Global Community Dinner

On Saturday we had our Global Community Dinner here at the seminary and Carl was the Emcee. This time we all had some sort of ethnic garb to wear. Kezia and Asha wore their Mexican dresses that we got them in Tijuana. I thought I would put in a picture of Joel in his Mexican soccer garb, but he chose to wear his kimono that the Tanaka family gave him (Kezia and I got one too). Lily, our neighbour, and I both wore the kimono's that were given to us.
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The food was great. My favourite dish was the tofu curry that Megan made. And for dessert, it was a hard decision whether the nanaimo bars that Maddie made or the Porztelky that Carl made were my favourite, so I had a few of each!

The program was short and sweet, with a few jokes from different cultures, and the Emcee was so dreamy....

It was a good night to celebrate different cultures and eat some great food.

Courtyard Beautification

This past Saturday we had an impromtu clean up morning in our courtyard. First it started with Rachel and Lucas raking some leaves and then I saw them and decided I wanted to do and do some yard work. Plus, I was getting erked by all the leaves that had fallen in the last few weeks.....yes, they fall in spring here because the new leaves are coming in, weird if you ask me.

(We have a person who comes and does basic grounds work in the courtyard, but things like raking out flower beds and planting isn't done by him.)

So I got out there and started raking and then Ben and Alisa came out and started to help. We cleaned out everyone's flower beds by raking out years and years and inches and inches of dead leaves. Then we took out all the dead debris from the flower pots and set them aside (we'll get flowers this week). Afterwards, Carl came out and trimmed all the trees and bushes around the place and was in his glory. Every spring he loves to prune bushes, a primitive hair cut session, a tension reliever, a way to release the plant from it's decaying limbs. Joel and Kezia helped out too by hauling the branches onto the compost pile.

There were so many leaves that we had to fill garbage bags and then empty them because we would have run out. We filled two autobins full of leaves and such. By 11:30 I was getting hot and sweaty and Rachel was kind enough to bring out water for everyone. At noon, we finished up by sweeping the entire courtyard.

We decided that since we all worked together, we should eat together. So Ben and Lucas went to buy some tri-tip and I made a pasta salad. It was a wonderful meal and out of us sitting over lunch, we had some good discussion about how we can make this courtyard better. We planned to have a meeting later on that afternoon with everyone to talk about more issues.

There was one part of the weekend that was a bit emotionally draining for me, but I don't know if I'll blog about that. The issue hasn't been resolved and involves the entire courtyard, so I don't think I will share about it until it's all out in the open and done with. But I was proud of myself, because I spoke when I needed to, to the people I needed to, and now have peace about leaving it to be dealt with by those higher up.

The whole weekend was us neighbours sitting and eating together, which was nice because it was started by two people who wanted to do some light yard work, being the catalyst for a very positive time in our courtyard.

I would have had pictures to share, but I was so busy cleaning that morning, I didn't get the camera out. What do you say that when we get our flowers, I'll go around and take pictures of our lovely new courtyard, okay?

Asha is 8 Months

Asha was 8 months old yesterday, and boy was it a busy month!
She learned how to pull herself up to a standing position and is quite proud that she reach even more things and peek out of her playpen. She loves to click her tongue and does it almost hourly. Her crawl has become perfected and she has two speeds. Normal, using both knees and supersonic fast, using a knee and a one foot shuffle.

Asha is 27.5 inches tall and she weighs 18 pounds.

She embraced so many new foods and now loves to eat. Some things that she had this month were:

bread
ICE CREAM from Grandma
potatoes
peaches
tortillas
pinto beans
mangoes
pears
pears
Spanish rice
Cheerios
blueberries
apricots
grapes
avocado
broccoli
tomatoes
noodles
FRENCH FRIES from her mother
CHOCOLATE at Easter
ORANGES from the tree next door
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Asha had lots of company this month and had many new experiences. She traveled to San Diego, Tijuana, San Francisco twice, went to the beach to play in the sand, and sat in the snow at Sequoia Park. She went to Sea World and to Monterey Beach Aquarium. She also had her first experience in an outdoor pool and wasn't that thrilled.



Asha has a great time sticking her tongue across her two little teeth and looks like she can almost wave bye-bye. She has definitely become more of a smiley girl, she doesn't give her scowl as often. One of her favourite activities is crawling on top of us and blowing raspberries on any available flesh! And then she chuckles and snorts when we laugh. It's been another great month with Asha.

We love you little Ashita!

Creative Genius Pays Off

A couple of weeks ago I had a crazy day and in that crazy day of a million things to do, one of those things I accomplished was the finishing touches on a video I made.

This video was an entry for the contest MBBS was having on the day in the life of a student. My friend Sarah and her friend Laura and I decided to put our creative minds to work and make a video. We ended up finishing the video at 3 p.m on March 10th, the day it was due. And boy was I glad that we completed it.

Today in chapel they showed the three videos that were submitted, the judges made their decision, and.....drum roll please.....

WE WON!

It was pretty exciting because not only will our video appear on the MBBS website, but we each got $100 as prize money. Though the money was great (hmmm....where shall I spend it?) the affirmation from students and staff all afternoon was even more rewarding. People congratulated us on our creativity and my video mixing skills; though I can't say they are that great, but hey, I'll take a compliment gladly.

