HOUSE OF STONE

Every Year Starts With a Hike

2012-01-03T10:58:00.000-08:00

Happy 2012! Our tradition is that every year on the first day, we go on a family hike. This year, Christian had the idea to try a new one, so after sleeping in late and having a big breakfast, we started out to find a trail head up Mt. Tuam. After a long drive down a windy, forested road, failed attempts to find the beginning of the trail, and four car sick kids, we decided to make our own way up the mountain. We found what looked like an old road and started up.

About 45 minutes into our hike, the road came to what looked like an old stable and the road abruptly stopped. This is where this picture below was taken and where we decided to be brave for forge our own trail up the mountain.

This meant climbing a very steep, leaf covered ridge, that was very slippy. I was having stomach problems and wasn't sure it was a good idea. I thought there was no way Abby would make it up. But her brothers and our international student, (Annika) forged ahead and she joined them enthusiastically! Christian and I had to dig deep to keep up with them.
Once we made it past the tree line, we quickly saw that our efforts were to be rewarded with an incredible view!
Our little "billy goats" kept wanting to climb higher until finally we had to tell them to stop as we knew we were going to start loosing light, and without a flash light (yah, we hike real prepared!), we'd never find our way down to the van again. It is so satisfying to me to watch and listen to my children love to explore and then to just marvel at the creation of God around them and not want to leave that beauty.We are truly blessed to have been able to start 2012 like this and to live in a place where creation is so breathtaking.

We had a blast sliding down the leaf covered ridge back to the road and made it back just before we lost all light. It was very fun, and just a bit risky :)

I always start a new year with anticipation about what adventures God has planned for our family. I know that not all of it will be easy, but there is just a fresh feeling to it, and above all I know that God is with us and that we are living to follow Him.

Still here

2011-11-28T12:56:00.000-08:00

No pics to post as I lost the chord to my camera...must find that. I'm working on organizing our office, so I guess right now I'm procrastinating. Life is flying by as always. Soccer is taking up lots of our time as is usual for this time of year. I'm getting very excited to have my sis Heather and her family here for Christmas. I LOVE the Christmas season and our tree/decorations will be up by the 10th. I'm really feeling blessed in life right now. So thankful for my family, our friends, our house and the dreams God has put in our hearts. Pondering a lot today on God's favor and this quote, "Favor means God's heart is for you and His hand is on you, no matter what happens in your life" -Stephen Furtick
Love it!

Whew!

2011-10-04T16:11:00.000-07:00

We had an amazing holiday in Banff! This is the only pic that I have downloaded so far and it's one of my favorites from our camping trip. I'm so thankful to God for the almost two weeks we had as a family to have fun, relax, bond, laugh, eat yummy food, visit, hike, bike ride, and camp. Every day was a new adventure and it filled my soul to overflowing.
When we arrived home, the move was on. Christian and I spent two exhausting long days moving over to our new pad, while the Stonehouse kids stayed in Chilliwack with my sister Heather and her family. On day three, Christian left for an across Canada tour with Bachman Turner and our kids came home; on day four our international student arrived from Taiwan! Here we are in October, and Christian was only home for five days for the whole month of September. It's only by the grace of God and his strength that I didn't lose my mind! Christian came home on October 2nd, which was also our 18th anniversary, and I am completely aware that parenting is meant to be a team effort! He has to go back to Winnipeg tomorrow for three days for a NHL show and then no more travel until the spring!!!
We're into soccer season now full swing with all three little Stonehouses on teams. I'm finding it's important in this stage with our family to make sure we carve out time together and not let everyone get too busy with outside activities. Otherwise I feel like we're all inside a tornado! We're loving our new place and finding it a great place to have people over. On Saturday, we pick up our second international student from the airport...a 17 year old girl from Korea. So far, we're really liking having a student as part of our family and we're all learning a lot about Taiwan.
So...there's a snipet of what been going on with us. How about you?

Crazy Summer

2011-08-13T23:18:00.000-07:00

Well, yes, it's been a crazy summer! Too much working and packing and juggling kids, but we've managed to fit in a lot of fun as well. Summer came late to BC so we've had to fit a lot of fun in the sun into August. We've been doing lots of swimming in the local lakes and ocean beaches. These are some of my fave pics of our summer so far...

This is Brennan hanging off one of our local tree swings. It was cold that day...this was back in June. My middle child is a dare devil! I'm praying that his brain connects quickly, so that he lives. He does things sometimes without thinking much! I really hope that Christian does not teach him to cliff jump! I thought that was cool when we were teens, but the thought of my kids doing it, strikes terror into my heart!
Abby and Isaiah had so much fun on the trampoline with the sprinkler on one of the first hot days of summer around here. And it was seriously not until the end of July!
Here's some of the goodness from our garden picked yesterday. I love having a vegetable garden! Everything tastes so much better than from the store.
My sweet friend Judy had a bunch of us girls over a couple of nights ago to teach us how to nuno felt. It was so much fun and this is the scarf I created in just a few hours! I don't think of myself as being very creative, but this is something I'd like to explore more. I believe I'm made in the image of God, the ultimate creator, so I must be creative! Brennan was a good sport to model this for the picture. I only had to promise that I wouldn't show his face :)
This is our new puppy Daisy after her first hair cut. She's a real sweety, but she still pees in our house sometimes and it's been a real challenge having a puppy to train over this busy summer!
I'm just so looking forward to our holidays next week. We really need to get away as a family. When we get back, we move, and I'm really hoping for a calm, boring September.

My New House Has A Disco Ball!

2011-07-22T19:46:00.000-07:00

No pictures to share right now, as I'm having trouble uploading. These are times when I really need Christian's help and we've been in a bit of a whirlwind lately (what's new!)
Just wanted to share and write what we've been up to. This is the first summer that I've worked since having Brennan (10 years!), and I'm really not jazzing on it. I work three days a week waitressing at a restaurant here on SSI that has a gorgeous view on the ocean, but gets crazy busy. I'm soooooo tired by the time I'm home late at night! We were going to work Christian's studio schedule with my hours, but as it turns out, he's been busier than expected and had some unexpected road trips, so we've been juggling the kids a lot and we're generally worn out already. I only work about one more month and then we go on a holiday :)
We're going to Banff to camp with close friends and their family and I can hardly wait!!! I love Banff, and I love hiking and biking, and camping so it should be a great adventure.
When we get home, we're moving...yes, moving again. The house we're renting is up for sale and the kids have been longing to have a yard to play in as this house is ocean front and has no real yard space to speak of, so we found a much better house for our family. It has five bedrooms, and the rent is higher so our big plan for now is to be a host family for international students. So far, we have a 17 yr. old girl from Taiwan joining us September 2nd, and we're hoping to have a second student by October. I've started putting our stuff in boxes and fighting the urge to feel depressed about it as I really loathe moving! I think it's just that we've done it so much... And yes, our new place has a disco ball in the living room, so you can bet your boots there'll be many Stonehouse family dance parties in there!
I have a new job that I started in June as well and will resume in September and that is as an on call education assistant for the school district. I'll be working in about eight different schools on our island providing one on one help for students with special needs, and behaviour challenges. This is right up my alley and I'm really looking forward to getting more into the groove of it in the fall.
Life is never boring around here and I can't believe I haven't blogged anything since January! Isaiah, Brennan and Abby are all doing well. They had a great school year and were busy in many activities...soccer, basketball, youth group, Brownies, gymnastics etc. We really work hard to not let them get too busy. It's so important for us to have most dinners together and time as a family.
Some big family news for us is that we've applied to adopt a child through the Ministry of Children and Families. So, if all goes well, we may have a new family member by this time next year. This has been a slow process for us as we feel God calling us to do this, but were pretty freaked when we heard some bad financial news early this year. We feel like we're just supposed to keep walking ahead in obedience and leave the details up to God. We're excited, but it does feel a bit like we're "stepping out of the boat."
Well, that's enough random blabbing for now... Who knows if anyone will read this long saga, but I like writing things down on the blog so I can look back on it. I'm going to see now if I can keep up with this blog a bit better. Because what a better time when I'm working like crazy and about to move!

Mantracker Party

2011-02-08T18:54:00.000-08:00

We wanted to do something really adventurous for Brennan's 10th birthday party and decided to do a "Mantracker Party". Christian and the boys had so much fun planning it trying to base it on a show they like to watch called "Mantracker". We decided to use a local forested park, make a map with a start, 10 check points, and a finish. The boys would get points for making it to the checkpoints and loose points for getting caught by the "mantrackers". We started out by face painting for better camouflage.

Then the boys were divided into four teams of two and given laminated maps of the park, which included the check points and finish line. The "mantrackers" did not know where the check points or finish line were, only that the boys would be within the boundaries. We gave them 90 seconds to start before they would be followed and "hunted". If I could have bottled the excitement and energy the boys had before the game started I would have enough get up and go for the rest of 2011!
This is Christian resting for a few seconds over a log after a hard run. The "mantrackers" quickly discovered that these little guys were fast and hard to catch!
Before too long the three "mantrackers" had a strategy. They worked as a team, hiding and ambushing boys.
Soon, there was a lots of catching going on :) Abby and I patrolled the park making sure everyone kept safe and taking lots of pictures. I had so much fun seeing the glee on the boys faces and seeing the mantrackers having a blast. It took about an hour and a half before the first team reached the finish line with all the tokens collected from the checkpoints.
This party turned out so great, I think it could become a yearly tradition! The only mistake I made was having all the boys back to our house for pizza, cake, and a movie after for over two hours. I thought they'd be tired and just want to sit and watch the movie, but I forgot that groups of nine/ten year old boys become crazy when they're together and can't be still and quiet for more than 15 minutes!

