Nothing To Tell

Its amazing how so much time can go by with nothing extremely interesting happening... there really isnt much to say!

Life is going by... still newly married... still working... still living in Calgary... still lots of things! Most of our days consist of getting up... going to work... coming home... making/eating dinner... maybe going to the gym or watching TV... that is it!

Even with my new camera I havent even had time to go out with it. It gets dark the moment I get home from work. PLUS it was broken at Christmas... then would randomly work... then all of a sudden it doesnt anymore! So I had to send it in to get fixed, which is very unfortunate!

I do have news that I am going be having a fourth niece join the world at the end of July! My sister has two boys... and wanted to keep it that way... but God had a different plan... and she is expecting the first Stewart Girl:) Im so excited (ive already bought 2 outfits!)

The longer I live in Calgary... the more I realize that the main topic of conversation is... drumroll... The Weather! mixed in with some Flames talk. But I cannot get over how much people talk about the weather here. Mind you, it does a lot of things to make it worth talking about. For instance... yesterday it was -34C which for you Americanos is -29F... so that was all yesterday... there is snow everywhere, I can barely see any roads... and the snow is frozen... so when you drive you are constantly sliding all over the place (which i like:)). Then today... oh look a Chinook is coming... weather people are saying! +4C!!! (39.2F) How crazy is that! No wonder I have a really really bad headache! Although it hasnt even reach -10C yet... so maybe they are wrong about this so called Chinook:)

At least it gives people something actually interesting about the weather to talk about!

To make this post at least a little bit interesting...

Ben and his new car, it is so amazing! Such a blessing to have, his old car was so horrible... it never heated up one bit... whenever i would drive it to work, I wouldnt be able to feel my feet when I got there!

This is what it has looked like since November! Quite pretty though!

Hanging out with the little girls in Edmonton!

Decided

I did it! I found a great design that I love!

Today it was FINALLY light out as I drove to work, we are out of the dark ages! I got to watch the beautiful sunrise during my commute this morning, stunning! I do miss my commute from the South though. I had to drive up this massive hill which over looked the city. Seeing the sunrise behind the city skyline was just breathtaking. With my new commute I only get glimses of the sunrise here and there. Oh well! I love where we are living so much more now so I guess I will get over it.

On the radio all they were talking about was Balzac Billy the Groundhog... and if he was going to show is shadow or not! (Balzac is a small town just North of Calgary) I have never actually heard of waiting for Groundhogs telling us when spring is coming!! I know about it from the movie "Groundhog Day" but I have never experience people actually waiting to find out when Spring will end from a Groundhog! I guess that is what happens when you have severe winters and you want to know if the end is near!

I even found a lovely picture of Balzac Billy:

Oh and it is official! I just found on 660 News that Billy DID see his shadow... that means we are in for 6 more weeks of winter! The 3 Groundhogs on the East Coast of Canada all DIDNT see their shadow... so I guess the West gets endure more winter... Interesting as right now Eastern Canada is buried in snow.

This past weekend we were up in Edmonton... We stayed with the Timmermans! It was a lot of fun to see them and play with the girls. Kyla is almost 2 (the picture below) and she is turning into quite the hilarious character! While I was up there I got my hair cut! Chopped it all off... finally! It had been long for way too long! It feels so much better and no more dead ends!

On the trip up there was a pretty bad snow storm... so it took us an extra hour to get there! And my arm was hurt from being tensed while driving for part of it! But we made it!

It looks longer than it actually is in this picture... it sits above my shoulders... but in this picture I was VERY cold (in the -28C) so I was scrunched into my scarf waiting for the car to heat up!

Ben n I have been slowly decorating our new place. It is coming together... I will post new pics soon!

So I'm having issues... I can't find a background I like for my blog...

I would like some feedback on this background... thanks!! (I will post soon! I have a great idea!)

Our Home

I am FINALLY putting pictures up of our place:):) All pretty and ready for Christmas!

So here is our living room. We absolutely love the big windows with all the light that pours through! We even have to turn the heat off on sunny days because it gets too hot!

and here is our wee tee! There are quite a few gifts under there now... all bought and wrapped by me! haha Im done pretty much everything and Ben hasnt even started... oh boys:)

This is our view.... the parking lot! But at least we can see what the weather is now! I dont mind the parking lot at all! Even the lights at night havent bothered me! And yes that is ooollld snow!

Last year I had a MASSIVE tree with my roommate Jacelyn... so I have tons of ornaments! So I used them in a different way this year!

Our stockings! Just randomly on the wall since we have no fireplace! :) We bought them this year since both of ours is at our parents house!

A few of our ornaments... I was given the angel for Christmas of 1995:):) I love it!