I checked the website this evening to see if had been uploaded, and it hadn't, so instead of making you wait, I'll just post it here and you can enjoy it yourself!



On a different note, while I was checking the MBBS website, I realized that we're already on it! How exciting! And our friends Danny and Beth are too. Check it out here.

Saying Goodbye

This weekend at our court potluck we formally said goodbye to Makiko and Yoshi and their three kids. They were leaving back for Japan on Monday because Yoshi's mother is very ill. It was a bit sudden and so we didn't have much time to process them leaving.

Once we had all eaten, we had a prayer time for them, took a few pictures, and I gave them a framed picture of all the court kids. It was hard because I felt like we had really connected with them after our parent meeting in February. I was feeling so bad for Joel, his best friend is Soh, whom he would have to say goodbye to.

After the potluck and Easter egg hunt, Makiko rushed back home and continued to pack. I can't imagine packing up my entire household in a matter of days. Joel and Kezia spent the entire day outside playing with Soh, Shiki, and Kazu. It was a bit bittersweet for me seeing them all play so well together.

On Sunday after we came home from Tim and Gertrud's, Makiko asked if we had supper plans. Since we didn't, she said that they would like to go for supper with us and Budi and Lily and all our kids. I was quite surprised and honored that they wanted to have their last supper with us. We were home for about 90 minutes before we packed up our kids and headed out to the Japanese restaurant. It was one of those places where they cook the food right in front of you. All the kids were giddy with excitement as the chefs tossed their knives and lit up the grill with fire. I have never eaten so much, it was all so good. I knew that I would have a stomach ache from eating two large meals in one day.
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After we returned home, all the kids headed to Nate and Maddy's to play Wii. It's been a weekend tradition for the last few months, and Nate and Maddy wanted one last time with all the kids together. We could hear them laughing and screaming from across the courtyard, but at 9:30 we had to go over and retrieve our kids. I was dreading that because I knew we'd have to say goodbye to Soh, Shiki, Kazu and then Makiko and Yoshi. We smalled talked with Nate and Maddy before we went over to say bye. Joel and Kezia gave some hugs and kisses and then Carl and I went in to say farewell.

It's weird how attached you can get to a family over just a few months. I think I was sad for myself because I would miss Makiko, her smile and her sushi! I was sad that Kezia and Kazu wouldn't have the chance to deepen their friendship. I was sad that Asha wouldn't be held anymore by Shiki. I was sad for Joel because he was saying goodbye to his best buddy. And I was sad that Yoshi was leaving school, packing up his family, and moving back to Japan to care for his dying mother.

Maybe it's harder to be left behind when someone moves away. You are keenly aware of their absence whatever turn you take. Ever time I went outside I look across the courtyard and saw a closed door, and I listened and it was too quiet. Is that how some of our friends felt when we left Winnipeg?

I woke up at 5 a.m. on Monday when Asha stirred and went to look out my kitchen window. The light was on at Makiko and Yoshi's, and I knew they were getting ready to go to the airport. This morning when I was getting breakfast, I looked out again, but knew that they were already gone. In the morning, Joel puttered around but by the afternoon he was heading over to Soh's, only to realize after a few steps his friend was gone.

Parting is such sorrow...

So it was Easter

Easter was a bit different for us this year. Instead of being in church all weekend, leading the services, and then running from family gathering to gathering, it was quiet.

On Friday our church didn't have a Good Friday service. We talked to a few other people who attended different churches, but there was no service there either. I was a bit disappointed about the thought of not going to a service on Friday because I'm such a creature of habit, not going meant breaking a 29 year tradition. We did however watch a few minutes of a Good Friday service on television with some pretty frank atonement theology. Last week at homegroup we started talking about atonement theories and so I've been mulling that over in my head for the past couple of days....

On Saturday we had court potluck (which I'll blog about in my next post) and then an Easter egg hunt. Carl and I and another couple had purchased jelly bean filled eggs plus chocolate eggs to scatter around the courtyard. The kids and adults all had a great time. Some of the chocolate eggs however were melting all over everyones hands because they were sitting in the sun too long. Oops!
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On Sunday we all woke up and had a pancake breakfast. Again, I was a bit disappointed that our church didn't have an Easter breakfast. I always enjoyed sitting around tables with my fellow Braesiders celebrating Christ's resurrection, especially after having gathered on Friday to contemplate his suffering and death.

As we got dressed, Kezia was thrilled out of her mind to wear her new Easter dress. I bought her and Asha matching dresses, Kezia's was pink, Asha's green. Joel got a new yellow and blue striped dress shirt with nice khakis. I made an impulse purchase and got a new green skirt and white top and cardigan. And poor Carl didn't get a new Easter outfit. Well, he wasn't that disappointed; he looked handsome in his blue shirt and khakis.

Church was pretty empty. Most of the people we connect with weren't there, probably off to other churches or gone for the Easter weekend to see family. The singing was really good and there were some nice readings in between. But there wasn't a celebratory feel to the service, nor were there indications that proclaimed, Hey! Christ has Risen! No exchange of He is Risen, He is Risen Indeed (which I miss because Helen and Betty always greeted me with that on Easter morning, accompanied by their famous hug).

