Still With The Perspective.

Good Day and The Best to Everyone!

I’ve (that being me – DAD) been waiting for a chance to let my fingers dance, the light fantastic, over the keyboard and have some fun!

It seems The Creature hasn’t been feeling very well the last few days! But first off, maybe now is a good time to briefly describe The Creature!

OK, I know your all anxious to hear about Alycia and Danny and you will, later! Right now IT'S MY TURN, after all this is MY Blog and MY Perspective!

Now, if you can remember Scully, from the Disney movie "Monster, Inc" – not the TV series/movie "The X Files" - then we’re off to a great start (if you can’t, ask someone)! OK, add a couple of feet to his height, a few hundred pounds to his weight – mostly fur - and you’re close enough for what I’m after!

Anyway, Creatch (as I call him) has been experimenting with the blog for the last few days, trying to add pictures, different fonts and colours, layouts, and settings. But the Blog hasn’t been very co-operative and Creatch got all stressed out! What happens to a stressed out Creature from the Blog you ask? Well, I’ll tell you – they begin to shed and shed and shed and shed and shed some more! But no matter how much they shed, their fur grows back just as fast, so it really is a never-ending cycle! Now Cretch’s fur isn’t the same colour as the original Scully’s! Where Scully’s is blue with purple spots, Creatch’s fur is the most awesome, soft, wavy, light aubourn that you can imagine!

It got to the point that there was so much fur in my house, I could walk from one end to the other without touching the floor! It was quite a mess, let me tell you! So, the next morning, around 3:00 AM, during a very windy night, I opened all the doors and windows of my house and let nature take its' course! In no time atol, the house was clear of all loose fur! But later, after the sun had come up, everything for six blocks around was a light aubourn colour! When I was interviewed about this extraordinary event, all I could answer with was the truth – "I KNOW NOTHING"!

So Creatch got sent to his closet until he unstressed. Now, let me tell you about Creatch’s closet. It is more the size of my house and all one room, so don’t worry about him being cramped for space! However, he was still shedding and before you knew it the floor of his closet was covered by about 4 feet of fur! Creatch had it all nicely piled up in his sleeping area, because his fur is the softest, most comfortable ‘mattress’ you can imagine! I was sort of hoping to try it out myself until that fateful morning! Creatch had a violent attack of sneezing! He must have sneezed at least 40 times in a row, one after another!

Well, the inside of that closet was like being inside a blinding fur-blizzard (huummm, blizzard! I wonder if DQ … no, they’d never go for it)! The flying fur was so thick, poor Creatch couldn’t find the door to get out – he was trapped until the storm subsided!

By the time the fur settled, our Creatch had swallowed so much fur that he has the largest fur-ball, you can imagine, stuck in his throat, stomach, and lungs – to name a few places! Now he’s making the most pathetic, viscous, revolting, nauseous sounds I’ve ever heard! I definitely do not want to be anywhere around when that fur-ball comes out!

So, now you know why it’s my turn at the keyboard. Aren’t you happy you decided to read this part rather than jumping ahead to the Alycia and Danny part?

OK, staying with the 'Parent's Perspective" theme a little while longer, I'm going to expand the blog away from just Alycia and Danny for a bit!

You older parents will know what I'm talking about (you younger parents and just young people - pay attention - you're turn is coming!), when I talk about that humble feeling you get when you begin to realize what a blessing children are! How your heart and soul fills with love, joy and pride when you think of your children! How your heart and soul fills with fear when you think about what a messed up world we have made and that you probably won't be able to help them when they need it!

I know the love, joy and pride I feel about my kids - Alycia, Danny, their child to be, my son Tim and his son Seth! I also know the moments of terror when my fertile and somewhat lop-sided brain starts to come up with unimaginable horrors - I have a very fertile and active mind, the fertile part comes from what the mind is full of at that particular time!

