Refrigerator Worthy

Sometimes swimmers at the YMCA give us lifeguards gifts. Coworkers of mine have received chocolate or fruit, Kinsey even got a necklace for Christmas one year! I myself have been given raspberry tea and this past week a swimmer found out it was my birthday and decided to bring me a gift. I had to share it with you. It's just too good to keep to myself. He gave me some hints as to what it would be before he gave it to me. He told me that it took him an hour to prepare and that it weighs 1 milligram. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the artwork of Mohammad, the McGill graduate student who studies earthquakes:

 I wish I could tell you more about Mohammad than what I mentioned above but I honestly don't know much more except that he swims every day at the pool and we always have a short conversation mostly consisting of "How are you? Good swim?" and long pauses that I usually fill with some random statement about my life (eg. "I'm going home for my birthday next week!") and also he likes to play badminton. 

Mohammad asked me if I knew where this was and I told him I wasn't sure but it looks like a park. He wouldn't tell me where exactly it is but said he will next time so I'll keep you posted! In the meantime, this masterpiece is on my fridge. 

The Colour Run

This past weekend I ran The Colour Run at Parc Jean Drapeau with three friends. The Colour Run is a 5k run where runners wear white and get covered in a different colour at each kilometer. The whole point is to have fun, get messy and be active! We had a blast and here are some pictures of before, during and after!

Before

During

After

Study Bible Update: Promises

I just wanted to post a tiny update on my study Bible adventures! I have a pretty sweet setup at the apartment right now and it's really been helping me get into a routine. Every morning I make my breakfast and coffee and bring it to my desk in the living room which has my Bible and a notebook sitting open just waiting for me.

I started at the beginning. And I'm still there. I'm making progress but this study Bible sure has a lot of extra study notes! I haven't even gotten to Genesis yet! I've read all the notes that give an overview of the Old Testament. For example, who wrote it, when and why. And I'm almost finished reading the introduction notes to Genesis which explains the major (and minor) themes. Even though I haven't even gotten to the actual Bible part I already feel like I've learned so much. These overviews have been so helpful in outlining the important messages and in explaining how the whole Bible points to Jesus. It's not just a list of genealogies and laws and stories that are all loosely tied together by being God's word but it's one complete book that's all about God's promises. It's about His creation and His love for us despite our rebellion and His promise to restore us to the way He created us. In the Old Testament He makes promises to Abraham and Israel through Moses and in the New Testament we see these promises fulfilled by Jesus! God sacrificed His only Son to die for our sins, paying our price, so that through Him we can be restored. I am already in awe of how the Bible unveils God's promises and purpose for His creation throughout the Old and New Testaments. I never saw it as a complete narrative before! I already feel like my view of God and the Bible is being transformed and I haven't even started reading it! I can't wait to see how else God will open my eyes and my heart with more time.

Speaking of God's promises, I just read Whitney Newby's blog post where she writes about God's promise to Abraham and Sarah that they will have a child in their old age. Sarah laughs and God says "Is anything too hard for the Lord?". A great reminder that God's work doesn't require our faith, though He is glorified by it. The fulfillment of His promises are not dependent on us but on Him. Anyways, she unpacks this passage a lot better than I can so you should read the whole thing for yourselves! It's a good one.

Thanks for reading!

An old friend in a new apartment.

This weekend I was able to host my dear friend Katie as my first visitor to the new apartment (besides dad ;) ). Katie was working for the YMCA orchestrating a Quebec-Ontario exchange program and she was able to stay with me for the weekend after bringing her students back to Montreal on the train. Hooray!

It was such a treat to have her here. We met up on Saturday evening and enjoyed famous Montreal poutine(s) at La Banquise and then had a great day Sunday exploring and shopping and eating in the morning and baking and eating and watching Suits in the afternoon.

Katie and I have been friends since elementary school and went to the same church for a few years during high school and it was so great to be able to catch up. I don't always get to see her when I'm home and this was her first time visiting me in Montreal so I'm so grateful that it was finally able to happen!

My friend Katelyn and a friend of hers will be the next visitors to de Bullion! They are moving into their apartment next weekend and will be crashing at my place :) Luckily I was able to borrow the biggest air mattress ever from the spectacular Ryan Chan so my overnight guests have a comfortable place to rest their heads :)

It is sincerely such a joy for me to host so please friends and family, come visit me in Montreal this year! Can't wait to have you here!

Vineland Vacation

I had a wonderful week at home. I tried not to make too many plans in advance so that I would have time to relax and so that when things came up I could say yes. And that's what happened, things came up!

