Snippets of Fall

I am LOVING this time and praising God for the fun my kids are having.

Family Times....

These pictures were taken by my Uncle Bill (or at least, using his camera) They are from Thanksgiving dinner at my parents house. It was a beautiful day out and we all had a wonderful time visiting with eachother.

Uncle Stefan and Alexandra Uncle Stefan and Anthony

My brothers, Stefan and Eric
Gigi (my grandmother) and Alexandra

Happy Thanksgiving

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

I have so much to be thankful this day. I am sitting here, at the end of the day enjoying the quiet, the smell of a fire coming in through the open window, for it is still warm enough to have all the windows open and, the fact that I am so incredibly blessed.

My life is filled with things to be thankful for, so many in fact that if I started to name them all, they would fill up numerous posts :) BUT, I think it is important to 'voice' what we are thankful for so here are somethings that I am most thankful for tonight (in no particular order):

* family * friends *the ability to travel *the colours on the leaves *the smells of fall as they blow in through open windows *not wanting *my Saviour *that I got to see my youngest brother this weekend *that there are beaches where my kids can find shells and rocks and dig in the sand (in the middle of Toronto too!) *comfortable pillows *cameras that capture memories *friends willing to travel to see me *always having an abundance of food *moose hunting *changes in life *being able to grow and learn *freedom to teach my kids about God *freedom to walk the streets without fear *for the blessings upon blessings that my Lord pours over me, even when I am to thick to realize that they are there.

May you all have had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend! Never forget to stop and take the time to be thankful for the things we have, for they are not forever. I am learning to be grateful today for what I have been given.

Our Bags are Packed...

...and we're ready to go!

After much running around and last minute *stuff*, cuz there's ALWAYS *stuff*. I am finally ready for the plane ride with the kids tommorrow. More than the plane ride though, both the kids and I are excited about getting to go see Grandma and Deda.

It is hard having family far away, but I know that I appreciate it all the more when I do get to see them. This will be the last trip down until summer (when we will attempt a *roadtrip* with the kids). I can't wait to get off that plane in Toronto and see my family. The kids are FLYING HIGH with excitement. . . . Toronto HERE WE COME!!!!!!!!!

(I may not update a lot, I plan to throughly enjoy my time with my family and create memories for my kids! Then again, my mom LOVES spending time with them so I may have MORE time!!!!)

Anthony's teacher called me today at lunch cuz he was so upset about something and wanted to talk to me (and then proceeded to cry over the phone hat he wanted me to come and give him a hug RIGHT NOW! (talk about breaking my heart). His teacher got back on wanting to know if I wanted to come and pick him up (nope!). He was just 1)tired 2)excited 3) stressed cuz it was lunchtime and he doesn't like the lunchroom/monitor (not really sure which, had a good talk with the teacher about that today too, and she is going to let him eat in the classroom for a while). I also found out that I can volunteer in his class so I am looking forward to finding out more about that once we get back.

I appreciate his teacher taking the time on her lunch break to let my son call me, to talk to me about the lunch lady (whom Anthony has been saying right from the start that he doesn't really like) and that she took the time to help me piece together just what exactly it might be that is upsetting Anthony so much. She took time out of a busy day to make sure my son was alright and I really appreciate that, more than words can say. It was good to know that she cares about him too.

So to teachers out there, thanks for going the extra mile for the kids in your class. This is one parent who appreciates it and understands the extra effort it requires after a long day/week/month. THANK YOU!

Fall walk pictures

Anthony LOVES MariAnne (our pastor's wife). She is so good with kids and both my kids adore her.

Worshiping at the lookout with our Pastor (Kevin) Singing my God is So Big
My daughter thinks she's as big as the other girls!! And threw a fit when they all took the (really really steep) short cut that she wasn't allowed to take!

Letting Go...

