Ballet Performance

Tonight was Olivia's last ballet class until after Christmas. The class had been working on a routine for the parents and grandparents to watch today. Olivia had been excited all week for us to come and watch her practice and then show us her routine. Grandma and Grandpa Reimer came with us to watch. She did great!!

Afterwards Grandpa and Grandma came to our house and enjoyed supper with us. It was a very fun evening. We are very proud of Olivia! She is having fun in class and it has been so good for her.

Tomorrow is a day off from school for us as we have a field trip in the city. We will tell you about it tomorrow!

See you later.
Sandy

Phase Two is Under Way!

Thanks to the new snow the kids and Gerald spent part of this afternoon working on Phase Two of the slide. They built a backdrop and piled snow in front of it. The kids had the job of going down the slide again and again to harden it before Gerald iced it. There still needs to be some work of the second half of the run but it is getting there.

Olivia rounding the corner

Caleb waiting to "high five" the next slider

Papa Bear hard at work

Andrew making a test run

As we have said before the kids have had a blast on the slide already this year. Some days they have been impatiently waiting for more snow to keep working on it, but they have spent hours and hours out there.

We have an early morning tomorrow as Gerald preaches in Brandon. We will leave around 7 am to get there in time.

Have a good weekend,

Sandy

Merry Christmas to Me!!

Merry Christmas to me!!!! For a few years I have asked for a new cookbook for Christmas. This year I handled it a little differently. I opened the website on the computer and sat Gerald down in front of the screen. I said, "I want this one and this one!" They arrived yesterday in the mail. I had a blast last night looking through them. I told Gerald he could gladly wrap them up and put them under the tree but not until Christmas Eve.

I came into the living room yesterday to see Olivia's doll sitting on the couch, with a head covering (see picture below). I got the giggles as I looked at her doll. Apparently her Mennonite background is coming into effect here as she thought her doll needed a head covering. But really, panties?? As I was laughing she explained to me that they didn't fit on her bottom so she put them on her head. Now, what am I missing in my parenting my sweet daughter for her to assume that when panties don't fit we wear them on our heads? I can safely assure you that she hasn't seen that modeled in our home. In this photo you will also see Olivia's own creation of a hairdo that she calls, "The Crazy Eighties". I really have no explanation for that either.

We will close with a video of the kids coming off the slide and going over the jump. No other words are necessary.



Sandy

Flu Shots

Andrew and I both have asthma. Because of that we both got our flu shots on November 21st. At that time the nurse informed me that the best way to protect us is for the whole family to get the flu shot. So, Gerald made appointments for the rest of them. He just picked up Caleb and Olivia to take them to get their shots. You can look at that two ways. Because of Andrew and I the rest of them suffer through the shot. Or, because of Andrew and I they will also have the protection of the flu shot.

So, that has got me thinking! What kind of protection am I taking with my faith, my spiritual walk? How am I surrounding myself with God's protection? How well am I covering my thoughts and heart in what I know to be moral and truth? What chances do I take, what roads do I willingly and knowing walk down that I should have avoided? I take steps to protect my health. How serious am I about purposely taking steps to protect my heart, to keep it tender and sensitive to Him? I know, you can't answer those questions for me, but I think it is time for me to do some evaluating.

Sandy

More Snow Fun!!!

It was another perfect day to enjoy the outside. We had another little snowfall the other day and the kids have been outside for hours every day. They have had a blast - I can't imagine what they will think when there is enough snow to actually make a track. Their good friends came over to enjoy the slide with them today. Once again - it was a great time.

Snow Princess Olivia

Andrew "catching" some air

All five kids attempting to come down as Santa Claus (the reindeer and the last one is Santa)

Caleb "flying" over the small jump

I've been baking all afternoon - more yummy Christmas treats. More about that later.

Sandy

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

A little bit of snow fell last night - enough to scrape together and enjoy some more sledding fun off the tree fort. The neighbor kids came over too and a good time was had by all!! Even Lobo enjoyed being outside and trying to "attack" the kids as they came to the end of their slide. I heard a rumor that while Olivia and I were at ballet Gerald even went down the slide. Then I heard that there needs to be some reinforcements in place before too many adults go down. Some more snow would help too! The kids had a blast and were outside for a long time.



Needless to say, the kids are praying for more snow!

