It's been to feel like Christmas!

This past week, Christmas has begun to bloom in my schedule. It all started Monday with a date with my sister to find a Christmas dress and start making our lists =) Then, Tuesday was our annual Baking Day with my mom and sister. We baked for 7 hours start to finish! We were pooped by the end! It is such a nice tradition with my favorite ladies!









Yesterday was our 9th annual Farrow Christmas Party! When this tradition started, it didn't have the name Farrow attached to it =) I love hosting a party and enjoying friends from different areas of my life! My favorite part is the opening of the regifts. We bring something from around our homes that we don't want anymore. It is fun to see what people bring!












Merry Christmas...in November!

A update on my wrist...

Sadly, my wrist has been snapping, clunking and hurting more since the end of September/beginning of October. I hated the idea of making an appointment with the sports medicine doc again, who had let me go when he gave me the paper of freedom back in August (to get fully back to work).

I finally made an appointment and waited a few weeks to get in to see him. That was yesterday.

I assumed he would look at me funny, hear my complaint and send me out the door. I prefaced the start of the appointment that I was just there to cover my butt and leave a paper trail if anything should happen in the future.

He felt the snap. Then I did the movement that generally accompanies the clunking. It didn't do it. He started to move my wrist around and it went "clunk, clunk, clunk" every time he moved it! I was so grossed out!

Off I went to x-ray pronto!

Within 5 minutes I was seeing my wrist on the wall in the form of a completed x-ray. It was so fast yesterday!

This is the scoop. There is a bit of a separation between two of the bones in my wrist. He is concerned if the space widens. I have to return in 2-3 months for another x-ray to check that out.

If the clunking increases or has increased pain accompanying it, I gotta get myself in sooner to see him. He wants to wait and see what will happen in the next few months. He "didn't want to press the panic button too quickly". I agreed but hearing that concerns me!

I just don't want to start all over again with all this wrist stuff. It's been such a long haul and I want it to be over already.

Please continue to pray for full healing for my wrist!

There can't be a plan B

This coming January marks the 3 year mark for Shane and I in our journey as intercessory missionaries. This means Shane has worked from the 4 walls of our apartment for the last 34 months, thinning out the carpet on our floor from countless hours of pacing, praying, reading and studying. His hands may not get wounds or cuts from his occupation, as some do, but his knees and heart have the marks to prove his hard work.

Many people think we're crazy. Sometimes I'm tempted to believe the same.

In the 3 years of living out this lifestyle, we had a number of times where we thought, "We could have both worked for a salary that pays well and be way further ahead in the definition of success according to the world". We did the math one time and figured out if we had both worked the first year I was done nursing, we could have paid off all our debt with one of our income and lived off the other within the first year.

A few months later, God blew us away. Yes, we could have done the logical and ignored the call we heard Him call us to and worked off all that debt. But in the big picture of eternity, it was far more wise to obey the risky call that He gave to us. In the end, He had our debt covered anyways, and He knew that from the beginning! The generous giving of other lovers of God provided the incredible $25,000 to cover ALL of our debt last fall.

So, we just can't have a plan B. It is hard not to start thinking that way sometimes. "Well, if God doesn't actually provide for what He's called us to in plan A, let's make our own plan B. Plan B could be letting go of what He's called us to and doing what normal people do to make ends meet. Yes, let's keep that card in the back pocket, just in case we need to use it.".

No! We can't have a plan B. Plan A is following whatever He leads us in. Plan B is following whatever He leads us in. I want a big YES written across my heart that doesn't have fear, doubt and self-sufficiency attached to it. I am foolish to think that I could provide for myself better than God could. I'm not the source. He is the source.

God knows all my needs and all my wants. He cares about the little details. He knows our desires for a home and a family one day. He knows the exact dollar amount that we would need to do work in the prayer movement full-time as a family unit. He knows and He cares! Actually, it was His plan!

All this processing to say, I just want to say yes, again and again, over and over. No matter how bright or dark the next step looks. No matter who points fingers or laughs at us. No matter how foolish we look or what people think or say. No matter how many dollars are in our bank account or coming in through our supporters.

It doesn't matter in the end. My heart growing in love and saying yes to the safest Savior is what truly matters!

Off to Steinbach I go...

First it's supper at mom's! I love being able to invite myself over to my dear mother's when it works out! Steph and I get to enjoy some time with mom, Amanda and Shaun! It should be nice!