And then the pastor got up to preach and it only went downhill from there. If I thought I was slightly disappointed up until now, I was completely let down as the morning went on. Now I'm no theology buff, but there were some serious holes in his preaching and applications. The sermon started off in one lane and rapidly changed course a number of times. I couldn't follow his reasoning and was getting more and more upset. I wanted to shout out, What kind of sermon is this buddy? Is it me or am I the only one who realizes it's Easter? Why come if you aren't going to celebrate?

Thankfully Asha was fussy and I had to take her out twice, which was my escape. Poor Carl endured it; he chose not to walk out. And I have to be fair that my expectations of sermons are quite high. I've had the chance to hear good sermons, which most often have come from my husband.

After church, dressed in our party garb, we walked home and took some pictures in the garden. Then we piled into the van and headed to Carl's professors home for lunch. I was very pleased to receive an invitation for Easter lunch (we actually received two!). A few days before I was wondering if we would be home alone over Easter, and for a brief moment, started to feel sorry for us. Well, we were one of many families and individuals over at Tim and Gertrud's. There were 19 of us all together and it was a lovely meal. Joel and Kezia had extra helpings of the potatoes and ham. My heart leaped for joy as I saw Gertrud putting gelatin eggs on the table because that's what we have at my family's Easter gathering; how sweet little reminders of home can be!

After lunch, we had an Easter egg hunt in the backyard. Joel and Kezia really enjoyed themselves because they now had even more candy and Asha had her first taste of chocolate! As I stood out in the lawn in the sunshine, I was feeling really blessed. The host family made sure that their guests felt right at home by extending a hand of hospitality and love.

I guess this Easter was unique. Some things I could have done without, some parts I really missed, and other aspects were quite enjoyable. I've never gone to a March Easter service in sandals nor have I ever done an Easter egg hunt outside with my kids. But I think more importantly, I have had more time (and less running around) to ponder what Easter really means and how I can come to a deeper understanding of God's love for us.
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Fresno in Spring

For the past few weeks, I have been taking pictures of flowers that have been blooming around campus. I had intentions of posting my pictures sooner, but with all the company and exciting news, it didn't happen. But as I got to thinking, it's probably more appropriate to post spring time pictures when spring equinox has actually happened. And it's Easter weekend, so with the new life springing up around us, we can be reminded of Christ's resurrection and the new life we have because of him.
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HAPPY BLESSED EASTER!

Ethan's Visit - Part II

After our horrendously long drive back from Monterey, I wasn't sure if the kids would get up for church in the morning. Not likely, they were all up by 8 a.m. I had hoped for a leisurely morning, until I heard Maegan yell to Carl while I was in the shower, "Hey, Carl, do you have an fire extinguisher?" Huh? What's going on out there? When I came out of shower, the stench of burning plastic was almost unbearable. Apparently some little fingers turned on all the elements and the ice cream pail, lid, and a plastic dish all met their slow death upon the stove...their remains oozing all over the elements. What a mess. Well, we'd just have to clean it up later.

I didn't think that Maegan would stay home breathing in the carcinogenic air, but I didn't think she would come to church with us, she hasn't in the past. Well, she surprised me and asked what time was church. I sheepishly said, in 15 minutes, and she told me that she could shower fast. So off we went to church, with 3 minutes to spare. Maegan was glad she could drop Ethan off in the S.S. class with Joel and Kezia (Carl was the helper that day) and followed me into the sanctuary. She enjoyed the music, but the sermon, well, not even I was that impressed. Oh well. Church isn't perfect and the possibility or hope of perfection isn't why I go.

After church, we walked home and then started the clean up process in the kitchen. It took about 45 minutes to chip away the melted plastic from each of the coils on the stove and to wipe away the extinguisher residue from the walls and counter. Then I made the Thai vegetable rolls, while Maegan made her lemon grass and coconut soup. By 1:30 we were all sitting outside eating a lovely lunch. That afternoon we had quiet time and I think that evening we watched a movie, the first that we have rented since living in Fresno.

The next day at 10:30 a.m. we packed the kids up and headed to the zoo. The park was quite busy because it was spring break, but the kids had a great time. We stopped about 12:30 and had a picnic lunch and basked in the warm sunshine. By 2:30 the two younger children were tired and the older two were getting cranky, so we decided to head home. Joel and Kezia had a nap on my bed, but Asha learned how to stand up in her crib that day and chose to sit-stand-sit-stand-yell-sit-stand-holler all afternoon. Ethan decided that he wasn't going to sleep either. Arg!

At 4:00, I finished my torte and then packed up the kids for homegroup. Maegan decided to stay home with Ethan and head to bed early that night.

The next day Joel and Kezia went to school and Maegan and I drove to a little tea shop in the Tower District. We bought some loose tea and enjoyed a drink and some Red Bean Steamed Rice buns before heading back to our place to pick up the kids from school. Maegan did a bit of laundry and I made the preparations for Mexican tacos. I was quite proud of how they turned out. We turned in early that night, but only after we packed our overnight bags, again.

