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A couple more PFO vids...

It's our last day tomorrow. See everybody in Sudbury on Saturday and we'll be heading to St Joe's around July 12th.

Hey all,

As most of you know we're heading back to Taiwan to teach at Morrison Academy's Taipei campus. Morrison is an awesome International Christian school that's part of the Association of International Christian Schools (ACSI). We've been thinking about doing this for some time now and have felt that this was the time to do it. We're excited that we'll be stretched just a little bit more toward unleashing the tremendous potential that God has given us when we're working to further His kingdom.

Being the awesome school that they are they've sent us to a two-week Pre-Field Orientation which is taking place in Houghton, New York. We arrived here safe and sound last Saturday after an 8 hour drive. So far it's been a great time of learning, as working in an International school will be much different than working in a school in Canada and we'll be living in a completely different culture.

Gemma and Nate have also loved their time here so far! They've made little friends and get to do a lot of cool things. Nate's learning about different cultures and being prepared by the excellent staff for the transition he'll have to make in about a month's time.

We've met all sorts of interesting and amazing people, many of whom have lived in various parts of the world as missionaries. What better way to prepare than to have experienced missionaries sharing all their nuggets of gold with us.

Truly -- what a great time of preparation it has been for the whole family thus far!

Check out the video I added of a part of the worship time that we do every morning. Most of the songs are brand new to many. The worship leaders are Evan and Jewel Evans who are the chaplains and boarding administrators at Dakar Academy in Senegal who had served 20 years in Cote d'Ivoire, West Africa, until they were evacuated to Senegal in 2002. What an amazing story they have of putting your full trust in God even when the cost may be your life.

Check our site out often as it will be one of our main communication tools while we're away in Taiwan!

God Bless!

(*Editor's note: We are honoured to have a blog written by Kristin here. He neglected to mention that he wrote it. But it was clearly him, because had I written the blog, a "at the very least we're brushing up on the periodic table of elements" type comment would have been included.)

Finally got a new video camera! It was inexpensive, it's simple to use and it's hd! I LOVE it. I got it this afternoon and literally whipped this video up in about 2 minutes. LOVE it. I highly recommend the Flip Ultra HD for any person who wants to take more videos and do some fun things with them. And wants all of this to be SIMPLE!

Well, we did Kristin's favourite thing the other day. And unfortunately we did it right before Gemma's nap time. Squirmy, cranky baby always makes getting family pics taken fun! There weren't many to choose from, but we got a few decent ones of the 4 of us. And some really cute ones of Gemma and Nate.

Nate: You know what I want to be when I grow up?

Me: What?

Nate: A musician!

Me: Really? That's awesome...I bet you'll be a wonderful musician Nate!

Nate: Ya! I wanna walk through walls and get sawed in half.

Me: Um, do you mean "magician" Nate?

(Kristin goes on to explain the difference between musicians and magicians...)

Nate: Oh...YA! I wanna be a "ma-jus-shun"!

Ya. It's official. We've got a lot of stuff to do. I can't lie. It's starting to weigh a little heavily on my mind. We've got some pretty major decisions to make regarding our house, cars, furniture and about a bazillion other possessions. And we've got 11.5 weeks to deal with all this "stuff". We've still got 13.5 weeks until we make that big, long flight, but we'll be at training in the States for 2 weeks. How can one little house get so cluttered in 3 short years? And speaking of that "big, long flight"...just another stressor to add to the list. Thankfully Dorothy will be flying over with us. We've got the kids outnumbered by 1 now. That's huge. And honestly, I think I'll be so relieved to be "done" with decisions and dealing with everything here that settling in for some long flights with two small children will feel like a walk in the park.

On the very bright side, we have nothing to worry about once we get there. The school has already arranged an apartment for us. They'll have it set up with temporary furniture, made beds and even some food to get us started upon our arrival. We'll have a few weeks to acclimatize and settle in before school starts. (Kristin will start staff training pretty much right away) And mango is in season.