An Early Christmas Surprise

2010-12-12T19:11:00.001-08:00

Today we planned a special day to give our kids their Christmas present early! Before that though, we spent some time talking as a family about how Christian and I are feeling convicted to pray and ask God about doing things a bit differently for next Christmas. Even though we try really hard not to go overboard (we get the kids one gift from us, and usually spend about $50/child, and a few stocking stuffers), we're really feeling like we need to scale down and give more than we do to the poor. I've been reading a few blogs lately where the families don't even exchange gifts at Christmas and I've been feeling a bit disturbed. I think it's a good thing to get disturbed... They take the money they would have spent on presents and give it away.

We bought a Wii this year for our little wee ones, and we really wanted to give it before Christmas so the focus on Christmas day isn't all on playing it. We're having my parents and Christian's Dad and Step-Mom here for Christmas we want to spend time visiting, playing board games, singing etc.
So, I set up a treasure hunt with clues and had the kids running all over the yard and house following them. While they were outside, I hid the Wii under the tree. When they found it, we had three kids jumping, hugging, and laughing!
We've spent the afternoon playing together and it is ever fun! I had no idea how much I would like it :)

I really love this time of year and being creative with ways to focus on Advent as a family. This year, I'm trying a Jesse tree/Advent devotional as a family. We light the house with candles after dark and spend some time focusing on Jesus and the reason why we celebrate His coming.
Is anyone else feeling disturbed about the crazy money we spend at this time of year? What are you doing to focus on the Birthday Child?

It's almost Christmas?!

2010-10-25T10:26:00.001-07:00

As is my normal, I haven't blogged in eons! One of my goals for the fall is to do better with posting as it's just so much fun to look back at what's been going on in our lives here. I don't scrapbook, so this is as close as it gets... We had a great summer. Christian had to travel a lot through June and July, but August was much nicer. I took the kids on a road trip in July to Grand Forks and we had a blast! Lots of swimming in rivers, adventures and visiting with good friends. In August Christian had a week off and we went on a camping trip to Barkerville. Of course, I have tons of pictures, but I'll probably never post them here. Above is a pretty typical view of our life on Salt Spring. It really has to be one of the most gorgeous places on earth.
So fall is here and the busyness has hit full force.

We've been doing a lot of this ^. Isaiah and Brennan are both playing for Salt Spring United, and they're also involved in an extra soccer league. So we have soccer on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Abby is in gymnastics this year as well as Brownies. Isaiah is about to start basketball at school, and also has youth group. I'm totally becoming a "kiddie taxi", and that is with us even being super choosy about what they're involved in so that we have time as a family to just hang out. I'm managing Isaiah's soccer team so that's been a learning curve for me and quite time consuming.
We ordered a new camera, paid for completely with air miles, so we've been having fun taking pictures! Christian and I both love photography and plan to learn more about taking pics and editing. I'd like to take a course in the new year.
This is the house we're renting for now. It's right on the waterfront on a tidal canal. This means that when the tide is high, we've got great swimming and canoeing off the dock. When the tide is low, we've got mud. It's a cute place but super quirky. The builder went a little wild; every room is on a different level, so there's lots of stairs and super weird angles to every ceiling. It's also getting run down as you can probably see with the deck. There's many things that need attention, but the owner doesn't seem too concerned, and it's nothing that affects us too much.
I'm really loving this stage of parenting with the kids. They are taking on a lot more responsibility and I love talking and teaching about life and listening to their unique personalities. We are so blessed! It's kind of been an unsettling time in our lifes; Christian has been travelling a bit too much for our liking, and we're probably on the cusp of some big changes in our family's life. Can't say yet though. It's secret...
I'm going to New York with Christian on a work/pleasure trip in November. We'll definitely take lots of pictures! I'm getting just a little bit excited now :)
-Jenn

Ontario Trip

2010-07-23T11:22:00.001-07:00

Here's a few pics from our trip to Ontario. When we first arrived in Toronto, Christian wasn't there yet, so the kids and I went for a walk downtown. They were fascinated with all the crowds and signs, and escalators. Yes, escalators are a big deal to my children, and malls! They're so funny when we go to any city; they beg me to ride escalators and elevators in malls. We're definitely small town, island folk!Christian was still working for our first couple of days there and had to do a concert in Beleville, Ontario, so we decided to follow the band there on the Via Rail. We've never been on a train before either so Isaiah, Brennan, and Abby were so excited. It was a relaxing trip and fun.
Once we got there, I had big plans to take them hiking in a bird sanctuary I'd read about online. We took the bus there which took longer than planned as we missed the stop the first time and had to ride the bus through town on another 40 minute loop around. By the time we made it, we were hot, humid, and slightly grumpy. We had some water and started on our hike. Within the first minute, my little stones were complaining about the mosquitoes. I told them to toughen up and keep hiking. The bugs were BAD!! We were getting bitten any time we stopped walking for a few seconds. But I'm stubborn and told them we were hiking, gosh darnit, cause we'd worked so hard to get there. They carried on reluctantly... About 15 min. later, I said, "This is nuts, do you guys want to turn back?" They all cheered and I think we ran back! Not sure if I'd follow Christian to gigs in the future with the kids. We felt in the way at the theatre, but it was cool to watch Christian doing the sound checks with the band.The next two days, Christian took off working and we drove to Niagra Falls. That was very fun and gorgeous. We were all so happy to have some time with Dad!This pic just makes me laugh! We'd just visited the candy store and were all wound up on sugar. The people sitting in front of us on the incline railway kept looking back at us like we were nuts. We were!We got one more family day together and spent it at Canada's Wonderland! We all went on one small fast ride together, which Abby did not like. We wanted to do one more together and knew Abby would not agree, so Christian told her we were going on the "Purple Nurple Kid's Ride". The name of the roller coaster was actually the "Wild Beast"! Yes, Abby will need therapy when she's older!! She made it through that ride and then was DONE with roller coasters, so her and I went to the kiddies section and did ssslloooooowww rides, while Christian and the boys tackled the coasters. It was so much fun watching them get off rides together and high fiving and then rating the rides on the map. I loved seeing Dad and his boys have so much fun together!
The next day, Christian had to fly to England, so we said our goodbyes and then I took the kids to the Hockey Hall of Fame. They were fascinated with all the history and interactive games. We could have spent all day there but had to be on our way to Windsor. One of the highlights was getting to touch the Stanely Cup three days before it went to Chicago where it was won by the Blackhawks!We had an amazing time in Windsor, but wished Christian had been with us. It was so great to connect with our friends there and sad to leave.

A Trip Away

2010-06-10T20:39:00.000-07:00

So, just wanted to say that we just got home from an amazing trip away! Christian is on a month long road trip and that has never happened before and he didn't want to be away from us for that long in one stretch, so we met him on the road.
We met Christian in Toronto for a few days and had a great time staying in his hotel , following him and the band to a gig in Belville and then having two days as a family to hang out, go to Niagra Falls, and Canada's Wonderland together and just have fun!
On Saturday, we again said goodbye to Christian as he was off to London, England, and Sweden and the kids and I rented a car and drove to Windsor, Ontario. It was so great to reconnect with friends we haven't seen in six and a half years since we moved away! In some ways, it felt like we'd never left. Part of my heart is still in Windsor and it still amazes me how God connected us so deeply with those people when we only lived there for just over two years.
I'm going to post some pics soon of our trip after I catch up on some sleep. It was a very long trip home.
I just got off the phone with Christian and he is enjoying his Europe trip so much and all the history in London and Sweden. He just got back from going to see Aero Smith in concert at Sweden Rocks and they will be playing there on Saturday night right before Guns N Roses! For some reason that really makes me laugh!!

Olympic Trip

2010-03-23T22:43:00.001-07:00

Oh, this has taken a long time to get this up, but that just seems to be the way things roll with me...
When the Olympics started in Vancouver, I took one look at the crowds and thought we would stay far, far away on our quiet little island. But, as soon as the kids watched the opening ceremony, they got the "Olympic fever" and couldn't let a day go by without watching some of it on TV. I've actually never seen Isaiah and Brennan so excited by an event as they were each day and so I changed my mind. :) Christian had a gig on the last day of the Olympics doing sound for Randy B. at a venue in Surrey and had left the day before. The kids and I hopped on the early bird ferry from Salt Spring to Vancouver and even though they were VERY excited, the three hour ferry ride was a bit painful for my tired little ones...
We parked our car in Surrey and took the skytrain into downtown Vancouver. We got off by Robson square and starting making our way through the crowd. The kids had wide eyes at all they saw... It was not only the closing ceremony day, but also while we were in the square, the gold medal hockey game between US and Canada began. The feeling in the crowd was electric! Soon Canada scored their first goal and the crowd went wild. There were people everywhere yelling and screaming, waving Canadian flags, honking car horns, and dressed in crazy red outfits. Soon we got filtered towards a big screen and then came to a stop and began to be pressed into the crowd shoulder to shoulder. I quickly felt uncomfortable and a bit claustrophobic, so I told the kids we were going to turn around and get out of that crowd. Within about 10 seconds I had lost Brennan! It took about two minutes for me to find him, but it felt much longer. He had big tears in his eyes and was obviously shaken. He stayed very close and held my hand for most of the rest of the day.
We then made our way into Yaletown and found a screen with a less crowded crowd. We just stayed put at that point and watched the third period and overtime there. I wish I could show you the video of when Canada was about to win the game in the third period. The Stonehouse kids, and most in the crowd began cheering and jumping up and down. Then the US goal in the last thirty seconds... Some people fell down on the road, my boys stood there dejected with shock on their faces. Of course, we all know that Crosby scored in overtime for Canada!! At that moment, the city of Vancouver erupted and we became part of the biggest, funnest, wildest street party I've ever seen! It was so fun to watch Isaiah, Brennan, and Abby take it all in and be part of something they'll probably never have the opportunity to again.
Even riding the sky train was such a big deal to them as they've never been on it... My little island cuties were having the time of their lives!
We eventually ended up at the Olympic cauldron and then back on the sky train to Surrey to meet up with Christian and catch the end of Randy Bachman's concert. Then, after watching some of the closing ceremony on the back stage big screen, back to Salt Spring on the late ferry. It was a long, tiring day, but one that our family will never forget. It was so worth going!

