Introducing, My Brother, My Bestfriend...Bryan Edward Canny!

Okay...You have been introduced to my parents, NOW you get to meet my baby brother. Now many of you already know him, I have written many posts about him, but now you get to hear about him and his profound effect on my life.
Now as I told you before, my parents were older when I was born and I was enough of a surprise, but after I was born, my daddy had a longing for a boy, he begged my mom. She finally told him, we will try one time, if we become pregnant, this is it, girl or boy, this is the LAST ONE! Dad began praying and he got his boy :) Bryan Edward Canny came into the world at 1:30 pm on August 3rd. He would change the life of the Canny's forever. Now when he first came home and I got the chance to meet him, my parents say that I asked if he could be taken back. I really wanted nothing to do with him for a few days. I was the only pebble on the beach so to speak, and I kind of preferred it that way! However, within about a week, I went from not wanting him around to being completely inseparable from him! I quickly got the name "mother hen", as I doted on my brother. I was always wanting to take care of him.
This trend would be one that would carry on as we grew older. Bryan and I were very close and we did EVERYTHING together. I like to tell people that it is because of Bryan and I am a teacher, because from our early years, I was a teacher, teaching him everything I could. When I came home from preschool, I was teaching him all that I had learned. This was just something I loved to do!! His letters, shapes, numbers, colors, I just loved to teach him!! I also loved to take care of him, this went on not just when we were in elementary school. Although if anyone picked on my baby brother, they better be ready to hear from me! When we were in middle and high school, Bryan did not ALWAYS appriciate this :)
I have so many memories with my brother, its hard to pick which ones to share with you. But what I will tell you is that having him in my life has changed it forever, and I would not be who I am today without him! Here are a few of the lessons I have learned from having him in my life.

1- You Should Never Go Through Life Alone. I know that it is by the grace of God that I was given a brother. God knew that we would need one another to help us face some of the challenges that would come our way. As I said, from the time we were little, we were together. Now, my parents will tell you that from the day Bryan was born they knew that while we looked alot alike, they KNEW we were 2 very different kids :) I HATED to be alone. They would feed me my bottle, rock me to sleep, and I was fine, but the minute they tried to lay me down and leave the room, I SCREAMED!! I hated being alone, EVER! A trend that has carried on into my life, even now. Bryan on the other hand, give him his bottle, pat his back a few times, and then leave him alone, he preferred that to having someone hold him sometimes. As we grew older, Bryan loved to play alone, he was very content entertaining himself, NOT THIS GIRL! I was thankful for my playmate. I will not post them here, but I have some very embarassing pics of Bryan in some of my dresses, you see, I loved to dress him up in my clothes, like a lifesize doll if you will, and at the time, I was his big sister, if I told him to do it, he did it, no questions asked :) Bryan and I were quite different, and yet, we LOVED being together. Having each other would prove to be something that we would need as we continued to grow up. There were 3 times in our young lives that my mom had to go into the hospital for depression. This illness has become much more prevelant in the last few years, but let me tell you, that when we were little, depression was NOT something you talked about with people, and especially when you are in Elementary School, kids dont understand it at all. So, God had given us one another, so when we needed to cry, when we needed to talk about it, we didnt have to bottle it up, we had each other. This "secret" bonded us together. and taught us how to lean on one another through the tough times. I remember times that we would pray together, times that we would talk to each other across the hallway from our beds at night. This is why, when Bryan got married, it was SO HARD for me to let him go. I had to learn that I couldnt just lean on my brother, I had to rely on someone much greater, I had to learn to rely on God. But I learned through my relationship with Bryan that God has given us friends and family to get through this life, we are not meant to face it alone.

2- You cant take yourself too seriously, laugh often! Bryan and I both love to make people laugh. And we both love to make one another laugh too. We can both be quite sarcastic and at times, although not so much now, our jokes can be a little inappropriate. We LOVE watch comedies together. Jimmy Fallon is one of our favorites. Jim Gaffagin and Bryan Reegan too. We LOVE Saturday Night Live, the older years much better than the new years. We all have stories from our past and they could either embarass us or we can laugh at the memory. For example, when Bryan was little, we were on our way to the candy store one day. Bryan had a cup FILLED with money. I only had a couple coins....something that is still like us, Bryan was great at saving his money, I spent it as soon as I got it. :) I digress....he had this cup and dad was driving us to the candy store. Bryan didnt put his belt on and some how, he fell out of our car. I was trying to tell my dad, who was oblivious to what had taken place and kept on driving. He said, "Becky we will be there is just a minute", thinking I was just excited to get there. Finally he looked over, we were several yards away from Bryan now. And he realized his error. He put it in reverse and was getting back to his son. He ran out of the car, Bryan was fine, on the ground picking up his money. Dad got to him and Bryan was mad. "Dont touch me, Im fine, I just know I had more money than this and were not leaving until I have ALL of it!". Bryan was fine, but this is a memory that we have laughed about many many times since it happened.
Bryan and I have had many of those moments where we laugh. Laughter has been a friend to us through many of the dark times too. So Laugh, do it often and make sure those around you are laughing too.

