We are back from summit. What a deep touch of God!! I could never put into words the awesome move of God that was experienced at that conference. I will be forever grateful for the touch that God put on my family this week. I feel so humbled to have been in that circle on Saturday morning. Thank you to all of the speakers, to my Pastor and Sis. King for your love, to everyone who prayed. We will be changed as a result of those few hours. If you want to hear more, you'll have to just ask.
Ginny and I standing beside the convention centre.



Our very own Mark King preaching with such a humble pure spirited attitude. What a beautiful moment this was.

I am off to Spokane, Washington for the Summit 2009 conference. It should be a blast. Ginny, Caleb and I leave in the morning. Angie leaves a little later in the day. Pray for good roads and a safe trip for everyone going. If you're going I'll see you there, if not, I'll see you when I get back!

Deidre, here are some pics for you of Angie's party. We had nacho platters, veggie and fruit trays, strawberry shortcake, snacks and for the birthday cakes we had "cupcakes from crave". They were so good. Wish you could have been here.









My baby turns 20 years old today. Where has the time gone? She makes me so proud. She has turned out to be such a wonderful, beautiful girl. I love you, Ang!

NO LIMITS CONFERENCE
Anyone wanting to listen to the no limits conference, click on the link above. It starts at 11AM and 8:00PM Calgary time. Today's message was so good . "The dangerous of down."

More Experiments with my new pans.
This is pure white sugar that I put in the pan on high heat then walked away and left it until I started to smell it . Look closly through the steam and you can see the sugar is black and burnt, but it is still not sticking. I just took a paper towel and mopped it up. There was a little stickiness to this one but it washed right off with no problem. PS I burned my finger when I was soaking the sugar into the paper towel. Ouch!! Below the sugar pictures is a video of melting cheese in the pan. No sticking to the pan, even after being on high for awhile.

Optimism returning to housing market, RBC survey finds
VIRGINIA GALT

Wednesday, March 04, 2009

Confidence appears to be seeping back into the housing market, with a majority of Canadians saying it's a good time to buy, according to the Royal Bank of Canada's annual homeownership survey.

Although this optimism is not reflected in the most recent sales statistics – the volume of sales in the Toronto area, for instance, was down 47 per cent year-over-year in January – the Royal Bank predicts that lower prices will lure a growing percentage of Canadians back into the housing market in the next two years.

A survey of 2,026 Canadian consumers, conducted in the second week of January, found that 65 per cent of respondents believe it is a buyers' market now.

Of those surveyed, 9 per cent said it is “very likely” they will purchase a home or condominium in 2009 or 2010, and another 18 per cent rated the prospect of purchasing a new home as “somewhat” likely.

“Additionally, almost half indicate it makes sense to buy a home now versus waiting until next year.”

Young adults and renters are most likely to spark an upsurge in home sales, the Royal Bank said in releasing its survey results.

“In the under-35 group, 48 per cent said they plan to buy, which is up sharply from 36 per cent last year. Renters also appear to be saying they are tired of paying someone else's mortgage payment, with 38 per cent planning to become homeowners in the next two years.”

Toronto real estate agent Geon van der Wyst noted that consumers do not always follow through on their intentions – although it is encouraging that more Canadians appear to be thinking about buying homes.

“Intention is the step prior to making an educated decision… and I'm sure a lot of those people with intentions will move forward with purchases, it's just a matter of finding the right time,” Mr. van der Wyst said.

Karen Leggett, the Royal Bank's head of home equity financing, said low mortgage rates “and favourable housing prices are influencing home purchase intentions this year and may be the reason why more Canadians are poised to purchase over the next two years.”

Ms. Leggett said the poll, conducted for the Royal Bank by Ipsos Reid, found that the vast majority of Canadians believe that the purchase of a home is a good investment. “The current economic environment does not appear to have dampened Canadians' overall confidence in the housing market,” she said.

Mr. van der Wyst said there are good deals to be had, from the buyers' standpoint.

However, he added, many prospective buyers – particularly first-time buyers – are still uncertain about the best time to plunge into the market.

“We tend to hand-hold these first time-buyers, nervous first-time buyers, especially around here where they know the prices are starting to dip – and who knows where they will continue to dip before the recovery starts?”

Mr. van der Wyst said that, especially in the current economic environment, he screens prospective buyers very carefully before taking them to look at properties. He noted that the banks are also “pretty stringent” in qualifying consumers for mortgages.

“Interest rates are at historic lows and borrowing money is very, very affordable. If you have steady employment and you have some financial responsibility along with a good interest rate, now is a really, really good time to purchase a property,” Mr. van der Wyst, an agent with Royal LePage said.

“At this time, employment stability is very important. It would be really unfortunate to see someone lose their job just as they were about to close on a property,” he said.

A number of leading Canadian economists have observed that Canada's rising unemployment rate has eroded consumer confidence, and other recent housing forecasts have been less upbeat than the Royal Bank survey.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. projects that, in spite of falling prices, the volume of existing home sales is expected to drop by 14.6 per cent in 2009, and then rise by 9.3 per cent in 2010.

Average home prices are forecast to fall 5.2 per cent to $287,900 in 2009. Next year, prices are expected to remain flat, according to the federal housing agency's forecast.




© The Globe and Mail

I purchased a set of Titanium exclusive cookware at the home and grden show this past weekend. They are wonderful. You can cook without water or oil. Food will not stick or burn to these pots. They are amazing for easy clean up!! I made oatmeal for breakfast this morning and decided to experiment and see if the oatmeal would burn or stick to the pot. Below are the results of my experiment. These were a great investment!!

Here is the pot sitting on the heat, "burning to the pot"

After letting it sit on the heat for just a few seconds it lifted away from the pot so I could just lift it right out. No burning and sticking!

All that's left are a few crumbs that just wiped right out. So Cool!

I found this on the Grande Prarie church's site. It is a really awesome message using the analogy of the physical storm and relating it to the storms of life.
Go to the site using the link below and then click on the message "It can only go so far"

A message of hope

My family and some of my friends are now on thier way to Israel. I hope and pray they all have a wonderful time, stay safe and well, and have a life changing experience. I know you guys will not see this until you come back, but I love you! Have double fun for me!!

I read the 2 blogs below and thought they had good food for thought and were an encouragment to me today. we don't always know why things work out the way they do, but it is in those times that we must trust in God. It is then that our trust is really put to the test.

royal Insignia
iluv2prshim