Nate is definitely dealing with this huge move in his own way. He's been drawing a lot of pictures lately of a plane flying from Canada to Taiwan. One day he drew one where he was in Taiwan and I was back in Canada. He was a little upset by that thought. I reassured him that would never happen. He's also been asking lots of questions like, "is Easter before Taiwan? Is my birthday before Taiwan? Does Santa go to Taiwan? Do they have spaghetti in Taiwan? Is it so hot in Taiwan that my skin is going to burn off?" And when he's not drawing pictures or asking questions, he's arguing and testing us every little chance he gets. And oh ya, throw in the occasional night terror and that about sums up what's happening with him. Poor little guy. I was actually questioning whether we should have waited to tell him. But in the end, I think it's best that he have lots of time to prepare, like us, and deal with it however he does. When we go to the training in the States, he'll be going to his own class every day and they will be helping him to prepare for the move as well. And in the meantime, all we can do is love him and reassure him with all the good stuff. (home every summer, going on a plane, going to Daddy's awesome school, get to use a subway, and oh yes, we'll live in an apartment building and get to use an elevator everyday!)

Alright, I'm going to bed now...where I will pray and fall asleep quickly. None of this lying in bed "thinking" business.

Our Gemma-bean is one!! And she had two parties to prove it. I can't believe how fast this year went by. I know people often make comments like that, but seriously, I can't believe it. I hope things slow down a little. I know, I know...highly unlikely.


Click on the above "pictures" tab to see more pictures of Gemma's parties.

New template, new blog once again. And at a decent time of day this time around. So, I think we can all be happy with this one. Easy to read and quite pretty if I do say so myself. I've even got the picture and video tabs working. I can't figure out how to get the contact tab working though. So, if anyone out there knows..please contact me and let me know. ;o)

I have these friends who have a beautiful little boy. This boy never took to a soother. Until he was like 6 or 7 months old. I found that to be kind of odd. But cute and endearing nonetheless. Well, today Nate asks to use one of Gemma's soothers during their "chasing game". It's pretty adorable how they play together actually and if I've never shared this with you, I LOVE the age difference. Anyway, back to the story. I decide to humour Nate and wash up a soother for him. It's all fun and games until Gemma decides she wants the soother that Nate has instead of the one she has. Nate's a little bothered by this and by the fact that I ask him to put the soother up and out of sight. I patiently explain to him that she's a baby and doesn't understand why she can't have her soother. And he's a big boy that understands this and can help her by just putting the soother away. To this he responds, "Oh ok Mom. So, how about if I just use the soother when she's sleeping?" Yes, he's actually taking a liking to the soother. He'll be 5 this summer.

You know, he actually talked a lot less when he had the soother in his mouth.... Hmmmmm......

Thanks Aboo! :o)

I'm not sure why whenever I want to post a new blog after a long absence from blogging I feel I must change the template.

And I'm not sure why when I decide to change the template I decide to start doing this after 11 PM. (inevitably!!)

And I'm not sure why I ever think that I'm good enough to actually change my template in a way that makes my blog look good and refreshing and perfect.

But here I am again. It's now 12:03 AM...my blog is new and rather fitting I think. It's a picture of the Taipei 101 and skyline and yes, it's a picture of our future city!! And yes, the blog still needs a little tweaking. (I'm not anticipating the best feedback as it's not very reader friendly, but isn't the picture bee-you-tee-ful? I'll change it once people are doing more reading of the blog)

However, the point is...we are moving back to Taiwan. I'm sure this is old news to most by now, but it's still very exciting for us. It's also very overwhelming and scary. "Bittersweet" is the term we seemed to have coined around here for this next chapter in our lives. We will be very sad to say good-bye to loved ones again as we travel to the other side of the world.

There are many positives to this move though. We will have 8 weeks off in the summer to return to Canada. Kristin will be working in an amazing environment at a private, Christian, international school. Nate will attend this school. We have amazing friends living in Taipei and in the city that we formerly lived in, Kaohsiung. And we will get to drink drinks that have a laminated top on them once again. (really, really good drinks...did I mention that??) Well, there you have it...to name just a few positives among the many.

