DomesticDiva

Winter Came Back, Spring is Covered Up Again.

2012-02-12T08:55:00.001-05:00

They dug holes, pods for themselves to sit in. Cozy. Warm down in the snow, with cold wind blowing upon their faces.

Beautiful, isn't it? Clean, white. There is an awesome wondrous feeling about a world washed white, white with snow. :)

Revelation 7:14-17 "They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

Isn't that beautiful? We are washed white and clean too. *sigh*

Share Love. Joy. Thanksgiving.

2012-02-11T10:48:00.001-05:00

It was our day together, Mercy and I. We decided to make decorations, and Pinkify the dining room. I was thrilled with the outcome, and late in the day decided a party was needed to celebrate beauty, friendship, and pinkness. Spontaneous parties are not always well attended, however this one worked out quite well! Apparently I am not alone in wanting to celebrate beauty and friendship. :) happy me.

Mercy made fruit kabobs with me. yum.

Oh, time to get kids out the door into the deep surprize-snow! :) (I guess winter decided to visit us!)

2012-02-05T00:50:00.001-05:00

Bird/Squirrel/Wasp Nest Scavenger Hunt

2012-02-05T00:45:00.002-05:00

Early February, warm and blue, like no other "winter" I've known in this part of the country. We embrace the sunshine's schedule, and run out of our doors, into the crisp, fresh air.*sigh* I love this weather.

We followed deer tracks, which led us into a very thorny, twiggy, grassy part of the forest. All our eyes hunted for nests and animals. Boots were covered in mud, MUD, just think... we wore our RAIN boots today, instead of snow boots. What a strange year. Water trickled -TRICKLED- in a stream-bed, where there should be ice. Not this February, today we saw the lush, lively signs of Spring. The signs I usually look for in April as we wait for brown and green shoots to push through the last of the snow.

Hmm. Trickling water. The warmth kept us comfortable, however it also kept us away from the North end of the trail. We could not ford the water, which is usually ice. Ah well. It was nearing Maddy's nap-time anyway. So home we went to be filled with hot soup and tea.

.Family Times.

2012-02-01T13:47:00.001-05:00

This sweet beautiful little one will be ONE soon!! :) We look forward to celebrating with her mommy and daddy.

During the months of December and January, we had a lot of family time. It was such a pleasure having everyone together at Oma and Opa's house! :)

All the cousins !! :)

..Creative Energy..

2012-01-24T15:45:00.000-05:00

A prayer I have uttered often is this, "Lord give me energy to be creative and challenge the hearts and minds of my children." Some days are fruitful in this area, and i capture smile and art on pixels to store for when my memory fails me. So today, as I uploaded photographs onto my computer, I was struck by the lovely moments I saw there. Flashing past. Memories of imagination and art. Seeing creativity sparks more creativity I find.

Project: Ice wreath.Needed: Bunt pan, or pie plate, things found while walking in the wood, or items from your fridge for birds to eat. water. cold weather ( or your freezer ) . Have children place the oranges, pine cones, acorns, cranberries, and seeds in the plate. Pour in water. Place twine in water to hang the wreath from. Set outside to freeze. ( This took almost two weeks for us, since we have been experiencing mild weather here! ) :) Hang in tree. Enjoy the pretty colors in our season of white and gray.

Project: Egg-celent Penguins Needed: Boiled eggs, cheese, anything food-like to make penguin parts. :)My dear friend Jess was talking about fun food things she does with her girls. It inspired me to do something fun with snack time. Sammy and Mercy loved it. mmmm. Penguins. yum.

It was a day where I just wanted space, quiet, something, something other than what I was doing. Discontent. It sits festering in the bones, i hate it. I want to purge it. So, I decided to sit and do a project with Sammy instead of wallow in my feelings of discontent. And do you know what? Yes, You probably do, since it is rather common knowledge - that doing something for my children instead of whining that I could not meet my goals for the day helped to remedy my illness of heart! I know this is always true, I just wish it was easier to do. Common knowledge does not mean common practice (if it did, there would be many many fewer problems in the world). So, Sammy wanted to learn about the Solar System and we had a library book on it. This is how we learned- playdoh in hand!

thanks to my dear folks, we have been enjoying the great outdoors as often as the weather permits!! LOVE IT!!

Sometimes...

2012-01-09T11:57:00.000-05:00

...when I turn around from my work, I see this..

Sometimes they act so grown-up. Sammy teaching mercy Chess, then Stratego, then they read the newly chosen library books...it looks quiet, but they do bicker, quite badly at times. But then they work it out. And if I threaten to separate them because I don't want to hear them bickering, they stop, because they do not want to be separated. They really love being together. It's so sweet. I am thankful to remember this, especially when they make me want to scream in frustration. :)

A Late Christmas Post. I'm so Tardy.

2012-01-06T10:25:00.002-05:00

A Christmas feast, a Nativity scene play, gifts made by loving hands, and family to embrace. We all enjoyed a mild and green Christmas here in NausLandia. Enjoy our Photos, they tell the story on their own sometimes.

Oh What Fun! :)

2012-01-04T22:12:00.001-05:00

Adult dinner: gorgonzola cheese fondue and roasted veggies. mmm.

"Hey kids, try to get me with a snowball.." next thing i know, seven kids are chasing me and laughing like crazy!

Ducks, cookies, cuties, and a walk in a winter wonderland.

Chess, piano, talking, eating. fellowship with sweet friends.

Happy New Year everyone!

Worship the King

2011-12-24T00:56:00.000-05:00

Manger scenes, Christmas plays, cards, paintings, songs we sing: they all remind me of my need to kneel at the feet of Jesus. Nothing else matters more than this. Worship the King.

2011-12-16T15:43:00.000-05:00

SinterKlaas.A day of gifts, generosity and fellowship. We wake, listening to the kids in their room speaking to one another. "It's present day!!" "Is that gift for you, or me?" "oh it's one gift for all of us to open! Mr. Potato Head!" (purchased for $3 at a local thrift store! enough parts to make 4 or 5 different potatoes)We gather by the tree, opening stockings first. Eating the fruit in them. Mercy hugs the banana in her stocking, "Just what I wanted! Can I eat it now?" *hahaha* I love my kids. Sammy has a mango. He's been asking for one since last month. Now it's here. mmm. Julia has a Christmas Orange. It's a favorite memory and Christmas food for her, she loves it.Then there are the stunt airplanes, the chocolates, the lifesavers, the squishy ball toys, flavored straws for milk. Stockings are such fun, don't you find? I love the little treats and treasures within them.We pause for Dave's wonderful omelet brunch around noon. We draw the day out slowly, enjoying each gift as it comes. Playing the game when it is opened, building the catapult, waiting to see Julia in her new dress. The best gifts of this year: the kids picked out a new sponsor child from Nicaragua as a gift to me. A game for the whole family to play called "Camp". A three level puzzle that Dave and I have been working on, it has large pieces for beginners, medium pieces and small pieces. They call it a Family puzzle, since all ages can work on it together. :) A huge box of special recycled gifts ( things that used to be mine as a child, so so exciting!!) from Nana and Grandpa! :) That was SO fun. :) And the Skis i found second hand for our whole family, with money from my folks that was for Christmas.What a delightful Sinterklaas, which concluded with a carol sing among friends and family. :) God is soo good. What a day of delights, remembering the joy of generosity, and fellowship.

O Christmas Tree

2011-12-03T14:46:00.000-05:00

Among the traditions that have found their way into our family is the cutting of the Christmas tree, in a special place we call Sloan's. A day away - skipping school this year - enjoying the warmth of the sun on our faces, and the sweetness of pine in the air. mmmm. Anticipation was thick in the air as we drove, well, I suppose a lot of things were 'thick' in the air, after all we had eight people in our van!! (*snicker*) Arrival brought smiles and the running of little legs, anxious to move after a long drive. Against the brilliant blue sky there are towering conifers cleaning the crisp air that we breath in deeply.

Before searching out the Tree, we sat at our very own cozy fire for snacks. Being the kids that we are, Dave and I ran off to play on the 'adventure oil rig swing' - dizzy, wo-ah! But the children's first choice of activity is almost always the Hay Maze, and understandably so. Beginning with Hide and Seek, we ran through this maze over and over again with kids laughing and personally, I felt more 'kid like' than I have in a long time!

Calling everyone out of the hidden rooms in the maze, we ran off to the Zip Line (awesome!!!). Clambering to the top of the wood and hay stand we would sit, jump and glide our way down.

Dave made us sandwiches over the fire in our sandwich iron. We snuggled on blankets, rode on a train, and petted cute sheep.

It was a perfectly lovely day. Praise the Lord for sunshine, trees, and family!!

Evening.

