Am I creating monsters?

I have been able to pick up some golf clubs for the boys in the last year. Nan as well.
We really enjoy going to the driving range as a family and knocking some balls out there.
Yesterday afternoon we went out to the range and had a lot of fun. Well mostly….
Golf is one of those funny sports to me. You can enjoy it immensely but man it is frustrating sometimes.
William and Nan feel the same way at times I think.
Periodically it becomes very frustrating when you cannot hit the ball right, or your swing dynamic simply leaves and does not return for a week or two. William has a tendency to be a first born in his reaction and boy he does NOT like it when he cannot hit the way he would like to.

I wonder sometimes if I am giving them a good outlet in doing this or am I forcing them to live through something that only masochists enjoy. I mean, if I did not like golf so much, I am sure that they would not have cared about it at all.

Jackson on the other hand is the happy-go-lucky kid who seems to have taken hold of the mantra “Bloom where you are planted” The kid just has fun pretty much anywhere he is. He is funny.
Yesterday when he was getting bored of hitting balls, he decides to try to sit on one of the racks that hold golf bags up. Cool. Then he gets the idea that because they are made from metal, and are somewhat tubular, he should flip around on them like they are monkey bars. Awesome. I love it.
Make fun wherever you are kid.

So, I hope I am not creating golf monsters in my sons. I hope that they enjoy the game for enjoyment sake and it does not become simply another thing to master. I need to learn more of that. I should be doing it for enjoyment. That is where I started out with this game. I do want to better myself, but I want to enjoy myself along the way.

Ink

I have been thinking about another tattoo lately.
A few years back I had my first one done and I have really enjoyed it. I had always wanted one but decided to wait and wait and wait. I am glad I did. Originally, I had wanted a budgie for a tattoo. That would have been a bad decision I think. Eventually I settled on my Dogfish symbol. I believe that it is very appropriate for me.

Lately I have been thinking about the following:

This is the Britton Family Motto - it means “Virtue is the safest helmet”. Over the last couple of years, Nan, the boys and I have discussed this motto at length and how it would be good to adopt it fully.

So, I think this might be the next ink. I tease William about getting a tattoo. I don’t think he ever will. I could be wrong, but the kid absolutely despises needles. (he gets completely wiggy over them). Jackson, maybe.

Nan and I have talked about the fact that we would like to get signet rings made for the boys at some point with the motto on them. That would be cool.

Family

This guy is crazy!
Maybe he is the black (or off-white at least) sheep of the family…

Eric the sheep

Eric decided to put Jackson’s sheep outfit on after the Christmas concert at the church.

Pics from the west….

Nan and I had the opportunity to take a drive out to Harris Saskatchewan yesterday and take some photos. Harris is the little town that Abi teaches in. Very quaint. I mean VERY quaint. We were able to get some nice shots of small town Saskatchewan.

Typical grid road

This pictures (sans the smart alec comment) shows the typical grid road as they are called out here. Bleak, bleak, bleak. Or I guess if you enjoyed wide open spaces, you would call this Nirvana.

Haunting old church

I really wish that I had taken the time to walk up to the side of this old, run-down church and snap some shots of the interior. I would have been interested to see what the inside was like. I was a little worried to though. On the other side of the church, part of the roof was held up by struts that did not look all that safe.

Prairie buildings

This pic is of some cool old looking buildings sitting in a field. It is strange, you find buildings out here in the weirdest places.. Right in the middle of nowhere, there will be a building or two..

North to Alaska!

Well, so it seems.
Since we have arrived in Saskatoon on Wednesday it has been cold. Real cold.
Last night the temperature was supposed to dip to -40. That is really cold.
So cold that I will not be trying to get my outdoor walk in today. I value my nose and eyes too much for that kind of craziness.

We have had a great time so far. Tuesday we went to Toronto after having lunch with Eric and Lins and dropping the dog off in St. Thomas.

