My sister in law (& Facebook memories) reminded me that my last blog post was a full year ago. To everything there is a season. Sometimes that season of life requires a pulling back, a retreat, and some shallow breathing and perseverance rather than a courageous, full and hardy, exuberant and colourful blog post every week.
I think perhaps its time to begin breathing deeply again. Time to reflect on the year that's passed as the temporary and the transitions slow down and we can once again settle down our spirits, growing roots and deepening connections. Five weeks ago we moved to Langley BC with our family as newly commissioned and ordained pastors for The Willows Community Church of The Salvation Army.
First we traveled from Winnipeg to Newfoundland for Canada Day (& a host of special activities!), enjoyed some holidays with family in Niagara and then journeyed through the Crow's Nest pass to BC. This is our West Coast Migration. It is everything our hearts have been longing for - crazy, supernatural, "mountains & oceans" BC and a equally beautiful community of people to love. If I was really clever, I would have all of our new photos ready to go, but I feel compelled somehow to finish what I started and review the last year in brief, to glean the treasures, before moving on.
Last year we were in St. Catharines to celebrate my Father's birthday - this year the card is in the mail! :-)
Last year we headed back to the College for Officer Training in Winnipeg (CFOT) to begin our second year of training and enjoyed ice cream sundaes after the AMAZING (non) RACE around Winnipeg.
We survived the dab. Come-on that must have been coast to coast!!
We read a lot. A LOT! All of us. Generally, peace reigned in the mornings.
Hallowe'en, ninja turtles & Harry Potter
Grand Beach Day in early November - YES these photos are in order, strangely enough!
Did I mention that we read A LOT?
Rock climbing birthday party was an excellent choice to counteract all of that intellectual stimulation with some physical fitness ...
Our dramatic flair came out during a STAR SEARCH Christmas play at Southlands Community Church.
It was about this time that the snow arrived. It's true, after the plows left, the kids raced outside to climb on the hills. I know, it's dangerous .... yes, they were careful ... yes, we monitored them ... remember that Winnipeg is quite flat. This level of elevation is really quite exciting.
Then we wanted to really test out our 5 in 1 winter parkas at the most eastern point in St. John's NFLD just before Christmas. They worked well enough, which was good news.
"Home" for Christmas with the most adorable little girls on the planet, who have some spectacular parents too. Home with family, home church crowd. Great memories!
New year, new blog post. We'll catch up eventually.
