Adios Canada

Tonight is our last night here in Halifax. Tomorrow after church we will head to Bangor, Maine. It has been a great trip and we are all really glad we came. The kids have been absolutely incredible. Tomorrow we will have been gone exactly 4 weeks, and will take the next week and a half to get back to Texas. We have lots of pictures to share and will get those up as soon as we get home. We spent a week in Prince Edward Island--where Anne of Green Gables is set at--absolutely beautiful. We then headed to Cape Breton--it too was amazing--you will see when I get the pics up :)
Justin and I have been compiling a list of our top ten likes and dislikes of Canada--the complete list will be my next post, for now here are some words they "mispronounce" here in Canada:

Mazda--with a short /a/ on the first syllable
garage--with a short /a/ on the second syllable
Home Depot--said with the "pot" not the "po"
produce--short /o/
process--long /o/
coke zero--short /e/ in zero
presbytery--presbytry

Random other things:
There is no such thing as Canadian Bacon--they all laughed their heads off when we explain what it is.

They do not put parm. cheese or peppers on their pizza--again the guy thought I was crazy.

Poutine: Canadian "delicacy": french fries smothered with brown gravy and topped with cheese curds--sounds gross, but is Y.U.M.M.Y.!

Donair: Some kind of beef rotated on a pipe and carved off in thick slices (think thick Arby's meat) served on a pita with tomatoes and onions and donair sauce--a sweet creamy sauce--again, Y.U.M.M.Y.!


There are crosswalks in the middle of the streets--not at stoplights, so you really have to pay attention!

Bears are in the neighborhood.

Nobody ever seems to be in a big hurry.

Canadian cartoons are TERRIBLE....I'm talking hand puppets....

Canadian news--I would be a GREAT anchor woman in Canada :)

The people in the church here have been AMAZING--we have been so blessed getting to serve with them and by them this past month. The kids have made great friends whom they will miss greatly. Jed LOVES hockey and is pretty good at it as well and Jadyn learned to ride a bike without training wheels.

Thanks Canada for a fantastic trip!!! It's been a great adventure! A much needed time for our family to be together after a crazy hectic 3 years of Seminary--good to have Daddy with us 24/7 for 5 straight weeks! (Although I think he's ready to go to work!)

The next week and a half we will get to visit great friends, and we are TOTALLY excited to hang out with all of them!

Montanas-73 Odyssey-1

The vehicle of choice in Nova Scotia is......the Pontiac Montana!!! They are EVERYWHERE!!! Imagine our surprise! We could not GIVE away our Montana in Texas, here they are the coolest thing since sliced bread! Seriously people, from here to the store we see about 17. Guess how many Honda Odyssey's we've seen? ONE and it was super old... Maybe, we will fit in here.

But then again, maybe not! We like, I mean LOVE our network tv and cable, and I'm pretty sure I can't go more than 5 weeks without a chic-fil-a and a Target run. However, add me some Tim Horton's coffee and a Blueberry Fritter to my American life and all might be perfect! :)

The Edgar Family Adventure--Part 2 The Drive

We left on Sunday after church after our wonderful Community Group sent us off with a goody bag each of cookies, candy, drinks, and prayer over our family. A sweet send off left us feeling very loved. The week was spent spending nights at several old friend's houses who have been scattered all over thorughout our years in ministry. Our first night was in Springfield, Missouri, at Ian and his wife, Harper's, house left us pretty spoiled! Only a fellow New Mexican can fix you real smothered red chile burritos. It was DELISH! Great conversation that night was followed by homemade pancakes the next morning and then we were to Louisville, Kentucky.

We spent the night with the Miersma Family--Nick and Jenn and their 3 kids, Elliot being only 4 weeks old. It was great to reconnect with them. I hadn't spent much time with them since Justin married them 5 years ago then they moved to Louisville where Nick is going to Seminary. After Nick's mom spoiled us rotten, packed us a picnic lunch and sent us on our way to Princeton, New Jersey.

