Sharing Life with Peggy

Sara

2011-02-01T14:46:00.000-07:00

It's time to blog again. After 15 months, I've missed blogging, and today is the day to break the silence.

My title is simple - Sara. My sweet girl, who will be 10 years old in just 3 weeks! About 18 months ago, I shared how much I was concerned about Sara. Concerned about her learning challenges, which seemed to get worse with each passing month. Concerned about her social skills and the odd behaviours that caused her friends to reject her on many occasions. Concerned that maybe she was on the Autism Spectrum Disorder. And desperately wanting answers.

If you remember, Sara was given a full psycho-educational assessment during the summer of 2009, by Dr. Susan Peacock in Edmonton. The information gained was helpful in understanding Sara better. Sara was also diagnosed with Irlen Syndrome, by Susan, and received her coloured glasses a few months later. (The website www.irlen.com explains this syndrome very well.) Shortly after the assessment was completed and Sara finished the process to pick the colours for her Irlen glasses, we experienced another major move. To Kamloops, BC. (November 28, 2009) Wow! It threw all of us for another loop! In the middle of all the fuss, I lost sight of pursuing any sort of autism spectrum diagnosis. We hoped and prayed that the new Irlen glasses would make a significant difference in Sara's ability to learn in school. It did help, but the difference was not significant enough to help her catch up to "grade level." They seem to help with her mood, more than anything, which is a wonderful thing!

Fast forward to this past September (2010), the beginning of a new school year. For the first time in 3 years, we were not planning or experiencing a major move! Yay! I will spare details, but things were worse with Sara's learning curve. I felt we were losing ground everywhere I turned. Sara was having meltdowns on an almost daily basis and her new friends were beginning to grow weary of her odd behaviours. I was at my wits end - nothing was going well.

This year we decided to enroll our kids with HCOS, in Kelowna, having heard of their excellent service to homeschoolers and special needs department. The contact teacher we were assigned with, Louis, has been a wonderful advocate and help to our family. He listened to my concerns, realized we needed an intervention and got the ball rolling with finding some answers. It all happened so fast, we were nearly breathless! After a particularly emotional phone conversation with Louis, on Tuesday, November 2nd, Louis met with others at the school that same day about our situation. He then arranged to drive up and meet our family on Thursday, the 4th. After observing Sara's schoolwork and behaviour, we discussed what to do. The public school testing would leave us on a waiting list, that could take up to 3 years - just to get the process started! OR...we could circumvent that whole thing and get Sara privately assessed in Vancouver. And HCOS would book the appointments AND pay for them! All we had to do was pay for the trip. That was a no brainer! Louis left with encouraging words and a promise to set up the appointments the next day.

The next day was Friday, November 5th. I left the house with the kids early in the morning and we were gone the entire day, coming home at 5 p.m. After I got supper started, I noticed there were phone messages. Louis had been trying to contact me all day with some very exciting news! The specialists in Vancouver that Sara needed to see had a cancellation and could see us much earlier than expected - like Monday, November 8th early!!! Wow! I was overwhelmed. Joshua's boss was very kind and understanding about giving Joshua that Monday off. We packed our bags and the whole family headed to Vancouver on Sunday morning.

On Monday, Sara had 2 appointments. In the morning, she was assessed by a speech and language pathologist from 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. I could tell Sara was quite nervous about everything, not really understanding what was going on or what was expected of her. It was hard to reassure her because I didn't know what would happen in these sessions either! She held herself together quite well, but was more timid and quiet than usual. The speech and language pathologist was very sweet and worked hard to put Sara at ease. I filled out a lot of paperwork while Joshua and Sky hung out at the HUGE Chapters bookstore down the street. Later, the 3 of us ate lunch at a Vietnamese noodle house (we took back a sandwich for Sara). There wasn't much time before the next appointment at 1 p.m., with Carmen. This was the Autism Spectrum assessment. 3 1/2 hours later, we were all fried. The first 2 hours was question after question for Joshua and I. Just about everything you can imagine was covered. It was hard to remember all the way back to the baby and toddler days. I'm a detail person, so I was O.K., but Joshua was about ready to jump out of his skin! The kids had to entertain themselves in the waiting room under the watchful eye of the receptionist. They did pretty good considering the length of time and what we were all going through! Sara exhibited some of her odd behaviours while she was waiting, which was good, because the receptionist then relayed that to Carmen. Then, it was Sara's turn and she spent an hour alone with Carmen, who put her through a series of tasks to assess her behaviour and conversation. Sara was a little trooper and I was proud of her for all her hard work that entire day. We celebrated with a nice supper and then drove home to Kamloops.

Now it was time to wait. We received the speech and language report after just 2 weeks. The results surprised me, although I didn't disagree with anything stated in the report. She scored very low (1%) in just about everything. I guess you just get used to the way your child is. It left me feeling like a bit of a failure and not sure what to do. I still don't understand a lot of it. We do have a friend here who is a speech therapist and he has agreed to meet with us to help us with our questions. Things just got busy over the Christmas season and we've been battling sickness for 2 months now, so the meeting is on hold. Sara will definitely benefit from speech therapy, so that will be part of our near future.

We had to wait much longer for the autism report. It finally came through this past Friday, one day after coming home from our recent vacation to Cancun, Mexico. Carmen e-mailed the report for our review and approval. I read through all 15 pages and was surprised at how little emotion I felt. I think most of my strong emotions were happening before this process began, when I felt like there was no hope. Now, I feel hope. The information in the report and the diagnosis don't actually change anything, but it gives us the springboard to go forward. Sara was diagnosed with mild ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder). The diagnostic label for that is PDD-NOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified) Sounds fancy, eh? Actually, it sounds more vague than anything. But, this diagnosis allows us to apply for government funding, which in turn allows us to pay for the therapies Sara will be able to benefit from (speech therapy, behavioural training, special curriculum for school, etc.).

So, now we have our answer. I feel remarkably calm and peaceful about everything. It doesn't take the challenge of daily life with Sara away, but it helps us understand it. And hopefully this helps others understand her as well. I don't expect pity or to be able to excuse wrong behaviour, but I do hope that others can be more compassionate. Sara is such a sweetie, but she can also make people feel very uncomfortable at times. Knowing that she is different and that we are working on it, will hopefully help others to extend a bit more grace and be able to relax around her. If you are one of my new friends in Kamloops, you will know exactly what I'm talking about. If you have any questions or concerns, please know you can approach me at any time. It might feel awkward or embarrassing, but don't let that get in the way. You can explain this to your own children in whatever way you think they can understand. Let them know that if they are ever made to feel uncomfortable around Sara, that they can talk to you or even me about it. Our family wants to know what we need to work on! Thank you to everyone who has prayed and supported and listened through this journey. It's far from over, really, in some ways it's just beginning. We would really appreciate your continued prayers!

Pumpkin Patch Adventure

2009-10-27T00:45:00.010-06:00

I'm over a week late, but I still wanted to post pictures from our trip to the pumpkin patch 2 Saturdays ago! The weather had been cold and nasty the week prior to this now, infamous outing, so it was supposed to be a nice treat to be outside in anything other than heavy jackets, mitts, toques and boots! But, because of the nicer break in the weather, EVERYONE else decided to go to the pumpkin farm on the same day! We could barely move - seriously! And just the day before, the 3-4 inches of snow that was on the ground, had rapidly melted, turning all dirt pathways into muddy pathways... We had to wait in line for about 40 min. for lunch and by then, it was not the kids that were cranky, it was my husband! I think it all started when he had to pay $9.25 cents per person just to get onto the farm. Then, there were numerous crafts, games or activities that were an additional $2 charge each. We avoided those like the plague, but felt guilty at the same time, like we were bad parents and our kids were missing out... This was my first time to any pumpkin patch - ever! I was so excited before we got there, but so disappointed the moment I saw the place. Where were the piles of pumpkins for cute, fall photo sessions with my kids?? Well, because we live in this stupid, freezing country (yes, I really did just say that!), the pumpkins all had to be mass harvested and brought into a green house. Bummer! I wanted to actually pick a pumpkin! So, we manged to have some semblance of "fun" before trudging through the mud, back to our car (parked about 2 miles away because there were so many people there!). I think Sara and Sky had way less expectations than I did, so I was able to snap a few pictures of their happy smiles! They actually enjoyed themselves for the most part!

Guess how many pounds this pumpkin is, and you get to take it home! Really? No way do I want to cart that thing home! (How do you like Sky's tough guy pose?!)

Sara being silly and hopping on one leg at the top of a very large pile of hay!Sky, the pumpkin-man! (Get it? Instead of a snowman?!)

This was the hay mountain at the center of the hay bale maze! This was definitely their favourite - they could have done that all day long!
Petting the bunnies was another big favourite! They were sooo soft!

I love the expression of surprise on Sara's face! I would love to know what she was thinking!
Later that evening, we had fully recovered! :-) The kids each picked a pumpkin at the farm (from the greenhouse...). Sara chose to decorate hers like this... And Sky wanted to carve his pumpkin. This was the end result! Joshua had never carved a pumpkin before! I must say I was very impressed! While the carving was going on, I separated, cleaned and roasted the pumpkin seeds! This was my big "first" for the day! They turned out really good, if I say so myself!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-10-12T00:26:00.002-06:00

Today is Thanksgiving Day in Canada! Today I am most thankful for my family near and far. You are all loved and thought of today! I'm also very thankful for my nice, warm house because there's been snow on the ground since Thursday morning!

Last night we had our big dinner with Joshua's parents and sister. The food was more than plentiful and very, very yummy! I baked the ham all afternoon at our house, complete with a brown sugar glaze. When it was ready we wrapped it up and drove through the gently falling snow to Grandma and Grandpa's house. I also brought along two of my other favourite traditions - sparkling juice and pumpkin bread! Mom had spent the day baking apple pie and pumpkin pie as well as all the other fixins' to go with the ham. We had a fun evening of eating, playing and laughing. After dinner, Grandpa had a good chance to work off some of the calories he took in! The entertainment included:

Horsey rides...

Double Piggy Back rides (this equals about 105 lbs.!)

And an attempt at the tallest shoulder stack ever!
Success! Well, maybe more of disaster waiting to happen, but they were sure having fun!

The big boys (Daddy and Grandpa) also indulged in a little leg wrestling and arm wrestling, much to the amusement of all of us! I will spare them the embarrassment of pictures. I hope each and every one of you have a wonderful, thankful day, whether you are celebrating Thanksgiving Day today or not!

Rainy Day Activities

2009-07-09T00:24:00.000-06:00

We've had cool and rainy days since Monday. It's tempting to watch too much T.V. or play too many computer games when the weather gets like this. I keep saying to the kids, "Turn off the T.V.!!" But, then I have to get off the computer! So, I've had to be intentional about finding alternative things to do! Here a few of our rainy day activities so far:

Colouring, drawing and painting
Setting up play tents in the basement and playing "camping" most of the day on Monday.
Making paper airplanes with the babysitter while Mommy went for a massage on Tuesday!
A Tuesday afternoon trip to the Telus World of Science, where we even got to see a demonstration called, "Fire and Fury." Very cool fire "magic"!
O.K., I'll admit it - lots of Treehouse, movies and Facebook...
Playing card games and laughing together Wednesday afternoon! The kids are getting to the age where they are actually fun to play games with!
Going out for a pizza supper with Grandma, Grandpa and Auntie Shannon last night.
Making homemade play dough today and sampling pretend cookies and pies all morning. (See pictures below.)

I think we've done a pretty good job of entertaining ourselves, don't you think?! What do you do when the rain keeps coming down?

Camping at Gull Lake

2009-07-04T11:02:00.001-06:00

Yikes, am I ever behind this week! First, I wanted to post about our camping trip last weekend. A couple people have asked me about it... It was a good trip, with no major mishaps! We only went for one night, as we had another commitment last Friday night. (Usually we head out Friday after Joshua is home from work, and camp for 2 nights.) So, we finished packing up on Saturday morning, picked up breakfast at Tim Horton's and enjoyed the nice drive together. We got to Gull Lake around noon. We quickly set up our tent and inflated the air mattresses. The tent was a little stinky after being packed away for so many months! It was good that it had a few hours to air out before we had to sleep in it!

We changed into swimsuits and headed to the beach. Lunch was chicken fingers, cheeseburgers and onion rings from the concession stand. It was a nice, sunny day, but there was a pretty good breeze coming off the water. It was quite cool! Joshua and I had no interest in the water, but the kids were crazy enough to get in a few times! I waded in once, and although the water wasn't that cold, any wet part of the body exposed to the breeze was freezing! There's a huge playground right on the edge of the water, so the kids had fun playing there. Sara recently figured out how to do the monkey bars and that's all she wants to do. Unfortunately for her, she went about 30 times on Saturday and got huge blisters on the palms of both hands! One of them burst open too. Poor kid! That made the rest of the afternoon a little difficult. Even playing in the sand was painful... Sky spent lots of time in the sand, making roads and hills. He's my little creator, always building something! I didn't take any pictures. The only one I took all weekend is the one you see above. (Relaxing by the fire while supper was cooking over the coals.) Bad mommy!

Our night was also good. No rain and no wind - it suddenly got very calm around supper time. We enjoyed supper, Daddy's Yummy Campfire Meal. Afterwards, we took a walk down to the boat dock to watch people loading their boats back onto their trailers. That's always entertaining! You can tell the novices from the experienced ones right away! Then, it was s'mores over the campfire time, clean up and bedtime! We all slept quite well and neither kid had an accident in their sleeping bag. That's always a fear of mine!

Sunday morning we had muffins for breakfast and packed up our stuff. The wind and some clouds blew in again while we were eating, and briefly splattered a few raindrops on us. The clouds blew away, but the wind stayed. We attempted to spend more time at the beach, but it was extremely windy and cold. The kids played on the playground a bit, we played a family game of tag on the sand, and then decided to find somewhere warm to eat lunch! We had breakfast for lunch at our favourite restaurant in Red Deer. After lunch, we drove around exploring the countryside a bit before heading home. Unpacking the car was so easy because everything was dry and could be put away immediately! Last year, we had so much rain on our camping trips that we were always drying things out before we could put away. It was a treat to not have to do that!

So, our first camping trip was a success! We're looking forward to the next weekend trip out July 17-19!

Aloha Friday #17 - Summer Camping!

2009-06-26T11:05:00.002-06:00

It's Aloha Friday! As a reminder, Aloha Friday is a blogging tradition that originally started with Kailani over on An Island Life. I ask you a simple question, and you answer! It's a great way to interact with family and friends and to meet new bloggy friends along the way! To participate, just head over to Kailani's blog and follow the instructions. But...you do not have to link up to answer the question!

Today's question is:
Do you go camping as a family? If you so, do you have a tent, tent trailer, or RV/5th wheel trailer?

Today, I'm packing up for our first weekend camping trip of the summer! Last year was our first year to camp - ever - so it was a pretty steep learning curve! We have a nice, big, 3 room tent that has worked really well for our family so far. Throughout the summer last year, I worked on making a master packing list, that I keep on the computer. When it's time to go camping, I just print out a fresh list and cross things off as I pack. We pretty much have everything contained to 4 Rubbermaid tubs, plus the coolers for cold food. The tent, sleeping bags, and mattresses go in the car top carrier we have for skis in the winter. I have all the grocery shopping done, so I don't have to run out for that today. Last year, we had to buy EVERYTHING because it was our first year. Last night, when we pulled everything out of the storage room, it was so nice to already have everything we need! Sara and Sky are so excited! We are going to our favourite spot, about an hour and a half away. There's a lake with a really great beach and huge playground right on the edge of the water! The water is shallow for a long way out, so it's great for small children...and quite warm! We're hoping the nice weather we've had lately holds up for the whole weekend. Now I'm off to bake some muffins and pack up our clothing! I hope all of you have a wonderful weekend!

P.S. You have to check out our favourite camping meal - Daddy's Yummy Campfire Meal. I posted this on the recipe blog I participate in, Recipeasy, last summer. You'll love it - I guarantee it!

Encourage and Inspire Award

2009-06-24T09:29:00.000-06:00

Today I was honoured to receive this beautiful award from my bloggy friend, Kelly, over at My Voice, My View. I couldn't believe Kelly would be sharing this award with me, because she is the one with the inspiring, encouraging blog! A few months ago, Kelly found my blog (do you remember how you found me, Kelly?), and started leaving comments - for every post! She definitely has the gift of encouragement! After I realized she was following my blog, I started to follow hers as well. Kelly has one of the most encouraging, and "real" blogs of all the ones I read. I've laughed and cried with this complete stranger! I have truly appreciated our new bloggy friendship. Thanks, Kelly, for sharing this with me.

There are other blogs that I read regularly that are also an encouragement and inspiration to me, each in their own way. So, I would like to share this award with with these dear friends:

1. Emily, at Macaroni and Cheese
2. Nadine, at Daughter of the King
3. Mary Kathryn, at Love, Life, Family
4. Kerry, at Shealy Stories (this is a private blog)
5. Sarah, at Sarah, Short and Gaudy

May each of you be inspired or encouraged by someone today!

Yesterday's Outcome

2009-06-23T12:23:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was exhausting, hopeful, stressful, and encouraging all rolled into one big ball of emotions. I'll try to be brief.

The doctor:
- I didn't like the unattractive, poorly lit office. Bad vibes right from the start.
- The doctor was rude to Sky right off the bat. She (the doctor) asked Sara what grade she was in. Before Sara could answer, Sky blurted, "Grade 2!" She looked at him, with no smile or teasing in her voice at all, and said, "Are you Sara?"
- I was informed on the phone that this appointment was strictly for meeting the doctor and gathering family history. I kind of hoped that we could address the autism issue a little, but after telling myself that probably wouldn't happen, I left my list of concerns and symptoms at home.
- I was forced to explain all of Sara's "faults" while she sat right next to me. My heart was breaking and I was stumbling all over my words, trying to say things with as many big words or vague terms so that Sara would be spared as much as possible.
- The doctor was obviously not a big fan of homeschooling. I didn't like the tone of her questions, especially the ones about socialization.
- I left with a requisition for a urine test at the lab (Sara still has daytime bladder control problems quite frequently) and the referral to a neurodevelopmental clinic.
-I also left wanting to cry, but I found the courage to paste on a smile and stay upbeat for Sara's sake. Poor kid. She didn't say much, but I can only imagine how she was feeling. I know I felt like an idiot.
- The referral is the one good thing I got out of the visit. I have to fill out a couple of forms, return it to the doctor, who will then send it to the neurodevelopmental clinic. She said the clinic would probably not give me booking until we had the results from Sara's academic assessment back. I'm getting Shelley's help with the form (my friend who worked with autistic kids).

