A Foreign Place

Every time we come back to the States, it is more and more obvious to John and me that this is not where we live.  Here's one recent example for you:

I went grocery shopping at ALDI yesterday morning for my mom-in-law.  The total was $19.10.  So I gave her a twenty dollar bill and a dime, a little bummed that now I was going to have 4 quarters to carry around in my wallet since there's no such thing as a loonie south of the border.  Then she handed me a ONE DOLLAR BILL and for a second there I was just shocked.  Oh yeah!  There are one dollar bills here!  I had totally forgotten.

Baby!

Our other big news is we're pregnant!  

Baby, as he/she has been affectionately named by Helena, is due June 21st.  We are super excited to have another child and super excited to give Helena a sibling.  We're not going to learn the gender of the babe, but we did learn from the ultrasound technician that Baby is very very active. 

Most of the time Helena tells us that she wants a baby when we ask her if she wants a baby sister or baby brother.  We can do that, Helena!  And when we look at the picture of Baby, she's always quick to tell me that Baby has purple hair :)

ABD PhD Candidate

This Monday was John's last day of school.  LAST DAY.  

 

He came home with a new title - ABD PhD Candidate.  He's now All But Dissertation - you know, all he needs to do now is get his dissertation done! 

After 21 1/2 years of going to class, studying, and taking exams, a celebration was in order. That night included Gourmet Burgers and Blokus.  But the rest of the week is full of fun exciting things as well, the best being the simple fact that John is around!

Seeing an Old Friend

 

Last weekend we had the wonderful opportunity to see a dear old friend of mine, Ellen, and to meet her husband, Gerry, while they were in Ontario.  It was really nice to catch up and to see that while we had changed, we hadn't changed that much!

Happy Belated Halloween!

After showing Helena who Minnie Mouse is through a youtube clip, she was very excited about her Halloween costume. 

Only after showing Helena that Holly had a headband and a bag to carry too, was she willing to wear her ears and hold on to the bag.

And after visiting a few houses and learning that candy went into her bag, she was very unwilling to let go of that bag!

photo courtesy of Christa

Church Retreat

Last month our church had a weekend getaway together to a Hungarian Baptist Camp.

Can you find us?

It was a lot of fun and a great time for connecting.

Kraft Dinner

Macaroni and Cheese isn't Macaroni and Cheese north of the border.  It's Kraft Dinner.

It's popular, too.  More Kraft Dinner is eaten per capita in Canada than Macaroni and Cheese in the States.

There are more varieties as well.  Sometime in the past year they started selling Kraft Dinner Smart, which has half a serving of vegetables in every serving of KD, by replacing some of the flour with freeze-dried cauliflower.

Just a few interesting facts about Macaroni & Cheese for your day.  Check out
http://www.food.pop-cult.com/macaroni-cheese.html if you are interested in learning about the history of the stuff!

Casa Loma

Casa Loma, the only true once-resided in castle in North America, which can be found in downtown Toronto, is pretty amazing.  We visited it with Ethan & his three girls, and we were all really impressed with it.

 

It was built in 1911 by Sir Henry Pellatt, an incredibly wealthy Canadian.  At various points in his life, he held the North American record for his time in the mile, he controlled over 25% of the Canadian economy with his investments, and he financed the Queen's Own rifle guard to train and travel to Britain to compete - all 600 of them! He was also a leader in the move to change gas lights to electric in Toronto, along with many other hydro electric activities.  Sadly, (and this I do not completely understand) the government expropriated his electricity business, which was the beginning of his very long financial fall.  Less than 10 years after he and his family moved in to the castle, they had to leave.

Check out his shower!  An awesome rain shower head and six different layers of water would squirt out from the sides.

John's and my favorite room - a sitting room surrounded by windows, off of Lady Pallett's bedroom.

