Treasures

“Mindless wandering guarantees that you’ll discover surprises along the way. If you set out to look for a certain bird, you’ll be disappointed and consider the day wasted if you don’t spot one. But when you mosey along and turn your attention to everything you see, whatever you find along the way will be a wonderful revelation.” From Better Homes and Gardens, Tom Brown from Tom Brown’s Field Guides

This pretty much sums up much of what we've been up to these days. With David working lots and me at home without a car most of the time, we've been going on lots of walks. Sarah loves it and Keisha can't get enough of it. I remind myself that at least I'm getting some exercise. The weather has been beautiful so it's nice to have something to do outside.

Last Sunday while out for a stroll we came across our first curbside treasure, a head and foot board for Sarah's new big bed. David happened to be home, so when we got back home we all set up to pick up the treasure. Only the footboard fit in the car, so David walked home holding the head board (pretty funny), thankfully it was only 10 minutes down the road. So we've added it to the "project" pile in the garage. I figured that I would wait a bit until I thought I had all the items that I wanted to paint white and then go for it all at the same time, it's just easier that way. I love how princess/ girly the frame is! The scalloped edges match the cabinet perfectly.

David was working yesterday again, as he does almost all Saturday's. So Sarah, Keisha and I set out to go for a walk, with the hopes of possibly finding some garage sales. We ended up finding three in walking distance. We've done this a couple of times already, so it just may be our new Saturday morning tradition. I got 12 jam size canning jars and some bath toys for Sarah, $2 well spent.

At the rate that we're going through the apple sauce that we canned last fall I figured that more jars can only be a good thing, especially with 2 kids! I'm so glad that Sarah loves it. Sure makes me glad we put the time in when we did, sure is paying off now.

Why come to Niagara?

Well for starters, to see us! The bonus is that there is just so much fun stuff to do and see here (especially in the summer). We are thrilled that our friends Jen and Regan are coming out at the beginning of August and my cousins Debbie and Tim are coming out for a visit in mid August. I was talking to Debbie the other day and she asked me to write a little list of possible things to do/ see. I figured why not write a whole post on it, I wonder if I can lure some people to come visit us in Ontario. If you always wanted to come see the falls this may be your perfect opportunity. A free place to stay and of course we'll feed you!

In no particular order

Niagara Falls (FYI: is just 15 minutes away)
-See the falls and go on the Maid of The Mist: These are those little boats that you often see in postcards that go right up to the falls. A must do and a very reasonable price. ($14.50)
-Clifton Hill: After visiting the falls the thing to do is take a walk up and down Clifton Hill. This place has lots of haunted houses and wax museums. It also has a sky wheel, Guiness World Records museum, Lego Brick City, Ripley’s Believe it or not museum and lots of other things to check out.

-Check out the little town Niagara on the Lake (free) and go for a drive along the parkway (beautiful)
-Take a winery tour (visit David at work and receive samples for free)
-The Butterfly Conservatory: A beautiful open conservatory with butterflies everywhere, loved it! Also have beautiful gardens around the conservatory ($11.50)

-Bird Kingdom: An open aviary with lots of different birds to see. ($17) http://www.niagarafallsaviary.com/
For Adventure/ Fun: -Marineland: See shows with belugas, killer whales, walrus’ and dolphins. There are lots of land animals and many amusement park rides as well. ($39.95 per adult or $5 more for a seasons pass) http://www.marinelandcanada.com/
-African Lion Safari: Just 45 minutes away take a safari tour in our vehicle through an open game reserve. ($29.95 per adult) http://www.lionsafari.com/

-Whirlpool Jet Boat Tour: If you love rafting and water this is for you, prepare to get VERY wet; on the pricey side but one of those once in a lifetime things to do. ($57 but always has a $5 off coupon) http://www.whirlpooljet.com/
For History:
-Fort George: Several times in the summer the people at the fort dress up and perform reinactments of battles($11.70) On Canada Day there are fireworks, free admission etc. http://www.pc.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/on/fortgeorge/index_E.asp

