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Breaking New Ground

Friends,

We are now making massive progress and literally weeks away before we move to Fredericton. Last week we had our LMO approved and the relief came immediately off our shoulders, we had been waiting for that moment for a while and it felt so good to hear the news, much like it did at Christmas when I was a young child waiting for the clock to strike 7am so I could open my stocking. It always felt like a long time coming but then it happened, one of the joys of life indeed.

All our paperwork is now completed and in the final hands as we tackle the last round of waiting, this time we hope to hear within 2-4 weeks. So my head is filled with a million things now, things to complete, things to leave behind and people to say goodbye too.

We are breaking new ground, it excites me daily about what is to come, the challenges we will surely ensue and the amount of coffee we will need to drink to feel humas again.

Counting Days

Good Afternoon,

I am currently sat in my far too hot office, I have 3 fans sweeping luke warm air into my face which kinda feels like im driving along the highway, however this isn't the case. When outside in this heat it is a beautiful scene, a time for bbq's and ice cold drinks. This is what we think about in mid february when we are under blankets with 6 sweaters on while sat by the fire and running up a massive heating bill, the hot summers day is one of the first thing that comes to mind.

You will all be pleased to hear that for the past 3 weeks I have been running 5 out of 7 days a week. I can imagine your unified astonishment and amazement at such a statement. I have managed to fool my body and it is now firmly in my schedule and is now expected in my routine. It is indeed hard work but starting to see some progress, I quite enjoy the process of running round the local park as you begin to notice the same joggers and sometimes manage to squeeze a smile or an acceptance nod from the regulars. It's at that moment you feel like you have made it into the park running club, there are no meetings or rules to abide by but a simple acknowledgment by a fellow runner.

Maybe I need to add a forth fan.

My father turns 60 tomorrow and he has already made a legacy which will only continue to increase as he gets older. It is great to have an example like him to follow as he has truly shown how to do life well. He has an amazing marriage, 3 children who have married well and who he loves, great friends, a solid job which has provided financially for what he has needed and many adventurous stories to tell his Grandchildren of which he has 1 with a 2nd on its way. This is a man who should be honoured.

I have 32 working days left at my current job until we leave for Fredericton, I look forward to the next part of the journey for myself and my wife. I believe good things are ahead and can't wait to inbed ourselves in another City which we love and want to serve.

Much love,

Lyndon

Summer Exceleration

Long gone are the days of spring sneaking up on us, summer exceleration is here! The days are heating up, the shorts are being brought out of the closet and being worn and the iced drinks are back in full flow! Glorious.

Next week myself and my wife will delight ourselves in Fredericton. We had hit a few roadblocks on route visa wise but I hope those days are over and that we can progress and fully be there in september. Back living with my parents while we rent our apartment out is a strange feeling but it provides us with the freedom to make giant steps towards our move.

A few weeks ago we went to France with friends to a spot we go to on a regular basis. This is the last time we may go for a while and it was an exceptional time with good friends. We were blessed with hot weather and we spent time eating moules frites, drinking cold beer by the basin and walking through the town of honfleur. We even attended a cheese festival, it was a smelly tent for sure.

Times with friends and family is incredibly important in times of great change, we value them immensely in the season we are in and we look forward to gaining even more when we settle in Fredericton.

The Art of Waiting

Friends,

Many musical artists have written songs about waiting in recent years, John Mayer wrote about waiting for the world to change, Jack Johnson on sitting, wishing and waiting and it's kind of how I feel today. As we have planned our move to Fredericton for so long now, talked about it for thousands of hours without getting bored and been there numerous times we are making waiting into it's own artform.

There is a way to wait I think, two ends of the spectrum that I want to avoid, one is that of complacency and the other is frustration. Myself and my wife are trying to be active in our waiting, looking ahead, making contacts and connections with people and places, keeping busy and enjoying what we have here and doing everything we can in preparation for our move. The difficulty is in not becoming frustrated when things don't move on as fast as you would like, or you don't see progress in some area's even when there is usually things happening in the background.