Goodbye house!

2009-12-01T08:47:00.001-08:00

I haven't posted forever and I can't figure out how to put pictures on here with the new iPhoto without Christian's help, but I just wanted to say that we've sold the house!!! I can't even describe how excited I am to get that money in our bank account and hit "pay" on all our credit card and line of credit debts!!!!!!!! It's going to be a new start for our family and we're going to try to do things right financially this time. We already started saying, "What would Dave Ramsey do?" to each other whenever we talk about our finances. I know that our kids already know more about debt than we ever did as they all think credit cards are "evil" and Isaiah was really concerned that the family buying our house might get into too much debt themselves!
I've got to get to work now, but just wanted to tell you our good news :)

Housesitting Fun

2009-08-25T14:36:00.001-07:00

We've been having a lot of fun living on the ocean while house sitting! I've been able to take the kids kayaking almost everyday and my sore arms prove it! We've been able to see lots of fish, seals, sea birds, and star fish. I feel so blessed to be able to show them so much of God's beautiful creations.
On our first trip on the motor boat, we decided to drive over to LadySmith, dock, and walk up to Tim Horton's for coffee and donuts. Now that was fun to get somewhere fast without a ferry line up and ride.
Christian was an excellent and handsome captain. He just got new glasses and I'm lovin the new look. I wish that he's been home more this last week and a half to enjoy the location, but he's had a crazy work schedule. :(
The boys were all about the wave slamming and speed. They're all boy and love the crazy turns that Dad would do and wanted to hit every single big wave...
Abby on the other hand was not impressed and wouldn't move or smile. She is the kind of girl that is really scared of trying new adventures, but then once she does, she becomes a "wild child". By the way home she was having fun and comfortable in a motor boat.
We have five more days here, so we'll enjoy it to the fullest. We've had four showings on the house so far but no bites yet...

The House is Done!!!

2009-08-19T20:43:00.000-07:00

I don't have any pics to post right now, cause we're house sitting, but I just had to blog that our house is finished!! It feels sooooooooo good to write it!!!!! We've had a crazy, work our butts off summer, to get all the last things done and now we can relax. :) Actually, just the kids and I get to really relax because sadly for Christian he's had to put in 13 hour days at the studio for the last three days and tomorrow morning he leaves early to go on the road doing sound for Randy B. in Buffalo, New York and won't be home til Saturday night. I feel bad about that because my hard working man needs a break!
The house is already up for sale too, which is exciting. Let me know, if you want to see pics and I'll email you the MLS #. I feel very peaceful about the timing of the sale. I'm choosing to trust God daily with it. If I'm P.M.S.ing, I have to tell God many times throughout the day that I trust Him. :)
I'll post pics in September of the fun we're having here. We're on the ocean and the view is breath taking; everyday is filled with kayaking, swimming, beach combing, and hot tubbing! We also have use of a motor boat which is so much fun. On Sunday, we boated over to LadySmith, tied up at the public docks, and walked up to Tim Hortons for coffee and donuts.
Hope you're all having an amazing summer!

My Kids Have An Amazing Dad

2009-06-30T15:43:00.000-07:00

Are We Done Yet?

2009-06-30T15:24:00.001-07:00

So I just had to post this for some of you that want to see my hair blonde. I've realized now that when I'm stressed, I have a desire for blondish hair... The last time was when we lived in the trailer and now we're just about to sell the house. I rest my case. This is actually the first attempt and then I wanted it lighter, so my hair dresser fixed it. Well, we're almost at the end of this "build your own house" journey. It's been three years since we started and had we known what was ahead, we would have laughed wildly and stayed in our rental. Hahahahahahahahaha!!!

I'm so happy with how the garden has grown. I can't really say I've done anything to it other than it had good soil and I prayed for it as I wanted it to look like it had been there awhile. The gardening has been my favorite part of building the house.
We're going to be house sitting for my friend for three weeks of August, so our big goal is to have all the painting, and a bit more landscaping done and then to get it in pristine condition. In my dreams, the house would sell while we're away and I'll never have to clean it for a showing. That will all be in God's hands. I can't even describe how excited I am to be debt free after the house sells! Our debts have been like a chain around our neck for the last eleven years and we are going to feel very light when they're cut off. One of the first things we want to do is go on a family vacation for at least 10 days. We NEED rest and refreshment and I can hardly wait :)

My First Pick For Second Wife!

2009-04-30T21:02:00.000-07:00

I've often felt like this, but having the Dyck family here this weekend confirmed that Christian needs a second wife! Our good friends Keith and Rachel finally came to visit us on Salt Spring and after watching Rachel's cleaning and baking skills in action, I decided that she needs to live with me! We think we'd make a good team. She could cook and clean and I'd do the birthday parties and meal plan and whatever else needs done.
It was so good to have their family come and spend the night with us. We were able to show them our house and around our island a bit and they were able to show off their new cutie Liam. This was Christian's first time meeting the new addition to their family and he just stole our hearts! It was so good to have a visit that lasted hours instead of the usual, quick," let's get together as we rush through Abbotsford" kind of visit. On Sunday we were able to take them to one of our island gems, Ruckle Park and go for a beautiful walk. It's also perfect scenery for lots of pictures... It was also nice to get our kids together to play. Our boys miss living closer to Nathan and Chad.
If you click on the picture with the rock cliffs, you'll be able to better see Brennan part way up one. This is why we need to keep a close eye on him when we're close to cliffs... He went around the corner where we couldn't see him and after a minute I said, "We'd better go check what the boys are doing". When we came around Brennan was already half way up! He'd already started climbing down by the time I snapped a picture. He always freaks us out! I need to buy my son some ropes, a helmet and those thingys that help rock climbers hook into rock. (I'm so technical!)
Thanks for coming to see us Dyck family. We were blessed with your presence!

Spring Break Fun!

2009-04-08T21:37:00.001-07:00

I've been meaning to make a post out of these pictures, but I was having trouble with iphoto, so finally now it's been fixed... Two weekends ago, the kids and I were able to make a trip up to Mt. Washington with two of my best friends and their kids. My friend Sonja has a log chalet up there and this is our second time going up with all the kids for winter fun. They had so much fun with their friends and I had lots of fun with mine :) The hot tub/snow sitting was definitely a favourite for the kids!

Isaiah and Brennan both tried snow boarding on some small hills. I actually think they'll catch on fast if they have some lessons. I'm stumped whether to get them learning snow boarding or skiing first... Any advice?
The triple bunk beds were also a huge hit. Abby actually fell out of the middle one on the first night and hit the headboard of my bed down below. She still has a large bruise on her leg and I'm so thankful that her head didn't hit anything. I felt so bad for not blocking off the edge! She only cried a bit and said the bruise didn't hurt. She's a tough cookie, that Abby; she has to keep up with all the boys!
The boys also tried skiing on their friend's skis. We didn't venture up any of the lifts this time. All of us got to go tubing though and that was a blast! For our last two runs, I hooked up with all the kids and we went down as a huge group of eight!
This is the view from the chalet. I think it's the best view of any one on Mt. Washington.
One of my favourite parts was riding up the rope tow on the tube as I got to be by myself and just praise God for his awesome mountain creations that were all around me. We came home filled up but pretty tired.

Still tired...

2009-01-31T22:24:00.001-08:00

This is a picture of Christian doing sound for Randy B. at the Commodore in Vancouver last weekend. Part of why I'm realizing that I'm still tired! We've had a busy month and I need to learn how to go to bed earlier... Christian was away last week on the road with Randy Bachman's new band and I was at home taking care of business :) I got to join him for the last concert in Vancouver and we got to go out for dinner together and stay at the Four Seasons hotel. We didn't get much sleep though... I walked to the hotel at 1am after the concert and Christian had to stay and load gear and merchandise and didn't get in til 3:30am. We were up by 7:30am to head to a day long parenting conference called "Raising Truly Great Kids", by Dr. Tim Kimmel. It was excellent and fun to have a whole day without the kids, but we were very TIRED.

We headed for home the next day and thanks to a fire on an earlier ferry, didn't get home until 10pm. The next morning, Abby and I were up early to catch the ferry to Victoria so she could have dental surgery. Her poor little baby teeth were a mess. I really didn't like having her taken away to the operating room. I couldn't even eat anything until I knew she was o.k. Seeing her in recovery later hooked up to tubes, made me think about her birth and how much God has blessed us with our sweet, vibrant, healthy girl. We arrived back on Salt Spring after dinner and I started preparing for Brennan's birthday which was the next day.
We started out with a pancake breakfast and Brennan opened his guitar, which he is thrilled with. He's been jamming out a lot in his bed room and having some special time with Christian learning his first guitar lessons. We had a wild, loud birthday party that night with eight boys and one girl in the house and a night time treasure hunt!
This week, I've had a sore throat and cough, and the stomach flu and I realized today that I've run myself ragged. Looking at my pictures, I started to figure out why... Some things are worth being tired for though and it's just been one of those months. I think I'm rambling on this post, so I'd better stop now and hit the hay!

