A Ride Around Stanley Park's Seawall

 Every weekend, Stefan and I try to plan one 'outdoor adventure' with the kids, so that we're getting exercise, seeing the local areas, and helping our kids enjoy the same. Last weekend was one of my favorite. We decided to spend the day in Canada, packed a dinner, and headed with the kids, bikes, and water bottles up to Vancouver's Stanley Park. Stanley Park is similar to New York City's Central Park in that in the middle of a huge metropolis, it's a fully green space. It has walking and biking trails, multiple jungle gyms, a swimming pool, multiple large beaches that meet the water, tennis, lawn bowling, and I believe golf areas, too. It's 5.75 miles around the perimeter, and that dual (bikes on 'top', walkers, and runners on 'bottom) route is called the Seawall, because it borders the ocean the whole way around. 

 Here's a view in the shade. This is actual a walking area, where bikers have to dismount and walk their bikes to the next area. There are a few of these around, and it's mostly because they are main entrances, where there could be tons of people exiting or entering the Seawall, and on busy days, it's really smart they have the bikers do this. It avoids a lot of accidents. 

 

Here is a view of the Lion's Gate bridge, which crosses Vancouver into North Van and West Van, and further north, the mountains. It opened in 1938 and one can tell if you cross it. It's three lanes, for heavy traffic. That's not three lanes per side, that's three lanes, period. One side always gets only one lane determined by traffic flow, accidents, and what not. We've been stuck on that bridge for an hour once, and it wasn't fun. It looks pretty, but it's inefficient and maddening to wait in traffic for over an hour just to cross a bridge. 

Here's a view of one of the beaches where sunbathers and children swimming and kite-flying were enjoying their Saturday morning. The day we went was one of the warmest days of the year so far, and I got a bad sunburn on my back from biking. This beach is not representant of just how many people were in Stanley Park the day we were there. Within the 5.75 miles, we saw over 1,000 people riding, roller blading, running or walking, sunbathing, or long-boarding. It was amazing. Everyone was out enjoying the sunshine. 

My pictures just don't do this park justice, since the views all the way around are just spectacular, especially on a clear day like this. The mountains, the ocean (the sailboats all lined up!), and the sunshine make for a perfect day in my eyes. Lukka even used his tiny little bike to go all the way around along with us, and boy was he tired after that!

This top view is actually outside of the park, as we biked through downtown Vancouver to go to one of our favorite places--Chipotle which is about 2 miles away. Biking is the way to travel through downtown Vancouver, since you don't have to pay for parking and they have amazing, protected bike lanes complete with bike traffic lights. On this site you can see a picture that shows what their protected bike lanes look like, in green. As an aside, everything is more expensive in Canada, even Chipotle, where a burrito set us back $9 instead of the usual $6.75! 

Here's another spot where bikers had to get off (you can see the green sign in the back, showing that this was an entrance to the beach, so bikers dismount) and so we stopped in the shade to cool off and snap a couple of photos. It was such a fun day--probably my favorite so far. We went on to spend the evening eating our packed dinner with some friends at Crescent Beach and walking along the trail there before heading back to Blaine. A perfect day to spend in the sun, with some of the best views around!

A Slight Detour

 Red and Yellow Tulip fields and the mucky mud that surrounded them

Every weekend we try to go out and explore our new area, whether hiking, canoeing, biking, or driving up to British Columbia and finding a new spot up north. After a hike with the kids down at Deception Pass State Park (breathtakingly beautiful) near Mount Vernon, we decided to take a slight detour to see the Skagit Tulip Festival. The festival is a month long 'driving tour' where you can stop at different farms to see the luminous fields of flowers and choose to pick a few to buy for your home. 

I had first seen the site of Dutch Roozengaarde on another blog, and I had thought it looked worth the drive, especially if we were in the area. Going on a Saturday wasn't the best time because there were huge crowds everywhere, but we were able to snap a few pictures and gawk like tourists at the colors that illuminated the otherwise dreary landscape. 

 Light Pink (distance), Dark Pink, and Orange Tulips

Roozengaarde, unfortunately, was a bit of a let down, since we weren't aware you had to pay to go and walk around the fields or into the main area where all the decorative landscaping is. We didn't think a 20 minute jaunt to see flowers was worth the money with two hungry kids in tow, so we decided to stay on the other side of the fence, snap a few pictures, and return home for lunch sans mud thankyouverymuch. As I talked to other locals about it the next day, I found out that payment was a fairly new thing. It used to be completely free, and now all the farms charge for parking, or if they don't charge for parking, for the walking. 

I did enjoy learning the history of Roozengaarde ("Rose Garden"), which is that the Roozen family of Holland and now United States, have been a tulip-growing family for over 300 years. The family now owns thousands of Skagit valley acres, all growing tulips, iris, and daffodils. From a quick search online, it appears that they ship year-round from order via www.tulips.com. 

 a cheap shot

Since the Tulip Festival is only a once-a-year thing, and we were in the area for a hike, I was glad we made the stop. Even spying the tulips from the car while driving from farm to farm was worth it. I've never seen anything like it, the colors so vibrant. There is a chance we won't be in Washington this time next year, so I'm glad we took the opportunity to enjoy it. At the very least, it gave us a chance to get a family shot with an interesting background, even if the it's "the long arm" version. 

If you want to see more just google (images) Skagit Tulip Festival, and take a peek!

Book Reviews: Brene Brown

Brene Brown TED talk: The Power of Vulnerability

I first heard Brene Brown's name about 18 months ago, at a Mom2Mom event. That's a monthly gathering of mothers at every stage, who come together to listen to a speaker, eat a delicious brunch, talk in small groups, and have childcare for those two hours of fellowship. A friend of mine did a talk on vulnerability, and opened with this 20 minute video of Brene doing a TED talk on that very subject. I remember at the event, I wrote her name down which is unusual for me, and watched it again that night. And another time. And then sent it to friends after that. Needless to say, I found her topic and research fascinating, and was happy to find out she had 2 books already published, and a third on the way.

