It's been over a month now since I've posted.  Our trip to Africa (Liberia) has changed my life, no doubt.  I cannot stop thinking about the children there and especially the two boys that captured my heart - Peace & Wesley.  Oh, how I wish we could adopt them.  Suffice it to say, however, that we cannot - unless God has other plans - and for that I will pray.  My heart aches for what is going on in Liberia and, more specifically, the orphanage, right now.  I will not go into specifics, as that has no useful purpose, but the children there need prayer.  They are not getting the food they need through no fault of their own.  Please pray that the children there overcome the many obstacles they face - not the least of which is access to basic food and keeping the devil at bay.

My dear friend, Connie, (whom I accompanied to Africa) and her husband, are settling in with their new daughter from Liberia.  They are having growing pains in the transition, but nothing that can't be ironed out.  I pray that their life becomes a bit easier and more settled in the days and weeks to come.  The blessings that these two Liberian children have brought into all of our lives, are enormous.  I feel so blessed and honoured to have been a part of the journey.   

Life here in Canada is good.  The spring "frog serenade" began earlier this week.  The music that these little green creatures create at night is amazing.  It's such a soothing sound for me.  I love springtime and the beautiful month-long froggy-music that it brings with it. 

Spring Break for the kids begins on Monday.  Ah, yes - two weeks of "Mom, I'm bored" - I can hardly wait.    This school year has gone by so fast - there is still 3 months left, but it seems to have flown by.  Next year we will be putting L into a "Late French Immersion" program at a different school in Abbotsford (grade 6).  We will be driving him to and from school each day (20 minutes each way) - no buses - so that will be a bit of a strain.  The long-term gain of bilingualism for a child far outweighs any inconvenience on us as parents, though, so we will persevere.  He will graduate high school with a bilingual certificate.  It is hard work for the kids in the first year, but well worth the effort.  Hopefully M will be able to meet the challenge in two years when it's her turn, also.

The Canucks continue in their great performances and are  currently 3rd place in the Western Conference and lead the Northwest Division!  Yippee!  They are doing really well this year as opposed to last.  I'm sure that the strong goal-keeping of Luongo has much to do with that.  Back-up goalie, Dany Sabourin, has a couple of wins under his belt, which is nice, too!  The team made two great acquisitions in Brett Sopel (whom we traded last year) and Bryan Smolinski at the Trade Deadline.  Jeff Cowan has rocked in the last few games with six goals in the last four games! 

I hope to get outside in the next few days as there are layers upon layers of dead leaves covering the gardens.  The Snowdrops have poked their lovely white heads through the soil and are almost finished their mid-winter display.  The daffodils are poking through now.  I love to see their yellow flowers unfurl in the spring sunshine.  That will be awhile in coming, but the anticipation is wonderful!  The weather has been great a couple of days this week with Tuesday being 20 degrees.  There is so much to be done outside, it is overwhelming.  I guess I need to start somewhere or none of it will happen, right?

And so, life goes on.  Until next time...