The Coutts Family in Scotland

I've moved

2010-11-17T14:11:00.003Z

So awhile ago I started blogging elsewhere. But I didn't tell anyone. Nobody really reads this thing anyway, so I was doing it just for me. But yesterday I posted some pictures of Jesse and Matty (They turn 2 on Saturday!) and thought I'd mention it.

So you can find my new blog at: flowersintheseweeds.wordpress.com

On A Lighter Note...

2010-03-20T20:37:00.015Z

Last Saturday my friend, Rachel Owens, agreed to do a family photo shoot. It was chaos, but a fun time. She sent us a few pictures to preview and they look great. Above is a sample (our lovely new "The Coutts Family in Scotland" header). I am sooooo excited about them. I will be sure to share more when I get them!

Later that day we were playing in the backyard. For some crazy reason I decided I wanted to get a shot of the 4 boys. Here they are, in order:

Elijah: "Mom! Matty's got dirt all over his face! Is he trying to eat another rock?"

Jesse: "Let me in here!"

Mattias & Brady: "Cheese!"

Me: "Elijah, don't worry about it, just hold onto Jesse and smile nice for the camera!"

Jesse to Elijah: "Mmmmah! Mmmmah!" (he loves giving kisses)

Matty & Brady: "Are we done yet?"

Me: "Come on, let's try one more time."

Elijah: "How's this, Mom?"

Jesse: "I'm outta here!"

Matty: "Come on, Mom"

Brady: "Cheese!"

Jon: "Come on now, Elijah & Jesse! Mom wants one nice picture of you guys!"

Brady: "I'm going to lose it, Mom. I can only smile for so long."

Matty: "Look! I have fingers!"

Me: "Okay, last try. For real."

Elijah: "Cheese."

Jesse: "Mmmah!"

Matty: "Is that a rock?"

Brady: "Cheese!"

And so it goes. Luckily we have some better shots from Rachel!

loving anyway

2010-03-19T13:05:00.000Z

It is difficult to raise children on the best days. I somehow thought that perhaps once my kids grew up enough to go to school, things might get a bit easier. I was wrong. Instead I have come to the realization that it is getting (in many ways) much more difficult. And I think a big reason has to do with the introduction of different worldviews into my boys' lines of sight. Suddenly, the way we see things is not the only way, and most times it isn't the best/funnest/easiest way, either.

I was really struck by this when we had a classmate over after school a few weeks back. It was so very evident that the structure of his upbringing was vastly different than that of our sons.

On the walk home he asked me if I watch a certain show (a British soap) that I would never ever consider letting my kids watch. He said he watches it all the time with his mom. I was shocked and slightly taken aback. Why would his mom let him watch that kind of show?

But as I thought about it, I realized that this boy, who is like my own in so many ways, is growing up with a completely different set of standards and as a result, he is very different than they are. He has a completely different set of values. A completely different way of viewing the world. Who am I to say it is wrong of his parents to allow him to watch something that has questionable (to me) subject matter? He comes from a family with their own set of standards that are not guided by Scripture. Trying to thrust my standards upon them and then judging them based on those standards is not only a waste of time but a way to alienate me (and my kids) from them.

It is one thing for us to discuss such issues with fellow believers. Once someone has accepted and believes that Jesus died for them and is desiring to follow him, then as brothers and sisters in Christ we are to "exhort one another and build each other up" (which I sometimes think we don't do enough of, but that's another subject that I'll save for another post). But until then, I believe that judging a non-believer's actions based on biblical standards is wrong. I need to love and accept this boy and his mom as they are.

But that doesn't make parenting my boys right now, with their non-believing friends, an easy task. Because just as I desire relationships with their parents, I want my boys to desire real relationships with their classmates. I don't want them to see themselves as somehow less than the other kids, nor do I want them to think themselves better. How do we go about instilling strong ethical principles in our children that are not laced with judgement and/or a feeling that they somehow have it better/worse than others? I feel like I am constantly telling my boys things like: "It doesn't matter that so-and-so does that. That is not something that I want you to do." Or, "just because his mom said it's okay for him, doesn't mean that it is okay for you." I hate it when I say things like that. But I'm not sure what other choice I have.

I want my kids to love as Jesus loved. Sure he was aware of the sin around him, but that didn't stop him from living with and loving those around him. And then change happened in those lives. Jesus' love and forgiveness broke through and changed hearts.

Change my heart, oh God. Help me to love like Jesus.

Learning to Trust

2010-03-01T23:21:00.012Z

I've been thinking about trust. What does it really mean to trust someone? And at what point in life does trust develop?

I've heard it said that babies trust their parents. But do they really? I'm not so sure. I think to say they trust their parents implies they recognize that those parents might let them down.

When I am holding a baby or two and things get precarious, as worried as I might be that I could drop one or both of them, they are oblivious. I don't think they are trusting me to keep them from a long and hard tumble to the ground. They can't imagine that I am anything but in complete control. So much so, that they often squirm and make things even more difficult! It's not even a matter of confidence. It's just fact: Mommy is holding me and so we're good!

Saying that, though, I think that Jesse and Matty, now 15 months old, are beginning to learn trust. Up until rather recently, when I would quickly run upstairs to grab the laundry basket or to go pee and I left them locked downstairs I knew they were okay because I could hear them crying. They would follow me to the stairs and looked longingly up through the mesh of the gate as they cried. I wonder what they were thinking? Were they worried that I was gone for good? Or just mad that I didn't take them up with me?

Lately, though, they still often end up following me to the bottom of the stairs when I make my mad dash. But instead of crying, I can hear them talking or playing with the toys that they brought along. If I wait long enough, I might hear Matty calling for me or Jesse yelling at me (yep, they are 2 very different boys!). When I head down the stairs and they catch sight of me, Jesse will give me his goofy grin and maybe say "hi" before heading back to play. On the other hand, Matty often gives me a very sad look and starts to cry, letting me know that he was not impressed with my decision to leave him. But it is completely different than it used to be when those cries really seemed to imply that neither of them thought I was ever coming back. Me reappearing seemed as much of a surprise as me leaving them was.

Yeah, yeah. Object permanence, blah, blah, blah. But do you see what I'm getting at? I think they are learning about trust and learning to trust me.

The crappy thing is that I will let them down. It's only a matter of time before I drop them in one way or another. I already have! How many times have I said or done something that has been the opposite of what Elijah and/or Brady expected? Or the opposite of what I told them I would do? And still they love me. And forgive me. And trust me. What a blessing and a challenge it is to raise kids!

Our first Christmas in Scotland

2010-02-09T21:50:00.000Z

Our first Christmas in Scotland was great. We were blessed with three special visitors: Grandpa and Grandma Coutts and Uncle Jeff! We had lots of fun, despite the unexpected ice and snow that kept us from sharing our "normal" life with them. Here we are at Dunnottar Castle on the North Sea.

Christmas holidays began with a bang! Not only was December 18th the last day of school, Brady's birthday and birthday party, but it was also the day it started to snow! It snowed and snowed and snowed. We ended up with ice and snow on the ground for over 4 weeks (apparently this doesn't happen often) and it seemed that nobody here knew what to do with it. The boys were due back at school on January 5th but school was cancelled because of the snow that was on the ground. They did get to go to school on the 6th, but they weren't allowed to have recess outside until the snow was gone, which was more than a bit frustrating for them, especially for Elijah!

December 23rd: We took the bus downtown and managed to shuffle-skate our way around a bit. Here is a shot of the boys with Grandpa (and Uncle Jeff and Jesse behind) at the end of Union Street.

December 24th: Here we are in our annual Christmas pyjamas, sent from Grandpa and Grandma Zed.

December 26th: A beautiful day at the sea.

December 29th: Here are the boys with Grandpa and Grandma Coutts on the train to Edinburgh. It was a fun trip (we love travelling by train) and it was nice to stay in a hotel for a night!

Edinburgh Castle

As the sun was setting, Jesse and Matty were mesmerized by the lights.

The boys sure love their Uncle Jeff.

Our last group photo (taken at the hotel the night before Jeff left for home). Matty was just so sad to say goodbye to Uncle Jeff!

Peanuts

2010-01-24T19:35:00.002Z

A few weeks before the babies first birthday I did something dumb. I decided that they were close enough to one to have a taste of peanut butter. But I didn't limit it to a taste: I gave them each a piece of toast with peanut butter slathered on it. They LOVED it!

