The Pumpkin Patch

The pumpkin patch was our destination this last Saturday. We took a hay ride to the patch and then the kids had fun picking out their own pumpkin to buy. It was a beautiful day and was lots of fun.






John thought it was a good idea to play "roll the pumpkin back and forth" with Amos.

Natoei

NATOEI ASKED JESUS INTO HER HEART!!!!! WAHOO.

If you do not know who Jesus is, then you need to. If a four year old can understand what it means to be forgiven and the need of that, then you can to. Jesus says to have hearts like children. Ask me, I would love to share with you too!

was waiting to post but...

I have been waiting for my laptop to be fixed and returned to me before I posted, so I could add pictures, but am tired of waiting. So life in a nut shell is:

For the last two and a half months I have been working full time at Wholesale Sports. It was an amazing place to work. I loved it!! While I was working John was a stay at home Dad and was searching for a business for us to purchase. We found a movie rental store called "More than Movies" and put an offer on it. With our offer accepted we were off to find bank financing. Banks are so annoying to deal with as the amount of info they require is ridiculous. So with bank financing approved and a possession date of October 1st, we have been ramping up. I quit Wholesale Sports and had my last day on Thursday. On Friday (two days ago) I was in the Movie Store with John getting a lay of the store and planning for this week. Thursday the store is officially ours. We are super pumped.

We also had an unexpected trip this month when John's Grandpa died. He was 92 and lived a full life. We decided to fly out of Seattle because it would save us a bundle, but also found out the night before flying that my Grandma had died. The funerals ended up being on the same day. So we continued on to Minnesota for John's Grandpa's funeral and sent condolences to my family. It was a nice funeral and a good trip to see family. Just last week my Auntie also passed away. She had been battling colon cancer.

Caleb started grade one this month and that has been fun for him. School is very different here. They start at 8:45 am, but then don't get recess until 11:40, then after a 45 minute recess they come inside and eat lunch. After lunch they work a bit and then have one more recess and they are done by 2:45pm. On Fridays they skip morning recess and are done by 1:15. Natoei has started Preschool and advanced gymnastics. She is loving both and has made the transition into school very easily this year. I think Amos misses his brother and sister some, but he is too busy in daycare with his Auntie Rosanna and cousin Malachi to care too much. Natoei comes home from Daycare and tells me she wants to go back.

We haven't found a church to call home yet, but it was difficult with it being summer and churches being in their summer programs. We are on our second rounds to churches and are hoping that it becomes clear to us soon.

So, that is basically life right now. I hope to have pictures soon that I can post. There is also an article about the movie store coming out in the bulletin (free paper) on Thursday I am hoping to have an electronic copy that I can post here too.

ABC's before I die

Before I die, here is my ABC list of things to do:

A - go to AFRICA as a family (maybe even for another kid)

B - Buy a house with cash

C - CAMP, CAMP, CAMP

D - DRIVE around Canada

E - EAT every kind of ethnic food at least once

F - FISH in the ocean

G - Giggle everyday

H - HELP people more

I - INVEST all the time I can into my kids lives

J - JOIN the archery club

K - see John in a KILT

L - LEARN to fly a small aircraft

M - Marry John again

N - NORTON family reunion

O - ORGANIZE my scrap books

P - PEE in a toilet that flushes counter clockwise

Q - have regular QUIET time with God

R - get RID of my middle

S - SKINNY Dip

T - TRAVEL to Scotland

U -help my kids go to UNIVERSITY

V - VISIT Disneyland

W - go WHALE watching

X - acquire a high credit rating from EquifaX

Y - look YOUNGER all the time

Z - do some serious ZIPLINE fun

**Disclaimer - some of these items may change by tomorrow and at my discretion. If God wills for me to go before this list is done I WILL be thrilled and not disappointed. I am not required to post about everything that is on this list when it happens.

"Potty Training" and Bald and toothless

So it is not quite potty training and not quite completely toothless, but here it is. Amos has been telling us when he is wet so we brought out the little potty for him to get used to it being around. I guess he decided that it was more suitable as a cereal bowl.


Yes, he is bald. Caleb has wanted to be bald for quite some time and since it is summer we granted his request. If you look close enough in the picture you can see his scar from when he got hit by a door and needed stitches.
Caleb also lost his first two teeth, but unfortunately not naturally. His adult teeth were growing behind the baby teeth and we needed to get the baby teeth pulled. At $100 a tooth it sucked, but it is also not the end. He had x-rays done and will need at least two more on the bottom pulled. We are praying for a growth spurt so there is enough room in his mouth for his teeth or else he will have one expensive mouth! I talked to a lady at church today who said she had only two baby teeth come out naturally and the rest needed pulled. I am hoping that won`t be our case. At least we should have benefits by the time the next ones need pulled.

So those of you who are wondering if we are still alive and how we are doing, the answer is great! We have been in Nanaimo now for two months and have settled in nicely. I am working full time at Wholesale Sports. The store is brand new and is scheduled to open sometime this week. It has been a different sort of experience working full time while John has been home with the kids. We are still diligently searching to find the perfect business for us to buy and are trusting God that He will guide and lead us. We want to find a business that can get us to the goal of our resort in 5 years from now. So yes, we are islanders for awhile. We will keep everyone posted as we continue to find the business that is right for us.

Caleb turned 6

My boy just turned 6! WOW. It is hard to believe that my boy is 6. Ke keeps asking when he will have his first loose tooth and is trying really hard to wiggle one. I THINK it might be slightly loose, but will have a long time to go before he actually looses it.

This is a chocolate apple

This is a Chocolate Apple and was my birthday present from my friend. It tasted heavenly and I have been craving one since. (Thanks Julie)