Two nights ago we booked plane tickets to go out to Fredericton next month for a week, our last trip there before September. Excited doesn't get close to how we feel, it is a Country and a City that we truely love and can't wait to be apart of, there is that something special about the place and for a week in May we get to fully enjoy it again and be blessed with our many friendships there.

For the moment though we will enjoy the here and now whilst looking fondly at what is to come, over and out.

Much love,

Lyndon

Cup of Tea and a Crumpet

Friends,

I do hope you are well, life is currently running at a very fast pace and when a few moments come along to stop and breathe I take full advantage. So here I am with my cup of tea and crumpet, I feel about 75 years of age telling you all on this blog that I eat crumpets during the afternoon but they taste mighty good! I just did a google search to see if Canadians ate crumpets, it looks like you do in some parts of the country, if not in Fredericton I will miss them for sure.

Tomorrow is a special day for me. Not only do I turn 25 years old but also my brother, his wife and my neice arrive in the morning from America! We are super excited about this, my neice was born in January and this will be the first time we will have seen her other than on Skype which is a weekly occurance. Let the good times commence, my sister and her husband are driving down from where they live and we will be all together with my parents, it's brilliant when it happens although not a regular happening as of where we all live. It will become less so when we move to Canada later this year.

So a quarter of a century, I almost feel old. I don't say it outloud much as people seemed to get annoyed and throw things at me, they are usually double my age though. I'm not too into my own birthday if i'm truthful, I like to have a nice meal with my wife, then maybe another nice meal with family and close friends but haven't had a party type birthday event since I was about 9, they were amazing I must admit. My mum used to make us all cakes, everyone got a party bag to take home and we used to play football/soccer all afternoon before eating all the cake and drinking way too much fizzy pop that we would make strange noises for the next 4 hours.

Spring is arriving and you can see a new lease of life in people, they smile and laugh more, are out in the evenings, in parks and the city. Spring can continue and Summer can follow, we like it like this.

Lyndon

March

Friends,

It is now march and I cannot believe how fast the year again seems to be going, I brought this up at work and the common answer was that time seemed to be going faster because of getting older. At the ripe age of 24 i'm not sure I can fully agree with such an answer, maybe it's because we become less time aware and continually focus on what's next without giving time to stopping and enjoying the less busy times that come our way.

Here at home there is blue sky flooding the above, very different from the moody skies of yesterday where it lashed it down with rain and the wind didn't give heed. I went to a soccer match last night, the away side won 1-0 and after a fully packed fast food trip on the way home I got into bed at 1am. It was great to have the buzz and experience of live soccer again, bundling onto the train to get there, getting soaked by the rain and being surrounded by people who don't care but are a band of brothers who follow their side throughout.

Plans for our move to Fredericton continue to progress, we have just signed a contract with a couple who are moving into our flat so that we can live with my parents for the next 6 months to save, you kinda hope that the path below your feet keeps appearing as you take these massive steps forward, it feels risky but we also know it's right for us. We move all our things in 3 weeks time and I think it will really hit home the reality and size of what we are doing.

This weekend we are going away with friends to relax us before the crazy busy 6 months that lie ahead, 4000 acres of woodland, nature on our doorstep, i guess it's a retreat. Outdoor swimming, hot tubs, spa for the wives, badminton for the guys and much food and beer inbetween. wonderful times. Sounds like Canada already!

Much love,

Lyndon

Superbowl and Snow

Friends,

It has been a few weeks since I last posted and much has happened within that time, most notebly over the this last week. Sunday saw the Superbowl arrive on our TV's, even though I am British I love the Superbowl. We were staying at my wife's parents in the middle of nowhere and everyone else went to bed, there I was with my snacks chomping away and cheering for the Arizona Cardinals. I thought they might go infront when there were 10-7 down but an amazing 100 yard play from Harrison see history in the making. What a game!

