Summer has arrived!

Okay, so Vancouver does have 'summer'. It just took a loooong time to get here. But this weekend has been gorgeous - I'm sitting under a shady maple tree on the grass near our place (to get a wireless signal). It's 4pm, 26 degrees in the sun with a lovely cool breeze. The only negative is that with the advent of warm weather, my feet and hands have decided to balloon with fluid (making it a little hard to type).
Last night we had a BBQ, and stayed outside until 10pm without a jumper! (Another milestone hehe). The late sunsets are nice. Nathan is studying for his New Testament final which he is doing tomorrow. I've been catching up on some Facebook messages that needed replying to, napping, and that's pretty much it. We caught the last 30 mins of the European Soccer Championship on the way home from church (was being broadcast at a local pub, so we stopped into for some air con, a coke and some good quality soccer on the big screen).
Anyway, July is B-Day month - anytime is a good time for the baby to come. I'm just going to relax, read, possibly bake, and do some crossies while I'm waiting!
We bought a stroller on Friday night, and had fun wheeling it back on the buses - got a few looks because there was no baby hehe. We got a shpping centre gift card from my school community, plus we had some cash from a baby shower earlier in the year, and were able to get a great all-terrain BOB Revolution stroller (since we walk everywhere!) God is really good to us! My bag is basically packed, the baby clothes are washed, the crib is set up. We've been lent a cellphone in case we need it. And Nathan bargained us a good internet deal so we should have that running this week too.
So we are all good! Must dash - the never-ending trips to the bathroom continue!

Blessings

We've been very blessed by people's generosity towards us lately. Although we're thankful for God's provision, t's almost embarassing.

Friday afternoon my work had a surprise baby shower for me - all the staff, students and some parents came along. I was totally clueless! We now have a whole library of baby/kids books, more clothes, and a gift voucher which we plant to use on a stroller.

I got to wear a fancy ribbon bonnet made from a paper plate and the ribbons from my presents. The kids were an appreciative audience with lots of sincere "oohs" and "aahs" as I unwrapped presents. And of course there was party food for after! I'll try and put a silly photo up soon of me in my bonnet.

Last week of work, not long now! Nathan should be doing his final exam for New Testament in the next week or so. I'm looking forward to a break, that's for sure. This week the nights are pretty full with awards ceremony, graduation dinner, small group etc. We are looking forward to inviting a few people over too to enjoy our new bbq.

Health-wise I'm doing great, visiting the midwives once a week from now on. Just over 3 weeks to my estimated due date.

All moved in

We are in the new townhouse, all boxes unpacked (not hard when there isn't many!). The crib is up and we've been to childbirth classes too. Only 11 days til work is finished for me, but this week will be really busy getting assessment written, done, marked and recorded. Now going to the midwife every week as only 4 weeks to go! The weather is warming up nicely and we've had a few days of sun (although the breeze from the North is still cold).

Moving this Sunday

The packing has started, with boxes piling up in our tiny living room! We've enjoyed warm weather this week - it's basically the same as Brisbane from what we've heard. Tomorrow we are borrowing a car as I have another midwife's appointment, and we are heading out early to Real Canadian Superstore (like Pick 'n Pay Hypermarket) to stock up on cheaper groceries and some supplies for our new place. Today Nathan bought a second hand bedroom suite so it's good to know we have something to sleep on!
Less than 50 sleeps til my due date (anticipation is growing along with my belly ;) ), and also counting down to seeing Nathan's mum and my parents in late July and August.

Warm weather and new apartment

Well the weather is warming up - today it reached 18 degrees C near the water, but with the humidity it felt more like 25 degrees - absolutely beautiful! Tomorrow is the start of a long weekend for Victoria Day. Thankfully I (Mareesa) got to spend some time outdoors for PE. I had to wear a hat because yesterday I got sunburnt. We don't even own any sunscreen yet because we didn't think we'd ever need it! Tomorrow afternoon we are looking forward to a bbq with Regent people, and basically spending time outdoors. Nathan has been working casually as a cleaner in our apartment block which has been good, as well as studying for his New Testament Midterm exam (next Thursday).

We have a new place to live, and are moving on June 1st. We are moving into university family accommodation less than a kilometer away, but the new place is a 2 bed townhouse (double the current size of our 1 bed apartment). God has been providing us with furniture for the new place as it is unfurnished. We are really excited about the move, and are looking forward to having a place for the baby, and space to entertain.

Only 60 days to go til Mareesa's due date, less than two months! Yes we are definitely counting down =) Can't wait to meet our little bub!

Spring is here!

Tomorrow is May, and spring is here! Weather is usually 10 degrees maybe more during the afternoon, and the sun is up until 7.30 pm. Nathan is doing some cleaning work at our apartment block for the next week or so which is keeping him very busy, and he is trying to do his audio course at night.
No new news about our house, except that we are working at getting the brickwork and a door-frame fixed ASAP.
We are currently looking for a new place to live come the end of May. We have a few leads and are asking around at the moment. We are looking forward to a bigger place!
On Sunday we had a baby shower/bbq which was heaps of fun, hosted by our friends Danielle and Tyler. It was guys and girls, and we had some fun with a role-playing game of getting to the hospital (girls playing the guys and vice versa).
I'm still healthy, getting bigger of course. Some afternoons I'm feeling pretty tired, so I may be back to having afternoon naps before too long. 11 weeks to go!

Nearly end of the year!

Nathan finishes next Thursday - his first year at Regent completed already! He handed in his paper on Exodus and Liberation today, and has 3 exams next week. After that, he will concentrate on finishing his New Testament audio course as well as probably looking for a summer job.

I won some free classes at a gym, and did my first one today. There wasn't a lot of choice of classes, so I ended up doing a class called "Group Power" which uses weights to work on the different muscle groups. So my arms are sore! I did feel a little weird starting a class at 6 months pregnant, but oh well, better now than 8 months I guess! I just used the lowest weights possible, and the instructor modified some exercises for me to compensate for my extra 'baggage' and the change in my muscles and balance.

The weather has been getting a little warmer (when the sun is out). Today I took my gym class outside and I didn't need a jumper! Yay! I was in direct sunlight and sheltered from breezes, but it was so nice. Nathan jumped at the chance to do some study outside in the sun. It's 7.30pm and the sun is starting to set. The cherry blossom trees are all in bloom and are gorgeous. So we hope spring really is here to stay.

We're still trying to organise our house back home at the moment, but we need to wait on some quotes/reports before we make any more decisions. We've really been seeing God provide for us financially, and we are so thankful for his care and for the peace he has given us.