2011-11-30T05:06:00.001-05:00

These photos are from a couple of weeks ago, I meant to put them on sooner, but you know how it is. One kid gets sick, two kids get sick, three kids get sick, mommy get's sick, the week slips past, the basement floods, you do groceries, mop the floor, and fall into bed.... the story of motherhood, the story of life. So, back to the photos: Mercy's first braids!! And LOOK how long her hair is when it is wet, wow!! Sammy after his shower, looking 'crazy'. He wanted to recreate this look the next morning for school, but i don't have those sorts of skills. :)Julia reading peacefully. She loves to read. I enjoy evenings. How about you? I love feeling the end of the day pull me to slow down, finish tasks, prepare for peace and quiet and cozy things. It is a time for sitting on the couch reading to kids, putting lunches in the fridge for the next day, flicking the switch on the kettle to make tea. *sigh* A nice time of day. Enjoy your next evening. You only get one a day! Don't take it for granted! :) haha.

A Day With Us. Phase Three.

2011-11-19T20:21:00.001-05:00

Crafting. It really runs rampant through our lives day by day, art supplies are everywhere, crafts abound, and one day they may just take over.... duh, duh, dun. (scarey music)

These are this years' Christmas decorations. Something New I Tried: yarn, plus glue, plus balloons equals pretty things!! :)

A Day With Us. Phase Two.

2011-11-19T19:56:00.001-05:00

There is one day in the week where we look forward to a special visit, and lately it has been for High Tea, complete with pretty cakes. What a blessing to have family nearby. :)

A Day With Us.

2011-11-19T19:48:00.001-05:00

To start our day, the kids would do something peaceful, like build robots while I cook in the kitchen. yep. We have hit a time in life when all the kids enjoy the same entertainment! Amazing, because I did not foresee this phase. :) Thanks to our friends Dave and Janie, we did this project together and love love love it!! Step One: Hot-Glue magnets to recycled materials, craft supplies, etc. Step Two: Clean out tin cans for Robot Bodies. Step Three: have WAY TOO much fun. Even I love building with these 'free form'/ 'out of the box' style toys! ((Sammy Insists that these are 'rocket' parts however...see picture below))

Thankfulness. Flows from God's Grace.

2011-11-12T08:40:00.000-05:00

I have been doing a lot of reading and pondering at Ann Voskamps blog these days. I find her passion contagious, inspiring, humbling. www.aholyexperience.com is her blog. read it. be changed in the deep places of your heart. Here are photos from a family walk to enjoyed last week. It was pleasant, and feels like it was an age ago. This week has been long, good, emotional, and sunny!! Our fall weather has been like NO OTHER, incredible! sunny, chill, clear, full of color in the leaves and grasslands. God's paintbrush has worked wonders all around us, and it brings a thrill to my heart. Just breathing in the cold air fills my mind and heart with thankfulness to my Savior. As my lungs feel chilled, refreshed, renewed; I can feel my heart being refreshed, made new in the quiet moment that I allow my thoughts to drift to God and nothing else. Focusing on the Eternal purpose of each moment that God gives me. Each moment is a gift and i squander them so often. But I focus on Him, not my failure, but His grace. Forgiveness. Newness of life. And i tell Him in my moment of quiet, breathing in that cold air - I tell Him it is Him I rely on for everything and I want Him to use my broken life to bring Him glory.

Waiting and watching the Remembrance Day program at TCA. :) The kids always do such a beautiful job of honoring those who fought for our freedom. It truly was a God honoring day of thankfulness. The grade 7-8 class sang the Battle Hymn, and two of the parents from school sang "Give thanks with a grateful heart"- two pieces that spoke of the source of our freedom: God.

Hey, that was more words than I 've written in a long time. :) have a great weekend!

Beautiful Life.

2011-11-01T12:52:00.000-04:00

Photo: Beautiful Julia. :)

Psalm 5:11 "But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may exult in you."Photo: My lovely Mother!! (from our visit last month)

psalm 31:7 "I will rejoice and be glad in your steadfast love, because you have seen my affliction; you have known the distress of my soul."Photo: My dear Daddio. (from our visit last month)

Psalm 70:4 "May all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you! May those who love your salvation say evermore, "God is great!""Photo: Jump the hurdle's in life. :)

2 Corinthians 13:11 "Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you."Photo: My Little Troop of Treaters. :)

I hope you enjoyed this photo-log, and the verses that I posted from God' s word. I haven't had a lot of words lately, maybe one day I will!! :)

2011-10-24T21:37:00.000-04:00

From Last Week: Ah, a day out with Nana and Grandpa, what a dream! :) we had so much fun with them at the Children's museum. Good memories...I wish we could make them more often, but i am thankful for the memories we are allowed to make when the time comes!!

We ate at a chinese food buffet, and wow! the kids were in food-freedom-heaven. ha. A whole plate of french fries for sam, an assortment for J and M, it was fun seeing them experience a new concept of Dinner. :)

My Dad doing what comes naturally : teaching! In the pioneer school room at the C.Museum.

New Arctic display, Julia practicing her rowing!

Mail Call

2011-10-18T14:21:00.001-04:00

As I approached the mail box, there it was! A package just for us, "Dave and Susan" penned in curling, elegant form. Unexpected- and so I am surprised - what a pleasant feeling! :) Pictures for my children, a letter for me, and a chocolate bar from Bosnia - from friends who minister there. What a blessing to my heart. I wept. Seriously, i don't cry easily, and I couldn't stop weeping with joy over this note, and the thoughts from afar. My heart welled up with joy, because of this glimpse of God's grace. His abundant grace. I know He is allowing me to see a small bit of what He is doing out there in the World beyond my own. When my days can feel long, tired, or simple; now I can remember that He is doing great things through each small and simple task/thought/action/word. He is warming and comforting hearts, spreading the Good News of Salvation, forgiving souls, cleaning us and making us more like Him daily. I am so thankful. A and M - THANK YOU FOR YOUR PACKAGE!! It truly blessed my heart.

As the plane flies...

2011-10-15T21:51:00.002-04:00

A week of visiting has concluded. Both of my folks came from afar to bless us and gladden us with their presence (and their presents) . Can we say it was a thrilling week of adventure, exploration and discovery? Definitely! Every visit with my folks ends up that way, driving to new places, finding trails, parks, museums and FUN all about us. Forgetting our everyday normal routine, we managed to get in some lovely fall trail blazing, the zoo, a local autumn fair ( where we were able to watch some lumber jacks, and see Julia and Sam's craft entries and ribbons), a children's museum, more trail blazing, lots of food making and eating, Thanksgiving dinner with family, games, puzzles, music, singing, more music, biking together, piano music, more singing, some school work, some cleaning, and then more trail blazing. Yup. that about sums up the week... I think. Well.... I believe it is time to add the photos. Enjoy!

Praying Mantis: caught it, observed it, released it. so so COOL!

Lunch with the Big Machines at the fair.

Mom and Dad working out together. :) so cute.

Making Rope. hands on demonstration at the Fair!

Here the kids are standing by the display that their school put together for the Fair. :)

John 3:30

2011-10-07T10:43:00.002-04:00

"He must increase, but i must decrease."

Daily reminded that this is the only way to live, survive, thrive, enjoy, strive- whatever each day may feel like... this is the only way.

psalm 27:8 "You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, Lord, do I seek.”

matthew 6:33 "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. "

B-B-B-birthday!!! :)

2011-09-28T17:06:00.002-04:00

We gave it to her at the breakfast table, she wouldn't eat until it was OPEN! :) Thank you Nana and Grandpa, the card was loved, and went to nap-time with our dear three year old Mercy.

I did not plan a party, I planned a 'Tea' with one special little friend. They played dolls, ate amazing rainbow colored cupcakes (thanks to Oma's special treat!!) and enjoyed being Three, together. *Sigh* I have to say, having simplicity feels so satisfying. Mercy's Birthday Requests: one balloon (thank you oma), One specific friend, and PINK-ness. (so i put out some pink things)

We read a new favorite story ( thank you Uncle Eric and Aunti Ann for the lovely book!).

Visitors, the zoo, cupcakes, a walk through the grasslands, treats, friends and now i'm making Pizza, yum. It has been a week of Birthday for Mercy, and now it is coming to a close. Enjoy the photos. :)

2011-09-27T15:20:00.002-04:00

Rainy Day, Animals Play, Want to Stay, If We May.

Family Day: Celebrating Mercy!! She will be Three on the 28th!! Wow, where did the time go?M: Merry- joyous, cheerful, giggly.E: Elegant - loves dresses, pink, and matching her outfits!R: Rascal - oh, sometimes she gets that look in her eye.....C: Careful - always watching her steps.Y: Yammer(er) - I know, it isn't a real word, but it fits into my language just fine. :) Yammer: to talk continuously!!!! loudly!!!! :)

O'Hoy there!

2011-09-19T14:52:00.000-04:00

Fresh air whisked under our hems and our hair as we awaited boarding of the HMCS Shawinigan and HMCS Sunnyside on Sunday afternoon. Our day had been pleasantly full of rest, and now we were ready for a small adventure. Our tour guide brought us all over the ship, and sometimes spoke in whole phrases that I could not comprehend since the terms were all navigational or Naval in nature. We looked, we listened, we learned about what the ship does and where it goes. Mercy was sad that we did not leave port. Julia dressed like a 'sailor', at least, I told her that her outfit looked JUST like a sailors', and so she wore it. Good family times. Weekends of quiet rest, down time, ice cream for dinner and vegetables for dessert, games of Chess, family prayer, small town fairs, and fellowship at church. Thank you Lord for all these good gifts.

