Ben & Heather

Check out our new blog posts on our new blog!

2010-07-02T14:17:00.004-04:00

New blog!

2010-06-26T11:21:00.006-04:00

Hey everyone,

I've decided to change blog dealers and go for something a little more "high-end" if you will. My sister got me on wordpress and it's so amazing! So much easier to use than blogger and you have so many more options for uploading pictures etc. I could transfer all my information from blogger with just a click of a button. I'm already loving it and can't wait to blog more! I won't have to fight up uploading pictures or fiddling with silly blogger formatting. Can you tell I'm a little excited?!?!?! Yay for WordPress! Change your links everyone!

Our new blog is benandheathervms@wordpress.com

Happy Father's Day!

2010-06-20T15:34:00.002-04:00

Dear Daddy,

I am so very proud of you
You always work so much
I asked my mommy why that was
She said because you're Dutch

Your mind is always working
It never takes a break
I wish that I could help you
But you might think I'm a flake

So I put my mind to working
Through I'm not very old
I thought these tools would help you
At least that's what I'm told.

The second part of this gift
Was mommy's great ol' plan
She likes to see you looking good
As her dear handsome man

I know that mommy loves you
I can see it in her eyes
She's just as proud as I am
And that is very wise

I hope you'll like your gifts
I hope they'll bring a grin
I hope you'll kiss us both with love
And win our hearts again

Your daughter,
Katie

P.S. The tools Katie bought her dad were a new clip board and pencils for all his planning and drawings. I bought him a new golf shirt:-)

May 2-4 weekend a Holi-day??? More like a Work day!

2010-06-17T09:28:00.005-04:00

The past three May 2-4 weekends have not been happy-go-lucky holidays for this household! When we know a holiday is coming up, we think Project Time!! This past Victoria Day was no exception. We decided to slightly improve our back steps and add a largish landing which would give us a place to set things down while unlocking/opening the door and also to give me a place to stand while I hang my laundry on the line. Ben spent many lunch breaks planning this porch so it would be just right; hence the pictures of all his sketches:-) He built the entire porch starting Saturday afternoon and finishing on Monday. I think he's pretty handy :-) We hope to add railings sometime later this summer.Corina wanted to share how the door opened :-)

Ben attached the old steps so we could get up and down on Sunday.

To save a few bucks, Ben built the stringers himself... like I said before I think he's pretty handy! :-)

We hope to get a few shrubs/bushes in the next few weeks to fill in the gardens around the steps.

Brown Sugar

2010-06-14T15:54:00.006-04:00

Does it ever bug you that a 1kg bag of brown sugar is twice as expensive than a 2kg bag of white sugar? It sure bugs me! I should mention that it also bugs me when I run out of brown sugar when I've already started the recipe! How many times do I have to be reminded to check to make sure I not only have all the ingrediants, but have enough of them! Anyways... when we were growing up we never bought brown sugar, we made it! How you ask... well, that's my secret and I'm not going to tell you... just kidding :-) It's one of the easiest, and cheapest things to do! The brown sugar that a regular, run-of-the-mill cookie recipes calls for is "light" brown sugar as opposed to "dark" brown sugar which is simply unrefined, unbleached sugar. Well, here's the secret, "light" brown sugar is just regular white sugar with added molasses! No joke! When I was first married I ~~had just forgotten~~ was lazy and forgetful and so went out and bought brown sugar, but that didn't last long as I hated spending the money on it! So now I just dump a bunch of sugar into my mixing bowl and pour some molasses in and voilà! brown sugar! I looked it up online and the correct ratio is 1tbsp molasses to 1 cup white sugar. I'm never that acurate and I don't think I even put that much in. It may sound like work, but really it's not that difficult. Molasses costs more when you buy it in little containers, but I have it on good reputation that the Bulk Barn has good, "cheap" molasses. So, what are you waiting for?!??! Go and make yourself some brown sugar!

Con-cen-tra-tion now in session, ready, set, begin!

2010-06-14T14:25:00.004-04:00

It's so amazing to actually watch a baby learn! To see Katie concentrating so hard on grabbing that toy and getting it into her mouth was just incredible! I know it sounds silly, but I was so excited when she got it! It's really neat to see her learn new things each day and develop further what she already knows. She's been reaching for objects for a while now, but it's becoming more and more fun as she reaches for my necklace, my mouth, Ben's beard; she even took off Uncle Nick's glasses yesterday! Thankfully, Uncle Nick was just as thrilled as she was:-)

Bathtime!

2010-06-09T12:06:00.003-04:00

Three years ago today...

2010-06-02T07:53:00.005-04:00

I was:
getting my hair done
getting my makeup done
getting dressed
getting fed breakfast
getting more and more excited to walk down the aisle to the man of my dreams!

2010-05-31T11:31:00.003-04:00

My Our dear friend, Corina, came for another two weeks to visit and meet the newest addition to our family. We had lots of fun touring around to various places and just hanging out. It was so great to be able to stay home and visit instead of having to go and work while Corina was here. Katie loved her Auntie Corina and always had a smile for her. We're hoping to go out to BC to see Corina and the rest of the family in September and we can't wait! Below are some pictures of our time together. Thanks for coming Corina!We went to Stratford for a day, had lunch by the river, toured all the little shops and had ice cappucinos on the way home!
We also primed the mudroom which we are currently renovating. (So Corina wasn't just lying around the whole time!) We read lots of Betty Neels, took a shopping trip to the States(minus a baby!) and ate doritos and lemonade on the way home. Hmm... Doritos!
We went to Sparta and Winter wheat on morning with my Mom and sister, Christina. It's such a fun cute place to visit and walk around.
The last Friday that Corina was here we went to the Pinery with the four of us. It was stinkin' hot in St. Thomas, but much cooler on the beach. The wind was blowing and we got attacked by many caterpillers! Oh well! It was fun and nice to put our feet in the water.

Walnuts anyone?

2010-05-12T11:06:00.001-04:00

When Mom & Dad Kattenberg came from BC for a visit in March, they brought a whole shipment of the highest quality walnuts from their very own tree which happned to yield a very bountiful crop last year. Well, I know I'll never eat all these walnuts, so... if you want some, you can have some!

Happy Monday!

2010-05-10T09:49:00.002-04:00

I love Mondays! Sundays, full of resting, enjoying, visisting, and worshipping in God's house, give such a good start to a brand new week. Mondays start off a new week of work with no yesterdays of unaccomplishments and feelings of I-wish-I-got-this-and-that-done. I always feel so refreshed and renewed and I'm ready to dive into my mile-long list of to-do's. So far today I've:

Feed Katie twice
Got diapers hanging on the line
Made doctor's appointments for the next few months
Called CRA and listened to their fine repertoire of music while on hold--don't you just love that?!
Answered emails
Tidied the house
Checked out 'the blogs' and this new one: http://treasureinvesselsofclay.blogspot.com/

For the rest of the day I plan to:

Empty the freezer(as we plan to move it downstairs) and lug all our food to my mom's for a temporary stay in her freezer
Fold my diapers
Feed Katie another 4 or 5 times
Do the dishes
Wash the sheets for the guest room
Run an errand or two
Have a coffee... actually I think I'll do that right now!

Happy Monday everyone!

Laundry Day!

2010-05-06T09:35:00.005-04:00

Today is laundry day! I'm so thankful I have sunshine inside and out!

A baby photo shoot!

2010-05-03T09:03:00.009-04:00

A friend from church gave us the gift of a free baby photoshoot at the church baby shower a few weeks ago so Katie and I went last week to get some memories captured:-) Matt & Julianna are a riot and it was so fun doing the shoot with them! Here are some of my favorites. You can check out their blog to see more of their wonderful work! http://www.thismomentforever.com/blog20100501.html

I am so excited because.....

2010-04-30T17:02:00.002-04:00

this bestest friend is coming from BC in only 15 more sleeps! Can't wait!

Cinnamon Buns!

2010-04-26T12:26:00.004-04:00

This recipe is from my Kitchen Aid Mixer Recipe Book. It's so easy to make and sooo yummy to eat!!!

