JobsJobsJobsJobsJobsJobsJobsJobsJobsJobsJobsJobsJo-

Wow, when you see the word like that, it actually looks quite silly, rather than stressful.

Anyway, as I have only received three calls for teaching since the beginning of January, I have decided to apply for a maternity position at the Christian school, teaching a 1-2 class, from March Break till the end of June. I realise that it will take me out of the public and catholic system again, but I need to work. Please pray for conviction that this is what I should be doing, and that if it is, I will get the job.

Thanks!

Snow!!!

I'd just like all o'you to know that we've got about a foot of snow on the ground, nice wet, packy snow, 3 snowmen in the yard, one nearly completed igloo/snowfort, and one unbelievably big driveway....! [....my back, my back]

Why an angel sits upon the christmas tree

A long time ago, angels did sit on top of the traditional Christmas tree. This is the story of how the tradition started.

It was a long tough Christmas for Santa. The worlds population was increasing exponentially thusly increasing the amount of toys that had to be produced. To compound this the elves were on strike so Santa & Mrs. Claus were force to put in many hard, extra hours in the workshop to keep up the production of the toys.

Soon it was two days before Christmas and Santa still did not have enough toys. If that was not bad enough half of the reindeers had come down with food poisoning and were not fit to fly on Christmas Eve. Then to add to Santa's frazelled nerves and ever rising anger, Amnesty International came through the door to deliver a citation of poor working conditions on behalf of the Elves. At that moment a small, sweet angel came into Santa's workshop with the Christmas tree. She looked up at Santa with her small, innocent eyes and ask "Santa, where should I put the Christmas tree?"

And, well the rest is history.


Also, just to let you know, I have made additions to my Christmas list, just incase anyone who had my name was wondering what to get me.

What y'all (cept for Dave) missed...

So, Friday night's preformance was a train wreck, which is why I'm very thankful that Dave came to Sat night, because we have *never* sung anything so well! Some of the choir members who have been in for five years said that they haven't ever had a performance that was so together and powerful as Sat night was. The Amen was absolutely incredible, I think that I shall get shivers for the rest of my life when I hear that chorus. And we made Dr T cry. Not that that's anything special, but while we were singing the Amen, there was a portion for which he was doubled over his stand, not directing, not looking up at all, because he was absolutely sobbing. :) Sigh.

Anyhow. My Christmas list is rather late in coming, and I"m sorry to report that the only reason why I'm actually posting it tonight is because I'm supposed to be writing a paper. And I really don't want to do that. (surprise, surprise...)

Scrapbooking stuff:
-circle and oval cutters (you can get a set of them)
-corner punches
-nice scrapbooking stickers of various things and alphabets

a plane ticket to England

Any of the seasons of Due south on DVD

It's a wonderful Life on DVD

A sewing machine

An iron (yes mother, that does sound very domestic)

...and that's all that I can think of for now. I thought of some other things as I was going to sleep last night but I can't remember what they were... I'm sure I'll come up with others before this paper is finished... Tata!

Marya & Eric's Lists

Hello all...here they are.

Marya
-DVD Runaway Jury
-scrapbook supplies (a corner punch, a large circle punch or cutter, stickers and paper)
-"Ici" perfume
-fun socks
-anything else fun or interesting - sorry I'm not more specific

Eric
-MAG-Lite flashlight (the kind that takes D batteries)
-D batteries
-Lord of the Rings Return of the King extended version (4 discs)

I think that's all. Not feeling very wintery out here. All our snow got rained out yesterday, and another section of our fence blew over last night!

"Oh My God!"

Yes, we now know how much our child hears from the TV.

We were watching some Friends DVD a couple of nights ago, and Reuben started crying in bed. We got him up for a while, and he started playing with Thomas, while keeping an eye on the TV. Suddenly, he laughs, and exclaims, "Oh my God!" AAAH! Sarah and I are both amazed and shocked, but can't help but stifle some laughter. Reuben noticed this, and says it again. TV went off immediately, and we engaged in some redirecting play.

The next afternoon, after his nap, Reuben got up, and we had Friends playing. He saw the TV and immediately said, "Oh my God!" The TV went off again, but he repeated this phrase no less than fourteen times in a row.

He hasn't said it since, but we can no longer watch the DVDs while Reuben is awake (hence only being finished one disc) and has suddenly brought to our attention the importance of regulating what our darling little son watches already.

-Ever-learning parents....

