12/25

Merry Christmas

Only 3 more sleeps!! - 12/22

The kids are counting down, have been for weeks - only 3 more sleeps till Christmas! We're done presents, just working on wrapping them (and needing more paper today!). Still need to get groceries, though.
Friday night and Saturday Ruth was sick - she vomited a few times, though we think it was more because of eating candy (Christmas concert, Christmas party at school) and being overtired. At any rate, she's feeling better now and everyone seems fine, though Zech and Josh have terrible coughs still.
I've just got more pictures and videos up on the other site. There're some videos from the last dance observation class - the boys both made it through the whole class, though Isaac did get shy at the beginning and sat with us a few minutes but he did go back and finish! Huge improvement from the last observation class, when both of them ended up screaming in the van.
There's some pictures from our Christmas "photo shoot" - for card pictures and pictures for our wall. We ended up with some great ones!
And there's some videos from the Christmas concert Thursday night. I didn't get much of Zech's part, unfortunately. There were no seats left when we got there (even half an hour early) and we were standing at the very back of the hall. And Isaac couldn't see, so he was bugging to be lifted up constantly. Anyways, I got a very little bit of Zech's part - he didn't sing or talk at all, but he did do all the actions to their poem and songs! Not surprising to us - he won't sing when he knows anyone is listening!
I did get good videos of Ruth's parts, I think. When they were singing I was at the back again, so it's from a distance, but I still got it! For their play, I snuck up to the front, on the side, and got that. Ruthie was their teacher for their play! She only stumbled on one line - she did great!
And... that's about it, I think. More pictures to come, I'm sure plenty of opening presents and playing!
Oh, and Christmas cards and pictures are on the way... but they may be late!

quick post - 12/04

Happy December! Only 21 days until Christmas!!! We're trying to get ready around here - slowly getting there.
I just got some pictures up from Ruthie's birthday party - enjoy!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! - 11/27

Well, a little like Christmas anyways. This week I finally got our Christmas decorations set up around the house - lights in the window, lights outside. We still need to get the tree set up, and Zech's not going to let us forget! Every morning he asks if we can put it up that night. Usually I have everything up by now, but we wanted to wait until after Ruth's party - less to watch out for with the extra kids!
Speaking of her party, I must get some pictures up from it. It went well, I think. She was very happy with it, which is kinda what matters most. We had invited all of Kindergarten and Grade 1 (not as many kids as it sounds, there're 12 kids in total in the 2 grades, including Ruthie. So, we invited 11 kids and 8 showed up - pretty good turn out, I'd say! The kids all seemed very excited to come, too. The movie set up worked great, they had popcorn and pop and watched the movie - for the first 50 minutes they didn't make a peep! Then we had the cake and opened presents, then parents started arriving. It worked rather well. And, like I say, Ruth was very happy with it!
Oh, and it worked out pretty good for gifts, too. She got way more presents than she ever needed, of course, but there's no real big things and she will play with it all. So that's okay, too.

Ruth's birthday - some pics - 11/19

Ruth wanted to go to Montana's for lunch on her birthday - they sang to her, she wore the birthday hat, and she got a free dessert!

We had cupcakes after supper. Nana and Papa even joined us to sing "happy birthday" to Ruthie. (they're on speaker phone, the phone's sitting on the table!!)

Cupcakes and sparkler in the dark. I don't know why, but they always try to blow out the sparkler. Always.

Isaac after eating cupcakes. A big mess. As always for Isaac eating.

Ruthie opened a couple presents and her cards!

She's having some friends over (all Kindergarten and grade 1 are invited- yikes!) this Sunday for a movie party. I'm sure we'll have more pictures then! And they'll be much better ones, as Josh got his camera back on the weekend - yay!

Happy 6th Birthday Ruth! - 11/09

Happy Birthday, Baby GirlWe love you.

Huge update! - 11/07

Well, it's November. Can't believe it.
It's also been forEVER since I posted on here and got some pictures up. My apologies. Now hold on to your hats, cuz here's a huge update all at once!
These pictures (and many many more from the same days) are all on the dropshots site, so check them out too! But, I thought I'd put some on here, chronologically (I hope!) so you can see what we've been up to the past couple weeks. I will put the actual picture dates with them, so you can find them easier on the other site.

The boys and I hung up our ghost-es on Oct 14. Zech loves to get these silly things - love to stuff them with paper and hang them up with me. I'm not sure why, but for, like, a dollar, I'll take it and enjoy!
Zech likes to pick out the hanging spots for me.

Isaac was showing Josh the "ghost-es"!