Basic Sweet Dough
3/4 cup low-fat milk (I just use regular milk)
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter/margarine
2 pkgs(2tbsp) active dry yeast
1/3 cup warm water
3 eggs at room temperature
5 1/2-6 1/2 cups white flour

Place milk, sugar, salt and butter in small saucepan. Heat over low heat until butter melts and sugar dissolves. Cool to lukewarm

Dissolve yeast in warm water in warmed mixer bowl. Add lukewarm milk mixture, eggs, and 5 cups flour. Turn to Speed 2(for Kitchen aid mixers) and mix about 2 minutes.

Continuing on Speed 2, add remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time and mix until dough clings to hook and cleans sides of bowl, about 2 minutes. Knead on Speed 2 about 2 minutes longer.

Place dough in a greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover. Let rise in warm place, free from draft, about 1 hour or until doubled in bulk.

Punch down and shape as desired for rolls etc...

Cinnamon Swirl Rounds

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter/margarine
1/4 cup white flour
1 1/2 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans(optional)

Mix all ingredients thoroughly. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface. Roll to 10 x 24-inch rectangle. Spread sugar/cinnamon mixture evenly on dough. Roll dough tightly from long side to form 24-inch roll, pinching seams together. Cut into 24 slices, 1 inch each. Place 12 rolls each in two greased 9 x 13 pans. Cover and let rise 45-60 minutes or until doubled in bulk. Bake at 350* for 20-25 minutes. Remove from pans immediately(I never do because it's too much of a pain!) Spoon glaze over warm rolls.

Caramel Glaze
1/3 cup evaporated milk
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 1/2 cup icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Place evaporated milk and brown sugar in small saucepan. cook over medium heat until mixture begins to boil, stirring constantly. Place milk mixture, icing sugar and vanilla in bowl and beat until creamy.

My glaze(because I'm too lazy to make the caramel stuff :-)
1 1/2 cup icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond flavoring
enough milk to make a barely pourable glaze

Mmmm!! Cinnamon Buns!!

Katie Update

2010-04-21T13:47:00.002-04:00

We went to see the specialist in London with Katie today and all seems to be well! Last week when we came home she passsed what I thought might be gallstones(or biliruben stones) and when I mentioned it to the Doc he was surprised but very happy. The ultrasound she had last week came back clear and normal(this confirmed my diagnosis of biliruben stones). Because her liver enzyemes were a bit high from the blood work she had last week (nothing to worry about, they're just not perfect) we have to go back in a couple weeks for bloodwork and then we'll meet with the specialist again. Hopefully after that we'll be done with hospitals and we'll take a break from sinking a fortune into them with our parking fees!

Katie seems to be back to normal otherwise; she does have thrush so she's a little cranky from that, but we're thankful that everything else seems to be fine.

What a character!

2010-04-20T11:58:00.003-04:00

This little girl definitely takes after her father... ahem....*cough cough* ;-)

Bathroom Renovation

2010-04-15T15:49:00.004-04:00

Done! We're finally done! Yippee! Zippity-do-da-day!!! Can you tell I'm a little excited? Our upstairs bathroom renovation is finally completed! We started the project in March 2008 and planned on completing it within a few months, but as usual, life got in the way and it was put on hold. We took a break from the renovating both summers so we could work on other projects outside and then in the fall of 2008 we also decided to "put it on hold" to finish up a few other things. Well, with a baby on the way, the pressure was on to get it completed, so Ben started working full tilt again in the middle of September.

When we bought the house, the bathroom was totally unusable and totally disgusting! It was one of the first things that was ripped out and then it sat there in that condition until March 2008. The spring before we were married we found a matching toliet, whirlpool tub, and sink at a yard sale for $225. The fixtures on the pieces alone were worth more than that, so we figured we had a pretty good deal. The only problem was, the colour was somewhere inbetween beige and pink. I wasn't quite sure how we would come up with colours to match that and not end up having a pink bathroom! Thankfully Sandra VanMaanen and the helpful girls at Benjamin Moore saved us and now you can hardly see the pink in the finish.

Because the tub was so big and because we had to work around a baring wall, we were somewhat limited as to the layout of the bathroom. We finally decided to replace the baring wall, put the tub outside the existing bathroom and build a wall surrounding it. We then left an opening in the wall between the studs so we could have access to the tub from the bathroom.

Beside the bathroom is a largish closet which falls under the stairs to the attic. I requested, and Ben acquiesed and built a small linen closet into part of the larger closet, thus giving me a place to store my towels and other bathroom supplies.

Well they say a picture is worth a 1000 words, so with all the pictures I have below, I figured I could have written at least a short novel :-) I'll just summarize what we all had to do to get the finished product:
-gut the entire room of fixtures, tub, sink, toliet, drywall etc.
-rewire the entire room
-replumb the entire room
-replace and move a baring wall
-replace floor joists
-install new floor
-build surrounding walls for tub
-stud and insulate and vapour barrier the outside walls
-reduct heating
-build in linen closet
-drywall, tape and mud
-paint
-trim
-install new window
-install tile on floor and tub surround, grout and seal
-put in a new door
-install new tub, toliet
-find and refinish vanity($75 courtesy of Kijiji) and install sink
-caulk everything
-install fixtures including, lighting, fans and towel bars
-Last but not least, enjoy all our work!

1st six weeks of life with a baby

2010-04-08T10:37:00.011-04:00

Well the first six weeks with a new baby have simply flown by! Here is a list of things that have been going on:

Katie is "sleeping through the night" I usually get a good 6, maybe 7 hour stretch after I feed her at 10pm and then another stretch until she wakes up around 8/8:30am
We've started cloth diapers and I'm loving it! Everytime I change I diaper I'm happy because it really costs us nothing!
We had an overnight stay at the hospital :-( Katie got some sort of flu bug and was not nursing well, puking and had very 'unnormal' diapers. I took her to Emerg(at the advice of my midwife) and because she was jaundice they wanted to keep her overnight for observation. They took a whole ton of blood and did an ultrasound. On the ultrasound they found what they think might be gall stones(apparently not unheard of in a baby) and we now have an appointment to see a specialist in London next week. But, by the time we went home the next night, Katie was back to normal.
We just had our last midwife appointment yesterday. I'm going to miss those ladies!
Katie is starting to suck her thumb. She needs a little help putting it in her mouth, but she's pretty good and keeping it in. Mind you, she only wants her left thumb; if I try put her right thumb in, I get some very funny faces!
Ben gives me a "day off" and changes all the diapers on Sundays (he changes diapers throughout the week as well, but Sundays he's on full duty! :-)
Katie was 10lb 3oz at her appointment yesterday
My reward for nursing is huge smiles from a very happy baby after each feeding
Katie takes after her daddy and is a major fidgeter: her hands are always moving and, her feet too!
We love our daughter more and more each day

Here are some random pictures of the last six weeks as well.

Great grandmotherGreat Grandfather Being weighed Too tired to burp

tante Lien

First outing to Mitchell

Not impressed with bathtime

Opa Kattenberg

Smiles at three weeks

Baptism
Four generations

The whole family

Cousin Charity was baptized on the same day

For those of you who know these VanMeps, this is a classic Amanda and Ben pose:-)

Sweet cousins

Abusive cousins??

So content with Grandpa

Katie's birthday!

2010-04-07T10:47:00.008-04:00

Waiting for the midwife.Yes! I am ready to give birth!13 and a half hours later.....Fresh out of the oven!Proud papa!First bathGrandpa & Grandma for the first time Grandpa & Grandma for the seventh time
Katie with cousin, Charity. due five days apart, born exactly a month apart.Ready to go home!

Katherine Anne VanMeppelen-Scheppink

2010-02-25T10:27:00.003-05:00

With joy and thanksgiving we would like to announce the birth of our daughter, Katherine Anne VanMeppelen-Scheppink! She was born on February 22, 2010 at 8:54pm at St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital. She weighed 9lbs, 5oz and was 21 inches long.

We thank the Lord for giving us this beautiful daughter and for making all things well! We came home yesterday and are enjoying being together as a family. We'll be sure to post more pictures soon!

40 and a half weeks....

2010-02-12T20:25:00.002-05:00

.....and waiting.... :-):-)

The waiting game....

2010-02-09T20:05:00.001-05:00

We are ready and waiting for this baby to make his or her arrival! My due date was yesterday, so we're officially overdue... I must confess I am thankful that the baby didn't come early as I just wasn't as ready as I would have liked two weeks ago. But.... now we are ready, or as ready as we can be including:

almost a dozen meals in the freezer
10 dozen cookies made(although, if this babe waits too long we'll eat them all!)
a very clean house
bags(for Mom, Dad and baby!) packed and ready by the door
a completed nursery(see pics in post below)

So now we're just playing the waiting game..... any suggestions to help pass the time?

