Just Typing As I'm Thinking

Sometimes I think in a person's journey to finding answers, they forget that serving others is the easiest way to find what they're looking for. I am no "theologian" but I find that if "God's not talking to me" it's usually because I'm not listening, or finding a way to meet Him halfway. You can't just walk through life thinking you're making an effort, if you're not reaching further than the confines of your own home/life. The feeling that you're alone isn't something that anyone else can fix, and sometimes it requires a bit more effort than just talking about it or listening to somebody else tell you what they think will "fix" you. I honestly just feel sometimes that there's so much talking and no doing, so little focus on what needs to happen. I'm a huge believer in finding our own way, but I'm not too keen on the sitting around and waiting for an answer to finally come. Answers take work. We can read and meditate and think and write all we want, but usually the end result requires that we physically do a little more than just those things. I remember as a youth how, whenever an adult leader mentioned a "service project" most of us would squirm down into our seats, or the resonating whiny "another one?" would echo through the room. I didn't realize it then, but those "service projects" would become more for me than the people we were serving. The feeling of knowing that you are doing something right now that is of value, that your Heavenly Father wouldn't want you doing any other thing in this moment is enough to make me want to time-warp back to the moments when I whined and make my efforts a little more purposeful. I have gained so much in those moments and I think as adults, we forget that sometimes the simplest things bring about the most good.
Service. That's where the answers are at. That's when it's easiest for us to be prompted and recognize the Spirit that leads to doing good. That's what Jesus was doing His whole life. That's how we can hear our Heavenly Father best. That's why we need to do more of it. That's why we need men like this. That's why we can be grateful that God is always speaking to us, if we're listening.

Back Again & Hello Saskatoon

So as previously talked about, we have made the move to Saskatoon until August. The house we are staying in is beautiful and I can't wait to take/post pix of it. I love a character home for so many reasons, but mostly for the many windows and all the little details. Craftsmanship has gone out the window as far as new homes go for the past couple of generations, so it's really nice to notice what used to be the "norm". The yard is also awesome- as in private & huge and includes an underground sprinkler system that has rotating nozzles in the front that just spray straight, but the ones in the back spray like a fountain= perfect for Kalea to play in. She loves it so much. We also have some apple? trees out back- unfortunately they bloomed and then we had 5days of wind and rain, so all the petals blew off before I was able to get any pix of that :( I'll try to be better about that in the future! Anyways...
It has been an adjustment for some of us *coughKALEAcough* I think she's getting more settled now, but oh man, patience is just not my strong point, and Steve who is usually so calm/cool/collected has even been a little flustered! I am sure she's hit the "terrible twos" early- she hits her milestones so far ahead of schedule I really wonder how she could've been the baby that came late? She is just a little go-getter now! We love it, but it's been wearing us out. My parents and sister visited this weekend and I feel bad that none of us got a really good full nights' sleep. It was great to have familiar faces around- not to mention extra hands to help with the kiddos. We really are so lucky to live close to both sets of grandparents & aunts&uncles, they are a HUGE help to us on a regular basis, and I've definitely been missing their help since we've been here. Our ward here is not bad...okay if I'm being honest I think the hardest adjustment for me is our ward. It's one of those really young wards where most of the husbands are in biz/law/dent/med school and with the exception of a few people that I know here, it's a bit cold/insincere. We are considering ward-hopping from our 9am ward to the 1pm ward-we know a few people in that one too, so since it's not in our plans to be moving our records here,technically we don't have to go to this ward, right?... LOL I can vent on my blog right? I mean, it is my blog :P I'm a bit disappointed in a few things, but mostly that in EQ not one of the guys said anything to Steve, really, not one unless Steve initiated it. Seriously. My experience has been a bit better, but coming from a very established ward- and having a leadership position- you really notice certain things. My only real complaint about it... RS Teaching... I won't say anymore here except, I honestly would like to volunteer to teach for the rest of the summer, I miss my calling :) On the bright side, there are 3 girls in the ward that I know pretty well, 2 girls who I knew in my Edmonton YSA days- a very pleasant surprise and 1 who Steve introduced me to when we were dating who was probably the friendliest girl in the Fishcreek Park YSA ward when I moved to Calgary. So I look forward to building those friendships and making new ones of course. It's crazy to see people out of context though, seems weirder with girls because you see them at their wedding or remember their engagement and the next time you see them they have 3+ kids! So fun though!

Anyways... Here's some fun things the girls have done/said since we got here:
Brynlee: Learned how to sit as soon as we arrived- amazing. She can scooch backwards on her tummy really well, and is starting to push up onto her knees. Loves to stick her soother in upside down and laugh histerically. Can say DADA so good & we can tell the difference between her voice and her "singing voice" now, which is too cute. She sings in her sleep now. Her sleep pattern is more predictable now- which makes my life much easier than it already was. Was sick and had to have an inhaler last week- she is so weird, only kid I know who actually likes it when I put the aero-chamber mask over her nose and mouth?! She is on her way to health as we speak. Oh and the thing I just found today, she cut her FIRST TOOTH! Well a corner of it anyway. I wish we had discovered that before my parents left this morning! Kind of explains why she wasn't such a happy baby last week- besides being sick.
Kalea: Learned how to walk up and down stairs- all 14 of them & uncarpeted no less! Learned how to climb onto a counter stool- also learned how to jump/fall/dive off- not so fun. Stopped sleeping through the night, but sleeps in an awesome huge bed without falling out. Only takes one nap a day. Loves to chase the neighbours cats through our yard. Is not afraid of sprinklers anymore. When she won't give me a hug I put my face in my hands and pretend to cry, so she runs over, pats my back and says "no cwy" and gives me a big hug. If you ask for a kiss, she sucks on her upper lip so that she's only really kissing you with the lower, but sometimes she will try to open mouth kiss your face off and it's very funny, but gross and slimy. I think because of the lack of interaction with other kids, Kalea is now extremely interested in Brynlee and loves to share sippy cups and soothers with her. She also loves it when I sit Brynlee beside her so they can watch movies together- but she doesn't like it if Bryn is touching her/pulling her hair.
I think that's everything so far, hopefully pix will come soon. We miss and love you all & will update much more regularly now that we have our computer with us!