Another Day....

Just a note to say how it's been.

I am doing laundry right now and have heart burn like you wouldn't believe.

We had a great Thanksgiving weekend. I spent a few hours on Friday night with my friend Winnie putting together the Thanksgiving visual in church, and I'm excited to be able to share a picture...we had such great resources lent to us, and gathered some from Creation itself. I wish I had taken a picture of the pile beforehand. We always have a great visit when we work and worship together like this.

On Sunday we had Ray's whole family over for supper and gather with 14 of us. It is always so nice to all sit around the same table and break break together...and turkey, and stuffing, and carrots, and potatoes, and cranberry sauce, and.... Much laughter was had by all... After everyone left, Craig and I had to do a quick tidying up at church to prepare for the Monday morning Thanksgiving service. It went quick and while we were there, i noticed that the neighbours had a campfire and called home to see if Ray thought there was enough time before bed to have one in our own backyard. ANd there was! So we arrived home just as our resident pyromaniacs were setting stuff on fire. It was so nice and we sat outside in our camping clothes, jeans, crocs, and a single long sleeved shirt. It was so relaxing. It was Kevin's second lifetime campfire only this one was interactive and you've never seen a fire-poker quite like it before! Fire can be fascinating. Mostly we said..."Keep your stick down!"

On Monday afternoon our little family went horseback riding nearby. We went in our t-shirts and the weather was fabulous. The colours were at their peak and it was just so neat to be in the middle of nowhere. We even got to ride among the Texas Longhorn cattle since we rode through part of their pasture. This ranch has the same philosophy of riding that Grant always had, and that was walking only. Of course....that wasn't the right speed for some of the boys in our party and there was a second guide at the end of our trail...keeping an eye on those fellows. Joey is the kid, I would have kept my eye on ...back in the day, that rascal!!! It was a nice ride through woods, meadow, and along a road and a river(more like a creek, but anyway). When we arrived back at the ranch, there was a rope laying around and each of the boys got to try their hand at roping. Kevin and Joe were naturals!! That night we were going to have turkey left overs but decided that it might be a lot of fun to roast hotdogs instead since the weather was till soooo nice. So we left the leftovers for another time and introduced Kevin to the wonderful world of cooking over the campfire! As you all know there is a bit of a learning curve and you have to find the sweet spot over the ashes and out of the flames....the first one was a bit of a burnt offering but the second one was perfect, swelling up until it split. PERFECT! And this little boy sat on his chair, eyes closed, savouring his first bite of roasted hotdog and said, "Mmmmm...this sooooo gooooood supper." And that says it all....quite something to have a self cooked meal of 5 minutes surpass the experience of a 7 hour over roasted turkey with all the trimmings. I shall have to keep that in mind for next Thanksgiving!!

We celebrated Kevin's birthday on Sunday and on friday there is going to be a little party here. Then there is Cadets at night and on Saturday we go to Niagara Falls, with the Keystone Kids. Saturday night the Youth Group has bowling and pizza and I am hoping that Sunday is a day of rest:):)

Well... my gaffers are home!!

Car Shopping...

Yes...it's THAT time. We are in the market for a new car and did some looking around on the weekend after doing some market and internet research. We already knew what we wanted and on Saturday.....we found what we were looking for ....A 2007 Hyundai Sonata (pictured is the 2009 and we don't have the sports rims but the stick on hubcaps...just so you have the proper mental image...) We looked at several, test drove them, and today I drove to the dealer to fetch it and take it to a really nice retired mechanic/Pastor in our congregation. Then I was supposed to return to the dealer and pick Ray up in London, but he called while I was at the mechanic to say that his meeting was already done and to ask if I could pick him up in the new car. Then we drove the dealership together. It was a fun date! Ray told me all the funny things that have been happening at his work, and even a few things that happened a while ago that he had forgotten to mention.

I realized that soon it will be a month since I blogged...well, not quite... But the next few days and weeks are really busy. I'm so excited though!! It's fun busy too, but even though there is a lot of fun, there is a lot of work that has to be done in between. I have a lunch date sometime this week, Thanksgiving visuals to gather and put together, and a great visit while my friend and I do that, my house to tidy up as I prepare to host Thanksgiving dinner (the turkey is in the freezer!!), a field trip to Niagara Falls, MCing to get ready for, a fun trip to Ottawa, meeting, and a card making workshop to prepare for.

Cooking a turkey, I have found, doesn't need to be intimidating. Butterball has this wonderful product called "Stuffed frozen turkey". You pop it in the oven and 6 hours later you open the oven door, haul it out, plop it on the table, carve and serve. Now that's my kind of turkey. Peel a pan full of potatoes, some veggies, and voila! Everyone who is coming is bringing something...from buns to salad to wine to dessert....and that covers all the bases. I'm so excited to have everyone over. We borrow a table from church...you should have seen us transport it last year....a table...as you know...does not fit well in a Corolla... We had to drive with one passenger door open....hazards on....and kind of slowly. People do a 'double take' when you go by, but then again, they've also seen Ray walk up and down the street with his canoe over his head. Really not so unusual.

SO that's what's new and exciting....Ray is working on his trip log for Wabikimi, so don't give up on him yet. He has finally joined Facebook, but only because he and some buddies from Redeemer are getting in touch with each other and they like to talk about canoeing. Ray was using my account but there are just some things and reminiscing that I REALLY don't need to know. And when it's a thread in YOUR inbox, it's like they are having a conversation in front of you that you don't want to listen to! So...go get your own!