I wanted to include a picture of Tim and Seth, but I couldn't get the blog to do it my way! So, I quite trying! After what happened to Creatch, I don't want to take the chance of getting stressed as well! I may not have fur, but I do have enough hair to give me more inconveniences than I have already! Besides, my hair isn't as soft as Cretch's fur!

Alright, time to lighten up and enlighten you about Alycia and Danny! I haven't taked to her, but I did get a couple of e-mails.

She likes my latest blog, but with the patience, understanding, and love of a daughter for her father, she told me that I "GOT IT WRONG"!

So, I'm bowing to the inevitable and making the suggested corrections! In the last blog Creatch wrote (when in doubt, blame someone else, but say you sorry anyway) that she went to her Doctor because she was feeling 'pressure behind her eyes'. Well, and I quote: "I'VE NEVER FELT PRESSURE BEHIND MY EYES, I'VE BEEN HAVING BLURRED AND DOUBLE VISION"!

Further, what she said was "NORMAL WAS HAVING EXTRA FLUID COURSING THROUGH" her "BODY AND THAT CAN THROW THINGS OFF, LIKE COORDINATION" and the having "PRESSURE BEHIND THE EYES IS NOT A NORMAL SYMPTON"!

Finally, about that loving Pakistani family that unofficially adopted Alycia as their stepdaughter! Well, would you beleive "daughter-in-law"! And I thought I was doing so well!

As far as 'blowing my cover', Alycia sweetly explained why she made that move. I'm not going into the details on this (you've probably had enough of those for awhile now, and there is more coming)! Needless to say, I see her point clearly now and understand and can sympathize with her predicament!

NOW, it's time to tell about what's been going on these last few days with our darling couple(+)!

There is still a busy time with the LifeFORCE team and it looks like it may last the rest of the week. But it's off to supper tonight (Feb. 22nd) so this should be another good supper for everyone to fill up on!

Tomorrow (or today, depending on how you read it) is their first ante-natal class (I hope that's like post-natal, but I've been known to get things wrong now and again)! Alycia doesn't know what's going to happen, but she's hoping it ends with tea and cookies!

The worst thing that is happening is that MOULD AND WATER STAIN problem Alycia found! They've talked to the Landlord twice and left 2 message, but still no action! So, she's writing a letter to them, saying she's getting a professional to come in and look at the problem. She will send them the receipt along with a picture and a detailed explanation of what's happening! She's even going to tell them that the cost of the professional will be deducted from that month's rent! It might be hormones kicking up, but there is a big frustration-ball stuck in her throat! So please pray for patience, calmness, and strength for them all, especially at a time like this! You may also want to pray for the landlord to have understanding and compassion (and maybe some protection)!

JUST THINK, only 20 days or 19 sleeps (or something like that - I can't count right at the moment) until the big event! Keep those good thoughts and prays coming and someone will be talking to you soon enough!

Creature Comfort for today:
A stab at some humour:
What got the elephants banned from the beach?

For the answer, open the "Comment" section! Feel free to leave a comment while your there!

Until next time, just remember: "GOD LOVES YOU AND SO DO WE"!

The Parent Perspective

I see you’ve found the Creature’s big boot! OK, now look up, look way up!

Well, Hello! Fancy meeting you here! It’s been awhile, hasn’t it?

Actually, I’m a bit surprised that you’ve come back for more! If you have this much time to spend here, then you NEED TO GET A LIFE!

No, not really, the life you have is a gift – so don’t blow it! But, as long as you are here, you might as well enjoy yourselves! Go get a cup of coffee (what else?), kick your shoes off, curl up in the big, comfortable chair, sit back, and read on me buckos!

A lot has happened since we last sipped caffeine together. The three teams are out-and-about and having the times of their lives! From what I’ve heard, the UK kids, on the Canada team, now have a fairly definite idea of what it’s like to be in –30 degree C temperatures with a –50 degree C wind chill! It’s going to be a 'hot time in the old town tonight' when we get to hear all the stories from the team debriefings!

