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.

First the picture: Wilbert took this picture on Sunday morning coming back from milking. We awoke to a winter wonderland that was truly beautiful. I had a tough time getting up that morning, but once I looked outside, I praised God for the beauty that I saw all around me. Second, an addition to the list of weird Wilbert sayings in the middle of the night: You want me to get water from each of the taps and put in the bottle? I am not sure why he thought that, but I quickly reminded him that our son needed milk, not water.

Today Joash is five weeks old. He is looking pretty good, don't you think? We are doing well too. We are still getting up when Joash wakes at night to feed and still supplementing with the bottle, but he is letting us get some longer stretches of sleep at night, which is so nice. However, it still can be tough to get up in the night. Wilbert still has some very funny things he says when he is waking up in the middle of the night. Here are some of my favorites. I always say, "Wilbert," and then wait for a response and then say, "Will you please get up and get the bottle for Joash." Here are my latest favorite responses: I don't know. I will get up in 22 minutes. (And my favorite, which may have been influenced by watching Avatar before going to bed) I am in the Navy Reserves and there a plug in the hall to warm up the bottle.

One nice thing about being from two different countries is that we can celebrate more holidays. And since there are a few more people from the states here, last night we had our own American Thanksgiving feast. There were six couples and all of the wives and two of the husbands were from the States. So the Americans out numbered the Canadians, which doesn't happen very often. And we had a feast. There was turkey, ham, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green beans, bread, stuffing and three different kinds of pies for dessert and a pumpkin cake. It was wonderful. And the fellowship was great too. The hosts said there was no assigned seating, so the ladies all sat together at one of the table and guys at the other. It was funny how it worked out, but we had great conversations full of laughter. It was a great way to celebrate a holiday. Hopefully we have started our own tradition here.

Joash loves to cuddle, which we both love to take advantage of. In other news, the snowy, wintry weather continues. It is a good day to stay inside and take advantage of some more cuddling time.

Check out my four week muscles! I can't believe that Joash is four weeks old already. It seems like it was just yesterday that was born. Thankfully things are going really well. Today he had another check up with the public health nurse and he is out of the woods weight wise now. I am so thankful for this. Now we can just do our own thing and let Joash take more of the lead as to when he would like to feed and things like that. He always eats so much better when he wants to eat. As he grows, he is more alert too, which is quite fun. It is pretty clear that he needs his sleep though, too. Today's public health visit overlapped with his nap time and was all out of sorts until 1:00 when he finally settled in for a nap after his second feeding following the public health nurse visit. It amazes me how I can be pretty frustrated with him and then looks at me with his big blue eyes and does something cute that makes my heart melt once again.

It is snowing. I shouldn't complain. It isn't really sticking to the ground much yet and in Minnesota they had a Winter Storm Warning last week. So we really have had it pretty good. And there was a confused woodpecker. He was pecking at some of the wood that separates the different panes of glass on our windows. I tried to get a picture, but I was too slow. I just hope he doesn't return and start pecking on the glass.

Joash looks very calm in this picture. That was not so much the case last night. He was irritable and fussy from about 6-10 pm last evening and nothing seemed to soothe him. We were about at our wits end. Then, when I tried feeding him again at 10, he finally calmed down and fell asleep. And he slept until I woke him at 3 to feed. That means I got four hours of sleep in a row. I am pretty sure that is the longest stretch of sleep I have had since he was born. And after the evening, it was much needed. Thankfully he woke up very happy today, so hopefully we are getting back on track. His weight was up again yesterday, but not quite as much as they would like. So, we are continuing to feed often and supplement as well. But, I can tell that his skin is a better color, he is growing (some of his newborn stuff is almost too small) and he is more alert. The other day he was laying under his gym and he was hitting one of the danging rattles that made a nice noise. He did that for a long time....

Joash is quite a good sleeper. This is partly due to his jaundice and hematoma, but I do hope that it is also just a part of a his personality as well. I am a person who needs my sleep. My mom like to tell the story about how when I was little I would ask if I could go bed. So, yes, I like my sleep and I hope that my son takes after me. But as all new parents know, sleep is usually not part of the equation when you have a newborn. And with Joash's weight loss, we have been needing to wake up every three hours to wake up Joash to feed him. so our sleep is broken up into 1 1/2 to 2 hour chunks during the night. Since we have been needing to supplement Joash at every feeding, our routine at night has been that I get up and nurse Joash. Then, when I am nearing the end of the nursing time, I call Wilbert so that he can get Joash's bottle ready. Wilbert then feeds Joash his bottle, changes Joash's diaper and settles him back in bed. A pretty good system we think, but we have some...

