THE BEST OF 2007

It has been a great one! We have only God to thank for a wonderful year, full of blessings, health, love, friends and family. I have asked the boys to tell me a few of their favorite adventures of 2007. So here it is, some of our favorites.

THROUGH THE EYES OF 3 YOUNG BOYS:

Camping and playing at Fort Ebey State Park Building forts and exploring Rosario Beach with the Dueck cousins. Going on a kayaking overnight trip with Dad to celebrate Christian's 10th birthday. Playing with with his good friend Noah Skiing and sledding Visiting the Vancouver Aquarium Playing in Qualicum Beach with the Buhler cousins "Adopting " our neighbor dog Blue . . . . . . and having Nya as our new neighbor friend after Blue moved away Hiking Chain Lakes.

NOW THROUGH MY EYES:

On of my most memorable days of this past year has been celebrating our 15th anniversary. We sailed the Caribbean blue waters and enjoyed some of the French West Indies ad British Virgin Islands beaches.

And another great blessing this year was that I was able to see all of my family, despite them being dispersed all over the Americas!

My mom, brother Denis with wife Simone and little Joao Mauricio in Brasil The Duecks from Florida Shawn's parents in Qualicum Beach with the Buhlers from Winnipeg.

What a great reunion! And of course, friends are always a favorite!! HAPPY NEW YEAR !!

THE QUEST FOR SNOW

If the snow won't come to us . . .

. . . we will go to it!

We have been teased around here a few times with a dusting of snow. The kids get excited with the sight of snow, but it doesn't take long for them to realize that it is no good for sledding, building a snowman or even for a snowball fight. So we loaded the car and off we went. There was enough snow up at Mt Baker for all of us!!! We had a great time taking in the beautiful scenery and of course, playing in the snow. It was Ethan's first time on skis, Nolan and Christian took right off where they left off last year. Ethan did great for his first time on skis, but of course, there were some moments of frustration.

Good thing this wasn't our car!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

We had a great Christmas time! Shawn's parents joined us for the holidays and we all had a wonderful time. There was a beautiful moon on Christmas Eve which reflected on the lake and made that night even more special. As we drove to the Christmas Eve service, Nolan said he felt like he was on the Polar Express. We had a beautiful service, singing, reading and remembering the great gift God gave us.

Here are some of the good moments we shared at Christmas time.

Baking cookies with Grandma is always so much fun . . .

. . . but eating them is much better.

And here is a sample of the kids creation (with some help from grandma)

At 6am everybody (under the age of 11) is ready . . .

. . . for the fun to begin.

THE POLAR EXPRESS

Maybe it wasn't quite the Polar Express, what it was just as much fun. For a few days in December, the West Coast express, a commuter train from Mission to Vancouver, transforms in to a "Santa Train". We met with my cousin Jackie and her husband Harvie and after a fun train ride, spent the day in Vancouver. We took in the sights, the smells and some good food as well.

When I asked the boys about their favorite part of the day, they were unanimous. They all enjoyed dinner at "aunt" Jackie's and looking at their Thailand vacation pictures the best.

WHAT A GUY!!!

My dear husband surprised me with an evening out in Seattle. We went to the Seattle Symphony which was presenting Handle's Messiah. It was absolutely amazing!! What a beautiful piece of art! I like this stament about it: "Even aside from its instantly recognizable "Hallelujah" chorus, Messiah abounds with rousing choruses and arias that explore a vast range of human emotions". And it sure did bring emotions. It was a great treat! And best of all, Shawn had taken care of the details from dinner arrangements and tickets to a place for the boys to stay the night. What else could I have asked for?

THE REASON FOR THE SEASON

So many times I'm reminded by the boys of what is really important in our life. This Christmas season was no exception. As we started to bring out the Christmas decorations, the boys dove in the box with my Nativity Scene. My precious, porcelain, delicate, fragile, dainty, pretty Nativity Scene. I just had to close my eyes and hoped for the best as they put it together. Of course, I had intentions of rearranging it later. After all, we need a perfect Nativity Scene, which in my book, means all the characters in their right places facing the crowd. As the boys moved on to the tree, I turned to "fix" the Nativity and as I saw it, I had to stop cold. All the characters were huddled around in a circle facing Jesus. Isn't that what Christmas is all about? For us to focus on Jesus, to turn ours eyes on to Him. So I left it untouched. It sits in the middle of the house and is a reminder to me every time I pass it.

God bless our precious children who teach us in so may ways !!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NOLAN

Nolan turned 8 years old this December. For his birthday he got a yard full of snow! But he was so excited about his party at the pool that there wasn't much sledding going on that day; by the next day the snow was all gone and now we all wait anxiously for the next one. The fun and play at the pool was great, as you will see below. Happy Birthday my dear son!

How much Fun!!

Gotta take a break for cake and presents . . .

Is that look of surprise precious or what?

Twice Thanksgiving

We do have a lot to be thankful for, so we celebrate Canadian and American Thanksgiving. But do you think the adults were lucky enough to have any pumpkin pie?

PATRIA AMADA

What a great treat to be able to return to my home country! I had a wonderful time visiting, talking lots, shopping, talking, eating and watching movies with my dear Mom. Oh, did I mentioned we talked a lot? It was great! Another reason to visit, was to meet my new nephew, Joao Mauricio. He is a real cutie and I had so much fun with him. Of course I also saw lot of my relatives and old friends. It was great to see them all, go back in time with our stories and get an update on everybody. Amazing how time passes! But fortunately, our friendships remain the same. I need to say many thanks to my awesome husband, who made this trip a reality by taking off work to take care of the kids and manning the house for the 13 days that I was gone.You are one of a kind, my dear Shawn!!

My Mom and nephew Joao Mauricio

My "little" brother, his wife Simone and Joao Mauricio

What a great time we had!!