the surprize

Okay....whew, what a wonderful, lovely, delight of a birthday! Dave is the master of planning surprizes, my oh my. i tell ya, this year, this SUMMER has been just crammed with fun and excitement because of the ideas that invade his mind.....i am so glad they do.

Under the "guise" of just going out for supper all dolled up, so that i wouldn't have to cook on my birthday, we trucked over to East Side Marios. ( Dave and I make a rule that going out means something new on our plates. Usually we go out for the sort of food that we could not prepare at home....i realize that Italian doesn't quite fit that description, however, i think my stomach could not have contained Indian or Chinese cuisine at this point in my pregnancy.)

The prospect of dining as a family charmed me, and i told dave that this was my best birthday since we got married. (since the last year i was in BC without him, and the year before that, on a plane to Winnipeg with Julia; however, without dave...boo)

Little did i know there was MORE TO COME! :)

We drove to the beach, to walk the white dunes and swim. It was odd that dave wanted to walk across the whole beach to get to the change rooms when you can drive up to them....but i trust this man so much, he MUST know best. :)
Off we go. Besides, it is so romantic to walk in our formal wear down a beautiful beach....sigh.

ONce we neared the changerooms, dave didn't even make a "B" line to them. Again, very odd for such an efficient walker as he. (he only lingers on a walk for my benefit) I tried to ask him why he wasn't walking to the rooms.....but he wouldn't give me a reply....that is when the trouble began....i saw too vans in the parking lot...side by side...mmmm. i recognize those... i said.

Dave laughed. There were two friends of mine, dressed in lovely gowns and sitting in the woods awaiting us!!

Soon a caravan of people i knew drove through and dissapeared.....when we found them, a beautiful setting was before us!!

Tables ladden with chocolate, various tea cups, wineglasses, flowers, ribbons in the trees, candles, and a crown for me! :) What a magnificent setting. What a charming evening followed. We ate cake and opened gifts and drank tea!

A tea party overlooking the lake (that i keep calling the ocean, silly me, but it is quite large .... )
WHat more could a girl ask for?? (perhaps better posture...as you can see in the picture, it is quite poor....haha)

Well, there was still more. Once the festivities of the lakeside tea were nearing an end, as well as being rushed to an end by the approaching and festering storm....we all joined fellowship at karli's abode and talked into the evening.
SOOOOOOOOOOO I AM SENDING A HUGE THANKS TO ALL THOSE THAT HELPED PLAN AND EXECUTE SUCH A DELIGHTFUL EVENING FOR ME!!!! AND THANK YOU TO ALL THE BELOVED PEOPLE THAT CALLED AND SENT CARDS. thank you thank you!

july 27, 1983

alas, it was a time ago, i find it difficult to recall definite details....the only one that stands out is this....

I WAS BORN! :) heehee


A glorious day it has proved itself to be. Dave surprized me earlier this weekwith a NEW FRESH sketch book!! (robert bateman cover series....just like the good old days in highschool....) Then this morning, in between his manly coffee time and work, he CAME HOME TO DO MY DISHES. wow. the sacrifice...i'm telling you...amazing.

The rest of the day continued in relative awakeness and normality....quiet, restful, NO WORK needing to be done....aaaah. The Lovely voices of my sister and mommy and daddy were heard...they celebrated my birthday by traveling to the beach...i wish i could have gone! :( But dave says we shall visit the beach this eve. :)

A wonderful birthday gift today was seeing our new baby. I had a 'dating ultrasound' from which i did not expect much...being only 10 weeks along. However, i saw a very clear sillowette of our baby and a rapidly beating heart. How amazing. How awesome! beautiful isn't it?? Barely known to us, besides my sleepiness and lack of certain womanly times (hahaha) , we hardly know this child is there.....but there is a strong beating heart, and a body, a full frame upon which God is shaping our child....wow.

well, dave will be home soon. then we are off to dine with the Jules. so farewell. and enjoy the day. for it is a good one! :)

love from sue

ahha!

frustrated no more! here is the bag i just finished sewing...sorry it is a dark picture! thanks to some old jeans, and some favorite material in scraps, this purse has been born.

bag?? purse?? picture??

