Grateful Eight

I can't believe that today is the last day of August! Where did the summer go!! :o(

This week I am grateful for:

1. A week of subbing!

2. That the week is over! I was exhausted come Friday!

3. John, Mom and Dad Gooch, Jason and Missy and the kids! Thanks for baby-sitting!!

4. Friends and their wonderful emails!

5. Athabasca University! John starts in October and can get all the courses he needs and get credit for all of his previous courses--even his ones from Taylor Seminary!

6. EBAY! You can really get some awesome deals on ebay! I just picked up a pair of $150-$200 jeans for $40 including shipping! (I already knew what style and size I needed, so it was quite easy!) I can't wait to get them!

7. God's love, grace and mercy!

8. Canoe trips and time to enjoy the great outdoors. I love that Zech is such a nature lover and loves to be outside and explore as much as John and I do!

Love how he says "eese" as soon as I pull out the camera! I sure did train him well!! :o)

My pathetic attempt at a self portrait with my boy! Ha! :o)

A favourite house of mine! The property is huge (there are two houses on it) and it is really nice and private!
I need to clean the lens. We are actually using our small, little Fuji to take these pictures. Didn't want to risk taking the Rebel on the boat! I am quite impressed at how well these pictures turned out, considering!These next two pictures are John's place that he grew up in . His Dad bought this property in the 70's for really cheap and there was just a little cabin on it. John and his Dad added on to the cabin considerably. It is really hard to see in the pictures, but it is quite nice. John gets really upset when he comes down here as the people that are in it (renters) have just let it go. John's parents are REALLY particular about the house, landscaping, you name it! So for them to see it looking like this is well kind of a shock. There was also a huge dock, but it is gone now. The whole family really misses this place, but the taxes are just too high now and his parents were pretty much forced to sell quite a few years ago. What a great place to grow up at though!Last but not least, our chauffeur! John paddles while Zech and I play, eat snacks and enjoy. I do help him out a bit too, but I have to watch our little monkey so he doesn't try and jump in the water.

TGIF

Thank Goodness it Is Friday!!! I haven't used this little saying for a long time, but today I am thankful the week is done and that it is FRIDAY!!

Working and coming home and working has been challenging to say the least. Before when I was working I could come home and just sit back, put my feet up and veg! Now, with an extremely active two year old, who has been right ticked off at me, things are a little, well ......different.

I thoroughly enjoyed my week of substitute teaching. Usually I am really nervous, have to plan absolutely everything and even write out bits and pieces of an introduction about myself, the grammar, the activity, etc. But this week I felt comfortable, really comfortable. I planned all of my lessons and even had to abort some of my plans as it was just too hard for the kids. Winged a few activities and made up games and things to keep them occupied when my time managment skills were lacking to say the least. Surprisingly I was not stressed or freaked out. I am not sure why it was so different this time, maybe it was because I have a bit of experience teaching ESL now, maybe it is because I am older and hopefully a little wiser or maybe it is because I have to entertain a two year old all the time now and I have just had to learn to go with the flow and not worry so much if plans didn't go as they were 'planned'! None the less it felt good, I loved teaching and I will really miss my students (they all fly home on Sunday).

I have often said that I need to record the funny things that kids say. I remember my Mom telling stories of some of the sayings the Grade two's would come up with and of course when teaching ESL there are some pretty funny little mix ups with words, meanings, etc. That is all part of learning another language. I remember learning Spanish and one night I was feeling rather brave and proud of my new found language training, so I boldly said good night to some friends in spanish. They all started laughing hysterically and I didn't understand how saying goodnight in Spanish would be so outrageously funny. Well it turns out, I mispronounced the one word and it completely turned my attempt of saying "good night" into "good buns" (to put it nicely). So the guy that I thought I was saying good night too, got a "good buns" instead! I worked very hard on my pronunciation after that! :o)

This week, one little boy had to stay behind (as punishment) and work on grammar. He wasn't understanding the grammar worksheets I had left behind for him, so one of the other teachers asked him where his dictionary was. The boy replied that it was with God. A little confused as to what he meant, the teacher kept prying a little and finally by the end of the conversation realized that he had left his dictionnary at church. The little boy couldn't remember the name of the building (church), so just told him that it was with God! :o)

