Summer Away from Home part two done

 A long car trip with older kids is much smoother - even a 5:30am to 7:30 pm one.

Mom still quite likes to drive - she drove the whole way except a 3 hour stint that Jasmin drove. (Dad worked on preparing for upcoming presentations/preaching)

We really are creatures of habit - we spent way too long figuring out where our Edmonston lunch stop had been so we could do it again!

It is MUCH warmer in Ontario than NS! Having forgotten, we had brought changeable weather clothing that has gone unused

Staying at Fiat Farm in Russel was lovely! Such a welcoming family, peaceful location, and soothing daily rhythms - even though our coming did upend said rhythms…

Children who willingly engage with adults are delightful!

Nearly tornado-like storms are rather sobering amounts of power on display

Dad and Grace were often engaged and busy while we were there, but Jasmin and mom found some rest time, and Aiden a nice mix of joining in farm chores and computer science final project work.

Jasmin discovered that she actually notices the differences in the background bird calls between the provinces

And then, from our own Airbnb, life sped up considerably - even though the plan was to have some down time for Dad to prepare for his presentations and preaching in a few weeks and fill up Jasmin’s social tanks for next week with the cousins.

In between all-day get togethers with friends and extra last minute meetings, we managed to discover lovely walking path in the forest edging for daily “green therapy” 

Lots of “Kiara’s time” events = lots of little minor irritations and distractions: Mom started having nerve pain down her legs. Dad’s knee suddenly gave out, leaving him with a limp.  Tech starts offering a nice confounding crop of failures. Simple phone exchanges end up taking much longer with phone tag. Emotional buckets get too full and spill over at inopportune times. Our renter here gave notice so we’ve had to field ad inquiries, viewings, and process applications as well.

But also

New friends that we gel well with. 

Deepening friendships are so life giving! 

Sharing growth together is such a lovely God-gift.

Serving and being served family to family is precious. - even when it is stretching

Today has been an in between day of preparations for the next leg: 

Organizing and negotiating - yet again! -  what stays (in the car) and what goes (on the plane). 

Discovering the answer Mom’s been suspecting all along: can we manage to fly with only “personal items”? (No, we can’t - the size is too small for more than a day trip’s worth of things)

All those last minute tasks: Gathering items from all around the house. Creating last meals out of odds and ends for foods. Last laundry. Task lists for the morning before we leave.

And then, tomorrow, a drive to Toronto and flight to Edmonton!

The Rest of June

We’ve tumbled and fought our way through the rest of June…

Some lovely interludes intermingled with the difficult, the aggravating, and the complicating!

Mom got an MRI on her elbow (requested back in March when it was super sore). Almost cancelled it because it was an inconvenient time and location and her elbow is not exactly fully healed but very liveable - was it worth it? She went, fully expecting clear results. Lo and behold, within a few days she has a results call with a doctor telling her that there is nerve thickening and tendon tears! So it is back to light physio and bracing until she can get into the sports injury/arthritis clinic.

 Jasmin turned 19! We managed to have a tea party with games and a movie birthday on the day with a friend and then Mom and Jasmin squeezed in her Puffin tour present the following week. It was rather foggy, but they did see lots of birds, seals, and even a sun fish! They didn’t come back with too many bird pictures as they were mostly occupied with watching them through Imma’s binoculars! Jasmin did take a lot of rock photos though - for drawing references…

Both Dad and Aiden also had blood work done for our new family doctor and had follow up calls, though nothing serious or previously unknown.

We attempted to help Imma with her needed chicken coop improvements. Between rain and schedule complications, we only managed two mornings and one of those was muted by rain. Still, the new and improved coop only needs one more thing before it is ready for the chicks currently living in her closet.

