Goodbye Maine, Hello Canada!!

So it is probably not a secret to anyone that we LOVE Maine!!  And with a climate so similar to Ontario, who knew that God would allow me to have so much love for a place we lived in primarily through the cold winter months!  Amazing!!  Prepare for a very mushy sappy blog, it is necessary!  God has poured out so many blessings for Andee and I this semester, and I just want to praise him and thank him!  If you are not interested in reading a novel, I would stop here, but if you are up for the challenge, here we go!!

Firstly, lets talk about the major blessing of our apartment!  Since fully furnished was ideal seeing as we have no stuff, this beautiful, fully furnished apartment was perfect for us!  Normally an incredibly pricey weekly rental beach condo in the summer months, we got a sweet deal for monthly rent in the winter!  And we got that same monthly rate for the month of May, which included many "summer" like days on the beach!  Beautiful and perfect kitchen, Granite counter tops, King-sized bed, comfy couches, flat screen TV....I think it is safe to say that this is the nicest place we will ever live!  And compared to the Crackhouses of St. Kitts, well, it is quite the improvement!!  And no cockroaches!!  Not to mention that we live on the beach and beside the Palace Playland arcade, which have provided us with so much entertainment!  Claw machines, skee ball, and numerous jackpots, as well as long walks down the beach and laying out catching the sun in May!  Perfect!!

Initially I was a little disappointed at the fact that we would be living in the most Northern State, Maine, during the coldest months of the year, but it turns out that this was truly a blessing in disguise!  Winter rentals are significantly cheaper than any other semester, and our beautiful condo would not have been available for the summer or fall semesters.  Also, by being part of the September start semester, we should be able to make the 2014 Match, meaning that Andee would start his residency in 2014.  Had we have started in January like we had originally planned, it would have been a lot more difficult to make the 2014 Match, and we may have had to wait until the following year!  So many little blessings that God had planned for us that we had no idea he was planning this whole time!  What a wonderful God we serve!!

Secondly, and this is the biggest blessing, is The Rock Church of South Portland that we have been attending now for almost 5 months.  While researching Maine churches online in St. Kitts, something drew me to click on The Rock Church website, and upon reading the mission statements, core beliefs, and the many many opportunities to serve and connect, I knew that this would be the church for us!  The second week we attended we were scoped out by Pastor Eric, who just the night before had found out that his best friend and Worship Team leader had suddenly passed away.  Even through such a tragedy he still made sure that we felt welcome at the church, and we were introduced to many amazing people that morning.  We were so amazed of the love of Jesus being shown through these amazing believers that we just could not get enough of the church!!  While Andee was busy at school, I quickly volunteered for everything ever, including Bible studies, craft projects, Preble Street soup kitchen, wholehearted classes, and the most exciting, Worship Team!  Let's dwell on this for a second, I got to be a part of such an amazing Worship Team here in Maine!!  We were loud, with tons of bass and drums, sang amazing songs to the Lord, and it has seriously been one of my favorite experiences since our journey began!  God has gifted me with musical talent, and using our gifts for God is one of the most satisfying and joyful things that we as believers can do!  What a blessing it has been to be a part of such a wonderful team, and blessing others with my contributions!  A win-win!!  God is so good!!  Not having a job has also turned out to be a blessing for both myself and the church, as I was able to use my time serving the Lord and furthering his Kingdom, as well as increasing my faith substantially!  Andee and I also participated in a small group of wonderful people, and we developed many great friendships and relationships!

Thirdly, the quality of people in Maine is amazing, ranging from the wonderful friends we made at The Rock, to the friendly grocery clerks at the stores - Maine is just so friendly!  And dare I say it, even more friendly than Ontario!  Apparently all the nice people live up North, so it looks like I am just going to have to get used to the cold!!

Finally, Maine is just beautiful!  So close to the ocean, and very outdoorsy, with beautiful touristy attractions and fun things to do, as well as fantastic seafood all the time!!  When we were arriving in Maine at the beginning of January, we noticed that the slogan for the State of Maine is "The Way Life Should Be", and, similar to Canada, other than the cold winters this slogan is pretty accurate!  Maine really is wonderful!

