Reading Week Number 2

Hi all! This is Jordan's first time blogging, so he's learning a lot of new stuff. He's also getting fairly frustrated that the pictures are uploaded upsidedown, but I guess you can look a little sideways once in a while.
Well, we just got back from a great weekend in Edmonton! We met up with Jordan's parents, his sister and two adorable kids, and his brother. We got to stay in a hotel and we got to do a lot of window shopping without really buying much, so that was fun. Valean's favorite part was going to Ikea. This was Jordan's first time going, so Valean was super excited to show him all the cool stuff, and she had fun trying to figure out how to spend her birthday money. Now we can grate cheese in style! She also got a lot of ideas for how she wants to design her kitchen, so Jordan's next job is to get her a kitchen of her own. Yay!
We got to eat a lot of food: Jordan went to the Olive Garden for the first time (yummo!) and Valean got her strawberry sensation from Orange Julius. We did not only shop and eat food, but we did enjoy visiting with family in between running after Tristian. He has a whole lot of energy. So all in all, it was a really good break from daily duldrums and wearisome work. And yes, it is time to find the bed, after a long day's drive. So take care and enjoy the pictures, even the sideways ones.
-Jordan

Long Time No Post!!

Our pizza night with Home Group



My Birthday flowers

Games Night

Campfire in January

The finished product! Yummo!
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Tiffany Kennedy, Brad Skeldon, and Jenna Clark baking a cake for Mark Reimer's Birthday.
Hello one and all! It's been a few months since my last posting and I'm so sorry. Jordan just made a new personal record, round 29 on the clay shooting duck hunt! He's quite proud of himself. So Bob and Darin, if you're reading this Jordan's looking for challengers. So after Christmas our computer decided it wanted to crash, and yes it does have a mind of it's own. Our hard drive quit on us while Jordan was in the middle of working on an assignment. We're thankful it happened when it did. Jordan lost one paper that he was to hand in and hadn't gotten to, I had developed my pictures from Christmas break the day before and warranty covered the repairs. The tech guys weren't able to get anything from the hard drive so Jordan had to rewrite that paper which is better than it could have been.
Life here at NBC is going well. We're really thankful that we are able to live on campus in a really nice apartment. I've been really itching to paint the place into something more personal, but as it turns out they didn't like my idea. I'm not surprised seeing how the colors I like aren't exactly their first choice. Jordan's been plugging away at his assignment for classes and all the rest that comes along with it. God's really been showing Jordan wonderful things this year and has blessed him with understanding in classes and assignments as well. I'm still working at IGA which is going well. I'm really looking forward to a break this summer when I can relax and Lord willing take on a hobby of some sort. I'm starting to wear out from working and trying to keep a house clean and feeling like a home. It's also difficult to make time to spend with Jordan when I would rather be sleeping.
Since Christmas we've had to take our vehicle in a couple times to have repairs done to it. God's amazing in providing the money for us to be able to pay for the extra expense. Last week I was told that at the last place I worked my boss hadn't paid me my vacation pay. That cheque that we'll be getting will go towards paying the expenses as well as for the gas to go to Edmonton for reading week. It's amazing to see how God had this all planed out the way He did. Jordan and I are so blessed by how God's been providing for us this year here.
Next week thursday we are heading to Edmonton for reading week. I was able to get a couple days off to be able to get away and not worry or think about work. While we're there we'll be meeting up with Jordan's family. I'm really looking forward to that. What wonderful people they are. I've been really blessed to not only marry a sweet, handsome man but that I am able to get along so well with the rest of the family. It's nice to really feel like I'm a part of them. One of the highlights of going to Edmonton is IKEA! What a wonderful store. I'm going to buy a cheese grater. I know it's a strange thing to buy but it's something we need. The second time I used the grater we have now I broke it. Either I'm just that strong or it's made that poorly.
This spring we are hoping to go home for the summer to hang out with family and friends. While we are out there we'll be leaving out stuff in our apartment which will be nice. I'm not a big fan of packing and moving things. There will be a couple of our friends that will be house sitting for us during the summer. Tim Giesbrecht will be doing his internship at the Lost River Church this summer and Andrew Gilkinson is also needing a place for the summer in between college years. This works out well for all of us.
Over the course of the year God's been teaching us some really neat and difficult things. We've been learning about the Holy Spirit (HS) and what it means to die to self. It's a hard thing to face. We've been seeing ( when I say we I mean mostly me), that there are a lot of things in our lives that we need to deal with before the HS can fully reside with in us. In saying this I don't mean that He isn't a part of my life. It's more that in order for Him to be 'president' in my life He shows me were I need to dealing with issues like hurt, bitterness, anger and so on, so He can be the center of my being. It is a difficult thing to face but it's been rewarding. This is God's working in a nut shell of our lives.