We had another older student that told his teacher that he was "so engine"! He kept repeating; "teacher I am so engine today!" A little confused, the teacher asked him what he meant by engine and proceeded to explain what an engine was. The student thought that engine was the word for angry! We all had a good chuckle over that and everytime we see the student we ask him if he is "engine" today!! :o)

I am sad that this week is over, but glad too. I missed my little boy and he has been a little ticked off at me. Daddy was off a couple of days this week and got to spend time with him. He is such a Daddy's boy and they did all sorts of fun stuff together. He doesn't seem to miss me much (or at least that is what I think) and likes to ignore me when I come home or go to pick him up from my inlaws ( I didn't get the same response that John always gets when he comes home from work). However, every night this week, when things are winding down and I tell him how much I love him, he has always responded and told me that he loves me too (I "low") and gives me a nice hug and an "oh nice momma, nice momma"! That just melts my heart. He has said "I love you" before, but never as frequently!

I hope you all had a great week and are glad that it is FRIDAY!!!

Grateful Eight

This week I am grateful for:

1. Beach time and meeting new friends for Zech to play with. He just invites himself into the circle of kids and toys.

2. My little boy who has such a wonderful, kind, sensitive heart. We were at the park on Friday and some mentally challenged kids were there too. One older guy came and sat in the circle of kids and proceeded to fill his bucket with rocks. While all the other kids ignored him, Zech stood up and went over and started helping him. He leaned right up against him and started talking to him and helped him fill his bucket. It was so sweet and cute! (I do admit that I was a little apprehensive......if only I had the innocence and non biased that kids like Zech have at this age)

3. Time to check out the Farmer's Market in Kelowna.

4. Meeting the kids that I will be teaching this week. I went in to get my lesson plans and prepare for this week. Should be a fun week. I get to take them on field trips every single afternoon!

5. Family time at the beach with my wonderful husband and beautiful boy!

6. Caramel apples with smarties! (a special treat for mommy and Zech to share)

7. The Bible and the insight it offers! Sola Scriptura!

8. Good health.

Catching Up and a few pictures....

Two weeks ago my Mom, Aunt Laurel and cousins Tamara and Kayli stopped over night on their way home from the Island. It was good to see them and of course Zech was more than happy to have company and show off.

We brought out the Wii and had some fun. Of course there was another bowl-a-thon! Laurel came out as the bowling champion, but it was a close one. Mom was two points behind, Kayli was right up there in points too, and then there was Tamara. Tamara would get the award for greatest improvement and most diverse style!! (she's a really good boxer though) :o) It was a lot of fun and of course I got some pretty funny pictures. The one thing I noticed is that they all have a completely different Wii style of bowling and they were all pretty much consistent with this style, except for Tamara who was trying all sorts of methods!

I also wanted to share a few pictures of my little helper. Supper's (and any time in the kitchen) are interesting times for us. So now I try and involve him as much as possible. He also likes to help me bake. I have to be careful with the flour though. The first time he was helping me, I thought it would be a great idea to give him a spoon and let him help me stir the flour in, the next thing I knew we had flour everywhere! He had flour and dough chunks in his hair, caked in his eyebrows and well all over his face. These little mishaps serve as learning tools and makes me a little more wiser next time around. It also didn't take him long to figure out that the dough is actually really yummy!

Grateful Eight

I know I am so behind in my posts. I missed last weeks Grateful Eight, and this weeks I am just trying to catch up.

We've been busy and I have been really busy trying to get work, revamp my resume and write cover letters. I am so tired of this job stuff, I am just exhausted. There have been many late nights trying to apply to jobs and write cover letters and just try and figure everything out.

I will try and catch up and get pictures posted this week.

This week I am grateful for:

1. Emails and phone calls with words of encouragement and support. Knowing that there are other people who have had to endure struggles and hardships to follow God's will.

2. More opportunities to teach. I will be teaching all next week!

3. My wonderful in-laws who have agreed to take care of Zech for the week so that I could teach. Between my mother and father-in-law and my sister-in-law, I was able to take this week long job of subing!

4. Fresh homemade buns!

5. My wonderful husband and my beautiful little boy. No matter how difficult and trying things may seem, I am so blessed that we have eachother.