Fairly quickly in, Mattias started rubbing his eyes and complaining a lot. But he kept eating. He hadn't napped well that day, so I assumed he was just tired and ready for an early trip to bed. When he was about half done, I clued in that, no, the whining and complaining and the face rubbing were not due to lack of sleep. His face was getting puffy and it was super red. He was having an allergic reaction to the peanut butter!

I got the Children's Benadryl and Jon got him out of his seat and took him upstairs to wash him down. He was quite a sight. But the Benadryl kicked in pretty fast (I'm so glad we had it on hand!) and he calmed down fairly quickly. I wanted to share a picture of him while he is still looking yucky but not at his worst. Poor guy!

It turns out that here they generally don't offer peanut products to kids under 5. I asked the paediatrician about it and he said it is due in part to cultural tendencies. Peanut butter just doesn't have the following here that it has in North America (here they seem to go for Nutella over PB). Take those two factors into consideration: late introduction of peanuts and general disinterest in peanut butter, and I guess that's why there is such a low number of kids with peanut allergies! There is not a single child in Elijah and Brady's entire school with a peanut allergy!

So my advice, should you ever have a baby in your midst: don't bother with peanut butter for at least a few years.

Brady the Brave

2010-01-24T08:05:00.000Z

We have had such a busy 6 weeks! There is so much I could tell you, so I will start with December 18th: Brady turned 5!

I can hardly believe how quickly the last 5 years have gone and how big and smart and wonderful Brady is. And so BRAVE! In the last 17 months we have had two big moves (the first from Caronport, Saskatchewan to Spruce Grove, Alberta and the second from the Grove to Aberdeen, Scotland) which can be trying on anyone. But especially trying for a very shy and introverted preschooler. Throw in the birth of your twin baby brothers and the decrease in parental involvement that forces on you, attending a number of different churches, losing your cousins when they move overseas, moving overseas, too, starting school fulltime within a week of that move, joining a football (soccer) team with a coach with a heavy Scottish accent, finding another church.... (Whew!) Brady has been so brave through it all!

He is also very stubborn (which drives his mommy crazy sometimes) and it is almost impossible to get him to change his mind on things. Still, we are so proud of him for being true to himself even through his stubbornness. A quick example: He was struggling with understanding all the instructions as football practice and was the youngest and smallest boy on the team (which was for 5 to 8 year olds). He decided he didn't want to play anymore and no amount of requests or demands from me or Jon would make him budge. I was worried that he would regret his decision to quit but he is totally great with it, actually. He still loves football, but has decided to wait until next fall to try playing on the team again.

Here is the Birthday Boy opening gifts before school with the crew.

And here he is at his long-awaited party! Brady was soooo excited to have his friends over to celebrate and decided months in advance that he wanted it to be a Wall*E party. (That really just meant that we did a Wall*E cake.) Because he was turning five we let him have 5 friends over (and didn't make him count brothers!). He chose 3 boys from school and 2 girls from church. They had lots of fun.

On a different note, here is a picture of the boys all playing together. The big boys love making boats and airplanes and forts. Here they are on their fishing boat (using badminton racquets and blankets as fishing poles and nets). You probably can't tell, but Jesse and Matty were ecstatic when we actually let them join them on the boat instead of pretending they were fish swimming in the ocean.

Elijah the Marvelous

2009-12-13T21:14:00.009Z

Elijah is an amazing boy. We discovered very early on that he is extremely bright and that God has blessed him with a kind and sensitive spirit. We love that about him. And those of you who know him will agree that with that sensitivity and concern for others, he also has a real dramatic side. That is something that we don't always know how to handle and neither does he.

Elijah is very quickly growing up. And he is also growing more and more dramatic. Sometimes I wonder if at night when we've got him all tucked in and ready for bed if he lies awake planning his next big performance. Let me tell you, the other day was a doozy!

As I recall we'd had a bit of a "rough" evening that included some reprimands from Mom and Dad. He and Brady were supposed to be getting ready for bed. Suddenly he bursts into the room and shrieks, "I know what you're doing!"

I look at Jon who is looking at me with as much confusion as I am feeling. "What are you talking about, Elijah!?"

"I know you are trying to kill us! Why do you have this knife up here!?" he exclaims as he pulls out from behind his back...

my 2 inch metal nail file.

After a quick explanation of what the weapon actually is, things return to normal. At least for a few minutes...

Jesse & Matty are 1!

2009-12-10T20:18:00.012Z

I wanted to get something up here now that we've sent out Christmas letters saying we have this thing! So here are a few pictures of our sweet babies on their first birthday!

While I don't love having Jesse and Mattias always matching, I must admit that it is pretty stinking adorable when they are!

They were pretty confused when it came to cake time. They both reached for their cakes, grabbed hold of some icing, then looked confused and as if they wanted their hands washed. (Of course, Jon was the master cake decorator.)

The babies got the Little People garage from Grandpa & Grandma Zed. They love it! Many a morning has been spent happily dropping things down the lift and fishing them out, then throwing things down the circular exit ramp. Although they don't fully get it, they do love it!

Well, that's all for now. I need to go work. But I will be back to post and chat about other events that have happened, especially since moving to Aberdeen! (And I'll be sure to include pictures of Elijah and Brady, too!)

New Location

2008-01-12T19:43:00.000Z

It is doubtful that we will be posting much here anymore. The last half-dozen times we've tried to post pictures here blogger has shut down on us and, frankly, it seems the best place for this these days might be facebook. So until the next one comes along, that's where we'll be. This website will remain as an archive of sorts.

Thanks for meeting us here. See you wherever else the airwaves take us all!

merry christmas

2007-12-23T22:13:00.001Z

we have neglected our blog for a number of months. will try to update again soon and check in on others as well. til then, here's some fun pics we just took on uncle jeff's computer. we're in PA and headed to Spruce this evening. merry christmas all.

Jon's Birthday

2007-10-03T04:17:00.000+01:00

Jon's 32nd birthday came and went with an inordinate amount of fanfare for such a "non-milestone" year. Angie and the boys gave me a great night at Chez Nous restaurant (our home), as you can see below. Elijah dressed up and was the waiter. It was amazing.

We also had a party at our place, seen below, with three families from seminary, Tuna, and the Beads. It was fun. We played football in the wind and at lots of chili. Notice I said the wind preceded the chili. Don't get all funny here.
At the party a great picture of Brady and Simon:
Thanks for all the birthday wishes friends and fam.

First Days of School

2007-09-14T22:50:00.000+01:00

First Day of School: TAKE ONE.

Here is Jon moments before heading over to the school for his first college class which he is taking for seminary credit. He arrives early. No one is there. He wanders around. Returns several times. 10 minutes after it should have started he finds one of the two or three people he knows in the college and asks what's the deal?

Have you seen the modified schedule?

What's that?

Jon missed his first class.

First Day of School: TAKE TWO.

The following Monday was the first time Jon got his class right, and was also Elijah's first day back at preschool. He loved it! Way more than last year. Funny how it takes these milestones to realize how much the person is growing up. He was raving about all the things he did and the new friends he made. He also enjoys art class on Tuesdays, which he is loving as well.

Brady is a little sad about not having school yet, but he does get Moms & Tots on his own now, without Elijah (it is during preschool) and also is in Sunday School by himself (which he isn't too happy about, yet). He likes playing by himself at home though, and having his special time with Momma.

August and Everything After

2007-08-27T20:46:00.000+01:00

Hey friends and family. If any of you still look here, here's some of the latest action:

Elijah and Brady have been doing a lot of bike riding. They love it.
Here's a nice one of us we took while hanging around at the playground one fine summer evening.
Here are the boys taking part in the group photo at the summer camp Jon spoke at:
Here are the Zed-side cousins with their Grandma. Believe it or not this is the best shot we could get of them together.
Here is some produce from Angie's garden.Exciting huh?

Crazy times are coming, it feels like the fall came all of a sudden and we are in over our head already! Jon is marking a Distance Learning class, doing some freelance writing, working on his thesis, teaching Sunday School with Terry (on Genesis), and taking three classes this fall. Angie is babysitting on Tuesdays, taking care of the boys (including Jon) every day,

helping with Children's Church and on a church committee, and looks to be taking part in a ladies group or two around the community. Elijah will be in preschool and also taking art classes. Brady is our free spirit, keeping us all entertained.

These are the things we are doing, but of course, life is what happens in between all that.

Thanks for checking in.

It's Been Awhile

2007-08-21T18:24:00.000+01:00

We've been lazy with the family blog over the summer. There should be some pictures up here eventually of Elijah and Brady riding bikes or maybe some of us at camp. Anyway, how about a short update for now.

