Hope from the Valley: September 2015

As promised, here's some pictures of the sightseeing we did! We didn't do much, but what we did do, I really enjoyed! It's so fun doing things like this as a family, I really enjoy the day where Canaan gets just as excited as we do about seeing things :) One lesson I learned, wear running shoes! I had them in the car when we were at Niagara Falls but forget to put them on- ouch! It made an already long day, even longer!

The Welland Locks:

We were on our way to Niagara Falls and accidentally came upon this place. We were so glad we did! It's one of 7 locks where huge ships full of grain and other things that are in transport have to go through. We just so happened to get there when a ship was in, which was apparently not very common for those people just passing through. It takes 7 minutes for it to fill up and 7 minutes for it to drain (I think haha) The ship was massive and Canaan loved watching it!

Niagara on the Lake:

This is one of my all time favourite spots! I think it's mostly because of all the memories I have of visiting here whenever family from Northern Ireland would visit. I have very fond memories of sitting on a bench with my Granda Spence waiting on all of the other as they were shopping. It's pretty much a ritzy town just outside of Niagara Falls. It's surrounded by vineyards and wineries, beautiful landscape and huge houses. The town is built around tourism, with a street full of little shops. Canaan had fallen asleep on our way there and managed to stay asleep as we transferred him to the Ergo and walked around the town. It was SO hot, so Michael and Canaan were just sweating by the time got to our car. But we managed to enjoy ourselves, window shopping and enjoying a cold brew coffee and some ice cream to help us cool off.

This was the prettiest Starbucks I had ever seen.

I'm also tempted to say that this was the best ice cream I have ever had.

Niagara Falls:

We did a lot of walking this day. By the end of it I was so done, but we had so much fun. The falls were absolutely beautiful, and it wasn't very busy. We have this knack for doing things like this in the off season, which has almost always worked in our favour. We did the Maid of the Midst, which is called something different now but I don't remember what. Michael and I had both done it before, but I was very young and didn't remember. It's crazy how small the falls seem when your down there. It was beautiful, and wet. I only had my glasses with me and the closer we got, the less I could see. Contacts would of been a good idea. I also ended up looking like wet raccoon by the end it, but oh well. Canaan enjoyed it, but spent most of his time people watching. He's such a nosey boy :)

St Jacobs:

I was rather disappointed in this place! I had been there many times as a kid, and it was always so much fun. It's gotten very commercialized and isn't very "mennonite" anymore. I only say two horse and buggies, last time I was there, that's almost all you saw! We didn't spend very much time there, I could of walked around all day- but that's ok! We had some really good Apple Donuts, which made my disappointment in the place better :)

The way home:

On the way home we stayed in Minneapolis for two nights. It was so good to spend the last part of our holiday with just us. It's time together that I often take for granted. We went to church on Sunday, which was good but also stressful. I'm no longer a big church person, give me my small country church any day! And it just so happened that Canaan was the ONLY little kid in the whole service, and he was loud! But we pushed through, and ended up meeting a really nice couple who were attending seminary there. It's encouraging to know that almost anywhere we go we are able to find the church and be surrounded by the body of Christ. We did the mall of America, which I would do completely different next time. We were tired, and weren't in the shopping mood. We were there for four hours but didn't see much. We will be back! We swan in the hotel pool a lot, and had a wonderful meal at Famous Daves! We had been pretty disappointed in the customer service we had received at every restaurant in the States thus far, and were treated so good here! He kept bringing us food at no charge for Canaan, sent us home with extras and gave us the military discount. We will definitely be back there too!

Iphone Photos:

Once summer 2015 came to an end, we headed out on our first family vacation! We were so ready for time spent together, as well as a change of scenery! We decided to take a road trip to Ontario, there we would get to spend time with friends and family that we hadn't seen in a while. The trip down was so good, and Canaan travelled like a champ! Which, allowed us to get there almost a full day ahead of schedule (really loving that this kid travels so good, and not taking it for granted as I know it won't always be this way!) The trip down and back we did through the States, taking us through 4 different states and eventually crossing the border into Ontario. There were so many great rest areas along the interstate, and I wish we would of taken advantage of them more. One specific one had an awesome park that we let Canaan run around to let off some steam.

Once we actually got to Ontario we stayed with some family of mine that I hadn't seen in just over 13 years. A little over due i'd say! I spent a good chunk of my younger years in that town, and it was fun to show Michael where I grew up and went to school- even though its changed so much!

Then we got to see great friends from Bible school, and Canaan loved playing with there little girl. It's so much fun to see your kid interact with others. They taught each other some bad habits, including throwing things and climbing on furniture- but that was bound to happen eventually haha!

It's so encouraging that no matter where we go, there's usually people there for us to connect with and be encouraged by. Were thankful for the people God places in our lives and how he brings us back to each other again at the right time.

We also did some sight seeing, Niagara Falls, Niagara on the Lake, The Welland Locks and St.Jacobs. All places I had been to before, but so much fun seeing it all from an older perspective :)

On our way home we took an extra day and stayed in Minneapolis. We did some sight seeing there, got to go to Bethlehem Baptist Church (John Piper used to be preaching pastor there) and spent a lot of time in the Hotel pool getting rid of some energy before we made the last leg of the journey home.

It was so good to spend time together as a family, and this trip came at such an opportune time. We're back now, rested and ready for Fall and all that it has in store!

Whether your in Full time ministry or are in the workforce, rest, and time with your family are so important! If you haven't taken time to do that in a while, do it! You won't be disappointed.

Here's some pictures of the beginning of our trip and the wonderful people we got to see! I'll post some pictures of our tourist outings another day :)