Justin's graduation was in Philedelphia, PA which is only 20 minutes away from Princeton, which gave us the opportunity to spend some time with the Taylors--Tyson and Cammie. Tyson is at seminary at Princeton and we got to hang out with his sweet wife and their 2 awesome kids for 3 days. Jed and Kale had spent some time together last summer when he and Justin went to NY for a few weeks and they met up at a Yankee game and hung out for the day, so Jed was glad to have some guy time with Kale. Justin's graduation was on Thursday night (side note: Can I tell you how proud I was of him as he walked across the stage...thinking back on our decision to leave Lubbock for him to get his M. Div. all the while working 4 part time jobs, taking 14-19 hours a semester and being a fabulous Dad and husband--I don't know many people who could do all that!) and we then celebrated at a fancy steak restaurant. As Justin was parking the car, I went in and requested a table for 6, she asked if I had reservations, I said, "No, is that a problem? Can we still get in?" As I look around the empty restaurant. She responded very ugly, "I can but I have to put you at a booth"." I happily replied, "Great, we LOVE booths!" Tyson and Cammie had said the worst part about living in New Jersey is the people just aren't friendly--in other words--it's not Texas! And, YES, I must agree!

Friday we left in the morning to make our trek up to Nova Scotia. We wished we had started keeping count of how much money we had spent on toll roads and turnpikes--HOLY MOLY! I have a thing about toll roads, but have gotten use to the ease of it on George Bush in Dallas--I prefer it now...BUT we had to get on and get a ticket then when you get off you hand in your ticket and pay anywhere from $1-35. It was crazy, and we kept having to do it. Thankfully, I brought a ziplock of all my "change" for me some coffee along the way--well, no coffee was bought with it--only the privlege of driving on these wonderful Northeastern Roads.

We decided we would try to go ahead and cross the border on Friday night instead of waiting until Saturday morning since we didn't know how many people would be going in to Canada for Memorial Day Weekend. We stopped at a gas station in Maine to ask if that was wise, how long does it take to get over the "border" etc, and they thought we were crazy for driving all the way from Texas. Then they said how lucky we were because it was unseasonably warm right now--folks, it was 50 degrees--I was FREEZING! I laughed out loud, and said "Oh, this is not warm!" We get to the border and drive up to this window at midnight eastern standard time. A nice man with a thick accent asked us where we were headed and why we were going-we don't think he believed Justin when he said he was going to "preach"... Then he asked to see our DRIVERS LISCENSE....really? I asked, "Don't you want to see my passport? I got it especially for this trip?" "No, just your liscenses" Talk about being bummed! I know I need it to get back in to the US, but I won't even have gotten a stamp on it! He then counted the kids--two of which were asleep--and we were on our way. We made it to the first city and spent the night at a perfect replica of a motel you would find on any horror movie--luckily the kids were asleep so we threw them in a bed and crashed!

TO be continued.....

The Edgar Family Adventure Part 1--Planning and Preparation

Last Sunday, we left Texas after church to begin our six week adventure to Philadelphia and Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. I had been preparing for this adventure for about a month. It is amazing the details that need to go in to taking a 5-6 week trip with 6 people!

Back in February, Justin came home one day and said, "Hey, what do you think about the family going to Nova Scotia for a month this summer?" I laughed and said, "Sure, why not". If you know Justin very well, you know that we (he) is ready and willing to go anywhere. He loves to travel. If it involves going out of town, he is your man....you also know that more than half the things we "plan" never come to fruition. So, he ended up emailing this pastor who had sent a message to Justin's seminary looking for someone to come fill the pulpit while he and his family go on a month long vacation. The "job" would include housing, a little bit of travel/food money, and the weeks free to travel the area. What a great opportunity for the family. We would never have dreamt of taking a family vacation to Canada. (side note, when J first mentioned Nova Scotia I really thought it was in Scotland...yeah, I know it's amazing I ever passed Geography!)

After the initial contact Justin made with Pastor Shearouse, he asked for some sample sermons, then we didn't hear from him. We pretty much forgot about it, figuring we weren't a good fit for their little congregation. Mid-March we get an email asking us to come. The timing all fit perfectly, as we had to be in Philly for Justin's graduation from Westminster Theological Seminary in May. So, the preparations began. Passports, pediatrician appointments, bills organized, money budgeted, who'd get the mail, who'd take Buster, how would we pack for 6 people-6 weeks, several different temperature changes all in our little van--details, details, details. I love them, Justin hates them.