Yes, we were headed out to San Francisco to take Ethan and Maegan back to the airport. They weren't leaving until Thursday morning, but we decided to check out Pier 39 on Wednesday afternoon. We had a nice time there and even bought a few things. From there we went to a Spanish Tapas Restaurant on 22nd between Mission and Valencia. It was highly recommended by Kezia's preschool teacher who used to live in San Fran. The food was great, but I think the kids were exhausted. Kezia fell off her chair twice and Joel refused to eat anything because he said he was too tired. Well, just great for you, but what do you expect after 21 days of company? I think the kids hit "the wall". Once we got back to the hotel, Maegan and I dumped all the kids into the same bed and had plans to sit in the bathroom and visit. But Asha decided to do her sit-stand-and-holler routine, and it was 9:45 before she was whisked off to dreamland. By then Maegan and I were too tired, and just ended up going to sleep. How wonderful it was not to be kicked in the middle of the night by my bedmate!

Thursday morning came too quickly. We had breakfast in the hotel from the cooler I packed the morning before. By the time we got all the kids ready and fed, it was after 9 a.m. and we needed to get Ethan and Maegan to the airport. She insisted that I just drop her off and not try and lug three kids into the airport with her. I'm glad that she did, because I was dreading the idea of hauling three tired and cranky kids through the airport, plus I wasn't keen on hunting for parking. We exchanged hugs and kisses and waved goodbye before the airport guys blew their whistles and chased us away from the loading zone. As we drove away, Kezia started to cry and whimper that Ethan was going away. I told her that in a few short weeks we'd see them again in B.C. on our way back to Winnipeg. That made her feel a bit better.

The drive home was quiet for us all. I breathed a sigh of relief that the visit went fairly well and that all the plans went off without a hitch (well except for the drive back from Monterey). I was looking forward to having our life of monotony back. I was looking forward to being bored in the afternoons. I was looking forward to lounging in my pajamas until 11 a.m. and not going anywhere for 3 days straight. And I was looking forward to eating junky fast food, just once though. Oh, it's been ages since we've eaten that crap.

We've had a good time with all of our company, but man, it's good just to be, just the five of us.

p.s. on a totally different topic, Carl in FINISHING his thesis draft tonight!

Pics from Ethan's Visit

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Kezia and Ethan had a great time having a tea party.
Asha bonded with Maegan
And we had a great time chatting on our couch
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Over the weekend, we went to Seaside Beach near Monterey.
The next day we went to the Aquarium, which was amazing.
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Ethan loved the fresh California oranges
We had a fun time picnicking at the Secret Park
Joel and Kezia were thrilled to have story time
And you can't have overnight visitors, without having an all kids bath party!

Ethan's Visit

The first few days of our visit with Maegan and Ethan were quiet and spent mostly outside. On Wednesday we spent the day at the secret park by the administration building. The kids enjoyed playing with their new friend. And Ethan thought that Asha was the cat's meow. On Thursday while Joel and Kezia were at school, Maegan and I went shopping for maternity clothes - for Maegan. It was fun to go along and pick thing off the rack and entertain Ethan and Asha. I was amazed at all the deals and was a bit sorry that I didn't come here this time last year! They even offered me free orange juice!

This past Friday we took a little overnight trip down to Monterey to go to the beach and Aquarium. We left on Friday a little later than we had planned to because the pictures at the preschool for Joel and Kezia took FOREVER...well not really, but it certainly felt like that when you have a place to go to. Well, we got going around 11 a.m. and the ride there was pretty good. The kids traveled well probably because we kept them busy with 6L of popcorn.

Once we got to the beach, we realized it was a bit windy but we decided to head down to the water anyways. Well, once we got closer to the waves, the wind was really strong, but not too chilly...yet. Poor Ethan fell into the water right away and was chilled to the bone by the cool wind. Joel ran after the seagulls and kept warm for a bit, Asha huddled against me, and Kezia sat very still and tried not to shiver. But we stayed for just a bit, eating our greek salad and trying to keep the sand out of our eyes. We didn't anticipate a weather system coming in. We were here for an experience!

After 12 minutes, we packed up and left to go back to our hotel. We managed to get a great little hotel for $65 instead of $200 which is the average price for a hotel in Monterey. Thank you Priceline! We put the three older children into a hot shower and then Ethan and Asha went for a nap. I took Joel and Kezia to the park and then I wimped out and picked up hot chocolate and tea to take back to the warm hotel room. I think it was 16 degrees, but it felt like closer to 5 Celsuis.

We got ready for supper, Joel, Kezia, and Asha in their new Mexican outfits (I'll post pictures of their outfits soon, okay?). It was fun to dress up for supper. We walked across the street to the Sushi restaurant and quickly got a table. I love sushi and Maegan loves it even more. We ordered some tempura right away for the kids and then ordered a whole bunch of sushi rolls (with rice) and sashimi (pieces of raw fish). I was really looking forward to the scallops, which are my favourite. The kids ate their tempura and then we ordered some chicken, noodles and salad for them.

