Well, those pictures pretty much sum up the 22 hrs that the Josoks came to visit! It was a fun time of Jedi battles, Lego, crafts, ringlets and a movie.
Monday 20 December 2010
December visit with the Josoks
Well, those pictures pretty much sum up the 22 hrs that the Josoks came to visit! It was a fun time of Jedi battles, Lego, crafts, ringlets and a movie.
Thursday 16 December 2010
A December Scrap-Blog
Visiting with the Parrishes and Sahota's, and a Johnson too!
Lillian-Ruth and Evelyn enjoyed quiet, girly play. They played with a tea set and plunked out tunes on the piano. Once in a while, Alyssa-Belle got to join them. Mostly, she hung with the adults and made we laugh with her antics.
Ethan and Casey built things and explored and conquered things. Ethan dumped salt all over the floor, then both boys shifted it all around with their toes...then vacuumed it all up!
Later that day, visiting with the Chidlows and Stephens, and Lewis' and Scotts. It's funny how so many names get added to a family as the girls marry!
Here is Ryan's step-dad Alec with Tyson (the son of Ryan's sister Dawne).
Anyway, these are the children of Jenny and Karen (Ryan's step-sisters). The kids made candy necklaces and they coloured, and they created some music for us to enjoy.
I loved seeing how each of them went about completing their necklaces in a different way. Evelyn worked on hers for a while, then had issues with beads dropping off. So she decided she was content with what she had and would live with the smaller necklace that remained on the string. Ethan stuck at the task for longer than I expected him to. He has a few setbacks, but kept plugging away. He was not concerned about a pattern in the colours or how it looked, but he wanted all the beads on the string. Megan was the first to figure out that if she made a small necklace and finished quickly, she could just eat the left over candy. Ashley completed her necklace, in a pattern and shyly showed the adults her creation. She seemed surprised that we would want to oooh and ahhh at her. As you can well imagine, Evelyn delighted in being delighted in! Emily plugged away at her necklace and just as she would almost finish, she would drop an end and the beads would fly. She would quietly look at the mess, then start over. After the 3 rd time that happened, she happily accepted some help getting those last few beads on her string. Austin watched the others for a couple minutes, then decided playing with the trains was more fun. Later, he managed to get some of the left over beads from Evelyn's plate and enjoyed a few of those. Reward without work! Smart kid! I had fun making the train track with him and trying to build a tunnel out of a rug.Here are Austin, Ethan, Ashley, and Emily playing a song for us. What a blessing to get to know these nieces and nephews.
If we looked through the heads, and the other kids in the choir stood just right, we could see her. Can you find her? 
Evelyn had a definite plan for her house.
We bought a tree that was grown locally. This is the nicest tree we've ever had! It's really tall too. The kids enjoyed hanging the ornaments and each had their favorite. Evelyn liked the 'Dora' ornaments, Ethan liked the 'Charlie Brown' ones. I liked the teacup, teapot and spoon set and Ryan likes the Rudolph ornaments. A family favourite remains the two 'Christmas Story' ornaments. One shows the boy with his tongue stuck to the flag pole, the other the little brother with his arms stuck out in his snow suit.Getting the angel on top was a bit dramatic. Ryan lifted Evelyn onto his shoulders, but she decided she now has a fear of heights. So she screamed and carried on but eventually put the angel on top. It doesn't look like the fancy trees in the stores, but if you look at each ornament closely, it has a lot to catch your interest!
Bethlehem Walk 2010
Ryan's Mom and Step-Dad came up to visit the Bethlehem Walk with us.
WOW! Parksville Baptist Church did an amazing job! The line was long, a lot of people went to see it, but it was great! To top it all off, they provided hot chocolate and cookies at the end - served in the fellowship hall with the choir singing in the background.
I loved the potter the best. It made me think of how we are shaped into the people we are by the gentle pressure applied to us by the great Potter. He knows what the end product will be, and over time, through constant pressure, He forms it. The clay, however, needed to be kept moist and soft so it could be pliable. There are so many things that can make us hardened to His hands. Once the shape was made in the way the Potter planned, it was fired in an oven so it would remain that way. The potter at the walk fired his pieces bit by bit. He held one end over the flame, then turned it. I think the great Potter knows how much heat we can take and will carefully allow us to feel that heat. Never more than we can handle. The clay, also, looked like a lump of dirt. I guess that's what we are though. Until He shapes us. Lumps of carbon and water and calcium...we really DO have a lot in common with that clay!