We’ve enjoyed our neighbour’s generous offer to use her BBQ no less than 3 times: two birthdays and one just because the day before we left. For Aiden’s party, for the adults on Jasmin’s birthday while the kids had the tea party and games, and on our last day to use up as much of the food we had left as possible. It’s been a great experience - and Dad has turned out to be a pretty good BBQ chef :) 

We’ve fought with our bank for access to our own money and lost almost a whole week of time, thought, and energy wading through hours of hold music, automated systems, and customer service agents who don’t have access to fix anything out of the box… But, on the last possible day - even though it is a Sunday - after much contingency scramble planning, our account is back online and useable! Thank you God!

Aiden took a challenge exam at Dal for one of his first year courses. He was so chill about it! Great that he wasn’t anxious or uptight, but we’d have liked to have heard a little bit more about it than we did!

We’re quite near Hemlock Ravine Park, so we’ve all explored (and gotten lost/turned around in there) it. Mom went for a walk with a friend there and ended up tracking at least 5km! Lovely walking, but then she had to spend the following weeks being careful and treating her feet nicely so the hints of returning plantar fasciitis pain didn’t become a summer-long problem again. Mom got a bit jealous of Dad being able to do all the summer exercises and right now she can’t - again.

Grace got a long-awaited physio appointment and came away with a regimen of joint strengthening exercises that take her nearly an hour a day… but although she does feel the difference, it is still a difficult task to keep motivation for that many stretches!

Grace also set to putting in motion the necessary Chinese exam she needs to apply for her master’s degree at Payap next summer. And discovered that all her research and planning of last year no longer holds true and she has a fair bit of study to accomplish between now and January to pass the updated required level of proficiency… not much of a problem except the rest of the summer won’t be very conducive to language study…

Jasmin’s fully finished her course work and client calls and can finally take a break - only now we’re off to Ottawa, Toronto, Edmonton, and Calgary! Let’s hope we can find rest and peace time for her. We’re off tomorrow…

 

 

Wait, What? June 1/2 Done?

We had a CNIB dog in house again! Only for a week, but Aiden and Jasmin were happy :) Useful for Jasmin finishing her course homework too. So very opposite from Freda!

Jasmin is in her final push to finish all her homeworks and get them sent in before the 15th, so we're getting some interesting sentences out of her as her brain jumbles her words :D

Grace started going weekly to a nearby retirement home with a new friend from church. She's taken her flags along and gotten at least one lade intrigued enough to request a flag she can use herself. So mom has a new craft project :)

Mom finished the ladies' study at church with a good recap session followed by a potluck lunch at the leader's house. They did 1 Corinthians - an overview only as it was only 12 weeks - but it was useful to make them think. The recap could be summarized this way:

1 Corinthians is about Paul teaching the Corinthian church how to be a functioning healthy church: by rejecting cultural norms where they cross 'God's culture', weeding out sin, setting aside selfishness, being content, using their gifts correctly, and rejoicing in the resurrection. All these are done by/in/through the Spirit, for the gospel, powered by love.

Aiden thoroughly enjoyed himself at OnCon with people, God times, and funhouse games and came home not quite so tired as expected and full of odd little stories. The very next day he turned 14 - but we chose to celebrate the following Friday instead, when the kids could spend the afternoon rock climbing and then come home to a birthday party courtesy of our generous neighbour here, eager to share her BBQ with us. Dad did a pretty good job cooking, considering this is is first time barbequing (how did he manage that?!).

And May's Complete

Rest of May thoughts:

•  We had a mini heatwave (2-3 days of 30+ weather) and then right back to a normal spring of cool sunny days sprinkled in between lots of cold rainy ones. Kinda wish the warmth had stayed, but normal weather patterns are good!
• Walking to Nova Youth one of those hot days, Aiden and I saw this little family of ducklings right beside the road. Hopefully the duck pair on our pond at home have managed to hatch and protect their young from the resident mink as well.
• We've appropriated a square of dock pulled up on the shore near us for our picnic spot. No one from the near by restaurant or boat club is bothering us about doing so, so we're happy to have such a lovely spot: we even get to watch the sailing club sometimes. 
• Mom had her birthday lunch there, but then we also had a mini mini party on Friday: a few friends over to eat mini cakes, pies, and rolls and play mini Quirkle.
• Aiden has finished off one more course of grade 12 and has just two more to close out the year.

