We are still here and haven't frozen solid yet!

Sorry I have not updated in a while. We have been sick here. Our church family lovingly shared the stomach flu with us. I had the mildest case thankfully. Hudson had it the same night as me. When I went in to clean him up in the middle of the night he was crying looking at the nice pile left behind. He said "mommy I croaked really big right there!" You can't laugh at your sick son but Kevin and I sure got a good laugh afterwards. Poor little kids, they don't know what is going on. Well Kevin got it a few days later and now we are looking to be healthy the rest of the winter. Actually I have a cold which I hope to get over soon or I may cough this child into the world.

Baby news-I am 35 1/2 weeks and went to the doctor yesterday. She told me that the baby has dropped. I was pretty sure something was different. Sitting in church Sunday the baby kept hitting spots that should not be touched! :) Like hitting my bladder, no wonder I am constantly going to the restroom these days. My doctor said that I shouldn't be delivering this week though which is good news, we move on Saturday.

Our final move for several years will be on Saturday. We are so ready to get into the house and be settled. I don't care to see another cardboard box again and wonder if it really contains what I have been searching high and low for. Thankfully because of the boarder crossing I really have a great list of what each box contains but there is always that one thing you were "not going to need" that is packed away in the far dark corners of the house.

Snow- yes we have snow and cold. The snow is very beautiful. It is the driest, lightest stuff you have ever seen. People use leaf blowers here to clear their driveways and sidewalks it is so light. It really looks like diamonds coming out of the sky. It leaves a really nice sparkle on the ground. I don't mind the snow at all. Especially when hearing of the ice storms in KC & OK. We don't miss that at all! There was a week here where it got pretty cold. It was -4 F (-20C). You know your thinking has changed when you go outside on Sunday and think "it feels pretty nice out here" when it is 23 F (-5c).

Well I will put a few random pictures on here for those of you who are tired of looking at our wildlife pictures. (Emily, we are just glad you care to check it out so faithfully! :)

Our Christmas Youth Activity. We had about 25 with adults. They really got into the game.

Our youth sponsors had it at their house which was great! They have a ping pong and foosball table in their basement.
We played a stocking gift exchange. The teens really enjoyed it, they could only spend $5 on what they put into the sock. They stuffed them with some creative items.

Three of our teen girls. Of course food is always a part of a good party!

Hudson with the moose he would like to eat!

Doesn't he look so sweet? Actually he is very stinky. He woke up from nap crying because he had a dirty diaper but quickly went back to sleep. When I came in to wake him up this is how I found him. Sweet, but oh so stinky!

The Canadian Rockies

I thought I would post some pictures of our visit to Canada in April.

This shows you a little of the beauty of where we are living, so you will want to come and visit us!! Remember we do have room and we would love to have you.

Pastor Jim Tillotson and Joan took us to the Canadian Rockies
The mountains are about 3 1/2 hours from us.
We saw so much wildlife right off the road, it was incredible!
Yes, I did take all of these pictures; there was so much wildlife posing for us we joked that they must be mechanical replicas put out by the park. No they really are real!

The view from the Lodge we stayed in. The Elk were in abundance.

Let it Snow!

Today we woke up and there was another light dusting of snow on the ground. It lightly snowed off and on through out the morning. Hudson was pretty excited about the snow so we went out for a little bit. Good thing Hudson likes snow for it would be a shame to move up north and have a child that didn't like it!

This picture shows how massive the fort is! Is is as tall as the house.

Like a true Canadian collecting firewood for the next fire!

Hudson "getting" mommy with his snow ball

Hudson came inside and wanted to eat. He wanted to eat potatoes! Well, he wanted to eat the potato out of the bag. I told him I had some cooked leftover potatoes from the other night that we were going to eat. He cried so I thought I would let him "try" a raw potato. He took two bites out of the top and realized that mashed COOKED potatoes are much better! He later looked at the raw potato and said "That was yucky". Humm... Mommy does know best huh?


Hudson's Hilarities
People tell us all the time how well Hudson talks for his age. He talks in full sentences and many times what comes out is too funny! I thought I would write some of the things he has said recently.

The other day I was cooking eggs for breakfast and Hudson was sitting in his high chair eating and watching me. He asked "Mommy are you cooking?" "Yes, I am cooking" "Mommy are you cooking for Hudson's sake?" I don't know where he learned "for Hudson's sake" since Kevin and I don't use that. I just laughed. Funny kid!

Hudson asked me the other day if I was a Pastor Lady?

Hudson is also learning who is older and bigger etc... He tells Kevin often "Daddy you big!" It inflates Kevin's ego a little bit. ;) Hudson tells me "Mommy you small big" I guess that means I am not as big as daddy. Of course it was not the best when he went up to someone at church who was a little bigger and said "You big!" ooops. Before we left the states Hudson was in the backseat while I was driving and he started to sing the tune "My God is so Big!" Instead he shouted "My Mommy's so BIG!" Well Hudson have I really grown THAT big?

