Thank yous

So our time at this camp is almost over... and I just wanted to share some things that we have been thankful for since being here. We had started this book to help us get through some tough days, (everyday) and see a bit of sunshine. Hope they help you to see some sunshine in your life.

God's provision of little things like Toilet paper
Other people's car breaks
Leftovers
Squirrels
Value village
Swiss Chocolate (oh so deadly)
The little army inside Jessi's body that keeps her going.
Animated movies
Family and friends
A shiny ring that means more than money
Faithful little Carolina the car
New drinking glasses for Christmas
Celiac food
Mudding and drywalling, because they are fun! (Jessi)
The ultimate wonder mattress
Camp truck, no matter how "special" it is
Hope for something better
Warmth
Cleanliness
Helpful husband
Wifie (wife in Andreas language)
Sun
Fruit smoothies! yea man!
A Random mind that is not alright, but that's alright
Ken Davis the comedian
The camp tractor to pull out the camp truck when it gets stuck in the snowbank
Snow shovels to aid in getting the truck out and to clean all 16 decks.
Doug and his neighbor who help getting the camp truck unstuck
Frozen lakes to run on
GF Pancakes only a husband can make
Visitors
Bible study group and all who attend
Grace Mennonite and the welcoming folks there
Farting, Let it all out! :P (Andreas)
The inventors of google and a guy named John who fixed my computer after it was attacked by the xp Anti-virus virus.
Dave, for helping me figure out that it was a virus.
That our laundry room is small enough for me to sit against the wall and push my feet up against the washer door, because that's the only way it will close.
A Job that pays the bills
Forgiveness
The knowledge that even though God is silent he is present. Always.

The lesson of a whirl wind

So I'm not expecting anyone to actually read this because it's been a while since we have written on here. And the reason why we haven't written on here is because nothing exciting has happened to us.. Well at least nothing worth telling. I was able to afford to by groceries the other day that was exciting. but it's not like I travled the world.. had a encounter with a famous person, hung out with friends, or done something interesting.. I don't have any exciting news like I'm pregnant or anything(make sure you read that sentence twice you will realize that I am not pregnant).. I can tell you that most people are telling me to not get pregnant.. but that's not very exciting. I can tell you that I can't actually drive and park in front of my "house" because the road is washed out and has potholes deeper than my car is tall. (a bit of an exaggeration but not much) I can tell you how on our way back home from Easter break with the folksl, we had to detour only an hour or two away from PA because the road was also washed out and that therefore made our drive about three hours longer, but that's not really anything. That's normal. I can also tell you that I have cleaned 8 toilets about 9 times in the last week. And I have cleaned 100 plates and dishes about 14 times. Taken out and hulled around garbage about 20 times. scanned 200 pieces of paper. Ate only yogurt and cereal for 5 days. Cried at least a million times inside. slept and did it all over again. BUT... that's not really that exciting. So really, I don't have anything to tell you. At least nothing anyone would want to hear. Because I can't afford to travel, or do fun things, I don't have many people to hang out with in the bush. I have bad reception for internet and in fact this probably wont even post. And only a cell phone for contact to the outside world. I don't have much plans for the future because my eyesight does not see that far ahead. But I saw a whirl wind today. And it showed me that I'll be OK. You see in bible times the whirl wind of fire and obviously wind, was a sign that God was near. And even though my whirl wind was small and didn't last long, God is here, no matter how small and unnoticeable he may seem. And with that, it's going to be OK.

