Spring is in the air!

Although it snowed today (just a dusting), it was certainly feeling like Spring was starting stir from her wintery sleep. Daniel and I discovered this lovely little road that goes behind our yard. I hadn't walked down it before because I didn't realize the "road" continued past our neighbor's place, technically it does, it just happens to be totally grown over with grass, which makes for great walking, and a perfect place for Cheza to run around leash-less. The road also is the enterance to all the little fields behind our house, again, great for off leash running running. I have a feeling we'll be taking lots of little walks there in 2012.

A growing girl!

Just a couple photos of our little girl at the beginning of December. Such a sweet girl. Sadly she's much too big to fit on my purse now.

All-a-flutter

A few weeks ago I had the chance to go to Butterfly World, down island by Coombs. It was truly magical. I hadn't been there since I was in highschool, and it was the perfect rainy day adventure! I went with Daniel's mom -- Judy-- and youngest sister -- Kristianna--, and two of his mom's clients. Judy works with elderly men and women doing regular homecare, but she also does fun things with them like picnics, coffee dates, and, of course, Butterfly World trips!
It was a perfect opportunity to snap a few photos with our new 60mm lense.

This was one of my first photos. It was so warm and humid inside the building that my camera immediately fogged up... and stayed that way for about 20 minutes!


What can I say, I love water droplet photos!





I got so nostalgic when I saw these flowers growing. I don't know the name of them, but they are the same flowers that grow all along the roadsides in Kenya. The ones in Butterfly World were all a magenta pink color, but in Kenya they ranged in color from white to pinks to deep purple. It was such an unexpected gift to see these flowers.




Even though his heat lamp made for terrible lighting, I had to snap a picture of this big fella. The poor guy was trying to push and pull his way out of his box, but eventually wedged his shell between the two boards and just ended up hanging there for a little while until he fell down on his back. Not the most graceful position for a tortoise, let me assure you!

And "sew" it begins...

I am excited to announce that I am now taking an online sewing class! It has been something I have wanted to do for some time now. Although I know some of the basics of sewing, I still am rather intimidated by anything more than a straight stitch line, and patterns make me want to hide under my bed. Hopefully, this will help!



The course was developed by three very talented ladies, and takes you from sewing a simple drawstring bag, to drafting your own patterns, to sewing a fancy messenger bag and a tote-style purse. My plan is to document every step of my creative journey HERE, so keep checking back :)

Also, for anyone interested in starting this class as well, you can register here.

Bakery in the Bush

It’s been so long since I wrote on here, so I hope you devoted three readers haven’t given up on me yet!

At I type this, I am sitting on the edge on a little grassy bank at the edge of a river. With all the rain and melting snow, the river has risen a lot this year, and right in front of me is a poor little who has been half way drown since we moved our camp here nine days ago. I’m not sure what date it was, the tree planting calendar consists of five days: day one, day two, day three, day four, and day off. I can tell you we have been here for two days off, and that we are now on day three.

For those of you reading who may not know, I am presently living in a tree planting camp near Smithers working as the camp baker. It’s a bit of a family affair, as my mom is working as the camp cook, and my two youngest siblings, Alley and Zac, are here as well. It’s been really very fun working with my mom in the kitchen all day, and by “all day” I really do mean ALL day. Our days start at 5ish, as mom is supposed to be in at 5am and I am supposed to be in at 5:15am. I have to admit I have slept in til’ closer to 5:30 am the last few days… time to get my own alarm I think. Between about 3 and 5:30 pm we manage to get a break in, at least now that we are cooking for 45 rather than 80 like at the first camp. Those days were nearly 17 hours straight.

Dinner is at 7pm, and then we are usually doing clean up until around 9:30. Then there’s a bit of snuggle time with my fiancé, Daniel, and off to sleep. It’s repetitive in so many ways, but there is always the excitement of baking new things every day. I try my best to bake at least one exciting thing per day. Something I am looking forward to making, or something I haven’t tried before. Today it was some yummy granola bars (my first attempt), and a variation of the Morning Glory Muffin (a big hit around here) with apple and butterscotch chips and rum flavoring… I call them Candy Apple Muffins J. Every day I am expected to make a type of muffin, a type of cookie, a type of square, and the dessert for after supper. I also make the granola for the morning breakfasts and the fruit salad as well.

