Strong Start

It could be that with both David and me working full-time, Hayden in school, and church activities, I had no reason to go hunting extra-curricular activities for Hayden. Fastfoward to us living in Canada and adjusting to an entirely new lifestyle and suddenly I need things to help us meet people and fill our days!

 We've had such beautiful weather (apparently, not the norm and according to friends, we were getting spoiled!), but now the gray skies seem to have arrived. Not so much the incessant drizzle yet, but we have the overcast days. Bummer. We have not put Hayden into a sport this fall for a number of reasons. One is that with David coaching football and only one vehicle, practice during the week could be difficult to get to. The other is that we hope to return to the Coast for a visit at some point before the holidays, and when/if we do, we will miss at least 2-3 weeks. We want Hayden to be consistent if he's going to be involved, and this allows me the time to learn what's here. So that's what has led me to Strong Start.

Yesterday afternoon/evening I was able to venture across the border with some new friends to do a bit of grocery shopping. Sounds like the highlight of my week, right? Well, I was able to have adult conversation with other believers and not have to worry about bedtime (thanks, Dave!) and shop in peace. PEACE, I tell you. No "I want this!" or "What is that?" or "Are we going to another store?" Cassandra mentioned last night about Strong Start. This is the website's definition: "StrongStart BC early learning programs provide school-based early learning services for adults and their young children, aged birth to five, at no cost to families." Nice, right? And it's a come-and-go thing. I don't have to go everyday, I participate WITH Hayden, and it's free! FREE. That's huge. I'm working on the best location for us and filling out the paperwork. With all of the rainy days ahead, this will be perfect for getting us out of the apartment and doing something that doesn't cost us anything but time.

Our most local community centre (yep, centRe) primarily offers recreational activites and some can be pricey. There is an aquatic centre that we'll likely get Hayden involved in this spring. The aquatic centre is more like a YMCA. You have to buy a membership ($$) or we can do drop-ins for, I think, $10 a class. Hayden has done great in the pool and the spring will still be rainy, so this would be a great way to get Hayden moving and out of the apartment again. However, we did find a community centre not too far away that offers classes--some that cost and others that don't. There's a sports class on Thursdays that introduces preschoolers to all different types of sports. So we're going to start plugging in!

Within the next few months, I'll be starting some sort of job, so please be praying for that. Please be praying for David, too, because he'll become a stay-at-home dad concentrating on The Common Place. Whatever we get Hayden involved in, we want it to be good for all of us. With one vehicle, we'll have to do some figuring on a few things, but it's all going to work out. Right?

Short & Sweet

We haven't sent out a recent newsletter, but for those of you who are praying for us, first of all, THANK YOU! We can feel your prayers. Secondly, I have a few personal, selfish prayer requests that I wanted to make you aware of.

-I am looking to start a women's bible study. Please pray that the timing and right materials would fall into place. Also, be praying for the women I would be able to reach. I'm not exactly sure how this study will/would look just yet, but I'm already praying for the women who will come.

-We are just a step away from changing our visas so that I may work. There are a few ways we can change our work permits, but the easiest way would make us happiest, of course! If not, the change will still happen, it just may be more difficult.

-In reference to my being able to work, that means I have to find a job! David has been excellent in helping me look. I may have to take a position somewhere that is not "ideal," but it would allow us the freedom to look for something better/more long-term. I am looking into applying for a teaching license, so please pray that favor is shown on that. Apparently teaching jobs are hard to come by, and coming from a career where the two different teaching positions I've held were gotten very easily, this is all new!

We have thoroughly enjoyed seeing friends and family from MS over the past few months. It certainly helps to boost our energy and spirits!

Shark Bite and Scripture

There are many days when I long to blog, but I feel I have nothing to say. Seriously. Nothing. Tomorrow will mark the 3 month mark of our move to Canada. I suppose adjusting has been fairly easy (compared to other missionaries who have moved to some serious foreign lands. Though to hear all the accents here you just might think you've entered Asia or Europe!). But I'm off task. My point is that a majority of people speak English, stores are comparable (though prices are not!), we do know some folks here (even if they aren't very nearby)...you get the idea. Other transitions have been rough. We have literally had visitors, our summer interns, in our lives and home since we arrived. When Christopher and Shannon left this past Monday, it was time to really find out who we are as a family of three in metro-Vancouver. Sounds easy with parks everywhere and a clubhouse with activities, right? It's more difficult than one might think. And it led to the first days since we've been here that I, deep in my very core, missed our friends (no offense, family) from "home." Maybe it's because I've had more time to think on it this week. Hmmm...

