Funniest gift ever...my brother gave this present to Matt and me for Christmas this year. Any guesses on what it could be? Tune in a few days to find out....
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Great housing news....
We have a signed lease!!! Hurray!! Yes...I'm talking about our wonderful old house in Wilmington! Hallelujah Chorus anyone?
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Bright Nights in Stanley Park
On Thursday, we went on a train ride through Stanley Park to see the Christmas Lights with our small group from Granville Chapel. Afterwards we warmed up with some beverages from Starbucks! Enjoy the pictures!
Saturday, December 10, 2011
The Christmas Story
We attended Regent's annual Christmas service last night. It was great to sing carols, read scripture, light candles and sip on Apple Cider to get into the Christmas spirit! Enjoy the video! A Regent student from New Zealand's home church made this! They showed it last night during the service and it was such a hit! Enjoy the Chirstmas Story!
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Shortest update ever!
Short update...
21 more days until Christmas Vacation!! Getting so excited to go home and see our family and friends!
Our house would still love to have some wonderful people living in it! We changed property managers about a week ago, so let's hope for good news soon! :-)
I've gotten some new responsibilities at work! (the gymnastics center) Curriculum planning! So fun! I've missed being a teacher so much this semester and this allows me to be a little creative and take some ownership over the activities everyone gets to teach!
Matt rec'vd a B on his diagrammatic summary assignment that he seemed rather pleased with. Go Matt!
21 more days until Christmas Vacation!! Getting so excited to go home and see our family and friends!
Our house would still love to have some wonderful people living in it! We changed property managers about a week ago, so let's hope for good news soon! :-)
I've gotten some new responsibilities at work! (the gymnastics center) Curriculum planning! So fun! I've missed being a teacher so much this semester and this allows me to be a little creative and take some ownership over the activities everyone gets to teach!
Matt rec'vd a B on his diagrammatic summary assignment that he seemed rather pleased with. Go Matt!
Saturday, December 3, 2011
State Champions!
This isn't really news about Vancouver, but news from back home in North Carolina that was just too exciting not to share. West Stokes High School, (my old high school) just defeated Kinston High School to win the 2AA State Championship Football Game!!! Unbelievable! I was able to watch the last part of the game online which was pretty fun! Isn't technology great!
When the new school opened in 1999 (I'm getting old!) I was a sophomore and cheerleader for the Varsity Football team. At the time our football team was not the pride and joy of our community. Don't get me wrong, everyone loved going to football games, but our team was a joke. The local news stations would even make fun of us for loosing so much. Our first two seasons, we lost every game. Many of the scores were 82-0, 78-0, etc... (don't quote me number by number, remember I'm getting old. Either way, that's pretty bad!!)
It wasn't until my Senior year that we finally won a game against Salisbury! You would've thought the goalpost would come down with the excitement of that win! We won two other games that season against North Stokes and South Stokes. What a year that was for us! County Champs!
I can only imagine what the town of King is like at this moment. State Champions! (They even canceled the local Christmas Parade due to the game today) Who would've thought that our football program would've come so far. I'm super proud of our football team and glad to say I was on the sidelines cheering the Wildcats on from day one of the program! Congrats West!!
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| http://www.yadkinvalleysports.com/2011/12/03/state-champs-west-stokes-rallies-past-kinston/ |
When the new school opened in 1999 (I'm getting old!) I was a sophomore and cheerleader for the Varsity Football team. At the time our football team was not the pride and joy of our community. Don't get me wrong, everyone loved going to football games, but our team was a joke. The local news stations would even make fun of us for loosing so much. Our first two seasons, we lost every game. Many of the scores were 82-0, 78-0, etc... (don't quote me number by number, remember I'm getting old. Either way, that's pretty bad!!)
It wasn't until my Senior year that we finally won a game against Salisbury! You would've thought the goalpost would come down with the excitement of that win! We won two other games that season against North Stokes and South Stokes. What a year that was for us! County Champs!
I can only imagine what the town of King is like at this moment. State Champions! (They even canceled the local Christmas Parade due to the game today) Who would've thought that our football program would've come so far. I'm super proud of our football team and glad to say I was on the sidelines cheering the Wildcats on from day one of the program! Congrats West!!
Friday, November 18, 2011
Snow and Pancakes
We've had our first snowfall of the season here in Vancouver! I've forgotten how pretty it is to see snow! Having lived on the coast of North Carolina the past 9 years, I've seen a snowfall only about 3 or 4 times so it's soooo neat to see snow! :-) It was just a light dusting of snow and it's pretty much all melted by now.
And what could go better with a snow day?? Lemon Poppy Seed pancakes topped with strawberries!
Here are some pictures from around our neighborhood:
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| Backyard |
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| side of house |
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| cone shaped evergreens |
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| park near our house |
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| Our basement! |
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| entryway |
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| backyard again |
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| park again |
And what could go better with a snow day?? Lemon Poppy Seed pancakes topped with strawberries!
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Southern Food and Hospitality!
Fried chicken, mac and cheese, sweet tea, hash brown casserole, banana pudding, cold oven pound cake....yum! Who doesn't love southern food?
This past weekend we hosted a Southern foods party for our friends here in Vancouver. It was so nice to practice hospitality and have friends over! When we first moved here to Vancouver a good friend of mine from Wilmington encouraged me to start practicing hospitality as soon as possible to start making it feel like a home here. Great advice...it is indeed good for the soul to open up your home to others!