Bahahahahaha

2011-09-12T21:36:00.002-04:00

Oh the days when Mercy slept on the table.... i almost forgot about that. I love looking through old photo albums, they make me laugh!! ((Disclaimer: don't worry, i've never had a child roll off a table... she was a very very new baby in the picture, and i assure you she did not roll until she was like... 15 months old! hahaha ))

Skip School, go to the Zoo!! :)

2011-09-12T20:18:00.003-04:00

Heehee. *hand over mouth sheepishly*

Yep, only four days of school under our belts and we are skipping out already. For good reasons of course: birthdays to celebrate!! :) Dave has his big day on wednesday, but since that is a work day for him, we took our Family Day today instead. Our birthday policy is that everyone gets the day off school and work, and we spend the day together.

The zoo was so so wonderful. I loved walking all day, enjoying animals that were lively and interested in us - having the kids at such a great age to enjoy the creatures! :)*sigh* I love family days. We were all exhausted by the end of it, especially in the heat today. I am so thankful for water fountains and large water bottles. whew. I can't wait to go back.

cuddles with a nice niece.

2011-09-10T21:19:00.003-04:00

We spent the afternoon and evening with a sweet snuggles. :) Fun times with Cousins! I cannot believe how easy going this girlie is... just fine and dandy with going on a walk with us, having me feed her ( i don't usually ), sleeping in a strange room in a strange bed, being surrounded by loudness and children, when she is usually surrounded by peace and simplicity! hahaha. she was fascinated by the kids!

Sunny Days!

2011-09-10T21:10:00.002-04:00

Oh Sun! Oh glorious bright shining sun that draws us out to play! *sigh* We picked up a friend and followed a path. we watched living things inch along so slowly, and others fly away so fast we couldn't identify them. I heard children whispering to each other, "I LOVE nature, it is the best thing ever". I saw hands holding hands, and sisters finding bugs for a brother they love. We ran from a non-existent bear ( thanks to Mercy ). We picked flowers for a friend's birthday and rescued a few snails from the middle of the path ( where they are sure to be stepped upon, and must be moved to a branch of safety!).

good. day.

On the Necessity of Naps, and other truths of childhood.

2011-09-08T17:35:00.001-04:00

for now, the photo says it all.

Yep. You guessed it, A Back To School Post. how unoriginal!

2011-09-07T13:04:00.003-04:00

:) It was a special day. Two at school, wow. Here they are: Fresh cut hair. Soapy clean ( for a little while ). So ready to see old friends (julia) and ready for something new ( sammy).

Julia and her little buddies were all hugs and holding hands, and giggling like little girls do. They love each other so. All of the girls in her class are super sweet kids. I feel so blessed to have a wonderful peer group for Julia. Anyway. they had a great day, half day. :)

IT was a special occasion for all. Even I experienced Day One for my school duties... i am the yard duty adult for first break on tuesdays you see. I enjoyed starting the school year off with these kids, getting to know their faces once again.

*yawn* nap time. i stayed up too late... not used to routine yet...waking early...*yawn*

The Hike Pictures

2011-08-27T23:01:00.003-04:00

I totally forgot to post some photos from our hikes. :) here are a few.

..Second Camp..

2011-08-17T14:53:00.017-04:00

5 hour drive to visit family at the cottage..
4 crayfish crawling by my feet in the water as we swam..
3 hour drive the next day to visit friends at a camp ground..
2 campsites full of kids having a blast..
1 exciting adventure after another..

Airplanes for 7 children, plain old fun. Busy little people competing for distance and speed. Adults happily watching from camp chairs placed strategically out of the flight path. (although from this photo you can see I was not quite out of the flight plan for this airplane!!)

Mid-hike we stop for snacks and rest. Children tinker, wander, gather bugs and sticks.

Where does the path lead? IS that not what draws you to its climb and bend? Gather strength and walk on, adventures are waiting for us everyday, but to what end? Why do you follow your path? On this day, it was to see beautiful things, share time with friends, fill pockets with sticks, crab apples and bugs, and finally to arrive at camp. In the bigger picture: my path is walked in hope of purposefully living for Jesus in all I do. even this. right now.

Feeding the Five Hundred. OKay, not exactly. there were only 11 of us. hahaha. And we ate WELL. every day.

Beautiful Lake Huron. Gorgeous rainbow before and after our beach time. Caught in a torrent of rain and sun, we sat on the beach until it passed. Needless to say, our towels DID not dry us very well after that beach visit. We traipsed pounds heavier from the beach that evening. Certainly the children will remember the day they crammed under a picnic table to watch their parents soak in the downpour!!

Oh sam. he is just so cute.

150 steps to the Discovery beach ( my title ) where rocks, shells and frogs can be found and ravines can be climbed.

How sweet it is to see children playing together in unity.
Majestic clouds on the horizon are the backdrop for a play of waves and a song of the wind. we sit in silence to enjoy the performance.

Friendship that makes life sweet with encouragement and inspiration.

We returned to our first vacation spot, the Cottage, after four nights with our friends. The north is full of newness for me, places and history I have not seen or heard of before. I fell in love with it.

Hug a fisherman day. :) This wee town was a delight of color and culture. I love that God made people unique to build a different culture where ever they go.

Blessing upon blessing, we were given a ride upon a Blue Heron Cruise along with our whole gang (15 of us). We watched the sunset over the lake, a view of the grotto and the rocky coastline, a moon rising pale above the dark deep. Sitting back I savored the hum of the engine, the whip of the wind, the spray from the bow, the tip and toss of the ship.

"Show me where we live on this map please!" Questions about where we are, where Nana and Grandpa live, where our house is on the map, what the lines mean, symbols and charts.... Sammy is a budding cartographer, perhaps. :)

camp site numero 3... we certainly feel like we understand our tent and preferable way of setting everything up now that we have assembled and disassembled our camp site so many times in one week ! I highly recommend this style of trip for learning about one's equipment! :) Julia turned into a fabulous dish washer, dryer and putter-awayer. All of her own choice - what a beautiful helpful heart she showed us!!

Towering above the forests, overseeing the Fathom Five islands, watching the Chi Chemon ferry puff away into the hazy horizon, we climbed there, above it all to see what we could see. God's beautiful creation, the green canopy of life breathing trees and the blue of a fresh water paradise. Carefree. High, high above it all.

**hiking photos and stories to come**

..Camping 101..

2011-08-17T09:59:00.002-04:00

..Discover..

..explore..

..Rest..

..catch your own food.. (julia's 2 pound bass that we ate for lunch)

..Sleep on the long car ride..

..Mercy..

2011-08-17T09:48:00.002-04:00

psalm 145:9
The LORD is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made."

**Camping Pictures and Stories to Come- because what God has made, the world and it's natural beauty are worth talking about and enjoying and praising God for, wouldn't you agree? :)**

..Eight years..

2011-07-28T13:59:00.004-04:00

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..

2011-07-28T13:14:00.002-04:00

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..

2011-07-25T20:48:00.003-04:00

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

2011-07-23T09:57:00.002-04:00

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.

2011-07-19T16:13:00.001-04:00

..Specials..

2011-07-19T15:57:00.002-04:00

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

2011-07-12T16:38:00.002-04:00

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.

2011-07-05T22:25:00.003-04:00

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...

2011-07-03T14:24:00.003-04:00

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? :)

SNOWBIRDS

2011-06-30T07:40:00.003-04:00

Perfect weather for an airshow: clear blue skies and 25 degrees with a beach side breeze. **sigh** The great Canadian Snowbirds put on quiet the show for us, and the rest of Sarnia. I have never seen our public beach so FULL! Even on a hot summers' day, our beaches can be fairly quiet and empty, I love living in a 'quiet' city.

Sammy was SO cute through the show. He was giggling uncontrollably, and do you know why? I think the nervous-excited flutters in his chest were new to him, and it tickled him, i'm sure of it! He laughed all through the show... and yes, some of the laughter was because we found it so funny, and he was putting on a show for us. :)

Mercy perked up for the show, ate normal food and enjoyed herself. But she is still suffering from fevers and headaches - please keep her in your prayers.

Our family piled onto our bike-train, and my oh my, am i thankful for that! The cars were lined up from one end of the park to the other, with absolutely zero movement on the road!! we just cruised by, hearing comments from the many open car windows or passersby, "that was a good idea", "who needs a minivan anyway", etc . It was lovely to miss the traffic at the end of a beautiful evening out!

thoughts for today:

what am I reading, in the Bible?

genesis chap. 47, the story of Joseph in the land of Egypt. "and they said, 'you have saved our lives, may it please my lord, we will be servants of pharaoh"(vs. 25)

what am I reading in a book?