Whew! I'm tired!!

2008-12-27T16:25:00.000-08:00

Wow! That was fun, and now I'm exhausted :) We just had the best Christmas. We hosted my whole family plus my Auntie Beth and my cousin Andrew, so we had 19 people for Christmas dinner and company here for almost five days. What a ride! It all started with record breaking snow falls for Salt Spring island and I have to admit it was a wee bit stressful shopping for food as it was hard to make it out of our neighbourhood with our vehicle. After a few attempts, I made it to the grocery store. I've never seen such madness there before! Heather, Richard and their kids made it safely on Tuesday and then Mom, Dad, Dinah, Russ and their crew arrived on Wednesday. That brought on a lot of anxiety for me too and I cried with a complete stranger in the store parking lot because I was so worried about them traveling here in the snow storm.
It was so great to get the whole family together in one house for two days. The cousins got along so well and we all had so much fun together. The kids and dads rocked with the sledding runs and the mommies were super stars in the kitchen :) We had a blast caroling with each child on an instrument, eating, opening presents, eating,listening to Christian and Russ jamming, eating more, and of course being crazy! Family, you are all the best and most fun fam in the whole world! I love you so much.
This year, instead of getting gift for our nieces and nephews and the adults, we all pooled some money together to buy a goat for a family through World Vision. Mom even bought a stuffed goat for all of us to pass around for the year and take pictures of us with to email each other and to remind us to pray for the family who receives the goat. Thanks Mom. Turns, out we have enough money to buy two goats!!
O.K., I'm realizing that I'm using WAY too many exclamation marks on this post, but it has been THAT MUCH FUN!!!!!!!!!!!! Mom also sewed Santa hats and made t-shirts for all her grandchildren that had their names on them and said "Saltspring Cousin's Christmas ". Mom, you're the best.
I didn't send out Christmas cards this year, so this is my card to you. Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and here's to 2009. May it be a year of happy memories and new adventures!
Love Jenn, Christian, Isaiah, Brennan, and Abby

Milestones

2008-12-05T18:27:00.000-08:00

We've had a couple of milestones this week... I wanted to tell about Brennan's first but I don't know how to make his the first picture on here. I think I need some blog assistance. Well, first for Biscuit. He is officially sleeping through the night!!! I am really thankful for that because I don't do well with interrupted sleep and I'm too busy to take naps these days, so I was driving around way too tired. Also, he's already gained 3 and a half pounds. What a big puppy ;) He still needs to figure out that outside is the ONLY place he's allowed to do his business.

Brennan joined karate in September and yesterday he earned his first stripe. He's well on his way to becoming a "karate master". He is my only child interested in this and it's neat to see him learning so much in only six weeks. He also has to really listen and concentrate which is good practice for my lively, rambunctious, easily distracted boy :)
Crongratulations Brennan. All my children got report cards yesterday as well and they're all doing very good. Good enough to get a trip off this island and have a swim at Duncan's brand spankin new pool this weekend. Yipee, I get to wear a bathing suit! Help me Jenny Craig!!

Christmas planning...

2008-12-01T21:03:00.001-08:00

Just wanted to write a quick post to say that I'm soooooo excited to have the house full this Christmas! My whole family is coming!! If my auntie and cousin join us that will be ten adults and nine lively, noisy kiddos. :)

I love Christmas and my brain is now busy full time thinking of activities and food and traditions we can incorporate into our celebrations this year.

I've got to get myself in gear and start decorating... I know, some of you already have your tree up! Since, we just got the puppy, we're not spending too much on Christmas gifts this year, so my shopping is pretty much done. That is a first in my life to be almost gift ready in November! Hopefully that will help me to have some quiet time reflecting on the great gift God gave and how Jesus's birth has changed my family's history and future.

Our new family member!!

2008-11-13T14:40:00.000-08:00

Meet our new puppy Biscuit! On Monday, Christian completely surprised me with an overnight trip to Victoria and a concert. He packed everything and had the kids all farmed out to different friends. We had such a blast having a couple of days on our own. At some point, Christian said, "wouldn't it be fun to bring a puppy home for the kids." We've been discussing getting a puppy for months now and the right timing of it etc. So Tuesday morning after breakfast we set out puppy hunting. By 12:30pm we'd found our pup. An eight week old Zuchon, which is a Bichon/Shitzu cross. We fell in love with him and within half an hour decided to bring him home. We were like a couple of giddy children all the way home on the drive and ferry ride. We could hardly wait to see what the kids would say and do...

We picked up Brennan first and when we told him it was his new puppy, he got a perma-grin. He held him in the car on the way to pick up Isaiah and Abby and at one point said, "I feel like I'm dreaming." Isaiah and Abby were completely thrilled and Isaiah always says, "He's just sooooo cute!", and Abby keeps telling me, "Mom that was the best surprise ever when you brought home our puppy." When we got home we started looking up dog names on the internet and within an hour all of us agreed on Biscuit. It was so cool because I had wanted to name him Poppy since we adopted him on Remembrance day but the kids didn't agree. After I put them all to bed, I opened up the Times Colonist newspaper to the Remembrance Day section to read a letter a man had wrote to his mother in World War I telling her that he's been injured by a musket ball hitting him in the chest, but it would have been much worse had it not been for the biscuit he was keeping in his chest pocket as a snack. So, I guess Biscuit does have a good Remembrance Day name!
So now I'm in the middle of the not getting much sleep as I deal with this puppy at night and spend lots of time researching how to have a well mannered, good sleeping, house broken puppy. It's a bit like having my first baby! If you have any good puppy advice, I could sure use it... Christian and I are so excited to have our first pet (other than goldfish) in fifteen years of marriage! Life is good :)

Summer fun

2008-08-11T13:03:00.000-07:00

We've had a great summer so far... Lots of sun, beaches, company, and a bit of work around the house. We were so fortunate to get to go to Mt. Washington a couple of times as my good friend let us go up to their chalet for free while they were away on holiday. The kids had so much fun disc golfing, and going on the bungee trampoline. The chalet is huge and peaceful and a nice break from everyday life on Salt Spring. The second time we went in late July we were hoping to take the chair lift to the top and hike, but we got socked in by cloud and some rain. So instead we went down the mountain into Courtney/Comox for a lovely walk and trip to a petting zoo. Abby and Brennan loved the rats. Yikes!! We also hit a really fun mini-golf in Parksville. The kids loved that!We've been able to see more of Mom and Dad as they're stationed in Naniamo for the summer. They bought a bigger 5th wheel to live in that much better accomodates Mom's needs. I'm so proud of them for choosing to live in their trailer so they can volunteer all over Canada and the U.S. with Sowers.
We were also blessed with visits from Heather, Richard, Charlie, Sam and Violet. We had so much fun hanging out and showing them around Salt Spring a bit more. Our kids have so much fun with their cousins and I'm so happy that we all live close enough to see each other a least a few times every year.
My sister took a family picture of us. I think it's been a very long time since we had a pic taken of us all together, so thanks Heather!
Isaiah bought himself a new mountain bike. He's worked very hard since his birthday saving money and had enough to buy himself a great bike and a lock. He had lots of fun trying it out at the mountain.

So, how's your summer been?

I'm Becoming a Gardener!

2008-07-02T22:25:00.001-07:00

We've been working lots on the outside of our house while the suns shines and I must say it is very hard work, but I'm really enjoying it! I loved researching which plants were deer proof, low maintenance and pretty and planting them. Moving all the rocks that were all found on our property was a lot harder but still fun.
We've got a ton of work left to do... We're going to put a gravel path to the front door, and gravel down the driveway. We've got grass to plant in the back, junk to take to the dump, and outside trim work to finish. I'm thinking of painting my front door black... What do you think?
We've also got a raised bed at the elementary school that is completely deer fenced and I've planted lettuce, spinach, green beans, tomatoes, carrots, snap peas, onions, and radishes. I'm really enjoying that too. I was so shocked at how tiny some of the seeds were when I planted. It's amazing that veggies can grow from those! So, what are you all up to outside this summer??

Fun With Cousins

2008-07-02T11:37:00.000-07:00

We had a great weekend. My sister Dinah and her hubby Russ and their three boys, Elijah, Hayden, and Joseph came for a visit. This was special because, even though they only live about an hour away, this past year has been crazy for us and them and they have never been to visit us all and stay here since before we started building our house. That's been over two years! It was warm and perfect and we got to show them some fun places to swim and hang out here on Salt Spring. My kids had lots of fun with their cousins! We are really blessed on this island and have lots of great places we can hang out in the summer. We spent a lot of time swimming and boating and my two oldest nephews even got to try tubing behind a motor boat for the first time.

My nephew Hayden was so funny. On the second day, I took him and a couple of my kids grocery shopping. After putting chips, marshmallows, chocolate, and ice cream in our kart, Hayden announced, "My Mom would never be this nice!" My son Isaiah quickly sorted him out and told him that I hardly ever buy junk like that and it was only because they were visiting. Well, they are pretty special!
Thanks for coming Bueckert family! We love you!!

My Baby's Not a Baby!

2008-06-19T11:05:00.000-07:00

Today is Abby's last day of preschool. It just hit me this morning that I'm officially out of the toddler/preschool days and that all my kids will be in elementary school. I don't know where the time went!! Part of me is relieved as being the secretary for the co-op preschool has been more work than I ever knew. But I'm sad that there'll be no more duty days in the classroom, preschool teddy bear sleep overs, spring carnivals to set up and tear down, and hearing the funny things one of the boys in her class always says... The preschool has been so important for our family in connecting with other families on Salt Spring. It has really made us feel that we're part of this community and helped me make some wonderful friends. Goodbye preschool...we'll miss you.

