Seriously!!!

Has it really been over a week since my last post? I must be out in the real world, or something;).

We have been busy............


Highlights:

Garrison lost his first tooth!

Adelaide got her first two teeth. Can't seem to get a good picture of that, but here's a cute one.

Awesome Bike Rides.

Don't you love Caleb's way of wearing his new helmet?:) He wants to make sure he can ring his bell at all times. Inside and Outside...

Elyssia is turning out to be a pretty good personal photographer;).

Nana came for a visit on Tuesday. We were having so much fun that I didn't end up taking any pictures! I really should have taken some. We REALLY enjoyed having her here and we have lots of memories and stories to talk about until we get to see her again next month. School won't be quite the same without her,but Kiersten has her color/shapes book to work on while Nana isn't here.

Elyssia is turning out to be quite the helper with making jam. This afternoon we were able to make 3 batches! We made Raspberry, Strawberry and Strawberry Rhubarb. 18 jars total. I think it should last us at least a month or so;).

Our weather has been gorgeous and we've been enjoying more fresh veggies from the garden. Our favorite is corn on the cob and we'll be having our 3rd picking tomorrow night. Nana brought beets and we(some of us)enjoyed it with our supper last night. Kiersten claims to like it, but I think she just enjoys licking it. Perhaps if we gave her some sour cream to dip it in:).

More school, a playdate and a BBQ to look forward to on the morrow.

Happy Thursday Everyone!(Not much left of it though;)

Incredible

This past month has been incredible! We've had so much fun working and playing as a family. I was to the point of exhaustion at one point, but the Lord has been giving me extra strength and encouragement to keep on going.

We're having so much fun with the family that moved here from Nova Scotia. It's like the kids discovered their twins and now it seems they're inseparable. They'll be here today after school and then we'll be there to play tomorrow before Prayer Meeting. They found a house to rent in Eatonia and they're excited to get settled in next month. The yard has flower and vegetable garden plots, so that will make things easier for them next year. They love growing things and Kelly was able to teach Scott more about our fruit trees and how to get them healthy.

Yesterday was our first day of school:). I totally have a smile on my face over that one:). I'm sure there will be difficult days, but yesterday was a lot of fun. Adelaide fell asleep just before we started and the other kids were really excited. We have school stations for the younger ones to keep their hands busy when I can't be doing one on one with them. We have group sessions where we can read together and today I think we'll also work on a puzzle together. Garrison's reading is coming along great! I think he got through that portion quicker than any of the other subjects. He's very particular about how his numbers look, so Math takes him longer. He's quick to tell me the answer, but then takes his time writing. Elyssia has a lot more writing this year and I think it's going to take closer to 4 hours for her to get hers done this year. That's okay. We're working with that and I'll be adding more extras in the weeks to come. Kiersten was taking herself potty while I was working with the others, which is a wonderful blessing. I wasn't sure how she'd do, but she's taking the initiative to get things done.

Scott and I made a batch of pear jam last night and only one jar didn't seal. Guess we'll have to eat that one sometime in the next week or so. What a sacrifice:). I also got to make a Strawberry Rhubarb Custard Pie. I think I've only made it one other time since we got married, but mom used to make it a couple times a year. I got to use our Strawberries and Rhubarb, which made it even more delicious! We have enough strawberries for one strawberry pie and a batch of jam. I'm not sure if we'll get anymore than that, but it's a nice treat.

Scott headed out earlier this morning to work in town, so I've been finishing up a few things before the kids woke up. There are 4 out of 5 here now and Caleb is telling me how Daddy stuffed something in his window last night to keep the black monkey out. I'm thinking he had a very vivid dream!

Well, I'd better go and feed the "starving" little ones:). Getting set up for school this morning should be faster and there won't be the laundry to keep up with.

Happy Tuesday!!!

An Incredible Week

Once again there's been so much going on that blogging has fallen by the wayside.

Highlights: Picking apples and chokecherries with the kids.

Making over 30 litres of applesauce.

Receiving and listening to Nathan's new cd in the mail. Awesome!

Making my first Ground Cherry Pie. Delicious!!!

Tasting Scott's homemade pasta sauce made out of tomatoes that he grew:). Yummy!

Playdate with friends. Lots of fun:).

Getting together with new friends from Nova Scotia. Our kids have bonded quickly and now feel that they're inseparable. Micah and Caleb could honestly be twins. Yikes, Double Trouble, but Oh so cute and ALMOST irresistable;).

Taking the girls shopping today, BBQ with friends, then a circus. The circus was disappointing from the aspect that we were looking forward to seeing animals and they only had dogs. There were some things that we had to look away from and some incredibly amazing stunts. They had funny and talented people, but the kids were definitely disappointed about not seeing animals.

Garrison's loose tooth is barely hanging in there and Adelaide now has two bottom teeth!

It's very late and we have a wonderful day at church to look forward to in the morning.

Happy Saturday!

A purpose and A plan...

God has been working extra hard lately around here. He's been blessing from all sides in so many different ways when we've been so exhausted that we didn't think we could make it through another day.

