Wednesday 31 October 2012

Lukewarm coffee!

I would like a lukewarm, almost cold cup of coffee!! Said no one ever. Well maybe in the summer with some ice in it. But not a winter drink. Yet this is how I have come to know my coffee. I was never really a coffee drinker until I realized it was helping to have when trying to stay awake. But at first it was want some coffee with your sugar and cream and now a days its straight black and hope that you get it while its hot. I have accepted the fact that if I want a hot coffee I must wake up before the kids and so I still don't do that because its not worth it. I will take every moment of sleep I can get. (when my body allows) I have also accepted the fact that on a normal morning I will either have to microwave this cup of coffee at least once and up to 5 times before I give up on drinking it. That or it may never be finished and the sink will get to drink its glorious wonderful taste while I will miss out once again. I of course don't make this coffee till after I feed the girls but something happens, someone falls, or wants milk or they start fighting and in comes super Nanny, or Nanny mo. And the storm is calmed and I get back to my coffee and breakfast 30 mins later. Thats my life and I am okay with it.
So it's been a while but time here seems to fly and before you know it you are the weekend already!!! It doesn't feel like its been a week since I went to Chapters and spent hours looking at books and then drinking coffee and relaxing but it has. Last weekend, I was home alone. And Boy what a weird feeling that is. I got home from yoga friday morning and they had left already. It was eery coming home and having no one there. But they left and I was then left to figure out what to do and so I took my sweet sweet time getting ready, watched tv in the middle of the day. Which is a small gift, when there are kids around all the time. And then I went shopping and I actually went out for a walk to this family from churches house and had dinner there and talked before my night out with this friend from church. So I dont know if I mentioned it before but I have a friend and his name is David. But with a french accent. And he goes to the church I found and the small group and he is a boy and plays the drums and that is all I am going to say. We are friends. And its nice to have found a friend. On the other hand I have been reading a lot lately and in the book "Crazy Love" it says 'Most of us have too much going on in our lives...too much of the good life ends up being toxic, deforming us spiritually' I know random but it spoke to me. I was realizing that while it is not bad to have things in life and that is is good to be busy. That at the same time my life at home in BC was that. It was what he said it was toxic. I was always busy always doing things never home never with my family. Never with God I never sat down and just thought or went for a walk to talk with God or just be alone. It was always a scary thought, to just be alone. Because when I am alone the worst thoughts come to mind, I always start to worry and stress and analysis things and I don't enjoy it. It would make me feel worse and so I love to fill my time with people and work and things where I don't have to think. However this isn't good I was making my life toxic to me spiritually. I was empty and its a weird thing to say after spending 6 months in a bible school where you are on a spiritual high and then to drop its scary. And I dropped and didn't know what to do. So I left i came to a place where I knew no one and its like a child going to school for the first time, not knowing what to expect, not knowing anyone and then slowly getting to know people. And I am slowly getting to know people but in the mean while I am taking my time to be alone and relax and ponder and become okay with being alone for a short while. Today is another alone day and it doesn't scare me as much as it used to. I enjoy going out for coffee alone and reading and catching up on things you cant do with people. Not to say I want to spend all my time alone, I look forward to church and small group every week, I look forward to going out to meet with people or spending time with Sara and Andre. However I am not desperate to have a million and one friends here. I am content with having a few, for now. Plus I could never replace the ones back home thats for sure!!
Anyway back to life Saturday was a chapters and starbucks day followed by baking and movie watching. And sunday was church where there was two baptisms and lunch that followed. As well as a relationship course in french of course. I went to it and afterwards my brain hurt. And its not on relationships like girlfriend boyfriend but rather between people in your life. I am thinking ill go again if not to just get out and see people and listen to french. I am hoping it gets easier, it already has but sometimes if I listen to too much french it cause my brain to almost explode.
This week was pretty calm, not a lot going on. Well other then Halloween on wed night and small group on tuesday. I brought my cookies on tuesday and they where as big a hit as ever. Everyone loved them, they all got eaten. And then Halloween we did a fireman theme. So J was our firefighter and the girls where dalmatians and me and S made a burning building for A and then we made a fire hydrant and fire truck. None of our costumes where never worn at the same time but they were cute none the less. I stayed in the with girls and S while A and  J where out in the garage handing out candies. We bought 150$ in candy and there was none left and there was still people coming around. There was so many kids come around, the streets where packed. Fun night, kinda crazy, since the girls have been cranky all week. Friday was the worst they decided they where going to scream at the top of their lungs for 5 mins straight with no reason, I tried everything and in the end it was decided it was nap time, Hallelujah!!! And now its saturday and its a Starbucks day, with my Christmas drink and my books and booking my flight back to Montreal after Christmas. I have my flight home I fly home on the 17th so start the count down!!! And I am home for two weeks!!!! Oh and I was reminded by my mother that 51 days till Christmas!!! Well love ya lots and home you enjoy your weekend and week to come!!

