B.C. Northern Winter Games

Okay, so I didn't blog about a super fun event that happened in our fair town. It was fabulous, and the whole town turned out in support of the 2009 northern BC winter games!!

There was a ton of preparing as we welcomed 500 young athletes into our homes as billets, as well as volunteering for numerous other positions. I volunteered to work the souvenir table, and had a great time visiting with the out of towners, as well as seeing my friends and church-mates out as security, hosts, or refs for the weekend. Since Ryan was already gone, my Dad and Mom watched the kids during those hours.

Emma's ballet class was welcomed to perform in the opening ceremonies!! It was -27 with windchill and although it was sunny it was NOT warm!! Here is a shot of their rehearsal- sooo cute! Emma is the pink coat- purple snowpants dancer!! Lol!

Gabe fought to not have to wear his skipants to watch the practice, but I think at this point he was regretting that choice!

Avery was a great helper, as always, and took great care of Seth while I took pictures of Em!!

Here is a picture of Emma all bundled up. I didn't get any pics of the real performance, but they didn't wear coats or snowpants, just turtlenecks and fleece pants, and fingermitts. No toques either!! They also wore ballet slippers, not winter boots! These are some tough northern girls, and they danced beautifully in the cold cold (did I say cold?) weather!!

So in addition to all this fun, we had signed up to have billets come and stay with us. I was a pinch nervous when I found out that i was expecting 3 wrestlers, but we got the three sweetest boys ever. The first night, they must have thought I was crazy. They were shy and barely talked, so I just kept on talking by myself!! Lol!! I was surprised to be able to share a little bit about God's love for them, in small ways, as they kept bringing up the subject. All three of the boys asked questions at different times, and we had some great conversations. I shouldn't have been surprised, since I'd been praying that we would bless whomever came to stay with us. It was funny, because they were with us on Valentines Day. My kids bought them each a chocolate heart, and the boys all ran downstairs and brought up boxes of chocolates and fancy cookies- their thank you gifts. They were so proud of their valentines!!

Two of the three boys were from big families, and loved playing with my kids, which was so awesome. I wasn't sure what they'd do with themselves, sleeping in the toy room, and playing the old version of x box. We don't have cable, and it's a townhouse, for pete's sake, it's not very big!! but they played outside with Gabe's bb gun and spent hours making Seth laugh. Avery turned into a giggly girl, which scared me a little!!

They were great guests, though, and I was very touched when on the second day, one of the boys came over to the souvenir table and offered to buy me lunch. They were worried that I wouldn't get to eat! I thought that was incredible, and I was really proud of them! Silly, I know. I really missed them, when they left, especially having conversation with people that were older than my kids, and learning all kinds of new things about thier sport. What a great time! The kids missed them, too, and want to go visit. Ummmm... not going to happen!! Lol!

Anyway, that's all for now. Blessings to all of you- and remember, you can easily be a blessing to those around you. You don't need to have a big house or leather furniture to invite someone home. Everyone likes to feel welcomed and invited!!