Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow...o.k. it can stop any time now!

If you look real close in the picture below you can see the tip of my magnolia tree and baby maple struggling to get a breath of air out of the giant snow banks. I hope they survive the winter!

I don't think we will be doing any grilling this winter, unless we can get a snowblower to uncover our deck and barbeque.

There is my poor lilac tree bent under the weight of the snow, I hope she springs back to life when it all melts, pardon my pun.

The view from my deck this morning, like I said, it can stop any time now!

Today was the joy Sunday of advent. Last week our school had our concert which featured the candles of advent. In spite of the hectic rehearsal schedules, wrapping a million boxes to decorate the set, and listening to the same incredibly catchy yet annoying songs a thousand times, there was a lot of joyful moments. I was getting so grumpy and tired, but I tried to focus on the joyful times. Here is a list of a few:

1. the giddy smiles on the faces of the girls covered in dust trying to get heavy risers out from under the stage

2. the giggling girls dressed as giant candles making up dances back stage as they waited their turn to perform

3. the ancy and innocent questions of the young children with "glitter gloves" anxious for the curtains to open so they could dance while I tried to get them to stay quiet

4. the beautiful snowflakes created by my class while they sat through many rehearsals that are now plastered all over my class room

5. as I was trying to get costumes organized back stage the small jk child who turned to me with a halo of tinsel on his head and said "we're angels you know".

6. the sweet voices of the same jk kids singing at the top of their lungs "PETIT JESU....DANS LE CIEL"

and so many more

I hope that as I enter this week I have the patience to remember moments like those ones and smile my way through crazy last days as the kids and teachers alike count down the days to the holidays!

Trick or Treat

Last night was my first time handing out candy. Up until now I have lived in an apartment and did not have the opportunity to see the cute little kiddies all dressed up. I loved dressing up when I was a kid. Designing the costume was the best part, no store-bought boring costumes for me! I was so eager to see what the kids would dress up as. Kurt carved the pumpkin while I baked the seeds. As it got dark we lit the candle and sat there with our big bowl of candy, waiting to jump up and run to the door when it rang.

Well, lots of kids did come. They were cute, but I was so disappointed to see them in the same 5 store bought, non-descript costumes. When I asked them what they were dressed up as I was met with blanks stares, a shrug of the shoulders, and a monotone, "I dunno". Grudgingly I gave them candy. I thought to myself - do kids these days have no imagination?

We sat there, sadly drowning our disappointment with little packages uf peanut butter and chocolate goodness when the door bell rang one more time. I made Kurt get the door, I didn't have the heart to face any more of the flimsy nylon and pastic "costumes". To my surprise, Kurt began to excitedly call me to the door. Dropping yet another candy wrapper to the floor, I ran to the door to be greeted by two trick or treaters who were clearly past the age you should be going door to door. However, they were in two fantastic home-made clown costumes. It totally made my night!

I still wonder though, what were Jack and Audrey, Kurt's parents, doing last night? Hmmm...

Becoming like Little Children

Well, I never knew how reliant I was on technology until both my computers crashed. It turned me into a grumpy, whining, snivelling and petulant child. I have however begun to notice that Kurt also exhibits some childlike tendancies. But he is endearing and joyful, not stomping his foot like me! For example, there was the time he repeatedly slipped and scambled in a comic fashion on a "slippery spot" on our living room floor. I don't even think it was on purpose. Made me laugh until I cried. Then there was the time he got a bread tag stuck in his mouth on our drive home. My sides still hurt. It's hard not to smile when he expresses his love for me by demonstrating his headstand skills. Finally, I think I scared the saleslady when Kurt walked into the glass wall, twice and I couldn't stop from laughing. He couldn't help it, malls are foreign places. We may not have cute little kid stories, but who needs them when we have each other to giggle at? I hope we always stay like little children inside, isn't that what Jesus said?

Rabbit Blanket

No need to be alarmed by the title, no rabbits were harmed at Rabbit Blanket Campground! All the rabbits we saw there seemed to be doing just fine. Kurt and I finished off the summer with tons of camping. We spent a week in Lake Superior Provincial Park, then we came back, unpacked, repacked, and went to Grundy Provincial Park for the weekend. Somebody really wanted to go fishing for his birthday.

It is so amazing to spend time in God's awesome creation, althout his creatures can be very elusive. One morning we got up early and went to this little lake in the hopes of seeing a moose. All we saw were beavers, which was fine, but the lake were were camping on had enough beavers for us (we actually had to steer our canoe around them so that they wouldn't splash us). Despite the early hour, and our stealthy hiking around the lake, our efforts to see a moose went unsatisfied. Later on in the week we tried again, in vain. Once again the beavers were there to mock us. However, despite our disappointment, just sitting there quietly really gave me the opportunity to reflect on the beauty all around me. I was just in awe as the mist rolled off the lake to reveal a perfect reflection of the forest on the glassy water.

While we did not see any moose (despite the many traffic signs advertizing their dangerous prescence on the roads) we did see some cool little creatures. One evening, while hiking the Old Woman River we happened upon three otters. They were splashing, playing, rolling and diving. We could even see them swimming under the water, catching crayfish and coming up to tilt their heads back to eat their dinner. The way they played together reminded my of students on the giant snow hill on our playground in the winter, all tumbling over each other. We followed the otters unnoticed for quite a while. Finally they spotted us and left in a real hurry. It was so amazing to watch them just enjoying life so much!

Other wildlife sightings: herons, I almost sat on a snake, a cute mink scampering down a river, what we think was a marten, giant frogs, ospreys, and of course, beavers everywhere. No bears or moose, only tracks.

I will miss hiking and canoeing every day, it is so beautiful up north! But now my attention has turned to bulletin boards, schedules, meetings, planning, planning, and more planning. I think my entries will get a little thin from now on in, but I will try my best.

Camping at Awenda

Camping brings back so many childhood memories. Getting buried in the sand, splash fights in the water, making up syhcronized swimming routines, eating chips with wet and sandy hands, late night skinny dipping, it all seems like yesterday. Oh wait, it was! It is so fun watching our friend's children developing their first camping memories, some things don't change. I remember wanting to stay at the campfire as long as possible, making my marshmellow last by slowing eating it one layer at a time. I remember listening to my parents and their friends laughing and singing around the campfire while I was supposed to be sleeping, only now that is us getting in trouble for being too loud! Funny how some things come full circle like that.

No more procrastinating

Well, here I go. I have put off getting my feet wet in the giant ocean of technology for long enough. While I am still resisting the "evils" of facebook, I must move forward as my email habits have become very dismal. It turns out that I am very resistant to change, particularly in the area of technology. But, I have been very inspired by some of you who blog, and I enjoy hearing about old friends and what they are up to. So, here I go, taking the plunge.