June thoughts:

• How quickly it's June already!
• Jasmin took her final exams this last weekend and now only has a few assignments to finish! Then, after all our travels, she can take the certification exam to be a professional trainer. 
• OneCon weekend for Aiden: youth conference in Moncton. He went last year, but this year his sisters aren't going so he's "flying solo."
• We're planning for two more birthdays this month
• We're finally settled enough to focus on getting into smooth routines of healthy habits, filling up for our later travels in July: daily walks discovering local neighbourhoods after lunch, more regular mealtimes and bedtimes, etc. Here's hoping for 3 weks of quiet routine normalacy (with birthdays!) before we leave on our travels!

 

Momentous May

May has been a scramble so far. On the 15th we moved out of our house temporarily for the summer so it can be a movie set! It was nearly as much work as a full on move as we had to pack up everything, while contemplating what to take with us on our various summer travels. But we've done it and it went pretty smoothly, all told.

Right at the beginning, Grace turned 20: we ate some Asian food mom cooked up, and a cake of course. Then on the 13th the kids and a friend went out for more Asian food and took in a cross-cultural concert (Innuk variations on classical music!) together.

In the middle of packing, daily life, and a few extras, we also took time to notice God's precious love gifts: while we won't get to watch the fantastic progression of blooms around our house, we did get to discover and enjoy may flowers, daffodils, and forget me nots - some of mom's favorites.

 

And then, to top it all off, at our temporary place, much closer into the city, we still have flowering bushes, forget me nots, and even lilly of the valley - and still we get to watch birds and deer our our front window! 

Our first week settling in is being super busy: 

• Monday the kids took the dogs out for a walk that got longer than expected becuase they got a little turned around and did a fair bit of backtracking to find the way home. Jasmin got stung by a wasp on her foot that swelled so much she has been since hobbling and hopping around the house.
• Tuesday Mom drove Grace to three different medical tests - one that we had to go to Truro for and get groceries.
• Wednesday Mom and Aiden are out all afternoon and evening for a homeschoool youth meet up and youth group - with some time in libraries (yes, more than one library: the Sackville one had to close because of a heat policy - it got too hot inside - so we went down to Bedford) in between to save round trips to Sackville.
• Thursday Mom, Dad, and Grace will spend the whole morning at church for prayer, a Bible study, and a meeting with the pastor. And in the afternoon Imma will come for her dogs and hopefully time for tea and talk.
• Friday we all have to go meet our new family doctor (Yeay for getting one finally!) in the morning and then in the evening EncounterEquip conference starts so Mom, Dad, and Grace will be out again!
• Saturday Mom, Dad, and Grace will be at church all day for EncounterEquip again.

Whew! Not much true settling in has been happening, I guess. Hopefully we get to stay home a bit more next week!


 

Spring!

 Creeping green mist over the fields

(the green on th trees still is only moss)

Spring rains offering wild beauty:

Misty hills, jewel drops on twigs

Tulip leaves piercing up through leftover Fall leaves

Crocuses reaching up to yell loud yellow and purple joy to the sun

Crinkly dark green and purple leaves

Unfolding close to the ground

Sounds of rain in the gutters

Robins and phesants (mostly) in the grass

Peepers loud and numerous in the pond

Cries of delight as we discover yet another growing thing

A few other spring things:

Another week of a borrowed dog to train for Jasmin's course

Jasmin and Aiden in full tilt year end study crunch

Took time one evening to catch our stubbornly resident porcupine - without quill adventures this time!

And news that our summer travels will begin 6 weeks earlier than expected:

An in-town move prompted by our house requisitioned for a movie!

He is Risen!

