We had some snowflakes drifting down this evening - mixed with some rain.  The first flakes of snow for the Fall (autumn) season.  The grasses are yellowish with patches of green.  As I look across the prairies when I am driving home from the city it looks like a quilt.  This sounds cliche I know...but it really is true!

We are supposed to have more snow tomorrow.  Our temps are down tonight with a high of 5 degrees C going to a low of -1.

As I write this it is 1 degree C!

Newsflash from Australia!

Our eldest daughter was delivered of a baby boy on September 8th!  He weighed in at 8 pounds 14 ozs and all is well with both of them!  It was a nice birthday present for her - she celebrates her birthday on the 10th!

I don't have any pics as yet!

The competition may have been tough but not too tough for Anneliese.  She was out there giving it her best shot! 

I was so thankful that God put it in the mind of the judge to deem another little boy to be the true rodeo champion! 

Here's Ryan desperately hanging on and trying his luck at the rodeo too!  Who will win?

He's out the gate and holding on tight hoping not to be bucked off and to be the best rider in the competition!

Every year in the first week of July, Calgary goes western crazy with the Greatest Outdoor Show on earth, the Calgary Stampede.  It is a time of hospitality with free breakfasts and lunches taking place all over the city at different times through the week.  One of these events took place at dh's work and the show was complete with a rodeo competition! 

Andrew found this one as he was looking for good skipping stones and we had to take a photo of it before leaving it in the National Park!  How good is God!

Most of you would probably know what skipping stones is about.  For those who don't it is the fun one has trying to make the stone bounce along the surface of the water.  The idea is to get as many bounces as one can before the stone plops into the river or lake.  You need to find nice flattened and rounded stones to help your quest to be the best stone skipper.

I know I have been a little slack in posting.  A couple of weeks back we took ourselves off to the mountains once again.  This time we went exploring along the Icefields Parkway in order to go to the Columbia Icefield.

The Parkway is a long stretch of road that meanders it's way up the various levels of the mountain regions.  It is awesome and very historical in nature. 

This picture is one we took of Crowfoot Glacier behind us and a little of Bow Lake peeping out through the trees.  We took many photo opportunities along this road.  We took the entire day but need to go back and explore more. 

People often say that Banff is gorgeous and the place to visit.  In addition, it is my opinion that you haven't seen the Canadian Rockies at their finest until you make the trip up the Icefields Parkway.

Just to let you know.  Buffy had her op and is now healing successfully.  She still has quite a way to go until full recovery but she is back doing doggy things after about a month of confinement to a small space and only being allowed outside on a leash.  The whole op takes about 3 months for full recovery to be complete.

Yay! 

Here is a picture of me with our little dog before we left.  She is such a lively, happy little soul and she loves to chase her tennis balls.  That is what she was doing when the injury occurred.  Apparently according to what I have read this injury is far more common amongst large heavier dogs and so it was by the sounds of things a bit of a freak accident. 

I received an email this morning that our other little dog still living back in Australia badly ruptured a ligament in front of her knee.  Right now we have the agonising wait (for the time to be coinciding with daytime in Australia) so that I can speak with the vet to figure out where we go from here. 

My understanding at this time is that she is in pain - though apparently the vet seemed to think she wouldn't be - but my daughter's report this is not so.  There is an operation that is quite costly following which there is a 3 month recovery period with confinement in a small space critical to successful recovery.  (I read this stuff on the internet while I was waiting.)

We have spent the morning in tears not knowing what to do.  So I said to the kids we need to just pray and perhaps by the time I have spoken with the vet it will be clear what we should do next.

I will post a pic of her.

And I have felt so slack for not posting here more often.  The beautiful spring weather is keeping on getting warmer.  The nights are light until about 10pm right now.  (At this rate - I don't quite see the need for daylight saving time since it is so light so late!)  This makes getting children into bed quite a challenge as they forget that it really is late and they want to keep playing all night!

The Canadian school year is drawing to a close with only about 3 weeks left to go.  It is odd for me because I feel everyone else's rush to have things completed.  It reminds me of term 4 when I used to teach in Australian schools!  It feels kind of the same.  I am quite looking forwards to having a little bit of extra time out.  I'm not sure that we will take too much time off.  My children tend to just drift back into doing activities anyway.  Learning is such a part of our lives that we just don't switch from it really.

Here is a nice story for you!  From early this morning we had planned to go to the local rec centre for some physical education.  We weren't decided between iceskating and swimming.  As the morning progressed and we had missed the public skating session it looked like swimming would be the obvious answer.  At lunchtime my husband had to take the lease car in for exchange and when he returned he looked really ill and needed to stay home for the rest of the day.  I waited around to see if he might need to go to the drs...thus missing the mid afternoon swim session.  So we all decided to go to the evening session. 

We were only in the pool for a few minutes and two little girls around my daughter's age were swimming nearby.  The older girl asked my dd if she might like to play with her and her sister.  My dd a little shy said she would like to and they all started to play together.  I sat and watched and laughed along with them as they played under some buckets that fill with water and then at any second will tip onto the unsuspecting person below.  During the afternoon the oldest girl was quite chatty and it seemed that all 3 girls had really hit it off with each other. 

I was hoping that these girls might live locally as my dd is often surrounded by lots of boys and really looks forwards to play dates with other little girls.  I am also aware in those moments that there have been times in the past where I have made connections that later turned out to be unwise.  So I prayed in the pool that I would be shown a clear and unmistakable sign that this connection was for everyone's good and I decided to refrain from offering details first.  I left it to God to work out. 

