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January 29, 2012 9:41 PM A Busy Start to Twenty Twelve Small group every other Sunday. Parenting class Monday nights. Piano Saturday morning. Gymnastics Friday nights. The days are just packed. We tore the main floor apart on Saturday cleaning it top to bottom. The girls dusted and did the bathrooms. Kristi and I pulled out the major appliances and gave them a vaccuum, a scrub and a shine. The babies were much too interested for their own good. I paused in a rare moment of silence and reflected on my life; I spend far more time cleaning than I would like to, I thought to myself. I mentioned it to my wife who acknowledged the fact and gave me full credit for the act of service. Some time ago we read a book called the Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman. It's a very interesting look at the way people (not just husbands and wives) express and receive love. I know I've talked about this book before, but the reference to the act of service is an idea out of that book; the fact that I clean the house regularly even though it is not something I would naturally be doing, is not something I necessarily enjoy doing, but is something I choose to do anyway because I know how much she appreciates a clean house — shows my wife that I love her. February 24, 2012 9:42 PM I Love My Wife Today Even more than I did yesterday Last week for the Family Day Long Weekend our flock went on a mini-vacation. Thursday and Friday nights we rented a suite at the Sheraton Cavalier and spent a good portion of both days in the water park. I don't think the girls stopped going down the waterslides once all day, except when we left the pool to eat or sleep. Both Kristi and I even took the babies down the waterslides! Both of them loved the sliding part, but the big splash at the end was enjoyed by one more than the other.  Saturday was a day of rest and recovery, and then Sunday became Disney Day. The girls dressed
up in Disney clothes, wore their Mini-Mouse ears as we went to the Disney store and finished the fun by watching two
Disney movies. For the life of me I can't remember what the first one was, but the second was one I have watched MANY
times as a kid, Honey, I Shrunk The Kids. They were both sad that the ant died.I was talking to Barb a few days ago and she made the comment, "When you came with us to Disney the first year, I thought you were nuts taking so many pictures — but now I look back on all your pictures and I'm so glad you did! We forget so much." We got talking about the business of life and how neglected my poor web site has become. She encouraged me to keep updating it, if for no other reason than to have something to remember these fast-disappearing days. It's true, the babies are growing at an astronomical rate, days melt into weeks which slide into months which plummet into years and I can't count the number of times I've thought of recurring events, Didn't I just do this? So I have decided to put forth more of an effort in keeping these pages updated a little more frequently than once a month as I've been barely managing to do. There are pictures being taken, stories being written, but I just haven't been bothered to make the updates. Even now as I look back on the pictures and the stories I can't believe how fast the time is going. The babies are SO big now, running around everywhere, playing, climbing, dancing, trying to do cartwheels like their older siblings. They love stealing my toque and wearing it on their own heads, and this morning as I held both of them on my knee it was an all-out battle to get them to go to mom for their bum changes. I don't want to forget these memorys - this stage in their life because I know it will be gone before I know it. I already see it happening. Coming off a five-day weekend, I put in a late night Tuesday to finish a roadblock job that has been holding up a major project. Wednesday I got up and went to work in the morning at the usual time after about 3 hours of sleep, but by the end of the day I was feeling the fatigue. After eating supper and giving my son one piggyback ride, I was struggling to keep my eyes open. My wife, the trooper, sent me to bed and finished the rest of the evening duties, or the arsenic hour as it's been known to be called, by herself a second night in a row. Today I feel like a new man, and my love for her grows with my renewing strength. I could not do her job, watching the kids, changing countless poop after poop, keep out of this, stay off of that, playing this game, cleaning up that mess, day in and day out. I know it's rewarding as well, but all said and done — I couldn't do it. She is an amazing woman and if you see her, be sure to tell her as much! February 29, 2012 6:58 AM Good Morning Coquitlam Waking up in a strange city I find myself waking up in Coquitlam BC this morning, twice now to a failed alarm clock. I thought I had it set right, it's one of those fancier ones where you can choose from being awoken by the radio, the electronified sound of chimes, the electronified sound of the ocean, or the fail-safe buzzer. Last night I had it set for radio, set the volume nice and loud and even previewed the station to make sure it was annoying enough to rouse me from my sleep. This morning I thought I'd try the chimes, but reaching over and re-checking the settings now I've just realized I set the alarm for 5:30 PM. Twice. Nothing worse than the sinking realization that the problem you're ranting about turned out to be of your own making. I read an interesting bumper sticker on the back of a car yesterday that said "The problems we face will not be solved by the minds that created them." It is good food for thought. I've also been challenging myself (speaking of solving problems) with a more can-do approach to solving problems I face myself. It seems that somewhere down the road I've switched gears from solving problems to merely finding them. This is now the third day I've spent in BC on this little work-based excursion, though the first time I've had my own vehicle during such a trip. I have to say it is remarkable how NOBODY in this (area, at least) even closely respects the posted speed limits! Even while (hypothetically speaking) exceeding the posted limit by some 20 km/h, I found myself being passed by city-decalled vehicles! And heaven forbid I drive the speed limit - I wouldn't have a rear bumper left! Even more astounding is the fact that all this is taking place amid some major road construction! Detours, orange pylons everywhere, and people are still screaming through the whole thing. My hotel room toilet overflowed last night. Not by a small amount either. That's a tough decision to make as the time approaches midnight: Do I phone the front desk and complain? Do I call for more towels? What if they want to move me to another room? I'm just about to crawl into bed! Ultimately I ended up leaving it. By morning all the water had either evaporated or the guy in 122 had a bad night. Back to the job site. This trip has been very educational for me. I love my job, it's no secret. To get to travel out of town, learn interesting things and solve complicated problems — and to be paid all the while for it too? Very rewarding in my books. One hint of slight sadness, I found out yesterday that my youngest daughter has mastered the art of the summersault. And not just once, apparently she proceeded to execute twenty-some summersaults (though she has yet to master the art of determining where the summersault will have her end up.) She has all the makings of another monkey, bringing our family monkey count to two. As much fun as I'm having out here, I'll be happy to get home. What a joy it is now to be welcomed by not one pair of arms, but five! That's a big hug. 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