Long Time, No Blog!

Wow! So, I'm really bad at this blogging thing. I thought I'd be better when I moved so far away, but alas, it was not to be. It's now the middle of March and we are having one last snow storm here in the Great White North. The river in front of our house is beginning to thaw and I finally see some mud and grass on my front lawn. Miracles never cease! Speaking of miracles, this year has been incredibly tough financially for us since I'm not allowed to work here in Canada and you don't make that much as a youth pastor. :) We finally got our child tax credit money from Canada on Friday. Such a blessing. I can't even begin to share my excitement and praise to the Lord.

Liam is 14 1/2 months old now. He's walking/running everywhere and working on getting all 4 molars and 4 eye teeth. (Fun!) He loves his da-dee. He runs to Donnie with his arms in the air, I can never get enough of that picture, it warms my heart.

I turned in my permanent residency papers on Thursday, all $775 dollars worth of papers. I'm so glad it's finally in and even though I still have to wait another 9 months or so, they process has begun! Once I'm a permanent resident, I'll be able to work and help out a little more financially.

The church here is wonderful and the people are great. We have just purchased a new building that our church will be moving into after renovation. So exciting! The youth group (Crossfire) is also growing. We have between 30-40 kids every week, and average 33 kids a week. The Lord is really moving among our teens. It is such an exciting place to be when you are serving the Lord and seeing him move among people.

Donnie's parents have moved to a new house in Upper Woodstock, only about 5 minutes from their old home. They decided to move in order to help us out financially, and for a few other reasons. They are remodeling the building so that we can live on the top floor and they will live on the main floor. (Another blessing)

So, there are LOTS of exciting things happening, and we've been waiting so long that the blessing is even sweeter. It's a little hard to believe that everything seems to be falling into place, God's timing.

Canada

So, we are living in Canada now....wow! It's hard to imagine myself NOT in the U.S.!I'm enjoying the slower pace of life up here, although sometimes I feel impatient with people... :) I'm used to rushing and getting a lot of things done in a short amount of time. That definitely doesn't happen in the Great White North!

Liam will be 7 months old next Tuesday which is quite unbelievable to me! After 3-4 months of age time has just been flying! I miss my family a lot and am going to start finding a job (ANY) job in Maine soon. I get so bored! :) I know I was not made to be at home ALL DAY LONG! :)Liam and I go to a playgroup here in Woodstock every Tuesday morning. It is so much fun to see all of the babies playing together (or trying). They steal each other's toys and don't care (YET!)

Donnie is gearing up for the launch of the youth program in the fall. He is enjoying this break in his stressful schedule and being in his home town. I've been making lots of strawberry pies since the season is just starting up here. We had just left the states when the strawberries were halfway through their season, so now we get to have them again up here! Donnie is thrilled about this!

Our new church is wonderful! I love the people, staff, and the new atmosphere! It was so hard for me to be in a church I grew up in. I don't know why, perhaps I should have overcome it, but it was difficult. It's refreshing for me to have a new start and not have everyone know me!

Liam loves to go swimming. It's adorable! He's been swimming several times since we've been here and he just goes wild!

I suppose I should close for now. Take care and God bless!

More Updates...

Well, tomorrow Liam (who we affectionately call...Junie) will be 6 months old!! Boy the time flys by! Next week we will be making our move to New Brunswick, Canada. I'm still trying to pack the house and take care of a baby! (The two don't go together!) Junie is cutting 2 teeth and has a very sore left 'big' toe. Don't ask me how but he has an in-grown nail on his toe. It's not fun to take care of....that's for sure!
The church we are leaving had a beautiful farewell party for us last night. The Lord has really blessed and taken care of our financial need for June. We are so thankful for this, since he won't receive pay until the first week of July.
Donnie's parents have found a house for us to rent! We will move right in when we get up there next week. The only bad part about the move is that we will have to leave behind our wonderful kitties! (Gray & Mistofeles) We are in the process of finding good homes for both of them. I'm also trying to sell my Toyota Tercel before we go up there, then we will only have the U-Haul and Donnie's Honda Civic to take up. The church in Woodstock is paying for the U-Haul which will really help us out!!!
My oldest sister, Jen, will be taking over all of my piano students for me. My students are so excited that they won't have to find a new teacher by themselves.
I better go, Junie is whining in the jumperoo....so more to come later!!! God Bless!

Another MacDougal Adventure....moving to Canada

We've been looking at several different churches, interviewing and such, and we've finally made our decision! We will be moving to Woodstock, New Brunswick, Canada in a few weeks. I have made the phone call to our local grocerty store to save boxes for me. Mom is coming over tomorrow to help me pack. There are mixed feelings in this move for me. I know that it is where God wants us to be, yet my family will be left behind. That will be really hard for me.
I am excited, though, that Donnie's family is only 5 minutes away from where we will be living. Our family will be so mixed up: Daddy=Canadian, Mommy=American, Liam=American, and any other future kids=Canadian.