Remembering Grandpa Triemstra

Grandpa Triemstra passed away on Sunday morning. Although it was not completely unexpected, it was still difficult. We feel very blessed to have seen him and talked to him, one last time, on Friday. While we were there he told us about the book he was reading, asked how we were doing, and voiced his concerns about how Grandma was doing on her own. The last thing Grandpa said to us was "God bless you." We love you, and will miss you Grandpa. God bless you too!!

Christmas Preparations

Stevin told us where the Dutch store is in Barrie. We shouldn't have gone there... The dutch store is one store where it's hard to leave without spending a little money...

We found one game there that we couldn't say no to...

Here we are preparing for an epic 'Dutch Blitz' battle against Stevin and Katrina (who claim that they can beat with one hand drinking a can of coke)(or something like that).

We'll see what happens this year....

Assemblies Part Two (this is a rant)

I was able to attend yet another Christmas 'Carol Singing' Assembly yesterday at a different public school. This time I thought I'd pay really close attention to the assembly and what was being said. Here's what I got:
#1 - All I want for Christmas are my two front teeth
#2 - I saw mommy kissing Santa Claus (underneath the mistletoe of all places)
#3 - Walking in a Winter Wonderland (and they changed the lyrics from 'pretend that he is Parsons Brown' to 'pretend that he's a circus clown')(Honestly - WHY would you make a snowman into a CIRCUS CLOWN....)
#4 - We wish you a Merry Christmas (in another couple years - I'm sure they'll try to change the lyrics to Merry X-mas...)
#5 - Must be Santa ("must be santa, must be santa, must be santa claus....")(this was a new one for me)
#6 - Go Light Your World (warm sentimental song with a loving message of taking our candle out to the world)

There. Six songs about (?). I think we're tempted to say - well the spirit of the holidays is about love, and giving, and the historical santa claus became a saint because of what he did and who he believed in.
But I honestly don't believe that the children in that assembly walked away thinking "Yeah, Santa Claus was a bishop who gave presents because he believed in a baby named Jesus".
I think the little kids say to each other "what fun songs!" and the older kids walk away saying "How annoying that we sing those songs every year".

There was (some)(however small) consolation in this assembly. The librarian read a story.... Not just any story... "Santa's Favourite Story". A story about elves who go to Santa to ask what his favourite story is. Santa says that his favourite story is the Nativity story. And then the elves are happy because they now know Santa's favourite story. Conclusion - Santa's favourite story tells us about love and that the VERY BEST Christmas present of all - is Christmas itself.

I was happy with the story, and I'm not. And later talked to the librarian about it. She said she chose it because it had two "sides".
I said, "I see... are you a Christian then?" (because there ARE Christians in the public schools) and she said "no, I just believe."

Interesting?

I'm not happy with this story because it confirms what I believe is happening to Christmas - We're hiding the story of Jesus behind falsities. We're saying, "Yay! Christmas! Santa's Bringing Presents! Santa's Awesome! It's about Jesus. Yay for Santa!"

I realized this morning that I'm starting to have a favourite character in the Bible (other than Jesus). I'm identifying with Daniel. Perhaps this is because teaching in a public school asks that I keep a 'close check' on the things I'm allowed to say about Jesus Christ. In other words - Teach, don't Preach. I'll give 'props' to anyone who has the courage to Preach in a public school.

The sad thing is that the public schools are ALLOWED to talk about Jesus. They are fully permitted to TEACH the story of Christ Jesus. They are not allowed to PREACH the story of Jesus. But they ARE allowed to Teach it.
Sadly, They're not teaching it at all.

Christmas Assemblies

I have found that, of late, I cannot tolerate Santa Claus. Okay... that's a bit harsh. I still like Tim Allen as Santa Clause. And I still like the Grinch as Santa Claus. But overall, I'm quite fed up with the guy.
A thought has been creeping, ever so slowly into my head that perhaps we as Christians are too tolerant of Santa. And today, in a Christmas assembly (in a public school) that featured 'Christmas Carols' about Santa... I had enough. I didn't sing them. I only sang the two songs about Jesus. And that was it. It disgusts me that students know more songs about Santa coming to town, and down through the chimney, and not crying because they won't get presents, than they do about Christ our Saviour.
On the other hand. In a public school... they at least sang Away in a Manger (the first verse) and Silent Night (the first verse). Is that something?

Construction

The following is a very clear example of why we, David and I, should not construct anything....

This is a classic example of Geertsema Construction.... Dave kept wanting to build higher and higher!
Note the fallen tower and the cookie cutter holding the roof up! (I can't say anything because I was apparently helping....)













Final Product. Here we have Frosty being held up by Hershey Kisses.

















