I Win...

Just for today, I think I can claim the title of the "best wife in the world". (according to Doug anyway.) For months Doug has been talking about how he really, really wants to get an electric guitar. Whenever I would ask him what he wanted for Christmas he would say an electric guitar, but I always said it would definitely be out of our price range. However, since his birthday and Christmas are so close, I decided to go for it. About a month and a half ago, Nate (Doug's brother) helped me pick out the perfect one, a Les Paul Epiphone. Well, Doug was certainly speechless. We wrapped up the guitar strings, and when he open them he just kept saying "no, no, you didn't." He was in disbelief. Here is a picture of the two of us enjoying his new gift.
As you may have already guessed, tonight was the Toews' family Christmas. Micah was very excited to help Keziah celebrate her first Christmas. Micah was also a great helper tonight. Not only did he distribute everyone's gifts, but also helped us unwrap all of them. (I must admit though, he did have a tough time giving up some of the gifts to their rightful owners.)

Here's one last picture of Doug and I. Happy (early) Christmas to everyone!!!

The Life Centre

As many of you know, Doug and I have been busy over the past few months with a new church plant called The Life Centre! We are on the core team of people who are in the process of starting an intercultural church here in Abbotsford. Well, the countdown is on... our kick off Sunday is just four weeks away. The website for the church is now up and running, so I thought I would post the address in case any of you are interested in taking a look. Here it is:

www.thelc.net

Let me know what you think!

Happy to be at Work!!!

Well folks, I never thought I'd live to see the day that I would be excited to be at work-- but it's come. I am so happy to finally be working today! I thought I was going to go crazy yesterday. After being snowed in for 2 days I finally ran out of things to do. I did 4 loads of laundry, decorated my house for Christmas, baked muffins, baked cupcakes, made a huge meal for supper, cleaned my house from top to bottom, then organized it from top to bottom, and then I was bored. It was so nice to get up this morning with a purpose! However, I am swamped today with half a week's worth of work piled up for me to do! The forecast does not look promising for tomorrow, more snow and bad driving conditions, so this may be the only day I have at work this week! Does anyone have any suggestions of what I can do tomorrow, in case I'm stranded at home again?

Meet Our Niece Keziah

This week was a special one for Doug and I as we finally got to meet our new niece, Keziah Katherine Toews!!! At about 9:30pm on Wednesday night we got the phone call to come to the hospital where we were intoduced to beautiful Keziah. Since then our days have been filled with many hours watching and holding our new niece. We love you Keziah!

Here I am meeting Keziah for the first time! Isn't she precious?

Here's Doug with little Keziah!

This morning we all woke up to a blizzard in Abbotsford. We all made it to church this morning, but then barely made it to Doug's parent's house for lunch! The boys got called up the hill at one point to help push Mom and Dad Toews' car up the hill! Since then it has snowed about 46 cms, and is still going strong. It's starting to look like Doug and I may be snowed in here for the night, so we may be having a sleep over all together! I also may not be heading into work tomorrow morning if this keeps up! The boys of the house however, decided to enjoy the great outdoors by hanging out in the hot tub! Doesn't it look like fun?

A Successful Day Was Had By All

Well, Doug did it again. Today Doug and Todd went out fishing for the day with the plans to (and I quote) "not come home until every living creature has been caught." Doug was certainly successful. This time he managed to pull in a 35 pound Spring Salmon. As you can see, it is definitely not the most attractive looking fish, but it certainly made a delicious meal. Kristi worked her magic in the kitchen tonight a prepared an awesome meal for us all. Thanks Kristi!! Meanwhile, Brianne and I also engaged in some productive activity. We set out to Langley with the plan to not come home until every great deal has been found in the mall. And, as you can see, were certainly were successful as well. I love Saturdays!!

Homecoming for Kristi!!!

As some of you may know, Doug's sister Kristi came home yesterday after her (almost) year in Australia. We all got together to celebrate her homecoming.



Here Doug and Micah are showing how happy and excited they are that Kristi is arrived home safe and sound.

More Family Pics...

As promised, here are more pictures from our weekend in Waldheim...