Okay, so pretend there are lovely pictures of a new bag-purse that i just finished.....yes, it is true, blogger isn't working for me just now. alas, all else is well, i cannot complain (too much at least!) . So...speaking of being frustrated.................

...........i have been learning from Ecclesiastes lately. SO VERY INTERESTING! hmm. It is humourous, because if Solomon penned these words in this day and age, he would have been declared depressed and put on strong medications, however, he is only very realistic in his synopsis of life.

Life is frustrating. Com'on moms, you understand this all too well: we wash the dishes....and then there are more!! We sweep the floor....only to see more dirt there! We clean the laundry....and the bin fills up quickly thereafter. you get the picture. never ending: you 'toil' and it is in 'vain' (well, not terribly 'vain' to keep a household running smoothly) because it is NEVER DONE. now now, i am not complaining...there is a lesson in all of this .

All parts of life end up similar to this...frustrating in some aspects, because we are imperfect and incomplete without Christ. Our shortcomings lead us to seek a more accomplished being, the perfect God. We cannot deny it once we see our fate. That our lives, whether good or bad, full or dull, simply end the same as any other. We have the same fate. God gives us a period of time: we live, we choose and then we shall die.

I only hope for myself, and all of us, that when my film of life is played back to me (or your own , to you)....that i won't ask for portions to be deleted, that i won't be wishing i had snuggled more, been agitated less, and such, that i can see my life, my choices and know that God is pleased. And know that( in part) i tried to live for the glory of God and tried to enjoy Him forever.

Solomon wrote: "I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live" (ecc. 3:12)

(he wasn't all down and out! haha)

This is my lesson for the day....i want to look at life, it's ups and downs and praise God. I want to open my eyes to every moment that God has given me to enjoy. Every precious little thing. I want to live for HIS glory and i want to enjoy HIM forever. Since there is a time for everything, i want to make sure i'm not pining for the past or aching for the future when God has given me every good thing NOW.

sorry that this is long and drawn out. ha. i am just working out all this in my brain. feels like there is more room in there now... so maybe i can sleep.

love from sue

answer!

We had an absolutely fabulous time at the sod-laying evening. What had happened was, the city did some work outside of our property and the sod they laid it upon the ground....okay, almost that quickly....so we had to replace it.
I have never seen a two year old work sooo hard!! Man, is she ever driven, hardworking and funfunfun. When we were digging up old sod and weeds, she was right there throwing it into boxes. As we took rolls of sod out to lay, she was right there waiting to roll them out on the grass. Daddy had to do some bigstrongdaddy work, so Julia took over watering the newly laid grass!!!

this darling dear precious child never ceases to amaze us both!!!!!! After two hours of helping and occassionally walking off to read her stories on the steps, we finally went home to bathe. Dirt was EVERYWHERE. ha. what fun!

Here is a collection of pics: Thursday night (julia corn husking for our company...the Redicks, such a great family of six kids, only four could make it, but they are exciting to have around!!)


Julia wearing her very own Sou'wester from Oma and Opa Naus (they were just in Newfoundland.)



















And TODAY: it was Carla Raes Birthday!!!!! we had a lovely tea to celebrate!! (she is the darling that helped paint the grass on Julia's walls....she is a truly exceptional artist!!!)

Here's a Question:

What do you suppose a two hour evening of sod laying at an empty yard, yoid of toys and people, with a two year old would look like??

Two Funnies for a Day

Hidy ho there neighbors,

Today was a lazier day than the one which came previously. I ran far too many errands and meetings and such yesterday, and by it's end i was exhausted. My energy levels have decreased soooooooooo quickly. Ug. Julia is so forgiving. Especially when mommy plops down on the couch and can't lift a finger for ten minutes.....miss Julia brings me pillows and stories and teddy's , until she is bored with a lump of a mommy, and runs off to do something else. ha.

