Looking Back - 2008

Would someone please hit the pause button! This life seems to be stuck on 2xffwd! Our family has been on the go all year, it seems. We've been trying to make our living, connect with friends and family, make and keep memories and adapt to change. It might be easier to list the things that haven't changed in our lives, but here is a summary of the biggest changes and events in 2008.

Last Year at Christmas time we were in the midst of moving a 1979 mobile home. It was not an easy task. Mike, some loyal friends and some kind strangers were finally able to move it onto a field for storage, then later onto our very own piece of property. Mike found a nice piece of land near a small town close to our capital city. In the spring we packed all of our things and put them in storage for the summer while we caravaned around the province selling ice cream. Our mobile sat in a patch of weeds forlornly waiting for us to return and develop the property. My family sadly watched us go knowing it we would now be 1.5 hours away instead of a convenient 15 minutes. I am glad we haven't moved farther away, and I'm also happy that we do have many friends & family in the city only 30 minutes away. Moving to a new area is challenging, but we choose to look on the bright side and be thankful for every blessing. I think traveling throughout the summer makes the transition easier. We are used to being away from our loved ones for most of the summer. We spend a lot of time in unfamiliar towns, so it was less difficult to adjust to living in one permanently. The people in our town are quite friendly. There is a bakery that has very yummy doughnuts and they always give the kids free treats when we go there. The kids and I have joined a Mom's & Tots group and we meet weekly to have coffee, play and make a craft or two. We live near a valley and there is a quad trail that is quite nice to go for walks on. We have also decided to travel to the city every Sunday in order to attend the church we used to attend years ago. It is wonderful to reconnect with this church family and it helps us to feel at home on a weekly basis.

Getting back to our summer. It was busy as usual and also good. We had very few mechanical difficulties because Mike and a good friend of ours (who is a heavy duty mechanic) worked on our Freightliner for weeks installing a new-to-us engine and who-knows-what-else (I'm very technical, I know!). It was great to be able to depend on our Freightliner that tows our travel trailer and carries our concession. We did have one vehicle leave us in the lurch! It was our VW Golf which took us by surprise. Out of all our vehicles it had been the most dependable. I guess it just had enough and it went kaput on a big hill just outside the city hosting our first fair of the season. If you want details about this interesting trip go here. The Golf had been a reliable trailer hauler, hunting vehicle, long distance driver and home-to-town commuter; that car owed us nothing! I do miss it's great mileage, but for now we'll let it rest in peace. It's replacement is a 91 Ford Windstar. That's right a mini van! I think I look pretty good in the drivers seat, and I love all the space for kids, groceries and other stuff. We may not have the best fuel economy, but now we have comfort and room to grow.

Another thing that got roomier was our travel trailer. Mike was able to upgrade us from a 27' trailer to a 34' for an awesome deal. All he had to do was fly out east, buy a vehicle with a capacity to tow a large RV, then drive to the States and tow our new summer home home! Plans always sound simpler than they turn out to be. This was no exception, but Mike accomplished the task and landed us an awesome home away from home. This leads me to our 2008 top 10 summer highlights:

10. I got to go on some fair rides this year. I roped a carny friend into riding some crazy, twirly, upside down rides. It was fun and exhilarating. I can't wait until my kids are tall enough to ride with me!
9. I joined the Blog world and had fun meeting interesting people and having an outlet for my words.
8. Mike got Guitar Hero for his birthday and rocked out in the camper in spare moments.
7. We worked at my home town Air Show. It was a very busy event. Mike and I took a 4 minute helicopter ride, we got to watch the Snowbirds perform, and Mike & Dade were thrilled by the F18 demonstration. We worked with some really great staff who blew us away with their awesome work ethic and stamina. Thanks Brittany, Janine, Laura & Glenn!
6. We spent our 8th anniversary with my old pal Luwanna and got to know her family a bit. With 4 adults, 6 kids under 5, meat on the BBQ and delicious white chocolate brownies for desert, how could we not have a great time?! I am looking forward to more times like this in the future.
5. We moved to our new property and found "our" cool quad trail to explore. It leads to Strawberry Creek (how cute is that?), and the kids love to take walks in the cool shade of the beautiful poplars & elms.
4. We lived in a big roomy travel trailer with a slide out, a working fridge, a microwave, a roomy bathroom with shower, and we had air conditioning all summer!
3. The kids got to visit Grandma & Grandpa for 2 weeks and got to do fun things like: visit the lake, play in the sandbox & paddling pool, and go to the water slides.
2. Mike & I got 2 weeks of sleeping in after working late, eating at restaurants and NOT ordering fries, remembering how boring and unfulfilled our lives were before we had kids (we missed them terribly, which was a good thing)!
And the #1 top highlight was...
being blessed by our family & friends. There were so many instances when we needed support (moving day, when the VW died, being short staffed at our busiest fair). Once again people came to our aid by hefting furniture and very heavy equipment, watching our kids, lending us their vehicles, and even scooping ice cream. At times I find it hard to accept help. For some reason I feel like we should be self sufficient, but praise the Lord that we aren't. We would miss out on so many blessings and memories. Thank you everyone ( you know who you are) for your care & support & friendship. We hope someday we can bless you as much as you have blessed us.