After the July holidays we relaxed as best we could in the Caronport heat. It is a pretty lonesome town these days, but the neighbors have a pool, and Jon got lots of work done on his last 2006-2007 class, preached twice in Moose Jaw toward the end of the month, and prepared for a camp speaking engagement. Angie's gardening prowess has produced a flourish of tomatoes, carrots, lettuce, and so on.

We just finished this AWANA camp near Elk Point, Alberta, and it was 7 days with 100 people between grade 6 and 12 as well as another 30 or so staffers. It was a different sort of camp in that it was a scholarship camp, which meant mostly the best of the best AWANAers were there, which meant that it was largely a "discipleship" camp. The boys came with us and we stayed in an 18 foot trailer all together until Grandma and Grandpa Zed took them on the weekend, leaving us to finish off ourselves. All in all it went pretty well. We took the boys canoeing for the first time, and Angie found the camper that has always been inside of her. Jon survived.

Now that all of that is done, we're kicking back in the Edmonton area for a couple days before the 2007-2008 school year gets going. This coming semester, whilst working away at his thesis Jon will also be taking (and helping with) a literature class on GK Chesterton and also taking two classes in October: "Life in the Mess: The Theology of Forgiveness and Reconciliation"; and "The Reformation Era".

At church Angie will be helping with Children's Church and Jon will teach Sunday School again. We also will both be on the upstart Social Justice and Action Committee at our church. Elijah will hopefully be in preschool and both he and Brady look forward to hanging out with their friends again. As do we.

That's about where it is at these days. Thanks for checking in.

In Remembrance

2007-07-31T17:15:00.000+01:00

Another South Korean hostage died at the hands of the Taliban yesterday. He was 29. In this act of murder one man has become more truly demonic and another has been released from this fallen world and is finally truly human. May we all have the courage and compassion of these hostages. They are in our thoughts.

Ingmar Bergman also died yesterday. His films have left a legacy. He was 89.

I have names and photos and links to their stories on my blog.

BC Holiday Phase 3: Kelowna

2007-07-23T16:42:00.000+01:00

Our last week of holidays was spent in Kelowna with the Zed family. Here are the cousins all over Grandma as she looks at our pictures from phases one and two of our vacation.
After the vacation we asked Brady and Elijah about their favourite part. They said it was the waterpark; more specifically the waterslide at the waterpark. Truly, they just kept going up and down the thing. Sometimes waiting in line for quite a while. It was great to watch. This isn't the waterpark but shows them in all their wet and wacky glory. (I am hesitant/paranoid about posting pictures of kids (or anyone) in bathing suits online. There are a lot of creeps out there)

Liana and Brady got on each other's nerves at times, but got along grand at others. Here we caught Brady in the act of "sharing" with Liana while we sat in the shade during the scorching heat of the Farmer's Market.
Elijah has really taken to Ethan and has a definite soft spot and tenderness toward babies. He held Ethan often.

It wasn't just kids and Grandma on this holiday. Here's the whole lot of us at a bird santuary off the beach. It was sunny and hot all week.

Maybe the funnest thing all week was watching these four cousins dance at the "Jazz in the Park" thing we went to. Brady was raising the roof while Elijah, Micah and Liana did some magnificent twirls and jukes.

This became a common gathering point for Jon and the cousins (minus Ethan) as all the kids seats ended up in the W's van and we drove this way to the beach and everywhere all week. Andy and Angie were in the front. We enjoyed going to Scandia Amusement park and doing some mini-golfing. Here Richard (the eventual winner on the evening) is teaching Elijah how to putt.

Here is the group shot at the end of the golf. Almost looks like Disneyland.

It was a good, and relaxing, time with family. On the way home with Richard and Laurie we stopped at the world's largest dump truck off the Crowsnest Highway. Here's your family photo for the day.

There were lots more pictures from holidays, but that is a smattering of good ones. Sure was fun. It was nice to be home, but Caronport sure feels desolate and boring right now, after all that excitement.

BC Holiday Phase 2: Lower Mainland

2007-07-16T17:47:00.000+01:00

Phase two of our holiday to BC was spent in the lower mainland. This was essentially four days and we filled them up so much we were exhausted by the time the last day rolled around. But there were some great times.

First off we went to Stanley Park with Mom and Dad, Uncle Cliff and Jordan, and Jeff. It was a marvelously gorgeous day out. Soon as we got there everyone had their cameras out and there aren't many pictures that don't have other camers clicking in them. Below is a case in point.

The boys are still talking about the starfish they saw and held, not to mention the crabs and the blue heron that spent the beach day with us.

What a nice day.
A young boy took this shot of us on the tree at Second Beach.

Our other day with this crew was spent at White Rock. Here is the classic pier-walking scene. Didn't work out so well but it is a must to include it. It was another beautiful day.

It was a dreamy morning walk, favourite coffees in hand. The boys would later have pennies squished on these tracks.

On the White Rock day we had supper at Brad and Julia's. Here are the boys having dessert with their new friends Kezia and Linnea.

Here they are with their "old friend", Josiah. We had a nice visit with he and his sister Abby, who we had not yet met, if you can believe it. It was really good to catch up with their parents Jen and Dwayne, who have been great friends to us over the years.

One of the other highlights of the week, for Jon, was going to the Spain v. Zambia U-20 World Cup game in Burnaby with Zach (thanks for the tix), Dwayne, and Jeff. Spain won but Zambia were impressive. Zach knew everyone at the stadium of course.

Mike and Erin were our gracious hosts in Abbotsford. It was awesome staying with them and renewing our friendship. They have been friends of ours for 12 years. Isn't that amazing? Here now are our children hanging out like we always have. Aidan and Becca are very good kids and were really nice to our boys. Thanks for having us you guys.The visit to the Lower Mainland was fast and full. But phase three was yet to come ...

BC Holiday Phase 1: Fairmont

2007-07-09T15:46:00.000+01:00

Part one of our BC holiday was at Fairmont Hot Springs in the Rocky Mountains, where we celebrated a partial family reunion and Jon's Grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary. Here are Mel and Lois at the banquet: And here is the haiku which Jon wrote for his tribute (in an effort to be brief):

Sweet kiss on the mouth

While the grandchildren look on

Here I learned of love

But if we back up a second, we must include a shot from the Frank Slide off the Crowsnest Pass, where we hung out for awhile on the way to BC.

Fairmont had one of the most beautiful little waterfalls, here seen from above: Below the waterfall were these terraced pools, and since the water was actually the run off from the hot springs, the water was quite warm. There were two hot-tub sized pools and a larger pool, as well as dozens of puddles for kids to sit in. The view was gorgeous and the water was clear and warm. We spent as much time there as possible.
At the banquet, many tributes were given and a few songs were sung. Jeff wrote, played and sang a great number and Angie proved harmony. It was quite moving (more than the haiku at least). The honour went to the ones who have shown us "a love that is true".
Here are Elijah and Brady with their Great Grandparents. There was a lot of goofing around going on in the vicinity, which explains the smiles.Here they are with Kezia, Linnea, and Ellice, who are the cute daughters of Jon's cousin Brad and his wife Julia. They got a long grand and had a blast.
Here are the relatives awaiting the Canada Day fireworks, which were quite good. It capped off a nice visit in a beautiful location. After this it was off to phase two of the holiday, to be posted later.....

Angie is 30

2007-06-26T16:51:00.000+01:00

Angie turned 30 this month. She is a wonderful woman, mother, wife, friend. Here is a small birthday tribute to her, with some sights from some of the festivities surrounding her recent milestone.

These first two shots are of her birthday celebration at the Pudd's in Caronport. Tony and Gwen babysat all our boys so Tamara and Clay could treat us to supper in the Jaw. It was real nice! Then we came back for cake, which I had made (and nearly subsequently destroyed) at the Pudd's that afternoon. Below is a shot of Angie with her friend Tam from that evening.

These few shots are from brief get-togethers with friends in Selkirk. First with Helen, then with Tasha, Julie and Lorena, and then another with Tasha. Wish we could have taken pictures with everyone at church too but there wasn't time. Isn't Ang looking radiant?

And here she is with her family, who loves and appreciates her very much. The above was taken by Tasha of course. Below was a self-timer over the bacon and french toast breakfast we boys made for her (and nearly subsequently destroyed) on her actual birthday.

Happy 30th Angie! You are a beautiful person and we're glad you were born!

Jon

A Voyage East

2007-06-23T21:59:00.000+01:00

Last weekend we made it "out east" to Manitoba for the first time in over a year since we moved away from there and went back to school.