1.) funny number one: Julia and Daddy have a wonderful time playing 'tackle' on the bed. Here she is doing summersaults, and being seriously dizzy and tipsy from them!!

I love to watch her play with Dave. It just cracks me up to see her so tipsy, barely standing up again and saying, "Tackle me daddy!!" down she goes! Then barely vertical, wobbling on her own two feet, she calls again, "Daddy, Tackle me!!!!" shreaks of laughter and giggles accompanying the game!

2.) funny number two: We also enjoyed a great sprinkler-ish afternoon together, in the heat which bears down upon us. Julia began running laps around the sprinkler yell-singing "Running around with GOd!!! We are running around with God!! We are running around with God! We are running around with God!!"

and on and on and on and on it went.

After the first couple rounds i realized what she was singing and couldn't help but giggle!

Enjoy the other pics from today: julia carefree and happy at the new park down the street. lovely equipment!

Bye from us here in rainy, muggy Ontario.

Wedding Bells

Three years ago today!!


i wish i had pictures to show you....however, my camera battery is dead and recharging presently, and i have no digital pictures to upload. THerefore, i cannot take a picture of a picture just now...and i cannot post one...how sad! :)

Anyway, i'm sure you can picture it, if you were there. Ah, lovely day to remember.

Three years of wonderfulness celebrated today.

:)

Sites of Interest

here are some interesting informative sites that help us keep up with what is happening far and away in Israel and Lebenon these evil days:

David Dolan

Arab Israeli conflict history

City of David


My aunt always finds beautiful sites with awesome info on them, she is the queen of the net!! so i borrowed these site links from her! Check them out if you have time...i only browsed, but the city of david one looks soooooooooooo awesome. really great website. and David Dolan is very knowledgeable, it is very interesting to hear news FROM where it is happening, and from someone who can give good background. I find that news stations often sensationalize and miss the details that i would prefer.

Love to all, from sue

story time

hey mom, they are FINALLY DONE. haha. i procrastinated LONG enough....here are the first COMPLETED curtains in our home!

While shopping with some friends the other day, i discovered that Target (in the states) carries a lot of really awesome Children's literature!!!

I have a terrible long term memory about some things...and this is one of them. i can't remember a lot of my childhood in concrete memories. (because i was in my own world the whole time, i just know it!) So i recall a few books i liked, but not a ton....sooo....

I'd love to hear what everyone's FAVORITE children't book was and is......

okay....let the stories begin!!!!

oh wonderful brain that is made to think....

Excerpt from Dorothy Sayers, the Lost Tools of Learning

"Has it ever struck you as odd, or unfortunate, that today, when the proportion of literacy throughout Western Europe is higher than it has ever been, people should have become susceptible to the influence of advertisement and mass propaganda to an extent hitherto unheard of and unimagined? Do you put this down to the mere mechanical fact that the press and the radio and so on have made propaganda much easier to distribute over a wide area? Or do you sometimes have an uneasy suspicion that the product of modern educational methods is less good than he or she might be at disentangling fact from opinion and the proven from the plausible? "

Have we exchanged the skill of learning, for the learning of subjects and opinions ?

oh lovely brains out there, do think on these thoughts....

what doest thou think?

ps

Jon and Carmen. i want to find your blog....where is it?????

it isn't listed! :(

please help me out....you can email me, i have the same email as before....the swedishsuzy one.

:)

thanks!

hmmm??

So, in my attemts to make my garden brighter and richer, i added a stone daisy....one yellow petal. see it??

It is really hidden, but that might be a good thing! haha. I pictured this in my head, and then it didn't fit in as well as i had hoped. Perhaps it will grow accustom to its surroundings??

Any thoughts? should i paint ALL the petals?

hmm....

anyway. that was our creativity for the day. IT IS SO HOT HERE. yuck.

