FRIENDS!

As lunch began, for the second time (minor trouble starting lunch the first time led to a second round, much more successful! ) , we glanced out our large old window to see a van pull up.....a man jump down, grab a large LARGE box from the back and bring it up the walk to US! oh my!

THis wasn't just ANY box. it wasn't expected. it wasn't ordered. IT WAS FROM A FRIEND! ooooooh!!!!! With the classic penning of Elly Fales our names were written on this DOOZER of a box. :)
And inside, well that is another story. Cards announcing Happy's and Birthday's and Wonderfulness!



a camping set!! chair, sleeping bag, flashlight, compass, TENT! sooooo cool! (and all in a very handy, very co-ordinated bag on WHEELS) wow.

There was also a precious something for me, THANK YOU so much dear Elly, Doug and Tova. you three are PRECIOUS and LOVED. wow. WOW. wow.

THis was a beautiful gift of thoughtfulness and fun! We are sending our THANKS to you right now. TTTTHHHHHAAAANNNNNNNKKKKKKSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YOU GUYS ROCK!
oh and i can't forget the coooooolest CD ever!! thank you!! here is Julia dancing to it during snack time: They Might Be Giants, Here Come The ABC's.

some like it hot

Yes, yes yes.

we are having fun.

today julia received a POOL.
oooooooooh.

she didn't do anything else all evening. we had to drag her out for supper, which she BREATHED in, and then went back to the pool.

thank you Opa. :)

Umm....yup. it is HOT and i love it!! We are having great in-the-sun times. Julia let me do her hair today, pig tails, as you saw in the below pics. it was awesome. she is so sweet. cute. cuddly. aaaaaaawwwwwwrrrrrrggggg. i love her! :)

well. talk again soon. hope you all had peachy days! love from sue

Movie!

check it out

THis is our little family gathering at Easter time. K brought out the accordian and played a few tunes, we all danced. sorry, not the greatest movie, again, it is on it's side...i'm not sooo good at this yet!

haha

On a hot summers day...

While a celebration began, in honor of Sir Adam, the uncle of much acclaim, a large toad diverted our attention. Although hard to see in this photo, it was the size of an adult hand, and shiny in it's sliminess. :0)
Upon the discovery of something edible in the garden, there was NO stopping the JuliaGirl from eating the chives all up. Or picking them endlessly and offering them to those nearby.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY UNCLE ADAM!!

that was yesterday, here is today:
hot hot hot.
We ran through the sprinkler today (twice already!) because it is very warm. Simple pleasures. In one week : Julia gets her cast off
Dave starts his new (great awesome God-given) job


Well, that's all for now.

92 years old !!

Hey there folks. here we are again. Today was a lovely party for Opa (great opa for the Jules) and he turned 92!! wowzers!
he is so sweet. gentle. loving. He looks just like he did when he was 6. all cute and boyish. Always touched by the smallest act of kindness and thought toward him. very sweet. Julia was rumbling around with Joel, her second cuz. He is 7 months her junior, but with her cast on they hobbled and wobbled just the same!! ha.


This is our only date picture. we got home and i realized i hadn't taken any pictures!! oh nooo how can one post without pictures???? aaaaahhhhhh. So this is our story. We waved farewell to dear Julia, then packed our goods and left for the bridge. As we began to pass over the bridge a fog enveloped us, it was so thick we could barely see past our van. then we watched xmen 3, found a renaissance fair to wander through, and had icecream for a lovely walk beneath the bridges. the fair was AWESOME. it was closed, but the vendors and actors stay on the grounds for the weekend in their 'old fashioned' tents. Fires were lit, fragrant smoke beckoned us in....children ran by playing games in the dusk. fire blackened pots holding stews wobbled over fires, a full skinned pig lay out over a wood pile awaiting it's turn on the spit. the scent of grass and camp fire mingled with the sounds of children's laughter and conversation was so richly naustalgic that we could hardly speak. mmmmm. it was lovely.

Great Opa.....mmmmm cake. :)


Family photo....as we watch the trackor across the street from the family farm.


my favorite..........childlike simplicity. grass. barefeet. bare cast... gazing at the sky. listening to the sounds of evening. asking for more cake. (i'm sure this is a direct memory from my own farm visits as a child...) running. playing. singing. eating. picking grass, pinecones, dirt. reaching up to the sky and laughing, "i reach the sky!" she says. hmmmmm. Doesn't it make you pine for something that you can't quite think of?? Isn't it the word, the action of a child that makes you recall a distant dream, a place you want to be, a freedom you want to embrace?? ooooh. i'm so glad God teaches us these things again as parents. i never want to forget what it is to be a child.

mysterious.
beautiful.
carefree.
sensitive.
loved.


hmmmm. goodnight.

is it today, today?

