2012 in Ten Parts

 10.  Family time with the Hartungs in Ontario: the boys playing Thursday night hockey in Kurtzville, sister sleepovers in Kitchener, Florida road trip with Amelia, great visits with Grandma and Grandpa Meyer, summer camping and meals at the farm. Andrew hadn’t been in Ontario for 12 consecutive months in 8 years, and it was fantastic for me to get to know his family.

Amanda's 21st birthday at Moosewinoski's

9. Family time with the Hills: family day weekend in Ottawa, uncountable dinners at Mom & Dad’s, Tuesday afternoon coffee with Mom, Labour Day camping with the whole family, visiting Shannon & Laura  on May long, and seeing Gavin regularly. I love my family immensely and I miss them the most out of anything in Ontario. It was fantastic to simply ‘do life’ alongside my parents for a year.

Camping with the Hills

8. Ontario friends! – camping with Chad and Danielle in Killarney over Easter, games nights with Tim and Danielle, the Cypress Lake hike, coffee dates with Krysten and Mal, and many other friends that have been in our lives for years, but this was this first year in many that we’ve been able to be local friends again!

Sap Fest with Tim & Danielle

7. Hope Manor & Waterloo School Board – Through working with teenage boys at a youth jail, Andrew was spurred onto pursue further education in Child & Youth Care Counselling, a program he is hoping to be accepted to at Douglas College out here in Vancouver. I learned a lot about kids and myself through working at the school board this year… like that to have any impact on children, consistency is required! No more substituting for me.

6. Celebrated our First Anniversary! – we camped out on the rocks 20m from beautiful Georgian Bay. I enjoy looking back over just the past year [and a half] and seeing how we grow in our marriage, in knowing, learning and enjoying each other. 

5. Summer of Weddings! We celebrated with seven couples on their wedding days this summer! I had the privilege of standing as a bridesmaid with Malori as she married her beloved Dave. It was a joy to see my friend of 13 years wed! 

4. Cross-country road trip! – After a year of wrestling and seeking, we committed to God’s leading back to Vancouver! Which meant… another cross country raod trip. We visited great friends and family along the way in Red Lake ON, Estevan SK, Calgary and Eagle Hill AB and Kelowna BC before arriving in our beloved Vancouver. It was a fabulous 2 weeks!

With Jon & Annette in SK

3. Nepal: our Everest Base Camp trek took us 60km into the Himalayas, climaxing at the base camp of the highest mountain in the world. Thirteen days in hiking boots with packs on our backs, seeing incredible landscapes and epic mountain peaks, pushing through blisters, exhaustion, altitude sickness and food poisoning. Standing at 5550m looking up at Mount Everest made it worth every step.

2. India: What a wild country. We spent 3 weeks with my cousin and her family in Varanasi, visited ancient forts and palaces, even sleeping a night in the Jasailmer fort wall, rode camels and slept under the Thar Desert stars, and relaxed for a week by the Arabian Sea in Goa. 

1.  Back in Vancouver for the last half of December, while celebrating Christmas, we found ourselves overwhelmingly anticipating “the next stage”. We had been in limbo for 4 months and are VERY READY to start our jobs this week, find a house to make home and see what God has for our life here in Vancouver. 

Christmas at Jesse & Tena's, our BC parents