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