Pardon the Poem

Tomorrow will come and we must go

Board a ferry, and west we row.

The Prince has been most kind to give

A week on his land for us to live.

Anne was also sweet and dear

The Haunted Woods we did not fear.

On Shining Waters we didn’t float

But dug the beaches on which she wrote.

White sand, red sand, it didn’t matter

Blanket picnics for the sun to flatter.

To rival beaches for our time

COWS ice cream – did just fine.

Charlotte has a beautiful town

The park by the bay was for us it’s crown.

Then on to Rick’s Fish and Chips

Remembering makes one lick his lips.

The market, bridge, church and pool

Memories of which are sweet and cool.

But more than those; are hanging out

With friends that you have brought about.

Our gracious and excited host,

To Miss Bredin we propose a toast.

She lifted us up with her laugh

Danny gets the nod; her other half.

 The joys of friends new and old

Our deepest blessing, truth be told.

It’s sad to think and makes us grieve

This little island that we leave.

There’s more to come for you to show

Of yourself, our hearts to know. 

Princess Jovi Sparkle

Well, it’s my turn.  My name is Jovi and I’m four.  But more importantly, I found my new markers.  I like coloring and doing counting puzzles in my coloring books.  My breakthrough piece of artwork was a brown-blue-green cartoon frog.  I think Evrest goes out of the lines a lot.  He doesn’t really know how to draw.  I like teaching Ev how to do things, when he’s not hitting me.  Today I taught him about his shadow and that God created him.  I don’t think he understood me, but he’s so little.  I’m really good at telling mommy and daddy when he does something bad.  Sometimes he tries to sing with me; he’s not very good.  But I make sure to tell him I’m proud of his songs.  I also like to sing and dance.  My favorite songs right now are “Edge of Glory”, Let’s Go to the Mall”, and “The Servant of Lions” (aka. The Circle of Life).  The Lion King is one of my favorite shows.  I really want to watch Bambi, and my mom has already told me about the mommy dying.  My favorite place to play is on trampolines.  And going to the beach.  Yesterday we went to a red sand beach and I loved selling mud pizza’s.  Daddy also buries my feet and legs.  I also played with my new friend Jonah.  He’s a boy that likes to sing and dance too.

Sometimes when I get an “owie” I cry.  Actually, I always cry when I get “owie”.  And sometimes I even cry when I don’t have an “owie”.  Mommy says that okay.  I like playing with both my grammy and Baba.  We are a long way from our home in Sexsmith.  And sometimes when we drive, I ask my parents if we’re driving back to Sexsmith.  But we have to go on a plane before that.  Whenever I blow on a dandelion, I wish for our blue van instead of our silver car.  I also think my knock-knock jokes are really funny even though they don’t make any sense.  I only wear pull-ups at nighttime, and I like peeing in the bush more than on the potty.  I don’t like praying for too many things at once.  Most of the time I pray for two things, but then there are days I don’t stop.  I often pray that my friends back home don’t miss me too much while I’m gone.

Well, my pet zebra needs to find it’s baby zebra so I need to go…bye.

Scotia Snapshots

It's high time you had a better glimpse at some of our time here in Nova Scotia.  I couldn't do better with ten thousand words...(and this is a lot easier)...

The Balancing Rock:

a unique spot, with a trail that is not stroller friendly.

Six inch Boots in a Nine inch Puddle:
having fun exploring a beach only a ten minute walk from the house.

The Dandelion Maiden:

a picnic perfect meadow near the water.

The Pier at Margaretsville:

a great spot to watch the tide and throw rocks.

The Mermaid Princess:

posing after conquering a particularly large rock.

Lighthouse Hike:

one of these three is not like the other.

Carving into Carter's Beach:

the mere beginnings of an epic sand castle...(or big hole).

Collecting at Carter's:

looking for shells, sand dollars, and crab carcasses.

 

Picnic at Carter's Beach:

all new, natural cuticle beauty treatment. 

Discovering Delaps Cove:

stretching in preparation of a thirty foot dive.

Hippie Hiker:

traversing the forest paths with elegance and grace. 

If the Shoe Fits:

trying out the sturdy kicks of the17th century (talk about callouses).

Wish You Were Here:

sad to be leaving, but grateful for our time in New Scotland.

