So many blessings!

Yesterday my husband gave me a very special gift. He kept the 4 older kids and let me go with a lady from church for the day. She had an appointment in Saskatoon and said that after that we could do Christmas shopping, etc... I started off the trip by tripping over a sled buried in the snow, dropping the diaper bag and falling ever so "ungracefully" on the ground. I'm actually still laughing about it. Snow makes a great cushion and there's no soreness. My friend was laughing too once she confirmed that I was okay:).

Addie was super good on the trip. She slept most of the way there and back and even took a nap in the middle when we were having lunch. It gave us a great opportunity to talk and talk and talk. So many subjects, so many stories. It was spiritually refreshing, physically refreshing because I had Addie to carry, but not 4 others to keep an eye on. I'll admit that there were times that I missed the others, but I knew that they were in very capable hands and having a great time. We were able to get all the gifts that I needed, except one. We probably would have gotten that too, but somehow my eyes didn't see it when I was looking at my list.

We had delicious food at a diner, enjoyed getting to know a Chinese couple in the Once Upon A Child store and visited with them for quite awhile while I was waiting for my friend to get back from her appt. They are Christians, have one little girl and they've only lived here for 2 years.

I was hoping to call some friends of ours that live in Saskatoon and had taken some gifts to give them. My friend wanted to make one more stop at Michaels before we went to lunch and you'll never guess who walked up to me when we were in the check out. Yes, it was our friends! What are the chances of that? In Kindersley the chances are higher, but in the city that practically never happens. Maybe because we only go about two times a year:), but I'm giving the credit to the Lord for working that out. He's sooooo amazing!

I got to go to Costco, which is always a fun experience. I don't always buy much, but there were some really good sales on fruit, so I picked up a couple kinds to make jam with. The jam business is still booming-Praise the Lord. I have about 3 batches to deliver this afternoon and I should have at least 2 more to make and deliver next week.

Today is Scott's day off. He is attending a rural pastor's meeting and I'm praying that he has a wonderful time. That he comes back refreshed and encouraged for the busy month ahead.

Happy Thursday Everyone!!!

Memorable

I'm writing this down because I doubt that my memory will retain it forever. Yesterday was one of those days that started off a bit wonky, but ended up being one of the best days ever!

1st Scott came downstairs to tell me that one lady had returned and brought 2 other ladies with her. The interesting thing is that I had met both of them in the last couple months. It was a great surprise and even better was the fact that they really seemed to appreciate the preaching and fellowship. Praying for more opportunities to be a blessing to them in the days to come.

Secondly, Garrison was taking his turn to watch Addie downstairs for main service. She's in training to sit upstairs, but due to a couple loud sessions she needs to get through at least 3 church practices in a row without losing it to be able to sit upstairs with us again. I asked Caleb if he wanted to be the usher and he excitedly agreed. He went up at just the right time and was quiet through the prayer. Went to the first aisle, collected the offering, then turned around and started to go back to Scott. It took 3 tries to get all the way to the back, but he didn't drop the offering plate and I think the feeling of being a helper for the Lord was worth taking the extra time for:).

Thirdly, Kiersten started singing along with the hymns. Elyssia has gotten quite good at reading and singing at the same time, but Kiersten usually stares at the rest of us while we sing. Yesterday she was singing the chorus to "Victory In Jesus". She did great, but I noticed that she was saying, "He shot me and he bought me". It was hard to keep singing while suppressing my laughter:).

Fourthly;) Caleb requested "Amazing Grace" in the evening service. He sang along quite well and at the end he raised his hand and said, "Daddy, I sang lots of the words!" I love it when the kids get to the age where they're able to sing the hymns from memory.

When we got home last night I was carrying Addie to the house and Kiersten was right behind me. All of the sudden I hear her crying. I turn around to find that she slipped on the ice and had slid under the front bumper of the car. Yes, the vehicle was turned off. We both started laughing and she kept declaring, "I slipped on the ice"!

Happy Monday!!!!

It's beginning...

To look a lot like Christmas! Not the everywhere we go yet, but around here. The kids decorated the tree yesterday and it was the first time that I didn't have to help. They enjoyed looking through and finding each of their own first ornaments and we've just about outgrown the little tree that sits on top of the piano. I'm not ready for a full sized one yet. I know it just means more work for me, so we'll make do with this one for the next year or so.

This pic was at the start of the decorating. Will save the fully decorated pic of another post;).

Our first batch of Christmas cookies. There was enough sugar cookie dough for each of the 4 oldest to help decorate a full sheet of cookies. I think the most enjoyable part for them was eating the cookies:)

Hi!

Reach a little higher Kiersten!

I think this ornament is a little big to hang on the tree;).


Off to have a wonderful weekend!

Fantastic!