Monday Morning is Here Again

Why is it that the weekends go by so quickly? We have had a nice relaxing few days together but the weekend is over and tomorrow morning Gerald goes back to work and we go back to school. As I type this the kids and Gerald are playing a game at the counter. It is almost time for jammies for Olivia.

Friday afternoon Gerald took the kids skating. Our rink here in town has homeschooling skating twice a week. It was the first time this winter that our children have gone. They had a blast! Gerald said that by the end Olivia was skating end to end without any help. She had just started getting the hang of skating toward the end of last year while the boys have been skating for a few years already.

Saturday the boys played lots of hockey in the basement while Gerald did lots of homework. That was especially tough on the boys. Dad had spent all day Friday with them - even doing some of school with them. Then Saturday he wanted to get caught up on his school work and they didn't want to leave him alone. They all went with him to do some errands while I stayed home and cleaned Olivia's room.

All is all it has been a nice relaxing weekend. I could use a few more days of that! I am looking forward to Christmas break, but that is still a few weeks away.

Time to start getting the kids to bed - then I can go to bed too :)
Sandy

Gerald is Home

Yahoo!! Gerald arrived home around 4:30 this afternoon. We had our first supper as a family in a week. And the first meal I've really cooked all week. We all sat around and visited and LOVED being together as a family once again. Every time one of the kids come and ask me something I have been telling them, "You have a father. Go ask him!" I am going to be off duty for the rest of the evening. I will come back on duty just in time for school in the morning. I wouldn't say it has been a great week, but it was as good as it could be with Gerald gone.

Off to enjoy our evening together as a family. I love that God created it to be that way.

Sandy

Andrew's Accomplishment

We went to visit Grandma Braun today. It had been a long time :( She was in the middle of Bible Study but she didn't seem to mind that we interrupted. Caleb and Olivia kept her laughing with all of their games and silly sayings. Of course I had to tell her everything they said because they didn't speak loud enough for her to hear. She was in a very jovial mood and we enjoyed visiting her.

I made some more Christmas treats today. I only ate two pecan delights (made a few days ago), one peanut butter ball, and two chocolate covered peanuts. I say only because I sure felt like eating a lot more of them. Yep, I am missing Gerald today and I often deal with my emotions by eating. I did go for a walk today - good thing!!!

Gerald was in Picture Butte today and is heading for Bethany tomorrow to take his niece and nephew out for supper. He will be home Thursday. You can bet that we will all stay up and wait for him no matter how late it gets. Caleb has asked me several times when dad is coming home.

Andrew finished reading the New Testament this week. Caleb is still in Luke - although Andrew started long before Caleb did. Way to go Andrew! I can not say that I accomplished that at his age, or even the next ten years after that. And, well, maybe even longer than that. He has an amazing heart that is sensitive to His Jesus! I love that about him.

Sandy

Make Work Project

With the little bit of snow that has fallen the last few days the kids are itching to use the slide that Gerald built off the tree fort in the backyard. So after school today Caleb and Olivia took their shovels out there and started pushing the snow towards the end of the slide. After they got a mound at the bottom they gave it a try. Shouts of yahoo were heard in the house as then went down again and again. They think it is fun now, wait until their dad come home and ices the slide. Watch them fly then! What do you think my chances are of getting them to shovel the driveway? Do you think they will believe me when I tell them to think of all the snow they could haul to the back from the driveway and how far they could go on the sleds?

Andrew has yet to try it out as he isn't quite finished with school. He will have all afternoon to play out there. Olivia is off to a friend's house after lunch so it can be boy time.

Gerald is traveling from Calgary to Taber today - starting the road home. Now YAHOO from the wife!

Sandy

A Mom and Her Three Kids

I don't like it when Gerald is gone. Having said that, I find that there are several things that usually happen when he is on a trip. The kids are much more help around the house. They have chores to do every day but it seems as I am much more of top of making sure they get done by them and not me when Gerald is away. Secondly, I find that overall the house stays much neater. Probably cause and effect of the previous sentence. The kids eat meals without any "This isn't my favorite!" I am sure that is due to the fact that I don't cook very much when Gerald isn't home. So we eat foods that are simple to make, easy to clean up, and the kids generally like. The house makes wwwwaaaayyyy more noise when he is gone. Ok, I will admit that it is just that I hear every creak when he is gone and that makes it harder to relax around here.

