Summer Fun!

Well, Brad is off to Mexico! He's been away 4 days and there has been a few "Where's Daddy?" and particularily "I want my Daddy." from Caedence. But besides the odd blue moment for both Mommy and 'T'aedence, we are doing quite well!

We've been with Grandma and Grandpa (different than Nanna and Papa), in South Surrey for the past couple of days. I have had evening rehearsals for Broadway Pops so they have watched Caedence for me. Last night he also had a special treat when his two cousins 'Dita' (Krystina) and 'Telsey' (Kelsey) watched him.

During the day yesterday we (myself, Caedence, Grandma and Grandpa) headed out to Cresent Beach. Caedence was extremely excited at the prospect of digging for 'cwabs' (or crabs). It was a gorgeous day, but actually a little chilly by the water. We dug for crabs (found and captured 6 babies), made some sand castles, threw some rocks and then ended up sharing some fries!

Before we left I explained that he had to let the 'cwabs' go as this was their house, so Grandpa took him down to the water and put them back in the sand. Good times were had by all!

Thought I'd share a few pictures of our escapade!

Chiuaua: Where the yappy dogs run free!

Tomorrow morning 4:45 am, my ride picks me up, we head to the church to start our day long trek to Juarez, Mexico. We drive to Seattle, fly to El Paso (via phoenix), and drive across the border into Juarez. I tried to convince my ride to go by Tim Horton's 24 hour for a coffee, but no go.
I do not feel completely prepared to leave. I know I am supposed to wait until the end of my trip to be tired, but for some reason, I already feel exhausted (not a great way to start). Also, for some reason I am very anxious about the part I am playing in some of the things we will be doing down there. I'm sure it will all work out, but as for now I'm a little worried.
So remember to keep me in your prayers, and also Lalainia and Caedence as I am away. It will not be easy to be apart.
I kinda love 'em.

Tribute to Laurz

Here is a short post, simply to mention our great affection for our good friend Lauren. She has been a fantastic addition to our lives and we are proud to call her our friend. As she is now off to school in the "really large edible, usually rounded fruit" city, she will be greatly missed. While she is away we will miss her beautiful smile and quirky sense of humour (not to mention her amazing voice). If only she could train herself to speak in her Irish lilt whenever she is around us, everything would be perfect (curse those who made fun of it when she first graced our shores).

Love you girl. Be good to yourself and think good thoughts (you know what I'm sayin')

Almost there!

Well, in two more weeks I head-off for the small village (and I mean small) of Rio Chico, in the north central Mexican province of Chiuaua. I have been brushing up on my Spanish, purchasing my Deep Woods and sun tan lotion, and meeting with my team, making some of the final arrangements. Further to the entire group, I have been meeting with a smaller group with whom I will be running a children's program while there. We are planning for about 200 children to show up daily, ranging from age 3-12. We will be leading them in song (I plan on playing the guitar), teaching bible stories(via an interpreter), crafts, and games. It is going to be a fiesta baby!

Please continue to pray for our preparation as here is much to be done before we leave. I have many exams to oversee at work, an essay to write (I have just started a new course), packing to do, etc, etc. Also, please keep us in your prayers during our trip (June 26-July 10). Pray for our safety, our strength, and our ability to be used for God while in Mexico.

The Event!

Many thanks to all of you who took the time to show up and celebrate Caedence's birthday with us. Who would have thought that time could fly by so fast with 6 or 7 little ones running around our apartment like home. Of course, their minds were entranced by the South American Political poster of El Presidente Caedence (see above).
An extra special thanks goes out to all of you for not purchasing any toys that have "midi" sounds(if you do not have kids get anyone with a 3 year old to explain). The sounds of cars revving, plastic saxophones blasting, even the sweet sound of tank engines "toot-tooting" are welcome sounds in this house.
Besides the reason we got together, it is always nice to see those we promise once a year to "not be like we were last year, when we only saw each other once the entire year." Maybe that is one of the extra "perks" of having children; an excuse to visit with those we love to visit with, but who live "all the way in town!"
On another note, it was good that you all left when you did. Within an hour of everyone leaving, I began to get the shivers and my throat got swollen. Hope this was not the case with anyone else(?).
Please enjoy the pictures above!

Take a Break (A Short Rant)

I have been around many stressed people over the past few weeks. Frustrated, angry, tired; everyone seems at the end of their rope. This is just a post to encourage all to TAKE A BREAK!!
Work hard, but then relax hard. Many of us are far too involved in things that will not mean squat in a year or two (meaningless, meaningless, all is meaningless). We should be investing in long term; important things like family relationships, friends, our children, God.

Learn to say "no" once and a while, because others cannot and will not say it for you.
And for those of you who are defining yourselves by how much you can accomplish, you are really missing the point.

Okay, I'm done.

Lul's Pics

Just wanted to post a few cool pics Lul has taken.

New Member of the Family

After talking about it for quite a long while, Lul and I finally decided to sponsor a child from World Vision. We are now sponsoring a 3 year old boy (same age as our son) named Saul Alonzo Mismit. His picture is on our fridge and we do our best to remember him in our prayers(even our son prays for him).
We would like to encourage others to do the same. It costs very little, but provides so much, not only for the child, but also for the community he/she lives in. It takes less than 5 minutes to start sponsoring a child, and with an automatic payments plan(like we are doing) it is so easy. You can connect to World Vision via the link on the right.

Mission to Mexico

On June 26th, I will be leaving for Rio Chico, Mexico, in the province of Chiuaua (where the small, yappy dogs roam free) For the first week, I will be working together with a team from my church(Coquitlam Alliance) to help build a base camp for missionaries who come to the area. During that time we will also be running some programs for the local children(Vacation Bible School, sports camps, etc.)
Our second week, we will travel further into the Copper Canyon in order to bring food to the Tarahumara native group; still living in caves and small shacks and speaking their own native language.
Please pray for my safety during my work in Mexico, and also for wife and son who will (hopefully) be missing husband and daddy. Also, check out the Hungry for Life link to find out more about the work I'll be doing in Mexico, or on the Tarahumara link to learn more about the people we'll be working with.

Summertime

Lul had planned on working for Theatre Under the Stars this year, not as a lead actor this time, but as director of Grease. However, unfortunately for her (and everybody who will not get to see a fabulously directed performance of Grease) TUTS has been postponed one year. So we are extremely sad to say that our summer will probably involve many sunny summer mornings of sitting together as a family, eating our breakfast, as the warm morning light hits our bistro set in our "English garden-ish" backyard. This of course will be followed by hours of relaxation time with the family, which will then be followed by dinner together (and possibly sitting once again at our bistro set), and a relaxing evening for myself and Lul(after we put the boy to bed) to simply sit back and watch the sunset together or rent a nice romantic movie we've been waiting all year to watch. Man what a rip!!