The routine for the planters is to have breakfast between 5:45am (actually usually the people who are in the kitchen that time are just getting their morning coffee to accompany their morning smoke) and 7. We have all of the stuff out for them in the mornings to make their lunches, that’s where all my baking goes. Then they are gone from 7am to 6:30 pm; long days for them too.

Hopefully I will be able to get some pictures up soon!

Love to all,

Jordan

My Littlest Hero

While most of you may know this story, I thought I would write it anyways. It isn't truly my story, I haven't lived the fear and pain of it, so really I am just borrowing this story.
Last summer I was sitting, sipping tea with my Nana discussing why God allows pain in the world, and how false the idea is that, when you do good things, bad things wont happen to you. WE had started considering going out for dinner when the phone rang, my terribly upset mother on the other end. It seemed that my little niece, Taylor, had been taken to hospital. It was at that moment that the word "cancer" was introduced into my intimate vocabulary. Denying the possibility, Nana and I rushed to meet my sister, Morgan, and brother-in-law, Ryan. As we stepped into the little curtain-walled room, the doctor was explaining the situation. Morgan and Ryan's face's were blotchy from crying, and Taylor lay squealing in discomfort. When the doctor said it was almost certainly cancer... I went to the bathroom and hung my head over the toilet. This can't be happening, is all I kept thinking.



Less than an hour later Taylor and Ryan were on a plane headed to Children's Hospital. Morgan and I packed, and took the ferry to meet them. The next few days were strange, things seemed to fall together so well, and yet at the same time were so terrible.

It has been seven months that Taylor and her momma and papa have been fighting the leukemia that is trying to take my nieces life. And they are winning hands down! I am so proud of how all three of them have handled it. Taylor has developed so much mentally, and is definitely in the middle of her 'terrible twos'. Morgan and Ryan have been such an amazing example of trusting in God in the face of suffering.


But, mainly, I am thankful. Thankful Morgan took Taylor to the hospital that Sunday. Thankful for the staff at Children's Hospital. Thankful for the amazing couple that opened their home to Morgan, Ryan and Taylor for the months they have had to stay in Vancouver for treatment. Thankful for the abundant support churches and organizations have given. And thankful to God for his healing hands on the entire family. He has been so obviously in every step of this journey, and I am always so encouraged in hearing the reports from my sister.
Taylor will be finishing her treatment in June or July, and I am so excited to have my little niece back! She is such a beautiful child, both inside and out! God is so good!

Is it easy being green?

I just spent my entire 1.5 hour Sociology class watching "The Next Industrial Revolution". Although I can't say I agreed with everything in the film it was so incredibly thought provoking. It has made me want to be more eco-conscious, something I have always done a little bit, such as recycling and composting, but I certainly could be doing so much more!
I was so inspired by the number of blogs focused on 'green' living! The Zero Waste Home is probably one of my favorites, she just seems to be so passionate about it, and I love all her tips and hints on there. As some of you know, I am getting married this summer, and am really excited to have my own place and be able to make big decisions about where I get food, and how I run my home. Thankfully, I am marrying a farmer's boy who isn't afraid of getting his hands dirty, and is fantastically handy! He is always fixing this or that, or cutting this broken truck in half to make a trailer, or building a bike. He and I are in total agreement that we don't want to have too much "stuff", not wanting to buy into the North American idea that you need more! I really appreciate that about him.
One thing we want to be sure of is that we only have on vehicle. I know that might sound trivial to some, and ridiculous to others. To those finding it trivial, I don't think you can deny that we will be putting so much less pollution into the atmosphere by only having one car, not to mention will be more likely to walk or bike when the car isn't available, thus causing us to live a healthier lifestyle. To those who think it's ridiculous, yes, we know it will be tough at times, having to organize our schedules around one another, but seriously, it's only in the past decade that multiple-car-families have become common place, so I am sure taking a little step back in time wont kill us. That being said, Daniel (my loverly fiance) is slowly fixing up an old VW Jetta to run on veggie oil! I am so excited! While I definitely don't think veggie oil is the way to go for everyone, nor do I think it is the answer to the world's oil problem, I sure do think using old veggie oil from McDonalds to run your car is much better than having the oil be thrown out!
To end off this post, I would love if everyone could leave a comment with suggestions on creating a more eco-friendly home! Hopefully this fall I will be able to blog about each one as I set up my nest :) .