On his way to the GK Chesterton conference in St. Paul Minnesota Jon dropped of Angie and the boys at Colin and Tasha's late Wednesday night. They spent a few days visiting old haunts such as Oak Hammock Marsh and the Zoo, and then when Jon returned we saw the church folk from Selkirk on a busy Sunday before going home.

Below you'll see Elijah and Brady at the zoo, first with Colin and Tasha, and then with Jorja. They loved it. We've been to a few zoos, and Winnipeg's is easily the best bang for your buck.

The visit to Oak Hammock Marsh lent itself to a great photo. Below you'll see Elijah shielding Brady as they creep closer to the groundhogs. What a good brother.

Below is the beautiful campus where Jon was meanwhile attending interesting lectures and hiding out in the stellar libraries. It is the magnificent University of St. Thomas in St. Paul.

On Sunday in Selkirk there were many hugs which was nice, but not enough time to really catch up with everyone, which was sort of sad. But it was great to see the church with its new pastor, and people whom we miss so much doing well. There were simply way too many people to photograph extensively, so let it suffice to post a picture of us with Aaron, who we saw in Winnipeg on the way out.

It felt like a whirlwind trip but it was great to see everyone, even for a short time. Our paths meet and diverge, we don't always know where or how or why, but we value their convergence and never forget how our lives have been touched. Here's the sunset on the way back into Caronport.

Faces and Places

2007-06-19T20:55:00.000+01:00

Before we get the pictures of our most recent trip to Selkirk on here, it might be good to post some of the faces and places from the events surrounding Elijah's birthday visitors. Between borrowing a camera and having a new one given to us we went photo crazy (although we still managed to miss Laurie and Richard's 24 hour visit on film). As if to make up for lost time, here is a whack-load of photos from late May/early June.

The mirror corner at the Science Center in Regina. Grandpa Stu and Grandma Justine are there too, even though you can't see them.
Elijah gets a gift at Uncle Phil and Auntie Rachel's. Coen looks on.

The bubbles were Jon's favourite part of the Science Center.

There's a face you gotta love.

This didn't quite turn out perfect, but is still pretty fun.

Not sure who is reading to whom.

There were four, count them, four Yahtzees on this day. (All rolled by Jon and Angie, incidentally)

Simon and the boys were loving the bubbles at the birthday party.

By putting their heads together Jon and Clay are capable of amazing intellectual feats at seminary, as seen in this picture as they levitate a nerf football between Cade's head and Jon's rib cage.

The great water balloon toss of 2007. Tamara and Simon v. Andy and Liana v. Angie and Brady v. Jon and Micah v. Tuna and Elijah. Can't recall who won, but it ended in a long bomb or two.

As usual, this game of Guess Who got pretty animated.

A spontaneous trip to a burrowing owls exhibit also involved a chance meeting with a horse, who stole the show.

In the above photos Elijah and Brady, with the help of Angie, were playing with caterpillars.

You can't live in southern Saskatchewan and not have a trip to the town of Corner Gas.
Good times for the three boy-cousins with Grandma.
Elijah and Liana goofing around with lolipops.
Elijah and Micah enjoy their own booth at Bonanza.

Good times. Thanks for the visits everyone!

By the way folks, the flower in our profile photo is named Jon Coutts. No lie.

Elijah is Four!

2007-06-12T04:57:00.000+01:00

Elijah is four years old and we love him.

Here he is holding his younger cousin Ethan. He is very gentle and loving towards the little guy and it really shows his heart.

He had a great birthday weekend. It started with a visit from Grandma and Grandpa C, which led to a trip to Regina to go to the Science Center with Grandma S and the Beads as well as McDonalds with them and Uncle Terry. Then the next day Uncle Andy, Auntie Janet, Uncle Richard, Auntie Laurie, Micah, Liana, Ethan and Grandma and Grandpa Z came to visit and we had a party complete with a water balloon toss and the presence of local friends the Pudd's as well as the aforementioned Uncle Terry.

Here he is with Brady in his new sandbox. Behind is the still-concealed kitchen that he uses for his restaurant he has just opened up. People were way too generous. He also got some garbage trucks (that sounds funny, they are really cool little trucks) and a marble game, a sand and water table, restaurant cash register stuff, a Diego viewmaster and a Diego game.

Here he is with Brady, buddy Simon and cousins Micah and Liana.

Elijah is a wonderful boy and we're awful proud of him.

By the way, thanks Mom and Dad for the camera!!!!

Summer Plans

2007-05-28T17:49:00.000+01:00

Just realized that just because we don't have a camera doesn't mean we can't post some family news. So here's our plans for the summer that we're really excited about, if anyone is interested:

June brings Elijah and Angie's birthdays and we will be celebrating the gift of life God has given each of them, and us through them. Elijah turns 4 and will get a chance to celebrate with both sets of his grandparents as well as with the Weighills. He is counting down the days and is insistent on seeing his gift early, but we have stayed strong.

In mid-June we will be making a trip to Selkirk as well. Our first time back since moving away. Jon will only be there for part of the time, as he is dropping the family off on his way to a conference in Minnesota, but we all look forward to reconnecting with people out there. Jon is greatly looking forward to confirming his nerd-dom by going to a GK Chesterton conference in St. Paul where he will be hob-nobbing with other GKC nerds and researching for his thesis.

July is our official holiday month. We will be at Grandma and Grandpa Coutts' 60th wedding anniversary in Fairmont, BC, and then visiting friends and old haunts in the lower mainland for a week before having a Zelensky family holiday in Kelowna. Good times ahead.

August is back to the grind-stone. We are going Alberta mid-month as Jon is speaking at a youth camp there. Jon is also preaching at Moose Jaw Alliance a couple times before the new pastor arrives.

So that's the plan. Look forward to seeing many of you!

Ashtray Rock

2007-05-14T05:40:00.000+01:00

Ang and I had a great time seeing Joel Plaskett live the other night. This is one talented musician. Both times I've seen him the opening band has been really good, and you almost feel like you've already got the price of admission, and then Plaskett comes on and blows you away. You can say he is a step above the rest, and you aren't saying anything negative about the openers, he just is.

What I found uncanny about him this time around was how he's playing amazing guitar, singing with that powerful voice, moving around and connecting with his band and everyone, and then on top of that he is making up additional lyrics and saying stuff to the crowd (even in the split second between verse and chorus) that is funny and often even rhymes. He is constantlyl being creative, even with old material. Yet he's not wrecking the song either. It sounds as good if not better than on the album. What a joy to watch.

His last almbum is called Ashtray Rock and we hadn't bought it yet but of course came away with it and the Tshirt too. (It is fitting since we had to take a smoking room at the hotel and so, though we don't smoke, we felt like we might as well of, so the title sort of fit the weekend for us). Its actually a concept album about high school, and the Ashtray was a hang out for him back in the day. In case you were curious.

Anyway, sure love live music like that. Hope everyone had fun at the Edmonton and Vancouver shows. Let me know what songs he played. I was particularly glad to hear a song from his mind-blowing first album, In Need of Medical Attention: "The News of Your Son".

For those who care, here is what we recall of the set list:

Soundtrack for the Night
Snowed In/Cruisin
Million Dollars
Its Cathing On
The News of Your Son
Absentminded Melody
Penny for Your Thoughts
Lonely Love
Happen Now
Love This Town
True Patriot Love
Face of the Earth
Nothing More to Say
Nowhere With You
Work Out Fine
Maybe We Should Just Go Home
--encore--
Drunk Teenagers
Extraordinary
Fashionable People

Some of this I'm sure of it, a lot of it not, but I think that's all the songs. He played a lot, but it went fast. Too fast. See ya next time Joel.

Lost Camera

2007-05-02T21:51:00.000+01:00

We don't know where our digital camera is. So, here is an old picture.

Our camera is somewhere in Regina we think. We were there for a beautiful visit to Wascana Park with a bucket of KFC and some Beadmans on Saturday. (we ate one and hung out with the other, you figure it out)

Then, we had to take our old camera (with a roll of undeveloped film at least two years old, can't wait to see the pictures!) to Saskatoon with us on Sunday for a short and also beautiful rendezvous with Mom and Dad Coutts, Jeff, Becky and Deanna in the park/by the river/in downtown Saskatoon/by the Bessborough.

Saskatoon is a gorgeous city.

So is Regina for that matter. Go there tomorrow. And if you see our camera let us know.

A New Nephew and Cousin!

