Riding in Style

During one of our visits with one of our supports we were treated to a ride in a hot little sports car.

That was totally Awesome!!!

I feel a need for speed!!!

Jaclynn's warm up run.

Thumbs up I'm ready!!!

Move Pictures

Can we ride here?

Day one the important stuff; tools and workbench.

Day two next important stuff; the beds

Still day two had to rearrange to heavy in the front.

Day Three Trailer number 2 for the AB stuff.

Last day trailer one full for MI & trailer two waiting across the street for departure.

Truck full too!!

Time to roll.

On Top of the Move

Along with the move we have been busy with a few last minute visits.  On June 5th our home Church in Steinbach prayed over us as a send out and then June 10th - 12th I got to escape the chaos of our house to attend  the men's camping retreat.  That was a lot of fun getting to know some of the men from our Church better and I also can report that I caught my first pike & walleye.  I didn't keep the pike but the walleye and perch that I caught sure tasted good.

I have also got sometime in for a bit of RC flying which I'm still no good at but I having fun trying.  Practice practice makes prefect right.  I'm thinking that I should stop practicing crashing and try to practice flying.

Greg

Other then packing I have been trying to enjoy as many libraries books as possible from the library before we move.  And the kids and I have gone for a few bike rides to get a Slurpee's on some of the warm days.  One of the highlights for our family was attending our church picnic and enjoying having service outside, sharing lots of food, and playing all the silly games with our friends.  It was a great day for a picnic!

Julie

 

Piles

 It's been a while since our last post so it may take us a couple of short post over the next couple of days to catch up.  The best way to describe our house during the last few weeks other then piles of stuff  is walking through paths ways and mazes to get through one end of the house to the other.  As we started to prepare for our next step on our grand adventure in His service by packing and sorting our house. We had fun creating a few piles in our garage like a pile of stuff for the dump and one for the MCC store (second hand thrift-store in town) and then a few piles in different parts of the house for our Michigan trailer.  Then we had little piles filled with small treasures that we no longer need and that our friends thought they could use. Finally we come to the pile for the AB trailer which was mostly stuff we wanted to put into long term storage with my parents.  Our family is very grateful for the help we received from our friends and church family here in Steinbach as we wouldn't not have been able to be packed, trailer loaded, clean and out of the house with 10 minutes to spare this morning.  The house is no longer ours as of 10 am this morning and we have our Michigan trailer containing the stuff we wanted for the next year and a 1/2 parked at a friends house till we return to Stienbach in August.  All in all it has been a great couple weeks and months as we prepared for today.  In a lot of ways it still hasn't sunk in yet.  I did shed a few tears last night as I wandered around the empty basement after tucking the kids into bed.  Over the course of the past 3 years we lived in Stienbach I can say that I have left a piece on my heart behind and will miss our friends and church family very much.  And coming soon pictures from our packing.

Greg

PS I couldn't have timed our stay in the motel any better as I got to watch a whole hockey game with a picture clear enough to see the puck.  And it was a great game as well.  Sorry to those that are Vancouver fans.

Departure Time Line

Now—June 15, 2011      Build Our Ministry Partnership Team (MP) Packing Our House Up

June 15—July 22, 2011  MP Continued in Alberta.

July 22—July 28, 2011   MP and Missions Conference in Waldheim Saskatchewan

July 29—Aug 20, 2011   MP Continued in Manitoba/Multi IFR Recurrency Flight Training

August 21, 2011             Move to Ionia Michigan

August 24, 2011             Aircraft Mechanics Course Starts

August 10, 2012             Aircraft Mechanics Course Complete

Aug—Sept 2012             Move to Nampa Idaho (MAFUS Headquarters)

September 2012             Start MAF Standardization Training

December 2012              Enjoy Our Last Christmas in NA for a While

Jan—Feb 2013               Depart for Indonesia for Our First 4 Year Term

Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!!!

"Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!!!" What a wonderful greeting I received at the airport last night upon my return. 

My greeting party at the airport.

I had a great two weeks in Sayward BC (North end of Vancouver Island).  I was out helping my uncle and aunt on their house they are building on top of the mountain looking over the valley.  It was a breath taking view every morning.  I also had the privilege of sharing at their Church Sunday morning.  And it wouldn't be a trip to the Island to visit family with out a lot of large family gatherings with great food and great stories.    

The view on a cloudy day I missed taking the picture on a clear sunny day, still a great view even on a gray day.

View from the Sayward wharf.

While I was on the Island with family Julie and the kids were holding down the fort here in MB.  While I was away they had a grand garage sale that went really well, particularly for me.  Julie expressed many times that it went well even in my absence.  Thank you sweetheart (Julie) for all your hard work while I was away.

Pictures from the beginning of the sale.

By noon day one wow!!!

Now that I am back we have but only 3 short weeks before we become house-less.  I hope I'm ready by the time that day comes as I'm not ready today that's for sure.  I know it's just a building, it will still be hard to move on, we have many fond memories and we will really miss our neighbors and the community when we depart.  We are also very thankful for the support and prayers from those that we have come to love here in Steinbach.

Constant Motion and Excitement

Life right now for our family is one of constant motion and excitement!  We are now four and a half weeks away from the day that we hand over possession of our house to the new owners.  Our precious children are now living out of suitcases (which they think is fun) and playing around the things that are already packed.  At present our garage looks like we are starting our own thrift store as it is full of items for this weeks up and coming garage sale.  And it seems that the days keep going by faster and faster bringing us closer to moving day and to the start of our last road trip out west.  The children are looking forward to the change and even Isaac has started to ask when we are moving and what our new house will look like (which we actually have no idea yet what we will be living in during our time in MI so it is hard for me to answer). So most of my days are filled with home schooling the boys (Isaac is learning how to read and is really excited about it), preparing for the garage sale, trying to keep a semi normal home life for the kids, and trying to catch up on some sleep.  At the present moment Greg is away from home (he is on Vancouver Island) until the 24th of May. So the kids and I have already lasted nine days without him and are looking forward to him coming home.  With him gone the kids and I are working on our computer skills as we having been talking with Greg through Skype.  Yesterday afternoon Greg taught me where all the little extra characters are (like the smiley face people) and Isaac and Greg talked and sent each other little notes for 35 minutes.  Isaac thought that was a really cool way to talk with his dad!  During all of this time we are still looking for people who want to join us and walk beside us as we continue on this journey with MAF.  This journey that Greg and I began months ago has challenged us, allowed us to grow into the kind of people that God wants us to be, and has been filled with such joy and contentment! Thank you to all who have partner with us and and praying for us as we could not do this without God's direction and your support.