A December Scrap-Blog

Here's a few photos of what we've been up to this month so far.

 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.

Evelyn's school had their Christmas Concert this week.  They did a great job! Acting, Dancing, Music... very well done. Evelyn's class was in one of the choirs.














If we looked through the heads, and the other kids in the choir stood just right, we could see her. Can you find her?

 Ryan's mom and Step-Dad also came up for the concert. Nana brought gingerbread houses for the kids to make. Here's Ethan's design...or creation? I don't think he had a vision of what he wanted his house to look like!







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!

Picture slideshow generated with Smilebox

Going 'out' for dinner

Tonight, Ryan treated us to dinner at "'Yummy' wine bar and Bistro". We had to wait to be seated, were given a menu to make our choices from, were NOT allowed to enter the kitchen, and were given paper to colour on while we waited for our orders to be ready.

The Menu included:

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. 

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.

Slide show of November photos.

Make your own free picture slideshow

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.

Tinkerbell and pumpkins

Evelyn got a tinkerbell magazine as her allowance this week. (Published by Redan. They also publish 'sparkle' and a princess magazine) On the last page, they always show pictures that their readers have drawn and submitted as well as photos of the readers dressed up as their favorite fairy. Evelyn decided she wanted to submit a photo and drawing too. Here are a couple of the shots we got. Ryan took some neat ones on the iphone, but they are still on the phone...

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. 

A Walk in the Woods - Westcoast style!

We went to Cathedral Grove near Port Alberni on Saturday. It was great to show the kids some BIG trees. the one we are posed in front of is the biggest in the park and is approximately 800 years old. We all fit inside another cedar that had a burned out core. Our whole family - inside a tree!

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!

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! 

An update of September.

Ethan decided to sleep like a cat. He said his legs were comfy, but not his head!

What a beautiful girl!

Evelyn Starts School

The cousins together: Evelyn, Ethan and Tyson.

Sarah comes for a short visit.

Ryan Turns 32!

New house!

2489 Nadely Crescent
Nanaimo BC
V9T 5T1

(250) 729-7176 is the new home #
(250) 802-0556 is the cell.

We moved in a week ago with the help of Richard and Ruth, Steve (Dad) and Maralee, Dawne and Carl and little Tyson. Thank you everyone who came up to help haul our stuff. We really appreciate you taking time from your life to help us.

We are close to being unpacked! It's amazing how our stuff has just melted into the house. The kids love their new rooms, and like how their toys are all upstairs. The garden is so beautiful to look at, and we've had a couple picnics in the yard to enjoy the garden. I know that it is going to need a lot of work, but it will have to wait until we are settled in the house first.

Ryan got a year long position at the Nanaimo Christian School. He'll be teaching grade 4/5 ALL BOYS for the mornings only. This is a new position and he will be done work every day by 12:30 pm!!! (It's a 0.5 PT position) This will change the dynamics of our family life, but I think it will be a great way for us to have a nice balance.

We tried to enroll Evelyn in grade one lat week and were told that was not possible. She is born in 2005, so MUST be enrolled in Kindergarten. They don't bend any rules here! The school, however, is full and she is on a wait list for a spot. If she gets in, and performs well, they may chose to advance her to grade 1. We have not figured out a contingency plan yet. We are just having faith that she will get a spot in the school and it will all work out.

I am starting to settle into work and can actually pull my head out of my assignment now and then to offer others a hand. I felt very tunnel visioned for a while, and I can see that I will often be that way as the unit is busy and heavy and our assignments have a lot to do. I am impressed by my co-workers commitment to provide very high levels of care. Considering that many are fairly new grads, this is even more impressive. They do a great job in a difficult environment. I am counting down the days until our health insurance kicks in. I really need to go to a Chiropractor!

We are really liking Nanaimo. WAY more than we anticipated. It's a great little city!  Almost everything is within a 10 min drive of the house and we are close to the highway bypass, so that's a very convenient way for us to get around too.

Today, we are heading to a church that meets in a movie theatre. A couple friends go there and it sounds like it has a strong home group component. Bit odd to do church in a movie theatre, but we'll give it a go!

Later today, Sarah Addey is coming through for a visit on her way to Victoria. I'm looking forward to seeing her. She always inspires me and makes me see the world from a totally different set of eyes. She is going to be our first guest to try out our new sofa bed. It's actually pretty comfy! (YOU should come up and give it a try too!) I think Ryan is going to make his amazing Dutch Potatoes and delicious Roast beef for dinner. Mmmmm....

