Virginia!

The first stop for us after leaving Ottawa was to visit some good friends in VA.

Our first stop was with friends who we knew when living in London, UK.  They had also been there for a while and our families had quickly become close.  The kids loved reconnecting and for us (Aaron & I) having time with them was good for our souls, refreshing and relaxing. 

We took a trip to "Texas Beach" which is not in Texas and not a beach, its along a river and a wonderful place!! We had so much fun, a perfect place for a family with lots of age range. 

Texas Beach

Summer 2018 Itinerary

Family Driving Fun!!

This summer is gonna be busy.

As a family we are spending July in the USA and August in Europe.

Below is our planned itinerary.  Let us know if you are around when we are in your area.

Zachariah Skiing!

Zachariah Skiing!!
Zachariah loves skiing.  Over the winter he has learned to Ski, Eden and Nathan have learned to snowboard.  It has been a great way to get out and enjoy the winter. 

Jeremiah at Pre-School

Jeremiah at Pre-School
Jeremiah loves his school.  It is a highlight of his week.  Although he regularly reminds us that next year he will be able to take the school bus to "BIG SCHOOL" with Zachariah.

Grandma Jones

Grandma Jones

This picture was taken about a month ago of my wonderful grandma.  Two weeks ago she suffered a stroke, it was a big one and after almost a week in the hospital she was moved to a local hospice for her last days.  As you can imagine the last two weeks have been emotionally taxing.  I (Eileen) spent every moment I could with her at the hospital then the hospice.

Now is the time to look back as we prepare for her funeral this week.  My grandmother was an amazing women, she is part of the generation that has seen so many changes within their world that no other generation to come will ever see as much change (cars, TV's, phones and such).  The one thing I think most about this fact is that Grandma was not as changing as her world.  Many things in her life were wonderful and many difficult as we all have.. but Grandma was unchanging.  The world around her fluctuated, people came and went, circumstances change but not Grandma.  She was (and will continue to be in my mind) a solid rock who's main desire was to love and take care of her family.  Nothing was as important or valueable to her than the time she spent with her many family members.

I was blessed with having her nearby in my childhood and a constant part of my life.  I am a better person for it and am thankful my children have gotten to know and love her.

Grandmas wake will be on Tuesday and the funeral on Wednesday.  Please pray for our family through these days. 

Jeremiah wants to work with Grandpa!!

Working with Grandpa!!

We joke often that Jeremiah is very similar to my (Eileen) father.  They have a lot of characteristics that are similar, what they find funny.... how they watch tv... 

Yesterday Jeremiah turned 4.  Today he decided he was old enough and asked me to take him to work with grandpa.  Thankfully, grandpa is a good sport and we headed over.   This is the scene we arrived to, Jer was so excited!!!  He loves the digger!!! 

This photo below is when Grandpa and Jer were working together!!  Its not a great pic but if you look  carefully, you can see Jeremiah in the cab.  

Valentines 2018!!

Valentines Day 2018

Zachariah loves going to school and enjoys spending time with all of his friends.  Valentines day is always an opportunity to share how much he enjoys them.  This year he came up with the idea for his class gift and announced to us what we would be making.  

It is hard to see in the picture but those cute little Dino's are actually crayons made by chopping up and melting down old crayons! 

As you can imagine, they were a hit!

I can't wait to see what he comes up with next year! 

Eden is driving!!!

Well, I guess it had to happen eventually.  Eden is our first child to be on the road!!  Ottawa has less public transport than London did so Eden is pretty excited to be working towards her license.  She asks to drive at every opportunity!!  She is learning well and doing a good job.  She is looking forward to getting her full license and it will be nice for us to have another taxi driver in the house!!

Friends 4 Dinner

During the Christmas season we had the privilege of hosting some Moroccan students for a Christmas meal.  It was a fun event for all of us.  We are already looking forward to the next time we can have them over!!

Building a house in Kindergarten!

Zachariah building a Gingerbread house!

Perspective is a wonderful thing, although often lacking in the stories told by the little ones.  Zachariah came home from school very excited about us coming into his classroom to help him build a house.... a house we asked, that seems like a pretty big project for one morning in Kindergarten.    We were informed with great assurance that this would be enough time as the house is only for one person so not as big as a normal family home.

It didn't take a lot of guessing for us to be pretty sure we were coming in to make Gingerbread houses.  With great excitement on the day we showed up ready to build our house!  I looked at the supplies we were given and asked Zachariah who exactly he was planning to have live in this house? The classroom Elf he said with surprise that I wouldn't know such an obvious answer.   When my facial expression still didn't look to be that of one with all the knowledge he proceeded to explain to me that the Elf in the classroom looked like a toy but in reality was a real elf that played in the classroom when all the children went home!!  it looks like THE ELF ON THE SHELF really lives in Ottawa!!

Unfortunately, the elf is still looking for a new home.  We may have eaten the one we made for him!!