Well, this concludes my attempt at breaking back into the world of blogging for tonight. I may break it in slowly because these next few months are going to be busy. But, I always knew I was hanging on to this blog for a reason. I will be updating regularly once we're back in Taiwan.

(fyi - We'll be leaving Canada the last week of July)

Nate: Mom, if I was a bumblebee and I was right beside you, I'd sting you.

Me: Well then, I'd step on you.

Nate: Well, you know those striped things on the bottom of shoes? I'd sneak out between them.

Me: Then I'd do this. (rubbed my foot back and forth on the floor pretending to smear the bumblebee everywhere)

Nate: Well, that would actually help me.

Me: (laugh) No it wouldn't Nate.

Nate: Yes it would. Mom....do bumblebee stings actually hurt? Mom...do bumblebees sting bumblebees?

Me: laughing...no answer.

Pine Crest is a little tent/trailer park in Thessalon. (An hour from the Soo) It was my family's tradition to rent a cabin there every summer when I was younger. I believe the last summer that I camped there with my family was either 1993 or 1994. For me, Pine Crest holds magical memories of amazing sunsets, late night campfires, fireflies, stargazing, swimming endlessly, laying in the hot sun and spending hours on end reading. Well, Kristin and I have taken it upon ourselves to rekindle the tradition. (For the record, it's not so magical when there with your own children...but it's special in a new way to watch the joy in their eyes at being there) We just got back from a week there and actually spent a week there last summer. While the actual cabins are quite 'rustic' the beach is beautiful. And it's perfect for kids. The water was a little chilly for us this year and the winds quite wild actually. But we had a good time regardless. It's great for visiting with family. Kristin's parents have made the trip with us both times and my family is all close by. Anyway, along the coast, between Pine Crest and Camp McDougal there are these big rocks. "The rocks" as we call them. My dear friend Krista and I spent many the hours chiseling our names into the graffiti covered rocks. Krista came to visit us this year and we took the walk to the rocks to find our names. (The walk seemed a lot longer when we were younger) Hers was partially finished and spray painted over. I forgot that I did mine twice...one's easy to read the other one not so much.

In other news, our sweet boy Nathaniel is 4 YEARS OLD tomorrow! I can't believe it's been 4 years. I still remember like yesterday, the day he was born and yet it feels like I've known him all my life. He's SO pumped for his birthday. He already had "party 1" at Pine Crest since my family is all so close by. And tomorrow we'll have another small dinner for him. This is a fun age. And his behaviour has been really great lately. What problems could possibly come up at the beach? Besides staying up too late and eating too much sugar...

Tomorrow is also kind of a big day for Gemma...she's 3 months old! 3 months is fun! She's full of smiles and small coos and giggles. I can't wait til she gets really alert to watch her and Nathaniel interact.

And finally, Kristin's summer won't be quite as long as he hoped. He got a new job! He starts at the Registrar's Office at Cambrian College on Monday the 21st. I can't remember if I've already written about this or not, so I won't go into details.

That's about it for us. Hope this finds y'all well!

Well, I know a while back I made a promise to blog at least once a week. I hope anyone who reads this blog will pardon the sparsity of blogs in the last two months and probably for at least the next 2 or 3. Things are busy with a 4-year-old and a 2-month-old. Sleep is hard to come by. Honestly I think they tag-team me to see how little sleep they can actually make me have. And my time...well it can't really be spent on blogging constantly at the moment. All that being said, I'm not slowing bowing out on this blog again. The blogs will come...just a little less frequently for a while.

As you can see by the title, I'm getting a little peace and quiet today. Amma has taken Nate for the afternoon...and that makes my day pretty nice. He's been a bit of a handful lately to say the least. He's still my sweet, sweet boy...but he also can drive me a little nuts sometimes. Having a 2nd child is really all about having your first all over again. If that makes sense. I feel like Gemma is a piece of cake. It's giving Nate enough attention and love and caring discipline that's draining me. Things are slowly settling down with him. He loves and adores Gemma. He just doesn't appreciate how much of my time she occupies I think. Or the fact that she gets presents. But I need to remind myself that this is pretty much the biggest thing he's ever had to deal with and it'll take time. It's hard to remind myself of that when he's ignoring me and testing me on something I asked him not to do for the 5th time in 3 minutes. Anyway, I've been finding success in avoiding the power struggle (this boy should be a lawyer because he can argue with the best of them) and just laying the law down. I can take solace in the fact that we must be doing something right because I'm always told how well behaved he is for others. It's only Kristin and I that he likes to bring to the edge of sanity and back. He must really love us. (smile)