We made it to early church on time this morning and had a good morning. I taught Children' s Church and Sunday School and then we came home and had left overs. The kids went out to play on the drive way in the snow that had fallen last night. They use there plastic sleds to slide down the driveway. I know that sound dangerous as the street is at the end of driveway but they are responsible children and NEVER go into the street (well, almost never). I had a chance to go for a walk - thanks Marcella for watching the kids so I could get out.

Saturday we went out to do the shopping for Operation Christmas Child. We chose a girl this year as we did a boy last time. With careful packing we even got it all into the box. Another great way to teach the kids that helping others is the way to go. They took a personal interest as they picked out the items and then at bedtime we prayed for the little girl that will receive our box.

Gerald is in Calgary today with a full day of preaching and being a part of two different services, supper with youth leaders and a talent show tonight. He was bowling with another youth group last night. Our kids wanted to know if he was going to see a Flames game. I think the boys would have put up a fuss if he had gone and they weren't with him.

Time for some hot chocolate and snuggle up under a blanket on the couch as I listen to the kids play downstairs.

Sandy

We are still here!

Yes, we are still alive! Life moves along rather quickly sometimes and I think we are in one of those times. We are all well and healthy. Andrew and I get our flu shots next week and that should help us move through the flu season without antibiotics.

We are well into the Christmas spirit here with the tree up and the house all decorated. Although the kids are wondering when there are going to be some presents under the tree. I have done some Christmas baking already and will probably do some more this weekend.

Gerald has been busy at work - doing two ministry weekends (Discover Your Ministry Potential and the Youth Leader Retreat) in the last two months. Today he left for a trip out west. He made all the rest of cry when he told us goodbye. He left rather early this morning so said goodbye to the kids last night. We don't like it when he is gone from us, but that is part of his job. He is also taking three classes at Providence Seminary this fall. One of those classes requires him to do three hours of visitation a week. Try to fit that into the schedule without sacrificing family time :(

We have five weeks of school left before Christmas break. We are looking forward to that! In the meantime, school is going well and the kids are progressing. Olivia is reading much better than she was at the start of the year. Andrew is reading an average of 363 words a minute. That is probably faster than I read! Caleb is doing very well. His biggest struggle is learning to accept that it is ok to get some wrong once in awhile. We are enjoying our home school group very much and looking forward to the gym night tonight.

Olivia is LOVING her ballet class. We are all looking forward to the observation class in December where we can go watch. She tells us that they are practicing a routine for us. It has been really good for her to have something of her own. She told me that it is really hard but fun.

Well, my pecan delights are ready to be smothered in chocolate. Makes me think of you, mom! Come share them with me!

Sandy

What kind of mother am I?

What kind of Canadian/American Mennonite mother am I? My three children are outside playing war. The War of 1812 to be exact. No doubt influenced by Andrew's study of The Bully Boys and Lt. James Fitzgibbons. They are building forts and using all sorts of weapons (including golf clubs as guns). I am surprised that they haven't yet included horses as he is also studying the history of the North West Mounted Police - later to become the RCMP. They are having a blast!

Olivia has a birthday party in about half an hour. I have reminded her several times that she will have to trade her weapons for party attire and a girl hairdo. I love the days when all three play together so splendidly.

The kids are all getting used to doing their own chores once again since Grandma Katie left. She let them off the hook for 10 days in a row. We had a good visit with her.

Off to errands and to deliver Olivia to her party,
Sandy

I was also supposed to write a blog about the boy's night out to an NHL exhibition hockey game in Winnipeg. Together with my dad, we went in to see Calgary Flames play against the Phoenix Coyotes on September 24. We had a blast. Dad and I enjoyed watching the boys with their wide eyes taking it all in. They were both cheering for Calgary and were not disappointed...they won 3-2, after being down 2-0 early in the first period.


Gerald

Apparently it was my turn to write a blog and I wasn't making it happen...so here it is.
We have been enjoying a good visit from Sandy's mom this past week. Dad brought her up last weekend and returned to Montana a couple of days later. He is coming back this week to pick her up again.
The kids have been having lots of fun "Grandma" time and Sandy and I have also been able to go out to a couple of evening events while the kids were at home with her. On Thursday night we attended a parenting seminar and then on Friday night we attended the Inner City Youth Alive Fundraising Banquet in Winnipeg. It was a very good event.
On Saturday we went out to a pumpkin farm and enjoyed a beautiful autumn day in the bush with the leaves turning colour all around us.

