What Being Canadian Means To Me, Eh!?

Ogopogo

I've always thought the parts of Canada that I have seen were beautiful and versitile. I know it's the second largest country in the world as far as area following Russia and that we are polite to a point where people can find it annoying. We defiantly have the coolest animals (beaver, polar bear, reindeer and Ogopogo) and the coolest homes (teepee's, igloo's, log cabins and houses) and our money is colourful and bright. Although I love all these things about Canada and I am proud to say that this where I am from I never really quite understood what it meant to be Canadian until I moved away.

I love the Philippines, it has so much beauty and the people are so warm and kind. I really am thankful for the warm weather all year round and my new found love for rice but there are some things that can never compare.

I am grateful for the opportunity to have gone to college and actually get a job in my field instead of spending that time and money to obtain a job at a call center or department store. When Brayden tells me that one day he wants to be a fireman I am so happy to tell him truthfully that he can and tomorrow when that answer changes to teacher, doctor, race car driver I can give him the same answer. I am thankful for our health care system even though it's not perfect we have the equipment and technology to treat people in some of the better facilities in the world. Although sometimes people question where exactly their tax dollars go I don't see bridges half complete because half the budget for the project went missing or a city hall that cost millions and millions to complete when people are living in collapsing shacks across the street. I feel my tax dollars do go into my health care, free library programs for my children and my paved back alley. I know that because of the passport I hold people will be kinder to me, my options open and the world at my fingertips to explore. We are a peaceful country not looking for war and there aren't guerilla's hiding in the mountains beheading people to make their point.

I know Canada isn't perfect but today, on Canada's 143rd birthday, I will hold my head up high and be proud and thankful to be Canadian. It is a place I want to raise my children, a place I want to explore and the place I call home.

Bacolod City

I really don't mean to sound harsh or offend any of you Bacolodians BUT I do know you Philippines love America oh so much that yes, even spam is considered a delicacy here (I think I just puked in my mouth a bit) but I think you took it just a little too far with the City Hall. OK, so the USA gave you back your independence and yes they provide a lot of oversea jobs that finically benefit a lot Filipino families but the world really only needs one white house.

Although I do admit it is pretty and peaceful. The kids loved running around on the grass and around the fountain, climbing up to play by the flagpole. It was nice to get out to somewhere different without getting too many stares and let Madison roam and explore without being mauled!
But in early Canada Day fashion... it could use a little Canadian flavour :P

The Ruins

Just outside of Bacolod City there is the mansion of Don Mariano Ledesma Lacson who built this magnificent building in honour of his deceased wife Maria Braga. Only an A-grade mixture of concrete was used touched up by a an egg white cement mix for that marble appearance, tiles were imported in Spain and the initials MM are found along all the columns representing Mariano and Maria. The floors were alternating red and yellow hard wood thoughout the entire main floor and bedrooms both upstairs and downstairs throughout this huge building.

During WWII the United States Armed Forces in the Far East (USAFFE) burnt the mansion down to destroy it so that the Japanese forces wouldn't be able to occupy the building and use it as their own headquarters. Even though the house was burnt the structure still stands telling of it's beauty. It was incredible the amount of detail still found in every corner of the home which really speaks of the quality and time that would have gone into it's creation.

Around the house are these beautiful gardens and fountains that are really well maintained and just behind the 4-tiered fountain is this huge simborio or smokestack. The chimney was used in for the mill where they would make their sugar by extracting juices from the sugarcane and put into a heated vat and cooled to crystallize. Now it raises up to the sky with this vegetation thriving at the top:

It was so peaceful to walk around, the kids loved playing on all the grass and rocks and there was a nice little restaurant set up inside The Ruins which looked like it had a nice menu selection for a date night in the future.

