The Talens' Tales

Joash was part of the sermon on Sunday. He slept through the whole thing. Our pastor picked him up from us, brought him to the front of church and talked about how a baby is full of potential. We don't know what Joash is going to be like when he grows up. We don't know who he will meet or where he will go. He has the potential to do any number of wonderful and amazing things. The pastor then connected this to our new life in Christ as Christians. We too are full of potential to do amazing things for God's Kingdom. It was a beautiful thought that warmed my heart. The funny part for us was one of the things our pastor choose to say about Joash is that he could be a great hockey player and be a star for the Toronto Maple Leafs and help them win some games. When he said that, Wilbert and I just looked at each other and laughed. Sorry Joash, but I don't think being a great hockey star is in your gene pool. You have two very non-athletic parents. I think I would go for someth

The whole week of Christmas I kept telling Joash that what Mom really wanted for Christmas was for him to sleep through the night and a smile. We knew that he was so close to smiling and I was pretty sure that I had caught a few smiles, but nothing for sure. Well Christmas day I went to pick up Joash from nursery. It was the first time he had woken up in nursery and as soon as he was in my arms, he smiled. There was no doubt about this one. Alas, the smiles are still fleeting and impossible to catch in a picture, but they are coming. As for sleeping though the night, we are getting there. two nights ago, he had a stretch from 10:30-5:30. Last night he went from midnight to 5:30. So it is getting better and the extra sleep is very nice.

Well, our winter weather has come today with a vengeance. What a perfect time to blog about our not white Christmas. Wilbert and I both commented yesterday that it really didn't feel like Christmas this year. We didn't know if it was the lack of snow or what. But then we decided it was because this was the first year in a long time that we haven't traveled for Christmas and the first time in an even longer time that we haven't had a vacation associated with Christmas. So, it was sort of weird and different this year, but still wonderful. Here are some pictures: The Talen Family - 2010 Joash was pretty much the center of attention this holiday. He was passed around a lot and I think he enjoyed himself for the most part. We also did a small Christmas with just the three of us. Joash was not really sure what to make of. But, it was a fun start to many Christmas to come. Merry Christmas everyone and we hope you have blessed New Year.

For those of you wondering what Joash does these days, this is his latest development. Denise will do a Christmas post soon. .

I am certainly glad got out yesterday. Today is a great day for staying inside out of this weather. I am cetainly glad it is not snow, even though my husband would argue otherwise. I have another thing to add to my list of things I miss--Chex cereal. How do they no have Chex Mix here? How am I suppose to male Puppy Chow? Or any other yummy goody that calls for Chex? Grr. And a strange thing I have noticed around here. Not only do people put up the usual Christmas lights, but there is also this odd trend of putting up spotlights to illuminate the front of your house. I could understand this if there was a nice manger scene or if you put a lot of greens up on your house or something like that. However, most them have nothing but lights up. So, they put a spotlight on their Christmas lights. Why? I don't get it. Another variation on this is illuminate a large tree in your yard with spotlights. Not a nice pine or anything like that, but just a random, leafless tree. I don't unde

Joash is 8 weeks old today. As you can see, we aren't smiling very much yet (though he does it all the time in his sleep), but we are no longer screaming when we not fully dressed. I also like this picture because it shows off his how his hair is curly after a bath, his big blue eyes, and his cloth diapers which I love. He is really starting to coo a lot these last few days, so that is fun. It is nice to hear his voice in ways other than crying. He had a check-up today. He weighs 11lbs and is 23 inches long. So he certainly is growing. Overall the doctor thought he looked great. Next week is his first round of immunizations. I am a little nervous about that, since I am not sure how he will react to them. Thankfully car rides usually put him to sleep, so hopefully that will be the case on that day as well.

Here is Joash sporting his first pair of jeans. Yes, they are way to big on him, but I just wanted to try them out. A friend from Minnesota made the shoes for him and they fit perfectly right now, so we had to try them out with jeans. And it was so cute. Sometimes I feel like I am treating him like a doll that I dress up in different outfits. But, he has humored me so far and it makes him look even cuter than he already is. It is crazy to me how different clothes that are marked the same size really can fit. I have taken to just holding things up together to really decide how big they are and pretty much ignore the size on the label. And I just roll up a lot of sleeves and pant legs and then we are good to go. Joash is doing great. He is starting to coo a lot now and I am pretty sure I got a smile this morning. It is so fun to see him grow and discover more things about the world each day.

Moving to a new place always brings out things that you maybe didn't realize you liked about the place you came from because you took it for granted. I find that other then family and friends, there are a few things that I miss here, mostly food stuff. I am sure this list will continue to grow as I continue to look for different things as I cook and bake. Crock Pot Liners -I love using my crock pot and I love how easy Crock Pot liners make clean-up. They are just a special made plastic bag that you line the crock pot with and then when you are finished you simply throw the liner away. Why these are not sold here I really don't understand. Mrs. Butterworth's Syrup - Sorry, I am not a maple syrup fan. Mrs. Butterworth's is the best. M&M's in a large bag - I have only been able to find M&M's in little stand up bags, but not in the large 1lb or more bags you can get in the state (for the same price of the little bags here.) Almond Bark - It is Christmas time

We have finally completely finished the moving process. Today we registered our vehicles on the island. It was sort of a process to get that all done. Not only did we have to go through all of the work to have them imported and then inspected, it was also quite a process to become insured here as well. We had to get a special letter from our insurance company in the states and also have our driving record sent from the state of Minnesota. So, it really did take us this long to get everything in order. But now it is finished and we will have our PEI plates on our vehicles soon.j And Joash is seven weeks old today. Here he is by our Christmas tree in his Sunday finery. The clothes are a little big and they make him look really grown up and really cute. He is growing though. At his last weight check, which was last Wednesday, he was 10lb 6 oz. What a blessing to know that he is growing well.

It is Christmas time of course.In years past, we have always had to travel somewhere for the holidays. So that was my excuse for why we had a fake tree. But, since we are staying put this year, we got a real tree for the first time since we have been married. It is a beautiful one. Not only did my parents bring gifts for Joash, but they also brought Christmas gift for us as well. I knew that I wanted my Christmas money to go toward an area rug for our living room. I had found one that I like on-line at Bed, Bath and Beyond, so I decided to just quick run in the store on Wednesday to see if they had one in stock. They did and it was on clearance! We like it very much. It brings the room together and keeps our coffee table in place.

My parents were able to visit from Michigan this past week and meet Joash and see our new home here. They liked Joash a lot. Here are some of the things that happened. Joash hung out with Grandpa and Grandma lot. He was held almost all of the time, which he really liked. Joash was baptized on Sunday. It was so nice for all of his grandparents to be here to witness that. Here is Joash in his cute outfit. And Joash got a lot of gifts. Christmas came a bit early to our house hold. Here is Joash modeling a new hat. I will put up some more pictures of Joash and his new gifts as we use them. As you can see, Joash is crying in this picture. He is didn't really want Grandma and Grandpa to leave, which everyone else agreed with. We are looking forward to the next visit.