The other part of the night that amazed me was the hot chocolate at the end. They set up dozens of tables and had our party of 6 seated and served in moments. It was a fluid and graceful dance. Incredibly well done!
WOW! Parksville Baptist Church did an amazing job! The line was long, a lot of people went to see it, but it was great! To top it all off, they provided hot chocolate and cookies at the end - served in the fellowship hall with the choir singing in the background.
I loved the potter the best. It made me think of how we are shaped into the people we are by the gentle pressure applied to us by the great Potter. He knows what the end product will be, and over time, through constant pressure, He forms it. The clay, however, needed to be kept moist and soft so it could be pliable. There are so many things that can make us hardened to His hands. Once the shape was made in the way the Potter planned, it was fired in an oven so it would remain that way. The potter at the walk fired his pieces bit by bit. He held one end over the flame, then turned it. I think the great Potter knows how much heat we can take and will carefully allow us to feel that heat. Never more than we can handle. The clay, also, looked like a lump of dirt. I guess that's what we are though. Until He shapes us. Lumps of carbon and water and calcium...we really DO have a lot in common with that clay!
The other part of the night that amazed me was the hot chocolate at the end. They set up dozens of tables and had our party of 6 seated and served in moments. It was a fluid and graceful dance. Incredibly well done!
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| Picture slideshow generated with Smilebox |
Friday 3 December 2010
Going 'out' for dinner
Grilled Cheese: Our specialty. Grilled to a perfect golden brown and oozing with real cheddar cheese, this will make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
Field Potato with Spring Leek soup: More attractive than our orange soup (Butternut squash), I'm not so sure it tastes great. The perfect choice for the risk taker.
Dr.Pepper: Comes from the good doctor.Asti (sparkling wine by Martini): Doesn't come from where it sounds like. (He loves to mock me whenever I drink my 'Ass-tea'. It's so delicious, I don't care!
Dessert was caramel or blueberry sundaes with sprinkles and shortbread cookies.
The kids had a blast. Ethan seemed confused because Ryan adamantly denied being his Daddy and stated he was the chef. Ethan came to accept that and started calling him the food maker, or food getter, or chef. When the Chef told us he was off work and heading home, Ethan accepted that. When Ryan walked into the dining room a moment later, apologizing for being late for dinner, he had to work through what just happened and asked if Ryan was the chef too.
It was a very fun supper.
Wednesday 1 December 2010
Bethlehem Walk
I just heard about this event hosted each year by the Parksville Fellowship Baptist Church. It looks SO COOL! I work with a couple people who attend that church, or have gone in the past and they couldn't stop raving about it. They create an entire village with market kiosks and activities. There are people in costume and character helping to interpret the scene and history. I heard there is a guy with 'Goliath's sword' who is a favorite with some of the kids of my co-workers.
We are planning to go on Sunday, Dec 12. I know it would make for a late night for people driving back to Victoria, but it looks like it would be worth it for the experience.
Here are the details:
Parksville Baptist Church Bethlehem Walk.
When Is it?
December 11 - 14, 2010. During the event, the Bethlehem Walk Village is open each evening from 6:00 to 8:30 pm. A morning presentation for pre-school and special needs is held on the Monday from 9:30 to 11:00 during the event run.
Where is it?
Parksville Fellowship Baptist Church -- 550 Pym Street, Parksville, BC, Canada.
Is there a Cost?
You can enjoy everything without cost, however you'll have the opportunity to donate money or food to the local Salvation Army (in 2009 visitors contributed multiple van-loads of food and over $13,000 in donations). Experience the Christmas Story and then relax with hot chocolate, cookies and carolling indoors.
We are planning to go on Sunday, Dec 12. I know it would make for a late night for people driving back to Victoria, but it looks like it would be worth it for the experience.
Here are the details:
Parksville Baptist Church Bethlehem Walk.
When Is it?
December 11 - 14, 2010. During the event, the Bethlehem Walk Village is open each evening from 6:00 to 8:30 pm. A morning presentation for pre-school and special needs is held on the Monday from 9:30 to 11:00 during the event run.