We are in the middle of a busy season but feel like we have still been able to enjoy some good family time. We hope winter doesn't come to quickly but on the other hand, I have promised the kids that I will try and build a winter slide in the backyard coming down from the tree fort. They are pumped about that but Dad now has to make it happen up to their high standards!

Have a good week!
Gerald

Christmas Card Photo Shoot

We went to the park last night to take some pictures of the kids. It wasn't my intention to use them for Christmas cards, but they sure turned out!

Olivia - six year old

Caleb - seven years old

Andrew - nine years old

We are leaving right after church tomorrow to take the kids to Morden and then off to the cabin for Gerald and I. We are excited and looking forward to having four days to ourselves!

Sandy

Pictures from our home school party

We had a great time at our home school party this afternoon. It was held in the barn at the farm of one of the families. After a few organized games we enjoyed some free time visiting with friends and jumping off the loft onto the barn swing. Even Olivia was brave enough to do it - twice! I am sure they will sleep well tonight.

(Olivia sitting on the fence)

The Last Ten Days

Where did the last 10 days go? These days are flying by. In the last 10 days Olivia started her ballet classes. She has had two classes now. We can't see what the class is like as we have to sit outside the class and the windows all have blinds on them. She told me after her class on Monday that it is fun but it is hard work. We miss next week but the week after that is the observation class so I am definitely looking forward to taking some pictures and seeing all that she does.

We started Awana tonight. The kids were all excited about another year. I am helping this year. Last year I ended up sitting there half the night anyway waiting for Olivia to get comfortable. So, I decided that I might as well help while I am there.

We finished our project on the planets that we were working on. We blew up balloons, used paper mache to cover them and then painted them. They are hanging around the light (sun) in the school room.

Gerald and I went to Camp Assiniboia last weekend. Gerald was on the leadership team of the Discover Your Ministry Potential weekend. It was a very good weekend! The kids stayed with friends and had a good time. Gerald and I had several good discussions as we worked through the material. While I am an introvert and Gerald is an extrovert neither of us are on the extreme end.

Our home school group has started up. The moms got together to plan the year. Tomorrow starts our kick off with a party in the afternoon. The kids are excited to see their friends and get together for some fun.

I am still canning although it has slowed down. I have several pails of tomatoes in the freezer that have to be made into salsa (thanks to my mother-in-law who helped prepare them for me). I canned the last of the apple juice yesterday - every juice jar that I have is full. I canned some apple sauce today. There are still apples on the trees after several people have come and picked. I will probably do one more batch of apple sauce and then be finished with the apples. We will eat and give away the rest.

On Sunday Gerald and I are leaving for our four days/three nights at a cabin in the woods. The kids are going to Morden to stay with Aunt Dar and Uncle Jake. I am so looking forward to this time. It was been a long long time since we have had some time alone without the kids that wasn't work related. Gerald is taking the whole week off. Wednesday the boys are going to the Calgary Flames game in Winnipeg. Andrew is counting down the days until then. I am sure they will have an amazing time.

I have been to the doctor twice in the last ten days. Since the beginning of August I have been having problems with my hands. Besides having discomfort and pain, they hurt when I use them and I have had to alter the way I do some things. I also haven't been able to get my rings on. They ran a bunch of test and took some x-rays which all came back normal. The next step is they are sending me to a specialist in Winnipeg.

Well, everybody else is in bed and I need to go too!

Sandy

Happy Birthday Andrew!

Today is Andrew's 9th birthday! We are so proud of him and his ongoing maturity. We have been blessed with three wonderful children, two of which have Andrew as their "big" brother. And he is a fantastic big brother to them and a great friend as well.


Sandy has been busy with canning and has filled dozens and dozens of jars of "harvest" from our garden and yard.


We are also into our "fall schedule" and that includes home school for the kids (and I at Providence Seminary), Awana, teaching Sunday School and Children's Church, ballet for Olivia and so much more. We are enjoying this stage of life and blessed to be able to do all of this!

