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Housework really does pay!

Today was major straightening up the house day.  Yesterday I had playgroup and caught up on phone calls to friends and family.  Tomorrow is grocery shopping and hopefully a visit to some friends.  That left today for cleaning and making sure things were good for the next couple days.  While I was cleaning I found a dime, a nickel, 2 pennies and finally 2 quarters as I was finishing making up the bed.  When I told the kids I was getting rich cleaning the house they all wanted to pitch in:).  Too bad I was almost done!  They did help out, although they seem to get sidetracked when we're cleaning out the closets.  All those toys that they haven't seen in a long time are very fascinating! 
  Tonight as I was doing the dishes and putting Garrison to bed I started thinking about how much I've changed over the years.  As a teenager I didn't really like doing dishes and now I find it relaxing.  I didn't cook that often, but preferred baking.  Now I really enjoy both.  Laundry can be quite the workload, but when you have a little boy that you're teaching to find pairs of socks it can be a lot of fun!  I think my weakness is windows.  As I wash them the little ones walk behind me touching and smudging, so I kinda figure why bother doing it very often.  I'm sure glad Scott isn't really picky about them.  For now we've added the Christmas winter scene window clings and they seem to cover up the smudges.  I wonder if that means God will have me be a window washer in Heaven?  My mother-in-law and I have discussed that a couple times. Wondering what our jobs will be. I wouldn't mind being a baker.  There probably wouldn't be little ones sticking their hands in the batter or throwing flour or pulling on my skirt.  I think I might miss that part, although I do get a little put out sometimes when they shove 2 chairs into the space I need to stand in and mix the ingredients.  I do love watching them look through the window into the stove.  Tonight as the biscuits were baking Kiersten had hands running over the front trying to figure out how to grab one.  I love seeing her and the others so interested in what we're doing. 
  There is some teaching going on right now.  Scott is cutting wood with Elyssia and Caleb to make a small ark.  They're the only 2 still awake, due to the fact that Kiersten goes to bed early and Garrison hasn't taken an afternoon nap in several days. I'm a little sad to see him ending his naps, but I've been blessed that he's taken them this long.  He's 4 and Elyssia stopped taking them before she turned 2.  It doesn't mean I'll never get a nap though.  He and Elyssia can read books quietly or play with puzzles and other quiet toys while I get the other 2 down.
  So, the next 2 tasks are calling.  First I need to get the Christmas letter written.  I got the Christmas pic done today and will pick up the prints at Walmart tomorrow.  The last task before bedtime will be making choc crinkle cookie dough.  I'd like to take some to friends tomorrow and I'm sure my family will have no trouble eating the rest!  Tomorrow is the 1st day of December and "It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas..."

Another busy weekend!