3- Friends are the key to life. Bryan and I have both been very outgoing people from the time we were young. We just loved to have people around. Now again, we are somewhat different too. I thrive on it and would LOVE to have people around me all the time, never really needing alone time. Bryan, while he loves people, knows when he gets his fill and has to have his alone time too. But in our lives, we have had many great friends and most of the time, we shared our friends. We were just so close in age that we ended up hanging out with each others friends alot. I will tell you though, that when you choose to hang out with your brother and his teenage buddies, prepare to be a- kicked out of subway when they have loogey races on the windows and when one friend decides to lift his shirt and rub it on the window for his friends to see. b- kicked out of wal mart when they begin yelling at one another from across the store to see if they can hear each other on the other side. c- basically you never know when you will be kicked out of a place depending on their mode and ideas of the night. d- you will learn to love watching football or die trying to get away from it. e- you will also learn to love video games, and all about the systems on which they are played. HOWEVER, this also means that when your brother hangs out with you and your teenage girl friends he will a- learn to watch chick flicks and not complain when you all begin crying at the same time. b- learn about what make up works best and what colors go best with your skin. c- when your sister is the driver of the carpool, YOU WILL listen to boy bands such as NSync, Backstreet Boys, 98 Degrees, and LFO, and you might as well decided to learn the lyrics and sing along :) Yes, we had some great friends growing up and to this day are still friends with many of those people.

4- There is no better person to sing harmony with than your brother. I have been singing since I was 16 months old, and I think my love for music inspired my brothers love for music, of course, he is WAY more talented than I. If there is an instrument, he can probably pick it up and play it. Guitar, Bass, Drums, Keys, and he has a BEAUTIFUL voice too!!! I miss singing with him now that he lives in another country. Music as well as laughter got us through many things in life. My mother has a beautiful singing voice too, its kind of a bond we have with her. We know many of the old hymns because she loved to sing them to us. We have gotten the chance to do concerts together and its great. Our lives and some of our closest friends when we were younger stemmed from the Community Theatre. We loved being in plays and musicals. We also had our childrens choir at church and this was a HUGE part of our childhood, every Thursday afternoon we had practice and we did 2 musicals a year! Music is amazing, and singing is great, but having someone to sing harmony with, is something that you cant explain, you just have to experience it~!

5- Tough Love is some of the most important love! There are many times in our lives that we have had to show tough love to one another. We have had to be accountiblity partners to one another. In fact, just recently, Bryan had to call me out on alot of things. I HATED it, in fact we didnt speak for a while, but I realize now that he was doing it because he loved me so much! He said to me "Bec, I know that you are better than this, I know who you are, and THIS is not it! Do something to change it" Im paraphrasing, of course, but the idea is that he knew I wasnt living to the potential I had and he loved me too much to let me stay there. Tough Love is not always easy. But it is necessary.

6- Memories are some of the best parts of life. Weather its the stair way in our old house that we used to make sleds and slide down over and over and over again. Maybe its the cartoons we loved to watch together, or TGIF and SNICK. Maybe its all of our Christmas memories, or how every year on our birthdays we both got presents to open so that mom and dad didnt have to feel bad about someone not opening something. The years that we would go to Adventureland for your birthday parties and going to Happy Joes or Mc Donalds for mine. How when I was 5 years old and had to wear the patch for my lazy eye and your 3 year old brain honestly thought your sister was a pirate and you told all your friends at preschool. Or the time you swallowed the Windex at the daycare then then had to go to the ER and throw it all up. You had that little barf bucket from the ER for many years after :) Home Alone every year on Thanksgiving. OCT and all the memories from the plays that we were in, Kings Kids, we had so many parts in those plays ;), Bible Quizzing, you ALWAYS did better than me in quizzing :) You knew your Bible much better than me. BUT, I always got the spelling and penmanship awards! All our pound puppies and cabbage patch kids. those chipmunk dolls we had, we LOVED them! The time you got yourself stuck in the baby swing because you were way too old to be climbing in it and we had to get you out with a stick of butter. The time that you got stung by the bee and swelled up everywhere because we didnt know you were allergic. How about the Missions Trip to New York, you shaved a Checker Board in your head, we went on the Today Show crowd the next day and I got in trouble from mom because I "let" you do that to your hair :) We have so many memories together. And those memories are just part of the joy of having you as my little brother.

I could go on and on about my brother and all of the things he has taught me. I, like I said, am very thankful to have him in my life. We DONT always get along, in fact, if you have been around us for any length of time, you will know that we DO fight, and we are both hard headed and stubborn, hey were not red heads for nothing!, so our fights can be bad, because neither one of us likes to back down :) BUT, I have learned that no matter what, a brother is a brother, for all of your life. The good, the bad, the ugly, HE WILL ALWAYS LOVE ME!!!

Thank You Bryan for being such a huge part of my life. Thank You God for blessing me with my baby brother! I will be forever greatful.

Meet the Parents..Part 2

Okay...so when I last left you, these crazy kids hadnt gotten together yet :)