Last week I put up a post on the Kindersley Facebook site to see what the interest would be for homemade jam. To make a long story short, I sold 40 jars in about 3 days!!! It was amazing. I had some people giving me jars to make more and many that promised to give my jars back to get the 50 cent refund that I offered. I'm giving the credit to the Lord for this one. He gave me the strength and energy to get several batches made and to make it through the huge delivery day.

I haven't written about it before, but the reason for the sales are for a BARN RAISING! Very excited about this!!! I was trying to figure out a way that the kids and I could help to earn the money without Scott having to work more hours. We sold the Wii and got close to the same amount back that we paid for it 2 years ago:). I different collectibles, books that I bought when I was younger, extra Tupperware and DVDs that were just taking up space. Pretty much everything sold in 2 weeks time. Soooo, we just about have enough for the foundation and we have all the rest of winter and spring, plus a bit of summer to save and raise money for the rest. We're really looking forward to getting chickens, pigs(not the stinky part), a sheep or 2, maybe a llama for Uncle Preston:), a cow for all our dairy needs and Elyssia's hoping we'll add a horse in a couple years. Caleb is hoping for the tractor:). So, that is what has been occupying quite a bit of our extra time lately. It's also opened up a lot of opportunities to get to know more people in the community and surrounding areas. People that I never would have met otherwise. Praying that the Lord will give me wisdom through all of it. The kids enjoy helping make jam and we're enjoying the time we spend working together.

Yesterday we also celebrated American Thanksgiving. The kids enjoyed helping to set everything up and the choc chip pumpkin cake with cool whip was a huge success:). The neat thing was looking at the table and seeing so many things that the Lord had helped us to grow this year. Pumpkins, corn, potatoes... In the years to come we might have everything on the table come from right here on the property. We're especially looking forward to the milk, eggs and butter!

Yesterday I was reaching into the fridge to find a snack for Addie. I offered her a pancake and she pushed it away. She shook her head and pointed at the eggs. She clearly said, "THAT!" She's a girl that knows what she wants and SHE LOVES EGGS! Pretty much any way that you fix them:Fried, Scrambled and Hard Boiled. SHE LOVES EGGS:).

So, I'd better get back to working with the kids. They're doing really well, motivated by the fact that we'll decorate the tree today if they get done early. Maybe I'll surprise them with sugar cookies too!

Happy Friday Everyone!!!

Look who's turning 1 tomorrow!

Can you believe it! We've had a wonderful year watching this little one grow and develop her own personality. She makes us all laugh a lot and is currently #1 favorite with all of her siblings. Lucky girl gets to be fought over:). Poor little one has the snuffles, but is handling it quite well. I think this is only her second cold since birth, which is something else to be extremely thankful. Life with 4 siblings means lots of germs and they LOVE to SHARE those, even when they won't share anything else;).

We thank the Lord for 5 wonderful blessings that make our lives so much richer with their existence. We thank the Lord for giving each of them to us, even though it meant also needing to increase our patience:). We thank Him for being with us each step of the way and look forward to seeing what He has for us in the years to come.

Happy 1st Birthday Addie Rose!

I'll admit I'm getting quite bad about pulling out the camera when Nana and Grandad come to visit. There's always a lot going on and I just enjoy the time visiting and watching the kids interact.

Addie with her new Birthday Teddy Bear.

I especially enjoy this picture of Addie booshing Grandad:)

There was lots of reading, crafts, story-telling, school time, dishwashing and making meals together. Grandad's probably happy to have a little peace and quiet again, but overall I think we all had a great time. Lots of memories to keep us til Christmas:).

Look who's 6!

He was extremely happy to wake up on his 6th Birthday and have no more sleeps til he got his presents:). He enjoyed putting together Lego creations from Uncle Kirk, wearing and showing off his cool Batman socks from Auntie Darlene and spending the day with Nana and Grandad!

The gifts from Grandma Prisk are also coming in handy and he looks very grown up in his flannel jacket and bird-watching with his new binoculars. I'll have to get a picture of that later.

Scott got to stay home for part of the morning and made pancakes for breakfast. A rare treat for Wednesday mornings:).

The weather has been quite nice until this morning. The snow returned with a vengeance and I think we have almost as much as the last snowfall.

Thanking the Lord for 6 amazing years with Garrison and praying for many more, should the Lord hold off his return.

Ticka Ticka Ticka!

This little munchkin has a new word. It's actually quite cute since she says "Ticka Ticka Ticka" while tickling her own belly:).

She thoroughly enjoyed her first cupcake that we gave her on Garrison's birthday last week. She seems to enjoy most any food that is put in front of her, which is something to be truly thankful for.

She's gone from tottering first steps a month and a half ago to running around the house looking for siblings and mischief:)

Despite her extremely cute face and winning ways she has developed a very shrill scream that pierces that place in your head that produces instant pain! So, we're doing our best to put a stop to it and pray that it is a short lived phase.

Only 7 more days until our cheeky little monkey turns 1!

Still here...

Yes, I'm still here. We've just been busier lately and I haven't been motivated to blog this week. Will get back to it eventually.