The Nursery

2010-02-09T19:27:00.008-05:00

The room we had designated for the nursery didn't need a lot of work, but as with most projects around here we did end up putting a little more work into it than we had originally thought was necessary. My dear hubby worked very quickly though and it was done in no time! I must confess I didn't do a single renovation-related thing on this room except provide loving support and snacks when necessary :-) Ben, however, spent several nights on the following:

ripping out the door frame into the very small closet
ripping out the old space-wasting shelves in the closet
sanding the bottom half of the walls to get rid of the leftover glue from the wall paper that the previous owner had painted over
running a wire for a light in the closet
pulling off the old trim
installing a new window
mudding the many holes and divits around the room
patching the ceiling
sanding and mudding a few more times
painting
cleaning the carpet
painting the new trim
installing the new trim
installing new shelves in the closet

Before

During

The view from the doorway.

We bought the change table off Kijiji and Ben just had to fix up a few things on it and paint it. The rocker we also got off Kijiji and my dear mother made new, very comfy cushions it. The end table(which is difficult to see on these pics) we had passed on to us when we were very married, and because it was so dinged up my mom made a cover for it(I know, she's the best!). The crib was lovingly made by my Opa teBokkel for my older sister and she and the rest of us kids slept in it for all our baby years. It's pretty special to have for our little babe to snooze in too!

Standing in front of the window

Standing in front of the closet.

So now we're just waiting for our little son or daughter to make this room complete!

Stained Glass Window

2010-02-09T19:27:00.002-05:00

Our house was built in the early 1900's and is identical to the one next door. When the houses were built they each had four stained glass windows giving both value and character. While our house stood empty before we bought it, all of the stained glass windows were stolen with the exception of our front living room window. We really like our stained glass window and always bemoaned the fact that we don't have the other ones. Well Ben's old boss, Frank, does stained glass for a hobby and offered to make us one as long as we paid for the cost of the glass. We of course agreed and Ben took a sketching of our neighbour's window along with a picture and passed them on to Frank. We just got the window a few weeks and we've been enjoying it ever since!

Our neighbour's original window.

Our new window.

View from our living room.

The "matching" window in our front living room window.

39 weeks!

2010-02-02T10:59:00.002-05:00

Three and a half weeks to go!

2010-01-15T17:35:00.004-05:00

Update

2009-12-27T13:15:00.006-05:00

Well I'm a little behind on posting pregnancy updates and just updates in general. Time just seems to get away from me and despite the best intentions I just don't seem to get around to posting anything!

Life is ticking away like normal around here. We've been busy with renovations as we're finishing up the bathroom and starting on the nursery. Pictures of the bathroom will be coming soon(we were waiting for a long overdue counter top!) We've started on the nursery in the last couple weeks; Ben's been busy doing some electrical and patching the walls. We hope to get the walls primed and ready for paint this week! We ordered a new window for the room as well, so that should go in this week. After that we just have to buy and install new trim and we'll be all set!

We're right in the middle of the busy Christmas season and we're about halfway done our our family gatherings/parties. It's been a busy Christmas season, but we're so blessed with wonderful family and friends to celebrate this time of year with! Below are some pictures from our VMS family gathering.

Puzzles Ben made for Lauren and Leah. Waiting anxiously!

Kara in the new pajamas I made for her!

And Joey in his new ones!

Ben got some extra time off this Christmas, so he has/had almost two straight weeks off from work (pending snow plowing and any funerals.) I also took/am taking some extra time off work, so it'll be nice to spend some time relaxing and working on the house.

I'm finishing up working full time at Word & Deed. I been training my replacement, Hanna, for three weeks now and it's going wonderfully! I hope to continue working until the end of January and then have twoish weeks before my due date. Depending on my level of energy, I may cut down my hours towards the end and only work part days.

We only have six more weeks to go with this pregnancy; it seems like just yesterday we found out we were expecting and now in sixish weeks we get to meet our new little baby! Everything is still going well; my midwives tell me I'm right on track at each appointment with 'textbook' numbers. I'm starting to slow down a little though; I just don't have the same amount of energy I had. No more running up the stairs two at a time and bending over just isn't as easy as it once was. I think I took a lot of things for granted before I was pregnant: being able to eat without worrying about heartburn, picking something off the floor, rolling over in bed, and just having energy and motivation to do things like clean my house, bake, etc! Thankfully I have the most understanding husband to help me with everything! He's so supportive and understanding of all my wonderful (*cough cough*) pregnancy quirks and moodswings and is so willing and ready to help out with things around the house in addition to everything else he does. I'm truly blessed to have such an incredible husband; sigh... he's just so wonderful!

Junior/ette is continuing to grow and kick and kick and grow. He/she should be about 5lbs by now and probably about 20 inches long. The flitters and flutters have now grown into pokes and stretches which grow stronger every day. He/she is very active and likes to stretch in different directions all at once. As I type this, junior/ette is wiggling and I can watch my belly move up and down and back and forth! So fun! I've been having more Braxton hicks contractions too, preparing me for labour. They're not painful, but are getting more uncomfortable as the days go by.

Below are some pictures of me at 34 weeks!

28 Weeks!

2009-11-16T18:20:00.002-05:00

Third trimester here we come! The countdown is on: 12 more weeks(we're hoping anyways!)

Apple Pies

2009-11-08T14:29:00.006-05:00

You want to know a way to enjoy apple pies all winter long? Make a huge batch and freeze 'em! That's what my mom and I did yesterday: we made 25 delicious apple pies. What do you need?
About 1 bushel of apples, lard, flour, salt, water, sugar, cornstarch, pie tins....and um... oh ya, lots of energy!

My mom worked in a bakery during some of her teenage years and very cleverly memorized the pie shell recipe and has been using it ever since. I can guarantee you'll not find a more tastly, flakey, melt-in-your-mouth pie crust than this one. It's very simple to make, but a little more tricky to perfect. The key is to handle the dough the least amount possible: the more you handle it, the tougher it gets. Ben was our faithful apple peeler while my mom and I made the dough and assembled the pies. We also made half a dozen empty shells for future use and over 80 tart shells(out of a slightly different dough). We pre-baked the pies as it makes for a better crust when you reheat them later on. Below are some pictures of our work and accomplishments. It sure does feel nice to have pies and shells stored away for the winter! Thanks for coming over and helping mom!

We couldn't wait for "winter" so we had a pie last night. All I can say is: YUMMY!!

Just because.....

2009-10-29T18:11:00.007-04:00

...he's wonderful
Just because..... he's sweet
Just because..... he's caring
Just because..... he's forgiving
Just because..... he's gentle
Just because..... he's a Christian
Just because..... he's kind
Just because..... he puts up with me :P
Just because..... he fixes up our home
Just because..... he's handsome
Just because..... he loves me
Just because he's who he is.... that's why I love him!

24 Weeks!

2009-10-18T13:58:00.005-04:00

Well, I guess I've grown in the last four weeks. I didn't think I had gotten that much bigger, but looking at my previous pictures I realize how "skinny" I used to be. Only four more months of getting fatter and then I plan to loose most of it in one day :-)

I'm continuing to feel pretty well; the good ol' tiredness is starting to kick in, so I can really use a power nap in the afternoon. Junior/ette is pretty active these days and seems to enjoy stomping on my bladder. But, I'm nevertheless thankful for those kicks and stomps as they continue to remind us of the wonderful miracle of life. Ben felt the baby kick for first time last night which was very exciting!

We continue to accumulate items for the nursery and hope to get started on that soon! We (and I use that 'we' very loosely) are just finishing the upstairs bathroom as that is a slight priority given the continued growth of this baby and the continued pressure on my bladder in the middle of the night :-) After the bathroom is finished, the nursery just needs a few fixes before we can paint etc.

Below are some pictures of me at almost 24 weeks.

Making Salsa!