As I said, my parents had both been
living their lives caring for other people and had not taken time for themselves at all. After my grandma died, my mom had a grieving period and then her sisters really began trying to get her to date, to finally do something for herself, (this part of the story is kinda scary, because its so much like my life :)). My mom is an amazing woman and she is, by the way, beautiful as well! If I had my scanner, Id show you a picture, but it belongs to a family who needed it more than I, so just trust me, she is gorgeous! She was unsure, she had a low self esteem and did not see in herself what everyone else saw when they looked at her, she could not see just how wonderful she was and what a catch she would be. FINALLY, her sisters convinced her to try a Christian dating service. NOT Eharmony, come on people. this was over 30 years ago...it was a letter writing service.
My dad was also on this service, they "met" through their letter and began writing and then calling one another. I LOVE this story, because Bryan and I still get to see the letters. They are great, not like this beautiful poetry, but 2 people, finally giving themselves a chance to be happy. And also, one point to remember, my mother, VERY Christian woman, never swore, never even wore shorts!! My father, a catholic. The best part of the letters, is that in some of them, my dad swears a little bit. Bryan and I have rarely seen our dad swear, but I am getting ahead of myself.
They finally decided to meet in person, my dad says that the minute he opened her apartment door to take her out on their first date, it was love at first sight, and he knew she was the one. My mom needed a little bit longer. But not much. They went on some dates, got engaged a few months later and were married in May, after having met in October. God had ordained their meeting and had brought them together. Now you have to know, that as I said, they had put their lives on hold for quite some time before meeting. My mom was 36 years old at this time and my dad was 40. They were happy just being together and children were never in their plan, but they WERE in Gods plan for them :)
As I said, my parents were married in May of 1981 and I was born in January of 1982, they have called me their "honeymoon" baby from the time I was born. Now see, if you are like me, you are doing the math right now, and you are saying, "Becky, thats only 8 months, I think something may have happened BEFORE the wedding." You would be WRONG! You see, their wedding was on May 1st and I literally was conceived that same night. Talk about surprises!! But if you know me at all, you know that I dont like to do things in a plain jane way :)
So there it is, the love story of my parents, but its not over, I still have to tell you how they have changed ME. Are you ready??? I know its been a whirlwind of a story so far!!!


Now the Entrance of Rebecca Dawn Canny, on January 24, 1982. I believe that God made my birthday in the winter for one very simple reason, Winter is a very depressing time, but when you have Christmas AND a Birthday to look forward to, it makes all the difference in the world. From the day I was born, although the joke was "honeymoon" baby, my parents have made sure I knew I was their miracle. You see, when I was born, the doctors thought I was a healthy baby, but soon found out, I was not. They began to do a lot of testing, as I was not breathing right and there was something terribly wrong, they discovered I had hypoglycemia, and to be honest, they were preparing my parents for the worst, they were sure I would even make it. I was born on a Sunday, and my parents immedietly called all their friends, their church family and they began praying. Within a week, I was happy and healthy and on my way home. In my baby photos, I have a mohawk, because they had to shave both sides of my head for the IVS to go in, I was born with a full head of red curly hair, miracle number 2, as both of my parents hair was jet black, it has now turned gray and my daddy is bald :) This was a gift from my grandmother, whom I never got to meet, but apparently look exactly like, right down to the red curly hair! My brother thinks the mohawk is cool, I, however, am just thankful the hair grew back :) and NO, I will not be posting a pic of that here. sorry friends!!!

But back to the story at hand. I have known from the day I was born that I was a miracle, my parents told me all of my growing up years that God had special plans for me because he had so amazingly spared my life.

Im very much a daddys girl. Part of this I think goes back to dads growing up in the catholic school. He NEVER spanked me or (my brother), whom in this senario is not born yet, you will meet him tomorrow :) But my dad did not like to use any discipline, because he had been so scared by it himself. I dont know that this was necessarily the best thing, but I enjoyed it at the time :) I knew that all I had to do was put on my pouty face or give him a smile and I would be getting what it was that I wanted.
Dad played with us alot. He would take me every day to get "red candy" (licorice), it was my favorite. I remember a day when Bryan and I were little and we cooked up this scheme that we were both going to pretend we were sick, mom would buy it because we were inseperable, so it would make sense that if one of us was sick, the other would be too. My dad worked in a factory when we were growing up, and he got laid off a couple of times, Bryan and I were too young to understand that this was bad and we LOVED lay off times, wed pray for them sometimes, because it meant daddy was home for us to play with. So, mom bought it, she went and got us soup, 7 up, crackers, the whole 9 and left dad to care for us for the day. He quickly realized what we were up to, but just went right on playing with us anyway :) We read books, made forts, and did or favorite thing, we made "shows" on our cassette player. Dad would pretend that he was Mister Rogers and Bryan and I would make up places we were visiting. We went to a music place, a bakery, you name it, we went there. It is one of my favorite memories ever. My dad is just a kid at heart himself. He loved to take us fishing,to play baseball, he even went sledding with us a few times. He was always ready to have fun with us. Now, as we are adults, dad is still that guy who loves to tease us and make us laugh and he HATES to see us hurt. and to be honest, I can still give him that look and he is wrapped around my little finger, once a daddys girl, always a daddys girl.
My mom is one of the sweetest ladies you will ever meet. I have no problem saying this, because I KNOW with 100% accuracy that I am right. My mom has always been a great mom. She has always been thoughtful, loving, and caring. When we were growing up, I remember ALWAYS taking treats to school. and not only that, but when we did, EVERYONE in our class had their own special cookie, she would write their name on it in frosting, just for them. She came and helped in our classrooms whenever she could, she was friends with our teachers, and to this day, she still is.
In my last blog I shared about some of our traditions at Christmas. It was one of her favorite holidays. Thanksgiving being her all time favorite and she was always mad because people overlooked it! Mom decorated EVERYTHING. Our house, the bulletin boards at church, her office at work, everywhere that she could, she decorated it, and she was very gifted at it as well.
My mom is also the most AMAZING cook, EVER!! She makes these delicious rolls, these mints that are unlike any you have ever tasted in your life, pretty much anything that she makes, you can guarantee it will be delicious!
My mom is also one of the kindest women ever, and she HATES to see other people hurting. Let me just be honest and tell you that there is a "black period" of our lives. The Middle School years...cue the music here, dun dun dun. I was a TERROR during these years. I HATED middle school, and since I was too shy to take it out on anyone there, I came home and took it out on my mom. We had some intense yelling matches. It was ugly! Until 9th grade, I lost 50 pounds, I was voted best singer in my class and all the sudden, people liked me, but 7th-8th grade, well its a good thing parents have unconditional love. But although she is kind, you would not have wanted to be those kids who made fun of me, because had she ever come face to face with them, OH MY!!
As many of you know, because we had to share it a few years back, my mom also had her fair share of troubles. She went through times of depression in her life. Now, unless you know someone who has been through it, its not really an illness that is easy to understand,and even when you do, it is still CRAPPY! My mother is honestly the most amazing woman I know and the strongest too.
You see, after the bouts she had with this illness, her life has been spared several times, she has gone through hell. and yet, she still has a firm belief and foundation in Christ, NEVER ONCE in all of the things she went through did I ever see her turn from God or even get angry with him. She just knew that he had a plan and he was going to see her through.
This woman has had to go through more crap than anyone, even my worst enemy should have to go through. Deaths of her family members that are unexplainable, her mothers cancer, my fathers cancer, and now cancer in her own body. I love this woman more than anyone else in the World! She means everything to me.
After all she has gone through, many people have come up and shared how amazing she is. How she has impacted their lives in one way or another. Friends from college, who met her and knew her, because she had meals for them every Sunday at our home, people she worked with, because she was not only an amazing worker, but she genuinely cared for all those around her, my former teachers, who are still some of her closest friends, and many more people. This woman has lived a life that has touched all of those around her. She is still alive and I truly believe God still has alot left to do in her life, but she is already living quite the Legacy.
I only hope that someday, when I am old and even when I pass on, that people are saying half the things about me that they say about her. "She loved God with all of her heart", "She cared about others much more than she cared about herself", "she lived a life to be proud of".