I've thought about posting a couple times in the last couple weeks. Time just seems to get away from me lately.  My parents used to say that the older you were, the faster the time seemed to go.  I'm starting to believe that.  I can hardly believe that almost Christmas again.  This past week was full of activity.  I was blessed by a couple of quieter days when Scott took Garrison to work.  He(Garrison) is really looking forward to the next time he gets to go.  Thankfully Scott will be having a bit of a break this week.  There is another group coming in to work on the house for the next couple days, so Scott will get some much needed time off.  On Friday we had a couple from our church over for Supper.  Scott was discussing church business with the man and they were here until 10!  Garrison hadn't taken a nap, so he fell asleep  before supper and slept til morning. Mrs. G. read to Elyssia until she fell asleep.  The later it got, the more we traded off reading:).  Elyssia fell asleep aroung 9, but I didn't put Caleb down til just before 10.  It took less than 2 minutes before he was asleep.  Thankfully it started to warm up at the end of last week.  After several days of -30 or colder, it was practically tropical when it was only -7:).
  Saturday I was invited to an Epicure party.  For those who haven't heard of it, it's spices, herbs, cookware, etc... I have to say that I wasn't really looking forward to it because the ladies' house was an hour away. After talking it over with Scott we decided to go together and that he would do something with the boys while I took the girls to the party.  Overall it went pretty well.  She had more people come than she was expecting and the food was okay.  I'm not really a big dip person, but that's what most of the items are used for.  I hadn't heard of the company until last year when  a lady in our church gave me a couple jars to try.  The boys managed to amuse themselves for an hour, even though the bakery was closed.  I was very thankful to get to spend the two hours in the car with my family, rather than all by myself, although there were moments:)))).  We've been joking lately about things the auto industry needs to add to the vans.  Rotating seats, for times that the siblings aren't getting along.  Push a button and switch their seats around. Wouldn't that be awesome? We've also thought about those windows in limos.  What if we had those right behind the driver's seat? Sort it out kids, we'll be up here having a nice quiet drive:))).Or a cone of silence that can descend over a particularly noisy child(reference to Get Smart-the original show).  My personal favorite is separate pods attached to the 4 corners of the top of the van.  A separate one for each child.  Y'all know I'm joking right?  We agreed after being silly that car trips without the kids would be pretty boring.  We like to talk, but the kids provide the comic relief.  We just have to switch the kids around every once in a while to keep the peace and preserve the sanity of the parents.
  Sunday was actually a pretty quiet day.  We were ready early and headed to church ahead of schedule.  No trouble finding boots, mittens, hats, etc... If you've been at our house on a Sunday morning, it usually has a few delays because we find that Caleb has worn mismatched boots and we can't find 2 that are the same.  We have a nice tidy shoe shelf, but sometimes it's still not enough.  The kids did really well in the main service once Kiersten fell asleep.  Caleb had adopted Mrs. G and wanted to sit with her on the second pew!  I wasn't sure about that.  If he misbehaved it would be hard to get him out without causing a big disturbance.  He was actually quite well behaved, even if he did have people laughing over his LOUD hymn singing.  I think he wants to sing in his Uncle's group:).  Wonder if they'll still be singing when he's old enough...  There was a car alarm that went off during church. I thought that perhaps Caleb had pushed Mr. G's key alarm, but almost everyone was reaching for their keys when it stopped:))).  The only other thing about the service was that a newer lady that's been coming faithfully was starting to play peek a boo with Caleb.  Not sure if some people forget how much work it is to teach a child to sit quietly, but I'm thankful that she stopped before he started giggling or talking.  His cute little grin was enough to distract me, so hopefully it didn't bother anyone else.
  The afternoon went very well because I got a nap.  Sunday afternoon naps make for one happy mama!  The evening service was Lord's Supper, but I was down with the kids.   The rest of the evening was spent quietly at home.  I was going through boys clothes that I'm lending to a friend.  We'd really like at least one more, but don't know when it will happen. It seems silly to keep them all in boxes when a friend can use them for her younger two.  It's probably silly, but I do find it a little hard to think about giving them away for good.  Lots of memories made in those outfits.  Gifts from friends or hand me downs. Blessings that the Lord provided when we needed it.  Starting to get a little longing for another baby, but not the nausea. Plus Kiersten is still enough of  a snuggly baby that I don't have to wait long when I feel like holding a snuggle bug.  I thank the Lord for giving us 4 blessings so far. There are days.... but then there is fun!
  Well, I should head off for now.  I have laundry to fold, kids to teach, cookies to bake and a play group this afternoon.  Jeanette should be having her baby in the next couple weeks, so this one might be the last one for awhile.  Looking forward to what lies ahead......................which also means putting together a Christmas letter. Hmmm... What to write?

Don't mess with this baby!

She was quite firm in her response to Elyssia taking the gun today:).  Who knows?  Maybe she'll be the next Annie Oakley.  Just noticed that she's missing a Robeez slipper too:) She's turned into a real chatterbox and said, "Thank you" at the hymn sing the other night too. Looking forward to hearing more real words coming from my 2nd "big" girl.

  On another note, the snow is really beautiful tonight!  It's extremely cold, but I'm amazed once again at the beauty God has created.  When we drive home I see hundreds of sparkles on the snow.  So pretty and my electric blanket is SO warm!  Heading that way in just a bit...

Weekends and Working Men...

