Happy New Year 2011!

Justine

Rambles

Since it is nearly the new year, I have been thinking over this one. What have I learned? What have I done? Has it been useful? Or have I spent a lot of time wasting time? I have grown in some ways: learning not to be shy, not that I ever really was shy, but learning not to be afraid to talk to people, for one thing. From February to May, Allison and I took a Canadian History course with our homeschool group. It was different learning in more of a classroom setting, with homework assignments, deadlines, and such. Back to the meeting new people/talking to strangers thing, we did a lot of fundraising so we could go on a trip. This involved knocking on doors selling pizzas, concert tickets, chocolate bars, etc. We had to present our products and reasons for selling in a clear and concise manner. By the end of the fundraising, I had grown quite comfortable doing fundraising, though I can't say I liked it.

In June I started going to Young People's Society (YPS - the young people at church aged 16+, who meet every Sunday after the evening service for either Bible study or a time of fellowship.) In YPS, I started to get to know older people. I used to only talk to people about my age or younger, and was practically scared of anyone older.

At the end of August I went to a YPS camp. There were about 180 campers there, so I met a lot of new people. It was fun making new friends of a variety of ages, from many different places. I did feel somewhat bewildered for a while, though, trying to keep names and faces straight, especially running on a low amount of sleep.

So, as a result of those experiences, I am much more comfortable talking to people.

This summer, working for my dad, I learned to enjoy painting. I think what helped was that the weather was warm and sunny for most of the summer, so we did quite a few outside jobs. Somehow working out in the fresh air where we could watch cars and pedestrians, feel the sun on our faces, and climb scaffolds :) was much more pleasant than working in a dark basement where the paint fumes tend to hang around rather than blow away.

Ongoing lessons I am learning would include accepting change and not stressing about things. With regards to the first, I have come to realize that no matter what, life is going to change. Things never stay the same. People move away, new people come. Children grow up. Sometimes people die. But change is irreversable. We cannot live always wishing for the past. That is a waste of the present. We cannot always stress about the future. Right now, where I am, I need to live to God's glory, realizing my time is not my own - it is God's. He owns it. I have to live in the here and now, loving and serving the people who are in my life right now, not worrying about whether these same people will be the people I will know in twenty years.

In regards to not stressing, I have to learn how to handle unexpected situations and how to handle stressful situations, like driving. I work best under a schedule, so I have to make a schedule for myself and discipline myself well enough to stick to it. The sticking to it is the hardest. :)

If you've really read this far, I'm surprised. :) I did not set out to write this much. I just knew when I started that since I haven't posted in two weeks, it is time for another post. So I wrote ... and wrote ... and wrote. And it was fun.

Justine

Snow!

We have about a foot and a half of snow! Lots of fun for romping in. Yesterday we were running and jumping in the snow, but whenever we fell down we had to get up right away so Casper wouldn't lick our faces. He liked to run through the snow, too, and would come up with his face covered.

Today I started work at a nearby chicken barn. I gathered 21 900 eggs, though not singlehandedly since I was training. Actually I only stack flats, load carts, check for cracks, and supervise. The rest is done by machines and conveyor belts. I will be working every Thursday morning. Allison will work Wednesday mornings, and several other people do the other days. I enjoy the work, since it is on a farm. The only thing I don't like is that Leah has to take over the care of our chickens, to reduce the risk of potential spread of disease.

Justine

Some Things We Have Been Working On...

Warren and I made scented and coloured bath salts the other day. It was fun experimenting with different colours. One combination we tried was green and red. It turned a funny grey colour so we added a lot more red to make a pinkish colour. We didn't think anyone would find grey bath salts very appealing.

On Thursday Allison baked a gingerbread house. Decorating it was fun...after we held it together for a long time, hoping it wouldn't fall apart. Eventually we propped up the roof with Duplo blocks. After a few hours we took them out and the roof stayed on.

We covered the house with icing and candies. In the evening we ate it up. It was delicious. Definitely something we'd like to make every year.

This is what happens when you turn your paper over to paint the other side.

Nadia dug through a drawer to find a beater to lick. Problem is, when it comes out of the drawer it is clean - no sweet whipped cream. But she went around licking it for awhile anyway.

What have you been doing lately?

Justine

Nadia's First Snowball of the Season

This was last week. There really wasn't much snow, but we scraped some off the deck for her. She was delighted. A few minutes later she dropped the snowball. Warren threw it against the wall to see if it would smash (it did) and the dog ran off with the rest. That made Nadia mad! But we found enough snow to make her another.

The sled Nadia is sitting in is one my parents bought used when I was little. Warren brought it down from the barn to pull her around on the deck in. She likes it, especially when Warren swings her around the corner.

Justine

It's December...

...and it's snowing.

Inside by the fire it is cozy warm, though.

Justine