After we got them up, ever time we went outside for the next week Isaac had to point out all the "scary ghost-es" and talk about hanging them up. Zech was very proud.

Zech's birthday (Oct 16)

Happy Birthday Zechariah!!!

We had cupcakes on Zech's actual birthday (the 16th). He was very happy and excited!
He was excited to open presents, too!
He loves his rocket ship - thanks grama and grampa.
He's just being a goof here...

this one's really cute, though...

He had a really good day for his birthday, happy all day.

When he first woke up, he said "Over the night, while I was sleeping, I turned from 3 years old to 4!" Cutie.

Zech's birthday party (oct 19)

We had Zech's birthday party at a Pumpkin Patch, about half an hour north west of Brandon. It was lots of fun! Jen and Paul and the kids joined us after a while, too!
The kids posed on some pumpkins for a picture...
then we went to see some animals. The piglet LOVED Ruthie!

Jen took this family picture of us!! We're sitting on top of the hay bale pyramid!

Then we asked some random guy (well, not completely random, as he had 2 big cameras of his own there) to some picture of all of us up there!

I'm holding Zech, Josh is standing with Isaac, Brett, Ruthie, Grace is sitting with Paul, Jeff, and Luke is sitting with Jen!

Then we went to the big john deere trikes - we'd played a bunch on them before Jen and Paul got there and we kept coming back - the kids loved them!
Jen (or Josh) took this great shot of Luke and Zech. Yup, they have the exact same coat - total coincidence. They're such good buddies! It's very cute to see them together.

We took a walk through their corn maze, too.

Isaac rode on Josh's shoulders nearly the whole time, he was getting tired. I LOVE this shot Jen got of them!!

Jen took this right as we were leaving - all the kids together.

Luke, Grace, Isaac, Ruth, Zech, Brett, and Jeff

And I like this one, too. Isaac's eating supper - we just had sandwiches!

Then we had Zech's birthday cake! I love his face in this one.

Then he opened some presents! Notice his tongue?!

All in all, a great time had by all, despite the chilly wind. Zech had a really great time, a happy day for him - and that's what really mattered most about it!

Happy Halloween!

(forgive me if I've messed up the order, I've tried my best putting these on backwards!)

The kids carved punkins (Isaac calls them) Wednesday before Halloween. They loved seeing them lit up! I lit them up in the house Thurs evening for them. For Halloween, since we weren't home, I put them outside but with glowsticks inside to light them - worked out okay, much safer at any rate!
Zech's is on the left, Ruth's in the middle, and Ruth's from school on the right.

For trick or treating on Halloween night, we went in to our friends' house in town, as we have since our second Halloween here! The kids love to go around together.
Here they are all dressed up - Ruthie was Tinkerbell, Zech was Batman (Isaac kept calling him batPan), and Isaac was Pablo the Penguin (from backyardigans).

Isaac was hilarious being this penguin - so cute! We commented on how cute his tail was. He told us "Yes, my BUM is Pablo!"

I walked with Isaac most of the time out, which was fine. At one point he said "I love you, Mama." I said "I love you too, Isaac." He was quiet for a second, then said "I love you too Pablo?" I laughed, said "I love you Pablo." "I love you too Mama." he said back, happy.
He really is too funny.

Nearly November! - 10/29

I can hardly believe it's almost November all ready. Wow. Time has flown by this fall, for me at least. I think I'm finally starting to get into the swing of things, getting Ruth to school each day, Zech to nursery school twice a week, getting everyone to dance and swimming, and just trying to keep things together and tidy around the house! Makes for a busy momma!
I think I was starting to get the hang of things before Ruthie started Grade 1, but that threw us for another loop - not necessarily a bad one, just a change to adapt to.
As far as that goes, she's doing very well with grade 1. She loves staying all day with the big kids, having lunch at school with everyone. I think she just feels more grown up, all in all. Unfortunately, we are having some interesting evenings with her at home, as she's getting tired out and quite grumpy come bedtime! But she's not been acting up at school at all, so I guess I'd prefer it this way, if I had to choose.
Zech's still having a great time going to nursery school. He had a bad day last Wednesday - wasn't listening to the teachers and did not get a sticker at the end of the morning - very disappointing for him, he was upset by it all that day! But yesterday and today, both, he's gotten a sticker at the end, so that's gotta be a good sign, I think!
At school today, he got to wear his Halloween costume and they went around town (only to 4 places, and the school) and got some candy, had a party. He had a good time, and was happy to share his candy with Isaac and Ruth, which was nice!
Tomorrow the boys and I will go to my MOTS (moms of tots) group at our church, we're having a "noah's ark" party. I am pretty sure Zech will be a lizard and Isaac will be a bunny (a pink bunny, but a darn cute one!) for this party. They have different costumes for Halloween, though!
Friday, Ruthie has her Halloween party at school, and then swimming (with school) in the afternoon. We're going to go Trick or Treating with our friends and their kids, which should be fun!
I promise I'll try to get pictures up as soon as I can, of the kids all dressed up!