Thanksgiving in Waldheim

Well, I began to download some pictures of our weekend, but unfortunately this computer I'm on isn't letting me add all the pictures I wanted to post. Anyways, I thought I'd might as well publish what I have-- so here's a little overview of our weekend in Saskatchewan! Doug and I flew to Edmonton on Friday afternoon where we met up with my two sisters Angie and Trisha. They are currently students in Edmonton, so we caught a ride with them out to Waldheim that night. We got to the farm at about 11:30 and were greeted by my parents, my brother Joel, Caroline (an exchange student living with my parents), Ryan (a guy who's boarding with my family), and a bunch of their friends. We all sat down to a late night snack with lots of food (the first of many feasts over the course of the weekend). The next day we spent in Waldheim, watching some Volleyball and hanging out with friends. After church on Sunday, we all went out for a meal at Jerry's Food Emporium (one of our favorite spots in Saskatoon). That evening we then went to one of the famous Foth family gatherings, where we saw a bunch of my extended family. On Monday, we all rested at home! We spent the day playing outside, playing card games inside, and just relaxing. Today, Doug and I had breakfast together at Thomas Cook (you can't beat the 3.99 special!), and are now getting ready to fly back to Abbotsford tonight. There's the summary! Now, here's some pictures:
Here's a picture of my sister Angie with her boyfriend Tyler. It was the first time that Doug and I had the chance to meet Tyler, so of course, we were a little suspicious (yeah right!). As you can see from the picture, they are a fun couple to be around. Hopefully we can spend some more time with them at Christmas.
This weekend Doug and I had the chance to meet Caroline, a girl from Germany that is currently living with my family. She came to Canada to study and improve her English. Everyone loves her, and she fits right in with our family. She even decided that she wanted to pierce her naval so she could fit in with me and my sisters. So, Sunday afternoon we took her to Schmata's and she had it done! She didn't even scream or freak out, but my mom had to sit down since she felt like passing out for Caroline! She is now one of the girls. It was fun to hang out with you Caroline!
Well, it was a wet and rainy weekend on the farm. The roads were not gravel roads anymore, they were mud pits (something Doug really enjoyed). Doug and I couldn't resist getting into some rain gear however, and exploring the farm. We found tons of sheep, baby kittens, and a llama. Don't we look attractive in our rain gear?

On Saturday, we had the chance to go watch my little brother Joel play some Volleyball at Waldheim's annual Alumni Tournament. It was fun to watch him play-- he gets better every time we go to one of his games-- and it was also good to see some old friends from high school.

I was very excited to run into these girls-- Lindy, Jodie, and Crystal. Some of these girls I haven't seen since graduation, so it was good to hang out and catch up a bit. I love you girls!

Here's me and my sisters watching some games. Everyone comments that we all look alike. What do you think?
Well, that's all for now, I have a few more pictures to add, but that will have to wait. I hope everyone else had as much fun as I did this Thanksgiving weekend.

We're Heading Home!

For those of you who may have heard the rumor, it's true! Doug and I are heading home to Saskatchewan for Thanksgiving this year. We're going to work a half day tomorrow and then fly down to Edmonton where we'll meet up with my sisters and drive home together. I am so excited to spend the weekend in Waldheim-- hanging out with my family, watching some Alumni volleyball, eating some turkey, it's going to be great! Hopefully we'll have the chance to see some of you this weekend while we're out there. Watch for pictures of our weekend!

Check out our new pics!

The new church plant that Doug and I are involved with had a photo shoot on Sunday to get some good pictures for its website. We felt a bit awkward having them taken, but I think they turned out alright. What do you think?

Who do we look like?

Jamie just introduced me to a new website where you can find out which celebrity you look the most like. What do you think of the results?

Hey Honey! Look What I Caught!

For those of you who don't know, my husband has a new hobbie. A couple of weeks ago he decided to get into fishing. He went out and bought a rod, got his fishing license, and found a couple of fishing buddies. Every weekend he now heads out at least once or twice to fish for salmon. Yesterday he caught his first fish-- a 20 lb, 3 foot long Spring Salmon! Needless to say, I was fairly shocked when I saw it. Doug and his buddy Todd spent the evening cleaning it up last night (It is definitely not my job) and tonight we are having a BBQ with friends and family. We'll let you all know how it tastes!

Our New Home!!!

Well everyone, here are the promised pictures of our new place. Below is the small kitchen. There are a lot less cabinets, but a dishwasher more than makes up for it.
Here is our bedroom. You can't tell from the picture, but it is a nice large room with a huge closet to fill!!!
Here is Doug lounging in the living room watching TV. It's small, but still works for us. I can't wait to use the fireplace during the winter.
And last but not least, the bathroom. Our last suite only had a shower, so I am enjoying our bathtub.
The pictures don't do it justice, so you'll have to come visit and see it for yourself.

Here's an Update!

