Winter Sleigh Rides

We had a fun Friday night. The sunday school teachers arranged for a sleigh ride at Terpstra's. There were 34 of us in total. We had to use 2 sleighs. It was a lot of fun. Thankfully, the weather was actually nice. Only 0 degrees and a light snow. It was so pretty. And we weren't even cold. Half way through the ride, they stop at a huge hill and everyone has 15-20 minutes to go sledding. Wow. What a hit with the kids (and some Dads).

After the ride, there was hot chocolate and cookies and a look at the other animals in the barn. They really have a nice setup there.

Later that night, Marten and I watched a special Celine Dion concert on TV. It was really good.
Saturday, Nicolle went to a movie with some friends and I took Jason to get his hair cut ("Just like Pete's"). Marten wasn't feeling well and by Sunday, he really didn't feel well and he stayed home from Church. The kids and I went to Dairy Queen after church with Mom, Kathy, Lorna, Wayne and Janelle. Then we all went to Mom's and shared Valentine treats. Kathy had made everyone a plate of heart-shaped scotch cookies. Yum! Mom had chocolates. It was fun! I purposely stayed in town til 5 so Marten could get a good rest without noise and interuptions.
Now, it's Monday and he still doesn't feel well. He stayed home from work and rested on the couch inbetween naps. :) Say a prayer that he feels better soon.
I actually got on the computer tonight to research snack ideas for the 100th day of school. I'm supposed to bring something for the class. Most sites just say to have 10 bowls of 10 different things (choc. chips, pretzels, marshmallows, etc). The kids take 10 of each and therefore have 100 snack items. I need to feed 26 kids and 2 teachers. That sounds expensive. They don't want a cake. It takes too long to cut it and pass it out and it's messy. Any ideas?
I really enjoy all your blogs and appreciate all your comments. Thanks so much. Love, Karen

I Survived!!!

By now, all of you from "away" have heard that the island had a huge ice storm. Our power went out before we got up on Tuesday morning and didn't return til Friday afternoon at 2:45. All I can say is 'thank goodness for generators!' I think I could deal without the electricity. It was actually kinda nice not to have TV or playstation or computer. We had some yummy BBQ meals because of the lack of stove and oven. I also liked having the candles at night time. I even enjoyed having the kids home from school and just having a relaxing week. It was the lack of water that did me in. I was so grateful when the generator arrived on Wednesday so I could have a shower. (hee, hee... so was everyone else, I imagine). It's so easy to take washing your hands and flushing the toilet for granted. It's times like these....

Here's two of the pictures I took around our house. Our birch trees were bent over touching the ground. I was worried about them but they snapped right back up a couple of days later. Phew! I really like the white birch trees. The firs and pines were all crooked with the weight of the ice but they, too, are recovering nicely. We just lost a few trees around the property. And, luckily, no damage to house or pool. It was quite something to drive around and see all the damage done. There will have to be alot of cleanup in the spring (picking up broken branches and such).

Elisabeth was here on Thursday and we were discussing the storm, of course. She compared it to our lives. We can be bent over in troubled times with the weight of our worries, etc. But through faith and time, we can stand tall again. Plus, wasn't it beautiful with the sun on the fields and trees? Our lives can reflect the beauty of God even in those trials. Nice analogy! Thanks Elisabeth. So wise! :)

This week, also brought about Nicolle's 11 birthday. We had the family party on Thursday afternoon. And Tetcy... I also bought the cakes. I just can't seem to make good cakes. It's a good thing that Sobey's does such a fine job!

Nicolle had her 3 bestfriends come for a sleepover on Friday night. They are quite the foursome. I am so glad that Nicolle has this group of girls to hang with. They do alot together. I had a lot of fun being with them (when I was allowed :P). As you can imagine, the house was full of shrieks and giggles and whispering. The girls painted t-shirts (the blue ones in the first "charlie's angel" picture), watched a movie, and talked and stayed up til 3am. I went to bed at midnight (giving up all hope that they would settle down). Oh well, it doesn't happen often. I was surprised to see them awake at 8am. After breakfast, we had a photo shoot. Should be easy, I said. It would be nice to have a picture of these 4 muskateers together. Well.... try to get a group of 4 giggling girls to sit still and all smile at the same time. It was so funny. We must have taken 30 pictures before they agreed on one they liked. I printed one out for each girl and they decorated a wooden frame to put it in to take home.

Best Friends: Heather Van Veen; Emily Ross, Nicolle and Katie Wedge

After games, another movie, lunch, more talking and giggling, we had planned an outdoor activity. I had filled all my plastic containers with colored water and put them outside 2 days before to freeze. The girls were to make an ice-castle out of it. Come Saturday, the ice was quickly melting and it was near impossible to build. It was sliding all over the place so instead of a castle, they made a 'pretty' sculpture. Oh well, they had fun! They also had fun destroying it (as seen in picture).

The girls left at 4 pm and Nicolle had a GREAT birthday. Phew! Another one accomplished.

To finish off my exciting week we went to church this morning (I helped with the grade 5-6 class). We spent lunch with Nana and Kathy and celebrated Nicolle's birthday again. We arrived home for supper and now I'm enjoying spending the last hours of my week with you. :)

So ... I survived a very busy, different week . And I believe I'm all the better for it.

I hope that you all can say the same! :) Love you all! Karen