board games

I grew up on these things. Every Sunday afternoon for as long as I can remember was designated as family bonding time via board games. Now, I know that most people dread the thought of ever playing and would rather deem them 'bored' games. But I assure you, spend and afternoon with the VandenBerg's playing Monopoly or Settlers and you will never see them in the same light (the board games).

My Dad likes to see them as a bonding tool, but I'm not sure that's the purpose they hold in my family. You see, my family is made up of half ruthless competitive and half sensative competitive members. Every game there is someone who ended up in tears while the others left miffed, except for the one who won... they would be rubbing it in every other minute (actually only if one of the ruthless competitive ones won). Unfortunately for myself I am one of the ruthless competitive ones (I know this might come as a surprise). However, I am really bad at playing board games and I hardly ever win, wow, that was hard to admit. This is my theory, no one likes to see or let me win and everyone likes to get me all riled up and the perfect way of doing this is making me lose. When we play together it seems like everyone takes the extra mile just to boycott my plan in Settlers, refuse to trade properties in Monopoly, steal my boyfriend in the Barbie Game, always attack my countries in Risk, take my triple word score in Scrabble... trust me I could go on, but I will spare you. This history with board games has almost killed them for me, but since I have such a strength of character I continue on.

I guess the true purpose of this blog was to announce that last night we payed Settlers and I won against my family for the first time! It has been long awaited, but the victory felt marvelous. Just thought I would let the world know :)

bless us one and all

I watch this movie every Christmas and I am dedicating this song to all of you!

HAVE A BLESSED CHRISTMAS!

Canada eh?

Lately, I have witnessed that our wonderful country of Canada has been taking the heat (maybe the cold shoulder would be a better term).

With Robyn just coming back from Africa and Ree, Tim, and Danielle going abroad for a semester I feel like Canada has lost its appeal. This is why I am writing this breath-taking blog. As I chew my little brother's last piece of strawberry Hubba Bubba I am going to ensure that all of you that have caught the travelling bug long to come back to me, back to your homeland, with gratefulness.

I understand that the grass is ussually greener on the other side, but in my very biased opinion the grass seems pretty green over here. Well, maybe not right now, but if you dig under the 4 feet of snow you will be able to see it. Where else in the world can you find green grass under snow? I have heard that England and France has very little grass and the grass that they do have you can't walk on. In Canada however, we have an abundance of lush green grass, grass that you can walk on whenever you want, grass so green that you have to cut it at least once a week. Canada has very nice soft green grass.

Africa may have the lions, the zebras, and the giraffes, but does it have the Beaver? It might have them cooped up in zoo's somewhere, but in Canada they roam free. The beaver is the largest rodent in the world. Although its size makes it a little slow on land, in the water it can go 0 - 7km in 3 seconds flat. Impressed yet, if not get a load of this. Not only is it really speedy, the beaver has exceptional teeth. Its long, sharp, strong teeth grow continuously. The upper and lower teeth grind against eachother so they remain chisel-sharp. With them, a beaver is able to feel very large trees. The beaver cuts down an average of 216 trees a year. Can a lion do that? I don't think so.

Now on to the topic of snow. Yes, I admit it is cold and it is unpleasant to get facewashed or get snow in your shoes. But like I always say, perspective is everything. Take sun for example. We say we all love it, but do we love it when it gives us a sunburn that turns into boils, do we love it when we are suffering from sunstroke, do we love it when we are working a 12 hour day doing labourous outdoor work, or when we are trying to get to sleep but we can't because it is too muggy to breathe properly? Probably not. Snow is wonderful. It allows hills or mountains to become slippery so that we can crack out the crazy carpets or GT Racers, our snowboard or skiis, or if you are Ree, her very slippery shoes. We can make snow angels, snowmen, forts, tunnels, snowballs, and catch snowflakes on our tongues. And you have to admit their is something pretty magical about going to sleep at night with the ground all brown and dead, but then waking up to a winter wonderland.

