What a joy!

What a joy to finally meet and hold my little nephew! He is just precious! When I first saw him, I knew who his daddy was as he sure favors Nathan! Knox will be 6 weeks old tomorrow and is a bundle of joy. He mainly sleeps and eats and poops, but is very alert when he is awake. His little blue eyes are sure looking at something. I know, it's his Aunt Ellen! He has the sweetest little cries and loves to be held! I am so thankful to have this time with him, as I missed out on this early stage of the girls' lives. I met both of them when each were around 3 months old.

Speaking of the girls, I am having the best time with Rosalyn and Katie! Rosalyn loves dress-up, books, princesses, coloring, and taking pictures with my digital. Katie loves books and to be held. She is talking so much more than when I saw her 8 weeks ago. It is so fun to just watch their little personalities. Watching them interact makes me wonder how my sister and I were at that age. They are 2 years apart, while there's 3 between my younger sister and me.
Rosalyn is definitely the bigger sister because she likes to tell Katie what to do and will get a bit frustated as Katie doesn't understand how to do things as she does. Katie is a very sensitive child, so her feelings get hurt easily. She is full of smiles, though! Both girls already have a sense of humor and seem to be just fine hanging out. They aren't always playing with their toys and such. Both the girls seem to be doing quite well with their baby brother.

What a day!

Well, you never know what will happen when you travel and especially when flying. I left Charlottetown on Monday at 12PM Atlantic/10AM Central and flew to Halifax, Nova Scotia, where I had a 3 hour layover. I ended up being in Halifax for 7 hours because of ground delays. There was bad weather in Chicago, so no planes could get there. I was getting pretty stressed that I would not make it to Memphis, Tennessee, and did not want to get stuck in an airport and especially Chicago. We finally left for Chicago and were told that they had delays there. I get to Chicago and my Memphis flight was delayed! Whew...or so I thought! We finally get on the Memphis bound plane and back out. We were soon told that due to bad weather & heavy Fed-Ex traffic in Memphis, we were once again on a ground delay. By this time, it's 11PM Central and I am sooooo tired and we're told that it will be another hour until an update. I'm glad no one was sitting beside me, so I could stretch out a bit and try to rest. We finally leave for Memphis after midnight Central. I am feeling pretty bad for my dad and aunt because they are up so late, waiting on me to get in. My mom and sister are still up as well, texting or calling me, to see what in the world is going on. I know things are beyond my control, though, and I'm just so glad to finally be headed to Memphis. As always when I fly, I wonder if my luggage will make it. Well, for the third time in 3 months, my luggage didn't arrive with me. Better it not arriving, than me! It did arrive this morning, so I am finally safe and sound in Mississippi with my belongings.
Flying is old hat for me, but it's still nerve-wracking. God was with me in special ways on Monday. My luggage was a bit overweight and the guy didn't even charge me! PTL! It was nothing to get through customs and I was not stuck in an airport overnight and was able to get to my destination, even if it was the middle of the night! Oh, and when I arrived in Chicago, my departure gate was right across from my arrival gate!

Please pray for my dad and aunt. I met both of them with injuries at the airport. My aunt Sarah broke her foot a few weeks ago while playing basketball with her 9 yr old grandson. My dad, Charles, has a very sore leg from going through the floor of my aunt's attic in her new house! He didn't know the floor wasn't really finished, so while going through some of Granny's things, he steps in one spot, and through the floor his leg goes. PTL that it wasn't worse! Pray for speedy healing and ease of pain in the meantime. There are some members of our family who are accident prone!

Welcoming a New Life

A new man has entered my life...

...my first nephew, that is!





Daniel Knox Shurden
February 21, 2008
6:02PM
6lbs 8oz
19 inches long






Knox arrived safe and sound and how precious he is! I cannot wait to meet him, hold him, and spoil him like crazy! I don't know if we'll know what to do with a boy, but I'm sure we'll learn fast. Though Knox arrived a few weeks early, all are doing well.

Within a month, we have celebrated one life who has left us and welcomed a new one!

God continues to bestow His blessings on us each and every day!

WELCOME TO THE WORLD, LITTLE GUY! I LOVE YOU ALREADY!