Beachcomber Park

Following a tip from a new co-worker, we headed toward Nanoose Bay this afternoon in search of a beach with tidal pools and rocks. We discovered Beachcomber Park and enjoyed exploring the shore. The water was surprisingly warm, so the kids even had a little dip! It was a beautiful day and I loved experiencing the sounds, smells, and sights of the coast. Ethan and Ryan tossed bits of wood into the water, then watched their 'boats' float back to shore. Evelyn took every opportunity to be in the water. We saw and touched crabs, snails, starfish and (dead) jellyfish and even found some fossils of shells in the rock.

My new job so far...

The photos are unrelated, but I haven't posted any pics in a while...

My first day on floor 6 was a bit odd. I started getting a headache and nausea around 11 am and by 1 pm I was ready to head home. I left early and by the time I got home, I was photo phobic and had a splitting headache. I took some advil and tylenol and slept and felt much better. Not the best first impression!

Day 2 was split up. I started on the unit, but went to "Pre-Hab" to learn what they teach the hip and knee replacement patients before they get their surgeries. It was very informative. Following that, I headed back up to the unit to finish the shift.

Night 3 was a crazy day in general. I started onto nights, but before work, we had our house inspection, and needed to go to the bank to sign papers, and to the notary to sign papers. The night shift was fine. There is a lot of paperwork there. VERY inefficient system. The inefficiencies are driving me bonkers, but I'll have to get used to it! The morale is very low. There is a big sense of powerlessness and attitude of defeat amongst the staff. I find that very concerning. It was funny to listen to them gripe about their heavy loads...3 patients a piece on days and evenings and 6 patients on nights!!!! At the end of the shift, I could not help but essentially tell them to stop complaining. They have no idea how sweet they have it. (I was very diplomatic and did not make anyone feel bad ;-)  ) The patients are mostly old people. A lot have broken hips, others are joint replacements, some are other bad breaks that needed surgery. The other half of the unit is mixed medical. So, basically anything. The rooms are mixed gender - that's a first for my career! And they have a mix of 4, 3, 2 and 1 bed rooms. The physical unit is old and the bathrooms are too small for any but the most ambulatory of patients, and there is only a sink in the room with the toilet. Not ideal - especially for infection control. 

Night 4 was much the same as the previous one. I took 3 patients for the night. None of them were a joint replacement! It was nice to have the variety. The demographic of the staff is different from all other places I have worked. There are almost no senior nurses on staff. The average age of the RN's is probably about 28. Most are in their first position and have less than 5 years experience. The unit is a revolving door where people start out and then move on to better pastures. The LPN's, however, have been there forever. Their average age is closer to 40 and most have almost 20 years experience. The scope for LPN's is much smaller here than in AB, but they are expanding it. I  have been viewed as a Junior RN for my entire career, now I have more experience than most of my peers! Yikes! I think I'm going to have to consciously praise the younger staff when they do well and work to keep my mouth shut more often and not sound like a 'Know-it-all".  ( I am aware that this is something I need to be conscious of! )

I am really missing my last job in Boyle. I loved the sense of family among the staff. I loved hearing all the cool stories. I loved the outpatients and all that variety. I loved the independence. I appreciate the sense of control that I felt about the inpatients. We all knew them, what they needed, they were people to us. We were all on a similar page about how they should be managed. We would answer any call bell and not only our assigned rooms bells! I miss being known and being a person to my co-workers. It's amazing how the tone of a unit is so much colder when no one says "Hi" to you in the morning, or looks you in the eye!

I understand that during times of change, it is normal to grieve a bit. I think that's sort of what I'm going through right now (at least where work is concerned!) As far as moving is concerned, we are very happy with Nanaimo. We love being able to head to the beach and explore the coast. We love the rain, and the smells of the ocean. We're having a good time exploring our new city.

