Bulletin Boards

I enjoy making bulletin boards at the church. Making them with youth, by myself, making them themed and not themed, complicated and easy. And always colorful!! So, recently we have done a lot of "new" bulletin board displays. On the large board in the Sunday school/youth room (well, hall) we made one themed around Martin Luther King Day, we talked about how we should all treat one another equally, how things were different years ago, and all that stuff. And my brilliant brain decided that one of my favorite poems would attach to this theme and make a fabulous bulletin board display! The poem goes like this: "We could learn a lot from crayons. Some are sharp, some are dull, some have weird names, some are more popular than others - but they all have to learn to live in the same box." So, I spent my week coloring massive crayons (I loved it), we made an amazing crayon box at youth group, and some Martin Luther King activities to go all around it. It was fabulous!

Then yesterday we talked about loving our neighbors and did a bulletin board around that. You know, we had to get into this whole Valentines Day theme somehow. So, we brainstormed who are neighbors are and how we can show love to them. 

Decorated it all with a whole bunch of wonderful foam hearts, and put it upstairs on the bulletin board, I've never done anything with the board upstairs, so we'll see what the congregation thinks of it all. We ended our evening together with a game that involved racing for candy, it is one of the only days that I easily get away with feeding the youth candy, it was tons of fun. Deana made cupcakes for us all, they were so tasty, we pretty much just had a great time together!

Last week I wasn't at youth group because the British Columbia and Yukon Anglican Youth Movement's Council was meeting in Burnaby. So the Leadership Team did the meeting and they did some artistic responses to two Psalms. Psalm 96 and 121 - they did a great job and we now have some poster board sized artwork along the wall by the stairwell. 

I think I'm done doing bulletin board stuff until spring comes - when a new array of ideas enter in my brain, ideas that I of course must do something with! Excitement!!

I thought Spring was coming...

I love the snow. Those of you who know me well know that I love the snow with a huge passion. It's peaceful, beautiful, white, pure, pretty, and just coats our world in a blanket of elegance. Well, the last few days Kamloops has been very warm with the most beautiful blue sky's and bright sunshine. It's been lovely and I started getting excited about the green grass, trees with leaves, no winter jackets, and flowers blooming. Especially excited about the blooming flowers. I think I spent all of yesterday with Spring Fever, my two hour lecture felt like days long because all I wanted to do was be outside, I even felt like running - which is almost a foreign concept! :o)

So, I wake up this morning, open my blinds, and guess what I see... snow! It was snowing, big fluffy white snowflakes. I had no idea what to even think, my brain was lost in a world of confusion. I guess I'll see what the coming days bring. Spring excites me but the snow is still elegant. 

On another note, I start reading break next week, and I keep forgetting about it. Now, that is a crazy concept, how does one forget about not having any school? I think I am feeling that a week off in March would be better for me, I am busy every weekend so being able to spend an extra few days somewhere without missing classes sounds like a nice idea. But that's okay, March will just be like October! 

Other than the three to four assignments I will be working on I'm hoping to spend some time back up at Skeetchestn Community School (where I graduated) and maybe in a few other places visiting people and catching up. And maybe, just a bit of time for relaxing!

New Years Eve and Winter Update

New Years Eve was amazing. Wesley, Taylor, Rhys, Aaron and our cousins Wylie, Brandy, Oliver, and Drew all joined together for a night of celebration. I of course found out I was hosting this amazing event just weeks before, and of course responded with complete excitement. I made tons of food, snacks of all kind from fruit to pizza bagels. We watched movies, played games, and had tons of fun together. We rang in the new year with sparkling apple juice in fabulous plastic cups. I was informed that I couldn't make anyone go to bed before 2am by Rhys, so I listened to him. It was great, it was peaceful, and it was fun. I truly can't imagine celebrating the new year any different.

My aunty Janice and I took my cousins Oliver and Travis, alo

ng with my brother Rhys on a great winter adventure. The earth was covered in ice, what was once a creek was ice. The boys had a ton of fun, and we all laughed when I successfully fell through the ice, it hurt, thankfully it wasn't that deep and I only had a bruise or two as a result. The most amazing image was when the sun was shinning on the snow and it all looked like diamonds. It was pure beauty. 

Sara, Deana, and Stewart

Sara is fourteen and in grade nine. She keeps busy with a million and one things it seems like and is working as a waitress at the Roadhouse Cafe in Savona. School is school and she enjoys spending time with all her friends. Sara is still as caring as she was when she was younger, and I don't think her love for animals will ever go away. 

Deana is sixteen and in grade eleven. She works also at the Roadhouse Cafe doing prep and cooking. Deana has been helping with youth group this year and is absolutely amazing to have with the group. She is looking forward to her last year of school and graduation which comes at the end of it!

Stewart is now eighteen and in his first year at Thompson Rivers University in the Culinary Arts program. He loves the program and is doing quite well in it. Stewart also lives in residence, so we get to see each other from time to time, which is very enjoyable, of course! He is also working part time during the school year, and already wondering where he will end up for his first apprenticeship this coming summer. 

And there you have it, a picture and short update on all the kids - definitely took me longer than I had planned but at last it is done!