After the hard work comes... more hard work, interspersed with some fun now and then. We returned home to start developing our property in the fall. Mike bought a back hoe and did all the trenching and installing of power lines, gas lines, and septic field. I began sifting through our storage rubble and removed the yucky carpet and an ugly cabinet from the mobile. To break up some of the work we went to some birthday parties. We started with Dade's 3rd birthday. We met some friends and whooped it up at Chuck E. Cheese on the date of his birth. Then we reconnected with our home town buddies at a local gymnastics club (we had about 15 kids come for some tumbling action and trampoline bouncing). We topped it off at Grandma Heather's & Grandpa Tom's for cake and ice cream. Dade was also lucky to have Grandpa Gary & Grandma Marion visit us around the same time too.

Next we set off to Saskatchewan for a weekend in September to celebrate our Nana's 100th birthday. The party was well attended (over 250 people) and Nana says she's still receiving cards and good wishes. We are so happy to have such a Grand lady in our lives, who we are still learning from and making memories with.

Last but not least, we we managed to surprise my Dad by holding a party for him to celebrate his 50th birthday. The key to surprising someone is to post pone his celebration exactly one month! It worked like a charm. He never suspected a thing. 50 looks good on my Dad. He's healthy and successful and looking forward to each new day. A good example for me to follow.

Aside from parties, moving and working, there is still the day to day wonder of watching our two little ones grow. Matia turned one last January; she began to walk about two weeks later. It seems like she started talking about the same time and hasn't slowed down since! Her vocabulary seems enormous to me, and is something even strangers comment on. I guess she is related to me; she's got the gift of gab. Matia plays well with her brother, but she's no push over. She can hold her own, and when she feels like she's not in control she still has an ear piercing scream that is most effective. Some of Matia's favorite things are: singing Jesus Loves Me, eating...anything, babies (real or dolls), playing with her "willo" (little) people, giving raspberries to herself on her arm, cleaning up messes with a wet wipe (which is good because she's a very messy eater), coloring...on herself, getting into things she's not supposed to, "huggling", dressing up and her top favorite toy that we pray we'll never lose is her plush "Effant" (elephant) that she can't live with out. Her dislikes include: bed time, listening to instructions, using a utensil to eat, getting sand on her feet or hands. Our latest goal is to become potty trained. How nice it will be to be done with diapers! Matia is a delight. We would like to freeze time, but watching her grow and achieve is sweet just the same.

Dade is a big boy now. He's no baby anymore. His days are filled with race cars, heavy machinery, hunting, fixing, towing, investigating and challenging. He is growing taller and taller and he seems a little top heavy as he is constantly banging his head on things. So far we've only made one trip to the ER for a big cut on the forehead. He had been balancing on the handle of his wagon and slipped, his forehead connected with the metal steps of our travel trailer. I could see skull! We prepared Dade with the information that he might have to get stitches. We explained how the doctor would do this. Dade was very disappointed when a nurse just put glue and a bandage on the cut. He told her gravely, "I sink I need a needo". Aside from that we've all experienced good health and safety throughout the year. Dade's main interests right now are: Cars, Lightening McQueen, hunting, shooting (pretend), swimming, bowling, playing in the park, going to Sunday school, visiting friends & family, watching shows, "doing school" (sticker book), listening to stories. Some of Dade's dislikes are: bed time, sleeping in, butter on bread, going home from family & friend's houses, being told no, practicing his memory verses (though he likes the sucker he gets on Sundays when he says his verse correctly). Dade is goodhearted and kind. He looks out for Matia and helps her when he thinks she needs it. He is very social and love interacting with children and adults alike.

There are so many things I could say about the kids. They give us so much joy and love and I am motivated to be a better person when I am with them. If you want to have a short conversation with me don't ask about the kids (actually I don't really do short conversations, so you'll just have to avoid me altogether).

Well that sums up our year. Mike & I & the kids have enjoyed a great Christmas traveling from family to family between Christmas & New Years. It is great to spend time with our family, I wish it would never end. When we get home I will go back to substitute teaching, and Mike will be finishing up some plans for a new business venture he has been thinking of. I'll keep you posted, keep checking the blog. We will also continue to renovate the mobile and take each day as it comes.

I look forward to hearing from all our friends and family as you are able. Look for an email with our new address & phone number. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!