2009-10-02T15:04:00.006-04:00

Last night my dear hubby and I decided to make salsa. We were given some yummy tomatoes (thanks Uncle Pete & Aunt Ludy!) and they needed to be processed ASAP. Having never made salsa by ourselves before, we were a little nervous; so.... we asked my mom (a canning guru) lots of questions, read the instructions twice, and hoped for the best. After lots of chopping, dicing, measuring, pouring, and stirring, we had a nice pot of salsa simmering. Boy, did it make my mouth water! After simmering for about two hours we were ready to pressure can it. An hour of hissing and steaming and pressurizing followed, and voila! we had twelve wonderful jars of salsa to enjoy!

Washing the dirty tomatoes.We made a quadruple batch!
Yummy, spicy salsa to last us all winter long!

Ultrasound Pictures!

2009-09-25T12:29:00.003-04:00

Here are some pictures of our little babe! We may be a little biased, but we think he or she is the cutest baby we've ever seen :-)

Halfway!

2009-09-22T10:20:00.004-04:00

Well we're halfway there! So far I've been feeling pretty well besides a nasty cold that I've managed to attract. I go for my first ultrasound on Friday and we're really looking forward to seeing our babe kick and squirm! I thought I'd better post some pics for my far-away family so you have an idea of how fat I am :P:P

A Visit from a Dear Friend

2009-09-04T14:52:00.008-04:00

Our dear friend, Corina, came from BC to spend two weeks with us. It was so great to have her here and we spent tons of time catching up since last year. Corina has come out every year since we've been married, so next year we're thinking we owe her and the rest of her family a visit to BC, along with our little one of course :-)

We spent a day going to Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the-lake. Ben and I had never been to NOTL, so we didn't really know what to expect. Even though it was a bit cloudy, it was a great day. We took some time walking by the falls and then went for a hike down the Niagara gorge; what beautiful creation we can enjoy!

On our way to NOTL, we stopped and had a tour of a winery. It was neat to see the winery up close and learn how to properly taste wine. NOTL is a really nice town with lots of cute shops and bakeries one of which we couldn't help but buy some goodies from. They were yummy!

We also went sailing with Joel & Lynnette on Lake Erie; it wasn't quite as windy as last year (for which I was thankful!) and we had a great sail!

Thanks for coming Corina!! We miss you already!

Camping!

2009-08-15T14:23:00.006-04:00

In July we went camping with some friends and family to Arrowhead Provincial Park. It's a great park just North of Huntsville and we had a great time! On the busiest day there were a total of 14 adults and 12 kids five years old and under! Yikes! that was a lot of kids, but it sure was entertaining :-) Below are some pictures of our week.

Our campsite. We really only used half of it :-)

On the hike to Stubb's falls.

What an angel ;-)My handsome hubby.....sigh......

It's a plane!! A plane! Look! Look!

The kids found a very very tame wood mouse. It was so tame it almost got stepped on a few times!

Building a giant sandcastle.

Can I play too Dad? Uncle Ben?

What a climber!

At the beginning of one of our hikes we came to a shallow part of the lake where there were tons of tadpoles! I didn't realize how big they were and how ugly.... ugh!

Thankfully they turn into frogs which are slightly more attractive, although that's pushing it too!

It rained the day before we left, but we were determined to still have a campfire so..... well the picture speaks for itself :-)

We are expecting......

2009-08-03T09:11:00.002-04:00

mood swings
new clothes
tons of new stuff
many new changes
new excitement
oh, and the reason for all this new stuff..... a baby!!

Yes, that's right! We're expecting a small (as least I'm hoping small!) addition to our family in early February. I'm currently 13 weeks and feeling great(thanks to a very small miracle pill!!) My mom didn't pass on the greatest non-morning sickness genes, so I was pretty miserable for a week or so before I started taking medication. Things are going well now and we hope will continue well for the rest of the pregnancy. Be sure to stay tuned for more updates and maybe some pictures.... :-)

The best way to have fresh veggies all summer.....

2009-07-06T20:58:00.007-04:00

is to have your own garden, so we decided to put in our own small, modest veggie garden this year so we could reap (pardon the pun) the benefits all summer long. We had planned on making one last year and the year before, but as usual, life got in the way. Well this year my ambitious gardener who I'm proud to say is also my husband, tackled the job. Below are just a few pictures that I (as usual being the proud and support spectator took whilst the activities were going on.) **please note the bottom pictures are taken a few days and weeks later as, in fact, it does take some time for the seed to germinate.

The plot is selected.Compost that we've been accumulating in our bin since January. Looks gross, but ahh, the nutrients it will expell. Ready and waiting with anticipation!Life has sprung!We can't take credit for these beauties; oh well, at least we can still enjoy them! Fresh veggies, here we come! (if only these veggies knew what they were in for, they'd never grow so fast! Shh!! Don't tell them!)

Happy 2nd Anniversary Schweetie!

2009-06-01T18:56:00.002-04:00

In Memory of Oma teBokkel

2009-05-07T11:08:00.003-04:00

My Aunt Helena wrote this and read it at the funeral.

Two years ago in May at the age of 82, my mother wrote these words on the first page of a spiral notebook:

What do I want from life

What are my dreams

– to love it to the fullest

– to live in the moment

– to appreciate other people

– to grow in faith

– to see the gold around the clouds, the sun is shining behind the cloud

– to expand my horizon through interesting books, tapes, CD’s, maybe writing? In other words to keep growing, exploring, researching, studying

– to smell the roses, appreciate life and live it abundantly

Some doors may be closed, but others could be opened.

Don’t give in, Do Not give up

Life is beautiful, wonderful

I’ll live it abundantly

Finish what you begin

Continue to walk in and with nature, with God as your guide.

So much of who she was is bound up in these words.

- a woman of determination and tenacity who was persistent in getting all she could from life despite the obstacles

- a woman who was creative and loved colour in all areas of her life

- a woman who loved God’s creation as she experienced it in her garden, camping and in every opportunity to walk outdoors

Life was to be embraced

The second of 5 children, she grew up known as the “dreamer”, the one who could be found with a book in hand up in a tree, drawing on scraps of paper or negotiating peace between her arguing siblings.

That creative, dreamer grew up through the depression and a war that was devastating to many - her family like many others struggled through a lack of food at the end of the war – eating tulip bulbs to survive.

She also grew up in an era where as a woman you became what you were told to become..so she ended up a teacher for a nursery school – a difficult thing for a dreamer to be told you could not pursue your dream of art school and nursing.

I think she might have made a great nurse as she demonstrated later in life by a love of taking care of the sick and elderly in our neighbourhood and a knack for telling everyone what they should be doing and how to “cure” all their ailments.

It was during her time as the principal of the a nursery/primary school that she met my father through a blind date set up by two colleagues.

Their first date was a walk to a sculpture show – the first of many shared walks and art exhibits. Although they were two very different people they quickly discovered many common interests:

Art and beauty whether it was found in paintings, sculpture, architecture, flowers and forests.

They both loved the adventure of travel and discovery

They both loved music and concerts (although their preferred music genres were different…Mom attended the London Symphony for over 40 years) They shared a common faith and a commitment to the work of the church

They shared a commitment to frugalness and distained for any unnecessary spending (although Dad had a weakness for Laura Secord ice-cream….any kind of ice-cream really)

Yet they were also generous in giving to the needs they encountered around them with time, money and advice.

My Dad – the extreme pragmatic, logical to a fault, stubborn adventurer, held onto this flighty, creative, dreamer and pulled her into his dream of emigrating.

When they met Dad was pursing opportunities around the world and after a number of possibilities the 2 final destinations were New Zealand or Canada…Mom was the deciding factor – she didn’t mind heading out on the adventure having her own love of travel but New Zealand was awfully far from home.

It was here in London that they settled in 1954. Working hard they built a home, built a family and built life long friendships with other young couples who also emigrated from the Netherlands around the same time.

After about 15 years in Canada – her kids well on their way through school… Mom went back to school herself – pursuing art classes through an adult learning program at Beal Secondary. Here and through her volunteer work at the Art Gallery as a docent, she developed a new group of friends, women who shared her love of art and creating. Over the years, she continued to meet with and paint with these women. These Relationships were very important to her and supported her in her passion to create and add to the beauty in God’s world.

Mom had always struggled with health issues – as we were growing up she napped every afternoon, getting up some time after we returned from school. Many of her struggles were precursors to the Lupus she fought in her later years. She was known to be rebellious when it came to medical advice but pursued a vast array of alternative approaches to better her health. Her tenacity in her health pursuits was a large part in her survival for so many years. Like the “Eveready” bunny…she would keep on going. She fought hard against the things that stopped her from enjoying life whether that be pain, lack of energy, the lupus or deteriorating vision.

