Children aren't supposed to die....they aren't supposed to get sick and not recover. What is even harder to bear is when a child gets sick and then has to watch her mother get sick and die herself in just a short few months after diagnosis....

This story is one very close to home for our family, over the last few months we've followed the diffiicult journey of a girl our daughter played soccer with a few years ago. Yesterday she passed away at Canucks Place Childrens Hospice after battling cancer for the past year. 

The soccer community is a small community when your daughter plays soccer in it for 8 years....you tend to get to know a lot of the players from different teams throughout the lower mainland. That is how we knew Ashley even though she was a Richmond player. Our daughter's best season of soccer was the season she played with Ashley for Coastal in the summer Y- league. Ashley had been on this particular Coastal team with Coach Gregor Young the previous summer along with many of the other girls. This was Shantelle's 1st time playing for Coastal and she was one of only a few, not only younger girls, but girls from outside of the Vancouver/Richmond area. As parents, why Ashley stood out for us...was her acceptance of our daughter as a team mate but also as a fellow defender. On any team players have to earn respect from their team mates, prove they can carry their weight. Even more so when you haven't played against them before and had no idea how they play. Players need to know they can trust you to play the game with them as a team. Ashley and Shantelle played well together on the back line that summer because Ashley gave our daughter a chance. That summer Shantelle played the best soccer of her life and more importantly had the best time of her life playing. She truly enjoyed playing soccer on that team with Ashley and all the girls and learned so much from a great coach. We didn't know Ashley other than what we saw of her on that team, accepting our daughter as a part of the team. She was a nice girl and a strong player, a pleasure to watch.

When we heard of her battle last year and started following her plight, we couldn't help but feel for her. As parents, it hit close to home, its one thing to hear about a complete stranger and feel sympathy for what they are going through. It is another when you can put a face to it and realize it has happened to someone we know.

Because we knew who she was, natural curiosity had us following her ordeal, hoping for the best. Ashley was diagnosed with cancer in her last year of highschool. She went through chemotherapy the first time round with her mother at her side. Then with a cruel twist of fate her mother was diagnosed with cancer last summer and she lost her battle in only a short few months. Ashley relapsed again after her mother passed and just recently was brought to Canuck Place Childrens Hospice to try and help her and her family through her last days by giving her a better place to pass instead of being in the hospital. 

The world seemed to get even smaller last week...my husband's work had participated in a paying it forward type event where one of the staff had given Ashley a small gift to cheer her up. My husband asked around to see who it was, to see if they knew how she was doing. Only to find out it was one of his favourite colleagues and this colleague wsa Ashley's Aunt. He sought out her aunt and asked how she was doing sharing how we knew her.....Ashley's Aunt shared with him just how tough it had been for the whole family and how Ashley was doing at Canuck Place. It took everything for him not to cry as tears ran down her face while she talked. As soon as he was back in his office he broke down and called me to share what had just happened and how close Ashley was to the end. Now her story was that much more real and you couldn't help but feel for her and all of her family. 

Canuck Place was the first free standing Children's Hospice in North America, it opened in 1995 and since then has helped many children with life threatening illnesses and their families.

"Through all stages of a child’s illness, an individual program is designed to meet the needs of each family.  Services include 24/7 physician and nursing support and consultative services, end-of-life care, pain and symptom management, respite care, school, music and play therapy, recreation opportunities and counseling.  The counseling services are available to parents, siblings, loved ones and the child, to assist them in finding the courage and resources to cope with their challenges both during the child’s illness and after the child dies."

Our hearts go out to the Chen family and friends. We cannot even imagine what they are all going through. 

I am proud that once again Homelife Benchmark Realty offices are participating in our 13th annual Charity Golf Tournament with proceeds benefitting Canuck Place Childrens Hospice. This year I will be volunteering my time on the committee in honour of Ashley and her family. Knowing first hand how Canuck Place helps children and their families is why we support Canuck Place Childrens Hospice.

This isn't one of my typical blogs but it is a topic that seems to have creeped up and I thought I would share. :)

Getting older....

I am really not too sure when it happened...I still don't really feel as though I am getting OLD. But somewhere along the way you start to realize you are not that young anymore. Perhaps it is that I turn 40 this year. Age really has never mattered, I don't really think it will this year. I just like saying I am younger than my husband and all of my friends, some of which are in their 50's. Life still goes on...but I feel like I have finally made it in to that adult club that you never really thought you would ever join. 

When you are in your 20's and even early 30's....you look at others when they say "when you get to my age you will understand- life just changes." I don't think we ever really believe or understand people until we hit that age....when that is I am not sure. I would imagine it may be different for everyone.

Of course, I have noticed little changes...not just in how I look or feel. But also how I look at life - I honestly think that's when it hit me that I wasn't as young as I used to be. What used to be so important to us when we were younger now just isn't. Planning for our retirement, what we once wanted again is no longer as important as it once was. 