Getting ready for company!:) with my pretty snow flake bowls!

Well this is try 1 out of 3... I thought Ben was way too far over and wouldnt make it into the shot... haha so I tried moving... haha didnt turn out too well!

Finally the 3rd try turned out beautifully! We just make or tree look sooo tiny! But that is ok:) We still love it.

I hope you enjoy!

Christmas Time Is Here!

Well, Ben n I are mostly decorated for Christmas! We had a lot of fun setting up for our first Christmas together. I made a LONG play list on YouTube of all these old songs sung by new artists, it was quite delightful.



Setting up in our new place was perfect, I love how it looks. Thinking back, I have no idea where I would have put anything in our old place, the hutch! The living room as crammed as it was! Oy!



In other news, I'm going to be an Auntie again!!! My sister Heidi is pregnant! Due August 1st:). I'm so excited!!! Heidi was happy with having only 2 but I had secretly hoped they would have a third! And I would LOVE LOVE LOVE another niece!! Right now on the Abrahams side my oldest niece Sarah is the only girl, with one brother & 2 boy cousins, so more girls would be totally welcome. But Heidi and Josh do make the most adorable boys, so I wouldn't mind that either:) Now on the Timmermans side its only 2 girl nieces, so we are hoping for a boy on that side in awhile:) (not necessarily from Ben n I:)).



The weather has been cold, but not horrible. We got a MASSIVE (massive to me:)) snowfall 2 weeks ago and then -37C for a few days. I got used to going out and starting my car 10 minutes before I went anywhere just so that something is warm once you get out in that cold! It was annoying with the roads having ice EVERYWHERE! But now it has warmed up to a mild -10C. Which does not feel bad at all! The snow is still here but crunchy... which makes for great tobogganing I hear as it is an ice chute! I am tired of walking on crunchy ice everyday in my heels though. If only it would warm up to 0C so that the ice would all melt!

I had hoped to put pictures up but Bens laptop is competely full! So I have to move all our stuff onto my harddrive! So sooon! Maybe even tonight!

And So It Continues...

Well, we are all moved in! Ben n I absolutely love our new place! Its so open and we have huge windows! And no one above us! It is heaven!

Well Calgary has been hit with a pretty crazy winter s

torm! There is tons of snow and the tempature has been staying around -20 - -30. It is chilly! Ben hasnt been able to drive his car because he has no snow tires and he cant plug in! So he has been driving me to work everyday. It works:)

Two weeks ago Ben n I went to Banff. He went there for a staff retreat back in May and

the hotel they were booked in overbooked them so they got free night stays! So we spent two nights up there and it was beautifully relaxing. Not a care in the world! We explored Banff and enjoyed a delicious dinner at the Grizzly House Steak & Cheese Fondue. Ive have never had such amazing fondue in my life! It is really a cool place. It start back in the 70's or something as a disco! But then the laws in Alberta changed and they had to serve food to be able to serve alcohol, so they cut a hole in the wall to the fast food store next door and ordere

d food all night! Now it is a Steak & Cheeses fondue place - everything is wood and

there is a phone at every table! You can call any table you want. It was a great place. I recommend it for anyone who is going to Banff!

Ive been dreaming since I lived in Scotland and met some people that inspired me, to one day own a Digital SLR camera and improve on my photography skills. And finally the day came after saving to buy one!

Then the next weekend was moving day. Mark, Bens younger brother, flew out from Abbotsford to help and see us and Ryan, Bens older brother, drove down (even in the snow) from Edmonton. We had 4 guys in total and 2 trucks. It only took 2 trips. It was great! We only have to give the keys back for our old place Nov 30th so I have time to clean it... which I have no desire to do:)

Even the unpacking is still waiting. I just want to get it done so I can start the Christmas decorating!!

Our kitchen is quite a bit smaller and Im trying to figure out how to fit food in it. So all the food is sitting in boxes. Oy! Its a job Im dreading to tackle along with all the other boxes sitting in our den!

Here we are at Banff Falls

It snowed early in the morning and looked so pretty.

This is at the Fairmont Lodge. So beautiful and extravagant! This is the view from one of their balconies.

And here is the main street of Banff. Gorgeous and chilly!

MOVING!!!!

Yes it is true... I haven't even put up picture of our tiny little basement suite and we are already MOVING!!! It is a happy time to say the least. After having overflowing plugged toilet water leaking into our kitchen we decided we needed a change and maybe some windows. We had planned to stay there through the winter and save money - but the leak & the increasing noise level helped the idea of moving sooner come to life.