A day on the Job

So most people who read this probably already know about how Andreas is ready for the snow to melt and for June to come for that is when we get to move on. So today, it snowed, again... So Andreas had to go out with the camp snow plow truck. Which is an old ford 4x4 with a plow blade attached to the front. The back end is all smashed in but it still runs so it was donated to the camp. Anyhow, he asked if I could come along mostly to keep him company because it is a boring job, but I didn't do a whole lot of talking. The ride is a rough ride because basically you have this silly standard truck that stalls all the time and your driving full force for a snow bank, and it keeps going with the same routine. Today we had finished most of the main roads with just one more to do and we were headed that way when the first thing happened. There is one common everyday thing that is wrong with this truck, besides the fact that it's old and stalls... it's the fact that the window wipers don't move. So when you hit soft, wet snow it tends to get up on the windshield and the wipers are not able to do anything, so Andreas has to stop the truck every few minutes to clear the window. He keeps a window squeegee with him in the cab so that is better than nothing I guess.
So as we were going to the last road we turned the corner and all of a sudden the truck decides that it needs to go for the ditch. Andreas quickly tries to bring the old thing back on to the road and that's when we realized it, we just lost power steering. Thankfully enough we didn't hit the ditch the truck was able to stay on the road with much effort on Andreas' half. And we managed to get the truck to drive to the next road where we cleaned it all off and proceeded to get stuck twice. The ditches are like a magnet to that truck! Then we decided that it was time to retire the old truck back at the camp shop. Surprisingly enough we actually made it there because Andreas gets out and lifts up the hood and says, "well I'm no mechanic but that's probably not good." The engine was steaming, a belt had snapped off and the power steering fluid was leaking all over. But if we look on the bright side all the roads were plowed... and as long as it doesn't snow we should be good! :)

They tell me I'm in a heat wave... I never noticed.

It happens all at once, that's just the way it goes.

I have heard many people say that a wife's duty is in the Kitchen, (Thankfully I have not hear that from my husband yet) but I never knew how much of your life would revolve around the kitchen if you had to cook every meal and you had about...lets say 70 children. This past week Andreas and I were assigned to Kitchen duty. There was a group from the college who were having and outdoor training camp for that week and they needed to eat, (obviously). Breakfast was at 7:30 so we were up at 5:00 plugging in the coffee pot, and cutting up fruit or whatnot. Then for the noon meal, we also prepared the food and with the help of a retired couple we served and then they took over to prepare the supper meal. After our cooking was done, just like any average house wife, we moved on to clean the bathrooms, all 6 of them. Well, if you have 70 children you will need to have enough bathrooms for all of them, you know how girls are. By the time all that was finished, Andreas was needed for something else and I would go home and sit down. Then about 6:00pm we would go back to the kitchen to prepare for the next day's meals. Our first day of making breakfast, no one told us that these 70 children (who mind you were actually our age) ate like they were 100 hungry men. We prepared the amount of food we were told and those 100 eggs were gone after 10 people went through the line. Then I had to leave for a Dr. Appointment and Andreas was left alone to make lunch for the over eaters. Which he had no idea how to make because the recipe had no measurements. To make matters worse, after we were done cooking, The basement sewage backed up and we had a dandy of a mess to clean up. That hectic day ended in a lot of frustration and tears. Although it got better and with each day we got a little more use to the food calculations, you make enough for 70 people then you do that again, and figuring out where everything was located in the kitchen. The elderly couple were such a good help that when they had to cook this weekend, we decided to help them.
The college group left at about 1:00pm and then we cleaned and the youth group arrived by 7:00 for their weekend retreat. Our retired cooks were cooking all the meals for this weekend, and we told them that we would be there to help them, the only thing was that Andreas was also the co-director for the retreat weekend, so he had to be present for everything. So Andreas stayed up until about 12:30 working with the kids then woke up at 6:30 to get to the kitchen to make breakfast. I stayed for all the meals and was in charge of making meals for the children with allergies and washing dishes. Then I stayed till all the children went to bed at 12:00, cleaning, putting out snack and other things. The last morning of this crazy week we got to sleep in till 7:30 then we worked until 2:00 and had to go to a meeting half an hour away by 3:00. In total, I worked about 78 1/2 hours this week and Andreas worked 88 hours. To some this may not sound like a lot because they do it all the time... this is what we have to say... stop. You should not work that much it's unhealthy in every aspect of life. God created a day of rest for a reason. So Boo! It was a lot, there were many days of tears and tiredness. The other staff that were there said, "oh yeah this is what camp is like all the time!" and I know, I've been to camp, this is how camp goes, but I'm married now, and sick quite a bit... for a week it was ok, we could do one week and lets be honest it was nice to get more hours in, but if we had to do this longer than a few weeks, I think we would fall apart like a rusty old tractor :). It was a good experience but it's a little silly to have everything happen all at once. Seems that's the way it goes.

