Last weekend I was feeling rather unsatisfied with the state of our bedroom. I am a comfort person and like my surroundings to be as such. I had big plans for our bedroom when we first moved out here….like a new bedroom suite, but as in most cases the money ran out before the ideas. So at the end of my rope, I took a chance in hoping a coat of paint and some new accessories would do the trick. This whole project, somewhat blindsided Ben….it didn’t help that I decided we may as well do the ensuite at the same time. But one weekend and $200 later. Here is what we came up with, Soren took no time to adjust and there is an extra picture just for fun.

This past weekend we took a trip into Calgary and went to Prince’s Island Park. This is one of our favorite spots, right on the edge of down town along the river. And on the way back from our walk we stopped at the Old Spaghetti factory…Jakob’s favorite! It was a beautiful day.

Well, I let my boss know today that I will only be working until Easter. Phew! I feel a bit like a jerk because I am taking a full 8 weeks before my due date but this time round, I am not about to try and be a hero. Today was a good day to do it because I was quite annoyed with them (them being my two bosses-I work both cash and lending, so therefore get to answer to two managers, cover two schedules and attempt to be two people at the same time.) I would like to think that things at work are give-and-take when it comes to scheduling so when they asked me to work late a few (more than a few) nights in February and March I said “no problem”. I only said “no” to one out of the 9 days they had requested. However I did ask for ONE, count em, ONE day off and they would not give it to me. I said, “well if not this day how about this day?” No. I am beside myself. I am trying to set boundaries however, when the situation unfolds as such, what is one to do?

I am off to Red Deer tomorrow for some training which will be a nice break from the Branch. Jakob learned “sous-sous” (I thought this word would come sooner as he is a little obsessed with it) and seems to be a little less whiny (cross our fingers) so it may in part have been from being sick, or the fact that I don’t think he is connecting with his babysitter these days (Our “regular” is still away, so her daughter is doing this last week until she gets back)

Well, I know that I said that I would commit to posting, however, everytime I sit down to write I cannot think of anything which warrants a new post. And although some use their blogs to voice their opinions/findings/rants, I don’t feel that this is the purpose of this site. Which is well enough, and I may in the future however for now, we will stick primarily updates on the Ewert family.

So what’s new? My mom left on Wednesday, although it feels like a month ago. This past week has flown by, probably because I was back to work 5 days a week. So Ben, Jakob, Soren and I have the house to ourselves again, which is a welcomed change. No offense. We loved having everyone come and visit and welcome anyone who is willing to make the trek out here, however there is something to be said for getting your ducks back in a row. We spent the morning cleaning, doing laundry and catching up on some much needed sleep. In the afternoon, we went to visit Great Grandma Marion, whom we haven’t seen since Christmas. It is nice having her back in Three hills. Then Grammy came over for tea as Grandpy is at Missions Fest in Regina.

Jakob’s new phrase is okey dokey, most of the time he just gets the okey out but it sure is cute regardless. He has entered into a really whiny stage. I am unsure as to whether this is because we are back to the 5 day work week so our time is limited, or if it is because he senses change coming, or if it is simply because he is one and half and testing his boundaries and wants to see how far collapsing on the floor like a rag doll will get him. I can’t imagine it is an easy life – knowing what you want but being unable to communicate it. So all he says is “up!” and then tries to point to whatever it is that he wants.

Beginning in February Ben will be working full time at the Arts Academy. He is very excited about this and has enjoyed his job there thus far. So what does he do? Well that is a good question. Unfortunately, at times it is not as Artistically enabling as one might think but I am sure he will be able to flourish in this way eventually. Right now his time is filled with a lot of grant applications, newspaper publications, general PR for the upcoming Spring Musical, Valentines Dessert fundraiser and keeping track of the daily administrivia.

As for me, I am already looking forward to maternity leave which I will be making the most of come April. I am not due until June however, because I have not been at Servus a year, I do not get a job protected leave with benefits. The implications of this are that with no job to return to, employment after child #2 may come sooner albeit probably later than my year off. So why not take the time to spend with Jakob. Besides, there are aspects of my job which are not worth the stress, and sometimes, I am just tired. Other than that, nothing to report, which is the way that I like it. The parasite seems to be doing well.

If you go to The Ewert family you will see the letter that I sent out with our christmas cards. It is a good over view of our life since I made my first post.

In more recent news, Ben’s contract is being finalized this week, which give him full time hours at the Arts Academy. We are excited and scared about this, as the contract would only run until the end of June, at which time a new contract would need to be drawn up. Also, this contract would employ him for only 42 weeks a year and just don’t know if I am that good at budgeting.

In the ever-evolving world of Jakob, life is good but everything is “no”. However if you ask him how he is, he generally will say “good”. He knows “please (peessss)” and “you’re welcome (your belmom)” and “up”- he knows this one all too well. He is a charmer as always and is very outgoing. We were able to find a new babysitter for Jakob at the last possibly moment. She is a young grandma and has three grandsons. She is able to come over to our house, but only lives a block away so can take him back to her place if she needs or brings her grandsons over to play at our house. It seems to be a good arrangement for both parties and Jakob loves her.

Nothing has changed in Soren’s world except that somehow he got the notion that it is okay to pee on the deck if it is really snowy (this is not okay).

As for me, well I am already looking forward to being done work and spending time with my kid(s). The mind is always turning, however and I constantly am brainstorming about ways to make money from home when my Maternity leave ends.