The mother came over and she began telling her daughters it would be time to leave soon.  The oldest girl pleaded with her mother that they were all having such a good time that it would be wonderful if we could all get together once again.  So the mother turned to me and said, "We live locally - do you?"  I answered yes and she told me they lived in the next community (suburb in Aussie terms) over - which I know a little.  She asked if perhaps once my dd had finished school for the year if perhaps we might be able to get together in the summer.  I said to her, "Actually we are a homeschooling family."  Her face lit up and she said, "So are we!"

I was overjoyed and she lived so close.  She offered to go and find a pen and paper and provide me with her details.  I said I would be happy to swap ours also.

In the brief conversation we had we had both noticed that we both didn't have Canadian accents.  As it turned out her sister lives within an hour's drive of my sister-in-law's hometown in a US state!  We plan on getting in touch next week with a view to setting up a time for our little daughter's to play again! Thank you God!

I have recently realised that there must be some truth to the idea that when living in another country there comes a time where one feels a little more different to others than the same.  Also the things one is familiar with but are missing from life here are starting to feel noticeable.  I was just saying to somebody yesterday how I notice how much we memorise what we buy in the stores, by way of example.  I also find that certain stores are more 'comfortable' for me if they are similar to the ones I would shop in back in Australia. 

For me as a mother, and realising too that I will have two more grandchildren born in my absence this is dragging on my heart somewhat.  I feel so sad that I am not able to support my daughters - particularly the one having her first baby - during their current pregnancies.  I know they know that I love them but there are moments when I feel sad that I won't be there to see how things are happening for them.

So I guess I am learning a lot about me and what I am prepared to do and not prepared to do.  It took me to the other side of the world to really believe in my own strong connections with my children.  I know that sounds dumb but I hadn't actually thought of this as fully before.  Of course, I knew that my children were important to me but I felt like I could leave them to their independent lives and just go to another part of the world and feel like all would be well.  And it probably will be well but I am really feeling isolated here a bit. 

I am noticing how different I am from the people around me here and though people are being nice to me and telling me to keep my chin up etc I just need to acknowledge the truth of how I feel and stay connected not only with people back in Australia but also with people here.  I don't want to just 'ride' this experience out.  I am having to make a conscious effort to stay here and be grounded in this experience. 

I'm okay - I'm just sharing what I am feeling.

I have a light inside my clothes dryer.....probabloy not all that funny if you are Nth American....but I thought it was amusing!

My sister sent this to me last year but I didn't receive it until after Easter....so I thought I might do the activity this year and thought you might like to as well.

1- cup whole pecans

Preheat the oven to 300 (this is important-don't wait 'til you're half-done with the recipe)

1. Place the pecans in the baggie and let the kids beat them with the wooden spoon to break them into pieces. Explain that after Jesus was arrested, He was beaten by the Roman soldiers.

Read John 19:1-3

2. Put the vinegar into a mixing bowl. Let each child smell the vinegar. Explain that when Jesus was on the cross and he became thirsty, He was offered vinegar to drink.

Read John 19:28-30

3. Add the egg whites to the vinegar. The eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus gave His life so that we could have life.

Read John 10:10-11

4. Sprinkle a little salt into each child's hand and let them taste it. Put the rest into the bowl. Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus' followers, and the bitterness of our own sin.

Read Luke 23:27

5. So far the ingredients are not very appetizing. Add 1 cup of sugar. Explain that the sweetest part of the story ids that Jesus died because He loves us. He wants us to know and belong to Him.

Read Psalm 34:8 and John 3:16

6. Beat the egg whites with a mixer on high speed for 12 to 15 minutes, until stiff peaks form. Explain that the color white represents the purity in god's eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus.

Read Isa. 1:18 and John 3:1-3

7. Fold in the broken nuts. Drop by teaspoons onto a wax paper cookie sheet. Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus body was laid to rest.

Read Matt. 27:57-60

8. Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven off.

9. Give each child a piece of tape and seal the door. Explain that Jesus tomb was sealed.

Read Matt. 27:65-66

10. Go to bed. Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight and that Jesus followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed.

Read John 16:20-22

11. On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie. Notice the cracked surface and take a bite. the cookies are hollow! ON THE FIRST EASTER Jesus followers were amazed to find His tomb empty.

Read Matt. 28: 1-9

There is a lovely boardwalk up close and personal with the peaks of the Canadian Rockies that goes from the upper Gondola terminus along a ridge to a cosmic ray station.  It is so quiet and peaceful up there.  It is totally awesome.  At one point it was so amazing I felt tears coming...it's something to experience.

There are always willing people to snap photos in places such as these.  So thanks to the man who so kindly took this shot of us enjoying this place together.

It's an amazing view from the top looking down onto the Banff township...with the Bow River and Lake Minnewanka in the background with an awesome backdrop of Mountains.

On Sunday we rode the Banff Gondola to the top of Sulphur Mountain.  (I took this photo from inside the little cafeteria - no, it's not me in the cabin! lol)

The elevation of Sulphur Mountain is a mere 7,468ft above sea level.  Approximately a 5 km hike via a trail from the building I was standing in to the valley floor.  I personally, would rather put up with the 8 - 10 minute ride down the side of the mountain in one of these little cabins. 

There was a horse and sleigh being driven around the edge of the lake and people can go for rides if they wish.  We decided not to as the snow was beginning to melt.  We might do that on another occasion when the snow is firmer and the horses would have an easier time pulling the sleigh.

We all had fun time at the Lake though the boys built snow forts, and we all had a snowball fight!  I got R a beauty down the back of his neck!