Toronto:
Medieval Times Toronto: Set in medieval Spain, the actors tell a story that includes jousting, combat, swordsmanship, etc. Included is a full meal. ($62.95 per adult, however there are often special rates and 2 for 1 deals) http://www.medievaltimes.com/findcastles/toronto/

-CN Tower : get a view of the city ($21.49)
-CNE and Ontario Place: A great exhibition if you happen to be here around the end of August.
-The Hockey Hall of Fame ($13)
-Go to a Jays Game (cheap seats for $12)
-Toronto Zoo ($21)

Looking for a Day Trip?
-Canada’s Wonderland: Just over an hour away outside Toronto is this mega amusement park, with over 200 attractions and 65 rides. If you like roller coasters then this park is for you! The park also includes a huge water park for guests to enjoy. ($42.44 per adult but 20% off specials often exist) http://www.canadaswonderland.com/

-Shopping in New York State: Niagara Falls and Buffalo have lots to offer in the area of outlet malls and shopping. Just 20 minutes away. The Buffalo Zoo is also near.($9.50)

-St. Jacob’s Country and Market: About 2.5 hours away is Canadian Amish country. There is a large covered market and quaint town. If you’re hoping for a chance to see people in horse drawn buggies this is the place for you.

Free Things close to home

-Port Dalhousie & 5 cent Carousel: Beach/ water front
-Hoppy Ralphs Bird Sanctuary & Petting Zoo
-Visit the canals to see the ships
-Morning Star Mill: A cute little mill with hiking trails, just 5 minutes away. http://www.morningstarmill.ca/

Hope that gives you a better idea of what there actually is to do around here, lots of options. We've also got a stocked games cupboard to fill in the evenings.

Security, just an illusion?

With each passing year I have come to realize that the idea of security is really just an illusion. Many people seek a life that has a sense of security, in our relationships, jobs, finances, plans, etc. But often just when we think we’ve found it, it’s gone.

Those of my grandparent’s generation saw an ideal job as one that paid the bills and provided a sense of security for their families. It seems to me that these kinds of “secure” jobs really don’t exist anymore, I’m not sure if they ever really have.

This year has seen many individuals and families experience the loss of that sense of security in their jobs and finances. Living in the manufacturing sector of Canadian society, we have seen and heard more about how the economic situation has affected the people than we probably would have out west. Our landlord, along with many others has been laid off since January. At the factory where he works (manufactures items for GM), those that had been with the company for less than 19 years have been laid off. One would think that working the same job for 18 years would provide some kind of security; however this doesn’t seem to be the case.

One of the best things about getting the rug pulled out from underneath you is having to put your complete trust in Christ and his plans for your life. When I think about the times in our marriage where David and I felt a loss of the sense of security that we once felt, I also remember our dependence on Christ and the reality that we as people really have no control in life. It’s good to be reminded of this once and awhile.

Interestingly enough, those times were also times where our lives took a turn, plans changed and consequently our lives have been fuller and richer. We were forced to making decisions and choices that have led to lives of greater passion and purpose. Change rarely feels good at the time, but the end results can be wonderful if we’re willing to embrace the changes and seek God throughout the process.

After 7 years of working with MCC, David suddenly lost his job one day due to a wrong accusation. While this was painful to deal with and hard to understand; our sudden loss of security forced David to make a career change. David ended up choosing a new career path in wine making after much searching. We know that this is something that he probably would have never done had he remained working at MCC and had a secure job. After all, why leave a job with good pay, good benefits and lots of holidays to take a risk by going to school, making little to no money all for a job that you’re not even sure that you’ll love? But David never loved working at MCC and didn’t have any passion for the job. It wasn’t where he saw himself working 10-20+ years down the road.

After we sold our house this past summer we invested our profits into a very low risk portfolio. Four days later the economy took a nose dive and we watched our profits decline substantially. We had that coveted security for just four days before it was gone again. We felt that God was once again asking us to keep our trust in him and not on money or worldly things. This has been difficult at times, especially since this is the money that we planned to live on. In more recent days we have seen the market go up and our funds get closer and closer to what we originally invested. I have been thankful for a bright husband who monitors the financial news on a daily basis and has made some wise decisions on our behalf (against some of the ‘advisors’ advice).