On February 5th (at around 3:30 AM) Danny left. with the 1st group, for the trip to The Gambia! There were 21 in this group. A few less than last year’s, but no less enthusiastic! They all got back very late on the 12th (or, depending on your point of view, very early on the 13th)! [more in Alycia's update]

But during that 1 short week, Alycia managed to put her family, back here in Canada, on pins and needles for a few days! She told us she’d gone to see her Doctor, about feeling some pressure behind her eyes! - OH yeah, I heard those gasps and the ‘Oh No’s! - well, you’re not the only ones! I know the first thing we all thought of was "the tumour"!

We found out later that the Doctor said that some pressure during pregnancy is normal! But to be on the safe side, the Doctor sent her to see and ‘Eye’ Doctor the next day! This Doctor checked her eyes and didn’t find anything. Alycia, being up on her usual sense of humour (?), neglected to mention this too us - what the Doctor had said about some pressure being normal! What the wicked little lady thought of doing was to call Danny in The Gambia, tell him she as in the Doctor’s office and that she was ‘fully dilated’, not mentioning that it was an Eye Doctor’s office and it was her eyes that were dilated! Now Danny, if you’ve just read this and Alycia didn’t tell you, then YOU NEVER READ ABOUT IT HERE!!!

However, being on the safe side again, this Doctor set up a MRI, for Friday the 8th, just to make sure. So, that Friday morning it was into the hospital for the test. In the preliminary explanation of what was going to happen, the staff told Alycia that she had to have a fluid injected into her in order to make it easier to see the results of the MRI. They also assured her that they had never had any problems with the fluid reacting badly with a pregnancy, nor had they heard of any problems - BUT! So they gave Alycia 3 choices: 1) she could have the fluid and have the test; 2) she could wait until she had the baby, then have the MRI; or 3) they could INDUCE LABOUR, she could have the baby that day, and then she could take the MRI! After hard consideration (about ¾ of a second,) Alycia decided on the fluid and the test! The first step was for her to be tested without the fluid, then get the injection, and go back into the machine for the second test! So, she lay down on the test table and into the machine she went! But, for some reason (like maybe being pregnant and having a normal sized baby positioned on top of several internal organs while your on your back) she began to feel nauseous and starting having difficulties breathing! It got to the point that she asked to be taken out of the machine! After sitting up and having a drink of water, she began to feel better. Then the lab staff said it looked like they got everything they needed from the first test and there wasn’t any need to inject the fluid and run the second test!

So, Alycia and her friends (that had taken her to the hospital) decided to celebrate! And how did they do that you ask? Well, they had a rug-cleaning party! Yeah, our little ol-party person wanted to clean the carpets in the house and what better time to do it than when Danny was away and she had some great friends to help! Furthermore, it turns out that a man from the church deals with carpet cleaners and he sent over a machine with an instructor, and the party was on – as a matter fact, it went on for about 3 days!

Just a little tangent here. I’ve been doing this edition off-and-on for a couple of days now and I just took some time to read Alycia’s update! It certainly covered a lot of ground and was a lot more details than I’ve included. Then she BLOWS my hidden identity! Here I was, writing as if no one would know who the Creature was (except for the 50 or 60 that knew before hand), thinking I could get away with saying things that wouldn’t come back to haunt me! But her expose let the gas out of my balloon faster than a plate of warm Heinz Baked Beans (with Real Maple Syrup, a dash of BBQ sauce, a cut-up all-beef wiener, served on a buttered thick-sliced piece of toast) could replace it!

So, here’s a parent’s perspective: AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!

OK, back to the ‘home alone’ week with Alcyia and her tummy! Home alone turned out to be somebody staying with her the entire time until Danny got back from The Gambia, around 1:00 AM Wednesday morning! From then on, there was a full house as more LifeFORCE team members ‘crashed’ with not too much else to do! But Alycia did get her carpets cleaned!

But it didn’t matter, everybody had a great time laughing, sharing and having a supper at the Pakistani family who has taken such a shine to Danny, that they’ve unofficially adopted him into their family – to keep their own 2 sons company! That has made Alycia an unofficial stepdaughter in the family and provided some fabulous and oft times hilarious moments during the past few months!