Wednesday was the first fall Parent/Tot Connect at the clubhouse. Yeah, so Hayden and I were the only ones who showed. My heart was heavy. I needed to talk to a woman. Any woman. (Does that sound weird?) Hayden and I went to the park instead. With school back in session, the park was filled with mommies and nannies with young, young children. Sidenote: Any time we meet people, the first question they ask (after "How old is he?") is if Hayden is in school anywhere (preschool) because he's 3. I work with Hayden daily, but sometimes I feel judged because we aren't spending that money to put him in school. I have worked full-time since Hayden was 4 months old. While, yes, I did get summers and holidays off, it's not like having every day to invest in him and create and be with him. There are days I wish he was in school, but for the most part, I'm loving getting to teach him. I just sincerely hope I'm doing the best thing for him. Education is so tight here that kids voluntarily take summer school and tutor for hours after school. It was pulling teeth to get kids to tutoring last year! Maybe next year will be different in some areas that will allow him to attend PreK 4, but if not, I'll just treasure these days. He begs to do school each morning. Hayden was not only just a bit older than the majority of kids at the "green park" as he calls it, he was a full head taller! So his playing sometimes means he's beating smaller children up (unintentionally). Plus, he's still learning how to interact and such. It wasn't a bad time, I just felt alone. Everyone else was grouped up and the one group of mothers we approached told Hayden he couldn't play with their kids' toys. Ouch. It hurt me more than it did him.

Thursday we went back to the same park for him to enjoy the sand volleyball court and sprinklers while we still have sunshine. Rainy days are ahead, friends. He interacted and played well (maybe I should stay out of the picture more) with some kids, but we had to leave just as I was close to getting into some good conversations with the children's parents. I'm still learning how to introduce myself and exchange phone numbers (though my next paragraph explains how Hayden solved that for me today!).

So now to today and the reason for "Shark Bite and Scripture." I'll try to be succint in my storytelling. We met some new friends today---families from Poland. They were very nice and shared toys with Hayden. I think one mother and I will make plans to get together again soon. Her son, Michael, let Hayden play with his awesome shark. After a while, a mother and older daughter (my age) got into the pool. I looked up from one side of the pool to see Hayden attacking them (playfully) with the shark. They were so cool about it. The daughter, Kaitlyn, really played along. The first complete thought Hayden got out to her after "biting" her with the shark was, "Hey, hey. 'As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.'" (No, I have not coached him to say that to strangers, either. Thank you, God, for a brilliant son who probably gets why we're here more than I give him credit for!) That led to a discussion on his knowing Scripture, Kaitlyn asking where we go to church, me explaining here and motioning to the complex, and her saying, "Oh, are you church planters?" I.was.shocked. She admitted that she wouldn't know anything about church planters except that her pastor is doing a series on that currently. We had a great discussion. We exchanged numbers and will likely get together for a game night. She was totally cool in Hayden coming over to play Guitar Hero.

After the week I've had, I have been praying every night for friends. I haven't had to go out of my way to make new friends in quite some time. I never changed schools growing up, so college was the first for that. and then the second time was when David and I moved to Southaven after we were married. I just thank God for connections today: I didn't want to work out this morning, but since David and Hayden were both still sleeping, I got my butt up and got it moving. As I was returning home, I passed the mom and son of a family we met at Christopher and Shannon's farewell party. We had a nice discussion outside. Touching base was good; she's so friendly and in the same boat we are having just moved here. Then we met Kaitlyn as well as Michael's family at the pool. Forming relationships here has been the most difficult for me. I hope today is a sign of days to come!

Gearing Up for Fall

I couldn't come up with any snazzy title, so that's what you're stuck with (note the irony: "up" and "fall." I'm a dork.). This has perhaps been one of the oddest summers I've experienced in quite some time. There have been summers/periods of major change: graduation/college, working my first "big girl" job, getting married/moving in the spring and working full-time as a married woman, moving back to the Gulf Coast to begin teaching, quitting teaching to open a daycare only to not be involved in the endeavor as of July 5 via a text message and then having to scramble to find a new teaching position or other job. You get the idea. And then this summer and a major move...to Canada. And I'm not working (yet). And we left our huge house for an apartment. And we don't have a church home here (as we are the church). And making friends is sometimes very, very, very difficult. And our lives just look different.

