More of Nana's Visit to Narnia :)

Julia's Doll taryn had a birthday, and so we celebrated!! :)

Fall Beauty!

Altogether now: on the phone with Grandpa. :)



At the Animal farm...





Picnic in October!! :) THANK you Nana, for treating us to special treats!! :) I feel spoiled!!

NanaTime!

Fall Fair: and :Dressing up.

"mmm. cotton candy on my lip. yum"



"This is my picture, right here. "



"And if i just pull the bag open, the popcorn will be all mine...."



Tropical Island Man



Horse-Crazy two year old... who knew they started so soooo early???

Random Photos: Quote from my Favorite Blog....

"The question I have to ask myself is, "Am I so satisfied with God that it really matters not what this life brings?"

I mean, am I always trying to change my circumstances - instead of allowing my circumstances to change me?

I think I will type that again because I want to get hung up on that.

Do I despise my circumstances (circumstances in relationship, position, situation, etc.) instead of looking to see what it is God intends and desires to do through my circumstances to change my heart and draw me closer to Himself?" _taken_ from_Resolved2worship_

~*wow. i think i need to ask myself this daily. *~ And then she goes on, to resolve the question with some scripture and encouragement when we are feeling down....

"Finding perfect contentment in the midst of my circumstances - that is what God is after. That is the test of my faith. That divides the fake from the real. Again, He is about us falling in love with Him. So often we don't "feel" loved by God because we feel our circumstances are difficult. We see love as only we want to see it.

But:
"...For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the Lord.

Isaiah 55:8 (ESV)" _taken_from_Resolved2worship_


Okay, back to susan typing.... SO, i have to admit. Sometimes when i hear this sort of exhortation i think to myself (wrongly) " sure, that is easy for YOU to say, let's see you say that if your life all of a sudden became difficult " . And i wrongly think this, not because MY life IS difficult ( because it is not), but just because i think it means more to hear a tried and true experience speak out of GOd's faithfulness in trials and pain. Like Job, wow. Again, it is wrong of me to think those things, but i say all that to point out that the author of the quote is a mother of seven children and i KNOW beyond a shadow of a doubt she has HARD difficult stressful days. So, it amazes me that she comes so BEAUTIFULLY around to asking herself these tough and necessary questions... it challenges me. i like that.

think on it.

rambling: winds, words and weariness.

This weekend we had an unexpected blessing: friends from our Bible school days came to stay with us!! We were not very close to them at school, but in our mind, anyone from our Bible school days has a special place in our heart, and instant access to our kitchen!! :) We love when people call us up to stay in our home, or in this case, in our driveway! hahaha. The Vermillions brought along a 28 foot trailer, since they are spending 6 months ( i believe) traveling before they settle down in the USA. They have an amazing story, but if you want to hear it, check out their website which also tells of the ministry they just joined... also very cool: www.vermillion.se

Now that our hosting time has come to an end, and we had to say goodbye, i am very weary. But BUT but, it was worth every moment! Sam wanted to go with them. I think he liked having some more boys around!!

Here are some photos from our time together in the sun and the wind.



Adorable. always. watching the fish on this blustery day!



Julia and Grace: fast friends!! Now we have more people on the west coast to visit! horray! On my guidance, they have set themselves up as Pen pals at this point in time.
We shall see if that works out, sometimes my "good ideas" don't last long... i fly from one thing to another much too quickly, and perhaps need to learn to not do as much... haha. Speaking of "Flying" : here they girls are flying a kite, what a wonderful way to relax.... hands are occupied, mind relaxes, thoughts soar.... *sigh* child-like moments of de-stressing.


Boys played soccer: above . Girls went swinging: below.




Cute Kids cuddle in bed with books and bears. :)



Quiddler: an excellent home schooling spelling resource! This is a scrabble-like card game, what a fun way to learn how to spell! :)



Mmmm. Dave and I love to make this breakfast whenever we have people stay with us! Dutch crepes, fruit, whipping cream, YUM!! And... what a stack of cakes dave made (perfectly as usual! he is the best fryer around! ) to feed our crew of 11. delicious!




The Fall fairs are in full swing, and this weekend (thanksgiving) is the biggest one for our area. Julia and her sweet friend Jamie spent the morning making crafts with me, in preparation for entering in this fair. (Sam and Mercy did some too.... well, sort of ! haha)

Wawanosh. Autumn Beauty!!

The Girls.



Julia has a very good friend in her doll, Taryn.

I'm pretty sure sam is ALWAYS MOVING. Good thing my camera has a "kid" setting. haha.

After the Fair

The picture of our friend Jim carrying his sweet little girl and ours is so precious, it was a long walk to and from the fair for 2 year olds. The girls are 5 months apart and so so so cute together, like two little pixies.

Reaping the awards of our handiwork. THe display of our art and the ribbons won by the kids. :)

playing catch-up

As I looked through my fall photos from this year, i realized that there was a lapse in my posting of them. So here is a catch up post... Some photos of our weekend trip to the Wyoming fall fair and some of Mercy's little family birthday day. :)

The Fair was a delight this year because we shared the day with our dear friends and with Oma and Opa, of course. Julia and I worked on some art projects to place in the competition, so our wandering in the craft hall was much more exciting as we found ribbons attached to our work! wow!! who knew that was so exhilarating! :)

I love the feeling of crisp fall air against my skin, the smell of barns and hay and carnival foods, the sound of kids playing, chicks chirping, popcorn popping.... *sigh* i love the joy in watching 7 kids running crazily to and fro to pet the horses, sheep and deer.... to see the games, to eat their treats, to laugh with their friends.

This joy was mingled with sadness, as two of the kids we were watching that day had an older sister in the hospital with serious complications due to diabetes. She is fine now, and actually playing in a soccer tournament today (PRaise the LOrd!!), but it was a LONG long long week of praying ( what a blessing that our whole school seemed to draw together to pray for her, and take care of her family!! wow!! ).

Writing down the blessings i see in my everyday life may need to be my new discipline, because i am in a season of self pity. Ugly as that is, I am daily battling little things that make my heart pity myself for a wide variety of reasons. I think a lot of moms out there can relate. (at least I hope so, or i'm in a lot more trouble than i first thought ha!) God is working on my heart, and anyone is welcome to pray for that process. And so, I will be working more diligently to remind myself of the Joy the Lord has given me in His sacrifice, and the Blessings of life, love, family, friends, provision, and so so so so much more. When i think about my silly self pity, I feel despicable since I know i am a spoiled little Canadian girl - how dare I feel sorry for myself! seriously. THANK YOU JOHN PIPER, for the next little blurb:

“The nature and depth of human pride are illuminated by comparing boasting to self-pity. Both are manifestations of pride. Boasting is the response of pride to success. Self-pity is the response of pride to suffering. Boasting says, ‘I deserve admiration because I have achieved so much.’ Self-pity says, ‘I deserve admiration because I have sacrificed so much.’ Boasting is the voice of pride in the heart of the strong. Self-pity is the voice of pride in the heart of the weak. Boasting sounds self-sufficient. Self-pity sounds self-sacrificing.

The reason self-pity does not look like pride is that it appears to be needy. But the need arises from a wounded ego, and the desire of the self-pitying is not really to see them as helpless, but as heroes. The need self-pity feels does not come from a sense of unworthiness, but from a sense of unrecognized worthiness. It is the response of unapplauded pride.”

John Piper

Desiring God, 222"

hmmm. good thoughts for ... A LIFETIME. :)