The 2 weeks before we were to leave Justin had 7 papers and 4 finals to take. Needless to say, he was off the hook in the packing and preparing. Kathy let us borrow her HUGE suitcases which,trying to be organized, I had everybody packed and ready to go days in advance. Saturday night before we left, Justin decided to load the van--just to "see if everyone's suitcase would fit"....they didN'T. UGH, now I had to take everyone's suitcases back in and half everyone's clothes--this is when I got stressed. Seriously??? Everyone could only have 1/2 a suitcase of clothes? If we were in different circumstances I'd have had him march down to the Chevy dealership and get us a Suburban, but we aren't, and we couldn't. So, I had to make it work. Mind you we were going to be in hot, then cold and rainy, then hot weather again the next 6 weeks and to give everybody only half a suitcase was HARD! We managed. We might be wearing the same clothes over and over, but at least we won't be naked!

Texas Football

It isn't any secret that Texas is serious about football, which makes this family fit right in here in Dallas. I know my next door neighbors can hear Justin yelling during a Cowboy game (Several years ago I gave up trying to tell him that they can't hear him through the tv--that didn't go over very well...and it's not "we" if it were "we'd" be a lot richer--don't tell these things to your husband, especially during a game); Jed will do any amount of homework to get to play Maddin '10, can tell you any statistic of any player who played this past weekend, and lives for his 4 hour intense practices plus a game each week; and Judson who doesn't go anywhere without a Cowboy jersey and his helmet. One would think that we were born and bred in Texas. Like I said, we fit right in.
Well, tonight as I as dropping Justin off for his last Varsity football game at Wylie Prep (he was the Jr. High coach and got to help coach the varsity team) we noticed a team having a bit of a pep rally. As we drove closer we see that it is the Colts from Jed's league. The Colts were undefeated last year, won the superbowl, and had been undefeated until the Steelers (Jed's team) dismantled them earlier this season. This DEVASTED the Colts. We later beat them again in overtime. Thus, bringing them their only 2 losses in 2 years.....needless to say, they don't care for the Steelers too much! Tomorrow, we (the Steelers) meet up with the Colts again for the third time this season. As we drove by the pavillion we see that the Colts have huge banners stating the how great they are and how they are going to win tomorrow...then we see it--a stuffed steeler hanging by its neck from the roof of the pavillion. Oh, let me tell you that got my blood pumpin'! I said, "Jed do you see that....boy you better get your game on tomorrow, you will NOT let that team beat you guys!" We drop Justin off, then turn around (it was much too cold and wet for me to be out there when one of my own wasn't playing) and I pull over and make Jed and Blakley hop out and take pics of them with my phone. I texted them to our coach--to get his blood boiling like mine is. He asks if I was sure it was a "steeler lynching" and not just a football pinata-yes, sir, I do believe it was a steeler lynching.

I have several emotions going through me about this--here are my top 2:
1) Seriously, these boys are THIRD GRADERS ya'll, let's not teach them to be so mean, angry, competitve so early in life--let them play some football and have a good time--they're not being scouted out just yet (except we ARE in Texas, so I could be wrong on this one)
2) Out of the other side of my mouth--I say, boy if you guys are going to go to that much trouble because you are so distraught about losing to us twice--then BRING IT ON COLTS~ we are ready for you!!! (Oh yeah, I forgot to mention at Tuesdays practice who showed up and practiced right next to us--the Colts. Jed said that coach changed practice so we wouldn't work on any offense since the Colts stooped low enough to practice next to them to steal our plays....) ahh, my blood is still boilin'!
Come on guys it is just football~I'll let you know how the game turns out:)

GO STEELERS!

Here's the secret spy shots me and Jed got--I felt a little sneaky, but I just couldn't believe it, no that you can even tell b/c we were shaking (from the cold and shock of it all! ) If you look super carefully in the middle you can see the doll hanging from the roof....crazy!

Hello Strangers!