I was pretty proud of Joel, Kezia, and Asha because that night they all tried something new. Joel tried the scallops and the tuna, Kezia tried the mackerel and Asha tried avocado. Joel tried the sashimi and said he'd rather just finish his chicken, Asha smiled after the avocado, but Kezia raved about the mackerel and wanted more! I couldn't believe it. She's the one in the family that isn't that keen on trying new things, but that night she surprised me.

Once we got back to the hotel, we got the kids ready for bed, shut off the lights, and then Maegan and I sat in the dark until our kids were sleeping. It was 9:00. We looked at each other and then realized, hey, I guess we're going to bed too. Sigh, the benefits of sharing a hotel room with your kids.

The next day we got up and went across the street to Grandma's Diner; we decided sushi for breakfast probably wouldn't be the most appetizing! Then we headed for the Monterey Bay Aquarium. We were fortunate enough to borrow two adult passes for the day, so I only had to pay for Joel and Kezia. The Aquarium was amazing. Some of the tanks were huge, others close and beautifully lit and there were so may different kinds of fish to see. My favourite was the kelp tank with all the schools of fish and the otters. Upstairs there was a new area made just for the kids. It was the neatest thing I have ever seen. They had little tanks where kids could crawl through and look all around at all the fish swimming around them. There were squirting tables and a huge clam and manta ray slide and even a little section for babies. It made sense to me that they charge you $25 for admission!

After 2.5 hours, the kids were tired, and we decided to head back, even though we had a whole section left to see (well, Carl and I and the kids will have to come back!) We had 15 minutes left at the meter, so we quickly fed the kids leftover chicken and noodles on the curb. Maegan and I packed everything up and then we headed back to Fresno. All the kids fell asleep and it was quiet and peaceful.

We decided to stop just eat of Gilroy at Casa de Fruita to buy an apricot pie. When Maegan came back to the van, she told me that the clerk said the road up the way was closed because there was a fatal accident and traffic was stopped. Oh no. I went and spoke to another person and he said that there was no point in trying to go around that highway 152 was blocked and it would be at least a 2 hour wait. Well, at least we were at a place with a playground, restaurant, pie shop, and about 300 0ther tourists. We took the kids to the bathroom, played at the park and had supper and killed about 3 hours. I told Carl we probably wouldn't be home until 8 p.m., about 4 hours past our estimated time of arrival.

Well, we got on the highway and drove at 70 miles an hour for about 5 miles before the traffic became more dense. Then we were going 40 miles an hour and then after about 2 miles, we slowed down to 20 miles an hour....and then around the bend we stopped. We sat there for a bit before we accelerated to a racing 10 miles an hour. And that was our average for 2 hours....Maegan said at this rate it would take us 15 hours to get home.

To pass the time, we sang songs, passed around an entire package of gold fish crackers, took Joel and Kezia for a pee on the side of the highway (Joel misunderstood me when I said turn around, no one wants to see your pee-pee and turned to face about 70 cars downhill of us while he peed!), switched drivers so that I could feed Asha.....it was a bit agonizing. Thankfully the kids were pretty good and we Moms were able to keep our cool. Finally at 8:15 we passed by the third and last accident; a mini-van who was probably gawking slammed into the back of a police cruiser, witnessed the worst, most maddening merging of vehicles into a single lane, and finally got to a comfortable cruising speed of 70 miles an hour again.

Maegan, the kids, and I got back to Fresno at 10:00 and we were all so tired. Our beds never felt so good.

So that was the first part of the visit. It's getting late and I think I need to get to bed. I'll be back in a few days to tell you how the rest of the visit went.....stay tuned!

A Crazy 36 Hours

So, our visit with Mom and Dad was over and ours eyes had dried up a bit....but no time to sit back and relax. The next 36 hours were jammed packed, and as I go on with this post, will explain why I have been so sporadic in writing.

After we dropped Mom and Dad off at the airport it was 9 a.m. once we arrived back home. I helped Carl in with the kids and then turned on my heel and headed to the grocery store. I was back by 10:00 with 7 bags of groceries and Carl quickly helped me put the perishables in the fridge. We all then jumped back into the van and headed up to north Fresno.

On the Saturday before Mom and Dad left, we got a phone call from Vic and Wendy W. (folks we know from Braeside) asking us if we'd like to get together with them for coffee. They were in Fresno for a week and wanted to see us. So at 10:30 we met with them and had a lovely visit at Starbucks. Seeing them made me miss our Braeside family....

By 12:00 we needed to say goodbye and headed back south. Once we got home, we had some leftovers for lunch and I put the kids down for a nap. Carl headed off to do some homework and I quickly baked a cake at 2:00. After I was done with the cake, I sat down at the computer to edit our MBBS promo video (I made it with 2 other girls from MBBS to submit for a contest...we might be winning some cash....I'll keep you posted). Then I got a phone call from Sarah and Laura saying they wanted to add to our movie. So they came over while I put together my trifle and we organized the last part of the video. At 3 p.m. we were filming and editing the last scene because it was due that day.

Okay, I wasn't done because I still needed to put away the rest of the groceries and then I decided to make some soup for my neighbour. She was feeling ill and her husband has been gone to Japan for the last 2 weeks. I figured she needed someone to care for her. Then the kids woke up sooner than I expected, but I managed to sweep the floor before Asha got too needy.