Now Gemma. What a sweetie! She reminds me so much of Nate as a baby. Nate was what I'd consider a dream baby...Gemma's pretty great too. But she's a bit closer to 'normal' I think. Although, now that we've figured out the tricks that sooth her...she's pretty easy. She loves to be swaddled in her bed. I can tell when she's cranky that's all she wants. And I'm happy that we've already gotten her to that point of going to sleep on her own. We didn't make that a priority with Nate and I often nursed him to sleep. I'm sure we could have easily gotten him into the habit of going to sleep on his own. We paid the price for it between 9 - 12 months. Anyway, Gemma is just blowing me away with her cuteness. When she smiles at me it's like we share a sweet secret between just the two of us. She's a strong and happy little one. And she's packing on the pounds quickly like Nate did. She was 12 lbs 12 ounces at her 2 month check up. (My little piglet Nate was 13 lbs by a month! But he had a bit of a 'head start') Some days I think...I need more of these. And sometimes I'm convinced that we're finished having children. So I really have no idea what will happen after this. But I'm just enjoying every moment of this stage with her right now.

Well, Kristin has about a week and half left of school and only 2 days left of students. He's pretty happy these days. The one thing troubling him is the "what next?" thought. He was redundant this year and is not guaranteed a teaching job in September with the Rainbow board. We were talking to a school in Taiwan a few months ago and were close to returning there. We were talking with a school in Bella Coola, BC in the past 2 months and were close to heading out there. (Our amazing friends Kim and Jon live there) But we've closed the doors for now on both options. Something is keeping us here. We're both not feeling we're ready to make that big move again yet. But what?? Obviously a big part of it is we have a 2-month-old and our families missed out on the first 9 months of Nate's life. And also that we own a home...and two cars. And it's a big deal to figure out what we'd do there. So, Kristin has a few job prospects here if teaching doesn't work out. Or he may considering supplying next year. This season of life is tough. Young children exhausting us and major decisions that we have to make that will affect the rest of our lives. But it's also kind of exciting. The options are endless really.

Well, that's where we're at right now. And at the moment I have a hungry girl on my hands, so I'll end this for now. Hopefully I'll return relatively soon!

To get a sense of how your older child might feel about the addition of the new baby, imagine this:

Imagine that your partner puts an arm around you and says, "Honey, I love you so much, and you're so wonderful that I've decided to have another wife (or husband) just like you." When the new wife (or husband) finally arrives, you see that (s)he's very young and kind of cute. When the three of you are out together, people say hello to you politely, but exclaim ecstatically over the newcomer. "Isn't (s)he adorable! Hello sweetheart... You are precious!" Then they turn to you and ask, "How do you like the new wife (or husband)?"

How would you react to this? I know how I'd react. It wouldn't be pretty. Nate's a lot like me.

(large sigh)

I'm just trying to make it through today...

We got a new camera for Christmas. Ok, not "we", but "I". The Rebel XTI. Pretty fun stuff. And I've been taking a lot of pictures. Now...there is nothing amazing about this chain of pictures. Except that they're hilarious. If you've ever met the Jakola's cat, Scooter, then you know, don't mess with her. I assure you that Nate was never truly in any danger in these pictures. She only attacks if you make loud noises, like constant whistling. The rest of the time she just gets annoyed really easily. She can often be found glaring at any given person from across the room. I just find these pics SO funny, because she's such a freak cat and Nate is in a daze and oblivious to what's going on.

