Monday, November 26, 2007

More Pictures

Peter tries on his overalls for the first timeWhat a cutie!Yes, he smiles! And Mommy doesn't think it's just gas!What's with all these pictures anyways?Serious fellowPeter and his 3 1/2 month old cousin RobertHe's got a little catching up to do!More of that serious faceDaddy's nose is quite interesting

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Welcome, Peter!

He's finally arrived! We are happy to announce the birth of Peter Hendrik! Peter was born right on his due date, November 17, at 9:21 in the morning. Weighing 8 lbs 3 oz, all is well with the little guy and we are so happy to finally be able to hold him in our arms! Praise God for His many blessings! What an honour and a privilege (and a huge responsibility!) to be given this covenant child. May the Lord grant Mike and I all we need to raise Peter in the fear and glory of His name!



Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Bummer

The last post I made was Post #111. I posted it on November 12.
Why, oh why, didn't I post it on 11/11?
It would have been so much prettier.

Monday, November 12, 2007

Quick Update

Well, after some half-hearted looking, I still haven't found my inspiration. It's probably lost under a chair or shoved under the couch or something, a little too low for me to be able to find it. If only I had left it on the bookshelf, or on the table, or the kitchen counter, it might have been a little easier for me to see! It seems that finding it back will have to wait until this watermelon is no longer preventing me from being able to bend over.
The "countdown" is now down to 5 days... my guess is another two weeks or so. I mean, if you take a look at the weather outside today - wet, cold, gloomy - I wouldn't want to go out either! Maybe Baby is waiting for snow... as long as he or she doesn't wait for a snow
storm, to make the trip to the hospital much longer than 20 minutes.
Nothing else really new to report, so that's it for now!
In case you were wondering, this is me (or part of me
anyways) at 39 weeks - this past Saturday

Monday, November 05, 2007

Boring, boring, boring.

Well, I know that if I don't update this blog fairly soon, I'm going to have some upset readers sending me some kick-it-into-gear emails. So here I sit, with no inspiration and no exciting things to write about to make a worthwhile entry. Unless of course, you are interested in the fact that I need to locate a new bulb for the aquarium hood - the light keeps flickering off and on as I sit here in the living room. The poor fish are going through a constant lightning storm. Or maybe you are interested in the fact that I need to get up and get a Tums. Or maybe you are interested that I am wearing comfy green socks.
However, I doubt it.
So, I give up!
If anything remarkable happens, or if I find out where I hid my inspiration, I'll let you know.

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Yakity Yak

Somehow, for some reason, I feel like rewriting my blog. Again. This laptop is certainly an exercise in patience for me since it keeps erasing what I have written. Not too bad when you've only got a few sentences, but when you're done writing an entry and it disappears, it doesn't make me terribly happy.
I read somewhere an interesting thing about the human brain that got me thinking today. Apparently, if you took a paragraph, and for every word you left the first and last letters in place but mixed up the rest of the letters, it generally is not very difficult to read and decipher what is meant. Interesting enough, but I was wondering if I just typed all the letters that I would normally type with my left hand, and skipped all the letters I would type with my right, would you still be able to read what I'm writing? This would make things a little easier for me, since my right hand seems to spend an inordinate amount of time sleeping.
Aaret ts s e f te f rear sts f reac. ts a fr f cara te sdre, brgt b fd retet ttg ressre erves. t sd g awa b 6 wees after brt. It seems that this will not work, as I have a hard time remembering what I just wrote there.
"Apparently this is one of the fun regular symptoms of pregnancy. It's a form of carpal tunnel syndrome, brought on by fluid retention putting pressure on nerves. It should go away by 6 weeks after birth."
So much for that idea...
Anyways. I think I'll leave it at that, for fear of the computer destroying more of my writing. Sorry, no pictures again, as I want to avoid plugging anything into this temperamental beast. Besides, pictures will be much more exciting in a month or so...

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

Especially for Danielle

So, I just wrote out TWO blog entries.
And both of them were DELETED before I could post them. I am just somewhat ANNOYED at the situation.
Apparently, according to Danielle, since I am home now I must have lots of time to blog and blog and blog, and since I have not blogged for several weeks, I am neglecting my duties as a stay-at-home pre-mom. I apologize for my lack of posting, Danielle, but I will need an extra large dosage of patience if my blogs keep on getting deleted like this!
So yes, I am now a stay-at-home pre-Mom -- my birthday present to myself was my last day of work. The days were getting longer and longer, and my feet were pretty much destroyed by the time I got home. It's been nice to be somewhat alive at 5 o'clock and motivated to cook dinner!

