It's been a long time!!

Hi my friends and family

It has been a long time since our last update ... life got a wee bit hectic, but we are now back in the routine ... sort of ... here is a family update and then one on each of us ... I can't find the camera cable to plug it in and download pics, so for now this will have to do!

Our Fam:
We have moved!! That is one of the big things that has been happening for us. We moved from Whitecourt, AB to Cloverdale, BC (east side of Surrey - about 20 minutes from the beach!!). We are now closer to most of our family, including my brother, my dad and one of my moms (in parksville). Plus, we are now close to Mike's 2 sisters Jen and Tricia and his other sister Tamsen is moving to Victoria very shortly, so we can reconnect here! This doesn't include countless friends and extended family ... we are thrilled to be here and (sorry my northern friends) away from the snow and cold - we will go trick-or-treating this year in the rain not the snow!

Another major event for our family is that we are having another baby in March 2008. This will be number 3 and we are all very excited. Kaya has put in her order for a baby sister named Sarah (after her best friend in Whitecourt). If it is a boy, she would like it to be called Lincoln (after her future husband in Whitecourt - this is a great story by the way and I will share it in a later post!).

So now for a brief run-down on each of us.

MIKE: He is working as a Mental Health Therapist at the Surrey Memorial Hospital in the Adolescent Day Treatment Program. He basically does individual, family and group therapy for kids ages 13-18 with mental health issues (they go to school in the program, so they are fairly severely affected). He just got a bike and is riding 30kms every day to and from work - we even got him biking "tights" to go with the gear and keep him warm in the rain. He is looking at getting a group of guys together to play basketball one night a week and is keeping busy being a FANTASTIC dad and husband!

KAYA: What can I say, she is the life of the house. She has so much energy and is now just starting to like it here ... she was VERY homesick for her friends and her room in Whitecourt and is just starting to be okay with them being so far away. We got to the YMCA at least once a week where they have a drop-in gym and have lots of space to run, play, scream and meet other kids their ages. She is also enrolled in ballet on Mondays and it is so stinkin' cute to watch 15 little girls in tutus and slippers run around and think they are the most graceful ballerinas around (some are, but unfortunately for Kaya, she got my genes and isn't quite as full of grace!). She is REALLY into drawing and each day her drawing skills improve (as she produces probably 20 pics a day!!). She gave a talk in the Primary presentation at church (in front of 150 people) today and did it all by herself, with no prompting ... she also sang really loud in all the songs, so loud that you could FOR SURE tell when she didn't know the words :) So sweet!

KEIDIS: He is my strong and easy-going little man. We feel like he has turned a corner in his development: he is now repeating everything you say and will use words I didn't know he knew. He even strings a few together into sentences, although Mike and I maybe the only ones who understand what he says (well, Kaya has taken on the role of interpreter - but she just says that he wants what she wants!!). He is enjoying the outings at the YMCA and is so friendly and easy-going with other kids. He has a great little personality and is so cute ... watch out girlies for when this boy gets older!!

ME: Well, I am trying to survive the move, 2 kids, being prego and working. I got a job with a program called SelfDesign Inc and I am a Learning Consultant for families who homeschool. It is online and I do it from home. It is great to be challenged and think in terms of my training and to be able to do it on my own time frame. My main work of course is being a mom and it is the toughest and most rewarding work I do. I am looking forward to having a baby and doing this again, although some days after bed time, I wonder what I have gotten myself into :) Being at home on the coast is wonderful and we have gone to the beach quite a few times since we have been back. I have connected with old friends from when I lived in White Rock and some from Victoria. I have just now started to feel settled here with work and home and routine and so I am going to try and connect with some more of you!!!

So that is it for now ... I will sign off. Thanks for your patience ... some of you have been patiently waiting (or not so patiently waiting as the case may be) for me to get on with it ... I will endeavor to find the cord, so I can put pics of my haircut, a pumpkin cake we made (a la Faith) and the kids costumes, as well as other stuff that comes up - probably not Mike in his biking tights though :)

xoxo