It seems that every time we arrive in a new location, I am sad because I am afraid of change and the unknown, and I have to start from square one in terms of making friends, learning directions, and understanding and learning about the cultures and people in the area we have moved to.  Conversely, it seems that every time we are about to leave a location, I am equally if not more sad to be leaving somewhere that I have grown to love, and all the people that I have formed such strong relationships with, and have helped me grow spiritually.  This is such a great testimony to the love of Christ, aligning our desires with His and allowing us to grow in faith if we just ask for His will and not ours.  And when we are completing His will with our specific designs and gifts, there is no greater joy!!

Even though we are quite sad to leave Maine, we still haven't lost sight of the wonderful greatness of Ontario!!  We are SOOOOO excited to finally be home in Canada for a few months, enjoying the best part of the year with the best people in the world in the best country in the world!!  Okay, so I'm getting a little carried away, but we really miss Canada and everything and everyone in it, (except the winter of course), and although it is really sad to leave our current home in Maine, we will be enjoying our original home for the summer!  And for that, we couldn't be happier!  God is Good!!

Goodbye Maine...

Hello Canada!!!

So most of you probably didn't get through all of this, probably because of the lack of pictures, so if you did, Congratulations!  You now know everything I have been thinking, feeling, praying, and praising concerning our next move!  Yay!  See you tomorrow, Canada!!!

Last Couple Weeks in Maine

With only a couple weeks left in Maine, and with the beautiful Summer weather finally arriving after almost five months, Andee and I had a lot of Maine to take in before we made the move to Canada!  And just like everything else ever, Maine was made even more wonderful with Summer weather!  Everyone came out of hibernation to join us in our last couple weeks of Maine!  Enjoy!

On one of the first nice days of this summer stretch, Brigett, Esther, Jimmy and I went to the park with their kiddos for some American entertainment!  We also ended up at a dog show at Brigett's place, where we found a funny vehicle reading "Sit Means Sit.  Sorry, we don't train Husbands, Wives, or Kids!"  Awesome.

The following day, the ladies from The Rock Church hosted a Going Away Party for myself!  It was filled with typical Maine themes, including a giant Lobster stuffed animal and whoopie pies, and the weather was perfect!  I also received a gift of an Old Orchard Beach sweater, which was picked out with care due to the fact that I am always cold!  They know me so well!!  I will miss all of these ladies so much now that we are leaving, and we hope to see them again in the future!!  

The next day I attended a Bridal Shower for my good friend Erin, who will be married to her fiance Trevor in under a month!  So exciting!  I was able to meet some of Erin's family and friends, and was able to enjoy a delicious lunch!  Unfortunately, we won't be in Maine for their wedding, but are wishing them a loving and happy marriage!

These last couple of weeks have been so nice, that a few of the days were spent at the beach relaxing/studying!  Our Summer wardrobe sits at home still hibernating, but we managed to find a few beach items to enjoy the sunshine!  It will be a little strange not living directly beside the Atlantic Ocean, as we have been for almost two whole years!  Looks like it is back to Ontario lakes for us!

This last week we were also able to reunite the Tropical Trio for some Maine adventures!  We spent a couple days in Freeport checking out Naomi's place, and exploring all the many shops and tourist attractions in Freeport!  The weather seemed to cooperate for us too!  I also got to meet Naomi's kitties, which I almost stole and adopted.  They are so friendly and just sit on your lap and let you pet them forever!  I love them!  I am going to miss these two families so much, and am really hoping and praying the our paths will cross again with Clinical Rotations, Residencies, or anything else!  

Andee and I were also able to enjoy some Palace Playland for the first time since moving to Old Orchard Beach!  After living beside an amusement park for almost five months, this was the first weekend that it was actually open, and we were able to enjoy it with the Avance family!  It was lots of fun for families, and also for the adults!  We enjoyed rides, arcade games, and lunch, and enjoyed the 28°C (83°F) weather!  A great day!

This week we also had our last church service at The Rock.  It was really amazing, because I was able to sing that week, and we played one of my current favorite songs "How He Loves", but it was also really sad because we have no idea if/when we will get to see these amazing people again.  We are praying that we will soon, if just for a few months for a Clinical Rotation!  The Rock Church is so amazing, and we really don't want to leave this amazing church!!