In preparing for the supper, I found it's hard to find some common southern ingredients: White Lily Flour, Pinto beans and Luizanne tea! Especially the tea! I went to Safeway, Walmart, Superstore, and a few other places and couldn't find "normal" black tea anywhere. All I could find were flavored teas and "Orange Pekoe" tea! I was pretty disheartened and shocked that they didn't sell the tea I needed.
After doing a little research though, I came upon an amazing discovery...apparently "Orange Pekoe" tea IS normal tea! Who would've thought? I thought it was an orange flavored Asian tea. I'm happy to know I can make sweet tea here in Vancouver. Hope any other southern sweet tea fans living abroad can learn from this mishap. :-)
Here's the one picture I took from our southern evening. I need to start taking and posting more pictures!
I found these flowers at a local produce store/market on the way home one day. What do you think they are?? (I'll post the answer after I have a few guesses!)
This past weekend we hosted a Southern foods party for our friends here in Vancouver. It was so nice to practice hospitality and have friends over! When we first moved here to Vancouver a good friend of mine from Wilmington encouraged me to start practicing hospitality as soon as possible to start making it feel like a home here. Great advice...it is indeed good for the soul to open up your home to others!
In preparing for the supper, I found it's hard to find some common southern ingredients: White Lily Flour, Pinto beans and Luizanne tea! Especially the tea! I went to Safeway, Walmart, Superstore, and a few other places and couldn't find "normal" black tea anywhere. All I could find were flavored teas and "Orange Pekoe" tea! I was pretty disheartened and shocked that they didn't sell the tea I needed.
After doing a little research though, I came upon an amazing discovery...apparently "Orange Pekoe" tea IS normal tea! Who would've thought? I thought it was an orange flavored Asian tea. I'm happy to know I can make sweet tea here in Vancouver. Hope any other southern sweet tea fans living abroad can learn from this mishap. :-)
Here's the one picture I took from our southern evening. I need to start taking and posting more pictures!
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Remembrance Day
On November 11 we observed Remembrance Day here in Canada. Remembrance Day (similar to our Veterans' Day or Memorial Day) is specifically designated to honor and remember those soldiers who served during WWI, WWII and other wars. Around the city, you can see many people wearing red poppies as a symbol of remembrance.
This past Wednesday, I had the opportunity to attend a Remembrance Day Service with the residents of the Retirement Community where I work. We walked down the block to St. John's School to be honored guests at the service. It was such a great and humbling experience to attend such an event with those who were alive during the WWII era. One of our residents is originally from Holland and was in the Dutch Army during the war. He was there when the Germans invaded his country. He was there when the Gestapo patrolled the streets. He was part of the underground resistance movements. He had friends executed. Remembrance Day he said, is especially hard for him. As it is for so many people whom the wars have changed and affected.
The service that day ended with the reading of this poem:
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| source |
On November 11 we observed Remembrance Day here in Canada. Remembrance Day (similar to our Veterans' Day or Memorial Day) is specifically designated to honor and remember those soldiers who served during WWI, WWII and other wars. Around the city, you can see many people wearing red poppies as a symbol of remembrance.
This past Wednesday, I had the opportunity to attend a Remembrance Day Service with the residents of the Retirement Community where I work. We walked down the block to St. John's School to be honored guests at the service. It was such a great and humbling experience to attend such an event with those who were alive during the WWII era. One of our residents is originally from Holland and was in the Dutch Army during the war. He was there when the Germans invaded his country. He was there when the Gestapo patrolled the streets. He was part of the underground resistance movements. He had friends executed. Remembrance Day he said, is especially hard for him. As it is for so many people whom the wars have changed and affected.
The service that day ended with the reading of this poem:
In Flanders Fields
By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD
(1872-1918) Canadian Army
By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD
(1872-1918) Canadian Army
In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Rain and London Fog Lattes
We're beginning to experience the typical "winter" weather here in Vancouver. Clouds, a little rain, more clouds, grey skies, and some more sprinkles of rain. Sounds lovely eh?
It is however a lovely day to try out a new warm beverage! And since I've already spent all my "fun" budget money for the week on a pumpkin spice latte yesterday, it's time to bring out my Port City Java Batista skills! I made this drink called a "London Fog" latte! It was pretty great! Here's the recipe:
It is however a lovely day to try out a new warm beverage! And since I've already spent all my "fun" budget money for the week on a pumpkin spice latte yesterday, it's time to bring out my Port City Java Batista skills! I made this drink called a "London Fog" latte! It was pretty great! Here's the recipe:
London Fog Latte
- 1/2 cup of Earl Grey tea concentrate (Steep 1 bag of tea in half a cup of water for concentrate)
- 1 tbs of vanilla syrup (I used french vanilla since it's what I had)
- 3/4 cup of steamed milk
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Happy Halloween!
