O Canada!

We had a great time in Ontario this weekend. We arrived there on Friday evening, and were able to spend the day on Saturday with our friends Anson and Allison, and their two girls. They managed to find snow gear for all of us and took us sledding on Saturday morning. It was so much fun! Josiah had a blast! He was up and down the hill the whole time we were there. I think he tried out every sled they had! It was, however, very cold that day, and Jonathan just couldn't get over the shock of it. He cried and whined and complained. We bundled him up good, and put him close to the bonfire, but he was bound and determined to not enjoy it! We did get him down the hill a few times.

Josiah having a great time

Us with Anson and Allison and their girls

Josiah and Jonathan had so much fun with Aimee and Chloe!

On Saturday afternoon they arranged for a babysitter, and took Jeremy and me into Toronto. We drove around the city, and saw some sights, then we went for dinner at the revolving restaurant at the CN Tower. That was amazing. The restaurant is 115 stories up, so the view is fantastic.

These first two pictures of the tower I downloaded off the internet, because I'm sure I couldn't get as good a shot!

This was some of our view from the restaurant

There is a portion where the floor is glass so you can look straight down 115 stories! That was a really strange feeling. I couldn't stand there for very long.

This was the fanciest restaurant I have ever been to, and I couldn't resist taking a picture of my dessert. It was called a chocolate tower, and it was delicious!

On Sunday we spent the day in the services of FaithWay Baptist Church in Ajax, Ontario. It was such a blessing to be there. The church people went out of their way to speak to us and make us feel very welcome, and we really enjoyed the services. It was a privelege to get to know Pastor and Mrs. Baker, and we are excited that their church will be supporting us!

Jeremy preached in chapel Monday morning, and the boys and I stayed at the hotel to do a little schoolwork and pack things up. Judson can always find something to amuse himself!

We began our journey home on Monday afternoon. We decided it would be fun to swing by Niagara Falls since we were so close, and none of us have ever seen it. It really was amazing, and I would have liked to stand and watch it for a while, but it was SO COLD! On a positive note, there weren't many people there at all so we got a great view and free parking!

The mist from the falls coats everything in layers of ice

Jonathan, once again, not enjoying the cold!

God has been so good to us in allowing us so many great experiences while traveling on deputation, and we are so thankful to Him!

Psalm 62:8

"Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah."

We have been trying to nail down a definite date for departure to Brazil. We have been praying about leaving at the end of March. We have to give 60 days notice to end the lease on our house, and that is approaching quickly! I was very hesitant because we have several churches that have said they want to support us, but they haven't started yet, and so we can't really depend on it definitely. Jeremy has much more faith than I do, and he is pressing forward and making plans. I prayed Friday morning that the Lord would give me peace, and if possible let us receive that support that we have been promised before we actually give notice on our house and set a day to leave. A few hours later Jeremy called me and said that the Mission Office had received support for us from three new churches, two of which we weren't really expecting! I am so thankful for the support, and for the Lord sending an encouraging answer to my prayer. How good of Him to ease my anxiety, when I should just have more faith without having to "see" how it was all going to come together. We are not yet to "100%" of our support goal, but we do believe the Lord will send us what we need. We are still waiting to hear from some churches that we have visited, and we have a few more meetings before we plan to leave. It is very exciting to see the light at the end of the tunnel...but also a little scary, wondering what is on the other side of the tunnel! We are looking forward to seeing what the Lord will do.

Winter Wonderland

We arrived in Boardman, Ohio on Saturday evening greeted by about 12 inches of snow on the ground and it continued to flurry off and on all weekend. It was beautiful! Josiah and Jonathan were convinced that it was Christmas again, since there was snow. (Although I'm not sure they can even remember the last time we had a white Christmas, but I guess that is just the way they think of it! ) We were so thankful that the Lord allowed us to make it there safely. The last hour of driving was slow going and a little treacherous. We had a meeting at Lighthouse Baptist Church in Bessemer, PA on Sunday. The church is on State Line Road, and it is literally on the PA/OH border. We enjoyed getting to know the church members, and we had a great weekend.

This was the view from our hotel window

This bench really shows the accumulation!

The boys were dying to throw some snowballs!

I think these were more than just snowballs...maybe ice chunks.
Look out, Daddy!

Back to our Normal Routine

We are back home for a few days after our "Christmas Tour" with our family. We went to my parents' house in Illinois on Monday the 22nd and stayed there for just over a week. We had a great time. On Christmas day my two brothers and my grandma came and we spent the day eating, opening presents, eating, playing games, eating...well, you get the picture. It was great to see everyone again. We missed my sister Kerri and her family who are in Haiti and weren't able to be with us. This was probably the last Christmas for us to be with my family for a while, so we tried to make the most of it. I also got to spend a little time with a couple of my good friends, and I realize more and more how special those friendships are.

On New Year's Eve we went to Jeremy's sister Joy's house in Cincinnati, Ohio. His parents and all his siblings and their families came also, and we had a few days together. It was fun to be all together. That doesn't happen very often. There were 21 of us together in one house, 11 of which are age 7 and under! The kids had a blast and I'm glad that we were able to be there. I am so thankful for all of our family!

There are great pictures to go along with this post...however they are on my camera...which is in Ohio! Ooops! We should be getting it back in a week or two, so I will post some pictures then.

Now we are settling back into our normal routine at home, or at least as close to normal as we ever get! School for Josiah resumed today, the Christmas tree and decorations are packed away snug in their box, and dishes, laundry, cleaning, and cooking are all pulling me in separate directions! Plus I am still working on unpacking and finding a place for all the new Christmas presents. We are blessed to have more "stuff" than space to fit it in! That means more organizing and eliminating are on my agenda for the next few days.