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)