2007-04-17T16:25:00.000+01:00

We were able to stay in Spruce Grove long enough to be around for the birth of a new boy to the family! Hooray and thank the Creator again! Here's our new nephew/cousin and his Mom, Janet. His name is Ethan Lukas Hezekiah Weighill and he is very wonderful. (He was 8 lbs 1 oz and was born at 3:54 on Friday, April 13th in Edmonton.)

Elijah really took to the little guy. Always asking to hold him and when holding him always stroking his hair and holding his hand or foot and saying, "Oh he has such little feet!" We were quite proud of him for his tender heart toward his new cousin.

Here are the five Zed cousins now. Notice that the boys now outnumber the girls in the Zelensky family!

And here we are while waiting for the baby to be born on Friday. Yeah, it snowed.

And this is a wagon ride for the ages.

Congrats to the Weighills. Welcome to the world little Ethan!

Easter in Spruce

2007-04-14T16:35:00.000+01:00

We headed up to Spruce Grove for Easter and, even though we only thought to pack for the weekend, ended up staying all week because it turned out Angie's sister would be having her baby on Friday. Jon has been able to do his work out of the Taylor University College library and the boys have been playing with their cousins all week.

We went for a walk in the woods and the boys had a great stare-down with this cow (among others). The boys won. It was funny.

And Elijah was given his first two-wheeler!

Hope everyone had a good Easter.

Grandparents Everywhere!

2007-04-08T06:14:00.000+01:00

We just had a nice Good Friday visit with not only Elijah and Brady's Grandma and Grandpa Coutts but also Jon and Angie's Grandma and Grandpa Coutts! Its been a while since we saw the senior Coutts and it was a good reunion.

You're looking at four generations here.

Grandpa did the classic "severed thumb" trick for the boys. Couttses will know what a rite of passage this is. I love how Elijah looks like he's jumping back aghast. It didn't really happen that way, but it looks funny. They were mostly just mystified. Grandpa competed with "Treehouse" very well. The boys loved their Great Grandparents.

Kid Canadas

2007-04-01T20:39:00.000+01:00

The boys had a pretty exciting experience on Thursday night. Since we don't have cable TV all the cartoons they really get to watch are on CBC Kids in the mornings. So when the CBC Kids stage show, starring Lunar Jim and Curious George, came to Moose Jaw we had to go!

Together with their friends Simon and Cade (and their parents), Elijah and Brady got second row seats in the magnificent downtown theatre and saw the first stage show of their lives! There were no cameras allowed inside, so here we have pictures of the four boys after the show with all their paraphenalia.

The unfortunate thing about our close seating was that Brady actually got freaked out when the life size Lunar Jim came on stage at the beginning. He was already in awe of the huge screen but when he saw CBC Kids hosts Joyce and Kush in person and then this cartoon character in real life that was too much. He and Ang watched some of the show from the stairwell and then he played around with all the stuff in the lobby. He talks about the show as if it was the greatest thing though.

Elijah says the same thing, except he has the experience to back it up. He was dancing along ("but not singing Dad, I didn't want to") to everything and soaking it in with wide-eyed wonder. His and Brady's buddy Simon clung to his Mom most of the show (he's Brady's age) and then little Cade could hardly be contained he was so pumped.

Anyway, it was fun. Topped off with DQ afterward it was a night to remember. Here's Brady on the way out, and a tuckered Elijah on the drive home. Its nice to do special stuff for your kids!

Random Shots

2007-03-28T05:20:00.000+01:00

Well, the boys are being a bit goofy there, but that's our latest family photo. Once I'm tired of my finger painting I guess that'll be our profile photo. Anyway, here are some random pictures of things we saw that made us think of some of you.

Colin and Tasha, a Harley or two for you:

I'm always saying our next car should be a hybrid. Maybe this one would be better: Jeff, this old car seemed pretty cool, thought you might agree:
We finally got a computer with wireless. Nice eh? These were all taken at the Western Development Museum in Moose Jaw. Just one more reason to visit folks! Speaking of which, Couttses will enjoy this romantic shot of Mom and Dad on their last visit. Dad had his arm around Mom but I missed it.

Good Times in the Jaw

2007-03-25T03:55:00.000+01:00

We had a beautiful day in Moose Jaw on Friday. With Mom & Dad Coutts down from Prince Albert we went to the Western Development Museum (lots of planes, trains, and automobiles) in the morning and to the park downtown in the afternoon. It sure was nice to be outside again.

Brady and Elijah played hide and seek with Grandpa for a bit. Elijah and Brady really enjoy climbing the rocks (where a waterfall will probably soon start up again).

The snowbirds exhibit was really cool.

New Bunk Bed, New Season

2007-03-12T02:18:00.000Z

The boys have been sharing a room since Christmas and now have a new bunk bed. We got it at Jysk and are really happy with it because it is quite sturdy and fun and it will split into two separate beds. Grandpa Stu and Daddy put it together with much help from the boys organizing screws and bolts and carrying boards and such.

Elijah and Brady had Rachael over a couple times last week and really enjoyed it. She is in Elijah's pre-school class and they always want to sit together at soup lunch at the seminary (with Simon and Cade as well). In this photo Rachael is the queen and they are the princes and, as you may have noticed, they are holding hands.
Last week was Angie's second week as a full-time home-mom again and it was a week of blessing others. We had Tuna over for a few days, she babysat Rachael a couple times, Simon and Cade once, and threw a birthday party for a friend in town. Busy times. Jon is in class this upcoming week and, lo and behold, the snow is finally melting away! Could it be spring, finally?

A Snow Day in February

2007-03-02T22:25:00.000Z

THere was some beautiful weather in Spruce Grove while we visited there. Uncle Richard built a snow cave and we all had a jolly good time. Here are Liana and Micah in the cave and Brady and Elijah goofing around. Brady really liked being thrown back into the snow so he'd stick. Elijah got an infamous snowball in the face (caught on video) and this photo may have come shortly after.

Cousins and Grandparents

2007-02-27T03:01:00.000Z

Curiously, although we forgot our camera on this trip to Alberta, we came away with way more photos than usual. (Thanks Mom!) There are a ton of good ones to choose from but here is a batch that shows the cousins playing together.

And here are the cousins playing with their Grandma (and Grandpa). Looks like snack and high tea below, and storytime below that. Liana struggled with jet lag and missed out some of the time (although on these occasions she may have just been disinterested!).

The Whole Family

2007-02-23T23:13:00.000Z

Admittedly this photo is ripped off from the Grafton's blog, but since we forgot our camera on our recent trip to Alberta this is all we got. A good picture though. It sure was nice to have the whole family together, and amazingly everyone sat very nicely for these pictures. So here we are:

the Zelenskys.

An Airport Arrival

2007-02-13T18:26:00.000Z

On Monday night the Weighill family got "home" from East Asia and we were there at the airport to welcome them. The boys helped Grandma make some signs for their cousins' arrival and were quite excited.
There was definitely some shyness as the kids met, pretty much for the first time.
Once home, the kids got aquanted. Here Brady and Liana are getting to the point of some "parallel play", as we call it.
Jon and Micah (who is trying on a dress that had been waiting for her) play a bit of potato head.

The boys and Liana as Angie and Janet look on.

Its good to have them "home"!

Super Bowl XLI

2007-02-05T13:44:00.000Z

We finally did it. For longer than Elijah and Brady have been alive (about 5 years) the Colts have been the number one sports team in the Coutts household (besides the Canucks of course). This may not seem like long but if you take a look at the playoff results from those 5 years you'll see that there has been a lot of pain for Colts fans on the way to Super Bowl XLI. (Last year Jon literally bled when the semi-final was lost to the Steelers.)

But here we have it. 282 countries are watching. A billion viewers. And our team is center stage to win the second greatest trophy in sports (besides the World Cup).

And they did it!

Certainly if the team of my life, the Canucks, ever win the Stanley Cup, it will be a far grander thing for me (jon), but this was something. You can be a sports fan a long time and your team may rarely, or never, win. Even in a league with 8 teams it can be decades (right Rider fans?).

But this team won me over years ago because of its players and its coaches. These are some class individuals, consumate professionals, excellent athletes, fine gentlemen, hard workers, deserving winners. Dungy (above) is a smart coach and a good man. I love seeing him get the gatorade. (Tuna thought that this year they should have gone with hot chocolate)

It all went so fast. Here is the pick that sealed the deal, by Bob Sanders. The way this guy turned the defence around for the playoffs, this was a fitting end. He should have been the MVP.
But then again, even on a mediocre day, Manning is a fitting MVP. He has been called one of the greatest athletes of the modern era. No kidding. THey say today you have TIger Woods, Federer (tennis), and Manning. I don't know about those other guys, but this is the real deal. This guy is basically coaching while he plays, and they say he refs half the game too. A classy guy and you couldn't be happier for a millionaire than you are for this guy.
And I'm so glad Marvin Harrison was able to make one of his trademark catches and that it was so close they had to challenge it so we could see the replay a hundred times. He does this every game, I'm not kidding. If there was an award for keeping your feet in bounds Marvin would be the all time best hands down (or feet down you might say).