Wednesday 24 October 2012

Crazy Quebecers!!!!

I keep postphoning and rain checking this new update. For some reason every time I sit down to write I can`t think of what to say or how to say it. Plus about half of it comes out in french. Meanwhile while I got about my day I come up with all sorts of things I want you to know and so finally I made a list and I can sorta remember.
Let me start of by saying people here are crazy, hence the title. When I say crazy I mean they do things weird. For instance it is common to have a beer say a coors light and then add tomato juice to it. Totally normal. I dont know if this is common at home but not something I say I have heard about too much. Also they kiss on both cheeks here. When you say hello and good bye, both male and female, old and youngish. The kids kiss you right on the mouth. And if you happen to do a little dance of the head, you may accidently almost kissing lips on to the guy in front of you. Must admit, it happened to me, only once but with a guy who I see every week at church and small group. It was quite funny, needless to say. Also my last and main reason I say Quebec people are crazy is their ability to drive. They lack this ability to drive properly and so if I come home and start driving with you and you think wow you are a bad driver. No its only the fact that you must fit in here, if you drive, you must drive like everyone else. And by everyone else I say drive 10 or 20 over the limit normal and if you dont well prepare for extra light in the eyes and maybe a few trail bumps. Another thing, mom I know you will froan upon this but stop signs, are really yeild signs. So watch out at a four way stop. People dont stop for 3 seconds or even one second. Its more like a roll slowly and speed off. But I understand why. First of if you drive strandard so much easier and second seriously the gouvernment of Quebec went crazy with the stop signs. They are every where and anywhere and yes they are good but it is not necessary to have a three way stop at every road the intersects the main road. That was a little of the road issue, they also like to merge and merge anywhere. And Montreal has the worst highways and road system  ever, it really makes no sense!! But Quebec roads are like driving and consistently having a butt massage.
In saying this all I still love it here. I love the job that I do and the church that I go to. I love the opportunity that I have.  I got to go visit Janaya this past weekend which is a 2 hour drive I made it there and back and driving through Montreal with out getting lost and only stalling once. It was overrall a good weekend, was nice to see a few familiar faces and once again the west coast fraservalley, had the majority of people at Capernwray!!! There were 4 other people from Chilliwack and abby. Go us. Not that its a contest. I must say through that This Capernwray totally different. 20 people instead of 170 people makes so much of a difference. A lot of the weekend I was reminded of my experience in England and was missing it a lot. But everyone there was supper nice and it was very relaxing. It was good to get back home on sunday night and get to see my babies on monday!!
The kids are doing well!! E was walking when I got here and her speed is just increasing with time. Where Z wasnt walking at first but now she walks as much as her sister which is cool to see. They are eating and pooping like only humans can do. We have this tendancy to get more food on there clothes then there should be and all over their faces. But its fun. They are starting to get to know me more and trust me. The other day S had a old childhood friend over and the friend came up when the girls woke up and when I fisihed changing E  I gave her to the friend to hold. However it wasnt quite what E wanted instead she screamed and loud untill I picked her up and she looked at me like who in the world is that and dont you dare put me down again while she is here! It was bad but kinda funny at the same time. Both the girls will come up to me if I am sitting on the floor and they will full out hug me, sit on me with their arms around and start laughing and smiling. Prolly the best thing ever. That and when they come and kiss you right on your lips and then starting laughing. They are adorable. So cute. I am slightly in lovce with them and dont know how I will go two weeks with out them over christmas. They will grow and change so much.
Anything about life here, I cook and clean. Imagine that. I mostly do a little bit of light house work and then I help S make dinner. Its great she reads out what I have to do and I chop and she puits it all together, Sometimes we will even start speaking french. Thats another thing my french so much better I start thinking it and then writing it. I`ll be writing and it will come out french and i will have to try and focus on what the words are in English. Also small groups I am able to for the most part hold up a conversation with people. I even had a guy ask me if I wanted to hang out sometime and be friends!!! Yeah me I am making friends!! Love it!!! Don`t worry all of you back home I could never replace you !!! I really do like it out here. I knew I would learn things. I knew for fact I would learn to take care of kids and all that involves around that and learning french. But I didnt realize I would be learning to cook, drive standard, learning how to make friends, and as well I never thought I would learn soo much biblically and grow in my faith even more. Oh I have also learned how to tell the twins appart better then their grandparents. And S says I am picking up how to read the twins faster then she thought possible.
Well thats a quick update on life!! Missing you guys lots and thank you for your emails and prayers and thoughts. I wish you could all come and visit. Please continue to pray for the friendships, for the people I am in contact with , the health of the family and of me as well for Quebec. Quebec is in a dark dark place.
Lots of love! Je tàdore!!!!