The question everyone asks now is who does Joash look like. We think he has a bit of both of us clearly showing in his face, but I will let you decide for yourself. Joash at 18 days (don't you just love his chubby cheeks?) Denise as a newborn (Apparently Frohawks were in during the early 80's as well) Wilbert at a few days old. looking a little leery of whomever's lap he is on.

A while back I wrote about a random couple who had gotten in touch with us because they read my blog and they are moving to PEI. Well, last week they were on the Island and they stopped by for a visit. We had a very nice time getting to know them better. They know quite a bit about our lives from the blog, so we spent most of the time learning about their story. They hope to move to the Island next year some time. It was very neat to hear how God has worked in their life and how they are feeling led to the Island right now. Here we are together. They even brought a gift for Joash. We hope that we can keep in touch with them as they move to Island.. Hurray for new friends

Not only was Joash a surprise in coming early, but it was a surprise to me that he was a boy. We never found out what we were going to have, but I always pictured myself having a girl. I think it comes from growing up in a family with only sisters. What do I know about boys? Sure, I am married to a wonderful one, but really, what do I know about raising a boy? But, I do wonder if subconsciously I knew I was having a boy. There were several times where I was purchasing something for the baby and I went with a more boy choice rather than a girl choice. Or maybe it is just my personal dislike of pink that drove me to chose the blue tone fabric for curtains and Boppy pillow cover. And a few of the gifts I received would have worked for a girl, but were certainly more boy color themed as well. Either way, I love my little guy and wouldn't trade him for the world. But, I do hope that some day he will have a little sister. I don't know what he thinks about that idea though.

After Joash was born, he started to lose weight. I know this is normal and all babies do this, but he lost over 10% of his birth weight and that was a concern for everyone. Thankfully, the public health nurses that come to visit us at home come for this very reason. They then suggest a plan of action to help get his weight back up. There were lots of reasons why Joash lost so much weight. He was early, a bit jaundice and has a large hematoma on his head from birth. He is very sleepy and doesn't even really wake up when he is hungry. And mama's milk was really slow in coming in. So eventually our action plan required us to supplement his feedings with some formula. We started out doing a line feed so that he wouldn't get hooked on a bottle too early. But, since it looked like we would be doing this for a while, we finally had a to get a bottle. Mom, Dad and Joash took at outing to the store to get what we needed. We were in a hurry because we were expecting some visitors wh...

So, my wonderful husband started a long and elaborate post shortly after Joash was born about the day of his birth. If he ever finishes it...well I would be surprised. Trying to finish everything we were going to do before the little guy came into this world is enough work in and of itself. And since today is the one day after the day we expected him to arrive, I will give you a few details. The key to the whole story is that my husbands's parents were gone to the Netherlands, trying to squeeze in a trip before the baby came. They even went earlier then they first intended to on account of the baby being born. So, we were in charge of the farm and my husband's sister who is in high school. We were staying at the farm since that is a million times easier than running back and forth all of the time. I was doing enough running myself, getting things from our house and getting my sister-in-law to all of her stuff. On Monday, October 25th, the day before my husband's parents wer...

"Hi, everyone! My name is Joash and I am one week old already!" I always wondered why people who had babies seemed to fall of the face of the earth. Now I know. More to come soon about the birth and life so far of the newest Talen (and cutest baby on the planet), Joash.

Joash Harrie Talen. He entered the world Monday evening at 8:56PM AST weighing 3.67KG (8lb 1oz) and measuring 49.5cm (19.5in) long. Mom and Baby are doing well. We made it home from Hospital this afternoon. I (Wilbert) will fill you in on his story later. God is good!

I know that this blog is on the internet for anyone to see. That creeps some people out, but I find it interesting to think that a lot of different people could read my blog. Since we are living in the farm house right now, we are answering the phone and listening to messages, since they could be something farm related. And the other day, we had the strangest message I had ever heard. It was a little hard to hear at times, but what we could make out from it was that someone in Ontario had been reading my blog and was trying to connect with me for some reason and wondered if the people at this number were related. This person would try again later and did not leave a number for me to get back. I was scared at first. Of course, it would be easy to get the farms phone number it is the only number listed under "Talen." But why would someone who has read my blog want to talk to me? What did I do wrong? Who did I offend? Or was it something good, like an offer to write or to make c...