We are planning to move into the new house on the last Saturday of this month (the 28th?). So, clear your calendar and come on up to help us move our stuff! The new house needs a post replaced in the front, and some new vents installed from the bathroom and kitchen exhaust fans to the roof. There is also one exterior door that needs the jamb replaced, and the railings on the deck will need replacing in the next year or so also. Any takers to help with those projects? The rest of our jobs will take place over time. I don't think I'm even going to paint for a while yet. Aside from the exhaust fans, installation of a humidistat, and the post replacement, we are not doing much this year. We will now have 2 living spaces. This is a first for us. So, we will need some furniture for that second living area! We're also looking for a nice queen size sofa bed for the guest room. If you (dear reader) plan to spend any amount of time visiting us, it may be in your best interest to keep your eyes out for a sofa bed YOU would like to sleep in! We have a frame for a twin size cot, and plan to pick up a foam mattress for it after we move so, this will also be available for guest accommodation.

New phone #

(250) 802-0556 This is our new cell phone. We decided to get a plan, rather than pay as you go. So, calls to this number will cost us less $. The other # still works, and can also be used 250 668 3422.

We are settling in well. We went and visited Grandma and Grandpa yesterday. They are both doing better, though Grandma is still in some pain.

While heading through Langford, we saw a twin bed frame on the road with a 'free' sign on it. Sweet! We were looking for a frame for Ethan's bed! It's solid wood and was at one time the top of a bunk. I think it will work out very well (once we move)...and... you can't beat that price!!!!

We went to the beach and had a hot dog picnic on Friday evening. What a treat! - And it was just a bit down the road!

Today, we visited First Baptist Church. We'll try another church each week for a little while and then go back to the ones we liked best until we decide on a new 'home'. It was nice to be in a church again. It was odd to think that Ethan is essentially 'un-churched'. Evelyn went to sunday school with the school aged kids. Ethan chickened out and refused to stay with the preschoolers. He did AMAZINGLY well staying in the service with us.

Ethan's feet have grown a full 2 sizes over the spring/ summer. We looked for some runner for him today, but couldn't find any that were flexible, nice looking, in our budget, and did not have any characters on them. We shall continue to look... He's in size 11-12!

Evelyn got her first pair of special big girl dress up shoes today. They are white, glossy sandals with little wedge heels and she LOVES them. They were only $7!

Ryan went to see a movie this afternoon, and the kids helped me vacuum and clean the inside of the car. We scrubbed everything! Now, the exterior needs a wash...They sprayed off the floor mats, and helped load everything into the house that was in the back of the car (including Ethan's new bed) and then got to the work of imagining. The kids pretended they were a cat and dog and were in a cage in the back of the car. It kept them occupied!

They accepted our offer!

Whoo Hoo! Conditions will be removed Aug 6th. This is 6 days before our house in Caslan completes, which sucks, but we've decided to take the (hopefully minimal) risk.

In other news, Ryan's Grandpa has received 4 units of blood to boost his hemoglobin. It seems he got a bleeding ulcer and lost a good amount of blood. Having had an knee replacement a few days ago, he already had depleted reserves.

Ryan's Grandma, who tripped in the parking lot at the Jubilee while going to visit Grandpa after his surgery, has had her surgery. She dislocated and shattered her left shoulder. They were able to pin it together again.

So, she is now a patient at the Jubilee, and Grandpa is at the VGH.

I start tomorrow with orientation. I need to figure out parking, where everything is, and ...everything! It'll be an adventure!

We have placed an offer!

http://www.robgrey.com/listing?id=10126&v=p

We saw it yesterday and liked it a lot, but it does need some more updating. It has been very, very well maintained over the years. We could see our family functioning in the space. The elementary school is literally about 200m away (K-7). The gardens, while more than we would have done on our own, are gorgeous! We crunched some numbers last night and found that if we could get it for 335 G at the most, we could make it work. That would mean the owners would need to drop their price by about 14 G. Last night, the owners dropped the asking price by 10 G!

We went and saw it again today and felt such peace there. It's not perfect, it is not completely to our taste, but we can see how it can easily, over time be made to suit us. It's totally livable in the meantime, and, as I mentioned before, immaculately maintained.

The owners should get back to us by 10 pm. Hopefully, they will counter under 335 G and we will accept.

I'll keep you posted.

We're here!

3809 Morris Place, Nanaimo BC V9T 3W2 (250) 668 3422.

We are settled, surrounded by boxes, but with a livable home. The kids are sharing a room, the 'Master' is a storage room, and we are in the 3rd bedroom (which fits our queen nicely).

We looked at some houses yesterday, and liked 2 of them a lot. We're heading out shortly to look at a few more.

Conditions were removed on our Caslan house and the inspection went well. The buyers are still trying to up the possession date, but it is the Lawyers and bureaucracy that is delaying that from happening.