To end off the silly week, we were invited to a church party. The Mennonite church we attend was having a get together half way between the church and where we live, so only 10 min away. We decided to attend and it was the best way to finish off the week. We almost fell asleep during supper but it was still very nice. Andreas got some exercise in by playing boot hockey, (I tried but I couldn't remember how to hold a hockey stick or stand on the ice) and we got to actually take time to talk with people and find out who was who and meet the congregation. So it was good.. and now, we have a few days off.. but I am so bored! :) just the way it goes.

Attack on Boredom

(cue Lord of rings Music)

Once upon a time long in a far away land, in the bush lands of Boredom lived a young knight of impeccable strength and courage. He lived there in his humble home with his young, and might I add, stunning wife. Day to day he would leave their home to shovel snow away so that he could provide for his wife this beautiful house to live in. Although each and every day he would desire more than just snow shoveling, he desired adventure and excitement, after all he was strong and courageous and snow was not a very scary thing. One night he came home to his humble home in the bush land of Boredom to his stunning wife who also struggled with lack of adventure. They sat down together feeling defeated when all of a sudden there was a loud noise. The young knight leaped towards the window in a single bound and saw the flickering light of fire and flames. Boredom was under attack! It was the adventure they both were looking for, so they suited up and grabbed their secret weapon, carcassonne. They ran out to give their all to protect their dearly loved boredom they had become so acquainted with. At then end of the battle, the two young warriors had remained and their bushland of Boredom had been saved. Though the battle during the attack on Boredom had been the most exciting thing in days, the small land of Boredom had been restored, and life continued, until the next time adventure happened to knock on the door.

(The End)
This program has been brought to you by the letter C and B and the number 2. Thanks for your patronage.

(So this was just a fun thing to share with you on how Andreas and I were bored one evening and decided to take are game of Carcassonne ["a clever tile-laying game" that involves claiming castles] and we took the pieces, built a map and Andreas decided to form an attack on my castle, the red, with his green men. So I wrote a story to share with you guys.. Thanks! )

snow day, or afternoon either way

This weekend we were requested to join in the young adult's retreat so Andreas could get a better idea what camp is like. So we joined in and it was a bit awkward because most people come to these retreats to... retreat, retreat from daily life and work and even location. We did not retreat and it was more of a task than a relaxing "retreat." So after this weekend was over and we had our share of "camp life" we just wanted to relax and calm down and it was beautiful day out, unsure of what temperature but beautiful none the less. We decided to take advantage of this amazing spring time weather and went outside to play. We enjoyed laying in fluffy snow banks and crawling around in the snow like silly children and walking across a frozen lake or in Andreas' case running across a frozen lake. It was the most relaxing and fun and best time of the whole entire week. Here are some pics from that day. Just to give you a better idea. :)

Do you Ski?

So there seems to be this common question we get asked living here up north, Do you ski? It's like asking someone who just moved to California, Do you surf? And just to clear things up, they are talking about cross country not down hill. So today we decided to try. We left the house in our very funny shoes to walk out to the ski trails. By the time we got there I had a pile of snow in my shoe but it was my idea to go out and give it a try so I tried to bare the pain. As we started out we didn't even make it to the first trail and I was ready to go in, I was cold and it's actually hard work cross country if your not use to it. My skis were very slippery which was great for flat areas, but the trails started having hills and the first hill I tried making it to I wasn't able to get up because every time I made it somewhat up the hill, I started to slide down again, so Andreas had to pull me up the hills. Then there are the curves, not knowing how to go around a curve I kind of went straight into the bush and into really deep snow, so I tried to turn around and give it another chance but silly skis just got all tangled up and I couldn't figure out how to get them untangled and before I knew it I was on the ground tangled in skis, arms, legs and poles. So thankfully my Swiss hero came a unlocked my shoes so I could get up. So that happened once again when I was attempting another hill, but what's worse is when you stick both those things together. We had given up early and were already on our way back home taking ski trails to get there, when it came, a steep hill with a curve at the bottom. Andreas being a skier from the alps, ;) perfect position and speed and curve. And I, Jessica being from the flat lands ended up going with tremendous speed down the hill screaming, Andreas yelling back "trust the skis hunny!" then it came to the curve, straight into the snowbank with great speed flew Jessica, face first. It was such an epic crash that I lost my shoe, it was still attached to my ski that was sitting on the trail waiting for me. I was laughing so hard I started to cry then my tears started to freeze, I lay in the snow with my shoeless foot in the air, and Andreas yells, "Do you need help getting up?"

