JK Tea

Last Thursday, Anthony's JK class had a tea for the parents. There was tea (obviously) and then the kids sang two songs and did a dance. It was good to be able to see what Anthony has been doing in school, because he rarely tells us. After the kids had put on their preformance, we all headed to the gr. 4 class (their reading buddies) and took a look at the castles they had just finished building for their medival unit. They were really really good!

The Day that Could have Filled a Weekend

Saturday, we left the house shortly after 10am and didn't get home until close to 5pm. It was a WONDERFUL day. The kids (and parents) were exhausted but happy and a lot of fun was had.

We started the day off by heading to friends for a B.B.Q and then all of us headed out to Fort William Historical Park for their *Spring on the Farm*. (kind of funny given that it's not really a farm..)

Here are a few pictures from the morning, mostly to prove that Owen was, infact, there. He spent all afternoon in the stroller since he was supposed to be napping (no such luck however)

Out at the Fort. You walk down the path and are transported back into time.

Greeted by Voyageurs and Ojibway

Tasting banook. Yummy!

Planting some seeds

There was even magic.
Anthony LOVED it and watched right to the end.

Alexandra got bored and spent 10 mintues staring at the chickens instead.

There was even an Ojibway camp with games,

Stories and songs.
Our two families were the only ones in the teepee at that point.
The kids really enjoyed it.

Alexandra and her chickens...AGAIN!
This kid LOVES animals
(unless it's the sheep in the barn...scared of those, in her defense though, they were REALLY REALLY LOUD!)

We even got to ride in a Voyageur canoe.
Well, all but Troy who opted to stay with Owen.
Anthony was really hesitant about it, and I'm not sure he enjoyed it.

(Kevin, Sabrina, Alexandra, Mikayla, William and Anthony)

Alexandra on the other hand, paddle the WHOLE time!

It was so much fun. I am really glad that we decided to go. I think it made it even more fun that our kids had friends they could hang out with while we were there.

This past week was SO very busy. But busy in a good way:

life happening

memories being made

adventures being had

Tea parties (at Anthony's school)

meeting with a mom whose kids are older (you know, out of the diapers and sleep deprived stage), SUCH a blessing and am very glad I picked up the phone and called her, it was much needed and I am incredibly grateful to her and for her. She blessed me with her insight probably more than she will know. I love how God works. . . .

This week coming, doesn't seem to get any slower!

Baseball tournaments

Graduation (for the highschool Troy teaches at)

soccer/swimming/gymnastics

It's almost summer vacation and I am looking forward to it! Not that summer slows us down any, but it will be nice (trips to Toronto, camping, beaches, you know, summer busy!)

I LOVE (cough) frost warnings in June....How about you?

So here are pictures from when it was warmer out a week ago!

$20.45

The price of a pair of shorts, or in my case, a new lens cap.

For those of you planning on losing your lens caps, don't (especially, if like me, you need shorts for weather that is supposed to be getting warmer!)

How did I lose my lens cap? I am SO glad you asked, and I think I'll humour you and tell. :)

Last Thursday was beautiful (it really was shorts weather) so a group of moms, 5 of us with 12 kids, decided to go for a walk around a 'lake' (lets use that term loosely here). Me, being me, of course had my camera and took these lovely pictures (my camera was hijacked by a friend at one point, hence why I'm in a picture).

It was at this point of the walk, in full view of where we had parked our cars, that the lens cap vanished! I just HAD to get these pictures of the group of kids though. Alexandra was gathering up all their hands and trying to walk holding them all! (you will notice it is just the boys...)

I normally put the lens cap in a pocket, but I think I must have left it sitting on top of the stroller and didn't notice it fall off.

Why didn't I go back and look for it? Because I thought it was in one of the bags or had fallen into the pocket. I had looked behind me as I was walking when I noticed it was gone but didn't see it so I was sure I still had it on me somewhere. That'll teach me!

Oops...two got away

That's better!

Ah well, normally I wouldn't THINK of spending THAT MUCH replace the cap, but with our road trip to Toronto this summer, I thought it might be a smart idea, given that a new lens costs WAY more than the lens cap did!!!

And besides, the pictures were worth it :)

i heart faces - Happy Birthday

This week the theme is Happy Birthday. There were A LOT of birthdays around here in May. This is one of my favourites from the TONS of pictures of birthdays I took!!