AHA I just outwitted the computer - it tried to delete my post again but I FOILED it by copying and pasting what I had written so far. Take that, computer!! This old laptop is a little grumpy because I resurrected it out of the closet and have forced it to be my Internet connection at home! :)
I've been keeping myself quite busy despite being done work - visiting, volunteering, Bible study, reading, painting, cooking, cleaning, and all the random things that sit on the back-burner until a time when motivation, time, and energy collide into action. It has been such a blessing to be at home! I have enjoyed it immensely.
Baby seems to be doing quite well. Another 6 or 7 or 8 weeks until we get to meet our little bundle of joy. Despite his or her best attempts at trying to escape mommy's tummy by karate-kicking a way out, Baby is still quite firmly tucked in there, and losing space day by day. Somedays it seems like Baby doesn't sleep at all, but thankfully he or she has been quite considerate to never wake up mommy while she's sleeping. Perhaps Baby will be born knowing that bedtime is between 10 pm and 6 am. Perhaps. There's always a small chance right?
I would be motivated to keep writing, but fear of losing what I have written so far is leading me to desire leaving the computer alone for a little while instead of continuing to write my blog-novel. No pictures today folks, as this computer is already grumpy enough without me trying to load pictures up on it as well!

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

An Alphabet of Baby Names

Almanac, Bermuda, Caterwall, Dudley, Eucalyptus, Fahrenheit, Goliath, Haliburton, Icibella, Jezebel, Kurdette, Lycanthia, Mezzanine, Nicotine, Orcah, Paderno, Quartet, Rhizome, Sophomoria, Tarantula, Ursula, Vanderkind, Walruskan, Xerox, Yosemite, Zelophane.

Just doing some brainstorming...

Thursday, August 30, 2007

Dear Refrigerator

Dear Refrigerator,
After a year of living with us and providing us with COOL, we have finally reached the sad day in which we must part. When we first met you, you were tall and strong, and we were happy that you were around. We cheerfully decorated you with pictures, magnets, and word-poetry. We thankfully packed our milk, our lunch meat, and our fruit into your cool bottom compartment, and stacked our hamburgers, popsicles, and ice-cubes into your frozen upper compartment. Soon we learned how your over-zealous attempts to cool our food would often freeze our lettuce and turn our juice jug into a giant un-drinkable popsicle. I did not keep track of how many heads of lettuce met their frozen end in your icy embrace.
Day and night, you kept your trusty motor running. In fact, you were so hard-working that you only took a break for a few minutes every day. You faithfully extracted water from the air and collected it on your refrigerator floor, where the cold pool would slowly leak out your door, toward the kitchen wall and even sometimes all the way into the basement. We never had you diagnosed, but I sometimes wondered if you thought you were a dehumidifier instead of a fridge. You worked so hard at trying to being a dehumidifier that you did not feel the pain of the rust which resulted along your side from the constant stream of water you released.
Perhaps it was because your door would not close properly, or perhaps it was from the stress of your door swinging open harder than you could handle, but when we moved you, it appears you had been overworked at some point or another. The large burn mark left on the linoleum remains for us as a reminder of your dedication and perseverance as an appliance in our household, and we will always remember you for it.
We hope that the Great Refrigerator Round-Up people treat you with all the dignity and respect that you deserve. The house is just not the same without your loud, constant humming, and we certainly notice the loss of your presence.
Sincerely,
Your old family

Sunday, August 12, 2007

I'm an Aunt!!

Happy birthday Robert John! We are excited to announce the much-anticipated birth of Robert John Mulder, born on August 10 at 9:12 a.m. to proud parents Jeremy and Sarah. Congratulations Mom and Dad! Robert weighed in at 7 lbs, 1/2 an ounce, and measured at a lengthy 23 inches - possibly 2 of which are toes... :) It was quite something to finally meet this brand-new nephew, and to hold him only three hours after his birth! He's tiny, beautiful, and healthy. Early predictions that he had no nose and would be born 5-month-old size and able to eat an entire box of crackers were apparently unfounded, as Robert has a beautiful button nose, and is not yet interested in vegetable thins.