With snow comes the cold. This one is going to be a little harder to make into something wonderful, but here goes. Cold brings ice and ice brings skating and pond hockey. How many of us have spent endless hours on the pond either pretending we are the next Jamie Salé or Wayne Gretzkey. I know I did. And just in case you didn't know Canada has the longest skating rink in the world - the Rideau Canal. It is about 40mins from my house and while you skate you can eat the best beaver tails in the world (it's a pastery, not an actual tail). Not only does the cold give us ice, but it also gives us a pretty good excuse for our moms to make us hot choclate with the big puffy marshmellows on top.

I think if I was forced to pick ONE thing about Canada as my arguing point I would pick the mountains. I know, I know, I am from Ontario and I have no idea about mountains, but this summer I went to Alberta and I got my first taste of them. They were probably the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life. If I could wake up every morning and see a mountain in the distance I would live a very content life. I know that there are other places in the world with mountains, but they are probably not as good as ours.

And if I haven't convinced you yet, here is my last point. Canada is where I live. If you haven't already noticed I am a very fun person, and I have been told that I am hilarious. If you leave Canada you leave me and unevidably your life will become a little less interesting.

The Hubba Bubba gum that I am chewing has lost all its flavour and its making my jaw hurt, so I am going to take that as my cue to stop.

bread and (no) butter

Mom I think you will be proud.

I felt like Laura Ingalls today and made my first homemade bread. Now finally I might win the heart of Almanzo Wilder. :)


































Maybe if I am feeling ambitious, tomorrow I will church some butter to go along with it.
That's a pretty big maybe...

sorry Jordan

In lue of Danielle's shower Ree, Jordan, and I had a girls night. This was the result...
















We painted our nails.















Then we pampered our faces with watermelon cucumber facemasks.

bruised

Have you ever nailed your elbow on the arm of your wooden couch on the downward swing of your yawn? I have, this afternoon in fact. Now my bruised elbow is what is keeping me from writing my paper, ouch.

Papers, papers, papers. I said that three times because that is how many I have to write in the next week. I wanted to get this one done today, but somehow doing the dishes, taking a nap, snuggling with Cow, listening to David Gray, sipping tea, and writing this blog seemed more important. Oops.

I think I am suffering from an extreme case of Pro-crast-in-ation. Don't worry about me though, I get it every year around this time and I always seem to get through it fine. As long as no other disease such as Tuberculosis attacks me at the same time.



Elbow. That's a weird word.

teach me to seek you in all that has life

That you have made me in the image of you own mystery
thanks be to you, O God.
That in the soul of every human being
there are depths beyond naming
and heights greater than knowing
thanks be to you.
Grant me the grace of inner sight this day
that I may see you as the Self within all selves.
Grant me the grace of love this day
that amidst the pain and disfigurement of life
I may find the treasure that is unlocked by love,
that amidst the pain and disfigurment of my own life
I may know the richness that lies buried in the human soul.

"When you wake up in the morning, Pooh," said Piglet at last, "what's the first thing you say to yourself?"

"What's for breakfast?" said Pooh. "What do you say, Piglet?"

I say, I wonder what's going to happen exciting today?" said Piglet.

Pooh nodded thoughtfully.

"It's the same thing," he said.

fresh vegetables and flowers

I thought I would never ever say this, but you know what they say... "Never, ever, ever, say never, ever, ever, ever."

What is better than listening to a song that you just downloaded on Limewire, better than a cup of hot chocolate with marshmellows on a cold day, better than half priced candy after Halloween?
Fresh vegetables. There I said it.

I didn't realise how much the body craves fresh produce when it hasn't consumed it for more than two weeks. This is the plight of an off campus student who goes grocery shopping every three weeks.

Last Friday I was invited to an Alumni Board dinner/meeting. On the menu was rice and platters piled with vegetables. I think I ate 30 cherry tomatoes, a whole green pepper, and countless carrots and cucumbers. That was an alliteration. This was not even the best part of the night, the part where I was given a bouquet of lillies topped off the night, and they presently fill my room with a pleasent aroma.

