I don't blog!

What's going on?? Who knows!!?? I haven't posted in 5 months. Yep, that means Cameroon is only a month away. 5 weeks. The bags will be packed and we'll have one last night the comforts of home...
This is about when I'm starting to feel the nervousness, anxiety, anticipation of all the things to come. I know my future rests in God's mighty hands. I know all I can do is trust and go. I will miss home. I will miss my kids and husband. But the purpose must be greater than all this.
At this point my prayer request is for my emotional well-being. That I can go and not be preoccupied with the thought of home. That I can be a friend to someone in Cameroon.
Pray for our safety as we travel, by plane, by truck, by foot. Pray for protection from disease and other exposure risks.
Thank you all for your support - by financial contribution, by caring for my kids and husband, and by praying.
I can't wait to update you on the actual trip.

Cameroon!

In about 6 months I will be boarding a plane with 14 other people for a trip of a lifetime. I will be leaving behind Brad and my 3 boys for the 17 days and while I know I will miss them terribly, there is a bigger picture to why I am leaving. There has always been a yearning inside me to go. Africa, South America, India...these places all pull me to them.
So on January 3 we will be making our way to Cameroon until the 20th. I am looking forward to meeting the people, being immersed in culture I know nothing about and working, using my skills in the local hospitals. I am so excited to see how God can use these 2 weeks to change lives - likely more my own than anyone I'll be meeting. I hope to come back a better person, a better wife, a better mom, a better friend, a better Christian. Now I know, I can and should be working on all these things every day regardless of where I am. And I will. But I believe there are some things that can't be learned living with all we have.
So, here are my requests from you - my family, my friends. There are many ways that you can be a part of my adventure.

1. Pray for me. Pray for the team. Safety, health, changed hearts.

2. Donate! I have an empty suitcase that I want to fill with medical supplies, toothbrushes, pencils, pens, paper...

3. Financial support. The trip costs $3500 per person by September! While I am hoping to support myself as well, I also have to pay for all my immuniztions which is about $700. Any financial gifts can be made out to Bethany Baptist Church, with my name and Cameroon mentioned. This way they are tax deductible!

I appreciate your prayerful consideration of these requests. I'll be keeping you updated on my progress as we prepare for what's to come!

A New Year

Legoland, Florida November 2012

I happen to love this family picture of us. It just says so much. Batman, Robin, our 3 crazy boys. It seems like ages ago that we were there. In the shorts, in the sun, enjoying rides and tasty treats. We had a blast. Joel loved Legoland. Every ride was perfect for him! It was like it was built for 6 year old boys :)

This year has started out not great. New Years brought us up to Prince George for some family fun and snow. We had a great time, could've been better had Joel not had the flu and if I hadn't had the worst cold ever... Back home school started back up and Joel is loving it and doing really well. He has become a good reader, a neat printer and fast at doing math! We are really proud of him and really thankful for his teacher, Mrs.Gordon, who has just done an amazing job with the kids. She is the best!
Since the year started though, we have just been sick with colds, flus, stomach bugs; we've been stressed with work and some unexpected financial things (not a big deal but unexpected); I've officially gone from the 24-34 age range to having to check off 35-49.
Despite all this I've decided to choose JOY.
Psalm 63:7-8
Because you are my helper, I sing for JOY in the shadow of your wings. I cling to you; your strong right hand holds me securely.

When my heart is burdened,
I will choose JOY.
When my mind is troubled,
I will choose JOY.
When my soul is tired,
I will choose JOY.
For the JOY of my salvation is my strength.
Thank you God for saving me.

Phantom Summer

It's November. I think I need to give up thinking I'm going to post all about the summer of 2012. It has passed. It was awesome. I worked, we camped, the sun shone and that's about all I can remember! We've had some company stay with us and school started again. My job changed and I now have every second weekend off to spend with my family! It's glorious. Never take weekends for granted.... I ran my second half marathon with Andrea - had a time of 2:01:51. Pretty proud that I shaved 10 minutes of the last one! We'll see how the 3rd one goes next weekend. Tomorrow we leave for Florida. This trip has been planned for so long, it's hard to believe that it's even happening. I remember thinking it was still 7 months away....