(The kids working on a science project - discovering our solar system.)

Gerald

Canadian Citizen!

On Thursday, September 4, Sandy Marie Reimer became a Canadian citizen!!! When we began the application process back in February, we were told it would be a minimum of 15 months until she would have her papers complete. Now, just seven months later, she is done! Moments after the ceremony was done, Olivia tells Sandy..."now you are part of our team." We are amazed and very thankful...she must have been a shoo-in because of her amazing husband:-). Now we can apply for her passport and then we are all done.


Gerald

Gerald's First Day of School

Today is Gerald's first day of school. He is taking another class at Providence Seminary as he continues to plug away at his Masters. The kids and I told him to be a good listener and pay attention to his teacher today :) I think he is a little nervous about the amount of work this class will be. He has heard rumors that there is three hours of visitation required each week on top of all the other requirements. Of course he is still working full time as well as being a father and a husband.

The kids and I have settled into a good routine with our school. We are in our third week already. Andrew has done amazing with all the explorers that he is required to know. I go over them with him and I can't even remember who did what. He had a history test yesterday and got a 97%. The one problem he did get wrong I had to "prove" to him that it was wrong. He loves history and enjoys learning about it all.

I have still been canning lots this week. Yesterday I did a batch of apple juice, spaghetti sauce and apple butter. Today I will pick all the red tomatoes and get them ready to make another batch of salsa. Between Caleb and Gerald I think we go through a jar of salsa a week. So, there is still lots of salsa to can to keep them stocked until next year. If there is still time in the day I will do another batch of apple butter.

Tomorrow we will leave right at 12 to make it to the city in time for the citizenship ceremony. By tomorrow afternoon I will be a Canadian citizen. Will it feel any different? I will let you know later.

Until then,
Sandy

One More Thing (for this week)

I can't believe I forget to add our trip to the hospital. Thursday afternoon Caleb and Andrew was playing soccer in the backyard. Caleb was playing barefoot. On one play he wound up for a really hard kick and missed. From here the story gets a little muddled, but we do know that his foot hit the ground. First Gerald took him to the clinic and from there they were sent to the hospital to get an x-ray. Neither the toe nor the foot was broken but he bruised the bone. Since then Gerald has affectionately referred to him as "Broken Toe Caleb".

A Weeks Worth of News

What a week it has been! I don't think I sat down much this week. It was a full week of school. And then on top of that I was canning apple juice (12 jars), salsa (18 jars) and pizza sauce (5 jars). The apples are falling. But the challenge is the ones that fall are generally ripe while the apples on the tree are not quite ready. Today we threw all the apples on the ground away. I do need a day off from canning. Next week I will continue on with more apple juice, apple butter, salsa, and spaghetti sauce - until the tomatoes from the garden are finished.

We totally cleaned the boys room out this week as well. We went through everything (except their clothes) saved what they wanted and got rid of everything they didn't want any more. Little sister Olivia sat at the get-rid-of-pile and asked for every item. I told her NO!!!! I do not want to clean the same items out a second time as we clean her room this week. We also replaced the double bed in their room with the bunk beds. There was much debate as to who would have the honor of the top bunk. Andrew won out on that but with the understanding Caleb would sleep up there some nights too. Olivia chimed in that she would like a night up there too. We will see how that goes. Thursday night Gerald's parents were here for night. We gave them our bed and slept downstairs. Olivia said that I was too far away so she decided to sleep downstairs too. I am not sure she would last one whole night in the bunk bed!

While Gerald's parents were here on Friday, Mom worked on my quilt while the kids and I were in school. It looks amazing! She finished the one side I was working on, although I hadn't gotten very far. I am not sure I will get to it before canning season is over. But it is encouraging to see how nice it looks when it is finished.

Gerald took a load to the MCC thrift store today. We are trying to clean out some of the items that are not being used around here. He is also cleaning up all the camping items as that season is over for now. We had decided to try and take it somewhat easy this weekend, but that is hard to do when there is so much to do. I have a long list of items that I would like to accomplish before the snow flies.

This coming week will also be very busy. Between the canning and school, I have my citizenship ceremony on Thursday. We will leave right after school for Winnipeg for the ceremony. Once that is completed I have a long list of shopping that has to be done. We have to be home by 7:00 to attend a meeting. Friday there is a doctor's appointment, hair cuts for the kids, and a supper with Gerald's work.