Once in Toronto, we settled into our hotel, had a swim, dinner at Swiss Chalet, another swim and then to bed. Wednesday morning we were up at 5:30 so we could get to the airport in decent time for our flight. We need not have worried at all. After all was said and done, we were sitting my gate with an hour to spare before boarding time. Good thing that there was a Starbucks right next to us…

Once on the plane, we sat on the tarmac for 2 hours as most flights were backed up due to the weather and the fact that every plane needed to go for de-icing…

Jack and Will really enjoyed the flight. It is kind of sad to say this, but they enjoyed the fact that the seats had their own individual entertainment systems in them more than anything else I think. But it made the flight go quickly which was very nice…

Once we had landed in Saskatoon we were greeted with -25 weather. Bit of a shock but it was fine.
Rosemary and Abi’s place has TONS of room for us all. We have been enjoying spending time playing games, chatting, snacking and playing the Wii.
I could seriously get used to having one of those Wii things… Schooling Nan last night in Wii play was especially fun We were joking that her Wii me looked like it needed counselling after losing so many contests. ha ha.

It is so cold this morning that we are not even going to church. We are going to have a quiet morning at home and then friends of Rose and Abi are coming out for coffee and a visit this afternoon.

Last night, Rose and Abi put on a Sabbath meal for us. It was really great. They have taken a good number of the Sabbath traditions and updated them for Christianity. It was VERY enjoyable and very reflective for me.
Nan and I think it might be something for us to try to with our Potluck Group next time we host. We will give all of your forewarning so you are not freaked out or anything. It is just a fantastic way to remember what God has done for us.

So, we are truly enjoying our vacation. We have been able to spend some really nice time together and we are not even half done yet. So nice.

Gettin’ stoked…

Today is my last official day of work before my holidays. I am so excited. We are going to visit my sister in Delisle, Saskatchewan. Don’t ask me where it is… it is near Saskatoon. I am not even sure where that is.. It is out in the prairies somewhere

The point is that we are leaving and not coming back for 2 weeks. This is a huge event for my family. I have not taken many holidays this year. I have taken the odd afternoon off to golf or ride my bike, and the odd day here and there to daytrip with the family but this is my only true “vacation” for the year. I am so looking forward to it.

I have a little bit of work to take. Not too too much. I have been working my butt off to try to not take a great deal. I have to admit that I am a little nervous about what will await me when I come home. I have not taken 2 weeks away from the business consecutively ever… Yikes. But, I am sure it will be fine. I have a great bunch of clients that have for the most part, all encouraged me to have a great time with my family and have let me know that they can hold things for me until I get back.

So, it is 2 weeks of family time with my sister, my other sister, my parents, my aunt and my family. Should be an absolute blast. It has been 3 and a half years since I have seen my sister I think. Definitely time to remedy that.

So, it should be great.
That being said, I have been doing a lot of thinking and praying for our friends the Osmonds in Belleville. Just last week, their 5 year old daughter Delaney was diagnosed with Leukemia… brutal.
And their roller coaster ride in the last week has been unbelievable. Delaney in now back in Kingston and undergoing Chemo treatments. I just wish I could reach out and give them all a big big hug right now. I know that there are lots of people who are.

So, this Christmas I will be stoked about family time. I will also be thinking about my friends as they go through a very difficult time. I have a hard time imagining my sons in hospital going through chemo treatment. I will be praying for them a lot.
If you think of them, pray for them. For Delaney that she will be able to handle the chemo okay and it will allow her body to heal quickly. For Davin, her little brother, to be able to handle the stresses of not having mom and dad around as much for a bit. For Steve, the father, who as most fathers is trying to be the man of the house and be stalwart at time, for strength and reliance on God. And for Lisa, the mother, who I can only imagine is beside herself with concern for her daughter.

Thanks

To all my American Friends…

Happy Thanksgiving!
I hope you enjoy your day.

Blessed quietness…

Well maybe not quiet per se.

We spent a very good day together yesterday as a family. Even though we were out and about the city, we spent it all together. It was quite insular really. We did not talk to many people besides ourselves other than those that we absolutely had to in order to get our errands done.

