| --Jan 21/05-- A bit of a switch from last Friday: -35 C with the windchill! Talk about Maritime weather. That didn't stop us though- we all bundled up and went sledding at the Albion. Or maybe I should make that skiing/snowboarding. With all the snow we had this week, there was a lot of jumps built up, which made for lots of fun:) We must have got some pretty good air over those jumps, because we were even asked for our autograph. That's a whole different story though... When we finally had enough of the cold, we headed to McD's, and marched in- snow gear and all. And in Kristi's case that meant ski boots. She didn't seem to think that attracted enough attention though, because she proceeded to entertain us with her-- uh-- talents. The staff got to see that amazing display too... I wonder if they'll think it's safe to hire her after that incident. Well, another blizzard's on the way, so expect some more winter activities next week!! (And if you didn't click on that link... make sure to check it out now- there'll be more later) --Jan 18/05--Happy birthday Charlotte! --Jan 14/05-- So much for winter activities-- it was 16 C today!! Getting closer to bonfire weather I'd say. We had a few extra visitors today- although I wish it had been due to other reasons. We spent most of the day together, with the funeral, and reception, so we didn't have too much energy and decided to head to our home-away-from-home... Sams. Great food as usual:) Philip and Kim also had lots of wedding photos on hand, so we got to check those out. There's not too much else to report, except that it was great to see some new faces! OH, and we had a rather unpleasant sighting afterwards... let's just say some teenagers need to do something better with their spare time! 'Till next week:) --Jan 8/05-- It makes me sad to have to be writing this update- hopefully, I won't be the writer for too long, and Melita will hurry back soon! Tonight, we decided to brave the cold and have an intense game of hockey at Valley Wood's pond. It didn't work out too well since, as usual, we forgot the most important thing- a shovel. We still managed to have a decent game of it though:) A miracle even happened-- Kristi's skates didn't fit, so she ended up playing in her PHAT FARM shoes! Now, if you know her at all, you know is no small thing. She prizes them above all else, and refuses to damage them in any way! That may be the reason Andy nicknamed her Phatty on our last trip to Halifax... Well, skating worked up our appetites, and we went to McD's- only to find the lobby closed. That didn't stop us though- we went through drive-thru and proceeded to order several large multi-orders. I'm not sure they were too happy about that! Didn't stop them though- we were very impressed by the service, fast AND accurate. Then it was off to the NG waterfront to eat, and that just may be our next skating destination- if it stays cold enough that is. ** This particular update doesn't start with the latest date, but since it basically all goes together, I'm going to leave it as is. Just keep reading till the end:) --Dec 28/04-- Well this update is a little late. Since last weekend was Christmas, I think we all had our own plans. But, wow, did t The Lord ever answer our prayers!! It's amazing...I've noticed lately that it seems that when the Lord answers prayer, it's never quite what you expected, but it's still what you asked for. So when we got hit with this major snowfall of 40 cm on the 27th, I don't think we REAlly wanted any flights to be cancelled! But " as for God His way is perfect" and in the end I think it was all for the best. So.....here's the update... --Dec 29/04--After picking up the guys in Truro we all took it easy that night. Everyone was so tired, they couldn't keep their eyes open. We let them sleep til 2pm this morning.....but by then, some in the household felt they had had enough sleep so they set off an alarm clock by the door and blasted a song called " wake up you sleepy heads" all through the house. Ask the guys how they liked that :-) After a late lunch, we took them touring to Swinging Bridge and the beach....where we saw a seal! I think we were all pretty cold by the time we came back. We had the rink rented for after meeting that night......we also had some visitors from Halifax and Pleasantville show up for hockey so that was great.. --Dec 30/04-- An apology is definitely in order for today. Poor Chad, Marshal and Zach slept downstairs and woke every 15 minutes to the sound of our clock clanging! In fact, I'm not too sure they slept at all. If you guys are reading this--sorry again! The rest of us woke up bright and early all ready for a big day of skiing.....and I think this was the best day yet. The Lord gave us an amazing day. Yes, there weren't too many trails open, but