Taylor

Taylor... Taylor is still very much the youngest girl in our family. With an older brother and two younger ones she is right in the middle, and she deals with it amazingly! The boys, are well boys, and Taylor is, well a princess of sorts. But she knows how to speak up, and chase down those boys when they are being... boys. Taking after me I guess, must always know how to pin a brother down to the floor when necessary! 

Taylor is in grade four, nine years old, and growing up quickly. She loves school and learning and does very well in all areas. She also can not wait to be able to join youth group... next year!! Weekly Taylor tries to convince me to let her, and unfortunately I can't because I would then have to let everyone else!

Taylor has taken a liking to photography, taking many pictures both indoors and outside with her new camera. It has opened a new area of joy in her life. She also loves coming to church and participating in Sunday school, and she gets along with almost everyone - old and young!

She likes doing quiet things but also enjoys playing outside or with the boys. She loves horses and is always willing to lend  hand. Taylor and I have a pretty close relationship with each other, probably because she is the youngest girl and I am the oldest girls. And we are both kind of quiet, at least when we want to be!

Rhys

Rhys... Rhys is still very much Rhys! Just a bit older, a lot taller, and with long hair!! Grade two, seven years old, and still one big full ball of energy. The only way I can describe him properly is to ask you to think of the energy bunny, the one that never stops going, that is an amazing image of Rhys. 

It's amazing though, everything he does, the things he will do without even thinking of the possible injuries or consequences, it is all really is amazing. My brain has never functioned at that level. He does have the ability to sit and be calm, and make right choices, it's just on his own time. 

Just like Aaron, Rhys has surprisingly taken a true liking for art. And the art set he received for Christmas has seeded some calm and quiet time in Rhys' day! Rhys really likes school and is in the same class as Aaron, which has worked out quite well. 

Rhys spends a lot of time outside in all sorts of weather, the snow does not keep him inside! In the fall he took up soccer and I suspect that in the spring he will once again do softball! Rhys also likes to try and tell me what to do, as much as it is very cute it can often be annoying, but I put up with it using my normally wonderful skill of patience! His long hair would be because he will not go sit in a hair dressers chair, and he likes it long. It is growing on me and it is starting to suite him.

Recently Rhys and Aaron have decided that all my friends are also their friends. So, my dear friends, you have been adopted as Rhys and Aaron's friends as well. And they don't care that they don't know you and possibly will never meet you. And if I talk about you or tell them a story about you they might start talking about you also. (Sorry Heather!!) It is rather cute though!

Rhys and I have amazing discussions about many fascinating topics, sometimes I can't believe he is my younger brother but someone older than he actually is. Just like many of the other children, he asks great questions, and enjoys coming to church with me still! 

Aaron

Aaron, well the youngest will always be the baby, but he is already in Kindergarten, five years old! Growing up quick and just a joy to play and hang out with. He thankfully still likes to cuddle with me on the couch with a movie, tell me that he loves me, and gives hugs and kisses. He still misses me terribly when I am not around and his face turns to disappointment when it is time for me to leave again; he does a great job at breaking my heart frequently. I hope this bond between us never changes too drastically; might be stronger since there is almost sixteen years between us! 

Aaron is also quite smart, he asks the most amazing questions, some of which I have no answers for! We have fabulous discussions about God, Jesus, and the Church, and whenever I come home he always asks if we are going to say grace before we eat. And when I tell him we are going to his response is one of a smile! He doesn't mind me continuously singing, and often will join in. When Sara told me to stop singing this evening when I was bathing Aaron because it was "driving her crazy" I told her that Aaron and I liked it. She looked at him and asked if it was true and he went "yep, I like it!" He is doing great in school and really enjoying it. He had a bit of a rough time at first, but really... who doesn't!? Definitely did better than I did when it was time to enter into Kindergarten.

Aaron has taken a huge passion for coloring and drawing pictures. My collection of pictures from him is continuously growing, and even one of my friends is getting a picture from him when I go back to school. 