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This year I was able to read all three of her books in chronological order, the first being I Thought It Was Just Me (But It Isn't), which is Brown's body of shame research (yes, she's a shame researcher) that includes interviews, statistics, and scientific data she spent years collecting on shame and shame resilience. I found this book beyond fascinating. It's a bit of an academic read, more so than her two that came after, but I highly recommend reading them in chronological order since that is also how her research happened, adding other topics that bloomed out of that data like vulnerability and Wholeheartedness.

Brown's second book, The Gifts of Imperfection, was a much quicker read for me because not only is it about 100 pages smaller, it's also much more anecdotal and autobiographical. I believe I read this book in just under three days, which is my standard "I can't put this down" time-frame. In this book, Brown goes deeper into the meaning of Wholeheartedness; the 10 factors of those whose lifestyle defines wholeheartedness, and how these people living in this way use bravery and shame resilience, on a whole, much more than those who do not. From the research, there seem to be people who feel they are worthy of love, and those whose shame gets the best of them.

Finally, Brown came out with a third book late last year, called Daring Greatly. This book combines both of her two books into one (albeit small!) summary and then adds with it topics on how wholehearted living, shame, and courage affect our relationships in different environments including work, education, and home life. This book is the pinnacle of the two preceding books because not only does it combine all the research she's done, but it goes a step further with world views  education, parenting, and job culture, and how to change these places positively and with healthy attitudes.

This tidy little review will not help you learn more about what your personal shame triggers are, and rest assured, you have them. Brown's research for over a decade is pretty clear that shame is a universal feeling for women and men. This review won't give you any examples of how to define what gives you shame in your life, and what negative tactics we all use to cover up shame, but I hope it will encourage you to give at least one of these books a shot. Watch the video at the beginning and tell me your interest isn't piqued just a bit. I have really taken these three books to heart and have talked about them with friends and my husband, and have found the research both revealing and helpful in how I relate to others, and what I can be aware of in the future when I feel most vulnerable. I feel Brene has done us all a favor and taken this cringe-worthy information and made it both accessible and even funny in her books by her wonderful humor, and has created a very needed conversation that our country needs to wrap its collective mind around.

So, what are you going to do with this information? 

What Takes Time

Our 17 footer, hitching a ride

Two weeks ago, we bought a canoe from Craigslist. It's nothing fancy. It's green, with mildew on the bottom from being unused, and it came with a solitary wooden oar. We'd been scouring craigslist with little luck under the $300 limit, and finally came across this one and joy of joys, they took $150 because they were putting everything in the moving truck the day we came. They didn't want it -- cash looks better than a canoe sitting by the curb. 

We'd squirreled away about $15 a month for the past year or so, just to put towards this little goal, and with a few life jackets, and 3 more oars to boot, we were out for our own little family adventure. The first time we took it out, we saw so much wild-life we couldn't believe it: a diving bird returning from his catch down under just a few feet from our boat, a Bald Eagle, and some sort of seal who popped up, stared at us, and promptly went back underwater. I didn't even know seals lived in this area, so I was quite excited to show the kids that.

I think I am still getting the novelty of nature out here more than Ani and Lukka, since they will be more or less "from the Pacific Northwest". This baffles me that when people ask where they're from, when they are adults, that's what they'll say. They might take the mountain and ocean views for granted, and won't gawk for the 20th time they see an eagle, and certainly hikes, boat trips, and 4-wheeling will be as normal as the big skies, pollen fighting, and rows of corn were for me.

Dakota Creek at low tide

We've now taken the canoe out for 2 trips, one each weekend since we've gotten it. We've been down a peaceful little creek near Drayon Harbor at low-tide, and out crossing over from Blaine Marina to Semiahmoo, full of waves and rocking, and wind. It has been a really fun experience to have with the kids, who are at such a ripe age to begin this kind of adventuring. We're getting outdoors constantly, and doing more than just nature trails while staying consistent with 'kid skill' level. 

It's fun and a little sweet to think that this boat along with it's mates of life jackets and oars, that cost such a small amount, will be used over and over for years: enriching our family life while camping, adding a breath of fresh air during fleeting weekends, and giving us joy over something so simple as being outside and making memories with those we love. That is money and time well spent. We do not make big purchases (and yes, we think $250 is a big purchase!) lightly, but we see this as an excellent return for our money. Now...who wants to come and visit and take a ride in the canoe? 

My Night at the Senior Center

 View of Semiahmoo historic fishing boat near the pier

Nearing the end of the day, we took a slow, three-quarter-mile walk to the Senior Center down on "H" Street. This town is a sleepy retirement town, with a quaint little main strip, cheap gas for the Canadians who come down, and chicks at the local hardware shop. In our little corner of Blaine, there are no fewer than twenty children running around together in the afternoons, and people outside walking their dogs or doing yard work. It seems that my 'feeling' of it being a family-friendly, safe place to live is actually true. 

I had heard rumors of, and then confirmed my suspicions, that Blaine is also a place where people value those who make up the community. Every week, from 5-7PM on Wednesdays at the Senior Center, there is a Community Meal, where anyone and everyone are welcomed and fed.  I haven't gotten all the details on how this started, but just in one year, the group has swelled from about 15 to now 70-100 people served every week. There are a few groups who take ownership and rotate weeks of every month (our church, Northwood Alliance, is one of those), who shop & calculate servings, make, and serve the people who come. 