A week from tomorrow I'm going to have a baby. That's so bizarre. I've gotta say, that knowing the date you're going to have a baby mentally changes everything. I'm finding the second time around to be a different experience. At this point in my last pregnancy I still had 5 + weeks to go! Although I didn't know it. This time...one week. But, it feels SO long. And then, also maybe because this is baby #2, the pregnancy has also kind of flown by. I mean, last time I had a lot more time to lay around and thing about the baby brewing inside of me. This time, I've got Nate to take care of...and to constantly distract me. (And I don't use the word "constantly" loosely...my boy never stops) Anyway, the differences in the pregnancies don't matter. The bottom line is, there is going to be a new baby here to love to bits shortly. And I'm ready!! And really, I have nothing to complain about with this pregnancy. Sure I'm a little sore and exhausted, but I know many others have had it much worse. The weight I've packed on...well, I'll deal with that soon enough. Not the best way to go about things, but what choice do I have now??

Can I just say, that I love Spring!! I love the sunshine. I love snow melting. I love the increasing daylight hours. I love lighter clothing. I even love the Spring rot smell in the air. (And I'm normally overly critical of bad smells) For years I've gone back and forth on whether my favourite season was Spring or Summer. Summer is obvious...it's Summer. What's not to love? But Spring...Spring brings with it the joy of the anticipation of Summer. And I think that might actually be more exciting than Summer itself. It just puts me in the best mood. And I've got so much to be thankful and happy for this Spring. I've got a baby on the way, many, many Spring bulbs that my mom planted last year for me that are going to sprout up so soon and increasing temperatures. I'm SO ready for tank tops and flip flops! And for getting out walking!! God is SO good. I am blessed.

I can't believe how quickly time's flying. Things are happening around here. This past week was March break. We started it by having a wonderfully, relaxing wknd at our church's family retreat at Galilean. I actually had a morning and afternoon nap last Saturday. Absolutely delightful! On Sunday afternoon, we headed to my mom's and were greeted by my mom and about 13 other women for a baby shower for moi! (Well technically for the little one growing inside me...) It was good times, scrumptious treats, amazingly generous gifts and just really good to see people! We spent a good part of the week there on St Joe's island. My niece and nephew were there and Nate was overjoyed with spending time with his cousins.

We returned to Sudbury to find our new sunroom almost complete! It's just missing carpet and I'll post some pics once that's installed. We're also hoping to get our kitchen floor redone before our baby makes her appearance.

And ya...3 weeks and she's here! At least it had better be a she. I'm seriously not washing anything or removing tags until that's confirmed. I can't believe the time is almost here. My body can believe it. It's pretty much impossible to get comfy in bed at this point. But I am still sleeping somehow...so that's a positive thing.

That in a nutshell is all the happenings in our lives lately. I'll get back on here with some pics and stuff soon!

So my husband is now 32 years young. (You start phrasing it in such ways after 30 right?) For the record I'm only 29. Just wanted to put that out there. As usual, with his birthday quickly approaching, I was racking my brain trying to figure out what to get him. Guys are the hardest to buy for. Especially this guy. One day he casually remarks that he wants a nice black sweater vest for work. I purse my lips to hide the grin as flashbacks of Chandler on Friends come to mind. But then on second thought, I've seen many the smart looking sweater vests and I stored the idea away in my brain for a bday gift. Yes, that's right folks...after almost 7 years of marriage you buy gifts like sweater vests for each other. Or (ahem) winter wipers for the car. In all fairness I had complained about how useless our previous wipers were. And it does have the word 'winter' in the gift title, so really it's quite a fitting gift for Christmas. ;o)

Well, I've got the gift all figured out. It's time to go find me a sweater vest! Of course I wait til the day before his bday, a day when I am truly learning the definition of exhaustion, to find it. And this is at 10 am. I hit up Sears. I walk around in a tired stupor, from rack to rack....to rack. Nothing. No sweater vests and no salespeople to help me. I give up and head down the mall only to discover that the mall no longer has any men's clothing stores. I stumble back towards Sears thinking "WhY?? Why can't anything ever be easy??" Once more, I go in circles, looking at the same racks of clothing with no sweater vests on them. I decide to cut my losses and get out of the aggravating store.

