Our New Life....

No more 5-point harness car seats, no more couponing or Chick-Fil-A. Life as we know it has very much changed, but it hasn't been overwhelming like we thought it might be. It's been inconvenient, but exciting. Nothing here is dull. Every sight we see is picture worthy - it's like nothing we've experienced in any of our travels. I hope the scenery never becomes dull or ordinary to us over time.

Although there are very modern malls within a 30-minute drive, this shopping district is closer to where we live. And home of my very first taste of local bakery items - they were awesome!

Brynn's first local outfit.

Luke does not have an outfit, but he wanted to pose for a picture too.

Their new car seats. I think they like traveling this way better!

Making friends on the playground.

Brynn & Luke in their favorite place.

And now some random pictures taken while riding around the city....

Power lines!

Airplanes!

We were very thankful for a short flight plan, which included only 2 flights and one 4 hour layover. There were much more lengthy, tiring options we could have encountered I'm sure.  We were also thankful that Brynn and Luke slept most of both flights.

I'm not going to lie...I like airplane food. I love the little trays and utensils too. Brynn was very excited that they served cheesy pasta...her favorite!

Luke asleep on the plane - the perfect scenario!

I take that back...this is the perfect scenario!

Henna Storying

While in Vancouver one of our supervisors organized a henna party with some locals. We were able to practice our henna Bible storying. Each design tells a story from the Bible, with each element representing something from the story. This is my 3rd attempt at henna. This is the story of Noah and the Flood.

Butterfly Henna

Brynn had a henna butterfly done on her hand.  She likes to tell a story of how a butterfly starts as a caterpillar, goes in the cocoon, and then comes out a new creation. Talk about a good bridge to the gospel!

Very Special Mother's Day

Jimmy surprised me with a Mother's Day lunch on top of Grouse Mountain. It was a gorgeous day and the views were awesome!  

Waiting for the gondola.

If only they could always be this loving!

The Views!!

View of downtown Vancouver from the top of Grouse Mountain.

Chocolate mousse for dessert....bad idea!  She was in heaven!

Visiting the bears...Brynn wanted bear food to feed them. We had to gently explain what bears consider food.

That wire fence seemed entirely too thin at that point.

The Rescue

The scene:Baby brother walks to the edge of the boardwalk holding his sister's cherished "Erin" Bear (a green beanie baby bear named Erin) and stares through the railing at the rocks and water about 10-15ft below.  I beam with pride at the picture of my precious son looking out at the view of the harbor. Then to my horror, I see Erin Bear dangling from his fingertips. I run over to him to grab the bear, thinking he may inadvertently drop it through the rails. A mere second before I reach him, he doesn't drop the bear, but raises it over his head and chucks it through the railing.

Here is the result:

 

With no access to the rocks below, and since Brynn did not witness this incident, we decided to quietly walk away and buy a replacement. 

NOPE

Brynn as we're leaving: "Wait, where's my Erin Bear?"

Quivering lips and tears ensued, to which the man playing the accordion on the boardwalk empathized and played "twinkle twinkle little star" just for her.  That didn't work.  A promise of a new Erin Bear and ice cream didn't work. And to be honest, I was getting a little sentimental too...the thought of Erin Bear going out with the tide to eventually be swept to the depths. We were about to have a lesson on loss.

However...
After a harbor pilot tried unsuccessfully with a long pole, he got a boat...

 

 

OUR HERO!!

Amazing! The people in Vancouver are so nice! A lot of commotion over a little bear, but we provided some entertainment for onlookers. All in all it was a good day.

Our First Week In Vancouver

We've been anticipating the culture shock we'll receive when we arrive in South Asia, but we didn't expect one in Canada.  This is the first time I've visited Canada, so I expected beautiful scenery and a lot of talk about hockey. Any preconceptions I had about Vancouver were overshadowed by the diversity of the city. I heard Vancouver was very diverse, but I didn't expect to feel like a foreigner myself. This could be one of the most international cities on the planet...Chinese, Indians, Russians, Japanese, Koreans, Iranians...just to name a few of the people groups that make up this city.

This is Vancouver.
It's wonderful and extremely multi-cultural.

However most of the culture shock comes from having to use public transportation on a regular basis.  Simple outings to the store with the kids to get a few groceries is a thing of the past. I'm learning to live with less - we had eggs and broccoli for dinner the other night, because it was all that we had in the house.

It's kind of stressful and kind of fun. I am thankful for this step before we head to South Asia!

5:30 am at the Charlotte airport....they were troupers!

This and the following city shots were taken all in one day as we
familiarized ourselves with the city using different forms of transportation.
We were thankful for wonderful weather on this particular day!

Riding the Sea Bus.

Taking their time waking up one morning.

Picking flowers at the bus stop.

Riding the city bus...one of her favorite activities.

Celebrating Easter at a friend's house.

Having a picnic in Stanley Park on our day off!

Riding the kids' train in Stanley Park.

Not so sure how he feels about this large bunny.

Brynn never turns down a photo op with an oversized animal character!