Hello friends and family! Sorry it's been a while since my last post. I've been super busy with work these past few weeks and haven't really felt like blogging. I'll try to do better. :-)
Last week was a pretty busy week for both Matt and I. He had A LOT of work (Hebrew Test, OT test, and etc.) and I worked a few more extra days and hours than I normally due to cover for a co-worker who's been out. Thankfully this week is back to normal!!! (or normal as it can be here in a foreign land)
Yesterday we celebrated Halloween like any couple without cute kids to dress up or a party to go to by eating sushi and listening to the sound of fireworks! The sushi here in Vancouver is super cheap and very good, so we enjoyed our Halloween despite not dressing up and eating candy! Something interesting about Halloween here in Vancouver is the fireworks. Apparently they are really big here...more so than for any other holiday it seems. We occasionally heard fireworks and saw firework sale stands the week leading up to Halloween. Then on Halloween night you couldn't relax because all the bang...boom...pop...sizzles going on outside! Interesting eh?
House update: Still no renters...and not too much communication from our property manager lately either which is a little frustrating. So y'all can be praying for decisions concerning our house, property manager, and etc. Having our house not rented is still pretty discouraging for us. Especially with so many people back at home and in Vancouver praying for it to be rented and all the contacts we've been emailing.
We've been going to a church called Granville Chapel here in Vancouver and they've been teaching from the book of Daniel the past several weeks. This past week, we learned about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego being thrown into the fiery furnace and the unshakable faith that they had in the Lord. (Daniel 3:1-30) One particular verse that stuck out to me in the sermon was versus 13-18.
13 Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, 14 and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? 15 Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?” 16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.
Daniel 3:16-18
When the Lord doesn't answer my prayers, I want to handle things more like Rack, Shack, and Benny.
The Lord is able to rent our house out...and even if he does not, I still want to trust him with where he has me here in Vancouver.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Happy Wednesday!
Wednesdays are now my "Saturdays" since I work on Saturdays. (don't feel sorry for me though, I play Wii Golf with cute elderly people on Sat.) It's really nice to have a day off during the week to get somethings accomplished, but it's taking some time to get used to such an irregular schedule. I have my calender constantly with me to keep myself on track.
My new job is continuing to go well. The residents I work with are super sweet and very encouraging. The classes I teach have remained very full despite the transition and the residents keep telling me I'm doing a great job. It's so good to hear positive feedback.
Working with any population, kids, adults, the elderly, you're bound to have some funny stories. Here are a few amusing stories from my work week.
One of the residents, who is the sweetest lady in the world next to my Grandma Betty, falls asleep quite often. She even falls asleep during the middle of my Sit Fit class! Several times! It's so hard not to giggle or smile when I'm teaching and all of a sudden I hear a weight drop to the floor and see her dozing off in class!
Another resident whom I work with plays the piano every Friday evening for everyone. Lots of people come and sit around the piano to watch and listen to him play. The funny thing is, he doesn't really play the piano. He "pretends" to play it. He plays a cd or record in the background and pretends to move his hand along the piano keys like he's actually playing it! I asked him one day about his "piano playing skills" and he told me, "I don't really play the piano, but they don't seem to know that"
I'm sure I'll have more funny stories for you as time goes on...
My new job is continuing to go well. The residents I work with are super sweet and very encouraging. The classes I teach have remained very full despite the transition and the residents keep telling me I'm doing a great job. It's so good to hear positive feedback.
Working with any population, kids, adults, the elderly, you're bound to have some funny stories. Here are a few amusing stories from my work week.
One of the residents, who is the sweetest lady in the world next to my Grandma Betty, falls asleep quite often. She even falls asleep during the middle of my Sit Fit class! Several times! It's so hard not to giggle or smile when I'm teaching and all of a sudden I hear a weight drop to the floor and see her dozing off in class!
Another resident whom I work with plays the piano every Friday evening for everyone. Lots of people come and sit around the piano to watch and listen to him play. The funny thing is, he doesn't really play the piano. He "pretends" to play it. He plays a cd or record in the background and pretends to move his hand along the piano keys like he's actually playing it! I asked him one day about his "piano playing skills" and he told me, "I don't really play the piano, but they don't seem to know that"
I'm sure I'll have more funny stories for you as time goes on...
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Update from Matt
Friends, If you've ever been new somewhere, where people only have a glimpse of who you are, and it feels like everything is just slightly off, then you know how we're feeling. I don't want to dwell on problems of new, but please continue to pray for us to find places to know and be known. For financial stresses to dissolve, and for good friends.
What I'm excited to tell you about is my new part time job. Library janitor. I don't mean to brag, but its kind of a big deal. I get to run a vacuum, dust books, and enforce the no food/beverage policy. For four hours a night twice a week, I get to be as quiet as a mouse hopping and bopping around the John Richard Allison Library at Regent College. Sometimes if its really slow, I get to make sure the books are in the right order, and if it's really busy I get to help the circulation desk. In all seriousness, I'm really grateful for the extra income and mostly tedious mindless work.
Finally, a quick report on classes. I've been reading quite a bit, mostly historical overviews of the early church and background info on the Old Testament. Did you know that Constantine was baptized an Arian (the heresy claiming Christ was not God; refuted in the Nicene creed)? Or that the monastic movement was a grassroots attempt to flee an increasingly power-hungry church?
I've got my first (moderately) big research paper coming up and a fill-in-the-blank midterm on half of the Old Testament.
Hebrew is still hard. I got back my first test and got a C+. Not good enough. A fun fact as you read the OT, the word "melek" in all its various spellings is the word for king. That's why so many kings and court officials are named Abimelek or Melech or Ebed-melek, etc.
Thanks for following us.