Then, it's girls day! This time we are meeting at one of the gal's house in Steinbach. It will be our first time at her new place! I'm excited as 7 of the 10 ladies will be there and I'm looking forward to seeing a growing belly in our midst! So exciting! Girls day is usually encouraging and refreshing!

So, after a day of errands, Sanctuary devotionals and the gym, I'm off to the home country =)

A few rough days and a few good ones ahead...

I worked two 12-hour days the last two days and it was a little rough. I had some heart-wrenching experiences and some sad moments. I know I'm there for a reason as I think I heard the Lord say "I have you there for a reason" when I was using a 30 second prayer time to cry out to Him in the bathroom at work. Without giving details, it was a sad time at work and life issues are on my heart.

I got my Christmas hours the other day too and it's going to be a crazy Christmas week around our place! I have to work nights on the 19, 20, 21, 24, 25, 26! I told my boss that that was killer and so he was willing to make the 25th and 26th nights 8-hours instead of 12 so that helps! I knew that I was due to work Christmas, but six 12-hour nights in 8 days is killer. Oh well...next year should be better =)

I'm pleased now to have my stretch of 6 off! Woo! Hoo! I'm up early on a Saturday after working in order to make some pies for today's belated Thanksgiving gathering. It is over a month ago that we had Thanksgiving but today we are celebrating with Shane's family! Then we're going to try to get to the Santa Clause Parade and I hope that the weather is nice and the snowflakes are falling tonight =)

Tomorrow I'm leading a set at Sanctuary. It has been a really long time since I've done that and even when I did, I didn't do that many. So, needless to say, I'm nervous and insecure and hoping it goes well. Yikes!

That's the latest!

I'm done!

What am I done? Speech therapy! I waited from October 2007 to July 2008 for my referral to speech therapy. My voice was hurting more than usual last fall and so I got the ball rolling to get my talking and singing voice checked out. It was a long wait!

In the meantime, I started taking voice lessons and that really helped! I had the pleasure of taking voice from January to June this year. I'm presently waiting to hear from my voice teacher who had a baby this fall, as to when she wants to teach a few of us again. I'm super excited to get learning and improving again!

So, a few months ago, I had a speech assessment and have had a number of speech therapy sessions since, complete with homework to do at home in between sessions. It is hard to feel like there has been any progress to be honest. I don't always see the correlation between the exercises I'm supposed to do and any improvement in my voice.

But, alas, there has been!

Today I went for my final session, a post-therapy assessment! And sure enough, there is some improvement in the area that caused me the most frustration! I felt like my speaking voice was low, which is fine, but often at the end of phrases, my voice just bottoms out and hurts. The end of my sentences can resemble a growl or crack to my own ears on a bad day.

Apparently I'm very self-aware =) And heightened on the self-analytical side, which my grade 8 teacher used to say. So, I can pinpoint things that don't feel right that others wouldn't notice by just listening to me talk.

So, for the improvement.....my talking voice for both conversation and reading has increased by 20 Hertz! When it was at the low end of female ranges in July, now it is very average to a little higher! That's awesome for my problem with bottoming out at the end of sentences. Now, if the natural fluctuation in range happens, I'm starting from a higher point so that the bottom isn't causing me the same pain!

I didn't think it was possible to change the range that I speak at, but apparently there has been improvement! Yeah!

I do still have slightly painful and more cracky voice days. I'm doing well though and especially with how much I have to talk on my 12 hour shifts, I'm in good shape! Woo! Hoo!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

And I like that! I'm enjoying the snow, even though it has made for some interesting driving and scraping to and from my 12 hour shifts this weekend. It feels like Christmas when that white stuff is on the ground! I like it!

I worked the last 3 days. It was my first Sunday day shift since February 2007. I managed to switch things around or take vacation since August which avoided my Sunday day shift. Now, I've entered back into the season where I have to miss Sanctuary once a month for work reasons. It's kinda a bummer.

But yesterday afternoon and evening as I was working, I would periodically look at the clock and remember SHOP was going on at another location in the same city. I knew who was on stage, what they were singing about in general (intercession or WWW) and knew that they were "standing on the wall" in a obvious and corporate way while I was standing on the wall in my own way in the marketplace at the very same time. I had enough time between patients to remember, add my "I love you Jesus" and continue what I was doing. But it stirred my heart.

Now I get 3 days off! I slept in this morning, as SHOP was canceled because some of our peeps for Mondays are holidaying it in KC, as we did last month! I slept 12 hours! I guess I needed some rest after the last 3 days!