If i were at the beach, the heat wouldn't feel so nasty. But when you wake up and the house is 83 degrees, the air humid, stale and still....ug. not so nice. Give me some wind, waves and blue and i feel much better! :)

Summer is so full of enchantment, delight and contentment! Today Julia played in her sprinkler until Aunti K came to take her on a date to the beach!!! What excitement! THat gave Dave and I time to do some MUCH needed cleaning in our basement. YUCK. The work bench area has been collecting boxes of tools, supplies, and odds and ends for months now. To add to the disaster, our crazy rain last night added four streams to our constant washer run off. Anyway, it looks wonderful to my sore eyes now that we have slaved for a bit.

Organization feels so satisfying!


The garden continues to bloom and grow, with gusto! I think the flowers were angered by my neighbor telling me he thought most of the plants, "sorry to say", were weeds. I calmly set him straight by telling him, that no, actually I HAD planted REAL things there, and this wasn't a ragtag over growth of whoever lived here previously! hahahaha. Gently, of course, so as to not SHOVE his foot into his mouth. But it definately was on it's way in without any help from me!
ha.

So funny what we say without thinking. (i do that so so often!)

Reuse!

Okay.

Art project of the day (a few days ago in this wee hobbit town), coffee tin drum!!!!! This makes some of the richest drumming noises i've heard, perhaps not the richest coffee...for that we would have to visit Nik, she makes GOOD COFFEE!! (thank you for making real coffee for card making days Nik!!) But VERY good drumming noises. I couldn't resist, daddy's belt made for a great drum strap, and our chopsticks, excellent drumsticks. Here is our drummer girl, grovin' out. We danced to "THey might be Giants", Julia drumming away and mommy shaking the bells. i'm sure the neighbors love that we have no real curtains yet!! they get entertained all the time.



Moving on to more art projects: This was yesterday's work, a cloth 'paper' doll. We made a "story board" of sorts which is still in need of a frame. This is the humble beginning of a flannelgraph set for Jules. My mind has imagined dresses, shoes, hats, animals, shapes, moons, stars, bugs, trucks, etc....anything to make stories together.
One day they will be made, for now, there is the doll, the dress, the hat, the purse, the shoes, and the moon. (we also made bugs today for this scene.)

is this OKAY?

Is it okay for a teacher to move from instructing in practical means of thinking and learning skills to teaching their own opinions????

So, in my readings today i have discovered that there are cases of parents being arrested for trying to be involved in their childrens' education. In Mass., USA there was a dad that wanted his Kindergarden child to NOT be taught about gay and lesbian lifestyles, and he choose NOT to leave a meeting with the school officials after they refused to let him take his child out of certain classes. THus he was imprisioned and tried in the court of law. The teacher involved seems to think, and also said, that since gay marriage was legal in that state, the parents had NO RIGHTS or reason to be informed of what was being taught!!!!!! (what?????)

He made a poor choice, perhaps, in his refusal to leave until something was done...but then, maybe it wasn't so bad. What is to be done when those in leadership over our children's education decide that the PARENTS don't know what is best for their own kids? and more than that, those same people decide that parents should have little to no say in curriculum content ??? I believe that we are in a sorry state when we trust government and school boards to teach our children more than we trust the parents. (especially in issues of lifestyle and social teaching, this isn't an essential part of instruction, it isn't required to go to college, learn to read, write or speak!)

I recently discussed with a mother why she decided to home school her children, since she is a teacher herself and in an area with decent schools i wondered what her reason was. Her response was this: When the teachers and principals stopped listening to her concerns and ideas the red flags went up. When the parent involvement was diminished to very limited influence over children's outcomes, this was when she knew it was time to take them home for a time, just a time.

Before this comes across as one of the "YOU MUST HOMESCHOOL" essays, i must clear the air: I don't believe homeschooling is for everyone. It isn't a biblical mandate, it isn't a sin to go to school. I come from a family of teachers, i went to public school. I am a little radical sometimes. oh well. The reason i talk about this topic soo much is that God has laid it on my heart so heavily! God gives each of us stronger convictions about different things, for me it is to provide a Christ-based worldview in the tender years of life. i don't know the what, where, or how, but i know the why. And we are just waiting to see where God leads, and what He desires for our future....because really, i have no clue. He is full of surprizes!