"When Helping Hurts" by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert. quote: "Poverty Alleviation is the ministry of reconciliation: moving people closer to glorifying God by living in right relationship with God, with self, with others, and with the rest of creation." -page 78-
"All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: be reconciled to God." (2 corinthians 5:18-20)

My Sister's Big Day: 1john4:16,17,19

2011-06-29T09:47:00.003-04:00

Nine years ago -today- we were busy preparing for my sister's wedding. Alongside friends and family members, the hustle and bustle of nervous excitement. The FIRST wedding in our little Hillson family, the FIRST new son-in-law, the FIRST rehearsal, decoration planning, dress buying...you know the feelings. Thrilled by beautiful combinations of color and style, laughter over memories, stress over details undone. I was only "involved" by seeing pictures and hearing plans via snail mail, since i was overseas when the main plans were forming. My highly organized, thoughtful sister made sure i was in the loop in her letters that i received at "mail call".

Dave was a part of the day as well. He woke up early to assemble snack trays for the girls applying makeup and doing hair in our home. There was an assortment of crackers, cheese, and fruit - to make sure we had no fainting beauties at the big ceremony!

The church and the reception hall looked beautiful: Sarah is creative, artistic, determined - everything was hand done ( that i recall) and much of that by her own slender hands!!

Sarah: tall, elegant, stunning. Her towering curls, sparkling headpiece, frothy white gown. *sigh*

By her side, tall, dark and handsome- Nu came to sweep her away.

A combination of two different cultures, lifestyles, and histories; with the common ground of God's never stopping, unchanging love and their own promise of unconditional love for each other. Wanting to grow old together.

There is so much that could be said, and so many pictures i would have to transfer to digital somehow... maybe one day, right now there is no time. But the party they threw was like NONE other. :) And since that day... nine years ago, they have been given a beautiful family, built up friendships, ministries and set goals and dreams...

SARAH AND NU, happy anniversary!!!!! God bless you, as you continue to seek Him in everything you do!! :)

((((hug))))

**God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us... we love because he first loved us." 1 john 4:16,17,19**

(The verse on the ceremony bulletin from your big day sis)

not flashy, just real

2011-06-24T10:29:00.002-04:00

I cannot please the eye with beautiful photos that are perfect in texture and composition, no, I can enjoy the art of others but i cannot give that to you here. :) But i will share that which i have: the simple life that we live. (*disclaimer: I do not say this to pass judgement on the beautiful blogs, i love LOVE them and how they inspire creativity, and a longing for something more beautiful than this world will ever offer.*)

I am enjoying a late morning coffee, listening to the chirping of neighboring birds, and the occasional drip of last nights' rain from our trees. My lovely children are savoring moments with their Oma, and I relish the break from my parenting. Time to focus on the goal again, the goal of God being glorified in all i do: laundry, dishes, organization of the home, managing my children's hearts, loving my Dave, being a good neighbor and friend, where i spend my time, how I use my words, where i put my thoughts, all of it matters.

So how do we spend our first moments alone with no children to care for? Savoring food, good God-given food, because He did provide it for us after all. Dave and I love to enjoy bbq to the glory of God. (to borrow a "Mark Driscollism". )

Then we worked together to steam clean our couch and some carpets. I've found it to be the best way to make a nearly 15 year old hand-me-down couch live a little longer.

Brightly colored strawberries filled my morning, as i needed to preserve them before they became over-ripe. Mmmmm. And now, well, John Piper preached at me that to have a lasting faith one must be in the Word, and hear the Word preached daily. So that is what I will do now, read my Bible and go through my prayer journal. *Sigh* a day off. i Will enjoy this, to the glory of God. And when my children return, i will enjoy them to the glory of God as well.

In all things, give thanks.

Berry Happy .

2011-06-23T07:36:00.002-04:00

To the farm again! This time with daddy!! How lovely to have Dave with us this time. He loves family events, especially those involving fresh fruit. :)

The picking was exceptional! We were in a "first year" field, so the berries were HUGE. I believe that for every berry i picked on this second trip, it was equal to every three berries i picked on the first trip!! Needless to say, we only needed 30 minutes and 20 feet of a strawberry row to fill two flats!! :) wowzers.

yum. Our pie consumption has increased this season! :) yum.

Berries:HopefortheNations:Niece

2011-06-19T20:34:00.003-04:00

Summer Kick-Off

Sleepover: treasure hunt, ice cream cones, puddle jumping fun. Strawberry picking with friends, what a great place to live, what a wonderful season! In two hours we picked quite a few berries... considering the number of times i had to walk from the field to the store for children's bathroom breaks...I accounted for that though. :) Julia and her friend picked a lot of berries, i was impressed! Julia has been picking berries every year of her life... except the first maybe, when she was just 2 months old. I think we were in BC visiting family that year. I wonder if she can put that on a resume one day? "berry picker for 16 years". :)

The happy pickers. If you are one to examine photos you may find this one stumps you. Some children are wearing what we consider summer attire, and then there is Sammy in a turtle neck and sweat pants. yes. Sammy loves to dress in long sleeves and long pants, even though it was perfect weather (24 degrees and sunny). I'm not sure if this is due to a lack of acceptance to change, such as, "I just wore winter clothing for 6 months, and now you expect me to wear something that shows skin, no way, that feels weird!" Or perhaps he just likes his long sleeved shirts and sweat pants because they are comfy. :)

Sweet friends are such a joy to our hearts.

Last week we were blessed to see a good friend who is often far and away. She came with a new friend for us to meet. She came and ate, spoke, asked, listened, and I cherished the moments of learning from her stories. No matter how long a gap we leave between meetings, she is always dear once we are together again. As though no time has passed at all. We all have people in our lives who remain close no matter the distance life drives between us. I am thankful for these steadfast souls. I feel as though I have been blessed with many of them, which is good, since I have had to leave Kindred spirits here and there around the globe. My heart yearns for them at times, not because the friends nearby are not sweet and dear, but because they have a special place in my heart that hurts when we are not together.

Perhaps one day we or our kids will have the joy of working in missions along side this dear friend. If not with her, definitely with her wisdom and knowledge on the work of the LORD, she is an excellent teacher on that subject!

I had the pleasure of babysitting this cutie the other night... isn't she sweeeeeet??? M and K have such a blessing in this bundle of joy and life and excitement. I look forward to watching her grow, change and develop her personality. I think she'll have no shortage of PERSONALITY, and it will have nothing to do with cheese whizz... but more so a combination of her creative mommy and gentle daddy. :)

2011-05-28T22:09:00.002-04:00

I love moments when I become a kid again, I find that camping aids this transformation. At home I am practical, focused, efficient: I'm an adult. At camp, however, I can be excited about roasting my food over a fire, chasing a frog through the wet grass, spending hours wandering a beach in search of - fun, and nothing else. *sigh* This brings a peaceful satisfaction to my soul.

Don't get me wrong, I can be very childlike at home as well. *snicker* The moments are seemingly more abundant and alive with excitement when we are out-of-doors.

I don't have very many pictures from this camping trip, sadly, I did not bring my camera out in the rain very much.

So, I think i'm done with the trip memories... on to this past week.

i have been attending a revival at a local church this week. The kids and I went for a couple evenings, and today Dave came with us for the entire morning. Sessions focused on stewardship, marriage, parenting, setting aside the old and putting on the new. All of the messages were excellent reminders of how to live our lives daily to serve our Master, Jesus. Every lesson pointed to the purpose of life being the glorification of Jesus. I love that. The Truth, i mean.

Marriage, it's for His glory.
Children/parenting, it's for His glory.
For this reason it is so important to be INTENTIONAL ( probably my favorite word, and definitely a key to any philosophies i hold in all of life's arenas). Why? Because we are to represent Christ to those around us in our marriage and in our parenting. We are a picture of His unconditional love, redemption, and forgiveness in our relationships here on this rock. Doesn't that send chills down your spine? I love that goal, that aim, such rich purpose.

Something that I would like to implement from the lessons this week is a family prayer journal. My lovely sister has been doing this, and now that it has been brought to my memory again - I truly want to attempt consistency in this tradition. One of the speakers mentioned something very powerful to us all: That he could tell us why God is real by explaining creation or the proof in the Bible, but more powerful to his own life is the working of Jesus he has seen through his families prayer life. Every January first his parents would write out a list of things they wanted to pray for that year, then a year later they would revisit those, see what had happened, and make a new list. Through that faithful labor, he saw so many answered prayers (examples: the salvation of his relatives before dying, money for school, a van to make room for their growing family) that God was made incredibly real to him.
.powerful.

What a joy to be together as a body of believers for many hours over the week. Now to get to the hard work of praying for revival to continue in the hearts of those who love the Lord. :)

tid bits.

2011-05-25T17:05:00.002-04:00

Little by little, I will tell tales of our weekend in the rain.

Sam loves it outside. He is SO very much so my son, the genes are strong in this regard. He gets giddy when we hold wiggly frogs. He gets so sad when it is time to go home. Sam just loves it in the dirt, whether it is in rain or sunshine.