I hope my family/friends don't take offense to this, but I don't necessarily miss the MS Gulf Coast. I miss the people. I miss things about the States. There are days when I just want to go across the border to be IN America. The odd thing is, we have the same or the equivalent here of nearly everything we have at "home." But there's a different feel to it. There are times I'm simply reminded (by goofy, off-the-wall items/scenarios) that I'm not in the United States anymore. We are doing well at making this home, but it is taking time.

Last night was a farewell/until-next-time party for Christopher and Shannon as they leave early tomorrow morning to return to Kansas City. It's been great having Shannon live with us. I appreciated having a girl to talk to, to bounce ideas off of, to spend "girl time" with. She, just like Pia, fit in well with our family. She's welcome back any time! I digress. We met a family last night. The dad is a police officer (Royal Canadian Mounted Police: RCMP) and mom was a teacher in Ontario. They recently moved here and while not believers (I don't know that for sure, however), they are experiencing the same issues we are. They have an eight-year-old highly intelligent girl and a long-haired, blonde cutie 2-year-old of a son. The mother and I exchanged numbers and I hope we can have them for a meal and let the kids play more often. My goal is to meet other mothers/families. Thankfully, our community clubhouse is starting a Parent/Tot Connect each Wednesday. That may be our ticket. I have to make each conversation intentional. My goal is to start a ladies' Bible study very soon and not only that, I just need to make friends. My soul craves it.

 

My Visa (and David's actually) is being worked on. He, come to find out, was actually given the wrong one which resulted in my receiving the wrong permit. Once those are switched, I will likely see about becoming a sub teacher (which pays incredibly well here) and tutor. David will become more of the homemaker, but he's about to take over supper duties, so I think we'll work out just fine. He's still finding ways to make The Common Place a fixture in our community. He wants us to do things the closest to perfection that we can. I plan to start a Bible study and then see, between working, where I can best fit in more ministry opportunities. One idea David and I tossed around was a learning/Bible story time where I can focus on certain letters and associate everything with them: activities, songs, crafts, stories, Scripture, etc. I haven't focused as much attention on that yet as I probably should have. Guess I know what I need to do this week!

As I close, some "Hayden-isms" for you:
-Whenever he tricks you, he says, "I tricked you out!"
-My FB status tonight: Hayden just came out of our room, pulled his shirt up, sort of marked a spot on the upper right hand-side of his ribs and said, "You see this? It's still hungry." Pause for laughter. "Or maybe for just a drink." Cheeky grin and dimples working hard. Crazy kid.

And now I'm drawing a blank. He's so funny. Frustrating, too. And he forgets nothing! But here's to a fall that will be filled with even more changes. Thanks for your prayers and keep them coming!

GASP!! An update...

I'm sure some of you think I've fallen off the face of the planet, but in reality, life has just been filled with changes. Some of those I'm at liberty to discuss, some I don't care to, and some would just make me sound like a very petty, immature person. So...let's move on to more delightful topics.

September will be a month of evaluating where things are for The Common Place; don't misunderstand me--that doesn't mean things are bad. It simply means we are seeing where we are and what our future is once Christopher and Shannon return to the States. Wilson and his energy have been missed, and Shannon has been a fantastic addition to our family this summer. Christopher sure knew how to keep us laughing. But come September, the three of us (plus Hayden) have to take a serious look at how we plan to continue reaching not only our immediate neighborhood, but Coquitlam.

My parents (the Nana and Papa) just stopped for their first visit. My mom arrived about 9 PM Monday night, and my dad flew into Seattle Wednesday mid-morning on his way home from a work trip in Japan and then drove up. So it was closer to about 1 PM before we saw him. We had a full day with my mom Tuesday to show her where we live and our "hang-outs," then we hung out at home and chilled while David had football practice. Wednesday was a late breakfast at IKEA, a bit more sight-seeing around Coquitlam and then waiting on dad to arrive for a late lunch/early supper. By the time we showed him the area, his jet lag was severely starting to set in, so we called it a night. Thursday was Whistler; well, more the drive up because by the time we actually got to Whistler, we had just enough time to eat a late lunch and check out a bit before we needed to head back for David's football practice. Hayden, mom and dad and I killed time at IKEA across the street from the practice field. Friday was downtown and Stanley Park and then mom and dad left mid-afternoon for Seattle to stay overnight for an early Saturday morning flight.