I have heard that one of the reasons Wal-mart is so successful is that they take good care of their employees, strive to have a family like atmosphere between employees, and make sure that all of the employees take pride in their store. I had a glimpse of the Wal-mart pride yesterday morning. Taking care of the farm also means taking care of my husband's sister, who is Grade 11. Basically this means riding around with her, since she has lots of places she needs to be before and after school and she has her learner's permit, but not her full driver's license yet. So, yesterday she had band before school and I had Coffee Break at 9. So, she drove to school and then I did some errands in town before going to church for Coffee Break. I was glad that Wal-mart was open already, since most of what I needed to get, I could get there. I was wandering around, when an announcement came over the intercom that all the employees need to meet up front for a meeting. After a while, I was n...

When we told everyone we were moving, and where we were moving too, we had a lot of people who were very excited and said they wanted to come and visit us sometime. That is great with us. We love visitors and we love showing off the Island and where we are at. On Sunday, we had our first visitors from the States, so sorry if you thought you would get that honor. (They even beat my parents who are coming in December). Our first visitors where a pastor and his wife of a church that several of our students came from while we taught in Edgerton. They already had this trip planned in the spring, and so when they heard we were moving, they added visiting us to their agenda. They joined us for church and Sunday lunch. It was a very nice afternoon and really fun to see a familiar face, even though we really did not know them all that well. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures. I have now vowed to make sure I get a pictures of our visitors from the States. I think that will make a nice...

We are in charge of the farm this week. It has been a good plunge into what life is really like when have a farm to care for all of the time. There are lots of things to think about and keep track of. We have also gotten a feel for how sometimes the farm determines what you schedule will be and when you will arrive at things. As you know, farmers are often late because things always go wrong when you have somewhere you need to be. (As one of my professors in college said, "The cows always get out when there is a wedding or a funeral or on Sunday). Yesterday was Sunday and things took a little longer in the barn that morning than usual. So, my husband came in about 15 minutes before church starts. A quick shower and we were off, trying to make it on and we were pretty sure we could, but we knew we would be cutting it close. But, we forgot about the marathon. One street away from church and there are runners everywhere, police directing traffic, which was pretty much at a stand sti...

Apples. My favorite apple in the world is Cortland, which I discovered in college at this great orchard that let you sample apples in their barn before you went and picked. And my friends and I sampled all of them and nothing beat the Cortland. It is slightly tart, very crisp and a good ripe one has the most pure white inner fruit I have ever seen. And they are good for everything. Eating, baking, pies and sauce. So imagine my delight when the orchard that is just down the road from us put "Cortland" on their sign of what is available. So, I went apple picking and came home with probably way to many apples. But, they are so tasty. So far I am made some apple sauce, an apple pie and an apple crisp. ( You also get to see the lovely shade of our counter tops in our house. It boarders some where between pink, coral and rust, I think.) Thanksgiving makes me think of pumpkin too, so I also made a pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving and a Pumpkin Roll. However, we finished the pie before I...

We are quite settled into our house now. I thought I would quick post some updated pictures of the rooms that were not quite put together the last time I posted. First, the living room. The baby things are starting to accumulate in the corner. A family from church gave us a bouncy seat and swing that they are finished with. We left this corner open for baby stuff and I think it will work out well since the corner is visible from the kitchen. Looking the other way into the living room. The fire place is on the wall to the left, so the couch is facing it. And the one you all have been waiting for, I am sure. The baby's room. This is a view from the back corner. The crib is ready to go and we were able to fit the changing table that Wilbert's dad made before he was born. I made the curtains and the crib skirt. There is a drawer that is on wheels under the crib, so it is a nice storage space. I also made the wall hanging from a mobile that I had as a baby. So there is a little bit...

I am Dutch. I like a good deal. And today I came across two that I simply could not pass up. At Coffee Break today, I was sitting at a table with mostly young moms, the league I will soon be joining. Two of the moms were nursing their little babies and the discussion came to nursing covers, which they were both using. Everyone agreed one of the mom's had a really nice one. After she was done, we were all looking at it, seeing how hard it would be to make one. It was made by Udder Covers . When I got home, I decided to see just how much they ran to buy one, and I found this. Even thought it is dated back in February, I decided to give a try, and the code still worked! Why try to make one when you can get one for only the cost of shipping? So, I ordered one and then got another code to get the same deal on a pocket sling from Seven Everyday Slings ! Amazing! It almost seems to good to be true, but I did my research and I am pretty convinced it is all for real. So, I ordered one of th...

