Victoria

We made it, we're here! On Sunday night in Salmon Arm it started to snow and so we figured that we'd better leave by 5:30 instead of 6:00... and we rolled out of town at about 5:55... so good thing we "planned" to "leave earlier". We knew the Kokahala was closed but we decided to move onward and wait if there were any delays. At the last second we decided to take the #1 and go through the Fraser Valley, which now we are very thankful for because while we were on the ferry making our way to the island, the Kokahala was still closed. And besides the Fraser was such a beautiful drive. Pictures coming soon.

It was pretty strange coming out of the Fraser Valley, whose trees were heavy with snow (it was very picturesque) and then driving through Abbotsford with the sun shining so much that it felt like summer. We even tried out our air conditioning. It was unbelieveable. Sun shining, windows rolled down, and head-banging to Queen. Perfect.

And as soon as we pulled up to our new place in Victoria... rain. But we, with a ton of help (thanks!), got all of our stuff moved in and we are in the process of settling in and getting used to a new city.

Kerry and Blair are still here visiting and so Kerry has taken the brunt of a lot of jokes.

We got a new plant today, it's a jade plant and it was a gift from Kerry & LaVonne. I love it.

Until next time...

Salmon Arm

We made it to Salmon Arm. After a tiring week of packing, visiting, cleaning, staying up late and getting up early, we hit the road: Peter and I in the car with our cat Spooky, Kerry (Pete's dad) and Uncle Blair in the moving truck, and Uncle Scott in his truck with his own trailer. It was quite the caravan... plus you can imagine three brothers who haven't spent time together like that in a long time. Lots of jokes, especially ones about Kerry being short...

We didn't see any Prairie Pirates. But we did chase a wonderful Saskatchewan sunset to the Alberta border. Good closure.

We stopped in some little restaurant just across the Alberta border. There were pictures of Kalan Porter on the wall, one was signed. We were pretty close to Medicine Hat. It's Kalan country. Supper was good.

I drove from there to Calgary, singing along to Tegan and Sara: So Jealous and Death Cab for Cutie: Plans. Pete was sleeping. It was a sweet time.

Then we switch drivers again and Pete points out all these places that he used to go when he lived in Calgary. I slept right from outside of Calgary to Dead Man's flats. All the gas station bathrooms were pretty good on this trip. You know, that's something you always have to worry about.

Then we enter the mountains, and I tell you, it was pretty easy to stay awake driving through those late at night when it's snowy and a little icy. The towering Rockies were dark and looming, but it was nice that we couldn't see how deep the canyons were. I was trying to decide what was better: seeing the mountains in the day or not seeing the canyons at night.

Lots of semis. Lots of curves. We shut off the stereo and I started to sing Oh Canada. I couldn't remember one of the lines. Then I wanted to try God Save the Queen, but I only knew one line, God save the Queen.

This started us into singing old hymns and some acapella songs, but by that time of day our brains weren't working exactly right and I would think of a song I knew that I liked and wanted to sing but couldn't remember any words or the title. So I sang some kids songs that I learned in school this year.

But then even that was driving us crazy, can you imagine, and finally finally we made it to Golden and we stopped at yet another Tim Horton's. I had an english toffee with 1/4 coffee in it. Yum. We went back to the car and Spooky decided she'd had enough and made a run for it, running under our car and headed to go under the car next to us. But I'm quick, I tell you and I saved the day and the cat by grabbing her and returning her to the car.

She did amazingly well on this trip. Neither Pete, nor myself, were looking forward to a 20+ hour trip with a cat. But she hardly meowed and was very content sleeping for most of the time. She's a great cat.

We were on the homestretch. One last Tim's stop in Revelstoke and then I was making quick, unexpected loud noises to keep Peter awake and alert. We finally rolled into Salmon Arm at 6:30 AM (SK time). We had left Regina at 2PM.

We didn't sleep long that night either, and Saturday was spent in the pj's, no shower, no comb in the hair, nothing. Who cares at that point? I'm tired and I don't want to do anything.

I went to bed early last night, and Spooky has enjoyed being still and sleeping as well. We've had some good chats with Grandma and Grandpa Roberts and the uncles.

Today after lunch, Peter and I met Craig and Leah Reid in Armstrong (home of Armstrong cheese!). We met at the Village of Cheese or something like that and had some sweet chai teas and a refreshing visit with our dear friends. They just moved to Vernon, BC a few weeks ago and were pretty happy to see some familiar faces.

After the cheese place closed down we went for a little cruise in the car and then parked and talked for quite some time. It was so great. Right now I am so thankful for friends whom we have deep spiritual connections with.

We drove back to Salmon Arm listening to Shawn McDonald really loud. It's a great cd to listen to after a time like that. You should try it out sometime.

Our "little" moving trip has been on pause for the past couple of days but it resumes tomorrow, when we leave Salmon Arm at 6AM. Special thanks to all of those who helped us move... and thanks in advance to those helping us move in!

How could I go back to live amongst the dead?

The other day I was talking with my practicum supervisor and she was telling me about how she really doesn't like water. I don't mean like she doesn't like swimming or going on a bridge, but she doesn't like drinking water. I could really connect with her on this because for the longest time, I myself, yes it's true, I admit it, I didn't like water. Hated it, really. I mean, it seemed so boring, so plain, so tasteless. Water was for suckers in my opinion. But now, I love water. It's great. It's so fresh and so clean, so pure, so good, and now when I drink lots of it I can't even imagine drinking pop or juice or anything sugary.

