Week 17 - Winter and its Joys

Well winter has well and truly settled in. I say this as snow covers everything in sight, the roads are slippery and the temperature has been in the negatives all week.

Our week has been the same old really. Monday - Wednesday were days unlike any other. Pete is still rising at the crack of dawn to get ready for work. I join him, but head back to bed once he leaves. I busy myself during the day. I am getting prepared to launch my business (Bumble Avenue) so I have been getting a logo made, been working on my other blog and been working on getting my Etsy store up and running. It is all really exciting stuff.

Wednesday night we had friends over for dinner (David and Claire). It was so nice hanging out. Pete did the cooking which was awesome for me as cooking is not my most favorite thing to do. We ate and introduced them to the game Phase 10.

Thursday was another day. We had connect group on that night. The night went really well as we watched a clip from Bill Johnson which was inspiring and thought provoking. We discussed it and then spent the rest of the night chatting. We again were prayed for which meant a lot to us. Peter (a friend from connect) spoke over us a scripture that mentioned flowers growing in the desert. I was thrilled to hear that as even though life here in Canada is amazing and exactly where God wants us to be, it is still hard at times.

Friday was a busy day for me. I rugged up and made my way to the local school where I helped out with a sewing day. There were 16 kids in total, so I was kept busy all day. I loved it and had a lot of fun. I then made my way home (walked). This took me twice as long as usual as it was much colder and the wind had picked up.

I arrived home with a couple of hours to play with and then was picked up by Daphne with Miriam and Gina in the car to head to a girls night out. The weather was terrible and people were being warned not to drive unless necessary. Daphne was unsure of going, but we didn't want to let Cydney (she was putting on the evening) down, so we soldiered on. However, a spanner was put in the works as at a set of lights a friendly local made us aware that a front tire was flat. So, with Daphne's husband in South Africa on a missions trip, who better to call than my knight in shining amour. Or maybe I should say my knight in a singlet. Yep, that's right Pete. So while we sat in the warm vehicle and consumed crackers, dip and apple pie, Pete tackled the negative temperatures and changed the tire. I felt bad for him as he was lying on the snow laden ground with nothing for protection other than a jersey and a beanie. He got his gloves out as he couldn't feel his fingers which froze on the way home.
After our adventure we decided to extend the evening by heading back to Daphne's house for more food and a Christmas movie.

Saturday came to us spending our morning running errands. We then made our way home to rest up before we made our way to church. We did make a stop along the way to London Drugs (ironically their slogan is Proud to be Canadian) to purchase some make up. One thing I love about Canada is the price of make up. To say it is overpriced in New Zealand is an understatement. We had to arrive early to church as I have been asked to help with Kids church. Those who know me know that this is not where I wanted to serve in church. However, after praying about it, I felt God say that this is where He wanted me in the church. Sheryl (the teacher and planner of the lessons) led me through the plan for the evening. As our church starts at 6pm and sometimes finishes at 9pm, there needs to be loads to keep these kids occupied. What I found was awesome and so refreshing. It was totally different to what I had experienced. There were so many activities and the kids were always doing things. Sheryl puts her all into creating lessons (taking up to 6 hours to plan one lesson) and I could tell. It was exactly how I plan lessons when I teach (well, not the 6 hour part).

My spunky monkey

Sunday came to us having all these plans and secretly knowing we wouldn't achieve half of them. We headed out to Fabric Land to buy fabric for me as I had sewing next week. Bringing Pete was maybe not the best choice as he encouraged me to buy really nice fabric. When I saw the price tag, I said heck no rather loudly. However, we discovered it was 50% off, so went for it. We then went home to relax for a bit before heading to our friends (Val and Les) house to watch the game (NFL I think). Calgary Stampeders were versing Hamilton Tigers. You can guess which team we were supporting. We had a blast. There were 11 of us in total. We all bet on what the scores would be at each quarter. I filled it out and then realized the points system, so begged to change my numbers. Lucky I did, as I won a box of chocolates at half time. Nicco and Peter (not my Pete) tried and succeeded on several occasions to steal my chocolates. I eventually switched on. Pete won us another box of chocolates as he had the closest guess at full time. How ironic. The kiwis who know nothing (well me for sure) about the game took out the prizes.

Pete with the prizes. He won the bog box and won the Ferrero Rochers.

Winter has hit us in full force as the roads are so icy. I am really tense in the drivers seat as you have to break so far in advance in case the brakes lock up and you go sliding into the back end of another car. Pete is becoming confident driving on the roads, calmly telling me he has no control of the car as we go sliding. He has become a different man as he previously would have panicked and likely blamed me.

Despite the weather and the treacherous roads, Canada is feeling more like home.