It was 4:30 and I quickly jumped into the shower and got the kids all in the bath before homegroup. By 5:30 we had the trifle, all three kids and a diaper bag in the van. The evening at homegroup was quite enjoyable but we didn't stay too long because we were all tired.

The kids headed to bed once we got home at 9:30, but I had some cleaning to do and I probably blogged a bit (I can't remember).

I fell into bed at 11:30....

The next morning I got up at 7:30 to get the kids ready for school. I left Asha at home with Carl while I walked Joel and Kezia to school and reminded them that they would be there all day. I quickly stopped by the administration building to meet Laura for my weekly coffee date. By 10:00 we had visited up a storm and said our goodbyes and I quickly went home.

At 10:30 I was packing up a few things and feeding Asha and probably blogging!

By 11:30 I piled into the van with Asha and headed off to San Francisco.....San Francisco!? I was picking up my friend Maegan and her son Ethan from the airport. They were flying in from B.C. to see us all for 9 days. The ride there was event free and we arrived 10 minutes before their flight came in at 3:30 p.m. It was a happy reunion with Maegan and Ethan. I hadn't seen Maegan in 2 years, when Ethan was a newborn, and she hadn't met Asha before. We made the long trek back to the van and made it out of San Francisco by 4:30 p.m.

We drove until Gilroy and stopped at this wonderful little Thai restaurant and we ate ourselves full. I could tell I was getting a bit tired because my sense of direction was a bit lax. And that's all I'll say about that! We got into Fresno about 8:30 p.m. Joel and Kezia were thrilled to see us all. We unpacked Maegan and Ethan and visited for a while before we headed to bed at 11 p.m. Man what a busy two days!

Last Days with the Grandparents

Once we arrived home from San Diego, we just spent the last few days of Mom and Dad's visit here in Fresno. On Friday we spent the day doing laundry, sitting outside, playing in the sandbox, going for walks, just enjoying each other's company. Kezia had a tea party with Grandma and Joel went to fly his new kite with Grandpa. Kezia also had the privilege of her Grandma AND Grandpa braiding her hair. What lucky girl! That night Carl, Mom, Dad, and I played Sequence and Dad and I won. We are an amazing team, so all you game players, BEWARE!

On Saturday, Mom and I went to buy fabric so that I could start making a rag quilt for a friend (it's a surprise, so I won't name her, tee hee). It was quite fun browsing through all the fabric and finally choosing one with Mom. After we got home, Mom and Dad went grocery shopping for supper the next day. They were going to make a special supper for us on Sunday.

The next day, after church, we took some nice pictures of the kids and Mom and Dad by the fountain. We had a light lunch and then during the afternoon Mom and Dad went with Carl to pick some oranges for Mom and Dad to take home. Apparently it's possible to bring citrus back into Canada, (and later we found out that they had no problem crossing the border with their oranges).

Asha cuddled with Grandma before supper and Kezia enjoyed applying lip gloss to Grandpa's lips. Everybody needs moisturizer! Mom and Dad made a lovely meal for us; BBQ beef, platano, spanish rice, coleslaw, and pastries for dessert. We ate outside and the sun was warm and the breeze was comfortable.

That evening we all prayed before the kids went to bed and later Mom and I did a bit of quilting while Carl and Dad visited. Joel was quiet and acting strange that evening, I think because he was trying to deal with saying goodbye.
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The next morning we all got up, the kids clad in their pajamas, and piled into the van. Once we got to the airport, it was hard not to cry. We had had such a great visit with Mom and Dad. The kids bonded so much with their grandparents and it was so special for us to see that. I appreciated all the support and the help that Mom and Dad gave. It was so wonderful not to have to make every meal and wash all the dishes (simply because Carl is gone writing his thesis). Having 4 adults for 3 kids was also so nice! I loved the fact that the kids wanted to do things with their grandparents and Carl and I could sit back, relax and watch and smile. And we were so appreciative of the trip to San Diego that Mom and Dad took us on.

After many hugs and kisses we had to let them go through airport security. Carl and I already spilled out tears and as Grandma and Grandpa walked away, Kezia started to whimper and Joel's eyes got misty. We watched them in line for a while and then we made our way back to our van.

Our hearts were so full. There was not one part of the visit that made us tired or bored or cramped....each and every moment was so special (and Dad we aren't just saying that because you are reading this!). We were so glad that Mom and Dad came down to spend time with us; we've never spent that much time together, just the 7 of us. They saw our life here in Fresno and we had the chance to reconnect. What a special time, a time that we will cherish forever.
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On the Road with Grandma and Grandpa

Thursday March 6th marked the end of our wonderful holiday with Grandma and Grandpa. We woke up and ate breakfast at the hotel before we packed our bags and made our way north. It was a leisurely morning as we drove, everyone was happy and content. We stopped in Oceanside CA to spend time at the amazing beach and to walk along the longest pier off the Pacific ocean. The water wasn't as warm as it is in South America, so Dad didn't end up diving into the water for a swim, but everyone enjoyed splashing in the surf.