Then of Monday, the 18th, Alycia went with Danny to the heart specialist for the 2nd opinion! Now, with Alycia’s update, everyone knows the outcome of the visit – much more clearly than I’d have been able to do it! So, thank you kiddo, you saved me some wear and tear on the hunt and peck digits! Then next on the schedule was the delivery of the LifeFORCE team members to their various billets for the upcoming week! While Danny was busy with that, Alycia cleaned up the house. Did she ever make an interesting discovery! In the one bedroom – which they planned on using for the baby – Alycia found water stains and MOULD! Now if you remember my AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH from before, you can imagine Alycia’s reaction to her find! The title of her latest blog – "The End of Life As I’ve known It" certainly applies to more than 1 ending!

Which is a great place to end this edition of "The Other Side of The Blog".

Now, what between Alycia’s update and a ‘Parent’s Perspective’, almost next to everybody will be up-to-date on the happenings in the West Midlands and The Gambia,!
I particularly agree with Alycia’s description of her in-laws – Dave and Ruth DeLong (and their daughter, Becky)! After all, their choice of daughter(sister)-in-law is keeping with the highest standards!

CREATURE COMFORTS: Grandchildren are the grandparent's revenge on their children! After all, insanity is heredity - you get it from your kids!

So, until next time, or the BIG ANNOUNCEMENT, whichever comes first, remember: GOD LOVES YOU!

The Other Side of The Blog

Welcome to the First Day of the Rest of Your Life!

As Alycia mentioned, she is on MATERNITY LEAVE (Oh, really, you say!) and I (the CREATURE from the BLOG) have come out of the closet (No, not that closet, the one from Tea-Time!) to temporarily "hunt and peck" at a keyboard in order to keep you upto date on the ups, downs, sideways, backwards and inside outs (beware of motion sickness!) of what has been going on in the every day, routine, hum-drum (Ah Ha! Now for the truth!), 9 to 5 life of youth missionaries enjoying life whilst in the West Midlands of the United Kingdon!

But first, I must take a short break! That opening sentence is so long that I'm worn out and need to get my energy back! But don't worry, I'll be back (where have I heard that?) soon enough - so don't go too far away away away!

Alright, I've unplugged the pink rabbit (the one with the drum!), so we're off and flailing!

So, where too start our flail? How about a little trip back in time? I'll just set the target date ... and away we go!

ZAP, CRACKLE, POP ~ it's about 7:00 AM, Thursday, January 5th, 1978 and ...... WHOA! Me thinks that's a little to far back! After all, this is supposed to be the Other Side of The Blog, not the Far Side! OK, just a little fine tuning on the time machine and ABRACADABRA (al'la peanut butter sandwich) ~ZAP ~ it's now Thursday, Novermber 8th, 2007!

And - VOILA - our 'two-and-a-bitsome' have arrived in Calgary and will be heading for Regina tomorrow (that would have been Friday, Novermber 9th, 2007). They've been brought home to participate in the yearly, weekend Youth Conference being held at the Regina Apostolic Church (one of their muchly appreciated sponsors, as are all sponsors!). Danny was the Guest Speaker for the event and what an amazing time it was! Many young people came to Christ and many more reaffirmed their faith! Everyone went home touched by God in one way or another! ALL PRAISE AND GLORY TO GOD THE FATHER, GOD THE SON, AND GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT!

After the conference Alycia, Danny and the one-on-the-way had a week or so to slow down (at least that's what they called it) and relax. Then on Sunday, November 18th, 2007, during the second morning service, at the Regina Apostolic Church, there took place an event destined for the annals of history - Danny was ordained a REVEREND by the Apostolic Church of the Pentecost! PRAISE THE LORD!

Shortly after that Sunday service the Reverend Danny and his family left for Calgary and their subsequent return to the UK the next day, Monday, November 19th!

