Garage Nativity

This afternoon, while out for a walk with Sarah and Keisha, I noticed that one of the houses on our street had a nativity set up in their garage. There was a sign welcoming people to come have a look. I love nativity sets so I had to check it out. Wow, I didn't expect what I saw. Could they have had any more little toy animals and people? I was amazed at the detail put into this nativity set.

This whole nativity is on raised boards and fills the entire 1 door garage, in other words, it is huge!

Close up of Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus.

So.. many sheep!

Who Reads this thing Anyways?

Over the past couple of months I have been amazed how many different people have told me that they read our blog. Family, friends, friends of friends and some people that I don't even know. Some of you leave me little comments (thanks!), that let me know that you have read a post. But I know that most people don't, otherwise there would just be a select few people reading it. Well I have to admit that I think my curiosity has finally caught up to me. I am very curious to know who is actually visiting/ reading our blog.

So I thought I would try something different today. I am wondering if everyone who checks out our blog (even if this is your first time), could leave me a comment after this post. You can just leave your name if you want, or if you want to include a comment that would be fun too. If you don't know us that well or think we'll be surprised that you read our blog, you could include how you came across it. You could even write what kind of posts you like to read (Sarah stuff, thoughts on life, in the kitchen, David's school stuff, variety, etc), or whatever.

If you don't know how to leave a comment, you just click on the "comments" at the bottom of the posting and it will bring you to the comment page. You can create an identity if you choose or you can just click the "Anonymous" option and leave your comment that way.

I know that this is a little odd, but I'm curious who and how many people actually read this thing. I wonder how many people are just lurking about the blog world? Perhaps we'll find out.

Niagara Falls at Night

This afternoon we headed "over the river" to the US to do a little shopping/ browsing. We didn't buy much, but there were tons of great deals. I did get new Nike runners for just $20! On the way back we drove through Niagara Falls. They have lots of light displays on the main parkway. There are also lights over the falls every evening at 9 in December, which we have yet to check out. Sadly, it started to rain and warm up today so the snow has been melting. Yesterday it was -7 and this evening at 9pm it's +9, talk about a change in weather! I suppose it will ease us into Abby weather.

There are amazing icicles on the trees next as well as on the fence and area next to the falls. I'm eager to go back once we have some more snow and when it's day time to take some more photos. It's beautiful!

I tried to take a few photos of the light displays. However, the rain didn't seem to help.

Fountain in the park

A few Disney displays

Beauty and the Beast

Holiday Cheer

For the past couple of years David and I make a point of going to Starbucks Holiday Cheer Party. Everybody gets a free tall Christmas drink (peppermint mocha, eggnog latte, etc). Who would say no to a free Starbucks drink? Not us. They often give out free snacks as well. This year could be a little different but it I'm sure it won't dissapoint.

If you're in Abbotsford, Mt. Lehman Starbucks has their party tomorrow, Dec. 9 from 6-10pm. If you're elsewhere call up your nearest Starbucks to see if they have a "party" going on. Sadly, there are no Cheer parties in theNiagara area. Boo hoo

Bath Time

I thought I would post some pics of Sarah enjoying her bath. I realized that we have hardly any pics of Sarah in the bath, since I almost always have a bath with her. I find it easier the get right in with her and it's become part of our little routine together. As soon as Sarah started squeaking her duckie, Keisha came running (little did she know that it was her turn next). The two of them are just too cute!

Hope you're having a good day! The snow is lightly falling here and everything is so pretty. David is studying at school for the day and I'm home cleaning up, organizing and planning for our trip to BC. Just 7 more days before we'll be back in Abby, we're so excited to see everyone!

Our Yes' are also our No's

For the past couple of months I have been going to a Thursday morning moms group called Mom to Mom. In case you have never heard of it (I hadn't), Mom to Mom is a program that has been around for a number of years already. It is similar to Alpha or Divorce Care, in that each session has a video talk and a series of discussion questions. The program is being sponsored by a new church in our area. In the beginning it was just me and the two facilitators and then one other woman joined. At first I was disappointed that there weren't any other young moms and that it was so small. But I have enjoyed the chats and intimacy that comes in a very small group.

