Snowfall and New Years Pictures

Today was one of those beautiful snow filled days. It started coming down this morning and continued until late this evening. I hope that I never stop enjoying each moment I get to spend outside in the snow, I even enjoyed shoveling the driveway this afternoon. It is always just so fluffy, soft, peaceful, and full of calm joy. It falls everywhere adding the pure white color to everything in sight. So much beauty!

Along with today's beautiful snowfall I had some errands to run including getting this semesters textbooks. Seven novels for one course, otherwise things weren't bad. Here's to forming a loving relationship with this semesters books!! I start classes next week, so this is my last week of holiday's and I plan on reading some more, resting, preparing for the semester and getting some youth plans for the coming months down on paper!

For now, here are some of the pictures from the New Years Eve gathering with the kids! Enjoy!

Preparing snacks, lounging around, Jan. 1st game of Quelf!

Decorating wine glasses for our sparkling juice to ring in the New Year!

Aaron, Oliver, and Rhys even after staying up late engage in Wii Dance while I make breakfast for ten!

Christmas and New Years Adventures...

It has been an amazing Christmas season starting with great worship on Christmas Eve while surrounded by wonderful friends and now I’ve just ended a marvelous New Years Eve celebration with my youngest brothers and sisters, cousins, and some long time friends!

Christmas Day saw all of us children together for the first time in almost a whole year, which is very sad but was also just completely joyous! I suppose this is the part of us older kids growing up… I definitely always seem to be off at some meeting, busy with school, or engaging in some piece of ministry… so I’m not helping with the "being present often" task!! So, we took the advantage of being together and got a few family pictures taken. The weather was fall-like with no snow in site so our pictures look like they were taken in the fall. But they turned out really good, yes, of course our group pictures did not have everyone looking in the same place at once and so on and so forth… but there are eight of us – one can only ask for so many miracles at a time!

I spent the days after Christmas sleeping, playing with the children, being the big-sister/house-making type person, and reading. Oh how completely lovely it was to read novels that are not on a required reading list… it has been months since I delved into such pleasure! Reminded me of how important and amazing it is!

I came back to my house in Kamloops on Wednesday hoping to run some errands but ended up sleeping almost the whole entire day, I must have needed it. And it didn’t help that a horrible headache took over. Ah, well as I was reminded a day of “nothingness” can be important every once in a while! So Thursday was my massive “prepare for New Years Eve” day and it was exhausting… the stores were packed full of people – and we all know how much I enjoy that…

So, New Years Eve this year… well, I hosted what I have been informed is the annual party this year at my place in Kamloops. So I currently have my four youngest siblings, three cousins, and two long time friends at my house taking over beds and floor space… I have somehow been kicked out of my bed and bedroom and sent to the air mattress on the living room floor. 3:00am and I am still hearing moments of laughter and the sounds of distant movies playing. Now I wonder, will they sleep in? And when will I be required to make breakfast?

Ah, it is all in great joy and we’ve made wonderful memories. Shared dinner, laughed lots, watched movies, played games, ate way too many snacks, and rang in the New Year with our sticker decorated wine glasses and sparkling juice! It was great!

Now… maybe sleep? I’ll share pictures from tonight when I can think properly again…

2010 Family Pictures!

Family Pictures 2010! See how everyone's grown!! Yes, Wesley does appear to be taller then me! Enjoy! (Family update to come soon!) And - these were taking on Christmas Day... that is right... no snow...

Aaron... Grade 2.

7 Years old.

Rhys... Grade 4.

9 Years old.

Taylor... Grade 6.

11 Years old.

Wesley... Grade 9.

14 Years old.

Sara... Grade 11.

16 Years old.

Deana.... Grade 12.

18 Years old.

Stewart... Cooking!

20 Years old.

Me... 4th Year University &

Youth Coordinator

22 Years old.

God can use you!

This was sent to me in an email the other week... very true and simply stated! God calls us all!

The next time you feel like God can't use you, just remember...
 


Noah was a drunk
 


Abraham was too old
 


Isaac was a daydreamer
 


Jacob was a liar
 


Leah was ugly
 


Joseph was abused
 


Moses had a stuttering problem
 


Gideon was afraid
 


Sampson had long hair and was a womanizer
 


Rahab was a prostitute
 


Jeremiah and Timothy were too young
 


David had an affair and was a murderer
 


Elijah was suicidal
 


Isaiah preached naked
 


Jonah ran from God
 


Naomi was a widow
 


Job went bankrupt
 


John the Baptist ate bugs
 


Peter denied Christ
 


The Disciples fell asleep while praying
 


Martha worried about everything
 


The Samaritan woman was divorced, more than once
 


Zaccheus was too small
 


Paul was too religious
 


Timothy had an ulcer...
 