Dave's Christmas list

Well Everyone, here's my Christmas list so far. I'll add to it as I go:

Get Fuzzy
Zits
(two cartoon books)

The Watchmen
(by Alan Moore {it's a graphic novel})

The Emperor's New Groove (On DVD)

Beethoven's Last Night
(Trans Siberian Orchestera CD)

Best of the Muppet Show (DVD)

The Princess Bride (DVD)

Pirates of the Carribean (DVD)



Look on Amazon.com or Amazon.ca and and you'll probably be able to find them for cheap

I'll add more as I think of them

So this afternoon, we have a three hour rehersal with the orchestra, and then have an hour break for supper/relaxing/getting ready and then we have another two hour practice and then the concert at 8. Busy afternoon/evening! I gather that no one else besides Dave is going to be coming to the concerts this weekend, so if there are no objections I'll see if there's anyone around here who wants a free ticket. Highly unlikely at this point in the game, but I'll see who I can convince to come that doesn't already have a ticket.

Mom, when you try to post, try clicking on the name of the blog that's right beside the plus sign, it's in blue and underlined. Once you get to the new screen, click on "Create a new post" (it's a blue button on the left side of the screen). And you'll have to be patient, because for some reason the new post screen is always the slowest to load up on any computer I've been on.

Have a good day, y'all.

Noah says, "Ho-Ho-Ho!"

Today Reuben and I went to do the groceries and outside the store was a very large air inflated ... Noah. This large, red-clad Noah says, "Ho-Ho-Ho." Poor Reuben. Life as a two year old can be so confusing. Christmas lists for the family of four. Reuben -anything thomas the train related would definately be loved (ex. pillow cases, underwear, t-shirts) - underwear (Bob the Builder, Franklin, Thomas) -baby board books perhaps bible related would be good -music for the music lover - For the Kids II - Raffi (Raffi in concert with the Rise and Shine Band) - Sesame Street Platinum - One Elephant, Deux Elephant, Sharon, Lois and Bram Nadine -Fitted crib sheets (with deep pockets) -striped tights (they are so cute!) - Bible board books Sarah - large square paper punch - around 2.5 to 3 inches big - paper cutter (like the one Marya got last year) - Picture frames 5x7 I am collecting wedding photos of family -parents, grandparents, siblings. - The Post-pregnancy Handbook by Sylvia Brown - "Natural Alternatives to Vaccination" zoltan rona md -"Smart Medicine for a Healthier Child" Janet Zand, Rachel Walton, Bob Roundtree Steve - a relatively recent OED (oxford english dictionary) - superbright LED compact flashlight - Graphic Novels (you can get'em used on Amazon.ca)-"Daredevil Visionaries" and "Ronin" by Frank Miller (or pretty much anything by him, Sarah can tell you if I have it or not) - In the spirit of rediscovering Pierre Burton, "The National Dream: The Great Railway." A nice Good-bye at the end Sarah and Steve

Nadine's First Tooth!!!!

That's right! Yesterday, Nadine cut her first tooth! And she doesn't seem to be finding the whole process all that unenjoyable either, which is nice. She's also just started eating banana mush, and is soooooo excited about eating--waving her arms about, and squealing. Our little girl is growing up!

PS. Has anybody checked the "Van Breda" profile yet? : )

Hey - It's Marya

I don't know if I'm doing this right...we just learned about this yesterday. We'll see. I think I need to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAVE!!!!! I know you're at work today, but try to enjoy it somehow. I hope you win your game tonight!

So we're doing our Christmas on Tuesday, right? And we'll see everyone in two weeks, right? That'll be fun. I just handed in my reports, so a huge weight is gone! (the vice principal said that she can watch the weight just float right off the people who hand them in!)

Have a great day, all. We'll see you soon!

I'm in a safety training video!!!

Well, I've made my debut in the fast pace, high rolling industry of safety videos!

You can check out my performance by clicking on the link below and then click on preview title

A box will come up and you can enter in my e-mail (since i've registered it to preview videos) and you can see me in a safety video. davidv@safetyontheweb.com

Here's the link

http://www.safetyontheweb.com/productsDetail.asp?mmID=1832&mtID1=&mtID2=&mtID3=&mtDesc=


P.s I haven't seen a christmas list yet!! (ofcourse I'm just as guilty as the rest of you :) )

So, the Redeemer Choir sang yesterday at a Rememberance Day Service at the Canadian Warplane Herritage Museum: It's gotta be the largest crowd that I've ever sang in front of. There were over 1,300 people there- some estimates were up to 1400 or 1500. CH News Crew was there, but while we were probably broadcast live on tv, we didn't make it to the news. But it still went pretty well, I think. I still have to check the Spec yet today to see if we made it into the newspaper.
That's my story.

