Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year everyone!!! We wish you all the best in 2010! We were trying to explain to Rebekah tonight how it will be a new year tomorrow, a concept a 5 year-old just can't grasp.

We had a great day! We took the girls to Noon Year's Eve at the Science Center in Regina. In Saskatchewan, we don't tend to have New Year's Eve celebrations outside. It was -26 here today. Consequently, we find warmer alternatives!

We arrived at about 1:30, and, of course, there were many people. We watched a juggler. We explored different types of germs, which is the special exhibit at the moment. There was a Paramecium replica larger than the girls. We headed upstairs and indulged in Cotton Candy, which was Chloe's favourite part, of course. We were able to see it made, and they explained the Chemistry behind it.

Rebekah's favourite part was the Chemistry shows. We watched one on Cryogenics, using liquid nitrogen. I love watching her face when she sees things that are so new to her understanding. Her eyes light up, and she has this huge look of wonder on her face. Liquid nitrogen, when poured into a beaker boils at room temperature, and when dumped out, turns to a gas before it hits the floor. Rebekah was amazed.

We also watched the Big Bang finale. We saw a gummie bear dropped into Potassium Chlorate. Definitely worth a watch on youtube. This is an experiment we performed in my Chemistry 20 class a couple of weeks ago. Finally, the big finale came. We had to plug our ears as they ignited a balloon filled with hydrogen & oxygen. Again, if you don't know what happens, youtube can help you out. A huge bang, upon which hundreds of balloons & streamers dropped from the ceiling. Rebekah's response, "I've wanted to do this my entire life!" Who knew? Driving to my parents for dinner afterward, Rebekah stated that today was the best day of her life. So it was definitely a success.

Tonight, when we arrived home, Chloe went straight to bed. It was well past her bedtime, and she fell asleep on the ride home. With Rebekah we were able to light sparklers & sing Happy New Year to you! It was a great day. Then, we spent a quiet evening at home.

I finished the last lab for my Chemistry class that I've been taking through Athabasca. All I have left is to write the final in January. And Glynn watched a James Bond movie. He received the entire DVD set for Christmas, so we've been working our way through them.

Now, it's time to hang a new calendar and make some resolutions!! Best wishes from our family for 2010.

Slowly...

Slowly time moves forward to the end of the year. This week between Christmas and New Year's always seems a bit odd. Christmas is done, but the new year, the next big celebration is a week away. I'm the type of person who can't wait to get on with it. The new planner. The new calendar. New resolutions. A new year full of opportunity. And so for a week, I wait.

Slowly we work our way through all of the newly acquired gifts. Today we tested out the new toboggan the girls received from their grandparents. A great gift. It was -8, so we donned all of our winter gear, coats, snowpants, toques, mitts, boots, and headed out to the small hill by the soccer field. When you're 2 and 5, it's a huge hill. And so our girl's bounded down it with glee. Every time Chloe reached the bottom, she'd simply say, "do it again!" And we did. Over and over again. It was a great afternoon for exercise and fresh air. The girls also received a puppet theatre for Christmas, so tomorrow, we'll likely set it up and watch a performance or two.

Christmas morning we were able to sleep in, which is rare in our house. I was actually the first one up. Rebekah finally came in about 8:30. We opened stockings and gifts. The girls are at the age that every present is a great one. They just love opening them to see what is inside & can hardly contain themselves. One of Rebekah's favourite was the Littlest Pet Shop that she's been wanting for a very long time. Chloe received a stringing bead set that she loves. After opening gifts, we had brunch and then got ready to head to my parents for the day. We were able to spend Christmas with my family. Bek's and Chloe loved playing with their cousin Ariel, who is 3. Of course, we had the standard turkey dinner.

Tomorrow the weather is supposed to be as nice as today, so we're planning on taking the girls tobogganing again tomorrow. We may also take them skating again. For New Year's Eve, we're planning on taking the girls to the Science Center in Regina. They're having a big New Year's party for families with cotton candy demos & treats, special exhibits & science shows, jugglers etc. Bek's & Chloe love the Science Centre. Bek's in particular loves anything scientific, which I try to encourage, since I teach Chemistry. She received a Volcano making kit from Santa that we'll probably put together this week as well.