Interview with Susan Peacock:

- Completely different atmosphere - my nerves were soothed immediately.
- When Susan came out to call us into her office, she looked straight into Sara's eyes and kindly said, "And you must be Sara!" That was not lost on me.
- Her first question was, "Have you explained to Sara what we're doing?" Her concern for Sara as a little person was very evident.
- The conversation with Susan was easy, relaxed and full of hope. She wanted to know the struggles, but she also wanted to know Sara's strengths.
- She wrote everything down which showed me that she cared and that she was going to be thorough. She never made us feel stupid for anything we shared. If it was important to Joshua or I, she made it important to her too.
- Susan affirmed us as parents and as Sara's teachers. She said something very early on in our conversation that I will never forget. She said, "Because you are homeschooling Sara, you are already 99% ahead of all the other (schooling) options out there." I think Joshua and I both really needed to hear that from an "expert." I was so encouraged with how pro-homeschooling she was.
- She assured us that at the end of this assessment, we would have answers and would be equipped with tons of ideas and suggestions to help Sara as we continue to homeschool. She was incredibly positive and we so needed that as a family.
- Sara's first one-on-one session with Susan is next week on Tuesday, at 10 a.m. She's going to try 2 hours to begin with, and see if Sara can handle that much. If not, she said we can cut the sessions back to 1 1/2 hours or even down to 1 hour if we need to. Our total number of hours with Susan will come to about 11 hours, so we'll just get there at the pace that's right for Sara.
- Sara seemed comfortable enough with Susan. A little shy, but that's to be expected! Joshua and I laughed on the way home, because by the end of the hour with Susan, Sara was exhibiting some very ADHD symptoms! Being cooped up in an office for an entire hour with nothing much to do, except listen to adults talk, will do that to you! I talked to Sara at bedtime. She said she liked Susan. I told her that if she felt nervous about anything or had questions that she could talk to me about it anytime.
- The beauty of this assessment, as Susan explained, is that it really doesn't "matter" what or how Sara does with the activities and testing. She doesn't have to get everything right or meet certain goals. Susan just needs to find out how Sara learns and where the glitches are. Then, Susan shared that there are really two ways to deal with those glitches. You can either find a way to detour around a learning problem and get at it another way, or once you know what the difficulty is, you will know how to fix it altogether in some cases. She said there is rarely something that comes up that you would just throw your hands up and say, "Oh my, there's nothing we can do about this - we're just going to have to live with it!"
- Today, I'm so excited to start! Last night, the stress of the day, got the better of all of us. Sara had a meltdown at suppertime. In the midst of trying to resolve that, Joshua and I ended up at each other's throat's (I know this NEVER happens at your house!), so the rest of the evening was rather tense. I woke up feeling terrible. I finally let the tears come - the kind that almost make you throw up... After venting to my dear friend, Karen, on the phone, I feel much better! Thanks Karen, for listening!

I want to thank each one of you, again, for the incredible prayer partners and support you have been to me (us). For those of you on Facebook, who have sent me long messages, thank you! I will reply to each one of you, but it's going to take me awhile to get to all of them. I have been so encouraged and I feel very loved by each one of you who have taken the time to read my epic posts and even care about them!

Big Day

2009-06-22T08:31:00.003-06:00

Today is the big day for our family - especially Sara. I don't really know if she's nervous or not. She doesn't verbalize those kinds of feelings to me very well. She did wake up a bit too early and has been VERY cranky, so that's usually a sign that she's feeling anxious. Please keep her in your prayers today. Our appointment to meet the family doctor is at 1:40 p.m. This should be pretty low key, as this appointment is only to meet our family and gather family history. I'm hoping to cram as much in as possible, but I think the main discussion concerning autism, will have to wait until the next appointment.

At 4 p.m. we will have our initial interview with Susan Peacock about the learning assessment. Again, this should be pretty relaxed, but new situations can be stressful and intimidating to Sara. Joshua will be joining us for this appointment, so I'm glad for that! Please pray that we will have to wisdom to share exactly what Susan needs to learn about Sara before continuing with the one-on-one assessment. I tend to get bogged down with too much detail and sharing instead of sticking to what's really necessary! I'm confident this will be a good meeting. The only thing I'm nervous about right now, is finding my way to Susan's office! Edmonton is still a big, new city to me and I get so scared trying to find new places!

Aloha Friday #16

2009-06-19T07:54:00.002-06:00

Happy News!

2009-06-18T10:15:00.001-06:00

Yesterday morning I called the lady who was recommended to us for Sara's academic assessment. Her name is Susan Peacock, so I will refer to her as Susan, rather than "the lady" from now on! I had learned of Susan last Monday, but fear held me back from calling her right away. I was afraid I would get my hopes up, and then she would tell me that she was all booked up for the summer or that Sara was too young... Then, Joshua asked me a few days ago if I'd called her yet. I said no, but I would. I tried to find Susan in the phonebook and there were too many choices. So, I e-mailed my friend who recommended Susan and asked for her number. She e-mailed back right away. I called Susan yesterday morning and left a message, not really expecting to hear back very soon. I was actually surprised when I answered the phone right after lunch and Susan identified herself as the caller! I knew as soon as we started talking that she was going to be the perfect fit for our family! I felt very comfortable talking to her and she immediately put some of my fears to rest. She didn't tell me I was overly concerned and should "wait it out" some more. She didn't tell me Sara was too young. She did tell me she had appointments available next week! It was all I could do to keep from squealing with excitement! Then, when I got off the phone I cried tears of joy! After working things out with Joshua's schedule at work, we settled on Monday at 4 p.m. We will all go together as a family. It really couldn't come much sooner than that! I also have the appointment with the family doctor at 1:40 p.m. that afternoon, so it will be a busy day for us. This initial time with Susan is just for Joshua and I to tell her as much about Sara as possible. Then, there will be three or four, 2 hour sessions where Susan will work one on one with Sara. Susan said she keeps it as casual and fun as possible. Just from talking on the phone I think Sara will really like Susan. I even asked how she would recommend that I present this whole thing to Sara. She said to put it all on myself, telling Sara that I need to learn how to teach her the best way. She said to let Sara know that she (Susan) will help us so that school will be much easier from now on. When I told Sara about meeting Susan, she seemed a bit nervous, but she agreed with me that she would like school to be easier. Every day is a struggle around here. So many times, when I tell Sara it's time to read or do Math, I see the panic and fear in her eyes. She never tells me she's afraid - she just acts out by stalling (I'm thirsty, I'm hungry, I have to pee...) or arguing or crying or just outright saying, "No." Then, I have to discipline for the bad attitude, but I think sometimes Sara starts to associate school "performance" with getting disciplined. I try to tell her that I'm not mad at her because she makes mistakes or because something is hard. I just need her to learn that a bad attitude is not acceptable. Some days I can do and say all of that very patiently, but as you can imagine, some days we are just both screaming and crying together. "Oh, Lord, please let Susan be the one to help take away much of this heartache."

I want to thank all of you, my dear friends, for your outpouring of love, prayers and support during this time. I have been so blessed by all the words of love and encouragement. I have always found writing to be very therapeutic for me. It helps me to organize and clarify my thoughts. It's one of the easiest ways for me to express myself. I may share more detail than you are sometimes interested in, but it sure helps me to write it all out! Thanks for reading and listening.

Explaining the ache in my heart - the weight on my shoulders...

2009-06-17T00:02:00.001-06:00

This post comes with a warning. I am going to be very real and honest about some things going on in my life. If you want a barrel of sunshine, go read someone else's post today...

My heart has been overwhelmed lately with some things concerning our little princess...Sara. I've hesitated to share anything because I don't officially "know" anything yet. So, as you read, please know that I am not trying to be overly dramatic or state anything as "fact."

I've shared before that Sara has had her struggles with school since she started Grade 1. Basically, those struggles seem to have worsened, especially in the area of Math. We had our end-of-the-year visit with our facilitator last Monday (June 8) and it proved to be a very difficult time. Our facilitator informed us that Sara is a full year behind, and maybe more in certain subjects. That was a surprise to me. And an even bigger and more upsetting surprise to Joshua. We knew things didn't come easily to her, but not that she would be considered that behind. Sara should be starting Grade 3 in the fall, but has really only completed Grade 1 material. Now, here's where I know people have many differing opinions. Joshua and I happen to be of two very different opinions. We're talking through a lot of things and researching a lot of things right now. I know that many of you who are reading this will want to say to me that, "It doesn't matter where Sara is academically - after all, isn't that the beauty of homeshooling?" Or, "Who cares is she's behind? My child is behind too. Sara will eventually catch up. Don't panic." Those things that I just said, are basically MY opinion of everything. I said basically, because there are some more things I will get to later in this post. The issue is, Joshua is of an entirely different mind set. Academic success is very important to him. He will move mountains to "fix" this "problem" with Sara. It is NOT O.K. with him that Sara is not at grade level. While I know that many of you will not agree with this or will even frown upon such ideas, I am the one who has to live in harmony with my husband. I have to listen to his opinions and concerns and do my best to accommodate those things. I still have to honour him and the way he "ticks." I do respect my husband and I'm confident the Lord will show us how to agree together. In the meantime, I am not asking for advice. Just prayer and support, as we work through all of this. This all weighs very heavily on me. It is not fun to be on a different page than your spouse - ever - but, this is a big one. When we chose to homeschool, we took the full weight of responsibility in regards to our children's education. It is a BIG responsibility at any time, but when there are extra challenges, it seems so very heavy. Some people may think or say, "What, are you crazy?! If it's so hard, why don't you send her to school? Why do you do this to yourself?" I am fully committed to homeschooling my children and it would take a very special set of circumstances to make me change my mind. I firmly believe in homeschooling for our children and I will do anything within my power to continue to do so. I will explain what that will look like for this next year at the end of this post.

The other biggie that has come up lately is something that may surprise many of you. Again, I am not asking for advice. This is an even harder one to explain...but, we are in the process of figuring out whether or not Sara is somewhere on the autism spectrum. Yes, I'm serious and no, I'm not crazy! I've been letting people tell me for about 4-5 years now that I'm too paranoid or overly concerned, etc. It was always deny, deny, deny. Push down the feelings, and try to pretend that everything was normal. Well, I'm totally done with that. Can you sense the emotions as I'm typing? I never knew what could possibly be different about Sara, but I knew in my gut that I wasn't crazy. As you all know, this recent move to St. Albert has been very difficult for me. I did NOT want to move here. But, I'm beginning to see why the Lord has us here now. He has placed several wonderful, Christian, homeschooling moms into my life who have given me soooo much insight about Sara. I won't mention names due to the sensitive nature to their own situations. One mom, whose daughter has become our new favourite babysitter, has a son who they believe to be somwhere on the autism spectrum. Because we live 5 minutes from each other and her daughter babysits for us often, we've gotten to know each other quite a bit. I gradually began to share some of my struggles with her. As she observed and spent time with our family, she told me that Sara reminded her so much of her son when he was younger. I have gleaned a lot of wisdom from her, asking her so many questions about behaviours, schooling, etc. As our relationship progressed, she encouraged me to Google "autism spectrum" in my search to find help for Sara. I will never forget the day I began to read the articles I found on-line. It was the first time I felt like something made sense. The puzzle pieces of Sara's life finally seemed to fit together and so many things became easier for Joshua and I to understand. Because I don't know anything officially, I hesitate to share specific things. This whole autism thing is somewhat tied to the academic learning struggles, but is more a separate issue. If you look at a list of autism spectrum symptoms, Sara fits a lot of the social issues to some degree or another. If I were to be specific, it may just be confusing to those who aren't familiar with autism. I have also talked extensively with a friend I have known for years who worked with and diagnosed autistic kids for 10 years. She is home now with her own children, but autistic children are still very close to her heart. She has been able to give me specific advice to the province of Alberta and the process we need to go through for a diagnosis. She has confirmed that, although Sara is very high functioning, there are some definite red flags and she has encouraged us to pursue some answers. So, the first step is to get in with a family doctor and explain our situation. We have an appointment with a doctor (which was an answer to prayer just for that) on Monday, June 22. Hopefully, she will give me the referral to a pediatrician I'm looking for. The pediatrician is the one who would make the diagnosis and then refer us to any specialists we might need.

As far as Sara's learning disabilities and struggles, we are planning to have her assessed this summer. Another homeshcool friend/mom has recommended a lady to us, who was very helpful to their family in the assessment of their son recently. I am currently trying to get into contact with her. We hope to get some answers with this lady by the end of the summer. With that information, we plan to homeschool Sara for at least one more year. After that, we will re-evaluate. While I do not believe my child needs to be the next Math whiz or super reader, there is obviously something that she is not "getting." This is why were are taking steps to have Sara assessed and evaluated. I don't think that she needs to be "fixed." I love her the way she is. But, I do think that I need to be more equipped and informed as I am teaching her everyday. I need to know how to help her learn more effectively. We need to reduce frustrations and stress levels around here. Sara needs to have more confidence and less fear as she learns. I want to do everything possible to make those things happen in our home.

Right now, we are just playing the waiting game. It's so hard to wait when you want answers right away. I guess my thoughts and emotions get the better of me some days. Trying to teach and mother and love a child with learning disabilities and autism all wrapped up into one, is so very hard some days. It just really sucks some days. I am exhausted some days. That's where I am right now. My friend who worked with the autistic kids told me that parents of "spectrum kids" go through a grieving process that has many different stages. I'm kind of dealing with the initial yucky stages of everything right now. It is hard for me to talk about all of this, and yet, a relief at the same time. I tried to make as much sense as possible, but forgive me if I just rambled around. I will keep you posted as we walk this journey.
"For you formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother's womb.
I will praise you You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well."
Psalm 139:13,14

Aloha Friday #15

2009-06-05T10:35:00.004-06:00

It's Aloha Friday! I've been rather sporadic lately, but I'm always back for more! As a reminder, Aloha Friday is a blogging tradition that originally started with Kailani over on An Island Life. I ask you a simple question, and you answer! It's a great way to interact with family and friends and to meet new bloggy friends along the way! To participate, just head over to Kailani's blog and follow the instructions. But...you do not have to link up to answer the question!

This week's question:

What is your favourite flower and/or shrub in your garden?

We have moved a lot (8 times in 9 years of marriage), so things are constantly changing in my yard and garden! There are two things that I always like to have blooming in whatever space I may have - pansies and lilacs! I'm excited to have both this year and I'm loving it! I didn't think I had a lilac in my new yard, but discovered it a few weeks ago, kind of tucked behind our big spruce tree! Here a few pics. It's cloudy today, so they're not the greatest, but the flowers are still beautiful.

Come one, come all...I'm giving something away!!

2009-06-04T14:26:00.007-06:00

I wanted to have a giveaway every month this year, but alas, I have fallen behind a few months... Today is the day I'm getting back on track! Maybe I'll do 2 giveaways this month?? We'll see!

Here is my June giveaway. A CD by Jon Bauer titled "Giver of Grace." Jon Bauer is actually a member of the church we attend and makes his home here in St. Albert. He travels all over Canada doing concerts, but when he's home, we are privileged to have Jon lead worship for our church on Sunday morning! This CD is a recording that Jon did with some of the children at our church. When he released the CD, he and the kids did all the songs on a Sunday morning and that was church that week! It was really a special time! We have all of Jon's CD's, but this one is the definite favourite around here! It's Sara's top pick, for sure. When she wants to listen to music, this is the first one she puts in the CD player. It was her first choice of CD's to be loaded onto her MP3 player that she recently got! Some of the songs are familiar worship songs, and others are ones that Jon Bauer wrote himself. This is one CD that appeals to both kids and adults, so you won't mind listening to this in the car with the whole family! If you want to check out Jon Bauer's website, click here.

If you would like a chance to have this CD, leave me a comment and tell me what your favourite summertime activity is! I will make the draw on June 14th! Ready, Set, GO!!

It's Only Been 7 Months...

2009-06-03T18:09:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I got a haircut for the first time in 7 months! I've never been one for getting my hair cut on a consistent basis, but I think this is a new record for me! Since it's such a momentous occasion, I thought you might like to see pictures.

Here I am, squinting in the sun. Joshua likes the sexy little flip over my eye, but it's driving me crazy! I think I got about 4 inches off. It feels great!

This is the way I'll be wearing it around the house until the little flip grows out a bit!This week is official haircut week because the kids got theirs done on Monday! They love going to Beaner's, a kids hair "salon" here. It's a really fun place, complete with T.V.'s playing cartoons at every chair, a ball pit, and free lollipops! Sara got blue "hair" braided into her hair, so she's having fun showing that off. Here's a pic...

Aloha Friday #14

2009-05-08T00:00:00.004-06:00

It's Aloha Friday! I've missed a few lately (again!), but I will always come back for more! As a reminder, Aloha Friday is a blogging tradition that originally started with Kailani over on An Island Life. I ask you a simple question, and you answer! It's a great way to interact with family and friends and to meet new bloggy friends along the way! To participate, just head over to Kailani's blog and follow the instructions. (But, you do not have to link up! You can just simply answer the question!)

Warm Spring weather is officially here and we're finally breaking out the shorts, capris and sandals around here! We recently took a trip to Texas and I treated my bare toes to a little bit of colour for the first time in a long time! Sara also wanted her toes painted the same as Mommy's, so we have matching toenails!

So, my question for today is:

What colour are your toenails painted? Do you like to be wild and crazy with your colours or stick with the more conservative shades?

Right now, mine are a pearly mauve colour. The most wild I ever get is my bright, sparkly red nail polish!

HELP!!!

2009-05-07T23:14:00.002-06:00

And this was at 6 o'clock this evening! Joshua and I went to a marriage session thing at church, called "Leading From Your Strengths." It was good, but....the laundry room still looks like this! Tomorrow will be busy!

Easter Pictures!

2009-05-06T19:45:00.000-06:00

Easter Sunday was a beautiful, sunny day! The kids humoured me for some pictures before we headed to church in the morning. I wanted Sky to tuck his shirt in, but both males in the house out-voted me...

After Sky kept squinting and complaining about the sun in his eyes, I switched Sara to the other side of him, so she would block the sun! She was more agreeable than he was!Sara posed for a few more pictures after church. She got the lamb from her Auntie Shannon.
For lunch after church, we enjoyed sandwiches and fresh veggies on our back deck! First time to eat outside this year! Also the first time we got to wear shorts and capris! After lunch we played in the backyard and just soaked up the sun for awhile. We were invited to a friends' house for the afternoon and dinner. Chris and Christy have 4 sweet, energetic children. It was so much fun hanging out with them! The kids enjoyed an Easter egg hunt for mini chocolate eggs and jelly beans. Here is Sara showing me her eggs! Notice the sunshine and sleeveless dress!!
Sky teamed up with his friend, Johnny, who is also 5. They put their chocolate eggs and jelly beans into this bottle and then shared it all later! It was so cute!
We had a wonderful visit! Christy outdid herself with the meal. Homemade Chicken Cordon Bleu with lots of other yummy things. Then, when you thought it couldn't get any better, dessert was a homemade strawberry shortcake! Christy and I worked together to make everything all afternoon and we had a lot of fun together in the kitchen! All went smoothly unless we ended up with more than 1 or 2 of the 6 children in the kitchen at the same time! :-) We went home tired, but happy and thankful for good friends! Maybe Edmonton/St. Albert is beginning to feel more like home after all...

This Is A Test...I'm Still Here...Are You?

2009-05-05T12:01:00.003-06:00

Just wanted to let you know I'm back to the blogging world! It's been too long... I'm going to do my best attempt at bringing you up to date, but I don't want to overwhelm you with one, long post. So, this post is to let you know that you should check in every day this week and I will have a bite-sized post for you to enjoy! First one starts later this afternoon or evening. Leave a comment to let me know you're with me!

It's Melting!!!

2009-04-07T15:32:00.000-06:00

We can see grass in our yard!! On Sunday, I excitedly pointed out to the rest of the family that I could see a small section of grass on the edge of the lawn. It's already melted away this much in 2 1/2 days!!

Some other signs of Spring:

The sun is shining lots and actually feels warm!
Joshua took the kids bikes down from the hooks in the garage ceiling on Friday!
There are puddles of dirty water everywhere. (But getting smaller all the time!)
I am washing extra loads of wet, muddy clothes. (Hmmm, wonder how that happened...)
We're going for walks again!
I went out without a jacket this afternoon!
The birdies are singing more!
Swimming lessons are starting tomorrow.

Now I'm waiting for the grass to green up and the trees to start budding! It won't be long!

