Life is funny

We're just sitting here laughing because our life seems quite funny right now... We just finished eating pizza out under the trees, listening to the swing band playing tunes next door. Our neighbour is hosting her own birthday party and has hired a band of eleven members which is playing on her large deck as I write this and there's over a hundred people milling about on her deck and yard, which looks directly over ours. This is funny because our property looks slightly like a bomb hit, definitely a construction zone! So, we won't be going to bed til late tonight as the tunes will keep going til late. We're just getting the dirt cleaned off the kids so we can go over and dance and join in. Last month she hosted a healing through laughing seminar and the whole weekend we got to listen to many people laughing at the top of their lungs. She's a sweet heart though. Well, off now to dance and laugh...

Tubing rocks!

I've been wanting to post these pictures for quite sometime... We went to Powell River at the end of June to visit my Nana and my Uncle Gord and Auntie Jan. Gord took all of us tubing and it was a thrill! The reason I really want to show you all the picture of the boys tubing with Christian is because it's so shows the boys personalities. Isaiah is much more of a thinker about things and gets scared more easily, but Brennan just jumps in and has a blast doing everything whole heartedly without thinking about the safety issues. The whole ride, Isaiah's and Brennan's faces looked exactly like the picture shows. At the end they both said they loved it, but I think the picture tells the whole story!! Brennan with a huge grin and Isaiah with teeth gritted. I was honestly terrified watching my precious jewels ride around on a tube... If our kids turn out anything like Christian, I'd better get used to it as he was a cliff jumping thrill seeker when we dated. Thanks for all the fun in Powell River Uncle Auntie, and Nana!

Fun in the Fraser Valley

The kids and I just got back from a fun filled week in Chilliwack and Abbotsford. We decided to go and visit my sis Heather and family who just moved into their new house a couple of months ago. Also, we hadn't yet met my niece Violet who is now three months old. Sadly, I don't even have a picture of her cause my camera broke right before I was going to take her pic. She is a cutie though and I'll post her picture another time.
We went to the Vancouver Game Farm one day which the kids LOVED. Their favorite part was getting to see the lions and tigers eat their meaty lunch.
Most of all though, it was great to visit with my sister and her family as well as some of our good friends from Abbotsford. The boys were so excited to drive by the condo, Isaiah's old school and the hospital where they were born. Brennan said, "Mom, I really am a true Abbotsforder!"
While we were gone, Christian and his parents were working hard taking down all the interior parts of the cottage. I know they got a lot more done with us gone, but I did feel guilty at least once for having so much fun ;)
Now we're back to our sweet little trailer. The only horrible part is that Isaiah now has the runs and Brennan and Abby spent our first night home throwing up. I guess we picked up the flu somewhere (probably Adventure Zone, hey Rachel?) Everyone is still not completely back to normal. I've made too many trips already to the laundry mat to wash sheets and blankets. Yuck!!!

WAITING...

House Of Stone

Our patience muscles are being tested! It seems like we're waiting for everything right now; the financing to go through, the building permit, hydro to come and switch our power to our new pole... I truly think this beginning stage is going to be the hardest part of building our own home, at least I'm hoping so ;) The financing is the biggest sorce of stress. When you apply for a construction loan you have to give a cost estimate that includes the prices of all labour that needs to be done. We're doing tons of the work ourselves, but the bank does not want to know this as they want to know that the house will be built quickly. So, you need to get qualified for a much bigger sum of money than you'll actually end up using. Christian and I were laughing last night thinking about what we would do in the financing fell through! This verse I read today gives me comfort:

Psalm 62:5 (New International Version)

Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him.

I know this is so true. When Christian was out of work and we were waiting to know what he was going to do, God gave me so much peace in the middle of the waiting. So today I'm going to rest and wait to hear about everything.
In the middle of all this waiting though, we've been very busy. Christian's Mom and Step-Dad (Chris and Bill), sold their motorhome that we were going to stay in and bought us a 31 ft. trailer. It's a funky 1976 special but it has a lot of cupboards and a lot more room, so that makes me feel happy. We're almost completely moved into it now and we'll begin tearing down the cottage tonight. I'll take some pictures of our new digs in the next day or so. The boys are tenting it for now and Abby sleeps on the couch in the trailer. Abby has been a challenge as I think it's hard for her to understand why we keep moving to different beds. She's been VERY grumpy. It's so hard for a three year old to understand what it means to be building a house...
Well, I should get back here to packing up the cottage. If you read our blog, leave a comment and then I can keep track of who's actually reading this thing :)
-Jenn