WAY TOO MUCH FUN.

Thunder and Lightening Storm . We sat and watched it come in and move away.



Bike Ride: family ones now that Julia can keep up with us on her bigger bike. :) well... we go like 12 km an hour instead of 25, but hey, it is super fun to be all together!! :)



We threw together a quick picnic of boiled eggs, veggies and garlic-bean dip. yum. Daddy treated the kids to ice cream, and we all guzzled the 5 bottles of water i packed. whew. hot day!!







LOVE. LOVE. love this forest. isn't it gorgeous??? this season is soooo beautiful, and those flowers!! WOW.



Great Opa reached another milestone, 96 years of age!! I took the kids out to the Birthday party and enjoyed the 30 minutes of sleep THEY all had on the way there. :) I wanted to be sleeping, but driving doesn't allow for that! ha. amazing how peaceful a car ride can be when the little ones are all napping...well, i guess Julia wasn't, but we had some good talks while the little ones slept. :)




Heehee. Aren't they sweet? Julia is wearing a brand new Sailor dress thanks to Oma (the seamstress) and Mercy is sporting the canada day dress i made for Julia at this age. :)

Camping Season

E.S.C.A.P.E.

Every once and a while Dave and i escape. depart. breakout. take flight. flee....

...From the regular, lovely, and delightful routine of life. Thanks to a web service called travelzoo, we find travel plans that fit our budget. (highly necessary for this here penny pincher)

There are some tips I can share with you here, on how to make memorable-and-affordable outings.

1) Wonderful Friends (that actually want to see us.thankfully!) :)
We were invited to stay at two different homes of friends, which was so so so relaxing and FUN. I love the people God has put in my life. This took us far enough from home to feel "away" and kept the "lodging" part of our trip budget low. I was so touched by K and D. when we arrived, our hosts were not going to be home, so they left out Kettle corn, tea, tea, and more tea, and of course, they prepared their hot tub for us as well!! wow. thoughtful. We felt so blessed. and feel so blessed. :)



tip #2 - make special food.
Our friends J and P make awesome food. They were kind enough to treat us to a late night - post-kid-bedtime dinner of Blue cheese burgers and salad. mmmmmmmmm. Did i mention they make great food? They are incredibly hospitable as well. It is a gift. and An Art when it comes to J and P.

Hmm. Tip #3 ~ plan for inexpensive outdoor activities.
we played tennis, and brought along the frisbee just in case. :) we swam. we were going to jog as well, but never did. Wandering new trails together. sitting on the beach to read. Walking through a new town. making a beach side picnic. mmm. take along your own card and board games.



tip #4) if you enjoy quiet. with no technology. if that is your formula for a good vacation. well, just have your hubby's cell phone die the moment you arrive at your first destination. yep. unfortunately it happened. But dave enjoyed not having to answer his phone for four days. whew. it will be a bit of work putting all his info onto a new phone though.



Tip #5 - have awesome friends and family take care of children. THANK YOU SO SO SO MUCH. you know who you are. :)


Above Photo: I had to capture the sign on this woodsy trail. I have never in my life seen a forest sign post that signals the "tennis courts" ha. so much for totally rustic hiking trails. oh well. it was BEAUTIFUL.


i absolutely LOVED gazing up the hill to see the sun's rays pouring over it. lime green leaves glowing in the evening light. aaaah. love it.

A Really Really Great Day.

My husband got me this HUGE ROCK for mother's day, i am so spoiled!! :) teehee. isn't it awesome? we found it at the beach somewhere a while back, and i asked for a necklace. :) i love it!!







We all had such a wonderful day on sunday. It was mother's day, teaching sundayschool-day, brunch at K's house-day, enjoy my family-day, walk outside-day, have some quiet time-day, and so much more. :)

Over the years my expectations of mother's day have changed... from years where i felt like it needed to be all about ME, to realizing that life is just better when it isn't "about me". Praise God for that. anyway, it is nearly time to host small group, so i can't go into detail of my walks, talks, and lovely moments.... but it was a REALLY REALLY GREAT DAY. love to all you mother's out there. :) those that are, will be, and have been. ((hug))

Mother's Day.

On this special day, i am taking time to honor my Mum. Yup, she is one spectacular lady. When I was young she took me home from school, so that we could have more time together - and it was a great 7 years of being taught at home. As we grew up Mom picked up jobs for my sister and I as paper delivery girls, so we could learn about handling money. Then she let me blow my money on a dog that i adored for years. (thanks mom) I know dad had a part in these decisions too, but moms play a big role in the day to day delivery of duties and responsibilities.