Is this I?

Just checking to see if my proper name comes up when I post this...

Thank-you Dave....

Yes......thank you so much for your detailed instructions, DAVE, and your creativity is inspiring, DAVE.

-Steve



(it was me! i'm the creative one! i just forgot to sign my name! even after all my instructions! please like me...)

Blogging IDs

Hello all. So, I have attempted to give us all the ability to sign in under our own name, but I'm not too sure how it will work. I sent an email inviting everyone but Dave to join in, unless Dave, you want your own sign in name as well.... it's up to you, you can invite yourself. Just go to "Settings" and then "members" and click invite, and enter your email Addy. As I said, let me know if it didn't work for you. You'll have to create a blogging account, but apparently it's not too difficult to do. I've got complete faith that you're all more than up to the challenge. ;)

I DID IT!!!!!

Maybe I'm not as "blog-illiterate" as I thought I was! (Or else David is very good at giving instructions!. Anyway, I think that this is a great idea--even for things others than Christmas lists. David, I like your sub-title. We do have creative kids!

I don't have anything on my Christmas list yet. For Dad, well, he really needs some long-sleeved shirts --if everyone gets him one, he'll have lots! I don't know when he is going into a nursing home, but it would be very nice, when he goes, to have some things to put up on the wall. Making a collage of pictures would be really nice for him--and we have some people who read this that are quite creative at doing this kind of thing! Staff at nursing homes like it because pictures help them get to know their "clients" better, and of course, there is always something to talk about then.

We had an amazing Remembrance Day assembly at our school. 350 kids filed into the gym without a sound. They sat quietly and listened respectfully to presentations. They stood up and were incredibly quiet for 1 minutes' silence. And then they filed out again quietly. My class sang "Soldiers and sailors and airmen"--you know, the song that you guys all sang when you were in school. It was almost a shame to have recess--it broke the mood.

Anyway, I hope that you all have a wonderful evening and a good day tomorrow!
All the best!
MOM

Posting with ID names... Dave

There should be a way in which each of us has an individual name to log in on and then we could dispense with adding our name to the beggining of the blog.

Anyone know how to do that? I'd work on it, but alas I am at work now.

Dave

How to blog....

1. Go to www.blogger.com, or click on the small rectangular "I Power Blogger" link to the right on the van Breda blog.

2. In the top right hand corner of this new screen, under "username" type in the username (see the email) and in the "password" type in the password.

3.The next screen should say "Dashboard" and has a list of options under "Blogs." To the right of "Christmas List Blogs" click the "+" symbol to write a new post. It may take a while for the screen to come up, and it may not come up at all. It took me a couple of tries-- this may be a finicky blogsite.

4. A screen should come up that looks like an email screen with "Posting" "Settings" "Template" and "View Blog." The screen should be open to "Posting."

5. Write in your title for your Blog, (and include your name, so we know who's talking), then write your post in the large window. You can do bold and italic writing by using the keyboard shortcuts at the bottom of the window.

6. When you're finished, click the button "Publish Post." (Not "Save as Draft" 'caus no one'll ever see that unless they look in the draft folder.....Dave.....)

And there you go! Easy as pie! (and less steps, too!) I have no idea why Jenn's name came up.

As for those northern lights, I had no idea they were there!!!! Plus, it was cloudy on Sunday night!!!!! Bah!

We've got a Blog! (And I'm First!) -Steve

I don't really have a christmas list to post right yet, but I just wanted to be the first to post on a blog. I've never been the first on a blog before!

By the way, we've been quite busy this past week, and I've meant to call all and tell, but I guess this is as good a place as any.....WE'RE PREGNANT! (no, just kidding...) We had to take Nadine to see a specialist because our doctor heard a clicking sound in her hip at a routine check up. Our doctor was worried about Nadine having a shallow hip, which to fix would probably only require her wearing a couple extra diapers for a few months to hold the leg in a certain position. Turns out that after waiting an hour and a half in the waiting room (and that's with an appointment) there's absolutely nothing wrong. So we were quite happy at the end of the appointment, but it was a little sad walking through the waiting room and passing all of these children who did have problems. We constantly feel very blessed.

So... who's gonna post next?