Superficial

I'm having a rough day. Maybe it's because David had to go back to work today. Maybe it's because I'm off my routine. Maybe it's because I'm having to put Christmas decorations away. Maybe...

I know what it is, and it's absolutely, without a doubt, completely me being superficial. Hayden had a fantastic Christmas, no doubt. I had to go buy some storage containers today so we could pack up all the little pieces so they don't get lost. When we move in six months, I'll need a way to safely transport his toys until we get settled and buy something like this:

What does that have to do with anything you wonder? Well, I'm in the middle of putting away all of the Christmas decorations and trying to somewhat organize them because we are taking only those absolute keepsakes with us to Vancouver. Do you know how much stuff you can fit in a 2200 sq. ft. house? I do. And althought it's just STUFF, it's somewhat heartbreaking to look around and realize, "Wow, I have to buy 'this' and 'that' when we move, and those aren't going."

This move is the perfect opportunity to update some things in our house as it would cost us nearly triple to ship it as it would to just replace it. I'm going to have to part with quite a bit of stuff and it shouldn't be so hard, but it is.

Please don't think less of me after reading this. I know how superficial it sounds; I'm ashamed. But on the plus side, I can't wait to finally burn or trash a ton of junk we've just held on to. You know those bits and pieces you stick in a box and either plan to use later or get to later and never do? Yeah.

Breakfast with Santa

Normally, Santa comes earlier to Hayden's school, but this year, he came on the 23rd. We had talked and talked about Santa's visit, and Hayden was super excited...until he actually arrived! As with most children, he was fine with Santa from a distance, but once it came time to sit on the red guy's lap, we weren't so sure.

David tried to convince Hayden it was fine; Santa waved and was very patiend. Hayden was second to last to sitting on his lap out of the children in his class. Once Santa got him talking about Michael (our elf), Hayden was ready to go!

After he finished, Hayden had to repeatedly make his way back to Santa to high-five him!

We decided not to take Hayden to the mall to visit Santa there because we didn't want to confuse him. Hayden told us as we left school that Santa had gone to the North Pole, so we let it go. Not the greatest picture we could have gotten, but one of the directors also took shots and we'll get a copy of that later.

Merry Christmas, all!

Whistler, BC, Canada

Here is just a sampling of pictures from Whistler, BC. Due to the very short length of our trip, we didn't stop to take any pictures in Seattle or really in downtown Vancouver. We simply had too many people to meet and too much to see. So these are from Whistler, sight of Olympic Village for the 2010 Winter Olympics. These pictures do not do the place justice. It's gorgeous!

Dog tired

I'll keep this short and sweet. It's been an insane three days. I'm in love with this place. I can't wait to see Hayden's reactions to Vancouver. It'll take some getting used to being a hockey mom instead of a pee wee football mom, but this is exactly where we're called.

Today we ventured way up the mountains to Whistler. Google it. It's the sight of Olympic Village. David went up this summer when everything was green, but today it was all white. And Christmas-y! It was cold. And I was out of my element. But it was wonderful. I'll put pictures on FB when we get home.

Tomorrow is a long day of airports and flights to get home to a little mister. I can't wait. We leave for Seattle at 3 am. G'night!

Dark early morning

I am writing this using my phone as I sit propped on a fold out bed in Conrad's apt in Coquitlam, BC, Canada. If there are errors, forgive me! I'm tired and even though it's already 6:30 am, it's still pitch dark. At home the sun is up, birds are singing, and Hayden would be informing me he needs breakfast!

I'll try to give a quick rundown of what we've done. We basically landed in Seattle at 2 am Saturday morning. Conrad picked us up and we all crashed in a nearby hotel for a few hours. I could've slept half the day but I couldn't wait to see the Pacific Northwest, so we go up and moving.

We toured Seattle for about an hour looking for a great local breakfast. Finally we just decided to start heading north and find food on the way. So much for local. We ate for our first time at Panera Bread! Good. Ate lunch food for brunch. On to Canada!

After a gorgeous drive, Conrad took David through a different border gate. I've never been so it's my first border gate! Of Canada, that is. No major wait, shockingly. The line headed south was at least an hour's wait. Our border agent looked like one mean joker, so we were honest and made eye contact. No big deal.

Since we had had less than five hrs sleep, David declared he need coffee, so Tim Horton's it was. I got a white hot chocolate. So yummy! Then we drove to Conrad's place, freshened up and sat for a min before heading out to look at future residences. In case you don't know, it's super expensive to live here. But we've seen a few options.

We had supper at Nando's, an awesome healthy chicken restaurant, and talked forever. Conrad took us to the mall that's within walking distance. Well, just about everything's within walking distance. I saw new places and sights, but much the same from home. That's reassuring. We called it an early night. Oh, and it was completely dark at 4:30. In the summer, though, it'll be light forever.

Today we share at a few local churches how God has called us here. We will make a few other stops and tonight is the community Christmas party. Tomorrow is probably Whistler. I've yet to take a picture! As of last night, we'd only be here for six hours. I'm blown away.

Running out of days

With everything going on as David and I prepare to take a five-day trip to Vancouver in less than two weeks, I am quickly running out of days.

I have spent the afternoon speed-cleaning my house, as next weekend is our church's "Singing Christmas Tree," Disney on Ice as a suprise for Hayden, and packing and labeling everything for our trip and for Hayden as he stays here with family and friends. School is quickly drawing to a close and I have a ton to do there, too. I have not had the time to do the holiday baking I like to do every year, Christmas presents have really only been bought for Hayden, and I still need to make Hayden's "gifts" for grandparents and teachers. I'm tired!