{ottawa, part IV}

after all the passport stuff at the embassy, i headed to the catholic notre-dame cathedral. i was curious to see what this big cathedral looks like inside.
after seeing the protestant church and then this catholic one, my mind kept pondering about some things that i personally believe in. about christianity, it's origin and why there are so many different christian churches and they all teach so differently. i just might have to post about that one some day.

seeing this cathedral also brought back so many memories from my time in ireland.

but after seeing this cathedral, i was done visiting churches. next on my agenda: art! :)

{ottawa, part III}

my second day in ottawa. i drove to downtown this time instead of walking. i had couple of hours before my appointment at the embassy of finland. i had heard that sparks street is a fun place for shopping. i did find these fun guys there but after a bit got bored so i went for a walk to look for something more interesting to see.

...and came across st andrew's protestant church. i was lucky - it was open for visitors.

beautiful stained glass windows decorated this church. it was so nice to tour this big church. the two old ladies who were there were so cute and so helpful. i really enjoyed my visit and felt the spirit as i took pictures of the windows and thought about the messages on them.

"inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."

matthew 25:40

then it was time to walk to the embassy and i snapped this on the way. as if i didn't have enough parliament building pictures already. :)

the finnish embassy is in this beautiful building right smack in the middle of downtown ottawa. i had fun trying to speak finnish. got my application finished and sienna registered as a finnish citizen too. sienna will be canadian, american and finnish. plus she's treaty indian with all the priviledges that go with that. lucky girl.

{you've got to love your family, you know}

i'm so excited about this cute idea for a fhe duties chart that i had to share it right away before mine is even finished. this is what i just printed out on cardstock. next i'll laminate it. then i'll find pictures of each of us and print them black and white and laminate them too. then i'll use my circle punch to just cut our heads out. the heads will be the size of the centers of these sunflowers. tape the heads on each flower and then each week we'll rotate our duties. sienna and robin of course need help with their duties but it's important for everyone to feel included and they're more likely to enjoy the fhe when they are participating.

simple, easy and so so cute. :)

for those who are wondering what on earth is family home evening - each monday lds families hold family home evening which is basically doing something fun together plus learning the gospel together. no church activities will ever be scheduled on that day. the format is usually the above: an opening prayer, song, short lesson, game or activity, treat and a closing prayer.

you don't have to be lds to do this by the way. anyone can start this beneficial tradition. the lessons don't need to be religious. you could teach first aid/foreign languages/art techniques or whatever your family is interested in. the point is to make sure your family has one special evening a week when the phone isn't answered and time is spent together as a family. so many families are struggling nowadays. special days like these keep families close together. try it. it's fun. :)

ps. if anyone wants a copy of this word document, just let me know and i can e-mail it to you.

{ottawa, part II}

the notre-dame cathedral from the outside.

and once again - my future summer house. :)

chateau laurier hotel.

the parliament hill. the center of canadian politics. i found myself admiring the architecture instead of taking pictures of the many statues of political figures. one thing i noticed that there was no pigeon poo on the statues like they do in helsinki. :)

the rideau canal. people skate on the canal in the winter.

the museum of civilization in gatineau, quebec (= the other side of the river). my hotel was right behind this building.

where there is no vision the people perish. wise words.

i have a guess or two why there is a crazy unicorn in the parliament building. something to do with how politics makes me feel at times...

example: i found out that in quebec, there has to be a lifeguard on duty for people to swim in a hotel swimming pool. it is a sad day when they have to have legislation about things like that. due to this legislation, my hotel's pool was open short hours and kids had to leave the pool while the lifeguard went for a half an hour break. sometimes governments go a bit crazy about what they should govern and what not.

the war monument.

there you have it, my first day in ottawa. i had no desire to see the parliament building from the inside. maybe next time. i enjoyed the old buildings and for a minute i felt like i was back in finland walking in downtown. kind of. sort of.