Speaking of pictures, we do have some pictures from Zech's birthday supper and a few from his party at the pumpkin patch. Josh had some troubles with his new camera (not happy) and had to send it away to be fixed... so we didn't have it for the pumpkin patch. Jen had her camera and got some shots of the kids, I just don't have them yet to put on the computer. And, excuses I know, but we've been busy and haven't gotten a chance to get the ones we do have uploaded yet!
My apologies... but come try it, you'd be busy too!!

Zech is 4! - 10/17

Most importantly of all our newest news - Zechariah turned 4 years old yesterday! I can hardly believe how big he's getting. He was very excited about his birthday, and was very happy with some cupcakes and presents after supper! We're also hoping to go for the afternoon, on Sunday, with friends to a pumpkin patch and have a small cake to celebrate with them, too. Josh has some (I'm sure great) pictures from last night, and I'm sure he'll take some more on Sunday, but he hasn't gotten a chance to get them on the computer yet. After Sunday I'll start bothering him about these ones!

Our second important news is about Ruthie - she's been doing very well in school, in kindergarten, and even doing about half her morning work with the grade 1's. Josh and I talked about this at home, and finally I brought it up to her teacher- while we are happy that she's being accomodated and allowed to do the extra work, we're worried that, eventually, this is going to catch up with us/her, and we'll have to figure out moving her ahead. So, the teacher spoke with the resource teacher who agreed and felt we should have her do a more extensive assessment with Ruth, to see where she sits in all areas.
This was done on Tuesday the 7th. We met with the resource teacher, Ruth's teacher, and her principal on Friday the 10th.
The assessments showed that she is capable of working at a higher level that kindergarten. Her reading and understanding of language were both averaging around a 3rd grade level. Her "weaknesses" were in maths and actual writing, and even those she is working at a grade 1 level in. So, we chose to move her to grade 1.
On Tuesday the 15th, Ruthie had her 2nd first day of school this year! She's now a First Grader, and very happy to be one! We, and the teachers, all had expected some behavioural issues might arise due to this change, as she adapts to having to work harder, and also to full days in school, but she's had a great week this week!

And, last Monday was the kids' observation class at dance, so I've got some pictures and videos from those just getting on the net right now.
Ruthie did great, as usual. But the boys... well, not so much. They were okay for the first bit, when it was the whole class doing stuff, but when they did things individually both boys only lasted a few minutes and then we had to bring them out of class. In fact, they both ended up in the van for the remainder of the time there. It was not fun at all. The only thing I can think of that might have caused it was that there were all the extra people there watching the class (of course, as we were) and this might have made the boys uncomfortable? I'm not sure. But I do hope they go back to liking dance and having fun next Monday!

Busy week! - 09/11

Last Saturday we had our Fall Kick-Off at the church. The kids had a blast - there was popcorn and cotton candy, hotdogs, a clown, some bouncy castle toys, and more. The girls got their faces painted, too!
Monday was the kids' first dance class of the year. Isaac LOVED it. He didn't do much right away, but once he realized that everyone was doing it, he joined it and had fun. Come the last 10 minutes of class he was done and started fooling around, but half an hour is pretty good attention span for him!
Zech was happy to go back, but he was mad that they were playing games and not learning a new dance. He kept coming to tell me the other kids weren't listening to the teachers and weren't doing it right! Unfortunately, he's too young to move into any other classes, so hopefully he'll keep going, and they'll get to learning a dance next week!
And Ruthie did very well. I can tell that her class is going to be more work for her this year, more concentration on dancing, which is great. She had fun, too.
Then Tuesday was Zech's first day of nursery school! He's been really excited to go, and was happy to finally wear his back pack and get to stay at school! Isaac, on the other hand, screams because I won't let him stay!
Technically the pictures are of Zech on his 2nd day of school... because I forgot my camera on Tuesday. But he didn't care, he just said "But I can still go to school, right?" and I figure 20 years from now we won't remember or care either!

Back to school! - 09/05

Josh started back to work on Tuesday, long day of "Where's Daddy? When will Daddy be home? Why did he have to go to school?" But we made it through!