After the church service, we attended a Sea Dogs Baseball game with Buddy and Olivia!!  It was so much fun!!  Every seat was great, and the Sea Dogs ended up winning the very exciting and high scoring game!  Andee and I also enjoyed Ball Park Hot Dogs, as well as Sea Dog Biscuits, which are giant chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwiches!  They were amazing!!  Andee stuck with his Blue Jays hat, and I tried to show some team spirit with a Boston tank top!  What a fun experience!  It was also absolutely perfect baseball weather, with sunny skies, a light breeze, and the perfect temperature!  Definitely a must-do attraction in Maine!!

When we arrived home from the game, we made a quick stop at the arcade to check the Skee Ball Jackpots.  Seeing that both machines were low, Andee quickly won 3, yes 3 Skee Ball jackpots in a row, spending a mere $1.25 for his efforts, and totaling over 2000 tickets!!  This combined with his two wins from the night before on just two quarters, put him at 5 Jackpots totaling over 3500 tickets for $1.75, or 7 games of Skee Ball.  WINNING!!  Having an arcade next door is one of the most entertaining things ever!  Yay America!  We also cashed in our 7500+ tickets for a few Palace Playland and Maine themed goodies!  What a great day!!

The last couple days are going to be a scramble of seeing friends, saying goodbyes, running errands, cleaning, and packing, which we are used to by now after living in three different countries, countless apartments, condos, crackhouses, beds, etc., and with many more moves to come, we should be experts by now!!  Be prepared for a sappy conclusion blog coming up!!

Countdown:  We will be in Canada in just 3 days!  Woohoo!!  We will officially be living in our "Home and Native Land" for almost three whole months!!  Canadian Summer here we come!!

Reunited!!

Since the next semester of UMHS students have arrived in Maine, Andee and I have had the opportunity to see some familiar faces and people that we have missed so much!  For both of us, it was extremely exciting to reunite with the Giordani and Avance Families!!

When the Avance Family arrived at the beginning of May, we met them at the Maine Mall to grab something to eat.  While enjoying some food court deliciousness, we randomly saw the Giordani Family across the mall!  We enjoyed some dinner, played with the kiddos at the marry-go-round and trains, and the husbands checked out the school campus!  It was so wonderful getting to see these two families that we missed SO much these last 4 months!  God is Good!

This week was also the Women's Brunch at the church!  We wore decorated hats to be both creative, and incorporate a common theme that women tend to wear many "hats" throughout their busy lives, including wife, mother,  nurse, chef, housekeeper, etc., and that God gives us these high callings, the highest of which is to complete his perfect will and plan for our lives!  I met lots of girls that I had never met before, and had a great time eating and chatting with these Women of God.  It was so much fun!

On Friday evening, a few ladies from the Church got together to watch Todd's Band perform in New Hampshire!  His band is SO amazing, singing lots of Jazz and Funk songs that I love!  Lots of dancing, singing, and pizza followed, and it made for a great night!  More pictures to come!  I am really going to miss all of these new friends I have made here in Maine, and hopefully we will be able to visit again soon!!

Some more reuniting took place this Saturday, when Naomi, Aliosha, Isaiah, and Ruddles joined us on Old Orchard Street and the arcade for some "summer" fun!  It was a whopping 25°C (77°F), with hardly any wind so close to the ocean!  It was definitely a tank top day, the first since moving to Maine, and we had a great time in the sun enjoying the claw machines, skee ball, and the ticket eater, which was quite a hit with the kids!  A wonderful warm day with friends!

The following day at the church was Mother's Day, where we decorated cupcake towers and handed out roses to all the ladies!  It was great!  And the Giordani's were able to join us at church this week!

Andee and I were also able to take advantage of the nice weather, enjoying the beautiful view from the Pier, and our neighboring arcade!  Andee was on the ball (pun intended) yesterday with his arcade skills, taking home 1500 tickets winning the jackpots in both skee ball and flamin' finger!  Who needs Medical School when you have that kind of talent?? Haha!  A wonderful weekend!

Today it is cool and rainy, and I am sick, so it is the perfect lazy day to write this blog!

Countdown:   16 days!  We are both extremely excited for Canada and Family, and very sad to leave all of our wonderful friends and The Rock Church in Maine!   But God is Good, and we fully trust his perfect plan for our crazy lives!  See all you Canucks soon!! :)

Aldridge Family in Maine!

This weekend my family made the 12 hour drive to Maine for a mini Vacation!!!  Andee and I were so excited to see them, and had a lot of fun things planned for us to do!  To begin, lets backtrack a week or so to the events leading up to their trip!!