We're Simple Folk

2008-06-14T11:08:00.001-07:00

Some of you may not know our exciting news on Salt Spring Island. We finally have a bus! The kids are so pumped whenever they see it and yell, "Look, it's the city bus!" It doesn't take much to get Salt Spring kids impressed ;) So, last week I decided to take Abby and her friend Amy that I take care of on a bus ride from Ganges to Fulford. Oh, you would have though I was taking those girls to Disneyland, they were so happy!

We had enough time in Fulford to hang out on the dock, eat our picnic lunch, and watch the ferry come in...
Abby actually started feeling a wee bit bus sick on the way home, so I quickly drank my to go coffee from Rock Salt in case the cup was needed as a barf cup. You'll be happy to know we made it home safe and throw up free!

Spring Madness

2008-04-21T08:38:00.001-07:00

Little late as always, but I wanted to post some pics of our spring vacation. We were looking forward to this so much as Christian hasn't had a full week off since Abby was a baby! We started off with a visit in Chilliwack to see my sister Heather and her family and my parents who had just come back from volunteer work in Texas. Our first day, Sunday, was amazing... sun, visiting, quad rides, campfires, reading. And then Christian started to get sick. My poor hubby could hardly get out of bed the next morning and this was pretty much the state he remained in for the rest of our trip! I was determined to keep on with the plan and packed us up on Tuesday to head to Kamloops to a cabin I'd booked on Pinantan Lake. I drove all the way and when we arrived around dinner, Christian crashed on the couch and I unpacked, made dinner which he couldn't eat, took the kids for a walk on the ice covered lake, and put the kids to bed. Not quite the way we'd pictured things! Needless to say we did have a lot of fun, thanks to lots of drugs for Christian, but I had to do most of the packing/unpacking, and care of the kids. We enjoyed the sun, which has been severely lacking on Salt Spring...
Got to try ice fishing...

Go for a go-kart ride... Brennan threw up on the way to go-karting and then was fine. He went on a high speed one with Christian and steered like a maniac and then threw up again as soon as we started to drive away in our car. The throwing up lasting til about midnight on Wednesday. This is when I seriously began to think about packing up and going home and beginning to feel a bit ticked that my family was so sick for our only holiday in over four years!
On Thursday, after Christian visited a walk-in clinic in Kamloops, we headed to Sunpeaks, and had a great time exploring the village and swimming and then drove back to Chilliwack. That's when Isaiah started to get sick.
We did get to visit some dear friends in Chilliwack/Abbotsford and then I got to attend a cancer fund raiser at Heather's church to hear Feather Janz speak and some great music. I was blown away by Lisa Adrianne's story and singing and I cried a lot, which I think was a great way to get over our vacation that did not turn out the way I'd planned... My sickness started on the ferry ride back to Salt Spring and I came home exhausted. After times like that, all I can usually say is "c'est la vie" and that I believe the verse that says that God works all things together for good... I'd like to say I always rest in that belief but then I'd be lying about the tantrums I throw :) Funny thing is, that we're already talking about the memories we made and all the kids remember was the fun!

I'm A Lazy Blogger

2008-02-26T20:58:00.001-08:00

It's been a while since I did this... I forget about blogging sometimes, although I have been reading lots of other's bloggity goodness. We're all doing well but we've just come through a bad run of colds and the flu. I have only felt well for the last two days, so I guess I was sick for almost all of February. Aaaaah, the month of love. I did get a chance to take the kids up to the top of Mt. Erskine late in January. They were such troopers and I told them they're all now officially mountain climbers. It hit me on the way down, that I may be partly insane bringing my children up there by myself in pretty cold weather. There are parts that are super steep and there's lots of rocks on the trail, so I'm very thankful that nobody sprained an ankle or fell off a cliff!!

This next pic is from a hike we did together on Sunday. That is Mt. Maxwell in the background and boy did we ever enjoy the sun. Haven't seen enough of that around here until the last week! I love hiking with my family and I'm so blessed that my kids are totally into it. Abby used to need to get carried a lot last year but she's definitely grown up!

Isaiah is great. He's doing excellent in school and is really into soccer, hockey, and basketball at the moment. It's actually hard to find something he's not good at which is kind of sickening! He is also very humble and just generally a joy to be with. He takes after his Daddy in so many ways :) Isaiah has also taken a keen interest in creation science and singing . I can't believe he'll be ten in April!!!
Brennan is my sweetie with a stubborn streak... He is really enjoying grade one (especially math) but tells me that whenever his teacher talks, he thinks "I hope she's going to say it's time for gym". Typical boy! Brenn's also really into soccer right now and also tried rock climbing this month and loved it. I've known since before he was two that he was going to be a rock climber. My favorite time with Brennan is usually just before bed when we do devotions. He has a compassionate heart for those who are hurting and wants to please God. I love hearing him pray.
Abby is busy with preschool and soccer too. She's a busy girl and fits in great with her brothers. She is more moody than the boys though and screams A LOT! It really hit me yesterday hard that my baby is growing up after I registered her for kindergarden... Time really seems to be flying fast. Abby is asking a lot of big questions about life right now and loves doing puzzles. I think she's really smart, but I am totally biased!
Christian has been....you guessed it...busy!! The poor guy hasn't had a break in more than a year and a half. Between work and this house and the occasional gig, he hardly gets to sit. I'm sure he's questioned many times why he ever came up with the idea to build a house. The good news is that he gets a week of paid time off in March! I can't even tell you how much this means to us. We'll be hanging out in the lower mainland for a few days visiting family and friends :) The house is so close to being finished. We should have our final soon... I'm good and really busy with preschool secretary stuff, teaching at the gym, and being a mom. God is definitely teaching me to be content. It's so easy (especially now with Facebook), to look at all the exotic places friends are traveling and start to feel envious... It's kind of weird having access to everyone's pictures so quickly. I wish someone would post a picture album of a regular week! My pictures would include wiping snot off my kid's noses, scrubbing toilets, arguing with Christian, and cooking dinner ;) It will be quite awhile before we travel anywhere exciting and I'm fine with that; I'm counting all my blessings and having a blast living on this beautiful island. I'm going to try and blog more often. It's almost like a sort of journal and it's fun to look back on.
Chow!

This year I love snow!

2007-12-02T22:21:00.000-08:00

We had so much fun in the snow today! When we moved here three years ago, everyone told us that snow was rare here, but each year we've been treated to a winter wonderland. Of course, here on Salt Spring it pretty much means you're snowed in and your power goes off and on and off and on again... This year, Abby loved it too. Last year she was scared of the snow and wouldn't even walk on it!
As I was looking out the window today watching the kids sled and build snowmen, I was feeling very blessed. There is something very special about watching your children have fun in snow. I began just thanking God for them and for this year He's brought us through. Last year at this exact time was when we abandoned the trailer for a cottage after our water had been frozen for over for two days and we could hardly keep the trailer warm anymore. That began a wild ride of moving around to different places that I've tried to block from my memories! Things are still taking longer than we'd ever hoped, but we're in our house now and it's warm and dry and getting lovelier by the day :) Here's a couple pics of our kitchen so far. It still needs it's tile backsplash, window trim, and finishing touches on the cupboards, but it's almost done!!! I even have a walk in pantry behind that little door!
I'm going to go and make some tea, enjoy the quiet, and hope we don't lose power again. Hope you're all enjoying the snow while it lasts...

Random Bits

2007-11-08T00:45:00.002-08:00

Happy November ya'll! As always, it takes me awhile to post anything, but I thought I'd try and give a quick run down of what we've been up to... It's been busy around here as usual and I never seem to be caught up with all the things I want/need to do. I'm really starting to enjoy our house and I think that's cause I'm starting to be able to put things away. Wooohoooo!!! In the past week, Christian has finished all of the shelving for our closets, except one, so I'm having a grand old time organizing. Also, we finished tiling both our tubs, so we've been able to shower for about a week. A bath just does not do it for me for waking up in the morning and we hadn't had a shower since the beginning of June! That is a LONG time.
Anyways, Christian is bustin his butt trying to be completely done by Christmas. So, he is tired and sometimes grumpy. (Don't tell him I told you!)
Our dear, dear, friends Brad and Elisa Boschman are coming tomorrow from Calgary, so they will be our first company in our new house. Actually, no, my Mom and Dad were, so I guess they're second.
Here's my cuties dressed up for Halloween. I always wanted to be the mother of a princess, jedi, and goalie!
I got to dress up too :) I had to teach my cardio kickbox class on Halloween morning, so I thought I'd play it up a bit. My wig is falling off in this pic, but other than that, I looked hot. And let me tell you, it is not easy doing a cardio class in a wig, heavy make-up, and a long dress! After class, I decided to stay dressed up and party hop to all the kid school parties. I think Brennan was a tad bit embarrassed by me. He whispered to me at one point, "Mom are you sure you don't want to go get changed and get back to yourself yet?"
This is Christian having the first shower ever in our new house! He was one happy man. It sure feels good to finally use it after over a month of tiling. Yech!
This is our ensuite bathroom. Not quite finished yet as we've got to put the baseboards and trim up.

So, that's a bit of what we've been doin. Things will be crazy around here til Christmas... Youth conferences, choir practices for the kids, soccer games (LOTS of soccer games), working on the house til the wee hours, Christmas concerts and all the business of decorating, shopping, and entertaining. I'm hoping to get more sleep in 2008!!

Almost there...