  This weekend was pretty good.  We got to slow down a bit and I got to run a couple errands.  There was a lady that I went to order a candle thing from that ended up needing to talk for quite some time. She had some things she was concernedabout and she said my unexpected visit came just when she needed someone to talk to.  I, for one, am sure that the Lord worked it out this way because I'd been meaning to call in the order several days before that, but didn't end up with the time to do it.  I don't think people appreciate calls at 11 at night to place an order, just because it's actually quiet enough to hold a decent conversation:).
  Sunday morning the boys were acting out of sorts, so we ended up staying downstairs during the main service.  The evening went much better and I was able to be upstairs with all 4.  Not much for distractions either.  The other blessing was the Gordons coming for the third Sunday night in a row!  From what I've heard that is very unusual for him, so I'm giving God the full credit for the work that He's doing with this couple.  I wasn't upstairs in the morning, so didn't realize that we had Caleb Village Hymn sing until we were on our way to the evening service.  The kids did really well, even if Caleb did seem to have mexican jumping beans helping him to bounce extra high:)  He sang REALLY loud too.  He had quite a few of the residents laughing, but just because he was so happy and enjoyed the singing so much.  He was about 3 words behind on most of the hymns, but he was definitely singing the same thing we were.  I was thankful when we had hymns with certain phrases repeated a couple times.  Caleb actually managed to be singing the same words as the rest of us when that happened.  I'm hoping that we can teach him the words to a Christmas song that we're going to have the children sing at our Christmas eve service.  If we don't sing too fast I think that he will be able to do quite well and his volume will make up for the shy kids in the group.  We got home around 10, but it was worth it to talk to the older people and see them enjoy the kids a bit longer.  It's funny how they're always surprised that all 4 belong to us:).
  Today was a little unusual.  Scott decided that it was time to take Garrison to work with him.  He can't do it all the time, but he wants to do it on a regular basis.  To give Garrison the knowledge to do a job and to work hard at it until it's finished. To make him feel useful and find enjoyment in the work that he's doing.  I wasn't sure how it would go, but Scott says he was quite helpful and didn't complain or keep asking if it was time to go yet.  Scott was going to pay him for helping him, but Garrison decided that he wanted to choose something in town instead.  He chose a snow shovel and work gloves.  What a practical little man:).  As soon as they got home Garrison started shoveling in front of the house. He waited to eat supper until after he figured he was finished.  Tomorrow Scott's working with the owner of the house and the next day it's supposed to be -35, so Scott figures he probably won't go to work that day.  We'll plan to get a lot of schoolwork and baking done on those days.  The baking keeps the house warmer:).
  We had a pretty good day here at the house.  Elyssia had schoolwork and Caleb was our entertainment.  He's a pretty good helper and enjoys finding things to do.  There was only one scary part of our day.  Elyssia had gone downstairs and Kiersten followed her.  Elyssia came back upstairs, but Kiersten wasn't fast enough. Caleb closed the door and that began our problem. Kiersten came all the way up and had her face pressed against the glass crying.  The door opens over the stairs, so my issue was trying to get her to back down the stairs far enough for me to open the door and grab her.  She has been going up and down the stairs for a couple months now, but today she was inconsolably crying and I couldn't seem to make her understand that she had to move for me to help her.  We were able to open the door just a bit, have Elyssia reach her arm in to grab Kiersten's sleeve, then I opened the door more and grabbed her up by that one arm to pull her up.  She was suspended above the stairs a bit, but was so relieved to be out of there that she clung to me for the next half hour.  I was so thankful that the Lord allowed us to get her out of there without knocking her down the stairs.  Many of you have seen pictures of our steep stairs and she probably would have gotten hurt since opening the door all the way would have sent her head over heels instead of rolling sideways.  So thankful that's over with and I can write about it with thanksgiving, instead of as a prayer request:).
  This evening was pretty good.  Elyssia, Caleb and I made pita pizzas for supper and cooked them under the broiler.  There was plenty for everyone and they seemed to fill the kids up faster than other meals I've cooked lately.  They didn't have to have too much for snacks this evening, which is a plus.  We also got to Skype with my family in Germany.  Elyssia loved showing off her missing teeth and seeing the guinea pigs.  Garrison was asking if he could get some Guinea Pigs. I'll have to think about that one, especially since I'll probably end up with a lot of the work.  There are some animals that we're putting off getting until the kids are older and physically able to care for them better. I think this will be one of those.
  Well, I'm off for the night.  I've finished my library books, so I might try to watch a movie with Scott if he doesn't fall asleep too early.  I think it's been a couple months since we had time to watch something together. Since the kids only get to choose a movie about once a month, we seem to find ourselves too busy to pick one for ourselves.  I have to admit that I'm getting a little tired of the kids choices, but looking forward to seeing Toy Story 3 sometime soon.  One of Scott's brothers mentioned that he would probably give it to the kids for Christmas. We figured it was better to wait than to spend an extra $5 to rent it.  Good Night blog people...

What you doin' Caleb!!!

