Simple pleasures...

It doesn't take much to make this girl happy...

"Hi Tidder!" she exclaimed, as we lifted her into the boat.

Thank goodness she doesn't realize it would be that-much-cooler if we put money in it :) Probably won't be long before she figures this out but for now, we enjoy free entertainment on a rainy day!

Hard at work...

This picture is a good indication of life these days. With all this internship business, fundraising, parenting and trying to have some sort of social life, it just doesn't leave much time for posting. Even Callie has been hard at work lately... ;)

Is it too late to talk about Christmas?

I realize its already the middle of January and I should've done my Christmas post long ago but such is life. By the way, Happy early birthday to my wonderful SIL, Jen! Its her birthday on Friday!! Hope you have a fantastic day!

As for Christmas, it was pretty awesome. This was the first time in 6 years that the whole Glen family was together for the occasion. Craig & Jen were able to fly out on Boxing Day and stayed until the 3rd of January. Such a special time! But I'll get back to that in a second.

First are a few pictures of our own family Christmas, just the 3 of us...

Callie: "Peeeeeeaaaz, out!"

(she was pretty eager to get outside to finish the last of our Christmas shopping)

All dolled up for the Christmas Eve service at church...

Christmas morning.

This was the progression of Callie scoping out the gifts...

... hmmm, I wonder if these are for me?

... I'm just going to go ahead and assume they are...

A true girl, multi-tasking...

drinking her milk and doing the 'one-handed-gift-opening'...

Quickly getting in some play-time before we have to head out

for the Esau family Christmas...

The rest of our Christmas morning was spent at Mom & Dad Esau's, where we enjoyed a big brunch and gift-opening. Then we moved over to Erich & Naomi's house for the rest of the day, ate an awesome turkey dinner, and spent lots of time playing Wii Sports Resort :)

Sweet Liliana...

Grandpa reading the kids the story of Jesus' birth...

Callie was really into it :)

Callie & Ava opening gifts together...

Entertaining baby cousin Lily...

Next up, Glen family Christmas! As I mentioned, C & J arrived the evening of the 26th, so we got together for our family Christmas on the 27th. It was a great day of turkey & all the fixins', gift-opening & game playing.

Callie opening gifts with Uncle Craig...

Watching everyone open their gifts...

Jon and I had a chance to take Craig & Jen into IKEA one day.

The boys really enjoyed the hats in the kids section :)

The rest of the week with Craig & Jen was filled with relaxation, playing games, playing with Callie & Eli, and enjoying time as a family. It was wonderful.

The whole family...

I have to say, it was an exceptionally hard good-bye with Craig & Jen this time. Its not likely that we'll see them again before we leave for Thailand in the fall, so the next time will hopefully be during our MINA (Ministry in North America) which is 3 years from the time we leave. Its crazy to think that Callie will be around 5 or 6 years old the next time they see her. Anyway.... let's just say there were a lot of tears shed and Callie wasn't too happy to see them go. We love you Craig & Jen! Thanks for making this Christmas so special!

And so, the New Year is well under way. We started our internship at our church, Central Community, this week. We will be working there part time until June. The other 1/2 of our time will be spent fundraising. Our hope is to be able to leave for Thailand by mid September, as long as we're able to get our support in by then. So, if you'd like to support us, you can click HERE. We'd really appreciate your help! :)

Hope you're all having a great New Year so far! I'll update you again soon.

Inspiration for the New Year...

I just read a post on my friend Nini's blog and found it so moving and BEAUTIFUL, I just have to share it with you. I hope Nini doesn't mind :)

But honestly... this is the most incredible story of how God works in the hearts of children. I'm still crying from the beauty of it.

Click HERE to be completely and totally inspired! :)

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

My dear friend Carmen shared these verses with me this evening and I've been thinking about how much truth they hold for our family, specifically over this last year...

"I will remember the deeds of the Lord;

yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.

I will meditate on all your works

and consider all your mighty deeds."

~ Psalm 77:11-12 ~

God has been so gracious to us and has opened our eyes to what true provision really looks like. Whether it be financial help, emotional strength, family safety or spiritual vitality-- He's been so faithful.