So that is my parents. Plain and simple, 2 of the most caring, supportive, and loving people I know. My father is a Christian today because of my mother. When they met, he saw what she had, and he wanted that too. From that day on, he has been an example for us to look up to. My father is in Gods word for at least 2 hours a day! He is always praying for other people and helping them as much as he can. Yes, my parents, they truly are some of the most amazing people in the World! And it because of them, that you get to know Rebecca "Becky" Canny, the good, the bad, and sometimes the ugly, but all of it, a journey in Christ, whom my parents so graciously introduced me to, simply through the lives they chose to live!

Tomorrow you will get to meet the one, the only, Bryan Edward Canny.

Thank you friends for reading this all the way through, I know its long, but every part is essential to who I am today.

Meet the Parents...

As I have promised, this is my first blog on the list. I have made many promises to myself about this year. I have vowed that I am going to take better care of myself physically, I WILL use my facewash, toner, exfoliater, AND moisturizer EVERY night no matter what. I WILL wear my retainers, no matter how dorky they make me feel :) I WILL use a teeth whitener. I WILL eat healthier, NO MORE POP from this point on...AHHH!!! I WILL eat fruit and vegetables EVERY day. I WILL read for at least an hour every night, I need to be getting more into the word of God and I need to be stimulating myself mentally as well as physically. These are a FEW of the many resolutions I have for the year. BUT ENOUGH ABOUT THAT!!! On to the subjects of this blog- Edward Patrick Canny and Brenda Joyce Canny (Snyder).

My parents story, like every love story starts out with them separately...so lets talk about these first.

Edward Patrick Canny- My dad is the oldest child of 7. He grew up in a catholic home and all of his brothers and sisters and he as well have names from the Saints in the catholic church. This was a HUGE part of his growing up and to be honest, to hear some of the stories he tells, I just get angry that he had to go through these things. He went to catholic school and he has many stories about the nuns. The nuns would not be kind to the students at all, as a teacher now, the things that they did to their students, I would just plain embarassed and so ashamed of myself, Id never face anyone again. He tells of a nun who had a piece of a rubber hose and if someone talked out in class, they would get lashes with the hose. He tells of a time where there was a girl who spoke out and the nun literally grabbed her by the earring and pulled it out of her ear to the point of bleeding, so that she would "know who was boss". I cant believe that this not only happened, but that in his day, it was completely legal.
My dads father died of complications of diabetes when my dad was in high school, he youngest sister was only 5 years old at the time, my father quickly became the father to all of his siblings, helping his mother as much as he possibly could. My father is one of the most LOVING men you will ever meet in your life. I can promise you that. He had to grow up pretty quickly and I think that many of the things that he went through, while they could have hurt and forever ruined someone else, my dad turned them around and became a better person.
In his growing up years, because he was in a catholic church, he had a very warped sense of God, who he was, and what it really meant to be a Christian. In fact, my dad tells us about confession quite often. He, and many of his friends and family members would base their faith on confession. They did whatever they wanted all week, smoking, drinking, chewing, swearing, etc....as long as on Saturday Night, after Mass, they would go to confession and confess what they had done, then they went out, did it all again and repeated, you know, the whole Rinse and Repeat senario. He never really liked this, he has shared with me, but this was all he knew, this is what he was taught, and so this is what he had to do.

MEANWHILE....About 30 miles away....Brenda Joyce Snyder was living her life.