What Goes Around..... Comes Around

I have been raised with the understanding that I was a perfect child. Incredibly cute, of course, but mild, easy going and obviously above average intelligence (okay, so I made that last one up). Apparently I made it through those first 33 months of life without getting into trouble once, I think that's quite the accomplishment. Well I've always heard mother's who say to their children "you were such a cholic baby, you wait.... what goes around comes around." I've always thought that's why I had such great kids, I really got little me's.
So are you wondering what happened when I was 33 months old that would cause my mom to finally get upset with me!? Well a great thing happened, my sister Kait was born, my one and only sibling. Of course I would be a bit jealous going from the light of my parents life to having to share it but what child wouldn't be (right!?). I never did anything horrible to her causing her physical pain or scream constantly from rage, I'm sure I loved her right from the start, I mean come on, I even went and visited her in the hospital when she was born! The love was there. Well, since I was pretty perfect and I could not hurt my sister I had to think of something else absolutely horrific to do (this is where that above average intelligence comes in).... and that's when my mom really got angry with me for the first time.
I went and crawled into my sisters crib when she was sleeping and I took off her pooppie diaper and I spread that poop all over. Oh ya, all over, with the exception (to my knowledge) of my sister because of course I loved her dearly even then and didn't want to smear her with poo.

Well mom guess what!? What goes around.... comes around:

Scoot

I think that since Ryan has been doing more of an office job he's been feeling like his hands have gotten a little too soft for comfort. The need to get some black under the fingernails and renew those calluses on the palms won over and he went out to buy himself a toy to bring back out that mechanic genius he's been hiding.
Ryan bought a 125CC scooter that doesn't run, is completely rusted and well, to be honest, looks a little scary. This scooter is to be mine once Ryan has felt it's in satisfactory condition. It's black right now but I'm hoping for a finished product that looks a little pink with some sparkly streamers, oh and of course a basket I can put our groceries in!

He brings home this scooter yesterday around dinner time and only a few hours later it's stripped and ready for a closer look. I think the best part of all this was how the driveway looked this morning when I went out to take some shots of my new ride; The kids all had their bikes upside down because last night while daddy was working on his bike they were working on theirs right beside him. Too cute!!

Are You An Organ Donor?

Here is an article written about my nephew Parker Seely who had a heart transplant May 31st. I think the message my sister in law Jessica really wants to get across is how important it is to be an organ donor and that by doing so you really do give someone else a chance at life... just like the family who chose to give Parker his second chance at life by giving a heart!