I could go on and on about the players. Hayden's clutch INT TD, Addai and Rhodes outrunning the Bears, Wayne's TD...all great moments. And then there's the hug (kiss?) at center field after the game ...
Unfortunately Global cut away for Deal or No Deal Canada (is there a worse show in television history?) right away and so I missed all the trophy presentations and what not. But it was a great night.

I'd like to thank my wife Angie for being with me through the blood, sweat and tears of the past 5 years, and my boys for letting me watch football for 4 months of Sundays every year. (Yesterday after church they both decided they were cheering for the Bears, out of pity. It was funny). Anyway ...

Let the dynasty begin!

January Went Fast

2007-02-02T02:37:00.000Z

Well, January was a decent month. We had some more visits, frequent stayers the Doerksens stopped in on both legs of their BC trip, Tuna was over for several days again, and we were graced with the presence of Hoos as well. During Tuna's visit, of course, his Patriots lost to our Colts, which was good, for once! Concerned friends will be pleased to know that both sides were very amicable during the fretful 3 hours of competition.

Besides this we simply had the usual hanging around and working. Above you'll see Brady with his playdoh bears. Some of you (ahem, Jen) will be pleased to know that Brady lines them up on his own like this every time. Very orderly. Actually they were all standing up before the shot was taken.
We already shared some photos from our Museum trip while we were in Spruce Grove, but here's one of the boys watching a snake. Jon was sure it was fake, but the boys insisted it was real and watched it forever until, sure enough, it moved. They were delighted. Jon was mildly amused. Below is a shot of the boys guzzling down their soup. They love soup. Elijah is wearing a hat from preschool.

And the remaining photos are some endearing moments of the boys sleeping on us. These cuddly times already happen less and less, and the boys aren't even close to adolescence yet. So these were nice moments. Elijah fell asleep watching he and Daddy's Coldplay video, and Brady fell asleep because he was tired and under the weather.

The Game

2007-01-28T02:44:00.000Z

This is the week.

Manning, Addai, Harrison, Dungy, Wayne, Saturday,

Klecko, Freeney, Cato, Sanders, Harper, Vinaeteri, and even Coutts ...

We're ready.

Set aside the guacamole and the cheese ball and listen up for a second.

Mute those Super Bowl commercials. You're probably watching the Canadian ones anyway. How many times do you need to hear the United Furniture Warehouse song in your life?

Listen up.

We're ready.

This is the year.

All that waiting. All that pain.

The ghosts have been exorcised ...

There is optimism in the Colts camp.

We're ready.

It's go time.

Christmas in Spruce Grove

2007-01-12T16:50:00.000Z

Before the Christmas spirit is completely gone, we better get the last of our photos up from the Alberta side of our holiday. Below are the boys in their new Diego pyjamas along with Angie and Auntie Laurie. We were only with Richard and Laurie for a short time so we unfortunately don't have many pictures with them.

Here are the boys playing "Freeway" on Grandma's PS2. (The Activision Anthology)
Here is Elijah skating with Grandpa. He actually skated on his own without the stool a couple times but this was not captured on film.
Brady was looking cute here. Oh, there's Richard in the background! Looking good Richard! Sorry we focus on kids to the detriment of adult shots sometimes.
And here are the boys with their new radio controlled cars. Elijah liked it when they went through his legs.

Lego, Bugs and Bob the Builder!

2007-01-06T05:05:00.000Z

These aren't all the pics from our time in Spruce Grove, but yesterday we went to the Museum and had a blast, so here are some photos of the good times there. First is us in front of a scale model of the Edmonton Legislature made out of lego. This was a fascinating exhibit.

Then of course there was the Bob the Builder exhibit, which was packed wall to wall with kids. This sort of freaked Brady out a bit, but they both had a riot with all the stuff.
Brady in the slide exiting from the lego submarine.
Elijah through a porthole.
The grandfolks with the grandsons in front of the wild turkey exhibit, of all things.
The boys had a great time. Elijah and Brady's favourite is not pictured here because Jon did not take any photos: it was the bug exhibit. Tarantulas, cockroaches, giant beetles, the works. It was delightful, really.

A Date and a Great Show

2007-01-04T05:27:00.000Z

With Grandma and Grandpa babysitting Angie and I were able to head out for a date night in the fine river-valley city of Edmonton. We took in a concert by none other than Jeff Coutts and Dave McGregor at the Druid. It was great. See pictures below. Read Jon's review here.

Below is Jeff on harmonica, Dave on guitar, Brock Tyler on percussion and Nathan Carroll on guitar in the background during a cover of the Rolling Stones' Dead Flowers.

Below are Jeff and Dave during Leap Year.

Below is Jeff on guitar during Leap Year, which was the encore.

Below is Jeff with Nathan Davies during the always awesome I Can't Stand. No flash bulbs were harmed during the taking of this photograph.

A seriously great show. If you are in the Edmonton area you owe it to yourself to take in these musicians live.

We Skate We Swim

2007-01-02T00:18:00.000Z

Elijah went skating for the first time and did awesome. We were all tuckered out and ready to go home and he did not want to leave. He skated mostly by himself with the aid of a small little stool we brought to the rink, but played some puck hockey as others held on to him as well. We were quite surprised how much he liked it.

It was a beautiful day out on the rink. Uncle Jeff and Grandma Dot made sure Brady got to do some sledding. Grandpa Stu, Angie, Jeff, Jon, and then a few days later Dave and Amy, all had a few whacks at the puck and some glorious cross-ice feather passes of course.

On the last day of the Coutts holiday a bunch of us went to the spa in Moose Jaw. It was lightly snowing and both boys really took to the water this time. Brady sooner than Elijah, but Elijah worked up the bravery and ended up having a great time with all of us.

Christmas in Caronport

2007-01-01T23:34:00.000Z

This chapter of the Coutts Family was together in its totality again, albeit briefly, this Christmas! Here's the group photo taken by a friendly man outside McDonald's.

We were priveleged to host the Coutts Christmas festivities in Caronport. There were good times playing Scattergories, Dutch Blitz, Top Three, and Settlers of Cattan. The guitars and other instruments were brought out on many occasions for a jam, the turkey and goodies were fabulous, and the nog and coffees flowed freely. The local outdoor rink, the Starbucks, and the spa in Moose Jaw were frequented as well. It was a great week.

Thanks to all for making the trip. We headed to Alberta after this for New Year's. More photos should be forthcoming from that trip. Holidays are awesome.

Brady's 2nd Birthday

2006-12-23T03:34:00.000Z

Here is our boy Brady on his second birthday. He is such a fun kid and really loves to wrestle, run, dogpile, sing, colour, and play pretty much anything with his big brother. 2 years. Crazy. We are very proud of this little guy and were very glad to celebrate again the gift of his birth.

There was a short but intense game of Twister at Brady's party. Below you see Noah in the split formation and Simon in full stretch while Shaelyn looks on. Brady considers a full stretch to a red circle himself but isn't quite sure what Coen's intentions are. Elijah is in the foreground. It was a good game. Pretty sure Noah won.

And here they are before bed. Elijah picked up a black eye somewhere along the way and is hamming it up for the camera.

The Christmas Hype

2006-12-23T03:14:00.000Z

Here is Elijah's preschool Christmas concert. The funniest part was everyone lying on their backs and squirming and kicking like squirrels or something like that, and Elijah would have none of it. He stood there with his hands in his pockets, too cool, or too nervous, to get down on his butt with the rest of them. This is the scene in the second photo.

Above is Elijah playing Joseph in the Moms & Tots nativity scene. There are about six Marys. The second photo is the boys wearing our Dr. Seuss hats, getting set to rob a stagecoach or something.

Here are the boys with our Christmas tree. The other boy is Simon, their friend in Caronport who is a little younger than Brady.

Quotes of the Week

2006-12-09T20:34:00.000Z

Okay, here are some great quotes from the boys this week.

