An Island Get Away!

Hey friends!  Boy has it been a while since I've posted!  It seems as if I'm working all the time but today I have finally set aside some time to update you on the busy life of Jessica Esau.  Renos on the inside of the house are finally done and I promise that I will post pictures on Facebook soon.  They look so good and I am definitely glad to have a functional bathroom again.  After two 48+ hour work weeks I finally got a vacation on the August long weekend.  My family went to Mayne Island with my friend Carla's family, the De La Rosa's and it was so much fun!  It was the first weekend of beautiful weather we'd had in a while and so we took advantage of it by going on some amazing hikes.  I also got some reading and naptime in which made me happy.  Have any of you ever read the Hunger Games?  Because this is what I read that weekend and if you haven't read it, you should.  It is so good, but slightly addicting and I am afraid it made me just a little anti-social at times.  One of the best parts of the weekend was the food.  Carla's mom is one of the best cooks I know and she definitely made sure we were well fed!  Another one of my favourite parts of the weekend was the movie the De La Rosa's showed us called The Prestige.  It was about two rival illusionasts and definitely had some unexpected twists and turns, my favourite kind of movie!  Other exciting news: as some of you know my dad was looking at some churches in Winnipeg but we didn't think the timing was going to work out.  However one of the churches agreed that they would be willing to wait until next summer if my dad was the right guy.  He made the shortlist and will be candidating sometime in the fall.  My parents are going to my cousins wedding in Winnipeg in two weeks and will check out the church then.  Unfortunately I have to stay home by myself for a week and work while they are gone but at least there is a possibility of a job for my dad!  Hope you all have been having enjoyable summers!

Music To My Ears

So yesterday I finally had a full day off from both jobs and so my family took my Grandma to the Vancouver Symphony's annual summer concert in Stanley Park.  Now my Grandma is 81 and obviously doesn't have as much energy as she used to, especially since she has lymphodema in her one leg.  Therefore my family had it all planned out so that we would drive in and park near Waterfront Station, since we had heard that they were not going to let vehicles into Stanley Park.  Then we would take the free event shuttle into the Park.  However, when we got to Waterfront Station we found out that there was a two hour wait for the shuttle and ended up having to walk since we didn't have any change for the city bus.  It took us over half an hour to get to Main Stage in Stanley Park where the concert was taking place and by the time we got there we were all exhausted from having to carry our cooler and chairs all that way.  We were worried about my Grandma but she made it ok.  However, once we sat down we realized that we were dressed too warm and ended up sunburnt and overheated.  Thankfully they had a tap not too far away from where we were sitting so we were able to fill up our water bottles and keep hydrated.  The concert itself was lovely and relaxing and we were able to get on the shuttle right away after it finished so that was a blessing.  Once we got home we got enjoy one of my favourite things about summer: homemade pie stuffed with rhubarb from our garden and fresh strawberries from one of the local farms.  All in all a great end to a very eventful day.  Are any of you enjoying your fresh, locally grown produce?

Summer Reading List

So the other day I was in the Tsawwassen bookstore, Albany Books, with my friend Carla and it got me thinking that I should probably make a summer reading list, especially with my family's trip to Mayne Island coming up in a few weeks.  Here is what has made the cut so far:

Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Harry Potter Series
The Chronicles of Narnia
The Hunger Games

Whether I'll be able to finish all of these books by the end of the summer is up for debate but I will certainly try.  After all, according to my brother Ryan, all I do when I have free time at home is read!  I love books!

The Long Awaited Update Part 2

So this past year has been a very interesting year for my family.  It took them a while to adjust to me being away and then in January my dad lost his job after nearly 20 years of service at Cedar Park Church.  When I got the phone call telling me that things were over at Cedar Park, I was literally in shock, although I don't think the reality of it really it me until I came home in April.  It hurt me to see everything that my family had been dealing with without me.  Cedar Park had been our home church for as long as I can remember.  No other church felt exactly right.  April and most of May and June were really hard for me because I was missing my friends from Bethany terribly as well as missing my friends from church.  Ladner just didn't feel like home without high school or my church.  I am still finding it all very difficult, especially my mom's negativity about the whole situation.  It is all we ever seem to talk about, or at least every conversation seems to eventually lead to this topic.  My dad was looking at some churches out of province but the timing just isn't going to work out with moving and my brothers really don't want to move when they are so established here.  But for me, I no longer feel established anywhere except Bethany.  Moving would have brought me closer to the friends I made there.  I can't wait to go back in September!  But right now most of my time is consumed with working at Splashdown and the Theatre trying to earn money so I can afford to go back.  This suits me just fine, as it is a little crazy at my house right now with renovations.  Come visit me at the theatre or Splashdown!  I would love to see some familiar faces.  Hope you are all having safe and relaxing summers.

