Christmas Day activities

The princess on her throne!

David and his gift. He and Andrew duct taped Andrew's camera to it and video taped the truck's adventures. (A helmet cam)

Pictures of the Christmas Day ride. It was C-O-L-D. Poor Julia, she wasn't dressed warm enough had a bad ride.

LuAnn and David's visit

We have been having a great time with David and LuAnn. Here are two pictures of us skiing today and getting LOTS of fresh air and excercise. It was great! We all made is back home in one (unbroken) piece, for which we are thankful.

Here are the dogs and their servents (umm, I mean owners) opening their Christmas gifts. More pictures to come.

The Proud Popa (to be)

Odie and Ellie have been bumped up to living in the house lately again due to the very cold weather and snow storm we have had this weekend. They are enjoying to increased attention and playtime. Ellie is sure growing big. Odie is looking very mature (although he doesn't act that way very often. His whining HAS decreased, which is helping with being allowed in the house!)

Today (Sunday) we stayed home from church (which was holding their Christmas play) because of a big snow storm that is trying to bury us! The kids are hoping it will continue well into tomorrow so school will be cancelled.

Yesterday, before the snow storm started, Leah rode Sierra in the Santa Clause parade in St. Clements. She rode with her school friends (and their parents) and Sierra did really well. She is SUCH a great horse with all that commotion going on around her. When the parade was over, they rode around town to see some friends. The weather was SO cold, and I was very glad I was not riding.

I have been working about 1 day a week now, so there is lots of time for me to get ready for the holidays. I am also doing some building for the whelping pen/box for Ellie. I am enjoying learning how to use the power tools (for the most part. . . they still scare me a bit).

The kids have their school Christmas program on Wednesday evening and are busy getting ready for that. We are all looking forward to their time off from school.

We're Expecting. . .

. . . puppies, that is! Ellie May is due to have them the first week in January. We (well, most of us!) are pretty excited about that. We have been busy trying to figure out where we are going to have the whelping box. We decided to put it under the basement steps because it is right by the chimney (which is warm) and is a closed-in area the perfect size for mom and pups. We are currently laying some linoleum and making some sort of bedding box for them. Poor Odie, he will have to learn to live as a bachelor for a few weeks while Ellie is in the house with the pups.

Out with the Old. . . .

. . . and in with the even older! Jim is selling his KTM dirtbike (top photo) and recently bought this Yamaha (bottom photo). He says he is too old for motocross racing and just wants a dirtbike that he can trail ride with. How 'bout that color?? Looks like a bike for me! He wants to change the seat color and racing stickers.

Giving Thanksgiving. . .

. . . .for a day off school. Today was a snow day for the kids due to icy roads and a small snow storm. They were certainly thankful for the day off and we ended up doing some Christmas shopping at the mall. It was hard to remember that it was a BIG holiday in the U.S., and this is the first year I think that I did not make a Thanksgiving meal on the US holiday. I must be adapting pretty well to Canadian life! Jim was a bit disappointed (he LOVES those big meals with gravy and mashed potatoes!) but Andrew (who washes dishes this week) was not! HAPPY THANKSGIVING all you Americans!!!

Birthday Boy

On Saturday, Daniel got to have his "big" birthday party. Each of the kids get to have one big one when they turn 10. Daniel wanted to have his at Kid's Zone, a large indoor play place. He invited 7 friends (one of them being Julia) and they had a great time. The top picture if of all of them going down a surprisingly fast slide. The bottem picture is of the cake they served him in his party room. He said it was his best birthday ever! He also had a smaller, family party on the 18th (Sunday) his real birthday. He got some dirt bike gear from Grandma and Grampa S., A. Jane, and Mom and Dad.

Piano Festival

On Friday, Hannah went to a piano festival. There she had to play 2 piano songs she had memorized for an adjudicator (judge). All the students in her group (there were many different groups) played the same piece and were placed according to how they did. Hannah did very well and got high marks. She does great playing under pressure and enjoys the piano a lot. I wish I had some pictures of her playing, but wasn't sure if we were allowed to take pictures. Next year I will bring it, because we saw others were allowed to take them.

Mother and Daughter

This past weekend, Leah and I went to Toronto for our Mother/Daughter Passport to Purity getaway. Here are some pictures of that time.

For dinner on Friday, we went to the fancy, revolving restaurant at the top of the CN tower. The food was very good and the view was amazing!

Here is a picture of Leah listening to the tapes and working in her workbook. This is a great resource to introduce and discuss the topics she will face with puberty and teen years.

