We had a great beginning to our trip! Monday we enjoyed Dad's wonderful German pancakes before packing up and heading south. It was fun to spend the morning together. Then we picked up a slurpee on our way and started driving.

We stayed on smaller roads for quite some time because there wasn't a good way across the Red River. This was a blessing because it meant we got to stop at a lovely park in North Dakota.

We drove through the night and arrived at Patrick and Mary's late in the afternoon on Tuesday. They are lovely hosts and we enjoyed our time with them. The boys got a big bag of wonderful, appropriate gifts that they'll enjoy for the rest of the trip and when we get home! Mary had arranged a coffee with some of the ladies from church and it was neat to meet some new people and see some friends we'd made before.

Now we're at my parents' house in Pennyslvania. My dad is still trying to recover from a bug, and likely pneumonia, that he picked up somewhere. However, it's great to see my parents, my gram, and other friends in the area.

We're looking forward to spending time with friends from Puzzletown Road Bible Church as well!

Wow, another Monday! This morning I've been working on getting a bit organized for our trip next week. We are looking forward to seeing quite a few of you! A few loads of laundry and some time in the office have filled up the morning quite nicely.

Kaleb and his friends set up quite an elaborate train track the other evening.

Kevin is at Garry's parents helping trim some bushes and Kaleb is busy with paper airplanes... more and more and more of them! We will be trying to do a bit more school this week, but today it's nice to do some other things. Garry is packing up his pilot helmet to ship away to be refurbished-- it's amazing what the tropics can do to leather in a relatively short time!

Here are Kevin and some of his friends with parts of their amazing knife and gun collections.

Saturday evening we enjoyed a prayer and worship service at our church. We loved getting together with a smaller group to worship God and spend time in prayer. We were blessed and encouraged by our brothers and sisters.

Saturday evening we had the amazing privilege of helping Garry's parents celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary! Brenda, they, and us shared a wonderful meal in the city (Winnipeg, for those of you who aren't "from here"), then we all went to their house for a little while.

Over the last week we've actually shared a number of meals with family and friends. My boys have tried some new dishes that they're making sure I get recipes for. They're also getting to know some other kids their age, which has been fun to see.

Last evening I was telling some of my friends about arriving in Canada... how overwhelming my first trip to the grocery store was, how I couldn't figure out what time it was when we arrived i LA on our way here, how long it took me to figure out where we live (I have NO sense of direction), and other funny things about readjusting to life on this side of the world. It reminded me that we actually have done a lot of adjusting-- we're feeling quite comfortable here most days, if only it would get a tad bit warmer!

Last weekend we enjoyed coffee or a meal with several different people. Several people shared how they have been on a short-term work trip overseas and how it has impacted them. While we've been busy talking the boys have been honing their pool skills.

We finally had a new family picture taken the other day, so thought I'd post it here. Kevin has already passed me up in height and is working on catching up to Garry.

We are finally seeing things come together for our trip out east. We plan to leave Manitoba around May 10th and be gone for a couple of weeks. We are excited to see quite a few people and sad that we can't see everybody. This furlough has been so different than other times we've been home.... the age of our boys, our responsibilities that continue for the Philippines, and many other "little" things have made it impossible to travel as much as we have in the past. Yet in being more "local" here we are enjoying other wonderful benefits. It is just incredible to see God unfolding His plans for this time in North America!

This week Garry is back to working in the city some days. He's hoping to finish up the engine on the Bonanza in the next few days...though he may still be waiting for one part. The bathroom he's doing for his sister is actually looking like a bathroom also.

Yesterday the boys enjoyed some time with a cousin, climbing among their hay bales among other things. While Kevin had been there before this was Kaleb's first experience among the bales. He thought it was pretty amazing how high they'd climbed-- and pretty spooky to get back down!

It's Monday morning, so I thought maybe we'd all need a laugh. This is what Kaleb does with the clean dishes between taking them out of the dishwasher (yeah that we have one!) and putting them in the cupboard.

