Another great week is finished! The boys were pretty excited to have a lighter day of school today since they have done some extra throughout the rest of the week. When we finished we did some grocery shopping and also stopped by to have coffee and a cookie with Garry's mom. Garry is in the city working today, but he should be home soon.

Yesterday the realtor called and said they wanted to show the house this afternoon, so it was a good opportunity to leave for a while. Thankfully the people looking at the house are looking at an August possession date, so even if they decide to buy we won't need to move.

Yesterday Kevin went to his first badminton training. The trainer changed his class placement again, so we'll see how things go. At any rate we'd like to take him to the classes a few more times.

Yes, it's Tuesday already! Garry is out for coffee then lunch, so I'm taking advantage of some time on the computer before the boys and I start school. I've been trying to get caught up on things like banking and printing school materials. It seems that the office just isn't getting the attention I need to give it in order to keep up with life... this too shall pass, as my mother used to tell me.

Last evening I was privileged to attend a Bible study called "Breaking Free". I was so blessed by spending time studying and discussing the Word of God with other women. It's something I've missed over the past few years. God has already done some neat things in regards to this study and I am so excited to be a part of it!

Yesterday Garry went to Winnipeg with a friend and checked out Fast Air. He enjoyed being around airplanes again for a day and hearing a bit about aviation here in Canada. Even more he enjoyed the opportunity for good conversation with friends.

Sunday evening we were invited to a small group for ice fishing and faspa (a light evening meal). Sledding, ice fishing (I think-- though I don't think anyone paid attention to the fishing rods). sitting around the fire, taking turns on a snowmobile, supper (which must have had teenage boys in mind!), and funny games were a great way to connect a bit more with friends.

LEFT: I thought you might enjoy the view we have out our dining room window... beautifully white, though Kevin commented the other day that there aren't many colors in Canada during the winter.

The boys did well in their tournament, and more importantly, enjoyed the hours at the court and getting to know different people. It was somewhat different than a tournament in the Philippines, but the game itself is the same. Both boys took bronze in their age category and they won the consolation games in boys doubles under 16 category. Kaleb looked pretty short when they played against the under 16's!

Garry and I were talking last night about the generosity of our friends and family here and how we are so blessed and humbled by it. How we are enjoying the different opportunities we have to connect. The things I've mentioned here are just a few of the things that we've been doing since I last posted... simple, ordinary things. Yet extraordinary when you've been gone from the community for 7 years!

It's almost 2 weeks now since I posted... wow, I'll have to find a way to fit blogging into my routine a bit more often. I'd just schedule it in if I only had a routine to work with! Life has seemed a bit like that for the past weeks since we left Palawan... lots of things to do, lots of changes, and not much that is scheduled or goes as planned.

Since I haven't had the camera out I thought I'd share a few more photos from our family Christmas...

We have been able to get our school done each day over the past couple of weeks. The boys and I are enjoying having a quiet basement to retreat to for school. Kaleb particularly enjoys doing his reading in the comfy couch by the fire. Otherwise we work at a table and we're beginning to feel like school is a normal part of our day again. Kevin is back to doing math on the computer, though he's had some issues with either the computer or the internet here.

Between school times we've been playing a bit of badminton, doing some shopping for exciting things like socks, and spending time with family and friends. The boys were able to join a badminton tournament this weekend, which they are pretty excited about. In amazing answers to prayer they have also met some of the guys who play at a court in Winnipeg and have enjoyed quite a few matches and some training drills already.

Garry has been busy in the office lately. He's been taking care of some things for the flight program in the Philippines and continuing communication with both our leadership and our team. He was also privileged to make a powerpoint presentation for our church last Sunday evening. Garry has enjoyed catching up with different friends here also over the past week.

We've been here in Manitoba for a month now. The time has gone incredibly quickly so far, and I hardly know what to say. In many ways my head is still spinning-- so many new things to do and learn and experience and enjoy! In other ways there a million things to say-- I'd love to share the many blessings we've experienced since arriving here. But where can I begin?

Maybe I'll just post a few photos and make a short note of some of the amazing things that have happened to us...

• Garry's sister Fern and her family came for a week right after Christmas-- what a blessing to see them when we thought we'd have to wait months to do so!
• We're really enjoying being home and being part of the Sunday morning worship experience... I didn't realize how much I missed good music
  
• Several friends have invited us to their homes to enjoy fellowship, great food, table games, and catching up on one anothers lives
• Garry plans to do a short presentation at our home church tomorrow evening during their "missions night". This week he's been busy at the computer putting his thoughts together
• We started school this week and actually accomplished most of what I'd planned for the first week-- that's very unusual given my propensity to plan too much
• We were able to find a place for the boys to play badminton and they've begun making friends. One of the guys told them they need to play with him since he plays like most Canadians and they need to learn the ways of badminton here.
• I was able to enjoy a ladies prayer meeting the other morning
• The boys have completed two snow forts and a sled track complete with a jump
• We've been to family gatherings for both sides of Garry's family-- how fun to see everyone again!
• Garry and I celebrated 17 years of marriage

Yes, it's been a very full month. We're enjoying our new home here and it's wonderful to catch up with friends and family. Yet a part of us remains with our friends in the Philippines.