Aloha Friday #13

2009-04-03T08:57:00.000-06:00

It's Aloha Friday! I've missed a few lately, but I'm back for more! As a reminder, Aloha Friday is a blogging tradition that originally started with Kailani over on An Island Life. I ask you a simple question, and you answer! It's a great way to interact with family and friends and to meet new bloggy friends along the way! To participate, just head over to Kailani's blog and follow the instructions.

My question for today is:

During Spring/Summer do you prefer longer hair where you can put it up or pull it back on hot days, or a short haircut that's easy, breezy everyday?

I desperately need a haircut - SOON! It's been 5 months since the last one! Obviously, it's grown a lot in that time frame. I can't decide if I want to chop it off short,or..... just get a trim, so I can do the whole ponytail/up-do thing when I want to. I'm going to call and make my appointment right now!

Look Mom...No Hands!!

2009-03-24T09:47:00.002-06:00

This is one thing you can do to amuse yourself when it's too cold to play outside! Click play and tell me if your heart doesn't skip a beat!

The First Weekend of Spring

2009-03-23T03:47:00.002-06:00

The first day of Spring, dawned bright and sunny! Still lots of snow everywhere and still cold, but at least it was sunny! We have a unique tradition that my mom started when I was a teenager and my sisters where very small. She struggled with the focus that everyone puts on Easter baskets and chocolate bunnies and Easter egg hunts when Easter is really supposed to be about Jesus and His resurrection. She loved all the Easter basket/chocolate sort of stuff, so she came up with the idea to indulge in all of that on the first day of Spring! With the exception of last year, I have adopted the same tradition with my children. I almost lost my resolve to celebrate Spring Day this year, with all the nasty cold and snow we've been having, but at 11:15 p.m. on Thursday, I decided to go ahead and put together the kids Spring baskets. (I had already bought all the candy and toys.) I loaded the baskets, filled the plastic eggs, and quickly decorated the house with my spring-y decorations!

I can't say that Spring Day was completely full of smiles and giggles and fun times. My lovely daughter actually woke up with a terrible attitude, which did not mix well with the fact that I slept horribly the night before and had a really sore neck. I felt sorry for Sky when he woke up! After a spanking a long talk with both kids, we finally were able to come downstairs and enjoy our Spring Day celebration. Here are the kids with their baskets. The smiles are a little forced!
There's one more chocolate bunny in there somewhere!Sky wasted no time in enjoying his chocolate!

Sara putting together the mini puzzle she got in her Kinder Surprise egg. (They do not allow these to be sold in the States, so look up the website to see what I'm talking about! They're wonderful!)I found these little "bunny blasters" at Wal-Mart. They look like baby nose syringe bulbs. You stick a foam "dart" on the nose part and squeeze the bulb part. I was surprised how well it worked! Those little darts can really fly!

After having fun eating candy and shooting darts, it was time to get busy packing. We headed out just after noon for our final ski trip to Jasper. Daddy wanted to take the kids to the mountains one last time before the end of the season. It's a 4 hour trip, so we were happy to eat supper and relax in our hotel room that evening! That night it snowed about 10 cm at the ski hill, so Joshua was super excited to ski on some fresh powder. Grandpa came along on the trip as well, so the kids enjoyed skiing with him too. We came home Saturday night, just in time to tuck the kids into bed right away. I must say, I'm glad to be done with skiing for the year.

How was YOUR first weekend of Spring?

It Feels Like Spring Today!

2009-03-13T23:59:00.001-06:00

In one week, the calendar says that we will be having the first official day of Spring. We just survived the coldest week of the season yet. On Tuesday morning, the official recorded temperature in Edmonton, was -42.7 degrees Celsius! My thermometer doesn't even go that low! Yikes! Today was a different story. It is well above freezing and the snow is melting like crazy! I stood outside this afternoon and could hear the sound of running water all around me! It was a beautiful sound! There is a lot of snow on the ground right now. Over a foot, and even deeper where the drifts are. It will be awhile before it all melts away, but hopefully today is the beginning of a very good thing called Spring! So, even though it doesn't really look like Spring yet, I'm going to pretend! Hence the new blog look! What do you think?! I love it!

Every Tuesday, Sky has his music/piano class from 1-2 p.m. Since you can't have other siblings present during the lesson, I have to find someone to watch Sara during that time. Grandma (Joshua's mom) is usually the one who comes to fill that need for me. When she comes, she brings lunch, we eat together, and then Sky and I leave for his class. It's become a fun little tradition every week! (If Grandma can't come for some reason, I take Sara to Patricia's house and she has tons of fun there! Patricia is a homeschooled teenager and we've become good friends with the whole family.) This Tuesday Grandma came to be with Sara. After lunch was devoured, the kids got a hold of the camera and started taking pictures of everyone! Joshua was home for lunch too, so he got in on the action! Here are some of the shots they got.

Ha! Bet you didn't expect that last picture! (And Joshua didn't expect me to post this last picture, either!) Oh, what Daddy's will do to make their children laugh!

I will be back with more consistency after this weekend. Sara and Sky have 2 final ski races - one tomorrow morning and one on Sunday morning. And then, ski racing is finally and officially over for the season! You can't even imagine my relief!

We Have 3 Winners!

2009-03-03T09:56:00.004-07:00

I apologize for being so late with the Pay It Forward Giveaway results. The weekend came and went before I suddenly realized I didn't do the draw on February 28th as I promised! I should write these things on my calendar... Anyway, no one entered the giveaway after the 28th anyway, so everything is still fair! Sky and Sara just drew 3 names for me, and the winners are:

Jen at Wade's World (Laugh with her, not at her!)

Miriam (Who happens to be on a cruise to Hawaii right now! I'm not jealous AT ALL!)

Kerry (With a newborn baby boy - blessing #5! She can use a little extra help in the kitchen right now!)

Congratulations! Since you are all friends on Facebook, please message me your addresses and I will get these scrubbie pads out to you right away! Hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

The Races

2009-02-23T04:46:00.001-07:00

I will not bore you with details, because to anyone other than moms and dads, these ski races can all seem the same! Sara and Sky had races on both Saturday morning and Sunday morning this weekend. Saturday was our Nation's Cup #3, an "in-house" race with just the racers in our ski club. The kids are split into teams, and each team races for a different country. Sara races for Italy and Sky races for Canada. The first video here is Sara, taking her first run of the day. She missed a few gates, but she was a lot more confident than the last race a few weeks ago. You can see the happy smile at the end!

This is Sky, with his second run of the day. A couple of missed gates at the end, but I liked this video because of the thumbs up at the end! Such a little showman! He would want me to tell you that on his first run of the day, he didn't miss any gates for the first time in a race!

Sunday morning, we had to be at the ski hill at 7:45 a.m.! This race was way bigger than just our little ski club. Our ski club hosted the race, but racers from all over the province could register to race. There were 300 hundred racers, which meant 600 runs because everyone does 2 runs! There were so many people in the lodge in the morning picking up their racing bibs, you could hardly even move in there!

We also had the drama of forgetting Sara's mitts. Joshua had the idea to go through the "lost and found" bin and we found a pair of mitts that Sara could wear! They were a little small, but kept her hands warm. Then, when the ski shop opened at 9 a.m., we bought her a new pair that fit properly, so she could race without that distraction.

Also, I forgot the camera... No biggie, I was thinking. I got plenty of good videos the day before, so I would just enjoy watching the kids without the camera always in front of my face. Well, our little man actually won an award and I didn't have a camera to record the moment! Sky finished 7th place in the 5 year old male division! He skied perfect runs both times, with a time of 41 sec. the first time and 40 sec. the second time. Anyone in 4th - 10th place got a special ribbon. The 1st - 3rd places get to stand on a real podium and receive medals! Sky's coaches were very proud, as most of the boys who placed in the top 10, were already in their 2nd year of ski racing.

Sara was even faster and more confident for the Sunday race than she was on Saturday! She missed gates both times down, but she was so much faster. For the first run, she ran over the last gate, caught her ski and it popped right off - about 2 feet from the finish line!! She sat there trying to figure out what to do and I was screaming, "Sara, get up, get up, get across the line!" The next racer actually came up and passed her, crossing the finish line before she did! If she hadn't missed any gates, she would have had the right to a re-run, but she was already disqualified. (We don't tell her that, by the way.) So, that added to her time, but other than that, it was probably her best, fastest run ever, only missing 2 gates! We were very proud of both kids!

Aloha Friday #12

2009-02-20T08:11:00.002-07:00

Pay It Forward Giveaway

2009-02-19T17:44:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, I was the proud winner of a "Pay It Forward Giveaway" hosted by my friend, Sarah M.! I received a wonderful CD, Steven Curtis Chapman's "All About Love." Thank you again, Sarah! Now, it's my turn to give!

Here's how it works:

1. Leave a comment to be entered into the giveaway. On February 28th, I will draw three names, and they will be the winners! I will let you know that you won and mail you the prize.

2. The three people who win, will host their own "Pay It Forward Giveaway" and continue sharing the love! Now, naturally, this prize need not be extravagant, just a simple treat in the mail! You can choose any prize you'd like to give.

The giveaway I chose is a kitchen scrub pad! Now, before you either start laughing, or scream and run the other way, let me assure you that this is no ordinary scrub pad! This has been a "must-have" in my kitchen for several years now. They're kind of hard to describe, but I'll do my best. The pad feels very scratchy and abrasive, but are absolutely safe to use on any surface, including non-stick finishes and flat top stovetops. Don't let that fool you, though. These little pads can scrub off the worst stuck-on messes - that's why I love them so much! They're made from plastic, that's "woven" into little loops, that look just like terry cloth. This makes it really easy to rinse them out. They do not hold gunk and I've never had one get stinky, even after months of use! I usually use mine for about 3 months each. So, I hope that convinces you that it's worth entering the giveaway! I think you'll fall in love once you get one! So, comment and let me know what you think!

The Sign On My Back Reads "Please Run Me Over!"

2009-02-18T17:06:00.001-07:00

Monday was Family Day in Alberta (and Ontario). It's actually an official holiday, so Joshua had the day off! Since moving to our new home, we aren't as close to the mountains as we used to be while living in the Calgary area. It used to take us only an hour and a half to get to the closest ski hills. Now, the nearest one is in Jasper, 4 entire hours away! It makes the one day ski trip, either very, very long (especially for children), or it necessitates an overnight stay. Then, you're talking about major expense because lodging in Jasper doesn't come cheap. Joshua went skiing in Jasper once with his dad for one of those VERY long days (up at 4 a.m. and home around 7 p.m.) just after Christmas. Then, Joshua and I were able to go with Bryan and Karen two weeks ago. We were feeling badly that kids hadn't had a chance to ski in the mountains this year, so we decided to splurge and take them for Family Day. Joshua's dad also joined us in Jasper, so that took some of the pressure off me. For those of you who don't know, skiing is not really my most favourite thing to do. I tolerate skiing but, I do not LOVE skiing - much to the chagrin of my dear husband.

Here's picture of me, Dad, Sky and Sara (left to right) on our first run down the mountain on Monday morning. It was an absolutely beautiful day!Sky joined me after a few runs for a break and a snack. He wanted iced tea and brownies!Sara was not about to go inside, so she and Daddy headed up for another run!Now I must tell you what happened to me after lunch. My family convinced me that I should go with them to the very top of the mountain (instead of just the chair that takes you to about halfway). It involves taking two chair lifts to get there. After you get off the first one, you have to ski down a short "Blue" run (that's intermediate for you non-skiers), to get to the next chair lift. There hasn't been any new snow lately in Jasper, so there were some pretty icy spots on the runs. I was slowly, but surely making my way down, just trying to get that part over with. My little racing children had already disappeared with Grandpa! As I made another turn, suddenly, another less-than-confident skier, came right across my path and we ran into each other. She managed to stay on her feet (I found out later), but I lost control, fell backwards, and began sliding down the hill FAST! At first, my legs started to go in the wrong direction, but I somehow managed to get them back together. Now, my skis are pointed straight downhill, and I was still attached to them!! I had a lot of thoughts going through my head in the next 10 seconds, but my foremost feeling was anger. I was so incredibly angry with that woman for making me fall! I screamed my head off as I hurtled down the hill, desperately trying to make my skis go sideways, so I could dig in and stop! I didn't care what kind of a scene I was making - I just wanted that girl to feel REALLY bad for taking me out! I finally stopped, still in one piece, with a very painful spot in my middle back. Not to mention my extremely wounded pride! Joshua, who was right behind me, has dubbed me with "the most spectacular fall that anyone has ever made while I was skiing with them!" Oh yay! As Joshua helped me up and returned my poles, I demanded to know where the girl was who ran into me. I was informed she stopped momentarily, looked at me still falling, and proceeded on her way. Can you believe it??!! I was TICKED! If I took somebody out like that, I would not just ski away without apologizing and offering to help! It's probably just as well, though, because I was mad enough to beat her up! Karen, I told you I had a sign on my back! (A snowboarder ran into me last week, while I was trying to help Karen ski. Fortunately I was standing still, and didn't fall over. And I was glad it was me and not Karen!) Anyway, I finally made it onto the second chair lift and all the way up the mountain. I had a little venting/cry session on the way, which made me feel much better!

Here I am, with Sara and Sky ready to head ALL the way down the mountain! It was truly an incredible view! And I lived to see it! I also made it down without further tragedy! Sky went on a Blue run with Grandpa, and I went down the Green (easy) with Joshua and Sara. Sara was looking out for me the whole way and made nice, slow turns so I could follow her down. She's a sweetie!
Halfway down, I stopped for a break at the mid-mountain lodge. I enjoyed some time by the outdoor fire pit, drinking my Gatorade! This was my view as I waited for the rest of the family to ski some more runs. When they came back, the kids were glowing because they skied their first Black (expert) run! I was proud of them, but you'll never catch me on one of those!
We finally skied out to the parking lot and got comfortable for the long ride home. We stopped for supper and a car wash (yes, Karen, the same one!) and arrived home around 9:15 p.m. Then it was goodnight to another great Family Day!

Valentine's Day Tea Party!

2009-02-17T18:01:00.001-07:00

On Friday afternoon we had friends over to celebrate our annual Valentine's Day Tea Party with us. I never do things exactly the same way every year, otherwise I'd get bored! This year I kept things very simple, since the rest of my month has been pretty close to insanity! We had a very lovely time with Dawn, Patricia and Jonathan, some new homeschool friends. Patricia is our official new babysitter and the kids just love her! I was very happy they could come with only a 2 day advance notice!

On the menu for this year: cupcakes with pink and white frosting and Valentine sprinkles, those new Oreo Sippers (unwrapped and placed in a glass - it actually looked fancy!), oatcakes with raspberry jam and vanilla rooibos tea. It was all gobbled up quickly, but as politely as possible! The decorations were compliments of Sara's "stuffie" collection. Sky's contribution was to write everyone's names on little heart-shaped place cards. Oh, and they helped make the cupcakes too. They were both very proud!

Used Salespeople??

2009-02-13T21:33:00.004-07:00

On our way home from Jasper with Bryan and Karen, we found this ad in the newspaper. If they want used salespeople, then what are un-used salespeople?! We had a good laugh over this one!

Aloha Friday #11

2009-02-13T09:10:00.001-07:00

It's Aloha Friday! I missed joining in last week because I was away on vacation (see post below for lots of pics!). As you know by now, Aloha Friday is a blogging tradition that originally started with Kailani over on An Island Life. I ask you a simple question, and you answer! It's a great way to interact with family and friends and to meet new bloggy friends along the way! To participate, just head over to Kailani's blog and follow the instructions.

My question this week:

Do you have any special plans for Valentine's Day this year? Any yearly traditions?

Valentine's Day is probably my most favourite holiday of the year! I love the red, pink and white combination, I love making fancy homemade Valentine's, I love making and baking special treats, and I love giving everything away to my friends and family! Yesterday I baked and decorated Valentine cupcakes with the kids, which you can see below. We had fun!

Today I will celebrate my annual tradition, a Valentine's Tea Party! My new homeschool friend, "D" and her two kids will be joining us this afternoon for tea, cupcakes and other goodies! This tradition started when my little sister, Heather was around 2 or 3 years old. I would have been about 19 and I wanted to do something special and "girlie" with her for Valentine's Day. It was a major hit, so the tradition has continued whenever possible! I wish I could be with my sisters today to have my tea party with them. But, I'll see you girls in April and we'll do something then! :-) Tomorrow I have bunches of little treats for Sara and Sky. Then, Joshua and I have a date at one of our favourite restaurants in the late afternoon. I can hardly wait! I hope all of you have a special weekend with the one's you love most!

Vacation Pictures!

2009-02-12T16:14:00.001-07:00

We had a wonderful week with our friends Bryan and Karen! I don't think we could have fit in much more fun and activities than we did! They arrived Monday, February 2nd. We celebrated their arrival with a meal at a Japanese restaurant and more food than we could possibly eat! That evening and Tuesday were rest and relaxation days which gave Bryan and Karen a chance to get used to the 2 hour time difference.

On Wednesday, we took them to West Edmonton Mall, which is about 20 min. from our house. (This is the largest mall in the world.) The kids were at a friends' house so they wouldn't get worn out walking the mall. After exploring, shopping and lunch, we left to pick up the kids. We decided it would be fun to go back to the mall and play at the indoor World Waterpark. Our family had never been there (Joshua used to go as a kid), so Sara and Sky were super excited! It was tons of fun! Joshua and Bryan tried all the scary slides, Karen tried a couple of scary slides and I didn't try anything scary! :-) I spent most of my time with the kids in the wave pool or on the kiddie slides and that was just fine with me! We didn't remember cameras, but that's O.K. because we didn't want you to see us in our bathing suits anyway! :-)

Thursday we were up bright and early for the next stage of vacation. Grandpa (Joshua's Dad) came at 9 a.m. to collect the children. He took them out for a pancake breakfast, which they were pretty excited about! The 4 adults then packed up the car and we headed to Jasper, Alberta (about 4 hours away) for the next 4 days. Here are a bunch of pictures from all our adventures there!

The cozy Gingerbread Cabin where we stayed. Joshua and I have stayed here a couple of times for our anniversary, so it was fun to share the experience with friends!

Bryan and Karen at Maligne (Muh-leen) Canyon near Jasper. There is a river and waterfalls that run very deep through the canyon. In the winter everything is frozen, so it was very spectacular.

Joshua and I enjoying the view at one of the lookouts. Of course, the pathways were completely covered in snow and ice, so we had a VERY slippery hike! It was quite funny! We were all wearing running shoes, so none of us had any traction!

The guys slid down the pathway as fast as they could go. Here they are looking smug and laughing at us girls! Karen and I were just a bit more cautious and we clung to the handrails for dear life!

Here is one of the frozen waterfalls we came across. It was awesome! The picture doesn't do it justice - you can't tell how deep the canyon is.

Me and Karen taking a self portrait.

Karen getting her "ski legs" back after not skiing for many years! She did a GREAT job!

Joshua and I during lunch break on our first ski day.

At the end of a very snowy, windy ski day, the sun finally peeked out and treated us to this beautiful sight!

Jasper's downtown area with the beautiful mountains in the background.

This vacation was so needed and I'm so happy we were able to share it with special friends! Inspite of long, busy days and major sore muscles, we were refreshed. Thanks for coming, you guys! We couldn't have asked for a better time!

Bits and Pieces

2009-01-30T17:14:00.001-07:00

This post was originally posted on Thursday night (Jan. 29), but it got buried under my Aloha Friday post and I didn't want my regular readers to miss it! So, I'm re-posting this again today!