Lenten Sundays fasting then -

Palm-sized sundaes for Palm Sunday

A once tried and loved edible pun

Thursday Tenebrae

Ten candles, songs, and readings

Walking us from palm waving to His death

Friday evening Passover

A special meal with a neighbour

Introducing and commemorating

the true meaning of Easter weekend

Easter service on Saturday evening

Making room in the church for Easter attendees

Rejoicing in resurrection power

And those who are newly resurrected

Despite the oddness of evening Easter

 

Easter Day celebrations with family

An "Emmaus walk" -

Only we didn't walk because of rain

Instead broke bread together (fondue!)

And worked our way 

Through the post-resurrection story

Yet another format of celebration

Traditions and hopes

Bent by locale -

Breakfast on a Nova Scotian beach in April?!

And yet woven throughout

Looking different but carrying meaning and continutity

All the same proclaiming - He is Risen Indeed!

Psalm 91 Dwelling in Rest

 We all seek rest in many ways

Striving to “arrive”

Aiming to please God so we will be blessed

Paying off tormentors

Drowning our fears, our woes, our restlessness in whatever addiction fancies

Psalm 91 shows us the right way

Starting off how we might expect:

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say to the LORD, ‘My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.’”

Do your eyes roll? Glaze over? Hurry on?

But here is step one: dwell

Dwell near/in God

Determine to trust in Him

Run to Him for all needs of refuge

A strong fortress where safety is always found

It is followed by six verses of description

What does God’s protection look like?

Deliverance, covering, shield, no need to fear

Snares, disease, terrors, war, death, destruction

At all times safe from them all

And another five verses of description

The fullness of God’s care for those who dwell!

No evil. No plague.

Attentive angels.

Victory over those things that can harm

And then step two: relationship

 “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; 

I will protect him, because he knows my name.

When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue and honor him.

With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.” 

Dwell with God

Not as an empty but safe tower

A place devoid of personality and warmth

Nor as a comfy, light-filled safehouse

Know Him and love Him

Do you see just how pleased He is with that?

Just how many ways He says He will care for you?

The overabundance of description? 

How utterly protected those who dwell are?

Rest indeed!

And then, a crowning joy: reciprocal relationship

He shares the treasures of His salvation

Not simply saving you or handing you a book

But like a newly trusted friend showing secret saved up treasures

He shares Himself!

Unwanted (but kinda cool) Excitement

This morning, while enjoying some quiet time in the living room in front of the fire, Mom looked up from her book in time to see a rather large mouse meander across the floor in plain sight.

Before thought had fully formed past the "Oo, that's big, we need to do something more about mice" point, along came this fellow - just as casually out in the open and slow paced in his canvassing of the living room.

He stayed visible and unafraid as Mom fumbled a phone to take pictures. Then the mouse made a fatal move... and, thankfully out of sight, was caught and whipped into the cupboard to be (hopefully not family) lunch of which Mom only managed to catch the ending on video.

 

This is what happens when our dog is "promoted to college" and no longer lives with us! 

And then, we finally got our dishwasher looked at... and discovered that this is where this guy had set up home...

So, a lot of clean up and restoration, and a hope that this guy is not too savy and will fall for the live trap we're setting out for the night.

March Melts

It's a Spring day today

Bright sun in blue skies 

Winter white shrinking 

Uncovering what has long been hidden

Eves and trees dripping

Hidden water rushing under snow

Jackets almost not needed

Spring feels

Lent reminders of Easter coming

Exam time approaching faster than desired

Eager anticipation of gardens awakening

Spring check lists groaningly full

Wet weather chilling house warmth

Melting snows and increased bird twitters

Spring feels

Planned spring cleaning still a week or so away

But we've already begun

Because

We did a bedroom shuffle! 

Jasmin to Aiden's room

Aiden to Mom & Dad's old bedroom/mom's office-craft room

Which, of course, uncovered

Areas needing cleaning

We're saying goodbye to Freda

Tomorrow - already?

Off to a boarder with other dogs

To learn some last bits of home etiquette

And then onward to "college"

To become a guide dog!

Half way Through and beyond!