This door, along with five others just like it, leads into the conservatory. You can swing the brass decoration away from the glass so that the window can be completely cleaned.  At the time the castle was built, each door cost $10,000.  If one of the doors breaks now, it will be $130,000 to replace it.  One door.

Casa Loma - a Toronto site that is definitely fun to see!

A cousin visit!

This past week we were blessed with a visit from John's bro, his wife & two of their girls. John & I had a great time with them, but I think it's fair to say Helena had a blast being with her big cousins.  At least I've been hearing "No-Morey" (Anamarie) and "Me Mae" (Amellia Mae) countless times since they left.

Hanging out with cousins involves all kinds of fun things - shared treats, suitcases to pull, big boots to wear, kids to run after, trees to climb, people to watch swimming, etc.

One day we took a trip out to Niagara Falls.  

An awesome pic, Ethan.  Thanks for sharing!

Last time John & I had been there I was 6 months pregnant.  Wow, our Little Critter has grown!

It always amazes me how it seems like no time has passed when you get together with family.  There aren't the awkward questions at the beginning of the conversation; rather talking just begins and it keeps going until it's time to say goodbye.  Thanks for coming, Ethan, Anika, Anamarie & Amelia Mae!

A Great Resource

In my days at Northwestern College, I took two Bible courses from Dr. Daryl Aaron. Neither of them included fun games or fantastic personal anecdotes. Rather they both were focused on what the Bible tells us. I really enjoyed both of the classes, as Dr. Aaron had organized the class material in a very managable and understandable fashion.

So last month when Bethany Publishing House asked if I'd like to do a book review of one of his books, Understanding Theology in 15 Minutes a Day, I jumped at the opportunity. Reading through his book was a great refresher course of what I had learned in his Christian Theology class back in 2006.

Each chapter focuses on a different theological issue, such as “What are Angels and Demons?” or “How can Jesus be both God and Man?” or “Can Christians Lose Their Salvation?” I found that each chapter provided a thorough explanation of the different theological sides of the issue and numerous Bible verses that relate to the issue, all while remaining very understandable. While Dr. Aaron does include his own opinion in some instances, he does a good job at presenting both (or all) of the different thoughts.

I would recommend this book to any one who is looking for answers about the Christian faith. I know this is a resource book that we will keep on our shelf for a long time.

*I received a free copy of this book from Bethany Publishing House in exchange for an honest review.

A Go-to Meal

What do you make when you have little time before dinner or little food in the fridge?

(the pic was a quick one, just like the meal!)

My go-to meal is a German Pancake.

It's a one-bowl, one-pan dish.  It can be served with simply syrup or something a little more time-consuming like yogurt and fruit.  Plus, for all the hungry ones around your feet, it's fun to watch while it cooks, because it grows up along the edges of the pan.

German Pancake

4-6 Tbsp. butter
6 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1 Cup flour
1/4 tsp. salt
powdered sugar

Heat oven to 425.  Melt butter in 9x13 pan in oven.  Mix eggs, milk, flour and salt just to blend.  Pour batter into hot butter.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar.  Cut into squares and serve with yogurt, fruit or syrup.

What is your go-to meal?  I'd love to know!

Dad/TomDad/Dad2/Grandpa/Poppy

He's known by many names in our home, and they're all affectionate ones.   During John's dad's visit last week, we ate out at a lot of fun restaurants and he & John were quite cultural with two concerts and a museum visit.  None of those activities were the highlights however. 

The first highlight was keeping up the family tradition of hunting & gathering in the dark.  When John was young, the men of his family would sneak onto the Mackinnac Island golf course in the middle of the night and collect hundreds of golf balls.  Here in Toronto they collected "chestnuts" with Helena to later roast.  Good thing John researched it before we tasted them, however, as they'd actually collected horse chestnuts, which are poisonous.  (Later we bought some and man, do they not taste good.  That Christmas song is now ruined for us.)