Where is it?
Parksville Fellowship Baptist Church -- 550 Pym Street, Parksville, BC, Canada.
Is there a Cost?
You can enjoy everything without cost, however you'll have the opportunity to donate money or food to the local Salvation Army (in 2009 visitors contributed multiple van-loads of food and over $13,000 in donations). Experience the Christmas Story and then relax with hot chocolate, cookies and carolling indoors.
Friday 26 November 2010
Friday 5 November 2010
More Remembrance Day resources
An excerpt from the Canadian Legion's teacher resource about Remembrance Day.
The eleventh of November is called Remembrance Day.
On Remembrance Day most people wear a
poppy. This flower is worn to remind us of the many
people killed on the battlefields of World War I and
World War II.
There are fields in Belgium called Flanders where
Poppies grow. Flanders was a place where much fighting
took place during the war of 1914-1918, known as
the Great War. It received this name because it was the
first time in history that almost every country in the
world was at war. Although it is called the Great War, it
was not a great place to be. This war lasted four years
and every spring the soldiers, who lived and fought in
trenches, noticed the red flowers blooming all over the
battlegrounds and on the graves of their friends who had
been killed.
When the war was finally over and the people who
were in the military service came home they thought of
all their friends who were buried in the fields of Flanders.
And each time they thought of the graves, they remembered
the poppies which grow around the graves. They
did not want Canadians to forget that their friends had
died serving Canada and it was decided that a ceremony
would be held once a year to honour their memory. The
poppy became a symbol that everyone could wear to
show that they remember too.
Why do we remember on the eleventh of November
those who were killed? That is an easy question to answer.
The war stopped on the eleventh of November in 1918.
Those that were in the war decided that it would be right
to remember their friends on the day the fighting stopped.
The people who had not been in the war, but worked in
the factories, on the farms, the offices, the schools and the
hospitals agreed and Remembrance Day has been held on
the eleventh of November ever since. Many Canadians
were also killed in the Second World War, the Korean War
and on peacekeeping missions for the United Nations. We
also remember them on the eleventh of November. The
poppy has become a badge of honour, and when you wear
a poppy you remember all those brave Canadians who
were killed.
The eleventh of November is called Remembrance Day.
On Remembrance Day most people wear a
poppy. This flower is worn to remind us of the many
people killed on the battlefields of World War I and
World War II.
There are fields in Belgium called Flanders where
Poppies grow. Flanders was a place where much fighting
took place during the war of 1914-1918, known as
the Great War. It received this name because it was the
first time in history that almost every country in the
world was at war. Although it is called the Great War, it
was not a great place to be. This war lasted four years
and every spring the soldiers, who lived and fought in
trenches, noticed the red flowers blooming all over the
battlegrounds and on the graves of their friends who had
been killed.
When the war was finally over and the people who
were in the military service came home they thought of
all their friends who were buried in the fields of Flanders.
And each time they thought of the graves, they remembered
the poppies which grow around the graves. They
did not want Canadians to forget that their friends had
died serving Canada and it was decided that a ceremony
would be held once a year to honour their memory. The
poppy became a symbol that everyone could wear to
show that they remember too.
Why do we remember on the eleventh of November
those who were killed? That is an easy question to answer.
The war stopped on the eleventh of November in 1918.
Those that were in the war decided that it would be right
to remember their friends on the day the fighting stopped.
The people who had not been in the war, but worked in
the factories, on the farms, the offices, the schools and the
hospitals agreed and Remembrance Day has been held on
the eleventh of November ever since. Many Canadians
were also killed in the Second World War, the Korean War
and on peacekeeping missions for the United Nations. We
also remember them on the eleventh of November. The
poppy has become a badge of honour, and when you wear
a poppy you remember all those brave Canadians who
were killed.
Tuesday 26 October 2010
Tinkerbell and pumpkins
We have been told to expect over 300 trick or treat kids this year. I am surprised and a bit disturbed by how big a deal Halloween is in this neighborhood. Most houses have decorated lawns and windows. One house a couple blocks down has a massive haunted house built in the driveway. This is a city wide attraction, and contributes to the high number of kids collecting candy in the area. Evelyn's school is doing a family costume dance on Friday as well. We are not going to the dance, but I do want to have trick or treaters come to the house. I like meeting the people in the neighborhood.
