Spring is coming... right?

Well i must say it is pretty hard to blog without pictures! But I will do my best. We have been here in matheson since november and now are completely ontarion as we now have ohip coverage and coverage from work! I didn't realize how long 3 months could seem until you move provinces and need some medical help. It does make me appreciate the health care system here in canada. Although i would say they could use a little reconstruct on the way they handle things when someone moves provinces. Chloe's teeth were pretty bad over the holidays and we had to have one tooth pulled as it was absessed. We finally had the surgery at the hospital the beginning of february and they ended up pulling another tooth because it was absessed as well and 2 root canals and 8 fillings... soooo i am hoping that will be it for a while.. john and chloe eat the same things.. i brush their teeth at the same time.. and john has nothing wrong with his teeth and chloe.. well don't know what's up with that. Oh the fun with preschoolers!
I have been seeking out my way for homeschooling this year. I had purchased a curriculum for preschool through Rod and Staff. It's very good and thorough but I was having trouble enjoying it with my children. I found it was hard to get it done when we weren't having fun and I felt i had more trouble teaching that way. So I began reading some homeschooling blogs and found that a lot of people homeschool different ways and they all learn. I began looking on the internet for materials and started creating "Amy style" something that would work for us.
I decided to take the Alphabet one letter a week and base our schooling around that theme. We are now finished letter F and going onto G next week. I have a box where i keep my materials and goodies to pull out for the children which is not allowed to be touched by the children and everything that comes out is a surprise. It's fun for me and for them!I've been pleased with this sitehttp://www.first-school.ws/theme/alphabet.htm for free material. We are also trying to put a bible verse that dave is giving us up for every letter and learn them during the week. We also are colouring through a Psalm 23 colouring book and using that as the verse we say at sunday school. The other thing that I found was lacking was the teaching of "work" to the children. I found a neat site on the web http://www.handipoints.com where we have been keeping a chore chart and have made it part of our school. Usually(as I am not always on top of things:)) we do our chores in the morning after breakfast before school and check them off on the chart and play a little game in the handyland before going to the school room. If I had a camera I would take a picture of the school room and insert here... haha . We have a bedroom on the main floor of the house we are renting and it is cleared out to make a little laundry/school room. It works for me! So that's our attempt at schooling this year. I'm sure things will evolve and get smoother and more scheduled as things go along but i'm pleased so far with how it's going.
We are also looking to purchase a little country property still although there has been a lot of things to overcome in getting it but if the Lord wills we hope to have it for sometime in march.
Click here to see the property.
Psalm 39:4

Matheson

This is the bridge going into matheson from the quebec highway. We are back here in matheson now and are glad to be back. Within the first week of being back walking down the street I saw many familiar faces and was known also of them. It was a nice feeling. We are attending the matheson chapel and are encouraged with the work going on here. The Lord knows we all have struggles but the little assembly is trusting God for what is ahead. We are currently renting a house only a few blocks from this picture which is much appreciated. We are thinking to purchase or build Lord willing in the future but as of yet no real door has opened to us. Chloe and John and I are attempting some homeschooling still. The new year has brought in a good start and the children seem to be enjoying it. Chloe is 4 and John is 3. Nahum is now 19 months and very talkative. He is wearing the clothes that John is just growing out of. So he is gaining speed in the growing department. We are only a few blocks from the chapel and the playgroup/library is at the end of our street. My parents are only 45 minutes in timmins and we have had opportunity to help out there and have good visits. We had my niece and nephew over for a few days over the holidays and had some good times. Dave's mom lives only 45 minutes or so the other direction and the children and i have hopped on the bus and taken drives down to spend a night or two there. We are very blessed to have the opportunity now to spend with grandparents as the last 2 years have been sparse. Dave is enjoying his job. April the operation is scheduled to start up so the spring could be pretty busy. Last week he was sent to Ottawa for a mineral conference and was put up at the Chateau Laurier for the week. He was struck by the excess when walking out of the hotel and all it's luxuries to be met by a man asking money for only coffee and soup. Truly the Lord said the poor you will have with you always. The camera is broken just now so I haven't any recent pictures of the family but will attempt to somehow or another catch up with you on the faces of the littles in my life.

As to the title of this blog.. I'm at a loss as what to do... to completely sever ties with newfoundland seems to hard to do... but we aren't in newfoundland physically anymore... any suggestions as to a new label? Trust all is well in your world... please leave me a note in the comments spot so I know you were by.

Love Amy

We are settling down now in Matheson. We miss the saints and friends we made in newfoundland and will have many special memories of our time there. We are renting a house in the town of matheson for the time being. It's an old house with shall we say "lots of character"! We are thankful for a place to live as matheson is a small community with not much in the way of rentals. It's a big 4 bedroom house. So lots of room to scatter toys and dirty laundry.. hahaha. It's nice to see some friends from a few years ago from around town here as well and get to know a few new faces. We are attending the matheson gospel chapel and are happy to be of service there. We recently had a ladies coffee hour which went well. The topic was the greatest present is the gift of salvation. Chloe and John are to be mary and joseph in the christmas play.. (chloe john nahum tim and david) in the small sunday school we have. The children are enjoying having grandma and papa and their cousins around and Grandma Campbell(dave's mom) had us down not to long ago to watch the santa clause parade and stay over night. The children and I took the bus down to her house as we can walk from our house to the station and get off just outside grandma's house!! The children and I are helping at kids club on tuesdays in the afternoon and are able to walk over (or rather i walk pulling slieghs with mounds of kids!!)