My husband and I went to Palm Springs last month. It took friends of ours a couple years to get us down there, once there we did not want to come home. We have been to many places in the US and never understood the appeal for snowbirds. But I think we do now, when you look at how precious each and everyday is and how fast the days go by. Again, that is where I realized I am not getting any younger and sometimes we all just need to stop and take a breath. What was appealing about Palm Springs over say Florida is that you are pretty much guaranteed to have good weather. Even if the day is overcast, it's still very warm out and there's no rain to worry about. 

I do have to say, when we were starting our family most of our friends were off traveling and starting their careers. So many of the people I grew up with are just having kids now and I couldn't even imagine going back to that baby stage....as cute as it was. We now have one child in University and our 2nd child is only a year and a half away from graduating highschool. We feel as though our lives are only just beginning as we look at our 5 and 10yr plan. 

i have come to a conclusion "You are only as OLD as you feel". I don't feel like I am 40 most days.... so I think I will go with that. :)

As much as we don't like losing an hour of sleep (or at least I don't :). I think the trade off is worth it, by gaining an extra hour of daylight....which we so need at this time of year. Looking forward to longer, warmer days.

Don't forget to turn your clocks ahead before you go to bed tonight! 

From all of us at The Bettina Reid Group we want to congratulate all of our Canadian Olympic athletes for making CANADA proud!

Sad to see the Winter Olympics is now over. Such a sense of pride always seems to sweep our Nation and these Olympics were no exception. We cheer for all of our Olympians and feel for them when they don't achieve what they were hoping for. But we also beam with Pride for all of them no matter where they ended up just for having the courage to compete for our Nation.

Congratulations to all of our athletes. We are Canadian!!!

Happy Valentine's Day from all of us at the Bettina Reid Group! Hopefully you can share some of the day with your loved ones, but always remember today shouldn't be the only day you recognize each other. 

You know me I always like to support local businesses if I can. Thought why not promote Happy Cakes Cupcakes in Cloverdale once again. It had been a while since I visited their location....which is unfortunate for them...but good for my family. I think we all had enough sweets over the holidays. :)

My husband asked me to pick up a dozen of their delicious cupcakes for him to take into work with him today. I was good, I only added on one extra for my daughter. :) Although it was really tempting to add a few more for the rest of us. The owner Lisa Low was in baking cakes and the smell was almost too much to bear. Then I was in there long enough to walk away smelling like a bakery. Which didn't help my craving for these cupcakes. To be honest, as yummy as the cupcakes are at Happy Cakes Cupcakes I am usually not one to indulge in a cupcake...cookies have always been my downfall. But I do have to say if I had to choose my favourite it would probably be the chocolate truffle ones. When you heat them slightly the chocolate ganache in the middle oozes out..... delicious!

Happy Cakes Cupcakes took over from what used to be called Big City Cupcakes and is now a family run business. I have met the owner Lisa a few times and each time I have been pleasantly greeted. She has definitely brought a warmth to this location along with many other wonderful things to offer. They carry at least 15 different varieties of cupcakes everyday. A few of the changes from when Big City was there is that they bake their cakes fresh in the shop. Another great addition is the ability to hold meetings or parties. What a great idea for a children's birthday party to have them decorate their own cupcakes. 

For more information on their prices and all they have to offer please visit the following link:

Happy Cakes Cupcakes

Happy New Year from all of us at the Bettina Reid Group.

We would like to Thank all our friends and family for their continued support...but most of all we would like to Thank our past and present clients- without you we wouldn't have had another successful year!

We look forward to your continued support in 2014 and wish everyone a year full of Happiness, Good health and exciting new experiences...ones that memories are made of!

Merry Christmas from All of us at The Bettina Reid Group! 

We hope the Holidays are filled with LOVE and JOY and many happy memories are made with family and friends!  

I recently made a trip to Guildford Town Centre to do some Christmas shopping. As foolish as that sounds, we had yet to visit since it's launch of their new phases. We didn't want to go all the way to Metrotown when we now have so many great shops much closer to home. Somehow we managed to find a spot close to a mall entrance and we even managed to come out with a few purchases and smiles on our faces. Which can be very hard to do this time of year with all the craziness that Christmas seems to bring to malls.

But the reason for my blog about Guildford Town Centre today was how impressed I was at their re-design. While visiting the washrooms during our visit I couldn't believe how innovative one of the stalls was. They had made a stall a little bigger than your average stall to encompass 2 toilets - a regular toilet and a smaller toilet close to the ground perfect for toddlers. As I was leaving a little girl knew exactly where to go so that she could manage independently without her grandmother. That left an impression on not only myself but the grandmother who hadn't seen this before either. 