One of her greatest loves was camping. We camped all over Ontario as a family growing up, she and Dad traveled all over with their home built trailer. After Dad died, Mom never missed a summer at the Pinery and in the last 10 years, my husband Brian would set her up with her little cabin trailer for two weeks every June and again in September. She didn’t like it but we’d make her call us daily so we’d know she was okay. At 83, last summer, it became clear to us that it was becoming too difficult and her camping days were coming to an end.

Mom was a woman who sought joy in her life – she set goals, dreamed dreams and walked her own path. She’d sometimes leave others with their heads shaking, wondering, but she continued to seek more out of life – even with her vision going and unable to paint anymore – she turned to fiber arts. Books on tape fed her desire to learn, and a walker allowed her to continue to get outside and experience the birth of one last spring.

84 years lived deeply and with intentionality.

She still had hope for a future

She still found delight and Joy in the simple things of life

May we all leave this place today rejoicing in the opportunity we still have to celebrate life.

He's just the best!

2009-04-13T19:07:00.000-04:00

My dear husband brought some beautiful flowers home to me tonight.... just because:-) I can't believe how blessed I am to have such a sweet, thoughtful, and romantic husband. He's just the best!

How to have creative fun while renovating in 10 easy Steps!

2009-03-18T20:11:00.000-04:00

Step 1: Find a uncompleted renovation project.

Step 2: Determine how long you want the fun to last. ie, if you want it to last for ever, do something permanent. If looking for a temporary bit of laughter, we suggest something that can be removed or changed once the fun has been worn out.

Step 3: Determine how creative you would like to be. (This is usually determined by the kind of mood you are in, and who is around to influence you. In this case, my dear mother was nearby to 'set the tone' for the level of creativity and general "funness".)

Step 4: Choose your necessary tools.

Step 5: Begin by being creative in the most obvious spot; none of this 'test the product in an inconspicuous spot first' stuff.

Step 6: Have fun; nothing dampens creativity more than a droll attitude or demeanour.

Step 7: Step back and enjoy the finished product.

Step 8: Be sure to 'discretely' point it out to other inhabitants of the house and laugh very loadly at their reactions.

Step 9: Continue to smile to yourself each time you see your 'work of art' until you've grown sick and tired of it and simply can't stand to look at it any more.

Step 10: Simply complete your renovation project and find a new project on which to unleash your fun, creative ideas.

*Note: These creative steps also encourage you to complete your projects in a small time frame to avoid going crazy and to avoid getting crazy looks from people who may visit your home.

A Trip Down Memory Lane......otherwise titled: The Hottie in the Red Hoodie

2009-02-12T19:06:00.000-05:00

I was just thinking the other day about something that happened a long time ago. Little did I know that little something would be the beginning of a big something--something wonderful! Well, let me start at the beginning....

Once a upon a time.... no, wait... I don't think that's how it happened(although it is like something out of a story book :-)

Anyway, as most of you know my family moved around a lot and not just in the same province. We moved across the country--literally!

In October 2004 we were living in Beautiful British Columbia! I was.... let me think..... 17 and in my last year of highschool. Now as a rule, I was, how shall I put it, a little flirty and flighty? But just all in good fun of course. Angelina and John, my older siblings, had moved that summer to Ontario to go to school in London. They started attending the Free Reformed Church in St. Thomas and consequently joined their thriving young peoples group. We heard reports from time to time that they were having a grand 'ol time with all the wonderful individuals in the group. We wanted some pictures of these young people and asked John to take a few. John sent the following picture and our email exchanges went something like this:

John: since you were asking for pictures here you are

Me: WOW! what a hottie-- that guy on the bottom left hand corner, with the
red hoddie....Ahem...misc other comments........who is that guy is he single? RRRRRrrrrr!!!

John: Yes, as far as I know he's single. his name is Ben VAN MEPPELEN SCHEPPINK thats right, 20 letters in his last name. Do you think you could sign that? ROFL

Me: is Ben cute in real life or just in that picture?... ask Ang and tell her to email me 'k Take more pictures of Ben...Ahem... the other young people.....

John: I can tell Angelina to email you and that's as good as you'll get for pictures....

Well as you can see, it was love at first sight! *cough cough*

So life continued as normal and as far as I can remember, I didn't give it much thought. I ended up moving back to BC after our move to Saskatchewan to finish highschool. I ended up living with my dear, wonderful, best friend, Corina, and her family. However, in 2005 my dad again had a job change and we were moving to Ontario.

I remember saying to Corina before I left, "Wouldn't it be weird ifI met this guy and we hit it off and started dating?" (little did I know.....)

Well as you all know, we moved here and I met Ben. He turned out to be even better looking than I had thought and I fell madly in love! Thankfully, he also somehow fell in love with me :-) Two months later we started dating, seven months later we were engaged, 14 months later we were married and I was signing those 20 letters as my new last name:-)

Now, we've been married for one year and eight months and I'm still head over heals in love with that Hottie in the Red Hoodie!

City slickers get a taste of good ol' farm life!

2008-11-20T20:17:00.000-05:00

A couple weeks ago, we went to visit the farm of Albert & Annette Pennings. We had heard they were starting to combine, and Ben had the great desire to 'check out the action.' A quick call determined that we were most welcome to come out and see what it was all about. We were able to do a couple strips on the field of corn with Albert before it got dark.
Ben had been a farm many a time, but I was very sheltered in that respect growing up, so for me it was just.... well, check it out!

Discussing the fine art of farming.

Headed out to the field with empty wagons.

Filling them up for the umptinth time that day.

That's a lot of corn!

This one's all done!Getting ready to tackle six rows at once!

As the dew fell, the moisture caused the corn to jam, so Albert jumped below to pull the corn out of the jaws of the combine.

Headed back for the last time.

Aahhh, farm life....

Lest We Forget....

2008-11-11T11:09:00.001-05:00

Family Pictures

2008-10-14T18:04:00.000-04:00

This past Saturday our VMS family went to Waterworks park to have our pictures taken professionally. It was our gift to Mom & Dad VMS for their 30th wedding anniversary. And, of course, while we had the excellent photographers out anyways, we all got family shots too. These are just some fun candid shots I got of the day. The colours were just beautiful!

Vacation 2008

2008-10-12T06:53:00.000-04:00

So for our vacation this year we decided to go on a road trip of sorts. We left early Wednesday morning on July 30th and headed into the unknown; well not really the unknown, just along Hwy 3 and across the border. We drove about 10 hours that day, but we borrowed my parent's Narnia series on CD, which make the time go by very quickly. We did have to turn it off during certain parts of our journey as we had to concentrate on driving with, shall we say, less than skilled American drivers. We spent the first night at a hotel in Greenfield, a nice little town in Northern MA. It was only about 2 minutes off the main road, easy to find, and the best part was, we had a coupon from a visitor's centre; so the regular $150+ room, cost about $60. Not too bad, we thought:-) After supper at a neighbouring Applebee’s we decided we wanted to see some sights and sounds of the neighbouring country side. There was a visitor's centre literally across the parking lot, so we went to see if we could find a map or two. Well the visitor's centre was closed, but they had a map outside: one of those you are here maps with some local attractions listed. We saw a place called Turner's Falls, so we thought we'd check it out, after all, it was just down that road, up that hill and around the corner...