Later that afternoon my brilliant mother-in-law suggests I try Tip Top at the box stores. Here's where my day gets good. I entered the store and the following conversation occured:

Clerk: Hi there.

Me: Hi, I'm looking for a sweater vest for my husband. Preferably black.

Clerk: Ok, that should be easy enough. Let's take a look over here. What size is he?

Me: Oh, at least an XL.

Clerk: And here we go. Last black one...it's an XL.

Me: Well...looks good! I'll take it.

Clerk: This is probably on sale...let's check.

It was indeed on sale...at least 65% off, but I won't say how much I paid, because that's all I bought him. This is too easy, I think. Beautiful. I pay and thank the kind gentleman that just made my day. Ok, my week.

Clerk: (laughs) My pleasure. That was too easy.

You're telling me, I think. I walked out, walked to the car and drove home, with a huge grin plastered on my face. I almost gave in and gave Kristin the sweater vest right then just because I was so excited to tell him the story. I held out til first thing the next morning. I am lame. I'm lame and thankful that sometimes things are easy.

If I think of it, I'll post a pic of the sweater vest sometime!

That's right. My c-section is scheduled for Monday, April 7th. I can't believe it's so close. Some days, I wish it were tomorrow. Some days I feel overwhelmed because I feel like we've done nothing to prepare for this little one to arrive. Well, that's not entirely true...I've bought a pile of adorable (albeit impractical) baby girl clothes. Yes, I think I need more onesies and sleepers. But hey, I have 6 weeks for that!

This pregnancy has been A LOT more draining than the last. I think I could sleep any time of the day lately. Except for the occasional night. And sometimes early morning after my full bladder has so kindly woken me up from a dead sleep. But hey...who wants to sleep at those times anyway? 90210, season five reruns were made for 1 am.

Well, according to my doctor, I'm perfect on paper. All my blood work is good (that's right, no gestational diabetes for me!!) And everything looks great. The baby is however, huge...again. To quote he said "You just make big babies...I mean, I've got the baby's head in my hands right now and that's a big noggin!" He also went on to tell me that it's a good thing...my placenta is obviously doing a great job of keeping the baby really happy. (TMI???) He's predicting an 8 lb baby, even going two weeks early.

If only I were so perfect in real life. Had a bit of a meltdown today. Picture it. I'm hungry, shaky and nauseous. (I let my hunger go 10 minutes too long at lunch time) I'm trying to turn the TV on for Nate to watch a little Curious George. The remote's not working. Again. I pull out the massive TV so that I can try unplugging it and plugging it back in. In the process, the stereo speaker falls on my back, then the rabbit ears (that's right...we're too cheap for cable) fall precariously close to my head...THEN I almost fall over. (Did you know your center of gravity changes quickly during your third trimester of pregnancy??) So, I get the TV on...and the remote is USELESS. Soooo...I kind of 'dropped' it a little too hard on the coffee table. Did I mention I get a little cranky when starving these days? Why am I sharing all this you wonder? Well...I just figure it'd be better to hear it from me than from my sweet boy, Nathaniel. Because, yes he was right there. He didn't miss a beat before asking "why did you do that to the remote Mommy? Is it broken? I'm telling Daddy you broke the remote." I sat down and either laughed or cried at that moment. I'm not really sure. I explained to him that Mommy is silly and does silly things sometimes and that I'd tell Daddy myself. Nothing like keeping Mommy humble. I'm such a dummy.

So, being that Nate is going to be 4 this July, and we have another baby on the way, I'm thinking it's time I made a baby book for Nate. You know, a scrapbook. Something else I'd like to complete in the next 6 weeks. I've just developed a gazillion, adorable baby pics to use. Since he's become such a handsome boy, I guess I've forgotten what an amazingly beautiful baby he was. Not that I'm biased or anything. So, to end off the e-mail, a few of my favourite pics.

Unlike the researcher interviewed, I have experienced this firsthand....