I said I would update again yesterday and I just didn't get there. Couldn't. Yesterday was long, it started off great, a rare morning when we are all up and happy and working on getting out of the house together. It was the first day of MOPS and I wanted to arrive early at the host church because I wanted to make sure the coffee was ready and the snacks were on the table and that the tables and chairs for the moms were set up (a frequent problem last year, they weren't). Alas, it was not to be. God is teaching me to take things in stride I think. I got to the church at 8:45am and it was locked. The foyer was dark, the office was dark. They had forgotten that MOPS was starting and there was no one there. I waited until 9am (and by that point we had some moms starting to show) thinking that maybe they would open at 9. Silly me! Thankfully I had a cell phone and one of the childcare volunteers had a husband at home with access to a phone book. The youth pastor showed up, opened the door and said he would look into getting us our own key (because the church is now closed on Mondays). Not the start we were looking for but, the day proceeded fairly smoothly after that. I just had to let go of the fact that things weren't going to be perfect and that we were going to be late in starting (two things that I really struggle with. I like things to be perfect and it really really bothers me when I am late, or things I am helping to organize start late). But God is teaching me to let it go and let Him, which is a lesson I know that I will need to keep learning continually!

Today is a lazy day. The kids were really busy all weekend and as a result are super tired. We had the fall walk with our church Sunday afternoon and it was wonderful. It was so nice to be out walking and worshiping with friends. The place we walked was perfect for kids too. Because it is a cross country ski centre in the winter, the trails are good for strollers, but both my kids walked most of the way to the lookout. I loved being out and enjoying the fall colours and the cool crisp air. Enjoying the blessings that He has provided us. It was great, I can't even find the words to explain how I felt after, but joyful and peace-filled come close.

Owen all cozy for the walkAnthony and Abby taking a rest from running togetherThanks to Kevin for this picture!

And Jessie for this picture! (Anthony's hiding under the blanket cuz the 'puppy' is trying to eat him!)

Too Cute for Words!

I have lots to write, and little time right now in which to ponder, so I will post more later tonight, in the mean time, these pictures were screaming at me for a post.

+ and -

How does one deal with lying? Anthony has discovered that he can say he's done something to get the result he wants. Even if that something isn't true. Yesterday alone he did it about 6 times. We are trying to teach him that lying gets him into more trouble then if he just told the truth, but I have a feeling that this is going to be a long struggle. Yesterdays big thing was not going potty before we went somewhere. He'd say he went and then like 5 minutes later would start doing the pee-pee dance and ask to go to the bathroom. Short of taking him and watching him go pee, or turning around and coming home, what do I do? I am pretty sure it is a stage that most kids go through at some point, it's just not a trait I want to encourage or see continue in him. It's hard to because I tend to believe him when he tells me somethign because up until this point I have had no reason not to, so I now find myself going and checking and looking and makign sure that every little thing he says is true. It's exhausting work but I do know that the end results are worth it.
On a positive Anthony note, I have created a chore chart for him (and his sister cuz she wanted one too) and I find that I no longer have to tell him 50 times a day to hang up his jacket or take this dishes to the counter. Everytime he does something on his chart he gets a sticker, when the chart is full he gets to do something special with me or Troy. Last night was his first time and he choose to go and play mini-putt. As well as things that I want him to do (like jackets and dishes) I also have a spot for being helpful and sharing nicely, traits I want to encourage. It's great because I am finding that he is much more willing to help his sister AND he is not constantly doing things and asking for a sticker, which I was worried about.

Nothing Much

It seems like my life cycles, from having amazingly wonderful days (even two or three at a time) to crashing and burning. Yesterday was tough, I don't know what it was, other than the fact that the 4 days prior had been fantastic. Everything was a challenge yesterday (and the kids were good!) It's frustrating how I seem to have things under control and then the rug gets pulled out from under me. I know it's so I learn to lean on Him and trust Him more each day, but that doesn't make the challenges any easier to deal with.


Life is getting busy again, I leave with the kids to visit family in a week (while Troy teaches and hunts for moose), I am also co-ordinating a Mother's Market (a fundraising event for my MOPS group) but all of the calling and emailing need to happen before I leave. MOPS starts Monday, and the ladies Bible study 'Anointed, Trasnformed and Redeemed - A Study of David' is starting on Tuesday. I am really really looking forward to this study. It will be the first one in a loooooong time that I have been able to make it to (little girls would not let any one else put them to bed for the frist 15 months of life) I am looking forward to the fellowship and connecting and the learning. It is a video series with Kay Arthur, Beth Moore and Priscilla Shirer. I am praying I will be willing to let God work in my life.


Well, I am off to lay my weary head on my pillow! Blessings this weekend! Hoping that you get a chance to go out and enjoy the wonderful weather of autumn. Good night!

At the Park

Mikayla really doesn't like swings!

(and its a good thing both girls are tiny, yes they are in the same swing)

He made it to the top, first time!