The Great Gall Update

So, it’s been a while since I’ve written anything here and there is much to be written so bear with me… this could get long. In order to keep things in order here we have to re-wind a bit. So let’s go right back to mid September. John and I were looking at houses quite seriously in Chilliwack, having looked at quite a few we found this 'one'… It was a beautiful 1918 heritage house just waiting for someone to lovingly restore it. However, with a visit from both sets of parents and a third (or was it fourth?) look at the house it was decided that the location wasn’t prime and the money put into the house would probably never reap any reward on the other side. However that week (about 2 or 3 days before the parents arrived) We got a phone call from John’s sister. I have to be honest here… my heart sank when she told me about this “job opportunity”. I had a sense that this was the closed/open door we were praying for and I was pretty sure we were going to be moving… Sure enough all the pieces fell into place. There was much agonizing and MUCH praying over this decision. I was incredibly reluctant to leave all the familiarity of Chilliwack. (I still struggle with this from time to time…) but God continually spoke into our lives and encouraged us to take this step of faith and trust that he had opened this door for us. The amount of change that was worked into my heart was enough proof that God was at work here. In the midst of all the packing (and purging) our little boy turned one! We had a really nice party with some friends and family and as you can see Raglan did well with his cake (a little sugar shocked as you can see).

Three days later, we loaded up all the boxes and furniture into a u-Haul truck and off we went… To Thetis Island. (This is the main camp property from the water) There were a few hiccups with the ferry travel but all in all we made it to the camp safe and sound. John’s parents came out to help us move as well as my uncle Stan and we couldn't have done it without them.

Now here we are living on Thetis Island. I still shake my head almost every time I get onto the ferry. It’s just so hard to believe where our lives have taken us, or where God has lead us I guess I should say. Island life is interesting to say the least. I’m still getting used to how things work. For example, grocery shopping will take some time to refine a practical plan of attack. There are no more “quick trips” to the store. That said there are really no quick trips anywhere… except maybe to get the mail. We have started the friend making process already. We’ve met one family that lives just down the road from us. They have 3 little boys ranging from 6 months to 4 years old. I think we will really enjoy having them close by. We are hoping to meet some more island people as well. There is a good number of staff at the Capernwray Harbour Bible School and we hope they are in the mood for making friends. We will be attending the island church this sunday. They only meet every second week but it will be nice to meet some more people on the island and feel a little more connected and settled. I have started walking with a neighbor girl Monday/Wednesday/Friday at 7:00 AM and am really enjoying that. There are such lovely paved trails all over the island (also known as the main roads) and at 7:00 in the morning we rarely see any traffic. I met the post lady the other day and discovered where we send and receive mail on the island. It was her father in law that donated the land for the camp so we chatted a little about that. There are roughly 350 permanent residents on the island, we can see two other houses from where we are but I haven't met those neighbors yet.

Now you may be asking some questions about the actual job. We are working at Pioneer Pacific Camp which is affiliated with Inter Varsity Christian Fellowship. You can check out the website here. So far it is going very well. John is really enjoying what he’s doing and it’s a good thing when you look forward to going to work. John’s title is the “Site Manager” which means that he is in charge of maintaining the entire site at Pioneer Pacific. Right now he’s busy winterizing the camp as there will be no one out here (New Years Eve aside) until the beginning of March and so power, water, etc… can be closed down in many of the buildings for the next few months. There are many “improvement” projects that are coming up for the camp as well and once John gets a better feel for things he will be in charge of organizing those as well.

One of the things that helped settle my mind about the job was the house that we were to be living in. When we came to the camp to see it before we took the job, we also got to tour the house and actually being able to put a picture in my mind and start being ok with living there helped me a lot. You’ll see what a mean by the pictures. (That's our house from the water)This is our view from the house (on a grey day).