Here's Rudolph, he even has a red nose. It looks like there's some kind of elf riding him.....












There's so much icing holding this thing together it's ridiculous!

But we had lots of fun and a huge mess to clean up! That's what Christmas is all about, right?!

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas!

No, I do not mean the snow! We've had that for far too long already! And now it's starting to get REALLY cold too! I'm still not sure how a place can get so much snow and not have had even one snow day! Apparently last year they had 3 before Christmas....well we've got two weeks left and I'll take them anyday!

Anyways, what I meant was: Our house is beginning to look a lot like Christmas! We've got some decorations up, the Christmas music blaring, and I've been watching every Christmas special I can on only our 2 channels! Here's what we've been up to:

Our tree....yes, it's fake!

We got a package from SinterKlaus! (Thanks Mom G!)

Garland around the window in the kitchen.

A nice real wreath for the door. (Thanks Mom V!)

Anyways, two more weeks until the first much needed break! We hope everyone is doing well and is enjoying their preparations for Christmas as much as we are!

Respect

After a recent one and a half week experiment in which I (attempted) to let my beard grow out - "To see if the students give me more respect."
Steph asked (foolishly)... "So if I grow a beard the kids would give me more respect?"
My reply -- "Oh... probably... a woman who grows a beard probably deserves a little respect."

Occupied

Well, here are some of the things that have been occupying our time 'lately'...
1) Snow, Snow and more Snow. I'm glad that I've got this handy-dandy old fashioned and yet still very practical snow shovel. It's great for moving large quantities of snow. Pay close attention to the nice slope on those snow banks (which are on both sides of the driveway...). Those slopes are important for a snow shovel like this one because you need to get the snow shovel to slide up and over the snow bank. Now, what I'm thinking is that if things go well this year, maybe I can get those snow banks high enough so that I can make my own half-pipe out of the driveway? Martin and Michael would probably agree that I need help on my snowboarding skills...


2) Last year, Steph made a big stink about how I was a "Scrooge" at Christmas time - especially when it came to setting up the tree. I didn't think I was a scrooge, necessarily, but I remember not wanting to set up the Christmas tree last year. Well, this year I decided that since I didn't have to go to work (today), I would get a head start and show Steph that I'm looking forward to Christmas. The result of two and a half hours of intense labour is pictured below.


3) Also pictured below is our book shelf. What you see is part of the book collection Steph and I have. These are our adult and children's novels, which have also occupied a lot of our time. Presently Steph is reading "Inkdeath" (the third novel in a children's series of which the first novel has been made into a movie "Inkheart" -- coming soon to a theatre near you...). I just finished "The Diamond of Darkhold" - the fourth book in the City of Ember series (which was also made into a movie recently - which Steph and I saw, and hated)(hopefully Hollywood doesn't wreck Inkheart, too!)

4) Last but not least.... No, don't look at the Maclean's magazine... Look at what's on top of the magazine... Yep, that three/four inch long, piece of metal. Shaped into a crescent. It is about 2 mm's thick. Hard, like steel. It is wide on right side (about 3/4 inch), and thinner on the left side (about 1/2 inch). The side that is thinner is also somewhat shiny. Glossy even. Because that side punctured the front passenger side tire on our Oldsmobile, recently. The result? $600 down the tube just for new tires. (yes, we needed new tires anyways... but still...). This just happened to have happened AFTER I had just been to the car shop to figure out why almost the entire warning instrument panel was lit up like Christmas time on the dashboard. More $ still needs to be spent on that car... Thank-you little piece of metal for making it that much worse.

Again the question needs to be asked....

Where have we moved to???

In about a 15 hour time span we have accumulated A LOT of snow! My parents came down for a visit and shortly after they arrived the snow began. We couldn't believe how it just kept snowing and how quickly it built up! We had to shovel out the driveway for the first time this morning. "Welcome to Barrie" is what a lot of people said to us in church this morning! Here are a few pictures:

Trying to throw a snowball at me....

I'm sure this is what dad planned on doing this weekend!

David built two mini-snowmen on top of our car....they're kinda hard to see with white everywhere...

Mom and Dad and Roz in the snow.

