At the end of April, Monica and I enjoyed a very relaxing and rejuvenating retreat for pastors and spouses of pastors at Barnabas Family Ministries on Keat’s Island in Howe Sound.  The scenery was breathtaking, the food delicious, the accommodations luxurious, the speaker (Mark Buchanan) inspiring, and the hospitality welcoming.  If you ever have the opportunity to attend a conference at Barnabas, we highly recommend it!

Stanley and I hear and see the craziest things these days!  Hannah loves to be "mom" to Jacob and we will often see her pulling Jacob off his feet to stop him from reaching something he shouldn't.  She also keeps a close eye on him as he learns to venture down the stairs.  "Feet first Jacob!" we hear as she grabs him around the waist to make sure that he doesn't go down head first.  Little does she realize that Mommy is waiting right there to help Jacob down.  Jacob however is getting larger.  He is almost 25 pounds and only 5 behind Hannah.  He shows how well he has been paying attention to Hannah's techniques as now when Hannah has a toy he would like, he tackles her and lays on top of her until he can reach it...  This often ends in Stan or me pulling him off of her and opening his firm grip on her temptingly long curly hair and mediating the dispute.  I'm pretty sure I'll be able to add some new descriptions of skills to my resume when I should decide to find a job somewhere down the road.

One thing we saw just today was Jacob sliding down the slide at the playground by himself and loving it!  The look of sheer delight and the squealing of anticipation of more is one of the best parts of being a parent.  We also realize that this year Hannah will be much more independent at the playground as she is a little taller and just last week was finally able to climb up the levels of the McDonald's Playplace by herself.  Go Hannah!

Thinking of things we hear these days, I would have to say that we agree with the statement that "kids say the darndest things!"  The other day as Hannah, Jacob and I were going to town, Hannah was a little of out sorts, so I asked her if she being grumpy.  She said, "I not grumpy, I just have freckles on my cheeks."  This next anecdote might clear that up a little.  Once again, after a nap (which has morphed into quiet time), I asked her if she was still grumpy and she responded, "I still grumpy here and here and here!"  (pointing to three different places on her cheeks).

Hannah is learning more about sharing.  She told Stanley at breakfast today, "I share Hannah's van with Daddy and I share Hannah's house with Daddy."  Stanley and I just wonder when she will begin to share toys with Jacob...

     -- Monica

Living with the Bulkley River in one's backyard is not without its excitement.  Earlier this winter, Monica and I happened to look out the window at just the right moment; if we had been gone for the afternoon, we would have missed it all...

We were watching large chunks of ice floating quite fast down the river when they began to dramatically slow down and then stop altogether.  The river was all plugged up with a big buildup of ice.  Without warning, the ice at the edge of the river heaved upwards and suddenly water came pouring down into the lower part of our backyard.  What took several days to fill up during the flood of June 2007 filled up in a matter of minutes.  Monica and I looked at each other and said, "Uh, how much higher is that water going to come?"  Thankfully, it did not come high enough to submerge the upper part of our backyard.

After a few more minutes, the ice jam broke up and the chunks of ice began flowing freely down the river again.  The lower part of the backyard slowly drained and everything returned to normal.  A while later, the river was frozen over again, but I guess enough water kept flowing beneath the ice that it didn't get pushed to higher ground.

The photos, unfortunately, don't do justice to the drama of that afternoon, but we're posting a few anyway.  Enjoy...
     -- Stanley

Well, it took nearly half a year, but some pictures from Hannah's birthday are now online.  The "Fall 2007" album contains pictures from August-November.  Hopefully sometime before next June, we'll post some recent Christmas pictures!  We got some real cute ones!

Everyone is doing well as the year winds to a close.  In a week or so, we'll be entering our fourth year here in Telkwa.  It's truly amazing how time flies!  We continue to love being in this part of the world.  I continue to find my work at Telkwa CRC meaningful, and both Monica and I seldom have a dull moment around the house with the two kids.  We've got great friends who look after Hannah and Jacob once in a while so we can get away on a date with just the two of us!  A couple months ago, we finally broke down and bought a van -- a new Dodge Grand Caravan.  We probably should have gone straight from the ZX2 to a van, but, well, it took a while for me to get psyched up to being a minivan family...

Hannah is constantly learning new words, and she talks a lot!  (I can't figure out where she gets that from...)  Sometimes she surprises us with what she all says; a couple weeks ago, she said "Merry Christmas" to me, and I don't think either Monica or I had said that to her yet.  She has several favourite phrases such as, "Hannah do it!" and "Hit the road, Jack."  (Again, I can't figure out where gets that last one from...)  She's only recently been introduced to hot chocolate and it has certainly become her beverage of choice.  I think she would drink it at breakfast, lunch, dinner and bedtime if we allowed it.  Some of her favourite activities include going for walks, playing with friends, attending Sunday school with the big kids, watching Veggie Tales, talking on the phone, taking a bath, playing with water, blowing her nose (with sound effects from her mouth), being read to, writing, painting, and using scissors.  Not too terribly long ago, Hannah graduated from her crib to a "big girl bed," which has improved her bedtime routine and her sleeping patterns, thankfully.  She loves how Monica and I can snuggle beside her for a few minutes now at bedtime.

Jacob has learned to crawl and pull himself up on things (such as the furniture and his parents' legs).  He is also known to climb stairs.  In short, he is really getting around now and is finding his way into everything!  He's finally growing some hair, but it's kinda at a funny stage right now.  Currently he has five teeth -- three on top, two on bottom.  For fun, Jacob plays with Lego and blocks, takes baths, jumps in his Jumperoo, sleeps, and watches Veggie Tales with Hannah.  He continues to receive lots (and lots and lots) of hugs and kisses from Hannah, who also likes showing Jacob how to do things.  Jacob still naps twice a day, and, on good days, his and Hannah's afternoon naps are synchronized, making for a quiet hour or so.

It's really quite amazing how fast Hannah and Jacob are growing.  It is fun watching them develop and learn new things.  There have been lots of changes over the past few months.  Monica and I have indeed been blessed, and we're looking forward to what 2008 holds for our family.

-- Stanley