Brady (lying in bed going to sleep, to his Daddy lying beside him, out of the quiet): "Dad?"
Jon: "Yes, Brady?"
Brady (after a short pause): "Is the chicken in the living room?" (referring to a dancing chicken that freaked him out a few days previous)
Jon: "Yeah, it's in the living room." (I'm not sure exactly what all I said but that's not the point)
Brady: "Mommy took the batteries out?"
Jon: "Yes she did."
Brady: "It doesn't talk and dance anymore?"
Jon: "No Brade there is nothing to be scared of."
Brady: "Otay."

And then there was Elijah last night at prayertime:

Elijah: "Dear Jesus, please forgive all of my bad things."

He is very sensitive lately about "being a monkey" and "doing bad things" and so we tell him that's good to not want to do bad things but we forgive him when he says sorry and love him no matter what. He also knows that Jesus died on the cross "because he loves us soooo much" and "to take away our bad things", so last night he put it all together and of his own volition prayed the above prayer. Nice eh? (Of course salvation is a journey, and he doesn't really remember it today, but that was quite a moment we think)

Jon's Haircut

2006-12-06T01:48:00.000Z

Here's the scruffy guy and his beautiful wife and kids...

... and here's the recent haircut, and the perplexed wife!

Recent Visits

2006-12-06T01:38:00.000Z

When Uncle Tuna comes to town for a week of class it is always with great joy that the boys say hello and with great sadness that they bid farewell. Its awesome because its like having a third parent around the house, and a third kid too! He's the swing vote in every family decision and its always a good time. And if Tuna and Jon can get through a week without a fist fight we know its been a successful visit.
Mom and Dad Coutts came down for a day and we celebrated a birthday for ol' Stuey and had an anniversary gift given to us as well. Bronze and linen! Can you guess what year this is? These visits are sure nice compared to our long absences in the past. Sure is getting snowy and drifty on those roads though.

A Lethbridge Weekend

2006-12-06T01:23:00.000Z

We visited Lethbridge recently. Here are the boys in pictures with Charlie (whom they couldn't get enough of) and Auntie Laurie (whom they love) and Uncle Richard (who made a ramp for them to play cars, and whom they also love).

Top Dozen on the ipod

2006-12-02T16:26:00.000Z

Many of you may not know that Angie bought Jon an iPod nano for his birthday. Jon also blew almost all his birthday money on music (thanks family!). So its been two months of listening and here are the 12 most-played tracks on the iPod:

12. Staralfur - Sigur Rós, Agaetus Byrjun (19 plays)
11. Avalanche - Ryan Adams, Love is Hell (20)
10. How Few There Are of Your Eyes So Strong - Jeff Coutts, Your Imagined Fire (20)
9. Corrugated Tin Facáde - Buck 65, Secret House Against the World (20)
8. Please Do Not Let Me Go - Ryan Adams, Love is Hell (22)
7. The Shadowlands - Ryan Adams, Love is Hell (22)
6. Love For Granted - Phoenix, Alphabetical (22)
5. Long Distance Call - Phoenix, It's Never Been Like That (24)
4. Rally - Phoenix, It's Never Been Like That (25)
3. Lyin' On A Beach - Joel Plaskett, La De Da (25)
2. Consolation Prizes - Phoenix, It's Never Been Like That (27)
1. Barely Moving - Jeff Coutts, Your Imagined Fire (28)

Of course, this doesn't count what we've been listening to on CD. And this is mostly what Jon listens to, although Angie does take the ipod to work some days. But there you go, for fun, the top 12 the last 2 months. Thanks for the birthday presents folks! Anyone looking for something to add to your Christmas lists I can highly recommend all the above albums!

Winter in Alberta

2006-11-25T00:45:00.000Z

The boys had the opportunity to visit Grandma and Grandpa in Spruce Grove recently. Here's a couple pictures of them outside and one of them after they fell asleep on the same bed together.

Angie had quite a drive taking them up there. Just outside Saskatoon the car spun on ice and did a 360 into the ditch. Thanks to some helpful passers-by all emerged unscathed. Elijah slept through it and when the car came to a stop Brady thought they had arrived! Thank God for safety. They stayed the night in a hotel, and after that things went well. Angie came back to Caronport for work and Jon was in class and we had a few kid-less days at home before meeting up with the boys and Mom & Dad Zed the next weekend at Laurie and Richard's in Lethbridge. Good times.

Some Nice Pics

2006-11-06T21:29:00.000Z

Here are some great pictures (if we do say so ourselves) we thought you might like to see. The first three are by Angie's mom, the last two are taken by Tasha. They certainly capture that "spark" of life, you know?

Speaking of which, these boys really are budding personalities. I (Jon) caught Elijah giggling away watching a cartoon the other day and started giggling myself he was having such a good time sitting there by himself. He couldn't stop laughing long enough to tell me what was funny. I think it was a skunk on TV. As for Brady, this little monkey is chatting up a storm these days. Sometimes he just repeats everything Elijah says, and sometimes he is just giving updates ("Brady sees the birds, Mommy sees the birds, Lijah sees the birds, Daddy sees the birds!"), and sometimes he is coming up with his own funny stuff. For instance, he'll say, "Daddy, watch this!" and then he'll sit there stone cold (or at least it appears that way) and then say "Was that funny?". Sometimes he'll just move his foot a tiny bit and that's the gag. I always say it is funny because it certainly is.

Elijah gets Brady laughing sometimes and look out. The two of them love dancing to Uncle Jeff's music (they request it constantly), and for some reason unfortunately Jon has been the one teaching them how to dance so it looks pretty riduculous. Kind of a cross between the robot and a person marching with his elbows in the air. Anyway, here's those pics I was talking about:

Sorry if I'm coming across like a proud papa with a wallet full of pictures. I guess that's pretty much what this is. Nice photography by those ladies though I must say.

Visits and Football

2006-11-01T17:33:00.000Z

We have had more visitors in Caronport than anywhere else in our lives. And we've lived in every major Western Canadian center (approximately) except Saskatoon! Go figure. Apparently this is the place to travel. Despite what certain other blogs might suggest there is more here than a cow. Although, not much. Anyway, we had the delight of having the Doerksens out for a weekend, and then circumstances brought Tasha our way again a week later. The boys really took to them both, it was fun.

We also had Terry over for a week again. That was good times as always. He was in class on his own this time though so he and Jon were not together enough to have any of their fist fights. There are no pictures from this visit, but it should be known to all that Terry and Jon have a HUGE weekend coming up, what with the GINORMOUS battle between the New England Patriots and the Indianapolic Colts on November 5th. You can guess who the Coutts household is cheering for.

[Incidentally, our fantasy football teams also play each other this weekend, so if you never hear me mention Terry again you'll know things went desperately sour. ]

We also went to Prince Albert last weekend for Mom's birthday. Good times as always. Good church on Sunday, fantastic buffet, a wonderful Colts win over the Broncos, and a decent but tiring drive home.

Anyway, back to the old routine now. Some of us are sick again. God help us, we say that a lot! We'll try again later to get real pictures up here. Maybe next week after the game.

Family Visits

2006-10-21T20:59:00.000+01:00

Both our folks have visited this fall. Grandma Speirs came out too, as you see in this great Zellers shot. We don't mind promoting Zellers since they are at least cool enough to have a Joel Plaskett song in one of their commercials. Anyway, here's a whole bunch of pictures in two posts. (We'll even add a couple more of the boys to that last "family update" post too)

Grandpa Fred painted and fixed everything in sight. Here's a shot of him in a rare moment standing still, as well as one of the boys in their usual picture with Grandma Zed.

Uncle Jeff came over too, and the boys (particularly Brady) were quite smitten. There were some good jam sessions.

Fun Times at the Beads

2006-10-21T20:36:00.000+01:00

Well, this was a while ago now, but here's a bunch of pictures from a fun night we had at the Beadman's place. It was a party for Jon's birthday, and there was cake, burgers, lots of running in the backyard, and even some kid-attacks on Jon and "Uncle/Mister Tuna". This first picture may not seem all that good but its included because it contains the very camera shy Rachel, whom you don't see very often in photos.

Family update

2006-10-18T14:56:00.000+01:00

So, we've been pretty busy, so that's why there haven't been many pics on here lately. Brady's pretty sick right now with high fevers and stuff, and our sleeps haven't been that good. He's reacting to his immunizations, and now has penicillin, so there should be a light at the end of that tunnel. Angie hasn't been able to go to work this week though. Jon is in class. Jon had his last day of work the other day. It was getting to be too much to balance and so we'd rather go deeper in debt than miss out on the stuff we actually came here for. Elijah is doing great at pre-school, although he'd still rather stay home. We plan to post lots of photos here sometime soon, but for now here's a few photos of the boys ...