Thursday, August 02, 2007

Toxic Skewers

We bought a set of BBQ utensils late last summer on clearance at Canadian Tire. It came with a flipper, tongs, and four skewers. Since it was late in the summer, we didn't have an opportunity to use the skewers, and they were retired into a drawer until we pulled them out again on the weekend. Anticipating a fantastic meal of corn-on-the-cob, potatoes, and shish-kabob for a few guests, we prepared the food and skewered the meat. However, halfway through cooking the meat, we discovered a fatal flaw in our BBQ skewers: as it turns out, the "stainless steel" handles are actually plastic covered in a thin layer of metal. As most of us probably know, plastic melts when heated - and heat is a natural part of the cooking process, especially when grilling on a BBQ. The result? Well, our food was still edible thankfully, but the skewers started bubbling toxic black plastic ooze, and they are now somewhat distorted. Who designs such a product? What other non-sensical kitchen impliments have they come up with? Plastic frying pans? Glass forks and knives? Perhaps a rubber kettle? So much for those skewers . . .

Sunday, July 29, 2007

Almost August!!

So, it's been a while... the summer moves by quickly and it's hard to believe it's almost August already. August!! It's almost our house-move-in-iversary and that hot, sticky, busy day is still so clear in our memories. We've done some changes in the house since then - almost all the upstairs walls are painted, and things have been rearranged and rearranged again. The baby's room is looking really nice, although it's still kind of a collecting ground right now for miscellaneous household items which don't have a spot at the moment. The entranceway is looking good as well, with the new stairway in and the floor almost finished. Our refrigerator reached the end of its lifespan this past Tuesday, and unfortunately for it, no one was sad to see it go. In its place is a brand new fridge which doesn't leak water into the basement or run on exorbitant amounts of energy, for which our electricity bill will thank us.
There is a fly buzzing around my living room which is driving me CRAZY. Unfortunately the fly swatter has run away with the battery charger in all the renovation confusion, and I have yet to find their elusive hiding place. I imagine it's probably somewhere with SOS pad and Pom-pom-on-a-stick, which are a few of Kitty's favorite toys which have been missing for some time.
No baby yet out in Lucan for Sarah and Jeremy - (s)he's just a little too comfortable in there. Can't wait to meet the littlest Mulder!
A big congratulations goes out to Jared and Michelle (Westra) Wilms, who were married last week Saturday in a lovely ceremony in Ancaster. We wish you the Lord's blessings as you start your married life together! Welcome to matrimonial bliss :)
Causing mischief at the mall for Michelle's bachelorette party
Does this girl know what she's getting into? :)
Congratulations you two!!Baby Vander Deen at 24 weeks

Monday, July 16, 2007

Sunday, July 01, 2007

One month later

No, St Catharines has not been covered over by a volcanic eruption, neither has our home disappeared into a hole in the ground, nor have we been transported to another planet. Actually our phone lines were down for quite a while over the past month, and with no phone comes no internet as well. Last weekend Mike and Dad fixed the problem and we are back to a dial tone again. However, we have been working on the baby's room (former office) and so the regular phone jack for the internet is not so accessible right now, and that will have to suffice as my excuse for not updating this blog in more than a month. I didn't even write one update in the whole month of June!
Things are going well for us over here. Mike is done his first year of teaching, and was glad to see the end although also sad to say goodbye to his first class. It was a good year, and he certainly enjoyed it and is looking forward to September and starting fresh again. For the summer he will be busy driving a flower delivery truck to Buffalo a few times a week, as well as working on curriculum development and, when he has a chance, working on some things around the house. And then of course there are a few stints of camping which I am VERY much looking forward to enjoying!!
Things are going well with me as well - I've been feeling quite well, although the days at work seem to be longer than they were before, and I wonder how I am going to feel in a few months, if my feet are already as sore as they are now at the end of the day. We had an ultrasound about two weeks ago, which was really neat. Everything looks good with the baby, and it was hard to believe he/she was squirming around so much in there when I couldn't feel it!! I can sometimes feel the baby moving although it's definitely not very strong yet. After an interesting painting fiasco in the baby's room, it is now painted a lovely Serengeti Plains green, and Mike has been putting lots of elbow grease into cleaning up the hardwood floor in there. When we first painted the room, it turned out to be a fluorescent minty green which we were NOT too impressed with, but the colour now is quite perfect!
Other than that, things continue on their merry way, excep for the "T" buton on this lapop which seems o be going hrough some personal roubles. There's a baseball game going on in the park, so I think I'll go check it out! Until next time...
Ultrasound pictures - a little hard to see what's going on, but after being
on the fridge for a few weeks, we can recognize him/her quite easily
Twenty weeks

