Christmas Newsletter 2008

This year has been a whirlwind and I have no idea where the time has gone but wanted to take a few moments to share some of the exciting events that have happened this past year. It is the one time of year that we really try to reach out to all those we love and especially those who haven’t heard from us in some time.

I am sure that most of you know now that we have been posted to Winnipeg, Manitoba. We rec’d the posting message in March and should have been in Winnipeg by July but there were apparently other plans for us as it took almost 6 months to the day to sell our house in Greenwood. Trying times! HA!HA! We closed the sale on the house and headed out here mid-September and adjusted to life in a hotel room for a little over a week. Very interesting with the 3 kids that’s for sure. I thought I would love going out to restaurants to eat and having someone clean our room but it sounded more glamourous than it actually was. HA!HA! We have since settled into our wonderful new home. We knew that it was meant for us from the moment we stepped foot inside and it has been a wonderful blessing ever since. We live in a quiet neighborhood in the South end of the city called Lindenwoods. We have been welcomed very warmly by our new church friends here and have been blessed by many invitations to dinner and social functions.

Alex is 6 ½ now, in Grade One and has continued in a French Immersion program. He is loving it and I am amazed at how easily he adjusted to new friends and a new school. He is losing teeth like crazy and already has 4 of his grown up teeth in with 3 more on the way. He’s missing his 2 front top teeth which I think is just perfect for this time of year! HA!HA!

Kristin will be 5 end of Jan/09 and has started a dance class where she is learning Tap, Jazz and Ballet and she is really enjoying it. That girl was born to dance! We decided against preschool as it was a little late to register and it is really nice to have her home for a little bit longer. She has a friend Amy who comes to play once or twice a week and she really looks forward to that too.

Nathan celebrated his first birthday in October and has been a pure joy. He has 12 teeth already and is trying to talk up a storm. Over the last few days he has been really trying to take a lot more steps so I think the walking phase will be just around the corner. He has started a screaming phase lately so we are working on Baby Signing with him to see if we can reduce the frustration levels and tone things down a bit. HA!HA!

We were able to have a little company as Richards parents were able to come and celebrate Nathans birthday with us and visited for a week. We look forward to many more visits from friends and family.

Richard has been working like crazy. He is still flying the Hercules C-130 in Search and Rescue and they have a very busy squadron here. He is lucky to have a number of guys on the squadron that he has known for a long time so that made the transition for him a little easier. He is enjoying a little hockey on the side with some of the guys from church and we have been busy with renovation plans for the basement.

I am adjusting to life in the prairies. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little bit homesick but to be expected after having lived my whole life in NS. The temperatures here are crazy and tonight for instance it is –26 with a windchill of –41. So glad for a nice warm house! HA!HA! I am enjoying having no commitments as I had a very busy volunteer life in Greenwood but have been able to just enjoy settling in and spending time with the kids and Richard. I know it provides a greater stability and the kids are really responding well to it.

We have enclosed a photo and apologize for the quality. The cropping and copying went awry at some point but at least it is a current photo taken Nov 28th at our church Christmas dinner.

We hope that everyone is healthy and happy and has enjoyed a wonderful year as well. We look forward to the New Year and all that 2009 has to bring and wish you and your loved ones a wonderful new year.

Love,Tanya, Richard, Alex, Kristin & Nathan

Oh What fun it is to Ride in a One Horse Open Sleigh

Well, I have no pictures to post today of our adventure as in my great haste yesterday I forgot the camera. However we had such a great time I would feel remiss if I didn't post a little something about it. We had friends of ours who live just outside the city invite us along on their annual sleigh ride. We bundled the kids up in as many layers as possible and still have them be able to walk (Ha!Ha!) and off we went. Cold does not describe the weather accurately, especially with the wind but it was an exciting adventure. The sleigh was pulled by 2 beautiful gray draft horses and had bales of straw for us to sit on. There were about 21 of us in total and we all piled on. All of our kids were very happy when we made it back to the van and my toes were happy too. Then we all went back to their house for a chili dinner and a night of fun and games. Overall, one of the best days we have had in Winnipeg so far and it is starting to finally feel a little more like home.

Here are a few recent pictures of Kristin and Nathan. He has moved on to the bottle and real milk now and it won't be long before it is just a sippy cup. Where is my baby going??

Kristin's Dance Class

Kristin has been loving the dance class she is in on Tuesday mornings. I was able to take a video this morning of some of the things she has been learning.

Let It Snow Let It Snow Let It Snow

The kids are loving the white stuff even though it's not the right kind of snow to really build anything with. The low temps are keeping everyone in mostly but even Nathan needs to get out every once in a while even if it is only for a few minutes and it takes longer to get dressed and undressed than you actually stay out. HA!HA!

Here's a video of Nathan outside playing with Alex. His siblings are the only ones who can make him laugh like this!