Time to close the epistle, if I had posted sooner there wouldn't be so much to say :)
Sandy

One Week Down!

Tomorrow we will finish our first week of school. Only 33 more weeks to go! We have gotten off to a good start and it feels good to get back into a routine. Andrew is really excited about his history and science. It is always fun to teach something that they are really excited about. Caleb and Olivia have had an easier week but Monday everything will kick in and their days will be longer too.

Swimming lessons finished today. All three kids worked very hard. Caleb and Andrew passed on to the next level. Olivia accomplished many on the things that she needed to but just couldn't get the back float or the back glide. So, she will have to repeat this level. She wasn't too happy about it although her mother felt worse for her than she did. She was pretty excited that she got to go down the red slide at the pool at her lesson today. Not even her brothers have done that yet so she was feeling pretty happy about that.

After we finish school tomorrow we will be packing for the weekend. Gerald is speaking at a college and career camping weekend in Hecla Island this weekend and the kids and I are going along. After looking at the weather for the weekend we will need to pack some warm clothes. Thank goodness we have an electrical site!

Hope your weekend is good,
Sandy

First Day of School

Today we started school. As much as the boys complained about the end of summer vacation they were quite excited to begin their studies this morning. It will take most of the week for me to work out the best schedule for all three kids. Andrew definitely will have more work in Grade Four this year. He is excited to have more Science and History this year and less Handwriting and Phonics. Olivia is super excited about being in Grade One and Caleb is glad to being learning new things as well. Gerald measured the kids this morning. Andrew and Caleb both grew 1 and 3/4 inch in the last seven months. Olivia grew 1 and 5/8th inch. I am guessing when it is time for long pants everything is going to be a little on the short side.

Swimming lessons continue on this week. Friday they got their mid-term reports. They all have some things that they need to work on for this final week. The boys overall are doing well. Olivia is doing well with everything except the back float - she sinks! If she can't master it this week she will have to repeat this level. She loves going to the lesson and today they jumped off the diving board - she was thrilled with herself on that one!

We are attempting to have a little earlier bedtime now that we are in school but it is still a bit of a struggle. We have really enjoyed our long summer break. And now we are changing routine to the school schedule and that is good too!

We have been enjoying the "fruits" of the garden. We have had broccoli, peas, onions, carrots and zucchini. I have put the first of the tomatoes in the freezer. The peppers aren't quite ready so the tomatoes will have to wait until the peppers are ready to make salsa. We have also enjoyed some corn on the cob compliments of the farmers market.

I'll close with the pictures Gerald took of the kids this morning before school.

(Husking corn)

Good Evening,
Sandy

One Year Ago

One year ago today we left Rosenort and headed south to Mexico. Hard to believe one year has passed since that day. As a family we talked yesterday again about what an amazing adventure that was for our family. The kids will still occasionally talk about Tanya and her family - such great memories.

All three of the kids are taking swimming lesson this week and next week. They are doing well and enjoying them. We are also enjoying watching some Olympics in the evening. The boys are trying to come to terms with this being the last week of their summer holidays. We are planning on starting school on Monday. Olivia is super excited to be in grade one so she is ready to start. We have had 14 weeks of summer break and it is time to get back to school.

Grandma Marie is hanging in there. She is recovering from her fall the other day. Her lungs are sounding much better. She has days of being very with it and understanding who and what is going on and then days when she is lost. Her only sibling (a sister) died yesterday and Nancy told me she seemed to understand that. I am so thankful for the time I had with her.

I close today with three pictures from our camping trip with Glenn and Nancy. We had a great relaxing time and took almost 200 pictures. Enjoy your day!

Sandy

Olivia showing her balancing skills

The boys ready to take off

The cousins ready to eat (where are you Kelsie?)

Home Again

The kids and I arrived home yesterday late afternoon. It was a busy fast trip but a good decision to go. Grandma Marie is back at the nursing home - although she fell yesterday. She is going to turn 94 years old in a few weeks. My mom and dad have been Grandma's primary care givers for many many years. Right now my mom is in Kentucky with my sister Melody helping her with a crisis she is experiencing while my dad is busy with harvest. My sister Nancy lives an hour away but is very restricted in her ability to drive due to cataracts. So, I went to help out. It was very special to spend that time with Grandma and the last day I was there she even knew who I was!