This was the first trip that KC and Mercy really began to form their friendship. Now that they are coming closer to their third birthday, you can really see the relational side of their development has grown and changed. They walked together, talking like grown up girls about books, bugs and toys. I found them sitting together reading side by side, comparing notes i'm certain.

I love watching this set of kids, they are so sweet and fascinating. :) more to come.

for now, i need to run off to church.

Lots of Fun in the Rain and the Sun. :)

2011-05-25T10:32:00.003-04:00

Ah, May long weekend, and the inaugural camping trip of the season. praise the Lord for enough money in the camping budget to buy a new tent this year... because we sure needed it in the rain and downpours we received each day of our trip! :) The 25 year old two room tent we used to sleep in was very puddle-prone, and our new one is a fortress of Dryness ! :) yippeeee!!

Dave began the long weekend camping trip with our usual Adventure Club meetings. This trip was just a shorty, so he did an intro to knife handling and safety. Each child received a knife ( except for the two littlest of course ) and they were only allowed to use it if they first asked an adult (who kept the knives when not in use) and were near some sort of adult supervision. (I hope that writing these rules will help to put some nervous readers at ease. :) ha)

Julia and Matthew loved whittling the most. I am certain they spent a total of at least four hours doing so over the weekend. I have to say, it is a lovely "quiet time" activity. And we only had to use two band-aids in the course of three and a half days with 6 kids using knives. (the blades were small Mom ) :)

Downpour-enforced quiet time in our tent! :)

I have to say, it was SO worth packing along the big rain boots!! On any other trip I would have left them at home, thinking that they took up too much precious space in the van. Not so for this rainy weekend away!

More whittling time.

Sweet.

2011-05-19T07:20:00.002-04:00

As chicken pox finally enters our home, I realize that even though I knew it would be here someday, I don't know what to do. First thing in the morning I call the doctor, confirming that I do not need an appointment since I am 99% sure of her diagnosis. I'm thankful that the "sick" symptoms only lasted over the first night, by midday Julia was out gardening with me and the kids in the sunshine, scooter-ing around, and making dandelion chains.

What a girl. At one in the morning, flashing back to the first pox night, Julia had a sick tummy and was feeling uncomfortably itchy. As I held her hair back, got her a drink and assisted in her sick-tummy-troubles ( she threw up ), she says to me, "You are such a good mommy." and "Thank you". As I tuck her into bed she grabs my hand and says, "Let's pray mommy". Seriously? Can a seven year old be this cute and lovely at the same time? Well, now that my heart is mush from her compliment to me, she could really ask for anything, half the kingdom, and I'd give it to her!! ha. okay, just kidding. But my heart was so warmed by her words, it makes getting up in the middle of the night so so so much nicer when children are thankful for it! :)

We pray. She snuggles in and goes back to sleep. I head back to my room, thinking about her words. Thanking God for a glimpse of sweetness, a heart that is turning to God in the midst of her struggles, and a little girl who remembers to be thankful even when she is feeling her worst.

hmmm. What a testimony to me.

playing "catch up"

2011-05-07T15:59:00.002-04:00

Due to so many travel photos, I am very behind in "regular life" photos. Time-warp back two weeks: Easter Weekend.

Good Friday: stormy and gray, just like every year. we always have dreary weather on the day that we remember Christs' sacrifice for us.

Fast-Forward to Sunday, and it is gorgeous, sunny and blue-skied! :) We had a delightful dinner and egg hunt at Oma and Opa's place, with the local Aunts and Uncles of course. :)

Julia and I collected things from home that related to Christ's journey from the garden to the grave. A friend mentioned this idea to be a good conversation starter, i liked the creativity of it. :)

Hot boiled eggs + crayons = easy-kid-directed-decorated eggs !

we also celebrated my oldest daughter on Easter weekend. :) seven years. wow.

2011-04-30T19:27:00.001-04:00

Sammy was so happy to hold, poke, and watch living/non-living things. It was magnificent to have the children experience wild west coast water-life. :)

Sea Slug & octopus!! :)

Ocean day part three (really interesting titles... i know)

2011-04-30T19:23:00.000-04:00

ocean day part two.

2011-04-30T19:18:00.000-04:00

ocean day!!

2011-04-30T19:02:00.002-04:00

Exploration of tidal pools = 6 hours of awesomeness + 2 Octopi + sea slugs + sea stars + urchins + sea anemones + sea cave + sweet rocks + shells + pelicans + happy muddy children + one dead rattlesnake (yikes).

After The Reunion. Another Reunion.

2011-04-30T15:29:00.002-04:00

The Friend Reunion: the Hopsons as well as Janelle and Phillip.
I haven't seen Mark for 8 years, since Dave and I got married to be exact, so this Friend Reunion was pretty cool. We were able to meet Mark's sweet wife and baby girl, and they showed us two awesome places: The Getti Centre and a great Tidal pool beach. :) They also brought us out to their church on Sunday: Grace Ev. free in L.A., it was fantastic!! what a glorious, God-honoring, God-praising place. I LOVED IT.

yeah..still more pictures.. :)

2011-04-30T15:20:00.002-04:00

"The Goodbye". See you in 6 months!

I was SO GOOD at sunscreening everyone allllll week, until the last day in Indio...here is the Sun-drenched family. :)

My family fish. :) the girls LOVE the water. :)

SuperFun

2011-04-25T12:29:00.002-04:00

A Spring Birthday Celebration!
My mom made an awesome ice cream cake out of a block of vanilla and some crumbled homemade cookies!! :) it was fantastic! Happy birthday to Sammy, Julia, and Sarah!!

I just loved Disney, it was so fabulous. I want to go back!!! :)

Horses, Elephants, and tea cups - OH MY!

2011-04-25T12:09:00.001-04:00

Adventure. Exploration. Discovery.

2011-04-23T07:45:00.003-04:00

Lunch. Once again, my sister's blog recounts this eventful time in a much more eloquent, heartfelt way. My story is much less interesting. It was a beautiful day, there was a band playing, i saw Jack Sparrow walk by ( but don't worry, he didn't harass us, or steal from us ) and i prayed fervently for my little niece who threw up and waited for a Disney paramedic to arrive for a check up. :( poor little thing.

Thunder Mountain Railway!
A first real roller coaster for Julia! This ended up being one of her favorites.

Exploring on Tom Sayer's Island with the daddies and Nana and Grandpa. Meanwhile Sarah and I take care of sick little ones.

Wonder. Excitement. Fun.

2011-04-23T07:29:00.002-04:00

Cousins, A'hoy!!
What a nice relaxing ride around the "River's of America".

These two are such good little friends. :)

Jungle Cruise! :) Mercy was a little nervous, and i'm pretty sure everyone ducked down when the Ape's started shooting across the river at us!! :)

Ah, the magical entrance! :) If you can block out the sounds of other people's children already throwing fits and crying hysterically, it is such a lovely place! :) hahaha. IT really is, we had a wonderful time. Just walking the streets, memories of being there as a kid flashing back to me, living in a world of imagination....I used to draw plans for new rides and leave them in envelopes not knowing where to send them. I drew all my favorite classic characters back then, i wanted to be a cartoonist. There is proof of that on the walls of my parent's basement- sorry about that mom. :) Just knowing that J and L are at the perfect age to be in that world of wonder, where the Castle is the REAL THING, the characters are magical, the rides are like nothing their minds have ever conceived. What a perfect Jump Start for any little girl's imagination, thank you God for giving us IMAGINATIONS. Creativity. Love for Adventure. :)

More of our Cali trip 2011

2011-04-23T07:05:00.002-04:00

Group Hug!!! We made it to DisneyLand!! Yipppeeeeeeeee!!!

I had so much fun that I want to go back soon!! It was like being a kid again, in a world of wonder!! :)

The girls went to a Date Tree garden, where they have a cafe. We had lunch together, and experienced the famous Date Shake. yum!! :)

Generous Parents.

2011-04-21T08:04:00.002-04:00

My mother could have many different titles in regard to the work she does; cook, nanny, organizational assistant, elementary teacher, work coordinator, and now a new and highly esteemed position: TRAVEL PLANNER. Not only did she conceive a beautiful family reunion plan, put it into action, and pay for most of it, but she labored over fine details to make everyone as comfortable as possible.

When Dave and i arrived in our luxurious condo, it was pre-stocked with groceries, shampoo for the kids, and for us, toothpaste, sunscreen... the works!! I was so impressed by her pre-thought treats for all of us. After a 17 hour travel day, it was so refreshing to arrive to an extravagant dwelling. :)

Our kids swam daily, mercy and julia are the fish in our family. Mercy can swim her way across the pool with her water wings on. All she seemed to ask for was, "Can i float like a ducky?" or "kiddie pool?"

My poor sister and her family were terribly ill the entire trip, and i found it difficult to enjoy myself, knowing that they were NOT . It was a moral dilemma to me, how can i go on making my family plans and enjoying the freedom of vacation when they are stuck in their condo feeling nasty? But then, how can i take vacation away from my family, when we are all feeling fine ? So... i prayed a lot...every time i woke in the night, during the day, begging for my sister's family to receive some relief from their symptoms. She sums it up nicely in her very eloquent blog, which in on my link list under "life of a sister".