AND Lazarus was dead!

No more excuses now!! God can use you to your full potential.

Fall Leaves

I have a soft spot for the Fall leaves and trees... I remember the Fall days when I was a young child... days that required a jacket to protect us from the nip in the air... days when we gathered piles of leaves together so we could run and jump into them. And then as we tired we would just lay in the leaves with the wind kissing our noses.

The leaves above are from a trip to Six Nations Reserve in Toronto Ontario this past month... the signs of fall can be found everywhere!

In Elementary school there were a few poems that we recited during the Fall season that I was fond of as a child:

Red leaves and yellow leaves
Orange leaves and brown,
Leaves are dancing everywhere

Happily dancing down.

AND

Leaves in the autumn came tumbling down,
Scarlet and yellow, russet and brown,
Leaves in the garden were swept in a heap,
Trees were undressing ready for sleep.

These Fall leaves are on the Thompson Rivers University campus in Kamloops, BC outside of the Arts and Education Building. The four or five trees you can see here I have loved in the Fall since my first year on campus... finally in my fourth year of school I got a picture of them! What a lovely color of red.

And finally these trees and the abundance of leaves that come from them are on the pathway to St. Paul's Cathedral in Kamloops. I've had the joy of watching these trees turn to their fall color in full splendor. Just last week I noticed the amazing amount of leaves on the ground... what a lovely path... beautiful color, and the amazing crunch beneath every step! What a great way to begin the time that will be spent at the church!!

Happy Fall!!

Fall Conference - Thanksgiving Weekend

What can be more fun then an annual Fall Conference over Thanksgiving Weekend with the British Columbia and Anglican Youth Movement? Not a whole lot!!

This year ninety-two youth, youth leaders, and chaperones gathered together in Colwood, BC for a weekend of fun, friendship, games, theme sessions, worship and lots more!

Twenty-eight or so young people from Kamloops and Savona attended the conference this year... we spent about eight hours on the bus together in transit to the event and ten hours on the way back - lots of good times! This is the largest group we've had from the Kamloops area in as long as I can remember... and the largest group BCYAYM has seen from the province in years as well. It was pretty exciting to gather with folks who were all there for the same reason!

If I had to sum up my experience of the weekend with a few numbers it would probably look like this:

Conference: Total of 74 hours
Travel: 18 hours
Emergency Room: 6.5 hours
Sleep: 11 hours
Ferry Adventure: 30 minutes

That's right - I encounter a number of adventures and not a whole lot of sleep! The time in the ER was because we had a young person who got sick, nothing major.... just some time with the IV! Out of though I learned that I am able to stay calm when taking someone who is not part of my family, whose parents are not around, and at times when we don't really know what's going on to the Emergency Room... and be in conversation with parents!! Not something I planned on learning... but nevertheless I did!

The ferry adventure was the result of five of the youth under my supervision getting stuck in the elevator for thirty minutes... of course this would happen this weekend!! We laugh about it a lot now... a lot! And what a great story for them all to have to share! Oh dear.... as a result they got a complimentary desert and hot drink - really they were not hard done by at all!

Other then the lack of sleep (although that did mean I was up and visiting with some wonderful folks!), the weekend was amazing. I think everyone had a great time! This was my last Conference as part of the BCYAYM Council but will still go and take the young people from this area with me in the future... and always support the wonderful work that is taking place here!

Sorrento Centre Video

My third summer at Sorrento Centre is quickly coming to an end. This year saying goodbye is particularly hard, I've had an amazing staff team - some really super awesome people to work with and get to know. I've once again been challenged, supported, encouraged, and given many opportunities to share and explore my gifts and passions.

We've made friendships that will probably last for our lifetime, and we've laughed tons and shed a few tears together. We say goodbye knowing that our paths will cross again... maybe even in a few weeks when the provincial youth conference happens again.

It's been great - and I hope those of you who have not been to Sorrento Centre before will consider taking the opportunity to. It is one pretty awesome and amazing thin space. Below is a link for a video that shares some of what happens in this place.... filmed in 2008... take a peak!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3zaF4MlxAQ