Saturday I was able to have breakfast with my Neufeld grandparents who generously allowed me to borrow their car while I was home and then I spent the day getting ready for the bridal shower and catching up on some sleep. (The overnight bus ride was not as luxurious as I was hoping. It was packed and also at some point the bus driver kicked a passenger off the bus and I couldn't sleep through that). The shower was a success though! We had a great time celebrating Malorie and her future with Zack!

Sunday was almost like a day in the life of Jared day. We went to his church together and had lunch with his parents and in the evening attended "Encounter" which was a worship night Jared was playing guitar for. After singing, Jared and I met up with a couple of his friends at The Upper Deck which is a restaurant they go to frequently. While they talked music, I was content just to be there having heard so often via skype, "and then Keith and Sathiya and I went to The Upper Deck...". Jared has amazing friends and it was such a pleasure to spend time with them.

During the days while most of you are hard at work I was able to catch up with a few friends. Kinsey and I were able to reconnect which was so wonderful and Malorie and I were able to spend more time together as well. Dad and Jared were able to take long lunch breaks so I was able to have a few lunches with each of them and grandma and grandpa-next door had me in for a birthday lunch too! I was also able to make it to Cambridge to visit my camp friend Beth-Anne. When I wasn't meeting someone for coffee or lunch I was lounging on the back deck reading a book, napping or writing and I did go for a run occasionally (afterall, the montreal half marathon is only 6 weeks away!).

Jared took a long lunch and we had a picnic on the parkway. This is us enjoying the swings :) 

For my birthday Dad and Andrea had some family over for dessert which was delicious and then the next day mum prepared an amazing dinner and grandma T brought over my favourite raspberry pie. I also received the most beautiful bouquet I've ever seen from Jared on my birthday day which was such a splendid surprise. Now I think it's becoming a birthday bouquet tradition and it's my favourite. :)

My evenings were full of family dinners: at dad's or mom's or grandma N's. On Saturday grandma outdid herself. When she rattled off the menu to me my jaw dropped. I thought she was joking. She wasn't. It was spectacular.

Just some of grandma's kitchen creations.

I was also able to meet baby Summer finally! She is so precious.

I think my favourite day was Saturday though, the day before I left. Mom and I had some quality mother-daughter time consisting of breakfast and pedicures and then Jared and I spent the day by the pool. It was so relaxing and refreshing and exactly what I needed. I read, I snacked, I swam, I slept. Jared played guitar beside me. It just doesn't get better than that. We finished the day with grandma N's outstanding cooking creations as well as her and grandpa and dad's fine company and then out to see Despicable Me 2 in 3D.

My view. 

So, it was a wonderful week and I have another one to look forward to in less than a month! 3 more weeks of work here in the lab and then I'll be back just before Malorie and Zack tie the knot at the end of the month! I have lots to look forward to then including Fiddler on the Roof in Stratford with mom, and all sorts of wedding shenanigans! In the meantime Katie Culp is coming to visit me and Katelyn Moyer is making her return to Montreal and my new roomies too! So many blessings!

Thank you to everyone for the warm birthday wishes and a special thanks to those who were able to celebrate with me! It was so wonderful to be home vacationing in Vineland. Love you, miss you, see you again soon!

De Bullion

I'm safely back in Montreal and have moved into my new apartment! Dad drove me up this past weekend and we moved my things from Tupper and from Morgan and Sam's to Rue De Bullion (between a couple bouts of rain). I'm sore now from all the heavy lifting and so.many.stairs (and maybe just too much stuff) but it feels so good to be settled into where I'll be for the next (and my last!) school year in Montreal.

I actually had not seen the apartment before Sunday. I trusted my new roommates though and I knew that the place was being renovated but when I walked in for the first time I was blown away! :)

 I don't have pictures to post yet because I want to wait until we've furnished it all but it's beautiful. The kitchen has all new appliances (including a dishwasher!) and tons of cupboard and counter space. The living room is huge and has two closets, one which houses a washer and a dryer (score!). The bathroom is entirely new as well and has a bathtub! My room is tiny but it'll be just right. I even have door leading to a little balcony and I have my very own closet! (this is a big deal because Tupper didn't have ANY closets. None.) I couldn't fit my desk in my room so it's in the living room at the moment but that's subject to change I suppose.

So I'm happy to be here, finally settled in to where I'll be for my final year at McGill. I'm figuring out (again) the bus routes and coffee shops and grocery stores and I'm excited for my new roommates to join me at the end of the month!

Ps. I had a wonderful week at home and I will post about that (with pictures) shortly!!