 Barnacles on brick, stone

As a new resident of Blaine, this simple little tradition was such a blessing to me. The days have been long, and sometimes rough, and our hours between 4:30-6:30 seem to stretch longer than the entire 8.5 hour period that preceded it. As 5:00 rolled around, the sun was shining and the kids were restless and hungry. I made a spontaneous decision that we were walking (quit complaining!) to where dinner was going to be, and (insert bribery here) there was going to be dessert so get your shoes on!

Upon entering the little building, we smelled a delicious smell and we were greeted with a huge smile from a volunteer asking us what we wanted on our plate. After grabbing 3 plates with 2 hands, the next item was finding a place to sit, and this being a community meal, means I find a table [with strangers] that has 3 available seats for me and my children. I found a table, introduced myself, and was lucky that  one of the ladies had actually been someone who had greeted me at Northwood weeks ago, who was an outgoing and excellent conversationalist. 

Near-most family shot of the old fishing boat

With a few little grouchy faces from Anikka, heaven forbid those 10 beans touch my food!, we had a lovingly prepared meal that was healthy and good, with a dessert on the side, that was on donation, dishes-free, and that we could walk to and enjoy. I love this idea as it establishes community and relationship through a few serving individuals, and the people who come and chat with their neighbors. All together there were equal parts retirees, families with strollers and babies in tow, even a couple tables with high school kids that looked fresh from practice. Perhaps a few of these people needed this meal because it was free. Perhaps a few needed this meal because it met a need, like me. 

With those past rough days in recent memory, the people who organized and served tonight have no idea how much I was blessed by this. There was nothing rushed about it, the food was delicious, and I felt like I genuinely belonged there as a few who I'm getting to know from church stopped to talk with me. I could feed my kids dinner without paying an arm and a leg to 'grab something quick', and they thoroughly enjoyed being there as well to run around and check out the 'free' pile after they had finished their dessert. (Side note: As I told the kids they could go over there and pick out one free item each, Ani of course had to come back with a Barbie who looked like she belonged in the Playboy Mansion...so you can't win them all!) 

What a simple thing: an idea that someone had to bring the people of this small town together, and how much they have blessed many. I think this just may be a weekly routine. 

Photos taken by Stefan with his iphone.

A Rough Week

A baby crab

We are slowly discovering the culture and what the Pacific Northwest has to offer, more and more everyday. We have places to go, things to see, and people to meet. This has helped our transition to a different part of the country so much; the invitations for dinner, the beauty of the seascape, and even what a decent end-of-winter feels like with rain instead of late snowfalls. We've come at a good time. We're 'getting out there' and getting our feet wet (literally, me in the Vibrams) exploring nature and also meeting new people.

Last week, however, was a killer.

A morning view of the Blaine public fishing pier

Not one to miss the irony of a dose of my own medecine, but the past month and a half of Stefan's long hours had finally caught up with me and it was taking an extreme toll on Thursday and Friday. I know part of the problem was because it happens every month (ahem) that I get a little bit irritable, snarky and overly tired. The other part was simply hours of time trying to figure out things to do with the kids without having them kill each other, them kill me, or me killing them. It's quite a delicate balance, the 'arsenic hour', as my friend Kerri put it. 

I've been very lucky to find a really great group of women to share Wednesday mornings with during a two and a half hour (hallelujah) bible study hour where there is babysitting provided. This has helped ease the transition not only from finding a church and the small beginnings of friendships, but also to relieve me, albeit a small amount, of being with my children throughout the week for adult conversation. We've also done a bit of digging (thank you homeschooling newsletter) and found a wonderful babysitter that we will hopefully call before April is out to come watch our kids for a date-night. 

A low-tide walk around Semiahmoo peninsula

We knew this would be one of the hardest parts of moving away from the grandparents. Our children are very lucky they have very invested grandparents, and we were so happy that they could spend their youngest years growing those relationships. We knew it would be hard on our kids (it has been) and our parents (I'm sure it has been), and we knew it would be hard on us to not have the relief they provided us, as well as our own relationships with them. We knew this going into this move. We prepped ourselves mentally, and we can say that it has been hard. 

Stefan and I had talked about this at length before our move, and frankly, other than moving away from our wonderful church family and our very close friends, it was THE reason we debated moving in the first place, years ago. We love our families and while most people we know are starting to return to their city or state of origin, after being gone for years for college, travelling, first jobs, etc., to begin families, we'd found ourselves already with the family, and never having the years of 'exploration'; we knew we'd regret it if we didn't take our opportunity. 

A bird's (bike's) view of Birch Bay

We don't know what the future will hold for us, right now we know we are in the right place. We've worked really hard to pull this one off, and we're trying to edge ourselves in. While Stefan doesn't have the same feelings of 'starting fresh' (so many of his best friends live near us now), I feel that I've had to make a very intentional point to stay connected by any means possible. That means volunteering to garden at our new church's community garden. That has meant listening to podcasts that make me feel slightly more connected (is that weird? Maybe. It's helped.) as a mom. It also means having chats on facebook, whereas normally I hate the chat function. It has also meant picking up the phone, or ringing facetime, and trying so so hard to focus all my energy on calling or emailing real updates to those I love back in Nebraska. It has even meant thinking about what to share, and blogging more regularly (lucky you). 

The moral of the story? We're seven full weeks in, and we've done well. It will take time. We're planning, we're doing.  (Huge, life shifts take time? What?) 