I haven't posted much about daily life around here, so here are a few random snippets of what's been going on lately...

1. Remember my new rule about not turning the T.V. on in the mornings? I really thought it would be an issue, but I heard next to no whining or complaining about it! I've had a couple of requests, but when I say "no" and remind them that we're not doing that anymore, they are quick to go find other amusement - happily! It's almost like they are relieved that they don't have to watch the same old dumb shows on T.V. every morning! Now I have to tear them away from building with Legos or their imaginary play, when it's time for school to begin. I like that so much better!

2. On Saturday morning, Sara and Sky had their second Nation's Cup ski race. It was a brutally cold week, so as the weekend approached and things didn't warm up at all, we kind of assumed that the race would be cancelled. It wasn't. I checked my e-mail every 5 minutes between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. on Saturday, and there was nothing. Joshua had volunteered to help with the race, so he felt like we should be there. It was -36 when we left our house and -34 at the hill when we arrived at 8:45 a.m. I couldn't believe they were going through with it! I mean, really, what was the dude in charge trying to prove?? As I bundled up the kids for warm-up and course inspection, I was so stressed out I was fighting back angry tears. The two runs were an hour apart, so we kept the kids inside until it was absolutely necessary to go out. We had toe warmers in their boots and hand warmers in their mitts. I am definitely thankful for those little inventions! Sara and Sky both did well. There were a lot of missed gates this time, but we could tell they were doing their best - especially under the circumstances. I still don't think I've completely recovered, but we did survive....

3. Joshua lost his wedding ring (again - this is ring number 3) on Monday morning. He keeps it in a basket by the phone. The problem is, the basket is full of coins, old receipts, spare keys, a few screws, paperclips, etc. Joshua's ring is made out of tungsten carbide (same thing they make chainsaw blades with), so it's able to withstand the abuse, but it also blends in because it's a silver gray colour. As Joshua was getting ready to go to work that morning, we both looked through that basket very thoroughly and came up with nothing. He looked several other places and finally had to leave for work. Later, I emptied the basket onto the floor, went through all the change and couldn't find it. I checked the pockets of everything he wore over the weekend. No ring. Joshua came home at lunchtime. He looked under the couch, we checked in both of our vehicles. Nothing. I even checked inside his gloves to see if it had slipped off in there! We looked through that basket a couple more times, hoping it would magically appear. It didn't. That evening, Joshua took Sara for her music/piano lesson at 5:45 p.m. I looked a few more places after he left and then gave up. I decided it would just have to turn up on it's own. After Sara's lesson, Joshua decided to take Sara out on a date. Sara picked Swiss Chalet to eat. When they were done, they went to the mall. Joshua called when they were on their way home. He said he found a ring on sale and went ahead a bought it. It was a final sale, but that was O.K. - other ring was just nowhere to be found. When they got home, Joshua was missing his old ring, so decided to go through "the basket" one more time. He dumped the entire contents on the kitchen counter and there was THE RING!!! What??!! How did we miss that?? The next day Joshua took the ring back to the store and was able to exchange it for something else.

He said it was an early Valentine's Day present! Isn't he sweet?! (It's times like these I decide it's O.K. to keep him! Just kidding - I'm not that shallow!)

4. Today it's raining! What's up with that? Rain? In January?! The roads are a mess with all the melting snow and rain! There is so much water! It's going to be pretty scary out there when it freezes tonight.

5. School has been going well. We are in week 3 of our new schedule and disciplines. The first two weeks were a fight. It was difficult and exhausting for all of us. But, I didn't give up and we got so much done! This week has seemed a lot easier, so I'm hoping we're getting into a rhythm and learning some good habits.

6. In just 4 days, my wonderful friend, Karen and her husband Bryan, are coming to visit for a whole week! For 3 of those nights we will be at the Gingerbread Cabin in Jasper, AB. Sara and Sky are very excited about having an extended sleepover with Grandma and Grandpa! Mommy and Daddy are just as excited about having an extended sleepover away from the kids and the normal routine! I think I can say the same about Bryan and Karen! The weather forecast is beautiful, so it should be a great week!

7. I played Candy Land with the kids before bed tonight. It's always a competition to see who can get the most "candy" cards! They haven't quite grasped the concept that sometimes those cards can knock you backwards on the board and should not always be the most desired!

That's all I can think of for now! Hope you enjoyed the update!

Aloha Friday #10

2009-01-30T00:00:00.002-07:00

It's time for Aloha Friday! The day I ask a simple question and you answer! Thanks to Kailani over on An Island Life for the original idea. If you'd like to participate, head on over to her blog, and follow the instructions! It's a great way to make new bloggy friends!

My question for this week:

What is your preferred method for cleaning up those crumbs on the kitchen floor? Broom and dust pan or hand vac?

I could not live without my Dustbuster! It's great because even the kids can use it. Although, now that they are 5 and almost 8, they aren't quite as excited about vacuuming for mom as when they were 2 and 3 years old! Not understanding that other people do not share the same feelings about hand vacs, I bought a Dustbuster for my mother-in-law a few years ago. I was sure I was doing her a favour and had rescued her forever from her broom and dust pan. The Dustbuster now proudly hangs in her (detached) garage!! The broom and dust pan are still just a few steps away in the coat closet! Oh well!

P.S. After receiving a few comments, let me just clarify... My Dustbuster is cordless and it sits in it's charger right next to my dining room table. I do not drag out a vac with a cord everytime I need to clean a mess!

January Winner!

2009-01-26T14:52:00.003-07:00

Congratulations to my sweet friend, Emily!! She has won my giveaway for this month! (My helper for the draw today was Sara!) After just reading Emily's latest post, it sounds like she's the most deserving. Let's just say "strep throat" and you will understand... I hope you feel better soon, Emily! Enjoy!

Aloha Friday #9

2009-01-23T07:25:00.004-07:00

It's Aloha Friday already! It came fast this week! So, you know the drill by now. I will ask a simple question and you give me your answer. It's kind of my day to take a break from blogging. Thanks to Kailani over on An Island Life for the original idea. If you'd like to link up and participate, head on over to her blog, and follow the instructions!

My question for the week:

Are you an early morning riser or a late night owl?

I have always been a night owl! I get that second wind around 10 p.m. and feel like I could stay up all night. I hardly ever go to bed before 11 p.m., but many nights I'm up even till midnight. I've actually been told that it's a problem with my adrenal glands, so I'm on some herbs from my herbalist to help get me to bed earlier and wake up happier. (Mornings are generally not my best time of the day!) Fortunately, I don't have to deal with children who get up super early. I trained my children from the beginning, to not get up early, so they're usually not up till 8 or 8:30 a.m.

Names In The Sand

2009-01-20T16:10:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share something very special with all of you. First a story, and then a gift that I received this weekend.

In addition to our two beautiful children, Sara and Sky, some of you may not know that we have two babies in heaven with Jesus. After Joshua and I had been married for only 2 months, we were overjoyed to find out that I was pregnant with our first child! Our joy turned to great sadness and heartache, when our little one was miscarried during my 10th week of pregnancy. (March 2000) We were never able to see or hold this tiny baby, but we named "him," Jeremiah. Just a few months later, I was pregnant with Sara and obviously, she was born safely and happily in our arms 9 months later! When Sara was almost a year, I became pregnant again. At the time, we were packing to move to Canada, and Sara was learning to walk! I hardly had time to think about this next baby inside of me. We moved and were just trying to get settled when I began spotting and cramping. I was in my 11th week. Our second little angel went to be with Jesus a few days later, right around Easter of 2002. Because of the life upheaval we were already experiencing at the time, I found that I never had the time to grieve this child. We named "him" Michael and went on with life. It wasn't until many months later, that God walked me through a true grieving process for this second child we had lost. It has now been 9 and 7 years since God took our babies to be with Him. I am now able to share and talk about my miscarriages without a flood of tears. The Lord has allowed me to minister to many friends through the years when they've gone through similar heartache and pain. I am grateful for that. Someday, I will meet my babies in heaven, along with three siblings who were also born too soon. For now, I rejoice in the gift of the daughter and son that I have the privilege of holding in my arms!

A few months ago, I found a blog that has really touched my heart. It's called "To Write Their Names In The Sand... A Moment Captured, A Life Honoured" This beautiful woman, Carly, lives halfway around the world in Australia. She is so full of love and compassion, and her blog is an amazing ministry to those who have lost babies and children. Below, is the gift she gave to me.

It was incredibly emotional for me to see my babies names written in the sand in such a beautiful way. I really can't even find the words... I will treasure these pictures forever.

I want you to see the post on Carly's blog, so please click here to go there. It is a beautiful, peaceful place. It brings tears to my eyes every time, but they are tears of healing. If you have ever lost a child, Carly will also write your child's/children's names in the sand. If you scroll all the way to the bottom of the blog, you will find her e-mail address and instructions. Thank you, Carly, for what you did for me and what you have done for so many families. You are a wonderful, beautiful person!

Aloha Friday #8

2009-01-16T10:46:00.004-07:00

It's time for Aloha Friday! Simply put - I ask a question and you answer it! Thanks to An Island Life for the original idea. If you want to participate, head on over to Kailani's blog and follow the instructions. It's a great way to meet new bloggy friends and to get your friends more involved in your blog!

This week's question:

Are you particular about what brands of toiletries you buy for yourself and your family? Do you always buy the same things, or do you like to try new things, or do you just get whatever's on sale?

I find myself doing a mixture of of all of those things! I'm definitely particular about my conditioner, but not so much about my shampoo. I just want it to smell nice! I'm always trying new toothbrushes (but usually the ones on sale), but the toothpaste we keep the same. I'm also fickle with my razors - I'm loyal for a season, but my skin seems to freak out after awhile, and I need to go on the hunt for the new perfect one! My new favourite is a men's razor - the Schick Quattro Titanium.

I hope all of you have a fantastic weekend!

January Giveaway

2009-01-15T14:38:00.000-07:00

This month's giveaway comes from one of my favourite stores in the little town of Canmore, Alberta. Nestled in the Rocky Mountains, Canmore is a wonderful place to escape any time of the year. Until we moved 4 months ago, Canmore was just an hour's drive for us. I miss that. The store "O' Canada Soapworks" specializes in handmade soaps and other bath products. If you win the draw this month, you will receive one package of 'Cold and Flu' Mineral Bath Salt Soak and a bar of their 'Cocoa Butter Cream' soap. With the flu being so prevalent during the winter months, I thought someone could definitely find use for the Cold and Flu bath salts. (Not that I'm wishing a cold or the flu on anyone!) The soap is so wonderful! It's the only thing I'm able to use on my kids to keep them from itching their skin off when they get out of the bath or shower. If you get addicted to it, you can always order on-line!

To be entered into the draw, here's what I need from you. Leave a comment and tell me about the nicest thing anyone ever did for you while you were sick with a cold or flu! It's that easy! So, count your blessings and let me hear from you! I will make the draw on January 25th.

Mom's Have Feelings Too

2009-01-14T23:30:00.001-07:00

This morning was one of those times I realized how very vulnerable I am as a mom. I've never been good at pretending to feel one way, when I actually feel another way. I suppose that's a good thing to some extent, but there are times when it just isn't wise to let it all hang out... I'm not one of those moms who always says the right thing or who can always portray the appropriate attitude. I was the one literally screaming when Sara put a small pebble up her nose last year! There was no, "Okay honey, it's going to be O.K. We'll take care of everything, sweetheart, don't you worry." No, it was complete panic and wailing and mayhem in our house!! I was scared and yelling, Joshua was mad and yelling, Sky was hiding and poor Sara was completely traumatized! You get the idea! (BTW, the pebble came out on it's own while she was waiting for the doctor to come in!) O.K., so that was a MAJOR rabbit trail! The story I set out to tell, started last night...

Joshua took the kids to ski racing lessons last night after a hurried supper. I usually, spend that evening doing something for me, like reading a book or blogging or Facebook, etc. But, because of a book I've been reading lately, I decided to forget about me and do something that would benefit the whole family. (Another rabbit trail that I'll save for later.) Things have been quite unorganized and disjointed with school and household chores. To put it bluntly, I've been lazy. Haven't cared about much of anything besides my own feelings of pity and depression. I finally got fed up with myself last night. I cleaned off and organized the school room table (should've taken before and after pics - it was dramatic!), put together a unit project folder for Sara (printing things off, cutting out things), threw tons of paper items in the recycling bin, cleaned up the kitchen, and made up a new morning/school routine. When everyone got home, I gave both kids a shower, got them to bed, cleaned up a few more things, and folded two loads of laundry before crashing into bed at midnight. I was tired, but I was ready for a new day! And I was pretty excited too!

In the morning, as soon as Sara got up, I cuddled with her and explained that things were going to be different. I told her that the T.V. was not going to get turned on, that Mommy was not going to spend half the morning on the computer, and that school was going to start much earlier. I also told both kids that I now expect them to get dressed, and make their beds, and put away jammies before they even come out of their rooms. (I will be doing the same thing - jammies have been my new favourite outfit lately!) She took it well, and happily went up to get dressed and fulfill the other chores. We had breakfast and I was ready to start school at 9 a.m.! But, Sky slept in, so he got up right about then and I had to start over with the schedule explanation and breakfast. O.K., so now it's 9:30 a.m. and we were ready to go. I pulled out Sara's new project folder and we got started. To make a long story a little shorter, after a few little power struggles, things started to go downhill fast. Sky was bored and whiney and wanted to do a magnet experiment. (Granted, I DID promise that we could, but that was one thing I didn't get to last night...) Sara didn't like what we were doing and kept telling me "no" about everything. I was having trouble explaining what a coal mine was, and we ended up in a complete meltdown. I called Daddy, mad as anything and asked him to talk to Sara. Then, I got on the phone and started listing my woes. I was absolutely bawling by the time I was done. Poor Joshua! I said we'd just wasted an entire hour with fighting and whining. He said, it's just an hour, so try again. I didn't see it that way. Why was I so upset? Well, I got my feelings hurt! I had gone to all that effort to make a fresh start and have a great day, and all my kids could do was throw it back in my face. After I got off the phone, I had tears streaming down my face. The kids were looking at me with big eyes. I said, "Do you know that Moms get disappointed about things?" "No," they replied. "And did you know that you can hurt Mommy's feelings?" Again, "No." So, I explained to them how I wanted everything to be all nice and fun. I told them that it really hurt my feelings when all they could do was whine and complain all morning. They just looked at me, but I think they got the point. There wasn't much complaining after that and I think we even managed to have some fun by the end of it all. I even succeeded in explaining a coal mine. I typed "coal mine" into Google search images and got some great pictures! What did Moms do before the days of Google?

So, it was an emotional morning, but I'd have to say it was a good day overall. My biggest challenge in life is being consistent. I know that if I can stick with this new schedule, the kids will get used to it. Actually, it's more me that needs to get used to it! I really like reading blogs and checking Facebook while the kids eat breakfast in front of the T.V. every morning. But, that half hour that I say I need, can turn into 2 hours very quickly. Then we don't have time for every subject we need to cover in school, and the consistency thing comes to haunt me again. Sara desperately needs consistency in order to retain anything. I haven't been the greatest at that for her, but I want that to change. I never want my laziness to be the reason she can't learn to her fullest potential.

One of my favourite quotes is from Anne of Green Gables, "Tomorrow is fresh - with no mistakes in it." I'll take it one day at a time....

Snow Ice Cream

2009-01-13T12:23:00.002-07:00

Saturday afternoon we did something I've never done before. We made ice cream with freshly fallen snow! There's over a foot on the ground now, so there's plenty to go around! I received a homeschool newsletter about a week ago and they had 4 different recipes for snow ice cream. This is the one I tried:

1 gallon of snow (I used a 5 qt. bowl to have space to mix)
1 cup sugar
1 cup cream or milk
1 tsp. vanilla
~Mix thoroughly and eat immediately!

Here we are mixing it up on the front steps! I mixed it outside to keep it from melting too quickly. Sara couldn't resist putting her fingers in for a taste!
Sky got the first official taste! Mmmm!

Sara agreed it was very yummy!

Sky decided to add a few sprinkles to his bowl of snow cream. Sara added some chocolate syrup, but let's just say that that picture didn't look nearly as appetizing!

I left the bowl out on the front porch all day and we were able to enjoy several bowls of our delicious concoction! (And yes, it actually did taste good - Joshua and I both enjoyed it!) Yesterday, it snowed ALL day long, so it's about time to whip up another bowl, I think!

Race Day!

2009-01-11T23:36:00.002-07:00

Saturday morning the kids had their first real ski race! It was an "in-house" race and they call it the Nations Cup. Sky is on the Dream Team (the littlest racers), so they were all racing as Team Canada. Sara raced for Team Italy and apparently will race for Italy the rest of the year. (We had to do a quick study on the country of Italy for school last week!) Poor Sara was so nervous. I could tell because she kept saying she didn't want anyone to cheer for her, and her hands were cold while I was dressing her, she was cranky, and she just couldn't think straight at all. Afterwards, she finally admitted to being nervous. Sky was just plain pumped to be in a real race! They each had two runs. Here are a few pictures of the big event.

Sky (in the orange jacket), listening to his coach explain the race.

Sara (#48), doing warm-ups with her class. Notice the pink skis and pink helmet! She would have pink boots if they were available!Team Canada was the first team down the hill. Sky missed a couple of gates on the first run, but made them all on the second run! The little racers were so cute and sometimes just downright funny!All that racing makes a little boy very thirsty! Here comes Sara! She had some confusion with the gates at the top of the hill, but got it worked out. Then, she kind of stopped before the finish line and they had to wave her across the finish line so the clock would stop! By the second run she had it all figured out, with a time improvement of 20 seconds!

All the way! Yay, Sara!

Finally smiling after the first run! She was definitely relieved to have that over with!Sky, showing off his Kinder Surprise chocolate egg! All of Team Canada got a prize for racing. Team France was the winning team for the older kids, so only they got a prize. Sara was pretty disappointed. I was surprised that they didn't have second and third prizes.The weather was absolutely gorgeous on Saturday! We've had 6 or 7 weeks of extremely cold, even dangerously cold, temperatures. But, for one day (and one day only), it warmed up so that we could actually enjoy ourselves! It went up to +3 C (about 37 F) and we were so excited! It felt almost balmy outside. It was wonderful not to worry about little hands and feet getting too cold or the danger of frostbite on cheeks and noses. It was a great morning and we were very proud of our little racers! Next Nations Cup is in 2 weeks - they're gonna be flyin' down that hill!

Giveaway Results!

2009-01-05T14:47:00.000-07:00

So, a few weeks ago, I decided (very spontaneously!) to do a little giveaway. Because it was so very spontaneous, I didn't plan very well, and the busyness of Christmas and New Year kind of got in the way of bringing everything to a conclusion. If you didn't have a chance to enter, I apologize for not making a bigger deal about it all. I asked a question, which was buried in my post "Christmas Party."

The question was, "Do you know the country of origin of the poinsettia?" There were 4 ladies who answered the question and they were all correct! The poinsettia came from Mexico! This was one new thing I learned this Christmas! I had never heard that before.

O.K., so a few days ago, I put the names in a bowl, and Sky drew one out for me. The winner is....Markay! Congratulations! (Markay, if you could send me your address through a message on Facebook, that would be great!)

And, this is what Markay won! A mini stocking from BeautiControl (I am a consultant, but I don't do much with it right now). It contains 4 minis from last year's Christmas collection, Naughty and Nice. There is Bodylicious Bathing Creme, Snow Angel Body Sorbet (my personal favourite!), Glitzy Body Shimmer, and Mistletoe Kisses Linen Mist.