So I really started to think about water after this conversation and how pure and clean and good it is, and how I really used to hate it but now I can drink it all of the time. Seriously, water is truly the most pure drink that you can have. And it was such an adjustment for me to get used to drinking it because I'd had so much sugary pop and juice and all of those kinds of things. My body literally had to get used to it because I was all clogged up with toxins and the water just kept working away, doing what it does, washing away all the bad stuff. And now, I like it. Maybe even love it.

And then I started to think about how the same is true with me and my relationship with God. I don't mean to get all Max Lucado on you, I mean this is kind of a cheesy illustration but it's really true. We all have such toxic hearts and God just wants to clean that right out of us, just like the water does.

Sunday, January 15, 2006

Please pray for our dear friends, Brandi and Penny Kendall, who have been missionaries in Tartu, Estonia for the past year. Their young son Dustin was killed on Sunday, January 15, 2006 while serving in Iraq.

Also pray for:

- Penny & Brandi's children (and Dustin's siblings): Lacey, Amber, Courtney, (who live in the States), Jared (who is working in the Ukraine), and Kayli (12, who lives with Brandi and Penny in Tartu)

- Mike and Debbie Banks and family, who live in Tallinn, Estonia and were close family friends

- The church family whom Brandi, Penny, and Kayli have been serving in Tartu. They also share in this tremendous loss, and are without the Kendall's while they are with their family in the States.

- All who knew and loved Dustin, and those who may not have known Dustin, but loved him through knowing the Kendall's.

The Kendall's have flown to Charleston, South Carolina and are with their daughter Courtney now. Dustin's memorial service will be on Saturday at 2:00 pm at the Summerville church of Christ in Summerville, SC. The family will travel on to Washington, DC, next week, where Dustin will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery with full honors.

Polka Dots

I love polka dots. I'm drawn to anything with polka dots on them. I'll be walking along, minding my own business and all of the sudden a DOT will catch my eye. Instantly I move toward the dot to take a look. Yesterday I was shopping in the Southland mall with my dear friend, Kamara. I found a pair of green shoes with white polka dots on them. The second best part... they were $7. Not bad I say.

Kamara and I went to "Do It Yourself Ceramics" yesterday too. It was a first for me, but Kamara had done a similar thing when she was eight-years-old. It was fun. We painted mugs for each other. I'm excited to see them.

Then she dropped me off at Blair and Melissa's where we were having a Roberts + Vega supper but Pete came and told me that my dad and Dixie were in town AND my mom and Randy. I couldn't get ahold of mom and Randy though so I didn't see them. But I met my dad and Dixie and my grandma at the Delta hotel. They had a room on the 23rd floor. It was night time and Regina was all lit up. We walked down to the Ramada hotel and went to Yuk Yuk's for some sweet comedy. It was pretty funny. I had a good time but my head and throat were really starting to ache and I was scared that I was getting strep throat, so I headed home for bed.

Feeling better today... but still coughing, coughing.

So, last week I started my Practicum at Wascana Day Care at the U of R. So far it's been a blast. Tomorrow I am doing a story time and on Tuesday I am doing a sweet music circle about snow. I bet you all wish you could be there. Pete's been chilling out, maxing, relaxing all cool and shooting some b-ball outside of the school... no really he's been relaxing a bit but mostly getting things ready for our departure on the 27th.

I saw a lot of friends last week:

Monday - Tim, Tara, and Elijah came over for supper. Some really good laughs.

Tuesday - Kamara, Brianne, Tara, Elijah and Harmony and I went to Brewster's for supper and to "Fun With Dick and Jane". Kamara and I had an especially good laugh on the way home.

Wednesday - I can't remember.

Thursday - went to Dairy Queen with Brianne, Arlen, Tara and Elijah. Watched the OC a little bit with Arlen, Brianne, Kelli and Aaron.

Friday - Arlen's birthday, went for supper at Kelsey's with about 30 people. Held a chihuaua. Hockey game.

Saturday - Kamara and the polka dot shoes. Fam-diddly.

Hope to see you soon.

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Well we are back in Regina now. Peter and I left Dauphin on Sunday afternoon, we just followed the hoarfrosted trees all the way home. It was very inspiring, especially since we were listening to Thrice - Vheissu. I love when you have a brand new CD and you're so excited about it. Goosebumps. You should pick it up at your local music store.

I guess I should tell the rest of the story. We left Estevan on Boxing Day and we went to Brandon, Manitoba to see Pete's brother Mark, his wife Melissa and their daughter, Kiara. We had a blast there. Kiara is so much fun! She's grown quite a bit since the last time we saw her and she has so much personality. Walking, talking, and more.

We spent a couple of days there and then drove to Dauphin in our cramped little car with Keri-Lyn and her boyfriend Alvaro. It was a good time. We saw a moose and the four of us became the "best friends club". The days in Dauphin are a blur of laughter, farting and Wizard (the ultimate game of trump!). To be honest, we played Wizard to the point where we wanted to almost kill one another, but we continued to play anyway. It was a great time spent with those crazy Roberts' known as Kerry, LaVonne, Joy and Keri-Lyn. And Al-V. Of course we ate a ton of food and were completely stuffed to the point of no return.

Then Peter and I began our drive home and I think part of the reason that it was so inspiring (besides the hoarfrost and the tunes) was the fact that as I looked over the prairies I realized it would be one of my last times seeing it for a while, especially with it looking so beautiful like it did that day. In Cameron Crowe's Elizabethtown, the main character states that he has been collecting those "last looks", which he describes as the look you give when you know that you will be seeing that person for the last time. Well the whole way home I felt like I was giving a last look to everything.

It's hard to say goodbye when you know that goodbye is for quite a while. And it has only just begun.

remove the cancer, take back your souls... we are the image of the invisible