Historical Humility

What We’re Reading:

Evrest – Belinda (Pamela Allen)

Jovi – Pelle’s New Suit (Elsa Beskow)

Brittany – Insurgent (Veronica Roth)

Jeremy – Sex and the iWorld (Dale S. Kuehne)

What We’re Listening to:

Beautiful Things (Gungor)

A few minutes away from where we’re staying, is the oldest continuous European settlement on this continent, north of Florida (1710).  After grabbing a coffee from the Cozy Internet Café, you can cross the street to Fort Anne, which protected the town for much of its early existence.  What is most striking, and perhaps speaks best to the actual age of the fort is that rather than wooden palisades it has steep, grassy mounds for walls.  These hills are shaped in a star around the center of the fort (containing the officer barracks) and they are consecutively higher the further you go in.  Cannons are placed on the “walls” surrounding the fort, and monuments speak briefly of those first few hundred years of its existence.

Jovi and Ev enjoyed the hills at the fort and even attempted to roll down their steep, grassy sides.  This was easier for Jovi than Evrest who performed a more vertical-type “roll”, trying to imitate his sister without yielding his personal security.  They also enjoyed climbing on the various cannons, with Jovi always steering Ev to smaller, cute ones which she thought befit his size.  There are picnic tables to snack on and benches from which you can view the fork of the two rivers and the Annapolis Basin beyond.  It’s a beautiful site.  But like the tide and the vast ocean, even this place makes you feel small.

While watching Jovi and Ev roll down the hills; it’s hard to imagine grown men scrambling up those very same sides in any of the thirteen assaults which occurred against the fort.  Or while sitting on a bench, calmly looking out at the bay; it’s hard to imagine someone one in that very same spot, frantically searching the bay for any sign of reinforcements or relief from one of the many sieges the fort endured.  Even the very age of the town is difficult to comprehend, being over three hundred years old.  And certain homesteads which are on their tenth generation of being within the same family.

We live in a time which praises the present and glorifies the future; zealously pursuing technology and development as the answer to all our problems.  We are getting better and better and on all fronts.  And therefore, we are better than we were before.  Better than those who came before.  But it seems arrogant to think that way, gazing at the beautiful water while standing on a hill dug by a man three hundred years ago.  We do well to allow the Ancient of Days to draw us outside of our own little selves and our own little times.  To humble ourselves by remembering, and motivate ourselves by participating…in the very history we will soon be a part of.

Water Works

A couple weeks ago Jovi, Evrest and their cousins went to the Winnipeg Children’s Museum.  It’s one of those places where most parents have to suppress their desire to try out all the cool things their kids are doing.  I didn’t.  Unless I couldn’t fit (there’s nothing more embarrassing than that).  One of the coolest areas for our kids was the “Water Works” area.  After putting on these water aprons (no adult sizes) the kids could play alongside a couple large tables of water.  Some of the stuff they could do included; flood/drain little areas with certain levels, change the direction of streams of water, use various water wheels, and my personal…I mean, Evrest’s favorite one being the miniature whirlpool.  It was cool to play with the water.

A couple days ago we went to a little village called Margaretsville (Nova Scotia) right on the Bay of Fundy.  It is a beautiful town, a fair ways off the main highway.  We drove to the pier, which was deserted, and hung out throwing rocks and looking around.  It was quite incredible.  The vast amounts of water surrounding you make you feel quite small and insignificant.  Even the town and huge pier seemed small by comparison.  But what was most amazing was what the water did.  I had checked online and we had arrived exactly at low tide.  The water had receded hundreds of yards, leaving a massive rocky beach, which wouldn’t exist a mere six hours later!  In that time, the water would rise close to 36 feet vertically (app. four stories high)!  And we stood on this towering pier, jutting out of the rocks, with the nearest water still hundreds of feet away.

This naturally brings one to worship.  Here was God...playing.  Here’s the results of a God who, after putting on His water apron, played with the seas and oceans.  He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; he puts the deeps in storehouses (Psalm 33:7).  And if I am blown away by the very tide, I can’t even imagine the splitting of the Red Sea!  Perhaps we need more exposure to seas in Sexsmith (I think even I might be able to split Bear Lake) but it is not hard to perceive the eternal power and divine nature of God when standing on the pier in Margaretsville, NS.  And its repetition and predictability don’t decrease the wonder of it, rather they increase it!

May God continue to open our eyes to His character around us, revealed by His Spirit, through His Word.

Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! – Psalm 33:8

http://bayoffundy.com/about/highest-tides/

Time Travel

It’s  6:19am.  The flight attendant is telling us how to calmly attach oxygen masks to ourselves.  Maybe she should tell us how to do it if, at the time, we’re scared we might die.  That might be more realistic.  I also wonder why they don’t ever do surprise airplane drills like school fire drills?  Some people might pay more attention even if they comment that there may or may not be a plane drill any time during the flight.  Ev is talking up our attendant asking her, with a nod, if she’s ready.  Here we go…

Now 6:35am.  Still climbing.  We are blessed to see an incredible sunrise above the clouds.  Quite an amazing land up there.

It 8:14am.  Watching airplanes taxi in and out at the Toronto airport with Ev.  Lots of action.  Toronto is cloudy, humid, and tired.  We’ve got less than an hour before we board.  The kids did well last flight, and enjoyed watching some cartoons.  Near the end of the flight I realized the cartoons were in French.  After thinking about it, I guess you are born bilingual, if not multilingual or in Ev’s case all languages make the same sense…little.  Time to watch the luggage carts cruise around.

9:01am now.  We assumed are seats and are ready for our final flight to Halifax.  The kids are all set up (on either side of me), and at the moment Britt has a row to herself.  Looks like we can claim it!  Free neighboring airplane seats…the jackpot of non-gambling Ukrainians.

Okay, it’s 9:57am.  I’m typing with one hand.  Ev was getting a little grumpy so I tried putting him to sleep (more or less).  Unfortunately it worked and now I’ve lost movement from the waist down.  As a well designed instrument of torture, airplane designers have allowed the arm rests of the window seats to remain in a fixed position.  Unlike the courteous middle arms.  I’m sure this has produced not only horribly sore backs, but complaint letters, family fight, and perhaps even the odd hijacking as well.  But there’s no going back now, only a couple more hours.

1:45pm and we made it.  Barely squeezed our bags into our rental car.  If we plan on bringing home any cool trinkets we’d better set up a garage sale.  Now we just snagged a quick lunch at McD’s, went to the loo, and are getting ready for the last leg of our journey today.  Hello Nova Scotia!

4:10pm.  Ah.  Deep breath.  Just finished unloading the last of our bags.  Taking a moments respite here at the beautiful Fiddler’s Green Bed and Breakfast.  Jov is taken with her instant-friend, Aneliese.  Likewise, Ev is quite taken with Molly (who is of the canine persuasion), as well as the chickens, and the goats (who seem to really confuse him – “not a cow or a dog”).  And Britt and I are happy to be in this beautiful place with two good friends.

Jumping to 11:20pm.  At last it’s time to sleep.  Jovi willingly chose to sleep in the crib so Ev got the bed.  Sometimes I wonder if she’s really a genius and picked the crib because it’ll protect her in the mornings from being poked awake by Evrest.  Our suite is rustic and we love it.  Has some ice cream and tea with Dan and Missy.  Can’t wait to explore more of this little town tomorrow.  What a day.  It’s nice to finally warm up next to your best friend...

Heading East

We are now 27 hours east of Sexsmith, by van.  Winnipeg was a blessing, but we’ve finally made it to the coast.  The coast of Lake Superior, that is.  This is the farthest east we have ever driven.  Thunder Bay is a happening place for those of you who have never been.  Fun parks, old buildings, Tim Horton’s (16 of them), and of course garage sales.  Last but not least, a couple good friends to top it all off.  Nik, Dana and the Fiorito family are great hosts.  Although six young kids can make for quite a party, post-bedtime dips in the hot tub help in the recovery process.  We’re looking forward to a couple more days in ‘the Bay.

A quick personal update:

  

Evrest has been talking more than ever.  Playing the piano with Baba is a treat as you can see.  He also loves being able to be outside and can just barely stand up by himself in the hot tub.

Jovi has been a brave girl, getting some cavities fixed before we left Winnipeg.  She loves picnics, singing songs (“The Servant of Lions” aka “The Circle of Life” from the Lion King) and is getting pretty good at handling mommy’s ipod touch.

Britt enjoys hanging out with Dana, going on excursions, browsing local shops, and reading when she gets the chance.

Jeremy is so close to finishing his online seminary course, he can almost taste it.  He loves playing outside, showing how he stand all by himself in the hot tub. And reading when he gets the chance.

We continue to miss home, but God faithfully blesses and sustains us.