On Saturday, we spent the whole day at the Royal Winter Agriculture Fair in Toronto. This is a big national fair held every year featuring the best of the best. We had tickets to the evening show in the Ricoh Stadium (the horse arena for the fair). Here is picture of the main event, horse jumping. This is apparently a big show because many people were in evening gowns and tuxedos. The people in the show included Ian Millar (he is to horse jumping like Tiger Woods is to golf) and Michael Wittacher. These are famous professional riders and their jumps were HUGE. Some as tall as me! This event is on TSN Dec. 1 at 3pm if anyone wants to see what we saw!

Part of the show included 9 teams of 6 draft horse hitches. They were really neat. 54 draft horses in the arena at one time!

Hi-Tech Redneck glossary

For all those cowboys (and girls) out there!

REBOOT: What you do when yer done scratchin' yer feet

CELL PHONE: What you use to make yer call from prison

SERVER: That feller who doles out the beans

POINT AND CLICK: What happens when yer gun misfires

HARDWARE: Nuts, bolts, nails, screws, etc

3.5 INCH FLOPPY: The droppin' of a really small cow

MICROCHIP: That same droppin' after it's been sittin' out in the sun for a spell

HARD DRIVE: A truck with two flat tires, stripped gears, and a burnt out clutch

Sunday News

Today we went for a bike ride after lunch. It was a cool, sunny November day and we rode on the rail trail for about 7 miles. Here are the kids having a break. The next two pictures are of the bike (and dirtbike) trailer Jim recently built. He bought the frame but put the rest together himself. He has been working on it all summer and finally finished it. We were excited to try it out today for the bike ride. Now the boys will have something to haul their dirtbikes on so we don't have to use the back of the van!

Leah on Blaze

Today was a beautiful day for riding, so Leah rode Blaze for awhile in the arena. He looks pretty promising so far. She really likes him.

Times are a changin'. . .

. . .for the Baxters regarding Halloween. We couldn't decide how we were going to spend the evening. First, the candy. Who wouldn't want LOTS OF FREE CANDY and getting to dress up in funny costumes??? But, we (the parents) just didn't feel comfortable with this trick or treating business, sooo we have always gone to a Christian alternative event on Halloween. Until this year. Some kids wanted to go with friends trick or treating, some to Bananarama (the Christian alternative event), and some just wanted to do a family fun night and get treat bags from Dad and Mom. Anyhow, we ended up going out for supper and getting a fun treat bag afterwards at home. Andrew went with some Christian friends door to door to collect food for the food bank. Today, we topped up our treat bags with discounted Halloween candy from the grocery store. Hope to have nice weather for the next two week (or months) so we can send the kids outside to burn off some sugar induced energy!

Blaze (Baxter)

Here is a picture of Blaze running in the round pen. He was very excited to be outside in a new place. He is really a beautiful horse, but this picture doesn't do him justice! I do think he does have some Arab in him, because he "floats" when he trots. He is bigger than I remember. Almost the size of Doc, just not as bulky.

New horse (another one!)

Well, Leah bought herself another horse. He is 3, green broke, and energetic. She had ridden him this summer and made an offer, but the people didn't accept it. They were unable to sell him, so they put him thru the auction today so they didn't have to keep him for the winter. Leah was able to buy him there. He is a black paint (the previous owners thought he was an Arab cross) with a little white under his belly and a large white blaze on his face. Hence, his name Blaze. He hasn't been ridden much, so she will have her work cut out for her!

Graduation. . .

. . .from dog school! Hannah and Leah are seen here working hard to train the dogs. The class was as much about training the owners as it was about training the dogs. Glad we did it!

New Bike

Here is a picture of Andrew's new (used) BMX bike he bought from a friend recently. He likes getting lots of air under his tires!

Done. . .

. . . . with my postal exam!!! Glad to have that behind me. I went on Thursday to Hamilton to take the exam. It was hard and lasted 3 hours. The facilitator for the test was really laid back and we review for about 2 hours before we took it and then if we were stuck on a certain question while taking the test, we could ask him about it and he would eliminate the wrong answers for you. I think I did well enough to pass (I need a 75%) so I am not stressing about it. I have still been getting part time work at the St. Jacobs office which is busier than St. Clements. The hours are about perfect.

Missing. . .

. . . family camp. This is the first year in many that we have not gone to Life Action fall family camp. We normally are there the 2nd week in Oct. We have all been missing it (except for one) and will occaisionally talk about "what we would be doing at this moment at family camp." BUT, God knew way back that this would not work. I had my postal exam yesterday (a non-negotiatable) and Grandma Baxter just went into the hospital for a bowel obstruction. We would have had to cancel if we would have signed up, but God knew and kept us from signing up this year. While I miss it, I am again reminded about God's IS all-knowing and does look out for our best. PTL!!