And lawdy, somebody get this girl a date before she eats any more spoonfuls of peanut butter!

homeschooling across the country, and how my niche comes easier, now

view from Peace Arch park

On Monday, we will be entering our 6th week of our move, outside of Lincoln and settling in Blaine, Washington, directly south of the Canadian border. Stefan and I can still hardly believe this, since it has gone so fast, and have said on more than one occasion, to more than one person who asks how we're doing, "It feels like we're still on vacation, with our kids here and stuff in the closets." This, in my opinion, is a pretty great way to feel about a new town that is 1,600 miles away from one's hometown. 

When we first started to look outside our apartment, to find things to do in the area, I knew I needed to be connected to a homeschool group like I was back in Lincoln. In fact, before we even moved I had emailed the head of the Whatcom County Homeschooler's Association, just to find out if I could be sent a newsletter to check it out from afar. I'm so glad I decided to (wo)man up and go to the local homeschooling conference that took place on March 16, less than a month after our move date. 

Within this conference not only was I granted a full 8-4 day away from the children (something I, and they, really needed), but I got to listen to 5 wonderful presentations on all things homeschooling, from storing children's art (hello iphone app, more on that in another post), boyscouts, scientific data presented on how our culture praises children (and what we should be doing), book lists, and even a spot on unschooling. I had a great day meeting some of the members of the WHA, and took it to heart that even far away, I can find my niche with a little guts and a strong wifi connection. 

It has come easy to me to find things to do here that are free, because we're so interested in our surroundings, and we have to do it sooner or later. Our family runs a tight financial ship, and we save for years for big-ticket items (i.e. sport goods like a canoe coming this summer!) and it is my job to make sure the rest of the time we are living life in fun and healthy ways with very small price tags. Some call this 'living simply' or 'frugality' but it's just a discipline we've had to do, and that now comes second nature. I find many homeschoolers, who often are only one-income families, do this also. 

view of "0 Ave" behind us, or 'hop the fence and we're in Canada!'

I was a little nervous, while still in Lincoln, that homeschooling might be a harder thing to do up in Washington state, as red states (majority Republican) are usually more lenient to homeschooling than blue (majority Democrat) . This, however, has not been the case, and I have been pleasantly surprised just how homeschooling friendly this area is. There are multiple homeschoolers even in Blaine, which has a population under 5,000. While at a women's bible study I've started attending, I got a great tip from a previous teacher in the Blaine school district, who told me that there is even a homeschooling co-op that meets twice a week for fun classes such as music, etc. and that they give you a monthly stipend for homeschooling here and what luck--it meets at the church we've been attending right around the corner! Please re-read that. They are going to pay us (art supplies, books, etc.) to homeschool our children. I've just died and gone to heaven.

A few years ago, I wouldn't have known where to start completely displaced from familiarity in a new town. I would have probably said things like, "there's nothing to do here!' when I got bored, multiple times a day. Being a homeschool parent has really helped me to think outside the box in this regard, and look at every simple, small, and outdoor recreational activity as an opportunity to learn and enjoy my family, while getting some good old fashioned fresh air in my lungs. With my participation in my past homeschooling group, and putting myself 'out there' to learn, I have found the confidence and ability to do the same in my current surroundings. If I am not able to enjoy the city I'm in, how can I possibly grow as a person, learn more about my own interests, and help my children try to do the same? I think this all goes back to the lesson of learning to live contentedly.

 Stefan and I, for the last number of years, really focused on being content where we were in Lincoln, even though we had always wanted to move up to the Pacific Northwest. This included the jobs that we both had, the neighborhood we lived in, the church we attended, and the geography that surrounded us. When you learn contentment, your life will burst with gratitude and joy, you appreciate small, daily gifts (I'm talking so simple here: birds chirping in the morning, a nice spontaneous walk with a neighbor and her kids, and making a good meal), and your life feels full. We will look for that, whether we're in Blaine for a few years, or just under one. We will make that our attitude, we will choose and work at it, wherever we end up. 

KCW

photocredit

For the first time in years...years....I'm going to be participating in a sewing week in April. I've wanted to join this very same seasonal group of sewers for a long time, but things would come up, I'd be too committed, or my kids were just too little and I was simply too tired. 

This time around, I've got no excuse. I'm going to be brave and start sewing again. I'm going to spend the next month picking out patterns, choosing fabrics from my stash, and cutting them all out. If I take the time to create the scenario (cutting is my defeatist step), I will enjoy spending an hour or two sewing everything up during nap times, photographing everything, and posting it here on the blog and within the group online. 

I have tons of ideas already from my pinterest boards, and I even bought a few patterns months ago in anticipation of when I'd start sewing again. Now...to make sure that darned machine is up to snuff...

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Will you join? What are you creating this season?

Here we are; living, etcetera

This top picture is a view from Semiahmoo strip, where, at the end of this (behind me) is a little ferry that travels during the summer months from Marine Park pier to this dock. Off to the side is a quaint little beach, another dock, and beyond that, another little beach for digging and sea-shell collecting. This was a really fun spot we found, with a beautiful drive to get there, and the perfect little spot for our Saturday lunch. We'll definitely go back in the summer, when the ferry is running everyday. 

The clear days in our pictures are deceiving. It's still winter, which although that doesn't mean dumps of snow--what I'm used to-- but just gloomy day after gloomy day, morning til' night dreary gray, and rain, rain, rain. When the sun appears (especially on the weekend) you grab your shoes and get outside. You don't know when it will be back. 

Living in Blaine, and in the Pacific Northwest in general, still feels a little unreal, even though we've 'lived' three full weeks here, and have been gone from Lincoln four weeks. It still feels like we're on vacation, somehow, only with the kids in tow and all our stuff in the closets. Even though we downsized a lot before we packed up the truck, we still feel like we have too much, as there are boxes still left to unpack, and nowhere, nowhere to put them. 