6. Time to do some more digital scrapbooking (don't ask me where I found it)!

7. Fresh veggies from the markets and from my Mother-in-laws garden!

8. A chance to get away for the weekend and visit the Whittenberg's in Vancouver. It was so nice to hang out with them and meet their beautiful little girl Olivia! (I will post pictures soon).

Joy, Peace and Hope

Sorry for the rant, I have been so FRUSTRATED lately and this blog sometimes is the only outlet I have. Plus, this may sound really strange or kind of silly, but I find that a good release for me is just to write it all down. I will be upset or angry at something and/or someone and I write a letter, it may never get sent, but I feel a huge sense of relief and release!

I am still stressed, angry, upset, blah, blah, blah, but I am trying to just take things one step at a time. We are under a lot of pressure to get everything figured out (more stuff that happened), but I am really just trying to have faith and trust the Lord. This is so Hard for me as I am a planner and I like to know exactly where we are going and when we will get there. However, over the last few years I have had to learn to sit back in the passenger's seat and let God drive. As I have said though, this is reallly hard for me and I fail at it more times than not!

With that, I opened the Bible yesterday and it's a devotional Bible. The devotion that was staring me in the face was titled "Peace, Joy and Hope". To sum up the devotion it stated that Scripture clearly points out the path toward a life of joy and that is to accept your circumstances and be thankful in them. To choose not to worry and to fix my eyes upon Jesus rather than on the situation at hand, following his example in suffering. So true, but yet so hard (it doesn't help that I am a Worrier and I have every scripture telling me not to worry pasted on the fridge for a constant reminder--and I still worry)!

Romans 5:2-4

......And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.

I know this picture sucks and is all blurry, but I love it. What a great reminder to take joy and pleasure in the simple things. What a great reminder of how blessed I am to have this beautiful little boy in my life. In the midst of my tears, he comes to me and gives me hugs and kisses to make it all better and rubs my back and tells me "Oh nice"!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend full of "Joy, Peace and Hope"!

The Journey Ahead......along with all the bumps, bruises and detours!!!

It is amazing how quickly your plans, dreams and hopes can change. This week I felt hopeful, felt like maybe we would finally get a little more settled and start moving towards our goals, our dreams, but God has something different in mind--maybe, perhaps, not quite sure yet!!??

Australia was a disaster (well it was beautiful and we did meet some great friends) and we were so sure about it. We did so much homework, studying, calling, emailing and most importantly praying, but just like that everything completely changed. Our decision to return to Canada was not a light decision either, we started researching John's education alternatives in December and finally made a decision in January.

Once again lots of research, emails, calling the Universities here and of course praying and we both felt that God intended for us to go to Australia, but now it was time to leave. We felt at peace with our decision to return(except for the fact that there are always going to be people that will NEVER understand) and felt it was important to be closer to family.

Now after months of waiting, John just found out that they have not accepted him into University. We were told that he would have no problems getting in, that basically he was assured to get in and that all of his courses would transfer. Well due to a rather small (BUT HUGE TO US) technicality that the academic advisor FAILED to tell us about, he was denied. Of course the appeal process will not work because although we have a few emails, we did not record our phone conversations, nor the numerous times that John actually went to her office and spoke with her. Who do we trust, we have been deceived so many times this past year and deceived by people that we even knew and thought we could trust! I guess it has come to a point where we have to record and document absolutely EVERYTHING!

Of course, things tend to happen not only in three's but in massive multiples with us. Between owing the government and cell phone billing problems, it was a day that never seemed to end. And to end the day with a bang, I found out that I did not get the job! The interview was horrible, but I didn't think it was that disasterous. Based on the reasons they gave me, I feel about as dumb as anyone could possibly feel! So far I have been "overqualified", "underqualified", "not a right fit". I won't put what they said about the last position, as I am still a little perplexed. My confidence is pretty much shot, and I am really not sure who to believe. Of course I value constructive critism, as it is a learning tool (you learn from your mistakes right), but I also value honesty (a lot of times they already have someone in mind for the position, but have to go through this whole process--just tell me and don't waste my time!). I was also told that unless I "knew" someone in the government, I will never have a chance of getting in. Boy that was exactly what I needed to hear!