Parker Making Progress
Written by Sherri Gallant
Sunday, June 20 2010, 10:43 PM

Little Parker Seely and his mom, Jessica, are halfway home.
The 15-month-old, pink and healthy from the new heart thumping away in his wee chest, has recovered enough from transplant surgery to be allowed to move from Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton to the Ronald McDonald House next door, the place that’s served as home for Jessica since February.
Mother and son will remain there, close to the hospital but in their own space, for at least a few weeks and maybe even for months, until he gets the green light from his medical team to return to Lethbridge. That will be a joyous day indeed for Parker’s dad Jim and his brothers Kaden, 5, and Brock, 3, who’ve been holding down the fort at home during their absence.
It’s been a long haul, but now there’s light at the end of the tunnel. And Jessica, after watching her son go through heart failure, two strokes and a million other ordeals, is filled with gratitude that another family, in the midst of their grief, saw fit to donate their child’s heart so another child might live.
“I really want to encourage people to think about organ donation,” she said from Edmonton. “Talk about it with your family. I would do anything to get people talking about it. It’s just so important.”
Parker was born with a defective heart which doctors planned to repair with a series of surgeries.
“He was supposed to be able to live with his heart after all that, but at six months he went into heart failure, and once that happens usually the function doesn’t come back,” she said. “He just kept getting worse, and finally we had to come into the hospital. Edmonton is the heart centre for western Canada. It’s one of the top three in the world.”
At seven months, Parker underwent his first open-heart surgery.
“He was still able to cope and function on his own with the help of some medications, but then, in January, he started to go downhill again and Feb. 19 I took him in to the emergency in Lethbridge and they flew him in the STARS helicopter to Calgary.”
After a week in Calgary, Parker was transported to Edmonton where mother and son have remained since. “The call” came May 30 with news of a donor, and hours later the little boy was in surgery.
Jim, a nurse at Chinook Regional Hospital, worked a reduced work week for a time and family members helped care for the other boys. Most weeks he was able to head for Edmonton on Thursday with Kaden and Brock, and return to Lethbridge Sunday night. When Parker wasn’t doing well, Jim went up alone, and family members would care for the boys in Lethbridge.
“Both of our families are in Lethbridge and they’ve been really wonderful,” said Jessica. “They’ve helped so much.”
Jessica’s routine has been to make her way from her suite at Ronald McDonald House to the hospital at about 8 a.m., staying with Parker throughout the day, until he’s asleep for the night.
“I just care for him,” she said. “I do all the regular mom things anyone would do - I feed him, change his diapers, put him to sleep. We also have echos (echocardiograms), and X-rays and different appointments that he has to go to. They’re very busy days and they go by quite fast.”
Parker is developmentally delayed because of his medical condition, which allows the family to qualify for subsidies to help with the cost of Ronald McDonald House and other expenses. They’ve planned for Jessica and Parker to be in Edmonton for up to the next three months, and are grateful for all the help and support they’ve received.
“From his first stroke, his right arm and right peripheral vision was affected, and his right arm is quite slow still, but it’s getting better. Then, with his second stroke, his left leg was affected. He couldn’t sit and he had to learn to stand again, but he’s doing really well.”
In addition to healing from the transplant and adjusting to the anti-rejection drugs, which at first made him vomit and gave him diarrhea, Parker undergoes regular physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy.
He got the last of his tubes removed Thursday, is now able to take his medications by mouth, and is eating like a lumberjack. At one point after the transplant, doctors allowed Jessica to see Parker’s old heart in the pathology department of the hospital. The organ was about three times as large as it should have been — as big as Jim’s fist, when it should have been the size of Parker’s.
“We’re religious people and we just have been almost dumbfounded by the support from people, people we don’t even know have been praying for him and for our family. It’s been so amazing. People wonder what they can do, and what we need. There’s nothing they can really do, but think about us and pray for us. Getting an e-mail from someone who says they’re thinking of us makes a bad day turn good.”

You can also read another article about heart transplants, berlin hearts and my nephew written for The Globe and Mail by clicking here

Splish Splash

Yesterday Ryan's basketball team had their semi-final game. I was so excited to go since for the first Saturday in a long time I had no other commitments to rush off to. We arrive ready for action to find out that we were an hour early. It turned out to be fine since the winning team from the game playing was going to be the team Focus would be playing for the final if they won their game.
The game started and unfortunately Focus wasn't on their A-game since they were a little out of practice. You see Focus was doing so well in all the pre tournament games that teams would just not show up and take the loss other then play them. The second quarter starts and Focus is down only a few baskets when the rain starts coming down…. really coming down. The game actually ends up stopping since the roof to the covered court is slightly leaking onto the court and no one wants there to be any injuries. We sit down for a while watching the lightning flash in the sky and watching Madison get startled from the booming thunder then giggle at herself jumping from the noise. The rain is only getting harder and the streets along the court are starting to really flood. After about 45 minutes they decide to cancel the game and pick it up the following weekend. Before we leave I took a couple of shots of the streets and how flooded they got after 30 minutes of heavy rain fall.
I know that Lethbridge is getting a lot of rain and yes, our basement has water in it too but hopefully the streets aren't looking quite this bad!? At least the kids were enjoying it!