We are very much looking forward to seeing more of you and as our plans come together for traveling we'll be in touch.

Good afternoon! It's very warm and cozy here today, so I thought I'd take a minute and update our blog. The boys are growing their snow fort quite quickly-- this is yesterday's progress! As you can see, we're enjoying a very white Christmas!

So, it isn't quite warm yet, but it is MUCH warmer than it has been, according to Garry. He's been running errands today, and I haven't been out of the house yet:). He also took the boys Christmas shopping, which is probably only the second time they've been to town since we arrived here last week.

Donna, Garry's youngest sister, arrived from Texas yesterday and we enjoyed a late supper as a family. It's amazing to have 3 of the 5 siblings here for Christmas this year!

Since I last wrote we're getting settled in quite nicely. We continue to be overwhelmed by the generosity of folks in our church as they have poured blessing after blessing on us! Boxes of food delivered to our home, gift certificates for grocery stores, warm clothes to borrow or keep... the list is amazing!

Yesterday I met a friend in the store and she noticed I was a bit overwhelmed (do you know how many kinds of tortilla chips there are in this country?!). I appreciated her hug and the homemade dinner she sent home with me. Wow! And that's just the latest of a series of understanding, kind people who have crossed our paths!

We were also able to enjoy the wedding of some dear friends of ours. The boys decided they'd rather see the happy couple at another time, but Garry and I were privileged to attend the ceremony and reception. The normal rites of passage, things we are usually too far away to attend.

We've also found out that things can actually go FASTER than you anticipate-- we already have our internet! So I'll say goodbye for now and a Merry Christmas to each of you!

Wow! It's been a long time. We arrived in Steinbach, Manitoba on Wednesday evening to very cold weather. It's been amazing to see family and friends! We've been overwhelmed by the generosity of friends and family in getting our house ready for us to move into, buying us food, stopping by with meat, welcoming us with open arms, and.... well, the list is to long to finish! We just feel so blessed to be here and be settling into our new home.

It is really, really cold here right now, for those who live further away:). The boys have been working on a snow fort in the back yard and have enjoyed being outside for small periods of time. We're all getting over jet lag, which I imagine will take a few days yet. So far we've been awfully tired during the afternoon (which is the middle of the night in the Philippines) and been waking up rather early. Each night has been a bit better, so I think we're heading in the right direction!

Garry was able to renew his drivers license and pick up our van this week. We've also got our mailbox keys, internet on order (it takes 2 weeks to install), and enough winter stuff for the moment. We still need to find a a couple more pairs of gloves in order to return the rest of the winter stuff we're borrowing. We've already been cooking in our house and are feeling relatively settled for the short time we've been here.

I'm at home with a very poor connection just now, so guess I can't post a photo-- next time! Maybe next time I'll also post about our interesting re-entry experiences, but for now I just wanted to say we're here and getting settled!

It's late Tuesday evening and we are packing up the computer in preparation for an early departure tomorrow morning. We'll see many of you soon!

Next time I'll log on from Canada!

Wow, it's been an incredible week! We arrived in Manila Tuesday evening, happy to be finished packing up our house and excited to be heading back to Canada next week. I can hardly believe that in just 1 week we'll be with family and friends in Manitoba! Wow!

We had a great meeting with our field chairman yesterday as we discussed what God has been doing here in the Philippines. We also talked a bit about the future of the flight program and where God is leading. It was an encouraging time together.

Here in Manila we have a short list of things we want to do-- check around the city for some warmer clothes (can Kaleb arrive in Winnipeg in sandals or does he need a pair of tennis shoes?!), see our new NTMA families who are currently studying language, and do coffee with some other friends. Garry is also finishing up a bit of flgiht program paperwork and Kevin needs to go to immigration to be fingerprinted on Monday.

During our last week in Puerto we spent a bit of time with different people... with Norm and Jacque, for whom we provided flight service until they moved to town earlier this year; with Kevin's badminton trainer and his girlfriend; with Kevin's badminton team; with Ben and Suzy, our co-workers who are now running the Palawan flight program; with different foreigners that live in town and do various ministries; with the men who have invested in Kevin and taught him much about agriculture; and with the folks at Aloha orphanage. Many of our badminton friends do not know the Lord and our prayers are much with them, that God would be working in their hearts and that they would come to know Him. Though our times together were good they were also sad as we said our goodbyes and realized that another chapter of our lives is finished.

At the same time, we are excited to head back to Canada and catch up with so many of you. We are excited to see what God has in store for the next months!