Raglan is now walking quite confidently. He is now into everything and teaching him about our new wood stove has been a bit of a challenge. Most days he is very good and I can usually know when he is near the stove because I'll hear his little attempt at saying "hot" which comes out "hhhhhaaaaa" "hhhhhhaaaaa" I did catch him opening the door of the stove one day but hopefully that doesn't happen again. We have a nice big deck overlooking the ocean which I think will be one of the few safe places that I can let him play by himself outside. There are many many bloody lips, cuts and bruises with this boy but so far nothing too serious. He's also quite determined to scare his mom as much as possible with putting things into his mouth that shouldn't go there (I've only had to call poison control twice so far), thankfully nothing too serious. He's learning some sign language during meal times but most days he gets so excited to tell me what he wants that all the signs meld into flapping of arms so we aren't all that much better off in that department. He's a very talkative little boy and will talk to anyone or anything. He gave my stove quite the talking to the other day... in Chinese of course... He was given wooden blocks and duplo lego's for his birthday and although he doesn't quite get it to stack them together yet, he sure loves knocking down anything anyone else builds. He's also very into his race truck that Grandma and Grandpa Gall gave him, it makes so many cool sounds (revving of engines, tires squealing, etc...) Ahhhh... little boys

So here we are, living on an Island. As I write this I am looking out onto the ocean, watching the calm waters, seals, and the beautiful scenery across the straight. Again... I shake my head... Who would have guessed what life would hold? It will be interesting to see what will come of all of this. Anyways... if anyone is looking for a nice quiet get away, or a great vacation, give us a call, we've got space and we'd love visitors.

That's all from us :)

Moving Day

So we were greeted today on the lonely Thetis Island with rain and fog. Probably the best the island has to offer for the next few months. We arrived safe and sound and the unpacking began... Wait you say... moving? Where, when did this happen?? Well the short of it is that 2 1/2 weeks ago John got a job at Pioneer Pacific Camp on Thetis Island as the new site Manager. The last few weeks have been pure and panicked rushing chaos and I can't wait for things to settle down again. I will post pictures as soon as I can but for now, we're just checking in and saying 'hello' from Thetis.

Family...

Sin - By Phil Barnes

This story was shared with us this weekend and struck many a chord with the truth and challenge found in the simple illustration. I hope you enjoy this as much as we did. The original can be found here.

Sin
Phil Barnes

One person did one forbidden thing one time - and began to die. In the briefest instant a strange phenomenon called shame, not previously known or imagined, overwhelmed the human soul, and the man could no longer even look at his own wife, flesh of his own flesh, with the untainted joy of pure love. Creation's pristine excellence passed into the same category as spilt milk or the burst balloon, now to be so much less than was ever intended, infinitely less than it had once been. This act which willingly, or at best carelessly, flung open the sluice gates of Hell, flash-flooded perfection, not only with death and shame, but with all of the devices that lead from the one to the other - fear, envy, pride, doubt - tossing and twisting with such disfiguring force that before he could find his feet again, Man found himself beset by his sin, blaming his God, betraying his wife, and soon, bereft of his home, his ease, his son.

The filthy discharge that gushed across the human soul that day soon settled to a knee-deep swamp that would become the constant gray gloom through which subsequent humanity must slog. There is no dry spot on which to sit, to stand, to sleep or to give birth. The corruption is not uniform in depth. Some seek the shallowest place and find a degree of comfort in the knee-deep pollution - others wade in to their waist, still frantically searching for new depths in which to plunge themselves. But there is no place free of the contamination. Except one.

The ROCK has risen through the filth. It stands clean and dry. It offers heights to which the flood can never swell. It offers life and health to all who set their feet upon It, protection to all who hide in Its cleft, rivers of purifying water to all who will be washed and refreshment to all who stoop to drink. It gives rest to all who dwell in Its shelter, peace and joy to any who will stretch themselves out upon It, to bask in the Light. The ROCK glistens with such majesty, declaring Itself to be more than a mere recreation of an earlier perfection, but rather, the perfection Itself, the first being the prototype.

Few choose it. The muck has its charms you see - an odour, unpleasant to most, but strangely over-stimulating in an artificial, addictive way, like smelling-salts. And then there is the suction - the unseen force which holds its residents' feet in place, and of course, the comforting pleasure of warm sewage oozing through the toes, which so many who now walk the planet have learned to love so much.

Occasionally someone - motivated by a sense that "the less covered in filth they are, the better" - will, with great effort and commendable determination, succeed in extracting a foot and, obtaining a self-help towel or some twelve-step rags, will manage to clean it up quite impressively. But the foot will again touch down. Maybe not right away. Maybe not for long. Not ever set down again so deeply or so firmly perhaps, but down it must go. Even if it never does, it was not really clean anyway, ... and then of course, there's always the other foot.