Wow, it has been 7 months since I've written anything here...I forgot how to post a new entry! Sad, I know. Ever since I joined Facebook, my desire to blog has gone out the window, I think it is because Facebook is so FAST, I can write 1-2 sentences about what is happening at that moment and then I'm done...This blogging takes a bit of time because, you are really writing--which I like to do. So, as I've been reading new blogs this week, I've become homesick for Tales From the Shoe. So here I am. If I can remember how to change the background that will be good, although Valentines Day will be here again before we know it! :)

2 big events happened in our house this morning. First, I ran my first 5K....I know, those who know me are in shock! I did it! I say I ran, but I'm pretty sure my fastest walk could keep up with my "run". I'm not calling myself a runner yet, when I'm more comfortable with it and feel better about it, maybe then. But for right now I'm happy with this accomplishment! My goal was to do it in 35 minutes. I ran it 34:51 which happens to be my best time yet, so we are just going to keep working on that. My wonderful friend and next door neighbor, Kathy, is a runner, and when I told her I wanted to be a runner, she immediately started running with me and told me to sign up for a race, because then I'd stick to it. She found our race we ran today, encouraged me along the way and stood at the finish line with her camera. (because she finished in 24min--yeah she's awesome!) Anyway, it makes such a difference to have a friend to tell you to get out there and do it and walk along side of you while you are wondering if this could possibly be the stupidest idea you ever had--which is what was going through my mind when we started and everyone took off at what I thought was record speed! But then I found a pace and stuck with it--along the way I saw 4 snakes and 2 frogs, all dead but a few freshly dead, I think if they had been alive I would have had a better time :) I asked Kathy if she saw them and she didn't--she must have been running too fast!

Jed had his first tackle football game today. Let me tell you, when this Mama (notice my spelling Melissa!) watches her boy do something that he LIVES and BREATHES to do, my heart just about explodes. He was SO happy out there. He played GREAT, had 3 huge tackles and covered his man beautifully (most of the time). They won 13-0! His head coach was so encouraging and it was just fun to watch Jed do what he loves to do. Silly, but I was a little proud as I watched the team line up and hold hands before the game started, the clapping and chants and the going down on one knee to listen to the coach all in precise timing--it was cool...and this is only 3rd grade football! I'm not sure how I'll be able to handle high school football--I think I'll be an emotional wreck, actually I know I'll be an emotional wreck!

A Little O' This, A Little O' That...

Aren't the season's of life great?!? The last few weeks will be memorable ones for us. Nothing totally tramatic happened, but enough for me to stop, take a step back, a deep breath and remember that life is good, God is good, and God is good all of the time.

I had written about my visit to the dermatologist...well, the mole was indeed classified as melanoma, and I will go back in this Tuesday for another excision. This time they will take a football shaped portion around the original mole on my back and send it off to make sure the doctor cut out all the cancer cells. I had this same thing happen 8 years ago...however, then it didn't effect me like it effected me this time. 4 children and 9 more years with my love and best friend, got me a bit emotional about the whole thing. There is always that little thought in the back of my mind, that "what if..." how on earth could my children grow up without their mother, then my mind goes to the whole...what if Justin remarried (although I already told him that is not allowed) anyway, if I let my mind stay on it long enough the devil totally takes hold of my thoughts and then I'm a complete mess. So, this past week I focused on the fact that they got it in the early stages (we think) and on the scale it was borderline on the melanoma side, and they didn't rush me in to take care of it. So, that is what we'll be up to this week. My sweet friends in our Homeschool Group are taking care of dinner for our family the whole week--now that is exciting! :)

(The following is really long but I'm using it as a journal of my experience...don't feel like you have to read it! :)
Speaking of food... have you seen all those adds on the side bars of the internet, facebook, etc.? Well, we gave in, ordered some, then I googled them--not good stuff I found out about these "colon cleanse" companies. So, I asked my friend (my go-to for health and workout info. friend) her thoughts on them. She shared with me what she does and gave me all the info. So, in the span of one night, Justin and I committed to doing The Master Cleanse. The Master Cleanse has been around for over 50 years. The health benefits of it are amazing. I could try to tell you it all, but if you googled it, it would give you a much better picture of all the great things it does for your body. So, we jumped in with both feet. The one huge difference in this and the pills I ordered was that I couldn't eat on this one (which is probably why it works!) So, with about 80 organic lemons and a gallon of Grade B Maple Syrup, we started this adventure.