One of the things talked about in the last session, was that our yes' are also our no's. I had never really looked at it this way before, so it got me to thinking. So many people seem to have such a hard time saying no to things in life. I know I struggled with this for a long time, but I am happy to say that over the past couple of years I have become much better at it, thanks to David's encouragement.

When we say yes to something, at the same time we are saying no to other things in our lives. Often times what we non intentionally say "no" to are spending time with our spouses, families and friends, spending time with God, taking time for ourselves, etc. We make our own priorities; our actions and how we choose to spend our time illustrate those priorities.

I suppose I'm sharing this because it challenged me and made me look at my own life. What am I saying yes to and what does that imply for what I am consequently saying no to. My life has changed a lot in the past 8 months, a new baby, a new home, a new province, new friends, and a new way of spending my time. Does the way that I spend my time reflect what I value and what's most important to me? That's the question that's been on my mind. Anyways, it's something to think about.

So the next time that I am in the situation where a "yes" is asked of me, I will try to think of what the consequent "no" means and go from there. I know that thinking of it this way will make saying no to things a lot easier. Anyways, those are my thoughts today.

Yesterday I woke up to a blanket of snow on the ground and it continued to snow much of the day. Not a lot of snow, but enough for it to be pretty and white. So far so good with Ontario weather. Anyways, I enjoyed a relaxing day at home. Each day Sarah does better with the bottle. At this point I would say she has fully got it and I'm thankful that my body has adjusted well. Well, enjoy your Sunday.

Photos with Santa, a Couple of Ideas

I think photos of kids and Santa are cute, however, they cost a fortune and seem to disappear in old albums each year. I think I've got the solution, at least for our family.

Many years ago, when I did a lot of baby-sitting I had the priviledge of spending lots of time in a lot of different child friendly homes. In one of the homes, every Christmas, they would hang up a long wide red ribbon which had all the years santa pictures attached to it, eventually they had to add a second ribbon. It was really neat to see the growth of the kids and how every couple of years a new baby was added to the family photo (they had 3 kids). I have always thought that one day when I have kids that's what I would like to do with our family's santa photos. It also makes a personalized Christmas decoration that kids enjoy but doesn't look trashy.

On to price, yikes! We were at the mall today and 1 5x7 is $10.99 and then the larger packages go up to $40. However, it turns out that you can bring your own camera and take your own photos. Remember that it's all about being "thrifty," not cheap. Well, we had the camera on hand (as always) so that was the obvious choice for us. I'm not sure if every mall offers this option, but it's worth asking. The worst they can say is no. Then it was just a matter of taking the photos home and doing a little photo shop framing, etc. Now I can make prints for 19 cents at Walmart of even less at Costco.

I also love the idea of always having the photos on my computer so that I can eventually make them all have matching borders, etc (once again, that teacher side of me). Anyways, these two photos are a couple of my favourites. The writing doesn't look very clear on them, but in reailty it is.

Sarah wasn't afraid of Santa at all, yahoo! She hasn't "made strange" in a long time now, which makes me feel good about going back to BC and seeing all of our family and friends.

For Josias

Tomorrow is the memorial service for Josias, Jon and Laura's precious baby boy that was born stillborn last week. They had known prior that Josias had some developmental difficulties and were unsure how long his life would be after he was born; however they soon realized once he was born that he had already passed away. They were able to spend about 12 hours with Josias in the hospital. Jon and Laura openly share how they were blessed by the time that they had with him and hope to share their experience with others. They want the service to be a celebration of the blessings that they have recieved through Josias and a time where people would see the hope found in Christ. What amazing people of faith! When I asked Laura if I could share more about their story she explained to me that they didn't want Josias' story to be kept silent, but rather that it was an incredible story and needed to be told.