So Andreas came to my rescue and unattached my foot from the ski and placed the snow filled shoe back on my foot and said, "Let's walk home."

Through rain, sleet or broken doors

So this story is going to lead back to this other important story that I am going to share with you now.. (don't worry it's short) One day, the car door wouldn't shut for Andreas, so I simple reached over and wiggled the latch and it was fixed.

Today, in my plans for the day, I wanted to send off the final wedding thank yous so I went out started my car and swept it off. When I came back I realized that my car door wasn't closed like I thought. So having done this before I juggled the latch and shut the door... but it bounced back. For about half an hour I sat outside jiggling, closing, jiggle, close, wiggle, and it just would not close, so I came up with a better idea, seeing as the post office wasn't too far I grabbed the scarves from the closet and tied them together and then tied the driver door handle and the

passenger door together with these scarves, then drove into town to send off my mail. Determined that the mail would go today. So on my way back I decided that I should probably get my door fixed so I can park it for the night. So I stopped at the main building where Andreas was painting and asked him to take a look at my door. He came out and wiggled once and closed the door. This time it did not bounce back. He turned to me grinning, "didn't you show me how to do that?"

learning humility... :S

Bringing home the newest family member

So yesterday we found out that we were able to pick up the newest member of our family, the mattress. As I wrote earlier we traveled all the way to Edmonton with that awful weather and back just so we could order a mattress from the Foam King. Now we went there with the intentions of ordering one mattress and came out with ordering a different one. One that would be better for my "special" back conditions. So then we got is shipped out to us in PA. Well it came to PA yesterday and we borrowed the camp truck to go pick it up. (giggle) if any of you have been to a camp you probably will understand when I say that I couldn't help but laugh. The camp truck is a lovely rust brown colour... or at least there is so much rust that you can't actually see the real colour, I don't know. A standard rear wheel drive. Yeah, major drifting! We were blessed to have it though because it did it's job, we went into the city got the mattress some slats and some groceries and made it home all in one piece. When we got home I rearranged some of the stuff to make room in our bedroom for the new mattress, while Andreas tried to get the truck back to the camp shop. He was at the shop for over three hours, later he shared his afternoon with me. When he tried to get the truck back it got stuck in the snow five times and once had to grab the tractor to pull himself out. Then when he was sanding down the wooden slats we bought for our bed frame, he said that the work table he was using just fell apart so he had to fix that before he could continue sanding the boards. So here I have some pictures of Andreas building the bed frame he created to support our mattress and our mattress.

WE'RE BACK!!

Hey so we have been back for a while and there has been a few interesting times so far. First off Christmas was really relaxing and very nice, we were able to hang out with some of my family and that was great.

So here we are back, this last weekend we decided that this was it, no more of these camp beds. We had switched them too many times and were running out of mattresses to try. So we researched foam mattresses and the best ones we could find were Foam King mattresses. So we took a trip all the way to Edmonton to Foam King mattress store and tried them out. And hopefully we will have the new mattress by Wed. Yes better sleeps to come!

While we were in Edmonton we stayed with some friends and in that day that we were there, it snowed at least a foot and a half, SO much SNOW! it was crazy we tried to drive our car a whole like 4 blocks and got stuck at least 7 times. It was so insane! but thankfully we knew some great people and we were able to stay another day because of this silly weather.

That's all I got for now!