As you can see, these are not the pictures of our new house that I promised. Doug and I have been so busy over the past week that our house is still in a state of disarray. However, I promise that once everything is all sorted out those pictures will be posted!! Since it's been awhile since I have updated the blog with pictures, I thought I'd give you all a brief recap of the past few weeks. As many of you have observed from my sisters-in-law's blog, the Toews' family has had fun hanging out this summer, especially with our cousin Chris. Most weekends we got together and partied! The boys usually ended up playing baseball in the field while us girls ate a wide assortment of treats! Here are the girls cooling off in the "cold tub" during the recent heat wave, good old cousin Chris, and a girl's party of our favorite snacks.
This past week Doug and I celebrated our second anniversary! Monday was the big day, so to celebrate we went out to The Keg for a special night out after work. On Saturday we then headed up to Whistler for a little getaway. We had a great time shopping and sightseeing. That area of BC is gorgeous! On our way home we stopped at Shannon Falls and did a little hiking. We also stopped at a beach along the Sea to Sky highway for a rest. However, we couldn't do any swimming due a recent oil spill in the area. It was still a gorgeous place. Here are a few pictures from our weekend.
Well, that about sums up the past few weeks. Today (monday) Doug and I, along with Erik, Jamie, and Micah are going to head down to the Washington to Deception Pass for a little beach time. Hopefully we can also stop for a few Krispie Kremes and a little Target time as well (I know the boys will be down with the doughnuts and Jamie and I will be anxious to do some shopping). Don't you love long weekends?

We're Moving Folks!

These last few days have been pretty interesting. Our landlords recently sold their house, and last week our new landlords moved in... However they did not think we were going to be there! Long story short, there was some miscommunication that took place-- the realtor and our original landlords thought the people buying the house wanted tenants, they thought they were going to be moving into an empty house! They demanded that we move out immediately. Legally, we have two months before we have to leave, but Doug and I decided that if we could find a place for August we would move and make it easier on everyone. (It certainly helped that the realtor is giving us some incentive-- spa gift certificates and a $600 travel voucher!!!) After calling about 30 different places and looking all over town, we finally found a place to move. This weekend we move on up to East Abbotsford! It's a ground level basement suite-- a one bedroom-- that's a bit small, but definitely a step up from our old digs! The dishwasher is a favorite feature of mine. Anyways, once we have everything moved in I'll post an update-- complete with pictures of our new home!

Friday Night at the Park

It sure is different spending the week at work! It's been a while since I've had a nine to five job! For the most part, I am loving it! The people I work with are great, I actually like the work, and it's nice to have a more regular routine each day. However, it's been hard to get comfortable with my job since everything is changing each week! The first week, the girl who was supposed to train me was sick, so I pretty much just followed my supervisor around and learned bits and pieces of my job. The second week, I started my training, but it was all in vain. This week the entire computer system that my department uses was completely replaced by a new one. Not only do I have to learn an entire new system, but about half of my job description has changed as well. So now I am trying to forget what I learned in the first two weeks, and figure it all out again! Needless to say, by the time Friday evening rolled around, I was up for some relaxation, so Doug and I headed over to the park to hang out with Erik, Jamie, and Micah. Here are some pictures from our evening.



















Micah had a great time at the park. Every time I asked him to say "slide" he would say "Weeeee!!!". The two of us had a great time playing on the slides and the swings. Here Micah is trying to play baseball with the big boys. Unfortunately, the bat is just as big as Micah! Not only does Micah like the park, but chocolate as well! Micah and his mommy are taking a break and enjoying a treat! Well Jamie and Rosanna, I'm trying to keep up with you girls!! Aren't you proud of me for blogging two weeks in a row?

Happy Canada Day!!!

Since Doug and I are now working full time, we have learned to enjoy our weekends a whole lot more. Canada Day ended up being one of the funnest, most relaxing days we have had in a while. First of all, after sleeping in (After getting up at 6:30 in the morning during the week--I think we deserve it!), we invited Chris, Micah, and Jamie over to eat pizza and watch the France/Brazil world cup soccer game. Then, Rosanna and I went shopping at the mall while the boys played a little beach volleyball. After that we all met up at the Apollo and spent some time cooling off in the pool. For dinner that night, we all felt like doing something a little bit different, so we all went out for sushi at a Japanese restaurant. Doug and I had never been there before, but we had a great time and really enjoyed the food-- however, we did stay away from the raw fish. After dinner we came back to our place and watched a movie, then walked over to Rotary stadium to catch a bit of the live music and the fireworks. While watching the fireworks I thought about past Canada Day fireworks. Last year, Doug and I took the subway to downtown Montreal where we watched the fireworks with our good friend Steve. I also though about all the good times heading out to Diefenbaker park in Saskatoon catching the show on the hill. While I did miss the Saskatoon celebration a bit-- I have to say that Abbotsford has one great thing going for them-- no mosquitoes. I was so nice to lay on the grass and enjoy the show without being bothered by all the bugs!