My mom loves Jesus, just ask her, she will tell you about how His love transforms her life. Just last night, mom read to me some of her thoughts off a page she wrote regarding Mother's day, and knowing that her Mum is spending it with Jesus this year. It is very special for me to see my Mum trusting God to bring her through the difficult days, and how they are making her stronger in His grace, mercy and love.

Creativity often gets brushed aside to be "full time mum", but My mama just found different ways of showing her creativity while she was at home with us girls. I mean, there was the food; baking, cooking, whatever it may be, there was ALWAYS some kind of food decorating the tables. :) Then the gardens and the house, she was the schemer when it came to colors, style and display. Sewing, too, has always been one of mom's creative talents, although i must say, i prefer her sense of style much better NOW than when i was a child. The clothing she makes for us and the kids now is WAY CUTER than the brightly-colored, curtain-style floral dresses, square-shaped shirts, etc of the 80's. ((ik)) Sorry mum. hahaha. We've had this conversation before though... haha.

So Mum, on this lovely day to celebrate you YOU you, i hope you feel loved and cherished. I know for certain that sarah and i "Rise up and call you blessed" because of who God made you to be, and how you show that to us daily.

((hug))

Mother's Day.

I am truly blessed to have two moms.

Not a lot of people can be happy to say they live close to their In-Laws, but I can honestly say it is an honor. I enjoy my husbands family, my family, really. It would be strange and alien to only consider them "his" when they are so very "mine" after all these years. (like 7...hahaha)

Mama Naus today is your day. Mother's day. Instead of writing a little essay on what kind of mother you have been; since that would be dave's area of expertise, i will pen a short poem for your reading delight.

Naturally Mother.
God made fathers, brothers, others,
But with you, He formed a Mother.

Partly strong, somewhat weak,
So for Him you'd have to seek.

Naturally wise, incredibly clever,
For no ruse to trick you ever.

(with 5 children all your own,
God knew this gift you'd have to hone)

Domestic: deep, down to the core.
Batters, casseroles, creams and more.

Joyful to pass on your culinary arts,
for my generation to gain some cooking smarts.

We praise God for Oma's who are Mothers.
Because you take good care of us, and ALL the others!!

~love ya mama. from the pen of silly su.

An excerpt from "A Disciples Notebook" :

A thought for the day. Beautiful:


“Spiritual progress, therefore, is tied up in knowing Christ as our All. It takes place when we take Christ as our portion to be all things for us. Greater Bible knowledge will not do this for you. Increased religious activity or spiritual service will not do this for you. Neither will spending more time praying. Only a revelation of the vastness of Christ can meet the bill.
As I survey the landscape of modern Christianity, it seems to me that spiritual things and objects have replaced the person of Christ. The doctrines, gifts, graces, virtues, and duties that we so earnestly seek have substituted for Jesus Himself. We look to this gift and that gift, we study this truth and that truth, we seek to appropriate this virtue, we try to fulfill this duty, but all along we fail to find Him.
When the Father gives us something, it’s always His Son. When the Son gives us something, it’s always Himself. This insight greatly simplifies the Christian life. Instead of seeking many spiritual things, we seek only Him. Our single occupation is the Lord Jesus Christ. He becomes our only pursuit. We do not seek divine things; we seek a divine person. We do not seek gifts; we seek the giver who embodies all the gifts. We do not seek truth; we see the incarnation of all truth.
God has given us all spiritual things in His Son.”
Frank Viola
From Eternity To Here, 302-303
((I took this from HERE which is a devotional i read occassionally)

"Our" New Farm

Deceiving.
that is what blogging can be. We can so easily put up a front (without even knowing it sometimes) of who we are and what we value. But i still blog. haha. i love it.

So, deceiving as the title of this blog IS, we are not starting a farm. (though maybe one day, wouldn't that be awesome!!?? way too much work though... i think i would realize just how "lazy" i am then. Not that i'm lazy, but i am not a hard enough worker to be a farm mom)

ANYWAY. whew, i am Tangent Queen today.

We finally found a farm to have as our own Beef source. (the pictures show this farm) The lovely couple who owns and operates this farm gave us a tour and allowed the kids to play with all the sheep, lambs, alpaca's and the sweet donkey "George". (Who followed the kids all over. IT was so, so cute. He is an old Donkey and he loved the attention) Julia sat down and drew a few of the animals in her "adventure sketch book". Sam followed the bugs, the animals, the poop, the dirt, the dandelions - anything that got his attention. I love little boys and their antics, frustrating though they can be. Mercy barked at the hens, and called the cows "horses", and got mad when i wouldn't let her bum-scoot through the manure.

SO, if you want delicious hormone free beef, we can hook you up with a great family that sells it through "Bluewater Beef". call me!! :)

Beauty.

((MUST RUN OFF TO CHURCH AND MAMA'S NOW. WILL POST STORIES LATER))