There is also a pet theme this week. This is Nala, she was at the same party as the boy above. It would appear that she likes to eat ice cream! I realize that you can't really see her face, and the picture itself isn't the greatest, but I love the fact she is eating ice cream. My cat HATES people food, so this picture makes me laugh.

Head on over to i heart faces to check out all the other awesome entries and maybe play along too.

Not too Swift

Lately, like over the last 3 months, God has been working through a bunch of different stuff in my life. And it's been really really cool. Hard, trying, and draining but really really cool!
(When God works, and we let Him, how can it NOT be cool?)

I've noticed that I will *stumble* across a verse in my reading, or a song with a truth in it that I didn't notice before, or just something. And over the coruse of the week (or month) the same theme keeps appearing. The sermons preached at my church on the Sundays....

COMPLETELY related to the theme I'd been working through with God for that whole past week....it's a little creepy, but really really cool.

I'll give you an example from where I'm at right now:

This past week, I have been reading 1 John, 2 John and 3 John. Just *randomly* decided that 1 John was where I was going to start this week. The theme?? Love.

Today at church? Well, we have been going slowly through the book of Romans (sin)which is where I expected to be this morning. But yeah Kevin preached from.....

1 Timothy 1:5

Take a *wild* guess as to what that verse says........

Ready for it?

It's gonna be a shocker!

"But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith" 1 Timothy 1:5

Apparently I didn't just *stumble* upon 1 John and start reading it this week. Seems like this is where God is leading me now.

Maybe I need to be hit over the head with things for them to sink in! It also doesn't seem like sutble is in my vocabulary when it comes to change :)

I am LOVING how God is working. There is NO room for doubt in my mind that the topics that come up as *coinsidence* are most definately NOT.

It fills me with JOY to know that God cares enough about my struggles, my sin, to make His point PERFECTLY clear. To show me the areas that I need to work on, the areas that are surrounded in sin, the areas that aren't reflecting Christ like they should.

It's been a wild 3 months and I can't wait to see what God has in store for the next 3!

I need to leave the door closed...

...because he's my little monkey!

Blossoming

"We don't want to mold children into people they aren't.

Our goal is to love them enough to see what is hidden in them and then work to help that blossom."

I love that quote. Found it on a blog I read, it comes from Compassion International and, in context, it refers to the kids they work with and support.

But it is so important to remember that about our own kids as well.

They each have their own personalities and strengths and weakness, God created them to be them and I know as I am parenting, that I need to be reminded of that, sometimes almost constantly.

Sometimes it is easy to let the little things get in the way of the whole.

I want to help my kids 'blossom' into the people that God has created them to be, not the people I think they should be.

* * * * * * * * *

This week hasn't been an easy one. I am beyond exhausted so every little thing is at least 10 times bigger of a deal than it should be.

My kids are pushing my buttons...whinning, yelling, fighting, peeing in closets (yes, it was intentional and NOT an accident), 6:15pm betimes, picking flowers simply to annoy the other.

Sigh...I've hit the point where I'm not sure I even care. Why not just let them run crazy?

I know why.... I'm just weary of the consistancy required, the battles and the apparent lack of change. . .(funny how it reflects my walk with God so well). I also know that we are called to NOT grow weary in doing good. So I continue or at least try to continue. Somedays not as successfully as others!

Soccer Star

Anthony had his first soccer game last Wednesday.

Anthony, William and their friend Zander are all on the same team.
So their sisters (who are born within 5 months of eachother) cheer them on.
What do you think...should we make them little green and white tutus and pompoms?

I love it when a picture comes out looking like it looked in my head.
(Troy says this should be a Tim Horton's commercial!)

Gammondale Farm

Last week, Anthony's class got to go to Gammondale farm as a way to end their study on lifecycles. There were pony rides, duck eggs, chicks and a hayloft with tire swing. So much fun was had by all. It was a wonderful morning.
The kids even got to see a Killdeer sitting on her nest in the pumpkin patch. She would just sit there and if they got too close, she would sort of lean to the side and chirp really loudly while fluttering one wing. It was neat to see her protection instincts, generally it's not possible to get close enough to an animals nest (at least safely) to see that sort of thing. The kids were really good about staying away from it though.
Please excuse the blurred out faces, I don't where parents stand with pictures on the net.