My mom is number 8 in 9 children. She was actually supposed to be the last child, and then, her sister, Beth, was a little surprise :) This turned out to be perfect for my mother, Beth always has been and always will be her very bestfriend. My Grandma and Grandpa Snyder were a very Christian family, we watched The Waltons ALOT growing up and I like to think that this is a pretty clear picture of what growing up was like for my mom, right down to the fact that her Mothers parents lived in the house with the rest of the family. You get the idea, this house was FILLED with people :) 13 people to be exact! I love hearing stories of how my mom grew up, it just sounds like a wonderful home, Im sure it had its problems, but it sounds great to me. She got to share a room with her sisters and they had slumber parties every night, okay, so my mom says that while she loved her sisters, she always longed for her own room, but I think it sounds ideal!
My moms family was a Christian family. They read the Bible together every night in their home. They went to church whenever the doors were open. Church and God were the most important things to her parents and they made sure it was the most important thing to their children as well. I LOVE that this heritage is such a huge part of who we are today.
My moms father was killed in a freak electrical accident and there was no warning to the family at all. My moms brother was also killed in an accident while he was serving in the Phillipines, he hit a Water Buffalo with his Motorcycle and was instantly killed. My moms sister got lost in a blizzard one night and was found by 2 teenage boys 2 days later. To say that these things affected my mom and her mother in significant ways is an understatement. One of these things would completely devastate and forever change a family FOREVER, but ALL of them happening to the same family, well this is just a glimpse into the strength that my mother has. And the strength she would need for what was next in her life.
My Grandma got breast cancer when my mom was a young adult, and she suffered from it for about 10 years. During this time, my mom worked 3 jobs, and cared for her mother as well. She hired someone to care for her during the days at their home and then every evening, after working her 3 jobs all day, she came home and cared for her mother. The thing is, I have NEVER heard her complain about having to do this. In fact, she is greatful and thankful for the time that she had with her mother. After 10 years, the Breast Cancer had gotten into my grandmas bones and there was nothing more that the doctors could do, she passed away.
My mom had put her life on hold, she had not done anything for herself she had lived her life for her mom.

To say that I have 2 of the most amazing parents EVER is quite an understatement. They really are incredible as you can see by both of their individual stories....but I know you are waiting with baited breath to hear the story of how they met and then you are going to want to know about our lives together....but heres the thing friends...I have a job interview to get to, SO, I will leave you with this for right now and later today, you will here, as Paul Harvey used to say, The REST of the story :)

I am who I am...and thats all I can be :)

So....I have written several times about it in my blogs and I have written it in several facebook statuses as well, but in just 23 days, I will hit the big age, that age that seems to just sound so old and THRUST you into adulthood, for now and forever. Thats right friends, the big 3-0!!!!! AHHHH!!!

Well, as I have been thinking about hitting that age, coupled with the fact that its the first day of the new year, my mind has been filled with lots of things :) I never make resolutions for the new year, mostly because I feel like if I make them and dont keep them, I will be a failure, and I dont want to give myself something to fail at...when I already struggle with my self-esteem as it is. HOWEVER, I do spend this time as a time of reflection, I reflect back on the past year, the good things, the bad things, who I was at the beginning of the year, and who I am now. People I have met through out the year and friendships and relationships that have made the year what they are.