Sunday 14 October 2012

Life is full of experiences!!

Life lesson, when dealing with kids, Prepare everything in advance!! So from having dinner out and ready half hour before to making sure you have all the bed time things ready. If you want to go and say be there for 10 and say it takes 15 mins to get there well start getting ready at 9 15 at least. One of the lessons I learned early on. If  you have it already before it is needed the world runs a little smoother there is a lot less screaming and a lot happier kids.
Also so my life lately is great fanatastic. I really like t out here. I wasn`t to sure if I would. But I love this family, the kids are adorable, a lot of work but a lot of fun as well. The parents are extremely kind and great to work for. I found an amazing church, everyone is super friendly and there are a few kids about my age. They do a spiritual family group once a week which is a bigger blessing then I could have ever asked for. It gives me a chance to get to know a specific group of people in my area on a deeper level. Plus helps me practice my french as well understand what was talked about on sunday.
Last weekend we went to a wedding of S`s cousin up between Quebec and Montreal. Very fun I must say, IT was loud and lots of kids and lots of french. We ate, we danced and we celebrated. Her family was very kind and understanding and would talk with me and dance with me. Very nice. We also went to S`s Godchilds birthday. The whole weekend was french so by sunday oh boy did my brain hurt just a little. It was very fun and different and nice to get away.
This weekend, there was nothing going on so I watched The Help, I just finished the book so I figured I`d see how the movie stood up. Then Saturday I went off on an adventure! I went to Montreal all by my self and had a grand old time. Love love love!!! I didn`t ever realize how much I enjoy going places by my self sometimes. Its very freeing. I went and parked at Oylmpic Stadium went up the tower looked over Montreal. Came down got directions and hopped on the metro. IT reminded me of Winter travels all over again, just this time no Christy, Brianna or Zach. Paris metro is a lot dirtier as well. I took the metro down to Vieulle Montréal!! And literally walked around there for 4 hours. Went in shops, got coffee and walked along the St Laurent Riviéré. It was an excellent day. The sun was shining and the sky was blue with perfectly shaped clouds. It was cool and warm the perfect fall day.
Side note. Fall around here is amazing, trully beautiful. At home yes trees change colours but not all of them. Here they almost all do. So anywhere you look it is a mixture of yellow, red, orange and greens. With leaves falling and blowing all around you. Could ask for anything better!
So after walking for hours, I had hit this store, which was called Walk in, Montreal is pretty much english, You can find the odd persons who speak only french but most people speak both. Anyway this store has accesories, far better then Accesorize in Europe. It is little and cute and I may have found a perfect red head bando  ( ear warmer) and a lovely scarf. The girl there was about my age and we got to talk and exchanged numbers said if I was in montreal again we should go for coffee and meet up. I had asked if she had time for dinner but she got of late and had homework to do in the evening. Imagine people doing homework!! I know everyone else but me is all up in school work! The piles apparently keep building and yet for me the only homework I have is remembering all that I have to get down in a day. I dont mind through not a real fan of school anway.
Well thats a quick update on life. Oh I have learned to drive stick and so all week after work I have been practicing I made my way to the nearest starbucks which is half hour away. I took a minor detour and only stalled about half a dozen times. Still need more practice.
Please pray for patience and energy for me with the kids as well pray for S she has been asking questions about Christian living vs catholic. As well she has been reading her Bible so pray that both me and her can countinue and find the time to read. Oh I need sleep for some reason I have been un able to sleep, last night I was awake practically all night till pretty much an hour before I had to wake up for church. I need to be awake and rested for the week. I have some praise items for the Church as I said they are amazing really what I was praying for and more. They have invited me to go to Starfield and another event in Montreal. They are very open in including me and helping me with my french. Also one of the older guys sister who is 20 was down this weekend and she is really amazing. So nice I talked to her for about half an hour and almost all in french!! Last thing for my french it needs to get better. I want to be able to partake and feel comfortable talking with people. To have normal conversations. Thank you guys for everything. Love you lots and lots and miss you dearly. Thinking of all you who are in school!