We are settling into a groove and after my momleaves (she subbing for our babysitter while she is away) , we will find out what life in Three Hills is really like. Up until now, we have always had people coming, going, staying, visiting, etc….well, who am I kidding, will our lives ever settle?

I think I need to make a commitment to post. Not because I feel that our lives are so significant that the masses are eager to know what we are up to, but because, oddly enough, I feel like recently, other peoples blogs are the only sad excuse for socialization that I have. They almost keep me grounded. So thanks to those who are faithful writers and inspire such reflection. It’s a little hard when the little one is up, but tonight, I may actually have some time to myself so I will try then.

Well, it’s coming. We are getting settled in. Here is our new contact info

Ben and Krista Ewert

105 General Delivery

Three hills AB

T0M 2A0

403-443-6224

And please note our cell phones numbers have changed. Just let us know if you want the number.

Stay tuned for an update on life on the prairies…

For the past month, we have found ourselves on a blind journey through God’s will. We have always been on this journey, I suppose, but this chapter began in June when we were visiting Ben’s family in Three Hills, Alberta. Since January, we knew that transition was inevitable - Ben would be finishing his degree at Trinity and I would be looking to go back to work. However, no doors seemed to be opening in BC for Ben and because of the high cost of living and the dark abyss of student loans we began looking elsewhere. We knew that wherever we ended up it had to be in line with our priorities – following the will of God, growing our family and developing our character. Living in BC would cause us to fall short in the second of these priorities as I would have to work full time, probably during the opposite hours to Ben, leaving Jakob in childcare 4 or 5 days a week (albeit with mostly relatives- thank you all who were willing to help us out). It would also mean that we would have only Sunday afternoons to spend as a family.

Winnipeg became an attractive possibility because of low housing costs and an established network of friends however, after much consideration, we (and by we I mean Krista) did not have a peace about it.  So when, it came to our attention that the Three Hills Arts Academy may be looking for a new administrator, we welcomed the alternative. This would be a great opportunity for Ben to use his education and fuel his passion for the arts. Immediately curious about the logistics of moving, I went to the credit union to find out about interest rates and while discussing mortgages, it came out that the branch had actually been looking for another lender. We took this as an indication that this may very well be the will of God and took another step. Ben applied to the Arts Academy and I to the credit union.

We waited on these potential jobs for a good portion of June and July but we knew that if we were serious about moving we would need to get our condo up for sale soon because of the slowing of the real estate market. A million thoughts go through your head when faced with a major decision like this. I would have liked to act soley on the perfect senario in my head, in that Ben would get the job at the Arts Academy,  we would sell our place for asking price, buy a cute little house and I would work part time and the credit union until we popped out kid number two a year from now – all in that order. Instead, being the pesimist that I am, I kept dwelling on the worst case senario. I get a job and work full time, we don’t sell our condo and have to carry the mortgage while living at Ben’s parents place while Ben searched for a job.

Here is the question that we were faced with however: “What would happen if we based all of our decisions on the worst case senario?” Nothing, we would do nothing, and we would live in fear. We would come to the edge of the water and refuse to go in, afraid we would get eaten by a shark one limb at a time. I wish I could say that after this thought, we learned our lesson, became optimistw and jumped in with both feet, eyes closed. But we are realists and I don’t know if we will ever be optimists (God bless those that are), so we weighed the options. We knew that if we didn’t try this, our family would suffer, Ben would not be able to move forward in his music and although I am sure we would find a way to get through it, we wondered what would become of our marriage and our son. Most members on the Board of the Arts Academy love Ben and his family, he has the qualifications and some experience. The small town credit unions rarely have applicants with experience so my job should be a shoe in, and housing in Three Hills is cheaper than condos in BC so qualifying for a mortgage would be no problem (if both Ben and I got jobs). BC just sounded better because it was FAMILIAR. Realizing this we decided with confirmation of Krista’s job, we would put our condo up for sale.  We did and it sold in a week. Okay, God, we’ll take another step.

We had previously planned a vacation to Three Hills at the end of July for the Ewert Family Reunion. We were caught off guard, when on our way to Alberta, Ben’s mom called with the news that his Grandma Ewert had passed away. We were extremely sad to see her go, but glad we had gotten to see her just a month before with Jakob and that we had already planned to be there for the reunion. She really knew how to plan it, because where most people have only a few hours of memorial, we, as a family, celebrated her life all weekend long and almost everybody was there.

Between visiting with family we were able to meet with the bank about financing, go house hunting, and Ben was able to meet with the Arts Academy Board. Dissapointment came, however when it was revealed that the Academy would not know for sure about funding until mid-september, a hiring decision would not be made until October and the start date would not be until the begining of November. To me, this was worst than “no”. It was the unknown – we could hold out until October only to have Ben not be hired. “Quel Nightmare!” I cried, took a nap and got over it. We found an alternative to facilitate financing, found a house and put in an offer.

So here we are… Pending a house inspection, we can remove subject on the 13th, pack up on the 17th, and be on our way. There have been lots of little confirmations along the way that this is God’s will for our family – the fact that it would be preferrable for the bank if I work part time (my own preference I brought up in my interview), the fact that, although we did not get asking price we had a better offer than anticipated considering the current market (even though our real estate agent said we were asking too much) and that the house we have bought is empty and we are able to occupy it before our possession date which is September 8th. Okay God, we will take another step.

All this to say, it is still hard to go, we are leaving lots of family, friends and dear ones. There are many dimensions of emotion, many of which I have not attempted to tap into, because crying gives me a headache, but one of these days, I will share these with you, along with the details of our continuing journey. Please stay tuned…