This year, one of my blogging goals it to have a contest/giveaway for each month. Maybe that's a little ambitious for a novice like me, so we'll see how it goes! Stay tuned for the January giveaway - I'll post the details later this week!

Happy New Year + Christmas Eve Pics

2009-01-03T20:21:00.001-07:00

It's already 3 days into the new year and I need to officially say, "Happy New Year!" I've been doing a lot of reminiscing and contemplating about life and "stuff." I don't necessarily make resolutions or goals, but there are always things that I'd like to do differently or make sure that they stay the same or get rid of altogether! I'm still thinking and writing things down. I'll share them in a few days. For now, here are some pictures from Christmas Eve. Joshua's Uncle Peter and Aunt Derry always host a party/dinner at their house. A few families weren't able to be there there this year, but we still had a fun and memorable time!

Sara and Sky had so much fun with Julia, their second cousin!

Me and Opa (100 years old!) He was entertaining himself and everyone else by balancing his cane by itself!
Sky and Grandpa (Joshua's dad)

Sara and Julia taking a break

Julia, and her mom, Meghan.

Aunt Derry put the guys to work helping with the food preparations. Joshua did a great job with the cheese platter.
Joshua's dad working on the meat platter.

One of the two festive tables

Here are the kids opening a few presents after dinner. The girls were so excited because they got the same things!

This concludes any Christmas pictures I have. I actually managed to forget the camera at Uncle Peter and Aunt Derry's house that night! I have had the worst time keeping track of that camera this Christmas season! I'm just a mess! We were able to get the camera back on Christmas afternoon, but I totally missed out on Christmas morning gift opening. Ah well, I now hold the memories in my heart! Probably everyone appreciated the fact that I didn't have the camera constantly in their face anyway!

This is the only picture I took Christmas day. 4 generations of men in the family! Opa is 100, Dad is 60, Joshua is 30 and Sky is 5!

May your 2009 be filled with many blessings!

Aloha Friday #7

2009-01-02T10:56:00.002-07:00

It's time for Aloha Friday! The day where I ask you a question and you answer! Thanks to An Island Life for the original idea. If you want to participate, head on over there and follow the directions. It's a great way to meet new bloggy friends!

My question this week:

What are you looking forward to most about 2009 (that you already have on the calendar!)? What was your favourite thing about 2008?

There are two things that I'm most looking forward to, so I'll say both!

#1. The first week in February, our wonderful friends, Bryan and Karen, are coming to visit! They're coming to celebrate their 30th birthdays with a ski trip, visit with us (of course, the BEST part!), and time away from 3 active, (but wonderful) boys!

#2. At the end of April, we will be flying to El Paso, TX to visit my family (Mom, Dad, and 4 younger sisters still at home)! My brother and his wife and two little boys will also be there! My kids are so excited. They've already been talking about it everyday for a month - I don't know how they will wait! Or if I can remain sane with them talking about it all the time! :-) I'll also get to see another friend, Jen, who happens to have a blog I follow! She may even have a newborn baby to cuddle, if I'm lucky!

And my favourite part about 2008, would have to be Joshua's 30th birthday party. I actually managed to truly surprise my husband, which is next to impossible!! Thanks to all of you who made that possible!

The Secret Code

2008-12-27T13:39:00.003-07:00

Now that I've unveiled the Christmas card, do you want to see the rest of the photo shoot? I'll have to give you our secret code... We were so happy with how all the pictures turned out! Melissa did an amazing job inspite of the fact that we were cold and slipping around on the ice and the kids were getting bored, etc.! She managed to make that all disappear in the photos. To see them, go to www.melissamckinnon.com and click "Enter Site." Then, at the top of the page, click "V.I.P Area." When it asks for a password, type in "CUBA." (Don't ask - it's a joke between her husband and my husband!) Get comfortable because there are 74 pictures! I hope you enjoy them!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T15:07:00.003-07:00

Bunches of Pictures!

2008-12-22T14:38:00.003-07:00

Since I haven't posted much lately, I wanted to, at least, share some pictures so you could see a little of what we've been doing.

Joshua and I on our 9th anniversary date. After a delicious dinner at The Creperie, we visited the downtown Legislature Grounds to admire the Christmas lights and ice sculptures they have there.

Sara and Sky playing outside for the last time before the deep freeze. The temperatures have been dangerously cold for 2 1/2 weeks now. (More on that later.)

My (sometimes) angel, making a snow angel!

And another snow angel...

Sky helping Mommy mix up some Pumpkin Bread, something we can't have Christmas without!

More help from Sara - she's actually got a pretty strong arm!

There's nothing better than the smell of Pumpkin Bread baking in the oven! We made little loaves for the neighbours and a big one for our Christmas dinner.With the temperatures being so extremely cold, we are not able to take leisurely walks to look at Christmas lights. Edmonton has just the thing for December evenings, such as these! Every year this park puts up huge light displays and it's drive-thru only. The kids were so excited because they got to take their seat belts off and stand up in the car! We let the kids hang out the window and take pictures too. So, we had quite a few blurry ones, but Sky took this one and it turned out great.
I took this one - it was my favourite.

Saturday evening we went to a performance of Handel's Messiah. Joshua's parents were also there (they treated!), along with his sister and former piano teacher. It was beautiful, but the kids were supremely bored. At the intermission, I asked Dad who's idea it was to bring the kids. :-) So, Grandpa took the kids for a walk and bought them ice cream during the intermission. Then, he held Sky on his lap for the second half. Let's just say that standing up for the Hallelujah Chorus was a blessed relief! Here's the only picture I got of the kids with happy faces that evening! Don't you just love Sky's little vest?!

Just a couple of days ago, we made these cute little wreaths. They were a major hit and only lasted a few hours! I'll be posting the recipe on Recipeasy later tonight.

The Christmas Party

2008-12-20T00:34:00.007-07:00

It's after midnight and I need to be in bed, but I wanted to give an update about the party. I survived! It was beautifully decorated, complete with ice sculptures on the buffet tables. (I forgot the camera again! Joshua took this picture of me after we got home!) The food was excellent. Each table seated 8 people, but our table only had 4. For various reasons, the other people were not able to come at the last minute. So, Joshua and I shared the table with 2 single girls. They were actually easy to talk to and we had fun with them. There was a quiz sheet at each table with Christmas-y questions to answer. We had to answer them all together and submit our sheet to the "judges." It was a lot of fun! Does anyone know the country of origin for the poinsettia? I took a wild guess, and everyone agreed to write it down. It turned out that I was right! I'll tell you what...If you leave a comment with the correct answer, I'll enter you into a draw for a prize. Seriously! I've been wanting to do a giveaway, and this is perfect! Tomorrow I'll let you know what the prize is.

Anyway, back to the party... No one that we talked to tonight was drunk and we left as soon as the dancing and loud music began. The presentations and speeches were a little long-winded and boring, but it could be worse! We didn't win any door prizes, but that's O.K.! Thank you so much to everyone who prayed tonight. My father-in-law, who has worked for the bank for 19 years, was the one who prayed before the meal. He said a little bit before he prayed about remembering true meaning of Christmas. It was nice to hear that.

Oh, and I have to apologize for unintentionally lying about the number of people at the party. Joshua told me 1,000 (he was totally guessing), so I just quoted him. Oops! The official number was actually 552!

Here's one more pic, a self-portrait we took after we got home! The kids did great at home with the babysitter, so all in all, it was a good evening. Have a wonderful weekend everyone! Tomorrow I'm going to post a bunch of pictures from the last week - and I'll post a picture of what I'm going to give away!

Tonight

2008-12-19T15:12:00.003-07:00

There are so many things I want to write about today, but I think most of it will have to wait for another day. Tonight is the bank's Christmas party where there will be about 1,000 people in attendance! I have many mixed feelings about these parties. This will be our third one since Joshua started working for the bank. It's always a beautifully festive atmosphere, with yummy food and lots of prizes being given out. It's just that the "celebration" is never about the real meaning of Christmas, and I always leave with such an empty feeling. After the meal, there is so much drunkenness and music so loud that you have to shout to the person standing right next to you. Joshua always wants to stay to make the rounds to greet some "important" people with the bank (another thing that bugs me, the fact that certain people are considered more important than others, just because of the money they make...). Every girl likes to dress up in a beautiful dress, and fix her hair and make-up just right for special occasions. But, this occasion is hard for me. Am I the only one who feels like this? Anyway, please pray for me tonight - that somehow Jesus' love will fill my heart with joy inspite of the worldliness around me.

Aloha Friday #6

2008-12-19T10:27:00.003-07:00

It's time for Aloha Friday again! I ask a simple question and you answer it! If you want to participate, head on over to An Island Life and follow the instructions! It's a great way to make new bloggy friends!

For my regular readers, I apologize for my lack of posting this week... I know, it's really pathetic that I have NOTHING between my last two Aloha Friday posts! I promise I will post something in the next day or two.

My question for this week:

In just two days (December 21st), it will be Winter Solstice (the shortest day of the year). Being so far north in Alberta, Canada, our days have been very short! I'm turning on the outside Christmas lights at 4:30 in the afternoon! So, my question is this: What are the sunrise/sunset times in your part of the world right now? Today, the sun rose at 8:47 a.m. and the sunset will be 4:15 p.m. I am very ready for the days to begin lengthening around here!

Aloha Friday #5

2008-12-12T08:31:00.004-07:00

Today's Aloha Friday took me by surprise! I can't believe it's that time of the week already! I'm going to ask a simple question and all you have to do is answer it! Thanks to An Island Life for the original idea. If you want to participate, head on over there and follow the instructions! It's a fun way to make new bloggy friends!

This week's question is multiple choice:

Which holiday beverage is your favourite?

a. Eggnog
b. Hot chocolate
c. Wassail (hot spiced apple cider)
d. Holiday lattes at Starbucks (if so, which one?)
e. Other

I think mine would have to be the Gingerbread Latte at Starbuck's! Grande, de-caf, half-sweet, no whipped cream! (It is now called the Gingersnap Latte - get it without the cookie sprinkles - even the guy at Starbuck's told me they were disgusting!)

9 Years Ago

2008-12-10T02:56:00.000-07:00

December 10th, 1999 was a beautiful day! We were married in Niles, Michigan in a little white chapel. I've been reminiscing all day about the wonderful friends and family who came to celebrate with us on our wedding day. I had to include this picture, because two of my bridesmaids are very much a part of my bloggy world. Jennifer, with the pretty smile on the far left, can be found at Life With The Burk Family. Karen, the cute blond on the far right, is the one who got me into this whole blogging thing! I keep up with her crazy life at Snakes, Snails and Puppydog Tails! Jan, my maid of honour in the middle, keeps up with me on Facebook.

This is one of our engagement pictures, taken just a few weeks before the wedding, on American Thanksgiving, 1999. This picture was taken, 9 years later, on Canadian Thanksgiving, 2008! We're still in love and I still melt when he smiles at me!
So much has happened in the past 9 years. Those stories can wait for another day. It has been a crazy journey, full of ups and downs. I'm not one of those people who would say that I'd do it all over again or even that these 9 years have been the best years of my life. There have been some wonderful moments that I will cherish forever. There have also been some moments that I regret and wish didn't happen. One thing I know - God has been in every moment of our marriage whether we acknowledged Him or not. And God will continue to be there, with His never ending grace. Today we celebrate! May there be many more years of celebration and love.

"Oh, the Weather Outside is Frightful..."

2008-12-09T20:08:00.001-07:00

"...but the fire (or maybe I should say, furnace) is so delightful!" It has been snowing every day now for a week! Finally! Today it was A LOT! I had to go out this afternoon to take Sky to his music class and then to the grocery store for a couple of things. It was snowing like crazy and the roads are definitely frightful right now! I'm so thankful we have a four wheel drive Toyota Highlander! It really makes a huge difference. After coming home, I poked my head out the door one more time to take a few pictures for you.

Here's what it looks like out the back door...... and what it looks like out my front door!

Brrrr! It's cold, but pretty! Joshua took the kids to ski racing lessons tonight, so I'm alone as I type this. Don't get too excited for me - I've been cleaning up and doing laundry - but at least it's quiet!

The weekend was fun, but too busy. The highlight for me was seeing the musical presentation of The Chronicles of Narnia on Saturday night. The church that did the production did an amazing job! It was truly enchanting for me. Sara and Sky absolutely loved it! Their eyes were glued to that stage from the minute the play started, till the closing scene. It was over two hours long, with only a ten minute intermission, but they couldn't get enough of it! We have been reading the book out loud in the evenings, so it was really neat to see it all come to life like that!

On Sunday evening, Sara and Sky performed in their Christmas piano recital. They both did a great job and we were very proud! Grandma and Grandpa and Auntie Shannon came to support the budding musicians as well. Afterwards, we all went out for supper together. There are no pictures because I forgot the camera! And I realized that, about 5 minutes after I realized I had forgotten to prepare a snack to take for after the recital!! (Everyone was supposed to bring a plate of something.) Yes, I have officially lost my mind with all the busyness! One of the other moms in Sky's class took some pictures for me, and she has promised to e-mail them to me. Hopefully I will get those soon and then I will post them!

Aloha Friday #4

2008-12-05T08:00:00.001-07:00

It's that time again! I ask a simple question and you answer! The original idea came from An Island Life. If you want to participate, click on the link and follow the instructions!

My question for this week:

Does anyone know what to do with ground turkey? (Not leftover turkey from Thanksgiving- I know what to do with that!) Someone recently gave me a pound of it and I've never used it in that form before! Any good recipe ideas?

If you don't know what to do with the ground turkey, here is your alternate question:

Are you doing anything "Christmas-y" this coming weekend? (ex. decorating, light festivals, visiting Santa, gift shopping, etc.)

We will be very busy, but only one really "Christmas-y" thing! Sunday evening is our kids' Christmas piano recital. Should be fun! I always get more nervous about those than they do! Whatever you happen to be doing, I hope you have a wonderful weekend with your families!

This Is The Day That The Lord Has Made...

2008-12-04T10:35:00.005-07:00

...I will rejoice and be glad in it! It's already Thursday! It hasn't been terribly busy this week, but I've been sick again. I had a sore throat last week for a few days, but it went away quickly. On Sunday, it came back with a vengeance. By Tuesday I had a fever and some other unmentionable symptoms. My throat was so swollen, that I was having panic attacks Monday night, feeling like my airway would close up! I was afraid to go to sleep for fear that I would stop breathing and never wake up! LOL! I'm not a bit dramatic, am I?! Ha! Just ask my mom! Although, I'm not nearly as bad as my sister, Heidi (age 13)! :-) Anyway...I went to see my herbalist and he fixed me up with some good stuff. He made me take some of the pills before I even left the store, and I was already feeling slightly better. A bit more expensive than going to the doctor, but WAY more helpful and without the 2 hour wait! (There are no doctors accepting new patients in our town right now, so I would have had to go to the walk-in clinic.) Today, I'm still feeling yucky, but the sore throat is subsiding.

Yesterday I had the first visit from Monica, our homeschool facilitator. It went O.K. I ended up crying a lot, probably just because I was feeling so yucky, combined with my recent frustrations with school. When we asked Sara to go downstairs, so we could talk privately, she would not obey. After I finally got her downstairs, she screamed her head off the whole time, so much so that Sky started crying from the stress of it all. I was too tired to be very embarrassed, but I'm sure my blood pressure went up a notch or two! We finally got everything discussed and then Sara read a short story for Monica. She did well. After sharing where we are at with Math this year, Monica thought it might be a good idea to get Sara "tested," in order for us to know how to teach her more effectively. I contacted my friend, Sherry, the one who I talked to about mediated learning last month. She's a Christian, homeschooling mom who does mediated learning testing. Basically, this kind of testing doesn't just identify "problems," but it helps with finding out how a child thinks and learns. We're going to talk on Friday about what the next step will be. She's such a wonderful, compassionate person and said she was confident she could help Sara. I'm quite sure she will make this as painless and "fun" as possible. It makes me feel better to know that I've made the first step. After so many years of feeling like a failure and going up and down on a roller coaster with Sara, I'm really praying that this will give me the tools I need to be a better parent and teacher. I love my daughter so much, but I just don't "get" her and I feel guilty about that all the time. I'll keep you posted as we go along with this.

Tomorrow we were supposed to go to the Little Red Riding Hood play, but I've decided to give away the tickets. I'm still feeling tired and yucky and I need my strength for the busy weekend. I posted on a homeschool forum that I'm a member of, that I had 3 free tickets. One mom was interested, but I'm waiting to hear back from her. Even if no one takes them, I'm still not going. The tickets were only $6.50 each, so that's not going to bankrupt me!

So, today and tomorrow are rest days, with only school on the agenda. There might be some laundry to fold, but I guess I can handle that!

Happy December!

2008-12-01T09:11:00.004-07:00

It's officially the Christmas month! Today is cold, WINDY and grey - could that possibly mean snow?!

We put up our Christmas tree last week. We had a bit of a tragedy. The kids and I unpacked the tree on Tuesday morning, set it up, and I spent the afternoon putting on lights and beads. We saved the ornaments so we could decorate with Daddy in the evening. Well, as we started hanging the ornaments, the tree started to tip over! Earlier, when I moved the tree back into the corner, a piece on the bottom of the stand (cheap plastic) got caught in a groove in the hardwood floor. I lifted it over the spot, but I guess not before the stand had already cracked in one spot. I didn't realize it at the time, but when we started decorating it, it was quite unstable. We tried a couple of things and continued until we had about 2/3 of the ornaments on the tree. We finally realized things were NOT going to work out. It was not one of our best family nights, to put it mildly! Joshua ended up going out to buy a new tree, while the kids and I were left at home to undecorate the tree. Joshua was not a happy camper at all, so I put the kids to bed, not knowing what to expect. He finally came home with a tree and was upset that the kids were in bed already. So....we got them back out of bed and they helped put the tree together! The next day, we started all over again and we finally met with success! I actually like the new tree better. It's a foot and a half taller, more realistic looking, and comes down lower to the floor. It took longer to fluff and decorate, but next year it won't seem so bad because it won't be my second tree! That bow on top is one of the bows we used in our wedding 9 years ago. The gold beads are from the wedding too! (Our anniversary is December 10th.)

Here are a few pictures of our Christmas tree decorating - take two! I thought the ones of Sara and Sky individually turned out so sweet.

A big Christmas hug before going off to bed! All that hard work finally paid off.

I hope you're enjoying your Christmas season this year. It's such a busy time. Here are a few things already on our calendar for the month of December.

Dec. 3rd - Visit in the morning from homeschool facilitator, Monica.

Dec. 5th - Red Riding Hood play at the Fringe Theatre (it has nothing to do with Christmas, but it was a good deal open to homeschoolers - now I wish I could give my tickets away!)

Dec. 6th - Chronicles of Narnia musical presentation at 7 p.m. after supper at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Dec. 7th - Winter piano recital, at 5:30 p.m., starring Sara and Sky!

Dec. 10th - Our 9th wedding anniversary. Dinner out has yet to be scheduled...

Dec. 14th - Kid's Christmas Party for all children of bank employees.

Dec 15th - Sleigh ride, tobogganing and bonfire at Pegasus Stables with homeschool group.

Dec. 19th - Big people Christmas party for employees of the bank. :-)

Dec. 20th - Evening performance of Handel's Messiah, by the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. This will include children, grandparents, sister-in-law, and friend. We will be so cultured!

This doesn't include the weekly music lessons and ski racing that I mentioned in the previous post! Whew! If I go missing at any point during this month, you will know why!