2011 has been a BIG YEAR for me, I have made a lot of big decisions, ALOT has happened to me, and I feel as though, I am at the end of this year, a better person for it. That being sad, throughout this year, I have not always felt this way. Last year, at this time, I was living in Sumner, I was sleeping in my bed after having just had an all-nighter with the community youth of Sumner. I was serving as a full time youth pastor and church secretary. THIS in and of itself was HUGE!! I was, for the first time in my life, living alone. I had my own apartment, I was paying all of my own bills, I was making all of my own meals, and taking care of my own place. Pretty proud of the fact that I did it, because I proved to myself that I could. In February, it was the WORST day of my year. On my way back to the church after picking up my last youth member and getting ready to head out to a ski trip, I got a call from my father that my mother had been diagnosed with cancer and it was in her spine, she would undergo emergency surgery that very day and she may never walk again. To say that I had to have strength that day would be quite an understatement. You see, I had to pull it together and take my youth on this ski trip, before I could process any of things I was feeling at that moment. We went on the trip, I somehow made it through. I came back to Sumner, packed my stuff, and then went home. The next few months would be a long journey. My mother is now in remission of her cancer, she still does not have the use of her legs, but its getting there and the doctors have hope she may walk again someday :)
During this time, life was very difficult. My family had to undergo alot of stress. And as anyone knows, with that stress comes frustration. None of us understood why my mother had to go through all of this. But we did know that we served a God who had a plan that we couldnt even pretend to know or understand.
The rest of the year was filled with more lessons to learn. I did 3 camps the summer of 2011. I counseled at a camp for neglected and abused children and my life was changed forever! Those children only had one good week a year and this was that week! My heart was broken, and I was forever changed realizing how amazing my life was. I counseled at Red Rock for the 8th year in a row!! Some of my closest friends are there. This year at Red Rock, God really began to speak to my heart. He spoke many things to me, some of which he is still speaking now. One thing was that he began to speak to my heart about leaving Sumner. I wasnt really ready to listen at that point in time, as I had just moved there not that long before and I was working my dream job, why in the World would God call me out of it, seemingly almost as fast as he called me in to it? But, by the end of the week, I knew what he was saying. I bawled and fought it for a while.
I came home from Red Rock and helped lead VBS at Sumner church. It was that week that God really spoke to me, as the new pastor came to visit, God told me I am leading you out, be open to it and quit fighting me. I was getting ready to be the youth director at Camp Zion after this. I got really sick the week before Zion, what I thought was just the flu, turned out to be much more. I went to camp and worked through all of my illness that whole week and God moved and did some incredible things. One of which was that he lead me to know I would be leaving Sumner VERY QUICKLY. In fact, after camp was over, I was till so sick, I had to take a few days off and come back to Oskaloosa to see my doctors.
At this time, the doctors did alot of testing. Finding out that I had arthritis, my thyroid was out of whack, my hormones were way out of balance, and I needed to be closely monitored for a while. During this same time, my fathers health was not doing that great either, and he was quite lonely and stressed with my mom being in the nursing home. The doctors told me that it would be best if I could be back in Oskaloosa, if it was at all possible. I didnt see how this could even work, I didnt have a job here, I didnt have a home here, nothing. BUT....God knew, and HE had a plan. With in one day, and without even an interview, I was offered a job teaching preschool, but I had to start a week later. Which is when the doctors wanted me to be back.
I had no choice but to see that this was God and I must follow him. So I did! I went back to Sumner, and had 3 days to pack up my things, and say good bye to the life I had just made for myself and in all of it trust that God had something bigger and better. The people of Sumner were caring, loving, and understanding. I moved home! My dad and I found a place to live in together and I began to teach preschool.
I have had a great ministry to my children and their parents. My health has improved greatly since moving back, and many issues that I have had for YEARS that have gone unnoticed are now being resolved and cared for! Praise God! My fathers health is better than it has been in YEARS!! His cholesterol is lower, his blood pressures and blood sugars are great and he is happy :)
I cant argue that God was in control, he was helping us with things we didnt even know we needed help with.
I am now teaching preschool at a private Christian school and loving it. However, the economy has greatly affected us and we may have to close soon. I have had to go and look for another job. and try to understand and see God in this as well. He called me back here, he has a plan, I just have to believe it :) I have 2 interviews this week and know that God has some GREAT things in store for 2012!!!
You see, MANY things have happened in this past year, things that have molded me and changed me and most of all have allowed me to get to know God in ways I never have before. and I am thankful for all of the trials for that very reason, because its ALL FOR THE GLORY OF GOD!! Something I learned through a class I took called Perspectives, which also changed my life in 2011!!!
While it isnt what I planned or what I thought it would be, 2011 has been a year of growth and change in the life of Becky Canny and I am proud of the person I am now! No matter what it took to get me here.
But, back to that 3-0 thing :) What I want to do this year, is blog more. I want my life to be chronicled more for people to see, for myself to see. I want Gods glory to be seen in my life. So what I am going to do for the next 23 days (thats how many days until my birthday), I am going to blog about the people in my life that have helped make me who I am today. The places and things that have brought me here. so heres a look at what is to come friends :) Hope you enjoy.

January 2- My Parents- Ed and Brenda Canny
January 3- My Brother, My Bestfriend- Bryan Edward Canny
January 4- My Sister, My Bestfriend- Shannon
January 5- BESTFRIEND- Meggan
January 6- Distance Matters Not in a true friend- Melissa
January 7- How are we so much alike?-Trista
January 8- Adopted Grandparents- Grandpa and Grandma Lindsey, Gpa Bob and Gma Betty
January 9- Friends are Friends Forever- Angie, Megan, and Stephanie.
January 10- Work Friends can be True Friends- Marianne and Lauren
January 11- What happens at Vennard Stays at Vennard- SOMETIMES...The College Years :)
January 12- High School Years- they changed my life.
January 13- My honoary BIG brother (Mike Graff), and even on his birthday :) Tim Lemmens and other musicians in my life.
January 14- My Church Family
January 15- My Red Rock Family
January 16- My Bethel Camp Family
January 17- My Shiloh Camp Family
January 18- RFKC- Royal Family Kids Camp
January 19- My Preschool Class
January 20- My Sumner Family
January 21- My honorary neices and nephews- Gabe and Thadd, Hannah, Thano, Ethan, Noah, Aiden, and Austin, Jonah, Judah, and Jesse, Jackson and Lanie.
January 22- Time with the Guys- My big brothers
January 23- a reflection of the last 30 years of my life....this one could be long ;) Please read it.
January 24----THE CELEBRATION!!!! My entrance into my 30s!!!!!! Hope its a fun ride :)

So there you have it friends, for the next 24 days at least, I will be blogging once a day, I hope that you are ready for it :) Thank You all for being a part of this journey with me!!!

Love you

Becky

New Years Eve...NOT the movie this time :)

I think that every year I write a blog about New Years Eve, almost like a tradition or something. I think I write a blog on Valentines Day every year too. But here it goes...

Since I was a little girl, Christmas has always been one of my favorite times of year. I loved decorating the house with my mom, I loved going shopping with my mom, I dont even mean just for presents, but I mean going to get all the groceries and things needed to make the holidays special. We always drove around our neighborhood looking at lights, one of moms favorite things to do each year :) I loved going to houses and delivering goody plates with her that she had taken such care to make for each and every person she was delivering too. I loved how Bryan and I would wake up on Christmas morning to the presents under the tree :) We always knew that wasnt the reason for the season, but it was still a special time, Bryan had his side, all of his presents wrapped in paper mom had speically chosen and taken care to wrap each gift, his boy stocking and boy snowflake bear carefully placed in front of his mound of gifts. and my side of the tree the same, my carefully wrapped gifts, my snowflake girl bear, and my girl stocking :) Daddy and Mommys gifts always in the middle. It was always tradition that I had more presents on my side of the tree than Bryan. My mom HATED this, but here is the thing, Bryan would ask for things like guitars, amplifiers, big gifts :) and I would ask for cd's, dvd's, make up, books, the littler gifts. The Christmas season was a speical time in our house. It started at Thanksgiving, mom always made a huge meal and for breakfast her speical egg casserole, we would settle down for the Macys parade and mom would watch while running in and out of the kitchen getting our meal ready for the day. We would then go to our adopted Grandma and Grandpas place and eat with them. We had a tradition that before we ate anything we would go around the table and share what we were thankful for. I LOVED going to grandma and grandpa lindseys. Then Bryan and I would come back home and watch Home Alone.