Nahum is really growing up. He is saying so many things. He's nearing 18 months. He's graduated to a toddler bed simply because we brought the crib minus a rail which really isn't useful then now is it! haha. He's getting better at staying in the bed but the transition hasn't been too easy. He shares a room with John so the temptation is there to get out and fool around. He loves hockey.. we'll have to get him some skates and take him for tryouts pretty soon... haha.

Grandma comes down now and then and the children love visiting. I thought this was a classic picture of grandma in the rocking chair reading with chloe right besdie in her rocking chair. Very precious memories that i'm glad we are able to have.

Dave's job is back at the same mine as before. They are not started yet so the mill is being changed and improved and dave's helping with setup just now. The drive to work is only 20 minutes which get's him home for 430 if he leaves on time! He doesn't have to leave till 720 in the morning. A nice change from 530 am leave time and 6 pm hometime. So we are appreciating that. We don't know all that the Lord has planned for us but we are trusting to be of service and use here in northern ontario. Ok, so if anyone still ever checks here there is the update. We just got the internet back yesterday.

Amy

Friends and Birthdays in Newfoundland

Friends and Birthdays in Newfoundland

Only a few more days in newfoundland. Packing is coming along. Dave has reminded me that stressing out doesn't do much good. Trusting that the Lord will get us through is a much better idea. My mom also remided me of the verse in Phillipians "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" We've had lots of friends visit over the past few weeks and last night our neighbour "nanny" Carrol and her daughter Margie and her children came over and brought little cupcakes to celebrate the children's birthdays before we leave. Margie is in business selling cakes and had promised the kids diego and cinderella cakes for their birthdays. They have been really good friends and neighbours to us. We will miss them. Answered prayer about finding a place in matheson. My mom was able to rent us a large house right in the middle of town withing walking distance of the assembly and stores. We are most thankful for that. We plan to leave next sunday and to stay with some friends in Fredericton on monday night and then take another couple days to get back to the north!!

The latest from the Newfoundlandcampsalls is that we are soon to be no longer in Newfoundland! The Lord has taught us many things out here far from home. We are thankful for the saints here and the opportunities to grow in ways we would not have probably done back in northern ontario. Truly our God is all knowing! We have accepted a job offer back in the matheson area in northern ontario and the time is coming quick for our departure in the first week of november. We are sad to leave behind treasured friends and neighbours here in Newfoundland. We look forward to what the Lord has in store for us back in Matheson and only pray as servants of God we can be of some help to the north. The above picture is our house. We had a yard sale on saturday and were able to clear out a good many things. We have limited resources and means to move everything so we are packing light. (The back of our open pickup and perhaps a small uhaul if any will be light enough to be towed on a bumper hitch) We put the house up for sale on saturday and so far have one interested party asking for rent to own. We hope to sell the house outright but we will trust the Lord to work things out there.
The children are doing fine. Nahum is starting to say lots of words and even spilled out a few on the phone to gramps the other day. Chloe and John and I are trying some homeschooling from Rod and Staff and it seems to be going fine. We are still working on smoothing out the wrinkles and at this busy time of moving a few days have been late starting school or like yesterday with company all day we didn't even get to it. Dave is tying up things at work here and praying the truck makes this last run to ontario! He was asked to share a word at the gospel meeting sunday evening and enjoyed getting out in the afternoon to distribute some gospel pamphlets to some of the houses near the assembly here. We have a prayer request that the Lord would provide a place for us to live when we get there because as of yet we do not have one. So I may get to post once more before leaving here but if not.. See you on the mainland!

Tis Fall and other things...

Well Sarah has notified me that I have been more then a month without blogging.. was it really that long!! Woops! Computer time has been pretty sparse and motivation probably lacking as well. I just arrived home yesterday after our time in Ontario. Dave's Father passed away only 4 days after flying home from a visit here in Newfoundland. We were thankful for the time we had spent with him so close to the end of his days here. He brought the children each a harmonica when he came and I know that it will be a nice memory of him. When I told the children about their "Gramps" I asked them what their favourite memory was of their recent visit. Chloe said "he tickled us!!" We shall miss him.
I'm trying this web album in my post. I have never done it before.. If you move your mouse over the pictures and click it should come up with a bunch of pictures instead of just the one you see.

Blogpost

Nahum is starting to talk and run and "pick" at everything.. Keeps me hopping for sure. Chloe and John and I are hoping to start some homeschooling this year. I was a little late ordering and with us being gone to ontario for a while we will be starting late but we are all excited and hopeful that it will be good for us all. Any tips from homeschoolers would be appreciated as I seek to set up a "classroom" and schedule.
The Garden is picked over pretty well. Only some potatoes and carrots and onions left up the hill to dig out. We have loads of green tomatoes. The season just wasn't long enough to ripen them on the vine. I have zucchini everywhere so now that i'm back i hope to use that and freeze some for later.
I was at a conference in Matheson, Ontario this past saturday and saw a presentation done by John Meerstra with New Tribes Missions. It was a serious reminder to myself that sacrifice is involved in a victorious life for Christ. When men and women put aside the comforts of things and even have to leave aging parents or whatever it is, if they are following the Lord he will show them blessing and joy. Sometimes being out here in a spot far from home and surrounded by many who know nothing of Christ's precious love and sacrifice for them I find it can be discouraging. BUT the discouragment comes, I am persuaded, not from the lack of goodness from God but from my misperception that to be happy I need a certain set of circumstances. I believe(putting this into practice is a different matter) that I can find contentment in any spot on earth if I know the Lord is in it.
"Does the place your called to labour seem so small and little known?
It is great if God is in it and He'll not forget his own.
Little is much when God is in it
Labour not for wealth or fame
There's a crown and you can win it
If you go in Jesus name."
The Lord bless you all!
Amy

The Kids

Here's nahum picking weeds .....

or rather pulling up the marigolds!:)