As you can see, the boys sure had a great time doing other things as well. Isn't my husband a talented photographer? He manages to take all the best shots.
After the fireworks, it was decided that we definitely needed some McDonalds. However, when we got there, we realized that only the drive-thru was open. No worrries-- we decided to have a little tailgate party in the parking lot. It sure felt like we were in high school again-- sitting on the pavement eating our McDonalds. It was the perfect end to a great day.

Football, Camping, and More,,,

Alot has been happening in our lives lately! Here's a little update. Just a few days ago Doug and I had our new sofas delivered to our house. It is nice to finally have furniture of our own, rather than hand-me-downs from everyone else. Unfortunately, we just found out a couple of weeks ago that our landlords are selling their house. Because of this, Doug and I will soon be looking for another place to live. This just means we will have more furniture to move this time around.
















Last weekend, we went camping with Erik, Jamie, Micah, Nathan, Rosanna, and Mom & Dad Toews. We had a great site up at Hick's Lake, near Harrison Hot Springs. Rosanna, Jamie, Micah and I ended up heading up there early on Friday to set up the campsite before everyone else arrived. I think the boys thought we wouldn't know what to do without them, but when they arrived that evening we had all the tents set up, a roaring fire, and supper ready. The weather was a bit strange that weekend, it would be raining one minute and sunny the next, but we still ended up having a great time hanging out with family, eating great camping food, and sitting aroung the campfire. Here's a few pictures from our weekend.
















Here's me and Micah, my cutest and most favorite nephew (yet!).




















Doug and I enjoyed some time by the lake.
















The Newlyweds on their first camping trip with the family.




















Micah loves playing with his Uncle Doug, and I think Doug has a soft spot for his little nephew.
















Here I am with my sisters-in-law. I couldn't ask for better! Over the past few weeks that I have been job hunting, the girls and I have been spending an awful lot of time together-- shopping, walking in the park, going for picnics-- it's going to be bittersweet when I do begin work!
The weekend before we went camping, Doug and I went to a BC Lions game with our friends Stuart and Elisa. The happened to have some tickets to an exhibition game, so we headed out to Vancouver for the evening. I can't say that I watched a whole lot of the game, Elisa and I probably talked through most of it, but I do know that Calgary won.
















Here's Elisa and I. We have more in common than just our name!
















Here's Stu and Doug watching the game intently.

Finally, I have some great news to report-- I have a job! Starting this Monday, I will be Trinity Western University's new Admissions Application Assistant. After a couple long weeks of sending out resumes and waiting by the phone, yesterday was great day. I had one job offer (the one from Trinity), an interview for a Teacher's Assistant position in a local elementary school, and a call for an interview at a bank as well. In the end, I decided to take the job being offered to me, and I am excited to start. Once again, God has been faithful to Doug and I, as we have been waiting and praying about a job for me for some time now.
Well, I think that's it! I just want to say thanks to those that have encouraged and prayed for me in the last weeks of job hunting. I'll let you know how the first week goes!

The Month of May

Doug and I have been pretty busy this month. Here's some of the highlights!
After the wedding, I had the chance to head out to Saskatchwan to visit my family for about a week. I caught a ride out with some of Doug's family from Saskatoon who had come out for the wedding, and flew home later. It was great to see my family, but I was kind of strange to be away from Doug for that long. It was the longest we had been apart since getting married.

Here I am with my youngest sister Angie, out for Chinese food with the family to celebrate Mother's Day. It was nice to be with my Mom on Mother's Day for once!















Doug and I also had the chance to get away for the weekend. The week after I got back from Saskachewan we headed out to Granville Island in Vancouver to spend the weekend. It was so much fun to spend some time exploring the island's unique shops, to go out for some nice meals, and to hang out together.















Here we are enjoying some ice cream on a nice, romantic, evening stroll after dinner.















It has become a Toews' family tradition to get together every Sunday for lunch, and then to spend the entire day hanging out. Usually the boys head out to play some kind of sport together, while the sisters eat some treats, go shopping, or just spend the afternoon talking. This past Sunday was like all others. It was really relaxing to just be with family. Here, Micah and I are sharing a piece of licorice. He kept eating more and more of the treat until we were practically smooching!















The last couple of weeks I have been looking for job postings, sending out resumes, and going to interviews. So far, I have not found anything yet, which has been somewhat discouraging. Even though it's nice to spend time hanging out with friends and family and to relax at home, I am really wanting to get out there and start working! Yet, I need to remember that God is faithful, and that He has something in mind for my future, even though I may not know what it is right now.
Well, now you're all up to date on what's new with the two of us!