Incidentally, if you'd like to peruse three of the topics Jon is considering for his thesis work, check out an early idea-proposal at www.thissideofsunday.blogspot.com.

Whatcha Listenin' To?

2006-10-07T17:13:00.000+01:00

Well, if anyone wants to keep up the TV talk, feel free to follow the Survivor Nerds link to the right and join what is at present a fledgling dialogue about that fantastic television program. We'll probably get some family photos and news up on this blog in the near future (we don't download our pictures very often) but for now we want to share with you the music that excites us these days. WE don't have a lot of "flex dollars" here in Caronport and so tend to use "birthday money" to buy "luxury items" such as nice clothes and music. Hence Angie, who takes a whole year to spend her birthday money, and Jon, who has usually spent it before it even arrives, have recently purchased some great music:

Sarah Harmer: "You Were Here" (Angie's. Lodestar is a masterpeice. You owe it to yourself to hear this song)
Johnny Cash: "American IV" (Jon's. "Hurt" is also amazing. See the music video too. The farmers love this when Jon puts it on at work. The college kids make strange faces.)
Tony Bennett: "Duets" (We went together on this. We have a soft spot for Tony

Phoenix: "Alphabetical" and the new one "Its Never Been Like That" (Jon's new favourite band. Check it out online at www.wearephoenix.com)
Ryan Adams: "Love is Hell" (Dave McG and Jeff brought this for me for my birthday. It is some beautiful mellow stuff)
Beck: "Sea Change" (Jon's. Classic mellow stuff)
Sigur Rós: "Agaetis Byrjun" (Jon's)

Other notable songs the playlist:

Buck 65: Blood of a Young Wolf and Corrugated Tin Facade and The Floor
Pretty much anything Joel Plaskett
Jeff Coutts: "Your Imagined Fire" (Three incredible new songs from my brother which you can access free through the link on the sidebar)

How about you? Whatcha listenin' to?

Whatcha Watchin?

2006-09-19T17:38:00.000+01:00

So what's everybody watching this fall? We try not to watch too much, but usually have about 3 or 4 shows. Having just three channels will limit things of course, which is probably for the better. However, who wants to talk TV? We're thinking we'll be watching Survivor again, although we missed the first one. Amazing Race sure is getting boring don't you think? We'll probably still catch it though. Sunday night is a good time slot. The NFL will be the first thing on after church on Sunday too.

But perhaps the show of the year will be Studio 60. Anyone catch it? It certainly is going to fill a West-Wing-sized hole around our place. It looks like it could really be controversial, or at least push some buttons. Even some of ours. But that can't be entirely unhealthy. Anyway, the writing and the acting are phenomenal and Matthew Perry actually fit real well with Bradley Whitford. Amanda Peet was real good too. Also liked that other guy who was CJ's boyfriend on West Wing. Can't remember his name. Anyway, could be a good show.

So, how bout you? Watcha watchin?

Bird Stories

2006-09-19T05:44:00.000+01:00

We've had some strange occurances with birds since we moved to Caronport:
1) On moving day Jon got pooped on. First time in his life.
2) One night we were walking to the park and we thought we heard an overly squawky and friendly old lady walking down the street until a guy rode by on his bike with a parrot on its shoulder squawking "heeelloow" to everyone! It was bizarre.

3) Having a picnic under the tree in our side yard the other day a bird almost fell on us! It literally caught itself by its wing and one claw and was dangling there. Jon grabbed it and held it for the boys and released it and it was fine!

(not actual photo)

First Day of School

2006-09-16T01:14:00.000+01:00

Elijah saw his buddy Josiah's pre-school picture and wanted to put his on too. Here he is in the classic first day of school pose on the front steps. He needed Mommy to stay for awhile, but has been just fine on his own and we are so happily proud of him.

While we're at it, here's a funny picture of the boys wrestling their Uncle Tuna. Both boys really took to "Ruckle Roona" (as Brady calls him) this week as he was at our house for a seminary class. Moments after this photo was taken Elijah jumped unexpectedly from the top ropes and it wasn't pretty!

The New Home

2006-09-16T01:01:00.000+01:00

Here's our place from across the street. You can see the big bay window, the entrance and deck, and on the left the windows to the entrance, the office, and the guest room/play room.

This is the kitchen and dining room, with the currently cluttered "island" in the middle. More accurately it is a peninsula but when I (Jon) call it that nobody has a clue what I'm saying.

And here's the living room. Dad Zed painted this room for us this last week and also painted and wallpapered the kitchen area. Mom Zed helped organize and decorate.

Our Time in 'Skatchewan

2006-08-29T18:26:00.000+01:00

Well, we have finally arrived in Caronport, Saskatchewan (Brady uses the above abbreviation exclusively. Here are the boys with the Beadman kids revelling over our local tractor.

Pictures of the new home are coming soon, but this post and the next give a bit of a review of this summer of transition. We did a lot of moving around. The support of parents in times like this is a great gift. Even with the resltessness of homelessness we had some great times with both sides of the family this summer. Saw some old friends too. It was great.

We had two stints in Prince Albert: the new home of Jon's folks. This time consisted mostly of hanging around at playgrounds, by the river, in the house, and in the backyard (including a playhouse, a sandbox and Jon and his Dad practicing headers and bursting two of Elijah's soccer balls on a thorny tree which was eventually cut down).

The highlight, however, was a trip to the marvelous beach in Northern Saskatchewan (who knew there was such a thing?): Waskisou.

Our Time in Alberta

2006-08-29T17:51:00.000+01:00

Highlights while we lived in Spruce Grove included the Edmonton zoo and the Street Performer's Festival with Jeff and the Zeds, as well as Taste of Edmonton with just the Zeds. Furthermore: Whyte Ave (including the magnificent Oodle Noodle with Jeff, Commonwealth Stadium for two Esks games, Grandpa John's hospital .... we went to "the city" (as the boys call it) a lot actually.

We also spent some time in Lethbridge with the Graftons and Zeds. Elijah had his first hike at the big bridge in the beautiful canyon (or whatever it is called) and Brady enjoyed playing with Charlie (the G's black lab, as tall as Brady) at every opportunity.

This family picture was taken in early August at a park in Stony Plain (10 minutes from Spruce). It was a very nice day.

The Boys Of Summer

2006-08-10T07:10:00.000+01:00

When we move into our new place in a few weeks we hope to have some more pictures here. For now, for those who haven't seen them in awhile, here's a glimpse of the boys as they've been growing and getting along fairly well this summer.

Brady and Elijah enjoyed a Revell during a much deserved break while helping out in their Great Grandma Fern's backyard in Edmonton. They have enjoyed digging around in gardens and such all summer long.

Here they are August long weekend in Laurie and Richard's backyard, looking tired from all the fun, but also quite cute in their pjs and their huggable ways.

Hopefully you'll get more pictures from us here once we get settled in Caronport later this month. Maybe some pics of our new home as well!

Kenora

2006-06-04T22:08:00.000+01:00

We just had to visit Kenora before we moved away and so we went there for the weekend with the Hansens. Weather was good; beaches were nice; the boys had a blast; and Jon accidentally gave Josiah a bleeding lip (sorry bud).

Elijah's Birthday

2006-06-01T23:46:00.000+01:00

Here's our little drummer boy on his 3rd birthday. We got a great deal on this awesome junior drumset. He should be able to enjoy it for years. (As for our ears, what were we thinking?)

Elijah had Carter, Josiah and Brady at his kid's party.

He was pretty psyched about his 3rd birthday ribbon.

Friends watching the clouds, dreaming of all that year number four will bring.

Farewell Selkirk

2006-05-27T22:38:00.000+01:00

Our church threw us a great BBQ before we left Selkirk.

Words were said all around and gracious gifts were given

There were sad farewells and many hugs - for many good times together.

We also had a goodbye breakfast with the Hansens and Doerksens.
Kristy Tremblay was there too, she took the picture!

This is Elijah with his best friend Josiah Hansen. (Another great pic by Tasha.)

Brady with he and Elijah's good friend and neighbour Jorja.

Fun Photo Shoot

2006-03-20T05:36:00.000Z

We were given a unique opportunity to do a professional photo shoot at Joel Ross photography (they were promoing a new style) and jumped at the chance to get some fun family pictures. You'll have to come visit to see the best one, but here's a few that didn't make it into frames.

Angie, Elijah, Jon & Brady

2005-05-31T05:29:00.000+01:00

This is us in May of '05. Elijah was just about 2. Brady was 6 months old. Tasha Doerksen took great pictures of us on that beautiful day.