But what about those on the ROCK? Many who come, immediately begin to climb that majestic mountain, anxious to leave behind the wretched existence - scampering, fleeing higher as though the muck could grab them and suck them back in, which they know could not happen. They are moved instead by a passion to be as far from the filth as possible. And on those heights they find the Garden that was lost that day. They find fellowship with their God, they find themselves face to Face, they hear His voice, they walk together, they rest.

Many, however, congregate at the shoreline. Those in the swamp show their sanctimonious preference for the shallowest of slime, but also betray their most stubborn refusal to step onto that ROCK. From time to time a splashing breaks the silence and often with it the groaning of a soul in agony, and out of the distance charges one, fleeing from the deepest filth, flying past those wading in the shallows or lingering on the shore, and quickly disappears high up the mountain.

Those on the ROCK who reside at the shoreline are most pitiable. Here they easily befriend the waders, kept thoroughly up-to-date on the current conditions of the slime, and to any assessing the ROCK from further out, are virtually indistinguishable from the waders. These shore-dwellers gaze daily over the endless cesspool, hoping for a sudden gust to give them a good whiff of that stimulating stench. They rarely, if ever, talk amongst themselves about the great mountain rising behind them, but rather of the foul misery at which they constantly stare. Discussions arise as to where the shoreline really is, where the muck ends and the ROCK begins, never having understood the simple concepts of "wet" and "dry". They find they are constantly struggling with the temptation to dip a toe in "just to see" and indeed often do, though never leaving the ROCK completely. They come, in time, to believe a notion that great will-power and self-control is required to avoid dipping in. They bind together, and encourage one another, holding seminars and discussion groups to assist in living this difficult life at the shoreline, oblivious to the truth that the answers lie not in themselves but uphill on the sunlit plateau, far away from where the sewage laps relentlessly against the coast. They go from their seminars to a comfortable spot where they take great pleasure in observing for endless hours those diving and plunging in the depths. They don't feel revulsion at what they see nor do they feel joy or gratitude at having been rescued from such misery (oddly enough, those feelings do flow freely, further up the mountain). But they do feel something - a tingle of second-hand pleasure mixed with a twinge of envy. A very feeble, unsatisfying feeling, but the best they have ever discovered - the best there is, down there at the shore.

They also feel the earth tremble beneath them. The ROCK, though firm on its foundations and serene at the summit, quakes along the shoreline, not trembling in anger (wrath is reserved for those in the mire), but vibrated by the sobbing of Its breaking heart.

Memories of Summer 2009

So today is the first day of September and I can't believe that summer is coming to a close already. Much happened in our lovely summer here so I'll try and give you a photo journey of some of what transpired. Many of these photo's were not taken by us...

Waaaay back in June Dan and Catherine, Trent and Nicole and us went to Camp Qwanoes for the open house. It was a long day for the babies but fun was definitely had by all, and it was so good to see some familiar faces and catch up with some good friends.
Raglan and his buddy Livia are growing up quickly. Soon Livia will be able to defend herself against the constant kisses (yes kisses) and attacks that Raglan is bent on giving.

Dan & Catherine and John and I went to Deer lake for a pic-nic one Sunday. We were scouting out good camping sites and this one I think scored about a 6 out of 10.

The 'crew' all together again here took on the Seattle outlet mall one Saturday.

End of July we drove to Alberta for a Wiebe family reuinion in Taber. This is the majority of the crew, but don't bother looking for us because we had to leave before this photo shoot.

After the reunion we met up with most of John's family (we missed you Pete) at John's sister's house. Raglan and Kai took Grandpa, Raglan's just checking here to make sure Grandpa's alright...

After the Gall party we met up with my parents in the Banff area and camped for 4 days. We had a wide variety of weather but lots of fun. Joel you were also missed...


Happy Family :)

We are teaching Raglan to drive tractor, too bad he can't reach the pedals yet.


And finally we did a quick camping trip to Ross Lake last weekend. Check it out on Google maps, it's kinda neat that you are camping in an American campground, that you can only get to from Canada :) This is the border security...