A lot of the unpacked boxes that have taken residency under the bed are pictures and art for the wall that we're not allowed to put on the walls. We view this apartment as very temporary (1 year), and with a hefty price-tag out of our deposit for holes, we just don't think it's worth it. White, boring walls it is. My thought? Who cares, less to pack later. 

the border lineup; beyond, the coast 

 Life also feels a lot slower here. We went from a Midwestern town of 250,000 that felt very small-townish to me (I always ran into someone I knew everywhere I went), to a real small town of 5,000 that is close to very large cities in either direction, with traffic up the wazoo. But it's still so different.  For example, on the drive to see friends who live 25 minutes away, we drove through our town, through the countryside (2 deer on the side of the road), miles of raspberry farms, a state park area where there were people on horseback, the border (packed), and then a big city. All within 25 miles, and 45 minutes. I love the window view on all of this.  

However, our little corner feels small, slow, relaxed, and just...easy. It feels really easy to live here. It's not very expensive, we've met a few people who really love living here, and we're already regulars at the library and Big Al's. We can walk anywhere in town, and everything shuts down at 6PM. I've even noticed how slow people talk here.  Getting together with friends, crossing the border, or driving to a local spot to hike, sight-see, whatever, there is a lot of waiting. Waiting in the car, waiting for Stefan to get home from work. Waiting for it to stop raining. Or...not. 

I am pretty particular that my kids get outside 6 out of the 7 days a week (there is always one day a week that we hunker down at home) for at least an hour, usually more. This might include a walk, a trip to a new place, digging in the dirt somewhere, or a planned weekend hike or bike ride with the entire family. It's important to us that we all get regular exercise, and that we see the world around us--literally--and enjoy whatever area we're living in. We did this in Lincoln, and we are very excited to do it here, too. 

The other day it was raining all day long, big drops (not just the little spritz-y mist that happens regularly here) and I was sick of staying inside. I didn't run that morning, either, and the kids were getting ornery. I asked them if they wanted to go in the jogger while I pushed them on a run and they were excited to get ready and go. We got dumped on, and I was soaked by the middle of it (not to mention the other adventure of the jogger completely breaking down before I got back home). I only went two miles because I'm easing into my Vibrams, but within that time, drenched. I got so many weird stares I felt completely outside of the culture. It was bizarre. 

No one, and I mean no one, goes outside when it's rainy. This is similar to the attitude of going outside when it's snowy in Nebraska. I just can't do that. You dress for the weather, and you get out and do it, you'll be fine, and you can always go back home when you're done. I had to laugh at how these Pacific Northwesters aren't nearly as hardcore as they're made out to be, stereotypically speaking, if they can't go out in a little rain. There is absolutely no way they could survive in southern heat and humidity. Or a frigid winter. Or both in one week, if you're in Nebraska. I thought the temperature, with the rain, was cooling and wonderful. 

The kids have been pretty adaptable, but not without missing their grandparents and their friends, getting antsy during the day with me, and really having a hard time going to bed (first time change, then  daylight savings) and not getting enough sleep. They go back and forth from saying things like "we don't like it here!" (taking a walk in the rain, ahem) to "We LOVE it here!" (after spending a morning digging and playing at the beach). 

The other day I went to a local women's bible study, with the promise of the children being taken care of by a babysitter for 2 hours. It was bliss. It was the first time I'd been away from them in almost a month, and it was great...for all of us. (I also enjoyed the study, and the women!) As we slowly get more connected to others here in the area, we'll soon be in that phase of play dates, home school gathering opportunities, church activities, and more, we'll find a babysitter or two, I'm sure of it. For now, we're getting more and more settled everyday and easing into our new life devoid of familiarity and with a completely different landscape. Sometimes it's really boring, and dull, and gray, but mostly, I've been reflecting on how Stefan and I have reached this goal that we've had for years, and how good that feels, and what's next on the horizon, and I have to smile. 

We've Settled in Blaine, Washington; For Now

To even begin this post, seems overwhelming to me. I don't even know where to begin without making this a novel, and inevitably, never hitting publish. I'll try to summarize as best I can the actual moving week, and hurry along to the more exciting part of it--where we've settled.

***

On February 19th, we hit the road for a long drive with a fully packed Penske truck at roughly 8:30 in the morning.  We drove through 4 hours of the hardest wind I've even driven through, and then it was flat and stark Nebraska horizons until we hit Denver, for a late dinner with my grandmother who lives there. We were able to stop and visit with her for a couple hours before going onward to Laramie, WY, where we'd hunker down and fall asleep, exhausted, within minutes of checking into our hotel. 

Driving; morning, noon and night with only stops for bathroom breaks, and gas-refills, with one long hour stop allotment for dinner, until we arrived in Bellingham, Washington, late on Wednesday night. The kids did very well. I was grateful and quite surprised by how well they did. They had fun 'traveling bags' and little gifts from friends, along with the novelty of driving in the moving truck after trading shifts every few hours.  Thursday we spent looking at rentals all over the area, and by the afternoon, we'd nailed down a place. We needed to move in the next day, and give the truck back (empty) before Saturday noon-time. [Insert scream and stress-eating noises here.]

Needless to say, I don't remember much about that week, it seems like a lifetime ago (it was only 2 weeks ago!) but it was the most exhausting week my husband and I have ever had--minus the birth of our first child when we had no idea what we're doing, and I wasn't getting any sleep--period. 

We have found a rental in Blaine, Washington, that is 6 blocks away from the beach, and seven (because of the length of the road) blocks from the border crossing where Stefan has to go everyday to get to work in Richmond, British Columbia. Our backyard, funny enough, is 0 Ave. I can literally throw a stone into Canada from my backyard. Thankfully, he'll get his nexus pass in the mail by the end of the week, so no more border waits for him, but the traffic and commute have thus far been long and agonizing. 