Tuesday 2 October 2012

Naptime oh yeah !!!!!

If you don`t have kids of have kids who are old enough to fend for themselves I think you forget baout naps. I napped all through Highschool and while I was in England but not becasue I had to but rather it was something to do. I was tired so I thought I`d lie down but really didn`t need to. However after look after 2 one year olds you realize that when they take a nap it is like party in your brain. Seriously, When you get 2 hours to your self to do whatever it is proabably the best two hours you will ever have in a day. Well not really but it is the quietest and yet those two hours are never long enough. Yesterday we made a list of things to do during naptime. One of them was to shower. Showers now a days are few and far between. No need to really a baby doesnt care how you look and the time it takes, well you don`t have that time in the morning and before bed you are too tired so you jsut lay and watch tv. So nap time great time to clean yourself. Also during nap time dish washer yes it  gets down during this tim,e. I am finding out that as soon as that door opens you have about 1 minute to take everything out and put everything in before you have two kids coming over to play with the door, climb on it and pull things out. Yes they are a fantastic help and soo cute but really nicer to do it with out the battle. Cleaning and making things get done as well during this time. But between the things that need to be done you also have the choice to nap your self. What better way to spend your day then having a nap with the kids. I know I have a job to do I am getting paid to nap doesn`t seem fair. You don`t get paid to sit at work, or sleep at work, well some people do. But not everyday. If I wanted I could nap for 2 hours every day. I dont think I will. If I let myself not sleep by about 8pm I am ready for bed.  So by 9 I sleep like a baby.
Anywho a little ramble for the day!!

Monday 1 October 2012

Here comes the weekend!!

So it`s sunday after my first week and boy what a different week it is compared to my normal life. I think it is so different and exhausting that you cant realoly miss home. There is no time. There is always 3 children who are near by. You can`t sleep past 7:30 with out hearing the pitter patter of little feet. And yes when that time hits you are never ready to wake up. Yet its worse to stay laying in bed then to get up and join them, I have found that even on saturday you might as well get up. If you lie there hearing the noise you cuss the noise but as soon as you go up and join and see the beautiful smiley faces running around and having fun you can`t help but join. And so I have cut out half my sleep to play with kids and so then when kids nap oh boy it is a house hold nap. One of the best parts sometimes is having that nap so that you have energy for the rest of the day.
Enough about sleeping and naps, Friday evening I went out and saw the town of Valleyfeild with S we had a little date night, S is the mom. And so far she is one of my only friends in this town and I love sitting and talking with her. We tried to find a café but no such thing. Seriously this place does not do coffee. They have placees where you can have wine and cheese or beer and food. They do it like the Europeons. Saturday my day off was not a day off really because I don`t have much to do I join the family. I am fine with this we went apple picking in the morning and then I went out with A and S while a babysitter watched the kids. Crazy right. To have a nanny and then hire a babyistter. Well they wanted me to meet A family and also whether they hire a babysitter or I watch the kids they would have to pay extra becuase it is my day off. So we went and had wine and cheese and talked with a bunch of people I have never meet before. It was a party in this big house and it was for A`s brother-in-law and father who are hiking the tallest mountain in Africa and doing a Safari with this organization. It was fun and weird. But A dressed in a home made elephant costume and S dressed as a lepreod slash cheetha.
Sunday morning I pulled myself out of bed so me and S could go to the church that we looked into. It is a baptist church but its the closest you will find to a menno church around here. Everything else is Catholique. And so this church that we went to looks like a house. It is tiny and so we didnt think people went. But what do you know it is an up and running church we had called before and gotten information on times and how big of a congergation it was and it was a good 100 people or so, of all cages. It was so incredibly welcoming everyone came and said hi and introduced themselves and gave a hug. Then at the end of the service they talked and invited us to their local small group thing. And then it was two kisses one on each cheek and a good bye. I think I will continue to go even if half of the message does not make any sense. Still a good way to practice my french and meet people.
Also news A and S just got a new car and it is standard and I do not know how to drive it but I have to learn and quickly if I want to go anyway. So by the time I get home I will be able to watch kids and change diapers, speak amazing french and drive a standard car!!!! Wooo Hoooo!!!!