A week before my family's arrival, Andee took his exit exam for the Kaplan review course - and passed with flying colours!  We decided to celebrate with some arcade games and a walk in the sunshine!  Now that Andee has passed 5th semester, the next step is the dreaded USMLE!  A couple more months of studying, and he will take the first step of his licensing exam, followed by lots more moves around Canada and the United States!  There was lots of reason to celebrate!!

On Friday, my family was expected to arrive around dinner time!  They surprised us by somehow sneaking into our building and meeting us at our door!  We were so excited to see them after 4 months of skype and facebook!!  We started off the vacation by making a trip to Clambake, a typical Maine-esque restaurant close to Old Orchard Beach!  Dad and I got the Lazy Lobster, Cassie and Mom got Fish and Chips, and Andee had Clam Chowder!  It was delicious!!  We also entertained ourselves by feeding the seagulls our leftovers from the window!  A great start to the weekend!!

The next morning, we started out the day right with a trip to a breakfast buffet in South Portland!  It was very delicious and really fun to hit up the buffet with the Fam Jam!

After our meal, we headed to Cape Elizabeth in Portland for a much needed photo shoot with Portland's famous lighthouses and rocky coastlines!!  It was absolutely beautiful, and really fun to explore the rocky trails and tide pools all around us!  It was also a beautiful sunny day without a cloud in sight, and significantly less wind than is typical so close to the ocean!  A perfect start to the afternoon!!

After returning home to Old Orchard, we stopped in at the arcade positioned directly beside our apartment at Palace Playland to play some claw machines and skee ball!  After returning many times throughout the weekend, Cassie was victorious as not only the highest scorer of the family, but also winning the jackpot of over 700 tickets during one of our competitions!  It was so much fun enjoying the arcade with my favourite people in the world!!

After the arcade, we snacked at some of the yummy tourist places on Old Orchard Street, including fried dough, ice cream sundaes, and milkshakes!!  It was delicious!!  For dinner, we walked down Old Orchard Street to a wonderful little restaurant called Bell Buoy!  Authentic and homemade Maine specialties were all over the menu, and so we enjoyed seafood pasta, lobster bisque, fried shrimp and haddock, chicken tenders (Cassie food), and brownie sundaes for dessert!  It was fantastic, and very reasonably priced too!  Perfect!  Andee and I will definitely be back before we leave!!

On Sunday morning, we all attended The Rock Church for the morning service!  It was a special service for the church, as we had the pleasure of hearing a speaker from Love 146, an organization passionate about abolishing child trafficking and sex slavery.  It was really great to contribute to such an amazing organization, and my family loved the church!  I also got to sing that week, which was really wonderful!  The Rock Church is so incredibly amazing, we really need to come back to Maine to attend again!!  

On the way home we stopped in at Len Libby to snap a photo with the World's largest Chocolate Moose!  Reminds me of Canada, eh!?

We grabbed a quick and delicious lunch at The Strike Zone, a sports bar and grill on Old Orchard Street!  On the menu for us was pizza, mac and cheese, queso sticks, and a burger too large for even my Dad to conquer!  We then walked along the beach and engaged in yet another much needed beach photo shoot!  The jumping shot took quite a few tries, but we eventually got one where we are all in the air!  It was well worth it! 

That evening, we went out to a dinner buffet, played the Wal-Mart claw machine, and hung out at the apartment for a little while before heading to bed!  Another great day in Maine!!

The following morning, we all headed to IHOP for our last meal in Maine!  Andee had a delicious creation called red velvet pancakes with cream cheese frosting and whipped cream!  They were fantastic!  The breakfast was even more delicious since some of us stayed up until 4am talking, and needed a good meal to keep them going!!

Overall, the mini Aldridge Vacation to Maine was fantastic!!  Not only did we get to experience so many of the fun things Maine has to offer, but we were able to spend lots of quality Family time together!  Andee and I are getting really excited to spend the summer back home in Canada, but at the same time are very excited for the month of May in Maine, as some visitors from the Islands are arriving in Maine as I write this blog!  And with the warmer weather starting, it will be a wonderful last month in Maine!  And who knows, maybe God will bring us back!!  We hope so!! 

And just for good measure, the Oscar Mayer Weiner Mobile came to Wal-Mart just as Andee and I were post-vacation grocery shopping!  Of course we 10-second timer-ed it!!

Aldridge Family Out!!