The Praying Mantis

I love getting down on my hands and knees to take pictures of the bugs I find around here as some of you might have seen my spider pictures a while back?
Anyway, my newest bug is the Praying Mantis. We've seen a few around but this guy was the largest I've ever seen and the fastest! I couldn't believe how quickly and how far he could jump when I got too close. He crossed the road faster then the kids could get to him which sucked because they were following him as I was trying to get a good look which just kept scaring him farther away until he started climbing up a tree out of reach. We also looked absolutely insane running after this bug, laying on the road trying to get a good look and screaming when he started jumping hoping he wasn't going to attack us.
The kids were super interested because of the movie Kung-Fu Panda. One of the characters main characters in the show is a Praying Mantis, and they acting as if they were meeting the actual movie character not letting it out of their sights but they couldn't understand why it kept bobbing back and forth because the guy in the movie does not do that.
Well, with his fast moves and constant bobbing he really made it a challenge to get a decent shot to share with you guys but here a few of our newest neighbor...

Pita Master

Living in the Philippines sometimes makes it difficult to find some of the breads that we are used to. I LOVE breads, sourdough, french breads, anything with yeast in it is pretty fabulous to me. Here they seem to love adding extra amounts of sugar into their baking making most sandwiches seem like a dessert bun with meat and cheese, not so much a combination I tend to lean towards. It's not impossible to find decent bread but it can be a challenge. There are a few things that I really enjoy that are extremely difficult for me to find... the first being soft taco shells. You can find them and when you do, you have to buy dozens of packages because once the stocks are depleted there is no telling when they will be restocked. I have actually made my own on numerous occasions which isn't difficult, just time consuming. The second would be sour dough bread. I actually got really ambitous and made myself a nice sour dough starter and got a couple loaves of delicious bread from it. Unfortunately we went to the beach for a while and I left it out in my hot humid house and it was a moldy stinky mess when we returned. Since that time I haven't been able to muster up the ambition to start all over again. The next would have to be pita shells. I have never, not once, found a pita shell in the Philippines. Thankfully I love making them. I think it's so entertaining to watch them puff up in the oven in such a short period of time... instant gratification for your hard work. I'm not too sure how many of you have made pita shells before but they are so easy and sooo yummy!

Here is the recipe:

• 1 1/8 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Directions

1. Place all ingredients in bread pan of your bread machine, select Dough setting and start. When dough has risen long enough, machine will beep.*
2. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Gently roll and stretch dough into a 12 inch rope. With a sharp knife, divide dough into 8 pieces. Roll each into a smooth ball. With a rolling pin, roll each ball into a 6 to 7 inch circle. Set aside on a lightly floured countertop. cover with a towel. Let pitas rise about 30 minutes until slightly puffy.
3. Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Place 2 or 3 pitas on a wire cake rack. Place cake rack directly on oven rack. Bake pitas 4 to 5 minutes until puffed and tops begin to brown. Remove from oven and immediately place pitas in a sealed brown paper bag or cover them with a damp kitchen towel until soft. Once pitas a softened, either cut in half or split top edge for half or whole pitas. They can be stored in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for several days or in the freezer for 1 or 2 months.

*If you don't have a bread machine (like me over here, oh how I miss you bread machine *sniff sniff*) then mix the warm water, sugar and yeast and let the yeast rise while you sift together the flour and salt. Add the oil with the yeast mixture and need until soft but a little sticky since you will roll out on a floured surface.

Let rice one time before going onto step 2....

Cebu City, Philippines Temple

We had the most amazing Sunday! We were fortunate enough to get tickets inside the temple for the dedication of the 133rd temple, the Cebu City, Philippines Temple. It was my first temple dedication and Ryan's second so we knew we were blessed to be able to attend one of the three dedicatory sessions.
We had the best view of the temple from our hotel room and we were watching the growing crowds during the first session in the morning as we were getting ready for our session. At one point we noticed a lot of camera flashes going on so we took out the big lens for the camera and spied to find that they were laying the cornerstone of the temple.