The Season Ending (This was memorable)

Well, I invested a lot of time and effort (and lost wages) into the girls basketball team at Unity. Finally, it all boiled down to one game - a 'championship match' - between our school and the only other team in our two-team league - Heritage. So far, we had not one a single game. So I decided (with only two practices left) to change our offence to 'Overload' - an offence where players set up in the offensive end with more players on one side of the court than the other (the idea being - to overload the opponents' defence by having a lot of players on the same side as the ball.
Game day came around last night and I was nervous. (This being the first basketball team I'd ever coached and they had not won a single game yet).
We started off on a promising note. The other team fouled one of our players and we scored the first basket on a free throw. (1-0 for Unity).
Then it went downhill. After a series of unanswered baskets, Heritage took a handsome lead and the score soon became 15-1 for Heritage. Ouch. ANY time that you are down by 14 points in a junior girls basketball game -- you've pretty much written off the game. That's a fact.
Being the coach. I felt clueless. I'd thrown my players everything I could think of. All my advice, all my instructions, all my encouragement. Nothing seemed to be working.
But I said we'd stick with our offence and we'd just play harder defence.
Very slowly, things started to turn around. But it was already the second half, and when you're down by double-digits, its a long climb back up.
But things did turn around and we had scored a three pointer (miraculously). And then we scored from the top of the key. And suddenly we had 6 points. And then we got a rebound and put that in. (8 points now!).
Something happened. And I don't know what it was. And it happened incredibly slowly. But by the time the fourth quarter came around, the score was somewhere around 22-18 and my girls were in it to win it.
We had momentum and the other team was panicking. Accidentally, to start the fourth quarter, I had sent all three of my post players were on the court (a miscommunication), and I had only two guards (Normally you have three guards and two post players...). I wasn't paying enough attention to who I had sent onto the court.
Fortunately, we scored another basket and Heritage started panicking. Their girls started playing as individuals and my team had finally connected as a team (FINALLY!). Heritage called a time out. The ref told me I still had all five of my time-outs remaining (that I even had five timeouts was something I had completely overlooked).
I left all my post players on the court and told them to simply set up a triangle under the nets on either end and just... get... the... rebound! I told my guards to "just keep passing the ball to the post players, and don't forget to drive to the net yourself on occasion."
Then one of my post players made her fourth foul (any more and she'd be out of the game!). I let her stay in.
There were only a few minutes left in the game (about two minutes actually). We were still down by a basket. Somewhere in there I had called my first timeout to tell my girls, actually I don't remember what I told them, but it was probably good. That's just the kindof coach I am - naturally always saying the right thing, except when its wrong. In this case it was probably right.
The girls went back out onto the court (under two minutes were left).
Somehow we scored a basket.
There were 30 seconds left. The score was tied at 25-25. My girls were going nuts on the bench. I was trying to figure out what happens in the event of a tie game in a championship match?
The problem was that after we scored a basket, Heritage had possession of the ball.
Heritage started up the court with the ball. My girls were setting up on defence.
Then it was something straight out of a movie -- the kind where one of my guards stole the ball in our own end. There were ten seconds left. She started sprint-dribbling down the court. Two Heritage girls were trying to keep up. My guard kept sprinting -- kept dribbling. People were counting down the clock -- 6--- 5 --- 4.
My guard tried to make a lay-up. The ball bounced around.... (Yes, just like it does in the movies...)
Time itself had come to a halt.
The ball fell through the hoop!
My bench went crazy! (like only girls can...) My assistant coach (Ms. Bootsma) was crying. I was (a little) choked up.
I think there was still 3 seconds left on the clock, but I don't think the ref bothered anymore because my bench had completely emptied onto the court.
My girls had finally won a game! And it just happened to be the 'championship' title match of the season!
Unity gets to put their name on the plaque for the second season in a row.
And I've learned a TON about coaching basketball. I hope I get to do it again next year!

Fall/Winter Update

After a long sabbatical, I've started to pick up my guitar more often again. Recently, I've been enjoying the music of artists like Jon Foreman (lead singer of Switchfoot), and Derrick Webb (from Caedmon's Call), David Gray, and as always Jonny Lang. These musical artists employ that raw feeling that isn't all studio sound, but just them and their instruments. Which I like, and try to emulate, but really can't come close to immitating. I'll always recommend listening to these artists if you get the chance (even if it is just once, and you turn it off halfway through).

With not much else going on (I'm busy trying to prep the garage for painting, and Steph is getting her marks together for report cards), I thought I'd put up these two pictures of Steph and I in Sunnidale Park from this fall. The 'door' in the background of the picture below always reminds me of the book "The Secret Garden" for some reason. Even if I don't remember anything about the book but the 'feel' of it in my head... (That's a literacy plug for those of you who are interested in a good book - Steph and I have become such literacy dweebs lately, it's not funny)(and my grammar stinks.)