As we head into a New Year, I challenge you to take the time to really consider all that God has done for you & brought you through over the last year. Meditate on the goodness He has shown. And pray through the thanksgiving you will feel when you see all that our loving Father has been & will be in the days ahead.

Praying you all had a wonderful Christmas & wishing you God's richest blessings for the year ahead.

Much love,

Jon, Bonnie & Callie

An early Christmas gift?

It seems crazy to me but this kid is literally potty-training herself.

She recently seemed to show interest in the potty & would point at her bum and say "poo poo's!" When I would ask her if she needed to go on the potty, she would reply, "YEAH! Hand, Mommy!" (which translated, means 'hold my hand') and would run to the bathroom door. I soon realized that she was actually needing to go to the bathroom, so I would sit her on the potty.

The first few times, we didn't quite get there in time (totally my fault for not believing her!) and she had already gone in her diaper, but I would sit her on the potty anyway and tell her what a big girl she was. She seemed pretty proud of herself :)

But yesterday, she told me "poo-poo's Mommy... potty!" so we ran to the toilet. Sure enough, she had started to go in her diaper but we quickly got her on the seat and she finished on the potty! We had two successful potty times yesterday!!

I quite obviously had NO intention of potty-training at this age. I mean, goodness.... she's only 17.5 months old. But the fact that she seems to understand the sensation and is interested in going, means I would be crazy to NOT let her sit on the potty. I haven't even had to bribe her with anything :)

So.... I have no idea whether this is going to be the true start of potty-training for Callie but for now, I'm super proud of her and will continue to let her choose the pace at which we train. If it means less poopy diapers for me to have to change, I'm all for it!!

PS: That's not actually her 'pushing' face (although it does resemble it a lot). This is her "cheeeeese!" face that comes whenever she sees the camera :)

All good things must come to an end...

It was a strange feeling to sleep in this morning and not have to rush out the door to get to class on time. Its also strange to know that we won't be seeing our fellow MTE friends everyday anymore. Sad really. The last 4 months of training have flown by and the reality is finally sinking in that we aren't all going to the same mission field. You grow pretty close with people when you're together day-in and day-out. Its hard to accept the fact that we can't all go together as one big team.

Friday, Dec. 17th marked our last day of MTE training & our official "commissioning service." It was a wonderful time of sharing, praying & worshipping together. Many of our classmates will still be around for a while (some have team building activities to complete in January) but for others, Friday was 'good-bye' and it definitely wasn't easy. I managed to keep the tears to a minimum as the hugs were exchanged but as soon as we left and made our way to the car, the emotion got the best of me. I hate goodbyes. And I hate the fact that this was just the beginning of many more goodbyes to come.

I'm thankful for the last months we've had as an MTE class. It was an incredible time of growing, learning and building deep relationships together. I'll miss everyone so much!

Missionary Training & Equipping

Class of 2010

So to all of you-- Gary & Ellie, Lowell & Melissa, Bud, Reg & Faa, Sherry & Doug, Susan & Steve, Johann & Hedi, Pepe & Marisol-- Jon, Callie and I love you dearly and will continue to pray for God's leading & blessing on your lives as you continue to follow His plan and walk in risk-taking obedience. We miss you already!

Update on Mom's surgery...

(Written on the day of surgery-- Dec. 14th, evening)

Hi everyone,

Sorry I didn't write sooner but our internet has been down all day.
My Mom's surgery went very well. The surgeon was able to salvage the nerve that connects her vocal chords so her voice is fine. PRAISE THE LORD!
He also said that he's fairly certain he was able to get the parathyroids (that were also in question) but will know for sure, once he gets the pathology results (they should have within the week). The surgeon wasn't able to get the last bit on the left side, due to so much damage & scar tissue from previous surgeries, but feels confident that due to how small the growth is there, that it may not even be tumour. He is confident that they were able to get all that they needed too.
I had planned to go in to the hospital this morning but Callie woke up at 2am, throwing up and continued that on for the rest of the night/morning. So I wasn't able to get into Vancouver but Dad said that they'd be keeping her over night tonight, and hopefully sending her home tomorrow.
So overall, good results. God was so gracious and answered our prayers! He is so good and we're exceedingly grateful for such a positive outcome.