Friday, May 25, 2007

15 Weeks

In order for me to have two posts in the month of May, I should probably write one right now or I won't get to it in the next 6 days, because days have a way of flying by without you really noticing it at all. Unfortunately, my decision to poast something has left me in a bit of a bind, because I really don't have anything to write about. Surely something must have happened in the last 3 weeks that is worthy of reporting to the world, or at least to those out there who care to read about our lives. Let's see. Well, I should definitely post a CONGRATULATIONS to Marty and Rachel Breimer Speelman on their wedding on May 12. You had a lovely day, and you looked so happy! May the Lord bless you as you continue your walk down life's path hand-in-hand.
We planted some annuals in the garden over the Victoria day weekend, which we are really enjoying, except for the part that the squirrels enjoy them as well. We have also been enjoying watching baseball games in the evenings in the park across the street. It's great to just be able to sit in our sunroom and have some live entertainment when we get home from work!
I came home this evening driving through an intense thunderstorm and some driving rain, which normally would make me quite excited. However, the knowledge that my dear hubby, a good size group of grade 6ers and a few others were on an 18 km hike from Beamsville to the school and were probably trapped in the woods with lightning all around did not make me very excited about the storm. Thankfully, there was a phone call from Mike as soon as I got in the door saying that all is well, they were back at the school before the rain started in earnest, and they got to watch lightning hit a pole, shoot blue sparks everywhere and shut off the power. But everyone's ok, the weather cleared up again pretty quick, and the campout is still on, although perhaps they will camp inside. Air mattress anyone?
Three and half weeks until our first ultrasound appointment! That sounds a lot closer than it really is. Time has been doing weird things - sometimes I wonder where the days have gone, yet when you go hourly, like this afternoon, three hours seem like three days. I believe something strange must have happened with the earth's rotation or the fourth dimension or something this afternoon from 2-5, because that was way longer than three hours. My feet were ready to fall off by the time 5:00 rolled around and the thought of standing up from this computer desk doesn't appeal to me at ALL, at least not yet.
Sorry, no new pictures to post. There's still the ones from last post if you like :)

Friday, May 04, 2007

Still Alive in St Kitts

To all those faithful blog-checkers, I am here to relieve your fears about our well-being. We are, in fact, alive and well, despite the silence of the blog. It's been quite busy lately, and I haven't really had much time or motivation to sit down and think of something to write. Let's see, when was the last time I posted... something about the first burgers of the season. Since then, we have had quite a few burgers, almost too much for me. Today, I backed out of the burger and had a sausage instead. There is such a thing as too many hamburgers, and I'm a little worried about what my BBQ-loving hubby has in mind for the summer's meal plans...


Spring is definitely arriving, making my morning drives to work quite scenic with all the orchards in bloom. I'll have to get out there and take some pictures. Spring has also brought out the rugby team which practices in the field across from our house every Tuesday and Thursday, providing some free entertainment. Our grass is growing, and growing, and growing, and I think we're going to have to break down and get ourselves a lawn mower as the reel mower doesn't function like a real mower.


We bought a new car a month ago, a 2003 Oldsmobile Alero. So far we're really enjoying it, the most appreciated difference from the Escort probably being the ability to have normal-voice conversations on our long trips to visit family. If anyone out there is interested in purchasing a sporty 1995 Ford Escort Wagon, 260,000 km, we are putting it up for sale. It's got a great engine, good tires, a/c, automatic locks and windows (I'm starting to miss those), and can fit an amazing amount of stuff into it, which is particularly handy if you do a lot of moving around or camping. It does need a mechanic's help because it makes some strange noises when you turn, but with a little love this car could take you places. Last year, we took it to the Adirondacks, up and down mountains and it didn't complain at all! Brave little car.

My two sisters are off on a one month adventure to Europe in 25 minutes. They are probably sitting in the waiting room right now, or maybe even on the plane, bags packed and stowed, cameras ready, and the excitement flowing through their veins. I'll miss them a lot, but they're bringing along the pins I gave them so they've got a little piece of me with them for their pictures :)

Perhaps I'll post some pictures of the last little while, since pictures are always nice.