Celebrating One's Life

My Granny, Elizabeth Cone, 96 years old, went to be with Jesus on January 25, 2008. She was a precious person in my life and I am blessed to have had such a special relationship with her. We liked much of the same things and my mom says I get my independent spirit from her! Granny introduced me to stamp-collecting as a young girl. She traveled the world for many years and I always enjoyed hearing her stories and seeing pictures. Until she could no longer drive, each time we visited her in Memphis, TN, she would have our days planned and we were always venturing out somewhere. I loved our times together. She was also a woman of faith and has left a legacy. She loved her Lord and her church (Bellevue Baptist) and her Sunday School class. Since I moved to Canada, she had been unable to care for herself. She and I had quite a few talks about why God still had her on this earth. I once told her that she could be a prayer warrior...she said, "yeah, you're right." I could write a book on the memories I have of her and our times together.

We got to see Granny at Christmastime. Dad, my sister's family, and I had planned to go visit Dad's side of the family the Thursday-Saturday after Christmas. That morning, we got a call from Aunt Sarah that hospice was with Granny every other hour because her pulse had been low (she was in a nursing home). For the next 4 hours, I kept praying that God wouldn't take her just yet since we were so close to visiting her. When Dad, Christy, and I arrived to her room, she was sleeping and was so much thinner than when I had seen her in February 07. She woke up and saw us there. She was smiling, though was so weak that she couldn't move her arms from under the covers. One of the sweetest memories I'll always have is that she said, "I'm jumping for joy inside!" I knew she wanted to hug us so much...

Nathan and the girls came with us the next day and Granny looked much better and we were able to hold her hands & talk with her more. Granny enjoyed seeing her great-grandaughters and Christy was able to tell her that she was expecting a boy and his name would be Knox~a maiden name on Granny's side! We don't know if Granny remembered, as she had dementia, but it was special to tell her, especially now that she is gone.

God allowed me to get home for Granny's funeral. Her service was a celebration of her life and her Savior and how we can have a home in Heaven...just what she would have wanted! Dad was able to play "How Great Thou Art" on his trombone, while Mom accompanied him on piano. This was something Granny wanted & it was special that Dad was able to do this. A few years ago, Granny had planned everything, even what she would wear and her casket. This made it so much easier on Dad, Aunt Sarah, and Uncle John. Though despite the reason, it was wonderful to be with my 3 cousins again. They and their familes are so special and we usually only see each other once a year. Granny had 5 grandchildren (with 4 of them married) and 7 great-grandchildren, with one on the way.

Granny was one who kept almost everything! Between she and her mother, there is much history written down & photos of our family. We spent many hours going through things and have many treasures of our own now. I have one of the last Bibles she used, along with a few other odds and ends.

Though death is never easy, what comfort I can take in knowing that she is all healed and dancing with Jesus...and that we will meet again one day!

(My scanner is not working right, so no pics available for posting at this time.)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I can't believe that we're halfway into January 08! Where does the time go?

I had a great time in MS, TN, and NC with family and friends! I will post pics soon!
God orchestrated the timing of my visit and many things that occurred. He is so good in that way, isn't He? I will write more on what He has been doing when I am less tired!

I pray you have a blessed 08 and you see God at work around you. Remember, it's all about Jesus!!

"Be still and know that I am God." ~Psalm 46:10

Since my last posting...

How in the world I can go two months without posting, I do not know. My pregnant sis, Christy, and mother of 2 manages to get hers done and my friend and fairly new mom, Kara, who works full time, is very faithful with hers! Good grief...what is my excuse?! Well, its not like I sit around and do nothing. I will say that I was just sitting around the past few weeks off and on. I had a terrible cold for almost 3 weeks and a cut finger from a tin can. I have decided that I don't make a good sick person. I am better now, PTL!

Here's a few things that have been going on in my part of the world:

Thanksgiving Activity: Thanksgiving is celebrated here the first week of October. Around that time, I had a kids' activity and we had a great time playing on our new playground set and having a picnic, even if it was a bit chilly. The kids enjoyed their little craft/snack. Don't you love the turkeys!

Fall Party~I have no idea what I was, but I had fun in it. We had a fun time playing games, doing crafts, & icing cupcakes and eating them!

Parents' Night Out~in October, I began a Parents' Night Out event where parents drop off their kids and have a night out, while we keep their kids and have a fun time of stories, games, crafts, and snacks. This is for kids in our church, as well as more of an outreach for the families we met this summer. We've held 3 so far and about 10 or so kids come. The parents really appreciate it and we're glad to be able to offer something like this each month.