Strange, strange world

Looking back at our blogs lately, I can't help but feel that Steph and I have found ourselves in a bit of a routine, and the routine makes for fairly boring blog entries. At least in our own eyes. So, I guess we'll just keep on writing until something interesting finds its way into our lives...
Like this.
Today, I recieved a call dark and early in the morning to supply teach for Barrie Central, but the classroom was.... in the Georgian Mall. So, long story short. I've discovered a secret classroom in the center of the mall. You have to take secret passageways (service hallways between the stores) in order to get to this locked room. Once inside the classroom. Well, it's a classroom. There's a whiteboard, and computers and desks for students to work at. There's even an old tv and vcr/dvd player.
So next time you need to use the washroom in a mall - try going through the forbidding looking double-doors at the end of the hallway. You never know what you'll "learn".
So I 'worked' for three hours (9am-12) (I read a book in the comfortable teachers chair) - (and later discovered that they are paying me a full day's salary for it!)(that's when you love being a teacher...) and then I walked out of the classroom, through the service corridor, out the double doors, past the washrooms, and saw someone I knew I should recognize and yet couldn't put a name to. She said "Hi". I said Hi back, and kept walking because I didn't really know who exactly she was or why I should recognize her. I looked back, and she asked "Are you have a successful shopping day?" And I thought (NO.... I was WORKING... I have a job...)(if you can call it that). So I explained what I was doing in the mall -- teaching a class. (yes - teaching in a corridor that goes to the washrooms -- what kind of class is that? I bet she wondered). It turns out she goes to our church, and sends her kids to Timothy Christian School, and one of her children is in Steph's class, and she's also had the privilege of seeing Maria up close and personal in the region of Halifax...
Small world, ain't it?

Not what we expected

October 31st and I got a call to supply teach for the day. I expected chaos. But actually, grade five is one of the easiest classes to supply for. An assembly in the morning. Recess. Watching skits by masked hooligans (drama). Gym (capture the flag). Recess. And then my very first, grade school halloween dance ever (I became the 'reverse' bouncer - letting kids leave the gym one at a time to go to the washroom...). I bet that supply teaching on Monday might be a 'bit' worse. We'll see.
Anyways, after some debate, Steph and I stocked up on candy for Halloween. We didn't know what to expect but we expected more than what we got. We figured that since our house was on a direct route to the neighbourhood school, and since we see just about 80 kids walk by our house everyday -- we could bet on maybe 100 kids showing up to our door. We meant to ask our neighbours what we could expect, but kept forgetting whenever we saw them. So we bought three boxes of candy.
We only had (maybe?) 50 kids (25 of whom hardly qualify as kids) come to our door.
Now we have a ton of candy that we don't want or need. Anybody wanna come over and eat it for us?

Sometimes you just feel Proud

Well. My girls have yet to win a basketball game. But I'd have to say that I'm proud of them. Why?
Well...
(1) Not once have I heard any of the girls comment on hairstyles, shoes, or prettyness.
(2) While the first game they played against their rival school, they lost badly <50something> but the second game they played against their rival school they only lost by a score of 24 to 14, which was a defensive marvel.
(3) A couple of them have put in enough effort only to have to leave the court to (a) throw up; (b) foul out; and (c) because of a black eye or other injury.

They may not be winning, but they still have some fight in 'em!

My latest, greatest idea

Steph and I have recently joined a bible study group and have met with them once. They hadn't picked a guide to follow yet, but we were able to peruse a number of possibilities. While perusing, I noticed that I wasn't terribly interested in a whole lot of them. I thought -- there needs to be a real man's bible study. One that really dives into the essence of what it is to be a real Christian man. The leader of the house. The big guy beneath the Bigger Guy.

This is what I've come up with (but have yet to put into production)...

We need a bible study to be written in such a way that four men can go out onto the golf course, tee-up, and discuss what it is to be a Christian male in today's society.

There could be 9 questions. Or there could be 18 questions. You discuss each question/topic as you play each hole.

Then afterwards... everyone takes a seat in the club-house, grabs a beverage of their choice, discusses some more...

Do you think it could work?

Winter comes quickly!

It's amazing that the picture on the right (with the yellow leaves and green grass and two strange people holding hands) was taken only ONE WEEK from the picture in Steph's entry (below)

I believe we've made a grave error....

Well, it's been awhile since I've written a post on our blog. To be quite honest getting used to a new school has taken all of my energy and then some. But we're starting to get into a rountine....and this situation absolutely needed to be commented on....

The forcast in Barrie today said: "Rain this morning, not warm (but above freezing). Potentially some wet snow...that will not stay. And sunny breaks this afternoon." Well, we're back into the seasons where the weatherman has no idea what he's talking about!

It has been snowing all day! And here's what we have: Need I remind everyone that it is OCTOBER. We should NOT be accumulating this kind of snow yet! Therefore I believe we've made a grave error in moving this far North! (I keep telling everyone it's not THAT far north....let me put this on the record: it IS that far north!). Does anyone want to shovel our driveway??? :)

Yet another book - but a different review.

