in this room, but before anyone could get too comfortable there, they announced a list of grade 4's that would be going into a grade 4/5 split. Inside I was kind of disappointed at first. I followed behind the kids as they walked up the stairs carrying some of their heavy stuff. It turned out that the 4/5 split is being taught by Ms. Buckley, Amanda's grade 2 teacher, and I saw Amanda relax into the comfort of being with a teacher that she had loved. The next thing I noticed is that the kids who formed a bit of a clique in her class last year did not come along to the split class, and my heart relaxed a bit more that maybe, just maybe this would be a really good class for Amanda this year. It may mean making some more new friends this year, but I'm thinking that perhaps God did answer our prayers for Amanda's teacher and class this morning. Oh there still could be changes and shifting, so we'll wait and see, but I left our girlie there with a strong sense of how much she is growing up...

Grade 4...no printing, there was handwriting on all the walls in the classroom...Grade 4...no more cloak-room, she'll have a locker...Grade 4...our girlie is growing up and it looks like it's going to be a great year!

(Now I have to look into hip hop classes as Amanda thinks this is what she'd like to do this fall...any suggestions out there?)

I'll bet this looks pretty simple to most of you. It is a sketch of this weekend's sewing project...my first-ever dress. Actually, it's for Amanda, and I'm so pleased with how it turned out! Amanda chose a Mary Engelbreit fabric with cherries all over it (and I should note that she chose Mary with no coaxing from me...) And now Amanda finally has an ankle length dress (as the stores don't make them that long for my tall-girl). She's in love with it, and that makes it so worth it! I actually enjoyed making it and have a sense of satisfaction that I actually figured out the lining and the ties in the back:)

The last couple of days have been filled with sewing (a dress plus hemming at least 5 pairs of pants for Amanda before she heads back to school), baking (scones, bread and cookies for back to school), cooking (homemade soup) and, of course, cleaning. The evenings have been filled with time with my beloved Les, church, and Amanda came back from the lake late yesterday afternoon. In the mornings I've been reading more in The Ragamuffin Gospel over a cup of tea. Life is good:)

Today, it's back to work for me...management meetings, sales meetings, budget worksheets, month-end.... and coffee breaks..speaking of which, this one is now over, so I better get back at it!

There's no such thing as a bad prayer...

In the Ragamuffin Gospel, Manning tells the story of a child of 3 or 4 who receives a colouring book and crayons for his birthday and who presents his mom with his first completed picture the next morning. He has colored the sun black, the grass purple...he has made squiggles and embellished where there was no picture. His mother, of course, thinks he must be a genius...echos of a young Van Gough....

"A little child cannot do a bad coloring; nor can a child of God do a bad prayer." Brennan Manning

"Can-A-dian Idol" Update

Well our Dolly went off to the lake for a few days with her bestest girlie-friend, Aurora, and Auntie-extraordinaire, Arilee...which means that she missed "Can-A-dian Idol" last night. (It's ok, we taped it for her). It's funny how hooked Les and I have become to this show through Amanda watching it, but honestly, I believe the talent pool this year is so much better than I've seen on any other idol show (including last season's American Idol).

We had a fun evening last night. First we met my 'longest living friend', Caroline (nicknamed that because we've been the closest of friends since way back in high school) at Earls for supper. What a treat?! (I hardly ever get out like this these days:) I had a Japanese Bento Box (sushi rolls, wananbe beans, peel & eat shrimp, and salmon....mmm). And we all shared dessert. We bumped into some other friends there which was nice. Good friends, good food, good conversation and then we headed home to catch 'Can-A-dian Idol'.

I felt like I had to make a post about Idol today because lately I've been getting alot of visits on this site from people doing searches for Theresa Sokyrka, Kalan Porter or Jacob Hoggart. I'm sorry folks, you are probably looking for a fansite, and the reason my site pops up is that a couple of weeks ago after one of their performances I posted about how talented I think these three are. I would be happy if any of them won it, and I think all of them have big futures in music....and last night's performance only confirmed that. Here is how I would rank each of the remaining five based on their performances last night:

1. Theresa Sokyrka...she sang 'Cruisin' so well...her voice is amazing!
2. Jacob Hoggart...he really shone last night...very distinctive vocal performance.
3. Kalan Porter...this wasn't one of my favorite performances of his, but he can sing anything...he may just be the best singer in the group; however, last night's song choice didn't showcase that.
4. Shane Wiebe...he sang well...I have to say I'm impressed by his range, but he did make a few flubs that make it hard for me to put him higher on the list.
5. Jasan Greeley...I know lots of the girlies like him, with those dimples and all, but he really isn't greatest singer of the bunch (or dancer for that matter...stamping your foot and snapping your fingers isn't dancing!) I think he certainly is an entertainer though.


Here's the chorus from Theresa's song last night...I just keep humming it this morning...

"You're gonna fly away
Glad you're going my way
I love it when we're cruisin' together
Music is played for love
Cruisin' is made for love
I love it when we're cruisin' together"

I discovered a great new blog today... Christy is blogging about her life as a singer, runner, mother and wife! I love it when people tell their stories!! Christy has a wonderful way of describing things. I related so much to what she's written so far, and even caught myself giggling a couple of times:)

Inspired by Donna, here is a list of 10 things you may not know about me:

1. I cracked my right wrist in grade 8 throwing shotput.
2. I was a candy-striper at the hospital all through high school. I preferred to work on the geriatric ward, and didn't care to work on the broken bone ward (got too shy around all those high school jocks in traction).
3. I am actually a pretty shy person (until I know people).
4. I took organ lessons for years and years. I wanted piano lessons, but we had an organ.
5. I took voice lessons in Regina while I was articling for my CA and told nobody who could possibly come about my recitals.
6. When I was 11 I decided that I wanted to be a child psychologist when I grew up so 'no child would be as misunderstood as me.'
7. When I'm laughing really hard, you know, the kind where you can't stop and your breathe starts to get short, I involuntarily wave my right hand in front of my face to try and catch my breathe. (I don't think it works, but it does amuse my longest living friend, Caroline, who teases me mercilessly about it!)
8. I grew up performing concerts in my bedroom to imaginary audiences. I would sing into my hair brush...and later my highlighter pen. I still do this sometimes when I'm alone in the car (without the microphone prop, of course).
9. I enjoy watching weighlifting at the Olympics.
10. When I'm really hungry and don't have time to make something, I like to eat a spoonful of peanut butter straight from the jar.
    