Beware, This little toothed monster likes banana's... and toes :) not necessarily together, ha ha ha

Learning to Share... and other fun things

Well another year has come and gone and here I am another year older :) However this year... I got a babysitter for my birthday :) Trent & Nicole, Dan & Catherine and us went out for supper and John & Helen babysat all the little munchkins for us. It was great! and fun was had by all (unless someone else had the desired toy)
So here we are learning to share... It's a work in progress. WHY is it that we have to teach our kids to play nicely and not be bullies? Seriously, Raglan is so aggressive when it comes to other kids???
Here Raglan is with his little friend Livy (Dan & Catherine's little girl) Just before this picture Raglan was actually sucking on her foot. We laughed hard for a while then grabbed the camera. Livy was not quite sure what to think.
My little go getter is going and getting into everything these days. He's walking along every bit of furniture that he can reach and crawling into things. After I took this picture he actually was quite upset because he couldn't figure out how to get out and kept banging his head on the seat.
and finally Mel this picture is for you guys! Thanks for the CUTE lizard short set. It fits just right with a little room to grow this summer and as you can tell by this picture he just LOVES it.
Also just for a bit of interest here John and I have started looking at houses to buy. We are not sure what form our house will take on (ie: Condo, townhouse, or house house) but we are looking and exploring our options. We shall see if something comes up. That's all for now... so good night to all and to all a good night! :)

June? Where did you go?

Well, here we are and it's July. Time flies when you're having fun I guess. Since I've last posted Raglan has quite efficiently figured out how to crawl and is making short work of all my baby proofing :) He still slams his fingers in my bottom kitchen drawer almost once a day but we're slowly learning. He also now pulls himself up to standing onto almost everything he can reach whether it's stable or not (ie: pulling yourself up on an open cupboard = big owie) Once he's standing he's now also walking along the furniture and is SO proud of himself when he gets to where ever it is he's going. For the first weekend of July we went camping as a family to Cultus Lake, just to get the hang of camping with a baby. We had lots of fun going to the lake, which Raglan was ok with until more than just his toes were in the water (it's pretty cold), eating rocks... and leaves, and sticks, and ants... The last night of our trip Raglan woke up in the night and started projectile vomiting all over his playpen and me. We decided to take him to the hospital and he heaved the whole way (about a 1/2 hour). The doc didn't really know what was up but assured us our baby was ok and after giving him some anti-nausea medication he sent us home. He seemed to be ok as soon as the meds kicked in but he did have a fever for the next 2 days so I'm not sure what all happened there?? Anyways...

John is still enjoying his job and this week they are finishing up one of the trailers he's been working on. This unit is a make-up trailer. John has had a lot of work to do in this one as you can see all the cabinetry that went into it. They are still working on Robert De Niro's trailer but when they get a little closer I'll take some pictures of that one too!

We have lift off...

Once again it's been a while since I've posted but this time I have good reason!! I am officially chasing after my mobile (aka crawling) 7 1/2 month old. Now by crawling I mean inching along on his belly by pushing with his toes and pulling with his arms. He's really getting quite good at it. Meanwhile he's been desperately practicing "real" crawling but he gets confused when it comes to the knees part. He gets up on hands and knees and then instead of moving his arms and legs he gets right up onto his feet. Picture him with his bum in the air, hands and feet on the floor, and you can see my confused little boy. He quite often holds himself in that position for quite a while. It's pretty funny. If I catch it on film I'll post it :) With his new found ability to move we've been scrambling to actually baby proof our house. I still have a few BIG 'no nos' around that I know I need to get too but slowly we are figuring out how this works... until we have to move things up a little higher... and then higher... oh dear... Also lately, with a little help getting up he can stand while holding onto something like his crib side or the coffee table. He get's so proud of himself while standing there. I have to be careful with that one because when he decides he's done he just let's go and falls straight back. Also recent news is that Raglan has his first cold. Poor baby, it's sad watching him get frustrated because he can't breath through his nose. This next picture I had to post because I think it's funny. Raglan's been able to hold his own bottle for a while now but he's just now really learning to feed himself, in the process he's discovering that if you squish the nipple, it squirts... oops... Mid May I was able to go home to Grande Prairie for a friends wedding, and when I got back we decided we would move Raglan into his own room. Well after much figuring, we finally have an arrangement for our nursery and I love it! This weekend will be Raglan's first trip to the island, we are headed to Qwanoes for the open house. I'm not sure how a whole day out will work with naps and all but we'll see. We are going with friends from here in Chilliwack and our whole group will be 6 adults and 4 babies under 9 months. That should be exciting. :)

That said, I think naptime is almost over and I have a few more things to get done...

Too Cute

We LIKE sweet potatoes

And we have a new cool haircut. (ie: now it doesn't look like I have a toupee)