Are you smarter than a 5th grader?

Today and a couple of days last week I have been subbing in the 5^th & 6^th grade classroom at the academy here on the campus. The 5^th and 6^th grade teacher went to be with her mother for a couple weeks as her mother is very ill. It has been good to connect with these children and all that they are learning. There is a show on T.V. called “Are you smarter than a 5^th Grader?” So I thought I would let you try and see how you do.

In 5^th Grade English – Name three Indefinite Pronouns.

In 5^th Grade Vocabulary – What is the definition of the word “epochal”?

In 5^th Grade Math – If a farmer had a field that was 208ft. by 222 ft., would he have more or less then an acre? (How many square feet are in an acre?)

How did you do? Are you smarter then a 5th grader?

He's Leaving on a Jet Plane

Vern got up and left early this morning for Mexico. He will be attending an International Trainers Forum for New Tribes Missionaries that work in the different training Centers around the world. He went last year and found it to be very profitable. Neither of us has been to Mexico so it will be fun to be in another Spanish speaking country. We also have some good friends in Mexico so it will be nice for Vern to connect with them again. ¡Buen viaje!

Ladies Day Out

Once a semester we have what we call a "Ladies Day Out". This is an afternoon and evening when we as a first and second year staff and student ladies get together for a time of connecting and day of fun. (We are almost 30 ladies involved in this.) We have tried many different things from going to a museum, bowling, and glow in the dark miniature golf. This time we decided to have all the ladies break up in groups and do a digital camera scavenger hunt. We did not tell the ladies what we were going to do. Everyone was supposed to meet at l:00 p.m. and bring a kitchen utensil. Once we all arrived everyone was given the group they were supposed to be in and then the vans took off. Each group was given a list of things they were supposed to get a picture of. Some of them you were supposed to get at a particular spot and others were left to our imagination. But on all the pictures we were supposed to include our kitchen utensil. Each group had supper at the restaurant of their choice. We met back at the mission at 6:00 for dessert and a viewing of each groups pictures. I know our group had a lot of fun spending the afternoon together and making some great memories together. And from the laughter I heard from the rest of the groups I think this social was a success.
This is what we were given as our packet of information with all the pictures we were supposed to get.




For this picture we were supposed to capture on film someone in our group being rescued by the falls.






How many people can you fit in a phone booth? Squeeze in and take a shot. We did end up finding a normal phone booth to take a picture in but before we could find one we decided to get this shot in case nothing better came along.



In this gazebo we were supposed to come up with a picture of a good looking bride and groom. I wish I could have had a video camera because it was so fun to talk these total strangers into helping us with this picture. They did a good job in getting into the spirit of the picture.





We were supposed to spell a word with our bodies. With this being Canada we spelled the word "EH".





We were supposed to go to a park and get a picture with a deer. We could not find a deer, but there was a "John Deere" tractor in the park so were were able to get this picture of a "Deer" in the park.


We took our picture in this cool chocolate shop. The lady who ran the shop treated us to a free chocolate. It sure was good!














"Hey, Stop that train!" Good thing we were there in time to save Jinni from being run over.

Timothy for Titus

Tonight was our last official night of Awana clubs for the year. Next week we will end club with a family picnic. Titus is in the club called T & T (Truth and Training). A big part of Awana is memorizing the Word of God. Titus received a Timothy Award tonight in recognition for him completing four Awana books. We are proud of him and all of his hard work. We just pray that Titus will continue to walk with the Lord and grow in the knowledge of him. This is the last year for Titus to be in the Awana program but I already have a spot for him next year helping me out in the Cubbies program. (smile)

The Sound of Music

This afternoon Ruth was involved in a music festival in a town about a ½ hour away. She played in an ensemble made up of two flutes and two clarinets. This is the second time she has been able to perform in an ensemble. In the fall she played in an ensemble with two other flutes, a clarinet, and a bassoon. Although Ruth gets pretty nervous (so do her parents), she does enjoy being playing. The piece they played was Allegro arranges by D. Marlatt. It was a very challenging piece but they did such an awesome job.

The Gift

Sunday morning after breakfast we got together for a time of fellowship. The theme of the weekend was "Cherish". All of us ladies got together and there was a pile of gifts in the center. Along with each gift was a little card. Each card had something to Cherish on it. The one I had said "Cherish Laughter", other ones said things like: "Cherish Growth", "Cherish Creation", "Cherish your Walk with a God", etc. There was a verse with each card that we read. One person would read their card and then it was open for anyone to share on that topic. There were fun little gifts for us to open that went along with the "Cherish Note". Brenda's card was on Cherishing growth and the gift she opened was a bag of dirt with some seeds.