And on Wednesday, Ruthie started Kindergarten! She's having a lot of fun - recess and snacktime are her favorite parts of the day so far!

I went to a "parent info night" last night at the school and had some time to talk to Ruth's teacher about where she is with things - reading, math, etc. The teacher is going to work with Ruthie, and allow her to do some of the grade 1 things so she'll be more challenged - which is exactly what Josh and I want. I'm not sure where this will put her next year, I have no idea the policies on skipping grades around here, but we'll discuss it with the teacher and principal later in the year. For now, the teacher know Ruthie's further along than kindergarten and will let her do more things so she doesn't get bored! That's good enough for the time being.

And, here's a picture of her before she went inside!

In other news, our cat (Caspian) went missing last Saturday. By Tuesday, we were pretty sure he wouldn't be coming home and the kids had started to notice he wasn't around. All we could tell them is that he ran away, we didn't know why or where.
But, yesterday after we got home from taking Ruth to school, we heard a loud howling in the breezeway, and lo and behold, it's the cat! The kids are happy to have him back. I have no idea where he was for 5 days, but he sure was skinny - and hungry! Otherwise he seems fine, not hurt or anything.

more pictures! - 08/28

Yesterday we went to 'Reptile Gardens' near Brandon, with Jen and the kids. I just finished putting up some pictures of the kids and some of the critters we saw there!
The kids LOVED it - there were tons of snakes, quite a few crocodiles and alligators, some lizards and iguanas, some turtles, a few fish. And there were lots of spiders, which I saw one and started shaking, so I learned to not look at that wall!
Icky for me, but worth it to see the kids so interested and excited about all the animals.
Enjoy the pictures!

they're here! - 08/25

Well, online at any rate. I just (finally, I know!) got our pictures uploaded onto our site. Enjoy!

oops! - 08/09

No pictures up yet, sorry. It's been busy around here! We're off to Winnipeg (again!) tomorrow and Patti flies out Monday morning, early. Hopefully by the middle of next week all the pictures from our visits will be up. I'll post when they are!
Things are well here, everyone's happy and busy, if a little bit tired out! We'll have this coming week, not much planned, and then in the last couple weeks of the summer we have a bunch of appointments and have to get registered for dance classes and swimming lessons! Busy again!

busy busy busy! - 08/05

Just a short note - we're BUSY!
Mom and Dad were here for a week (19th to 26th) - very busy with them, playing and just spending time with them and the kids.
Then Josh's mom flew in on the 25th and she'll be here until the 11th. We're busy still, walks to the park (playground at the school), bike rides, trips here and there!
We have a bunch of pictures on Josh's camera that we just haven't had a chance to get on the computer yet, but hopefully in the next couple days.

almost there! - 07/17

Well, we've been counting down to Saturday, when my parents arrive, and we're nearly there! The next couple days will go by really quickly, too, I'm sure. Josh will be photographing a wedding with our friend, Jenn, and the rehearsal is tonight, so he'll be just running to the dump this morning (I hope) and then heading for Winnipeg shortly after lunch. I have a ton of housework to get done, laundry to get done, and packing to do. The kids and I are going to Winnipeg tomorrow, probably right after lunch as well (hope to have them nap or rest the whole drive). We'll meet Josh and play and swim at the hotel. On Saturday, we're still not sure if Josh is free to come to the airport or not, but the kids and I will be there, no matter what! We're all very excited!
Ruthie had her EEG done on Tuesday. She did very well, though she was nervous. I'm sure it felt weird to have all those things on her head, but she really did great and listened very well during the test - the tech had her close and open her eyes when he asked, take deep breaths for a while, and watch a flashing light. We haven't heard anything yet, but will definitely let everyone know when we do.
And, since I've been telling Ruthie she could, and because I wanted my parents to see it (!!), I took her to a friend's house yesterday and got her hair cut and colored. It's chin-length, with bangs (very cute!), and PINK! Not all, but you definitely see it! I'll post pictures after my parents come, cuz I don't want to ruin the surprise!
And that's about it for now. Very busy, but very excited!