Sure enough, we went down that road and up that hill, and we saw a sign pointing in the supposed direction of Turner's Falls. So we followed the sign past/through several little towns. But then the signs suddenly stopped. We thought maybe we missed the turn, but we kept driving, trying to head back in the direction we came. We were just about turn around, and then we saw a sign for Turner's falls. So we followed the sign, and then the signs stopped again. Well we drove around in this manner for about 45 minutes not finding any falls. Then, finally we clued in: Turner's Falls was a town, not actual water falls! You may ask, why they would they put the 'falls' part at the end of Turner. Well, there was this dam.... not a very large dam(although at one time it may have been) and that's why the little town was called Turner's Falls. I couldn't really get a picture of the dam as it's behind the bridge, but these rapid flowing waters are a result of the small dam. Anyways, it was still a fun, exploring adventure that we can laugh about.
We left Greenfield the next morning and arrived at our campground in about 5 hours. The campground was about 45 minutes south of Pylmouth. It was quite a private place, and our neighbours were gone all day, so we didn't really see anyone. The second or third night we were there, we got some new neighbours. We made the friendly small talk, and she mentioned that they too were Canadian, from Quebec. (I know, Frenchies, but Canadian nevertheless!) We had never said anything about where we were from, but they checked our our license plate, and saw the Canadian flag one of our lawn chairs and also on Ben's towel which we had hung to dry. It was so strange, I had never given the flags a second thought, but I guess they would stand out in the US.The beach was about a 15 minute drive from our campground. It was nice but colder than anything! I have now dipped my toes in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans!
I took this picture of our footprints and depending on which way you look at it, it almost looks like the footprint are raised. Fun eh?
We went to Pylmouth one day and walked all around the harbour. It was a beautiful day and it was neat to see all the sights.
A cruise company was offering sunset cruises when we were there. It only cost $36 and we figured, hey, we're on vacation--lets do it! It was 90 minutes and took us out past the Long Beach and into 'open' waters.' It was the perfect night for going; the sky was clear except for this small cloud that hid the sun party as it was going down. It created some really neat shots. I have to admit, I took a lot of sunset pictures: it was just so pretty! This is where the Pilgrims that died after landing were buried. There were 102 passengers on the Mayflower. 53 died, and one was born, making the total survivors 52--half the number that came.This is a remake of the Mayflower. It was made in the 1950s by the Dutch as a gift to the USA. It was sailed across, in much the same course that the original Mayflower sailed. It crossed in 55 days-11 less days than it took the original Mayflower to cross.
The monument around Plymouth Rock was being redone, so this was the best we could see of the "the rock."
The Pilgrim Museum had a chunk of "the rock" on display. And yes, we were allowed to touch it. If you zoom in on the picture, you can see the sign that says "Please touch" so we did!
An old mile marker in Plymouth
On Sunday, after going to church at an interesting United church, we drove up the Cape to Provincetown. We thought we'd have a beautiful drive and nice views of the ocean, but all we saw were trees on both sides. There was also some sort of bike marathon going on, and there were cyclists everywhere! It was nuts! Needless to say, we didn't spend much time there.
We did climb up the Pilgrim monument (252 feet tall) which was 60 ramps and 102 steps. Phew! We were pretty tuckered when we got to the top.
Ben diligently went and collected stones for me to write this. I was going to write our entire names, but he got tired of finding stones :-)
On our way to one beach, there was this really nice boardwalk through this marshy section of land. We went on Sunday night, but it had just rained so it stank like anything! Ben couldn't hack it, so we decided to come back a different day. We ended up going back a couple days later when the sun had dried up some water and smell. It was really neat to see this marshy section that just kind of came out of nowhere. There was a stream that ran through the whole marsh and slowly ate away at the sides of bank. All the natural channels and divits were really fasinating. It would be perfect for exploring, provided you don't mind a little smell or squishy stuff between your toes....
The sun was setting as we walked back, and it made such a pretty sight coming over the water.
We also went into Boston one day and walked the Freedom Trail. It was really neat because the whole trail was marked in red. Red bricks on the sidewalk to follow, painted red lines on the asphalt etc.
This Paul Revere's house. We didn't take the tour because it cost some extravagant amount, and we're cheap!

He said to his friend, "If the British march
By land or sea from the town to-night,
Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch
Of the North Church tower as a signal light,--
One if by land, and two if by sea;
And I on the opposite shore will be,
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middlesex village and farm,
For the country folk to be up and to arm."
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Old North Church

It was really neat to see this old church. There were no pews as in a 'normal' church, but boxes. Each family paid for their box to sit in each Sunday. The closer to the front, you got the more expensive the boxes were, so only the very rich could afford them. Each family would decorate their own box and since there were no furnances in those days, they would bring hot bricks to keep themselves warm. Some would even bring their dogs as a heat source!
At the end of the Freedom Trail, we were planning on see the USS Constitution, but alas, it was closed. I was very upset that they would close it on the day we especially came to see it, but was somewhat consolled by this 1950's Destroyer--The Cassin Young.
We walked around on it(free admission!) and then we were just about to disembark, when a call came over the intercom offering a free 'below deck' tour. We of course accepted and got a great tour above and below deck. It was neat to see how these sailors lived; talk about tight quarters!
Ben at the bridge. His aviator sunglasses help him fit right in a 1950's vessel, eh?
We spent 2 and 1/2 days in New York City, well actually Jersey City which is right across the Hudson. We had no desire to drive through New York traffic and the day that we went into the city, we were very thankful we didn't!
The Empire State Building. This was the only shot I got of it. The traffic was nuts and the people were crazy, so we didn't stand in one place very long.
View from the top. In the distance you can see Central Park. Unfortunately we never made it there either. We were both so tired, and hot, and hungry, we just said forget it! We had walked 51 blocks from our ferry close to the World Trade Center. We had looked at the map, and thought, well that doesn't look too far, we can walk it. Well, needless to say, we didn't walk back.

We were on the 86th floor and the buildings below looked like lego houses.
A long ways down......
After deciding to opt out of Central Park, we decided we had to see Times Square. This was as far as we got. People, people everywhere! It was just incredible! This small island has a phenomenal amount of people all going somewhere and doing something.
On our way back, we stopped at Ground Zero. The twin towers stood right in front of all those other buildings. It's already been seven years since 9/11 happened and they're still clearing some stuff away. They've starting building the subway underneath and are laying the foundation for the new buildings.
This is what they hope to have built by 2012. They won't be twin towers, but they'll still be huge and add to the already famous Manhattan skyline.
This was a bronze plaque that someone, or some people made of 9/11.
We spent one day going to Ellis Island the the Statue of Liberty. Ellis Island was, honestly, quite boring. There wasn't really any direction from the staff; it was just walk around and look where you like. It was kind of neat to see the registry hall, but we couldn't find the registry book with all the names... oh well.

The Statue of Liberty was one of the highlights of our trip. No matter how many times you see it in pictures or on movies, it doesn't compare to actually being there and looking at her standing tall.Lady Liberty

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
~Emma Lazarus

There was a little museum on the way up to her monument. This is a model of her face; she looks quite angry, but they had to make her features that sharp so you can see her from afar. Her face is over 8ft. tall. The people in front of us had two young boys who could both stick their heads halfway up her nostrils. It was pretty funny too see :-)
Her foot is huge too! We saw a video of how they made the foot and how they would have made Lady Liberty in 1886. Talk about a lot of work!
This is the original torch that came from France. but was replaced in 1986 because it was deemed beyond repair because of the extensive modifications they made in 1916.
We could only go into the monument, not actually into the Lady herself. They shut that part of the tour down in 2001 following, but not because of, 9/11. It violated almost every safety regulation including the fact that there wasn't a second escape route. There is just one spiral staircase going up and the widest part of the step is about 8 inches. And to get to the torch, you have to climb 40 foot ladder.
So ends our Vacation of 2008. We made our way back home again leaving Jersey City on Friday morning, about 9:30 and arriving home at about 7:30 that same night. We had a reserved a campsite about half way, but it was raining off and on, and we didn't feel like setting up the tent. The drive was only 10 hours or so and we were glad to sleep in our bed that night. No matter where we go there isn't any place that compares with Home sweet home!

The next stage!

2008-07-24T19:56:00.001-04:00

On the May 24 weekend we fixed up the attic dormer, so we figured on Canada Day we'd fix up the rest of the less than beautiful back addition. My Dad and Nick gutted the whole addition on the Thursday and Friday before and since Ben had a funeral on Saturday, he couldn't work on it until Monday. It worked out well that he had Monday and Tuesday off, so Monday was demolition day and Tuesday was construction day.

With the fixed attic dormer.

Gutted addition

More guts....eww!

The fellow building the apartment building behind out house let us use his ZoomBoom to help with the demolition. The men cut the roof into three sections and then pulled them off one by one.

Big scary machine!

Ben had never driven one before, but he just hopped in, played around with the controls for a while and was good to go. Ya, I know, he's great! :-)

The last section coming down.

Our wonderful neighbours were out watching the goings-on and were thrilled with the improvement.

This is the back of our neighbour's house-- basically what we wanted ours to look like.

Trying to fit more junk in the bin.

Booming up the plywood for the roof.