After talking to my Dad this evening, it sounds like Mom is in quite a bit of pain now, especially her throat from intubation, and her neck/chest from the incision. So please pray that she'll get a good rest tonight and that the recovery will move along speedily and with as little pain as possible.

Thank you again for your ongoing prayers. Its an incredible thing to know that so many people are lifting Mom in prayer! Blessings to you for your invaluable support & friendship.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

(Update: Dec. 15th, lunchtime)

Mom is HOME!! I just talked to her on the phone and had tears in my eyes as I pondered what a true miracle it was to hear her voice. She sounded good and is happy to be able to rest in the comfort of her own home and sleep in her own bed :) You can continue to pray for healing and the road of recovery ahead. But thank God for his abundant protection and goodness! We're so thankful!!

Will you pray?

Hey everyone!

I'm writing to ask you all for prayer. My Mom heads into surgery tomorrow morning @ 9:30am and we'd really appreciate all the prayer we can get!

Please pray that:

- the surgeon gets a good night's sleep tonight and is bright & alert tomorrow morning!

- peace for Mom as she goes into surgery

- wisdom & accuracy for the surgeons as they operate

- protection over Mom's vocal chords

- speedy recovery

Thanks for your support! Prayer is a powerful thing & we're thankful for a loving heavenly Father who hears our prayers.

Christmas cheer...

Now that we don't have to move again in a few weeks, I was finally able to set up our

Christmas tree...

I have all of my Christmas shopping done and everything is wrapped.

Now its really starting to feel like Christmas,

and I can start the countdown 'til Craig & Jen arrive.

Only 19 days to go!

A day of celebration...

Today, we CELEBRATE!

After months of battling to find renters for our townhouse, God finally provided us with a wonderful couple today! They are Korean church-planters here in Chilliwack and will be moving into our house next Wednesday. I cannot begin to tell you the intense relief this brings us. But most of all, its just another story of God's immense provision and faithfulness to us. He has provided in ABUNDANCE over the last few months and has given us unending proof of his promise to provide for us. We're so thankful to serve a God who cares so deeply. Thank you to everyone who has been praying for us and this specific prayer request! We're so thankful for this answer to prayer!!

So far behind...

I feel as though even if I tried my very hardest, I'd still be behind with this blog. Life just hasn't allowed much time for bloggerland lately. But I know that some of you still faithfully check to see if I've updated this, so here's one for you! I only have time to show you pictures though, so you'll have to check back for a written update :)

Callie is nearing the 1 1/2 year mark. She'll be 17 months next Tuesday, and she gets busier and chattier each day and makes lots of silly faces.

This is her look of 'concentration'...

Silly "cheese" face...

As I said in an earlier post, we took Callie to the Vancouver Aquarium for the first time at the end of October. We had no sooner passed through the entry gate, and she had her face plastered to the glass to see what this was all about... :) It was pretty cute.

We watched the dolphin show...

We walked around in the sunshine and took in the other outdoor shows...

We visited "Kermit" in the frog section of the Aquarium...

Going in for the kiss...

Watch out world, Kermit and Callie are on the loose!

Checking out the dolphins from the lower deck of the aquarium...

Our dear friend Jen was able to join us for the day!

Watching the Beluga whales...

Callie highly approved. Yaaaaay belugas!

Back inside the aquarium. Jelly fish...

I love this picture... makes me laugh every time!

"Seriously, Daddy..."

Saying bye-bye to the aquarium. Such a fun day!

Trying on Mommy's shoes...

Bath-time bubble fun...

Some of the pictures Jon took at Fishtrap Creek during our MTE Silent Retreat...

All bundled up for the chilly weather.

She INSISTED she should wear Mommy's mittens...

That's all for now. Hopefully I'll have more time for blogging soon.

Only 3 1/2 more weeks left of MTE training!!