Our scary sunday - 07/15

On Sunday we had a huge scare from Ruthie. Things started out normal, she woke up, had a cup of milk, ate breakfast, and we got ready to go to church. For some reason I had this strong urge to get to church yesterday, even though Josh had been up late trying for some outside pics and slept in till 10.
Got to church, all was fine. During the sermon (sunday school is not going on for the summer) Ruthie was kneeling, coloring on the pew. Then she leaned over on Josh's lap - sometimes she does this, wanting a quick cuddle - he rubbed her back, then told her to keep coloring. He kinda pulled her up off his lap. She sat on her knees for a second, then slumped into my lap. She wouldn't respond when I said her name, I put my hand under her chin and tilted her head up, to make her look at me. But there was nothing in her eyes. And she rolled out of my hands and under the pew in front of us.
Still Josh and I thought maybe she was messing around, trying to be silly. I grabbed her arm to pull her out and it was like grabbing a rag doll - there was no tone, totally limp, no life there at all. Her head slumped back and her eyes were rolled right back in her head. Josh grabbed her and ran for outside. I followed, yelled at poor Zech (who was standing there with us the whole time) to "stay there!". When we got outside she had her eyes open, but was scared and had no idea what was happening.
I went back inside to figure things out with the boys and figure out what we needed to do. We weren't sure whether to call 911 or just rush to the hospital ourselves. The youth pastor's wife ran out, dropped her new baby in my arms and said "I'll get the boys." A young girl came to me, said "I'm a nurse, can I go look at her?" Of course I said "yes, thank you." She went out with Josh. A lady from the church (does sunday school stuff, knows Ruthie) had run out right behind us. She came inside and said that Ruthie had started vomiting. A young guy came by me, said "I'm a paramedic. I'm going out to check her." He went out, started taking her vitals, and called 911 on another guy's cell.
We ended up leaving the boys with friends at the church, they took them to their house for lunch and the afternoon.
Ruthie went in the ambulance to the hospital, I went with her in it, Josh drove the van. They had me give her blow-by O2 in the ambulance, which pinked her up after a few seconds - she had NO color at all through all this, after she'd vomited 4 or 5 times, she slumped on Josh. We asked was she tired, she nodded, the EMT said to lay her on her left side and let her close her eyes if she wanted to. - that whole time she was just grey, no color, even her lips were completely grey/blue. But the O2 helped. They checked her blood sugar, fine at 6.1.
In the ER we were lucky that the ped (from Winnipeg) was on duty here. He talked to us, I was telling him what had happened and poor Ruthie just got tears in her eyes. I think it scares her that we talk about what she did (falling, vomiting) and she doesn't remember any of it. She remembers her tummy started hurting, and she remembers leaning on Josh. That's it. She remembers bits and pieces from in the ambulance, and then at the hospital. But she lost a good chunk of time.
We have no family history of seizures (actually, I found out while talking to my parents last night that my great-grandma had seizures when she was little, but she outgrew them), but we have a strong history of migraines. Josh has them, I have them, Josh's sister, both my parents, my grandpa, and his dad too. They're all over our family.
The ped thinks this was a seizure caused by a migraine. Her tummy pain may have actually been a stomach migraine (same thing, bundle of nerves freaking out, but in the abdomen instead of the head). We all hope it's an isolated thing, but for now she's going for an EEG this afternoon and we're to watch her closely. No being alone in the bath or while swimming we have to be near her always.
If it only happens this once, and the EEG shows nothing, that's it. But if it happens again, we'll have to do more testing and go to the city to see the neurology department there.
She is fine and normal now. Back to reading, talking a bunch, and bossing her brothers around. THank goodness!
It's not a huge wonder that she was good for her finger prick in the ambulance - she was still dopey and fairly non responsive. But in the ER, we had to wait and have bloodwork done, and she was awesome for that! We each held a hand, told her to squeeze but try to be still. She didn't move at all, just watched the needle going in her arm (just like I always do!) and squeezed a little bit. Done. Brave girl!

Yay for summer! - 06/27

Well, at the end of today we're officially on summer break! Josh has his last day of work today. Ruthie had her graduation (from preschool) on Tuesday - pictures are being uploaded right now. It went great, she was very cute! On Monday she went to kindergarten for the morning (orientation day), which she really liked! She can't wait to go next year, and to get to go to school EVERY day!
Really, that's about all there is to report. We have one more swim lesson - this Saturday - and that's done for the summer, too. We're thinking about going to Yorkton next week with our friends, but I'm not sure it'll all work out, what with the animals here. But we'll see.
Anyways, go check out the new pictures!

nearly there! - 06/18

It's almost summer break!! Yay! Well, I'm excited anyways. I know Ruthie will miss school, though, but I think getting to go every day in the fall will make up for having to take the summer off! She's got today (she's there right now) and then graduation next week and then she's done nursery school!

Josh is pretty much done, he's taking the day off for her graduation so he won't miss it - I know that'll mean a lot to her.

