Flu season is here...

Some of you are probably quite convinced by now, that I have officially fallen of the face of "blogger earth."  Not true.  Though I have felt like I've physically fallen off the face of "real earth," (due to the NASTIEST flu bug ever) I'm still alive and here to say that I will try to update as soon as I have something to update you on.  Jon and I have both been home all week with a brutal flu that has kicked both of our butts and are only now, starting to feel somewhat "normal" again.  I missed 4 1/2 of the 5 working days this week, and Jon missed 3 1/2 of the 5.  Not good.  So, as soon as something other than barfing goes on around here, you'll be the first to know.  But for now, this is all I've got.  Sorry... :(    

One thing both Jon and I have really grown to appreciate is the friendship we have with our siblings. We don't get to spend a lot of time with my brother and sister-in-law, Craig & Jen, because they live in Saskatchewan, but we always enjoy our time with them whenever we get the chance to see them. And unfortunately, we rarely see my sister and brother-in-law, Viv & Rich, (even though they live in Chilliwack) because they both work shift work and always seem to be off when we aren't. :) Nevertheless, we're never short on laughs & good times when we do actually get to spend a little time with them.

But we have been lucky to have Jon's siblings around and available for lots of hang out time. We usually all end up at Erich & Naomi's house, simply because they have the biggest place and are the only ones with kids, so it makes it easier on everyone. A couple of weeks ago, we all got together for a "raclette" & games night (I'm not sure if I spelled that right). Neither Jon or I had ever had raclette, but thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Half the fun is just socializing around the table as you prepare your food on a hot stone grill-- but the food was delicious too. Here's everyone awaiting their yummy dinner...

L-R: Susanne, Juergen, Jon, Erich & Naomi

Mmmmm.... tasty goodness...

We finished off the evening with a rousing game of Trivial Pursuit and some of Naomi's DELICIOUS homemade Mocha Oreo ice-cream. Sooooo good :)

Last Sunday, Jon and I were able to spend the afternoon in Vancouver with my parents. They took us out for lunch to The Old Spaghetti Factory in Gastown and then we spent some time walking around the beautiful streets in the area. Vancouver certainly is gorgeous in autumn...

Next we headed over to Queen Elizabeth Park. Here is the view from the hilltop look-out...

Jon had taken us to Queen Elizabeth Park when I first moved out to BC in 2005, but we hadn't been inside the atrium that they have there. We decided to see what it was like and spent some time perusing the warm, tropical walkways of this little "indoor oasis." The parrots and other birds just fly around freely and are quite comfortable with the many touring humans. Jon and Dad were pretty fascinated with this little yellow bird. I think it was actually a peacock...

This particular parrot was especially comfortable and I was able to catch some of his "confidence" on camera. Such a show off... :)

And right after work today, I'm heading down to Redmond, Washington for my first CMS Worship Conference. All the team leaders from our church are going down for Friday & Saturday's conference and I'm really looking forward to a time of learning & reflecting. It will be a busy and tiring weekend but it should be lots of fun. See you when I get back!

Afternoon ramblings...

I know, I know. This blog is in serious need of an update. Unfortunately, I have very little to tell. Life has been fairly "low-key" lately and I haven't actually felt like blogging to tell you the honest truth. But even I am getting tired of reading the words "Birthday Turkeys," every time I log on so I'll do my best to give you an update on life.

Its kind of become a tradition for Jon and I to join Naomi and the kids for trick or treating on Halloween. Jon stayed home this year to ensure that at least a few kids got candy from our place, so I went solo on spending the evening with the kidlets. I didn't have my camera with me so I stole these pictures from Naomi's blog. Hope you don't mind Nome :) The kids' were as cute as they always are and their costumes added such a nice touch to their cuteness.

Konrad the Kangaroo, Calvin the Hotdog & Ava the Kitty.
I could hardly control my laughter when I saw Calvin's chubby cheeks sticking out of his little hotdog head. Isn't that an awesome costume!? If I'm not mistaken, all of the kids' costumes were from Old Navy. They make great stuff!

Basketball season is starting up again and after a lot of consideration, Jon has decided to coach Sr. Boys basketball at Sardis Secondary for a second season. He has his first set of try-outs tonight. He really enjoyed last season, but it was a HUGE commitment and we both agreed that unless he could find an assistant coach, it just wasn't going to be possible again this year. He missed out on a lot of work hours last year, due to early games and practices and was busy every single day of the week, as well as almost every weekend. Thankfully, the Athletic Director at Sardis Secondary was able to line up an assistant for Jon, and after meeting him, Jon knew it would be a good season. He's a Christian guy and has very similar goals and coaching style to Jon. We're looking forward to another busy but fun season of basketball.

We're co-leading a Care Group through our church this year with our friends Tim & Heidi and we had our first official get-together last night. It was encouraging to see how easily the group interacted and the great time of sharing that stemmed from our study. We're going through the Nooma series and watched a great DVD called "Rain." It worked through the fact that we all experience "storms" in our lives and that no matter how big the storm may be, and how alone we may feel, God never leaves us and wants nothing more than to hold us close and lead us through each storm. I think its going to be a great year and I look forward to growing closer with our group.

Other than that, not much to report. I'll be sure to write more as soon as life "picks up" again... which I'm sure will be sooner than later :)