I’m not sure why exactly I choose to write about this. However, I have felt this topic on my heart for quite some time. I actually wrote this several weeks ago as a part of my devotional/ personal time and thought I would share it here. I seem to continue to hear about people who have lost their job or are struggling with some kind of loss in their life. God has a plan for each of us!

I feel like so many of us continue to do the things we’re doing or stay in unhappy situations because we cling to that sense of security. I am thankful for the lessons that David and I have been learning in this area over the past years. God has been very good to us. We recognize the importance of planning and have always been people that make 1, 5, 10 year plans. However, these are mostly lists of ideas or possible goals. Without a sense of direction it can be difficult to know where to head. The key seems to be in praying for God’s wisdom and direction when making plans/ goals, and when the ‘plan’ doesn’t seem to work, to go with it and once again look to Christ for further direction. We can have all the plans in the world, but if they’re just ours and not his, they’ll likely not work out or won’t be very good in the end.

Just some thoughts for today.

Yahoo for free Burgers!

Today after church (like good menno church goers) we headed to Harvey's for free burger day. Even Sarah got her own burger, which she enjoyed but didn't eat nearly all of. We had never been to Harvey's, their burgers are actually quite good and are made right in front of you. We had planned to go to a couple of locations since there are several near by, however we were all feeling pretty full after our 1.5 burgers. Probably because we go to the early service and it wasn't even 11 yet. Anyways, it was fun.

All Girl

Every Thursday morning we host a womens Bible study group at our house. As soon as the women get in the door Sarah is eager to start checking out their bags. After they left this week I decided to let her play with an older purse that I had in the closet. She loves it! She seems to be more into hauling it around than actually putting things in it and taking them out, surprised me! Here's a some pics of the last couple of days.

Trying to open the car door to put the purse in the car and then get in herself.

I thought it was so funny how she put it over her head and shoulder to carry it around. Here she also got the phone set up to make some calls at the same time. Where do kids come up with this?

Just being Pretty

Sarah LOVES being outside, so that's where we've been spending lots of time, going for long walks and playing in the backyard. I'm so glad that Sarah is finally leaving her shoes and hats on, I think that she just didn't see the purpose before. Anyways, I thought she was just so cute so I figured I would post these pics of our little beauty.

Sun Sneezing

I have always been a sun sneezer, someone who sneezes when I go into the bright sunlight or when I see a bright light. Sarah has also been blessed with this lovely trait, not surprisinly since she seems to take after me in MANY ways. David is always laughing when we go outside and the two of us start sneezing. "Just like your mom," he says to Sarah. This morning when Sarah and I were going for our regular walk I couldn't help but laugh as I turned a corner and the two of us started sneezing in unison.

FYI: Sun sneezing is actually called the photic sneeze reflex. It's a genetic autosonal dominant trait, which causes sneezing when exposed suddenly to bright light, possibly many times consecutively. It is also referred to as photic sneeze response. The condition affects 18-35% of the human population. Since David doesn't have this trait, but I do, it is probable that it will affect aprox half of our kids.

So why does it happen?The probable cause is a congenital malfunction in nerve signals in the trigeminal nerve nuclei. The fifth cranial nerve, called the trigeminal nerve, is apparently responsible for sneezes. Research suggests that some people have an association between this nerve and the nerve that transmits visual impulses to the brain. Overstimulation of the optic nerve triggers the trigeminal nerve, and this causes the photic sneeze reflex.
In addition this sneeze reflex can be brought on by a sudden inhaling of cold air or a strong flavor such as a strong mint gum. This implies an overstimulation of any nerve close to the trigeminal nerve can cause the sneeze reflex. There you have it, sun sneezing according to Wikipedia.

