Such Things

Frosty Glory

I must say, I just love a bright winter day, and you know,

thick frost can be just as beautiful as snow.

One morning I went out for a run, and then I headed back with my camera. 

On days like these I can't help but think of God and his glory.  I thought I heard a quote that said, the most important thing about a person is how they think of God. 
 

A lot of people relate to God as Father, and I can see and understand that a bit, but what I really understand is God the Creator.  When I get out into nature, I get a real sense of who God is.

I understand what it is to create something beautiful and to want to treasure and protect it, and that's how God feels about us,

our children and every person on earth.

"The heavens declare the glory of God;
       the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

  Day after day they pour forth speech;
       night after night they display knowledge."

Psalm 19:1-2

Ah, Chalet Living

It was back to school today for my kids and for me tomorrow.  It'd been such a great vacation.

I was playing around with the camera and tripod and took this photo of our living room before we left on our trip.  Now the Christmas decorations are all packed away and the tree is ready to be chipped.  My daughter needed to have a "moment" with it right after it was put outside.  When you cut down your own tree, you can become quite attached:)  And I must sing one more praise of a fresh-cut tree:  no needles!!

We spent our Christmas holidays in the best way possible.  Family, friends, fondue (this is my friend's recipe made with Toblerone--Mmmm) and some good old chalet living.  I was laughing so much when a friend of mine commented, "ah, chalet living" on one of my posts. There is no better way to celebrate winter than to fully enjoy it. 

We haven't had much snow our way yet, so we headed off to find it ourselves.  We got out skiing on the only clear day.  Myles was so proud of learning to ski for the first time.  "Myles, you are so good at skiing!"  "Yes I am!!"

The trail that we took had a few hills and amazing vistas.  We even sat and ate our lunch in the snow overlooking the distant mountains.

It was snowing on the mountain when we left and raining below.  A cup of mocha and a rich brownie from the Wake 'n Bakery (I highly recommend it if you happen to be in Glacier, near Mt. Baker) hit the spot.

We actually slept in our tent trailer with the furnace blasting.  It was very cozy.  The kids were so excited to have "sleepovers" every night and I loved hearing the rain pelting down on the canvas at night. 

Now it's back to some of the more mundane routines, but we are going to get in as much Chalet living as we can this winter.  The kids just started skating lessons tonight. 

I have a lot of exciting ideas for the blog ahead this year, so stay tuned and enjoy the beginning of your week!

O Christmas Tree

We drove past farmland gently sprinkled with our first snowfall of the year,

past dream houses on acres of land with horses, and for the first time ever, we entered Alouette Tree Farm to cut down our own Christmas tree.  In the past, we've done the Ikea thing, but I must say, this experience was far, far more enjoyable.

free hot dogs and apple cider,

warming up by the open fire,

and picking out the tree.  We searched the field, and at some points I was running across the field from tree to tree, trying to find the right one.

and then there it was. 

there was a petting barn and a tractor ride,

and glorious snow.

I don't know what it is about the tree, but once it is put up, it seems like Christmas has truly arrived.  There's a feeling of joy decorating the tree while drinking eggnog with Christmas music playing in the background.

Bible readings, singing and Christmas treats at Advent,

Yes, the magic and peace of Christmas.  And here's our sweet little tree decorated and lit.

"The people walking in darkness

have seen a great light;

on those living in the land of the shadow of death

a light has dawned.

You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy."

Isaiah 9:2-3

Christmas at Grouse Mountain

Here we are heading into North Vancouver again.  The weather has been cold and sunny lately, my favourite winter weather (apart from a light snowfall). 

Every couple of years we go to Grouse Mountain around Christmas time to enjoy the festivities and this year, for us to see snow for the first time. 

 

My favourite is the outdoor rink.  When I think of skating in the winter, I fantasize about a frozen pond out on the prairies, skating outdoors in the crisp winter air with the wilderness as a backdrop.  The local skating rink doesn't quite fit my image of great winter skating. 

The only place close to that around here is Grouse Mountain.  It's a ride up a gondola and there's lots of great skiing at Grouse as well. 

We went mostly for the skating.

Myles was fascinated by the reindeer that they had up there.  Dancer and Vixen to be precise.

Yes, Santa brought some of his reindeer and they were waiting just outside his workshop.  We did get to visit with Santa as well, but I must say, he wasn't half as exciting as

the creatures that pull his sleigh. 

The girls had a blast just sliding on their bottoms down the icy hills.  They also discovered this "snow hole" that delighted them to no end. 

Sometimes it's hard to put into words just how wonderful an experience is.  Like running early in the morning on the dike with the sun piercing through the thick fog and the ducks on the channel in the background, or skating on the top of a mountain.  It's like being transported to a completely different place and time altogether. 

At Grouse, it didn't seem like we were only 40 minutes from our own home. 

Ah mountains, ah snow, ah winter. 

Chalet living is what I call this and I love it. 

Hello December!

Well, these might be the last of my photos with those beautiful autumn trees.  There was one Sunday afternoon when the rain stopped and the wind blew the clouds away, so we jumped in the van and headed out to the Abbey in Mission,

with the winding paths through rolling hills, then between tall trees with carpets of leaves to run through.  There were quiet places to sit and meditate in nooks in the woods and the sound of a cow mooing in the distance from a neighboring field. 

spending time together,

 

and catching the last of the sun before it set.