10 Years goes quickly!! June 15, 2002

 

Sweet Hannah

The things you learn in Kindergarten...

 

Joel thought it was fun to go around his classroom with a crayon under his shoe. Not sure it was so much fun when he had to stay late after school to scrub it all off. Lesson learned.

June Trip to Calgary

Back in June I flew to Edmonton where I met up with Miranda, spent a quick morning with them and then hopped into Melinda's vehicle with Miranda and headed to Calgary for Beth Moore! What an amazing weekend. Not only did I get to spend time with many special friends, I got to make some new friends, be reunited with people I haven't seen in years and enjoy some AMAZING words through Beth. Spending time with Melinda was incredible - I learned much from her and the faith of her family.  Their eldest daughter, Naomi, was diagnosed 2 years ago with a type of brain cancer. She's 8 years old and is off her chemo as it failed to slow the cancer's growth. PLEASE pray for this family. They have an incredible faith in our almighty Creator but you can imagine how tough it would be to have to face this prognosis for their daughter.

End of Preschool - Back to where I left off....

Nathan loved going to preschool. There he met his friend, Joshua. They had a great term together and Nate misses him now that they go on different days. The cool thing about Joshua is he's half Swiss too! We had lots of fun at the end of the year with a field trip to the petting zoo and their little goodbye tea on the last day. Best wishes to Mrs. Rogness who retired this year!

What Happened???

Summer came and went! I'm not really sure what happened to July or August but they are both gone! And I haven't blogged, since before school ended....SOOOO much has happened. We have had a great summer with plenty of visitors and trips of our own. I will catch up, I promise - if not for you, for me, so I have some record of our 2012 summer!!

Three of a Kind

 

Color!

 

In Bloom on May 14th

 

Early April Spring

 

The Boys

 

Happy Times...back in March!

The boys LOVE having Schatzi and Papa here!

Micah. trying to show us that he really is a big boy! Yeah, he was doing wheelies :)

Our fondue after our day on Cypress. The Swiss in them was really coming out!

Telus World of Science!

Again, way back in March... Miranda came for a little visit from Edmonton. It was soooo great to have her here - just her and I got her all to myself! We had a great few days together although she may never want to join Brad and I in a game ever again (I just can't handle his smirk!!!). Anyway, we took a little day trip down to the newly redone Science World. The kids, of course, had a blast! Balls, water, Lego and dinos - what more can 3 boys ask for??

Cypress

And here it is. One of the most perfect days of skiing. Brad and I made our way up to Cypress back on March 23rd while Mom & Dad watched the kiddos for us. It was a great day away and it almost made up for missing out on Big White this year. There was a tonne of snow, great runs and quick chairlifts. Throw in fantastic views and my new ski jacket and pants and well....
Can't believe it was our first time up on our mountains.... It won't be the last, that's for sure!
And yes, in case you were wondering, that spot on my forehead above my goggles gets really cold!!
Oh, also, Brad is really proud to say he did his first black diamond run (just don't remind him that it was only doable because the moguls weren't there)!

The Fireballs!

Joel loved playing soccer this year! The season started in September and they finally had their wrap up in March. Brad had the pleasure of taking him (and the 2 little guys) out every cold and rainy Saturday morning for his games. Maybe that's one bonus to working weekends?? Not the watching him play soccer part but I am happy to not be out in the cold and rain :)

Haven't been blogging...

It's not like I haven't taken any pictures or we haven't done anything lately....
I'm just being lazy. And they changed Picasa and I haven't taken time to figure it out yet.
Sorry. I do have lots to blog about. Pictures to show off. Skiing, flowers blooming, kids acting goofy. I'll get around to it eventually :(

Happy Valentine's Day!

 

To Joel
From Nathan

Nate's first written letters and he actually spelled a word. I find it kind of interesting that it was NO!