I've always wondered what the deal was with the whole sun sneezing thing, so I thought it was time to actually get some answers. Growing up I thought everyone sneezed when they went into the bright sun, but it looks like I'm the odd one out on this one. One more way that God made me unique.

Little Rocking Chair

Today I picked up this super cute little rocking chair for Sarah. I have always had a thing for kids rocking chairs and have looked at a couple at different times while we've been in Ontario. When I saw this one I knew it was the one. It's a refinished antique that has actually never even been used, was only for decoration. The chair with a brand new teddy (also very cute) was $20, which I thought was a fair deal. The woman was selling all her stuff and downsizing to a townhouse. I also got a whole bunch of terra cotta pots, plant stands, etc for another $10 -not bad.

Sarah loves sitting in the chair and is slowly figuring out how to rock in it. She's already figured out how to lean forward and slide out.

Perfect for reading in her room. Now the only thing that she needs is a little book shelf.

Enjoying her Books

I can't stress enough how much Sarah enjoys looking at her books. She loves to look at them alone and she loves to sit next to us as we read to her. We keep her books in a basket near the TV in the living room. One of her favourite things to do is pull the books out of the basket one at a time and read/ look at them. This evening before bed as she was starting to get sleepy she was laying on the floor while looking at books. Just too cute!

Mark Your Calendars

On May 21 from 12-5 pm Tim Horton's is offering free small iced caps. I know where I'll be taking a walk to on that day! On Saturday, May 23 Old Navy is having their one day $1. flip flop sale (limit 5 per customer). I'm so glad we have an Old Navy just 2 minutes from where we live. I think we'll go first thing in the morning.

On Sunday, May 24 Harvey's is giving away their original burger from 10:30-3. We also have several locations within 10 minutes of where we live. I don't think there are any in Abbotsford, Langley is the closest.

It's going to be a good week!

Marineland

Yesterday we spent the afternoon at Marineland. It's an amusement park/ aquarium, very cool! The price of a regular admission is aprox $40 but it's only $5 more to get a seasons pass. Since the season starts on Victoria day and goes until Thanksgiving weekend we figured that this was a pretty good deal. So now we can go to the park whenever we want. It's just 15 minutes away (in Niagara Falls). It took about 3 hours just to walk around the whole thing and stop along the way (no rides). So whenever we just want to go for a walk I think that this will be our new destination. There are also tons of beautiful picnic areas that we're eager to take advantage of.

There's an open deer area where you can feed the deer and get right up close to them. We were too cheap to buy the food (perhaps we'll bring our own next time), so I just pretended, the deer weren't too smart.

I love the walrus, such funny looking creatures! There is a walrus show, dolphin show, and killer whale show in different parts of the park. There are also two different pools with belugas. We didn't watch any shows since the times didn't work quite right for us, so we'll do that next time. Sarah loved watching the walrus' swim around.

Self taken family photo just outside the big stone wall. The park is done up in a kind of castle/ medieveal theme, quite pretty actually.

Sarah enjoyed having a chance to walk around the grass picking seeding dandelions.

She just cracks us up when she's walking around, too funny!

Looking out at the bears (there were at least 12 that we could see)

Another interesting part of the park was a very large pond area with several boardwalks that went across the water. This was a fish feeding area (this park was really into feedign the animals). We couldn't get over how huge the fish were!

Sarah loved watching the people on all the rides. She would clap her hands, squeal and smile. There were actually a couple of kids rids that she could go on (with us), I think we'll do that next time.

The park also had a large arcade area with several kids ride on cars, etc. All of Sarah's car experience seems to be paying off. She LOVED being in these cars, steering the wheel and looking out the sides. No need for tokens, the car itself was good enough, sometimes David would give them a little shake.

We look forward to going back to Marineland many more times throughout the next five months. I'm just sad that I won't be able to ride the roller coaster, looks awesome! Oh well, there's enough other things to look at and enjoy. Hope you had a happy Victoria Day! Sure is a bigger deal here than in BC. We've been hearing fireworks all weekend, especially last night. Many places throughout the region had large fireworks displays yesterday as well.