Dear Friends and Family

Derek and I, would like to wish you all a blessed time celebrating the birth of our Saviour and a Happy and Safe New Year. We’d also like to thank all of you still for your generosity and love shown on our wedding day. It was an amazing day and one we’ll never forget. The amount of cards, phonecalls, money and gifts we received made it impossible to reply to each of you individually so we hope you see this as your personal thankyou from us to you..
I’ve definitely settled into life here in Smithers, as you know I have been working at the local credit union in town as a bank teller. The job is going great!! It was initially only supposed to be part time but I’ve been working full time hours for the first few months.
Now its slowing down again and I’ll be working 3 ½ days a week till early January. I never thought I’d work in a bank that’s for sure. Especially back in school when I didn’t do real well at math. But hey they have good adding machines and I even find my math improving!!
I managed to get my BC drivers license after driving Dereks little Ranger truck (ute) around for a few months. It ended up being a really easy and short driving test. I guess the driving instructer figured I could drive already seeing as I had a license from Aus. I didn’t even have to parallel park after Dereks effort in teaching me..
The last few weeks/months I have been filling in my permanent residency application. That sure takes time the amount of things they want to know about you is incredible.. They want to know where we met, and they also want a list of all my friends and family and when they all met Derek.

About a month ago we had some unusual fall/autumn weather it began to snow one morning early and didn’t stop all day and we had quite the dump. It kept snowing all night in fact and the next morning being Saturday I had to work from 9-1pm and it had snowed so much that we couldn’t get out of our driveway with the car. And even if we had gotten out of our driveway the roads werent even plowed yet so we wouldn’t have been getting too far in the car.
It was a quiet day at work, most of the work colleagues from out of town couldn’t even get out of their driveways, Telkwa is 15 km away btw.And the only members/customers that made it in were those who walked..Here are some pics of the snow!!

Derek sweeping snow off the car.

Our driveway. Our Ranger to the left
(its still stuck in the snow) and the car to the right..



This also meant that tons of snow was falling on the nearby mountains and the Onion where we go snowmobiling had more then it had the entire winter last year. So seeing as Remembrance Day fell on a Saturday and we all had off we got together and went up in the afternoon. Once up there we headed to a place called the chicken run and this is where the real fun starts. Derek, Glen and Dad Vandevelde try get up the hill so that they can take us on the back of the sled and we can board down. Because this year there was tons of snow it was impossible to get a really good run up the hill so we ended up walking up. Have you ever walked up sand dunes.. well this is way worse.. you sink into the snow with every step.. crazy stuff..

Derek trying out the sled he fixed

Glen V and Steph boarding

We spend quite a bit of time with Dereks family. Every Sunday evening we head up to Dad and Mom Vandevelde after Sunday afternoon church. We have supper and then enjoy a relaxing evening together. Sometimes we play games and in the summer go for a walk somewhere together. Glen and Ivy have a little girl called Sarah she was born around the same time we got married so she’s already 8 months old!! And such a cutie!!

Christy and Ed Verhelst, Dereks sister and brother in law have a little girl too. She was born early October. So she’s really tiny still.

Glen and Ivys little girl. Sarah Marie

Ed and Christy with Jamie

Glen, Ivy and Sarah

A few weeks ago Dereks Aunt Ralphena
was up here for a holiday.
She's very special to both of us!!

Aunt Ralphena and Steph

Dad and Mom relaxing on a Sunday eve



In July Julie V and I headed down to Vernon.Derek had to stay behind and work.

It was a really hot week even Canada can get hot!! We stayed in Pete and Marilyns basement.

Steph with Asher (Pete and Marilyn Vanderdeens youngest)
Marilyn is Dereks oldest sister.











At thanksgiving we were blessed with a visit from Helen. She flew from Toronto to Vancouver and then onto Prince George. Derek and I went down a day early in order to get some shopping in. Helen spent a little less then a week with us twas a wonderful time!! The week before she came and the week after were both weeks of rain but while she was in Smithers we had beautiful weather everyday!!


Derek, Steph and Rocky

Helen on the way up to Harvey Mountain

On the Saturday after work we took Helen to the fossil beds. An area with tons of fossils in the rock from leaves to spiders. We found some really interesting leaf patterns.
After this we took a hike up to Harvey Mountain it was further and took longer then we thought it would but it was worth the wait for the view. For the rest we enjoyed a fabulous thanksgiving dinner with Dereks family and on Monday we went grouse hunting.










Hudson Bay at sunset

Helen and Steph, Harvey Mountain

We’ve been busy renovating bits of our house too.. in the summer we worked outside on the back fence and now we’re putting in wood laminate in our kitchen/dining area. It looks really flash!!

The dresser we bought with
some of the money received
at our wedding.






















Our new laminate floor!!




















In the summer we often went on hikes together with Rocky, our Rottweiler/Labrador. This was taken at Crater Lake on the way up to the peak of the Hudson Bay.












As you can see from these photos we are doing well. God has blessed us immensely with a safe comfortable home, an incredible church community, jobs we enjoy and loving friends and family.
Hoping this finds all of you well and safe in our Fathers care
Lots of love Derek and Steph