The view, however, has been spectacular. The Pacific Northwest is known for its days, weeks, months of rain (drizzle, pour, mist, etc.) and that is basically how winter up here is. It doesn't snow, or get too cold, it just rains nonstop. We've been pretty lucky for the 10 or so days we've lived in Blaine, we've had 2 beautiful, crisp, sunny days. This means we're outside enjoying it as much as possible. 

The two 'blue' pictures are from a Sunday morning excursion with the kids on their scooter (Lukka) and trike (Ani), from our house down to the main street where there are 2 nice lookout or viewing areas. On a clear day (update: yesterday AND today!) you can see the boats (above) in the marina, the ocean, White Rock, in Canada, across the bay, and mountains in all directions. It's gorgeous. It's the kind of view I dreamed of having since my first international travel experience as a mid-teen. I get to live this life!

Stefan and I, pre-marriage, had talked about eventually moving back to where he was from, in British Columbia, because we both love the culture, the geography, and the climate. We were and are sad to leave our immediate family back in Nebraska, but this has always been in the back of our mind, and we consistently pursued this goal for years on end. When we go married we joked, "5-7 years, and then we'll move back", but we didn't actually think it would take that long. People, we are on the tail end of 7! It was right on time. 

We've Gone and Done It

We are in the midst of packing up, and moving. Not just any move, but The Move we've been trying to accomplish for years now. We're heading up to (Washington) Canada. In the last couple of months Stefan had been talking to a potential employer up in Richmond, British Columbia, and after a very swift interview process they offered him the job. Small and large details aside, he accepted and plans to start on February 25th. We leave one week earlier, on the 18th. That's literally just over 2 weeks from when you will read this.

We told family and close friends first, and while we haven't been keeping it a huge secret, our church, as a whole, did not know until last night because it was then we could tell everyone at our seasonal congregational meeting what our plans were in person, and with many of them all at once. I didn't want to say anything online until that happened.

We've been steadily spending heaps of time with friends and family, all while slowly packing up 8-10 boxes per day (really, the best way to do it) and trying to clean while we go. Okay, so that last part hasn't really happened yet, that's just been the plan. Packing, getting all appointments (doctor, dentist, etc.) underway for the entire family, celebrating my daughter's 4th birthday next weekend, trying to eat everything in our cupboards, fridge, and freezer, while also getting furniture & items sold online, closing up accounts, buying a motorcycle, getting our car fixed, gathering our tax information, and living day to day while trying to keep our children's schedules (and classes!) as normal as possible. Our life will look like that for just over 3 more weeks, until we decide on a rental for the next 6-12 months, and live at the tip of the border in Washington state, while Stefan commutes everyday across to the Canadian side.

Why Washington? Although 3 out of the 4 members of our family are dual citizens, I have not had that opportunity yet. We will apply for my immigration to Canada and it's usually close to a year's wait before one can enter the border to permanently live. Then, we will move over to the other side, where I will begin my Canadian residency and apply, soon enough, for citizenship. We have no idea what the future holds, but we do know that having dual citizenship is a huge priority and a definite boon to our family, for many reasons I won't go into now.

On the night when Stefan accepted the job over the phone, and I was sitting anxiously next to him, I remember him hanging up and saying, "this just feels like an ordinary moment, but it's not" and that night I barely slept a wink trying to go over the mental list between the 'here' and the then 'now'. We have been fortunate to have the flexibility these past few weeks to see many friends during the evenings, go out to dinner "one last time" with certain groups of people, and even do lovely things like rest, watch tv, and make spreadsheets about housing at night. The last one, not so much lovely, as much as 'necessary'. We won't have an address until we arrive and choose a rental, from our list, and mulling over our pros & cons with each one, I can honestly say there are 5 good ones in the running. I'll look forward to taking pictures and sharing them here in the future.

As for now, if you're local and you know us in person, please stop by our Going Away open house which will be held at Grace Chapel (4000 Sheridan BLVD) on Monday night, Feb. 11th, from 6-8:30. Come and give us a hug goodbye, and let me tell you what we most remember and treasure about you. We will also have some items like furniture, books, kids things, home decor, etc. as a type of "free sale" because we need to downsize, and we love to give things away. There will be a jar for donations, but nothing is necessary if you plan to take something you like. Please come see us! We will so miss our family and friends who we will be leaving.

2013 Movie List

photocredit

My last post was a very long list, and this is more of the same, only with the movies I hope to watch in 2013. Stefan and I are huge flick addicts, and although we only watch roughly 1 hour of TV (movie, or a show on Netflix) a day, we go through, usually, over 40 movies in a year, with the sparse movie outing in an actual theater.

Watching movies is just another avenue of my love of literature because it's a story in a visual sense, with a different perspective and rich aesthetics. I learn so much from movies, and within a church educational hour film class, have been able to understand more of film, how it affects culture and how a good story touches us on so many levels including our spiritual sense.

There will (hopefully) be reviews of some of my favorites, as writing book and movie reviews is one of my favorite things--I love to share what I find honest and well done--but I know I won't get to them all. The picture above, Les Miserables, was the film I watched last night, and it prompted me to get this post on the blog. There were a few of these movies (with the *) that I saw late 2012, but I'm adding them because I thought they were worthwhile.