What I'm excited to tell you about is my new part time job. Library janitor. I don't mean to brag, but its kind of a big deal. I get to run a vacuum, dust books, and enforce the no food/beverage policy. For four hours a night twice a week, I get to be as quiet as a mouse hopping and bopping around the John Richard Allison Library at Regent College. Sometimes if its really slow, I get to make sure the books are in the right order, and if it's really busy I get to help the circulation desk. In all seriousness, I'm really grateful for the extra income and mostly tedious mindless work.
Finally, a quick report on classes. I've been reading quite a bit, mostly historical overviews of the early church and background info on the Old Testament. Did you know that Constantine was baptized an Arian (the heresy claiming Christ was not God; refuted in the Nicene creed)? Or that the monastic movement was a grassroots attempt to flee an increasingly power-hungry church?
I've got my first (moderately) big research paper coming up and a fill-in-the-blank midterm on half of the Old Testament.
Hebrew is still hard. I got back my first test and got a C+. Not good enough. A fun fact as you read the OT, the word "melek" in all its various spellings is the word for king. That's why so many kings and court officials are named Abimelek or Melech or Ebed-melek, etc.
Thanks for following us.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
No more training wheels!
Today was my first "official" day at work without my training wheels on. I spent 3 days last week watching and observing classes, personal training sessions and learning all the other basics of the job. This week I am on my own. I get to jump right on in there and give the job a try. Today I taught two classes, Total Body Fitness and Sit and Be Fit. They both went pretty well, but there's always room for improvement. I also got to work with two residents today which again, went well but I could definitely improve.
I'm so thankful to have a job! The learning curve is just tough to get over. So many new things. So many new people. Change for residents and myself. Change can just be difficult. I'm just ready not to be new anymore and feel comfortable in my surroundings. That just takes time though...
Update on our house: Still not rented. Our property manager emailed us yesterday and said she had a showing Saturday and again showing it to the same person on Sunday for her to measure to see if her furniture would fit. She then said she had a few other showings this week too. It's great that so many people want to look at it, but still no permanent residents yet. Also she informed us that someone stole our lawnmower, a flower pot, and some chairs from the porch (which we didn't have any chairs on the porch, so I don't know what that's about?) Ahhh...to not worry about the house, will that day come? Anyone want to rent a house?
I'm so thankful to have a job! The learning curve is just tough to get over. So many new things. So many new people. Change for residents and myself. Change can just be difficult. I'm just ready not to be new anymore and feel comfortable in my surroundings. That just takes time though...
Update on our house: Still not rented. Our property manager emailed us yesterday and said she had a showing Saturday and again showing it to the same person on Sunday for her to measure to see if her furniture would fit. She then said she had a few other showings this week too. It's great that so many people want to look at it, but still no permanent residents yet. Also she informed us that someone stole our lawnmower, a flower pot, and some chairs from the porch (which we didn't have any chairs on the porch, so I don't know what that's about?) Ahhh...to not worry about the house, will that day come? Anyone want to rent a house?
Monday, October 10, 2011
Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!
Today is Canada's Thanksgiving! It's great to be an Amercian in Canada because we get to celebrate Thanksgiving twice this year! I think this is one holiday we might bring back to the states when we return.
On Saturday, we went over to our Canadian friends Ester and Sarah's house for Round 1. We had lots of yummy traditional thanksgiving food, fellowshiped with friends and played fishbowl...a game that is a combination of catchphrase and charades. Overall, a great night!
On Sunday, we went and had dinner with a real Canadian family! Our friend Erin invited us over along with several other students to celebrate Thanksgiving with her family. Again we had a wonderful meal, wonderful conversations, and even more wonderful desserts!
It was really fun to see another country's Thanksgiving! Their Thanksgiving is really similar to ours. They spend time with their families, have turkey, stuffing, potatoes, gravy, other fixins, argue over which is better...cranberry sauce or cranberries from a can. Such a joyous holiday to celebrate!
Thanks friends for making our first Canadian Thanksgiving a memorable occasion!
On Saturday, we went over to our Canadian friends Ester and Sarah's house for Round 1. We had lots of yummy traditional thanksgiving food, fellowshiped with friends and played fishbowl...a game that is a combination of catchphrase and charades. Overall, a great night!
On Sunday, we went and had dinner with a real Canadian family! Our friend Erin invited us over along with several other students to celebrate Thanksgiving with her family. Again we had a wonderful meal, wonderful conversations, and even more wonderful desserts!
It was really fun to see another country's Thanksgiving! Their Thanksgiving is really similar to ours. They spend time with their families, have turkey, stuffing, potatoes, gravy, other fixins, argue over which is better...cranberry sauce or cranberries from a can. Such a joyous holiday to celebrate!
Thanks friends for making our first Canadian Thanksgiving a memorable occasion!
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Happy Two Years!!
On Monday, Matt and I celebrated our two year wedding anniversary! Since Matt does not have class on Mondays and I don't have work, it was the perfect day (minus the clouds and rain) to go explore Granville Island! We took our favorite #14 bus down to Granville Street and then walked over to Granville Island.
House Boats
Dragon Boats
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Fall is here! ...and so are the pumpkin spice lattes!