So I just put my self on an email list on rentfaster.ca and the emails started rolling in - most of them were garabage... but then I thought... why not check kijiji - sometimes there are deals - and BAM just posted a minute earlier... this amazing top floor, 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom condo... with a walk in closet & bathtub in the ensuite! We booked an appointment right away and the rest is history!!



Plus it is in a great area of Calgary - the very North - meaning it will take 20-30 minutes off our drive to Edmonton and it shortens Bens drive to work considerably. My drive will add about 10 minutes but Im going to look for shortcuts to work:) After 2 months of working at Remax in Varsity I went from 25 minutes drives... to 15 minute drives to work! Its all about the secret passages!



And I am still trying to make our lil bsmt suite presentable for pictures but I do have pictures of our new place!!!





So here is the layout... our windows all face South - over looking the parking lot.

Here is the kitchen, we already got bar stools to fit the bar! The biggest issue is the lack of cupboard space... but im working out a pantry in one of the 2 coat closets we have~!

The living room looking from the kitchen - with a nice BIG window... FINALLY!!

And here is the living room looking to the kitchen. The bedroom door on the left side is the 2nd bedroom. The Master bedroom is behind the couch.

This is the so called dining room just to the right of the front door - it is quite cut off which makes it a nice den! Since we have no other storage we will probably use this as half storage half office!

And here is the Master bedroom - Im hoping everything will fit well! And we have a nice window! yay! I cant wait to watch the snowfalls!

And this is the second bedroom - another nice size! And of course nice big window:)

The main bathroom - it has a so called soaker tub... meaning it a bit wider than most tubs!

And the deck - which we do get the barbeque! The landlord bought it for the tenants and the last tenant didnt know how to use it!! So it has never been used - which is awesome!

Im so excited to be living there and to explore the community but I am not looking forward to the packing:<

I am horrible...

yes yes yes... I know I am a horrible person for not blogging! But life has been flying by and I havent been able to catch up!

I will post soon, I promise... and I promised that I would post new pics of our place all set up and I will do that too! Sorry to all who have waited so patiently for me to write again:)

With Love,
Cherie

Interviewing a 3 year old

I saw Stephanie do this with Lilah, so I decided to interview my niece Rachel who just turned 3!

1. What is your favorite TV show? Wiggles

2. What did you have for breakfast? Toast with cheese & lyoner, apple juice, blueberry yogurt

3. What is your middle name? Corinne

4. Favorite food? Lynoner on sandwich with cheese

5. Worst food? coconut yogurt
6. What is your favorite color? Pink

7. Favorite lunch? Um lyoner on bread

8. What is your favorite thing to do? play a game... connect 4

9. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation where would you go? Hmmm... i cant answer, im eating my bread... Oma and Opas house

10. Favorite sport? swimming

11. When is your birthday? In may 23rd

12. Are you a morning person or a night person? Morning time best

13. Pets? Nope

14. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with us? No

15. What do you want to be when you grow up? I dont know

16. What is your favorite candy? Lollipops

17. Where is the farthest you've ever been from home? To Sobeys (which is just down the street) but really Holland

18. What is your favorite book? Peak a boo Nightime

19. What are you most proud of? Mommy

20. What is your favorite movie? Veggie Tales Daniel, Dave & Esther

21. What is your favorite word? Achtunlieber... and oh snap

22. What is your least favorite word? Time out & Panties

23. What came first the chicken or the egg? Egg

Halfway through she was a little unsure of answering and a few we had to help coax her, but it was quite adorable:) Here is a picture of her on her birthday...

Its Over!???!!!

Planning, Staggette, Wedding, Honeymoon... its all over!? What happened:) Actually Im quite happy that it is all over. I enjoyed it all so much. The wedding day was pure bliss. I loved it. There were a few hitches here and there but it was just an amazing day that will be imprinted in my mind forever. I wasnt even worried about the forecast the night before that said RAIN all day! And my non worrying paid off as it ONLY rained while we were indoors or driving in the car to the next photo place!

Well the honeymoon was a lot of fun and extremely relaxing. We had fun relaxing by the pool, reading and man they had good food! We even did a sea-do tour in Cancun which was so fun. We road on them for 45 minutes then way out on a reef we snorkeled! We saw a sea cucumber, tons of barracudas, a sea spider and 2 sting rays:) It was awesome!

Once we got back to Canada we had a small gift opening which was fun and exhausting! It took almost 3 hours! whew! Ben flew home the next day early early. Then I stayed at my parents and packed! Plus I got to spend extra time with my two wee nephews and my sista n broda who I barely ever see:<>

Early the next morning Dad & I headed out, Dad drove his truck full of Wedding gifts & I drove my car full of the rest of my stuff that wasnt in Calgary yet! It took us 12 hours! Whew, I was sooo happy to be there. Dad left early the next morning for home.