The staggered arrival times made doing everything we really wanted impossible. It was still a great week, though, and now I seriously need to clean again! Hayden did not want Nana and Papa to leave. I think he acquired eight new airplanes this past week thanks to them! We are working on a visit to the Gulf Coast with a special surprise for Hayden thrown in. Hayden has mentioned a few times that he misses our house, but overall, he seems to really like living here in Canada.

In some ways, it feels as though we've been here forever. But there are times I'm greatly reminded that we're still finding our way. Hopefully, it won't be as long before I update again!

What's New with the Ainsworths!

(This is a large portion of our most recent newsletter that went out. For those of you that didn't get it, here's what's going on in Coquitlam. This was written by David in case third person references made you wonder!)

"Our apartment here is about as much of home as this particular apartment will be. We know we are only in this one for just a year so we haven’t gone overboard on decorating but Jamie has done a great job of making it feel like home for the season that we are here.

Hayden is really starting to finally find a routine. We had a rough few weeks there, but we made some changes and put more of a structure in for him and it seems to have done the trick. Jamie has found some awesome learning activities for him to do each day so everyday when he wakes up now he wants to do “school” so Jamie spends the first couple of hours each day teaching him, doing crafts with him, and just spending some time just the two of them. It is really cool to see him glow with pride as he completes crafts and certain tasks. We have a pretty smart little boy and I am so thankful he has a great mom that takes time to help him sharpen his mind everyday.
    
      On the church front things are moving along. We have had 2 teams come through to spend time with us. The first was First Baptist of Biloxi. They were here around the middle of July and they helped us prayer walk our ministry area, and then came back another afternoon to put on a Family Fun Day. We had to scale things back quite a bit at the direction of the city, but we had a really great turn out here in our local park that the whole city uses. It is an awesome facility and I think many of the FBC Biloxi crew got a little jealous that we get to use that as a place of ministry. We also had a college group from Heart of Life Church in Kansas City come through. They spent a week with us and we did a day of service projects in the City Centre area, we served at a local Christian Based Drug Rehab Center, a local food bank/soup kitchen, and they spent quite a bit of time hanging out at the same park FBC Biloxi did the Family Fun Day. Our goal is to be consistently out and about in the community, and they did a great job continuing the work that we had already started when we first arrived.

We are going through a stage of learning, planning, and discerning God’s call for where we go next. We started a very informal gathering on Wednesday night and we just need to know what direction to go with that. One of our biggest needs right now is a core group of people to come along side us and help us. One of our interns has already returned home to Mississippi. Wilson did a great job for us this summer; he is an energizer bunny and I don’t think he ever runs out of energy. He was such a blessing because he was a self starter; many of the relationships that have been formed at the park are due to his consistency and willingness to be all things to all people. I am so proud of the guy he has turned out to be and can’t wait to hear what God will do with his life going forward. For now he is back at Mississippi College and I know God is using him on that campus. He was a huge help and a vital part to every single thing we have done this summer.

     As the summer is coming to a close things will probably not slow down much for us. I am coaching a football team here; it is nowhere close to American football and definitely nowhere close to football played in Mississippi, but it has been really cool to connect with my fellow coaches and the players on our team. Being from an area where football is king to so many, it’s almost like I became an instant go-to guy for questions and things. I am praying and seeking for ways to expand my role there with some possible bible study huddles or something. I am not sure what will happen if anything so please join me in prayer for open doors there if God wants me to be used in that capacity with the football league here.

     Adjusting has gone well overall. We are so confident of our call here, but we do miss all of you and having the ability to just call and get together at a moment’s notice. Life here is very different. It looks alot like home, but it is amazing how refreshing it is for us to drive 45 minutes and go to Washington to go grocery shopping or something. Believe it or not, we have found we save so much money by doing that; we do not do it very often, but when we are doing a big shopping trip, it is worth is to drive over the border to get what we need.