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| Happy Fall everyone! |
The most wonderful season of the year is here! The cool crisp air, the colorful leaves, pumpkins, football and Starbucks pumpkin spice lattes! I just love Fall! In Vancouver, Fall means the beginning of grey, cloudy days and rain. We thankfully haven't fully experienced the days and weeks of cloudy skies and rain here, but apparently they are coming. One of my gymnastics student's parent was giving me some advice on living here the other afternoon. She told me to go out and do something for myself after the 5th, or 6th so day of rain. Go see a movie, go to a coffee shop or the aquarium because you'll need it!
Speaking of work....I have another part time job! Such a HUGE blessing and encouragement! It's part time for now, but has potential of being full time down the road (possibly January?) It's great because I can still work at the gymnastics studio with my students too! For this new job, I'll be a working as a Kinesiologist in this pretty fancy retirement community. I get to lead elderly individuals in fitness classes and personal training sessions. In addition, I get to help out with Wii Golf tournaments on Saturdays and occasional recreational events!! I think this sounds like such a great job for me! My first day is on Tuesday so I'll let you know how it goes!! Between these two jobs, I get to work with both elderly people and kids in the areas of health, movement and fitness! What could be better?
photos from: housebeautiful.com
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Warm Beach Retreat
This past weekend we traveled down to Warm Beach, WA for the annual Regent Fall Retreat along with many other students, families and professors. It was great to get away for the weekend and forget about job searching/studying and to breath some American air!
The speaker for the Retreat was Ross Hastings, who is a professor at Regent as well as head of the MDiv program. He spoke mainly on Chirst as the high priest from Hebrews, but also shared his personal life stories with us. I honestly wish I could tell you more about his sermons as Christ the high priest, but honestly a lot of it was over my head. :-) My theological vocabulary isn't very extensive so it was sometimes hard to follow along. I did however admire his honesty and openness to share his own life with us. In short, he's struggled with driveness, suffered depression, and his wife passed away from cancer a few years ago. He shared with us how the Lord met him during these times and how the Lord's been gracious to him.
Some other highlights from the retreat include the worship music (with John Stackhouse playing the piano in a jazzy/blues type style. Who knew he was so musically talented?), playing soccer, Céilidh (Irish line/barn dancing), a coffee house night, a variety show (with extreamly talented people I might add!), a bonfire with smores and a picnic with some girls from the Regent Spouses Network! Overall, we really enjoyed the time we spent over the weekend getting to know others at Regent!
The speaker for the Retreat was Ross Hastings, who is a professor at Regent as well as head of the MDiv program. He spoke mainly on Chirst as the high priest from Hebrews, but also shared his personal life stories with us. I honestly wish I could tell you more about his sermons as Christ the high priest, but honestly a lot of it was over my head. :-) My theological vocabulary isn't very extensive so it was sometimes hard to follow along. I did however admire his honesty and openness to share his own life with us. In short, he's struggled with driveness, suffered depression, and his wife passed away from cancer a few years ago. He shared with us how the Lord met him during these times and how the Lord's been gracious to him.
Some other highlights from the retreat include the worship music (with John Stackhouse playing the piano in a jazzy/blues type style. Who knew he was so musically talented?), playing soccer, Céilidh (Irish line/barn dancing), a coffee house night, a variety show (with extreamly talented people I might add!), a bonfire with smores and a picnic with some girls from the Regent Spouses Network! Overall, we really enjoyed the time we spent over the weekend getting to know others at Regent!
Friday, September 23, 2011
Ups, downs and great produce!
Hello my wonderful friends. So I told y'all in the previous blog post that I would have Matt update you on his classes, but...he's busy reading "The Story of Christianity" by Justo Gonzalez right now and trying to be a good student. So, you have me again!
We've been discouraged this week....
Our house in Wilmington has still not rented. We had renters moving in on the 23rd, but one got laid off from their job. As a result they are no longer moving to Wilm to live in our wonderful little house. This is when discouragement kicks in. This is when it feels hard. This is when we begin to question coming here to Vancouver. Was it a wise thing to do? Was it the right thing to do? What were we thinking moving here with no jobs, a mortgage, and etc?
Then we have friends come along (this is when the encouragement kicks in) and let us know that just because it's hard, doesn't mean it wasn't right. We're never promised easy things or paths in life, just the love of Christ. If any of you haven't heard of the book, My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers, I highly recommend it. It's ranks up there with Harry Potter in my mind! Here's something I read from it today if you want to check it out about dealing with adversity. (Click Here)
Now for the Ups!
1. I had a job interview today for a position working as a kinesiologist in a retirement community! I would get to teach exercise classes/personal training sessions to the elderly! It's another part time job, BUT has potential to being full time down the road! I'll know something by Wed. at the latest and keep you updated!
2. Free Bread. Let me say that again, FREE yummy bread! A local bakery here in town donates their leftover bread to Regent College on Wednesdays! If you know me, I love breads and baked goods! Yum!
We've been discouraged this week....
...and also encouraged this week by wonderful friends like you!!!
Our house in Wilmington has still not rented. We had renters moving in on the 23rd, but one got laid off from their job. As a result they are no longer moving to Wilm to live in our wonderful little house. This is when discouragement kicks in. This is when it feels hard. This is when we begin to question coming here to Vancouver. Was it a wise thing to do? Was it the right thing to do? What were we thinking moving here with no jobs, a mortgage, and etc?
Then we have friends come along (this is when the encouragement kicks in) and let us know that just because it's hard, doesn't mean it wasn't right. We're never promised easy things or paths in life, just the love of Christ. If any of you haven't heard of the book, My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers, I highly recommend it. It's ranks up there with Harry Potter in my mind! Here's something I read from it today if you want to check it out about dealing with adversity. (Click Here)
Now for the Ups!
