Vancouver

Three days in Vancouver, exploring this great city as a family before doing the final pack up, and beginning the actual process of moving. Vancouver is a beautiful city. The skyline at night is amazing and there are far too many things to do and places to see for anyone to fit them all into three days, as we tried to do. We were tourists. We rode the sea bus. We went to Lonsdale Quay. We went to the suspension bridge and walked the suspended walkway through the tree tops. We ate out. One night, Jo's brother and his wife and kids came into Van and met us for supper (thus the picture). I think one of the best parts of the entire trip was sitting around the table at breakfast eating together and telling stories and laughing. It would be safe to say that after we move to the US and get all the visa stuff sorted out, I could very easily visit Vancouver again on vacation. Spending time together as a family, without the stress of packing or moving, was important to us. We don't have a lot of time together to just hang out and enjoy each other's company now that the serious packing has started and I know Vancouver will be a memory that we hold with us over the next few months.

The beginning of the last things

Today is my last day in the office. This weekend is my last weekend at Kamloops Alliance Church. This weekend I will preach my last sermon at the church. On Sunday we are having our last bbq with our small group. On Monday we will go on our last official vacation together as a family before I leave. There are many more "lasts" that will come in this adventure and each will have its place and will be acknowledged and celebrated as it should be. I am looking forward to preaching this weekend. I'm looking forward to sharing food and drink with our friends. I'm looking forward to taking my family to Vancouver since we've never experienced that great city together. The great thing is that this isn't the last time we will see all of the people we have grown to love in our short time here. As a follower of Jesus I believe that even if we don't see each other in this life again, we will see each other in the next one. Until then, we always have twitter, facebook, email, text messages, skype.....

all the tiny details will strangle your heart

For someone who has moved as often as I have, you would think that by now I would understand all the small details that need to be taken care of when you move. Now, multiply that by 10 when you factor in that I am moving to the U.S. and Jo and the kid are moving to Edmonton until they get their visas. This means when we pack, we have to pack stuff that can stay in storage for up to a year, stuff that Jo and the kids will need over the next year in Edmonton, and then stuff that I will take with me to Vegas. You can't just throw it all in a box. When you move to the US you have to label and price every item in every box and have a manifest for it. So it feels like we are actually packing three different ways for this move: and yes, we are. Next, we have to be in Edmonton in time for the kids to get registered in school. This is extremely important since Branden and Skye are visually impaired and we need to know a lot about bus routes and class rooms and smart board technology before school starts. Next, we need to figure out how to physically move everything to Edmonton that Jo and the kids will need for this next year. They won't have access to the stuff in storage, so there will be a lot to move. Plus, I'll move stuff to Edmonton that I'll want in Vegas over the next year. Then, each time I fly up to Edmonton, I'll bring some of it back with me. Driving to Vegas isn't really an option since we have one car (which Jo and the kids need in Edmonton) and it is impossible to rent a car one-way into the US. Try it some time. You won't ever try it again. I'll buy a car in the US, but don't want to waste my time with my family by driving back and forth to Edmonton when I see them, when I could fly and save time (and probably money) and be able to spend more actual time with them. Wait, I'm not done yet. Now come all the details in filling out paperwork for the Visas. Form this and form that and form the other and each one is confusing and difficult to understand exactly what they are asking. It would seriously be quicker and easier to just go to the US and apply for asylum and say that we are afraid for our lives because if we return to Canada the winters will kill us.... This whole "bringing your wife of 21 years and your three children back to the United States because you are an American citizen with a good job will take you longer than someone from (insert foreign country of choice) who doesn't speak English, has not discernible trade or skill, but fears for his or her life" is ridiculous. I'm an American for crying out loud and I should be able to bring my family across the border with me without any problems. Oh, in the midst of all of this, I'm writing a sermon on the state of your heart. I think I need to check the state of my heart right about now :) All this stuff, all these details, all this frustration, will strangle your heart if you let it. There is anger over the immigration issue, there is guilt over being separated from my family, there is frustration over all the millions of details and things that need to get done - there are a million things that could come between my heart and Jo and my heart and God. Right now, I need to remind myself that God IS in the details, that He IS working in my life in this transition, and that this life isn't all there is. I'm reminded of Paul's words in Romans 12:12 "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." That is the only way I'm going to keep my heart safe.

1 month to go

I begin my new job on Sept 1. I have one month left with my family until the new journey begins. I know we should be packing and labeling and contacting moving companies and doing all those types of things, but last night I just wanted to watch a movie with my kids and they wanted to watch one with me too. So we watched King Arthur and afterwards sat around and debated how much of it might actually be accurate or at least more accurate than the legend. Afterwards Jo and I read the first chapter of Andy Stanley's book "Enemies of the Heart". We are going to read together over Skype once I am in Vegas. We still have no idea exactly how all of this will work or where I will live when I get down there. Jo and the kids will live with my folks in Edmonton and the kids will go to school there while they wait for their visas. I'm hoping to find a house sitting situation or perhaps someone who has an in-law suite they aren't using - somewhere I can live and save money to pay for the visa process. It is expensive. One more week of work. A few days of family vacation in Vancouver. Packing up the house. Moving the family to Edmonton. Driving to Vegas. That will be August.