This week we have also seen some snow, England kinda grinds to a halt when snow comes, even if its only a little. We were 5 hours away from home and needing to drive back so I could go to work on tuesday morning so we braved the weather and take on the challenge. We indeed made it back, as you can tell it's now wednesday and I'm here typing away. It's good that we are getting another chance to get used to snow before we arrive in Fredericton, they have so much more there and building Snowmen and Iglo's are high on the agenda!

The snow has now melted and the sun is out. We are flying through the weeks already and February doesn't look to be slowing down. The coming months are going to be exciting, scary and adventurous.

Much love,

Lyndon

Elation

Friends,

Yesterday morning I became an uncle and pure elation flowed from me. I was buzzing and truely proud of my sister in law and my bro who have produced a beautiful baby girl. As the news came in I was sat in my office and almost cried, maybe the fact of all my work buddies looking at me stopped the tears from pouring and the whaling from escaping my mouth.

It is very very cool and unclehood will be a joy.

It was so nice to hear amazing news amidst the current day to day bad news that the media seems to enjoy putting on us. Recession, Downturn, Redundancy, Debt. Words we hear far too often, I would much rather hear words that encourage and build us up as well, if all you hear is doom and gloom surely you will become that yourself after so long, this I feel is a problem that the UK is facing. This isn't to say you ignore the problems but there is a way to speak of the problems and look to change the problems, looking for lights at the end of the tunnel.

Plans for our move to Fredericton are coming along very well indeed. As this has been in the pipeline for so long, now that we are close it has hit us and the excitement and expectation of all that it entails is very much upon us.

Much love,

Lyndon

The First Days

Friends,

It is 2009 and has been for 7 days now, this is my first post of the new year and it feels good to be back. Friends and family have been a high priority for the early moments of this year and also the return to work which generally sneaks up behind you and then shouts in your ear until you reply back to say you have returned.

Today could indeed be a special day, my sister in law is pregnant and her due date is today which means any minute I could be an uncle. This is exciting, I have not yet gained uncle status before so it will be quite a moment when she is born. Even when I heard the news of the pregnancy I felt this weight of responsibility fall on me, you want to set new standards of uncledom and be the cool one they come to when they need to talk, this of course may not be for a few years but oh when it does!

I'm not sure when my wife and I will see our neice yet as my brother and his wife live in Boston and are still putting plans in for coming to see us, it will for sure be before we move to Fredericton in september and hopefully way way before that. Until then, Skype will do us proud and the little lady will see the world and us.

January 2009 has started very cold and I look forward to the days getting longer and temperatures warming, spingtime is a lovely time of year. For the months that come before that we must continue to wrap up in the most clothes known to man. I have promised my wife that I will one day buy her a house with a proper fireplace so that the winter months can be spent curled up by the fire with friends and family, eating good food and drinking fine wine.

Much love,

Lyndon

The end of 2008

Hello to all,

I do hope you enjoyed a great Christmas wherever you are, I enjoyed it throughly myself! We were in france and spent time with family which was excellent, the winter bug got to us all in some shape or form which was a shame but Christmas day itself we were the picture of health. The duck that we ate came up trumps and was delicious, my mother really does know how to cook well.

There are now 2 days including today left of 2008, as I walked to work this morning my wife asked me about the highlights of the year and there have been many. Many of the many have been on holiday but we have shared a lot of good things this year and good times with friends, the year of 2008 has been a positive one and I am excited for 2009 to come my way.

I have been pondering the coming year and the things I anticipate from it. The biggest thing that is happening for me and my wife is that we are moving to Fredericton which is a massive move for us but one we can't wait for! This is happening in September so we still have some months to get everything ready. I plan to make the most of the 2 days I have remaining of 08 and press onwards and hit 09 running

Happy New Year!

Much love,
Lyndon

Blog: This is Life

It is exciting and interesting that you may be let into the secrets of my world through the blog that I am to write. Each time you log on to read my ramblings I am hopeful that you will either laugh, cry or want to indeed be me. What happens in the day to day of my life may appear in the words that I put on this otherwise blank screen, please enjoy it to the fullest.

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