 

 

Our rather last minute attempts to remember the fun of Chinese New Year in Penang...

we hosted a games night and had some CNY snacks, though mom couldn't find quite the same things we'd enjoyed in Penang. 

Mom thrifted us all red shirts and insisted we do photos, which was made both hilarious and frustrating trying to get Freda to not be looking at Jasmin, but we won - with a strategically placed kibble :)

Aiden got quite sick last week - enough that we actually chatted with a virtual care doctor - with high fevers and nasty headaches. But we never had to carry out the doctor's suggestions because after prayer he slept all night and woke up just with head cold symptoms.

We got Grace's diploma in the mail - proof of all that hard work on paper!

And, we've been having a snowful winter this year. We were hoping to get to skate on the lake again, but there's been so much snow! Instead we take Freda there for a romp and revel in the breathtaking winter beauty.

And then stop on the way home to appreciate the haunting beauty of the amazing place God has allowed us to live in!

February News so far...

 ...is pretty dull, like the many gray days we've been having.

As in, not much to report when looking from one direction. 

But in another...

Mom and Dad successfully embarked on maintenance adventures:

First the washer quit draining. And with patience, persistence, and youTube we managed to get it working again. Grace, whose bedsheets and blankets were sopping wet from the failed wash load was super glad.

A few days later the dishwasher quit working. And, the day we chose to fix the dishwasher, Jasmin discovered another flat tire (one for one, month to month in 2026 so far!)

So, Mom and Dad ventured to change the tire, find out who best to take it to for diagnosis and replacement/fixing, and get it all done. In the end a pretty smooth process that did not require a ton of money for tire replacement, only a plug fix. Success!

But, the dishwasher still isn't fixed so the kids are having to handwash the dishes. An easy fix 😉But it does mean that we're not treating the machine fix quite so urgent a task.

And in between, alongside, and round about, Aiden wrestles with AP Calculus and Physics, Jasmin teaches dog training via Zoom 6 times a week for her course, Grace starts a course in NT Greek, Mom keeps abrest of her SAFE work, and Dad works to clear his plate to start his PhD studies in earnest.

So, maybe not all that normal of a February starting week. Hopefully next week can have "business as usual" as the main event rather than hopping from fix project to fix project.

January Ends

January ends

With lots of cold days

Fantastically wild beauty

New every morning

Ice, snow and rising sun

                                                                                    The tools of His Majesty's artistry

January ends

With exclamations of how tired we are being cold

You know it is cold in the house 

when the dog tries to sleep this close to the fire

Dispite discomfort half on-half off the hearth

To be fair, it was early morning when

The winter chill of the night

Had yet to be banished from the room

 January ends

With odd collections of humor found everywhere

Socks for feet - as opposed to socks for hands, maybe?

Humor a tool to keep us warm inside

To onward go

Ready to shovel the pond to skate

Or forge a path to the beauty of our lake

Or enter the cold kitichen to prepare a meal

January ends

With the beginnings of

Established rhythms for the year

Of prayer with the church

Of family Bible discussion at a meal

Of build in exercise for everyone

And February begins

With dreams of community

Establishing a monthly board game night

Planning a Chinese New Year celebration to share

Ways to chase away the struggling gloom of deep winter

Year of Travels begun

 2026 barely begun, Mom left on the 2nd for Family Education Conference in Thailand. After fighting her way across Canada and beyond with patience and persistence (for the three flights of her journey there was one cancellation, 3 delays, and 2 rebookings), and living the day twice (crossing the International Date line), she landed in another life.

Leaving behind Christmas celebrations and winter sicknesses, snow and frozen landscapes, she entered the world where seasons are only dry and wet, where a dangerously cold morning is 15 degrees, and yet hotels still play music crooning of white Christmases and sleigh rides vainly trying to appeal to their international guests.

One too short day later, she's plunging into consulting families living in Asia, back end conference duties, and reconnecting with the team. Jet lag growls along in the background aided by beds Asian hard and populated with entirely too stuffed pillows but is quickly conquered by the all-day every-day engagement needed by a gathering of friends and workmates usually far-flung around the world.