This aroma is the only thing that is sedating me as I unpatiently wait for an episode of House to download. Jason has got me hooked, but too bad the speed of the internet in our dwelling is SUPPPERRR SLOWWW. I have been waiting 3 hours for 30%! That is 10% every hour, that means it will take 10 hours for me to watch one show. Here is something else that I thought I would never say. I wish I had Redeemer internet.

Wow.

I think I have gained a new view on video games. As kids we were never allowed to play them = I really suck at them = I never gained an appreciation for them. Until now. The other night I saw something weirdly beautiful. Jason and Jordan hooking up their computers to one set of speakers and playing Chorno Trigger, and now they are BFF (boy friends forever).

On Wednesday I have my interview to see if I can get into the Education program at Redeemer. I am pretty excited for this, finally I feel like I am stepping in the direction of becoming a teacher. But for the record if I don't get in I am taking Teacher's College in New Zealand.

Speaking of different countries, I feel like everyone else is speading their wings and soaring to different parts of the world. And by everyone I mean Ree, Tim, Danielle, and Robyn. Ree and Tim are going to England next semester for schooling, Danielle France, and Robyn in Africa. My wings are clipped and I am staying in Ontario. A little part of me would like to go travel this big world of ours, but is it a really bad thing that I am content to stay here? That I don't have a longing to hop on a plane and spend four months away? I feel lameo.

I like it here. I like having my family a drive away, I like having my friends within walking distance, I like knowing that it will snow in a couple of weeks, I like the familiar. There is enough stuff in my life that is unpredictable and wonderful.
It is okay if you think I am lame. :)

This little clip from You Tube has no connection to my blog, but I guarentee that this will put a smile on your face and a chuckle in your throat.

Ree and Me

We frolicked in the leaves...















and we ate some too!















My favourite part, we found a wagon!

Is that Laura Ingalls Wilder or is that Katrina VandenBerg?
















Ree is eating my face.
















































Fall is fun.

And then we died our hair. Mine is orange like a pumpkin.

its a beautiful ride

Georgia Rule. Awful movie, I wouldn't even recommend it to my worst enemy. If there was one thing that I could take out of this movie and apply it to life it would be this.
At one point the girl was doing a puzzle and the guy asked her why she wouldn't look at the picture of the puzzle she was working on. Her answer was this, "Why would you want to know how it is supposed to end, it would just make the rest wasting time."

Last week I asked Tim if he would want to fast-forward life 10 years so that we would know our life ended up so that we wouldn't have to stress about our decisions. I expected him to answer with a resouding YES! But he didn't. He told me that he wouldn't because then we wouldn't live a very full life. Right... we would probably just waste our time.

Life isn't always beautiful, but it is a beautiful ride. I don't want to waste this time. That is all.

Ree and I had some adventures today.

We went a train hunting.
















And we found one a top a 50 foot bridge. It scooted right past us though. Yes that is us on the bridge with the train right behind us. It was thrilling.


*The pictures are taking too long to load so I will wait until I am back in Ancaster to finish this tale.*

anything but ordinary please

Think what you must, Avril Lavigne makes my favourites in my music category. This is why:

peas and gravy

I should not be writing right now and then sharing it with the world, but Ryan encouraged me so blame him.

I am grumpy. I want to be grumpy. I am enjoying it.

I got up on the wrong side of the bed, someone pissed in my cornflakes, and it is definitley raining on my parade.

My shoes got soaked on the way to school, Drew Carey has ruined Price Is Right, and I bet a kitten died today.

I got kicked and had the bejeebers scared out of me by Ryan, then I beat him in anger. That helped, a lot.

In the background Tim and Ryan are jamming which is stellar. I like it.

Hate this when this happens.

swing life away

Let's unwrite these pages and replace them with our own words.












I looked back on my blog history I noticed the following trend:

September + Katrina = no blogging.

And since I am a very trendy person, it happened once again. I have always found that October is a perfect month for turning over a new leaf.

I feel like I have finally gotten back into the swing of things. I am no longer desperately pumping back and forth just to maintain momentum. I have obtained a rhythm (what a wierd spelling for a word) which carries me. September has been jam packed and at times sent me a'twirrling. Sometime this can be fun, but you just have to make sure you don't get to dizzy and make yourself sick.