  So, today Caleb added another broken item to his list.  The kids were scraping ice off the boy's bedroom window after the temps dropped to -21!  I was busy in another room and hear Caleb coming towards me saying, " I broke it".  Not the words I wanted to hear before 8 am...  Lately, it's I broke your mirror, your piggy bank, sissy's piggy bank, your candle holder... Need I say more?  Then I hear, I cut my finger.  Now, it's definitely not good.  I see Caleb walking toward me with a hammer.  Another bad sign.  "What you doin' Caleb?, asks the mama.  "I broke the window".  A quick walk to the back of the house reveals that he did indeed break his bedroom window.  "Why", I ask barely holding my strong feelings in.  Caleb's response:"I was trying to break the ice off the window".  Now, feeling VERY upset with this little man I quickly told him to "Go, go to another room, Mama's very upset and I'm not going to yell at you, just go!"  So, some may feel that my response was not the one they would have chosen.  I, however, knowing the feelings that I was having and remembering news stories about mother's and their overreactions gone bad, decided that I needed a bit of a time out.  After assessing the damage and stuffing towels in the window to stop the freezing draft from blowing through, went to find the child who has the ability to evoke the responses of overwhelming love, laughter and now frustration.  It didn't take long to find him.  I'm thankful that he wasn't hurt badly, just a little scrape, it just took me a bit to switch back to the loving, forgiving mother that God wants me to be.  Scott came home with some foam insulation and sealed it off til we can replace it in the spring.  It's something that I'd rather not think about too much.  It will probably be a story that we'll tell the grandchildren, if we ever get any:).
  On another note, I had a hair appt. today.  We had a guest coming for supper, so I prepared it ahead of time and left the temps with Scott. My hairdresser was 30 minutes late because she was cleaning at home and lost track of the time.  I had 15 minutes til I needed to head for home, so she did a super quick trim and only charged me $10 instead of $25.  Thankful for that savings since a trim was all I wanted:)
  Elyssia and I arrived home at 5.  Our guest was supposed to arrive at 5:30, but did't come til 6, due to not knowing exactly where we lived.  Oops...  Scott had told him the general vicinity, so he stopped to ask a neighbor.  I was thankful that he came, since it was a lot of work cleaning the house.  I know that the extra food would get eaten by our hungry children, but it's nice to have someone come by when you've cleaned the house extra special for their visit.  Not sure that he noticed, being a bachelor and all, but it was nice to see him pull into the driveway.  It was a blessing to get to know Paul a bit better.  He's not a really talkative fellow, but seemed to come out of his comfort zone to ask and answer questions a bit more than he does at church. The kids really like him because he's a cowboy, has horses, works for the PFRA and wears cowboy boots:).  Elyssia was an extra blessing tonight.  She offered to take the plates and things off the table without being reminded.  The funny thing was that she told Paul, "that napkin is for wiping your face".  She reminded him at the end of the meal too. He thought it was funny, so we weren't really embarrassed. 
  Tonight was also another momentous occasion. Elyssia's second loose tooth reached the pulling point.  She was begging me to pull it and all I had to do was put the paper towel over it and give it a slight tug.  It bled quite a bit, but she's now happy to be missing her two front(bottom) teeth!  Good thing Christmas is coming up, eh?  She's been singing, "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth and some sausage".  Her and Garrison break out laughing after adding the sausage part. I don't really think she's that anxious to get her teeth in though.  She likes her new look and I have to say it doesn't look too bad. When she loses the top two I think she'll look a bit goofier, but to her it means she's growing up and for now that makes her happy.
  Last on the list was talking to my mom on Skype.  Today was her birthday and it's the closest I've been to spending it with her in several years.  It was nice to catch up and it was really quiet since the children were already asleep. Now it's about time for me to get some sleep. Scott's going to look at some farm equipment tomorrow and I'm going to try to find a few gifts for Christmas...

Bunkbeds

This weekend the kids were excited to see their bunkbeds being assembled.  A lady in our church gave them to us last year, but we were just using them as single beds until we felt the kids were old enough to sleep on the top safely.  They've now slept in them several times and they seem to enjoy being up high.  I took a couple pictures and have to laugh at Garrison because his face looks totally the opposite of Saturday when he got to climb up the first time. The girls room is bigger than the boys, but seems smaller with the new addition, due to the fact that there is still a crib and big dresser in the room.  We'll be doing some more projects in there and sometime after Christmas Kiersten will probably make the switch to the bottom bunk, which allows us to put away the crib for now.  I really do hope that she's not the last one to use the crib, but that is up to the Lord.  The other night I heard Garrison praying for a baby brother.  When Elyssia heard that she got a little upset.  Her plan was to start praying for another baby in June.  She told me this last month and I told her that was probably a good time.  Garrison obviously has other plans:)  Anyway, I'll post some pictures of the rooms now and then sometime in the future when we finish the rest of the projects.

Garrison is looking super excited:)))).

Elyssia puts her on, but she can get off all by herself!

Kiersten's is high because it's a box spring and foam.  We'll put a single mattress on later.

Elyssia and Garrison on Caleb's bunk.  Caleb made his bunk all by himself:).