2007-09-22T22:33:00.001-07:00

So, here's a few pics of where we're at with the house :) I love having a functioning camera again. Outside we still have some finishing to do and a deck to build on the back and a whole lot of property clean up and landscaping to do. I can hardly wait unil the burn ban is off so we can start burning scraps etc. It will make a huge difference.

I stand outside many days and just try to remember the whole process we've been through to build this. I will never look at a house in the same way again. I've really taken it for granted all these years how much work goes into putting a house up. There's so many details that you have to focus in on. I really look at other people's houses with a much more detailed eye now. Yes, I am saying that I will pick apart your house when I visit!

Inside, Christian is tiling around one of the bathtubs and man is that ever time consuming! We still need to install hardwood in the hallway and main entrance, do the finishing like kickboards in the kitchen, all the window and baseboard trim, tile another bathtub surround, put up a few more doors, and finish the closets shelves. I'm looking forward to the closets being done, so I can put more things away. I've filled many boxes that are destined for Value Village. Living without a lot of our stuff for over a year has really made me realize how much stuff we didn't miss and don't need.

I'm also working on refinishing our table set. I'm finished the table, but not the chairs, so it doesn't match right now. We are REALLY looking forward to being done and moving into a different season of life... Maybe a season that might include a vacation! I really wanted to post a picture of our kitchen, but it's not quite done and my island was full of items to return to our church library that I found while unpacking. I'm surprised they still let us take books and videos out! We keep taking stuff and then packing it in a box somewhere as we moved from one place to another. It does feel good to know that we don't have to move for awhile. We did build this house to flip though within a year or two so I won't get too comfy!

I'll try and post pics more often now so we can show you more of what we've done. I can hardly wait to have some visitors come and stay, especially ones with decorating and organizing talents that can tell me where to put everything!

We Finally Got a Camera!

2007-09-15T00:17:00.001-07:00

The time has finally come for me to post some pictures! We finally bought a new camera and I'm so excited to better blog our life again... I thought I'd start by posting a few of my favs from my trip to Chilliwack to visit my sister Heather and her family. We had so much fun just hangin out (something I wish we could do more often). Here's the kids on the ferry on our way over to the mainland.

It's surprising my sister Heather and I look so well! Especially considering all the stress we've been through building houses. I have a full understanding now why Heather, after just finishing their new house, screamed, "DON'T DO IT!!!" over the phone to me when she found out we would be building one of our own!
That picture of the kids on the train is my favourite. Who knew a cheesy fake train at "Fun Land", could bring my nephew Sam so much joy!
And how could summer be complete without a round of ice cream with your cousins?
We are in our house now as many of you know. It's so good to be in here, although we still have a ton of finishing work to do which can seem overwhelming. The overwhelming part really depends on whether or not I'm P.M.S.ing ;) My next post will be some pics of where things are at. I can hardly wait to share them!
Thanks for the awesome visit Heather. I left Chilliwack and went straight to Naniamo to go out to coffee with my sister Dinah. I'm feeling very blessed to have sisters that I love being with and love laughing with and can always count on for support and encouragement.

Air Conditioning Would Be Nice

2007-07-10T23:47:00.000-07:00

I'm really hot right now and I can't sleep, so I thought, what a better time than this to update our blog... It's been awhile as usual.
Just over a week ago, we moved out of the guest house at Randy B's and started housesitting for one of our friends. Originally when they asked us to do this, we thought our house would be done and it would be a great place to relax and spend time as a family. Ha, ha. Well the house is not quite done so it hasn't exactly been relaxing here. Christian continues to work all day and all evening between the studio and the house and he's been doing that for about two months straight! I was so tired last week from moving and feeling stressed, that I had a rough start to the week. I think I've just had enough of building stress and moving... But even though we're super busy, we are getting some time to enjoy this ocean front home and the hot tub that looks over Tent and Kuper Island and the breath taking sunsets. The house comes with a boat, so on Sunday we skipped church and instead spent time as a family boating around the gulf islands, picnicing on Valdes island, and ocean swimming off Tent island. The kids had so much fun (well, we all did!) and the boys were so excited to get a chance to drive the boat.
We are working on installing the hard wood on our main level and will continue putting up kitchen cabinets once IKEA couriers us a new corner cabinet to replace the one that was a dud. The house is painted and the bathroom floors are in and all the lights are installed. I'm getting really excited to move in! I wish I had a way to post pics right now, but the camera is broken and I think we're going to have to buy a new one. The house looks nice, you'll just have to trust me.
Our plan is to move onto the property and "camp out" in a tent and the garage for a couple of weeks until we have a temporary occupancy permit. We'll have a toilet and a sink and a washer, dryer and fridge.
Whew! What a year! I don't EVER want to do this again!!!!
The kids are all doing great. They're enjoying summer so far with trips to the beach outside our door, lots of lake swimming, water fights, hot tubbing, boating, and going to the Vacation Bible Camp that is running at church this week. They love having a dog and cat to take care of at this house and I think we might have to seriously consider getting a pet soon :)
You can pray for Christian as he's exhausted but has a drive and work ethic that amazes me daily. I have an awesome husband!
I can hardly wait to connect better with so many of our friends. I feel like this journey we embarked on to build has been all encompassing and has left me with little energy to keep up with many of you.
I'd better try and get to sleep now. I have to teach a class at the gym in the morning!
Later,
Jenn

May already!

2007-05-06T19:25:00.000-07:00

I don't know where time has gone and I can't believe we're into May already! I haven't posted for ages for two reasons... One, I signed in with my wrong email address when I changed over to the new Blogger and it took me this long to fix it, and secondly I can't post pics right now! We're all doing good but we're extremely busy. Christian has had a ton of extra studio work, and he is also working at the house any evenings and days he's not at the studio. So, I'm a bit of a single mother right now it seems. I know this season of our life will come to an end soon enough though so that makes it easier for me to handle. The dry wallers start on Wednesday or Thursday, so that will be really exciting! I feel that I've been looking at the framing of our house WAY to long!! Christian has been busy insulating which is a nasty job and takes longer than you would think (or maybe just longer than I would think)! The phrase Christian and I are saying too much is "when we get in the house, then we'll..." Christian jokingly says that everything will be perfect in the new house. We'll be totally organized, and get our budget together, and have more quality time as a family, and have perfectly behaved children. Teehee!
Abby turns four on Wednesday and I can't believe that either. It's been really hitting me that we are out of the baby days for good. We can actually all go out to eat at a restaurant and leave with our sanity in tact! The kids just sit in their seats and colour and converse with us! Maybe we should have just one more baby ;) I held a newborn all the way through our church service this morning and it felt so good to give her back to the mother at the end and not have to change her poopy diaper.
I'm going to try and post some pictures soon, but I really need my hubby's help because our own computer isn't hooked up to internet right now. That's really going to be hard as he's not home much! Oh well you'll all be surprised when one day you visit my blog and see how much our kids have grown, and how much the house has come along!

Bloggy Break

2007-03-25T19:32:00.000-07:00

Hey! We're still around. I've been taking a blog break as I've had limited access to the net and to a computer. Christian's going to get me all set up though so I can post some pictures again. We've been in Randy B's guest house now for just over two weeks and I can tell you life is good in a house! The best word to describe how I feel with more space is HAPPY!! We've been in 500 sq. ft. or less since May of '06 and I've decided that I really like space. My kids seem happier and more settled and I have the urge to strangle them less often. HAH!
I've got pics to post in the next day or so, but you can take my word for it that our house has siding and it's a sage green colour. I think it's going to look really nice. Things still feel like they're going slow to me and maybe it will just feel like that until we move in. I planted bulbs on our property in the fall and they're starting to look like real flowers, so that is exciting... It's weird for me making choices for the house, because of course I want it to look like I have some creative decorating abilities and that I've learned something from watching all those hours of shows on "Home and Garden TV", but I honestly have little idea what I'm doing. And then I get to thinking about all the things that I really want in our house and I start to care less and less about paint colours, and flooring, and faucets. I want it to be a place of rest for my family and a place of fun. I want friends and family to feel refreshed after leaving it and long to come back to it. I want laughter, songs, prayers, lessons, hugs, dances, stories and so many more things that I could never buy at Home Depot.
My sister Heather was here for part of spring break which was really fun.
If you follow the link to my Mom and Dad's site from mine, you can see a picture of my parents with all the grandchildren together! We've been busy sisters!!
Well that's all for now.... Jenn

Our 2nd Load

2007-02-06T19:32:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a great day! We received our second load from Nelson Homes, which had all our doors, windows, siding, drywall, insulation, closets, shelves, baseboards and trim kits. This time the truck driver made the attempt to bring his truck down our driveway and did it. This was good as it made for easier unloading. We also had tons of help. At one point there was nine guys working and they all had a warm chili lunch on my homemade table :) It went quick and nothing broke, and nobody got hurt... It's really exciting to see some of the stuff that will finish off our house. Thanks for all the help guys!!
This was part of our work crew, enjoying lunch.
No rain, which was awesome as our property has become a huge mud bog. Also, as you can see the roof is on, which means the house is staying dry, which makes us VERY happy!
Isaiah is doing super good with his back. The bandages are all off now and all that is left is his new pink skin. The pinkness will fade with more time and there shouldn't be much of a scar. He has been such a trooper throughout the past two weeks and hasn't even complained about all the uncomfortableness. He was thrilled to get the bandages off and be free and to have a real bath again :) Thanks for all you prayers and well wishes for him.