To that end, we (Mostly Ryan) carved pumpkins. One is Yoda from Star Wars, the other is Tinkerbell. They turned out incredibly well. I'll try to set up the tripod and get a photo of them lit up later.
Yesterday, we were happy to see the Josoks for a short time on their way down to Victoria. I hope to see them again as they head home.
Tuesday 19 October 2010
A Walk in the Woods - Westcoast style!
The kids enjoyed exploring and loved learning about 'Butt Rot' (I wonder why they liked hearing about that!) and fungi. Evelyn especially, asked good questions and made great observations. While sunny, it was cold! Autumn is certainly here!
Ryan got some great pics using a filter on his iPhone.
Toilets.
Ethan has been lying a lot lately. He then presents us with a battle of wills over fessing up. So, last night as I walked past the bathroom and saw him flush the toilet and the water came ... up! I was very pleased when he told the truth immediately.
Here's the story...He was trying to help by cleaning the toilet with the brush (a cheap one from the dollar store - DO NOT BUY ONE!!!!) and the head snapped off in the bottom of the toilet. I'm not sure exactly when this happened, or how it managed to get so deeply wedged into the curves of the toilet, but, it did! He tried to cover his tracks by putting the handle in the recycling box.
So, looks like I have a weekend project. Remove the toilet (I may replace it with a low water use one since it's going to be off anyway) and try to get the brush out from the bottom. I hope it has not migrated into the main sewer pipe!
In the mean time, I am incredibly thankful that we have a home with more than one toilet! Things could definitely be worse!
Here's the story...He was trying to help by cleaning the toilet with the brush (a cheap one from the dollar store - DO NOT BUY ONE!!!!) and the head snapped off in the bottom of the toilet. I'm not sure exactly when this happened, or how it managed to get so deeply wedged into the curves of the toilet, but, it did! He tried to cover his tracks by putting the handle in the recycling box.
So, looks like I have a weekend project. Remove the toilet (I may replace it with a low water use one since it's going to be off anyway) and try to get the brush out from the bottom. I hope it has not migrated into the main sewer pipe!
In the mean time, I am incredibly thankful that we have a home with more than one toilet! Things could definitely be worse!
Friday 15 October 2010
October...
This could be a lengthy, newsy sort of post... I started it on Tuesday, but here we are on Friday and I'm still trying to finish it!
(Does anyone else find the new photo uploader in blogger to be difficult to use? I'll do my best with the photos, but no promises I'll post them all. I will happily accept tips on how to use this new uploader better.)
Evelyn is in a k-1 split class. She is technically in Kindergarten again. It's okay though...I guess. To quote Evelyn "You get what you get, so don't complain" I am pretty sure she heard that first from one of her parents. While it's sort of a cute quip, I always feel a little sad when she says it. Why should she settle? Why NOT desire the moon and expect to get it? As long as you can be gracious if things don't work out...I'll ponder this a bit more I think.
She has made a few friends in the class. She's had a couple playdates, and I hope to arrange a few more in the coming weeks. Her class welcomes parent volunteers to read with the kids each morning from 9-9:30 and younger siblings can come and play in the room during that time. So, On days I don't work, I've been able to meet a few of her classmates and read with them.
We are loving our house and neighborhood. It's very friendly and has a lot of young families. We are also very central to shopping and recreation so it's pretty perfect. The kids will be starting swimming lessons next week on Tues and Thurs for 5 weeks. Anyone who needs a christmas gift idea - lessons would be wonderful! I hope to be able to keep them in lessons for the rest of the year, but they fill up fast!
I'm still working on getting Ethan together with similarly aged kids. We've met a couple at the school that play for a bit after their older siblings are dropped off. I also just found a day care that we will be using starting next week. She has 2 other 4 yr olds that Ethan will meet. He's been discovering and LOVING Lego lately. Ryan lets him have a set or two at a time (Star Wars and Toy Story) and he gets to play with the basic set downstairs with Daddy too. Loosing Lego is his biggest punishment right now. Most days, while Evelyn is at school, he will quietly play with his cars, figures, or Lego. We fit a little `school` type stuff in there too.
