In Washington......

We're here in Washington!! We flew to Vancouver and took a walk thru Stanley Park. Beautiful day. Beautiful views. The best of company :) Tomorrow we head to Sumas, WA for the conference. We'll catch ya'll up later!

So... what are you doing on Hallowe... I mean, Reformation Day?

Some interesting thoughts on being 'missional on halloween', in other words, how to use the day as an opportunity to evangelize. Link here.

Harvest

The sunflowers are now being harvested. "While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease" (Genesis 8:22).

YP's Pie Fundraiser!

Last Sat. saw our yp's group - plus a few moms - HARD at work in the ICS kitchen. The goal: to make 103 apple pies. Why: to raise money for Samaritan's Purse Christmas boxes, which they plan to shop for and assemble together.

They even let Yvetta get in on the action :) She spent about 2 hours straight happily making her own "flour pie". A pie pan filled with bits of leftover dough and a whole lot of flour. Which she was calling "dust" by the end of the day.

This marvelous idea had been hatched months earlier as the yp's tried to think up a "service" activity - a way they could invest their time in helping others.

They decided on a fundraiser and pies became the commodity of choice.

But an idea like this doesn't just "happen". Much planning, work and......shopping!!! went into this success. And Laurie (mom in the green sweatshirt) helped out her daughter Jaiann as these 2 women rolled up their sleeves and got 'er done. (with a lot of other help, I'm sure - but as I'm not privy to all the details, I'll just tell what I know :)

Since the ICS kitchen, though well stocked in many ways, was sadly lacking in rolling pins, we had to improvise. Flavoured water bottles were just about the right size and actually worked admirably - I came to prefer them over a real rolling pin......

The worked was portioned out amongst the crowed - some peeled and chopped apples, some filled the pie shells, some put on the top crusts, some made the crusts.........

........and Brenden laboured in his little corner making most of the dough. Helped out by yours truly, though I didn't know how to work the mixing machine and had to do my batches by hand.

And here is Deanna proudly holding out a finished crust. One of many. 1 of 103, to be exact.

Now about Sheila........what can I say? She's an expert, with her very own.......ummm.....style. Yah. Style. :) She did a terrific job ;)

And these 2....wow. If ever there was a competition for the longest, thinnest apple peels, they'd surely give you a run for your money.

It was a fun day - but very, very tiring! At least for this mom. And I wasn't even there the whole time! But, despite sore feet, it was really neat to see the yp's pull together and work hard on a project that was not for them. It was for others - others who needed what they can give. To be a servant is a big part of our calling as Christians, but it doesn't come easily to most of us. I'm proud of our youth and this effort they made to serve the Lord - even in the act of making pies!

Aurora Borealis

This is what our night sky looked like last night. We were on our way to KP mall when the northern lights came out in all their glory. We had to stop at the side of a dark road and just look up and watch the colours dance. It was amazing! Another perk of living here in MB... :)

Next project

We (Mark Hordyk and I) have been doing some work on our place and are really liking what's been done thus far!! Our entrance is being extended. Extra entrance = more room for winter boots, coats and hats. However the work was halted upbruptly as of 1:36 this afternoon. A bylaw officer rolled into our driveway today to say we needed a building permit to continue (arggg!!). A neighbour who happens to work for the RM of East St. Paul complained that there was no permit. Thanks, neighbour. So the work is on hold until we get the piece of paper. (Argg!!)

He has done all things well

http://vimeo.com/dustinfarrell/landscapes2

Recent expansion work

First Snow!

Strong mouse....

Petra - Prayer

Blonde joke...

I always say it's good to be able to laugh at yourself!

(Rich)

(I'm not exactly sure why Rich made the comment that it's good to be able to laugh at yourself, since he's the one who posted this......... ~Cher~ :)

The final curtain falls......

.....on the 2 midnight marauders!!!! Last night, as they went about their mysterious mission, they were caught in the act! Redhanded! Found guilty! Busted! And HEARTILY THANKED!!!!

They begged to have their identity concealed as they are not sure they're really done.......don't be surprised if you find them skulking about your yard some late night, setting your dog to barking and drawing suspicious looks from the neighbours as they crawl across the lawn, their white teeth flashing amidst their black face paint and completely black outfits- no joke! They don't leave anything to chance. However, no amount of camoflauge will conceal 2 adults behind our puny little lilac bush. It just ain't happenin'........hence, the demise of the "angels-of-mercy-dressed-in-black" adventure. At least, for now......

They came with gifts - gifts to lift our hearts, to encourage us, to shower us with love. And this time we had someones to thank - and a good weekend to feel especially thankful for these people who have spent so much time thinking through how to bring smiles to our faces. Even our new puppy wasn't forgotten - he was gifted a chew toy, which he is happily chewing on. And our front porch sports a beautiful new pumpkin :)

Love these notes - perfectly done :)

LOVE YOU GUYS!! (and a special thanks to Agent Z, who wasn't with them in this last escapade!!)

And as an aside, wouldn't you say that as the woman of the house, the keeper of the home, the one who slaves day in and day out to keep this place running smoothly.....sort of......don't you think that the chocolate should mainly go to me? Can I get a show of hands here? (voting restricted to other moms only, please.....)

Last Sunday

Last Sunday was the 1-year anniversary of Rich's first sermon as pastor of Providence Reformed Church of Winnipeg, MB.

It was the 1-year anniversary of leaving what we knew to come to a place that God had put on our hearts.

It was the beginning of coming to know and love a whole new group of people. Coming to know their sorrows and their joys and to share in them as they allowed.

It was the beginning of a learning curve that we're still riding. But the ride has calmed down considerably.

Last Sunday marked a year from when we were new, still dealing with the raw lonliness of leaving so many that we loved, while also needing to go on and get to know the new people God had given us.

Last Sunday marked a very special occasion for us. It marked a year of growth. A year of seeing God working out His purposes. A year of knowing that God doesn't ever abandon His children - that He is always with us supplying for our every need. That He is the best friend ever, always faithful, always loving, always truthful, ever present.

So we go on, excited by what God has done in the year past, anticipating what He has in store in the year ahead.

Odd Things

Lest we sound like we are tooting our horn too much about living here, we do have to let you know that there are some 'strange' and funny things. This is one of them:

If you look carefully, that is a U-turn traffic light. That's correct. This is no trick or something made up. It's on McPhillips. Did you know that in Luke's driver's ed, he had to learn about this particular U turn light, the only one in Manitoba, and what to do when you approach it? If you need to make a trip to the mall, you come to the u turn lane and wait for your light to change. Instead of a left turn signal beaming in front of you, you get a u turn light. And when it signals all this traffic will stop and let you through. Think that's crazy? That's not all. Have you ever heard about the Manitoba merge? That's another thing that they teach here in driver's ed. If you have to merge onto the perimeter highway (the freeway around here) and there is on-coming traffic and no room for you to get into the lane, you are supposed to stop at the end of your ramp. That's right. Stop at the end of the ramp. When all is clear on the road, then, after halting all the traffic behind you who are ALSO trying to get onto the perimter, THEN you can merge. It's the law. It also happens. It's why some Winnipegers avoid the freeway altogether b/c they don't kow how to merge.

Something else: this big sign downtown is to try to help you navigate through something called 'confusion corner.' Confused just by looking at the sign? Imagine how confused you'd get just trying to follow it while driving! You're better off memorizing the map before heading this way. Or better... just avoiding it altogether!!

We could say more. But we'll leave it at that. It's tempting to say: It just doesn't get any better than......!

(Rich)