I could go on and on about our traditions, but you see, this year, I HATED the holidays :( I know I sound like scrooge, but its true I hated it. I put up decorations here in the house to keep in the spirit, but all it did was serve as a reminder of my mother, we put all of HER decorations up. Her favorite part of Christmas, in college, my friends would joke that Christmas threw up in our house and they LOVED it and so did we!! Dad and I were alone on Thanksgiving, we watched the parade, dad even made breakfast, but it just wasnt the same. We went to see mom, but she just didnt have much happiness either. Bryan and Molly came to visit a few weeks later, a week before actual Christmas. and we had a great visit, but it sure wasnt long enough, and it still meant that on the actual Christmas Eve and Day, Daddy and I were again, alone. We went to church, we went to see mom, but it just wasnt the same. I found myself wishing the days would just be over and done with....because seeing peoples facebooks about celebrating their holidays just made me more mad and more jealous with every glance.

Now its New Years Eve and here I am, sitting alone again. My dad is here and we are trying to make it special, but its just NOT THE SAME!!! I miss my mom! I miss my brother! I just plain MISS THE WAY THINGS USED TO BE!! I know, I know, as we grow up those things change, but that just sucks. You see, if you look back up to all the traditions of Christmas, they all include my mom. and this season has just served as a reminder that she is still not here with us, at least she is still alive and we can visit her....but I still miss her!!

I guess that this year, New Years Eve is going to be a night of prayer for me. Prayer that things will be different and better in 2012! I want my mom to get her life back! I want my dad not to be so lonely! I want to find the man of my dreams. I want 2012 to be a year of joy!!!! It is also happens to be the year that I turn.....gulp....30! So I hope it is not selfish, but I am hoping for a better year.

I do want to say that I am VERY THANKFUL for the things God did this year. My mother is still in remission from her cancer!!!! Praise the Lord!!! Since moving home and into a house with my dad, his health is better than it has been in very long time!! My physical health has gotten better as well, still not quite up to par, but SO MUCH better than it was. My brother and his wife are having an amazing ministry in Bolivia. I had a good ministry in Sumner and am having a great ministry now that I have moved back to Oskaloosa as well. Although I have had many trials this year, I am thankful that through them all, God has drawn my closer to himself. I am very thankful that I serve a living God!!!

Happy New Year to you all :)

New Years Eve......

Okay, you all have known me for long enough to know that I am a hopeless romantic. If there is a cheesy romantic chick flick to be seen, I WILL be there, and I will probably ask for the DVD for Christmas or my birthday :) I, in true fashion, made NO EXCEPTION when it came to "New Years Eve", now I know, you can tell from the preview it is going to be really cheesy and filled with lots of little love stories, and since it is written in the same style as "Valentines Day", many people Im sure have already made the same vow my brother has, "I WILL NOT BE SEEING THAT MOVIE". But since when do I follow the crowd people? In fact, to be honest with you, that cheesy sappiness is what drew me right in :)

I have to be honest, when I was living alone in Sumner, I would often times go and rent those chick flicks and watch them by myself in my apartment. I guess for me, it keeps the dream alive. See, I am going to be that tough age in just a little over a month, the BIG 3-0....and it has been REALLY TOUGH for me to face it :( even though my preschoolers tell me, "it does sound VERY OLD Miss Becky, but we love you, and really you dont look that old and you are not as tall as a 30 year old either :) " Love those kids. BUT, hitting the age has made me realize what I think about every time I see one of those chick flicks, I am alone, I am 30 years old, I have NEVER been on a date in my life, I have NEVER been kissed, I have NEVER had a boyfriend, I just plain feel like a pathetic loser. There, I said it. You see the reality is, when I watch these movies I always have a good cry. I think thats good for us every now and again though. Those good crys :)

But as I said, watching these movies keeps those dreams alive for me. Tonight watching "New Years Eve" brought alot of those same things to me again. There was a woman in the movie tonight who had her "resolutions list", it was really more of a bucket list, but see she was in much the same boat as me, she was a single woman, alone, she had friends, but inside, she was dying, because she had never really made choices for herself. She had lived her life making sure everyone else was pleased and putting herself last. Dont take this as me saying Im a saint, I am FAR FROM THAT. I just realized that I have a list of those dreams too and I guess, as I hit that age of 30, I am beginning to worry that maybe I am not going to get to see any of those dreams come true. And I dont want that to happen. I have always been a dreamer, always believed that things would happen for me, but in Gods time and not mine. I dont want to loose that. Its just that as I look around and see all of my friends, dating, in relationships, engaged, married, becoming parents, it does make me jealous. I am not afraid to admit that! I am very happy for them, I just find myself asking, "what is it about me that makes me so repulsive?" "Do I really have the qualities that would make a guy want ME?" And many times I am scared of the answers. But IM TIRED OF BEING SO SCARED! IM TIRED OF NOT LIVING LIFE!!!