Day one I felt good--downing the 32 ounces of saltwater was a bit uncomfortable, and the shots of the homemade lemonade concoction with ceyenne pepper made my toes curl--but it was doable. Unfortunately for Justin--his headaches set in pretty much instantly. He spent all of day 1 in a dark room laying down. I laughed at him, told him to buck up, it was his idea to start this immediately....By 7:00 he gave up and ordered a pizza. It was hard to say no to the pizza, but when you have a friend on the outside who is encouraging you and checking up on you --it makes it a bit better. So that was a Wed.

On Thursday, Jed wakes up with a 103 fever. I get an afternoon appt. and take him in for a strep test. Strep is negative but flu test is positive. Great. The very first year I don't get everybody flu shots. The Dr. immediately gives me a shot and says she can give the other 3 a shot at 25 dollars a piece or I can head over to a free clinic that night and get the kids shots for free. A car ride and $75 cheaper sounds good to me. By this time my head was starting to hurt. We go home to pick up Justin then head to McKinney for some free shots. On the way there my head is about to EXPLODE!!! I have NEVER in all my life felt a headache like that. I couldn't keep my eyes open, I couldn't see straight. I was so thankful that I was not driving. But let me tell you all those not so nice things I said to Justin about bucking up, I was feeling pretty guilty about. However, my husband is very merciful and was very sweet. (mostly) By the time we got to the school where the shot clinic was, I was totally and completely out of it. I found a cafeteria table and layed my head down. I looked like I was strung out on something (not that I would know this, but I looked like what they look like on tv). Justin was doing his best to convince me that I needed to eat and I agreed with him, we would get dinner on the way home. Right before we left I got an email from my friend encouraging me to keep at it, that the benefits would be so worth it. It was then that I decided I would not eat, I was going to do this---for 10 days. Oh yeah, on the car ride to McKinney Judson came down with a fever and the nurses wouldn't give him the shot because...he already had the flu...
Day 3 and 4 were so much better, but I still had a dull headache. By the weekend all the kids had come down with the fever and symptoms of the flu. Luckily, our pediatrician is awesome, and they just called in meds for all of them. I also had to skip church on Sunday to stay home with sick kids. This was a true blessing I feel because it was First Sunday and on the first Sunday of each month we have a potluck... (and I LOVE food)
The rest of the 10 days really flew by for some reason. My friend told me to keep a journal (which is what this is) about the experience. I really learned a lot about myself and my "relationship" with food. Bottom line, I LOVE food, I love to eat. I thought about it constantly...I ate bites here and there without even really knowing what I was doing. It has been a good time to reflect on what I am putting in my family's bodies, or more importantly, what I'm NOT putting in them that they need. I have had a ton of energy, my mind has been clearer, my hair isn't falling out in clumps anymore like it was, my skin looks healthier. My "system" is cleaned out and ready to start over so to say. So, we are starting over. My kitchen is stocked with fruit and veggies. We are going off the processed food and more natural organic, good for you foods. It will be great. I NEVER thought I could go 10 days without any food, although now it's been 12. Day 11 and 12 you get orange juice (I've never been and OJ fan, but let me tell you how good it is!)Tomorrow I will bring fruit into the mix, and possibly a salad. I really want to go slow and not jump back into eating just like I was before. Food still looks so good, but my mind isn't going crazy trying to get a taste of it like it was before. I am so glad I did this. I never would have thought I'd make it, but I did. I proved to myself I can achieve things I didn't think I could. The whole experience has effected me in a number of ways, I'm glad I did it! Oh yeah, I haven't measured, but I did drop 13 pounds as of this morning and I'm wearing jeans I couldn't wear a week ago, so that is an exciting bonus!
If you stayed with me and read this "Longest Entry EVER" Thanks! If you want to know more about the master cleanse just google it and you can find all you need to know. It is really for the health of your body, I highly recommend it!

If You Give A Judson Some Milk

If you give Judson some milk,
He's gonna want it warmed up.
As he's watching it in the microwave,
he will see it going around and around in a circle.
This will remind him of a game,
and he'll ask you to play ring-around-the-rosey.
When the microwave beeps,
He'll want it shaken up.
After it is good and shook,
Judson will enjoy his ba-ba of milk.