So Steph has been reading a series that starts with "The City of Ember," which also recently became an interesting study in how Hollywood can take a good book and totally butcher it on the big screen.
I knew that Steph wanted to see this movie, for lack of anything else interesting to see in Hollywood, and the fact that we had gift certificates.
I had yet to read the book. So yesterday, during a number of breaks I took while sanding and painting our new garage closet, I read the book.
It was a good book, and I thought it would be a good movie. So we went.
Ten minutes into the movie, both Steph and I looked at each other and said, "What is this?"
The movie butchered the book. They lopped it up and put it back together with a few extra ingredients - Like a random mutant gopher that feasts on people? The book doesn't have any mutant animals!!!
They also invented entirely new characters, and abandoned the entire conclusion of the book.
So, we DO NOT recommend watching the movie. You'll walk away terribly upset with Hollywood.

The benefit of only two t.v. stations in Barrie.

We've been told that getting two television stations in Barrie is pretty good...! Naturally, these stations rarely have anything good on. So Steph and I have been enjoying a lot of reading lately. Hence, I have finished, not only book two of the 'Dragonkeeper' series, but also books three, four, and five. The series was still good and I'd recommend it for Christian children's literature.

I've also recently read a book called "Airborn" by Kenneth Oppel (the author of the Silverwing Series). Airborn is a GOOD read. I had a really hard time putting down the book.
Airborn is the First book in a new children's series. And I'm having difficulty putting down the second novel in the series as well.
So. All I'm sayin' is that I heartily recommend "Airborn" for a good weekend read. That's all I'm sayin' and that's all there is to it.

Here's a Beauty

Looking inside the driver's side "window", I realized that in the 1920's, I'd still have been relying on the ol' Horse'n'saddle... There isn't much leg room in this old car!

Bad poetry, but sucre bleu! (sugar blue!) Michael's nuts!

Oh brother of mine,
Hast thou lost thine mind?
Have thine senses jumped from thine head?
To think that jumping would not leave you dead?











Oh brother of mine,
Once thou tried biking,
and pedalled up to a creek, thine brakes did not grab,
At the edge you freaked, and landed with a splash!











Oh brother of mine,
Once thou tried climbing
Up in a tree, a branch you held snapped,
You must have peed, as down you crashed!










Oh brother of mine,
All these things hurt,
So what were you thinking?
Did you not contemplate the end?
If the cord was not pulled?
If the shute would not open?

Oh, brother of mine,











I wish I'd gone with you!



(To those who have read this, you can find out if Michael survived SKYDIVING if you call him in Alberta, but maybe in a few days -- he still might be recovering...)

Ros, the stinkin' dog

Due to the fact that I was working in the area, this past week I was able to go to Steph's parents for a couple nights. On the particular night in question... a Tuesday... I was casually reading through my 'how-to' book on coaching a girl's basketball team... when Ros the stinking dog came along.
"What stinks?" asked I.
"Oh my goodness, can't you smell that Simon?" asked Mrs. Shirley VandenDool to her husband, Mr. Simon VandenDool.
"Well I can't tell!! It stinks outside!" replied my father-in-law.
"Oh, send her back outside! That's horrible!" demanded my mother-in-law.
"It's hard to breathe," observed I, as I rose to a walk to another corner of the living room, where there was equally less air to breathe.
You see, Ros the dog, went out at approximately 9:45 pm to do her evening business, when she came across a skunk underneath the deck. Naturally, as all dog's are persuaded to do, out of cordiality, she probably stuck her nose up close to the skunk in an attempt to say, "hello". The skunk of course, being a prude, promptly turned face and sprayed Ros. Henceforth, Ros became Ros the Stinking Dog.
Something needed to be done.
My father-in-law decided he would kill the skunk. One way or another.
I observed.
He challenged me, saying, "Well, David, what kind of a man are you?"
I, knowing full well what kind of a man I am, inwardly rolled my eyes and followed my father outside.
I tip-toed across the deck. I didn't want any sudden noises to alert the skunk to my presence.
I watched as my father in law tried shoo-ing the skunk out from under the deck using an old flat-headed shovel.
This didn't work.
The skunk went further away from the edge of the deck. We were outsmarted.
"I'll go in after it!" said my father-in-law.
I contemplated. Visions of my father-in-law crawling underneath the deck to try and get a skunk crossed my mind. Yes, we were being outsmarted.
I thought some more.
"I could use the hose and try to spray it," said I.
"Oh, that might be a good idea. We can try that," said my father-in-law.
We tried it.
The skunk didn't come out.
We tried it again.
The skunk still didn't come out.
If I could only get closer... thought I.
I tried it again, this time by walking on top of the deck and above the skunk. Oh, if it sprays me through the deck... thought I...
It worked. The skunk came out. Somewhat nonchalantly. Somewhat ticked off. Skunk emotions are really hard to tell.
It hugged the wall, and wandered through the flowers before having no-where else to go.
"It came out!" I shouted.
My father-in-law swung the shovel.
Nothing really happened.
I think the skunk was a little ticked off now. Skunk emotions become a little clearer as you get to know them.
The shovel came down again.
My father-in-law had succeeded in getting the skunk away from the flowers, where he would be free to swing away without worrying about wrecking the flowers.
I could tell you without a doubt that the skunk was quite irritated by now. It's tail was raised.
Many things happened at once.
The skunk's tail was raised, and its back was arched. It was ready to let loose.
It was aiming at my father-in-law.
I stood to the side and wondered where I would run to should this turn ugly.
The shovel came down.
I don't think that could have been any closer.
The skunk was dead. My father-in-law was this close to sleeping in the garage. And Ros still stank.
This just happened to have happened when Steph and I were seriously thinking about looking for a border collie for ourselves....

