That time again.

It's that time again when school has started and the weather has started to change. It's getting a bit chilly here and looks like it will continue to get even colder as the months go on. But there's something about this season known as fall that I just love. I love the colors that we see on the trees, I love the feel of walking into a warm house, and I love the smell of the candle that's in our living room that smells like cinnamon and apples and cider. It's amazing. As much as I say I don't look forward to the cold and the changing of the season, I truly do look forward to it. And before we know it, it's going to be Christmas. But not yet though.

Eric

a new school year begins

Life is back in full swing again, but we are jumping in feet first and enjoying every minute so far. We should have planned out New York trip a little bit better because it felt like a whirlwind when we got home. We arrived late on a Thursday night then the next day ran around preparing stuff for youth to begin that night and then after youth Eric left for the weekend to go to "Man Camp" to speak. So needless to say it was busy. Fun but busy. Now we are just pushing on and moving forward with the rest of the things on our to-do list.

this is what today looked like....

woke up to Noah talking in his room, wanting to come join us.

got ready in a mad rush while feeding Noah oatmeal and blueberries and throwing on his cloths while walking out the door.

stopped by Barb's to get van key and turned out to get her too.

Dick came by Barb's so we were a bit late but good to see him.

drove in pouring rain out to the Phifner farm to pick up 2 vans and a trailer.

drove to Canadian Tire with two vans. dropped off one van.

drove back house to drop off trailer in garage.

picked up the 3rd van from our house.

went back to Canadian tire and tried to explain to the nice guy what all the different vans needed done for camp season.

went to lunch at El Comal with Barb, Eric, and Noah.

talked about camp stuff and began again to get so excited.

drove back to Canadian tire and picked up 2 vans that were ready.

drove them to our house.

then took Barb home to her house.

came home so Noah could crawl around for a bit.

did 3 loads of laundry.

Eric fixed bathroom door.

went to store for diapers and wipes.

picked up 3rd van and locks for trailers.

ichatted with Mom and the girls.

cereal for dinner kind of night.

Noah napped a tiny bit while Eric and I cleaned up the office.

fed Noah dinner.

went on amazing walk with family, stopped by the pet store.

bathtime with Noah.

now Eric is putting the little man to bed.

Such a great day. Full of camp prep and quality time. It only rained til about noon so I was so excited about that and cleared up enough for a good long walk tonight. Thank you Lord for the wonderful weather. Now we just need to pluck away at our camp to-do list and get things ready for Lou and Maddy to get here. I can't wait.

I feel like I am running on fumes these last few weeks. I have been so tired and can't seem to get back in the swing of things. I also think that Noah and I keep trading colds. It is not fun.

What I love today....

1. I love swimming, I think Chlorine runs through my blood. I love being able to share this with Noah. He seems to love being in the water also, not only in his tub but also in the pool.

2. I love the warm weather we have been having. It just makes me happy to wake up and see the sun shining. Here in Alberta the winters are so long, so it has been nice that spring seems to be coming a bit earlier. We have been trying to take advantage of the warm weather by trying to be outside as much as possible. Turns out Noah loves to swing, so much fun.

3. I love my husband. Eric is such a joy to me, he makes everyday so much fun. He is such an amazing father. Here he is playing with Noah. Noah loves when his Daddy plays the guitar, he gets quiet and just listens but now more often he starts to sing along.

4. I love camp. In the last few weeks we have been able to get up there twice. Once to cook for a rental group and the second to attend a city wide pastoral retreat. The first picture is Noah getting a bath in the sink. The 2nd is of us walking around at the camp.

5. I love date nights. Eric and I had not been on a date just the two of us since Noah was born. So the other night Erin agreed to watch Noah while we went out for dessert. It was such a perfect evening, and when we got home Noah was asleep on one couch with Ashley and Kameron was on the other with Erin.

just a few things of what I love and a quick update of pictures....