Happy Thanksgiving

Yesterday, we Canadians had the day off to celebrate our Thanksgiving holiday. It was a beautiful, hot, sunny day and we went to Jim's sister and brother-in-law's house for a GREAT meal. Jim's family was there, so we had a chance to catch up with each other. After arriving home, the cowgirls went out for a trail ride until dark.
This week will be a busy week for work as I am scheduled to work Tues, Wed, Thurs, and Sat. Hopefully all goes well because one day I am working until close by myself and have to lock up and set the alarm system. I am a little nervous about that thing going off accidently!

Our Week

Just blabbing about our week. . . .
-Julia has just turned 7 and is happy to be growing up; the faster, the better! She has been riding Stella whenever possible and helping obedience train Odie. Since I worked 2 days this week and had to leave the house at 7am, she has had to be more responsible to get off to school on time. She had done well.
-Daniel is happiest on his dirtbike. He has been a bit forgetful about closing the gate to the horse pasture after he finishes, so he has had to "practice" several times going in and out! He is making friends with a new neighbor who is in his class. Yeah for someone his age in the neighborhood to play boy stuff with!
-Leah is currently looking to build some horse jumps. We do have access to some free lumber (one source is our old swing set) and some wood working tools. She is researching how much it will cost HER to build them. We do have a pattern on building the jumps. The weather has been perfect for riding, but does have to been done right after school is over because daylight is SHORT!
-Hannah is busy with piano and homework. She is also helping train Odie for obedience lessons and likes doing this. She is at the mall with her friends at the time of this post (a place she loves being at!) She has been very helpful in making the mornings I am gone go smoothly for the rest of the kids.
-Andrew is busy with volleyball every night of the week. Today, he gets to miss a whole day of school (too bad!) to go to a tournament. Their team is not doing too well, but he is learning lots. We were given an outdoor volley ball set from some neighbors who moved, so we just need to secure the posts in something sturdy (and portable) so we can play beach volleyball in our sand arena. (can't forget to scoop the poop!) Not much time for riding his dirtbike, though!
-Jim is busy working on his bargain trailer for the dirtbikes. He is now at the wiring (lights and brakes) stage and should be finished within 2 weeks. He does need to take a break and fix the van brakes (no pun intended). They are dragging and making awful noises!
-I am busy ranching (yippee!) when I am not working. I love doing the outdoor stuff and the weather has been gorgeous. Sometimes on Sunday afternoons, Jim and I take the motorcycle out for a ride to see the fall colors. God is great! It is SO beautiful!

Happy Birthday, Julia

Yesterday, we celebrated Julia's 7th birthday. Here are some pictures of her opening presents and her cake. Notice the gummy worms on the cake. Grandma Baxter always makes our kids' cake as part of her gift to them and spoils them with decorations like this! Julia got to have friend over on Saturday and also got to choose her birthday supper. She has expensive taste; she chose ribs on the BBQ and mashed potatoes with gravy. The top picture is her opening her crocs (imitation ones) which she has been asking for. She also got a princess diary set and gymnastic lessons/pony club membership (not sure which one it will be yet!)

If only. . . .

. . . . the pretty girls were this available to wash muddy dirtbikes after an afternoon of riding!

Update on job

Well, I had my first few days on the job at the post office. It went well and I am feeling more comfortable every day. The only thing is, there were not a whole lot of customers, so we had to pretend to be customers. But that was OK, we were able to pretend sending parcels to the Montreal, Illinois, and Finland (plus lots more). I am glad to see the training week behind me, though. It has been fun, and I am finding I am enjoying working with the public.

Misc. pictures

Here is a picture of the kids making a gingerbread house this past winter. It turned out pretty good (that is the house stayed up and all the candies didn't get eaten before they made it on the house!) We had a lot of fun, though!

Here is a picture of the shirt Andrew was wearing when he had his first formal interview with Tim Hortons (for all you Americans, that is a coffee, donut, and sandwich fast food resturaunt.) He didn't get the job, I wonder why?!!! To be fair to Andrew, he was dropping off resumes, not expecting any interviews.

Linda and Phil, do you recognize this picture? Think Texas.

Weekend company

Just a picture of our weekend company, Caroline Banwart and Bernice Stahl. Aunt Jane, Bernice is going to show you this!