Crazy Ride

2007-01-22T21:26:00.000-08:00

This building a house thing has been a crazy ride! I honestly would not have done it if I could have seen the future... Who would have known that it would take us this long, that we'd spent six months in a trailer, go through record breaking weather for rain, wind, and snow, and move around several times into other people's homes! I have been very tired lately. All that being said, we sure are having fun as a family! This will definitely be an adventure that we'll sit around remembering and telling stories about for many years :)
On a sad note, Isaiah got burned very badly on Saturday. We were at Chris and Bill's (Christian's Mom and Step-Dad) cabin taking care of Josh and their foster baby Cassondra for a few days. They had just arrived home and Christian decided to make us all tea. Isaiah and Josh were playing a hockey like game on the floor and somehow Isaiah ended up playing underneath the stove. Christian was pouring the boiling water from the kettle into a tea pot he'd set on the stove (which had a wonky element), and then turned to listen to Isaiah saying something and accidentally knocked the tea pot off the stove. The water landed on Isaiah's back. I didn't see it happen but I did then see Isaiah jumping up and down in the air, screaming, and holding his back. We got his shirt off and him in the shower with cold water on and quickly saw that the burn looked bad. I rushed him to emergency and they told us he has second degree burns. He is all bandaged up and has to have a home support nurse change his dressing every day for the next two weeks. He is doing fine but I'm still giving him medication for the pain. The doctor told him today that he should not play sports for the next six weeks. That was devastating to Isaiah as he plays soccer and hockey everyday at school, loves P.E., and is playing soccer on a team every weekend. My poor sweetie!
The house is getting along. Bill is finishing the last gable today that sits over the front door and on Wednesday the roofers start. YEAH!! We should be seeing some nice progress soon :)

Happy New Year (and belated Christmas)

2006-12-27T19:20:00.000-08:00

Hope you've all had a wonderful Christmas... I had full intentions of getting these pics on the blog by Christmas day, but such is my life.
We had a great Christmas. We're currently house sitting for our neighbour and enjoying her huge house immensely!! We had Christmas morning/afternoon on our own as a family which was awesome and then headed over to Chris and Bill's cabin they're renting for Christmas dinner. It was really nice to be in a house for Christmas even if it's not our own. We've even had overnight guests! My Mom and Dad and Nana spent the night on the 22nd and
Christian's Dad and Step-Mom spent the night last night. The kids have all been sick with horrible coughs. You can probably tell that Brennan is sick in the Christmas pictures. Abby is the sickest today and kept me up for almost an hour last night with a high fever and talking strange talk about her hair and characters from "Dora". I'm pretty sure she was halucinating.
All being said, I've really been dreading tomorrow as it means cleaning the whole house before we leave on
Friday to go to Campbell River for a few days. All this moving around has been exhausting for me and it is stressful staying in other people houses. I worry about wrecking things. As of Tuesday, we will be in a 550 sq. ft. house until the end of February. Small, but still bigger than the trailer and it has a real toilet, bathtub, washer, and dryer!! We sure are thankful to not be going back into the trailer. When I bring the kids in there now so I can check phone messages and check email etc., I want to strangle them after about fifteen minutes. God definitely gave me a special frame of mind to live in there for six months! I keep hoping Ty from extreme home makeover will appear at my door and say, "Stonehouse Family we're here to finish your house. Come back in three days and it will be done!" I can dream, can't I??
We wish you all a healthful, peaceful, and adventurous year for 2007. If you get a chance, drop us a line.
Love Us

Moving to Angel Cottage :)

2006-11-29T14:33:00.000-08:00

We just got a phone call today from our realtor that runs a bed and breakfast. She told Christian that she wants us to move into her 600 sq. ft. cabin for the next two weeks and that she won't take no for an answer! This is soooooo great as our water pipes have been frozen for the last two days, so we have no running water, which means no showers or doing dishes. God always provides at the right time. Also, last night when we were at our friend's house for dinner, they told us that their neighbours who live in a one bedroom house are looking for a family to stay there for January and February and just want enough money to cover utilities. That means if we go there that our trailer days may be over until the house is done!! I am so happy!!!! Being in this trailer was starting to get to our mental sanity.
Yippee!! I'm going to start packing...

Some Of Us Like Snow

2006-11-27T15:04:00.000-08:00

Here's some pics of how we're enjoying the snow, well some of us are... The boys are having a blast as you can see and Abby won't go near it! She just wants to stay wrapped up and cozy in the trailer. She says she's scared of it and the bumps that the boys are going over in their sleds. What a girl!
The trailer is a bit chilly in this weather but we're going to tough it out. The cold is supposed to break by Friday. Thanks to all of you that are phoning to check in with us. We're doing fine and don't worry if it gets too cold, or if we loose power we'll book into a cabin or something. If anyone would have told me that we'd be living in this trailer in the snow and winter six months ago I never would have believed it!
Christian stayed home from work today to work on the house as we can't really get our vehicles out of here anyway.
Hope you're all enjoying the early snow and drinking lots of hot cocoa :)

We Have a View!

2006-11-10T23:13:00.000-08:00

Pleased to say that our second floor is up and ready to have a roof. I don't have pics of the day the walls went up for that floor but I wish I did! We used an excavator to lift the walls up to the guys and the exterior and interior walls were up in one day. It was not the best weather, but we did get some sunny breaks :) Thanks to my brother-in-law Russ, and Christian's brother-in-law Peter for the help. We are feeling so blessed by all the people who have devoted time to helping us. Peter used his holiday time to be here for four days! The house is getting high and Abby's bedroom is going to have a nice view of Mt. Erskine. The rest of the house has views of trees :)
Also, I'm including a pic of our temporary home under the maple tree. We stayed in Randy Bachman's guest house last week for five nights which was a welcome break from the trailer. The only things that sucked was that Brennan had a one day flu, I had a major three day gallbladder attack and the hot water tank stopped making hot water on our second day there. I had to boil water to do dishes and clean the house for leaving! Our life never seems to be boring!
Now we're back in the trailer and I must admit the first couple of days back in here were hard to take. It's shocking how little room we have and how much stuff we try to shuffle around and fit in here. I hardly slept last night as we had a major wind storm and the trailer kept shaking. I lay there hoping a big branch from the maple tree was not going to come and crash onto us.
One of our neighbours has asked us to house sit for her from December 15th-30th, so were excited to have a house and kitchen (and hot tub!) for Christmas. God is good!
Sorry if you've been trying to get ahold of us. Our phone has been down since Monday and Christian is trying to get it up and running again. Oddly enough, our internet is still working. Good thing, or I'd feel completely cut off! I've also been horrible at returning phone calls. I get so exhausted be evening and don't feel like being chatty on the phone. I'll get to you eventually!
We'll really feel better around here once the roof is on the house. Hate to see all that water getting in there right now...

First floor work party!

2006-11-10T22:53:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, we had a crew of family and friends help us put up the walls for the first floor of our part of the house. This was a great day! I couldn't wipe the smile off my face, seeing the house start to take shape. By the end of the day, I could take people on a tour of our first floor. Very fun... Thanks so much to John (Christian's Dad), his friend Jim and our neighbour Barry for the extra hands. Those walls were heavy!! Especially the vaulted walls of the entrance. They were a bit of a challenge to put up. The next week was spent leveling everything and fixing some problems with the walls (a couple were too short)! It was great to all share a meal together too. Thanks to you too Mom Cairns for taking care of all my kiddies. I couldn't have helped and cooked with them running around.

The Basement

2006-11-10T22:40:00.000-08:00

O.K. I'm spending tonight trying to get updated on our blog. These first pics are of the building of the walkout basement and of the two men who we can credit most of the work with. Most mornings, I greet them by saying "Good morning Dad and Dad!" Thanks Dads for all your hard work on making our dream come true :)

Pouring Concrete

2006-10-14T00:11:00.000-07:00

Hello! No, we haven't fallen off the face of the earth. Life just seems really busy for us right now and I haven't got off my bloggity butt to post anything. So, here are some pics of pouring the foundation which I think happened about three weeks ago. I will get going here and take some pics this weekend of where we're actually at with the house which is laying the floors for the second floor. The walkout basement is framed up. It feels like things are moving slowly right now but I'm sure they'll speed up soon! Sure hope we're in there by Christmas :) We're all doing well... Isaiah just had a girl at school tell him that she has a crush on him and now has invited him to the movies with her family. Please someone tell me this doesn't begin already in grade three!! Isaiah is not interested in girls yet, thank God! How this stuff brings back memories of my own childhood. How sweet puppy love is!

Progress!

2006-09-05T23:32:00.000-07:00

Just thought I'd post some pictures of the past week or so... We've moved the trailer to the other side of the property to be out of the way and basically now, we're living in a dirt hole! I CAN NOT keep my kids clean anymore! If I want Abby to look nice, I get her ready and carry her to her car seat and strap her in til it's time to go :) Every night I spray them all down before bed so they don't get dirt in their sheets... I'm really just trying to keep a good sense of humour through all of this. We're still having lots of fun though as a family so we're doing good. Unless I've lost all sense of sanity now and I'm not completely aware of reality! The day we moved the trailer, Bill backed it up too far at one point and the trailer hit a bump of dirt and ripped the septic tank off the bottom.
Let's just say it was a horrid sight and smell (I won't go into details). That morning I said to Christian, "is this our real life or some kind of nightmare we're living in?" Go ahead you can laugh... I figure that one day we'll have a lot of good laughs over this stage of our life, so we may as well start now! HAH!

The footings for our foundation are all ready to go and have been inspected and the load of supplies to get our house to lock-up arrived on Friday. Christian rented a bob cat with a fork lift (thank God, cause I don't know how they would have done it without), and we had seven guys here for over six hours working hard to get everything off the truck. We ended the day with a big barbeque which was nice but exhausting. Christian said he can't remember the last time in his life when he was sore in every muscle of his body.

