..Eight years..

July 19, 2011. Eight years after we wed, Dave and I find ourselves on a warm Ontario beach, three children in tow, friends around us, fish nibbling on our toes. It is lovely, we are joyful, life is simple. Our years have changed us, molded us together, grown us up together. These last eight years have been the most memorable and dynamic of my 28. :) I have learned who I am in pain or in comfort, how to serve, how to love and have peace. peace and love amidst fulfilling days of work, play and easy going hours of fun; or in the middle of sickness and endless parenting issues. Joy in sleepless nights which blur into grumpy days. Peace when friends are silent and loneliness sets in. joy when God provides finances where we saw none. Joy when the simple way we live actually blesses and encourages others. We treasure moments with good friends, old and new.

Dave and I have learned to be flexible for the days when kids say "you are my favorite" and the days when they argue all day. We have found joy and love when we hit lows and trust God to sustain our hearts and minds. I savor the long, satisfying, tiring talks about how to shape our children's hearts in each changing season. God's helped us to adjust to the character-building, rule-making, grace-giving, selflessly-serving early morning to dark of evening life we lead.

Dave and I have flipped pancakes (and houses) together, we've shopped, built, cleaned, hiked, canoed, danced, talked, learned, cried, forgiven, smiled, laughed, laughed, laughed, read books, written notes, dreamed dreams, set goals, met goals, biked, watched movies, visited with the sick and lonely, entertained visitors and old friends, traveled, tented, flown, swam, kissed, and prayed. it's a good life. and it's God's gift to us. We hope to please Him with every moment He gives us.

((this was a little late in coming. and the pics are randoms from the last few years. the flag of Sweden representing where we met, of course.)) :)

..28..

Tennis. Surprise flowers from a friend. Delectable coffee beans from my Dave. hair shortened. Beach picnic. pretty packages. homespun cake. swimming. frisbee. *sigh* i love birthdays!!

..beautiful..

Canoe Date: awesome.




Beach time with friends: sweet.



Laundry on the line: summer freshness.




Life is beautiful. Don't waste a moment of it.
"
Incline your ear, O LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.

Be gracious to me, O Lord, for to you do I cry all the day.

Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.

For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love

to all who call upon you.

Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer;

listen to my plea for grace.

In the day of my trouble I call upon you,

for you answer me."

Psalm 86: 1, 3-7 (ESV)

**Hot**

Growing up in British Columbia, I don't think it ever once occurred to me that one could sweat sitting still. But here I am, on a chair, ten in the morning and I am sticky like one in a hot sauna room already!

whew. Heat. I love summer, swimming, long days, active days, special events and play dates, really it is a wonderful season here in Southern Ontario. Our blue skies are brilliant, full of adventure and inspiration. You wake to see bright green trees, shimmering in the morning light. Glorious sun rises and sets. Reds, pinks, oranges. Everything shouts: LIVE, RUN, PLAY, EXPLORE!!

I've found only one minor setback to this wonderful feeling of freedom and excitement for life: humidity. ik. I don't know the science of it yet, but my body shuts down when the air is thick with moisture. My shoulders feel the weight of my head as tiresome and unbearable, my lungs labor to fill, and my motivation dissipates like dew in the morning sun. You see, when 38 degrees really feels like 49 degrees... there is a BIG difference! whew.

Regardless of this we push on. Grumpy, tired from sleepless, restless nights, we do life together. We do house work, make meals from the pantry and fridge instead of cooking ( since the house is 94 degrees on the worst day ) , and we stick our feet into the kiddy pool to feel relief. One day I started an all out water fight, three against one. Mommy armed with a plastic toy wheel barrow, each kid with a water blaster toy. I hid around corners, they squealed. We all dripped with cool water from head to toe!!

Good summer memories.

Well i think promised stories about our eighth anniversary last i wrote. So i should do that today sometime. For now, i need to go spend time with my husband! we have the day off of parenting!! wahoo!!

eighth Anniversary: stories to come.

..Specials..