Another dinner outside - BBQ'd of course, but this time it was shish-kabob
Mike wore this to school one day to see what kind of reaction
he could get from his students. Actually, it was Clash Day, and
I think he did a pretty good job clashing!This is my failed attempt at a picture of glow-in-the-dark bowling.
We went bowling with all the Vander Deen siblings last weekend
after celebrating Mom and Dad VD's 25th anniversary with the
family at the Mandarin.
This disgusting creature was on our bedroom wall yesterday morning.
It is bigger than it looks, and really gross, and there better only
be one of them.It belongs in the zoo. This is NOT a photo-shopped picture.
I think it could have eaten me in my sleep.
Now what is all this stuff? What is going on at the Vander Deen household?

I saved the best picture for last. :) Yup, if you think you've figured it out, you're right! Our lives are about to change in a most significant and exciting way, for come November, D.V., we will be welcoming the newest little member of our family into the world! This week, we got to hear his or her little heartbeat at the midwife's office, and it was such an amazing sound! Other than being really really tired, I've been feeling pretty good, which is quite a blessing and really makes being tired nothing to complain about at all. It's still somewhat unbelievable to us that we are going to be PARENTS, but we trust and pray that God will give us all that we need to bring up this child in the fear of His name.

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

First Burgers of 2007

'Twas the first day of real Springtime and the Rachel sat outside
To eat her cheese and crackers at noon by building's side
The lunchtime sun was glorious, bright and cheery warm
On days like this a lunch outside will surely be the norm.
The Rachel came home happy, full of lots of vitamin Ds
Absorbed from being outside in the bright and cheery breeze.
The Rachel and the Mike were feeling summer's promise
They thought, I know one supper which for months has been amiss.
And so the rusty shed key was taken from its spot
And they rolled out the trusty Barbeque which for so long was forgot.
Out came the buns and burgers, they were prepared with glee
For the first barbequed meal of 2007 for this young family
Alas, the buns were freezer-burned, the patties, they were dry
The mayonnaise was weirdly colored, its smell had gone awry.
Yet the Rachel and the Mike, ignoring the substandard taste
They ate their stale burgers, they would not let them go to waste.
For now we know that whatever the case, any burgers from now on
Will be much better than last year's leftovers which thankfully are gone.

Sunday, March 25, 2007

What was I thinking

Somehow, someway, Mike got me to play Medal of Honour with him tonight. While he didn't manage to keep me playing for as long as he might have liked, I think he enjoyed hunting me down while I was running around blindly with a bazooka, hitting walls, falling off buildings, and getting stuck in closets.
I have a feeling those hundreds of hours of playing in university may have given him a bit of an edge. I'll have to pull out the Boggle and show him a thing or two :)

Must ... post ...

It's almost the end of March already - winter has come and gone and the summer birds are seeping back into the treetops. All the snow is melted off our property, even the mountain on our front yard. Thankfully, it didn't all drain into our basement, which, being in an old house in the spring for the first time, I was a little afraid of. The next challenge for us is to find ourselves a new car. Despite how good the old Escort has been to us up until her 250,000th odomebirthday, she's starting to sound a little too unsafe for the number of daily kilometers she does on the highway. So far we haven't had any luck winning the car from Tim Horton's Roll up the Rim - well, no luck winning anything for that matter.
Tonight, we're having four people over for dinner, and we have no idea who they are. They will just show up at our door at 7:00, and we hope to enjoy a tasty Dutch-Indonesian meal with them, complete with satay and kroepoek, or Krupuk Udang Komodo according to the package. This is all organized as a "Mystery Dinner" through the school for a fundraiser. We are looking forward to it - I just wish we had another dining room chair. I hope they aren't expecting things to be too fancy! Perhaps we will draw straws for the office chair...

Weird word of the day:
HONORIFICABILITUDINITATIBUS
With honour.

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Boring, Boring Post

So it's been a while since I've posted - not too much new and exciting going on. We've both been sick with various things, strep throat, ear infections, colds, so we're on his-and-hers amoxicillin. Aww, isn't that cute.
We finished painting our living room last week, and we're quite pleased with the results. It feels like a whole new room, and it didn't even take that long. Give us a call and come visit to see the new look!
We were quite pleased to get hit with some of the snow from the storm which centered on Hamilton a week ago today. Except for the fact that shovelling the driveway with a fever isn't the nicest thing in the world, it was nice to get some real winter action in and see what our area looks like buried under snow. Of course, it's looking pretty miserable out there now that it's warmed up and even rained a little. It's a false spring, and I'm not looking forward to it getting cold again but it's sure to happen.
Rachel, signing out

Sunday, February 04, 2007

Milestones

Today marks an important Odometer Birthday for our trusty little Escort.
Congratulations on this milestone,
and may you enjoy many more happy kilometers!!