The second highlight was going to a University of Toronto football game.  Wow, is our team ever bad.  In 2008 they ended a seven-year winless streak at 49 games.  They managed to end the game we watch with a score of 34-6.

Do notice that the team emblem is not on the 50 yard line.  Rather it's on the 55 yard line.  In Canadian football there are almost 110 yards, which is very close to 100 meters.

Third highlight?  Playing hearts with TomDad each evening.  He is so good at shooting the moon or attempting to shoot the moon and yet still unload all his point cards on us; yet it's so much fun.

Thanks for the visit, Dad/TomDad/Dad2/Grandpa/Poppy!

Thankful

On the TTC bus today, I overheard two blind men talking. One has been blind most of his life, the other lost his sight 6 months ago. While listening to them discuss how being able to perceive enough light to know whether it is day or night is such a gift, I couldn't help but be inspired. At one point, the man who has been blind since his childhood said,

“I'll be honest with you. I've had my days of depression. But then I was reminded that God had given so much and that there are others who are less fortunate than me. I can do something to help them.”

These two men had some of most hope-filled voices that I have heard in a long time.

------

I know it's a day late, but I am so thankful for all I have.

My little girl may have a regularly appearing cough but she can see, hear, talk, walk, run, and so much more.

My husband may be spending most evenings in the library studying this semester, but I have a husband who loves me, who is willing to stay up all night with his daughter, and who wants to have a positive impact on as many people as possible.

Our family may be far away but we have managed to stay close through emails, Skype and visits.

The friends we see most often may be those who we've only known for a year or two, but how they have become people who we can depend on.

We may live in a downtown always-dusty apartment but we have so much space for Helena to move and play in – and we have two bedrooms!

Our God may be one that is sometimes confusing but He has proven Himself o'er and o'er in our short number of years.

I am thankful for all of this and more. What are you thankful for?

A bit of fun for Canadian Thanksgiving

A fun video that shows many spots in Toronto.

I'm thankful to be living in this country.

Twins

At church last Sunday we were unplanned twins: jeans, sweaters, black shoes, and green purses.

Helena loved it - and admittedly, so did I.

Sweet Roasted Butternut Squash and Greens over Bow-Tie Pasta

This morning my oven looked like this:

And this afternoon it looked like this:

A brand new oven is a beautiful thing.  BEAUTIFUL.

So a never-used CLEAN oven needed to be initiated into the cooking world with a delicious meal, right?   Check out The Splendid Table's recipe

 Sweet Roasted Butternut Squash and Greens over Bow-Tie Pasta. 

Happenings of Helena

Our little girl is getting older every day - yes, it's a fact but it's also obvious now!  Here are just some of the things she's been up to lately:

 

Cooking - if Mom is cooking, Helena is usually also cooking.  Her meals don't take anywhere near as long to prepare, however, so she also has the time to feed her animals.

She's also begun helping me cook.  In her kitchen, an apron is not necessary but a helmet is.

Most mornings her farm animals join us for breakfast.  All lined up on the opposite end that Helena sits at.

The above is a sign that Helena has been busy in the kitchen.  Let me tell you every one of those containers' locations was chosen with a lot of thought.

She still loves her babies.  Here she is giving 4 of them baths at the same time.

She's saying "cow" above.  Wow, has her verbal language exploded.  Many of her words only Mom & Dad can understand but they are definitely words.  Do notice the hats in the photo - she likes to be a twin of somebody.  So she shared her hats.

Helena knows that if someone is on the computer and can't play at the moment, she can snuggle by just sitting on his or her lap.

 

One afternoon in the park I introduced her to tree hugging.  She has continued to do it weeks later :)

There is still no better way to hear Helena's laughter than to let her swing.

Last but not least, she still loves her tools.  It doesn't matter what she's wearing, she's always ready to use her hammer!

The Love of God

I was introduced to this hymn awhile back, and the words still strike me with their amazing poetic truth,  especially the second verse.  (There is a modern addition to the song that starts at 2:00.  I like it best before that part, but to each her own, right?)