Wow...everyone is just bouncing off the walls over here!!! Are we getting a storm....? Maybe just an indoor one....

It's lunch time...

Greener Than Last Year.....

I wanted to share with you this funny thing that is happening to me. Once I couldn't keep green things alive....then one year, my Pointsettia lasted until the next March (at which point I went to PEI for a week, and we won't mention the name of the person who failed to provide a basic standard of care...). It occurred to me that Pastor Koole's green thumb might just be rubbing off a bit. I received a Gerbera Daisy from someone that summer and it just kept on flowering!!! I discovered that this happens when you add water regularly.... Then I received a few dish gardens, one at an auction (along with a really cute painting...) and one after a funeral....these actually outgrew their pots. Each dish had an African violet that just bloomed over and over again! I should also tell you about the poor little primrose that found itself on my windowsill, but proved to be much to finicky, and didn't survive. Pastor Koole said he can't keep those either, so that let me off the hook completely!! This little picture is REALLY one for my brag book because these are the first little babies!! I stuck the leaves into a pot just like mom used to and water them. The point of this story is that now my window sill is full and I have yet to bring the houseplants inside that have spent the summer outdoors! Interesting what changes you go through as you grow up.

I cleaned up my stamping room a little bit in anticipation of a big project I'm going to be working on that I shall keep under wraps....what fun would it be to spill all the beans!!!

I did a load of laundry and went to the monday stamping group. It was hard to get going. I haven't done much in the way of creativity lately so I just did some generic preparations for a board book. Who knows....

My worship visuals partner and I will meet this week to contemplate some Thanksgiving visuals. Ray and I are hosting the DeBoer family Thanksgiving at our house this year and are really looking forward to that. We have asked Kevin about thanksgiving and they celebrate it in Korea too, with special food.

Kevin is doing well. I think his English is regressing a little bit, and we noticed that in Eddy as well, but we are trying hard not to compare. He likes all the food we eat, and loves Italian food especially. Today we are having Caesar salad and we'll see how that goes over. Eddy's mom sent her thanks for introducing Eddy to the wonderful world of salads, which he wouldn't eat before he came to Canada, and after Caesar Salad, he would try other salads too! And I'm trying hard not to compare... but you know how I like to toot my own horn. Kevin really likes to do whatever Joe likes to do, and that works well most of the time, but sometimes their age and grade difference is too great... there is a bigger difference in maturity levels...but Joe likes teaching him new things, like skateboarding and XBox. Today we will go to Walmart and outfit Kevin with properly fitting pads and a helmet. Blemishes are not favoured in Korea, as scars are symbols of machismo here in North America, so we decided it best to invest in safety gear. Kevin is also eager to begin cycling. We have a bike his size, but aren't sure about his skill level yet. Cycling in the park is different than cycling into town and crossing streets. He speaks of going on a 50 km tour with his dad, but having witnessed his stamina and subsequent fatigue, makes me question the authenticity of this tale, and the possibility of SOME exaggeration. We had a bit of a burp in our smooth transition so far, but incidents will happen... and I hope he gets over it soon. He is sleeping well but doesn't appear to be a morning person, he is not tired at night, only in the morning, so my suggestion of going to bed earlier was met with much protest. On Saturday he got to eat his favourite food in the world and I think that is going to be an excellent reward and behaviour motivational tool. I know!! You're not supposed to use food as a reward....but I don't think money will work, and he's past the sticker age.

Well, Ray is all packed for his final camping trip of the season. One last hoorah and then the gear will be packed away for the winter...wonder where that's all going to fit...and NOT in the newly cleaned up stamp room either!!!! He is packed already and will leave Thursday night and will return on Monday afternoon sometime.... He is very excited to have some new fishing tackle and they are going to a stocked lake...and he is counting on ending the drought this weekend. If he doesn't catch something this weekend, he might never bring a fishing rod again!!! In a way I'm kind of disappointed that we didn't get to go outpaddling somewhere together, but....there was just too much going on this summer. We have some plans for next summer already and know we are heading out East for a couple of weeks. I wonder if there have been any discussions regarding our family reunion destination??? Ray is going to start planning camping trips in January so hopefully there will be some creative brainstorming over the next few months.


This is us on a walk yesterday...there is a little conservation area just past the school and it has a little grass mowed path through it...part of it goes through the woods and then a little board walk through a boggy section leads you over a creek to this spot. The summer flowers are almost all spent, but the leaves are resisting the pull of fall. Last night was our first risk of frost warning but my impatiens survived for another day. I guess that means they should have a bit of that wet stuff later this afternoon.

Well...it has been a nice quiet afternoon, new scrap book papers put away, projects for the future...ready to roll, laundry drying outside, and a chat with a friend to clear my brain. I have tell how much that helps. And lately....I have really felt the need to play Christian music, ALL the time, I am finding how easily my mind drifts to things that are not noble or praiseworthy. When I listen to music that praises and honours God, my thoughts are easier to take captive and can be redirected to something more positive and productive. So...I continue to struggle with my humanity....humbled when people see more in me than I see in myself, and knowing that God loves me just the way I am, but loves me too much to leave me that way.