settling in

well, it has now been a full month that we've been living in our new home. We are almost completely settled in, my craft area still needs some work and we're still working on some storage solutions, but we're starting to feel at home in our home.  Because the house is really new (like 2 months brand new) there is some settling happening and so yesterday our landlord had a drywaller in to fix some of the cracks that are starting to show in the walls. So now we have white spotted walls and are waiting for the painter to come.

Now that the sun has started to shine more around here, Ronel & I are looking forward to getting out and exploring more of the greater Vancouver area. Sometime this spring/summer we're planning on trips to the Aquarium, Zoo, Science World, Stanley Park,  and somewhere in there we'll plan a trip to Vancouver Island to visit my dad's side of the family.


for those of you who still check in on this blog.... thanks and I'll try to post more often. 

special Sunday

Today was a great day as Ronel & I got the privilege of meeting our newest nephew today! My youngest sister & her husband welcomed their first child into this world this morning..... Ethan David Timothy was born this morning at 5:40am weighing 8lbs even. We headed over to the hospital after church and spent a couple hours cuddling the newest family member. 

Here are his gorgeous little toes!! (I'll ask my sister if I can share a photo of the rest of him soon!)

moving....

sorry the blog has been so quiet..... we've been packing & preparing to move. At the end of January we found out that we needed to be out of our current suite by Feb 28th. Our landlady is moving her family to California to be with her husband and is renting out the entire house. So, we spent the beginning of February looking at suites and we finally found one that would work for us, was still close to work, still in our price range and is actually brand new! The house was just finished in the middle of January and the owners just moved in at the beginning of February.

We then needed to start packing and also try to get rid of some items that won't fit in the new place.

I've had to work through some things, but I am finally looking forward to our new place. There are some definite perks - all new appliances (we've had issues with the stove here and the fridge is quite small), more cupboard space, nice new paint job, carpeted living room, but it is only one bedroom (which is larger than our current one) and the kitchen/living area is slightly smaller/different layout.

I've learned how to navigate Craigslist as we searched for a smaller kitchen table & chairs, plus listed some items we no longer need.

another way to help Haiti

<a href="http://aaronhale.bandcamp.com/track/got-a-lot-to-give">GOT A LOT TO GIVE by Aaron Hale</a>

This songwriter & singer has offered his newest single for download (set your own price) ALL proceeds go to help REAL HOPE FOR HAITI.
Check out Licia's blog here - RHFH Rescue Center

Check out this organization and see what this amazing family does! And download this song today! I just did, now it's your turn!

and check out more from this artist here Aaron Hale

10 by 10

IT’S 2010 — THE START OF A NEW DECADE, AND A TIME FOR CHANGE.

When you join the 10 by 10 challenge, you are joining a community of we thinkers around the world who are working to create a better global future. Take action on your commitments throughout the year, and watch as together we build a better world, 10 actions by 10 actions.

Now, thanks to the generous support of Aviva, your commitments will have an even greater impact. When you share your commitments on this website, Aviva will donate $10 on your behalf to a Free The Children community overseas. That means your actions will create change both here at home, and around the world. Simply by sharing your actions, we will be raising money $10 by $10 that will create great difference in the lives of tens of thousands of people. And, what started with you, will end up with we.

It’s as simple as that!

what are YOU waiting for??

Here are my 10 by 10 commitments to change for 2010

1. Turn off the lights
2. Drink water from a re-useable water bottle
3. Give a donation on someone’s behalf
4. Hug, hug, hug
5. Say thank you – in writing
6. Re-connect with an old friend
7. Hold the door
8. Look for local produce
9. Unplug appliances
10. Carry a re-useable bag

update

We still have not heard from any of Ronel's family or friends. I did hear back from the mission where I used to work and they are fine, there is some minor damage to the buildings there -- cracks in the walls and such that need to be repaired and they have a workteam with them right now who were going to be building an addition to one of the homes and are now focusing on repairs instead.

