Centre Island

"Hello, Mr. Beaver."

Playing at the beach.

Ferry ride.

Downtown Toronto

Run. Run. Run.

Settling into Life in Toronto

It has been two weeks since we left the Alberta. We have been settling in to our new place. I have to admit I was bracing myself for the worst especially when it came to our apartment but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. It looked exactly like was presented on the family housing website. The place was relatively clean and with a few extra shelves there was room for all of our stuff and room for Micah to play. There is also a playground just below by our building, a roof top garden and a drop in play room. Also, a week after moving in the building got new laundry facilities. I feel blessed in where we are located in the building – we are on the 20th floor facing north. On the bottom on the south side of the building there is a lot of construction (including jack hammering) that is very loud- luckily the only noise we hear is regular traffic noise and the occasional fire truck siren.

I also feel so blessed regarding how multiculturally diverse our building and area is. We were told that 61 countries are represented in the Family Housing Building. We are definitely the minority and what a blessing for Micah (and us) to be surrounded by such a rich diversity of cultures and languages.

Outside our window I can see the Holt Renfrew Mall and down the street is a shoppers paradise with Channel, Prada, Coach, Louis Vuitton (any big name designer/fashion house you can think of) and many cool independent shops. Too bad my mat leave and Ryan’s student salary will only allow window shopping (or maybe that is a good thing ☺.)

We have been checking out the neighborhoods around us – including the parks, green spaces and playgrounds. So far they have all been Micah approved.

We have loved the family time and having been doing special outings to explore our new city. We went to Kensington Market on Saturday and Tuesday we had a fun trip to High Park. We took the subway (or as Micah calls it “the noisy train”) and spent the morning looking at the animals at the mini zoo, playing at the adventure centre, having a train ride around the park and enjoying a picnic lunch. Recently, there was also a Safety Fair outside our building where Micah got to meet the local firemen and sit inside a fire truck.

Good Bye Edmonton... Hello Toronto

I feel a sense of relief as I sit on my hand me down futon (thanks Bryce!) in my new living room surrounded by U-haul boxes …we made it!!!! Ever since we made the decision to make the move to Toronto back in February, it has been almost non-stop go, go, and go.

I feel so grateful for all the help that we received in making this move possible with Rob helping Ryan with house/yard projects; my mom babysitting and helping me clean; Rob and Meg allowing me to stay with them for several days and Meg babysitting Micah while I had to work; my friends Niki, Lana and Meg who helped me clean the house; Ryan’s parents and brother in law who helped Ryan pack and unpack the trailer and move our stuff 3200 km; and then Ryan’s parents helping us get supplies for our new place. My heart is so full with love and gratitude. All of the support we received has helped make this transition a little easier. It is tough to leave behind a good job, a wonderful neighborhood, a great church community and most importantly wonderful friends and family. However, I am excited about this new adventure and having a new city to explore and new people to meet.

I thought I would include a funny picture of Micah riding a bike at our roof top garden. More pictures to come once we are more set up.