Oh... What have I got myself into?

Well, I've made it to head coach! (*applause* "Thank-you -- Thank you...")
Yep, Head Coach. The big cheese. Master playmaker. The big guy.
And all I had to do was study "The Complete Guide to Coaching Girls' Basketball - Building a Great Team the Carolina Way" for an evening before the first practice!
Who knew that coaching a girls sports team would be different than coaching a boys sports team?...
I did. I still haven't forgotten the last girls team I coached who gawked at the opponents and complemented their hair and shoes and then asked what clothes they were going to get to wear - while playing a volleyball game!
But the book has given me some good advice. I think. (I don't really know if it's good advice because I'm not a girl...) But the book said that girls are more interested in just being on a team than the actual competitiveness of it all.
Okay. Well. We'll see how this goes.
At least I haven't heard anyone complement anyone elses hair yet.
Oh wait. I can't say that truthfully...

Kids need something to read?

We don't actually know if anyone bothers with our 'recommended reading' lists on the side panel of our blog here. Nevertheless, Steph has found a Christian series of adventure novels she really liked and told me to read, and now I guess I'm saying that it's worth a read if you think you want something to read.
The "Dragonkeeper Series" by Donnita K. Paul has a total of 5 stories and is probably in the reading range of grades 6/7 and up. So... really, it's children's literature. Which is fun stuff really.
Now... I'd probably have to recommend reading the first novel first. But I don't know what the first novel is like yet, because Steph told me the second novel was the first novel. So I really can't say that the first novel is good, because I've only read the second one. But the second one was good. And I believe I've gathered most of the information I needed about the first novel by reading the second novel. If you feel that you would rather save money but still understand what the series is about, perhaps you could skip to the third or fourth novel in the series. But then you would miss a bit of the earlier 'backstory'. If you're really short on time. I suppose you could just skip to the fifth novel. But then you would beat me to the punch, because I haven't read the fifth novel. Only the second novel.

Superheroes?

I don't know if anyone else has this problem. But Steph finally made me aware that I wasn't the only one who had this 'tendancy'.
You see, having our new house and all, we have something magical called a garage door opener. It's great! Your press a button and the garage door majestically opens with the power of hydroelectricity.
Such fantastic majesty automatically makes me want to grab my whip, run, jump, and roll through the door (as it closes) only to realize I have dropped my dusty brown hat, reach back and pull it through with my arm still intact just as the door closes completely.
It's really a natural instinct. For men. I suppose.
But then, when we were leaving for church (through this fantastic mechanism called a garage door) Steph said, "Every time that door opens, I wish I had a cape or something. Kinda like a superhero coming out of the lair... or something..."
I said, "That sounds like a blog entry."
She said, "Don't you dare."

One More Week....and then the inevitable!

Well, I can't believe it! One more week and then summer is over for another year. So much has gone on for us this summer, it's been a little nuts at times! So much moving, commuting, painting, organizing, and it's still going on. I am sad to report that we did not get the whole house painted before school started, which was our original goal...but it's our house, so we'll be here for a while and can do it whenever we get the urge (which will have to be more like a shove, because I've discovered that I really don't like painting...). But we are pleased to inform everyone: Dave has been accepted on the Simcoe County Board of Education's Supply Teacher List! We're very excited that it's happened so quickly! And hopefully he'll begin getting lots of phone calls so he can stop this ridiculous drive to Oakville everyday! So he's really excited about that! And I'm also excited about my new position....I get to teach the subjects I love and I switch kids often during the day so we get a break from eachother! I'm hoping for a very positive year! It'll be nice to get into a routine again, I think. I may be taking that back in a few months, but such is life! So I'm going to schedule in some serious relaxing and doing nothing time around my meetings next week and then go at it for another year!