Aaron enjoys coming to Church with me and still loves to play outside in all types of weather. He has taken to enjoy doing puzzles and is becoming quite the pro at computer games. It's hard for him to understand how long away his birthday actually is (in August), I've lost count of how many "birthday lists" I've made in preparation. Each and every celebration is a bundle of joy with him, his excitement is easily passed on to the rest of us. 

Winter Adventure

Rhys, Aaron, and I went on a winter adventure today. We started with getting ready - I had forgotten how much work it is to get two kids and myself all bundled up to go outside. But after fifteen minutes or so we had it managed and the task complete. Thankfully the snow was not snowball making material so we were able to dodge that event. We climbed on the jungle gym which I have learned I'm a bit to big to play on now... how unfortunate. We made snow angels, I haven't done it for years, I felt like a child again!

After hanging around the backyard we ventured down to the beach with the hopes to feed the swans. It was a windy day and throughout the night the snow and been blown around so we had snow drifts to frequently dodge and the swans were nowhere to be seen. In many places the snow was deep enough to make me fall down, and Aaron just had an adventure of a time getting down the hill. We all loved it though: falling, getting stuck, pulling each other up just to end up on top of each other, I haven't played in the snow like that for a number of years. 

Upon arriving to the beach the boys took off to find the ice which had been cover by a fair amount of snow. Once they found it we started attempting to remove some of the snow and we found a rock under the ice. The boys decided that this was a turtle. I think this is coming from the new found love for my friends turtles that they have gained over the course of the day. They barley know her and haven't seen her turtles but think that it would be a great idea if she would share them... ah, the joy of little boys imaginations! They still won't accept my answer that it is just a rock, so I will go along with this fabulous finding. Although I'm not too sure about the daily walk to the beach until the ice melts and the "turtle" is freed so we can save it and take it home for a pet. 

On our way home we hit the same snow drift dilemmas, and had just as much fun with them. Upon reaching the top of  a short hill from the beach Rhys and Aaron decided that it would be fun to jump down the hill numerous times just to walk back up. Our cat also found us, he had began following us when we first left but I thought he decided it was cold enough to go back home. It appeared not. The cat is like a dog, staying far enough behind us to make sure everyone was heading the right way. So cute!

We made it home again, took off all our snow clothes and settle down with a cup of hot chocolate. Wesley and Taylor are spending a few nights at Aunty Debb and Uncle Neil's place in Kamloops, the teenagers are working and hanging out with friends, so it is just Rhys, Aaron, and I around for a few days. Who knows what adventure we will take on tomorrow!

Merry Christmas!

The joyful Christmas season is upon us! I have already had a busy one and am now looking forward to taking a bit of a break and spending some time reading. Just me and my book! 

After I finally finished all my papers and assignments I was thrilled to be heading home for the holidays. The kids (Wesley, Taylor, Rhys, and Aaron) had their Christmas concert at school, they did such a great job! The next day (Friday, December 18th) I was back at the school to help with Gingerbread houses, it was like when I was in elementary school, so many years ago. I had youth group that evening and on Saturday we had our Youth Christmas Dinner and Party, also a lot of fun. We had beef on a bun and enjoyed each others presence, made some Christmas decorations, and practiced our Christmas production. Sunday the youth were doing the church service so we all gathered again and had ton of fun doing the service! Monday I went to the church in the morning and met up with Rev. Dan, it was finally time to set up the Christmas decoration in the church, always an exciting event. I spend the remainder of the morning and early afternoon helping with the Food Bank's Christmas hampers. 

My adventure on December 23rd was spending a late evening in Kamloops, we picked up Stewart from work around midnight and stopped at the gas station to get a drink for the drive home. I got a small cup of cappuccino because I wanted something warm but not hot chocolate. Now you need to know that I don't generally drink caffeine; never had coffee and cappuccinos have only ever been iced! So as a result I ended up full of energy and up until 5:30AM - eek, I've never stayed up that late before. But, I got all the Christmas baking done that I was not going to get done and most of my Christmas cards, in the end I guess it was a successful evening.  

Before I knew it Christmas Eve was here. We had a Christmas Eve service at the church at 4PM and the children and youth did their presentation of "Matt and Lucy's Version Births". It was lots of fun and everyone did a great job! During the service I was presented as a Lay Minister of Word and Sacrament for St. Hilda's, Savona. I'm excited to embark on this new journey in ministry. After the service we all gathered at Grandma and Grandpa's house for dinner. It is always nice to gather will all the aunts, uncles, and cousins. 