Feeling like a princess...

Remember the story of The Princess and the Pea and how high the mattresses were stacked? Remember how in the movies about princesses, they always have these very high beds (or at least high to 5'2" little ol' me!) Well, I now need a step stool myself to get into our bed.

Les & I have been looking for a headboard and bedframe ever since we got married, but usually everything we liked was too much money, so we kept putting it off. Well, last week, we went looking again and Les bought me this beautiful medium oak bed frame with headboard and footboard. It is really lovely. He negotiated an awesome deal on it too, and we set it up on Friday night. You wouldn't believe how high the mattress is... I think it's at least as high as my waist?! (Of course, at 6'4", it isn't quite as high on Les). They never look that high in the pictures?! Les says I need one of those springboards that the gymnists use when mounting the balance beam just to get into bed! But I love it! It's so nice to finally have a frame as the mattress and boxspring no longer shift as much, and I just feel like a princess laying in our new bed! :)

(I couldn't find a picture to post...but it's something like this one, except a nice rich wood with slats and a thick frame.)

An Early Birthday Present for Les...

The other night, my darling hubby and I stopped in at one of his favourite stores, Long & McQuade, to replenish his stock of strings and picks as he's playing at Church this weekend, and we learned some wonderful news... Long & McQuade is moving to a new store in Saskatoon. It will be the huge building that used to be Crafts Canada (River City Centre). The guys at L&M say it will be nicest store in Canada, and it should be ready in late November/December....just in time for Les' birthday! Needless to say, we here at the Brophy house are thrilled!

It is interesting to me how many businesses have opened a location in Saskatoon or expanded in some way since Les moved here. When Les & I were first dating, I didn't know what a London Drugs was, yet it was a place he frequented back home. He moved here, we got married, and now we have two. When we were dating, Saskatoon didn't even have its own Starbucks....now we have several. This L&M news seems to be following that trend. Can an IKEA or White Spot (our favourite restaurant in B.C.) be far behind?!

It's not about US...

“It’s not about you. The purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal fulfillment, your peace of mind or even your wildest dreams and ambitions. If you want to know why you were placed on this planet, you must begin with God. You were made by God and for God, and until you understand that, life will not make sense.”
— Rick Warren

Great news...

...well at least I think it is... A dear friend told me that the Church is going ahead with plans for a mid-week (Wednesday night) worship service starting in October, AND that the new children's ministry leader is planning an AWANA-type program for the children at the same time! I've been longing for more worship (and teaching), so this is indeed good news, AND even better, I've been looking for an AWANA-type program for Amanda ever since she finished VBS this summer because she loved it so much. It would be awesome if this all worked out because often there are activities I'd like to attend or volunteer with at the Church, but I can't do it because of childcare needs or because it gets too late for Amanda (school-days are back soon and that means 8:00 bedtimes). I'm going to wrap this one in my prayers...first with thanksgiving, of course!
http://www.awana.org

Another personality type test was pointed out to me this morning. I'm a sucker for these things. I think there's alot to some of them (like MBTI). I think the greatest value that these sort of things provide for me is in understanding other people. I don't know how accurate this one is, but here's what I came out as... (If you take the test, let me know your results too.)


free enneagram test

"Dear Lord, grant me the grace of wonder. Suprise me, amaze me, awe me in every crevice of your universe. Delight me to see how your Christ plays in ten thousand places, lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his, to the Father through the features of men's faces. Each day enrapture me with your marvelous things without number. I do not ask to see the reason for it all; I ask only to share the wonder of it all."
Joshua Abraham Heschel

Les finally had a day off yesterday, and what did he do with his first day to himself in a long time(?)...he spent much of it being thoughtful and romantic toward me(!)... And when I got home from work, I was greeted with this amazing card ("sometimes I don't think you realize how deeply you are loved...") and a treasure box to open. Inside was a Debbie Mumm teacup (did you know she made teacups?!)...with a scripture on it (Ps 57:4 "May your glory be over all the earth." ...from the 'all things grow in love collection')!

This was definitely a jewel from God. You know, sometimes you wonder if you really are making as much of a difference as you want to. I love Les sooooo much, and I just want to be the best wife to him (and the best mom to Amanda)... The words in Les' card affirmed and encouraged me about the difference I make...and if I am the things he put in the card, then that is all because of The Father, so I lift that up to Him.

I'm so blessed to have Les in my life! I waited and looked for him for a long time (or so I thought), but he is ALL I waited for!
"I found THE ONE my heart loves!" (Song of Songs 3:4).

I love having people over....

Last night we had our dear friends Arilee and Aurora over for supper. I love having people over! We had supper, we visited, we had tea. I wished it didn't have to end, but girlies have bed-times... Arilee (auntie-extraordinaire!) is taking Aurora and Amanda to the parade today, so Amanda headed home with them for a sleepover last night so that they could get a good start on the morning.