We've had a week full of seeing amazing people! It's been so much fun to hear what God is doing in the lives of our friends and in this community. It's also been fun to see our kids connecting with some different people and engaged in interesting conversations. Thanks to each of you who has been part of these weeks!

This afternoon we head to Winnipeg for yet another doctor's visit. We are so thankful to have found a travel doctor who is trained to help people like us who have lived overseas.

We are also thankful for a co-worker who is willing to take on some of our administrative responsibilities to free us for other things. It is amazing to see God using the gifts and abilities of each of His children for His glory.... an incredible gift to be a part of it!

Spring has sprung since my last post! We are enjoying the warmer temperatures and have been fascinated watching the drainage ditches filling with water. Of course, if there is flooding in the area it won't be fun, but for now it's just amazing to see all the water running!

Kevin and Kaleb had a rather ingenious idea for a raft, which they finally got to float today. Thanks to the extra weeks of cold weather they've had time to collect a LOT of empty bottles to float a pallet Garry picked up for them. This afternoon an older gentleman stopped by when they were playing in the ditches and told them that was the kind of fun he remembered having as a boy!

Another exciting thing that's happened since my last post is that we got a new computer! This little machine is quite a bit faster than our old computer and we are so thankful for it! However, most days I find out there's something I still don't know how to do. Today when I imported my pictures from my camera I realized there is a new program for that.

Wow, it has been a VERY long time since I've blogged. A lot of things have happened since I last wrote, so I guess I'll start with our biggest news. Garry has been healed from celiac disease and food allergies! We are incredibly thankful to our amazing Heavenly Father and feel so humbled by this blessing. It has changed life at our house so very much, making our lives so very much simpler. God had placed Garry's health on several peoples' hearts and they have prayed specifically for him-- we are so thankful for God's amazing healing.

Several weeks ago we were able to enjoy a wonderful Saturday with some friends at their cabin. The boys enjoyed the quad, snowmobiling, sledding, and making a snowman. We felt so privileged that they were able to enjoy that "winter fun"! It was also the first time most of us had driven over an ice road... as long as I didn't think about the reality that we were driving over a frozen lake it was pretty cool!

Kevin, particularly, has been logging as much time as possible on snowmobiles and quads. He's had the opportunity to drive a couple of machines through the generosity of friends-- thanks to you who have made it possible!

Kaleb has taken every opportunity to make snow forts, tunnels, and snowmen. In fact, a couple weeks ago both boys tried their hand at making snow sculptures. He has also made two boats for floating in the drainage ditches-- the first went the way of boats in spring, and the second is on the shelf awaiting its turn.

Today I was invited to a day of scrapbooking! I enjoyed the time with friends, both old and new, and got quite a bit of work done on my album. Another blessing.

There are many things happening in the flight program in the Philippines these days, and Garry has been spending many hours on the phone and on e-mail recently. This is such a different furlough for us with our continued involvement in the flight program. When Garry isn't busy with Philippines stuff he's been changing the engine in a friend's airplane. He's waiting for part to complete that job, so in the meantime he's started to work on building a bathroom for his sister. He's enjoying doing that as well.

Good afternoon! How is your week starting? Here at our house it's a bit hard to get going with the time change... though just a short hour this time! The boys are getting moving and I thought I'd take this opportunity to say good morning!

Last weekend the boys participated in a tournament, getting runner-up in doubles and Kevin got runner up in singles.

We enjoyed a quiet week at our house last week. Kevin has been doing lots of reading, some carving, and a bit of hockey on the garage. Kaleb is into making kites and puppets, challenging his brother at hockey, and playing in the snow.

On Saturday Uncle Carl called and asked Garry if he would be interested in some tickets to the Moose game (hockey, for those of you not from here)! We all enjoyed a great evening-- a first for all of us except Garry. In fact, I don't think the rest of us have ever been to any game at that level! The boys were pretty amazed by the hockey.