Christmas morning soon came and the littlest of the children were up and attempting to get me out of bed. After a few kids came in to convince me to get out of bed (we don't open gift until everyone is up) I finally got up. We gathered around the tree and opened gifts, were joined by Aunty Debb and Uncle Neil, Grandma and Grandpa, and had brunch. It was a great morning filled with excitement! I think I took a total of two naps (I was exhausted), both times I was attempting to watch a movie with the kids and fell asleep! 

Today (Boxing Day) I have just been updating some pictures online and the blog, watched Horton Hears a Who - without falling asleep - and now am going to finish responding to some emails. Over the next few days (hopefully) I'll put a recent picture of the kids and update on what they are doing, I'll probably only get a few done each day. Until then I have updated the pictures on my picture site, from "Sorrento Centre" to "Winter Fun".  Take a look!!

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and are enjoying the holiday season! 

Seussical and Amazing Grace

Stewart and I took the kids to Seussical - a Dr. Seuss musical - on Thursday for their Christmas present. They loved it, I loved it, we all loved it. It was a "magical" Christmas present to share with them. And, it got them involved with the arts in our community, always an important thing to do. At the end where the egg that the elephant has been sitting on hatches and all the characters are around it, and someone says "it's a bird elephant" Rhys went "of course". I guess he already knew that would be the situation because it was a bird's egg and the elephant sat on it! He's a smart one, even I didn't make that connection before they told us. When we were leaving the theater it was snowing, and it had snowed enough that it was all over the ground and vehicles. Aaron said, "that was a magical show, look there is snow!"It was really a wonderful experience! 

Amazing Grace... well you see the Council of the North decided that as a fundraiser and to get parishes across Canada doing something together they were going to start the Amazing Grace Project. Where parishes and ministry groups in the Anglican Church, across Canada, would sing Amazing Grace, tape it, send it in, and each person donate a toonie. The videos would be uploaded onto youtube and combined as one big movie afterwards. So, with that said, here are a few that you might want to check out!

Generation 2008 - The first ever national youth leader gathering in London, ON in June 2008!

Sorrento Centre Staff - The staff all in their green shirts from Sorrento Centre this summer. (I'm in the front somewhere!)

Sorrento Centre Guests - Some of our guests at Sorrento Centre join in for the singing!

BCYAYM Council and All Saints Lutheran - The council met at All Saints Lutheran and we started the service with a sining of Amazing Grace!

Savona Community Church - This is the parish sining in Savona, where I attend, but I'm not there - I was at BCYAYM Council. 

St. Hilda's Youth Group - We sang this at our Jr. Youth Sleepover - lots of fun. I'm short enough that I blend in with the group!

Well, there you have it, there are a lot more recordings at the Amazing Grace Project site with parishes from all across Canada. It really is amazing!

I'm down to one exam tonight and two more essays to write - I'm hoping to be completely finished at the end of the week and onto Christmas preparations! And, where is that snow??

Advent Musings 1: Stilling The Heart

The Anglican Church of Canada is providing a series of meditations by Canadian Anglicans that will be published on the national website each Monday in Advent. 

The first mediations was written by the Rt. Rev. Gordon Light, Bishop of the Anglican Parishes of the Central Interior. (Yep... that's where I'm at!) The prayer comes from the New Zealand prayer book.

The prayer in this weeks Advent Musing really spoke to me, I invite you to read and spend some time meditating on it. 

Lord it is night. 

The night is for stillness. 

Let us be still in the presence of God. 

It is night after a long day. 

What has been done has been done; 

what has not been done has not been done. 

Let it be. 

The night is dark. 

Let our fears of the darkness of the world 

and of our own lives 

rest in you.

The night is quiet. 

Let the quietness of your peace enfold us, 

all dear to us, 

and all who have no peace. 

The night heralds the dawn. 

Let us look expectantly

to a new day, 

new joys, 

new possibilities. 

In your name we pray. Amen.