Before we went away on the weekend Sherry had all of us fill out a paper. It had every one's name on it with blanks for us to fill in things we appreciated about each other. After the sharing time she handed out everyone a card with everything that the ladies said about them. (That is what the ladies are all holding.) It was very meaningful as we don't tell each other enough how much we appreciate each other. It was a nice end to the weekend. Our semester is soon coming to a close. It has been a really good year and it has been a priviledge to get to know these dear ladies. I look forward to some really good fun and fellowship as we do jungle camp together.

Spa Night

After our special dinner it was time to slip into something more comfortable and have a spa night.













As you can see we had fun having pedicures or hand and foot massages, and just spending the evening together. It was a very relaxing time.














After a bit of pampering we enjoyed a delicious ice cream pie that was made earlier in the day. Then we sat back and watched a movie. There was a really cool home theater system with surround sound. We felt like we were at a theater.

Dining Out

It seemed like a lot of time was spent around the table this weekend. We were really "Dining In" but it often felt like we were "Dining Out". A lot of planning went into making some special meals.








We all took turns helping in the kitchen and cleaning up. We had some really yummy meals. We had a delicious brunch on Saturday and breakfast on Sunday. It was pizza and a movie on Friday night. And our Saturday dinner was a very full course dinner. Everyone brought lots of snacks and we certainly didn't go hungry.




























For our Saturday night dinner we all dressed up and made it a special dinner. Everyone looked so beautiful and so we had some fun taking some group pictures.








We are all blowing Sam a kiss as he was the only male on our weekend get away.

Refreshment & Relaxation & Rejuvination & Rest

It was so good to sit and relax. There was all sorts of space for us. Many of us spent time outside and inside.








Erika wasn't able to go the weekend with out giving a hair cut.






























We were disappointed that the heater in the hot tub and swimming pool weren't working. There were a few brave souls who jumped in the pool. But Angela won the award of staying in the pool the longest as she swam several laps.


Brenda gave me some knitting lessons. And my little knitting project provided a few good laughs.

















Some ladies enjoyed tanning, reading, catching up on some sleep, whilte others enjoyed scrap booking.

The Oasis

The next couple of posts I will share some of the high lights from our first year ladies retreat. As you can see from the pictures we had a beautiful place for our little get away. The weather was gorgeous and we were able to spend time outside enjoying this little oasis. We are so thankful for the family who so graciously opened up their home to us for our little get away.

No Men Allowed

This afternoon us first year students and staff ladies will be taking off for a weekend away. YEA! Sherry and Ang, two of our students have put quite a bit of time planning out this weekend for us ladies. (Thanks so much!) We will be going to a place about an hour and a half away to the home of a couple who open up their home for ladies groups like this. (The couple will not be there.) They have an indoor pool and hot tub. It should be a very nice weekend and a great time to spend as ladies. The two photos are of the invitation and then of the weekend schedule/menu.
On the home front Titus is off on a field trip today and then tonight he is going to a sleep over. Vern and Ruth are looking forward to having the house to themselves as they plan on making themselves some snacks that the rest of us can't enjoy. Doesn't raddishes soaked in vinegar sound good or dried smoked kippers soaked in vinegar and onions?

Mr. Good Year

With the beginning of spring it brings different changes. It is time to pull out the shorts and pack some of the big bulky winter clothes away. It is time to pack the snow shovels away. It is time to pull out the bicycles. (Titus has really been enjoying taking his bike to school.) And it is also time to change over from the winter tires to the all season. Our first winter here we didn’t use snow tires but with the amount of snow we get here we felt like the snow tires are a lot safer. Now we might have taken off our snow tires, but we know quite well that we could still very easily get some more snow yet, although hopefully it won’t be anything that sticks for too long. And I think we will leave the snow brushes in the vehicles for a little longer yet.

Tax Time

In the States the big deadline is April 15th for filing your tax return but here in Canada the deadline is April 30th. We have a coworker here who works in the office who does our taxes for us, and how thankful we are for his help. He does a great job for us! However, when our children are in high school I have done their income tax returns for them. Since they haven't made that much money it doesn't pay for them to pay someone to do it for them. So it was once again time for Mom to pull out the tax packet, pull out the calculator, and to get to work on Ruth's income tax return. It is now off and in the mail and I can put the calculator away until next year.