This past week we had the unexpected blessing of housing 3 people for a couple nights. The original plan was for them to stay with another family, but when they were unable to do it, we were given the first of many blessings:). At first I was thinking of the extra work, but then I started to get excited about it. We didn't get very much time to visit with them when they came 2 years ago and this time we'd have a couple days. There's always the concern over how the kids will do. Will they remember their manners? Will they get along with each other or go through another testing stage... 1 incident in those couple days=amazing and priceless! The Smiths were a wonderful blessing and encouragement. Our kids loved having them here and asked if they could stay longer. There was another man from their church that came and I have to say that it was like having another kid in the house;). He drove a convertible and played with the kids. Told silly jokes and quickly became a favorite. He knows how to have fun and laugh at himself. He has to, since he's originally from Quebec and dares to wear his shirts and hats supporting those teams here in the prairies:). Bro. Smith made several comments about how great it would be if the hat "accidentally" fell in the shredder while they were trimming the John and Romans:))). Overall it was quite wonderful. Some friends of ours from Saskatoon came out for Saturday afternoon to help for a couple hours and then drove out to our place for a weiner roast. I'm not sure, but I think that 17 is the most that we've fed out here without it being a potluck. It went well and I think everyone had plenty to eat. Next time I'll have to fix twice as many angel eggs. There were some minor complaints about going back for seconds and them being gone... The Lord helped us to finish 2,900, which is close to 1,000 more than the last time they were here. We didn't have as many adult helpers, but the kids were a huge help taking things up and down the stairs, saving time and being a blessing in the process.

Many people had mentioned being out of town for Sunday, so we mentally prepared for a fairly quiet Sunday. The Lord surprised us once again with visitors from Kindersley and we soaked up the last couple hours with the Smiths and Remy. They turned the tables on us when they left by leaving a gift card and basket for our family! It seems that that happens more often these days. We set out asking the Lord to help us be a blessing to those around us and they end up being the greater blessing.

On Saturday we had a family call, inquiring about a place to stay. Without revealing personal details, it's turning out to be another wonderful blessing. They have 3 kids close in age to our 3 oldest, they homeschool and we get along great. Praise the Lord! Looking forward to seeing what the Lord has planned in the days and years to come.

This morning we got to Skype my brother in law, Preston, in Madagascar. Love technology!!! The kids were super excited to see him and tell him all the news.

Later in the day we discovered that Garrison had his first loose tooth and Adelaide was just getting her first one:). What a week for blessings!

Guess I'd better head off for now. Adelaide was playing with Scott, but it's time to get her into bed.

Happy Monday Everyone!!!

Check it out

Here's the link for our newest family Smilebox creation.

http://smilebox.com/playBlog/4d7a49344d5441774d6a593d0d0a&blogview=true


Happy Wednesday!

TMI

I'm afraid that I'm having a bit of a hard time thinking of what exactly I should write about the past couple weeks. That's the bad thing about not writing posts quickly after each event. There's definitely Too Much Information for me to really write it all down without it losing a lot of it's funny qualities. I'll just share about our trip to Alberta for the wedding and leave the rest unwritten.

Scott's parents came to our house last Wednesday after attending a BBQ with the Prime Minister of Canada:). Some of you may remember that Scott and I got to meet him about 4 and a half years ago in Castlegar. We were quite excited that they were getting this opportunity and that it was only about 10 minutes from our house. They were meeting to celebrate the end of the Mandatory Wheat Board in the Prairie Provinces. Farmers were actually arrested over the years for giving away their wheat across the border in protest and it's wonderful to see the freedom that they'll now have to sell their own wheat without going through the board. They spent the night here and graciously allowed the 3 older ones to stay in their camper too:). Brave Parents;).

Thursday I did something for the first time. I drove the kids to Alberta without Scott. I was following his parents part of the way, but it was still kind of exciting. They were very well behaved and we made really good time. The kids picked raspberries with Grandad and he claims that his patch will never be the same. I rather think he's going to miss Buster Bear, Blackie the Crow and Sammy J.:). That evening we went to visit Great Grandma Neilson. Adelaide gave her some pretty nice smiles, in spite of being a little out of sorts. We can see where her teeth are, but they haven't broken through yet. I have some pictures, but I had to charge the batteries and didn't get them uploaded yet. Another day....

Friday was another first. My Mother in Law drew me a map and I took 3 of the kids over to play with cousins. It was an awesome map and we didn't make any wrong turns. For those reading this, who didn't grow up in the prairies, the lack of road signs can be a little scary at times. The kids had a fun time and it was neat to see the cousins playing together. Scott arrived later that night after he got off work and played with the kids a bit before bed.

Saturday was Jeff and Amy's wedding. We spent a good portion of the morning cleaning out the van with the parent's strong suction vac:). It hasn't looked that clean since we cleaned it at my mom's house in Georgia;). Then the kids got a quick bath and we headed out to the wedding. There were DOZENS of little cousins running around. It was neat to see our kids surprised faces when we told them that most of the little kids running around were their cousins. There wasn't time to play with all of them, but it was nice to at least say hi to some of the parents. The wedding was outdoors and it was pretty hot. Adelaide slept through the whole thing and the others mostly sat under the shade of a tree on a blanket that Nana brought. The big surprise for the kids was the Candy Cannon. They loaded it up after the wedding and shot Candy out of it about 10 times. It was a nice treat, especially since it distracted the 3 younger ones when I drove them home. Scott kept Elyssia and they went to the Reception that night. I took the four younger ones and drove back home, hoping to get to bed early and not have such cranky children on Sunday. The drive went well, but the kids didn't go to sleep very early.

Sunday was quite tiring, with the kids a bit crazy/crabby. There were lots of visitors to distract them though and they enjoyed having 2 friends downstairs during the main service. There were a total of 8 first time visitors on Sunday. 3 from Holland, 2 from Prince Albert and 3 from Kindersley. It was an encouragement on a very exhausting day.

Monday was a Holiday, but also the Grocery Sale Day in town. Scott was home and had the kids helping with garden stuff while I took Adelaide. We actually had a pretty nice time. It got up to 30, but we were home a bit before that.

I guess that catches us up on things. Sorry for the lack of posts and pictures. Especially for the family outside Canada right now. Life has been busy and the blogging is what I've chosen to be set aside during the busy times. We're in the home stretch of potty training Kierten, bringing in some things from the garden, making jam and gearing up for the start of school. Exciting days ahead:).

Have a wonderful Wednesday tomorrow!