Now I am back at home and it almost feels like I haven't left, except for my sudden craving of anything that falls under the catergory fresh fruit. I have found that fruit doesn't tend to keep for the whole week and a half between grocery trips.

The trip home was pretty uneventful, except for the fact that I almost got sandwiched between a RONA transport and a cement median. The trees are changing colour so that was an awesome sight to behold for at least 4 hours.

I think one of the best parts of coming home is that you are reminded that you are loved. First by my dog Chester who went nutso and then by your family that comes out before you can enter and gives you those big hugs that only family can give. Yes, they still welcomed me back even though they do not like the colour of my hair. My mom assures me that she likes it, but in her eyes I can hear "Where is my little blonde girlie?" Mike and Jeremy were blunt with their opinion. "Nope, don't like it." Dad was had the best reaction and said that it reminded him of his colour when he was young. His colour was ginger. My hair does not resemble a ginger kid. These reactions almost made me go to the drug store and dye it back blonde. I am not very good with disapproval. But then a nice trip to Emily's changed my mind. She liked it and she is a hair dresser, so there!

This afternoon I went to visit Emily and the girls. Smile (it's all I can do as I take these couple of moments to remember). Jess was outside by the mailboxes waiting for me and I couldn't get through the front door without little hugs from all around. I missed them, a lot. I hope Emily won't mind if I kindnapped them and brought them back to school with me. Oh, and I hope the girls that I live with won't mind four more. I am sure it will all work out fine. But I guess I would settle for a puppy or a kitten, if you don't think it would work.

One other thing that is nice about home is Hockey Night in Canada. We all sit in the playroom and watch the Leafs and unfortunately flip to the Sens game. Tonight one of the fans were caught picking their nose on TV. I thought it was pretty funny.

Life never fails to entertain, excuse me as I continue to swing.

it has been awhile

- It's been awhile.
- Thank you captain obvious.
- You're welcome.

I have learnt that words are powerful, they are all encompasing, and yet as I sit outside 'borrowing' our neighbours internet connection, I am finding myself unable to express myself with words.

This past weeks have been wonderfully real. So much has happened, so much is yet to happen, and I am loving all this happening.

My classes are incredibly challenging. I come out of them not wanting to come out and full of desire to hit the books. It's been awhile since I could say that.
The house that I am living in is great; the people that are inside the walls make it that way. Living off campus is relaxing, fun, and enjoyable. Except when the kitchen sink gets clogged and Bell decides that it wants to be idiots. It's been awhile since I have had internet.
Friendships are solid and valued. I hope I never take advantage of the gift that God has richly blessed. It has been awhile since I told you that.

This year holds a lot of promise.

I'm still fighting it

401

Some want to call it the 'Highway of Heroes,' some use it as their race track while others (slow drivers and truckers) shouldn't use it, but for me the 401 is something entirely different...

Ever since I finished reading the Chronicles of Narnia, I have been in search of my own wardrobe. I've always wanted to discover my own little door that would open up and transport me into a whole different world. Well, I have found my wardrobe. It is not near as exciting or wonderful, but it is the place where I go to be transported back and forth between my two worlds - the 401. Although there is something unique about my wardrobe. The worlds are equally wonderful, equally as hard leave, and equally loved.

This summer has been incredible. Being at home with my family and reconnecting with friends has been great. I have even loved my 'job.' I put in quotation marks because it hasn't felt like work at all; I have big sister and friend now and I have lost my heart to four little girls and I don't know what I am going to do without the daily little hugs, pictures, and stories.

If I could change one thing about the 401 it would be this. It would be A LOT shorter, so that my two worlds would not be so far apart and I could come back and visit more often.

camp

It was going to be a no go; for the first time in 8 years I wouldn't be packing my bags with the classic camp wear of long socks, silly shirts, and shorts made for speed, heading off to Camp Adonai. But then suddenly, spontanteously, and very last minute (like most things in my life) I decided that there was no way I could miss it, it just wouldn't be right. Thankfully, they found a spot for me and in about 5 days the tides turned from no go to for sho!*

As we drove up the twisty lane up to Ye Old Kitchen, my insides were filled with a warm fuzzy feeling, camp is one of my most favourite places to be in the whole wide world. Now at this point I could attempt to tell you all about my time at camp, but I really don't think I would do it justice, so I'll just give you a glimpse...