And there's only 2 more swimming days left until break, too! I'm sure we'll be swimming lots during the summer, though, especially now that Isaac loves the water!

There's nothing really major to report. Mainly I wanted to post that I just got some new pictures up on the site - there are a bunch of new ones from Josh's camera, some from Isaac's birthday, some from the kids' recital, too, if you want to go back and catch them.

Oh, one new thing - we got a new kitten a couple weeks ago. His name is Caspian (Ruthie named him aafter Prince Caspian [from the Narnia books]). We weren't really looking to get a cat, but had thought maybe we would get one this summer, now that we know we aren't moving. At MOTS, though, one of the older ladies in the church was asking around if anyone wanted this kitten - she lives in a small apartment, has an older cat, and couldn't keep this guy, and she really didn't want to leave him at the shelter. So, I called Josh and he said sure.

He's a nice little kitten, clean, likes the kids (well, puts up with them without too much clawing anyways). Crazy sometimes, but that's all part of a kitten!

our family!

Create your own family sticker graphic at pYzam.com

oops, forgot to mention

the job hunt in NB is a no-go, unfortunately. They called just Tuesday to say that Josh was just then able to be put on the "eligible to hire" list. Definitely not soon enough, and that's not even a position offer or anything.
We tried, but it's definitely not in the cards for us to get closer, apparently.

Isaac Benjamin is 2 years old!!! - 05/22

Isaac turned 2 on Monday (the 19th)!! Very hard to believe that he's 2 all ready... though if you ask him, he's not! Whenever we ask him "are you 2, Isaac?" he says " NO!" in a sad voice. Guess 1 is just old enough for him!!
We had cupcakes for he and Gracie (our friends' daughter, born on the 18th) at our MOTS group last week. Gracie loved it, Isaac cried when everyone sang!
Then we had cake and presents, just the 5 of us, at the house on Monday. I made him a "dine-sor" cake, which he LOVED! But wouldn't eat, and got very mad when I cut pieces for Ruth and Zech!
I'm just putting some pictures up online from my camera, and I know Josh has more on his, so I'll have to get those on here later.

Yesterday Ruthie had a field trip for nursery school, to one girl's house to see the miniature horses there! They were "so cute", Isaac says. I stayed with the boys, and let them mingle with the rest of the nursery school kids, which was neat to see. Isaac loved playing with the others, but wanted nothing to do with sitting with them or playing a game or story-time. On the other hand, Zech fit right in! He walked with another nursery school boy to the park in pairs, and really did well. I was happy to see that, as I know he'll be ready for it in the fall, for sure. I'm sure, too, that he'll love school!

Best of all, my parents let us know last night that they've booked a flight to come and visit! They're flying in on the 19th. Because of how full flights are all ready, they'll only be able to stay a week (otherwise they can't get home until into August). So, it'll be a short visit, but very fun. I can't wait all ready! We do wish that they could stay all summer!!! But we know work doesn't always quite allow for that.

no news yet - 05/14

No news on the MB job yet. I'd like to think " no news is good news", because at least that means there's still a chance, but we're running out of waiting time. We can't just leave this job here with a maybe in NB, it has to be a definite permanent contract for Josh to sign. But we've heard nothing so far.
So far hearing nothing means that they haven't said no - which is a good thing. But, like I say, we're running out of time to wait on this end. Randy (Josh's boss now) needs to figure things out for next year, who he's got and what courses he can offer. This may not seem like a big deal as far as Josh is concerned, but Josh has created and implemented a technology course this semester and it's gone over very well. Randy would like to have it next year, both semesters, but he can't offer it at all unless Josh is there. Basically, Randy is at a point of needing to know what the final word is.
Ultimately, we've done all we can to get closer to home. This week is pretty much the cut-off for word. Unfortunately.

Otherwise, things are going well. Ruthie and Zech are finishing up dance - just one more class next week, then dress rehearsal and recital and we're done! I do love watching them dance, and they really do enjoy classes, but I'll be glad for a bit of a break. I hope that they'll be able to continue with dance in the fall, and I'm sure Isaac would love to begin then as well, but we'll have to see what the school schedule is like for Ruthie.
Swimming lessons are going very well. We did miss last Saturday's class because of dance pictures, but that's okay. Ruthie is doing great, on her own in the water - she can even touch the bottom (shallow end) and have her heard above water! Zech is doing really well again. We're still not sure what he got scared about at the end of last lesson "term" (not swimming on his own, wouldn't let go of Josh, wouldn't use a noodle) but he seems to be over whatever it was! He does it all on his own, with a noodle. We're just there because we have to be! Isaac is doing SO much better than we ever imagined. We thought he'd be scared, as he always has been in the water, but he LOVES it! He jumps right in, and doesn't want to be held for swimming. We have tried him with a noodle, but he can't really hold onto it yet. We tried him with a life jacket, and as long as someone's holding him (so he doesn't flip right onto his back) he likes that freedom.
And that's about it! For now anyways.