Slowly, we begin to look back on the year, and all we have to be thankful for. Thank-you to our friends and family who gave Christmas gifts to our family. They are much appreciated. Also, thank-you to those of you who bought World Vision gifts as a gift to us. We love to hear about what has been bought, and we love telling our kids how others are being helped because of your generosity. For those of you who sent money to pool to donate to charity, this year we're going to spend it to buy socks, mitts & underwear to donate to the families at the Multicultural Center in Moose Jaw. Some of you may not know that MJ is one of the locations across Canada where new immigrants are sent to begin to learn English & job skills, and begin their integration into Canadian society. Some are refugees fleeing terrible situations. They survive on very little, and often do not have many things you and I consider necessities. Consequently, to buy these things can cause financial difficulty. One of the things they often need are socks, mitts & underwear. So we will join our money with yours, and buy as many as we can! Thank you for your kindness.

Three days before Christmas...

Three days before Christmas...I can't believe how quickly the time has gone. Yesterday I had a Chemistry mid-term to write. I'm glad to have that out of the way, so that I can enjoy Christmas. Yesterday afternoon, we took the girls to see Santa. Rebekah was so excited. Chloe I don't think understood, until she saw him. Her eyes almost bugged out of her head! Rebekah, has always loved Santa and never been afraid to go see him. However, Chloe, last year, just admired from afar. This year was different. As soon as she saw him, she jumped down from papa's arms, walked through a group of girls, straight towards him. She stopped about 5 feet away from him, and simply gazed at him. Mostly in wonder, I think. She had no problem going to see him and sitting on his knee. I think she may have even smiled for her picture, although she didn't tell him what she wanted for Christmas. At this point when you ask her, she says candy. I'm not sure she knows there are other options. Rebekah, on the otherhand, requested Littlest Pet shop.

We have a few full days ahead of us. I wouldn't say busy, but there are things to be done, as I think there always is at Christmas.

This morning Glynn took the girls to town with him to finish Christmas shopping. I stayed home and started our Christmas baking and wrapping presents. It was nice to have the house to myself. The quiet stillness and Christmas carols in the background. I made butter tarts, a family favourite, and ginger cookies. Tomorrow morning we're going to make Almond Roca, which tastes exactly like Skor bar, some sugar cookies and short bread. I also have to make our dessert for Christmas Eve; this year it's Toblerone Caramel Cheesecake. Yum!

Tonight we made a gingerbread house. This is an annual tradition we have. Last year Glynn tried to put it together and it all fell apart. So this year, I constructed the house. You have to be patient when making gingerbread houses. Icing is not like nails. Then, the kids decorated it. I have to admit, I long for an orderly, beautiful gingerbread house, like the one in the picture on the box. Alas, it will be many years, until we have one like that. Instead, Chloe mostly ate the candy and became the usual sticky mess that happens when any type of sugar is present. Rebekah randomly adhered various types of candy all over the place. Glynn, however, was slightly more sequential. I say slightly only to mean he made his side all one colour.

Tomorrow Glynn & I are going to head into town and leave the girls with a sitter. She's a good family friend, and Rebekah is incredibly excited. We have a few odds & ends to pick up, and the perishable Christmas Eve dinner groceries to buy. But before that, we're going to go serve at Riverside, a soup kitchen that opened in MJ earlier this year. It's the only soup kitchen the city has and it serves the homeless, and very poor of the city. I've served dinner there before, but this will be Glynn's first time. For me, it was a life altering experience. Tomorrow we'll be serving a Christmas dinner and handing out Christmas gifts that some of us have put together.

After Riverside, we're going to drop off Christmas dinner & presents to the family we adopted for Christmas. And we have a few more gifts to ring and run. I know that tomorrow will probably be the most meaningful of the season, and I am really looking forward to it.

Christmas Eve day we'll likely go for a walk and deliver the last of our Christmas cards, do some puzzles, and maybe play the wii. We'll spend the afternoon cooking Christmas Eve dinner, which this year, consists of glazed ham, hashbrown casserole, creamy green beans, brussel sprouts, a couple of appetizers & a salad. This meal is always one of the highlights of the year. Christmas Eve, we'll be heading to the service being held at our church, here in town. I'm really looking forward to that too.

These next couple of days are probably my favourite of the year. The anticipation. The preparation. And finally, the actuality of what has been waited for, deeply rich with God embued meaning. It doesn't get much better than that.

Twas the week before Christmas...