First Day of Ski Racing Lessons!

2008-11-29T23:27:00.001-07:00

Finally, the big day arrived! Sara and Sky started ski racing lessons! They've been looking forward to this day for a long time. After arriving home last night at 10:30 p.m. (we went to Calgary for one night), we drug the kids out of bed at 7:30 this morning for 3 hours of ski racing. It was a beautiful, sunny morning, with temperatures above freezing. We still have only had one snowfall this winter, so the local ski hills in Edmonton are very late in opening. In case you're wondering how they got all the snow on the hill, they made all that snow! They have huge snow-making machines that blow a fine mist of water all over the hills. They usually run them all night long when the temperatures are below freezing. It took a long time for them to get a good base of snow. It was a good first lesson. The kids had fun, so that's the most important part! There were some disorganization issues that irritated Joshua and I, but nothing we couldn't deal with. Here are a few pictures of the morning.

Sara, following her class to the ski lift.Sky, giving me a happy little wave as he waits in line at the "magic carpet." (It's a ski lift that you stand on and it takes you up the hill, like a giant conveyor belt.) Sara with her class. She's the one with the pink helmet.I really had to include this video of Sky! We're not sure why they had the kids raising their hands like that - probably something to do with balance - but it was so cute! It was amazing what they had these kids doing on the first day.

Thus begins a winter full of lessons and races. I'm hoping it will be mostly fun! Lessons are every Saturday morning, from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. for both kids. On Tuesday evenings, from 6-8 p.m., Sara has an additional lesson. Joshua will probably take Sky on those nights as well, and just ski alone with him, so he doesn't feel left out. I'm sure there will be lots more posts and pictures, as ski racing will kind of be our lives for the winter!

Happy Birthday, Sky!

2008-11-26T22:49:00.001-07:00

My little boy turned 5 on Friday! It was such a busy day that I didn't have time to put together his birthday post. And now, such a busy week that I've been working on this for awhile! Here a few pictures of the last 5 years of Sky's life. I've had a hard time finding pictures of Sky by himself! It seems that all the really good ones are of Sky and Sara. I guess that's the life of the second child!

Sky was born at home, in our bathtub, and it was very much on purpose! He loves to hear me tell the story about how he was my "water baby!"

He got chicken pox when he was only 8 months old!

Already showing his goofy side at age 2! Almost 3 years old

4 years old and 2nd year of skiing!

And here he is, 5 years old already, enjoying some chocolate birthday cake!

I think the thing I love most about Sky is his sense of humour! He loves to tease and tell jokes and do silly things and generally make people laugh. He will do almost anything to get people to laugh at him. Last year, around Christmastime, I bought a bag of fresh cranberries. For a "fancy" dinner one night, I floated a few cranberries in each person's juice glass. Sky ate every single cranberry in his juice (about 5) just because we were all freaking out and laughing at him! If you've never tasted a fresh cranberry, just know that they are SOUR!! He's had such a good vocabulary from a very young age. Once he hears a word, he remembers it. He amazes me everyday with the words he knows. Just last week, he used the word "compost" in the correct context! And even when he's not even trying to be funny, he cracks me up. Just today, Sara was running around the house, screaming for no apparent reason. (She was especially challenging today...) I told her to leave me alone, so she went downstairs to bug Sky. He came up and informed me that Sara was screaming her head off. I replied, "I know." His eyes suddenly brightened up and he said, "I know! I'll take her for a walk around the house until she calms down. That will make her stop!" Too funny! He makes me laugh inspite of myself so many times.

Sky's favourite colours are orange and black, his favourite food is macaroni and cheese and favourite drink is Sprite. (He does eat his veggies - I promise!) He loves Batman, Spiderman, dinosaurs, dragons and anything "scary." He's very good at entertaining himself and is always dreaming up some new "game" or invention. He reminds me a lot of my brother, Scott. I know he's going to be very good at sports. He started walking at 9 months and then taught himself to go up and down stairs by 10 months! He was riding a real bike with training wheels at 2 years old, and before he turned 4, the training wheels were OFF! He started skiing when he was 3 and gets mad because he can't ski like Daddy. In the springtime, we're probably going to put him in baseball, because he can hit a baseball like nobody's business! He is a very smart, witty, and talented kid. I know that will come with it's challenges. Pride will rear it's ugly head. Frustration at less than perfection has already been a problem at times. I pray that Sky will always give God the glory for the accomplishments that he makes. I pray that I will have the wisdom to guide him.

I love you so much, little boy! You are a special joy in all of our lives. Thank you for making me laugh. Thank you for always knowing when I need a hug or a helping hand. God has given you a sensitive heart and I pray that it will stay that way forever.

Aloha Friday #3

2008-11-21T08:29:00.002-07:00

It's time for Aloha Friday! I ask a simple question and you answer! If you want to participate, head on over to An Island Life and follow the instructions.

My question for this Friday:

What are the scents of the hand soaps you have in your bathrooms and/or by the kitchen sink?

I realized this morning that we have a very "smelly" house - in a good way, I hope! We have 4 bathrooms and 1 kitchen sink, so the scents in our home are: Sparkling Peach in the main floor half bath, Enchanted Orchid in Sara's bathroom, Warm Vanilla Sugar in the master bathroom, Cherry Blossom in Sky's bathroom, and Melaleuca's Original anti-bacterial scent in the kitchen. (Yes, we shop at Bath and Body Works!)

Before The Day Is Over...

2008-11-20T23:52:00.000-07:00

It's almost time for bed, but I wanted to post a couple of things before I head to the warmth and softness of my down comforter. (It is COLD out there!) Thank you to all of you who posted comments on my last post. I have been strengthened and encouraged by your love, support and prayers. I thank God for the wonderful friends that He has brought into my life over the years. Today wasn't the best day of my life or anything, but it helps to know I do not walk alone and that I am loved!

The other thing I wanted to share is something that greatly encouraged me as a homeschool mom. I've shared a couple of times how I've struggled to teach Sara and how she's struggled to grasp what I'm trying to teach. It's hard for me to be transparent about this because there is so much comparison stuff that goes on with moms. Some parents realize they're doing it, but I really believe some don't. It's really painful when I feel like it's my child always "falling short" some how. Last year Sara was not reading at the same level as her peers. It was a daily, uphill battle. Finally, in February of this year, something clicked and Sara began to progress in reading! It has been such a joy to watch her learn new things everyday and actually get excited about reading! But, this year we are struggling with Math. Not just the normal, "we need to brush up because we forgot over the summer" kind of thing. It was like no comprehension whatsoever. What happened to everything we did last year? I actually got to the point where we stopped doing Math at all. I felt paralyzed and helpless. On Monday evening, I was able to get away to attend a monthly meeting with the Christian homeschool group I've joined. I had the chance to talk to a mom, Sherri, who specializes is something called mediated learning. Another mom I talked to awhile ago, told me that she thought Sherri could help me. It was so good to talk to her. She assured me that I was not alone. She understood my feelings of failure. She offered her continued support and monitoring of my situation. And she said a lot of things I needed to hear. As she spoke to me, I just started crying - right there in front of this stranger! It's just that she seemed to know exactly what was in my heart. She recommended a little booklet called "An Easy Start In ARITHMETIC," by Ruth Beechick. I think I remember books by this author hanging around my mom's library when I was being homeschooled! Last night I took some time to read through the book. It was so enlightening. She explained some things about how a child learns math that just blew me away. I've been frustrated that Sara can only do math problems with manipulatives. I've been told, "Well, that's all fine and good, but she really should have her additions facts memorized." Mrs. Beechick explained in the book that a math problem written out, like 2+2=4 is the third and final mode of learning math! Those are abstract symbols and most children don't even fully comprehend what they mean until Grade 3. Manipulatives are NOT a crutch - they are a necessary part of development and learning! I have manipulatives and we use them a lot, but I keep taking Sara away from that and expecting her to fill out a workbook page full of abstract symbols. Today we did Math for the first time in weeks! It wasn't much, but we did it! Sara used blocks to tell me that 2+2=4. God gave me my miracle! And she even said to me today, "We're not going to do a paper, are we?" I replied, "No, no we are not!" And I'm O.K. with that. There were so many ideas in the book about how to use "real-life arithmetic" as you go through each day. And that playing games is an excellent way of learning math. I can do that! Today was a baby step, but we'll take one baby step each day and eventually get somewhere.

Being Real

2008-11-19T15:31:00.005-07:00

Today is kind of a weird day. We were supposed to get our annual family picture taken after lunch. I spent the morning preparing everyone, like any good mom does before a family picture! Bathing the kids, getting everyone dressed, plucking my eyebrows...:-) Our friends, Miguel and Melissa, are in town today from Calgary. Joshua went to seminary with Miguel, and I think they did more than their fair share of creating controversy in the classroom! Then, Miguel met and fell in love with Melissa! They asked Joshua to perform the wedding ceremony and he agreed to do it. That was a year ago, in July. Now, they have a little one on the way! The plan today, was to have lunch and then, do a family photo session with Melissa, who is an amazing photographer! (I just discovered her blog today and it is a must-see! The pictures are so beautiful, they just might make you cry!) Anyway, Miguel e-mailed this morning to say that Melissa had spent half the night in the emergency room. They think all is well, but of course, they were exhausted. They still made the trip up here this morning, but felt it was best to re-scheduled the photo session. We had a nice lunch with them, but it was evident they needed a nap! Our family is going to Calgary next week, so we'll be doing the pictures next Friday. I can't wait! Melissa is so very creative!

Tonight we are going to Joshua's parents for supper. I'm happy I don't have to cook! Now I need to go do some housecleaning. There is much to do before our house guests arrive for the weekend. I don't feel like doing anything, though. I've been feeling very tired and lonely lately, in spite of the busyness of life. Lots of things going through my head and heart. Wanting to help Sara understand Math (even 2+2 would be a miracle right now)...feeling disconnected from my husband and praying for a way to break down the wall...missing my old friends...wanting to make a difference somewhere, somehow and feeling like I'm stuck in a hole. I need a day just to think and pray and process life, but that just doesn't happen. Life marches on and I try to keep up. It's been a bit overwhelming lately. I don't mean to put a damper on any one's day, but I've realized lately that I don't spend enough time being "real." Life is not about being happy and upbeat all the time. God created many different emotions for a reason. So, I share my feelings so you can know the real me, so I don't have to walk this life alone. After all, that's the name of my blog, "Sharing Life With Peggy." Maybe I could help myself and others a little bit more if I weren't so darn concerned about image all the time...

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas...

2008-11-17T14:23:00.000-07:00

We couldn't help it - it just happened. They were calling our names. So, we put up some Christmas decorations yesterday!! I think it all started with the Christmas craft fair we went to in the early afternoon. It was definitely festive and put us all in the Christmas mood! I bought this beautiful snowman pillow with some of my birthday money. Isn't he cute?! I have a weakness for snowmen...With every new house, there are new decorating challenges that come with Christmas. Where do you put all that stuff?! We've been dragging around this huge, wooden sled for years now. Joshua's parents gave it to the kids, filled with presents one year. I've always wanted to use it to decorate at Christmas, but we've never been able to fit it anywhere. Well, finally, we have the PERFECT spot! There is a large space above the closet in our front entryway. We haven't figured out how to decorate it for the rest of the year, but the sled works great for this season! It was Joshua's idea, actually. So, he brought in the ladder, we all raided the Christmas boxes for stuffed animals, and got to work. I stood on the stairs and played the role of director. Joshua did the arranging. The kids handed/tossed things up to Daddy as he needed them. We are very proud of our creation! What do you think? We went out to buy a little tree to add to the arrangement, and found this threesome of green trees. There's actually an electrical outlet up there in that space, with a light switch down below, just for that outlet! Whoever built this house thought of everything!The kids were excited to find their Santa hats! We finished up our spontaneous decorating spree with the garland around the banister. It looks nice, but I was disappointed that there was no outlet nearby so I could also wrap lights in with the garland. The bows are ones that we used in our wedding 9 years ago! They are still in great shape and I will keep them as long as I can!

I'm not sure when the tree will get put up, but I will post pictures when that happens! Probably next week. We have friends from Calgary coming to spend this weekend with us. They arrive on Sky's birthday (Friday), so we will be busy celebrating and having fun with everyone. I will also be busy this week getting the house ready to hold 4 adults and 5 children!

Edmonton Oilers Hockey Game

2008-11-17T11:51:00.000-07:00

Some of you have asked about the hockey game we went to this past Thursday night. We had the greatest seats - Row 4 from the glass! We were right on the curve of the glass, actually, so Joshua complained a bit about the warped view... But, we already knew he was warped to begin with! :-) The game started out great, but began to deteriorate by the middle of the second period. The Oilers totally fell apart and the ended up losing 2-5 against Toronto. There were a ton of Toronto fans there, too! We were surrounded by their fans, but they proved to be a friendly enemy! No fighting, so I was glad. You never know with these games... Especially when my dear hubby does his fair share of taunting and trash-talking! I managed to get some pretty cool pictures. Here are a few, for those of you who might be interested.

Face-off

Joshua, watching intentlyHorcoff and Pisani

Rexall Place

Snow Pictures!

2008-11-14T23:15:00.000-07:00

I never found my camera software, so I went to Plan B. I plugged the camera into the computer to see what would happen and it found a photo program for me! Should've done that to begin with... I like it better than what I had before, too! Here are the pictures of my birthday snow! This is what it looked like before we trampled on it...
This was the view out our front, living room window.
Our little snowman!

Sara, letting everyone know she did not like the snowball Daddy nailed her with! (But, she had no problems returning the favour!)

Sky, being goofy and hiding behind the bush for protection! Those scraggly branches didn't help much!
One more thing, that doesn't have anything to do with snow. I just posted a new recipe on my other blog, Recipeasy, so be sure to check it out! It's a crock pot recipe, for all you crock pot lovers! Click on the button on my sidebar with the pumpkin on it.

Aloha Friday #2

2008-11-14T10:27:00.003-07:00

Yay, it's time for Aloha Friday again! To participate, head over to An Island Life, and follow the instructions!

This week's question:

What is something cute or funny a child in your life has said recently?

Just yesterday, my kids were playing "school" together. I was cleaning up the kitchen in preparation for making Rice Krispie treats. Sky noticed I was getting the ingredients out, so he ran to Sara and said, very seriously, "Teacher, I promised my mom I would finish making Rice Krispies with her. I need a day off today." I was cracking up in the kitchen! Guess what the "teacher" said?! "O.K." Can you tell my kids are homeschooled?!!

On a more serious note... I guess I'm thinking about my kids a lot today and am reminded once again how precious every day with them is. I found out today that a dear friend of mine lost her little baby boy about a month ago. His name was Lucas and he was about 18 months old when he went to be with Jesus. He was born with Charge Syndrome (you'll have to Google that) and had many complications, issues and pain throughout his short little life. I hadn't checked MK's blog lately, so I was not aware that Lucas had passed away. I spent some time reading her blog and just cried and cried. I felt guilty for not knowing before now. There was one particular poem she posted that I want everyone to read. It's heart wrenching, but beautiful. It's called "If I Knew." Please read it - you'll be glad you did...

Random Interesting Happenings

2008-11-13T14:18:00.003-07:00

Well, hopefully they will be interesting to you, anyway! I realize I haven't been very "informational" in my latest posts, so some people may want to have a few more details.

1. Joshua is just finishing up a cleansing/fat burning program called Isagenix. There is a 30 day program and a 9 day. Joshua did the 30 day one. To date, he's lost 22 pounds and feels great! I'm very proud of him for sticking with it. I don't think I could have done it. Although, I'm entertaining the idea of the 9 day program (don't tell Joshua!) - I could use some more energy! I won't bore you with details - you can read about it on their website if you want more info! Mealtimes have been interesting around here. There are "cleanse days" where Joshua doesn't eat at all, so the kids I have to hurry up and eat supper before Joshua gets home so that the sight and smell of food doesn't drive him crazy! Breakfast and lunch have been really easy, though. I just have to mix up a protein shake for him and it's done!

2. We now have an alarm system in our house. There was already one installed from 15 years ago, but it was inactive. Since it was already there, we looked into getting it activated again. We also found out it would save money on our home insurance! So, we got some of the alarm components updated and added smoke alarms (monitored by the alarm company). So far, there have been no mishaps! If there ever are any, I'm sure it will be great blog material! I've already had a few minor panic attacks when the kids go barging into the house after we've been gone, forgetting that the alarm is set. Fortunately, I'm fast (I have 45 sec.) so I've been able to get it turned off in time!

3. On Tuesday morning (my birthday!), we woke up to a beautiful winter wonderland of snow! It was not forecasted, so we were a bit surprised! Finally, the first snow of the year!! I was so excited when I got up, and was out the door taking pictures within 5 minutes! It was the perfect birthday gift for me! It was one of those fluffy, sticky snowfalls that covered every little branch. After a late breakfast, we all went out to play in the snow. Joshua had the day off because it was Remembrance Day (same as Veteran's Day in the States) and it's a stat holiday. He always gets the day off for my birthday, and I quite like that! We built a little snowman (not enough snow for anything big) and had a snowball fight. The snow made great snowballs! Then we took a walk to admire the neighbourhood before lunch. I took lots of pictures, but you'll have to wait for them. Reason? That brings me to the next thing...

4. We are now the proud owners of a "real" computer! For all of our married lives (almost 9!), we've only had a laptop. It worked great for those years that Joshua needed to tote it back and forth between church and/or seminary classes. After he got the job with the bank, he didn't need to do that anymore. And I finally got to use the computer to my heart's content! That's when I joined Facebook and started my blog. I dare say I got more done before that! Anyway, last week, a new Future Shop opened in our city. Joshua works right by the new store, so he got in line the first morning they opened up. Our new computer was 1 of 25 available that day at an incredible price! Even my brother, the computer geek, said it was a really great deal and a decent computer. (We consulted him first!) So, we have this HUGE monitor now (O.K., it seems huge to me - it's a 20 in.), and I'm seeing lots of little details I've never noticed before! It's been fun, but not without it's hassles. I can't find the software that came with my camera, so I'm a little stuck right now with pictures...

5. Tonight Joshua and I get to go to an NHL hockey game to see our Edmonton Oilers play! Joshua's boss, Jeff, sometimes gets tickets from a lawyer that the bank refers clients to. It's is way of saying "thanks for the business." This time, Jeff offered the tickets to Joshua! So, we got a babysitter and will be heading out tonight! Hopefully they win! Poor Joshua - tonight is one of those nights where he has to drink a shake for supper (because he ate real food for lunch), so he'll have to watch everyone else eat at the game! He can snack on almonds...woohoo! Oh well, it's healthier and saves us money!

That's all I can think of right now that would actually be interesting to you! Hope you enjoyed the update. Now, to go figure out the photo/camera software situation around here....

Oh, I also wanted to make a disclaimer on my excitement about the snow... You WILL hear me complain about snow, winter, cold weather etc., as we go through the season. But, there is something very special about the first snow - even if we eventually get a lot of it! As my friend said the other day, it's the snowfalls between #2 and #100 that we complain about!

Aloha Friday

2008-11-07T08:54:00.005-07:00

I'm trying something new today! I'm going to ask you a simple question, and you answer it! It's called Aloha Fridays, and the original idea came from the blog "An Island Life". My good friend, Jennifer, from Florida started participating in Aloha Fridays and I've enjoyed reading all the answers to the questions she has asked. If you want to participate, just click on the link to "An Island Life" and read the instructions!

My question for this Friday is:

Do you have a Saturday (or Sunday) morning breakfast tradition with your family? If so, what is it?