 

   We had a bit of difficulty yesterday at church.  The furnace wasn't working when we arrived and it was 51 degrees inside the church.  We had Sunday School downstairs and the repairman arrived in the middle of it.  He came back and fixed the rest of it during the main service.  There were a lot of people absent, due to previous engagements, funerals, family visits, etc..., but the morning went okay.  We were so exhausted that we all took a nap in the afternoon.  Garrison didn't want to wake up from his.  All the family visits have caused a sleep problem for the kids.  I'm hoping that we can catch up this week and be feeling back to normal soon.  The kids have been acting really cranky with each other because of the lack of sleep and it's wearing me down a bit too.  Looking forward to a nap after school time today:).  The evening service was a bit sparse, but we had a couple attend that had also come last Sunday night.  She had just gotten home from a quilting retreat and he had just gotten off work.  It was a huge encouragement to see them there.  We already have a guy coming over for supper on Friday night, but we'll have to try to have them over next week sometime.  I really enjoy talking to her and the kids are warming up to her really fast.  It's great to have so many grandmothers in the church. 
  I took Elyssia to a bridal Shower on Saturday afternoon.  It was for the daughter of a friend.  I knew that her little granddaughter would be there, so figured it was a good chance for Elyssia to have a special time with me and get to play with another little girl her age.  Unfortunately she was playing Wii with her brother(a year older than Elyssia).  They really didn't play with toys because of that and it made me a little sad for them.  The fact that children are so drawn to the electronic world that they don't play with the baby dolls, etc, as much anymore.  Maybe a lesson to us older folks who tend to spend more time than we should on the computer, eh?  I know it spoke to me and although I don't let Elyssia around the computer much and they see very little for movies, I need to set more strict time limits on my own computer use.  I love to read and we do a lot of that.  We also color, play Legos, etc...  With Schoolwork and housework, there's always something to do, I just tend to end up on longer than planned while checking e-mail, blogs and news.  I will definitely be trying to spend less time , so as to be a better example to the children of living in the place that God has sent us to.  Spending time with those that God has blessed us with.  There is so much to do on a daily basis that we often give up time that is needed for other things, in order to spend time on the computer.  That said, I should be off to start homeschooling for the day...

a rare thing...

  As parents of four children and living out in boonies, we don't often get an opportunity to go out on dates.  Part of it is still being newer to the town and not knowing anyone close to us that would be willing to watch all 4 together.  It's a ways to drive and the one teen girl that our kids are comfortable with lives too far away. It would be over an hour from her house and she doesn't have her license yet.  Soooo, we wait for Scott's family to come and a couple times a year ask ever so nicely if they'd be willing to watch the kids for a couple hours:).  We love our kids soooo much, but it is sooo nice to be able to go out and have a conversation that isn't interrupted 10 times in the space of 10 minutes of less.  Tonight we made reservations at the Colliseum.  We've been there before and like the quiet atmosphere, the delicious food and just the opportunity to talk freely without the little ones listening in.  It's the first time in quite a while that we weren't feeling tired and actually had the opportunity to discuss ideas about where we want to be as a family in the next couple years.  Such a nice feeling to finish a complete sentence:)  Those reading this, with small talkative children know what I'm talking about:))).  We had a bit of time before our reservation and we walked around town a bit, visiting little stores, browsing their selection for possible Christmas gifts, etc....  There's no snow on the ground right now and it was pretty nice to take that leisurely stroll.  After supper we picked up a few things, checked on the place we're watching over the winter, and headed home.  Boy were the kids ever glad to see us!  Grandad said Caleb was getting a little worried.  He didn't want him to put him to bed. Only wanted to snuggle with Mama:)  So, now, the house is quiet.  All is peaceful, except for the occasional sound from Hopper Jack and Rosie the Ribbeter(our frogs).  It's about time this mama headed to bed.  Tomorrow is the small business trade fair and a bridal shower.  Looking forward to some relaxing family time too.  Maybe I'll get to sleep in!  One can only dream....

My first!