The Long Awaited Update

Ok, so this post should have happened ages ago but I'll admit, once second term came around, I got a little lazy about the blogging.  Anyway, here is 8 months worth of updates in as short a version as I can make.  December 10th, 2010, Bethany's annual Christmas banquet!  What a great evening!  I got to sit at a table with all my friends and afterwards we all went to see Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader in 3d!  My first full length 3d movie = fun times.  As Christmas break approached, I was forced to face what was then one of my biggest fears: airplanes.  The fear was more from a lack of familiarity with planes than the planes themselves (the last time I had been on a plane was when I was 3).  After an uneventful and succesful flight home, however, I began to rather enjoy flying, as it took a much shorter time than driving and I got free snacks and drinks.  Lol.  The first half of Christmas break was really good, catching up with my friends and family.  However right before Christmas Eve, I got the flu :(  Except that it held on for most of the first half of second semester.  But I am pleased to say that now I am finally feeling completely better.  After Christmas break, we were forced back into the swing of things rather quickly, heading off to Missions Trips on January 6th.  I was placed on the Kelowna team, and what an adventure that was!  I think almost half the trip (ok not really, but it seemed like a long time) was spent waiting to be able to get through to where we wanted to go because of road closures due to avalanche warnings.  BC may be beautiful but it is definitely not easy to get in and out of in the winter!  However, eventually we made it to our destination and spent a wonderful week bonding as a team and helping out the Kelowna Gospel Mission.  We all arrived back to campus exhausted from having driven all night but full of new ways we had seen the Lord at work.  Second semester went by too fast in my opinion, but it was even better than the first.  I made a new friend, Josie, and formed deeper relationships with the friends I had from first semester.  I also got my ears pierced at dyed my hair for the first time (ok so it was only a few little purple streaks, but that counts, right?)  God blessed me in so many ways this year at Bethany and I am thankful to everyone who made it the awesome experience that it was.  A highlight from second semester was the beautiful spring choir concert that I got to perform in and that my parents were able to attend as well as the lovely grad banquet.  Can't wait for next year!   

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

So, I haven't updated in a while and I apologize. But mostly my life has been busy with homework and more homework with some fun inbetween. Last weekend a group of my friends and I went shopping on Saturday and then went to my friend Brandy's house for supper. Her mom made us fetucinni alfredo, which was SO good. After supper we played this super funny game called chuckle belly. It's pretty self explanatory what you do. Everyone lies on the floor on top of each other's belly and laughs. I was on Katie's stomach and she was laughing so hard that my head was vibrating! Lol. On Sunday Brandy, Katie and I participated in the Saskatoon Santa Clause parade with Brandy's College and Career group at her church. On Tuesday we had a worship practice with the youth ministry worship team that I am on. Our previous practices had been really frustrating and not gone well because we were not in sync with each other but finally this week we managed to get through two songs and were mostly in sync. It was so encouraging to finally be making music together! Choir has been busy with preperatons for our Christmas concert but it is finally starting to come together. This weekend was busy with helping set up Christmas trees and other Christmas decorations in the ad. It is so nice to have a festive feel in the air! Yesterday my friends Katie, Brandy, Carley, Spencer and I went to this Enchated Forest thing in Saskatoon. It was so pretty and fun! Afterwards we went to Brandy's for Tim Tam Slams, which were so good. Anyways, tonight is Battle of the Bands here and I think a group of my friends is doing something for it. Well, I come home in 20 days! Wow this semester has gone by so fast! Have a great weekend everyone!

Busy, Busy, Horribly busy.

Hey! So, sorry that I haven't updated for so long but as you can see from the title of this post, I haven't really had time. I am still loving it here! In the beginning of October they had a formal day and that was so much fun! Everyone looked so good and it was fun taking pictures with all my new friends and just getting dressed up for a day. Basically my life has been like this: classes, watching lots of movies, going to the city, hw, and not a lot of sleep (though frequent naps have now become a regular part of my life. Lol.) I have met so many great people here and can't wait to see what God will teach me. Over Thanksgiving weekend I got the opportunity to go visit my relatives in Manitoba and it was nice to see all my cousins, Aunts and Uncles and, of course, my Grandparents again. It was sad not to be home but at least I got to be with some part of my family. Anyways, continuing on, recently a few of my dormies and I went to go see the movie Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. Let's just say that although the movie had a few funny parts, I would definitely NOT recommend it. Today was Day of Prayer which was AMAZING! I definitely needed the time alone with God. The prayer walk that with did within our units was also amazing and a great time just to get to know one another better. So far my favourite course is (to no one's surprise) choir. I am so excited because we are doing some songs for the school play so I will get to be involved in that. Well, I am missing you all terribly and can't wait to see you at Christmas. Hope you guys are all doing well and I will continue to keep you updated.