Then it was up to me to unpack! Oh man... here are a few pics of the crazy box mess....

This is the living room...
And more of the living room....

And then here is the den.

There was so much stuff but definitely not much room here so I have had to keep a lot of stuff packed! Finally after a week I was able to start unpacking gifts! that was the fun part!

The house is looking so much better! Ill post pics when everything is done.

One Week

Well Im not going to be Miss Abrahams in a week... and i feel like crap! I have gotten so much doen thankfully that I can afford a few days of blah on the couch... it is just too bad that it is so close to the wedding! But hey... what can you do!

Last saturday was my staggette... which was awesome! So much fun with all the ladies.. Amy (maid of honor), Julie (bridesmaid) & Sarah (bridesmaid) planned it all.

First they dressed me up:) not too bad thankfully and they had a not great saying on the shirt... but it was covered by my sash!

Then all the girls showed up and we ate burgers:)

Then the limo appeared! It was such a fun ride all the way there

The limo dropped us off on Granville Island... where they made me do a few things... not terrible things thankfully! A little chinese girl came up to me with her mom & asked to take a picture with me! She was sooo cute! and shy!

It was gorgeous out & it was so nice to hang out outside.

Then we went to an improv show where I got to be a Judge! I got boo-ed quite a few times for my scoring.. but hey... i didnt find some of them THAT funny! Then they asked me about what Ben did when he proposed & they acted it out... oh funny. They did a good job!

Next we took taxi's to a club Caprice a 21 and over place which was really nice - and we danced the night away! It was soo funny the comments I got from people wearing all my stuff! Girls ooo ing and awe ing all over the place! haha

Then the limo took us back to Abbotsford. It was such a great night with great friends. I could not have asked for a better night.

I'm Back!!!!

Well its been a long time since I have posted, just over three years! Wow how life can change. Since I got back from Scotland my life has been one crazy ride, working an awesome job as an admin assistant for a couple in Real Estate, hanging out with the people I love... and best of all meeting the man of my dreams & dating him for the past 2 years.

He proposed December 18, 2009 and our wedding is April 24, 2010. Three weeks after we got engaged Ben got the call that he got a job in Calgary as a Union Rep for the Christian Labor Assosciation of Canada. He moved out there Feb 10 and started his job, and boy does he love it. I get to follow him there after the wedding. I am very excited to start our life together off in another province:)

I wanted to start this blog again for all my friends and family to be able to follow my life with Ben in Calgary... the name of this blog is very fitting as Calgary is always sunny! Who would have known when I started this blog 5 years ago!

Anyway, I hope you all enjoy, I will try to put as many pictures as possible on:)

Home in Scotland

Well I am back in Scotland. The trip to Rwanda was amazing and great and difficult! God used us in so many incredible ways. To see more stories you can look at our xanga page www.xanga.com/cwdts . We tried to keep that updated while we were gone. The students are almost all gone now, and the house is quiet. Now is time for rest and random work! Ill have to post some pics soon!
God Bless!

Off To Rwanda!!!

We are leaving in an hour and a half for the airport. First we fly to London Heathrow then to Kenya, then to Kigali in Rwanda!!! Its so exciting!! it almost feels not real! We are going to have brunch here in a minute. I cannot wait to get to the heat and get my hair braided! And do ministry off course as well!
Anyway I will try to keep this updated!! Thanks everyone for your prayers! God Bless!!
cherie signing off

Rwanda

I sent out my newsletters a week ago, so I hope most of you have them. Well in 10 days I am heading to Rwanda. It is so crazy to think about it. It is coming up fast. We had a guy, Ed, come give us a bit of an orientation about Rwanda. He lived there for a couple years. Well it was so intense hearing about it. Well for anyone that doesnt know a genocide took place there in 1994. It was the Hutu tribe trying to kill off the Tutsi tribe. The entire world sat back as it happened. Ed had been living in Uganda when it happened and they met Tusti refugees and he said the stories were unimaginable. He only told us one and I was almost bawling. A lady had a baby and the Hutu men took the baby and chopped of its arms then handed the baby back and said 'Now he will never hold a weapon'. That was just one story. Ed told us about some of the women at the YWAM base there. Oh my word, their stories are amazing. Everyone is affected by it still. When we go we will be helping with many different programs. Teaching the widows skills so they can earn a living for their kids. Many of them have aids. There is just so much need there. We are going, but we are going with Gods love. We are not going as westerners with our noses turned up. We are going there and we are going to serve them. Whatever we can do to serve them.
We watched Hotel Rwanda last night. I had never seen it. Ive never had such sorrow in my life. Watching it with the view of we will be there in 10 days was extremely hard. I was so ashamed of my country. After the movie was over the room of 12 people was completely silent.