I'm excited for the day. I'm excited to spend time with my husband! We always feel a deep need for quality time after I'm gone for those day or night shifts! I'm excited to hit the gym with Steph and Shane this afternoon and try a class with Steph in the pool! Here we come Aquafit!

It's going to be a good day!

WARNING: LOTS AND LOTS OF FUN SISTER PICTURES!

Here are the pictures from my birthday celebration with my fabulous sister back on October 20 as I promised! Better late than never!

We started with lunch at Steph's! Mmmmm....

Then off we went to the next surprise! Pedicures! Oh so fun! The chairs gave you a massage, the ladies were sweet and the toes were so pretty by the end!







I love pedicures!

Then off we went to grab a Starbuck's in our flip flops so our toes wouldn't smudge! We had a funny conversation with the girls at our local Starbuck's, laughed and headed to St.Vital Park! To fly a kite...even without much wind =)










Back to Steph's to change and then off we went for supper! We had a lovely dinner at Olive Garden, complete with lots of cheese, more laughter and great bonding conversation. I tend to feel like I've bonded with someone I love when we've shared emotions, dreams, struggles, etc. If it's just surfacey, then it doesn't feel like we've connected to me! Steph and I had a lovely time connecting as sisters!




We picked up a movie and our favorite 7-11 candies for the evening and headed to my place!





Thanks for being the best sister Steph and always making my birthday so special!

Life in the Farrow Household...

Life seems to be flying by at a rapid speed these days! We've been home for just over a week and it sort of feels like our trip to KC was months ago already. We jumped right on board with the fast moving train of life as soon as we got home!

I've worked 3 days, celebrated Thanksgiving with my mom and sibs, had family pictures taken (thanks Steph!), had coffee with a friend I hadn't seen in 2 years, had a sister birthday celebration (pictures will be coming soon), cooked, cleaned, grocery shopped, done countless errands, spent some time with Shane, and gone to a few appointments. Yikes!

Another praise report is that I'm still allergy free after today's tests! Woo! Hoo! I had to get the big patch on my arm read and it was all negative!

I'm on my way to nap to prepare for my weekend of nights that starts tonight. I'm pretty much out of commission until Sunday. I had an extra work day yesterday to do some classroom orientation for the gyne ward that I will soon be floating to. The day was good and I enjoyed learning, though the topics of miscarriages and cancer are a little heavier. But they motivate me to pray!

To add some random information, in the last 2 days I finally finished two books I've been reading over a few months! I am done Marketplace Christianity and The 7 Longing of the Human Heart! Very good reads! Shane and I bought a few more books to add to our library on our trip and I was very motivated to finish the other ones I was reading to get on to the new ones! It can take me a long time to get through a book these days!

Well, I really should wind down and try to sleep for the next 3 hours if possible. I've been running around doing appointments and errands for the last few hours and won't get to sleep until tomorrow morning at 8:30 or 9 so now's my chance!

This season of my life seems to have a full schedule and require communing with the Lord throughout all I do. It is such a good lesson that I need to learn for the benefit of the rest of my life!

An allergy update...

So far I have no allergies at all! Woo! Hoo!

As soon as I told the allergist my story, she asked, "Are you dermographic?". Apparently I am according to both the dermatologist and the allergist. It's the skin writing, itching thing that I blogged about a while back. It's why I'm itchy all the time, but there is no reason for it! That part is annoying =)

That question makes me sound like an alien or something! Are you dermographic?

So, I've been off antihistamines since last Monday. I've been increasingly itchy since Wednesday evening of last week. Sitting still for 30 minutes with many pokes to my arms that I can't scratch and I can't scratch all the other itchy places was tough! I was happy though that I didn't react to anything! Not to dust, mold, cats, dogs, food or spices! I had a lot of pokes and I got a clean bill! That is a definite praise report!



The saga isn't quite over as they are patch testing a few more things. That's the funny looking patch on my arm. I have to keep it on until Thursday and head back to the allergist to get it read. Oh well! So far, so good!



Praise God for health!

An update on the itching =)

So, remember how I said a while ago that I've been itchy since June? It hasn't been so bad because I've been medicated daily since July or so! It just gets really annoying when I go off the meds.

Tomorrow I see an allergist for the first time. I don't think I have allergies and I don't want to find out I have any tomorrow. The dermatologist just wanted me to be seen by an allergist because one of my itchy spots are my lips. They get itchy and swell just a tad bit. She didn't like the sound of that!