Hello Spring! - 04/13

I had better not end up jinxing us, but I think today was our "hello" to spring, finally!
It hit 20 degrees this afternoon!!! We were out in the yard with just t-shirts! Well, except Isaac who 'wuvs' his jacket and wouldn't leave the house without it on.
Hurray!

back from spring break - 04/11

No, we didn't actually go anywhere for spring break - at least not home for visits or anything big like that - but we sure weren't at the house and having a break very often!
The Tuesday of break we packed everyone up and drove to Winnipeg hunting for a new van. Josh wanted to look in a town called Plumas - just a little way out of the way - which ended up being a lot more out of the way than we thought, and added another near 2 hours onto our drive to the city! There were a few vans there, but they all had higher (near 200k) mileage, so we continued on. We looked at a couple places in Winnipeg, stopped for a quick lunch, and ended up driving ALL the way around the city (did you know, even by taking the perimeter highway which goes around Winnipeg, it still takes the better part of an hour to drive from one side to the other???! That's crazy! Anyways...) to look at a van - which we ended up buying and driving back to Brandon!
It's the identical van to what we had - 1998 Dodge Grand Caravan. Just has a white "detailing" stripe down the sides, and doesn't have power windows (actually a good thing, as ours sucked in the old van). So, van's here, but there're crappy tires on it and no tether anchors for the kids' seats.
Wednesday we actually did nothing. Well, I guess really we all lazed around and napped well, as we didn't end up getting home until 12:30am Tuesday night (Wed morning, technically)!! Oh, I must mention that the kids were AMAZING that whole long day - they were stuck in their car seats most of the time, all in all... probably in their seats nearly 10 hours that day - but they were awesome. We did stop at Toys R Us and get them all a toy after we bought the van. They definitely deserved that!
Thursday morning we had to get into town to pick up Lukie (our friends' son, Zech's good buddy). He was coming for a sleep-over at our house! We hauled everyone, including Luke, around all day in town while we first got the tires switched over from one van to the other (so we kept our good winter tires ourselves), then went to the dealership to have anchors installed, then had to stand in the parking lot there and switch over and install all FOUR seats (!!!!), then go to Reg and Jill's where Reg helped us switch over the CD player to the new van, THEN to MPI where we got the old van written off. Yikes! Another full day. But we managed, even with an extra kid, and ended the day driving home, all of us, in our new (to us!) van.
Friday we packed everyone up and went in to the Winter Fair (livestock exhibition) in Brandon. Spent the afternoon and evening there, looking at things and watching the evening show.
All in all, a pretty good, though very busy, spring break!
On Saturday, I went in alone to get groceries and Josh stayed at home with all the kids. They all had a good nap, so I think it was the best choice!
Now we're back in the swing of things yet again - Josh back to work and the kids back to their activities. We start swimming lessons again this Saturday! Wish us luck - all 3 kids are in them this time, both boys will need us with them in the pool... at the same time!

On a good note - we haven't been dwelling too much on this whole Moncton thing. We don't want to think about it too much and get all our hopes up. We're trying really hard not to! Josh had done everything he could - putting together his resume, applying with all his transcripts and everything. Yesterday we heard from a lady with the division there. She'd emailed Josh about setting up a phone interview for April 21 (a week from this coming Monday).
So, this is one more step to us getting home. Everyone pray and keep your fingers crossed that Josh does well and we hear good news soon!