Im really excited to be there. I hope this post hasnt been too harsh. At the same moment Ed told us there is a lot of reconciliation happening there. God is doing good work and there is forgiveness all around. Its really amazing to hear.

Alone Time

The students have been gone now for a week and a half. It is really quite sad, being alone in this giant house. I do have two other girls living here and an outreach team is here but still! Ive realized more and more how extraverted I really am! I find when no one is around I start to feel sick, like the flu. But when people are around I dont notice it. How odd eh! When I was back home I could do a full day of 10 hours working, get home shattered (or as they say here knackered) but then pick of the phone ready to do something with friends. Just ask my mom and dad they can verify it! They call me the social butterfly. I just love people, as Myers Briggs puts extraversion, I get my engery from being around other people. And personally the more people the better:) Not too many though. About 6 or 7 is a perfect number. This current school has the perfect amount of crazy extraverts for me to hang out, so life can seem wonderful just by hanging out!
I have a really sad story I need to share... about two weeks ago I was taking a picture of this great sign I made for my neice, Sarah Maes, 2nd birthday... well I was placing it on something and doing a timer. not the greatest idea when you are dead tired. I went to pick it up and knocked it off the ledge and it fell face down with the lens open on the ground. I cringed so hard. So it will not close, and it will nto fully open. It is stuck in the middle. It tried to close but there is somethin in its way I guess. Im planning on taking it to a shop so see if they can fix it but Im sure it will cost more than it is worth. Which is not cool, I have had so much inspiration to take pictures and I cant. We have these giant mushrooms in our backyard and the leaves are all around them and it is so beautiful but no, I have nothing to take a picture with! Although now that I dont have a camera I have been noticing some really sweet cameras, my eye is now open to see them!
Last night Terran and Naomi came and took me out for dinner! it was really sweet to see them. It has been a really long time, I think close to 3 or 4 years since I have seen them. Good to catch up on stuff!
Anyway, I must be off. God Bless all!

Ben Lomond

Yesterday we did a hill climb up in the Scottish Highlands. It was the most gorgeous day. I could not believe how blessed we were. It was a good hike. Hard of course but enjoyable with company. Today I am definitly sore, but honestly the beauty of it all was worth the pain today:)
So here are some pictures:)

This is higher up on the path, Krista is walkin behind me, you can see Loch Lomond way in the back.

This was our 3 stop, amazing how far you can go in such a small time, it feels any way! We were so close to the top here but didnt even know it!

CWDTS September 2006 on the top of Ben Lomond. Ok so the peoples names... back row left to right...Dan D, Tim, Amy, Kenton, behind in red is Matthew, the Daniel and Sean... front row left to right is Krista, Tonya, me, Sarah, Veronica and John... yaya

Quenching my thirst at the top... Loch Lomond behind me... and the Scottish Highlands...

Chilling at the top... my great hiking boots have done me well:)

CWDTS September 2006

Well it has started. Another 5 months. BRING IT ON! Yes the students have arrived and are now into their second week of school... I dont have tons of pictures... but here are some good ones I thought you might all like. By the way, they are a blast, I am doing good. Besides a wee cold.

Random Update:)

Well it is a year since I came back to staff. And two years since my I came for my dts. Time flies eh. The novelty has worn off a wee bit. It doesnt suddenly hit me that I am actually living in Scotland. But that is okay. Currently we are doing airport pick ups. This is one of my favorite times of the school. The first meeting, and on a side note there are TWO Starbucks in the airport.... which is a bonus. Im really excited for this school to start, its gonna be good!
On another note a couple days ago Gary, John, Veronica and myself headed out to Loch Lomond to find a hill to climb. I had been getting in shape by walkin up the stairs two at a time, I dont think it helped much:) It was a beautiful cloudy/rainy day. We went up a path and only realized 2 hours in that it was a hill path, it was a one valley walk. But we had gotten a few hills in so it was good.
Today we had amazing weather, it was sunny! When I woke up this morning the clouds were out and there was no sun, but by mid morning the sun was fighting to see Paisley and it won. The clouds usually win, but not this time! It was wonderful and beautiful. I really do love Scotland.

Myself, Veronica, John and Gary at the end:) We finally saw the van!

John and Veronica walking up the hill:)

This just couldnt be passed up to take a picture off, yes it is a slug on a turd

Behind is the Munroe we normally climb with the students called The Cobbler. You cant see the peak we climb to because of the clouds.