While I was gone my letter from the citizenship office arrived telling to appear for the swearing in ceremony. On September 4th I will officially be a Canadian.

Today I think the kids and I are going to lay around and watch the Olympics. There is lots I need to do but it can all wait another day. (Katrina, wish I was watching it with you :)

Sandy

Family Update...

Sandy spent five hours sitting with her Grandmother yesterday. Grandma Marie is hanging in there but said at one point yesterday that she was about ready to give up and join her husband in heaven. Sandy said it was bitter sweet to see her grandmother in this state!
Sandy is planning on staying there for a couple of more days but of course we are not sure what the near future will hold in this regard.

Thank you for your prayers on our behalf.
~ Gerald

Prayer Item...

We want to let you know of something to pray for...Sandy and the kids left today at noon to go down to Montana so she could spend some time with her 94 year old Grandma who came down with Pneumonia a few days ago. Obviously at this age it could be tough for her to recuperate and so we felt it would be good for Sandy to go and be a support during this time.
We'll keep you posted!

~ Gerald

What should I do?

I'm enjoying a hour at home by myself. The kids have been going down the street every day after lunch this week to attend a five day backyard Bible Club. They have very much enjoyed learning about Hudson Taylor. I almost feel lost! I don't really know what to do when I have time to myself as that doesn't happen very often. Today I am starting to get ready for our camping trip. We are leaving on Sunday morning to head down to Lake Metigoshe to spend several days camping with my sister and her family. This would be our fourth year in a row to be in the same place with the same people - except last year our trip to Mexico took over the planned camping. The kids are very excited to see their cousins and to be camping. We have raised three kids that love camping!
The weather looks to be hot the whole week and we are looking forward to being at the water and just relaxing.

Yesterday it was so hot and I kept thinking about how nice it would be to sit and relax in the hammock. As nice as I thought it would be to have the hammock appear this morning the space is still bare. I started to pray that the people who stole it would feel guilty and return it and then I begin to wonder if the Lord is concerned about me losing my hammock or the heart of those who took it. I'm sad that it is gone, but I am pretty sure the Lord of the universe is more concerned with where their heart is at. So, I pray that my hammock will be a seed in the journey of them coming to know the Savior. My slow process of letting go and starting to see the bigger picture of the journey of life loving Jesus - something that doesn't come easy to me many time. Small steps at a time.

Sandy

Something is Missing!

We woke up to a sad discover this morning. Twelve years ago when I came home from Bolivia I brought with me a hammock. Finally, this year we had a place to hang it up. Gerald hung it under the tree fort from the leg posts. The kids have had a lot of fun playing in it while Gerald and I have enjoyed relaxing in the shade of the fort. Someone came during the night and took it - all of it including the straps from around the posts. Our neighbors hammock that has been hanging in their back yard for about two years is still there. We are bummed for several reasons. It came from South America (hard to replace). We had really enjoyed being out there. I keep telling myself that it is just a thing and that is true, but we are still disappointed.
Sandy

Seven Minutes...

Seven minutes flat...that's all it took for my American wife to write the Canadian Citizenship exam. When we arrived about 30 minutes early, there were about 30-40 people sitting around waiting to take the exam. When the door opened to go into the courtroom, Sandy was at the front of the line and off she went. I barely had time to say a word of prayer and out she comes with a big smile on her face. In the 20 question, multiple-choice exam, she said she knew all the answers and is very confident she aced it...I think she's probably right...she studied hard-core to make sure she was prepared!
Now she has to wait 2-4 months to get the letter in the mail that either tells her she made it or go in for a "second" oral exam (highly unlikely). Then it is the "swearing in" ceremony in the same courtroom...all this should be a done deal by November...about 6 months sooner than we were informed it would take!
So we spent the rest of the day hanging out in Winnipeg together, just relaxing and enjoying her accomplishment!
Soon I'll be married to a Canadian woman...sounds a little odd but I think I can easily get used to that.:-)
~ Gerald

Big Test Tomorrow

The big test is tomorrow. I have been studying and feel somewhat relaxed about it. I am sure tomorrow morning it will be another story. I think they let us know right away if we pass or not. As someone told me this week, "I have never heard of anyone failing the test!" I don't plan on being the first. From what I understand this is the last part of the citizenship process. If I pass (or when I pass) the test I will receive a "Notice to Appear to Take the Oath of Citizenship". It certainly has gone a lot faster then the 15 to 24 months that they first told us. It is just now six months.