The kids asked for food pictures - food is what they seem to miss the most and it can't be brought home to be shared - but Mom didn't often have it in mind at the right time to take photos... Still, coveted sticky rice and mango with coconut sauce!

A breather and a move into town over the weekend, and then a few days of team debriefing, planning for next year, and enjoying getting to know each other more. Since this time we stayed in 2 AirB&B's all together, we did get to know eachother much more than usual. And there was so much to say of God's outdoing us!

It was SAFE's first year attempting the conference away from our main office town, planning and running the conference ourselves instead of using a professional company, and partnering with MSG (we held our conference at the same time and place as them so families could join their teens). A bold move considering our attendee numbers have been precariously low since Covid.

And yet, our numbers were doubled this year, we actually made money instead of operating at a deficit, the week ran smoothly despite it being our first time going it alone, the team reports were all positive and full of furthering ideas for next year, and even the early attendee survey results had next to no complaints or negative reviews! When does that ever happen at a conference?!

And then Mom had to fight her way home again. Same story: flights delayed, cancelled, rebooked turning a usually 20-27 hour journey into nearly 72 with extra layovers and new routes. But, it did mean Mom got to try her hand at painting a hagoita paddle in Japan and snatch a few hours sleep enroute so she arrived more awake than expected.

Somehow, the shock of moving from beachside hotel in Thailand to winter wonderland in Nova Scotia was harder than going the other way. And jet lag also hit harder as there was less that had to be done (sweet family had done all the household jobs for the weekend!) and stronger reasoning to "just rest a bit."

Mom's synopis: Being there was fantastic. That team really is "my tribe;" I'm able to really be myself and love the work I get to do. Even though getting there and back was arduous and unpleasant, it was more than worth it.

And the story at home: Mom left them all sick when she left (and arrived in Thailand sick herself) and arrived home to them still recovering because they's recovered and promptly fell sick again! Still, they'd managed to look after one anther well enough with Grace free of school to cook meals and Dad present to manage Aiden's schooling. Everyone is very happy to have Mom back to run the household again!

So, one of 4 potential trips in 2026 done. Safely. Successfully. Way more than Satisfactorily. God certainly outgave us on this one!

Post-Christmas December

But first, Christmas Day

Morning church - harder to find this side of the world but gladly joined

An extra love-gift of a pond skate for the kids

Turkey dinner that mixed in some Asian flavors and stlyes

Christmas slipper sock gifts (and others too!)

The 27th was supposed to be our big day of extended family christmas and Messiah From Scratch. But, people woke up sick - in 4 of the 5 households expecting to come! So we postponed to the 29th, when we had planned to play board games together. Instead of a marathon day out, we left our sick one (Jasmin) on the couch for the afternoon and joined messiah From Scratch. Poor Aiden really was thrown in the deep end! Sure, he likes to sing and even experiments with harmony, but suddenly here he was in a tenor section holding a score of The Messiah (of which he is not at all familiar) and expected to know how to follow along as this giant motley choir rushed through a 2 hour practice of select pieces and then performed them with the orchestra... by the end he was enjoying himself and says he'd do it again, so all is well. Grace thoroughly enjoyed all of it of course :)

On the 28th, we went to church and lunch with Imma, and then in the evening Grace and Mom went back out to walk through the Public Garden lights and then join a hymn sing evening. We sure have missed gathering to sing like that, so it was a lovely boost.

Then, on the 29th, along came an ice storm (the morning heralding sky was amazing!), creeping sickness (now all three kids were sick-ish), and a host of little irritants so that the Christmas party was rather muted and not well attended. But we are glad it still happened despite delays and sickness, and there were no travelling adventures even though the car was encased in freezing rain upon arrival.

Since then, all we've done is rest! Reading aloud to finish the book before Mom leaves, watching together the one time of the year we do so, and doing our own projects that have been languishing in busyer times. Mom is almost finished Grace's coat hem...