Tidbits of news

Schedules got all mixed around this week as the country-wide elections were last weekend and this weekend is American Thanksgiving.

Aiden is goalie for his soccer team and, despite having only one practice under their belts (because of rain, unexpected holidays, etc.), they've played 2 games already!

 Advent is starting and we're ready and eager!

Kids went climbing again, thoroughly exhausting themselves with 4 hours (we took a break for lunch though!) of challenging themselves on new and old bouldering routes. 

The girls joined a pair of Zoom calls for TCK (third culture kids) teens. It was awkwardly just before supper time, but we managed and it was somewhat useful for them to connect again with other kids who have grown up overseas.

It has rained so much this week! For all it being the end of November when the rain is supposed to dry up... it most certainly hasn't. Mom and Dad have had a tough time getting in their morning runs. Thankfully, the rain has cooperated with the times Grace needed to bike out to Chinese class.

We were going to start having Saturday suppers on the beach to visit all our favorite beaches before we leave, but there isn't going to be any dry driftwood with all the rain we've been having.

Mom, Grace, Jasmin, and Aiden are really enjoying Christmas choir at church! The only hitch is that the dress code (the choir is the angels in the play) means that we have to go shopping for whole new outfits: Aiden doesn't have a suit and the girls all don't have completely white outfits and gold/yellow accents.

Jasmin finished her first draft of her novel! (this one about Fralith) This month she entered NaNoWRiMo, a competition to write 50,000 words on a novel. Just today she finished and is looking at the prizes (various discounts for writing apps and other helps for aspiring writers). Hopefully she is not so thoroughly sick of her story that it won't get revised and published... And Grace is not too far behind with hers either.

Aiden finishes his Science course for the year on Monday. He really likes doing one or two subjects at a time and finishing them quickly instead of a little bit of everything every day all year.

Big and Little News

 We started the week with the fantastic news of Grace's acceptance at Berkelee College of Music for an online degree in composition! She will start classes in January. We just so happened to be going out that evening for a fogging supper... so we turned it into a celebration supper and went a bit farther afield to what Dad claims are the best burgers in the world. They were really good - and definitely celebration dinner worthy!

Mom's bike broke on the way 😖 Not just a flat tire or something easy - the back axle snapped from too much wear and tear! Proof we have well used these bikes of ours in the last 5 years, especially when combined with the growing number of smaller fixes in the last few weeks.

Aiden started soccer this quarter, but between rainy days and suddenly declared public holidays (to do with the elections this weekend), he's only gotten to have one practice 😒

Mom got Advent decorations and plans made a week early this year - maybe a first ever. Feels good, but also highlights just how fast Christmas is coming up...

We ended the week with Jasmin's news of being finished with braces! We spent pretty much the whole day out as she had two appointments - to take off the braces and get a mold for retainers, and then to get them fitted. So she got 3 hours of total freedom in-between braces and retainers 😁 A lunch out and a short shopping spree with mom for clothes to take to Canada (in about 12 weeks!?!) filled the rest of the in-between time. We're renewing clothing here as we can because there's no way you could buy 11 items for less than $60 in Canada!

Not Much to Say - or maybe there is?

There's not much to say today
This week some plants we gave away
The kids climbed walls again Wednesday
Someone has claimed our Hyml pet, they say
A few more things reminding us we're almost on our way

But then, remembrance, a rather big happening
Last Sunday after church it was, a story of Aiden's.
We'd stopped by the store to fix our bikes
Aiden went first and then, impatient, went on alone...

"My tire went flat around the spot I turn into Chinese, so I was walking home and took the short cut by the white mosque area. While I was walking, some random person came up to me and asked, "what happened?" So I told him that my tire went flat then the person told me that he'd take me home and to call my mother and to leave my bike at the other mosque by the corner. It had just so happened the mom gave me her phone while she kept Grace's. So I texted mom where I left the bike and he took me home! I thanked him of course and now I'm home. Praise God!!!"

A long list of "thank you God"s we came up with from this incident indeed! And as an addendum:

We went back on Monday to pick up the bike, get it fixed, and bring it home. But when Mom and I got to the bike store it was closed - it always is closed on Mondays but we'd forgotten that! So we locked up the bike in front of the store and went on a date instead. And on Tuesday Dad and Grace got my bike fixed and brought home because they had physio and Chinese to go out to anyway.

And today Aiden went off confidently on his own to his first soccer practice... growing up!

Sunbirds on the Balcony

We ended October all sick again
Mom and Dad together with Aiden
Then Jasmin and Grace
Fevers and aches
Coughs and stuffy noses

So the small things matter
Beautiful stormy skies
Cool temperatures after the rain
Sunbirds visiting our balcony garden
Myna birds chittering on the window sill

Fever induced boy snuggles
Good books to devour
No need to go to market
Rain on Sundays enforcing church from home
Copious amounts of ginger lemon tea 

A slow return to health and normal
Missed school work made up quickly
Old and new activities resumed
Energy to get the house clean again
Happy boy play noise drifting home

Hopefully now we can pick up the pace and get back to languishing projects and look ahead!