As we walked along the pier, we stopped and watched the surfers taking their turns on the waves. It was quite fascinating. We spent about an hour and a half at the beach before we headed back to the van to hunt for a restaurant. We drove around a bit until we spotted El Pollo Loco, and decided to take a chance and try it out. It was really good "fast food" Mexican style, and we were all very impressed.
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After lunch, we hopped back into the van and the kids dropped off to sleep. We arrived home about 6:30 and because of our large lunch, just ended up having tomato soup for supper. It was a really good trip and I was feeling glad to be home; my pillow felt so wonderful! It was such a blessing for us to have been able to take a special trip with Mom and Dad.

Tijuana, Aquí venimos!

On Wednesday the 5th, the Heppner's piled into the big white van and headed south. There's not much left of California past San Diego, but we were headed for Mexico! It was very exciting. We parked the van and took a shuttle across the border. You can see the arch in Tijuana from San Diego, that's how close the cities are from each other. There was no issue going into Mexico at all, no security check, no passports to show. Once we arrived in the bus terminal, there was so much to buy, but it was only the beginning.

The vendors in Tijuana depend heavily on tourists coming and buying something Mexican. Every shopkeeper was out soliciting us to come into their store. I couldn't even make eye contact before they yelled, "C'mon in! Free parking! Free Childcare, Everything almost free!". After a while I was getting tired of it, but I really wanted to shop! And then there was Dad conversing in Spanish (he was so thrilled), but it made it really hard to keep walking without getting corralled into their shop. Well, I ended up going into a store because I saw some pretty things and I ended up buying two dresses, one for Asha and one for Kezia. I managed to get the price down by $15 in my broken Spanish. Yeah!

Carl bought himself a Mexican shirt (for $10 less than the asking price) and Joel a soccer shirt and jersey (at a Canadian discount of $15). Mom found some really nice sandals, vanilla, and a purse while Dad found a great belt. While we all had a wonderful time shopping, that was only part of why we came down to Mexico.
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We came to Mexico for authentic Mexican food...Yum! For lunch we went to a great little place that served awesome salsa, frijoles, enchiladas, tacos, and rice. It was so good! Dad paid a group to sing two songs for us while we ate our meal.

By mid afternoon we were getting tired and Mom and Dad had had good opportunities to practice their Spanish, so we headed back to the bus depot to catch the shuttle back to the US. We got on the bus and drove to the border. This time however, security was pretty tight. There was a line about 2 miles long of people walking across the border (lots of day tourists like us and probably many Mexicans), but thankfully we didn't have to wait at the end of the line. We got in a line right in the building, one of about 12 and waited for the border guards to check our passports; after, we had our bags x-rayed and searched. We had brought a few apples and oranges in from San Diego, but because of agricultural regulations, we couldn't bring them back across the border! How sad it was to see our oranges taken away, their fate, the trash can.

Once we got back to the hotel, we had a rest before we went for supper at this tasty little pizza place. It was located right near the water, and so after supper, even though it was dark, we walked along the beach boardwalk a bit before heading back and into our beds. It was a very nice day, it couldn't have been better. Well, the pillows could have been a bit more comfortable, eh Dad?!

San Diego Sea World

On Monday the 3rd after a good sleep, we packed up our things into Kevin and Rhonda's big passenger van and headed off down the #5 Interstate to Los Angeles and San Diego. It was beautiful weather for driving. We stopped for lunch at Subway and sat outside in the sun. Later on, we stopped again, just south of Los Angeles at a beach and had some leisure time. We got to our hotel around 4 p.m. and I was impressed at how nice it was. The Dana Hotel was right on the ocean and had two outdoor pools. We settled in and then went for a dip in the pool. Asha had her first experience in a pool, an outdoor one in March! She wasn't that thrilled, and unfortunately got really spooked by Joel and his googly goggles. Oops! So she didn't stay in the water for very long. That evening we went to the hotel restaurant and had great food. Dad raved about the chicken quesadillas and I had awesome fish in chips; of course you have to have seafood if you are on the coast. That night we settled in for a comfortable sleep, except for the pillows....they were not that great.

The next morning we woke up and had muffins and cinnamon buns in our hotel room before catching the shuttle to Sea World. Joel and Kezia were very excited about seeing the whales. Dad bought us all annual passes, since they were the same price as the day passes. But because of such stringent security (taking photo ID and fingerprinting all of us!), we knew we wouldn't be able to pass on our passes to someone else once we left CA. Oh well. We figured we probably would come down at least once more before heading back to Canada.

The shows at Sea World were so impressive. Joel stood up for the entire Shamu the Killer Whale show and watched intently. We opted out of sitting in the soak zone, but had a good chuckle seeing people get completely soaked by the dolphins and whales; I think they figured they would just get sprinkled. Even Asha enjoyed the shows. Kezia's highlight was seeing the huge turtles (just like the ones in Nemo!) and Joel's highlight was seeing the dolphins jumping. I enjoyed watching the sea lions holler for fish and the cute penguins. We also walked through aquarium tunnels and had sharks swim over us; that was a bit unnerving. The eels were creepy and the beluga whales were beautiful. We spent the entire day there and at the end, even though we were all warm and tired, no one was cranky!