Tonight at supper we had peas from our garden. The kids ate them and informed me that they actually liked them and that they taste much different then the ones we buy in the store. I also harvested the first zucchini and made it into chocolate cake with chocolate icing - it is Andrew's favorite cake. Today was the first time I had to water our garden. We have had lots of rain up til now.

I took both boys up to the doctor today to have their warts frozen. Andrew was not impressed, but we had worked on them for a long time and thought they were gone when they started growing again. The doctor thought Andrew's would be gone with one application but that Caleb's might need another treatment.

Well, off the do the last minute cramming, :)
Sandy

Olivia's Birthday!

These past three weeks have been jam-packed with action for our family. Three weeks ago it was convention meetings with our denomination here in Steinbach. Last week it was VBS all week long at our church...Sandy was in charge of the snack (and I was her big helper...)...we prepared and served approx. 800 individual snacks over the course of the week...and these were very unique creations, as you can see...
This week I took time some holiday time...but I would not say it was a "vacation." We started the week with three days of camping with my folks and a sister and her family.
Then we went fishing with a dear neighbour friend of ours, Mr. Jake, as the kids call him.
Another activity included going mountain biking in the Sandilands...quite a workout for Olivia, but she made it all the way around the black loop...about 6.5 km.

The boys and I went golfing again and we also did some more work on the tree fort.

Then of course today we celebrated Olivia's birthday...our youngest child is now 6 years old! We had a wonderful day as we took her to Winnipeg and brought her to a special store where she tried on her new "ballet" outfit that she will use for taking lessons this fall...she was soooooo excited!
Her choice of restaurant for lunch was Montana's where she got to wear the "horns."
We topped it off with a ballet shoes cake that Sandy had made for her.

We have had a great week and feel so blessed to have spent this time together as a family. I will work this next week and then take the following week off again for some more camping, this time with Sandy's sister's family in North Dakota!

Gerald

Morning of Cleaning

I finally got motivated today to clean up our school room - almost two months after we finished school. The kids helped me put all of last years school books away, throw away all the garbage, vacuum, dust, and take all the stuff off the walls. I also unpacked all the boxes of next years school books and I bet you can guess what the kids are doing right now - yep, looking at their books for next year. I told them they could gladly look at them after they cleaned up the big room in the basement. It was at the point where we were walking around items to get where we need to go.

Gerald has been very busy the last few days with lots of meetings. Yesterday the chain on Caleb's bike was stuck and I tried very hard to fix it but I couldn't. I did walk to two different neighbors houses to see if we could find some help but nobody was home. At that point Caleb was NOT impressed that he would not see his dad for quite a few more hours. So when Gerald did come home I told him that if he did not get anything else done he had to fix Caleb's bike. And so it was accomplished.

Our family did our presentation on Mexico last night at the conference - the kids did an excellent job. Gerald and I were once again amazed how well our kids do in front of crowd. We were very proud of them.

Olivia got her ears pierced this week. It was something we talked about for her birthday - which is still two weeks away. She was not impressed with how much she said it hurt, but by the time we were on the way home she was glad it was done and made many trips to the mirror to check them out.

Tomorrow VBS starts. Gerald and I are handling all the food. We are all excited for the week.

Have a good weekend.
Sandy

Canada Day Golfing

Today was the day that we went golfing. It was fun because we got to do 9 holes. I got to drive the golf cart and that was lots of fun. I also liked golfing very much too. It was mine, Olivia's, Andrew's and Mom's first time golfing a complete game. Tonight we are going to go watch the fireworks here in Steinbach. This will be us kids' second time watching them on Canada Day, which reminds me...Happy Canada Day everyone!!!
Here are some pictures of us golfing this morning!

(A HARD practice swing...)

(A good looking shot...)

(Nice putt, Olivia...)

(Get in the hole...)

(Could I see your Driver's Licence, please?)

(Hello in there...aaaaahhhhhh)

(Ain't I purrrrty...)

This is Caleb, signing off...