My husband used to make Baked Oatmeal one of the weekend mornings, but lately we've taken to drinking protein shakes for breakfast, so that's kind of on hold for now!

My Birthday Gift

2008-11-04T16:11:00.004-07:00

My birthday isn't until next Tuesday (the 11th), but I already got my gift from Joshua and I wanted to show it off! New dishes! Do you like them? My favourite part is the colour. I also really like the simplicity. My old ones had a pretty busy pattern. They had also started to wear out in the middle, so that every time you scraped them with your utensils (which is every time you eat!), it would leave a permanent grey scratch. I've wanted new ones for a long time, so I got to pick these out over the weekend. Guess where we got them? IKEA!! Of course! Thanks, Sweetheart!

When I Grow Up...

2008-11-03T13:31:00.000-07:00

O.K., O.K., I know I've been awful about posting lately! It does mean I've spent less time on the computer, which is always a goal for me... I posted the other day, but alas, I lost the whole thing when I went to change the font! I was so not happy! I will try to recreate what I wrote...

Recently, one of my dearest bloggy friends, Nadine, posted about how quickly our children grow up and spread their wings and fly away from us. It was a sweet reminder to cherish those little moments while we can. I must say, that is not my natural tendency. Usually, I'm waiting impatiently for them to grow up. The night before I read Nadine's post, I was reminded of the sweetness of childhood while I was putting Sara to bed. I promised Nadine I would blog about it!

We had had a difficult evening. I was being a selfish Mommy and Sara was just being a little girl. She was playing with her toy mixer and dishes while I was mixing up some meatloaf. I got frustrated with the water she was spilling everywhere and the room she was taking up, and over-reacted. I banned her from the kitchen and I could see the hurt in her eyes. She cried and cried and I knew I'd hurt her spirit. Why do I do that? It took me until the next day to apologize. Even before I'd apologized, I know that she had forgiven me already. That night she snuggled with me while we read our bedtime story. When I tucked her in bed, I kissed her, and stood to leave. She reached her arms out to me and wanted an extra hug.

She squeezed me tightly and said, "You're my little, favourite Mommy!" (My kids always call me their little mommy!)

I said, "Well, that's good, cause you're my favourite little girl."

She continued, "And I'm going to come visit you lots when I grow up!" Then she added, "With my husband!"

I laughed, "O.K., good night!"

It warmed my heart, but also reminded me that someday she will grow up...and move away...and get a husband...and I won't be the one kissing her before she goes to bed each night. She won't always be around to "help" me cook and bake and make messes. Someday I'm going to miss that. And I want to enjoy it while I can.

A Busy Day

2008-10-24T22:42:00.002-06:00

Today we went to the TELUS World of Science in Edmonton. Once a month they have classes specifically for homeschoolers. I signed Sara up for the Grade 2 class, "Chilling Out." Sky was in the Kindergarten class, "Fabulous Five Senses." I was very impressed with all the teachers and the content of both classes. Sara learned about temperature and the different forms of water - solid, liquid and gas. They did some really neat experiments! Sky, of course learned about our 5 senses. There were different stations around the room to learn about each sense with a hands-on game or craft. Their classrooms were right next to each other, so I hopped back and forth to make sure they were doing O.K. I spent most of the time with Sara. She tends to just want to sit and observe and won't participate sometimes. So, I wanted to make sure she was actually doing things and focusing on the task and not just people-watching. At the end of both classes they had the absolute coolest demonstration! They both had the same thing - Sky's was to experience the sense of touch and Sara's was to watch something go from liquid to solid. They actually made ice cream, in an instant, with liquid nitrogen! I was amazed and the kids thought it was magic! It was very much edible, so we all had a little cup of it! It was actually very yummy. I took a video, but have tried 3 times to upload it and it's not working for me. I'll keep trying, but it will have to be a separate post... One of the best things about all this is that each class cost me a whopping $4.25! Well, I did have to buy a family annual membership, but I'm thinking it will be very worth it. We ate our box lunch in the cafeteria after the classes and then explored the rest of the World of Science for awhile before heading home. There was lots to see and touch and the kids loved it! Playing with the sand in the "Erosion" exhibit.
This one was all about boogers!!

Posing with a giant eyeball!

Sara inspecting giant teeth as she stands on a giant tongue!

Tonight (and till noon tomorrow), Joshua and I went to a parenting seminar. It was good, so far. I'll share my thoughts later... Joshua's parents signed us up and offered to babysit as well, so you can't beat that! They're actually keeping the kids overnight, so that really helps with the early morning tomorrow. When we got home this afternoon, the kids eagerly packed their bags for their sleepover at Grandma and Grandpa's! They were so excited! Oh, and Mom made us supper too - can it get any better?! Now here I go to bed... We have to leave the house at 7:15 a.m. Ugh! For those of you who know me well, I am NOT a morning person...

The Pictures I Know You've Been Waiting For!

2008-10-23T11:01:00.000-06:00

Without further ado, here are pictures of the new house! We'll start with the living room. The arched window looks out to the front yard. The other side of the living room. The phrase above the piano says, "May our home be warm and our friends be many."
Our bedroom - we bought a new bedroom suite when we moved and I love it!
Sara's room. The flowers on the wall are not stickers. They are plastic flowers with a small magnet in the center of each one. There's special flat-headed nails that come with the set. You hammer the nail in flush with the wall, and simply attach the flowers to each nail! It's one of my favourite new decorations in the house!
Sky's room in the basement.
Other side of Sky's room. We painted another blackboard wall for him because he really missed the other one. As you can see, it's already seen a lot of creativity! The door on the right leads to his bathroom, complete with shower!When you walk down the stairs to the basement, this is what you see first.

To the right, is my sewing table corner and all the stuff that I haven't organized or put away yet!
On the left is the play area and door to Sky's room.
Another view of the play area. When they built the basement, whoever did it, did a great job with the lighting. It's very light and bright and open. The kids have been great about playing, reading and watching T.V. down there.
This is our schoolroom/office on the main floor.

Here's where I'm sitting right now, writing this post!
The family room, that's right next to the kitchen. We've already had a few cozy evenings with a fire in the fireplace!

So, that's it! Hope you enjoyed the tour!

Don't Blink - You'll Miss It!

2008-10-11T18:23:00.002-06:00

We have this beautiful wooded area behind our back fence. I took this picture 9 days ago, when the leaves were at their peak colour.The next picture was taken this morning! The trees are almost completely bare, with only a few brave leaves hanging on. Isn't that crazy?! I love the fall season, but it just doesn't last very long around here. We have to hurry up and enjoy it while we can!Before the leaves disappeared, we did manage to get out and enjoy the beauty of it all. I love these next pictures of Sara and Sky's little hands holding their treasures for me to see! (First one is Sara and the second one is Sky.)

Thanksgiving Day is just 2 days away for us! We'll be having our turkey dinner at my in-laws house. I'm bringing the hashbrown casserole and the pumpkin bread. Mmmm, I can hardly wait! It still seems a little strange to have Thanksgiving in October, but I'm getting used to it. It would be even more strange to have Thanksgiving at the end of November, when winter has officially set in, though! Sara and Sky have been working on a poem to say for everyone on Thanksgiving Day called, "Pumpkin Poem." They've done an amazing job memorizing! It's really cute. I'll try to get it on video so all of you can see it too.

I know I've been absent from the blogging world for awhile. I was pretty sick for two whole weeks at the end of September, and still haven't felt like myself since then. We've also been busy with school and getting into the new routine. It's been good and the kids really seem to be enjoying themselves. I think they were bored! And of course, we are still trying to get settled into the new house. We're slowly, but surely getting all the pictures hung and decorations arranged. I'll take some pictures soon, so you can see the finished product! Right now, it's time to go make supper!

Happy 100th Birthday, Opa!

2008-09-25T09:43:00.000-06:00

Meet Opa - Joshua's paternal grandfather. On Saturday he turned 100 years old and we were honoured to be guests at his birthday party! Opa immigrated from Germany when he was 45 years old with his wife and two young sons. His youngest son, Uve, is Joshua's father. Oma, his devoted wife of over 70 years, passed away about 3 years ago. Five of Opa's relatives travelled all the way from Germany to be at the birthday party! The party was at a local German restaurant where we enjoyed some very scrumptious, authentic German food! We definitely did not leave hungry! Opa with Sara and Sky, two out of his five (soon to be 6) great-grandchildren.
Hugs from Grandma, Joshua's mom.
Singing "Happy Birthday" - the 100th time he's heard that sung to him!!
It was really amazing to be part of such a momentous occasion! I've never known anyone else who lived to be 100! It was a fun-filled celebration! Opa was honoured in speeches from his two sons, Uve and Peter, and his two grandsons, Tyson and Joshua. Joshua ended his tribute with these words. "We respect you for what you have accomplished. We honour you for what you have taught us. We love you for who you are."

Tough Week

2008-09-18T13:43:00.002-06:00

After the excitement and busyness of the weekend, I'm feeling tired and cranky. The unpacking is down to the detailed stuff like decorating, organizing books and office things, hanging pictures, etc. My emotions are up and down and my energy is pretty low. Things are moving slowly and that has caused some tension in the home. (I don't think I need to be more specific!) I started some homeschooling this week, which cut into unpack time, but we really needed to get going. And of course, there's still laundry, meals to cook, dishes to wash, children to spend time with, grocery shopping and all those other things that just never end. I can't just leave all that and devote my time to unpacking and organizing. But, somebody, wouldn't like that either... Anyway, you get the idea... It's just been a tough week and we could use some extra prayer around here.

Farmer's Market

2008-09-15T09:04:00.004-06:00

Saturday was a beautiful day. We had heard about the amazing farmer's market here in St. Albert, so we decided to check it out. It was indeed amazing! They claim it's the largest farmer's market in western Canada and I believe it! They close off the roads downtown for this event! There were so many vendors with everything imaginable. We spent quite awhile there and spent way too much money! Among the loot we brought home was homemade, double chocolate fudge, blackberries, peaches and cream corn on the cob, yellow and orange tomatoes, homemade spring rolls, potatoes, purple onions - well, you get the idea! We stood in line for a looong time so Sara and Sky could get a balloon creation from the balloon lady. Sky became the proud owner of a belt and sword (that nice lady was making lots of these!).
Sara loved her heart-shaped fairy wings!
For lunch we stopped for bratwurst, hot dogs and cheeseburgers.
And ice cold lemonade!

My favourite purchase were these wooden signs. Aren't they adorable?! The pink one is for Sara's room. We're going to hang the goodnight kiss one above our bed.Don't miss the previous two posts - there's lots more pictures in those!

Welcome To The Neighbourhood

2008-09-14T23:44:00.003-06:00

On Friday, when Joshua came home from work, we decided to take a family bike ride to explore our new neighbourhood. I wanted to share some pictures I took along the way. Fall has come to this part of the world. The changing leaves are just brilliant right now, and the air is cool and crisp. There are some beautiful trails running through this neighbourhood and I am feeling blessed to be able to enjoy them on a regular basis! First, we visited the nearest playground and the kids worked out some serious energy! I love this shot of them pushing Daddy on the tire swing!

This is looking down the street from the playground.As we biked along, we went around this pond and fountain.The path even took us over a small wooden bridge where we saw this pretty little waterfall!And on the way home again, this row of golden trees...Later, I want to take a nice leisurely walk, so I can stop and take lots more pictures. It's supposed to be a nice, warm week, so that should be easy! This is the month we try to take as many walks or bike rides as possible before temperatures go below the freezing mark and the snow begins to fall. I hope you enjoyed the tour of our neighbourhood!

It's Beginning To Look Like Home

2008-09-11T14:25:00.005-06:00

We are finally able to see more furniture than boxes these days! The walls and shelves are not decorated yet, but I thought you would like to see the progress so far. First up is the family room. The fireplace is a real, wood-burning one, so we're looking forward to cozy winter evenings by the crackling fire! To the right of this room is the dining nook and kitchen. I love having the family around while I'm fixing and cleaning up meals!
This is the dining room, with a beautiful view of the backyard. We were able to purchase the table with the house, which is stained to match the kitchen cupboards. The chair upholstery matches the window valances.
This is the stairway which you see when you walk in the front door. To the left is the main floor half bath and the office/schoolroom, where I am now typing this! To the right is the kitchen area.
From the stairway landing, this is the view of the front living room. The arched window looks out to the front yard, and the front door is just to the right. This is only half the room -it's really big! The other half is where we put the piano, but there are still boxes piled around it right now.

After a few more days I should be ready to show you the bedrooms, basement and schoolroom. Now that Joshua is home for the weekend, things will move a lot faster! We already got a lot done last night after the kids went to bed. The basement is a huge space (fully finished) and is a huge job! Sky's room is also in the basement. But, right now there is baked oatmeal in the oven and then we're going to head downtown to check out the local farmer's market. Then, some shopping for a few odds and ends that we need. I'm excited to be out and about and away from boxes for awhile!

September 11, 2001

2008-09-11T10:49:00.002-06:00

This is one of those dates that we will never forget. One that you always remember where you were and exactly what you were doing when you heard the news. We were living in our first little home in Ohio. We rented a basement suite and Joshua was music pastor at Victory Baptist Church. Sara was 6 1/2 months old. I was going through my normal morning routine, when I got the phone call from Joshua at the church, "Turn on the T.V.!" I remember the horror, the confusion. Who? Why? What? I remember standing there, holding my baby girl, trying to take it all in. And then, right before my eyes, the first tower began to crumble to the ground. As I realized what was happening, I sank to the couch in tears, hugging Sara tight. A moment I will never forget. Life stood still that day and the nation grieved together. I saw the movie "Flight 93" a few days ago for the first time. It brought back so many emotions and I cried through much of it. Those people were amazing. And they were real people just like you and me. May we never forget what happened that day.

One Room At A Time...

2008-09-09T10:50:00.002-06:00

My main goal yesterday was to completely finish organizing the kitchen and get all the counter tops cleared off. This was what it looked like in the morning....

And this is the picture I took after the kids went to bed!
Hopefully tomorrow there will be at least one more room to show you! Oh, and I thought you might like to know that the train waited until 9:30 a.m. to come through instead of 3 a.m.!!

It's A Mess!

2008-09-08T10:15:00.003-06:00

My house is a mess. My emotions are a mess. I really don't like change. It's not exciting for me - or an adventure. It makes me sad. It's hard. It even makes me a bit angry. I don't want to have to find new places for everything in the kitchen, and the rest of the house. I don't like that I have to read the instruction manual just so I can figure out how to wash my piles of laundry. I don't like the train that comes through town at 3 in the morning, blowing it's whistle at every intersection. (We didn't know this when we bought the house!) I was sad that no one even acknowledged our existence at the new church we visited yesterday morning. (Except for Sara and Sky's teachers in their classes.) I don't like how everything is so quiet. The phone doesn't ring anymore. We have not seen or heard ANY neighbourhood children.

I know, this too shall pass. I know I'll get to know people and that the phone will ring again. I know we'll finally get unpacked and everything will find a place. I know the house will eventually feel like home. I know the Lord will lead us to the right church family in time. So, don't tell me all that - please! I just need some support and love and prayers until the storm passes.

Sara and Sky are actually doing very well with all this "newness." They love their new rooms! They each unpacked their own boxes and put all their things away by themselves! I was proud of them. I'll have to do some organizing and sorting later... :-) They got to spend Saturday afternoon with Grandma and Grandpa (Joshua's parents), so that was fun for them. They even had fun at church yesterday, so I was grateful for that. This morning they are doing well playing with each other. It's certainly different not having the playground right outside our front door or neighbourhood kids in and out of the house. Neither one of my sweet children have complained a bit. I can learn from them. In a few days I will attempt to have a bit of schooltime and that will help to curb any boredom that may erupt.

Well, I'm off to unpack some more boxes... Once I find my cable for the camera, I can post a few pictures.

The Last Day

2008-09-04T08:12:00.002-06:00

Today is the day we move. My heart is full of many things. The tears have come often the past two days. We've said goodbye to a lot of close friends. Yesterday the packers came and boxed up my whole house in only 5 hours! I wasn't sure whether to be excited or worried about that! The moving truck will be here in an hour to load everything up and take it to our new home. The last two weeks have been a whirlwind of activity. Visiting the places we'll miss the most. Heritage Park, the zoo, our favourite mall, Daddy's work. Lots of visiting and eating with friends. LOTS of eating! We had a garage sale somewhere in there too, and it turned out to be the biggest flop ever. Then, I spent a week trying to get rid of stuff any other way I could. This morning I'll make a trip to the consignment store and be done with it. Anyway, there are a few odds and ends I need to pack up, so I'll check in with news and pictures in a few days.

Hurry Up - We're Late!!

2008-08-17T22:06:00.004-06:00

A few days ago, my friend, Mindy, blogged about her thoughts on being late. To read what she had to say, click here. I responded with a very long comment. Here were some of my own thoughts.

"Interesting you would post this! I was just late yesterday to a birthday party, and it caused me great stress along the way. (Be sure to scroll down to the next post to see pictures of a very fun and unique party!) I do agree with your statement. I was raised in a family that was also right on time or a little bit early. It's definitely easier to hold to that conviction when you have only yourself to worry about. After I got married, things got slightly more complicated, but we were still on time. Then, we had kids! As a mom, being on time is definitely a challenge! It seems that no matter how organized and efficient I am, something always comes up. You wouldn't believe how many times I've gotten everyone in the car, and then have to come back in because the baby just pooped in their diaper or spit up all over the car seat and themselves. Or when you're potty training and suddenly, they have to go potty "right now," but they don't quite make it and we have to go change... Anyway, you get the idea. Yesterday for the party, we were on schedule and all was well. We had rushed to get to that point, but we were O.K. On the way, I was going to stop at Wendy's and grab burgers for everyone to eat in the car. Well, wouldn't you know, the drive-thru was closed and the line inside was incredibly long! We got back in the car, having wasted 5 minutes. Down the road a bit, I stopped at Dairy Queen. Would you believe, there was a truck sitting in front of the ordering console, with all their doors open and the hood up! What?! Now, if this had been just me, I would have simply gone to the party. But, my young children were very hungry by now. So, I raced to the other side of the parking lot to Starbucks. I picked up banana bread slices for everyone and smoothies. Finally, we were headed to the party. (There is a reason for this story - stay with me!) As we were driving, poor Sky picked up his smoothie, by the lid, spilling it all over his Peter Pan costume and his car seat. I freaked and started yelling. Sky was crying, Sara then started screaming. We got to the house and I roughly cleaned up my child, scolding him the whole time. Once I finally calmed down, I noticed he wasn't having any fun at the party. His little face was so crest-fallen. All because Mommy got extremely stressed out about being 10 minutes late and took it out on him. I apologized, with hugs and kisses and the rest of the party went great. I've done that so many times with my kids. Being on time shows definitely shows respect for other people, but being angry with my family because something out of my control made me late, is not acceptable. So, I learned a few lessons yesterday... And your post was a good reminder to keep trying each time to be as organized and on time as possible."

What about you? How do you feel about being late? What lessons have you learned in this area of your life?