1. I had a job interview today for a position working as a kinesiologist in a retirement community! I would get to teach exercise classes/personal training sessions to the elderly! It's another part time job, BUT has potential to being full time down the road! I'll know something by Wed. at the latest and keep you updated!
2. Free Bread. Let me say that again, FREE yummy bread! A local bakery here in town donates their leftover bread to Regent College on Wednesdays! If you know me, I love breads and baked goods! Yum!
3. Produce. It's so cheap here! Look at what we got for $10 at the produce stand down the street.
That would've cost me about $30 at my beloved Harris Teeter with blueberries being on sale!
Everything else here is riduclously expensive, so much that many Canadians drive down to the border to go shopping. Makes me thankful for U.S. prices...something I wouldn't have thought to be thankful for.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Jobs...
Matt is off to his second day of classes and I'm here in the basement suite on the laptop looking for jobs. Don't you wish we could trade places?? Just kidding. Looking for jobs is such a daunting task, so I thought I'd take a break and update the blog! It's more fun!
First, I'll tell you about the current job I have. :-) I am working as a gymnastics instructor at this place downtown called Jump Gymnastics. It is an educational gymnastics studio for ages 6mths-8yrs. I teach classes, encourage physical literacy, facilitate birthday parties, and provide activities to do while parents are away on "Date Nights". It's pretty fun so far, but it is very part time. This week I'm only on the schedule for 6 hours and at most I'll only ever have 20 hours. I'm so thankful and grateful for the part time job, but honestly that's not what we need to live here in Vancouver.
If you could just take a few seconds and say a prayer for a full time job, one that would provide for all our living expenses while we're here. And also for my heart to not be discouraged while searching and waiting for a job, that would be great....thanks friends.
So my journey for looking for jobs has been so-so today. I've gone from emailing my resume to various schools, tutoring agencies, universities....to getting dressed up and physically taking my resume down the street a few blocks and giving it to a school. (Which sadly, I didn't get to speak to anyone, only had the opportunity to hand it to the person at the front desk.) The most entertaining part of my day was receiving an email from a tutoring agency that I was following up with about a job I applied for over a week ago.
This email was not, we received your application, we're narrowing down our choices, etc.... it was, "We need your SAT scores. You must have scored a 750 on Math and a 750 on the Verbal to work here. Company Policy" Seriously, that's what the email basically said.
It's been over a decade since I've taken the SAT...are you kidding me? I don't even know where I could obtain my official scores and I know I didn't make a 1500 on it either! My masters degree in teaching and job experience aren't good enough? You don't even want to meet me? You just want to know what I made on the SAT in high school to determine if I'd be a good tutor and employee? (FYI-this tutoring company was for K-12 all subjects too, not just SAT Prep)
So, I think that place might be off the list since I was not a genius standardized test taker like my MENSA husband. :-) Oh well.... I think I'll let Matt update the blog for y'all tomorrow and let you hear more about his classes.
First, I'll tell you about the current job I have. :-) I am working as a gymnastics instructor at this place downtown called Jump Gymnastics. It is an educational gymnastics studio for ages 6mths-8yrs. I teach classes, encourage physical literacy, facilitate birthday parties, and provide activities to do while parents are away on "Date Nights". It's pretty fun so far, but it is very part time. This week I'm only on the schedule for 6 hours and at most I'll only ever have 20 hours. I'm so thankful and grateful for the part time job, but honestly that's not what we need to live here in Vancouver.
If you could just take a few seconds and say a prayer for a full time job, one that would provide for all our living expenses while we're here. And also for my heart to not be discouraged while searching and waiting for a job, that would be great....thanks friends.
So my journey for looking for jobs has been so-so today. I've gone from emailing my resume to various schools, tutoring agencies, universities....to getting dressed up and physically taking my resume down the street a few blocks and giving it to a school. (Which sadly, I didn't get to speak to anyone, only had the opportunity to hand it to the person at the front desk.) The most entertaining part of my day was receiving an email from a tutoring agency that I was following up with about a job I applied for over a week ago.
This email was not, we received your application, we're narrowing down our choices, etc.... it was, "We need your SAT scores. You must have scored a 750 on Math and a 750 on the Verbal to work here. Company Policy" Seriously, that's what the email basically said.
It's been over a decade since I've taken the SAT...are you kidding me? I don't even know where I could obtain my official scores and I know I didn't make a 1500 on it either! My masters degree in teaching and job experience aren't good enough? You don't even want to meet me? You just want to know what I made on the SAT in high school to determine if I'd be a good tutor and employee? (FYI-this tutoring company was for K-12 all subjects too, not just SAT Prep)
So, I think that place might be off the list since I was not a genius standardized test taker like my MENSA husband. :-) Oh well.... I think I'll let Matt update the blog for y'all tomorrow and let you hear more about his classes.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Pictures of Vancouver
For dinner last night, we decided to take some sandwiches down to the beach for a picnic. I also brought my camera and thought I'd share some pictures of the beach and the city with you! Enjoy!
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Riding the Rollar Coaster of Vancouver
So the title probably sums up our week here. Some days we feel up, excited and loving the ride. Other days we feel down and a little anxious.