Highlights:

Jogging in the morning with my daddio, in the dessert sunshine.

Peaceful mornings with my Dave, and my coffee. :)

Joshua tree park ( the answer to the question on my very first blog about our trip....)

Seeing my mom and daddio connect with my kids. (something that is very hard to do over the phone with kids their age)

Drinking Date Shakes with my sis and mama.

Seeing how Mercy and Mekaia share a mischievous streak, they seem to enjoy their cousinly bond.

Having a double date with my sister and her hubby. Table tennis, playing doubles, was so so so so much fun!

Lecina and Julia enjoying each others company SO MUCH that Julia was prepared to sit out of the pool daily - if necessary - just to be with her sick cousin. I am amazed at their bond, seeing that they are together one week out of every year. :)

These writings are random and unrefined. But real life is waiting for me... so farewell bloggerland!!

2011-04-20T08:47:00.002-04:00

Our family enjoys seeing wildlife, no matter how small!! :) There were dozens of these lizards sunning on rocks as we traversed the park. Julia loved to see how close she could get to them, before they scampered away.

Dave really enjoyed the free-climbing or bouldering i believe it is called. Julia followed him when she could. :)

Exploration: so much more fun with a Nana and Grandpa around to hold your hand!! :)

Mountain Climber Club West Coast challenge

2011-04-20T08:23:00.002-04:00

Julia has a club with her Grandpa and cousins called the "Mountain Climbers Club". They created it last year when we visited Whistler together for a family reunion. Grandpa leads the meetings, and the kids think it is fantastic.

Julia and Sam had to take on this challenge alone, since their cousins were all sick. We explored rocks, caves, cacti, lizards, possible bobacat-scat, and more. IT was fascinating! Can anyone guess where we are?

We arrived just in time for Rattler-season, however, some nice rock climbing folk informed us that said-snakes only hunt at night. This news relieved us greatly.

Here is a little member of the rock climbing club.... Mercy enjoyed plodding along the trails too. :)

NAME THAT PARK.

2011-04-20T08:01:00.002-04:00

Where in the world is Carmen San Diego, i mean, Susan and her family?

Let's Go Fly a Kite!

2011-04-05T07:36:00.003-04:00

"Let's Go Fly A Kite"

The theme of this year's party for Julia.

We had SO SO SO MUCH FUN ( in the chaos ) making kites together, flying them ( even though the wind died down too much ) playing together, laughing, treasure-hunting, pizza eating, Ice cream sundae making!!!! I FELT LIKE IT WAS MY PARTY, that is what one of my "helpers" said anyway. :) hahaha. I had Julia's babysitter and the big sister of one of Julia's friends stay to help me with the little kidlets. Julia adores these older girls, so it was pretty fun to have them with us. It also made the party run super smoothly at dinner, always the craziest time of a party because there are 7 little people asking for juice, pizza and napkins, or something....So i put the girls in charge and it was great!! :) Then they did all the dishes for me. That was the best 10$ i've spent!! (i bought them each a gift card for a local coffee shop as a thank you gift) Dave was coaching floor hockey, and then off to volleyball, so it was really handy to have the girls helping me.

I spent all day making homemade pizza's and setting up an AWESOME treasure hunt... i was so excited about it this year. I make the clues much more challenging so it would take teamwork, and more time to complete it. :) One was a puzzle, each girl received an envelope with one of the pieces in it, and then they had to put it together to read the clue. One clue was taped to three different teddy bears that were hidden in the living room. Once they found all three teddy's they had to figure out which order to put the partial words together to make the clue. I decided to put some of the candy along the way, so at different clues they would get little baggies of treats to encourage them toward the final goal. :)

*Ah* It was excellent watching the kids have so much delight in running across the field with their kites, even if they didn't really fly much since the wind had died down. Seeing them get so excited about the prospect of making their own Ice Cream Sundae was satisfying as well. :) I feel so blessed to have such a lovely group of girls to attend all of grade school alongside Julia.

Happy Early early early birthday to my Near-Seven-year-old!! :)

He Loves us.

2011-04-03T08:48:00.003-04:00

More Easter decorations: cloth cross, stamped with kid stamps (a heart, and "Iloveyou") and hung from my "old pillow case- turned into bunting banner" !!:)

I am really starting to like this happy Easter decorating thing!! :)

Sammy's Fourth.

2011-04-01T08:00:00.003-04:00

Dave has kept an eye on second hand instrument sales, and after much waiting we have found two new items for our Music Room . (which does not exist yet, but perhaps one day it will! hahaha) A clarinet and a half size violin!! (PURPLE violin, by the way!!) A family friend teaches, and since she has returned from the mission field recently, she is looking for new students! How perfect! God truly organizes the little details of life in such an interesting way!! :)

A family party to celebrate Sammy's fourth year: he received some gifts, one pictured here is a homemade candy eating robot for his candy collection ( because this is my child that will actually collect the jelly beans he receives for chores, and keep them in his room in a wooden shoe ). :) Oma made him a beautiful Ten wheeled Robot apple pie, because he wanted a 10 wheeled robot bike for his birthday, but... go figure, they couldn't find one! :) So the apple pie he asked for took on those characteristics instead. HOW SWEET!! :)

Hmm. It's hard to believe it has been FOUR years since sammy made his appearance in this Big World. IT was a peaceful evening, i remember it well. I work around 1 am with some contractions, called the midwives and they arrived at 2:15am....They sat in the kitchen working on paper work and checking in on us occasionally as Dave and I worked together through contractions. Sitting on the couch, then my bed as they became more intense. I recall lovely Jazz music, and the midwives saying how every birth should have such nice accompaniment. At 5 am Sammy came out - quietly, which terrified Dave. He finally made some noise, but all of those moments are so foggy to me.

My memory comes clearer as I recall the pleasant herbal bath prepared for me by the midwives, the candles, the breakfast they brought for me.... what a peaceful lovely way to start life. hmmm. I like those memories. ((I just went back to march 20, 2007 and read Dave's account of the birth story, my memory is foggy, so if you like reading birth stories... go check it out ! ) :)

growing things: a way to bring on spring time!

2011-03-27T09:52:00.002-04:00

Above: our "Growing Table" complete with crystal garden, seed potatoes, cat grass and dinosaurs.

Below: Creations by Sam, his "bird" sorry the picture is dark. The last picture I am very excited about, they are Crazy Crayons. we made them by reusing our old crayons, melting them down into new ones!! These will be found during the treasure hunt at Julia's bday!! :) aren't they pretty??

Easter Decorations....the crafting has only just begun.

2011-03-25T19:00:00.001-04:00

breakfast with my big girl.

2011-03-25T13:27:00.002-04:00

many a morning is spent making breakfast, cleaning dishes, reading my Bible, and drinking my coffee with my big girl. Some days I'm in and out of the kitchen a lot, other days i sit with her the whole time. I like mornings. I love the sun rising over vince and linda's house, making the sky blue and the clouds pink. *sigh* morning is such a fresh, happy time. All things are new.

That's all I have for today. :)

A special Birthday Trip.

2011-03-24T08:09:00.002-04:00

As a family, we are building some traditions and year to year they change and grow towards the goal of God honoring family fun. :)

For birthday's we try to have a Family Day, everyone gets the day off: of school or work. Birthday Boy/Girl gets to choose a favorite place to go; waterpark, zoo, playground, forest, bike ride, beach, etc. The plans can be simple and inexpensive, or perhaps a little more extravagant than we usually get to be! :) Such would this trip be!!

we had a lot of fun in the water park, the wave pool and the crazy slides! We ate in a rain forest, next to three noisy elephants, we walked to the largest waterfall my children have ever seen, we ate cake for breakfast in our hotel room, we laughed at the kids as they sat - fascinated - by the window on the 22nd floor of our hotel watching the tiny cars, people and buildings below. (Mercy really thought they were toys, "i want to go down and play with my little blue truck!")

We brought in the fourth year of Sam in a very happy way. :)

Springs' Defeat.

2011-03-23T07:29:00.002-04:00

As per my last post "Spring marches on", the battle lines have shifted against said "Spring". Winter has sent us a hard blow once again, it's tactics brutal and swift. Our thoughts yesterday were full of bulbs coming up through long dormant earth, shorts to wear in the coming warmth, grass that was brown and turning green, birds filling our feeders and singing merrily. Today, we awoke to find dense, wet, ice covered snow. three or four inches of it. School is canceled again ( i think it's a record, 7 snow days!), birds have been sent Emergency rations ( while their feeders and the seed scattered over our yard is covered ) , and the kids are asleep, instead of up getting ready for the day. *yawn*

It's pretty. But our road looks just terrible!! I hope they clear it soon so i can feel better about my drive to the grocery store today... otherwise i'll just have to drive in that mess. Ik. slush, frozen slush.

