Christmas is over

Well, it was officially a crazy Christmas season for me. I got sick in the beginning of December, and as a result my big paper was done two weeks after the semester ended (instead of two weeks before) -- by God's grace I was able to drag myself out of bed and finish my other two courses on time! Just before I got sick (while I was working like crazy on that paper), someone wonderful gave us some very nice bunkbeds for the girls. So now Bethany and Carrie Ann are sharing a room, and I have my own bedroom instead of a cot in the living room! (Matthias still has his own room, but the smallest one instead of the biggest one.) So after I finally finished my paper (on the 20th or so), I started work on re-arranging the toys to go with the new beds (thanks to the volunteers who helped move shelves, desks and the extra bed!). The holidays were quiet -- many of our friends and relatives were out of town, but we had a nice Christmas with Kathleen and Alec and went to a movie on Christmas Eve with my friend Marilyn. Other than that, the kids and I went to Van Dusen to see the lights, to a Magic show benefiting the burn centre at Children's, and to Science World (thanks to Grandma's Christmas money). I spent a lot of time sleeping, trying to get over my cold. After Christmas I used some of our Christmas money to buy storage containers for the girls' room, and we worked on sorting toys. Today, finally, we put the last toys away and I vacuumed everywhere so I can now officially say that the chaos (begun by the gift of bunkbeds) is now over. You can come visit if you want!
The kids are back to school. Carrie Ann is still loving kindergarten -- a couple days after they started back, she came over and gave me a big hug as I dropped her off and thanked me for letting her come to such a wonderful place! Two of the staff at the school commented on how happy Matthias is now, and how great his laugh and quirky sense of humour are. Bethany did a wonderful job in her choir concert, and is now trying out for a part in the school play!
I realized on my first day back to school that if I take two courses in the summer (as I was planning), I can finish next December instead of April 2013. This could save me a lot in student loans, so I'm going to go for it. Because two of the remaining courses I wanted to take are only offered in the spring, I decided to take a third course this spring. I'll be busy, taking three courses and working as a teaching assistant for Principles of Translation. (I loved that class, and I'm very excited to be TA'ing it, especially since I haven't had to do any grading yet -- that's always the hardest part of the job!) I was dreading the beginning of this semester, not feeling like I was really recovered from my last cold (the last one came with dizzy spells, weird) -- but once classes started I got so caught up in the subject matter, I'm excited about them now. It's amazing to be in a program that I love so much it's a privilege rather than a chore to do the homework! I just hope that that enthusiasm lasts long enough to carry me through to the end of the semester!
Well, we packed away the Christmas tree this evening. I did take pictures of it, but I'm short a monitor at the moment, and the working computer is not the one with the camera card reader. I'll post the pictures when I have a moment (hopefully sometime before July!) Thanks to everyone who helped make our Christmas this year special.

Christmas tree

Thanks to the generosity of some anonymous friends, we got a Christmas tree this year!

We are very thankful to everyone who gave us gifts or money this year. It has been nice to be around family and friends, and enjoy the season! May God bless you all as you share His love with others and meditate on the miracle of his incarnation and birth.

Gone again, back again

Hi there! Well, it has been a while (okay, 7 months). Sorry. Quick recap: in June, I could no longer hold together my marriage with Frank, moved to Langley. After a summer of living here and there (thanks to everyone who helped us out!), we now live in a subsidized apartment for single moms. Matthias is living with Frank, and having fun "unschooling." We will see how that goes. When I prayed about what to do with my life now that marriage was no longer an option, God reminded me of the MLE I didn't do 14 years ago. So here I am -- already done the first semester (the "Killer Pack" -- by God's grace, it didn't kill me!). If you want to talk to me about any of this, feel free to call or email (I'll be off email for the holidays, though). Dad and Deb both have my number, and Calvin College, or leave me a comment and I'll call you.
I wanted to be intentional about celebrating Christmas this year, so we sat down and made a list of what Christmas is about. The first thing on our list was "remembering Jesus' birth," and I listed all the things we've done to celebrate His first coming -- playing religious Christmas music, reading the story, attending Christmas plays, programs and concerts. The one thing missing on my list was setting up a nativity scene. So we talked about how hard it is to buy one that matches my mental image. The next thing I knew, Bethany asked for my fabric scrap bag, and she created costumes for all her Barbie dolls and now we have a beautiful "Barbie Nativity." So much better than a store bought one!

Close up