David and I so wish that we could be at the memorial service. The Balzer's have been on my mind so much and even though I didn't get to meet Josias, I have grown to love him over the past months. He was and is a precious baby and child of God. We are so sad that his time on earth was limited to only being in Laura's womb. But we are thankful for the hope that we have in Christ Jesus. We know that one day we will be able to meet Josias and hold him in our arms. Our comfort lies in knowing that Josias is in heaven, with his Creator, the one that loves him more than anyone.

Thinking of Jon, Laura and Josias reminds me of the reality that our children are a gift from God, they are put into our trust but they are not our possessions. I can't imagine how hard it would be to experience the death of a child. I know that no one can truly understand unless they have experienced it themselves.

Through Jon, Laura and this experience I have learned more about love, hope and peace than I have in a long time. Their love for each other and their child, their hope in Christ and the peace that they are finding in their faith, each other and those around them. Jon and Laura, you are truly an incredible example of love, hope and peace. David and I continue to pray for your family. That Christ would continue to draw you together and closely to him. We also pray that through the sadness you would continue to see him in real and amazing ways in your life. May Josias' story help people see the hope found in a relationship with Christ.

Even though Jesus is now the one looking after Josias; Jon and Laura, Josias will always be your son and you his parents. We love hearing about him and the treasure that he is to you. He is a blessing indeed.

With Laura's permission, I wanted to include a few photographs of their family, before and after Josias was born. Through Laura, I learned about an organization called "Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep." The organization is made up of professional photographers located throughout the US, Canada and 25 other countries. Their purpose is to offer free photography to couples who have or will be experiencing the death of an infant. I wasn't quite sure what to think of it when Laura first told me about the organization. However, I have come to learn that these photographers offer an incredible gift to parents, the gift of tangible beautiful memories of their child.

The photographers are trained as to how to best photograph babies while in hospital and how to be sensitive and compassionate in the situation. All of the photographers work on a volunteer basis. Jillian, Jon and Laura's photographer, came to their house to take some photos before Josias was born and then later at the hospital as well, to take photos of Josias and their family. It has been encouraging to hear about such a wonderful organization that offers such an amazing service to people. If you have a moment, or are interested you can check out their website at

http://www.nowilaymedowntosleep.org/ It's an incredible site with many testimonials and photos from families that have used the service. Be sure to have some tissues in hand if you have a look.

We are thankful for the gift that this organization has given our friends. We have also enjoyed how the photos have added to the reality of the situation and allowed us as friends to be able to find a deeper connection to Josias. I know that those aren't quite the right words, but I hope that you will understand what I mean.

Beautiful Laura

I LOVE this photo of Jon and Laura. All of the photos capture that sense of "love, hope and peace, " I really don't know how else to say it.

I hope that this posting conveys the love we have for our friends and baby Josias. There really are no "great" words in this kind of situation. If I worded something poorly, I apologize, I simply seek to share my heart, being vulnerable doing so. Jon and Laura, if you read this, know we love your family dearly. Thank you for allowing me to share your story with the people in our lives.

Swirl, Sniff, Taste, and Spit

Right now I feel like there are so many different things that I could write about. The wonderful thing about having time at home and a wide open schedule is having the time to just think, time for devotions, and time with my fantastic husband and darling daughter. This combined with our recent experiences living here in Ontario and what's been going on with friends and family has made me reflect on that what is important in life. I feel like I have had a lot of time these days to think about the big things in life; marriage, being a parent, family, being intentional, relationships, Christianity, church, being salt and light, etc. So perhaps, over the next week I will take some time post what's been on my mind. The great thing about blogging (I hate that word), is that I can say whatever I want. If people want to read it they can, and if they don't, well, they don't have to.


But for now, I will share a recent experience. Last night, I joined David for his tasting class. Sarah was at home sleeping while our neighbour was over and I was free. It was the last class of the semester and was being held at Tawse Winery in Vineland (25 mins away). I was a little nervous to be going to a wine tasting event, especially since it was with a group of now experienced tasters. I felt like I spent much of the evening just observing and practicing. I got to taste many expensive wines, how special did I feel? I even got to taste some pricy Champagne, I even liked it!