We've had a busy week. For a season that is supposed to be marked with solace and reflection, this week has not been that. Of course we had the wrap-up of school, and Glynn is finished work. He will be off until the beginning of January, when he'll return to school. So for both of us it was a bit hectic. Glynn's company Christmas party was also Friday evening.


Rebekah had her first elementary Christmas concert. She'd been practicing for weeks. We'd hear the odd stray bar or three of Christmas carols floating from her room. So it was little surprise as to what she was singing. But we still savored every note she sang, every bell she rung and every leap & smile. Her class sang the Christmas hokey-pokey. Rebekah's part included ringing the bells. And she did a great job. Of course, my parental bias is probably tainting my opinion.

Yesterday, we took our kids shopping to purchase Christmas dinner and gifts for our adopt-a-family, a program run by the Salvation Army, to provide Christmas for families who may otherwise not be able to afford it. Great program. This is the second time we've been part of it. We went to Moose Jaw early, hoping to avoid frenzied Christmas shoppers, and for the most part we did.


We knew the trip would be exhausting, and it was. However, the truths we are trying to teach them are that important. I think it will get easier as they get older. We had the girls help us choose gifts for each of the children. This was somewhat difficult for Rebekah because the kids that we are helping are about twice as old as her. Consequently, her suggestions weren't always relevant. Most 11 year-olds wouldn't appreciate Pet Shop Mall Madness quite to the extent Rebekah does. But it's the thought that counts. Not all of it was joyful either, there were numerous inquiries into "how many more things do we need to buy", but we endured.

After buying all of the gifts and food, including our own groceries at the same time, which created the need for two carts, we were glad to be done. Originally we were planning to go see Santa as well, however by this point we were too tired and the kids were whiney. So we came home to wrap the gifts that we bought. We had the girls help with that as well. Glynn wrapped and Rebekah and Chloe stuck on bows and tags. I think tomorrow we will deliver the Christmas bounty.

This afternoon we are planning on going skating. Rebekah has been taking lessons for the past couple months, so she does fine by herself. However, this will be Chloe's first adventure on the ice. I've been told if she can walk, she can learn how to skate. I guess we'll see!

Party Time

Well, it's all over for another year, but it was a great party. After 10 hours of drawing, painting, and baking, and 3 hours of set-up, Candyland was ready to go. We rented a building here in Caronport to have Bek's party because we created a life-size version of the Candyland boardgame, which was more than our house could hold. Glynn spent the morning setting up with the two girls, while I created Bek's cake, which was a Candyland boardgame made of candy.

At 2:00, five giggling girls arrived, ready to see what the afternoon would hold. We began with a number of rounds of twister, which is interesting when playing with people who do not yet know their left from their right. We then, moved onto life-sized Candyland,which was a huge hit. The girl's played three separate games, before we moved on to cake and presents, which to Rebekah was the most exciting part of all.

She loved her cake. She declared it to be, "the best ever." In fact, she was so excited about it, Glynn had to stop her from blowing out the candles before the cake even arrived. Once it did, she blew out the candles with great gusto, and cake and pop was served to all. It was the size of a sheet cake, so one half was vanill and the other chocolate. Then we moved on to presents.

Her first gift was a bag of craft supplies, which really, is the best gift in the world for Bek's. Then she opened up a Cinderella playset, which is a lot like Polly Pockets. It has different clothes to dress Cinderella in. She then received a Magic School Bus storybook. The Magic School Bus is one of Rebekah's favourite shows. She doesn't watch a lot of TV, but we try to catch the MSB every morning, since she loves science. She also received a playdoh set and large 3 foot high princess colouring book. After all of this, who needs Christmas presents.

We finished off the day making miniature gingerbread houses. I had constructed the houses ahead of time, and the girls spent almost 45 minutes decorating them. Some of them ate more candy than was put on the house, but that's what birthdays are for. Finally, we played one more game of Candyland before they went home.

It was a great day. One that Rebekah will not soon forget, even if it was -45. Nobody noticed :)

Birthday Celebration -- Part I

Today Rebekah is 5. A milestone for her. As one of the youngest in her class, she has been waiting a long time for this moment to arrive. At some point in the night, she crawled in to bed with us and went back to sleep.

At about 5:00 in the morning she said, "Mommy, am I 5?" I replied,"Yes, you are." She then said, "Okay, I'm having a great sleep." And went back to sleep. Apparently, once she'd established the occassion had arrived, all was well.

