Merry CHRISTmas!

Enjoy Micah's singing! Sorry about the very poor lighting.

OLYMPIC TORCH

This morning on my run (and not planned), I ran parallel with the Olympic torch for about 1/2 km. Wow, was that ever neat.

Then (planned) we went to Delhi to watch our friend, Wade, carry the Olympic Torch.
What a thrill, to see him honour our country. Way to go, Wade!
History.

CHRISTMAS PLAY 2009

Children singing, "Hark the Herald Angels Sing".

BCC Christmas Play

What a great job done by Ms. Heather in the Christmas Play.

The finale.

Angels singing about Jesus' birth.

The manger scene.We three Kings.


Pastor Andy having a moment with the little ones.

Christmas Play 2009 at Brant Community Church (BCC)

This morning we had our BCC Children's Christmas Play. Everyone did such a great job acting and singing about Jesus' birth.
Pastor Andy thanks Ms. Heather for a job well done.

Angel Olivia and Seth share a moment before the play begins.

Donkey Colton and Shepherd Micah take a moment to smile for the camera.

Micah getting his makeup (beard) done. Little Seth making sure it's done right!

Our sweet Shepherd.

A Start to Christmas

We had a lovely day today - eating a pancake brunch, putting up the outside lights, decorating the tree, drinking hot chocolate, and eating warm-out-of-the-oven ginger cookies. Jonathan, thank you for a great day with our sweet boys.

The boys had a great time last weekend at the Christmas Parade with Sam, Elliot and Tristan.

These Days...

We really enjoy Monday's because Colton and Olivia are here for the morning. These kids can be creative and have a lot of fun together. Grilled cheese sandwiches, raw veggies, and milk is often the meal-of-choice.

Speaking of creative. I was upstairs the next day when Micah informed me that there was "a great big mess down here". According to him, he was responsible for the cushions while Seth was guilty for the tinfoil. No use in me getting upset when I can laugh and get the camera (this time!).

Gotta love these moments. When Micah falls asleep, there is NO waking him.

Sweet Seth is ready to mind the net.

Family Photo 2009

Thanks to Kevin and Chantale's wedding photographer, we were able to get an updated family picture. Enjoy!

Micah - November 14, 2009

Yesterday morning, Micah and I were reading bible stories together, a usual routine. While reading about Paul's Journeys and how new believers were called Christians because they were followers of Jesus Christ, Micah and I got talking. I explained that he could be a Christian too, if he asked Jesus into his heart. So, we got daddy and prayed together. Micah then went on to say that as a Christian, with his responsibility money (earned through his paid jobs at home), he would like to give bibles to people in Africa and Brantford. Since our Children's Pastor returned from Africa, she has been teaching our kids about their needs. Also, there has been a canned food drive at work for the local families. So, Micah has been thinking a lot about these kids lately. We are so happy, Micah.

Remembering.

Thank you, God for those who served for our country.

Road 2 Hope Marathon, Hamilton

Check out my running blog for today's results at the Road 2 Hope Marathon in Hamilton.

October 31, 2009

Micah decided he would rather be a hockey player than Mickey Mouse. Can't blame him for that!

Seth was a panda bear just like his big brother, 2 years ago.

Hamilton Road 2 Hope Marathon

Check out my newest running blog post.

Morning Routine

At our house, each morning starts with our whole wheat chocolate chip pancakes with peanut butter, syrup, fruit and milk. Yes, each morning and we love it! Oh, and of course coffee for the grown-ups!

Micah was singing while I was getting breakfast ready so I pulled out the camera to film.

Many of you have asked for our recipe so here it is:

Kellogg’s All-Bran Bran Flakes Blueberry Pancakes
(aka DuChene’s Famous Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Pancakes)

1 cup whole wheat flour
½ cup all purpose flour
2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 egg
1 ¾ cups milk
2 Tbsp oil
1 cup Bran Flakes cereal (crushed to ½ cup)
1 ¼ cup blueberries (or chocolate chips)

Stir together dry ingredients (flours, sugar, baking powder, salt). Set aside.
Beat wet (egg, milk, oil) ingredients. Stir in crushed cereal. Set aside for 5 minutes.
Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Add chocolate chips. Stir until combined.
Cook on griddle.
Spread with peanut butter and lots of maple syrup!
Serve with milk, fruit and coffee = DELICIOUS!

Makes 14 pancakes.

We have been eating these pancakes EVERY day for several years now. It’s a great start to the day and they are easy to freeze and reheat. Make sure you always have syrup on hand! Often I toss in ground flax seed and wheat germ. Some families like to split the batch so that half is blueberry and the other half is chocolate chip. Jonathan gave up on this long ago!
We make 4x the recipe each week, which is perfect for our family of 4. I measure the dry ingredients in large Ziploc bags to save time.

Newspaper Article

The Brantford Expositor wrote an article about my recent and past athletic accomplishments. Click here to go to my running blog to read it if you are interested.

Let the Hockey Begin!

There he is - Micah on skates for the first time this season, and first time officially playing hockey.

Ready to go!

Seth is thrilled with his brother's now-too-small skates.

PJ's and skates - we couldn't resist this picture!

Getting ready to head out into some rain.

Kevin and Chantale's Wedding Oct 2, 2009

Capturing the moment. Chantale with her father.

The vows.

Announcing, the newly married couple!

The first dance.

Kevin and Chantale's Wedding

Here comes the bride, Chantale. So Beautiful.

Seth with the father-of-the-bride.

Mary, the darling flower girl.

Happy to be together, celebrating Kevin and Chantale's wedding.

Poor Seth got his finger caught in the door right before we were about to leave. The same thing happened to Micah at the same age, at Franz and Aimee's wedding.

Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon

Check out my running blog for pictures and the story.

Team Canada...Ready to Run!

Check out the Team Canada pictures.

Team Canada!

Well, here it is! A picture of me with my Team Canada jacket. I will run with 3 other Canadians in the International Team Challenge Sunday, September 27. This morning at the press conference I met Fauja Singh & Ed Whitlock. Six years ago, at the Scotiabank Toronto Marathon Singh ran 5:40:04 a new 90+ marathon record; Whitlock ran 2:59:10 to set a new mark for 70+ and become the only septuagenarian on the planet to go under the magic 3-hour barrier. Today they are (I believe) 98 and 78 years old, respectively. Singh will run the 5 km and Whitlock will run the 1/2 marathon Sunday. Pretty spectacular, don't you think?!
Can't wait to see my men (Jonathan, Micah and Seth) when they meet me at the hotel Saturday!