Valentine's Day!

we had such a fun Valentine's day yesterday, busy as always but alot of fun. Church was busy as usual and we had chocolate Sunday after service for which I had made oreo balls. Got to love them. Then after stacking chairs and visiting we headed off to Mongolie grill to meet some of the Beusekoms for lunch. If you don't already know that is one of my favorite places to eat. I love it, such a treat, and not even my idea. Then we headed home for Noah's nap in which I also napped in and out of olympic coverage and The Cinderella Story. Then I woke to dinner which Eric had made completely on his own. It was amazing, he had made grilled chicken wraps. They were wonderful and so sweet that he had made them for me. After dinner more olympics where we saw a Canadian win the 1st ever gold on Canadian soil..snow. Which was so exciting. Then we headed to Starbucks to find it closed so we searched for another open coffee shop to meet Erin and the 4 of us ended up at home. Hung out for a bit then spent a good hour and a half trying to get Noah to go to bed. He had napped to long during the day and refused to sleep last night. But he finally went at about Midnight but it was okay because he then slept for a good 6 hours. It was a wonderful day full of surprises and fun.

This is what is going on lately...

Well, a lot has been going lately. We are busy with things that are coming up with the church, like planning for our mexico trip, planning fundraisers for the kids so that they will be able to go and Noah is sick with croup. Which isn't fun. He sounds like a seal when he coughs and he sounds like someone has stepped on his vocal chord when he tries to breathe. He is so sick but he is getting better slowly. So that's what's going lately. Not too much but not to little. Also it's snowing outside and it's bitterly cold today. Other than that, we're still trucking along. Have a wonderful weekend.

Eric

Life as of December...

So much has been going on these last few months, that have hit us pretty hard. God is shaping and molding us for new things everyday. Since Bill passed away at the beginning of November, we have begun to step up in a few areas of our lives. We are striving to be more organized and intentional in everything we do.

Bill always said, "What I must do, I must do quickly. Twice as much in half the time." I just don't want a day to go by with out being intentional about my walk with Jesus. He has so much to teach and show me.

My prayer life has increased greatly, I would appreciate if you all could join me in prayer for a few things:

1. our Church: the direction is uncertain right now. Well not completely because we are moving forward in expectation that the Lord will do something big.

2. confidence: that we can do everything God is asking of us to do.

3. Christmas plans: they are still uncertain

4. weddings: Eric is performing 2 weddings this month and has never done it before.

5. our students: it is hard to lose someone we all love so much.

I know the list could go on but those are a few.

Here are a few pictures of what is new here:

Noah gave us so much to smile about when we were so sad. He seemed to understand that something was up. He was especially sweet and very easy to take care of.

We decided it was time that Noah begin to sleep in his own room, partly because Chris and the family were coming and we wanted them to have more room in the basement, but also because Noah has grown out of his bassinet. But he seems to be enjoying his own room. Sleeping for a good 5 hour shift every night.

We took the teens to our 2nd annual Lights festival in Galt Gardens. It is tons of fun and the stores are all open to midnight for midnight madness shopping. We only stayed out til about 10:30 but it sure was so much fun. We rode the horse drawn carriage around the park and had hot cocoa at Starbucks.

Went swimming with the little girls and family at the Ramada. It was so much fun to go down the slides and to play in the water with Lou and Maddy. Also it was Noah's first time to go swimming. Such an adventure.

So much fun to have the family here for a visit. Girls loved on Noah so much. They could not get enough of his smiles and chubby cheeks.

It was such a great visit with Chris and Miranda. Noah fell in love and I know they did too. Too bad it has taken me two days to get him back on his normal schedule. Or at least for him to be okay not being held all the time. But I am sure they use to fell that same way when the girls were little and I spoiled them rotten.

The Weather's Changing.

I love when the weather starts to change in Lethbridge. It is getting cooler but it hasn't snowed all that much yet which is nice. The trees are all bare and the streets are flooded with leaves but it has still been nice the last couple of days. Noah is getting bigger everyday. He was 10 weeks yesterday. Crazy crazy. He's getting so big so quick. I wish i could slow down the process because I never want him to grow up but I know he has to. Well today has been good so far. Looking forward to an apple and cinnamon candle burning in our home and homemade chicken noodle soup. Nothing beats a homemade bowl of soup on a chilly fall night.

Eric

What a good day.

Today was great. We finished the babies room today and now we can start moving things into the room and finally get things organized upstairs. It feels good to have it all done. Ashley and Erin helped us paint. After that we had dinner that sybil made, it was fabulous. She's the best. Then the girls went to the movie mill to go see the proposal. They said it was good. I stayed home and finished my dinner because they all had to eat on the run and I watched Transformers. Now the girls are looking through some of our scrapbooks. Syb's so great at taking photos and stickers and turning them into a beautiful way of looking at memories. Well I'm sitting on the couch and watching Conan but I think I'm ready for bed. What a good day. Goodnight.

Eric