We are praying that Ronel's family in that same area are okay and have minimal damage to their homes as well. We are concerned about Ronel's siblings in Port-au-Prince and his father's family who live right near the epicenter.

We spent today praying and trying to get through to someone in Haiti, but so far we have not being able to get through on the phones. I did have a missionary friend say that her cell was back working but I think that the system is too overloaded for us to get through.

please keep praying.....

video on quake damage

Here's a video I found on the damage in Port-au-Prince.

This is just mind-boggling! I am so thankful that Ronel is here with me and not there but we continue to pray for all of those who are there in Haiti.

Earthquake in Haiti

This afternoon, just before 5pm EST, there was a major earthquake just off the coast of Haiti. From what I can find online it was a 7.3 earthquake with 2 major aftershocks of 5.8.

I have been able to find out that friends of mine that live in Haiti are okay, but we have not been able to reach any of Ronel's family and so are praying that everyone is okay. Most of Ronel's family is more in the middle of Haiti in the Artibonite Valley so hopefully they didn't get much of the effects of the quake. I have put in an email to the mission where I & Ronel both used to work to check on how they are and have asked if they could have someone check on Ronel's mom. Hopefully we will hear more news soon, in the meantime, please keep all the people of Haiti in your prayers!

Happy 2010 to you...

Ronel & I had a wonderful Christmas - we spent the morning with my "other" family (friends who have become like family) and then went to my brother's house for Christmas with my family. This year my grandma and cousin joined us (they both live out of town) so it was kind of nice to have them with us. It was so nice to be able to share that all with Ronel -- it was his first "Canadian" Christmas and I think it went well. Boxing Day we were up early and out of the house for some Boxing Day sales! We went to Talize (a thrift store in town) and they had 50% off everything used (they do sell some new items)and we scored. They have some great clothes and we found some items that still had the original tags on them, but they were in with the used items! Ronel & I both got quite a few items of clothing and some of them we paid barely anything for! Most of Ronel's clothes were all well known name brands like Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, etc. We got him some really nice dress shirts and more pants. I got some skirts, and more "nice tops" - ones that I can wear with jeans and look nice or dress up with a skirt or dress pants. We spent almost all day at Talize - finding items took us about an hour then we spent most of our day trying on the items... they have a 5 item limit and were strictly enforcing it -- you could try on more but you had to get back in line. We didn't have a problem with it cause everyone had to do it. When we were finished we headed home to clean up and then headed over for our second turkey dinner!!! Our friends where we spent Christmas morning have their Christmas meal on Boxing Day so that Christmas day is one of relaxing... I actually quite enjoy it and it means I get two Turkey dinners each year!

Our vacation time (both of us didn't work Christmas Eve until today) was one spent together, enjoying each other's company, watching movies, relaxing and just being together. New Year's Eve we had plans to spend it with friends, but mid day Ronel asked if we could just stay home and so we did. We watched movies and just hung out. It was actually quite enjoyable and we even made it past midnight! (actually we made it quite a bit past midnight as we started a 2nd movie at 11:30 or so~ )

We are both looking forward to what 2010 has in store for us, and as I told one of Ronel's cousins - this year already looks better than last year because Ronel is here with me!

We wish you all a wonderful year filled with God's richest blessings for your life!

snow pictures as promised!

Ronel seems to enjoy the snow and can't believe that this isn't a lot of snow! For the first time, he actually was cold and only after he stuck his hands in the snow (see photos below where he's laying back in the snow) Unfortunately the snow has stopped falling and it is now freezing rain that is falling, so we'll see what the roads & sidewalks are like tomorrow morning!
Enjoy the photos of Ronel's first ever look at snow (at 36 years of age!)

Ronel's first look at snow

shovelling the snow -- Haitian style
no jacket and a dustpan

Sitting in the snow, just outside our door.

This is the photo Ronel wants to send back to Haiti
He went out into the lawn and laid down in the snow!

Enjoying his first snowfall -- it was 9 cm deep (3 1/2 inches)