Toot Toot

Merry Christmas

So, I am ashamed to say that this is all we really took for pictures for Christmas this year. On Christmas Eve we had both sets of parents and my brother and sister in law over for supper. Raclette! Mmmm! Then we always open presents on Christmas Eve. It was a busy evening and we were so so spoiled! Unfortunately we didn't think about pictures until after. The next day we were off to my Moms side of the family for the big turkey dinner, and more gifts. This picture was taken just as we were about to walk out the door. Last minute thought again. O well. I hope you all had a great Christmas and it looks like a lot of you did. We have missed so many of you these last few weeks, I am so grateful for the updates, but they also make me miss you just that much more! Hug all those cuties for me.

When your heart feels hurried

This was read at my Mom's Group this morning. I am guessing some of you can relate today and almost every day this month.


"Tis the season to be busy. There are gifts to buy, meals to make, trips to take, decorations to be hung, songs to be taught, places to go, people to see...
It's Dec. 16th and I so tired. Anyone else?

I read the words... Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10, but how can I be still when there is so much going on? Of course, the first answer is to simplify my life. Yet the kind of stillness God is talking about isn't just about my circumstances. It's about being still on the inside.

I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother. Psalm 131:2. What is a weaned child like? One that has learned to stop asking for more, more, more and instead simply rests in the arms of love, love, love.

My hurry and stress come from the want of more. I want to do more, be more, pack more in to these few short days. Then it seems God whispers to my heart, "Enough. You are enough. You have enough. In the middle of a busy day, make a quiet place inside and stay with me. My love is what you really need."

I settle, quiet down, breathe a sigh of relief. The miracle of Christmas? God came for us so we could come to Him. Even (especially) in the busy, broken, chaos of our lives.
Tis the season to be still."

by Holley Gerth

Christmas Photo's

I don't know if anyone else has trouble with this, but we have been trying to take a family photo since we got back from Mexico. First Luke had a cold, then with Aaron putting a kitchen in for his parents after work, he is only home for supper and isn't at his best for photos. Plus there isn't anyone around to take one for us. I finally tried to just get one of the kids. Here is the summary.
"Katie, please just smile normal...Luke take your hands out of you mouth... stop poking each other.... no Luke come back!" Arghhh!!!!! Anyways, you'll have to wait for the finalist, but these were still cute in my opinion.

The 1st Gingerbread House

The other day in the store Katie asked if we could buy a gingerbread house. All I could think was oh, what a mess! Needless to say we left sans gingerbread house. Yesterday Grandpa and Katie put one together that he had purchased. Thank goodness for grandparents or Katie would never have got to do one.

A shot from the airplane window last night somewhere over Texas. The picture doesn't even do it justice. What an artist God is!

They really are everywhere!

You all know Aaron and I, and the one thing we are still getting adjusted to is not having a Starbucks within 5 minutes of where we are living. Halfway through our trip though we discovered a Starbucks a few minutes walk from our resort. I am so glad that Caramel Machiato's are universal!

The Coba Ruins

The third day we were in Mexico, we booked an excursion to go the Mayan Ruins at Coba. The day included a trip to the ruins with a guide who was actually Mayan. That may not sound that special but he was able to give us a lot more info about the ruins and their customs, some of which they still practice. Next year the largest pyramid will no longer be open to climb. Fortunately we have now climbed Chitzen Itza and Coba, one which is already closed. Coba is the largest of the pyramids. It is 42 meters to climb, but well worth the view as you can see from the photos. This area was home to about 50,000 people from about 400 AD to 1200AD. We also visited an actual Mayan Community which was very humbling. It really reminded me how blessed we are in how we live but more importantly that Christ has called me to be his, and that I was born to a family that were believers. While there I got to try my hand making corn tortillas. I did terrible when it came to shaping it, but it tasted good. At the end of the day we were able to swim in a senote and do a little snorkeling. It was a full and tiring day, but one I won't forget for sure.

Extreme's

Last night Aaron and I arrived home from a week of rest and relaxation. We headed off to the Mayan Riviera last Wednesday just the 2 of us for a early 10 year anniversay celebration. Our anniversary isn't until April, but that wasn't going to work for a trip together. I had to title this extremes since the temperature in Edmonton when we left was -42 with the wind chill. Suprisingly we were still not the coldest place on the planet! The whole week we were in Mexico the weather hovered around +30, with only an hour of rain one day. It was amazing to say the least. I had looked so forward to time without the kids, but as most of you can guess it didn't take more than an hour before we were thinking how much they would have loved everything there. Here are just a few photos of the trip. Not only was the weather perfect, but so was the resort. Highly recommended!

November Update

Well life has certainly been busy for us, and as I see with many of you, the same can be said. I still can't believe that it is the middle of November. Since the end of September many things have begun and are in full swing. Katie is now in Ballet/Jazz once a week in Blackfalds and is taking skating lessons again on Monday and Wednesday afternoons. I have also been asked if I can help coach with the school age lessons in Canskate. So once again I am back on the ice. It is a little weird after all this time, but I am glad to be out there and the kids are a lot of fun. As you can see from the picture of our backyard, winter finally arrived this week. Although I am enjoying looking out the window at the snow, shovelling it this morning wasn't a huge amount of fun.