We`ve found a church that meets in a movie theatre. It`s called The Meeting Place and is affiliated with the Baptist Church. It`s a very young and contemporary congregation. Ryan has gone more often than I have because I`ve had to work. He likes the speaker and says he can keep focused on the talk the whole time. We haven`t really met anyone there yet though, and likely won`t until we join some sort of group. The music is of a really high caliber also. Both kids love going. Last week, Ethan got to take a super hero cape and mask home as they are talking about super heroes. He wore them all around the mall and at home that day. It was close to the cutest thing ever.
Ryan is enjoying his class. Having all boys has changed the dynamic of how he structures his lessons. So far, it seems to be a very positive experience. His class has a blog that he updates to keep the parents in the loop. He has received some really great feed back from the kids. Apparently, according to some of his students, `He is the best teacher - ever!` He has also had parents ask him for prayer requests and has been told that families are praying for him. How totally amazing it that! He is finding, however, that his planning time and teaching load is far more than the 0.6 he was hired on for. He teaches all the core subjects in the morning all of them require a lot of planning. He`s probably teaching more like a 0.8 position for time.
I`m settling into work. The fact that I love being a nurse makes it easy for me to grow to love most jobs that I have. I`m starting to know my co-workers and the bureaucracy of the environment is starting to make a bit of sense to me. It is still nutty and confusing though. I continue to be amazed and impressed with the caliber of nurses that I am working with. I`ve been consciously praising people when they do something well, and I have the impression it`s a bit like water to a parched garden. I`ve heard the positive things I`ve told people repeated by others when the person has come up in conversation and I know it`s appreciated. There is a sort of nit-picky, fault-finding atmosphere there with some of the senior staff, so praise and graciousness is well overdue.
Ryan went down to Seattle a couple weeks ago to see a Mariners game. He bought tickets soon after we decided to move. It turned out the timing was not ideal, but he made it work (with the help of his Mom - Thank-you!) He went down with his friend Scott (his best man at our wedding) they enjoyed them selves. The following week, he had to go to Vancouver for 2 nights for the Christian Teachers Association conference. Again, the timing was horrible because I was working nights while he was gone! Again, his Mom came to the rescue and watched the kids while I was at work.
Our babysitter Emily asked me to keep an ear out for alternate child care, and she was unable to cover some days next week. So, this morning, I asked the school secretary if she knew anyone. She gave my number to one woman. She was not available, but gave me another woman to try. That person is able to take the kids!! She`s about a 15-20 min walk from our house, but I think I can manage to drop the kids off before work. She`ll drop off Evelyn, then keep Ethan until Ryan picks him up in the afternoon. The bonus is that Ethan can go there to play while I sleep when I`m on nights! We will go and meet her this afternoon (before I nap before work).
We were able to had down one evening for a birthday dinner for Ryan`s Dad and Aunt. It was the first time the entire side of that family has been together since...well, almost a decade! It was exciting because there are now 2 new baby boys (Tyson and Matthew) to enjoy as both Ryan`s sister and his cousin had little boys this past July.
We have been enjoying the humming birds at our feeder outside the dining room, and we`ve taken in 4 garden snails to watch and care for. We took several books about snails from the library and have become snail experts! I think though that they are going into hibernation now. Also, Ethan has reached the magical 40 lb mark which means he can use a booster seat! So, he has Evelyn`s old one, and she graduated to a smaller seat.
And that`s all I have time for now!
(Does anyone else find the new photo uploader in blogger to be difficult to use? I'll do my best with the photos, but no promises I'll post them all. I will happily accept tips on how to use this new uploader better.)
Evelyn is in a k-1 split class. She is technically in Kindergarten again. It's okay though...I guess. To quote Evelyn "You get what you get, so don't complain" I am pretty sure she heard that first from one of her parents. While it's sort of a cute quip, I always feel a little sad when she says it. Why should she settle? Why NOT desire the moon and expect to get it? As long as you can be gracious if things don't work out...I'll ponder this a bit more I think.
She has made a few friends in the class. She's had a couple playdates, and I hope to arrange a few more in the coming weeks. Her class welcomes parent volunteers to read with the kids each morning from 9-9:30 and younger siblings can come and play in the room during that time. So, On days I don't work, I've been able to meet a few of her classmates and read with them.
