Tim and Olive's Blog

Today is the last day of 2011. Over the past few days, I’ve read many people’s reflections on their year (on Facebook and Twitter) and it has prompted me to reflect on my year. So here are the top 10 themes that have surfaced for me from this past year. Read More

With 2012 just around the corner, here’s a summary of what’s happened this year
including our top 10 blog posts, top 10 commenters, and a few other interesting stats.
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We had some friends visit us on Christmas eve, and one of them asked us, “How is Christmas different with a new born baby?” It was a very good question. Between all the diaper changing, feeding, rocking, laundry, washing, and trying to get as much sleep as possible, I have not had much time to reflect on this question or on Christmas. Over the last few days, in the midst of celebrating Christmas with family, eating great food, and opening gifts, I’ve reflected on this question. Here are a few things I’ve been noticing about having a baby at Christmas.
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[Defining Decisions is a series of blog posts on the 20 life-shaping decisions I made in my 20s.]

When I was 22 years old, I approached a man named Alan to be my mentor. He had experience in both business (a VP at Telus and an MBA) and ministry (a seminary degree, chairman of my church board, and several years of missions work in China) and I wanted to learn from him. Over the next 2 years we met every month and I always enjoyed our times together.
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[Defining Decisions is a series of blog posts on the 20 life-shaping decisions I made in my 20s.]

Continuing my previous post, as I have reflected on my seasons of depression, I have realized the gifts that God has allowed depression to bring into my life.
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[Finding My Voice is a series of blog posts on key decisions I made in my 20s.]

Defining decision:  To love myself as my neighbour
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[Defining Decisions is a series of blog posts on the 20 life-shaping decisions I made in my 20s.]

Depression has been a familiar and mostly unwelcome companion through my 20s. I have had six unannounced visits over the past ten years, each visit lasting between one and six months. This companion has felt more like an intruder than a guest, and I am always glad when Depression leaves me.
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The first thing I said to Tim this morning was “I’m done waiting.  I’m going to go about my day however I want and this baby can come whenever.”  It’s not entirely true, of course, because as long as this belly is about to burst, I’ll still be waiting.  But I certainly do not want to live today in the same fevered pitch of anticipation that we lived in yesterday.  You see, yesterday, we were so excited and hopeful that we had packed all our bags (PJs and all), only to make it to the end of the day completely exhausted and have to unpack some things to settle in for the night.  The upside, I suppose, was that we both had really good sleeps.
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Today has been a day of waiting. Tim says it feels like we’re at the top of a roller coaster, right before the drop; holding our breaths in suspense.
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For a good number of months after we found out we were expecting, Tim and I debated back and forth about what kind of diapers to use.  Should we go with regular disposables, eco-friendly disposables, wash-it-yourself cloth or cloth diapering service?  (Or, should we go the traditional Chinese way and dress our baby in split pants?…)  There seemed to be pros and cons for each option and we wanted to weigh them out.
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