WOW! I have been horrible at this. Well, lets try it again. School starts on Tuesday and I will see if I can get back into the habit of blogging. So let's catch up.
We went to Colorado the end of May and had a wonderful time. We attended my nieces wedding at the USAFA chapel, it was absolutely beautiful. It was great to see family again and just have some time amongst old friends. I had some fun doing some fitness classes with a close friend and we ate at some long lost restaurants and had yummy Mexican food. Something I dearly miss. I have found that Canadians in this area really don't know what spicy is...lol, but they do make some yummy things that we miss when we go to the States.
The girls both finished school the end of June and were excited to have 10th grade over. Summer was very different for each of them.
Tiana worked at a day camp called Maple Key Day Camp. It is a camp in a town near by for kids of many ages. She did a little bit of everything and overall enjoyed the experience. She worked a 40 hour week for 6 weeks and got a good taste of growing up. I think she realized its not all she thought it would be. She had fun but was very glad when it was done. She went with the youth group to a Christian Music Conference in New York called Kingdom Bound. She went to it last year and loved it. It is held at an amusement park and they camped and had a blast going on rides and listening to concerts. Then she began trying to fit 6 weeks of stuff into the 3 weeks left of summer. She has already been hired at Saunders Farm for Haunting Season again and she got hired as a PT cashier at Walmart this week. She is also continuing her Hip Hop Class and she has a part time after school babysitting job. She is sure going to be busy and yep, she is her mother's daughter. Oh, and she went Bungee jumping. Yes, I said Bungee jumping. We have a video of it on my facebook page. It was a Christmas gift from last year, she has wanted to do this for a long time. As it got closer to time I got really nervous but it actually looked fun. I couldn't do it, I am so jealous of her adventurous soul. I am sure that she will be doing it again in the future.
Tabitha hung out most of the summer. Her mom moved to Ottawa at the beginning of July so she got to see her a bit but not as much as she had wanted and then her mom moved back to Edmonton last week so she was sad to see her go. She had an interview this morning and has been hired by a local restaurant to do kitchen work. She will work on Tuesday and they will try each other out and then we will find out if she is has the job.
We added a family member at the end of June. Tiana's boyfriend JJ, who is 17, is living with us indefinitely. It is a long story but basically, he graduated from High School a whole year early and is a very special young lad who came on some tough times and tough situations. Although it isn't ideal having him live here, he is a joy to have around (this house needs a bit of testosterone) and he has been a great addition to the family. He is planning on joining the Canadian Forces once he turns 18 so I think he will be with us until then. He went to Kingdom Bound with Tiana and has joined us on most of our family outings. He works nights at the Comfort Inn. He goes in at midnight and gets off at 8 am and is doing very well.
2010 started with 2 drivers and 4 people needing rides. Then it went to 1:3. Then in June 2011 it went to 1 driver and 4 people needing rides, yesterday it went to 2 drivers and 4 people who need rides. Tiana has been learning to drive since December and yesterday she successfully passed her G2 license. I am so proud of her and of myself. We had a couple rough moments but we both survived and she has turned into a very good driver. JJ will hopefully have his license by the end of the month which will make it 3:4. Weren't these kids just in kindergarten?? We have also added 2 cars. Tiana got a Mercury Mystique and I got a Hyundai Sonata. This will save us some money on gas but I do miss my TrailBlazer (I will defer to it this winter probably, shhhh don't tell Wil).
Speaking of Wil, he made it home again at the end of July. He flew in on his birthday so we got to celebrate with him. He stayed for 2 weeks and then headed back to BC. Currently he is sailing back to BC from Hawaii and it sounds like finally he had a great trip at sea. I am so happy for him as this will be his last long trip at sea. He may have a couple more short ones before he turns over his ship to someone else. It looks like he will make it home for another week around Canadian Thanksgiving and then we hope that he will be back for good in December some time. I don't have anything more specific than this, so I am not holding my breath.
Our church lost our pastor in August. He was a godly man that was a huge influence in why we picked that church and a huge help in my family's life. He was diagnosed with cancer at the beginning of the year and won his battle in August. Yes, I said won his battle. That is the way it was written in the obituary. I thought that was a wonderful way to look at it. He is in Heaven now and out of misery, of that I am glad but it is a huge loss for our church. He was the pastor for 17 years. This will be a year of change in our church. I pray for God's presence and peace for all of the congregation. He will be dearly missed but his legacy will live on. I am hoping that we are done with funerals for the year.
What else did we do? We went to the nearby water park for a day, we have gone into New York a couple times shopping. We have gone to some local beaches. We have driven here there and everywhere. We shaved the cat, we had the dog in ICU. It has been a fast and furious couple of months. Although the school year is busy, I am looking forward to getting back into a "normal" routine. I am especially looking forward to choir and bell choir starting again. I miss the interaction with other adults...lol.
What is upcoming? The main thing is that all 3 of the kids are planning on going to the Dominican Republic with the church youth group on a missions trip in March. They will be fund raising shortly so you will be hearing from them soon. Both girls start 11th grade on Tuesday. I can't believe that they will be graduating in 2 years. Time just flies....faster and faster every year. Other than that, it is fall we have 2 birthdays, 2 Thanksgivings, Christmas and an anniversary before the end of the year. I think that will keep me busy.
I think that is it. Please know that although I have slacked off at blogging, I have thought about all of you regularly and miss you all. Please keep in touch, I love hearing from you. God Bless You and keep you in His care!
Brenda