After a tour of the winery (which was very impressive), we proceeded to the cellar to try a variety of Pinot wines. All of the wines were the same variety, just grown in different areas of the Niagara region (all aprox 15 minutes apart). I was amazed how different each wine tasted. I was also proud of myself for being able to pick out different flavours in the wine. Even my "super taster" husband (that's an acutal wine tasting term), was impressed with my skills. So perhaps there is hope for me after all.

Laura, you will be happy to know that I think I figured the whole swirling thing out. For some reason, this was a little difficult for me, but I think I got it in the end. The part of tasting that I probably dislike most is the spitting. I just don't like spitting. After much encouragement from David, I spat into the grates on the floor. I was amazed how spitting does allow the wine to cover all of your mouth and therefore taste it fully. It really wasn't that bad once I got over the whole spitting in a group scenario, after all, everyone was doing it.

The beautiful Tawse Winery. We were there at night, so it looked different. Anyways, the wine process is done using gravity. There are 6 processing levels that the wine goes through. You can see on the photo that the building is quite tall to allow for this, Level 6 Red fermentation tanks, Level 5 Grape receiving and press, Level 4 Stainless steel, temperature controlled settlement tanks, Level 3 Barrel cellars Level 2 Blending tanks, and Level 1 is the Bottling room. I found this to be really interesting and it also made for a beautiful winery to visit.

This is a picture of the wine maker, Paul, that gave the tour and allowed us to sample wines from the barrels. I loved watching David taste and listen to the winemaker. It is so great to see his enthusiasm and interest in it all. Who would have ever thought that he would become a wine maker? I am already so proud of him. Just three exams and his first semester at Brock will be finished.

Bagel-fuls

When we just moved to Ontario we saw Bagel-fuls everywhere in the stores and thought they were a product that didn't quite make it out west. Turns out they were just a new product everywhere.

The other day I recieved my coupon in the mail for a free box of Bagel-fuls, I love free stuff! Kraft had previously e-mailed me to complete a short survey and then I would get my coupon. I e-mailed several family and friends with the website info as well. Here are my thoughts on the product:

So I'm still not quite sure what to think of these. They are very easy to eat, with no mess at all. This would have been a great breakfast item when I was on the go teaching, very easily eaten in the car. Surprisingly, they have lots of cream cheese in them (not for the dieters out there). They taste pretty good but did remind me of one of those on the counter snacks that you would find at a gas station. So would I buy them? Hmmm... they would have to be really on sale, but I would consider it. I still prefer a toasted bagel with cream cheese on top. However, with braces, the bagel-ful was easier to chew.

*As a side note, our dog loves them! I set it on the coffee table to go get the door and when I returned the bagel-ful was gone and Keisha was sitting under the coffee table.

*Every other month I love getting my free Kraft "What's Cooking" magazine in the mail. I know that it's all about showcasing their products, but it always has quick and easy ideas, and most importantly it gets me excited to cook and bake again. If you don't recieve this free magazine I highly recommend singing up for it, just go to http://www.kraftcanada.com/ and go to the "sign up" tab. All the magazines are online as well, but it's just not the same as getting it in the mail. I keep an organized recipe binder with clear sleeves in each section (the teacher in me). When there's a recipe that I really like and know that I will use a number of times I cut it out of the magazine and put it in my binder. Too many books and clutter just don't work for me. My "binder" has become my favourite cook book over the years.

*Just so you know, Kraft did not ask me for this plug, I just thought I would share my experience and thoughts.

Curiosity, Crib, Change and Challenges

Sarah is curious about everything. Yesterday she figured out that drawers have knobs and knobs can be pulled. And even better than that, there are neat and interesting things in the drawers once the knobs have been pulled. So one of her new favourite things to do is crawl across the livingroom to look inside the TV cabinet drawers. Life is just too exciting when you are a baby!