  Yesterday was my first Remembrance Day as a Canadian Citizen.  I kind of wondered if it would feel any different than previous years.  This year was also special because Scott ended up being the coordinator for Kindersley's Remembrance Day Ceremony.  He's the Padre at the Legion, which was only supposed to be temporary. After yesterday it's looking like more of a permanent thing.  At first I thought it was maybe because he was one of the youngest guys in the Legion and they figured they'd get him to do as much as possible for them.  I'm thinking differently now.  It was actually a very special service.  Scott read "In Flanders Fields" and there was so much emotion coming from him(in a good way) that I wanted to cry.  I've heard it several times, but it really was different this year.  Hearing my husband read this poem and speak about those who've given their lives for our freedom.  Growing up in a military town in the United States, I've always had a lot of pride about our military men, many who were good friends, and a lot of appreciation for the sacrifice that they were making to ensure our freedom.  While watching these Canadian veterans and looking at the pictures of those who'd given their lives I was once again struck by how much they gave and how easy we have it.  Tonight, on our date, compliments of Scott's parents babysitting services, we were talking about the day and also about the future.  Scott's always had a heart for soldiers and would have joined up had God not called him to preach.  I still see a desire in him to serve and part of that desire is met by helping the veterans and visiting the sick ones.  There is a part of me that wants more of his time, but God is showing me that Scott is doing what he can to thank these men who have fought to keep us free and allow him to be here with us today.  We talked about what would happen if there was ever a real need for men to go to battle in the near future.  We both realized and accepted the fact that he would go if they would have him.  Thinking about our sons someday desiring to be soldiers, or other occupations that they might be led to enter was kind of a neat thing.  Our prayer is that they always seek the Lord first.  After that we look forward to seeing how the Lord will use them.  Whether it's in the ministry, as soldiers, firemen, policemen, carpenters, etc...  So long as they seek the Lord first we'll be thankful for that.  I hope that they don't grow up toooo fast, but as they do I pray that they look to the Lord for guidance.  I would be honored to be the mother of a soldier.  Garrison was definitely admiring all the uniforms at the service:).  There were cadets up where the wreaths were laid and they were standing on guard.  Unfortunately one of them collapsed and had to be helped out, but other than that the service went really well.  Garrison sang, "O Canada" with me and behaved very well, even when the service went a bit longer than anticipated.  We didn't attend the service at the Manor, since Nana had the two younger ones, but heard that it went really well.  Scott tried to learn a lot of the old songs that were sung during the war, since he was the song leader.  The bugler didn't make it to that service, so Scott played The Last Post on his trombone.  He said that the people were a little skeptical about it at first, but said it sounded good.  Not too different from the bugle.  Thank the Lord for his parents putting the time into his musical training and also teaching him to be a volunteer.  It may sound like I'm bragging on him too much.  In truth, I'm writing a lot of this down because Scott's not one to say much about it himself.  He said he really didn't do all that much, but the past several weeks have been full of meetings, typing, phone calls, etc....  Overall it was a wonderful day and one that the kids will remember for a long time. I'd like to keep a record of such things and print it off for the kids to have a copy of when they're older. I apologize for a lack of pictures.  We were all so focused on the ceremony that I didn't stop to take any.  Maybe we'll get some from the others that were there.  Another note of thanks. One of the ladies that sat behind us came over after the service and told the kids thank you for being so well behaved.  It was nice to see the children recognized by someone else for good behavior.  So often people are quick to criticize when children misbehave, but not so much when they do well.  It reinforces what we're teaching about other people watching us too.  All in all, it's been a good week. One well worth remembering!  So thankful for all those who've served and continue to do so, in order to keep us free and also help others around the world to have some freedoms too!  I sure wish I could have spent some time with my Grandpa( a World War II vet), but I'm looking forward to spending an eternity with him someday!
 

Birthday weekend and saying goodbye.

 What a weekend! It was such a whirlwind of activity and fun, that it's hard to get back to the regular schedule of Monday.  Garrison really enjoyed being the "birthday boy".  He was thoroughly spoiled with gifts and love.  I made a train cake and he actually recognized what it was:).

 
  I probably would have just made a square cake and put candles on it, but thought I'd at least try to something a bit more unique.  The kids liked it and ate it, so I'm happy with that.  The first gift from Uncle Kirk was clown noses.  They were a big hit!
 

    Before he arrived we were playing in tents.  The kids wanted to have their snacks in there and Kiersten ended up falling asleep.  Soooo cute.
 

    Kirk came up with the idea to have the kids put on their own pizza toppings.  The kids had a lot of fun with this, although Caleb was eating a lot of the cheese and meat beforehand.  Not a big surprise there:).

  There was lots of reading...

  Lot's of staged fights...

  Lots of cuteness...

It looks like Woody died, but I'm really not sure what they were doing at this point!

A treat after church

Part of that cone ended up on my skirt!

Kiersten's not sure what to think of all the activity.

 So, now for the saying goodbye part.  The first one was to Kirk and the other was to my wedding dress.  Some might be saying, "Huh, what happened to your dress?"  Well, it's not too long of a story.  A couple weeks back I was reading a friend's blog and she was talking about a friend of hers that makes dresses for girls in other countries.  She uses old wedding dresses, prom dresses, etc, and sends them over to be a blessing to those who can't afford it.  What got her started was hearing about a little girl that was told she could have a new dress if she got married.  She was only a little bit older than Elyssia and the man was my dad's age!  It made me think about the big box with my wedding dress sitting in the closet, taking up space.  Some may feel that it should be saved for the girls, but how many girls really end up using their mother's dress these days.  I have the veil and it would be nice if one of the girls wanted to use it, but I won't be hurt if they decide that they want to find their own.  By the time they get married the dress would probably be yellowed and what are the chances that they'll be the same size anyway? So, after talking it over with Scott we decided that it would be a good thing.  To have a chance to make a small difference in other little girl's lives.  We have wedding pics and the lady is going to save enough material to make two doll dresses for our girls.  That way they will have a little piece of our story.  I pray that they will treasure that more than having the whole dress sitting there aging. So, it sounds funny to tell a dress goodbye, but we pulled it out, showed it to the kids and repackaged it before sending it with Kirk to Calgary.  It will be picked up by a friend and hopefully we'll get to see the finished product sometime in the not too distant future!  All in all, it's been a wonderful weekend.  Tonight is Ladies Bible Study and Wednesday night the grandparents arrive.  This weekend Scott and I are looking forward to a rare opportunity.  We get to go on a date, compliments of the grandparents babysitting.  We are really looking forward to our 3rd date of the year:)  I think we appreciate them more because they're so few and far between.  Now, it's off to feed some little munchkins and see what we can do about a naptime. 