it just made it all the more interesting. I am now officially hooked on snowboarding and I have the bruises to prove it ! :-) --Dec 31/04--We promised our guests we would let them sleep in as long as they wanted to today...which they did in fine style. Today's activities were quite interesting. About 10 of the local yp went to Dollarama and we all boughts gifts for each other " with a meaning". This took quite a while. When we came back to the house, we opened them and explained the significance of each gift. You'll have to ask everyone about it because it was pretty hilarious.....since it was New Year's Eve, we were invited to the MacLeod's house in the country for a hymnsing, to bring in the New Year. Happy New Year everyone! " We'll praise Him for all that is past and trust Him for all that's to come!" --Jan 1/05--( See that--2005?? Takes a little getting used to, eh? :-) It rained last night which meant our snow melted which meant we had to cancel our sleigh ride we had planned :-( But we improvised and had fun anyway. It was pretty mild so, after playing ping pong at the meeting room, we had this great idea to go play football. Too bad the fields were so wet we couldn't stand up ! :-)But we had a lasagna feast to reward our efforts later, and to send our guests off. Oh---I should add a big CONGRatualtions to Kristi who succeeded in plunging into a freezing cold Melmerby ocean--yes, the famous polar dip! So now the guests are gone, and we're all wiping away our tears and recuperating :-) J/K We have a lot to be thankful for !! --Jan 2/05---This is just something extra. I have a request for anyone who reads the above update---please, please sign our guestbook or we will be deeply hurt :-) Secondly, just a little news. This will be the last update I'll be writing for a while. The Lord has called me to Ohio for a little while to help out with some things...it's a long story. Anyone who wants an explanation can email me.. ( hint, hint :-) I'm leaving in 2 days, Lord willing, so it's kind of sudden. So this is just to say "bye" and I'll be checking this website regularly to see what's happening....God be with you all til we meet again!! --Dec 17/04-- The bowling alley closes at 10 so we usually can't make it in time, but tonight we made a point of getting started early. I think me and Bethany ( ahem--Bethany and I--for the grammatically correct) made a record. We were changed in under 2 minutes and out the door. We have practice though, with all those early morning shifts at McDonalds. Bowling was fun..although you'd never know it by the expressions on our faces in the pictures. Really, we did have fun. We went to DQ for a change after we riled the workers by overstaying our welcome... Next week at this time, if we're still on this earth, we will be full of energy---I expect. At that time, it will be only 2 more days til our friends from Mtrl grace our land with their presence. And, I imagine, since with God all things are possible, we will be living in a land of white ---or soon will. Til then....hope you all are having a good holiday... -- Dec 10/04 -- We had a hymnsing tonight for everybody at our house....it's been a while since we last had one....afterwards the yp discussed crazy road trip ideas. For example...just picking a place on the map and driving there, driving the mtrl people home ( is it really THAT crazy?? :-) or driving to TO for a day. I guess some of us thought we were pretty crazy to be considering such things, but I for one, though these ideas quite feasible....:-) -- Dec 5/04-- Happy 17th birthday Colin! -- Dec 3/04-- -Ever get nostalgic for the good ol' days? Tonight we decided to watch some old videos of when we were cute little kids :-) The video footage of some old Stellarton conferences were quite hilarious.....whatever happened to us?? Some day, this stuff will be priceless! Of course, this made us hungry and , after much debate, we ended up at Wendy's....of course, considering the lateness of the hour, we didn't have too many options :-) - Nov 26/04-- Welcome back Meredith! This was the first Friday night where we had Meredith back with us. She was missing our favorite restaurant Sam's, so we opted for a traditional Friday yp night there. There were quite a few of us that night....and we got to hear some interesting news which kept coming up later in the evening. Ask Esther about that...she might give you a little earful :-) Oh---we forgot about poor Scott. He was the only guy that night. Then again, there was a jealous employee in the restaurant who remarked--" must be nice!" to Scott...:-) I'm not too sure he was thinking the same thing, however :-) -- Nov 19/04 -- Scott,Kristi,Melita and Caroline. There weren't very many of us tonight but when it comes to yp my motto is " don't be be down about who's not