* Dark Shadows
*Moonrise Kingdom (current watch)
*First Position *
*To Rome With Love
*Anonymous
*Snow Flower
*Being and Becoming
*The 5 year Engagement
*Identity Thief
*Frozen Planet
*New Year's Eve
*Cloud Atlas
*Argo
*Lincoln
*Perks of Being A Wallflower
*Trouble with the Curve
*The Hobbit
*Life of Pi
*Anna Karenina*
*Les Miserables
*Brave
*Melancholia
*TinTin
*Ides of March
*The Lorax
*PINA
*Great Gatsby
*Looper
*Desert Flower
*Winter Tale
*Of Gods and Men
*Oz the Great and Powerful

There will be others, that I'll have to add as I see them come up in 2013. Just like books, I can't resist a good title, and will admittedly add more in my tangible list notebook at home.

Have you seen any of these yet? What movies are you looking forward to seeing in 2013? What did you love best in 2012? 

2013 Book List

Last year I had a good reading year. I didn't do a lot of sewing, a little bit of knitting, and almost no other creating besides the blog. I read a large majority of this list from 2012, and added quite a few more that I finished within the twelve months as well.
While I couldn't possibly add to an already bursting year in 2012, I had made, perhaps in July, a second book list for 2013. This was a fairly absurd idea, being as I was going to have an impossible list to get through at that rate, but I can't resist a good title. The books with the (*) behind it, means that was a book I wasn't able to read, but had on my list in 2012. Without further ado, my list for this year:

*Help, Thanks, Wow by Anne Lamott
*Some Assembly Required by Anne Lamott
* Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tripp
*Total Truth by Nancy Pearcy
*In The Basement of the Ivory Tower by Professor X (current read)
*When I Was a Child I Read Books by Marilynne Robinson
*State of Wonder by Ann Patchett *
*Bel Canto by Ann Patchett *
*Forgotten God by Francis Chan
*Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg
*New Collected Poems by Wendell Berry
*Iscariot by Tosca Lee
*Imagine Childhood by Sarah Olmsted
*The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
*The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova
*The Lepine Girls of Mud City by Evelyn Earl Geer
*The Read Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease
*The Three Junes by Julia Glass
*Rilla of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery*
*The Element by Sir Ken Robison*
*Bringing up Bebe by Pamela Druckerman
*The Gift of Imperfection by Brene Brown
*Daring by Brene Brown
*Call the Midwife by Jennifer Worth
*Made to Crave by Lysa TerKeurst
*French Children Eat Anything by Karen Le Billon
*The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling
*Tap-Dancing to Work by Carol J. Loomis
*Project-Based Homeschooling by Lori Pickert
*A Severe Mercy bySheldon Vanauken
*Leadership Education by Oliver De Mille
*Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoffer*
*At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon*
*Attributes of God: Volume 1 by A.W. Tozer*
*The Year of Biblical Womanhood by Rachel Held Evans
*My Berlin Kitchen by Luisa Weiss

The Maybe Pile include:
*Attributes of God: Volume 2 by A.W. Tozer
*Leaving Church by Barbara Brown Taylor
*Blood, Bones, & Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton
*Nothing Daunted by Dorothy Wickenden
*The Hidden Europe by Francois Tapon
*This is How You Lose Her by Junot Diaz
*In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson
*End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe
*Every Last Cuckoo by Kate Maloy
*Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbary
*The Tower, The Zoo, and The Tortoise by Julia Stuart

I have a 'maybe' pile because I want to give myself some room, and the top half are the ones I'm dying to read, the 'maybes', well, less so, but I'm still interested in. Those three at the top, yes, have been already read in 2013, so I've got a good start. I have 33 books left if I just do the first list, and that is completely manageable. I think I read about 40+ books last year. Like I said, I didn't do much else. That was how I spent my down-time, and I learned a lot, read some great stories, and discovered some new lovely writers.

What's on your list for 2013? Please share!

2012 goals realized, 2013 anew

painting by one of the kids

We've had a nice two weeks 'off' from our regular routine, and quite a quiet December for these parts. The kids have played with new toys, I've read some new books (!), and Stefan and I have had good quality time relaxing during the evenings with nowhere to be, only Mad Men episodes to enjoy before turning in for the night. It really has been sweet.

Next Monday we'll start afresh with a bit more structure, Ani's music class will start up again, and I'll be thinking about whether or not to sign up the kids for a winter swimming session. I have a lot of fun new ideas and outings planned for the kids, and already have my list ready for the Spring home school conference (sticking to my budget this year!). All in all, this time has given me a lot of opportunity to reflect on where we were last year, what goals we achieved, where we need to continue work, or where we need to move onto new things, and realize what a blessed year 2012 was. 

Goals achieved were potty training Ani (yay! 6 months later this feels like a lifetime ago...), spending more quality time with friends, and planning only 1-2 nights away from the home per week in the evenings. The last one ebbed and flowed, but more often than not we really tried, and I believe, succeeded, in making that happen. 

The goals that were maintenanced were getting lots of sleep and exercise (which, by now, I'm moving on from, it has become our lifestyle), and not incurring more debt. The camera didn't happen, but someday. The weight goal went up and down, but it's back on the 'down' track and I actually did give the kids more baths last year. Hah.

Some of the biggest things that happened in 2012 were more background. Our house sold, after years of trying to sell, then renting-to-own, it's no longer ours. I joined Usborne Books & More to help our family's home school library grow, and our home school budget (which desperately needs all the help it can get). We went on our first family vacation, and we loved it and did it all for under $200. That, in itself, deserves an award! I also learned the beautiful art of the weekly to-do list, rather than the daily. Not really a goal, but something that has made me much more relaxed in how I deal with stress in the day to day.

Our goals for this year are sort of up in the air at this point. I can't say much about what that means, you're just going to have to go with that for now. I know that I want to continue home schooling and finding something that peaks Lukka's interest, and I want a lot of time at home to myself. I want to talk and commit less, and not take on other's expectations for me (sigh) though I'm sure that will take years to really grow confident in. I want to keep our budget tighter than the past few years and really get stingy about using up what we have before buying. I thought about doing a 'no buy' year, but with things up in the air, I'm not making that challenge just yet. It might happen in the future; I hope it does. 