Everyday is worthy of a celebration: we celebrate God's faithfulness, or the sunshine, or the close ties of family, or the beauty of one more day to praise God, or the delicious freedom of floating atop brilliant blue waves. Yes, we celebrated all those things today as we boarded a tour boat for a two hour trip around the river. ((have no fear, it was only a TWO hour tour, none of this "three hour tour" business with people getting stranded and all)) Family: Aunti and Uncle had a great idea to treat the kids to a lunch cruise. we tagged along just because we could. And what a glorious time we had. I love the feeling of boat engine rumble, white metal stairways, strong breeze on the bow. It reminded me of many a time on a BC ferry, now those are monsters of the sea, this was just a wee minnow in comparison, but fun non-the-less. :)

*sigh* it's a good life. 108 degrees and all!*

summer days

Before I cut sammy's hair. I hadn't intended to do so, i love his long surf-dude style. However, during a play date this morning sam and a little girl decided to clip their locks into a new do. :) If it had been Mercy, i would be sad. Her curls are so sweet. But sam, well, i can shave him to cover up the uneven ends! :)





After our playdate we ate lunch on the beach and swam together. which was so necessary as the blazing sun scorched the earth today. whew. hot.




Many people ask how we endure the sweaty, hot summer days, well, this afternoon we stayed cool in the grocery store :). they have TONS of cool air.

Anyway. I've got life to live now, so i'm keeping it short today!! :)

The Family that Picks together, sticks together.

Cherry picking.

glorious. round red delight. sticky messy sweetness.

Perfect blue sky. lovely warm summer air.

A moment to capture in time, time that is traveling so quickly these days. Capture the moment, remember the smiles, and the hard work it takes to get from dawns first light to that moment when a pillow welcomes my tired cheek. hard work. sweaty work when your thermostat says 86 degrees. The satisfying work of feeding 15 people, and feeling blessed because all of those people are family, and there are even more, but they couldn't be with us. Peacefulness in my heart because kids are in bed, family has gone to their own cozy homes, and soon my pillow and I will be together again. In and out, the days keep on coming and going. And God remains God; faithful, good, love, our provider. Thank you God.

the end. no more tired ramblings for this sleepy Su. :)





love that twinkle in her eyes... hahaa

Zoooooom! and there goes another week of the summer...

Zoom: Dave and I enjoyed our date weekend (of which i already wrote about, i know, but these are the biking pictures). We did a 20 km bike on friday, and a 30 km on saturday down a new trail - which was exhilarating! the weather was prefect, as was the company. I could spend all day, every day with Dave, and we 'd still be having fun!! :)



The day after our relaxing-no-parenting time and two of our five fell ill. So sad. Fevers, headaches, aches and pains, doctor visits, long sleepless nights, motrin, ug. Good thing we were refreshed and prepared to do battle with some nasty bugs. (glad to report:mercy/dave have recovered completely! sorry about the photo dave, i hope you don't mind, haha)



Reunion : I so greatly enjoyed spending time on the farm this weekend. "the farm": that is what i always called my Oma and Opa's place as a child. This weekend was not a family reunion with my side of the tree - no, it was Dave's Mom's side. One determined woman did an amazing timeline of the family all the way back into the 1600's!!! incredible really, the time she must have taken to do that work is unfathomable to me. Many of the relatives labored to give us all a lovely time of visiting, relaxing, good food, memories, and an education about our heritage. ***THANK YOU SO MUCH***

Heritage, lineage, family ties: a curious thing. My friend told me about a study done with second cousins ( i have not done my homework to find the source, so i'm sorry if this is not accurate). Apparently, when placed in a room full of unknown second cousins, those who are related find each other and "hit it off" so to speak. Whether due to a sense of security, familiar appearance, or... who knows, I find this fascinating. At the reunion, Dave observed how well all the children played, and something more: there was an atmosphere of companionship, they lived life by the same rules (or in adult speak: values and priorities). It was wonderful to watch. Growing up, my closest friends were my cousins, my dear sweet partners in crime and fun. :) I found delight in the children running off to explore, create, imagine and conspire together, as i was flooded with memories of my own childhood. Now my children have those memories; a farm, chickens in a barn, a dog to pet and talk to, good friends you've never met before, a kid-made-rock-shop, making money off of relatives who don't even know your name, :) haha. Good times. Here are the photos, can you tell it was a Canada Day reunion? :)