Well, i have a moment, unexpected as it is. you see, we are to be leaving for a party, but our party girl is still asleep....3 and a quarter hours into her nap....Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

so i sit, waiting for her to awake.

um. we had a great date last night. did you know that?
i'll tell you about it later. the adventures we had...oh my!

see ya! i hear her stirring!

movie?

movie?

today.

Today: we have a new clean fresh water-friendly toilet. thanks to dave and his fabulous knowledge of 'how-to-do-it" stuff. (that means he can do pretty much anything he tries, oh that my brain could work like that....)Julia and I exercised this morning. "here mommy, you do this one" she would say, as she carefully showed me how to do chair squats. "Let's exersize!" says Julia. THen, running to the couch, her little arm out to balance, she swings her leg high and low.
a train ran over our table today.

thank goodness it was only the orange cars.

really, only orange slices. so no damage was done, "whoooowhoooooo!!!!"
hmmm. i think that may be all for now. went to this awesome store with Julia this morning. PEople from my church just started it. UrbanEscape. very very interesting furniture, art and accessories. funky.

love from sue.

shepherding a child's heart

WORLD's view of parenting: providing care

GOD'S view of parenting: shepherding our children's hearts in God's behalf.


this is a really good book so far. (by tedd tripp)

The first couple chapters discuss: the heart determines behaviour (prov. 4:23, luke 6:45, etc)
Therefore: discipline is much much much more than simply changing a behaviour, it is changing the heart.

A child's development involves 1) shaping influences (family life, family values, family history, family response to failure, family roles, etc) and 2) GODWARD ORIENTATION (the biggie,the imp't part)

"Godward orientation" fancy for, "how the child reacts/responds to life experiences/shaping influences" whether they respond in accordance with God's law or against, whether they 'worship' their own needs or God. biblical examples of how the heart is involved in responses: prov. 9:7-10 (the contrast between the mocker and the wise man) psalm 58:3 (we go astray from birth, it isn't just a 'phase of immaturity') psalm 51:5 (same old thing)

THis book is teaching me to be open with Julia about God and God things. Also, it is showing me that i need to be God's agent here on earth, shepherding her heart to understand her sin, and her desperate need of a savior--just as i need Him. And that my disciplining of her is a requirement of God's. If i were to avoid it, i would be sinning as well, and under God's wrath just the same.

that is what i learned today in my reading.

thought i'd share a post with ONLY words, and noooo pictures. whew. that was a tough one for me.....

i think i can do it.
okay, just hit the publish button...

trying something new

Hi
how can i post audio clips on blogger??? any adivce??
sue

a bubble makers dream

Hi again....
i know it hasn't been long since we talked, but i just had to say that life is so good. I am incredibly blessed by the family God gave me; not only my parents and sister, but my in-laws as well. I know that typically we are all supposed to have nasty mother-in-laws and huge problems that arise at each visit, but i fear we are not normal because of our difference in this area.... My family and in-law family are so wonderful and caring and loving and inspiring and wise. (and annoying at times too--after all, they are real people, although the annoyance is usually just my own problem and perspective at that time.........except when Karli wins at 'Settlers' over and over and over again, that is REALLY annoying! ahhahaha)

GOD IS SO GOOD TO US. and what have we done to deserve this all? nothing. we are scum and He gives us the world, how does that compute?? Wow. in awe i must simply say, Praise God.

Isn't she sweet?


Oh, pickle-blossoms!! how i love her.

being a mother is so rich. so full. so lovely.

cheers.

Go In Peace

Hey all!!!
the party is over, but we have many memories to ENJOY for a lifetime!! oh the cousins had such fun together...... i am sooooo curious about what Aunt Carla and Mom have to say about toddler years and how we all interacted...it must have been CRAZY and FUN at our family gatherings with 6 girls so close!! CHOCOLATE PUDDING QUEEN.....
MY beautiful sister and her second baby. What a sweetums this one is!!
The rascals!!
Dancing for Jesus! :) Preparing for sunday morning service, the girls danced gleefully!
EARLY MORNINGS.....ug. i had recently increased my coffee intake to 2 cups each morning...but i think that my jerky movements and racing pulse may be negative side effects... JUST KIDDING.

THANK YOU sarah for braving the plane ride with two children allllllllllll alone!! (if you are reading this, dear reader, and i know you are , i think that my sister deserves a day of rest for the CRAZY long flight she survived with two kids on her lap!! For those of you who thought flying ALONE was a hassle; what with small bathrooms, narrow aisles and no leg room...think of carrying a helpless infant and controlling the activity of a two year old while enduring the flight....ik. send her a card, a lot of chocolate and perhaps a trophy for Bravery and Courage !)

I must say, it was like a walk in a dream. sister here, sister gone. We were able to escape for two dates while she was here. On saturday my mother in law babysat the three darlings so we could shop!! fun!! what a blessing!! then last night we ran out to my sis-in-laws to watch 'corner gas' . only because it is the FUNNIEST show on earth. (sorry to all you non-canadians who do not get our humor)

much love from this house to yours.
Sue

three kids, rain, sun, food, fun.