The week entailed:
- One very hyper boy who would eat sugar for breakfast, literally.
- Many conversations about passing gas... thanks to Ed and Natalie
- Screaming lungs out at campfire with the kids
- Almost leading about 35 kids down the wrong 'path' on the hike... good thing for a GPS that I had no idea how to use.
- Watching a little boy who told me that he could run down the steep hill ahead of us flip head over heals the whole way down instead (the only thing hurt was his pride).
- Getting thrown into the lake only 3 times.
- Eating tons of bribery candy and getting sweet notes and songs everyday... the perks of being a Cabin Inspector
- Destroying Ed in a wrestling match.
- Pillow fights
- Laughing until my gut was about to split about once a day.

On the very last day of camp, while we were all singing in the chapel, I realised something. I could just imagine God just smiling down at His kids, watching them sing out their little hearts, dancing and clapping their hands. I was struck with the reason why I keep coming back to this place and the reason while I will continue to until I am absolutely unable to do so. Camp is a such a unique place where kids can meet with God. They experience Him when they are splashing eachother in a water fight, when they are sliding down the soap slide, when they are capturing the flag, when they are loosing their voice at campfire, when they are finishing their fifth chocolate bar of the day, or when they are singing all together in chapel. It is such a priviledge to be part of this, to be able to touch kids lives and show them a side to their God that they might never experience anywhere else. Seeing the smiles, hearing the laughter, wiping the tears, giving the hugs, and just listening to them is reward enough for me, everything else is just an added bonus.


*excuse the gangster language, it rhymed so I used it.

postsecret

I was watching 'The Hour' tonight and this was on it. I found it pretty fascinating so I'm sharing it with you.

It's a website where this guy (Frank) posts secrets that people annoymously send to him on a homemade postcard.

Some are funny, some are dirty, some are heart gripping. I don't really know how to describe it other than that...

Check it out for yourselves http://postsecret.blogspot.com/.

you catch me if I'm falling

Ever had a dream where you were falling headlong into complete darkness, but woke with a start, heart pounding, before you hit bottom?
Ever played the game where you stood on top of a picnic table and made yourself fall backwards into someone's arms?
Ever fell from the top of a three story treefort only to be saved be two random branches at the bottom?

Falling. It is a concept that is hardly ever met with anticipation and willingness. Falling is frightening. Why this fear? Could it be because we are not confident that someone will be there to break our fall? And then what happens if you are unwillingly pushed into a situation that leaves you spiraling, with no other choice but to trust that you will be caught, that you will be upheld, so that you will not be devestated.

In no way will I say that it was worth it, that it is justified, and that it will ever make sense. Loosing Craig is, and will continue to be, one of the hardest things I have ever had to experience. Although, I heard something on the radio the other day that sank deep, allowing a peace to settle, and it to become a little more clear.

The talk was on why God would ever let His children to be tried by fire. I have to admit that I didn't pay attention to the whole thing. It was a long drive home and I was distracting myself by pretending that I was a racecar driver on the last victory lap. But it was almost as if the man's voice got a little more louder, a little more passionate, and these ringing words brought me back to reality with a start.
" These have come so that your faith - of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire - may be proved genuine and may result in praise glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed" (1 Peter 1:7).

Ever felt like you couldn't trust God? I know I have. In fact, at the beginning of the summer I was brutally honest and wrote a whole list of things that I couldn't trust Him with.

Craig's death pushed me and I was forced to fall, left with no other choice by to trust that someone was going to be there. I did not hit bottom and I was not devestated. He was there. He broke my fall, my faith upheld me, and made me realise that what I had was real. The hope that only He can give allows me to still be able to filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy. It is not easy, but it proved that I can trust Him.

You catch me if I'm falling.