Today is a sad day at the Peters house

The inevitable happened. Dora is dead. Yes our beloved fish of a few weeks has passed and is somewhere in the Niagara septic system now. This morning she wasn't eating her breakfast with her usual exuberance and when I checked a little time after the kids went to school I noticed food floating on the top of the water and Dora stuck to the bottom of the fish bowl. I was so worried about telling Ceilidh.

So I picked Ceilidh up from school at 3:30 and brought she and Noah in the house and sat down with them and told them the sad news. Ceilidh asked if she could see her and after I explained why she could not she asked if she could still get her ears pierced this weekend and if it was okay for her to play a video game now.

Well, so, what was I worried about!!! Heck Chrissy took the news worse than the kids did. I told the kids we were thinking about getting a large fish tank with 4 or 5 fish and they both went "yeah ok". Strange. Ceilidh didn't even cry which is highly unusual but I'm glad. I'm glad they both realize that Spider-man and Dora were just fish and that life goes on. So now I get to start looking at aquariums - yaaaaaay (not) :-)

Dora had a lovely visit thank you very much

Yes the fish survived the trip. I put her bowl in a cardboard box that was lined with "gripper" so she wouldn't slide around. She had 2 panic attacks at Brad's driving but they were short lived. She got lots of attention at Grandma's and was pleased as punch swimming around in her little pond away from home.

Just thought I'd let you know she did manage to live through the round trip to family she does not even know. And yes Noah is still asking us to get him another one. I don't know if 2 travelling fish is a good idea though. :-)

I really don't like going to the dentist

That being said I of course had to visit the dentist today. This is the first time I've seen this man. His name is Dr Hooper and he is a Christian which is always cool and he is a really nice man. And he is very gentle - which is good considering he is pressed up against me with his hands shoved practically down my throat! I was "in the chair" for an hour and a half and after 4 needles of freezing and much anxiety on my part I left the office short one molar. He had to cut the molar in half and then cut through the bone to get at the nerves of the tooth. I have stitches in 3 different places along my gum and I'm on antibiotics and painkillers. Oh and I am not going into work tomorrow as I cannot bend over (enhances bleeding) and I am swollen and in a bit of discomfort. I cannot eat solids for 24 hrs and (get ready for the gross part) I cannot use toothpaste until tomorrow afternoon. I can brush but not with toothpaste. EW!!! Anyway, my head feels like a cinder block and my jaw, ear and neck are throbbing but I'm sure I'll get a good night's sleep tonite knowing I don't have to be up at 4:30am to go to work. Ok so I'm a big baby and a total whiner and I'm sorry but I had to vent somehow. And since it would hurt too much to scream right now, I thought I'd blog instead. Thanks for listening to my rant. You guys are good friends. Oh and this photo was taken just after coming home from the dentist. The way I look now is the photo in my profile. Boy it really took a toll on me. I look horrible!

Children's Hospitals are amazing.

We had the opportunity this weekend to see first hand what great work goes on in a children's hosptial. We were at McMaster Children's Hospital on Saturday and what a blessing this place and other kids hospitals are to children, their parents and family and friends. It was amazing to see the love the staff have for these kids. We saw a baby 14 days old and then a kid in his late teens. The children, even though in hospital for a reason, all seemed happy or at least content. There is a huge playroom for kids to go to with family or friends, there are game tables to use and movies to watch and video games to play. The staff working hands on with the kids were happy, smiling and very tender toward their little friends. Brad and I both commented on how blessed we are. These kids are too. Even though they are going through a difficult period, they are so lucky to have these people caring for them and about them. Now I must say I retired from nursing last year because the health system politics got to me and I felt this interfered with proper nursing. But what I saw on Saturday and what I saw when my nephew was in Women's College Hospital after being born at 26 wks instead of 40, did not involve politics at all - or at least what I saw didn't. That makes all the diffence. The staff at these hospitals may be upset with pay scales or benefits or working hours but there was absolutely no hint of that. Their focus was on the kids and that's exactly where it must be. Praise God for these soldiers of healthcare. For these people who may not even know these kids or their families but they care anyway. They work to ensure the kids safety, well being and improved health. Even Ceilidh and Noah said that the hospital "wasn't even scary". In fact the comment from my daughter before we left after our visit was "this is a cool place mommy with neat kids and lots to do and I would like to come back here again but stay longer and play". Hospitals don't need to be scary or cold. They can be "fun" and "cool" and loving and some of them are. I think it takes a very special and gifted person to work with ill children. I don't think I could do it but hats off to these amazing, loving people whose hearts are huge and patience is awesome. God bless them for the miracles they help to make happen. God is good and my faith in healthcare has been restored somewhat. And it's good to know I don't have to worry about my friend there in the hospital because she's in the best hands possible - Gods and the workers He has put there to tend to his flock.