Ben putting on the tar paper.

Up go the shingles!

The almost finished product. A window will go where that sheet of plywood is and we're hoping to find an easy way to take the paint off the brick. Any suggestions, let me know! And one of these days, we'll put siding up on the back mudroom.

Yes, we have a little pool, but hey, it's cheaper than air conditioning!!

A ride in the sky!

2008-07-16T20:57:00.000-04:00

A couple Saturdays ago my uncle flew down from Guelph to bring my sister home. We got to go up for a ride around the St. Thomas area. It was sure neat to see everything from the air; it definitely gives a different perspective on things. Thanks Uncle Brian!

Our wings!St. Thomas

Home sweet home:-)

The cemetery where Ben works

Some beautiful country side

My handsome pilot:-)

well... me!

My goofy little bro:-)

Vacation 2008

2008-07-10T23:47:00.000-04:00

So for our vacation this year we decided to go on a road trip of sorts. We left early Wednesday morning on July 30th and headed into the unknown; well not really the unknown, just along Hwy 3 and across the border. We drove about 10 hours that day, but we borrowed my parent's Narnia series on CD, which make the time go by very quickly. We did have to turn it off during certain parts of our journey as we had to concentrate on driving with, shall we say, less than skilled American drivers. We spent the first night at a hotel in Greenfield, a nice little town in Northern MA. It was only about 2 minutes off the main road, easy to find, and the best part was, we had a coupon from a visitor's centre; so the regular $150+ room, cost about $60. Not too bad, we thought:-) After supper at a neighbouring AppleBees we decided we wanted to see some sights and sounds of the neighbouring country side. There was a visitor's centre literally across the parking lot, so we went to see if we could find a map or two. Well the visitor's centre was closed, but they had a map outside: one of those you are here maps with some local attractions listed. We saw a place called Turner's Falls, so we thought we'd check it out, after all, it was just down that road, up that hill and around the corner...

Sure enough, we went down that road and up that hill, and we saw a sign pointing in the supposed direction of Turner's Falls. So we followed the sign past/through several little towns. But then the signs suddenly stopped. We thought maybe we missed the turn, but we kept driving, trying to head back in the direction we came. We were just about turn around, and then we saw a sign for Turner's falls. So we followed the sign, and then the signs stopped again. Well we drove around in this manner for about 45 minutes not finding any falls. Then, finally we clued in: Turner's Falls was a town, not actual water falls! You may ask, why they would they put the 'falls' part at the end of Turner. Well, there was this dam.... not a very large dam(although at one time it may have been) and that's why the little town was called Turner's Falls. I couldn't really get a picture of the dam as it's behind the bridge, but these rapid flowing waters are a result of th small dam. Anyways, it was still a fun, exploring adventure that we can laugh about.

We left Greenfield the next morning and arrived at our campground in about 5 hours. The campground was about 45 minutes south of Pylmouth. It was quite a private place, and our neighbours were gone all day, so we didn't really see anyone. The second or third night we were there, we got some new neighbours. We made the friendly small talk, and she mentioned that they too were Canadian, from Quebec. (I know, Frenchies, but Canadian nevertheless!) We had never said anything about where we were from, but they checked our our license plate, and saw the Canadian flag one of our lawn chairs and also on Ben's towel which we had hung to dry. It was so strange, I had never given the flags a second thought, but I guess they would stand out in the US.

The beach was about a 15 minute drive from our campground. It was nice but colder than anything! I have now dipped my toes in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans!

I took this picture of our footprints and depending on which way you look at it, it almost looks like the footprint are raised. Fun eh?

We went to Pylmouth one day and walked all around the harbour. It was a beautiful day and it was neat to see all the sights.

Boats in Pylmouth Harbour

This is where the Pilgrims that died after landing were buried. There were 102 passengers on the Mayflower. 53 died, and one was born, making the total survivors 52--half the number that came.

This is a remake of the Mayflower. It was made in the 1950s by the Dutch as a gift to the USA. It was sailed across, in much the same course that the original Mayflower sailed. It crossed in 55 days-11 less days than it took the original Mayflower to cross.

The monument around Plymouth Rock was being redone, so this was the best we could see of the "the rock."

The Pilgrim Museum had a chunk of "the rock" on display. And yes, we were allowed to touch it. If you zoom in on the picture, you can see the sign that says "Please touch" so we did!

An old mile marker in Plymouth
On Sunday, after going to church at an interesting United church, we drove up the Cape to Provincetown. We thought we'd have a beautiful drive and nice views of the ocean, but all we saw were trees on both sides. There was also some sort of bike marathon going on, and there were cyclists everywhere! It was nuts! Needless to say, we didn't spend much time there.
We did climb up the Pilgram monument(252 feet tall) which was 60 ramps and 102 steps. Phew! We were pretty tuckered when we got to the top.

Ben diligently went and collected stones for me to write this. I was going to write our entire names, but he got tired of finding stones. :-)

On our way to one beach, there was this really nice boardwalk through this marshy section of land. We went on Sunday night, but it had just rained so it stank like anything! Ben couldn't hack it, so we decided to come back a different day. We ended up going back a couple days later when the sun had dried up some water and smell. It was really neat to see this marshy section that just kind of came out of nowhere. There was a stream that ran through the whole marsh and slowly ate away at the sides of bank. All the natural channels and divits were really fasinating. It would be perfect for exploring, provided you don't mind a little smell or squishy stuff between your toes....
The sun was setting as we walked back, and it made such a pretty sight coming over the water.

We also went into Boston one day and walked the Freedom Trail. It was really neat because the whole trail was marked in red. Red bricks on the sidewalk to follow, painted red lines on the asphalt etc.

This Paul Revere's house. We didn't take the tour because it cost some extravagant amount, and we're cheap!

Old North Church

It was really neat to see this old church. There were no pews as in a 'normal' church, but boxes. Each family paid for their box to sit in each Sunday. The closer to the front, you got the more expensive the boxes were, so only the very rich could afford them. Each family would decorate their own box and since there were no furnances in those days, they would bring hot bricks to keep themselves warm. Some would even bring their dogs as a heat source!

At the end of the Freedom Trail, we were planning on see the USS Constitution, but alas, it was closed. I was very upset that they would close it on the day we especially came to see it, but was somewhat consolled by this 1950's Destroyer--The Cassin Young.
We walked around on it(free admission!) and then we were just about to disembark, when a call came over the intercom offering a free 'below deck' tour. We of course accepted and got a great tour above and below deck. It was neat to see how these sailors lived; talk about tight quarters!

Ben at the bridge. His aviator sunglasses help him fit right in a 1950's vessel, eh?

We spent 2 and 1/2 days in New York City, well actually Jersey City which is right across the Hudson. We had no desire to drive through New York traffic and the day that we went into the city, we were very thankful we didn't!

The Empire State Building. This was the only shot I got of it. The traffic was nuts and the people were crazy, so we didn't stand in one place very long.

View from the top. In the distance you can see Central Park. Unfortunately we never made it there either. We were both so tired, and hot, and hungry, we just said forget it! We had walked 51 blocks from our ferry close to the World Trade Center. We had looked at the map, and thought, well that doesn't look too far, we can walk it. Well, needless to say, we didn't walk back.

We were on the 86th floor and the buildings below looked like lego houses.

A long ways down......

After deciding to opt out of Central Park, we decided we had to see Times Square. This was as far as we got. People, people everywhere! It was just incredible! This small island has a phenomenal amount of people all going somewhere and doing something.

On our way back, we stopped at Ground Zero. The twin towers stood right in front of all those other buildings. It's already been seven years since 9/11 happened and they're still clearing some stuff away. They've starting building the subway underneath and are laying the foundation for the new buildings.

This is what they hope to have built by 2012. They won't be twin towers, but they'll still be huge and add to the already famous Manhattan skyline.

This was a bronze plaque that someone, or some people made of 9/11.

We spent one day going to Ellis Island the the Statue of Liberty. Ellis Island was, honestly, quite boring. There wasn't really any direction from the staff; it was just walk around and look where you like. It was kind of neat to see the registry hall, but we couldn't find the registry book with all the names... oh well.
The Statue of Liberty was one of the highlights of our trip. No matter how many times you see it in pictures or on movies, it doesn't compare to actually being there and looking at her standing tall.