For a Saturday we were up early (regular time) in order to get the car into Handford’s for its winter checkup and a new battery. (Early is not really really early like some hockey families… that is just crazy stuff that…)

We dropped the car off for 8, then walked to the market downtown and had a nice little breakfast at Little Red Roaster. We sat in the market and ate leisurely then strolled around the market, bought a couple of things, then walked over to Novack’s.. Listen to me, this is becoming a commercial for the stores in London we patronize….

We had not even left the market when we got the call that the car was finished. Sweet! We had kind of hoped to hit City Lights Bookstore before leaving downtown but they do not open til 11 o’clock Saturdays so we did not get to go there.

It felt really nice to be walking around downtown in the snow and laughing lots. It certainly got us into the Christmas spirit I think.

From there, we boogeyed on up to Costco to pick up pictures and some various and sundry items and then home!

On our way home, we stopped at the dollar store to pick up some small stuff for Nan’s piano teaching, then to the video store. The boys received coupons on Hallowe’en to each rent a video.

Once home, we had lunch then just chilled.
I did some work around the house. The shower downstairs needed to be re-caulked, and the sink in the bathroom needed its drain cleaned a bit. Nan practiced and then we watched a family movie. Fun.

Relaxed the rest of the afternoon and into the evening.
Great day.

good Sunday

Fantastic day today.
The boys and I were at home yesterday morning. We got a pile of the boys’ school projects done and some cleanup around the house as well. It was great to have a “down” morning with them.

Nan’s speaking engagement in Kitchener was yesterday and she did wonderfully. I thought she would but she was nervous. It was nice for her to have two great friends there with her. And it sounds like all 3 of them were able to encourage some of the ladies that were there. Right on.

From there, Nan came home, pick the boys and I up and we were off like a shot to St. Thomas to hang with Eric and Lins for a few hours. Good times. I cannot tell you how much we love spending time with them.

Dad and Sharon stayed over with us last night as they were the guest speakers at church today. It was great to hear a little more about Sharon as she shared her testimony and how she came to be a missionary. It was really cool.

After service this morning, we had a big family family gathering at Uncle John and Aunt Doris’ for lunch. Aunt Doris is an amazing hostess and we always have such a great time with their family.
The Thompsons were there, the St. Pierres, Jill and Chris, Grandpa and Eleanor, the Brittons, and Dad and Sharon. It was a house full and a very good time.

After a bit of lunch and chatting, we came home, the boys and I watched Transformers, Nan, Dad and Sharon rested for a bit, then we were up for grilled cheese for dinner and off to service in the evening.

Once we were home, I did a bit of catch up at my desk and now ready to settle in for the night.

All in all, a busy but great weekend.

A really really good Saturday

Today we went for a family visit to Cambridge.
The Crows have been family friends since Nan and I were married. We have been having an absolute blast with them from day one.

We took off this morning around 8:30 so we could get to Cambridge in decent time. Bruce and Lorraine have 3 great little guys that Will and Jacks get along with marvelously. The had a great time playing, Nan and Lorraine have a good time talking and Bruce and I do as well. We generally talk shop, computers, or motorcycles. Bruce is into pretty much the same kind of stuff I am.

Today I was able to help him with a project that was under his skin and we were able to save him a bunch of time in repetitive tasks. Now he will be able to focus on some management of data and the outcomes thereof….

We had a wonderful lunch with them, sat and chatted and then it was time for us to leave.

From the Crows, we took a quick buzz over to Phil and Heather’s to see Heather and Baby Clara. Man, she is such a little peach! What a darling. A head full of red hair and smiles and joy. It was great to see Heather has come back so quickly after labour. She looked great.

From there, we made the dash home, stopping at the grocery store to get some supplies and dinner, ate, the boys and I sat on the couch with laptops and played around, Nan did some piano homework and then the boys were off to bed. I am going to help Nan fold laundry now and then we will just chill out for the rest of the evening.

What a great day.