Spring Break 2012

Spring Break here got off to a baaaaad start!  The weather was horrible!  It poured for the first week and a half!  We had planned a camping trip with some friends of ours and we were getting mighty nervous about camping in the weather, BUT, we ended up getting the BEST weather possible!  The nights were chilly but the days were gorgeous!  It reached a balmy 18* celcius for us.  The kids even had a bit of a sunburn!  We thoroughly enjoyed a break from the rain and the routine of life!  We camped close to home in the beautiful Ft. Langley. We were only a quick drive from home, a Starbucks and a movie theatre (for a surprise we took all the kids to see The Lorax). We had a wonderful time relaxing, walking to town and visiting. Our trailer's an oldie, but we sure love it!  We have made some wonderful memories with it!

Love is Always worth celebrating...

While I am not a believer in all the marketing hype that surrounds our yearly celebrations, I am a believer in taking every opportunity to celebrate life!  Valentines is always a wonderful reason for us to show extra special love to those around us.  In keeping with tradition we made oodles of sugar cookies and delivered them all over, Daddy spoiled his kiddos with balloons and treats, and I was the lucky recipient of some gorgeous roses and a lovely, heartfelt card.  For the first time in a loooong time, we went on a Valentine's date and had a really wonderful evening together.  Love is always worth celebrating...Valentine's Day or not.

It Was a Memorable Tree!

Well, our 2011 live Christmas tree will sure go down in history as one of our more memorable trees! 

I'll sum it up in point form:

- It was a beautiful, full tree with a wonderful aroma

- We purchased it from our friends Mark & Sarah, in honour of their brand new baby daughter, Megan.

- The funds for the tree went straight to Mark & Sarah's work at the Music for Life    School in Ughanda. 

   (Where the African Children's Choir children are educated)

- It was a huge tree!  So huge we had to cut the trunk way down to fit in the iron tree stand!

- It fell over.  A lot.  I finally got mad enough that I tied it to the wall in 2 places.

- It was infested with spiders.  A lot.  I find about 6 each day crawling on the ceilings all over the house.  And, I walk through cobwebs all over my house. blech.

- It was a beautiful, full tree with a wonderful aroma.  (I had to end on a good note, didn't I?)

A parting shot of our kids with the beautiful William's kids!
(I think they were wondering why Daddy was letting us cut a tree down in their yard!)

Sarah was the ever-gracious hostess who made us hot chocolate.
We all had a nice little snuggle with one week old Megan!

Um, Hon?  Do you need a hand?  HON?

Like I said, memorable.  We had a lovely, quiet evening here where Uncle Ken untangled lights and the kids and Rob decorated.  The carols were on and I was snapping pictures.  I love Christmas, and the tree is a part of that!

Not so scary scarecrow...

The kids had fun this week preparing their costumes for Halloween.  Halloween can be a tricky topic amongst friends.  Some love it, some hate it, and we choose embrace the creative and fun side of it.  We're careful which costumes we choose, careful which houses we go to.  Like any other 'issue' when parenting kids in today's world, we choose to ground our kids in why we celebrate the things we do, what we need to be careful of, and how we need to respect other peoples reasons for doing what they do. 
I have great memories of Halloween as a kid.  My mom had these adorable cardboard cut outs that we hung up every year, I can still picture one of them.  It was a pumpkin that had moveable legs and arms.   We always carved pumpkins.  Growing up, our neighborhood wasn't the prime area for trick or treating.  We had a lot of 'old order' mennonites (for lack of a better term) who defnitiely didn't participate in Halloween.  Every now and then they'd hand out a bag of chocolate chips or a piece of fruit if they forgot to turn out their lights!  But, Mom always has, and still does get a real joy out of seeing kids dressed up and having fun!  She still keeps track every year of how many kids come to her door.  Thanks Mom for creating such great memories!
We carved pumpkins, iced cookies, assembled costumes and had a pizza supper with Dad and Mom, and then met up with friends before canvassing their neighborhood for treats.  Isaac was a little leary at first, but he warmed up quick and got the hang of looking cute in exchange for candy!  He always knocked lightly on the doors and even said a few 'pics-a-peeps' (trick or treats).  He refused to have anyone put candy in his bag...HE had to take the candy from them and put it in his bag.  Uncle 'dude' was a great sport and carried him from house to house on his shoulders.  Olivia was dressed as a French artiste, Abby was a beautiful princess, and little Isaac was an adorable scarecrow.  I made the scarecrow costume for Olivia when she was little and it's served our family well.  I was thinking today how sad I will be to retire it....

Thanksgiving...

So many things to be thankful for.  Is it bad that I had to remind myself about this?  Last week I was at work, plugging away at the bulletin for this past Sunday. I sat and tried to think of something catchy, but still sincere, to put on the front of the bulletin in acknowledgement of this important day.  Then, all the letters were delivered for our new church sign and a few of us were trying to think of something 'thanksgivingish' to put on the sign.  Me? I drew blanks all day.  How pathetic is that???  I'll be honest and say that I know I have so much I NEED to be thankful for.  A free country, my beautiful family, a home, etc etc....I KNOW all these things can't be taken for granted, and yet I still had to think. 
The first thoughts to come to mind were the things I'm not appreciative of, the things I don't have, the relationships I struggle with, the trials that never seem to end. 
So here I am today, amongst laundry and mess, cleaning rooms and tidying up messes that I've done time and time again, not feeling particularly thankful.  Feeling guilty and selfish for feeling this way, but also recognizing that these feelings are not of God.  Guilt is not a tool God uses to make me realize how thankful I SHOULD be.  But, in my brokeness I am feeling drawn to God, feeling as though He wants to give me so many things to be thankful for.  He longs to fill up my heart with joy, and give me a spirit that enables me to always feel thankful.   Guilt will not bring me these things.  My willingness to ask for His forgiveness and His blessings will give me these things.  So, today, one day late, I am thankful.  Thankful for a merciful Father, thankful for forgiveness, and, finally, thankful for so much.
I am thankful for a weekend of family time, with our little family, my family and hubby's family.  Thankful for time to reflect on the beauty of the season and be outdoors.  Thankful for time to reflect on a dear, beloved Father-in-law who passed away on Thanksgiving several years ago.  Thankful for time this weekend to do things I enjoy, walking, reading and baking pies.  Thankful for the tiniest spark of hope in my heart for the healing of broken relationships.  Thankful for a loving heavenly Father who will never, ever leave me.