So back to square one! Where to next? What do we do next? Oh the joys of the journey of life! It has been an extremely emotional last couple of days. I feel angry, hurt, Stupid, frustrated, confused, sick, and did I mention stupid and John's emotions have been running high too! He just wants to finish his degree, who would have thought it would be so difficult!

To end, please keep us in your prayers. We can use every little bit of prayer we can possibly get right now and pray that God will give us provision and answers as to how to accomplish this journey we are on HIS way! It has never been about our way, and I think that is pretty clear, but somehow, somewhere we are missing the boat!

Myra Canyon - Kettle Valley

Yesterday we took a trip up to Myra Canyon to do some bike riding on the Kettle Valley Railroad. It was an amazing day and a site that I recommend to everyone and anyone!

A brief history lesson:

The Kettle Valley Railway (KVR) is an abandoned railway bed that winds through south central British Columbia between Midway and Hope. It is a typical railway bed with grades that never exceed 2.2 %. "With countless trestles and tunnels, and environs ranging from cool mountain forests to Canada's only pocket desert the 600 km route offers an endless diversity of experiences."

The Myra Canyon section of the Kettle Valley Railway was built between 1912-1914. It was primarily used for freight trains and in 1973 the last scheduled train went through. In 1990 the Province purchased it from the CPR and in 1992 the Myra Canyon Restoration Society was established. In January 2003 this section of the Kettle Valley Railroad was designated a National Historic Site. However, in August 2003 the wildfire that destroyed 200 homes here in Kelowna, ravaged and destroyed 12 wooden tressels and damaged 2 steel tressels.

Due to the huge amount of tourists the Myra Canyon section of the Kettle Valley Railroad draws in (over 50,000+ a year) plans were quickly underway to restore the tressels. Just this year the official re-opening of the trails was launched.

For the complete history, see the links above. I have heard about this for a while now and we finally decided to go up and check it out. We rode 24 km and enjoyed every minute of it! It truly was breathtaking. Because the railway bed is really flat, you never realized how far up you were until you looked down, or until you saw the breathtaking view of the city and the lake. It was a great trip and so worthwhile. We plan to go up again and recommend it to everyone. You don't have to bike it, lots of people were walking and you also do not have to do the full 12 km there and back.

Grateful Eight

IT's AUGUST!!! Is it just me, or does the summer just seem to be flying by.......

This week I am grateful for:

1. John's new job. He is working for a brand new London Drugs selling Camera's and Electronics. I get to hear about all of the latest and greatest technology in the Photography world. We are both drooling (thank goodness he gets a pretty decent employee discount)!

2. Possible job opportunities. I got a call for the Federal government position here in Kelowna. I had an hour interview over the phone and go this Wednesday for more Assessing and Interviews. I pray that I get this job. I don't care what job I get at this point, I just need to get in and pay back my Maternity Leave!

3. My first call to Substitute teach. I go on Tuesday!

4. Nature walks. I usually drive to a park in the afternoons so that Zech can have some playtime. It never fails, he goes straight to the creek, the trees, the trails. He could care less about the swings, the slides, the fun appartuses' to climb on. So we found a nice little nature trail right out our back door and we have had lots of fun exploring. He LOVES nature and LOVES being outside. I have to get a video, because he just talks and squeals and screams non-stop!

5. Shopping time with the girls! On Friday I went shopping with my Mother-in-law, Sister-in-law and niece. I was on a mission to find a new outfit for this job interview and they were such an awesome help!! I had so much fun hanging out and shopping with the girls! My Sister-in-law is the fashion, clothing expert! She knows all the latest styles, she knows what colours suit you, and all about your body shape and what style suits you best. It was nice to have my own personal fashion consultant with me!

6. The Beach! We spent all day Saturday at the beach with our family. It was nice to just lounge on the beach, enjoy lunch, play some UNO and go in the water! (I didn't bring the camera, so no pictures this time).

7. Emails from good friends! Although I don't get a chance to see some of my friends very often, it is so nice to know that we will always stay in touch via email. It is just nice to open your inbox and see an email from good friends! Their words of encouragment, prayers, and just their snippets of what is going on in their lives is such a blessing to me!

8. Phone conversations with my Sis! I miss her and her family a lot!