I just get so rippen' mad when i hear about school boards planning to teach our children "lifestyle lessons", that isn't their job. (teacher: one that imparts practical knowledge, such as learning and thinking skills.) i don't think so at least. As if they know what is morally best for my little J, or your little bobby to learn, that is what God made YOU for. Parents: they are given the Biblical responsibility for the teaching, training and direction of their own children. (Deut. 6:7, Prov. 22:6) (that can just mean knowing what they are learning in school, being involved there, and countering any untrue information they are fed there and giving them God's wisdom and truth at home.)

okay. that was my vent for the day. whew.

reuse, recycle, reduce...

in recent discussions with other lovely peoples, we have been talking of the ongoing battle in our lives to reuse, recycle and reduce.

Here is a recent Recycle and Reuse idea from the house of Nauslings.
Some of you may know TreeBeard, or some may know of Tea Tree Oil, but none have yet met our TreePants. Yes, i am constructing tree-ish curtains for Julia's room out of Daddy's old pants (if he is okay with that...i haven't run that past him...hmm...maybe this is premature...) .

heehee.
Happy Recycling! HEY......POST YOUR LATEST ODD RECYCLING VENTURE! I WANT TO HEAR ABOUT IT! :) LEAVE YOUR MESSAGE HERE..........

More Garden More Storms More Fun

MOre storms mean more puddles for lovely pink-booted Jules to jump into.
Puddle-jumping-pink-booted-Jules means more picture opportunities for mommy.

More Picture opportunities for this camera-obsessed mommy, means more blogging than anyone can take in each day.....
BLACK EYED SUSANS ARE BLOOMING!!!!!! And below is one of our garlic 'buds'. They are so interesting. I went into this gardening season without much for brains....concerning gardens and green things that is, and have since been blossoming in my own newfound knowledge! What a great thing it is to learn by experience.....i had no idea that garlic would grow like this! :) there is a clove growing RIGHT there on the stem....what fun!
SIDE NOTE ON LIFE: Dave had his VERY FIRST day alone on the job!!!! I can't wait to hear how it went!! i am so proud of him!!
Julia and I had a full day of traveling with our friends Bryce and Austin to the Ontario Early YEars Center, where we made rock pets, painted, played with puzzles, blocks, dolls, trucks, sand and water!!!!
I am starting to feel the effects of being barely pregnant.....i forgot how TIRED i felt last time around!!!! ug...i just can barely keep my eyes open between 2-3 pm!! ha.
Ah, and all is well. Life is beautiful, grand and lovely.

more of the pics

early celebration

Dave planned a beautiful weekend surprize for us, as an early anniversary trip. :) (our anniversary is July 19th) We drove to Stratford, after leaving our dear Jules with Oma and Opa, and stayed at a lovely B&B. The people running it are so very nice. They enjoy talking and entering your life, you can tell it is their passion to love and care for others. Last time we stayed with them it was at a different location, they recently updated a beautiful old home as their new B&B. That first stay with them was a blessing, upon our departure they sent us home with a care package of frozen meats and breads, such caring people.

Senery is gorgeous in this wee Theatre town. The Avon river (yes, we Canadian's are SOOO original, i know) runs through Stratford, go figure, and has beautiful paths around it. We visited these often in our walks to and from town, theatre and dinner. The trees are amazing!! Some are knarled all the way to the top, just a huge tree of knarls!! incredible. Most have holes through the roots near the base of the tree, perfect for animals to hide in. i just love these trees!
some goofy pics. are we ever serious???? ;)haha
Getting dolled up for Coriolanus, by William Shakespeare. My first 'political drama' by W.S., very good indeed. So different than the relationship-based, romantic tri-angle plays that are characteristic of W.S., at least the plays we are all introduced to as highschool students.
Awww, a sweet wee-swanling. Many many swans, ducks and babies. so cute.
THANK YOU DAVE FOR PLANNING SUCH A LOVELY VACATION AWAY!! I LOVE YOU!!