L'eau

Every once in a while, a day comes along where you just get to do what YOU want to do.
Today was one of those days for me. (David). I had a day off from work. I could have done some work on the house, but an email from an old friend from college stopped any work from being done.
Instead I went golfing! And had a fine day enjoying a battle of the balls. The front nine, I lost. Quite horribly. But on the back nine I cleaned up until a snowman tragically stomped all over my score on the 18th hole. Until that snowman came, I was doing quite well. On the back nine.
Then I came home, and could have started working on the house.
But any work that could have been done, was ended before it began by the heat. A car without air conditioning makes a man think of the beach. And that's what I thought about.
So I came back into the house and said,
"Honey, put on your swimming suit, we're going to the beach!" Or something like that.
But first we had to walk through the mall. (to get to the licence bureau) I wasn't fully expecting to have to walk through the entire mall. In my bathing trunks. But I did. I felt a little sheepish. Especially with my wallet in my trunks. But that was over soon enough, and so Steph and I made our way up to Wasaga Beach.
That was quite lovely.
The sun had quite dissappeared by 5 o'clock. Rain clouds were brewing.
But I said, "We had better just get our feet wet."
And so we did.
And then steph got hit by a big wave and said that the water wasn't cold at all.
And she splashed me.
So then I got hit by a big wave. The kind that makes a man shiver. And so I got into the water.
When we were both in the water, we found that we liked it. And so we stayed in the water for a good while until we decided that really we didn't like being in the water so much anymore, and so we got out of the water.
Our bathing suits were wet, and so we walked up the beach a bit.
Until Steph said, "We had better turn around"
So we did.
And we got back into the car, got changed. That was weird. (especially with some guy getting into his truck next to us).
And then we left Wasaga Beach.
Really, it was a good day. I would like to repeat it, but I have to work tomorrow.
Why? Oh why?

Admissions

I didn't want to admit it earlier, but after talking it over with Steph, I thought maybe I could.
When Naomi asked me to put her to bed, which involved reading a story (or two), and then singing a song - I couldn't think of any children's songs to sing!
Adding insult to injury, the only song I could think of on the spot was "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star". But after starting the song, I suddenly realized that I hadn't sung that song in soooo long that I couldn't remember all the words to it!
I felt like a really bad uncle.
Her second song (her request) I had no clue about, and had to go consult with Katrina to figure out.
So for a while I've felt a little sheepish, until tonight, when I was talking to Steph about "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star".
She laughed at me. Then started singing it. And got the words messed up too!
Now I don't feel so sheepish.

Family Camping 2008

Last weekend was the annual Geertsema family camping weekend. It's really a great tradition to have....everyone makes an effort to be home for the weekend and then we spend time playing games and relaxing! Although we weren't quick enough to book a campsite this year, we had a good time "camping" at mom and dad's! In the end this arrangement was probably for the best since we could hang out inside during the frequent rain storms we had over the weekend. Anyways, it was a great time seeing everyone and catching up on our busy lives. There was lots of talk of new houses and renovating, since three of us are in the middle of such projects! And our two beautiful neices provided much entertainment over the weekend. Now that we're on high speed internet I can include pictures....horray! Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of any of the settlers games, but you all know we play that obsessively on these weekends!

Petra loves tractors! She kept making "vroom" noises until she got a ride!

The annual sand car.....although it's usually built without her in it.....

She's growing up so fast!

Her uncles like to do crazy things with her and she loves it!

Checking out the baby afghan book for the new baby? Or was that a decorating magazine....I can't tell....

Just chillin'! She is hilarious and very cute!

What a great smile!

Standing close to the food....always a good idea!

We're not working!?!?!?!

Quelle Vacance?

I know that my french stinks, but that means "What Vacation?"... perhaps in franglais....
This week has been my first official 'vacation' of any extended time (one week) since Steph and I went to the Dominican a year and a half ago.
So what have I done with my vacation time? Work. And inhaled toxic fumes. No, I haven't started smoking. Although if you step into our garage you might think so. No... Steph and I have been painting. And lots of it. And we're not going to finish in time!
So far we've painted our Living Room:









And our office:










And our bedroom:










But our bedroom turned out a little too 'Purpley' for our liking. Oops!
Still we think its a big improvement - scroll down to our first pictures of the house and see if you agree!
A big THANK-YOU goes out to all our family members who came out to help us get started. Right now, I'd probably still be staring at the walls figuring out where to start if it weren't for you!