My parents have moved to Salt Spring as of today (no not onto our property!), and will be here for at least a month to help out. That will be a huge blessing to us. The kids are all starting school. Isaiah in grade 3, Brennan in kindergarden, and Abby in preschool two mornings a week. I think it will help a lot to have them busy and out of the way of the goings on here.

I've noticed none of you are phoning us wanting to come for a visit lately. What gives?? ;)

Things are moving along!

2006-08-15T00:06:00.000-07:00

O.K. You'll just have to trust me on this one cause I don't have the pics to prove it, but things are starting to happen around here!! I need to find the recharger for our camera and as such can not take any pictures...
This last weekend, our excavator arrived and pulled our the tree stumps, roughed in our new driveway, tore down the cottage, and dug the hole for our foundation. It was VERY exciting to say the least and the kids throughly enjoyed watching the huge back hoe do it's work. Those machines are amazing to watch up close!
We also met with the bank today and everything looks great to finance our construction loan. It feels really good to have things moving along with the dream of building this house. I still can't imagine the house being here, but it's getting closer in my mind.
I took the kids to family camp at Camp Qwanoes July 30th to Aug 5th and that was a blast. I'd highly recommend this camp to everyone. The staff had such a servant attitude and the kids were thrilled with all the activities. I have to a say though that I will never do that again without Christian. The only reason that I went was because Christian's Mom paid for us and she also came herself with Josh and another grandchild. It was exhausting for me! I had tons of fun, but I definitely need a husband next time to help with the kids! I had to trek to our cabin to change Abby's clothes due to pee accidents a few too many times and the trip up from the waterfront is not funny with grumpy kids in tow... Isaiah counted that there were ninety six stairs to climb up from the waterfront! Christian did join us though for the last day, and that was my favorite day. What can I say? I love that man!
Our spirits are up around here and our first load from Nelson Homes arrives on September 1st. That load will have everything we need to get our house to lock up.
I'd better get to bed now as it's late, but I just wanted to give a little update.

Life is funny

2006-07-26T19:49:00.000-07:00

We're just sitting here laughing because our life seems quite funny right now... We just finished eating pizza out under the trees, listening to the swing band playing tunes next door. Our neighbour is hosting her own birthday party and has hired a band of eleven members which is playing on her large deck as I write this and there's over a hundred people milling about on her deck and yard, which looks directly over ours. This is funny because our property looks slightly like a bomb hit, definitely a construction zone! So, we won't be going to bed til late tonight as the tunes will keep going til late. We're just getting the dirt cleaned off the kids so we can go over and dance and join in. Last month she hosted a healing through laughing seminar and the whole weekend we got to listen to many people laughing at the top of their lungs. She's a sweet heart though. Well, off now to dance and laugh...

Tubing rocks!

2006-07-20T23:01:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to post these pictures for quite sometime... We went to Powell River at the end of June to visit my Nana and my Uncle Gord and Auntie Jan. Gord took all of us tubing and it was a thrill! The reason I really want to show you all the picture of the boys tubing with Christian is because it's so shows the boys personalities. Isaiah is much more of a thinker about things and gets scared more easily, but Brennan just jumps in and has a blast doing everything whole heartedly without thinking about the safety issues. The whole ride, Isaiah's and Brennan's faces looked exactly like the picture shows. At the end they both said they loved it, but I think the picture tells the whole story!! Brennan with a huge grin and Isaiah with teeth gritted. I was honestly terrified watching my precious jewels ride around on a tube... If our kids turn out anything like Christian, I'd better get used to it as he was a cliff jumping thrill seeker when we dated. Thanks for all the fun in Powell River Uncle Auntie, and Nana!

Fun in the Fraser Valley

2006-07-18T22:27:00.000-07:00

The kids and I just got back from a fun filled week in Chilliwack and Abbotsford. We decided to go and visit my sis Heather and family who just moved into their new house a couple of months ago. Also, we hadn't yet met my niece Violet who is now three months old. Sadly, I don't even have a picture of her cause my camera broke right before I was going to take her pic. She is a cutie though and I'll post her picture another time.
We went to the Vancouver Game Farm one day which the kids LOVED. Their favorite part was getting to see the lions and tigers eat their meaty lunch.
Most of all though, it was great to visit with my sister and her family as well as some of our good friends from Abbotsford. The boys were so excited to drive by the condo, Isaiah's old school and the hospital where they were born. Brennan said, "Mom, I really am a true Abbotsforder!"
While we were gone, Christian and his parents were working hard taking down all the interior parts of the cottage. I know they got a lot more done with us gone, but I did feel guilty at least once for having so much fun ;)
Now we're back to our sweet little trailer. The only horrible part is that Isaiah now has the runs and Brennan and Abby spent our first night home throwing up. I guess we picked up the flu somewhere (probably Adventure Zone, hey Rachel?) Everyone is still not completely back to normal. I've made too many trips already to the laundry mat to wash sheets and blankets. Yuck!!!

WAITING...

2006-07-07T13:48:00.000-07:00

House Of Stone

Our patience muscles are being tested! It seems like we're waiting for everything right now; the financing to go through, the building permit, hydro to come and switch our power to our new pole... I truly think this beginning stage is going to be the hardest part of building our own home, at least I'm hoping so ;) The financing is the biggest sorce of stress. When you apply for a construction loan you have to give a cost estimate that includes the prices of all labour that needs to be done. We're doing tons of the work ourselves, but the bank does not want to know this as they want to know that the house will be built quickly. So, you need to get qualified for a much bigger sum of money than you'll actually end up using. Christian and I were laughing last night thinking about what we would do in the financing fell through! This verse I read today gives me comfort:

Psalm 62:5 (New International Version)

Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him.

I know this is so true. When Christian was out of work and we were waiting to know what he was going to do, God gave me so much peace in the middle of the waiting. So today I'm going to rest and wait to hear about everything.
In the middle of all this waiting though, we've been very busy. Christian's Mom and Step-Dad (Chris and Bill), sold their motorhome that we were going to stay in and bought us a 31 ft. trailer. It's a funky 1976 special but it has a lot of cupboards and a lot more room, so that makes me feel happy. We're almost completely moved into it now and we'll begin tearing down the cottage tonight. I'll take some pictures of our new digs in the next day or so. The boys are tenting it for now and Abby sleeps on the couch in the trailer. Abby has been a challenge as I think it's hard for her to understand why we keep moving to different beds. She's been VERY grumpy. It's so hard for a three year old to understand what it means to be building a house...
Well, I should get back here to packing up the cottage. If you read our blog, leave a comment and then I can keep track of who's actually reading this thing :)
-Jenn

Another Day at Work...

2006-06-22T23:05:00.000-07:00

Well, looking out the window from the studio last night, I couldn't resist taking a picture. First day of summer and all. As I snapped the picture, I realized something was flying in from the left side. I didn't think it was captured on the camera, but it was...man, I feel blessed by God that this is the view from my office! -Christian

Funny things kids say...

2006-06-21T13:24:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, Brennan said, "Mom when I grow up I want to be a basketball player, because they can draw all over themselves!" I then told him that those are called tatoos and they have to put the ink in with a needle. He then said, "Well, I guess I'll have to be a basketball player without tatoos."

Trees a fallin

2006-06-15T17:49:00.000-07:00

I'm wondering where the past week and a half has gone! It's been very busy around the property... Many trees have come down, more salal cleared, many branches wood chipped or burned, the shack torn down and a new shed almost built. We're finding that we really find it rewarding though working on our own property. We ordered the house from Nelson Homes today and the first load will be delivered in about eight weeks. We were hoping for more like six weeks, but that's o.k. this will all happen in God's timing. I'm sure I'll be one of those people who build and say "I hope we're in the house by Christmas!" Our little boy monkeys caused some havic last weekend when they decided the windows we salvaged from the old shack would be fun to break with a sledge hammer. That was not fun to clean up... They were all disciplined by having to wash the vehicles spic and span on Sunday afternoon. I find interesting things usually happen when you get a group of three or more boys together with creative heads!

This first pic was Brennan's last climb on this tree before it came down.
I can't believe how much more light we're getting now with the one grove of trees gone. I think our neighbour almost had a heart attack when the tree falling truck pulled up. I told her the trees were going but I don't think she thought about how fast it would happen. I don't like being a "tree killer", but those ones had to go to make room for the house. We've actually been so blessed by our neighbours. On the one side, our neighbour has a little bobcat and took all the logs off our land over to his to use as firewood. He's also going to help transplant some trees for us. On the other side, our neighbour has offered to store the rest of our furniture when we move into the motor home. I love friendly neighbours :)

x

We're on our way!

2006-06-05T22:56:00.000-07:00

Well, I've been inspired by reading my friend Rachel's blog and how it is such a cool way to keep up with friends that I've decided to start one too :) I thought since we are building a house too, it would be a good way to keep you all updated on the progress... Things have been crazy busy around here. I can honestly say I didn't realize how much work has to be done before you ever even get started on building a house. Construction loans, building permits, sewage permits, electric permits, temporary power pole, and the list goes on... Every night we hit bed exhausted! We are still living in the cottage on our property but that should be torn down by next weekend and then we'll be moving into a motor home for summer. Here's a few pics of things:

This is where we're living now

This is one of many burn piles we've had and will have

The horrid shack in the back of our property that we're tearing down. It's full of old bottles of wine and other junk. Many trips to recycling are yet to come...

This is what we'll live in by next week. Aaaaaah! What have we got ourselves into!