This week we attended the New Student Orientation at Regent College. For three days, we got to learn about the history and vision of the school, meet the professors, participate in a daily morning worship service (which was amazing!!), learn many helpful tips about living in vancouver and most importantly...meet other students!
We've attended dessert socials, a BBQ at the beach (Canadianism of the day: BBQ means cookout in this land, not pulled pork) and even a Cinnamon Bun afternoon at the park. We felt at home by meeting some fellow Southerners from Chattanooga, a VT alumni and some guys from NOVA! (Go Hokies!) We've also had the opportunity to meet so many international students. We've met students from Hong Kong, Beijing, Sweden, Australia, Zambia, Saskatchewan, the U.K, Germany, Portugal, New Zealand and many other places! After feeling friendless for the first week it was so nice to talk with and meet others who share the same feelings we do about living in Vancouver and attending Regent..."Groceries are so expensive here! My spouse is looking for a job. We're living in a basement suite, does your head touch the ceiling? Will I do well in Hebrew/Greek? I'm worried about finances while I'm in school. I want to find a good church. Who's going to be our good friends? Will we get to have tea with J.I. Packer?" (ok, maybe the last one isn't a shared thought)
It's nice to have some fellow sojourners among us...
This week we attended the New Student Orientation at Regent College. For three days, we got to learn about the history and vision of the school, meet the professors, participate in a daily morning worship service (which was amazing!!), learn many helpful tips about living in vancouver and most importantly...meet other students!
We've attended dessert socials, a BBQ at the beach (Canadianism of the day: BBQ means cookout in this land, not pulled pork) and even a Cinnamon Bun afternoon at the park. We felt at home by meeting some fellow Southerners from Chattanooga, a VT alumni and some guys from NOVA! (Go Hokies!) We've also had the opportunity to meet so many international students. We've met students from Hong Kong, Beijing, Sweden, Australia, Zambia, Saskatchewan, the U.K, Germany, Portugal, New Zealand and many other places! After feeling friendless for the first week it was so nice to talk with and meet others who share the same feelings we do about living in Vancouver and attending Regent..."Groceries are so expensive here! My spouse is looking for a job. We're living in a basement suite, does your head touch the ceiling? Will I do well in Hebrew/Greek? I'm worried about finances while I'm in school. I want to find a good church. Who's going to be our good friends? Will we get to have tea with J.I. Packer?" (ok, maybe the last one isn't a shared thought)
It's nice to have some fellow sojourners among us...
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
I have a job!
Just thought I'd blog the good news! I'll share more details later, but I've got some dinner to eat and some friends to make at a dessert social...
Monday, September 5, 2011
Peking Duck
On Saturday our landlady Yuni took us out and about in the town of Richmond. Richmond is a suburb of Vancouver. It has a large Asian population, approx. 60%. It's the place to go shopping and find good deals. The airport and the IKEA are also in Richmond. After shopping, we met her friends, the Howards for dinner. The Howards work for a college ministry on the Campus of UBC. We had such a great time getting to know them and eating one of the best meals I've ever tasted!
We ate at this local place called Spicy Schezuan Restaurant! We sat down to order, and Yuni ordered everything for us. She ordered a traditional family style Chinese meal of Peking Duck cooked 3 ways. (Basically they take one duck and serve it over several courses) In my head I was thinking...."I would've ordered the General Tso chicken, I don't know what this food is, I've never eaten duck, I can't even use chopsticks! How am I going to enjoy this? " That's when I had to think back to my STIM training. (Students Training In Missions-an InterVarsity program where they teach you how to live in another culture and be a missionary.) After remembering all the things Terri Shell and Amy Phillips taught us, I changed my thoughts to "This is going to be a unique experience and I'm just going to jump right in!" Matt wasn't ever worried...he had limitless bowls of Sriracha!
So our first course arrives. It's duck skin! To eat it, you place the duck skin, a green onion, and some hoisin sauce in a Chinese pancake and wrap it up like a tiny burrito! It was amazingly yummy!
We ate at this local place called Spicy Schezuan Restaurant! We sat down to order, and Yuni ordered everything for us. She ordered a traditional family style Chinese meal of Peking Duck cooked 3 ways. (Basically they take one duck and serve it over several courses) In my head I was thinking...."I would've ordered the General Tso chicken, I don't know what this food is, I've never eaten duck, I can't even use chopsticks! How am I going to enjoy this? " That's when I had to think back to my STIM training. (Students Training In Missions-an InterVarsity program where they teach you how to live in another culture and be a missionary.) After remembering all the things Terri Shell and Amy Phillips taught us, I changed my thoughts to "This is going to be a unique experience and I'm just going to jump right in!" Matt wasn't ever worried...he had limitless bowls of Sriracha!
So our first course arrives. It's duck skin! To eat it, you place the duck skin, a green onion, and some hoisin sauce in a Chinese pancake and wrap it up like a tiny burrito! It was amazingly yummy!
Picture borrowed from http://www.rossjohnson.co.za/wordpress/?p=491
The next course was soup. They used the duck bones to make a broth for the soup. The soup again was very tasty!
The next course was duck lettuce wraps. Think of PF Chang's chicken lettuce wraps. That's exactly what they tasted like.
The next courses (even though we were already stuffed) were not duck, but also very good. We had salt and pepper shrimp, honey ginger pork, Kai-lan (Chinese broccoli) with beef, fried chicken, and rice. With the meal we also had hot tea and water! Just amazing! I wish I could share this meal with all of y'all back home!