After we got back to our hotel, we had a bit of a rest before heading to supper. The restaurant wasn't as nice as the one we ate at the night before. And after supper, we went for a little drive and picked up doughnuts. Dad was excited about ordering in Spanish and the kids were just thrilled with the treats. We headed back to our rooms and fell into our beds. The next day had more adventures in store for us...Spanish adventures.

Celebrating Joel and Soh

On Sunday, Makiko and I hosted a birthday party for our two sons. Joel turned five on the 24th of February and Soh the 26th. In actuality because Soh was born in Japan and Joel in Manitoba, the boys are only one day apart in age.

After church, Mom and I headed to Sears to pick up Joel's pictures and then we went to buy a pinata for the party. Once we go back, we iced the cake I made and I went over to Makiko's to make sushi. I had never rolled sushi before and I managed not to make a mess. Makiko also made chicken and bbq salmon and vegetables.
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We had a the birthday supper outside in the courtyard and we all enjoyed a feast. It was special that Joel's Grandma and Grandpa could be at the party. The boys were thrilled with all their gifts, but were especially excited about taking the huge stick and whacking the pinata. All the kids had at least 3 tries before the belly of the ship was destroyed and candy rained down over the already hyper children. And then Makiko passed out the goodie bags we made with even more candy. What were we thinking?!

The party ended by mid evening and Joel opened a few more presents from his Aunties and Uncles from Winnipeg. Then we managed to get Joel and Kezia into bed before the sugar rush hit and then Mom, Dad, Carl and I cleaned up all the gifts and food preparation dishes. After that was complete, we all went to pack up our bags for our 4 day trip that was only hours away!
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Blossoms and Snow Banks

On Saturday we tried out the juicer with oranges that Dad picked that morning, and the orange juice was wonderful. How did we get along here without a juicer for so long? Then we packed up our things and headed off towards Kingsburg. We weaved our way east of Fresno through the blossom trail. It was just beautiful. We saw almond, peach, apricot, nectarine, and plum trees blooming. The smell was something else, nothing could be sweeter.

We stopped in Kingsburg and had Mexican food, a definite must for a California trip. After lunch, we headed towards the Sierra Nevada into Sequoia National Park. The roads were clear, but there was snow up at the high elevation. The fog had rolled in, so we weren't able to see the view on the way up and I was a bit worried that the thick fog would prevent us from seeing the tall trees. But as we made our way up, the sun burned away the fog long enough for us to marvel at the huge Sequoias. We had nice photo shoot by our friend General Sherman. There was substantially more snow than when we went with Byron and Kristal and all the fencing around the tree was completely covered.
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By late afternoon, it was time to head back and so I sat in the back seat between Joel and Kezia. I don't know if it was the road or being squished in the back, but I felt pretty car sick. Mom was feeling a bit woozy as well and I was trying to think if we had any plastic bags in the van. Ack....but I managed just fine and so did Mom and we made it home splatter free.

We were all pretty tired, so after some Fiesta soup, we got ready for bed and retired a bit earlier. Tomorrow was church, and a special birthday party!

What a Great 100th Post

It's been a while since I have made a post about the Heppner Happenings. And it so happens that this is my 100th post. Wow! Where has the time gone? I was thinking I would do "100 Things I've learned here on our Fresno Adventure" but then I decided that I would keep you up to date on our adventures and save that for post 200...well maybe.

On the 28th, Carl's parents came for a 10 day visit. Since we did so many things, I will chronicle their stay in a few posts. Now usually, I get pretty stressed out about having company; I have to plan the meals for the entire stay, stock my fridge and pantry, clean every corner, sort through junk and take it away etc. etc., but this time, I did the necessary tasks, and then left the rest. That way I could feel refreshed and relaxed by the time our guests arrived, instead of stressed and overtired!

When we picked up Mom and Dad from the airport, I was just about bursting with excitement. Joel and Kezia ran to their Grandma and Grandpa for hugs and Carl and I brought up the rear with Asha. It was such a special reunion! And I was thrilled that Asha didn't make strange at all. We got them home, unpacked their things and visited a bit before we prayed with the kids and sent them to bed.

The next morning we had a lovely breakfast and then showed Mom and Dad around the campus. The kids chatted merrily to their grandparents. For lunch (since I hadn't made a menu plan), we improvised and had pot stickers and veggies....and I wasn't even stressed about it at all. My parents in law have this calming effect on me I guess!

In the afternoon, Carl, Joel, and Kezia took Mom and Dad for a drive around Fresno while I stayed home with Asha. Mom and Dad spent part of the afternoon outside chatting with our neighbours and soaking up the warm California sun; it was beautiful weather, about 22 degrees. That evening after supper, Kezia helped Grandma wash the dishes and the kids settled in with Grandpa for a story. With Grandma here, Asha had her first taste of ice cream and LOVED it. Carl's Dad was excited about the thought of having freshly squeezed juice from freshly picked oranges, so him and Carl went and bought a juicer at Walmart that night!

I was so thankful that they were here and I knew it was going to be a wonderful visit.
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