 

Trouble with glasses!

  Most of you know that I don't wear glasses, so the trouble is not with me.  I'm praying that if any of our kids need glasses that they are much older when they do.  That way they can be responsible for them and I don't have to keep track of them.  I have a huge praise this morning and it wasn't even an issue before Scott left for Men's Breakfast this morning.  He called about a half hour after leaving and asked me to go check near the highway to see if I could find his glasses.  He'd gotten out of the car to check a noise, which turned out to be a rock, and thought his glasses had fallen out of the car.  He was wearing his work glasses while driving, but was planning to switch to his nice ones at the church.  It was soooo cold, so I hurried the kids as fast as I could and prayed the whole way there.  It was right before he turned onto the highway and if no one else had left that early from our area it would be okay.  The Lord blessed and I probably only looked around for about a minute before spotting them in the middle of the road.  THANKFULLY they were not crushed or damaged in any way.  A sign of God's protection and mercy.  Scott doesn't have any other nice glasses due to the fact that Caleb broke the frames of the other pair last year.  Garrison had broken his current pair, but thankfully we were able to get them replaced at less than full cost. We're looking at ordering him a couple more pairs through a website that was recommended by a pastor friend.  He would be able to get two pairs of prescription glasses with nice frames for less than a hundred dollars.  I'm thinking that with the way the last year has gone, we'd better order some soon! His current pair has a chip in the bottom of the one lens anyway.  He says it doesn't bother him, but it would be nice to have a backup pair again:)  So, that's my story and praise for the day so far.  Pretty good, considering it's only 9am here!  Now I'd better get to work.  Kirk is arriving around lunchtime and I've got quite a bit to do before then.  For all my time change friends, don't forget to change your clocks! I still don't quite understand how we ended up in the no time change zone, but I'm happy with it:)  I'm off to have a wonderful Saturday with 4 of the craziest kids in Saskatchewan...

Birthday requests and Friday Funnies

 Have you ever heard of a 3 year old asking for a pillow for his next birthday?  It's either the saddest present request or the funniest.  I'll go with it being a funny request.  I believe his exact words were, "mama, can I have a new pillow for my birthday, I threw up on the other one?"  Or maybe that was Caleb that threw up on the other one.  Either way, we're short on pillows around here and that's what he's going to get.  I also found a Knight's costume for the dress up box.  I'd seen one in INDIGO during the summer, but I think they wanted about $50.  I got this one for under $4, brand new.  Thanking the Lord for the little things:)
  Last night Kiersten surprised one of the men at prayer meeting by turning herself around and starting to go down the stairs.  He was like, "does she know how to do that?"  It's pretty amazing to me.  I showed her once how to do it and the next time I went downstairs she got on her tummy and started scooting down after me! She's also very good at getting on and off our bed.  After I nurse her in the morning I usually put the blankets over her a bit and leave the room.  Usually within the next 30 minutes she's walking out the door to find me.  She seems to have an amazing ability to track my location.  I can be in the bedroom or the bathroom and she walks down the hall, stops at the door and starts the mama chant. 
  Yesterday Elyssia wanted to pretend she was getting married.  First she wanted to marry Garrison, but he had just woken up and didn't want to go along with her plans.  After enlisting Caleb, there seemed to be a change of mind on Garrison's part.  Caleb was escorting Elyssia out in her "bridal attire", when Garrison shouted, "you can't marry her, she's my wife!"  Talk about awkward:) Caleb, then replied, "NO, she's my wife!". Elyssia asked me to do the vows.  I ended all the hullabaloo with just a couple of words.  "No, I'm not a preacher and I will not marry you."  She was devestated, but I was happy because I'd helped to avoid a very sticky situation.  Garrison and Caleb would have been married to the same woman, their sister, which would have made me their mother in law and that's just not gonna happen:)  So, hoping the Knight costume will spark their imaginations in a different direction.
  Now it's on to homeschooling and cleaning my house in preparation of all the visitors to come.  Really hoping to get a nap in somewhere.  Kinda sad that it's not even 8:30 and I'm wishing for a nap.  I'm sure you can guess that I chose to read over going straight to bed, so I've created this tired situation and now it's my job to get busy and keep myself awake til around 11:30 when the little ones drift off to sleep... 

