Shantel turns 6!

The first week of vacation is already over! Shantel has had her first week of swimming lessons and is really enjoying it! She has one more week to go.

And on Monday (today) it is her 6th birthday! Happy birthday Shantel! We love you to the moon and back. You are our little princess and have a little giggle about everything! We wish you the Lord's blessings in the year ahead and also as you start year 1!

The day started with breakfast in bed! Yum! Taleesha didn't like the idea of being left out!

And then the gifts!

Because of swimming lessons, Shantel had her birthday party on Sunday between services. We had 8 girls over and lots of fun playing games like pin the donkey, popping balloons and pass the parcel. All too soon it was time to go back to church!

Spin the bottle!

Blowing out the candles!

 Pass the parcel!

Lunch!

Jaclyn took her to swimming lessons today (the benefits of having another driver!) and then took her to MacDonalds for lunch!

This Friday we look forward to John and Caren coming and spending some 3-4 weeks with us! Woohoo! Can't wait!

And when they leave, my parents arrive as well as my sister, BIL and two kiddos! So lots to look forward to!

And a little snapshot of the last 6 years!

That's it for this week! Thanks for looking!

Graduations and Summer Holidays!

School is out and summer holidays are in! Yay! Some of last week's events included a volunteers luncheon with a Hawaiian theme. We had delicious marinated chicken kebabs (kabobs), a selection of salads and a delicious dessert to fill the cracks! 

On Tuesday, Steve and his class went to Warm Beach for an overnight camp. By the reports, they all had a good time! Or dirty time :)

And on Tuesday evening/Wednesday morning Jaclyn came back from her Washington DC trip. She too had a great time, saw lots, learnt lots and did LOTS of walking. Excellent experience. Very thankful that they could do this trip and that prayers were answered and God granted traveling mercies.

And footh number 5 came out! Footh fairies even come to America!!

On Thursday, the year 8s (Steve's class) graduated! 

And Friday was the last day of school and the Year 12 graduation! Traditionally, the Year 11 mums do the cooking, serving and cleanup for the dinner and refreshments after the ceremony. The dinner was held in the gym with 2 MC's, slideshows and of course, the food! Two of us mums, made the veggie dishes which was broccoli and cauliflower casserole and a mushroom sauce. Below are the dishes before they went into the oven.

After the dinner which was around 70 people including the graduates, teachers and parents, was the official ceremony. There were 9 graduates and the church was packed! After some speeches, presentation of the diplomas and a slideshow, we had refreshments in the gym. We had punch, cake and fruit platters. It was a very enjoyable evening!

The corn is growing by the day. It's looking very nice and green!

On Saturday the RV got a good wash. Even Shantel gave a helping hand!

And a current shot of our house!

Well, holidays means bacon and eggs. So Stefan wasted no time in frying up a delicious breakfast.

For the next two weeks Shantel has swimming lessons with 'Aunty Tish'! Lessons are held in a private swimming pool from a family in the church which has a glass cover so if it's cold and wet, they are nice and warm! It got pretty warm in there! Taleesha had a trial day today.

That's it for now! Less than two weeks before the relies start coming! Can't wait! Really looking forward to it!

Thanks for stopping by!

Shantel's graduation, Farmers Parade and Birch Bay

This week has been 10 months since leaving Australia! Wow time has flown past. We are very thankful for the care and love shown here in Lynden and feel very much at home (maybe too much!).

The end of the school year is in sight! Just one week left! Last Wednesday was Shantel's kindergarten graduation. This was held in the church basement. All the parents were in attendance as well as a good number of grandparents and good friends. As Shantel had no grandparents, she asked Mrs Bernice V to come and see her graduate. The graduates came marching in singing a song and then they sat at the front on their designated seats. They sang a number of songs and then a poem where each student said a line or two. The two teachers, Christine and Stephanie did the honors and said a few words about each student and presented them with their certificate! We then watched a video presentation of their year at kindergarten. After a board member said a few words, and one more final song, we all had some refreshments with the kindy kids getting a specially made cupcake! 

After the ceremony, a couple of us mums went to Edaleen Dairy for an ice-cream. Mind you, five of the mums are all sisters!!

On Monday, Shantel had her grade 1 orientation day! She had a nice day and can't wait to go to real grade 1!

On Friday evening, we headed into Abbotsford to attend the 50th wedding anniversary of Steve's uncle and aunt. It was fantastic weather and a very nice evening! Good food and great company!

Saturday was the Lynden Farmers Parade. We watched the tractors, both old timers and newbees, pink and green, as wells as decorated trucks and even a bunch of kids on unicycles. Again, the weather was beautiful.

In the afternoon, we had the Janssens over for a visit. It was nice to catch up with them again!

On Sunday after the afternoon service and coffee social, we headed out the Birch Bay about 30 minutes west. We took a packed lunch and sat on some logs on the beach. The beach is full of pebbles and the kids had fun throwing them in the water! But impossible to build a sand castle :(

This week will be a busy one too! We have the school kitchen cleaning, and a graduation dinner to attend. Jaclyn is still in Washington DC and hopes to be back on Tuesday. From what we hear and see on the blog, they are having a wonderful time. Steve also hopes to do a one night camp with his class at Warm Beach. On Monday, Stefan hopes to go with his class to Cultus Lake water slides and on Wednesday is the Volunteers tea. 

So as you can see, there is still plenty on! 

Well, that's it for this week. Thanks for stopping by. May God bless you in whatever corner of the world you are in.