Hoppy Easter!! - 03/23

Hope everyone is having a great Easter - lots of candy and eggs left by the Easter Bunny?!
We had our egg hunt this morning, ending with the kids getting their toys - a skipping rope and a 'my little pony' tea set for Ruthie, a dinasour play set for the boys. All enjoyed the egg hunt, though Isaac quickly figured out there was candy in the eggs and set to work eating all he could open!
No big plans for today, just sticking around the house, playing with toys. No very adventurous, I know.
Other than Easter, nothing much is going on. Ruthie and Zech still are doing dance classes on Monday, Isaac is very eager to join in unfortunately! (because he tried to run in and join the class while we're there!) Ruthie's doing great with nursery school, and getting excited about going to kindergarten in the fall - she's very happy it will be every day. Swimming lessons will start again after Spring Break. I'm not sure how well it will work out, as both boys need to have someone with them, meaning Josh and I both have to get in and Ruthie will have to be a very big girl and sit waiting for us, but we'll see. If it's not going to work out, then at least Zech and Ruthie will continue. But we'll give it a shot for a couple weeks, anyways.
Josh (finally) has just one more week before Spring Break. It's very late this year - apparently they always start it the last Monday of March, just happened to be the last DAY of March this year. From what he's said, all the teachers are in agreement that this is too late - the kids have been nuts for weeks waiting for the break! Of course, so have the teachers! I'm not sure of everything we'll be doing during the break, though I'm sure we'll spend a day (probably the Friday) at the Winter Fair in Brandon. Our friends have the petting farm there, so we've always spent at least one day looking around and visiting them.

Josh has been looking into getting a job in NB. He has spoken to a guy (who we spoke to in September, and who told Josh to call him back in March) and he explained the whole application process to Josh. Josh is now getting together his resume, and all his transcripts to send off to the Moncton school board. We'll (hopefully) hear in the next few weeks whether he's been short-listed (for interviews). It would kind of be nice, if we're not going, if he doesn't even get a call-back. Though I know that would be hard for all of us. Either way, we'll know (latest) by the end of May what is happening.
Technically, Josh has to give notice with his board here by Apr 30, but there is a clause whereby he can go to them after the cut off date and make a formal request to be let out of his contract. He's been in talking to his principal this past week (asking him about being a reference for him, actually) and Randy told Josh that basically the formal request just means that they go and ask Randy if he's okay with Josh leaving. Makes sense to us, as Randy is the one who then has to fill the position, and he doesn't want to be hunting for a teacher come July or August. So, he basically said that as long as he knows before June, he's fine with it all, and Josh will be all right to break the contract.
We're not putting all hopes on being home come fall, but we definitely have our fingers crossed!

Long time, no posts! - 02/28

Wow, sorry it's been so long since I've gotten a chance to say hi! We've been busy, and for a bit there the computer wouldn't let me into this blog site. Anyways, I'm here now!
Things, like I said, have been fairly busy. Since things started after Christmas, and still next week, we've had dance classes on Monday night, skating lessons on Tuesday, preschool on Wednesday, skating again on Thursday, then we're in town for groceries and whatnot on Saturday, and sometimes church and visiting on Sunday. Pretty full schedule for a bunch of little kids! (them, not us!)
This week has been even more hectic - Ruthie had her "ice show" Tuesday night, basically a recital to end skating lessons. Though she's no speed-skater by far, she has definitely improved in the few weeks she was able to get to lessons! Last night (Wednesday) Zech had to dance at the Festival of Arts, in town. Tonight we don't have anything, but Friday night Ruthie's dance class is in the festival, and then Saturday we're getting a tether anchor installed in the van so we can (finally) turn Isaac's seat around, and hopefully getting our taxes done, as well!
Next week Ruthie might still have skating, depending on the ice. But the week after, things should slow down a bit! I'll be glad for a little break.
After spring break (which is late for us here - Mar 31-Apr 4) the kids will be starting swimming lessons again. It will be interesting, as Isaac and Zech both will be in the class where they need someone with them, so Josh and I will be in too! We'll manage, I'm sure.
I'm getting some pictures and videos uploaded right now. Just some pictures around here, but videos of Ruthie skating and Zech dancing last night! Enjoy!

it's been a while! - 01/22

Sorry it's been so long since I've been on here to post an update or pictures! We've been busy getting back into the swing of things... besides that, it's gotten cold, so it takes us all day to bundle up enough to get anywhere!!!
All is well here, just dealing with this bitter cold and hoping spring comes soon. Not going to happen, I'm sure, but we're still hoping.
I just put up some more pictures (some great ones of the kids with chocolate fondue!) and videos (kids in dance classes) - Enjoy!

got it! - 01/08

Finally got the pictures up!
Here's Ruthie in her new glasses. There are some more new pictures on the other website.

another week - 01/08

A week into 2008 so far, and things are going okay. Nothing much is new - Josh started back to school yesterday, dance classes started last night for the kids, Ruthie starts school again tomorrow.
One rather big thing, though, we finally got Ruthie her glasses! She's very excited about them!
I'm trying to upload some pictures right now... darn thing isn't working right again. I'll post again if I get them up.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! - 01/02

Welcome to 2008, everyone! We are hoping this year brings us a couple things - better luck, and closer to home!