Hey there,

no pics this time, but i had to drop a line to say, "we are alive and well"

It is mostly chaos every moment that three kids are awake....but we are enjoying each other. :) who said chaos wasn't fun at times? anyway.....the kids are awesome! Kaia is super cute and strong and like his daddy, Lecina is full of bounces, wiggles, runs and giggles, and julia is enjoying the riot.

because of Lecina, our baby is walking again! it was the ONLY way she could keep up to her hustle and bustle cousin!

hooray!

we have been walking, wagoning, stolling, animal farm visiting, driving, swinging, sliding, hopping, running, eating, eating, eating (especially Kaia) , screaming, laughing, tickling, sleeping (occassionally), cooking, cleaning, shopping, and just having good family fun.

THANK YOU FOR THE SURPRIZE AND THE LOVELY VISIT!!!!!! Dave did a great job of keeping this a secret and a HUGE surprize!!

love from me

SOME MORE PICS

pictures

SURPRIZE!!!!! DAVE SURPRIZED ME WITH MY SISTER AND HER CHILDREN!! WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW

NUMBER 156

Wow,

i made it to the great big number of 156. yep...the largeness of this number is to be celebrated by pictures and words. hooray!happy mother's day ..... TO ME! :)

THANK YOU to Karli for hosting our Mom's day lunch...i truly appreciated that it wasn't my house and my dishes and my work for the whole day!!! you put a lot of time and love and care into our brunch. THANK YOU.

Eric and Ann with the Julester. (being a goose of course...)
Sarah, i told you i'd show you the old Apple boxes we picked up at our farmer's market...here they are. We took four, and set up two little tables just like the one in the pic. They are so handy...it is a lifesaver to have table space for drinks, phones, books, etc.....

Anyway...any deep thoughts for the day??? hmmm. i have been more picture less word lately. Is that deep enough? ha

I feel like i fall back into such a selfish state constantly. isn't it odd? as i grow older (i know..i'm really getting up there) i see myself in the past and think, "man, was i ever self-absorbed...." but i still am now. As experience grows me, i begin to have a new perspective on those areas of life, but there is so much more to learn and change about me. I suppose that is just life....change change change, die, heaven, perfection in Christ. I often think about the terrible person i'd be without Christ in my life....truly though, even if i were "moral" and "self-disciplined" i'd be terrible without Christ in me changing my prideful self.
I'd yell more, i'd hate a lot, i'd blow up without feeling like dirt as soon as i did it, i would take everything way too personally, i'd be inclined to shooooot everyone down without guilt, i'd be annoyed by Christians smiling because they had 'peace' and 'joy' instead of 'success' and 'happiness', i would just be nasty.
I am so glad that Jesus can do anything. even turn selfish hearts into HIS. :) aaaah. God is soo ooo ooo good to us. Offering us life and love and acceptance, humbling us from our prideful selfish lives.....taking us to the better place....the feet of our God, servants forever, yet FREE in Christ.

:) Thank you to Lori for giving me the reference of "IT's not about Me" by Max Lucado. It's been like...6 months since i finished it, but it still pops into my head a lot. good book. recommended to any and all.

mother's everywhere

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO YOU!! especially to OUR MOM'S Jean and ELizabeth!!

titus 2:4-5

love from us.
D,Sand J

before the fall...

....our girlie could walk so well....ah , soon again soon again. here she is last week sometime playing in her fairy wings and skirt...smelling mommy's tulips. She is doing well on her cast, but still hesitant to walk on it. Julia has taken many steps holding our hands. and she will rest on her foot more when asked. Naturally however, she stands with her right leg crooked up like a flammingo....

GOd is good though. She is very VERY content. thank you for your prayers.

Green Rain?

My Recently attmepted oil painting. practice for the large 3 by 4 foot black canvas we found. The boat turned out like too much of an afterthought....but the colors all became what i desired....we'll see.isn't this just so lovely? The maple trees were raining last night...
wind took this rather large and partly rotten branch from it's socket in a nearby tree. It made for a good "insta-field-trip" for the fam. :) Julia was enthralled...
i love GREEEEEEEEEEEEN. isn't spring full of beauty?
we did our hair today.... THANK YOU TO AUNTI Sarah for the lovely fruit hair clips. :)

PRAISE

HEy there FOlks,

So Dave has now received TWO job offers, the second one is awesomely better than the first. We shall see what comes of them....which one is the gift from God. :)

Other than that.....we have been wagoning and practising to walk, eating delicious chocolate chip cookies...hooray for Betty Crocker Cookbooks....and well, just hanging out.

Have a delightful day all you wonderful folkies.

cast away!