Henry II.

On March 5th this little chap arrived into our world. Henry James, made his grand debut around 6:00pm, weighing in at 7.7lbs. Henry is the 7th great for his legendary namesake.

 

Dada Dave and Mama Steph are very proud.

 

So is his Papa. 

And a few of his aunties. 

And, of course, his Nana is quite proud too, because she just dedicated a whole blog post in his honour! Looking forward to some fun times ahead with this little bundle! 

Other February Highlights.

Raked in a stash of calories from my students on Valentine's Day.

 

Attended a weekend in Arlington for the 10th annual Youth Conference, listening to messages on spiritual warfare from Ephesians 6. This was ministry directed to the young people present, but how needful it is for me to also be equipped with this whole armour of God. It's a dark and evil world we live in, rampant with an anti-God mentality. That much was made clear in the messages. But this belt of truth, this breastplate of righteousness, these shoes of the gospel of peace, this shield of faith, this helmet of salvation and this sword of the Spirit... are enough for me to stand up against the very devil himself. But I need the whole armour. And I need to put it on.

Hiked the Blackey Spit trail at Crescent Beach one sunny evening with this crew.

Enjoyed some after-school entertainment with a rather unique Cinderella.

Finished up basketball season. Made it to the Surrey Region playoffs, then lost in our second game. It was a little disappointing since the girls played hard, but a good finale though, since we became the first ever PA team to make it to these playoffs! So we celebrated at Menchies.

Vancouver Gastown

It seems the dark and rainy days of January passed in a blur of work, school and basketball.

Then, Family Day, February 9th... we ventured where we'd never gone before. The Gastown district of Vancouver. Home to the renowned Steam Clock, and lots of interesting little shops.

 

 

Payed homage to the Olympic Flame, that burned so brightly here six years ago at the 2010 Olympics. Now it's just the bleak remains of a metal monstrosity. A sad but true reminder of passing, earthly achievement.

Selfies have become a part of our everyday life.

 

Ate lunch at the Pacific Centre, and browsed through the rather grand and sprawling Nordstrom, where one swanky pair of shoes was retailing for $1500.

Alana fancied this dress and wanted to try it in her size... until she looked at the price tag. Shocker! We definitely live on the OTHER side of the tracks!

 

Burnaby Village. Post Christmas.

Didn't make it to the Village in time for Christmas this year, so missed out on hearing the Victorian carolers and visiting dowdy old Father Christmas himself. But managed a quick stop there in January... still in time to see the winter-themed displays and ride on the famous carousel.

Hanging with this family... brings lots of life to the party!

Alana and Brodie always seem to laugh the loudest.

 

This photo has no words. None that are appropriate, anyways.

 

Posing on the tram.

 

What a great start to the New Year... fun and games followed this outing back at our place, with this awesome family, and this special Kiwi guest of honour, Alice McIvor. Also awesome!

Christmas Day.

Christmas morning mayhem.



Delighted with their new, fuzzy blankets.



Daddy's girl is growing!! They're both modelling some new duds!




And Miss Kayleigh's pretty hairdo... compliments of a new curling iron. And by the way, see that game she's playing? Loathe it. 2048. I'm thinking of turning it into a swear word.






My very unexpected and generosity-loaded gift from the family was a new iPad, which you can't see right now because I'm using it to update this blog. But I love it, as you can imagine... so much faster and friendlier than the old one!

And I vaguely recall that this gift-opening was followed by a family visit and turkey dinner. But you'll have to believe me on that one, because there's absolutely nothing to show for it, bar some added weight gain.

And I outright refuse to photograph that, never mind post the evidence!

Christmas Cards 2015.

Family photos for Christmas cards this year were very much a last minute decision. Thanks to an obliging friend who was willing to go along with our impulsive last-minuteness, we now have a small collection of memories so we can remember exactly what we looked like at the end of 2015.

And judging by the amount of wrinkles I seem to be accumulating, I think I'll be more than hesitant to be so camera-keen at the end of this year. Ugh.

 

A Fleetwood Farewell.

So this happened.

 

Six years of sweet memories for us at this place (many, many, many more years for others). Then, in mid-December we closed its doors one last time, and stepped out in faith.

 

This girl of ours was the last to be baptised here. What a night of emotion and thankfulness that was.

And inside these walls, there was always plenty of lively Sunday School singing to be heard!

 

For several years, we were blessed with the presence of many parents and visitors at our annual Christmas Program dinners. This is our last and final one in the hall... December 13th, 2015.

 

So blessed also with this wonderful team of kitchen help for that event, albeit predominantly female. Although, by the looks of things, I don't think Dick seems to mind that too much!

 

And as of last week, this is the beginnings of new memories, as the Lord permits.

 

We are currently meeting in a temporary building that more than adequately meets our needs. We can say like Samuel of old, "Thus far the Lord has helped us." (ESV 1 Samuel 7:12).

 

Please pray for us as we continue with the construction of this new place, but more importantly, as we continue in our walk of faith with the Lord, and trust in Him for the plans He has for us.

November Recap.

What I found on the camera was the only proof of what happened in the blur that was my life in November.

Fun times with the local grandkiddies. Love that we get to enjoy their amusing antics... then hand them back to the parents. It's a great life.




  

Basketball season began.

Coffee date with this chica. 

 

School Days.

Been spending close to 40 hours a week at work since September. Which is one of the reasons I haven't been blogging. Obvious case in point. 

But, the real reason I choose to be there so much? I actually really love my job. And working with these special little people. Here's one of them. He's a charmer. Every Wednesday he bakes for his classmates. But he always insists on sampling the goodies first. And not just one, sometimes!

Visiting the Crepe Truck that came to campus one day. 

Blue tongues are cool. Apparently. 

March 1st. 2016.

Well. Would you look at that!

Five months since I last posted anything on here. FIVE months! 

Sorry to those of you who've been faithfully checking for non-appearing updates. For the several who've been asking, I've decided to resurrect this blog and fill you in on my life. Just because you asked. And because I do have one.

Stay tuned.

😊