The Psychology of Lighting a Fire

The other day I watched as my brother-in-law proceeded to light a campfire. He bundled up the wood. He made sure he had a lighter. He made sure he had gasoline. He dumped gasoline on the firewood. He lit it on fire. Presto. Bonfire.
This process of lighting a fire intrigues me because it is so unlike the way that I prefer to light a fire. The way I like to start a fire, well, I think my brother-in-law would call 'anal' - as though he knows anything about Freudian Psychology.
And yet, it probably is.
I like to think that my way of lighting a fire is the more skilled. It requires more finesse. More woodsmanship.

I like to light a fire by splitting wood into small slivers, then stacking wood (teepee or log-house style) around the shavings, and then larger wood ontop of that, and yadda yadda yadda.

My way takes a lot more time.

His way is much shorter.

Both result in the same thing. So neither one can be said to be better. Unless you consider environmental issues of lighting up gasoline.

I don't know why I'm bothering to write a blog entry on lighting fires. But it just intrigued me that the way you light a fire can reveal something about the kind of person you are. Psychology's finest moment!

So what are you? The quick-and-easy pyro? Or the highly skilled woodsman?

Suddenly, I felt Old.

Okay, we just bought paint, which is a big deal, to make our new house (also a big deal) feel like our house, which is a big deal.

We saved a huge amount on the paint, which is a great deal.

And the amount we saved on paint could, potentially, be used to put a new floor in the living room to be rid of any lingering pet smell, which would be a big deal if we could get rid of it.

But I'm going to talk about a bigger deal. At least in my personal opinion.

You see...

Lately, I've been more conscious about my receding hair line. Kindof a big deal. It's not that I particularly care about my hair, but that I can never get a hair cut that looks good for more than a week or two before it starts to emphasize my receding hair line. At least... in my opinion.

So the other day, we were cleaning up our brand new house (yes the bushes in front are a trimmed down), and then we cleaned up the egg that was thrown at our kitchen window (welcome to Barrie, eh? here's an egg omelet - on the house...!)(thanks)

and then I walked around to the front of the house and my mother-in-law said

"Oh my! David! I've never really seen that before!"

(my curiosity was piqued)

"When you just walked around the house there, for a minute, you looked JUST LIKE YOUR DAD! I never really saw that before, but I honestly thought you looked just like your dad right there"

Oh... Well now I feel a little more conscious about my receding hair line. And I'm watching my belly again. Maybe I'll have to start working out.

Who Likes to Paint???? 'Cuz Do We Have the Job for You!!!

Alright, so now that you've seen the pictures you're probably thinking....WOW, do they ever need to paint. Well, maybe you're not thinking that, but it's still true. We weren't anticipating doing all this right away, but it turns out the guy left the place an absolute mess including puttying the walls and not repainting them. We figure the most inexpensive way to fix our current perdicament is to paint. We were really not looking forward to the bill that was going to be! Luckily we received a RONA flyer in the mail this weekend, advertising a buy one get one free event for paint. So at 6am this morning we started on our way to RONA to be there right when it opened, to hopefully avoid any line-ups. Well needless to say there were no line-ups, which was good for us because the lady took her time to help us and didn't complain at all about our large order. So we walked out 1.5 hours later with 24 cans of paint and only paid for 12.....a savings of $450!!! We were pretty excited, but now we have 24 cans of paint that have to get themselves onto the walls.....anyone interested in helping????? :)

PS. Does anyone know how to get rid of a dog smell? We've tried cleaning, carpet cleaning, fabreeze and oust and so far nothing has completely gotten rid of it.

Welcome to Barrie

And now for the big unveiling:

This is our new house. Can you see the potential? We think we can. That's why we bought it. But it came with an unkept lawn/bushes, and two trailer loads of garbage! (thanks to the former owners).

It was an interesting day. But we'll save the details for later... Right now, we'll just show you some of the "Before" pictures. Maybe in a few months we'll be updating with some "After" pictures.

Entrance

The Kitchen

The Living Room (see if you can zoom in for the tacky wallpaper)

The Master Bedroom (Martin - you're coming to Ontario soon, right? 'cause we need a painter!)

The Blue Bedroom (zoom in for the teddybears!)

The White Bedroom

Upstairs Bathroom

The Deck

Half of the Backyard (the other half features a Rabbit Pen)

The First Thing We Did (Clean Up the Place!)

Now you've been given the quick tour....if you want to see more (or the improvements, some of which will be quick in coming) then you'll have to come out and visit!