We made our way to the temple for the 12:00 dedication and battled the crowds until we were inside the temple. We were making our way upstairs which was pretty much full by the time we reached the top. Ryan and I came to the realization that there was no one yet sitting downstairs and that we would be able to pick any seat we wanted down there. We knew that the Prophet would have to make his way upstairs but didn't know if he would be using the elevator or not so we sat ourselves down on the corner of the front row right beside the temple office. We figured no matter what he would have to walk by us. WELL, we were not disappointed at all. Soon after we took our seats we saw President Eyring and Elder Oaks through the glass door to the temple office with their wives. They were so close, maybe 10 feet. Then President Monson joined the group which then included the Presiding Bishop, Bishop Burton, the area Presidency and Elder Walker, the executive director of the Temple Department. They were inches from us and it was so amazing to see them walk by, smiling. President Monson even said to the crowd raising his hands as he passed by Ryan "don't get excited" because we were all standing and just awe struck! He then stopped right beside Ryan and gave the little girl and boy directly behind us a high five before continuing on upstairs for the dedication.
The dedication was so nice, the talks were all really spiritual and we learned quite a bit about some of the pioneer members in the Philippines, the temple construction taking place around the world and how important the missionary work is. Gratitude was spoken for all the missionaries who have served in the Cebu and surrounding area, because of them and their work there is a temple now dedicated in Cebu City.
After the dedication we were asked to remain in our seat while the Prophet and other church leaders passed by on their way back into the temple office. Again the church leaders all filed passed while President Monson again stopped to speak to the children behind us telling the little girl while cradling her face that she looked just like an angel. He then continued on his way brushing past Ryan who also got a man hug from Bishop Burton as he rounded the corner seat where Ryan was standing. I'm pretty confident that I will never be inches away from the Prophet, President Eyring and Elder Oaks again! So amazing.
Afterwards as people were slowly filing out of the temple we were able to speak with Elder Walker. He is also from Southern Alberta and one of his 'dearest friends' was Ryan's old Stake President and so he spent some time figuring out who we were and why we had been in the Philippines for so long before passing his card to Ryan so Ryan wouldn't forget who he was (as if that would happen). One thing Elder Walker shared in his talk during the dedication session was that when he was in primary in 1954 his class was given the challenge to memorize the locations of all the LDS temples.... at that time there was only 9 (including the 6th operational temple, Cardston Alberta Temple), but now only 56 years later we have just celebrated the dedication of the 133rd LDS temple! Isn't that amazing.
Well, this temple is so beautiful. Inside it's peaceful and classic looking, it's hard to describe but I would defiantly say it's a timeless beauty. Outside it's perfectly placed, easy to spot with the beautiful lush tropics as it's background.

Cebu Temple Cultural Celebration

For months now the youth in our Stake (organized group of congregations of our church in a designated area) have been practicing a selected dance named the Itik-Itik for the Cultural Celebration that goes hand in hand with the Cebu City, Philippines Temple Dedication.
FInally on June 13th the big day arrived and youth from all over the regions the temple will serve joined together to put on a show which shared dance numbers telling a brief history of the Philippines. The coliseum was quite large and extremely hot due to the lack of air conditioning. We had spent the entire previous day there being orientated and performing run-throughs compiling each regions dance number into a nicely flowing event. Even though the youth and the youth leaders had spent so much time sweating away into nothing everyone was excited because President Monson was scheduled to be there and was going to address the audience. For many this would be the first time for them to be in the same room as the Prophet since General Conference is so far from the Philippines. Ryan and I had also heard that Elder Oaks (an apostle for our church) was there staying on the temple property and assumed he would be there also but we were so surprised to also see President Eyring walk the red carpet as well!