This morning we took her ornament cupcakes to Kindergarten, to celebrate with her classmates. It took 2 1/2 hours to decorate 18 of them. I'm glad I don't have to do that again anytime soon! But I remember my mom always making really great cakes for my birthday, and I want my kids to have that too, which is why tonight I'll be making a Candyland cake.

Rebekah could hardly wait for cake and presents at home. From school she got to pick a present from the birthday box, and, of course, she picked craft stuff. She loves making crafts more than anything else. She loved the puzzles from granny. We sometimes do puzzles in the evening, now that the girls are getting old enough. Although Chloe mostly destroys them. She also received some books, which we also read in the evening, a Barbie, and some Polly Pockets from my parents, which she's been wanting for about 2 years! Family friends also sent over a gift bag of Disney Princess stuff.

After presents, we had cake. Rebekah blew out all of the candles. Tonight we had a store bought cake with Blackberries and lots of whipcream. Chloe's favourite food group is sugar, so she's pretty excited whenever cake is present, regardless of the occassion.

All-in-all Rebekah had a great day. She's excited to be 5, and she's looking forward to her first party tomorrow.

Preparation Central

Christmas is only 2 1/2 weeks away. Rebekah's birthday 3 days, so for us, it's a busy time. The Christmas presents are bought, so are Rebekah's. It's great to be done that part! Now, we're preparing for the party. This weekend will be Rebekah's first birthday party with 5 giggling little girls, so we want it to be memorable.

We are having a Candyland birthday, all based around the Candyland board game. We are creating a life-size version of the game for the girls to play. Currently, Glynn is drawing the characters and signs. We created Candyland invitations that went out last week. The girls will also be decorating their own miniature gingerbread houses to take home with them in their treat bags.

Tomorrow night we will be baking cupcakes for Rebekah to take to school on Friday. Thursday night we will be decorating them. Using coloured decorating sugar, licorice, and red and green m&m's we're going to make cupcakes that look like Christmas ornaments. Rebekah loves the idea! Friday night we will have to bake the cakes. Her cake is going to be a replica of the candyland board game, built out of various candy pieces. The path tiles will be made out of startburst candies. Then Saturday morning, I will decorate it.

So, as you can see, our week will be pretty busy, but well worth it for the memories that Rebekah will have. After this week, we will solely focus on slowing down for Christmas, helping others, and spending lots of time as a family.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Today was a great day! Glynn & I spent the day shopping in Regina, while Rebekah & Chloe visited with Grandpa & Grandma. We began our adventures at Toys'r'us, which, to be honest, I have never seen so busy in my life. Apparently, there was a big sale. Who knew? But we braved the crowds, and were able to complete most of our Christmas shopping. The lines at the tills were shockingly long. There were 20-30 people in each line, but everyone was in good spirits, and we managed to make it through. We are three gifts away from being finished, and I can order those on-line. Woo hoo!!!

The other great stop we had was at 10,000 Villages, a fair trade store that has stores all across Canada. This year is the first year we haven't had Starbucks Christmas blend for our coffee. Every year, for the past 7 years, we've had the tradition of brewing the Christmas blend starting December 1st. However, during the past year we've learned much about the coffee business and the unsavoury practices of Starbucks. Consequently, we decided to forego buying our usual holiday treat. But today, at 10,000 villages, we found a fair trade Holiday Blend coffee, and chocolate covered mints, much like after eights. It is incredibly exciting to know that we can now continue this treasured tradition.

On Tuesday, we had our first real snowfall. Snow that will stay the season. So much snow, actually, that I stayed home from work on Wednesday, and Glynn got off work early. Rebekah was at Sparks, and so, the three of us spent an hour outside playing and shovelling. Chloe loved the snow. I think her favourite thing was eating it off the pine tree branches.

This week we started our Advent traditions. Every night we read the Christmas story and add a piece to our manger scene. We light our Advent wreath at supper, and after supper we read a bible passage and the girls create pictures for their Jesse Tree. Of course, we have the usual chocolate Advent calendar, which I've learned never to buy at the dollar store again! The girls also each have a Christmas countdown garland that has little baby stockings on it. Actually, most of them are their baby socks. Each morning there is a little gift waiting, and the stocking is then removed.