I have also been busy attending 2 mom's groups, one in Red Deer on Wednesday mornings, and one on Thursday mornings here in Lacombe. It has been great to drop the kids off in the childcare and enjoy some coffee with other mom's. One of them does crafts and ussually a speaker, or some activity of sorts. The other one is more of a bible study. It has been a good opportunity to meet people. Luke and Katie have a great time, and it definitely breaks up the days. Aaron and I have also joined a couples bible study group on Sunday evenings with 3 other couples. This has been good for Aaron since he is finding that his life is all work and no play. You can keep him in your prayers that he is able to get involved in some things that interest him. It is hard with a schedule that varies from week to week.
We have also been attending a church here in Lacombe regularily (First Baptist). It is predominatly young families, and we have been very comfortable there.

Well that pretty much summarizes life, aside from me playing around with decorating the house (I will put pictures up when I actually complete things). I guess I should start thinking ahead to the end of December since that will be here before I turn around I am sure!

Trick or Treat 2010

This year we had a black cat and a chubby spider joining us for Trick or Treating. Katie had planned to be cinderella until the night before when I dressed up as a black cat for a party. Fortunately it was an easy to adjust costume for her. Luke is the only spider I have ever described as cute, but I also think you can all agree that he isn't your typical spider. We had a lot of fun, and are still digging through all the candy. We only went to a few houses on our street before heading out to the country and going to family houses. The weather was incredible and it made for a really fun night.

Katie is 4

It has been 4 years already! I can't believe how quickly the time has flown. On Sunday we had family over for her birthday. All 24 of us celebrated together. It is so nice to be able to share things with them in person again.

Crosswords already! What a smart boy.

The big event

Spa night

Recently we were back in Vancouver for my friend Alexis' wedding. It was a busy but great week with lots of excitement and a wonderful wedding. The night before all the girls went for Mani/Pedi's. This included Katie and Hailey who were flower girls. They had a great time, and thought they were princesses and so much more.

Ready and Waiting

This is a whole new meaning to shoveling them in.

Out of Touch

First of all, so sorry for the lengthy delay in updates. So much has happened that now I don't know where to begin.
Lets start at the beginning. After saying goodbye to so many of you, we embarked on the adventure. The move went very well. We had hoped that the moving truck would arrive on the Friday but unfortunately it didn't come until Sunday. It worked out okay but with Aaron starting his new job the next day it made for a busy day, with getting the bedrooms in order, finding the neccesities and all for that was needed for the following morning. It did allow us a couple of days to have some fun though. It was Lacombe days so on Saturday morning we went to a pancake breakfast, followed by a great parade (Katie thought it was halloween I think with all the candy), a car show and all sorts of other activities.
That first week, I signed Katie up for VBS, and what a lifesaver that was. She was able to play and have fun every morning, and while Luke had a nap, I was able to unpack undisturbed. Most of the house was taken care of that first week. Since then I have done some painting, we have purchased furniture again, and all in all, it feels like we have been here a long time.
Aaron has jumped into the whole Albertan thing, and within 2 weeks, we had traded in the protege and he bought a Toyota Tundra 4x4. We love it, and are still shocked at all the room everytime we go anywhere in it. He has also seemed to adjust to the work well. It has been an adjustment not only with the physical side of the work, but often is working 10 hours a day and almost always, 6 days a week. This has been harder for me to adjust to I think, but there is no commuting, so when work is done, he is home in 5 minutes or less.
We have also been happy to have company come. We have had Aaron's parents visit, the Schunter family and Brad was over for supper. All of this has helped with making things not seem so far away.
The kids are doing great. Luke had his first haircut soon after we moved here, and now seems that much more a boy and not a baby. Katie is just as flamboyant as always, but it has been harder on her than any of us I think with her friends all so far away. I hurt for her when she askes for them daily! I can't wait for things to get back into the fall schedule and she can meet more kids. In a couple of weeks she will start ballet and then skating not long after that.
I promise to keep more up to date on everything from here out, but that brings me to the note that our computer crashed a couple of weeks and ago, and we have been wandering blindly without it until about a week ago. Hope you are all doing well. We think of you and miss you all!

Catching Up

On Sunday, we drove down to Lakewood for a last visit with my roommate from college and her family before the big move. After lunch and some visiting we went to the Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma. It was a great zoo with lots of park area and animals to see. I highly recommend taking a day trip and visiting. The kids had a great time, and this was one of those visits when you realize that with good friends it doesn't matter how long it has been since you saw or spoke to each other, you feel like it has only been yesterday since you saw each other. Thank you Chris and Vanessa for the wonderful day. We loved hanging out with you and your boys!

Fathers Day Morning Soccer

Fathers Day was also Aaron's birthday this year. We had a great time before church just relaxing and Aaron and Luke spent a little time practicing their soccer.

My first Wranglers

Many of you may be thinking these are Luke's first pair of Wranglers... and they are, but they are actually my first pair of Wranglers! Who says quality doesn't last!

TuTu Cute!

A few weeks ago, Katie and Isabella had their last ballet class together. It is sad for me. They had so much fun together, and although they didn't always listen as they should together, they did learn a lot. Here is a sampling of that last lesson.

It's Official!

As most of you know, we will be moving to Alberta mid July. Today we finally removed all subjects from the house in Lacombe. So we now own 2 houses, but hopefully only until Saturday, this is when all subjects are to come off this house. What a whirlwind! It has only been a week since we listed this house, so it is an answer to prayer that things have gone so quickly and smoothly. I feel a comfort that God has opened and closed doors very clearly in all of this.