The nice thing about being married to someone from another country is that you get double the holidays. Today, for example, is Canadian Thanksgiving. How nice to have another day to focus on being thankful and getting to eat some wonderful food. Yesterday we got together with some new friends from church for a traditional Thanksgiving meal. And it was wonderful. Today we will be spending time with family. I have been baking up a storm and will probably blog more about that later this week, depending on what it left over. I truly have many things to be thankful for and lots of them I have already shared on this blog. I think one of the great things about blogging is being able to look back and see all that God has done in our lives and how much we really have to be thankful for. So, even if you aren't Canadian, I hope that you take time to reflect on all that you have to be thankful for.

PEI is known as the potato capital of Canada. Our house happens to be very near one of the larger potato farms on the Island and we have several potato fields around us, so I have been able to witness what it means to harvest potatoes. In some ways, it reminds me a lot of a typical Midwest grain harvest. There are huge pieces of equipment moving down the roads and through the fields. There are lots of trucks driving back to the farm with full loads and then back out to the field. They work until crazy hours of the night, especially when rain is on the way. And yet it is very different. The equipment is completely different. The overturned soil is red, not the rich black top soil I am used to. I find it amazing to see how many potatoes they get out of the fields. It seems like the trucks come almost non-stop. Even though it is a different kind of harvest, it is clear to see that the seasons change, even though the evidence may look a little different. It is a testimony to me of God'...

Yep. We are getting ever closer to the arrival of Baby T. My mom asked on Sunday if I was getting bigger, so I thought I better post the latest picture. And I think the answer is pretty obvious. Yes. And we are getting ready. I bought fabric today to make some curtains for the baby's room, so once those are up and finished, I will post a new picture of the room, since it is pretty much set up. Things are going very well. I feel great, but I can tell I am getting bigger. Bending is getting tough and there are shoes that just do not fit right now. I am getting up a couple times a night to use the bathroom, which I guess it is good training for when the baby actually arrives.

I married a man who likes his pie. It is good thing I come from a family of pie makers. I learned from my mom, who learned from hers, who learned from hers and who knows how far back this really all goes. My grandma really has the art of pie making down. She made two pies every Saturday for many, many years. One time when we were all together and I was getting another lesson in pie making, my mom asked grandma why she made two pies every Saturday while my mom was growing up. My grandma laughed and said she wanted a new oven early on in her marriage, so she promised my grandpa that if she got a new oven, she would make two pies every week. So, the new oven soon arrived and my grandma made pies every week for years. I will confess that we cheat on the crust. My mom uses Jiffy pie crust mix and the pies turn out perfect every single time. I never made a pie crust from scratch, so I was thrown for a loop when I discovered that neither of the grocery stores in Edgerton sold Jiffy pie crust ...

I don't know why, but amphibians seem to like us and our basements. Before we left the States, we found a little frog in our basement. It was pretty cute, but we wondered why he thought our basement would be a good home. Then last night we found this little guy in our basement: He is a cute little salamander. After taking his picture, we moved him outside to our lawn. We thought that would be a better home for him. I don't mind these amphibians in our basements. It is much better than rodents or reptiles if you ask me.

One of the things we needed to do when we arrived on the Island was get into the prenatal classes that are offered by the Public Health Department. Thankfully we were able to get into the class that started the week after we arrived. The classes have been really good. It has helped me to feel more prepared and know what to expect and how the health system works here. Last night was the hospital tour. And for whatever reason, that made the whole birth of our baby seem very real and very soon. We have six weeks yet, but that seems very soon. I think just seeing the rooms and knowing where we have to go and seeing all of the different machines and stuff hit me and made me understand how soon I will be there. I like many of the things that I learned. I will probably stay in the hospital for about 48 hours after the baby is born. They leave the baby in the room with you most of the time, so I will quickly learn what it means to take care of this little one before we go home. I am just so th...

As part of our moving process, we decided to try and downsize as much as possible. And since we hadn't seen with our own eyes the place were we would be living, it was hard to know what large things we would really need or what would work in the house. So, once we got here, we quickly learned what we would need and then set out to find stuff for as cheaply as possible. So, we bought everything used. Here are the great finds. Our computer desk. It fits perfectly in the space we have for it, has a little bit of storage. This was most expensive of our purchases, but considering it is only three years old and fits our space so well, it was well worth it. A dresser. This one is almost identical to the one we sold in Edgerton, but it had a little more wear and tear. So, I put a cloth on top to cover up the not so nice looking part and Wilbert fixed a few of the drawers. For $20 we have a very nice and functional dresser. I really wanted a chair for in the baby's room. We found this g...