Any parent will tell you taking your child to the washroom is no simple feat...especially when as children it seems once they have learned how to go by themselves, every washroom you pass induces them to have to go right then and there. Some sort of instinct I think to see if this washroom is any different than the last or perhaps it is our children marking their territory. (I am just kidding about that last one, but if you are a parent you know exactly what I mean, I am just thankful my girls are teens and can manage all that on their own now. :)

Big shout out to Guildford Town Centre for helping parents out and making stalls for Parents and Tots. Whoever thought of this design was certainly a parent or at some point has had to take a child into a public washroom. Even though I no longer have little ones....On behalf of all parents out there. WE THANK YOU!!!

A great man passed away last week and I have been wanting to blog about him for a few days now. I thought after his impressive memorial today that it would be good to finally sit down and pay my respects.

Learning about Nelson Mandela and Apartheid was a defining moment in my childhood. I was in grade 8 and I don't think I ever truly thought about the world around me before then. My family didn't really talk about current events, that was left for social studies in school. When I left school i didn't really give the world around me a second thought. Certainly not because I wasn't brought up well, I came from a poor family and our own day to day lives always seemed more important....

Then in grade 8 my french immersion class went through a number of teachers for one reason or another until finally Mme. Monti came along and introduced us to the world around us. She was a short, birkenstock wearing, laid back funny kind of teacher. But she taught us more in the few months after she took over, than any one teacher ever taught me in my entire childhood.

We learnt a lot in those few months from topics like AIDS, which at the time people feared could be caught just by kissing or touching. To Apartheid and of course Nelson Mandela and his plight.

Despite having spent 27 years in prison, Nelson Mandela lived a LONG and amazing life. He became the first black president and with his anti-apartheid efforts helped to build a better South Africa for his people. He was a leader like no other leader that we have ever had in our world. Watching the dignitaries and heads of state from around the world peacefully come together to mourn the death of Nelson Mandela. Watching the people of South Africa celebrate his life through song and dance....even though it cannot take away the pain of his loss, it's heart warming to see how much he was loved. How much he affected change in not only South Africa but the world around him.

“People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite... Man's goodness is a flame that can be hidden but never explained.”

― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom

Farewell Madiba (as his people so dearly called him), Farewell.

Fraser Valley's housing market cools in November

December, 03 2013 10:39:10 am, by FVREB 
Categories: Statistics

SURREY, BC – The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board’s Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) recorded 986 property sales in November, an increase of 9 per cent compared to the 905 sales during the same month last year, however a decrease of 21 per cent compared to October’s 1,249 sales.

Month-over-month, the Board also received 24 per cent fewer new listings – 1,774 compared to 2,336 in October – but still an improvement over the 1,723 new listings received during November of 2012.

Ron Todson, president of the Board says, “We typically see a slowdown just before the holidays and this year it started a little sooner reflecting what we’re seeing in our overall economy.

“Similar to last November, sales are hovering at about 14 per cent off normal levels, but so are new listings. They’re down about 7 per cent compared to the 10-year average, so what we’re seeing is a slower but steady market keeping home prices in check and the average number of days to sale stable.”

For a detached home in the Fraser Valley, the average number of days to sell in November was 57, compared to last year’s 59 days. For townhomes, it was 58 days and apartments 78 compared to 70 and 74 in November 2012.

Prices for benchmark homes also remain steady showing nominal year-over-year increases or single-digit decreases. For single family detached homes, the benchmark price increased by 1.0 per cent in one year, going from $544,700 in November 2012 to $550,300 last month.

For townhouses, the benchmark price in November was $292,400, a decrease of 2.2 per cent compared to $298,900 during the same month last year. The benchmark price of apartments in the Fraser Valley in November was $196,200, a decrease of 3.3 per cent compared to $202,800 in November 2012.

Todson notes, “Those thinking of buying or selling may notice in our monthly statistics package that average prices in November are up or down substantially compared to the benchmark price.

“Talk to your REALTOR® who will explain that the volume of sales and the calibre of homes sold can dramatically skew average prices, which doesn’t happen with the benchmark price the most reliable of all pricing measurements.”

Since November 2012, the benchmark price in the Fraser Valley for all three residential property types combined is flat, having decreased by 0.4 per cent and over the last six months the price has decreased by 0.9 per cent.

If you want to know what’s happening with your local market and how it would affect the selling price of your home, give us a call.

The 2nd annual Food Cart Festival started last Sunday and runs every Sunday from 12pm-5pm until September 22nd. The Food Cart Festival is located at 215 west 1st between Olympic Village and Cambie Bridge. There's much more to the festival than just your choice of over 20 food carts. There is live music, local vendors and fun for the whole family!

Admission is $2, children under 13 are free. Family of 3 or more is $5

Vancity is a presenting sponsor for the event and because of this Vancity members get in for free. One of Vancity's core values is to support local businesses and that is why they have sponsored the Vancouver Food Cart Festival

For more information on the Vancouver Food Cart Festival visit the following link:

Vancouver Food Cart Festival