Well, I was cruising around checking out some friends blogs when I noticed something that was like a shot to the heart!! We've been deleted from Nevada's list of "blogs I read". Is that the equivilent to a blog shunning?? I'm teasing Nevada, (although considering I'm not on her list...I'm pretty sure she's not reading this anyway) because I deserve it! I've all but turned my back on this poor, pathetic blog. I used the excuse that being back in Canada, everyone knew what was going on with our lives and I didn't have much to share. But that's not really true. We've got stuff going on. Really we do!

And this is going to seem really lame now...but I've wasted so much time trying to mess around with my template on here, that Kristin's been waiting forever for me to join him in watching a movie. So on that note, I must leave you now. But rest assured, I'm BACK! In fact, I'm going to go so far as to promise one blog a week to start! At least. Maybe more. Oooohh. I know your toes are curling in excitement. And maybe...just maybe, I can earn my way back on to Nevada's list.

My husband says I am....










for my lack of blogging. And of course he says it jokingly. My apologies to anyone who still checks up on us. I will be back...I promise. You know, if we travel again, it'll get really good!! For real. And Kristin's been checking up on a nice little school to work at in Penang, Malaysia!! OH BABY...I'm excited.

Although, we could also end up in Bella Coola, BC with our favourite friends Kim and Jon. And I'd get all into fishing and probably have nightmares everynight about grizzly bear attacks. But hey, we'd be with them and their boys and that'd be amazing!!!! Oh boy. Where will we end up???

Ok...it's my finals week. I'm OFFICALLY done classes at Cambrian. I have a 6 week placement at a SR Kindy starting next week. And then...doneola. Can't WAIT!!!!

Nate is now just past 2 years and 8 months old, for those of you counting. And of course, he's still a brilliant, amazing, sweet boy. He blows me away everyday with his vocabulary and thoughtful things he says. He's mommy's best boy and I miss him every time I'm not with him.

Ok...I'm outta here. I've procrastinated WAY too long on silly facebook...and I've got 3 more finals this week and a research paper due...which I haven't actually started. Ai-YO school.

Peace. Peace out. (as Nate would say)

Hey y'all...

You're going to get a rare, yet very brief blog from the man of the family. It's been a busy year in Teacher's College so the blogging has been few and far between. The year has gone fairly well so far. I just finished up a placement in Gr. 8 and I'm now enjoying the March Break. I have 2 more weeks at the College and then one more 4 week placement and I'm done - can't wait!

This past weekend we went to our church's Annual Family Retreat at Galilean Bible Camp. It was great! Nate had an awesome time running around with all the kids. He's really turning into a little rough and tumble boy now - it's funny to watch.

Hope all is well with everyone out there in the blogosphere. Drop us a line and let us know what's up!

At least life as I know it, sitting in front of a computer screen. So, that's my latest excuse for not being a more faithful blogger. I sit down...check the gmail...check facebook...with the occasional chat on the mess...not necessarily in that order....stand up and move on. I wouldn't say I'm a full blown addict yet. I could walk away tomorrow with no regrets...but I've gotta say, it's got some pretty nice features. So, if you're not on facebook, get on there. And add me. Scroll down to the bottom of this page for the link.

Today, I was walking to school from the car...and a black cat walked right in front of me...paused and looked at me and then bounded away. Now, I'm not superstitious in the least. It just struck me as a little odd, being the middle of winter and all. Poor little kitty must have had some cold little feety pads.

Kristin, myself, my dad, my bro and my niece and nephew went to see The Hip concert last wknd. It was pretty darn good. I've seen them before, but this was different. Last time it was just a concert...this time it was an experience. My dad got tickets 7 rows back, floor center. We were practically on stage with them. I will say that Gord Downey is a freak. A 40-something year old punk. But man, he puts on a show. The unfortunate part is that I've been spoiled. I don't think I could settle for anything less as far as seating for any concerts I go to in the future. Oh ya...amazing show...my one disappointment? They didn't play "Wheat Kings". I go to Dave Matthews...No "crash" and now no "wheat kings"??? Poor little me. Anyway, it was still amazing.

OK...that's all for me. I just found out a mid-term I thought was next week is tomorrow...I should probably move on to some studying. As well as one more facebook check before I go....

You know when you've put something off for so long that you just keep, well...putting it off? Ya, that's what happened with the blogs. My apologies.