SO....I am going to write my list, right here. My hope is that by writing my list, some of might keep me accountable to making the things on my list happen and that you might pray with me about the things that only God can make happen, in HIS TIME. I had a conversation with one of my best friends from college a few months ago, Meggan Schwirtz. She was in a wedding, her mom asked her, "well Meggan, is this the last wedding you will be in?" and Meggan replied to her, "nope, I have one more" her mom said, "whose is that?" and Meggan replied to her, as if I already had the ring on my finger, "well Beckys, of course, she is going to make some guy very lucky!". I wish that I had the same confidence in myself that SHE has in me, but that is why she will be in my wedding, IF it ever occurs, because she does believe in me, cares for me, and supports me. I am thankful for many others in my life who do too. So without further ado...here is my list :)

1- Meet the Man of my Dreams
2- go on a date- actually go on ALOT of dates, with said person in #1!!!
3- Have my very own prom- I have never been to a dance or a prom in my life as the church we grew up in frowned upon this, and I never want to break the rules :)
4- go to Rockefeller Center at Christmas Time and see the Big Christmas Tree
5- Go to Disneyland at Christmas Time and see the Christmas Parade
6- Record my own album
7- Write my own music and actually have the courage to share it with people.
8- Write a book
9- Have my own children and adopt some too.
10- Visit Ireland and learn about my heritage
11- Dance in the Rain
12- Have the BIGGEST WEDDING EVER with the man of my dreams :)
13- Start a youth center and help youth who so desperately need it
14- Build, Manage, and Direct my very own camp
15- Go on a HUGE SHOPPPING SPREE at what other store, OLD NAVY of course :)
16- sing in front of ALOT of people!
17- Go to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
18- Visit Stars Hollow :)
19- See all of my favorite bands perform live!!
20- Spend New Years Eve with the man I love and get kissed at Midnight.
21- Lead Worship with the man of my dreams
22- Learn to Play Guitar
23- Learn to play piano
24- Visit California

I have MANY DREAMS, but these are some of the biggest ones. Bottom line is that, I know I am already blessed with the most amazing family and friends, but there are still dreams that I have and things in my life that I want to achieve and I hope that I get the chance to do some of them!!!!

pop tarts

Okay, so I know I have not been so great at getting time to write on my blog lately....but when I get time, I write what has been on my mind. Todays is kind of a random thought, but please read all of this before writing me off :)

Poptarts, okay, so I think we can all admit that we love these things to indulge in every once in a while :) You can eat poptarts in two different ways. You can just open up that package and take one out right away....or, if you have the patience, you can wait the extra few minutes, warm it up in the toaster and then pull out and induldge in that gooey deliciousness :0)

Most of the time, I take the easy route, I open the package and just bite in on my way out the door to work. But boy on those days when I take the extra time to put it in the toaster, I think to myself, "why dont I just have the patience to wait everyday and enjoy what I know could be even better if I was just willing to wait a few minutes." :)

Okay, now go with me on this, sometimes I think this is how we treat our lives as well. First of all, we get so busy and so caught up that we miss the beauty around us. We miss the smiles on our friends faces, we miss going to hang out because we just have to many other things to get done. We miss life, because we are just too busy. I watched a movie a couple weeks ago called, "Conversations with God". One of the quotes from the amazing movie was from a woman who had been missing out, she said, "Im so busy making a living that Im not living at all, in fact, Im making a dying". You see she had been missing out on all the joy around her, because she was just settling for working and not living.

In our spiritual lives it is much the same. We all get so busy with all the other "stuff" and God is usually one of the first things that we easily let go of. We dont do our devotions, or we just take a quick 5 minutes and tell God what we need. We settle for as little as possible, BUT, if we just took a few extra minutes, what could we find in those minutes?

Would we find peace to help us through the worries and trials? Would we find joy instead of heart ache? Would we find strength to help us face what lies ahead? Would we find the real savior that we claim to love so much? I think we would be surprised with what we would find. I know I have been. In my life this past year, EVERYTHING has been torn from me. My mother has been very sick and unable to be there for me like she has been my whole life, my baby brother got married and moved to Bolivia and we have been bestfriends all of our lives, I had to learn to live life without him. I even moved away from home for a year, living completely alone, all a plan from my Lord and Savior who loves me enough to pull me through the crud, if it means my coming closer to him. I have been learning to cherish these quiet times, and when I miss them, my day is just not the same. I NEED them, I need JESUS!

Now I am in no way comparing our Lord to some measly toaster pastry, just the idea that for me, I realize that this small thing, made me think about something much bigger than I.

I havent always enjoyed football, but when I lived with my brother and his friends, we watched alot of it and I actually began to really enjoy it, now I follow some teams and watch it on my own sometimes! Well of course in the news right now is Tim Tebow. He is in the news because of the life he is choosing to live for Christ. And he is catching alot of flack for it, but you know what, HE DOESNT CARE! He says, "its my relationship with God, I want to shout about it any chance I get". So thats what I want to start doing too. If that means that every time I enjoy a pop tart (toasted of course) it reminds me of the sweetness of that precious time with Christ, them more power to you little pop tart! I vow to do this with my life as well, I will shout about my relationship with God and I will spend that extra time alone with him, so I have even more to shout about :)

I love you friends.

Merry Christmas!!!