the first couple weeks

Mmmm.... enjoying some delicious VE chai tea while the children have their quiet time this afternoon.  Josiah's busily creating something with his Legos in his room and Elena is playing with her little dolls from Grandma Sondra in her room.  (yes, they have their own rooms here!  Each complete with a double bed.  Quite a switch for Elena, coming from her toddler bed.  It works out well with the bed in the corner of the room.  That way, the wall is on 2 sides and we lay pillows on the other.  She stays in the corner pretty well that way.)

It's hard to believe we've been here 2 1/2 weeks already!  Not sure if I'd call it "home" yet... but the house is def. feeling more homey with our things around.  Cooking and baking bread, etc, really helps it feel more like "our place" with those same aromas.....


About cooking... the Northern IS very expensive.  It's $9 to buy milk (the bags) and we're not too crazy about using skim milk powder all the time. I mix it some, but mostly use the powdered for cooking.  At times, they have amazing sales like strawberries for 3.99!  Of course, we buy lots when we see prices like that!  I guess we'll need to cook according to the flyer.  Phil and I agree we need to keep eating healthy and buying produce, etc, not let prices scare us too much.

  Homeschooling is going well.  I'm trying to be creative and keep it fun and interesting, yet educational.  Josiah remembers his letters, etc. very well from last school year.  I wasn't sure how he'd do because I didn't go over much with him during the summer months. The Jolly Phonics book his JK teacher gave is a great guide to use and build on.   He had fun with a farm project we worked on a bit every day... just coloring, cutting out, etc.  Elena's doing well with just colouring beside us, playing with her babies,  playdough, etc. We get out on walks every day too, which has been great to see more of the community, etc.  Josiah loves the bush trails and wants to explore whenever we see another one!

Phil's in his 2nd week of school and it's going well so far.  He has 10-14 8th graders every day.  He's kept busy preparing lessons most evenings and early mornings.   I'll let him tell more sometime......   Keep him in your prayers!

We've been having fun exploring the island on weekends.  There's a really neat trail that goes along the edge of the river which we hiked one Sunday afternoon and had a picnic.  We haven't made any excursions over to Moosonee yet, as the boat taxi costs $15 per adult each way!  It would mean a $60 trip for our family!!  Sometime, before the water starts to freeze over, we want to spend a day over there....

Josiah's enjoying the biking freedom here.  He can actually go on the road without us if he stays within sight of our living room window.  He does really well in staying to the side (when a vehicle comes) and the drivers here let the children "rule the road," so they mostly drive slowly and cautiously.

The school had these oversized dog houses from last year's shop class and gave us one.  The children are having so much fun playing with their "barn" in the backyard!  Another teacher had lumber in her backyard and gave us a bunch, so Josiah and Phil have been building bike ramps.  Josiah's been coming up with other contraptions too..... amazing how such simple things can be so entertaining!

I registered both children in the Aboriginal Headstart program, hoping it would help us meet more people.. moms, other children, etc.  It was a bit disappointing to attend the playgroup last Friday and be the only family there!!  Josiah and Elena still had fun with all the toys (they have a beautiful set-up!) and the books, but asked several times where the others were.  The workers said it varies from each week.  I plan to keep on taking them, just to get out, and hopefully meet more people eventually!  They have a small library that we can borrow books from which has been great.  There's also a family gym night we started attending last week.  It's 3 times a month.  There were only a couple families there, but during the winter, "they say" it gets really popular.

We've attended the Cree Gospel Fellowship 3 Sundays now and are enjoying it.  Reminds us of New Hope in some ways. They don't have a pastor right now either and elders are taking turns.  Sunday School is very well attended with 3 separate classes.  A doctor, surgeon, dental hygienist, and some prominent leaders in the community also attend.  One couple (Howard Jolly's brother) invited us over for lunch last Sunday along with their son and his family.  In the evening, we invited Clinton and Marlene over.  It was probably our best day here yet.  Felt like we're finally "connecting" more with the community....

OK, I don't want to make this long-winded and boring to you!  And, I still want to take time to include pics before the littles are finished with their quiet time.

Ah, yes, one more thing!  Phil and I celebrated our 8th anniversary yesterday and Sarah (another teacher) offered to babysit so we could go out and eat.  We went to the Ecolodge which is a lovely motel/restaurant.  It's a beautiful building along Moose River.  A seal was spotted while we were eating, but by the time we went outside, we couldn't see it anymore.

Ecolodge

Nice, eh?


Til next time!  God bless.
~Marcia