     We still have many prayer needs that need to be addressed. God has blessed us so much throughout this journey so we do not doubt His power and His timing in making things happen. We are still working on Jamie’s Visa issue. The Association here is helping us get it all worked out so that she can seek a tutoring position or something to help make ends meet. We know and God knows exactly when it will be an absolute necessity for there to be some external income coming in and we have full confidence that she will either find something or God would raise up more financial partners to help us make this ministry possible.

     Another prayer need of ours is just that the transition/seeking stage that we are in at The Common Place would be one that makes us stronger. We are definitely seeking the Lord for direction on some things and it is my prayer that HIS plan become what is important and nothing else. This community around us is a great one: awesome people, open minds, and big hearts. We just have to figure out the best way to serve those people and help them see the truth, love, happiness, and life that comes from a relationship with Jesus Christ. We need to be ready to move and we need people around us to help us move. Pray for both of those things if you would.

     Lastly I will just say that we miss all of you. Please know that our doors are always open for a visit. I hope that finances will allow us to come back home either for Christmas or Thanksgiving and we will get to see many of you but anytime you may want to venture to Vancouver, let us know and we will be happy to host you. Please lift us up in prayer. Some days are tougher than others and sometimes it is definitely lonely, but the power of your prayers is what will help keep us plugging along. I am trying to figure out the easiest way to send out another email with some pictures from what has happened so far so be on the lookout for that. For now I will wrap it up. We love you all. Keep praying for us."

Not a Scrapbooker

I am not a scrapbooker (much to my husband's dismay). I stole an idea from a friend who is also not a scrapbooker: rather than try to make folders or big books of all the fabulous artwork and events and vacations she and her children participated in, she used boxes. I grabbed empty totes that I had (nothing too huge) and stored Hayden's important milestone papers, artwork, items to reminiscence over (when my baby boy is HUGE! and gone; tear...), etc. I've done this for two years now: one for his birth through first year of "school" and the second one for his second year of school (ages 2/3). I love it because I can go back through the boxes that I've marked and ooh! and ahh! over each piece, and I did my best to date his artwork. I do not print pictures and put them in books like my grandparents did (again, not my thing and we have this awesome thing called technology, so I usually only print the pictures I really want to display or else I whip out my handy smartphone and just show him off that way!).

Now that we're in Canada and I'm getting to be a stay-at-home mom for a bit, I find myself missing picking him up from school and all his fabulous creations. And thanks to Pinterest, I have found some great ideas, while others have left me feeling like a mother who is not involved enough (sigh). I know there's no way to do everything I find, and when we either have or adopt another baby, I want to be able to do similar things to remember these sweet, sweet "baby" years. There are definitely pictures, art projects, memories, etc. I wish we'd done with Hayden. But I'm trying to not let it be too late for other ideas. For Christmas 2011, we made gifts for everyone from Hayden. I've already found the project I want to do this year. In fact, we'll probably get started soon. I just love being able to give gifts that may not be able to be used but are given for their sentimental value. Hopefully, it shows we've put more thought and time into our gifts than "Oh, look! It's another tie." or whatever habits we fall into with gift giving. (And no, I'm not sharing what we're doing this year as many family members tend to read this. If you're not family and you're curious, let me know!)

I'm definitely trying to mark the holidays or other important days with projects Hayden and I create. I remember holidays as times where my sister and I spent hours with our mom in the kitchen making way too many sweets and Chex Mix and yummy goodness. Hayden loves art projects and he helped me make quite a few last year--you can see our footprint turkeys on Facebook if you're really interested. I want him to remember growing up as a time where mom sat down with him and made stuff (even if my OCD nature craves perfection and his toddler/little boy personality does not!); I can't always take him where I want to (ie., Disney now). But we can make memories like I have planned for next week--a morning at the sprinkler park four blocks away with a picnic lunch; movie dates at home with mom with dad is at football practice; a photo scavenger hunt of various shapes.

So now, if you've read this far, you might be scratching your head wondering how my not being a scrapbooker ties into all the mumbo jumbo you just deciphered. Well, here's our big project #1: a handprint/footprint ABC book. This will be something he can look back at when he's older and I'll have to cherish always. Once we finish the alphabet, I plan to venture into the months, seasons, holidays (as they come up) and numbers. Google some of this stuff and see what you find. It's overwhelming!

See what I mean?! Some of this I stumbled across accidentally. I'm creating a binder with sections for all of our handprint/footprint art. I can't wait to see how all of this turns out. Happy creating, everyone!