Friday, September 2, 2011
Hunting...
I'm not a hunter and I've never even been hunting. (and I'm from Stokes Co. if you can believe that!) I did however grow up playing the Oregon Trail. The best part of that game was hunting! Do you remember how hard it was to shoot one of the rabbits? Or better yet, one of those birds? That's how I feel about "job hunting". It's pretty difficult and when you do get something it's only 2lbs of meat!
With the current state of the economy and lack of teaching jobs, it makes getting a great job tough these days. Although I graduated with my masters degree over 2 years ago, I have still failed to find that wonderful PE teaching job I've been dreaming of. I have found some good jobs that have given me lots of great experience and wonderful friends (Thanks HLC!) and I am so very thankful for that....but I really want to be given a chance to do what I love, and that's teaching kids and adults physical literacy! How to enjoy physical activities and be lifelong participants!
Today I went to a job interview at this place in Vancouver called Jump Gymnastics. You can click on the name to check out their website. It seems like such a great place! Their main goal is teaching kids basic locomotor skills and movements to help them be successful later on in life! It's not a competitive gymnastics gym, it's educational! The job is only a part time job, but it allow me to do something I love! The first interview was a group interview. I have a second interview on Tuesday! The second interview is a "coaching interview". You pretty much get to go into the gym during a class and they get to see how well you do. Please say a prayer for me and I'll let y'all know how it goes! Even if I'm not selected for the job, it's given me an idea of something I can maybe do one day when we move back to the US....
And on a side note....I fixed the blog so anyone who reads it can comment on it. You don't have to be a member of Blogger, google, or etc.
With the current state of the economy and lack of teaching jobs, it makes getting a great job tough these days. Although I graduated with my masters degree over 2 years ago, I have still failed to find that wonderful PE teaching job I've been dreaming of. I have found some good jobs that have given me lots of great experience and wonderful friends (Thanks HLC!) and I am so very thankful for that....but I really want to be given a chance to do what I love, and that's teaching kids and adults physical literacy! How to enjoy physical activities and be lifelong participants!
Today I went to a job interview at this place in Vancouver called Jump Gymnastics. You can click on the name to check out their website. It seems like such a great place! Their main goal is teaching kids basic locomotor skills and movements to help them be successful later on in life! It's not a competitive gymnastics gym, it's educational! The job is only a part time job, but it allow me to do something I love! The first interview was a group interview. I have a second interview on Tuesday! The second interview is a "coaching interview". You pretty much get to go into the gym during a class and they get to see how well you do. Please say a prayer for me and I'll let y'all know how it goes! Even if I'm not selected for the job, it's given me an idea of something I can maybe do one day when we move back to the US....
And on a side note....I fixed the blog so anyone who reads it can comment on it. You don't have to be a member of Blogger, google, or etc.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
We made it!
Fun Canadianism of the day....they call tennis shoes "runners".
While here, we've been staying with a wonderful couple named James and Anna. They have been wonderful hosts and have been very kind to us since we've been here. They are a super fun couple and we've really enjoyed getting to know them!
We found a place to live! Once I decorate it and make it more of a home, I'll post some pictures. It's a one bedroom basement suite in a GREAT part of town. It is partially furnished which is great! We can walk to the grocery store, some produce stands, lots of shops and even to the beach (don't get too excited, it's no Wrightsville Beach or even a Carolina Beach, but it's still nice to see some water and sand) Our landlady is originally from Malaysia and is super sweet! She gave us several maps of the area with highlighted routes to IKEA, Walmart, and some other great places. She even invited us out for dinner this coming Saturday with her and a former tenant of hers who was also a student at Regent. We are eating at a dim sum type restaurant and chicken feet was mentioned in the conversation, so we'll let you know how that adventure goes...
We found a place to live! Once I decorate it and make it more of a home, I'll post some pictures. It's a one bedroom basement suite in a GREAT part of town. It is partially furnished which is great! We can walk to the grocery store, some produce stands, lots of shops and even to the beach (don't get too excited, it's no Wrightsville Beach or even a Carolina Beach, but it's still nice to see some water and sand) Our landlady is originally from Malaysia and is super sweet! She gave us several maps of the area with highlighted routes to IKEA, Walmart, and some other great places. She even invited us out for dinner this coming Saturday with her and a former tenant of hers who was also a student at Regent. We are eating at a dim sum type restaurant and chicken feet was mentioned in the conversation, so we'll let you know how that adventure goes...
Please feel free to send Matt or I an email or FB message! We'd love to here how all of y'all are doing back home!! We also have skype too! So if anyone wants to skype with us let us know!
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Yellowstone
We had such a great time in Yellowstone over the past few days. We saw sooo many beautiful things! (and even a few animals, no Grizzlies thankfully!) We also got to see our friend Liz, one of Matt's former IVers who works there. She took us on a short hike, showed us the Grand Parasmatic Springs and some other fun sites. Even though we saw some great things in Yellowstone, it was even more great to see a familiar face so far from home! (Thanks again Liz!)
Enjoy the pictures! We'll post more when we get some more time....
Don't worry mom...we were in our car stuck in a "Buffalo traffic jam" when we took this picture.
Enjoy the pictures! We'll post more when we get some more time....
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