Needless to say, in preparation for the allergist, I've been super itchy these past few days. It drives me a little crazy!

So, I'm going to get all poked up tomorrow.

But, the best part about tomorrow is......belated birthday celebration time! My dear sister is taking me out for the day and it's all a surprise! I'm excited! I get to spend the day with my sister and feel special! Woo hoo!

Back to Work...

Well, holidays are over and I'm back to work this morning. I sure love time off and holiday mode!

So, I'm working 12 hours days today and tomorrow so I'm out of commission the next 2 days!

Kansas City Trip - Day 10 (belated)

Yesterday we drove home. We left Mary Jean and Tony's at 7:23am after a quick bite to eat, loading the van and chatting with Tony. It rained for the first few hours and then the weather was gorgeous for the rest of the trip!

There was lots of grace for driving the many hours it takes to get home. The Lord protected us and kept us safe and secure the whole way home. Thank-you Jesus!

We "landed" on our parking spot at 9:07pm and are now back home in Winnipeg. We unpacked pretty quickly and then got to see my dear sibs, who came over for a bit! They are awesome and we're tight =)

God is good. Our trip was really nice. We're called to Canada. So, we're here and today, it's time to vote! God have mercy on our nation and appoint the right prime minister for this next season in Canada!

We're leaving...

We're leaving in the next little while and I'm a little sad. I wanted a few more days out here =) The weather and time away has been so great that I don't really want to go back to cold and busy life.

But, I definitely feel called to Canada. The more times I come down here and visit, the stronger my love for Canada grows and the commitment to pray for my nation strengthens. That's a good thing!

So, pray for our safe travels throughout our day! We'll be home later tonight!

Kansas City Trip - Day 9

Today is my 26th birthday! It has been such a nice day! I'm pleased to have turned another year older!

I woke up this morning, showered and got to open some cards to start off the birthday! Thanks Steph, Shane, Mary Jean and Tony!




Then we headed to church at Forerunner Christian Fellowship. It was awesome! The message was great and I had good revelation and a touch from the Lord! That's the best birthday gift ever!

For lunch, Shane took me to The Cheesecake Factory at the Plaza! We had gone there on Tuesday for date night and I enjoyed it so much that I wanted to go back! We then walked around the plaza and enjoyed the warm weather! We were sweating by the time we headed back to the van because the temperature was 28 today!



When we got home, there was a gift on our bed from our lovely hosts for Shane and I to open! Mary Jean is the best wrapper I know!



Then it was time for the group celebration! Christina, Janelle, Mary Jean, Tony, Shane and I went to Cinzetti's for the Italian Buffet! Mmmmmmm!!! So good!


Shane and I with our great friends Mary Jean and Tony!


The Winnipeg girls!


My lovely Christina and myself!


Shane and I being goofs!





Happy Birthday to me!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! LET THE CELEBRATION BEGIN!

Kansas City Trip - Day 8

Today is my last day being 25! Good-bye to the younger twenties and hello to the older twenties! I'm not concerned with getting older each year. It means another year that the Lord has blessed me with life!

This morning we slept in and it was marvelous! These late nights are making me tired! And we haven't been letting ourselves sleep way in, just not getting up super early.

Shane spent some time in Higher Grounds while I went to a tea party celebrating Shiloh's one month birthday =) I got to see some of the ladies we met last year at onething Winnipeg (Ana, Kristen and Shari). That was nice!

Then Shane and I had our first Walmart trip. We picked up some food, sweet tea and other miscellaneous stuff. We had lunch together at Chipotle, as Shane wanted to eat there once more before our trip ended. The weather was so gorgeous that we ate outside in the warmth on the patio! We talked about our trip, our thoughts and simply connected. It was lovely!

We popped in at Mary Jean and Tony's to drop our stuff off and touch base. Then off to the prayer room for 2 hours. I finished off Revelation today! Matt's team was singing through Psalm 139 from 2-4 and we caught the last hour. It was really good, especially the end part of the set. Good truths that we always need more revelation on about God's thoughts toward us!

We headed over to the Coopers to squish Shiloh once more and say good-bye =( She's precious.

Shane spent the evening with Mary Jean and Tony's at their place and I went to the Encounter God Service. Mike spoke about Revelation 4 and 5 which was good. My favorite part of the evening was the short time I had in my seat before the service began and during the worship before the preaching. I was getting some good revelation and felt the Lord speaking to me.