FINGERPAINT!!

oooooooooooooooppy--goooopy-gooooooo. THis was so fun. THank you Janie for the awesome link on your website to "Good things" with Martha Stewart. :) WE made fingerpaint and gooped up the paper this morning. and then....it was tub time to get the globs off of us!!!
Last night we had a party at Oma and Opa's house for our Aunti Ann. It was a "We Love You Ann" Party. OUtside on the porch we talked and ate and laughed together into the evening.
.............................................So Ann, if you are reading this: WE LOVE YOU!!!!! I hope that the party we had told you that, and i hope it brings a smile to your face everytime you think of pistachio salad, turkey burgers and balloons with leaves on them!!

bye for now, from sue

hmmmm......

Do YOU know what this means? :)

heeheeheeheeheehee.

ps. for those of you who may be too young for the content of this blog, please ask your MOM!! haha. :)

cherryPickers

On Monday, we decided to carry on an age old tradition (in the Naus clan) to pick cherries together. I absolutely love fruit season. Freshness. Mmmmmm. SOoooo delightful. Dreams of cherry desserts, cherry fruit slushies, cherry cherry cherry.....
I was (once again) baffled by how HELPFUL miss Julia was. I totally underestimate her. She picked a lot of berries all by herself. moving from tree to tree, happily munching and picking. Although we ran her through a quick tutorial on pit-spitting....she still has about 10 in her belly....oh well, i think it bothers the mommy more than the girlie.

Playing around with the Black and White feature on my camera, since i forgot it was there!!!! (i forgot for almost 3 years...that is so bad. Happy pickers. Here Dave and Julia are displaying the 75 pounds of cherries that we picked together: Mom, Dad, Dave, Julia and I . Good thing they don't wieght US on the way in and on the way out!!

Oh Canana

Happy Canada day all you Canadians out there. The title isn't a typo, that is just how Julia says Canada. She sings, "Oh Canana, home native land. True patr-it lab. " Okay, so she doesn't know WHAT she is saying, hence the weird pronounciation and such, but it is soooooooooo cute. ahha. It reminds me of that game, Mad Gab, where the words are all written in strange ways and it isn't until someone says those nonsensicle words that you HEAR the real words hidden in them. So it is with the written language of a toddler.
For CanDay, Dave and i went to work at St. Jacobs. We had fun, as usual, i don't think i could NOT have fun in a day that was entirely with Dave. We are the best of friends you know. Sermons in the car, music blasting, talking together, working side by side, walking through the market, etc. I am so so so thankful for a husband that understands me. We talk about parenting strategies, discipline, company, food, life, religion, church, God, etc etc etc. what a good man he is.

Here is a wee dress that i am creating for a friend. She is having a little girl in a couple weeks. I am really excited about this dress, because i am finally discovering little quirks that homemade clothes can have....like the buttons i sewed onto the center of two daisies (you may not see them in this pic, they are on the top part of the dress) and the ribbon i added to the wasteline. The addition of little notions like those make me tingle!! haha. i am sooooooo excited to finish it off, bloomers and all!! :)Sunday NIghts are always crazy here: the sink is full of dishes, the house a mess, and we really want company over. i dislike sundays because i never do work on saturdays and then the house is a disaster on the precious sunday!!! anyway, this was the party we had. BANANA PANCAKES to pretend like it's the weekend, (Thank you Jack Johnson) which wasn't very hard since it was the sunday of a three day weekend....anyway. we filled a wee wagon with pancakes for our dear DEAR Karli. check out the link, then you'll understand the funnies.
Ah we love you guys. Thanks to Karla (on the far right) dave and i were able to go to a friends local concert that evening as well. CAVAN

I am so impressed by those guys. The talent that Dave Fraser has is incrediblely natural. He also picked an awesome girl singer to accompany him, they harmonize beautifully!!

Good times.

Anyway. i wish the best long weekend wishes to all. Please pray for my Oma, she is in dire need of physical healing. Thank you.

love from sue