The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can ever tell;
It goes beyond the highest star,
And reaches to the lowest hell;
The guilty pair, bowed down with care,
God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled,
And pardoned from his sin.

O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure
The saints’ and angels’ song.

Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above,
Would drain the ocean dry.
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.

Book Review - Whispers in the Wind

I recently signed up to do book reviews for Bethany House. They send you an email every 6-8 weeks with a list of books, you choose one that you would like to read and write an honest review for, and if you're picked, they send you that book for free! So, here's my first review:

I read Lauraine Snelling's Red River of the North series years ago and really liked it, so I was excited to read another one of her books. This book focuses on Cassie Lockwood, a former Wild West Show trick shooter, and her new life on a South Dakota ranch that her father had helped settle and later had dreamt of returning to. The Engstrom family, who have lived on the ranch from the beginning, take her & her companions in and help them settle into the community. The story tells of Cassie's gradual learning to rely on God to provide through various means and her various relationships with the Engstrom family members as they get used to the idea of the ranch not being their own.

Overall, I found the book's pace to be a little slow. There was lots of character development which I think will lead to a love triangle in the third book, but a strong ending which Snelling has had in at least some of her previous books was missing from this one. That being said, the character development did keep me reading and I probably will one day read book #3 to find out what happens with Cassie and the Engstroms.

Spaghetti Painting

We did an art project at John's mom's that was great. It's called Spaghetti Painting.  

Cook spaghetti according to package.  Drain it and then immediately put it in water dyed with food coloring.  Keep the spaghetti in the water until you're ready to use it.

 

Let the kids make pictures on white paper by using the spaghetti.

 Kids between the ages of 18 months and 10 had a lot of fun doing it.

We were a little nervous that the spaghetti would stain anything that it touched, but it didn't.  So there was easy clean-up too!  Any leftover spaghetti was put in a ziploc bag in case anyone wanted to do it again in a few days.

Give it a try!

A Great Trip

Helena & I had a wonderful trip while John was in Israel.  I honestly couldn't ask for a better trip.  We had a great time with John's mom with lots of other family members thrown in at various times, we had a fun time in Bemidji, and we ended our trip with 3 relaxing yet full days with my friend Mandy & her fam.  I was ready to get home to see John & not be a single parent anymore but I do wish the trip could have gone on because it was so good.

Visiting Chickens at Grandma's friends' house

All the cousins traveled to Grandma's house for a big picture party one day.  Lots of good pictures were taken and lots of fun was had!

Visiting Mutti in the nursing home - pushing a wheelchair is like pushing a stroller :)

The big highlight of Bemidji was fishing!  Uncle Rob and Papa helped us catch lots of fish.

Hmmm....worms...

She loves to kiss so why not kiss a fish?

Papa & Uncle Rob made Nani & Helena's mom kiss fish since we made Helena kiss a fish :)

They also made me pretend to kiss Rob's big catch.  I swear that fish stuck his tongue out at me.

Pizza and Play in the Park with Kay :)

Tea Party before we left - there was real food!  It just hadn't been served when I took the photo.

Watering flowers & a mini watering can were both big hits. The water just didn't always go to the flowers.

Helena made so many dog friends on our vacation.  Whenever we Skype with anyone we visited, her response IMMEDIATELY after someone answers is "Arfff?  Arfff?"  This is Moses.  At one point I had to explain to Helena that dogs chew on the sticks but kids don't.  From then on she liked to feed them to him.

Baby Caleb is great.  He's got a CUTE smile and such a content demeanor.

When we went out for ice cream, I ordered Helena a toddler cone off the menu.  It was a full-size ice cream cone.  And she ate all of it :)

Mandy, it was so nice to live life with you for a few days.  I can't believe we're both moms!

The trip ended with a "Fashion Makeover in 10 minutes flat" by my nieces.  Don't we look fabulous?