We are loving our house and neighborhood. It's very friendly and has a lot of young families. We are also very central to shopping and recreation so it's pretty perfect. The kids will be starting swimming lessons next week on Tues and Thurs for 5 weeks. Anyone who needs a christmas gift idea - lessons would be wonderful! I hope to be able to keep them in lessons for the rest of the year, but they fill up fast!
I'm still working on getting Ethan together with similarly aged kids. We've met a couple at the school that play for a bit after their older siblings are dropped off. I also just found a day care that we will be using starting next week. She has 2 other 4 yr olds that Ethan will meet. He's been discovering and LOVING Lego lately. Ryan lets him have a set or two at a time (Star Wars and Toy Story) and he gets to play with the basic set downstairs with Daddy too. Loosing Lego is his biggest punishment right now. Most days, while Evelyn is at school, he will quietly play with his cars, figures, or Lego. We fit a little `school` type stuff in there too.
We`ve found a church that meets in a movie theatre. It`s called The Meeting Place and is affiliated with the Baptist Church. It`s a very young and contemporary congregation. Ryan has gone more often than I have because I`ve had to work. He likes the speaker and says he can keep focused on the talk the whole time. We haven`t really met anyone there yet though, and likely won`t until we join some sort of group. The music is of a really high caliber also. Both kids love going. Last week, Ethan got to take a super hero cape and mask home as they are talking about super heroes. He wore them all around the mall and at home that day. It was close to the cutest thing ever.
Ryan is enjoying his class. Having all boys has changed the dynamic of how he structures his lessons. So far, it seems to be a very positive experience. His class has a blog that he updates to keep the parents in the loop. He has received some really great feed back from the kids. Apparently, according to some of his students, `He is the best teacher - ever!` He has also had parents ask him for prayer requests and has been told that families are praying for him. How totally amazing it that! He is finding, however, that his planning time and teaching load is far more than the 0.6 he was hired on for. He teaches all the core subjects in the morning all of them require a lot of planning. He`s probably teaching more like a 0.8 position for time.
I`m settling into work. The fact that I love being a nurse makes it easy for me to grow to love most jobs that I have. I`m starting to know my co-workers and the bureaucracy of the environment is starting to make a bit of sense to me. It is still nutty and confusing though. I continue to be amazed and impressed with the caliber of nurses that I am working with. I`ve been consciously praising people when they do something well, and I have the impression it`s a bit like water to a parched garden. I`ve heard the positive things I`ve told people repeated by others when the person has come up in conversation and I know it`s appreciated. There is a sort of nit-picky, fault-finding atmosphere there with some of the senior staff, so praise and graciousness is well overdue.
Ryan went down to Seattle a couple weeks ago to see a Mariners game. He bought tickets soon after we decided to move. It turned out the timing was not ideal, but he made it work (with the help of his Mom - Thank-you!) He went down with his friend Scott (his best man at our wedding) they enjoyed them selves. The following week, he had to go to Vancouver for 2 nights for the Christian Teachers Association conference. Again, the timing was horrible because I was working nights while he was gone! Again, his Mom came to the rescue and watched the kids while I was at work.
Our babysitter Emily asked me to keep an ear out for alternate child care, and she was unable to cover some days next week. So, this morning, I asked the school secretary if she knew anyone. She gave my number to one woman. She was not available, but gave me another woman to try. That person is able to take the kids!! She`s about a 15-20 min walk from our house, but I think I can manage to drop the kids off before work. She`ll drop off Evelyn, then keep Ethan until Ryan picks him up in the afternoon. The bonus is that Ethan can go there to play while I sleep when I`m on nights! We will go and meet her this afternoon (before I nap before work).
We were able to had down one evening for a birthday dinner for Ryan`s Dad and Aunt. It was the first time the entire side of that family has been together since...well, almost a decade! It was exciting because there are now 2 new baby boys (Tyson and Matthew) to enjoy as both Ryan`s sister and his cousin had little boys this past July.
We have been enjoying the humming birds at our feeder outside the dining room, and we`ve taken in 4 garden snails to watch and care for. We took several books about snails from the library and have become snail experts! I think though that they are going into hibernation now. Also, Ethan has reached the magical 40 lb mark which means he can use a booster seat! So, he has Evelyn`s old one, and she graduated to a smaller seat.
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