Leif's eating with one of his famous clips because I forgot to pack spoons.

I really feel guilty writing. Like I should be doing something much more productive. I have little more then a week until moving day. I am counting down the days until I see my darling Christopher again. However I feel like I still have so much to do and it is getting overwhelming. It's as if we make it through one obstacle only to encounter an other. 

 It turns out we are going to have to down size massively for this trip. Our good friend Jared has purchased an SUV with a trailer hook up to pull our u-haul behind. This is fantastic because it will save us close to $1000. I am so grateful to Jared for helping us out with this move. The only down side is the u-haul can't hold as much stuff so we have to get rid of a lot of stuff. Like almost all of our furniture. We're getting rid of kitchen chairs, bookshelves, t.v, probably computer desk and t.v stand. Unfortunately most Ikea furniture isn't meant to be taken apart once it is put together. We hope to keep our beds and couch. I've already handed off my food storage to my mother. Also trying to sell my washer and dryer. So you see I have to get rid of quite a few things in very little time. Our bigger home in Calgary will be quite bare for a while. I am sad to part with some of these items but we will still have what is most important.

waterslides on Lilli's birthday.

I will also be sad to leave my garden. I can harvest most of it before I go but my tomatoes are just starting to ripen and I have more kale then I know what to do with. I wish I had someone to share it with but most people don't seem to like it much. I love it though.

 I've completed most of my bucket list. - ran around stanley park, though by myself.

- went to waterslides with my girls, their friend Emma, and kelly

- made loads of jam

- read the book series

- went to hayward lake many times, although only the ocean a few times

- did not do the grouse Grind. Attempted 3 times, but something always got in the way

- Saw Harry Potter

- Did not swim in the beautiful water at Golden Ears. It hasn't been very hot and a sitter is hard to come by these days. This may be the first summer in many years that I haven't gone swimming at all.

  

 I just want to try to retell a short story that my mom told me the other day. It came from one of those Chicken Soup for the soul books.

 There is this very poor family, and I'm sure it was quite a long time ago, but I don't remember the exact year. One Sunday when they are at their church their pastor announces that he wants everyone to save up and set money aside to help out a struggling family in need. This poor family makes huge sacrifices to set money aside for a church donation. They eat only potatoes for a whole month. At the end they have saved $100 which is a fair bit at the time. They take their money to church and when the donation plate gets passed around they put their $100 in it. After the money has all been collected from the members of the congregation the pastor announces that they have received $115 in total from the people of the church. Wow, right. Well to top it all off, the pastor calls the little family up that donated the $100 to receive the total donation.  I want to feel disappointed in the other members of the church who donated so little, but then I think what an amazing example that family was. This is a true story, like that of The Widow's Mite. I know people that are like this. My parents are very much like this, but they would not say so. If you know them you would probably agree. They are great people who have raised me well and I am grateful for their example.

enjoying a sandy cupcake at Lilli's party.

she's sweet when she sleeps.

I'm going to try and make this short and sweet. I just wanted to write a quick gratitude entry. 

 As most of you know we are moving to Calgary at the end of this month. Chris went on ahead of the rest of us on August 2nd. It already feels like he has been gone a month. I still have two and a half weeks without him. I miss him terribly but I am grateful for modern technology and that we can talk to him on skype  every day. I know it means a lot to him to get to see and speak to the children. They miss him as well but are doing much better then I expected. Miete says she doesn't miss him so much because he is still alive. Lilli continually asks him if he has found her any friends in Calgary yet. Leif asks him about the train he took a picture of downtown Calgary, and Violet kisses his face on the computer screen.

 Several obvious things that I have noticed in Christophers absence are 1st that I don't have near as much laundry to wash. My loads are smaller and less frequent. I never realized my husband was such a clothes horse, always changing his outfits and throwing clean clothes in the laundry. I'm just kidding, that is Miete and Lilli, but seriously the laundry pile has gone down and I no longer have to wash his stinky cycling clothes. The other thing I notice is that the kids junky cereal is lasting  a lot longer. Those are the only two positives. I'm doing more dishes and folding more laundry, taking out more garbage, bathing the kids more, changing more diapers, and running a whole lot less. I am lucky that I have such a useful husband.

 There are quite a few other wonderful people who have stepped in and offered their help in my Christophers absence. We have been invited to dinner at friends of ours, also Leif got to wrestle with the father which meant alot to him. It's something he does with Christopher on a nightly basis. I've had a good friend of mine show up at bed time and help get my kids clean and off to bed, and then continue to clean my disaster of a house. I've had my sister come over and fold several loads of laundry. I had an other friend bring me over several freezer dinners and bags of fresh produce and cookies. So kind! Others have watched my children and offered their help, even phoned to see how I am doing. And two separate families have offered to lend us money, one of those families I don't even know. I am embarrassed to mention this last one, but very grateful to their thoughtful generosity. It is an expensive move, and paychecks may not come in time for a rent deposit. I am so grateful for my amazingly helpful and supportive friends and family. I love Maple Ridge and the great people here.

  It saddens me to think that some think it is not self reliant to ask and accept help from others. We all need to have opportunities to show charity. Service is a huge part of my religious belief and I am honored by others selfless service. It makes me want to do more to serve, and serving feels good too. So thank you to all you fantastic people. You know who you are, and I love and appreciate you.

 Me and my darling dearest.