Here she is, parked in the driveway
at exactly 250,000.0 km

Wecome, Hannah Rachel!

This past Friday, 11 lady friends all crowded into our little living room for a shower to celebrate the birth of Rick and Elaine's baby Hannah. A good time was had by all (I hope, anyways!!) playing games and catching up. Hannah was really good, tolerating being passed from lap to lap, and it was an enjoyable evening.
The star of the show(er)

Saturday, January 27, 2007

Hmmm.

Sometimes, there are people in this world who make you so mad and frustrated that they don't even deserve to be the topic of a blog post. Therefore, the topic is changing.
So we've had winter for a few days now. It's nice and all but a little too late to enjoy it to its full potential. I've unplugged our Christmas lights already, our furnace seems to be running continually and my kitchen keeps getting filled with snowy bootprints. My hands are dry, my toes are cold, and my nose is runny. When does spring start again? March?
It's kind of that doldrum time of year, when if you're not completely excited about how you spend your days, you begin to wonder if you should find something else. Does anyone out there know anyone out here who needs someone with a Biology degree and an ability to learn? Please let me know.
"I'm old, Gandalf. I know I don't look it, but I'm beginning to feel it in my heart.
I feel... thin. Sort of stretched, like... butter scraped over too much bread.
I need a holiday. A very long holiday. And I don't expect I shall return.
In fact I mean not to."
sorry Danielle, I stole the quote, but you can use it too if you want to :)

Friday, January 19, 2007

Saturday, January 13, 2007

HOKEYDOODLESITSNOWED!!!

Woke up this morning to snow again - this time it actually covers the grass,
and people leave footprints where they walk.
I almost feel like I'm in Canada...
She seems pretty proud of her handiwork

Thursday, January 11, 2007

Once Upon An Apology

Once upon a time, there was a negligent blogger. This blogger avoided blogging for a whole month. At the end of the one month hiatus, instead of discovering that blogging ideas were bursting out of her brain, the poor blogger found herself with an empty screen and an empty imagination. And the poor blogger apologized to what few readers remained, and blamed it all on the inappropriate non-winter weather and the difficulty of typing on a new keyboard.

Yup, not too much to report over here. Hmm. Christmas came and went rather quickly this year, owing to the busy-ness of the season and the lack of vacation days. I had two Fridays off work over the "holidays", which were spent driving here and there, opening presents, and sharing much-enjoyed fellowship with family and friends. I experienced my first retail Boxing Day from the cashier's point of view, I went to bed at 11:40 on New Year's Eve, and I missed the Great Lindor Clearance Event. Although I do have to admit, there were many other great chocolate deals which I gleefully took advantage of.

Before going any further, I need to congratulate Rick and Elaine on the birth of their first baby, a little girl named Hannah Rachel. She is a cutie and growing like a weed. And I must say, she has quite the nice middle name! Sorry, no pictures - I was going to take some at the baptism last Sunday, and I knew I was forgetting something, and unfortunately it turned out to be the camera. It's tough to take pictures without one of those.

So now, the middle of January approaches, and life quickly settles into its normal routines again. Well, routines that I am accustomed to now, yet it is striking when you consider how quickly life changes. A few short years ago, life was busy with homework, tours to New York City and Quebec City, and high school graduation. There were big decisions to be made about post-secondary education and areas of study. Then came years of hard work and university fun with dorm-mates and friends, staying up to wildly abnormal hours in the morning and doing crazy things, learning about life and love, meeting new friends and future husbands, while at the same time working hard at our chosen disciplines. Now all of a sudden, we're immersed in our curret careers (wherever that may have taken us) and surrounded by weddings and babies. How did this all happen? Life seems to be a whirlwind of change and sometimes it makes me feel a little dizzy. What does God have in store for our lives next? How would He have us obey His perfect will for us in the situation we now find ourselves in? Life cannot become so busy that we do not have time to seek.

Incline your ear and come to me
Listen, that you may live.
And I will make an everlasting covenant with you . . . .
Seek the LORD while He may be found;
Call upon Him while He is near. . . .
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so are My ways higher than your ways
and My thoughts than your thoughts . . . .
For you will go out with joy,
and be led forth with peace
Isaiah 55