First of all, happy 2007! I can't believe it's 2007. Well, I guess I can. What I really can't believe is that I haven't accidentally written 2006 at all yet this year! And I mean, I'm in class...taking notes...I'm writing the date all the time. I'm pretty impressed with myself...(the typing is a bit slow right now...typing with one hand...patting my self on the back with the other). Ok...can't imagine why I haven't blogged in so long with that lame-o paragraph.

A lot has happened. A few babies have been born! Congrats to Chris and Nevada, Al and Jenn, and Kelli and Will! What an amazing experience that has started for them all! (and no, no more babies happening yet for us, for those who are just dying to know!)

Kristin and I both just started our final semesters. It's going to be a tough 4 months, but man, it'll be good when it's over. I have a 6 week placement at the end of my semester and he'll be on placement too...and ya...it's going to be slightly trying. All I can say, is I don't know what we'd do without Dorothy! (kristin's mom) I know we wouldn't both be in school right now...that's for sure.

We had a great Christmas and New Years. Nate was a little too spoiled, as expected. His genuine glee, over opening presents was hilarious. But, I think we're going to try and tone it down a bit next year. For about the next 3 weeks after Christmas, if we told him someone was coming over, he'd be like, "and I'm going to get a present??" eye-yo.

Ok...I guess this is a pretty generic post...and I hope i haven't disappointed you all too much...but I've gotta work my way back into blogging slowly. I feel like it's all new again.

I'll be back soon...

Well, here's the blog about one of the key words. It's pretty self-explanatory. And pretty cute if I do say myself. (Patty, this one's for you...I know how you love the videos! :o) Nate had the time of his life yesterday. This is just a little teaser. I'll get most of the 113 pics I took up on my space or the imagestation soon. (because I know you all want to see every single one of them...ok..maybe not all the horsey faced ones of me and Melissa...) Please ignore the obnoxious voice of Becky. She's my left hand. Sam's my right hand. He didn't make an appearance in this video. But they're basically Nate's best friends and he'll do anything they ask him to!


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Ok...don't have time for a real blog. (see my previous post...) It will come soon though. After November 10th. In the meantime, if you need me, you can find me in the library at Cambrian. I'm pretty much a permanent fixture there these days. EyeYO.

Ok, first let me start by saying, Beth, I really was posting when I talked to you on MSN a couple weeks back. I got distracted...the half finished blog sat there for a few days, and then it was just a lost cause.

But, here I am now. Back. For about 1 minute. Yes, I'm writing this blog to bring you (the reader) the promise of many more blogs in the future. Ya see, I'm currently in English class...and we're doing some mindless "it's/its, there/their/they're, except/accept, affect/effect" exercise. So I find myself with a few extra minutes on my hands.

I'll use these minutes to vent a little about the next two weeks. I have 9 assignments due and then the following week I have 5 finals. But then, guess what? I am....wait for it....DONE!! Until January!!!!!

I don't have to do my placement this semester because of my experience in Taiwan. So, yes, I'll be stressed these next few weeks...but I'll survive. And then, maybe, I'll clean my house. And spend more time with my boys. And I'll cook some YUMMY dinners...and maybe travel to visit some peeps. And I'll blog! So there you have it...I will come back to you reader. hehehe.

I have so many fun things to write about too...it's killing me. I'll put a few key words here to intrigue you and remind me when I get to the point where I can actually write about these stories...

*chocolate people
*fire fighters and karaoke
*lingerie over clothes (and I'm talking wearing over top of clothes...not choosing....ah, English.)
*wedding (this one's coming up...but I'm sure it'll bring with it great stories)
*lion
* "it's now considered politically correct to lie and politically incorrect to say boyfriend or girlfriend"
*"back yard again" vs. "backyardigans" (haha...Jess you know what I'm talking about)

Ok...to all of you who understand every one of those references...wow...you spend too much time with me. Do you really need to read this blog? Just joking! Keep reading. :o) Although, if you don't get any of those references, well...start reading. Oh wait yes, the reading material is lacking. Just call me would ya?

Until next time...