Now, we are at Mary Jean and Tony's and the guys are playing the Wii as I type. I played some tennis but lost both times. Oh well!

It's almost my birthday! Tomorrow will be here soon!

Kansas City Trip - Day 7 (belated)

Yesterday was day 7, Friday, October 10. We've had such a nice time out here and I'm not ready to head home yet, which is good because we get to stay a few more days! I'm loving the weather so much! Capris and flip flops are wonderful! And today's high is 27!

Yesterday morning we had coffee with Justin Rizzo and that was fun! There was such a connection between Winnipeg and IHOP at last year's onething conference and you can see the effects even today! It's so neat!

Then we plundered the bookstore for some reading material to take home because we don't know the next time we'll be out here! We gotta stock up for the year!

Then to the prayer room we went which is always good. My intercession focus for the day was individual and corporate provision, but I was getting distracted by their topic of America, which I just turned into prayer for Canada!

Lunch was yummy at Panera and we got to meet Drew's girlfriend, Cat, who seems very sweet. Drew is absolutely living on cloud 9 right now! He's got enough energy for an army! That so awesome!

We headed back to the PR for a short time and then went back to the Coopers for a nap. We were both beat. We've been going to bed at 1am every night and so we were a little tired!

Then off to EGS for the evening service. Mike's message was on connecting the first and second commandments together. It was really good! I want to know God's love for me. I want to receive God's love for me. I want to love myself the way He loves me and I want to love others out of those realities! I especially want to love those well that are close to me.

We grabbed Sonic for a late supper (I love their sweet tea!) and headed back to the Coopers. We were sad to pack up and leave last night as we've thoroughly enjoyed Kristi, Steven and Shiloh. Shiloh has been such a blessing to have around. It has been so nice to connect with another couple that is in similar shoes as Shane and I. Kristi and I are both nurses, who love our jobs but want to do family and prayer movement stuff as our priority. Our husbands are full-time in the prayer movement. It was great to connect on some of those issues that we don't usually get to connect with others on. They can identify with some of our struggles!

We packed the van up and headed over to Mary Jean and Tony's where we will be staying until Monday. We really like these friends of our too and have enjoyed their hospitality, generosity and friendship over the last 2-3 years!

Well, today's update will come later!

Kansas City Trip - Day 6

Today begins the birthday celebrations for 2008 and the celebration of 26! Christina took me out for a yummy birthday breakfast! It was a lovely time of chatting, discussing what God is doing in our hearts and lives and partaking of yummy food at Le Peep! Thanks so much Christina for making me feel special, taking me out and the beautiful pink card with nice words! I love pink, quality time and quality conversation with friends and words of affirmation, topped off with a hug to get the love language of physical touch in there!

Then Shane and I got in to the healing rooms for prayer and visited the bookstore to spy out all the loot we'd like before heading back to the Coopers. As of 3pm, we are presently baby-sitting a gorgeous, sweetheart named Shiloh. Steven and Kristi had the honor of adopting Shiloh who is still very new, having arrived on September 11! I'm blogging while Shane is sitting next to me, making her coo and smile. My Shaner is going to be such an amazing daddy when the time comes =)

Our evening will consist of bottlefeeding, burping, holding, cooing, loving, diaper changing, cuddling, etc. The plan is for Christina to come by and give Shiloh a squish! We hope to go for a walk with the stroller or a sling this evening, because the weather is awesome (23 degrees)! We may fit in our first trip to Walmart and Sonic for a quick supper later on! We'll see what the evening holds!

It should be fun and full of a lot of love!

Kansas City Trip - Day 5

This morning I turned off the alarm again. Yep. But this time instead of snoozing for a short period and waking up, we slept another hour and a half! That was nice!

We headed to the prayer room and caught the last 45 minutes of the intercession set. My focus today was on human trafficking. I am finding assigning an intercession focus for the day very helpful! I used to do that at home but haven't done it in a while. I'm thinking it's time to start again...

We walked home to eat our leftovers for lunch before heading back to the prayer room until 6pm. It's been a nice day!

We had supper with Mary Jean and Tony at their place this evening. It was nice to have supper together and catch up. They are special friends of ours down here. I'm so glad we met them years ago and have maintained a friendship! We're heading over there on Friday until Monday when we leave. We already have a date to play the Wii after EGS on Friday!

Things are going well! We are having a really nice holiday time. We are enjoying friendships, enjoying prayer room time and eating yummy food! I'm getting into the mode and enjoying it! Fabulous weather helps makes the time enjoyable too!