I start orientation for work on Tuesday. I found a pair of REALLY comfortable nursing shoes. I'm very excited to wear them!

What else?...

Ryan's Mom and Step Dad (Nana and Papa) took the kids for 2 days while we moved in. That was a massive help. THANK YOU! They took them to a water park in Ladysmith that sounds really nice.

Our neighborhood is overrun by deer! They are all over the place! Why live in the country to see wildlife when you can live in a city and see more?? We had a fawn and it's Mom almost enter our house while we were moving in! The kids and Ryan saw a buck and another fawn on their walk, and there have been several others that have jumped out of the trees at other times.

The house we are renting is totally adequate. The rooms are quite large, so we don't feel cramped.

Hope

Hope, the place we are, and the state we are in right now. We hope the car's fuel pump can be fixed in time to catch a ferry tomorrow, we hope the movers will be okay with yet another delay in delivery, we hope we can find some more things to fill the time and keep the kids occupied.

Today, we checked out the thrift store, looked in the toy store, and walked around. Now we're having a quiet time before taking the kids to the playground, then supper, swimming, and bed.

Tomorrow will likely look similar, but there is a free story time at the park at 11 am, and we need to check out of the motel by 11 am too. Then, we wait and wait for the car to be fixed. Then we drive to the ferries. I am not sure if we will be going to Victoria or Nanaimo. That will depend on if the movers deliver tomorrow or Wednesday.

Yesterday, we went to the Demolition Derby or "Summer Slam". That was WAY more fun than I expected it to be. Then, we went to the park, where there was live music and the kids played on the playground. As I was watching them, a man came up to me. I thought "He's familiar" then realized it was Hugo! The group from Central headed to the Gleaners was stopping off on their trip. That was an unexpected surprise!

The kids are doing surprisingly well with all this. We are looking at it as a chance to rest before moving in and getting temporarily settled, then moving again.

There are 8 houses I would like to see in Nanaimo. If you're interested, I can e-mail you the listings. 3 in particular look really good. The house with the rock wall in the yard just sold. :-( I'm very happy for the owners though.

So, what's up with you?

Counting blessings

Our movers loaded our house on July 14th, not the 13th as planned. This was not a planned delay. The moving truck broke down and spent a day in Kamloops being repaired.

We're in Hope BC right now....

This was not a planned stop.

We'll be in Hope tomorrow too. And most of Monday... Our car lost momentum on the Coquahalla. Maybe the fuel pump?

We hope that our car can be on the road again for Monday afternoon.

To count our blessings:

• The flat bed tow truck was available and could seat all 4 of us (the other option was calling a taxi to get the kids and Ryan) and was only 45 min away, instead of 90 min.

• We managed to limp the car to a rest stop with a bathroom. This made me feel much safer, and gave us a place to 'go'!

• The mechanic shop is literally next door to the motel we found - so it's very convenient.

• The motel had a vacancy and the room is pretty decent. It even has a kitchen! The rate was good too.

• Our AMA/BCAA membership paid for itself! The entire tow charge was covered!

• When I called the movers to see if they could delay delivery, they said Tuesday was no problem.

So, overall, our blessings outweigh the problems.

In other news, Ryan's sister Dawne had her baby boy yesterday! They named him Tyson Grey and he weighed almost 9 lbs. Ethan is already excitedly looking forward to meeting Tyson.

Some BIG NEWS!

We have accepted an offer on our house, so it is conditionally sold! The conditions will be removed on July 22 and possession (for the new owners) is Aug 12th. So, a very happy 10th anniversary to us! (I can't wait to look at our account on the 12th and see that beautiful bump in the balance!)

We will be renting in Nanaimo until we find a house that will suit us perfectly. We are hopeful that we could move again (our final move) by September!

Our address for the interim is:

3809 Morris Place
Nanaimo BC
V9T 3W2

We are renting the upper floor of a home (3 bedroom, 1100 sqft, recently renovated).

We will be using our cell phones, and the numbers have not been changed yet. So they will remain:

780 404 4957
780 404 9527

You will have a 50/50 chance of getting either of us. We use the phones interchangeably.

We will leave Caslan on July 13th, and our stuff (and we) should arrive July 16th.

So, we will need to re-name the Blog! We won't be the "Cracknell's of Caslan" any more, nor will we be the 'Displaced Westcoasters'!

Any suggestions???