there, be glad for who IS there." Some places don't have any yp! Soo....what were our amazing adventures for tonight? Well I personally learned the art of British humor. We played " this is a very serious occasion" ( it certainly was) and met some crazy people on our "train." Caroline is quite hilarious when she gets into her British mode. All the hilarity made us hungry so we ended the night at Wendy's. Wouldn't it be nice to report one night where we didn't eat? :-) Oh well, whatever brings us together :-) I think we're due for another doughnut eating contest at one point or another. I am asking for suggestions for ideas for yp activites in December, if the Lord leaves us here. We might be getting some visitors so we need to show them what a great place Nova Scotia is, eh? Til next time...keep looking up! up! up! We're almost there! -- Nov 12/04-- We have to start this update with a "thank you Lord !" that we are even here to write it. Now that might sound a little dramatic but if you leave God out of the picture, I really don't know what would have happened. Let's back up a little, shall we? We all met at the meeting room in Halifax around 7 and played some round robin til everyone had arrived and we could head out to the Mossman's for some capture the flag. Shawn must have had radar that night because he found the flag twice. We also played sardines a little later which ended in a canoe ride for some :-) Hockey was great as usual. Not a whole lot to report there...just wish we could have played longer :-) Some of us headed to Pizza Corner later and let's just say that the service was less than impressive. Just ask about the friendly chat between the 'pizza guy' and the drunk girl who wanted some poutine PLEASE.....we,uh, didn't feel the need to hang around too much longer... So that was a short night. We all met at the mtg room around 2:30 the next day and played some suicide ping pong for a bit. It was snowing by this time but we didn't let that stop us. We played soccer til supper time and--wow---soccer is much more fun in the snow, I have to say. It allows for more sliding and all that fun stuff. So, yup, it made us appreciate the pizza at Pizza Hut all the more.... Then it was off to karen's....we played a version of pictionary but with a blindfold that we've never played before. Later we discovered that Danny Wilson is quite the drama king.....we got to see him go on a first date and save someone from choking to death. Oh, and did I mention the proposal on the boat that made Ben jump overboard? Or was it a rendition of cowboys and gangsters and some " hands up!" with a proposal thrown in, just for fun? I guess I should add, that this was just acting or some wild rumors might get started. We also had a time of sharing some thoughts with each other but things that encouraged us or prayer requests. And Dee favored us with a mini concert as a send-off at the end of the night:-) So you were wondering why we're glad to be alive? I'll try to keep this is asshortaspossible....seeing as it's about the 10th time we've told the story :-) Ok, ok we admit it...we were foolish not to heed people's advice and stay the night but we honestly had no idea that the highways were almost impassable. When we left Halifax at 11:30, it was snowing..but just a little. So we were in for a surprise when we got on the highway and started driving about 30km/h and soon discovered a tow truck stuck in the middle of the road. That was where we got stuck for the first of many, many,many, many times....once we got out of there, we got stuck on a hill and the girls had to get out and push. I'm sure there were guardian angels out there pushing with them. By some miracle, we got off an exit and got stuck AGAIn....pushed our way down and got stuck at the lights. To make a long story short.....every time we tried to move, we got stuck. So we got out with our hockey sticks and tried to shovel our way out like true Canucks :-) Later, we had 4 other cars join us who all were caught in the same predicament. Did I mention we were praying like crazy the whole time? Eventually, God sent us an "angel of mercy" with a shovel who helped us all out. We were able to push out the 2 vehicles beside us and finally got out ourselves. This "angel of Mercy" followed us to a Needs store where we pulled over to decided what to do next. The highways were shut down at this point. He and his wife, complete strangers, offered to let us spend the night... I better end this here so I'll just say that we are home safe and sound. We got stuck at least 5 more times when we followed this man to his house but the Lord helped us out every time.....we later drove back to Hfx and left for home Monday morning. Pretty neat, eh? Our God is an AWESOME God! |
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