However, if one looks up; to the trees, the fences, the root tops, the snow is beautiful. Similar to a fairy land with three inches of white fluff covering every branch (precariously) and every surface available. Frozen white cake attached to everything around us. :) haha.

On Marches Spring

2011-03-22T08:48:00.004-04:00

A sign of spring in our yard: many birds flocking to our little apple tree, finding the treats we left for them! All three of the kids will watch from the window --now and again, trying to figure out the name of each bird who visits. Julia will announce occasionally with excitement, as she looks up from our Nature book : "ooooh, that is the black capped chickadee!! " or "No sam, a blue birds' wingspan is too big to fit into our bird house." or some other hilarious thing for a 6, 4, and 2 year old to be discussing. I love these moments, when my children seem to be growing a distinct personality in relation to their siblings and the world... so cute.

opa took some time to build bird homes with J and S last week. :) they are AWESOME. Now one is painted blue, and one is painted red.
Thank you Opa!!!! :) I love when my kids get to spend special time with their Grandparents!! :)

We had a wonderful St. patty's day dinner with friends last week, and this was the dessert i made for the occassion! "Grasshopper Parfaits" which i turned into "Grasshopper trifles" with the addition of some fresh baked chocolate cake. YUM!! :)

Dave and i were blessed with 24 hours to ourselves last week... THANKS to Oma and Opa... it was lovely to be together for a day to just do as we pleased. This is what breakfast looks like at 10 in the morning.... YUM!! Eggs Benedict made by my Love and I!! :) we spent the morning walking to do errands... i mean WALKING, we covered around 7 km probably. It was terrific! 7 km doesn't sound like much, now that i write it down... but it is MUCH farther than we would have gone in 2.5 hours had we the kids in tow!

Top of the Mornin' to Ya

2011-03-15T08:15:00.004-04:00

Saint Patrick: a bold and true messenger for God, bringing the gospel and God's love to people who hated him. Patrick's life was full of danger, troubles and sorrow - like many of us, some of that pain he brought onto himself, but much of it was due to his passion for Jesus Christ.

I highly recommend listening to the Adventure's in Odyssey retelling of Saint Patrick's story. In their album "Day's to remember", it is a two part series. "Patrick; a heart afire".

I believe you can hear a different telling of the story here (I will add that i have not heard this version, if you are concerned about content, you will have to preview it yourself - and let me know if you do! :) okay? ) : At Story Nory

All I did: make dough in the morning. Set it to chill. Help roll the first two balls ( it is always the most difficult to roll at first, until the dough gets used to being pressed down ). Put full trays into and out of the oven.

The Kids : rolled, cut, peeled off the wax paper or table, put them on the trays, painted them with sugar-glaze once they were cooled.

I was super impressed with their independence on this project. THEY ARE GROWING UP!! :) wow. i was excited to see them succeed in this task. (disclaimer: mercy ONLY did the painting job!! haha) OOOOH, it was SOOOO fun!! we listened to the entire story of St. P as we did this job.... i love audio stories!! :)

Sugar glaze: again, i find myself baking with no icing sugar in the house, so i mixed a bit of green food coloring with plain old' white sugar and a drop of water. This makes the mix spreadable, yet sticky enough to hold to the cookie. And you can't get much more "Child-Friendly" than icing with a paintbrush, even the littlest ones can do it! :)

SO, wear GREEN on thursday, and remember that as Christians we are all called to love others with God's great love, even if it takes us to places we don't want to be, or around people that hate us. God's love is greater than these fears and limitations.

FUN!!!

2011-03-11T18:36:00.003-05:00

They say, "If life gives you lemons, make lemonade". I say, "if God sends more snow, make an igloo!"

We would have gladly made igloos, snowmen, snow horses, and the like all winter long ( and trust me, winter has been VERY VERY VERY LONG), but today was the first time in 5 months that it is warm enough to have good packing snow. Wild, but true. So, we piled outside and began snow blocking!! These are the best toys ever made! What a great Christmas gift they turned out to be. It only took us a full year and a bit to be able to use them! (Last year we did not have good packing snow either: too cold this year, not enough snow last year)

I shouldn't have combined cooking and cleaning day into one, but I don't listen to my reasonable side some days. Cooking day was long today: new recipes and a somewhat dull mind today made it so. And then, to top it off, the cleanliness of my house ( read: "lack of") finally got to me and I ended up on all fours scrubbing cupboards and kitchen floors. I tried to tell myself that "Spring Cleaning" might just convince the warmer season to come sooner that it seems to be presently, but i don't think it helped. Although, i suppose Spring IS three hours closer after all that work was completed!!!

yumYUMyum. Stir fries, sloppy joes, a roast, a pot of soup, pizza toppings, yum.

dance party!! (i know, i know, those pictures didn't really need a caption)

When trekking, or tea-ing...

2011-03-06T08:27:00.003-05:00

...we can thank God for freedom to wander, the luxury to cook whatever, whenever, however, the health to enjoy these moments together, and the creativity He gave us to come up with these fun ideas!! :)

Sam wanted a tea party. (real tea of course, lemon zinger, one of the best!)

I suggested we make cakes for it.

He liked that idea.

we ran out of icing sugar, but vanilla pudding mix makes nice icing too.

We licked spoons, and smooshed muffin tops into sprinkles.

Sam delivered an invitation to his sister.

She accepted. :)

Candle was lit. China was set.

And then we read, "You can do it Sam", which is incredibly cute. (and all about a mom and son making cakes for their friends!! Dave's Aunt is a Librarian, and she gets us these beautiful books!!)

A walk in the woods when the coughing was at bay for a few hours. Mercy is still pretty throaty in her coughing now, and was up into the wee hours of the morning with aching ears last night, but we push on. :)

Isn't this little critter cute??? He was shy though, and wouldn't let me get a closer look!

Rainfall Warning.

2011-03-06T08:20:00.002-05:00

I was picturing a very different scene when i read the weather report yesterday.

Hmmm...

Although i must say, it was a wonderful thing to have our precipitation fall in a more frozen and fluffy format due to the flooding in our basement ( poor Jenny! ). The rain was a little too much for our frozen snow covered earth to handle. Reports of flooding were increasing, and so I am thankful for more fluff. There is sadness in my heart as I must - once again - strap on the gloves, the scarf, the hat... grasp the handle of our well used snow shovel and clear our very long side walk. *Ah* But i need a good cardio workout to start off my day, right? Praise the Lord for a father in law with a blade on his truck, at least i shouldn't have to be out for hours clearing our double wide driveway! :)

The Volcanic Eruption of Green Mountain.

2011-02-28T10:29:00.009-05:00

We narrowly missed being exiled by a massive eruption of a local mountain this morning, 9:30 am, EST. Icy winds, melting snow, and then... KAAABOOOOMMM!! Well, i suppose it sounded a little more like, "Fzzzzzzzzzz". The mountain side to the East was completely covered in a raging river of lava, to the West, however the village was spared until later eruptions occurred ( 9:40 am, EST ) . Cars have been recovered from the rivers of lava (Surprising, i know! They should have melted like butter on hot toast), to the joy of one Samuel Naus, a local of Green Village, at the base of Green Mountain. He is quoted to have said, " Are my cars going to get washed now?" A sure sign that there is hope among the village folk that their regular life will commence once emergency crews clear away the hazards ( and of course, the poisonous gases dissipate ).

"Salad Spinner Art"

Independent History Project: Julia's idea of studying castles on her day off of school :)

still walking in snow.

2011-02-27T20:39:00.000-05:00

Yep. there is still a lot of this white stuff on the ground.

Baby Shower for Ms. Madilyn!

2011-02-27T20:25:00.002-05:00

Together as family and friends we celebrated Madilyn Marie's arrival into our big world. At nearly three weeks old she is beautiful, light red hair and dimples. Full of sweetness. :) K was blessed with many many many gifts for her sweet little one.

Here is a picture of K opening her gift from mom: a photograph of K as a toddler wearing a special dress that mom made her, which was the other part of her gift. How precious. :)

Here is the cake that Alicia made, talented girl that she is. :)

Amanda and I strung a clothesline and hung baby clothing and the letters of Madilyn's name as our main decoration. It looked SO cute!! (if i do say so myself)

There were fresh flowers on the tables, sweet and simple. The cards in a variety of browns, had little birds on them as well as the beginning of a sentence for the ladies to finish as a special gift to Karli. The cards said things like, "You will be a wonderful mother because....." , " My favorite children's book to read is...." , " The best advice i received about motherhood was..." , " A favorite song to sing to baby is....", and so on and so forth.

Mom and her friends put on a wonderful table of goodies for everyone. It was a lot of fun to work together, and the outcome was beautiful. It is a lovely thing to have another sister join me in the realm of motherhood, and to have cousins around for my kiddos'.

2011-02-25T07:43:00.002-05:00

"t'is our bliss to be nothing and to find our all in You. Amen"

C. H. Spurgeon

‘There are horses and chariots of fire all around’ 2 Kin. 6:17

"He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection."