Now I seem to recall hearing (this is what is referred to as going off on a 'tangent') about another event happening that day - didn't the 'RIDERS' beat the 'LIONS' in Vancouver, to win the CFL Western Conference title (and then went on the win the 2007 Grey Cup in Toronto a short time later)! But that isn't all that relevant now, is it?

So, now we're back in merry ol' England (I'm along in spirit now - which was better than being carry-on!) and things are slowly returning to normal - somewhat close to panic-driven chaos! The 2 LifeFORCE teams are almost ready to go home for Christmas; the classes at the school, for the 1st Project Gambia trip in February, are ending for Christmas; we're moving out of our heatless, 2 bedroom, 2nd floor flat in Walsall to a warm 3 bedroom 1 -1/2 bathroom house (half a duplex) in Wednesbury; and then, just the 2.5 of them are going to spend Christmas in London - ALL BY THEMSELVES (even though I'm there just in spirit, THEY WOULD'T LET ME GO)!

CELEBRATIONS ARE UNDERWAY! THE NEW-KID-ON-THE-BLOCK HAS ARRIVED!

Unfortunately, it's not the one we're really excited about! This new one is not only wearing a big diaper, but also a sash that says "2008" (and another New Years resolution bites the dust - the one about not messing with the minds of others)!

The Christmas and New Year's festivities are over! Most of us are almost over that bloated feeling from over endulgence at the various breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack tables! Danny, and Alycia, and the-one-we're excited about, are enjoying the "new" house, the teams are moaning and groaning their way back to the schedule, Alycia has celebrated her Birthday (no, I won't mention an age - even though she called herself the "old lady"!), Project Gambia is still on course, and Danny has a heart problem!

Yes, our Danny has something wrong with the pump! Even I, the Creature crumbled a bit at that one! He'd had some moments, during the past several months, when he'd felt tired and listless. So they finally got him to a MD, who ran some tests and dropped the bomb! There is an appointment to see a heart specialist in March, so we're waiting to find out more! One of the possibilities that has been mentioned (in an extreme case) may be the need for a 'Pacemaker'! Until then they've told Danny just to slow down and take it a bit easier!

Now, how do we get Danny to slow down and take it a bit easier? That would be like getting the Titantic to .... no, bad analogy! ... would be like getting Napoleon not to go to Water ... no, that's another bad analogy! After all, getting Danny to slow down and take it easy would be like getting Danny to slow down and take it easy!

Actually, the one thing that does slow him down (at least for awhile) is when he and Alycia watch the baby moving around! WOW, look at that - the head is up - the head is down - the head is on the side - there's a foot - there goes another Hersey's Chocolate WHOPPER! This is definitely the child of travelling 'missionaires'!

Well, I think that about fills in a gap or two from last October. Everything is really going great! All 3 of our subjects are doing quite stupendously whilst working in and on their mission projects! Just remember to keep them in your thoughts and prayers!

OK, I'm going to end this Blog now. After all, there will be plenty more coming up in no time atol, atol!

But first, something 'Totally Different' (but not 'Python' different)!

Being the Creature and knowing about some of the other types of creatures, I have come across the fact that all Creatures - 'large and small' - have things called 'Creature Comforts'! So, I'm going to end my blogs by sharing with you a warm and fuzzy Creature Comfort! This may not happen with every blog, but I'll try to make them relevant and enlightning!

CREATURE COMFORT BY WHICH TO END TODAYS BLOG:

There is an ad going around that a certain coffee shop has introduced a new breakfast sandwich - a Bagel with Egg, Lettuce, and Tomato! They are calling it - are you ready - the 'BELT'! Well, as the rumour goes, there is a fast-food outlet that is going to build on that idea! There's is going to be a Bagel with Egg, Lettuce, Tomato, Cheese, and Ham! It's going to be - are you ready - the 'McBELTCH' (that New Year's Resolution is really busted up now!)!

So Long for now, and don't say you hadn't been warned!

Remember, GOD Loves You All!