Hoar Frost

I really like living in Alberta. I don't enjoy it when it gets down to -45 degrees C, but other than that, I enjoy everything that the province offers us in weather. On that note, I wanted to share this with you.

Frequently, Red Deer gets quite foggy. When this happens in the winter something called 'hoar frost' occurs. This is a special type of frost that forms when the objects [trees, fences, etc.] get colder than the surrounding air and if the air is damp [like with a fog] this leafy frost develops. Apparently, this happens about 4 times per winter here, and it happened this week. We woke up to a world covered in ice crystals. It was like living in a fairy tale. None of us had seen anything so pretty. Jonah even remarked that this is the prettiest place we have ever lived!

Isn't that beautiful!! When it happens again, I'll try to snap a few more.

The Mani-Pedi

Well today I was able to be off for part of the day now that all of the rush of stuff is over at the College. I worked this morning and then came home to spend some time with the kids. One of the things that Spencer LOVES is to have her nails done. Her daycare provider has painted her nails before and had told me that she just loves to sit to have her nails done. Well, today she asked me if I would paint her nails. Since I have been so busy, I jumped at the chance to do something so fun with my daughter. As you can see from the pictures, she LOVED the experience of having her nails painted. She sat perfectly still and even participated in the whole process. Is she a diva or what??!!?? Wanting mani-pedis at 2! Only a Tannahill!! :0)

Here's Spencer blowing on her nails to help them dry! :0)

Spencer admiring her nails.

Doesn't she have pretty pink fingers and...

pretty pink toes!

The Performers

Some of our kids have had the opportunity this week to be up and performing for people. I thought that I would share each of their opportunities with all of you.

Lauren was asked if she would be willing to do one of the readings for Advent. Of course, she was thrilled to be asked and jumped at the opportunity to stand in front of people. She needed to do the reading at the start of both services. She did beautifully standing in front of about 1000 people at each service.

She did a great job with the reading she was given to do.

Then she lit the advent candle for this week...the candle of peace.

For the first time in his school career, Seth got the opportunity to sing in the Christmas concert. For those of you who know Seth and all of his issues, you can fully understand how big a deal this is. I sat on the floor at the front of the crowd and cried watching my son do something I never thought I would see. God is faithful!

He stood on stage with his class and 2 other classes in front of an auditorium of family members.

He sang the words.

He even did the actions!

The first day of school - the picture

I promised that I would post this picture and now that I have my new computer I can post pictures again. So....here's the group shot of the kids from the first day of school.

Spencer was having so much fun squishing in between "JoJo" and "O-nee" That's her nicknames for Jonah and Lauren. :0)

Cellulitis

So I have a very busy weekend this weekend. I have an assignment to grade, a test to mark, 7 weekly logs of nursing practice to review and an interview to prep for. On top of all that, I have cellulitis in my left leg.

If you don't know what this is, it's inflammation of the tissues. So basically I have a left shin that is swollen, red, hot and very, very sore. I went to the doctor today and he told me that if I had waited another 24-48 hours I would have needed to go on IV antibiotics. I'm glad I didn't wait. I've taken my antibiotics, my Tylenol and my Acidophilius tablet, so, I'm going to get myself set up, prop the offending leg up on some pillows and mark my butt off!

Also, there's a sessional position that has opened up at the College and I decided that I would apply for it, so I have to prep for a 15 minute interview for Monday at 2:00 pm. I have to teach a panel of 4 -5 people about a skill that I use in my clinical setting for 15 minutes and I have to draw them into the teaching time with discussion questions. Did I mention that the panel is made up of important people like the Chair of the Nursing Department???!!?? So, an already busy weekend just got busier and now my leg is in a bad way.

So, think of me and pray for me that I can get all of these items marked and reviewed, that the antibiotics start working quickly and that I can prep a very engaging teaching time for Monday.

I'll keep you posted!

YEAH!! A new computer

Rob and I had decided that I need a new computer in order to do the work I have at the College. So we had been looking around and found a lap top with all of the things that I need to work at the College. It is compatible with the software at the College so that I can open documents from the students and send them things that they can open [this was posing a very large problem with our old computer]. So, I picked it up yesterday and I am enjoying not having to negotiate for time on the computer with the kids. Also, I'm really, really looking forward to being able to post pictures here again. I have not enjoyed blogging nearly as much without the capability of putting pictures up to show you what I'm talking about. So, you can all expect more blog posts now that I will be able to post some pictures.
I'm off to figure out how the new software works so that I can post some pics!!

Make A Difference

This year Rob and I decided that we needed to be a little more active in teaching our children about social compassion and outreach. We have decided to have a family theme that will stretch over the school year from September to June. Our theme for this year is 'Make A Difference'. To meet our theme, as a family, we are looking for opportunities to bless other people. The opportunities can be big or small, local or international.

So, for example, so far on our family's list we have : sponsoring a child through World Vision, making meals for people in our church who are sick or have had surgery, and we have also started providing a loan to someone in a developing country with a microfinancing opportunity.

Microfinancing is a wonderful opportunity in which you can give a small amount [or a large amount if you so choose] of money to people in developing countries who are trying to start businesses so that they can be self-sufficient. After the person has started their business and is making a profit, they pay the money back to the microfinancing company, who pays it back to you. So, when our money is paid back, we can then invest it in someone else trying to start their own business.

This theme will be sacrificial on our part as a family and at times has not brought out the best sides of our children as they are sacrificing things for themselves in order to help others, but it is great. It is great to be able to stretch, and grow in our compassion for other people. It has been challenging to see the need of others around the world and prayerfully decide where to help.

So, if you feel so led, come along with us this year as we Make A Difference....