Youth Events~John and I have a great time with the youth every other Friday night. We have about 10 or so that usually come out for whatever we have planned. Only about half of those come to Sunday morning church. The youth love playing the Sardines hide and seek game--someone hides in the dark and when you find him or her, you hide and pack in like sardines. I don't care much for it, but it's fun watching them walk around in the dark! We have games nights, build your own pizza, movies nights, and recently we had a Christmas party. A few months ago, I had the youth gals for a sleepover and we had a good time. I'm enjoying getting to know these youth. This week, I went to 3 of the gals' Christmas band concert. I really enjoyed seeing this part of their life and remembering my band days! Pray for these youth as John and I seek to reach out to them more and hope to plan a retreat weekend of sorts in the spring.

Young Adult Friday Night group: We've been doing a study on Discovering Life Together every other Friday night. Our group is growing and we are getting to know each other more. We have been reaching out to others in need and it's great to see the group so willing to do this.

Christmas Tea~these are very popular on the Island and I enjoyed being a part of Community's. Tea and coffee is served with plates of sandwiches and sweets (squares), as well as a bake sale. Yummy! I'm not a big hot tea drinker, but what's going to a Tea without drinking tea! Unfortunately, we had a snow storm the night before and the weather was terrible that day. The crowd was very slim, so we held it over til Sunday afternoon. It gave more of our folks a chance to come, seeing that most didn't venture out.

Snow, snow, snow! The pictures will speak for themselves. The past few weeks have brought snow storms and Islanders say this is not normal for this time of year. It's not even winter. I must have brought it with me from Calgary, as this is really nothing for me! I am having to get used to driving a car in the snow and ice, as I had learned how my Blazer handled. I'm very thankful I have the car. It holds up well. My heater wasn't working recently and one of the gentleman in the church was able to give the car a flush for me and all is better! So thankful for men like him and that the heat is now working! I spent almost 45 minutes shoveling snow off and around my car after that first big storm!
I will post a video of some of the snow, so stay tuned!

A Best Friend's Wedding

I was able to go back to Alberta for a dear friend's wedding in September. Hyun Jeong Bok, aka Little Bok, and I were at seminary together. She was in the college program and I was in the Master of Religious Ed program, while both of us were custodians. There were about a half dozen of us single gals who hung out a lot. Little Bok and I have kept in touch and I consider her one of my best friends. With our special friendship, I couldn't let her wedding go by without being there myself. I'm so glad I was able to be there for her special day. We had been praying that this day would come!


Little Bok & Justin


me, Little Bok, Sung, and Deen Deen ~ Little Bok, Deen Deen, & me were students & Sung's husband was as well

So fun to visit with sem buds!



While in Edmonton for the wedding, I stayed with dear seminary friends, Nathan & Adele, aka Deen Deen, Vedoya and their precious kids, Charis and Malachi. The kids gave up their room for me and Deen Deen made me feel so at home. Their kids are just a few months older than my nieces. Their son, Kai, is my godson, so it was very special to be able to have this time with all of them. The kids and I had tons of fun together! I am so blessed to have such wonderful friends and that we've been able to keep in touch.

I was able to go to the Vedoya's church where Nate is the English pastor at Agape Chinese Baptist. Deen teaches the kids and she interviewed me, so I got to the tell the kids what I do in PEI. What a blessing to make new young friends and have a sweet gal named, Erica, standing beside me, say a precious prayer for me! I, in return, was able to pray for their church. Erica and Diane, tallest gal, made the flowers in the center for me! Sheer sweetness!

The kids & I have a party for the dolls!

I kept the kids while mom and dad went out for a bit. Charis read to me! It was precious as she told me the story from the coloring book.

Kai is almost going to the potty! We thought he had gone poo and we were excited...turns out, nothing there! Too cute!

I had a couple of days in Calgary and stayed with the Eaglesons, a family from my former church. They are precious and always make me feel at home and a part of their family. I was able to visit with some friends and wish I had time to visit with everyone! I really enjoyed my day in Cochrane, at the seminary & convention office, and seeing friends. I don't know a lot of folks at the sem anymore, but what fond memories. One morning, the mountains had a fresh coat of snow! Though I didn't get to take a trip to Banff, I'm glad I got to see the mountains from afar. How beautiful!

the Eagleson/Taylor gals ~ Thanks for fun times, gals!

I had lunch with friends and new parents, Garth & Cara, & little Hezekiah. We met at sem and were at the same church for a time.


Special friends, Fatima, and her boys, Joel and Nour. I have watched these boys practically grow up. Fatima and me are special sisters in the Lord!


Thank you, Lord, for times of refreshing, wonderful friends, & getting back to a place that had become home for me!!