We had such great seats and although we were up in the lower box we had chosen seats where they would walk right in front of us and we would be beside the stage where they would be seated to watch the cultural celebration. It was so amazing to see everyone rise as they entered, waved and made their way to the stage but one of my favorite moments was when the entire coliseum rose to sing the Philippine National Anthem. It gave me goose bumps to hear them singing together and to have so many church leaders there to feel the energy pulsing through the crowd. Another great thing about our seats was we were able to look over and watch their reactions and see if their expressions resembled how we were feeling. Ryan even managed a shot of Elder Oaks where it seems to be that he is looking directly at the camera, kind of spooky.
The dances were so amazing and it was obvious that each group of youth had spent so much time to be able to dance together so perfectly. I have so many amazing pictures from each dance that I can't post them and of course I had 1 or 2 favorite dances that really caught my attention. By far my most favorite moment of the evening was when the last song had been sung and all the youth participants flooded the stage to stand before President Monson, President Eyring and Elder Oaks. The entire coliseum floor was filled with these amazing youth, to see how excited they were and think of all that time and dedication they had put into the celebration it really awed me. It was a breathtaking sight and it got them all standing ovations from the Church Leaders who looked so touched.

I know that this has been an experience that happens once or twice in a lifetime and I'm so thankful that I was able to be a part of it!
Click here to check out some more of the pictures from the cultural event and the performers!

The SkyWalk

The last time that we were in Cebu City for the LDS Temple Open House Ryan took Janelie up to the top of The Regent where they have a couple of thrill rides at the top. It reminds of the Stratosphere in Las Vegas a little bit. They did two of the rides, the Edge Coaster where you sit in a roller coaster style box and tip over the top of the building looking down at the city and your possible death. They also did the SkyWalk where you get strapped up and walk around the edge of the top The Regent building. I guess it was so much fun and the loved it, those two thrill seekers.

Waiting For Prince Charming

I just had to post this cute picture of my girls dressing up as princesses. This is normal for Sydney but it was Madison's first time all dressed up. Poor girl kept tripping over the extra long dress of Sydney's. She's such a good sport going along with all Sydney's crazy idea's.

Maybe Maturity Starts at 31?

Monday morning: Ryan heads to the hardware store to 'pick up some things.' He comes home with a bunch of supplies to make a giant potato gun and immediately gets to work.

Monday early afternoon: Test run for the potato gun. We all pile out onto the street in front of the house with a can of WD40, a lighter, the potato gun and a bag of potato's/apples and of course the camera. Ryan looks tough but we didn't get exactly the results we were hoping for. Something isn't working, potato's don't seem to be flying out of the gun? After a few tries, a couple of cleanings, BAM out soars a potato and I quickly loose sight of it because of it's tremendous speed.

Monday mid afternoon: After realizing it seems to work better after sitting for a little bit in the sun another attempt is made this time using some of my amazing hairspray. This time Janelie is given the honour of being the person in charge of the starter and steps in with the lighter to assume her position. She screams as fire shoots out the bottom of the gun and the apple flies out with a deafening boom....
Time to make sure the kids take a couple extra steps back.

Monday late afternoon: We plant our new lemon tree in the garden and decide to celebrate by shooting out another potato into the subdivision beside us. Ready, aim, fire! I don't even look for the potato as i'm shot by shrapnel flying at all directions and landing 15 feet behind us. Shocked and frantically looking at my children to make sure they survived with no damages I can hear Ryan "That was AWESOME, WOW, WOAH!"

Lesson learned?! Breaking the toy is far better then creating it.

We Train Them Young

I guess you can never start too young to teach your child to help out around the house. My kids are at that age where they just love doing anything that they see an adult doing, even Madison. Both Brayden and Sydney love it when we let them pull up a chair to the kitchen sink and wash their own dishes! One day Brayden was doing his dishes and he asked me to take a picture of him doing it because he knew that Daddy would want to see it. Madison loves sweeping up things and if I leave the broom or mop out she's all over it! I think it's so cute. Sydney's major cleaning help is washing the walls with wet wipes. She will wash anything with a wet wipe if I let her. She also takes our rags and gets down on her hands and knees and wipes the floor. I would take a picture of this except it makes me feel too guilty considering I don't even get on my hands and knees to do the floor and here is my 4 year old doing the entire kitchen.