A Year in Review!

January

We started our year off with an exciting trip to San Carlos Mexico first of all to visit with our family and second to take part in a missions trip with our fellowship group.  This was our first big trip as a family and we discovered we really enjoy long drives together.  We were gone for 3 weeks.

So many fun moments!

The food program

The whole group the night before we left

Grand Canyon on the way home!  We could have spent a couple of days there!

Our first time singing for a church in Mexico.  A great service!

Stepping in the ocean for the first time.

We learned all our songs in Spanish.

We handed out bottles of coke and Bibles to random folks at a busy bus stop and many of them stopped to read them.  We got to pray with some of them as well!

 Boat ride to see wild dolphins.  It was chilly but beautiful!

We served the breakfast for the street men in Guaymas.

The cousins were so glad to be together! What a memorable January it was!!

This is the mission center that we stayed at.  What a beautiful facility!

February

February was a low key month of getting back into school.

We made snow icecream

 We had a litter of puppies and got them safely to their adopted families.

March

 In March we went along with Travis on a business trip to Brandon.  While he was in training we had a holiday at the pool.  It was a nice 4 days!

Lots of hockey was played this month as well!

Egg dying is a fun yearly event at our house!  It makes us look forward to spring! We tried dying using colored shaving cream.

 Mama Thiessen always has a picture treasure hunt at our Easter gathering.  This is always a highlight for everyone!

                                        

April

Coden was sick for his 4th Birthday.  He wouldn't even eat the doughnut he requested!Josiah turned 8 this April.

 May

 May was a highlight for me because I got to attend the birth of this sweetie.  A big thanks to her Mom for letting me share in her joy!!

June

In June we held one of the biggest garage sales I have ever been to on the coldest, wettest weekend that there was in June.  We were reminded that God is bigger than the weather and we raised $5000 for our adoption.  We were blown away.  Not just literally either!  Blessed is the only way to describe it. 

I highly doubt though that you will find a garage sale on our next years Year in Review post!!!  It was a ton of work but we had a lot of help and so many donations that we couldn't even take them all!  Wow!

These pictures were taken over half way through the sale.

We had so much rain that it made large holes in our field.  Thanks for the swimming pool God!

Shayla and a friend who share  birthday had a grand tea party with friends to celebrate her 12th year.

July

July started with Shayla and Chalise taking part in violin summer camp.  I didn't get many pictures but this was lunch in the cafeteria. 

The following week was Thiessen family camping in Bemidji ND.  We get to spend a whole week with these fine people!  Good food and lots of relaxation!

Lots of water skiing and tubing all week long.

 Coden learned to drive dirt bike.

 Trips to Buffalo creek with my folks pontoon boat and ski boat made for fun afternoons in summer.

 July brought more big rains and again flooded our fields to make a instant but short lived water park.

We completed all of our adoption documents this month and have sent them to our agency.

 August

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In August we dug our pond.  It was an exciting day!

 The rest of the heat in summer was spent swimming in our front yard.

 September

Family hike to the Pembina hills on a beautiful fall day. 

Travis changed colors in September.  He was hired as sales manager for Green Valley in Altona.  His change from selling Case IH to John Deere was controversial with in our crew!  They were loyal red supporters but they have come around!

 Another litter of puppies ready for September.  They were all adopted quickly but we enjoyed them while they were here!

 We had to say good bye to our cousins and Aunt and Uncle.  We look forward to seeing them hopefully sometime in 2014!!

October

We held our adoption fundraising dinner.  Our Dossier was submitted to the Province this month for approval.

 November

 Home School Harmony had their choir concert.  Above is the youth chorus and they did such a great job with some difficult music.  Shayla really grew in her choral singing this fall!
The whole choir did a great job as well!  We are very thankful for the efforts and abilities that Rochelle Drudge puts into these choirs!

The Province is requiring an addendum be written for our home study to make sure we understand the risks of disturbing our birth order by adopting.

December

Bryer turned 11 and Chalise turned 7 this cold month.

We dipped pretzel rods and almond bark.

The young 2nd cousins on the Thiessen side always get matching outfits from Great Grandma Thiessen

 Cousin violin trio.

 My brother making a salad from our Christmas fondue.  He was being such a ham!!

Our addendum has been written and signed by us, our agency and social worker so will be submitted again first thing in January.  God knows how long CFS will drag this approval on.  We still hope to travel in spring but it is in the Lord's hands.

 Happy New Year to you!  Thanks for dropping by!