Psalm 91:4 (NLT)

_______________________________________________

These verses and the small quote from Spurgeon all bring much peace and joy to my weary heart. Although i personally am not afflicted with many trials at this point, many around me are, and i feel the weight of it every moment, and the strong need to get on my knees in prayer.

Snow day today, cooking day today: so i should do a lot of praying on my feet i suppose! :) Apron or snow shovel, whatever it may be, i need to keep my mind on the scriptures that God places in my heart to pray for those I love.

My first prayer may have to be: God don't let my kids argue so much as to distract me from prayer today. :)

Family time.

2011-02-13T09:50:00.002-05:00

A birthday party, a new baby to watch, a "skype" visit, and a great saturday of fun.

Here are some more photos of little precious! :)

BABY MADILYN IS HERE!!

2011-02-12T10:10:00.002-05:00

Our beautiful niece was born on monday, she is a doll. we are so happy for K and M!

waiting.

2011-02-08T14:36:00.002-05:00

I have pictures from someone's hospital room, and I would LOVE to post them.... but I would like to let "them" have the first chance to do so... So hang in there!!!
:) heehee.

I'll just say, there is a gorgeous little baby Girl that has joined the Naus-Reycraft family.

Pictures soon to follow.

so glad.

2011-02-05T22:29:00.003-05:00

I experienced the great exchange today, the perfect trade.

As I walked to the kitchen sink for a drink of water, it came to me... My friend Sonia and I worked out a wonderful example of life-sharing.

Simple, but so helpful.

She took her older children skating, and brought Julia with her.
Saving me the trouble of taking two little frozen, crying, floppy, sad kids out on the frozen lake, and providing Julia with two wonderful hours of bliss!!! (she loves skating!!! Julia's little friend figure skated along with her today, they had so so so much fun)

Then I took my friend's daughter for the afternoon/evening for a playdate.
Saving her older children from noise (apparently). They thanked me as they picked their daughter up for the trip home, thanked me for a quiet afternoon. ( at their house, that is!! hahaha)

Now, isn't that awesome? I love little things to be glad about.

speaking of glad: i love listening to Brian Deorksen's worship albums. All. Day.

snow fest and a special Birthday party

2011-02-05T08:11:00.002-05:00

Opa's Birthday at our house.

Snow Fest 2011.
If we look cold it is because we WERE!!!! aaaaaaaahhh.
The trip was not a success...simply because Julia can stand the cold for much longer than the little ones... so she was just getting geared up for mini golf, magic shows, sledding, snowman decorating, etc... and the other two were just starting to cry because they suddenly realized they were cold beyond their liking.

too bad. it was fun for a little while. :) maybe next year they will stand the cold a little longer.... or maybe we'll pray for a much lower wind chill factor... yikes. it was CRAZY that day.

A First: Piano recital

2011-01-31T15:29:00.002-05:00

Ah, First Experiences. This weekend Julia had a first, a piano recital!! I recall my own piano recitals so vividly that I WAS nervous as i sat in the pew awaiting my - i mean - HER turn at the keys... :) She did beautifully, as I knew she would. We were able to sit with her teacher, who also played a piece (since it was her recital as well). FUN!

below: Julia counting how many kids had to go up and play before her turn.... :)

I am thankful for these words:

2011-01-17T21:02:00.003-05:00

“Maybe you have thought of the glory that Christ receives from brilliant genius and profound talent, from splendid gifts and glowing zeal, from costly sacrifices, and even extensive usefulness. But have you ever thought of the glory, the far greater, richer glory, that flows to Him from a contrite spirit, a broken heart, a lowly mind, a humble walk; from the tear of godly repentance that falls when seen by no human eye, and the sigh of godly sorrow that is breathed when heard by no human ear; from the abhorrence of sin and loathing of self, the deep sense of vileness, poverty, and infirmity that takes you to Jesus with the prayer, ‘Lord, here I am. I have brought to Thee my rebellious will, my wandering heart, my worldly affections, my peculiar infirmity, my besetting and constantly overpowering sin. Receive me graciously; put forth the mighty power of Thy grace in my soul, subdue all, rule all, and subjugate all to Thyself. Will it not be for Thy glory and the glory of Thy great name if this powerful sin were nailed to Thy cross; if this temper so sensitive, this heart so impure, these affections so truant, this mind so dark, these desires so earthly, these pursuits so carnal, and these aims so selfish, were all entirely renewed by Thy Spirit, sanctified by Thy grace, and made each to reflect Thine image? Yes, Lord, it would be for Thy glory, through time and through eternity.’”

Octavius Winslow

Morning Thoughts, 451-452

((found on my online devotional page)) www.adisciplesnotebook.com

snowy walks.

2011-01-16T17:31:00.005-05:00

My little outdoors girl fell asleep half way through our trek. It was so sweet, that she was comfortable enough in the snow and cold to lay herself down in the sled and fall asleep. My heart was warmed.

The colors of winter are stunning. I did not think my camera would capture them, however i find this photo a suitable substitute for the real thing. :) As suitable as a photo can be, you know, nothing is as wonderful as being shin deep in the snow, lungs full of fresh winter air. *sigh*

We brought hot chocolate and cinnamon buns for a mid-trek snack . YUM!!! The tee-pee made a lovely shelter for our stop.

I stumbled upon Sam teaching Mercy "how to play the piano", and crept up to capture it on camera!

Here are some photographs for our walk a couple of days ago. Hot Chocolate in the snow, that seems to be our signature hike grub. :)

ARTFUL day. :)

2011-01-10T18:43:00.002-05:00

The hike this morning was lovely. Crisp, clear, quiet. we were the only people in the entire habitat area. hot chocolate and chocolate bar in bag, we followed a trail never taken before, fell through some ice (doesn't that sound dramatic? it was only a couple inches deep! haha) and now we are all sleepy.

I'd write more about the above craft photos...

but meltdowns have begun, which means mommy is needed for the bedtime preparation time...

whew.

here goes! :)

and here is a lovely picture of....

2011-01-10T14:24:00.002-05:00

NOTHING!!

I am having a camera problem, and my napping husband will be able to fix it when he is more conscious. So, you will need to use your imagination to see the lovely royal purple felted bag that i FINALLY got around to felting today, after a week or so of staring at it! :) hahaha. I LOVE IT. it has a few imperfections, but i still love it a lot a lot a lot.

pictures soon to follow!

love him.

2011-01-10T13:17:00.000-05:00

my favorite picture from today's hike in the snow.

Soft, fluffy, cold, lovely!

2011-01-08T12:38:00.002-05:00

*Ah* An hour and a half of clear skies, white trails, peaceful conversations, crisp air, and the occasional friendly hikers/skiers makes for a terrific way to start my saturday. *sigh* Talk about boosting the "happy" and the "energetic" factors of my brain... a great walk in the woods certainly remedies my dullness of spirit. I have always been this way, but i guess i forgot for a little while and let other priorities take the place of woodsy walks. Here is my mental note, a little reminder to myself that i need to get out in the beauty of God's creation a lot more than i have of late!

*sigh* isn't it LOVELY? These photos do not do justice to the glorious view of snow on conifer trees, silhouetted against a blue winter sky. The photos cannot convey the children in their excitement as they find tracks in the snow and then discuss what critter could have left them. Then of course there is the excessive snow eating, which i did not photograph because I try to discourage it when we are too close to public places or dog-walking areas... The older two can pick clean snow, but Mercy has NO CONCEPT of clean or dirty... I discovered her eating a chunk of snow from the schoolyard yesterday, it was laced with leaves and dirt... ik.

three cheers for snow walking!! And maybe someday soon... cross country skiing! (we passed a lady and her daughter skiing on the trail we had just completed, and after talking with them for a while I left with a great excitement to do some family skiing in our future. The mom said that they started with their kids all over the age of 4, and now that they have grown older, she has wonderful skiing companions. how lovely!)

More of Christmas 2010...

2011-01-02T21:19:00.002-05:00

So, I have been attempting to learn something new. Crocheting. Yep. Here is the beginning stage of what should soon, or not so soon, be a bag. Slit-topped, felted, and all! :) We'll see.... And i suppose you will see too, since i will post my progress here on my blog. Janet, a dear friend of mine, is working on the same project along with me so we can keep each other accountable right to the end... (...of our yarn, or our patience... whichever comes first i suppose.)

A sweet Christmas blessing: this innovative gift has created many interesting things in the short time we've had it... This is the "Rocket Ship"... yep. Taking all three of my munchkins to the moon...

SleepOverParty!!!

Five children between the ages of 3 and 7 enjoyed sleeping together in this cozy place for three nights during our V.O. Family get together! :) Maybe next year the two little girls will get to join the others... but this year they shared a bedroom to themselves. :) What fun! We are so happy to provide a place for our kids to create meaningful memories.

Here the kids prepare for "movienight".

I love sunshine and snow... *sigh* can't wait to figure out how to get the fam. out on some cross country skis.... *love to dream*

More of the Homemade Christmas:
Sam playing with his monsters and machines.. hahaha. Sooooo adorable. man. i love this kid.

Beautiful Big Kid. and her precious dolly.