Wait a Minute

People say that if you don't like the weather in Alberta, wait a minute, it will change. How true a statement that is today!
Four days ago it was -32 C and today, it started out at -2C.
This morning we had snow and winds that made visibility very poor(not the expected forecast of course). By 2:00 PM it was + 4 and raining quite steadily. Needless to say everything is now coated in a beautiful sheet of ice. Oh, how we long for the piles and piles of snow that Ontario is dealing with... nope, not really.
Life here in the land of the oil patch has taken a turn (a downturn) as happens every once in a while. Now we hear the cry of those who say the sky is falling.
Yes, the swing of the economy has taken a toll in recent weeks and we hear on almost a daily basis of more layoffs. Why should this be a surprise? We have all seen this before, many times over. The next few years will no doubt be tough, but it is only another part of the cycle.
We are very thankful that we are here at this time. We have a good place to live, David has steady employment, even though it is slow right now and Sonya has her part-time job. We feel that this is a good community to rest in.
We pray that God will bless all our family and friends. Those who are near to us that are facing health issues are in our thoughts and prayers. We will be praying for those that are having surgery soon. Thanks golfer Mo for the uplifting e-mails. Nothing lifts the cares of the day like a good laugh. (Hi to all David's golfing buddies.)
Well, its getting late and another day looms on the horizon so we will sign off.
Love to all and may all your days be filled with joy.

Another Update

Anyone else finding that January is just plodding along? We can't believe the month is half over. Some days are gone so quickly and others seem to drag on forever.
We've had alot more snow in Camrose over the last 2 weeks and David has been busy with the shovelling, but they are reporting that it is supposed to become very mild over the next week or so things will probably become very messy.
Second term at the college is now in full swing. We've had a new student move into the residence so that's added to the fun and made our games nights even more lively. Sonya isn't working as many hours as before Christmas which is OK, things are slow in the retail world right now. Beginning the end of this month Sonya will be working with a lady from Thailand to help her improve her English.
We find ourselves talking alot more about our many friends in Ontario lately. We really wish we had been able to spend more time with everyone over Christmas but often the visit is too short and full of so many activities. We miss you.

Back in Alberta

The Christmas/New Years break is officially over and we are back into the routine of life here.
It was great to see family and friends but we found ourselves missing our neighbours here in the residence and our cats.
The weather continues to be quite cold and the wind definately makes you shiver. There is a good cover of snow here now. We have found that in Camrose they don't plow the streets very often, only using gravel sand and some salt. It makes the driving sometimes very frustrating.

Christmas Moments

So we thought we'd try and post a few pics for family members who are far away to see. Christmas day was enjoyed by all. We were thankful to all be together even though Sonya ended up with a flu bug for 2 days, Lily had a very bad cold and Grandpa Landers had a sore throat. All in all we were very blessed.

Christmas Eve

Well finally after a 4hr delay we were up in the air and we arrived safely in Toronto. The best part was the suprise when we landed...our little 6yr old neice was quite excited that she had stayed awake until 1am to see us, and our brand new little nephew was there too! Oh sooooo good to see family.
We were in Burlington last night to see David's brother. Got blasted with snow and it took some time to get shovelled out. We were very thankful for Doug's snowblower!!
Christmas will be spent in Alliston.
Merry Christmas to all, may you enjoy the love of friends and family and most importantly remember the birth of our Lord and Saviour.

Still Delayed....

Our 4 pm departure is now 7:07pm...LOL
Everyone in the airport is either on cell phones, laptops, watching the departure boards or trying to sleep. You have to just smile and be thankful that we live in a country where we have the opportunity of "quick" travel. The West Jet people are doing an amazing job in spite of circumstances that are beyond their control.

Airport delays

'Tis the season and who would ever expect that Vancouver would be getting a snow storm. We are currently sitting at the Calgary International airport and they have announced that Vancouver is closed. The good part is ofcourse that we are going east not west and so far these shut downs haven't affected our flight...however we are sitting about 45min. delayed. The main goal is to get home by Christmas day and enjoy our friends and family.
Patience, patience.....and if there are any other changes, it will make for a real good blog story.