Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Radium

This past weekend we met some old Calgary friends, Craig and Janelle, in Radium Hot Springs for some camping with the kids. It was really fun and worth the 9-hour drive! There were a few low points during the weekend - like Keziah crying for most of the drive, getting rained on (though our stuff stayed pretty dry), and been eaten alive by mosquitoes!! Sleeping is always a bit tricky in these situations too, but we ended up setting up Keziah's playpen in the back of the van where it was quiet and warm. I made Erik get up a few times when she cried at night, but I slept pretty good!


Here are the 4 blondies...


Erik & Craig trying to get the little grill started:

Micah and Nathan really hit it off and did lots of boy stuff - like finding caterpillars:


India and Keziah discovered a common love for dolls and had a few issues with sharing them...

Nathan lounging...

Invermere Beach...






Bikini goodness...

Those shovels and pails provided a lot of entertainment...

Nathan got a hold of the sunscreen - he didn't burn his belly that day...

Those nasty mosquitoes had a hay-day on the kids. I'm afraid to take Keziah out in public because she looks like she has an infectious disease...


Part of our trip included driving past the scene of last summer's accident...

Erik found quite a bit of broken glass beside the concrete barrier...

A small metal cross had been placed there previously and we added some white roses and a card...

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

More Pictures From the Week

Erik's Uncle Gary & Aunt Doreen were visiting last week and Micah befriended them quite quickly.

Here Micah and Doreen are playing with a book they brought for Keziah:


Uncle Gary brought him several airplanes (he has worked as a missionary pilot in Africa for many years) which thrilled Micah. Gary spent some time drawing up an airport on a big piece of paper and Micah has thoroughly enjoyed playing with it:


We celebrated Caleb's first birthday on Monday with a big party. He was as pleasant as ever, smiling it up for all his guests!

Eating birthday cake:


Micah liked the cake too...


Keziah was busy enjoying the sips of coke I put in her cup:


Opening presents:


Micah was coveting his cousins' big haul...


Every birthday boy has his breaking point:

The kids and I had some fun taking pictures on the bed yesterday afternoon...


I love this one:


What a goof.


Micah had a turn with the camera too...

Squishy face:


Eating Keziah:


We're looking forward to a weekend of camping at Radium with some Calgary friends. Pictures of that to come next week...

Monday, July 21, 2008

Following Nate


Yesterday was an emotional and meaningful day as we reflected on Nathan's life and the grief of living without him this past year.


We spent some time as a family by Nathan's grave, singing and sharing. It was a warm day and the cemetery was incredibly peaceful.


Rosanna's brother Dan led us in worship:


Dad Toews and Uncle Gary:



Some friends joined us for an evening at The Mark Centre where we worshiped together and shared stories about Nathan; reflecting on his life and how he is leading the rest of us to intimacy with Jesus and to our eternal home with our Creator.


Beside the cross that Erik built, a stone marker was added. It reads:

Following Nate

June 29, 1983 - July 20, 2007

Nathan Toews discovered that his heart came alive when he served the kingdom of God. He walked humbly, led naturally and is now fully alive in the most intimate place with our Creator.

We all miss you so much Nathan...

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

7 Years

I've added some lovely wedding pictures just for you Amber!



Today marks 7 years since Erik & I tied the knot. Hard to believe how much time has passed! Unfortunately we didn't do much to mark the occasion but hopefully we'll get a chance to go out together in the next little while.


Speaking of weddings, we are in full-fledged planning mode around here. Keith and Kristi (along with the rest of the family) have decided to move the wedding date to August - yep, of this year - which is less than 6 weeks away! It sounds crazy, but the plans are coming into place; a dress is purchased, invitations are almost in the mail and a venue is booked! We're all looking forward to the big day!

Last week was a full week with Vacation Bible School every morning. Micah was in the preschooler class that Rosanna and I led and he loved it! The theme was "Power Lab" and every day the kids learned some fun science stuff that helped them understand the power of God. We were even able to put our kids into kid-sized bubbles! Too bad I didn't bring my camera that day!

Here is my "Little Bubbler" with his thinking cap on:


Rosanna enraptured the kids each morning with the Bible story for the day. I was surprised how much knowledge Micah retained. Here is Micah listening intently as Auntie Rosanna tells the story of the men in Acts who had fire on their heads and starting speaking in different languages (one of our preschoolers later recalled to us that there was fire everywhere and it burned everyone!):


Keziah spent the mornings in the nursery and did very well - despite being overly tired by the time we drove home each day. On the last day, they brought all the nursery kids into the final singing time. Here she is trying to do some of the actions:


Last week we said farewell to the last of our kittens. And after some thought we decided to say farewell to Oreo as well. We sent her off to the SPCA (along with a small fee) where hopefully she will find herself a new home. It's kind of nice to have a pet-free home for the first time in awhile.

A "potty-trained" kitten :)


We've had some new fun developments in our backyard. Erik finished off the sandbox under the treehouse and hauled in a bunch of nice sand to fill it up. Keziah is unfortunately dumping it out of the sandbox one shovel-full at a time :)


Keziah had an interesting experience yesterday when she held a shovel-full of dirt above her head and poured it onto her face with mouth and eyes wide open! She was not pleased! Despite a thorough rinsing we were still finding sand in her nose and ears this morning.


We also reclaimed Erik's childhood trampoline that had been living with a family in Calgary since Erik's parents moved here. It's a bit of an eye-sore in the backyard and needs new mats for the the springs, but it has already provided hours of entertainment! Pictures of that will have to come in a future post.

Keziah loves the wading pool and I have to watch her because she'll climb in when she's fully clothed. This particular day was not a warm one and the water was pretty chilly. The look on her face tells me she may not be having as much fun as she thought...


Erik and I were on the music team at church this past weekend for the first time in a LONG time. For Erik it was the first time since the accident last year and for me it was the first time since Micah was just a baby (other than a couple of special events). I felt a little out of place at first and wondered why I was there, but I had felt strongly that this was what God was wanting me to do. By the end of the 2nd service on Sunday I felt so thankful for the opportunity and excited to do it again. Doug and Elissa graciously watched our kids on Sat p.m. and Sun a.m. while we were occupied with church stuff. They kept the kids pretty busy and even managed to get the cousins in on a bath together:


We had a bit of drama this morning. Micah decided to deal with his anger by throwing one of his toy cars at Keziah's head. She came away with a gash that perfectly matches the one Micah himself got when we were in Calgary. She might've been able to use a stitch or two, but we're hoping her hair will hide any scar that might be left.

Now we're almost half-way through another week already. This coming weekend marks the one-year anniversary of the day that ended Nathan's life on earth and forever changed all the rest of our lives. We'll be spending Sunday together as a family - reflecting and remembering Nate. Thank you for all the prayers and thoughts that are being sent our way.