Pulling herself up is another exciting new thing to do. She has done this several times before but it always seemed to take a lot of effort for her and happen kind of by chance. The more that she does it the more exciting it is and the more she wants to pull herself up. There hasn't been any bumped heads, etc yet, but we know they are sure to come soon enough.



Yesterday I heard her calling for me from her crib after a nap, and what did I find, but a little girl standing up in her crib against the railing. Not only is standing in the crib fun, but the railing is an excellent thing to chew on as well. She did the same thing for her second nap yesterday and that's how I found her this morning. So I suppose it's time to drop her crib mattress down another notch today. Of course, I ran and got the camera to document the moment. I love how she was standing perfectly under her name. I love how the photo captures how pleased she is with hereslf, a big toothy grin. Ahh.. they grow up so fast indeed.


As of this morning Sarah has also decided that she would like to feed herself with her spoon. While this is challenging and messy I remind myself that this is an important part of development. So instead of being irritated at the mess and the longer feeding time I will try my best to smile and be glad for this feeding milestone.


As of a week ago, we have begun the proces of weaning. This is earlier than I initially thought we would start to wean, but with going to BC in a couple of weeks and our February vacation I know that I will need some freedom from nursing. She' s almost 8 months already, so the timing also seems good. Due to the fact that she has her 2 top and 2 bottom teeth, nursing isn't always the most fun, to say the least. She has also become much more aware of the whole situation and sometimes just wants to play around. While I can handle this at home, I can't quite imagine it at the airport, restaurants, etc. Therefore, weaning has begun.


She took the bottle just fine when she was younger. But since moving to Ontario there hasn't been the need to give it to her (our mistake). So it took several days of repeated trying to get her to even suck on a bottle. This is a girl who doesn't even know how to use a soother, so I really shouldn't have been that surprised. Eventually I thought to try a different bottle/ nipple, ahh.. a little more success. We found the Playtex fast flow latex nipple was the only one that worked for her. Then we back tracked and transitioned from pumped milk to formula, this time much better. David also had to be the one to feed her in the beginning, something that I didn't mind at all. Now we have a little girl that gets really excited at just the sight of a bottle, yahoo! For a while there I was wondering what we were going to do.

Our goal was to have Sarah taking the bottle for her daytime feeds regularly by Christmas. I will continue to nurse first thing in the morning and before bed for now. It seems that we're pretty much at the goal already. It's a change indeed, and a transition for my body as well, but I'm really happy that we're doing this. We're looking forward to being able to have my mom do some baby sitting while we're in Abbotsford. I know that she's looking forward to spending time with Sarah and we're looking forward to a little break.





We normally hold her to feed her. But I had to get a photo of her with her bottle. This photo was taken this morning after her nap, she seemed to have pulled her pants off in her crib, who needs pants anywyas? She loves to hold it and "feed herself." There is something about a baby and a bottle that I just find so cute.

Longer Days

With winter here the days are different. It is not as easy to go for long walks and spend time outdoors. David has also finished classes and it down to just 3 exams in the next couple of weeks. It feels like we are often asking ourselves the question of what to do?

There are only so many times you can go walk the mall, go to Costco or Walmart (some of David's favourite activities). Two player games are never as fun and TV/ movies really do get boring after awhile (at least for us). Hobbies are great, but made more difficult with having a baby around. There's always napping, but I have always been a terrible naper. I think I've had a total of 5 naps since Sarah has been born. And so we ask ourselves, what to do?

It's funny how the time just seems to go by though. Playing with Sarah, a phone call, playing around on the computer, doing some laundry, cleaning up, etc. Before you know it the day is almost done. With David being done school as of Friday, we are planning on going on a couple of day trips. The only problem is figuring out where to go. So it's back to the computer to research possible destinations. Hopefully we can find somewhere wonderful to go.

Only 2 weeks today until we go back to BC for a visit!