It was definitely a "right now" moment.  One of those moments that you don't even have to pretend to enjoy.

Peace, Joy, Freedom.

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free."  Galatians 5:1

Here's hoping for many, many more of those moments over the next month as we prepare for the Christmas season.

Why Run?

A long, long, long, long time ago, I commented on a blog post about running.  The author wrote back and asked me, "why do you run?"  I thought I'd answer her now in this post.

Running is a cheap and easy sport.

You can run anywhere, anytime, 

any season, any weather,

alone,

or with friends.

It gets you out into nature.

You can go far and fast.

You can take your child on a mini adventure.

You can converse,  You can compete,

You can listen to tunes,

You can enjoy it and feel that rush.

In my opinion, it's the closest thing to flying.

"When I run, I feel God's pleasure", Eric Liddel, Chariots of Fire

If you haven't guessed yet, I really like running.  It's the best form of exercise there is.

"Do you not know?  Have you not heard?

The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He will not grow tired or weary; and his understanding no one can fathom.

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.

Even youths grow tired and weary and young men stumble and fall;

but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. 

They will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not be faint."

Isaiah 40:27-31

Happy Thanksgiving to all our American friends!

Making Leaf Fairies

I have to admit, this November has been a pretty rainy one.

When we have those few rare days like these, we make sure to go out and enjoy the last of the brilliant autumn colours.

The kids love to collect fall leaves

 and make beautiful leaf bouquets.

We press the best ones, usually in our big atlas.

This year the girls were eager to make fairies out of their leaves (a great rainy day activity). So first, we cover the pressed leaves with Mod Podge.  I think one coat on the front side is enough, but we read the directions from this blog, Gingerbread Snowflakes!

To make the fairies, first fold a pipe cleaner in half and insert it into a wooden bead for the head.  Then wrap the another pipe cleaner around the base of the bead for the arms.

We used a styrofoam head for Megan's fairy because she had bigger leaves.  Then make holes through two leaves layered on each other and insert the arms.

The girls added faces with Sharpie pens, glued on wool hair and made wands out of skewers and star-shaped beads.

Miranda added some wings made from another pipe cleaner and loved her sweet little fairy, who she named Emily.

Lots and lots of imaginative play started with the leaf fairies flying, hiding and chatting to each other around the house.

The directions suggested using artificial leaves, but we thought it would be fun to try real ones. 

Here's to those magical moments in your week!

An Apple a Day

Round, red, juicy.  We made our now annual trip to the Apple Barn again this year.  Last year we picked Fuji apples and this year we picked these huge Jonagolds. 

They were in a separate orchard here:

That's Mt. Baker in the background.

We actually got some apple education on a short wagon tour that we took.  Crabapples were planted next to the apples to help encourage the pollination.  The whole pollination process is quite fascinating.  How God designed nature to work together so intricately.

It didn't take long to fill our 25lb bag.

biting,

and baking

 

 

what else is there to do with apples?  Well I might have at least one more idea...

Here's to October

September is a lovely month, but it is such a busy one for teachers and parents alike.  On Friday I sat down, or rather partly collapsed next to another mom at the dance school after delivering the kids to their classes.  She asked me how I was and I said, "Well, I survived September."  She said, "I know what you mean.  It just went by so fast, and next thing you know it's going to be Christmas!"  That idea baffled me quite a bit, and at that very moment, I vowed that I was not going to just let the days slip by with busyness until Christmas.   

This was a great reminder to me to slow down and enjoy each passing moment. 

Or as Richard Dawson from Titanic said, "Make every day count."

This weekend we decided to make an escape to our place in Pt. Roberts.

Nothing but family time, fun, exploring and enjoying October goodness.

The girls made an "animal rescue center" in their tree house.

lots of relaxed playtime (hence the spreading of toys) and painting the livingroom white (hence the out-of -place furniture).  I added this photo as a request from friends to show some of the more chaotic moments...


Feeding fresh apples to the donkeys.

We decided to skip bedtime routine to drive to the beach and see this sunset:

I'm so looking forward to this next month. 

Here's to October and here's to making each moment count.

Looking Back on Summer

There's definitely a change in the air.  A cooler autumn sun, darker early mornings and heading back to school.

I was sitting around the staffroom table today and talking to a young teacher who is having her wedding in October.  She said she chose not to have her wedding in the summer because doesn't particularly like summer.  She burns easily and gets all sweaty.

It's wonderful how different we all are, because to me, summer is the most blissful season there is.  I wait all year for summer to begin and feel that it ends all too quickly.  Looking back this summer was a great summer, a full summer.

We spotted this family in the backyard at our beach house.

Lots of crafting, for me,

and the kids...

the annual fair,

and I must add in this adventurous day trip to Bowen Island with a couple of friends and all of our kids.

We biked through Crippen Reginal Park.

and hung out for awhile at the beach in Snug Cove (isn't that an adorable name?).  Bowen Island of the cutest places I've ever seen and I'd love to go there again for a romantic get-away.

Yes, it was a fine summer, and here's looking to the next season.