The other day we were eating lunch and my stomach growled. Hudson asked "Mommy are you stinky?" Laughing "No, that was my stomach" He sat there and thought a little then said "Is the baby stinky?"

Hudson has a stuffed moose that he regularly plays with. I was explaining to him that people eat moose up here and we would probably be eating moose one day. He looked at his stuffed moose he was holding, threw it down and ran into the kitchen and said "comon' let's go eat some moose!" I guess his stuffed moose looked like something he would want to eat! :)

Kevin was asking Hudson "Doesn't mommy look beautiful today?" Hudson looked at me and said "Yes!" Then he looked at Kevin and said "Daddy you not beautiful, you a boy!" Kevin had to agree.

And one not so funny thing...I was hanging up Hudson's clothes one day and Hudson was in another part of the house calling out "I can't get in" "I can't get in Mommy!" I just continued hanging up clothes thinking "Good, I probably don't want you to get in whatever you are trying to get in." When I was done I went to go find Hudson and what he couldn't get in. We have a laundry shoot in the house we are staying in. It is a small hole in the bathroom cabinet floor. He had opened the door to the hole and had his feet dangling in the shoot trying to fit himself in! I had visions of calling the fire department and being on the evening news as Hudson hangs out somewhere between the top floor and the basement. I got him out and said "I am glad you couldn't get in!" I told him he could get stuck in there and he wasn't to put anything down there except clothes that mommy tells him to throw down there. Thankfully no recurrences.

Anyways, he is a lot of fun and always keeps us laughing! I will do this again as I continue to collect more funny things from the mouths of babes.

A Day with Charity

Today Hudson went with his new best friend Charity to the West Edmonton Mall. Charity is almost exactly 2 months younger than Hudson. They act and think a lot alike so they have become close friends fast. Charity reminds me a little of Cousin Carly so maybe she reminds Hudson of her as well. Paula (Charity's mom) and I think we need to take advantage of these free rides at the amusement park while these kids are 2 years old. I think it is a ploy on the malls part to get these kids "hooked" now so that when they are 3 and up they are begging their parents to ride the same rides but then we have to pay the high prices for tickets. We also took them to a different part of the mall where they had set up a petting zoo. The kids enjoyed all the animals although Paula and I were making sure they didn't provoke the baby buffalo!! The Little Lama was a little scary too. Hudson finally got to see and touch real guinea pigs. He has a picture of one in his books and that is the only way he even knew about guinea pigs. Anyways several times after he saw that picture he has called me into his room saying there is a guinea pig in his bed and he touched it! Okkkkk, what an imagination. I assured him that there were no guinea pigs in his bed. I am hoping that it is not a mouse visiting him. Anyways enjoy the pictures!

OK, this first picture is obviously not of the mall but of a giant Jack Rabbit that lives in our neighborhood. We enjoy looking for him out our front window each day. He is huge! The size of a large cat/small dog
My friend Charity

Charity, Hudson and the Whale- They can actually climb into the whale's mouth so we sang about Jonah
By the Sea Loin Show

Hudson with his Co-Pilot


The small pigs were pretty cute


Hudson looking at that big baby Lama behind him. The other brown thing eating is the baby Buffalo. It was quite the indoor petting zoo!

You ask how is Hudson adjusting to Canada? Well at church he is definitely the new kid on the block. He practically gets mauled after each service with elementary up to high school kids wanting to talk to him and asking him if he knows their name. I really believe he knows more people than we do. Since he talks so well he delights all of them with his lingual skills and by remembering their names while giving them high fives and fists. He has even corrected me when I called a teenager by his brother's name. Next time I will just ask my 2 year old what someones name is.

Papa and Grana in Edmonton

Kevin's parents were able to be here last week for several days. They arrived late Wednesday the 7th and left early on Monday the 12th. Their main reason for coming was to do a School Of Servants conference at our church. The people at Meadowlands really enjoyed the conference and the services on Sunday. Hudson sure enjoyed having his Papa and Grana here! We were so thankful to have visitors so soon after our arrival! Here are some pictures of our time together.

Early Christmas! Papa and Grana brought Lincoln Logs
3 Generations of Lincoln Loggers
A Visit to The West Edmonton Mall-The Largest Mall in the WORLD!

Kids that are 2 get to ride several of their amusement park rides free, we like that.

A Little about the West Edmonton Mall for those of you who are wondering.

Yes, it is in Edmonton where we are living. Yes, it is the largest mall in the world. The people who built the Mall of America built this one first. Some of the special features are a full amusement park with giant rollercoasters and all (inside). The mall covers over 8 blocks with two levels. 800 stores and 100 restaurants. It has a waterpark, Ice skating rink, 2 different putt-putt golf places, an I-MAX, The world's largest indoor lake with submarines and an exact replica of Christopher Columbus' Santa Maria floating on it, a bowling alley, dinner theatre and a Fantasyland Hotel with all sorts of really cool rooms to rent. Now you know more than you probably ever wanted to know about WEM!