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

"Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she

With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

~Emma Lazarus

There was a little museum on the way up to her monument. This is a model of her face; she looks quite angry, but they had to make her features that sharp so you can see her from afar. Her face is over 8ft. tall. The people in front of us had two young boys who could both stick their heads halfway up her nostrils. It was pretty funny too see. :-)

Her foot is huge too! We saw a video of how they made the foot and how they would have made Lady Liberty in 1886. Talk about a lot of work!

This is the original torch that came from France. but was replaced in 1986 because it was deemed beyond repair because of the extensive modifications they made in 1916.

We could only go into the monument, not actually into the Lady herself. They shut that part of the tour down in 2001 following, but not becaue of, 9/11. It violated almost every safety regulation including the fact that there wasn't a second escape route. There is just one spiral staircase going up and the widest part of the step is about 8 inches. And to get to the torch, you have to climb 40 foot ladder.

So ends our Vacation of 2008. We made our way back home again leaving Jersey City on Friday morning, about 9:30 and arriving home at about 7:30 that same night. We had a reserved a campsite about half way, but it was raining off and on, and we didn't feel like setting up the tent. The drive was only 10 hours or so and we were glad to sleep in our bed that night. No matter where we go there isn't any place that compares with Home sweet home :-)

We're going to the Zoo, zoo zoo... wait... we alreay went! Check out the pictures!

2008-06-13T20:39:00.003-04:00

A very tired looking rhino!

What a way to cool off! I would have love to jump in; it was sweltering!

The elephants were our favorite!

There were so many seagulls; I figured they were feeling left out because everyone was taking pictures of every animal except them!

It was a very hot day, so the Siberian tiger wasn't very exuberant. Apparently he's not used to the heat... surprise surprise!

Cute little goats!

When we were leaving, there were these geese crossing the road. An adult led the group of goslings, another adult followed and then two more adults(you can't see them here) walked a couple feet behind like patrol guards. It was so cute!

With the exception of the heat, we did have an enjoyable time looking at all the animals. We were very thankful to return to our air conditioned vehicle at the end of the day though:-)

Construction Time

2008-06-13T18:11:00.000-04:00

On the Victoria Day long weekend we decided to doing a project we, or at least Ben has been thinking about for a long time! When we bought our house it was a fourplex--one apartment on each floor(Basement, main, second and attic.) The attic apartment was a walk up from the main floor and its second exit was straight out onto the roof of the added kitchen from the second story apartment. This is what it looked like from the outside.

Some hard working men slaving away! It was a rather chilly day and the wind was cold up there, so the men had to bundle up!

Finishing up the shingling.

The piece with the stairs leading up to it is the kitchen addition for the second story. It will hopefully come down this summer as well. It's quite an eyesore and we'll be very happy to see it come down. So if any of you ladies have husbands that would like to do some bashing, tell them to talk to Ben; he'd love an extra hand!

The almost finished product. Another window has to go in, and it has to be sided etc. But it's definitely an improvement!

For Greta who's been bugging me to update this blog!

2008-06-02T21:37:00.000-04:00

Happy now my friend?

A chilly, but sunny, walk in Waterworks!

2008-04-02T21:30:00.000-04:00

Winter Wonderland....in March??

2008-03-25T18:55:00.001-04:00

Who knew we could get so much snow in March???? It started snowing on a Friday afternoon(March 7th, I believe) and didn't stop until Saturday evening. On the Saturday afternoon, we decided we simply had to be out in the snowy blustery weather. So we donned our coats, mittens, and toques and made a 20 minute trek, (which usually takes less than 10 minutes) to my parents house to see how they were weathering the storm. These pictures were taken by my mom just before we stepped inside for a nice hot cup of tea!

I know this isn't an example of 'frolic and play the Eskimo way', but sometimes the Eskimo way just doesn't cut it! :-)

Here's hoping for Spring!!

Update!!

2008-03-10T20:58:00.000-04:00

Well folks, it's been a little while, ok, a long while, but I'm back at it! I know that those who are truly dedicated to checking out our blog will always come back regardless of whether I post something or not. Ok, so that's a little far fetched:-)I thought I better post something to keep you all happy!

Well life is flying by, and taking us along with it. We just celebrated nine blissful months of marriage on March 2nd. It's hard to believe it's been that long; seems like yesterday!

We're both busy with work which keeps us out of trouble. Ben is slaving away at the cemetery learning all that he possibly can about the business. We're seriously looking into buying the business(it's a privately owned cemetery) sometime in the next year or so provided all things go according to plan. Quite an undertaking, but we're looking forward to the challenge. So, if you're looking for somewhere to invest your hard earned dollars, just give us a holler!
I am still working at Word & Deed Ministries and am enjoying seeing all the growth and progress happening from day to day. It's very rewarding work, and with God's blessing, we can truly see the fruit of our labours.

"The house" is still needing a lot of TLC, which we give it regularly:-) Things are slowing changing as time and resources allow. We've just recently started renovating the bathroom upstairs. As I speak, Ben is up there hammering away! We're also hoping to give the place a face lift outside this summer. A good coat of paint will do wonders for this wonderful old house.

And dear family and friends, the time has come again for us to end this post. Don't worry, the next post will hopefully not be far behind:-)

Finally, it's December 1st!!

2007-12-01T17:59:00.001-05:00

We can finally turn our Christmas lights on!! Ben put our lights up a couple weeks ago, but we couldn't officially turn them on until December 1st! Now we are able to join our neighbours and the other 90% of St Thomas citizens in raising our electricity bills for the Christmas season:-)

Made my day!

2007-11-07T17:45:00.001-05:00

I haven't blogged for a while, partly because I haven't had the time and partly because I don't have much exciting news to tell. Well today I have time and something worth talking about! My day didn't start out very well this morning partly as a result of not sleeping well along with a combination of other things. It was just 'one of those days.' Well, I came home tonight to a handful of beautiful Gerber daisys. Not only had my dear husband bought me my favorite flowers; he had also picked each colour that was in my wedding bouquet. Can he get any sweeter? Or should I say schweeter!?! Needless to say, it made my day!

Tick Tock, Tick Tock

2007-09-17T21:06:00.000-04:00

When I was living in London going to Fanshawe, Ben would often visit me(I know strange eh?) and every time he saw this clock, he would look at it with such admiration sometimes I wondered if he came to see me or the clock:-) Well suffice to say my Oma got wind of it, and promised it to us as a wedding gift. A couple Saturdays ago we went to pick it up, and Ben could hardly control his excitement. This clock has been through a few hands in order to complete it. My Opa teBokkel had a friend who started making this clock, but he ended up getting to sick and passed it on to my Opa to finish it. My Opa worked on it and completed it just before he went into the hospital because of his cancer. It's made entirely out of wood, with the exception of the inside of the weights, which I believe are lead. It's a very finicky old clock, and will only work if it's completely level. Ben has been working on it in his spare time, and he got it to tick for a complete hour. For some reason though, it stops on every hour. Ben thinks the gears need to be waxed/oiled because it hasn't been working for years.

Time to post again....

2007-08-04T14:40:00.000-04:00

It's been a while since my last post, ok, a long while, what can I say? The weeks have been so full and have just flown by! We're settling into routine, finding our niche:-) It takes some getting used to working full time, and then coming home and having to cook supper for a hungry husband. But, it's gladly done:-)
We just started seriously working on the house again, after about a 2 month break. Ben started tearing out the kitchen counter lastnight. We're putting new counter tops in, so it's a lot of work and unfortunately, not a quick job. Because our counter tops are only 24" deep instead of the regular 26", we have to cut off the backsplash from our new counter top so it will fit. We just bought tile yesterday to take the place of that backsplash. And, since we don't have hinges for our cupboard doors we're hanging those familiar old bed sheets again to keep the dust out. I'm getting a new kitchen though, so I shouldn't complain!

Some fun wedding pictures

2007-06-26T21:38:00.000-04:00

Finally a blog!

2007-06-26T20:17:00.001-04:00

I thought it was about time I lived up to my promise and started a blog. I kept telling people after the wedding, after things slow down, when I have time etc... Well, I figured out, things never slow down, so I better start now or it would never get done! I don't promise regular posts, so I hope you eager viewers don't check back too often. I'll do my best to keep it up-to-date, but if you're really curious what's happening, you can always do the 'old-fashioned' thing and pick up the phone!