Merry Christmas from Our Family to Yours!

The days have passed and here we are, preparing to celebrate Christmas here in Iqaluit. In this time filled with uncertainty and stress, it's kind of nice to remember that there is a reason for being here other than to wrestle with all that life is throwing at us right now...and that reason is the whole point of this time we are celebrating; Christ came to earth to seek and save what was lost, to restore relationship, to bring life and peace where there was disorder and chaos, to give beauty for ashes. So we remember...and we turn to Him again, asking Him to recreate the miracle for us once more...to bring peace, hope and life...not just for ourselves, though we desperately need it; but also that we might pour this same hope into other's lives.

"Hark, the herald angels sing!

Glory to the newborn King!

Peace on earth, and mercy mild!

God and sinners reconciled!

Joyful all ye nations rise,

Join the triumph of the skies,

With th'angelic host proclaim,

"Christ is born in Bethlehem!"

Our Lord has come and is coming again...we remember and we celebrate. We pray that as you celebrate Christ's birth, that you would be renewed and refreshed by His Holy Spirit. That you would rediscover the joy of His salvation, and that you would be strengthened by His unfailing love and faithfulness. May the Lord's face shine upon you today and in the coming year, may His hand be upon you. May you know the way that you should go...and may you find rest and peace in Him who created you and sustains you.

Merry Christmas,

Dan, Simone, Elisabeth and Julia Caldwell

A note from the kids

Elisabeth;

"This will be our first Christmas away from family...and we'll miss our family and friends. I miss our old church, it was so much fun. It's cold today, and I should know, I have to walk in it! That's all I want to say.

love,

Elisabeth"

Julia;

"We miss Cole and Santana so much that I think I'm going to cry. I miss having church with everyone in Cambridge. Today it's - 37 with the wind chill...that's cold. Take it from us...we live in it!!! Well... we still have a house, to keep us warm, dry, safe from every storm and every cold night. Merry Christmas!!!

love,

Julia"

Julia also on her way to the school christmas concert...unfortunately, our camera doesn't perform very well in those lighting conditions, so we are going to get some pictures from another parent to post...so we'll post them as soon as we can.

Elisabeth on her way to the school christmas concert.

Lessons from Narnia

We took the girls to see "Narnia" tonight at the theatre...it was awesome!!! I loved it!!! We had been reading the story with the girls, so they knew what to expect for most of it, and I must say that it is really well done, which is to be expected what with "The Lord of the Rings" and all of that having come out in the last few years...the graphics were great, and the screenplay was true to the book...as much as possible for a hollywood movie! So here are some little lessons I took away from the movie...

1. Sometimes we are asked; actually not just asked but put into the position where we have no choice but to fight our own battle. There is a point in the story where the wolves are attacking the girls "Susan" and "Lucy" and "Peter" arrives on the sceen to fight them off...the wolves had already attacked them before and Peter had been unable to fight back...this time "Aslan" is there and his troops are ready to take the wolf on themselves for Peter, but Aslan holds them back saying "This is Peter's battle" Then Peter has to defend himself and actually use the sword he was given... WOW!!! I can't tell you how that hit me when I watched that!!! What a revelation in the midst of this battle we are in!

2. Peter and Susan, the two oldest children keep talking about going home. Eventually, they have to realize that this isn't about them, and that there is something bigger going on around them...and have to chose to take their place in the battle, and sacrifice their need for comfort and security. Only once they enter into the battle are they able to come into what they were destined to be...a destiny they could not have imagined or hoped for...I don't have to tell you how this hit me... (fortunately they do get to go home eventually!)

There were many more little lessons that I could share. These two things were the ones that hit me the most. I highly recommend this film and will definitely be buying it once it's out on DVD! That's all for tonight!

Blessings,

Simone

Leading Edge Kayaks

We've added a link to our blog. It's for our friend Jim Olding's kayak site. He hand crafts the most beautiful cedar strip kayaks, complet with scroll work and carvings...you have to see these works of art, which perform as well as they look. Jim is from New Zealand and has been kayaking since he was a little boy. Now he lives in Massey, Northern Ontario and crafts these gorgeous vessels as a side venture. He, his wife Laurie and kids Courtney and Travis have been close friends of Dan's family since he was a child... since before we were married they have been and still continue to be a blessing to us. Check it out and let him know what you think...I'm sure he would appreciate the input! Here are a few pictures;

Great work Jim!

Your Personality Profile

Your Personality Profile

You are dignified, spiritual, and wise. Always unsatisfied, you constantly try to better yourself. You are also a seeker of knowledge and often buried in books. You tend to be philosophical, looking for the big picture in life. You dream of inner peace for yourself, your friends, and the world. A good friend, you always give of yourself first.

The World's Shortest Personality Test

What advanced degree should you get?

You Should Get a PhD in Liberal Arts (like political science, literature, or philosophy)

You're a great thinker and a true philosopher. You'd make a talented professor or writer.

What Advanced Degree Should You Get?

Hmmm....

How Do You Live Your Life?

How You Life Your Life

You are honest and direct. You tell it like it is. You're laid back and chill, but sometimes you care too much about what others think. You tend to have one best friend you hang with, as opposed to many aquaintences. You tend to dream big, but you worry that your dreams aren't attainable.

How Do You Live Your Life?

Interesting.... Some personality test's off of Julie's blog.

A Matter of Perspective

Hi all,

I stepped out of the bank today to go home after a good day's work, and was pleasantly surprised to find that it wasn't as cold as it has been the last few days. In fact, I was able to walk and pick up the girls from the babysitters and make it home sans frost or frozen eyelashes! It suddenly occured to me as I was enjoying this lovely winter evening that it was still remarkably cold according to Southern standards and that I must have turned a corner in becoming acclimatised to my new home... it wasn't as cold as the -53C and -51C 's we've experienced the last few days (and will experience again I'm told) it was a balmy... - 31 C :) Like I said, I must be becoming acclimatised to this environment!

I guess it's all a matter of perspective. Once you know how cold it can get, you appreciate the temperatures you were dreading before. Isn't that a little like life? Whether you're talking love, or pain or anything really real; you realize those things that you can take comfort and joy in, and you appreciate things alot more than you ever did before you had ever experienced the love, the joy, the loss, the discomfort, the pain, or the stress of being with or without! I don't know if I'm making any sense here...maybe I'll just go to bed and edit this in the morning!!! LOL!!!

Have a great night, blessings,

Simone

New Job

Well, I started my new job today. It seems like it will be a nice change...lots to learn, but not too bad I think! I'm looking forward to the challenge of learning something new. We're still waiting for the Northmart manager to make his move regarding the transfer he told us he would give Dan...we haven't heard anything other than him telling us that head office is looking to see where Dan can be transfered. Most likely we won't know anything until Christmas is done with. If we want to stay in Iqaluit though, it looks like Dan is going to have to find a job with housing included...we would be looking at around $3000/month just for rent, that wouldn't cover utilities. So if you're praying, you can pray for this situation to be resolved and some clarity to come to Dan and I.

It's also gotten very cold now...averaging around -50 with the wind chill...pretty cold for walking to work in... I litteraly had frost forming on my face this morning, as my eyelashes froze together making it hard to see. But I guess I should have expected this, since we're living in the arctic!

Anyway, we'll keep you posted...thank you all so much for your support and your prayers. We really appreciate them!

Blessings,

Simone