Photos after picnik

It's fun, but slightly addicting, so I'll have to be careful how often I do it.  Will probably try to send some to Walmart for enlarged photos to see how they turn out.  I have some frames waiting for pictures, but I haven't printed any off since summer time.  The downside of digital:(.  Anyway, it's late and I'm off to sleep (or read the pile of books from the library).  Hmmmm.  To sleep or to read, THAT is the question!

Unexpected Visitor

Wednesday an e-mail popped up in our in-box.  The subject"Coming for Garrison's Birthday", the sender: Uncle Kirk.  Soooo, we shall have company until Monday and then again from Wednesday through Sat, when Scott's parents come to celebrate Garrison's Birthday and Remembrance Day on the 11th.  The dilemma: when to celebrate?  Potentially we can celebrate twice, but this mama has had so many birthday celebrations lately that she's not sure if she really wants to.  Hmmm, maybe this mama should get over it and have a little fun, eh?  I was atually thinking that we should try to teach the kids how to play Pin the tail on the donkey and musical chairs.  It would be just us, but it would probably be fun.  Kirk suggested that we do Pita Pizzas and let the kids decorate theirs.  I think that's a good, quick plan for Sunday afternoon. The only catch is that Scott has Men's breakfast on Sat morning and has already committed to installing windows for a man in our church that day. Maybe we'll have a tea party with Uncle Kirk.  See how much he likes dressing up:)  Yeah, that sounds like a good plan. I'll definitely take pictures if we do that!  Here are some pictures of the boys after their new haircuts.  I want to mess with them on Picnik, but not sure if I'll have time. If I do and I really like it, then I'll post the "after" photos later on. 

Growing up

Happy

Brothers

Not sure where to look?

  It's prayer meeting tonight, so I'm off to feed the "starving" masses!

 

Tuesday Tea Time

  I've been trying to have a friend over for tea for the past three weeks and the first one Kiersten came down with the flu, the second one, the friend wasn't feeling well, and this week it finally clicked.  Shirley is my November tea lady. She's the most entertaining one so far too:)  She brought a bear and dress up accessories to do it right.  She's part of the Red Hat Society, but since she moved up in the age group she didn't need the pink and purple accessories.  We became the recipients of said accessories and the kids LOVE them! Here are a couple of pictures from our fun afternoon.

The favorite guest!

His dad probably won't appreciate this one:)

Kiersten looks like she's thrilled to be wearing a boa.

Reading is a must at every tea party:)

 

 
  I don't know if it's just me, but this past year has been busy, overwhelmingly so at times. I mean to call certain people, but by the time I get around to it, it's too late.  I don't usually find people available to talk when my kids are down for nap, due to time changes and jobs.  Before I realize it several months have gone by without my talking to certain people.  I'm not really sure how I can change this though.  It seems to be the way of life.  A lot of things changed when we started school, and since it's high on the priority list there are other things that are set aside.  Thankfully we'll have an eternity to spend with most of our really good friends.  For now, I'll do the best I can and hopefully my friends will forgive me for the lack of communication at times.
  Today Scott took Elyssia with him to the Caleb Village Bible Study.  It was one of the quietest days we've had in quite some time. We played and read books, ate food(of course:), played catch the mama and went outside for a bit of a swing.  We've been having gorgeous weather, so going outside is a requirement while it's still nice.  In the afternoon the boys wanted a bath, so I decided to cut their hair first.  At first I didn't think I did so well on Caleb's, but the more I look at him the more I like it.  I'll have to take some pics tomorrow.  You'd think I'd have the hang of it after cutting Scott's hair for over 7 years and the boys for 4 and 2.  Each time it seems to turn our differently.  Thankfully it's hair and it grows back:).
  Tonight Scott is at the Legion meeting and the kids are winding down for bed.  Last night around this time Caleb fell and hit his head on something(we never really discovered what it was), that sliced his head and there was a lot of blood.  Thankfully we were able to stop the bleeding and apply a bandage.  When I took it off this morning, it was hardly noticeable. Praying for no mishaps tonight.  Elyssia got a gift for each of her siblings while spending her day with daddy.  The books were a big hit and the little cars are being clutched by chubby little hands, fearing that they might be snatched by a sibling at any moment:).  Elyssia's purchase for herself was a coloring book, so after finishing the laundry I got to sit down and color.  I think that's enough activity for one day.  I'm going to sit down and try to enjoy reading a library book that I ordered and my husband picked up for me today.