Is this enough? It is for now. I don't do specific resolutions because I think they're unbearable. So what happens if you don't loose exactly 25 lbs in one year? Just the fact that you've made the wheels turn in the right way, and you have some success, is a big deal. I'd rather look at big picture, but that's just me.

Are you a big picture or detailed goal maker? What are your goals, words, or phrases for 2013?

2012: A Semi-Pictorial "Outtakes" Recap or The Never-Ever-Ever-Ending Post

The year 2012, like every other year since having kids, has just flown by. As I was looking through my google calendar, trying to remember big 'main' events of the year, I came by two surprises. The first was how much purple (MY specific calendar of obligations, events, and fun nights) there was, and the second was how Big Life Events like Stefan switching jobs (he was still with his previous employer until February) seem like past lifetimes, just not a mere 11-12 months ago. 

Around the time Stefan switched jobs, Ani turned three, and she became less of a toddler, more of a preschooler in a variety of ways. The photo above is just a regular occurrence at our house. Kids want to play-act something, they go create their props, and act it out. These are, of course, their pirate patches. 

This past year I had a lot of girls-nights-outs, a bible study I loved, and we squeezed in a few sessions of music and swim lessons, and also Ani had her first dance class. She loved it. It's been harder for me to find something for Lukka to do. Dance was a very easy thing for me to connect the dots for Anikka, because she is always wanting to read stories about dancers, she's captivated by live performances, and she prances around every day proclaiming her ballerina moves. 

Lukka, is still without 'his own thing' but he was able to go to many, many camps this summer which I was grateful for. Some were paid for him, some were free to begin with, and only one was a big chunk of change, which we gave to him as his birthday gift. His favorite, when asked, changes every time. Zoo camp, Camp Sonshine (above), Messy Jobs camp at the local children's museum, or one of the two Vacation Bible Schools he went to. They were excellent experiences for him, and he enjoyed all the creativity and projects that went along with each week. 

Also this year, I started selling wonderful children's book through Independent Publishers Usborne and Kane Miller Publishing. I had a soft spot in my heart for their books before doing this, regularly giving one to Anikka and Lukka for their Christmas or birthday books, but the amount I have gotten for free, very reduced, or won has been amazing along with the small pocket cash to help our daily life expenses. I really love this debt-free company *(who won Children's Publisher of the Year!)* and their leadership. It's a small- time thing, but I've seen huge benefits.

We home schooled again this year, Anikka the ever eager learner, her brother, the creative inventor-turned-entrepreneur turned photographer- of- self- portraits. I can't really chalk up our home school year at this time for two reasons: first, we're only 'midway' through this grade level, and second, we've decided to home school year round, which means...well, who knows when I will do a 'yearly review' of our homeschool. I trash things about a week after I realize they aren't working. A week, because there is a small grief period where I wish it would, because I spent money on it. Then I realize, that's foolish.

The kids got their first real taste of camping this year, and it's definitely become part of our family's culture. The kids and Stefan went on a few "men and kids" camping trips with friends, while the ladies got nights off, but I joined alongside for a few camping weekends, we took our first family vacation to Lake of the Ozarks in October for a week where we tent camped, hiked, and had a great time. 

This year, more than any other so far, has really felt like we've hit a groove in trying to find our family's culture--what we want to be spending our time and energy on --and it has been a really fun ride. We've biked with the kids more than ever (Lukka learned how to ride a bike!), we travelled a couple times with kids and sans kids (Vancouver in June for Stefan and I), and have been outdoors with our kids more than any other year. We've started allocating money for a canoe, and that's a exciting.

 Other big and little events, that I can remember, are family visiting in June and July, a beautiful, full Autumn season, plenty of holiday baking and family days, and tons and tons of reading (me). We did fun, annual traditional-y things like apple picking with our friends and the Pumpkin Patch. My mom also got married in early December, and all around us our friends are having children (first, second, thirds, and fourths, oh my!). 

All of these things fall under the category of living life. Time off and vacationing goes hand in hand with inconveniences and working over-time, for him and myself. I'm learning to love my children more with their own personalities, not just mine, in mind.  I'm trying to give up the fear of the linear learning scale, and go with the flow more, and frankly being cheerful while doing all of that just seems a little out of reach. However, this was our year, and it was a blessing. 

***

This year was great, for so many reasons. It was great because we had just enough, but not too much, and not too little, and we were thankful. It was great because I was able to take a break from creativity, and pulse it more into other avenues that had gone unexplored. And then it was great because I got that creative juice back. It was great because our extended family is growing, and that's always an exciting and  an intentional place I want to focus on.  It was great because I  love my church, and served when I could, in capacities that felt true. It was great because I am blessed with a simple household; my best friend, and my two favorites, and a little adventure. Happy New Year. May your 2013 be blessed, full, and ever surprising. 

DPP: 23

Who says errands (to Best Buy, home of the electric drum sets) can't be fun?

DPP: 22

A little sledding hill right outside our front door.

DPP: 21

I love this picture. The top two reasons are: the white space, and the smile.

DPP: 20

No edits, just a happy smile before going outside for an early snow excursion.

DPP: 19

First time doing perler beads, and they loved it. We're moving into the next stage of crafting. Last night the kids had their first 'formal' (sit down and watch, then do) knitting lesson, and this morning they both said they'd like to learn to sew. The kids have helped me on the machine before, but they're just getting to big to sit on my lap and help now. It's time for some felt, some embroidery floss, and their first (big) needles. What a fun stage, although I must say, those perler beads are much smaller than my clumsy hands remember.