A Trip To Neverland

2008-08-17T10:26:00.000-06:00

Yesterday we went to a joint birthday party for two little friends, Shana and Kenan. Kenan turned 4 a couple of months ago, and Shana will be 7 next month. The theme was Peter Pan and Neverland. My kids had never even heard of Peter Pan when we got the invitation! I rented the movie, and we watched it yesterday morning. Can you believe that I'd never seen it either?! For the party you were supposed to dress up as one of the characters. Sky chose Peter Pan and Sara chose Tinker Bell, of course! These are the costumes we came up with after the movie. Sky is wearing my green t-shirt and it's not even that big on him! I was proud of the hat and feather I came up with in about 5 minutes time! Here's my pretty little Tinker Bell. I bought her those wings years ago in an after Halloween sale at Old Navy. They've been used many times over!
Tinker Bell with the birthday girl, Shana, dressed as Tiger Lily.
And here we have Captain Hook, also known as Kenan!
The whole gang from Neverland, having a pow-wow at the Indian Camp.
I was truly amazed at my friend, Helen's creativity in pulling off this party! There was a fishing game at the Mermaid Lagoon, a pow-wow at the Indian Camp (complete with teepee), pin the feather on Peter Pan's cap, Smee's banquet table, and a treasure chest for each child to decorate. I stayed to help and I think I had as much fun as the kids! Thanks Nate and Helen for such a great party! You are a special family and we're going to miss you tons!

Music Camp

2008-08-12T10:45:00.006-06:00

Last week, Sara and Sky were in music camp every morning. It was such a nice treat for me that they were able to be in the same class. They both had so much fun! The big part of the week was making instruments. Sara was in 7th heaven - she loves crafts! Sky loved all the new songs he learned each day, and was also a big fan of the crafts. On Friday, they had a concert for all the moms and/or dads at the end of the morning. The kids were so excited for that morning when all the instruments would be revealed! I got to hear some of the songs they learned and see them play all their instrument creations. It was really cute! Miss Wendy, who was their music teacher all last year, was the one doing this music camp. She does such a great job with everything. It was nice for the kids to already know their teacher. Here is one video from the concert. Sara did so well at keeping the beat - she's my rhythm girl! Sky was just happy to be performing! I was proud of both of them!

Long Weekend Fun!

2008-08-07T17:08:00.001-06:00

This past weekend was a long weekend in Alberta. (I know, it's Thursday already...) I think I've mentioned this before, but Albertans love time off work, and they try very hard to make sure this happens on a regular basis! Every month, except for two, there is a long weekend in Alberta. Some of the long weekends fall on normal holidays like Labour Day, Veteran's Day (we call it Remembrance Day), and Easter. Other ones, they made up names for, like Family Day (Feb.) and Victoria Day (May). Then, there are others that don't even have a name, like August! It just says "Civic Holiday" on the calendar... Here are some pictures of our weekend.

Sunday afternoon we went to the pool and had fun on the water slide there.

Monday, the kids started music camp with Miss Wendy, their piano teacher. Joshua and I went out for a nice breakfast together. We came home, watered plants and packed up for the next adventure! We picked up the kids at 11:45 a.m. and drove out to Bragg Creek, a small town in the mountains, about an hour and a half away. Our first stop was Allen Bill Pond. The rocks are so fun to play in and the water, well, it takes your breath away! It is sooo cold it makes your feet hurt! Sky was busy for quite awhile with this rock creation.

Here is Joshua's rock tower!

This is video that Joshua secretly took of Sara and I making a river crossing after a bathroom break! You can tell how cold it was by the noises I'm making!

Walking back to the car... (I didn't have them pose for this, by the way!)

Admiring Elbow Falls. (With new clothes on because the other ones were soaked!) There were also people jumping off the cliffs nearby, so that was more than entertaining! I caught a video of one, but it's flipped sideways and I can't get it turned right side up. I'll post it once I get it figured out...

Elbow Falls

It's A Done Deal!

2008-08-07T10:01:00.002-06:00

Our house is officially sold! Yesterday was the house inspection and apparently all was well. The buyers signed the waiver last night for the conditions to be lifted. When I came home from dropping the kids off at music camp (they've had that every morning this week), the "SOLD" sticker was on the sign! YAY!! I'm so happy to not be cleaning up my house for strangers anymore! We can finally relax! I'll have to think of a good way to celebrate tonight.

Happy 30th, Sweetheart!

2008-08-02T15:10:00.001-06:00

Joshua is 30 now - finally! 2 years and 7 months ago, I turned 30 and he's been calling me an old woman ever since! Thursday was his actual birthday - today I actually have time to sit down and write this tribute! I married this man almost 9 years ago, never knowing all the adventures life would bring us. Joshua is a very passionate guy - there is no middle ground with him. Sometimes this can be a challenge, but one thing's for sure - it's always going to be exciting! Here are 30 things I can't help but love about him...

1. His smile (Just ask Karen, it's one of the first things I noticed about him!)

2. His confidence that always makes me feel secure.

3. The wise financial decisions he makes.

4. The way he plays with the kids.

5. Listening to him play the piano. (He's AMAZING, for those of you who don't know!)

6. The fact that he's not a picky eater and loves my cooking!

7. The way he mows the lawn with stripes!

8. His hugs and kisses.

9. The way he can explain pretty much anything to me, in a way I can understand.

10. Because he's very romantic!

11. His muscles that carry heavy things for me - including the kids when they're tired!

12. The way he wholeheartedly throws himself into whatever he's doing.

13. The fact that he helps around the house.

14. For making me love the sport of hockey!

15. Because he takes me on regular dates.

16. For making me try new things - like camping and sushi and downhill skiing!

17. His love for the outdoors.

18. Because he's spontaneous and fun!

19. The way he puts a positive spin on almost everything. (Sometimes irritating...)

20. Because he always dresses neatly and stylishly.

21. For helping me to understand the rules of football!

22. Because he never forgets my birthday or our anniversary.

23. For quitting coffee the day after Christmas and never turning back.

24. His humour.

25. Because he fixes things around the house.

26. The way he loves a challenge and is always trying new things.

27. For always being interested in my day and what the kids are doing.

28. Seeing him snuggle with the kids at bedtime.

29. Because I fit just right on his lap!

30. For always being himself.

I love you, Sweetie!

News Flash!

2008-08-01T17:23:00.004-06:00

I'm happy to report that our house is conditionally sold!! We were amazed at how quickly it all happened! Our house got listed last Thursday, and 7 days later we had an offer! No one asked to see it over the weekend, and we were feeling very disappointed and discouraged. Then, Monday we had a showing in the evening. Tuesday, we had 2 showings in the morning and one in the afternoon! Phew! What a day! Thanks to my sweet neighbour and friend, Jennifer, who let me take refuge at her house during the showings! Then, to top it all off, she had us over for dinner that evening! Thanks J family! You guys are awesome! On Wednesday I was preparing for a surprise 30th birthday party for Joshua (more on that later), when we got the call that a couple from one of the Tuesday showings wanted to come for a second showing! I left for the grocery store when they came, and was back in a half an hour, thinking that would be long enough. They were still in the house! So, the kids and I hung out at the playground until they left - they were there for an hour! We didn't hear anything all afternoon, so I was kind of disappointed. Then, in the middle of the birthday party, Lori called to say the people had made an offer! She came by right away and we got all the paperwork signed. God is so good! I know many of you were praying for a quick sale, so thank you! I'll get even more excited when the conditions (financing and home inspection) are lifted by next Friday. It's been so nice to be able to relax in my house again and not constantly trying to keep it perfect. The last two days have been so nice... Stay tuned for my birthday tribute to Joshua...

We're Moving - AGAIN!

2008-07-29T18:05:00.006-06:00

Yup, that's right, you read it right - we are moving after only being in this house for 10 months! Many of you have already heard this news, but I'm going to answer the most frequently asked questions in this post. So, here goes my self-interview!

Where are you moving to?

St. Albert, Alberta - a suburb of Edmonton, about 3 hours north of where we are now.

Why in the world are you moving?

During the last week of June, Joshua was invited to be included in an audit to learn about the process. The bank branch that he ended up going to was St. Albert. While there, he really connected with the branch manger, Jeff, who offered Joshua a job there. At first mention of this outrageous proposition (at least that's what I thought!), I was sincerely hoping it was all a joke. But, alas, it was not, and the discussion turned serious very quickly. Right now, Joshua's title wit the bank is retail account manager. He has wanted to get into the commercial side of the bank, as he moves towards his goal of eventually being a branch manager. This new position that he was offered was for commercial account manager. Long story short, he decided to go for it. This move jumps him ahead about a year and half.

When do you actually move?

We already bought a new house in St. Albert (on July 19th!) and the possession date is September 5th. Because we are moving with the bank, they pay for us to have movers! It feels so weird to not be packing right now. I feel like I should be doing something! The moving company packs everything in one day - can you imagine?! So, they'll come Sept. 4th to pack and then we'll be moved into the new house the next day.

How do you feel about this?

This was pretty tough for me to swallow. I cried a lot during the decision making process. I'm still accepting everything - it happened so fast. I would not say that I'm excited, but the last few days have been more positive for me. I would say that I'm mostly apprehensive, sad and stressed out at this point. Change is usually not exciting for me. I am a very loyal friend and it hurts so much to say good-bye. I am spending my summer, hanging out with friends as much as possible, and visiting all the places I will miss most in the Calgary area. I am thankful for the movers, so that I can truly enjoy these next 5 weeks.

Have you sold your current house yet?

Not yet, but we are hopeful! We listed it 6 days ago. Last night we had our first showing. Then there were 2 this morning, and another one this afternoon! Please pray that we will soon have an offer. Showing a house has got to be one of the most stressful things out there. While we were cleaning up the house for the showing yesterday, I kind of lost it. I was screaming at Joshua because I was just so frustrated and mad. Mad that I even had to clean my house, so that I could show it to someone who might buy it. Deep down inside, I don't even want to sell my house. I know it's just a house, but Joshua and I are both having a hard time letting go of this one for some reason. It is "just a house," but it's a house full of memories and maybe that's the difficulty. We have a lot of great memories from this home.

How are the kids taking this?

Sara and Sky are being way more mature about this than their mother at this point! They are excited to move close to Grandma and Grandpa, who live in another suburb in Edmonton. They love the new house and can't wait to move in and have new rooms. They even seem to be O.K. with the fact that we will have to make new friends. I'm grateful for their positive attitudes. It might get tougher for them once we actually move, but for now they are their normal, happy selves!

What is the new house like?

Well, it's beautiful and I just happen to have pictures from the MLS listing! Here are a few of them. There's not a good picture of the backyard, but it's amazing! There's a stream that flows over rocks and runs into a pond. Lots of mature trees, a gazebo, and even a hot tub! We will be quite comfortable, and I know that over time, it will feel like home again.

100th Post!

2008-07-06T23:29:00.001-06:00

Wow! This is my 100th post! I'll celebrate by making it one of my shortest posts ever... Tomorrow morning we're heading to Jasper, AB for the big family vacation camping trip! It's been a busy day, doing laundry, packing bags and tubs, washing fruit, etc. I think it's about ready... I just have to grate some cheese... (Should've bought the pre-grated stuff, but couldn't bring myself to pay the price!) Joshua had all of last week off of work as well. We had such a fun week, but I'll have to post all about it when we get home. The highlights were shopping at the mall, visiting the Science Centre, and a day at the Calgary Stampede. Oh, and learning to play Guitar Hero - Joshua found one at the mall on Wednesday! The kids are worn out, so maybe that will help them sleep really good while we're camping... I think we'll have fun, as long as it doesn't rain too much and the bears stay away... :-) Jasper is just beautiful and there are so many lakes and waterfalls and canyons to explore there! I'm really looking forward to it!

I'll leave you with a few pictures from this weeks activities.

Here is astronaut Sky...

This is Sara being elevated on a bed of nails at the Science Centre! We all tried it- very freaky!

And now we have cowboy Sky, chewing on a piece of grass...

And the very adorable cowgirl, Sara! Doesn't she look great in a cowboy hat?!

I'll be back to report on the camping trip next week! I hope everyone is enjoying their summer!

HAPPY CANADA DAY!

2008-07-01T16:51:00.007-06:00

This year was the first time I got to celebrate Canada Day as a Canadian citizen! It has been a really fun day so far. We met some friends on Main St. this morning for the Canada Day parade. Our friends are early risers and we are not. So, they got went early to get a good spot and save some room for us! That's my good friend, Penny, under the umbrella. Her 2 boys are sitting on the blanket with Sky. Zachary is 8 and Micah is 6. Sara and Jennadee (4 1/2) are sitting in the little chairs on the left. (Both not looking at the camera!)

And here are the two dads. Richie and Joshua. They were gentlemen and stood the whole time, so the moms and children could sit! Thanks guys!

A better look at Sara and Jennadee... They are such sweet little friends and I love to see them play together!
The parade started out with the Royal Mounted Canadian Police (RCMP).

Sky, having never been to a Canada Day parade (or any parade, for that matter), said, "I really like Canada Day!"

Sara was all smiles! She loves to people watch, so this was heaven for her!

Snuggle time!
Sometimes the horns were a little loud....!
And this was Jennadee...the whole time! She enjoyed that parade with every part of her being! Her mom said, "I don't know what's better - the parade or Jennadee!" She was so cute!
It was a wonderful parade and a wonderful time with friends! We all walked away happy and proud to be Canadians! We all came home to our house for lunch together. It was a yummy meal of sausages and hot dogs, potato salad, Caesar salad, mac and cheese and pink lemonade. Then, there were chocolate ice cream cones for dessert!

Happy Canada everyone! Stay tuned for possible fireworks pics... We're going tonight and I have a fireworks setting on my camera. We'll see if it works...

Summer's Here - The Fun Begins!

2008-06-29T23:31:00.000-06:00

Summer solstice was June 20th, the longest day of the year. It was also the first day of our first camping trip! And the first day for Sara and Sky to break in the new Slip 'n' Slide! We've been busy since summer officially started - and also blessed with some wonderful, sunny days! Here are some pictures of our summer fun so far.

When I first set up the Slip 'n' Slide, Sky wasn't so sure he wanted anything to do with sliding on that cold, slippery plastic! So, this is how he spent the time while he was getting used to the idea!

Sara, on the other hand, got right on there and was sliding away! She's usually my more cautious child, so I was pleasantly surprised to see her leading the way!
WIPEOUT! Sky finally decided to give it a try - it was more slippery than he thought!!
After coming home from last weekend's camping trip, Joshua had to leave right away for a week long business trip up in Edmonton. He was home for about 3 hours - long enough to help me empty the car, set up the tent in the backyard so it could dry out, mow the lawn and pack a new bag. So, the kids and I spent 5 long days alone. Things went fairly well, but it's never fun to have the man of the house gone for that long. I spent the first couple of days doing laundry and drying out and packing away all the camping equipment. Whew! What a job!

On Wednesday, I took the kids to the zoo with my friend, Trina, and her two kids. Eric is 4, and Katelyn is 2. Here are the four of them, humouring me for a group shot!
I talk about Trina a lot, so I decided to post a picture of her this time!

I thought this was a cute shot of Sara taking a picture with her pink camera! The kids are watching the otters swim.This one's my favourite!

That was out big adventure for the week. Thursday I had to go for an ultrasound on my abdomen/gallbladder. A couple of months ago, I was out for dinner with Trina and another friend, Penny. I was having pain so bad that I couldn't even stand up straight, my face was white as a sheet, and I was shaking and sweating. Penny ended up driving me home that night. (And I had to figure out a way to go get my car the next day!) It was drama, let me tell you! I've had similar episodes, to a lesser degree, for the past few years. So, I decided to ask a doctor about it. After hearing my symptoms that night and my family history, he ordered the ultrasound and some bloodwork. Well, the ultrasound found NO gallstones and everything else looked really healthy and normal! So, who knows... Maybe I was just crazy, like Joshua told me...

Friday I spent the day cleaning and doing MORE laundry. All this summer activity sure produces a lot of dirty laundry! But, it's worth it - we get so little summer around here... Daddy finally came home around 6 p.m. Yay! We grilled hamburgers for supper and just enjoyed being a family of 4 again.

How Do I Respect Thee? Let Me Count The Ways...

2008-06-25T23:06:00.008-06:00

This post is part of a "blog carnival" about showing respect to our husbands. I stumbled upon this fun idea from a new blogging friend at Titus 2:3-5. The idea for this came from the book, "Love and Respect," by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs. (To read more about the book and the original idea for this carnival, read this post. Saves me having to type everything!) Joshua and I had the privilege of attending part of one of their Love and Respect conferences about 4 years ago. It was eye-opening for both of us, and one of the most truly helpful marriage conferences we had ever been to. We bought the book a couple of years ago, meaning to read through it together, but that never happened... Then, I read about this carnival and I started thinking about this thing called respect again. It sounds so simple - to respect your husband - but why is it so hard? I was glad this was brought to my attention, because I know I haven't been doing the greatest job in this area lately. On Titus 2:3-5, ET had some questions to answer about respecting our husbands, so I'm going to just go with that.

What do you do or say that shows your man that he's "the thing" in your life? How do you make him feel special, valued, necessary, even heroic?

Like I said, I haven't been doing such a great job, so here are some things that I know I need to start doing or doing again like I did at some point in our marriage.

I can almost see Joshua stand up straighter when I simply thank him for doing things like mowing the lawn or taking the car to get washed or packing the car for a trip, etc. In the past, I've tucked little notes in his lunch box to say thank you for working so that our family can have all the things we need and even so many things we just want! I also try to listen closely when he talks about work and actually ask intelligent questions in response - you know, instead of "um-hmm."

Something that I actually do on a regular basis is to get up with Joshua every morning (O.K., most mornings) and make him breakfast. Nothing fancy, just tea, peanut butter and honey toast, and a piece of fruit. I also put together his lunch and snacks for the day. The girls at work are always teasing him about it and calling him a spoiled baby, but they're just jealous! I know it really makes him feel special and respected when I do that for him every morning.

Another thing that makes him feel respected is when I clean up and organize the clutter spots around the house. I'm not so good at this one either because I usually just get defensive or make excuses. This one is really important to him and I know it makes him feel respected when I treat it like it's important to me too.

I'm not sure about the heroic part - I'll have to ask him about that one! I'm pretty sure he felt heroic when he built the railing on our deck this spring, complete with built-in benches! (I made sure he read my blog post about that one so he could see that I was bragging on him to everyone!) And when he planted 3 new trees in our yard all by himself!

What mistakes have you made that made your loved one feel crummy, unimportant, and disrespected?

I don't like this one as much... I do way too many things to make my sweetheart feel disrespected, I'm afraid. Like when I correct his parenting - in front of the kids. Or when I don't make an effort to clean up the house before he comes home in the evening. (I said "make an effort" not "have it perfect!") Or when I criticize him when he's trying to help me around the house. Or when I just simply take him for granted and never say "thank you." Or when I ignore his physical advances. Or when I'm too busy with the kids to notice him. (His love language is quality time.)

So, I have some work to get done around here - it's called RESPECT. I'm praying for God to show me how to do this more diligently and consistently on our marriage.

How about you? How would you answer these questions? If you want to be involved in this RESPECT carnival, the instructions and questions can be found here. This is just a place where we can all gain insight, share ideas and encourage one another so that our marriages may be strengthened in some way. I hope you'll join in!

Boys and Their Toys

2008-06-24T22:43:00.003-06:00

I wanted to post this little video of Sky from our day at the lake while we were camping. At the same time that Sky was happily playing on his little inflatable jet ski, Joshua was dreaming and scheming about the day he would own a real jet ski of his own!

I said, "You just want one because you don't know how to relax." (This is true.)

He said, "I am relaxed." (Execpt that he was enviously eyeing all the people with boats and jet skis.)

I said, "Yes, because you don't have a choice. There are no other options right now! If we had a jet ski, we'd be constantly on the go!"

I think I got a man grunt in response.

In the meantime, I enjoyed watching my son enjoy being a little boy. And tried to relax as much as possible...while I still can.