Ok so who wants to babysit our goldfish....

Needed for an upcoming weekend, one reliable fish lover who would be willing to care for our family friend Dora. Adorable, quiet pet who only needs to be fed twice a day (breakfast and supper), does not require water (already comes in a bowl full of the stuff) and really could care less if you talk to her or not. Family must go out of town for a grandmother's 89th birthday party. Fish probably would not tolerate travel by mini van. If you think you might be interested in this not so challenging endeavour to help a family who loves their new pet Dora the fish (no not Dorie, Dora) please leave a comment on this blog and we will get back to you immediately. Thanks :-)

Goldfish dying...go figure!!

Yes it's true Spider-Man is dead. Last night I was up in our bedroom working on the church books when my hubby walks in and says "I think Spider-Man is dead". Spider-Man was the name Noah chose to give his first ever pet. After running downstairs to take a peek in the fishbowl I realize it is true but the poor little thing isn't floating, no he's stuck on the bottom of the bowl just laying on his side. No gill action, no nothing. So this morning we had the fun task of telling Noah his favourite pet of 2 days is gone. Yes we bought the fish 2 days before he cacked. That was a good investment (what a waste of $0.98). Just kidding. It was well worth all of it to see the joy and excitement on the kids faces when we brought them home from WALMART and set them up in their new home. So, I guess over the next few days we will be off to the store once again to purchase a new Spider-Man. Oh and by the way Dora (Ceilidh's fish) seems to be doing quite well thank you very much :-) We'll keep you posted on how the fish saga works out...or doesn't. The cool thing about this whole experience is Ceilidh informed me that fish don't go to heaven, just people do. She also said that God made fish and when the fish die we should just give them back to God. Thank you God for gold fish. :-)

Trivia...thanks dc

I have a link on this blog to a trivia challenge I started a while ago. The topic changes each month and the questions are generally pretty easy. Mostly the trivia game is a test of how fast one can correctly answer the questions. I enjoy trivia and I am okay at it I guess. But I have a challenge each time I play this trivia game (daily) because even though I usually get 9 or 10 out of 10 I can rarely beat one apponent speed wise. dcprime has continually proven himself a worthy adversary on Think You Know It All. For quite some time I thought the only reason he was faster than I was because my pc was a hunk of junk and needed replacing. It was so slow it took me 40 minutes once just to shut down. I got my hopes up when our new computer system arrived thinking I would finally be able to beat dc with my super new fast pc. I couldn't have been more wrong. The man is a machine. Generally to answer the 10 questions pre-determined by funtrivia.com it takes approximately 40 seconds or more (sometimes more). Today my friend bested me with a perfect score that he attained in 23 seconds!!! What's with this guy? Still I felt rather confident I could top this. So I set out to answer the 10 ridiculously easy questions only to find at question 3 that it took 5 attempts to click on the correct answer. I finished with a time of 28 seconds. After much fist waving and yelling out dc's name I collected myself and realized I am again defeated. Beaten down yet again by a mouse quicker than my own. So kudos to you my friend dc - a job very well done. But beware because it ain't over until the fat lady sings and I haven't even started to hum. Good job buddy but boy do you infuriate me sometimes :-)

Okay how 'bout this...

These two miracles are just a couple of the amazing blessings the Lord has given to me. Tonight the College and Career group watched The Passion. I am not worthy of the grace, mercy and forgiveness my Lord and Saviour has given me, but I am thankful. Praise God. And praise God the College and Career group asked to watch this and asked to do it together as a group. He works in amazing ways. :-)

Hello

Chrissy said I needed to update my blog.