A Veritable Smorgasbord Of Random Photos For Your Viewing Pleasure

We have had lots of rain for a week and a half or so. Yippee. Today the skies opened and we got three inches this afternoon. Across the road from us, there's a road that doesn't drain properly and it always makes a lake when it rains much. The kids had a blast playing in it a little bit. (The picture is Logan and Sara, my niece, who is here with us this week). Now the boys have had a bath and I need to get them headed for bed!

Just call me two-faced!!!

We had a fun slumber party with the Lyndakers. As you can see, food and eating figured largely into what we did.

The boys had an absolute blast tearing the railing off the porch. Caleb says it's way more fun to wreck stuff than build it. Is it a guy thing?? Notice Josiah in the back with a crowbar!

Here are some various spring-time activities. Caleb was having fun riding one of Keith's bikes. The boys are on a lego kick again - partly thanks to a visit by the Lyndakers. Caleb has adopted a style of building from Collin. And that's Keith tilling the horse poop into the garden. Yay!! :-) And, of course, Logan in the trusty old sand-box! What would we do without it?

We had Alabama here for four days while Jeff and Wendy went to Grandpa Gingerich's funeral. What a hoot! It was fun to have a girl's hair to comb. :-) One day Caleb got inspired to build a little "house" in the living room. This is the result. Caleb slept in it for part of a night and Logan slept in it one night.

Speedbumps On The Highway of Motherhood

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Josiah's so good at making extra work for me! The other day I was engrossed in making supper and the boys were playing "Hide and Seek" with Josiah. All of a sudden I realized they were calling and calling for him and he wasn't coming. Where was he? I found him in the bathroom with the potty chair dissasembled. He had the "bowl" of it and was dipping water out of the toilet and pouring it on the floor. Sigh!

Tonight I had dressed him after his bath and shut the door because the other boys were stil in the tub. Then Caleb finished and got out by himself - and left the door open. Next thing I knew, Logan was hollering, "Mommy, come QUICK!" I went and found Josiah in the tub again. This one made me laugh - and grab the camera!

Because We Could

Arthur and Iris are in town for three nights on their way from the city back home. Last night we had a "slumber party" with all of them. We even had Arthur convinced that he and Keith would sleep in the bunk beds and Iris and I would have our bed. But we were joking. We had a fun time and the kids had fun crashing in the basement. The guys had some bonding time doing some word-working in the basement. Of course, Iris and I had to stay up late to talk because that's the only time we could! We had a great breakfast of pancakes, eggs and bacon this morning. I'm so thankful for friends!

Happy Spring Thoughts

When I went out for my walk this morning I thought, “This is the time of year when I really like to live here! From now until about October or November!.” The leaves are just coming out on the trees this week, the grass is green, the dandelions are blooming… (My kids caught wind that I want to spray weed-killer on the lawn which would kill the dandelions. They were not impressed! What should I do??)

Another sign of spring: picnics on the patio. We had two this week already. On Monday night my family was all here for supper since we had a special guest from PA – Rhonda Schantz. It was great to see her. I haven’t seen her for so long and of course, she’s all grown up now! Crazy!

On Tuesday night our cell group had a potluck here. We ate on the patio again. And I made some great iced tea. Thanks to some helpful hints from Dru it turned out pretty well. I don’t know how many people were here that night, but it was pretty crowded. Everyone came and some brought friends.

Keith and I decided to tackle a home renovation project. I think this is our biggest one so far. And we really have very little experience! We’re replacing the steps and railing of our front porch. Tonight we all had fun ripping it apart. Why is destroying things so much fun?? :-) I hope we haven’t bitten off more than we can chew. We knew that we need to re-finish the wood siding which is along the porch, but we thought we’d do it later. After ripping off the railing, etc. we both think we should do it now while the railing is off. The porch project might end up being a bit more long-term than we had thought!

And then there’s the garden! Our friends, Keith and Debbie have horses, so we went over there last night and got a truck-load of manure. Keith tilled it into the garden so it looks great and is ready to plant whenever I think it’s warm enough and get around to it. And, we still have those trees to plant…

That’s all for now. Happy Spring!!

Just In Case You Thought I Was Dead, I'm Not!!

My dear friend and relative, Rhonda, recently referred to herself as a slacker blogger. Well, I think I get the slacker blogger of the month award! I won’t try to make excuses. I’ll just start “talking”, and I promise (Rachel) I won’t write a book. I’ll just try to write more soon!!

Spring has sprung!! It’s so wonderful!!! I’ve done a bit of digging around in the flowerbeds and I’m starting to think about getting the garden ready to plant. We have some friends who have horses and, apparently, unlimited, um… fertilizer. So, I’m hoping to avail myself of a truck-load of that! We have four new trees sitting in the yard (still in their buckets) that we hope to plant soon. We want to start working toward some shade for our very-hot-in-the-afternoon-and-evening patio. I bought two Colorado Blue Spruce, a Columnar Poplar, and a Maple. I’m thinking of one or two more. If you have any brainy ideas for how to arrange a “grove” of a variety of trees, let me know.

This past weekend we went to Kenora on Friday afternoon and came home Sat. night. We stayed with my dear friend Debby. Supper was around the camp-fire in the back yard and Debby entertained myself and her sister Joann with her interesting shenanigans. (You’ll have to ask her!) I hadn’t laughed so hard in months!

At Debby’s our little family was all snugly fitted into Debby’s little guest room. Caleb decided to wake up before 5:00 and loudly call me, which woke up Josiah. Yay. Josiah never went back to sleep. Caleb did, but then Logan woke up and his talking woke up Caleb again. All this time I was trying hard to get everyone to BE QUIET and get a few more winks. Keith finally just got up and took Josiah out to the living room. By 6:30 it was evident no one was going to get any more sleep and I was feeling badly for the others in the house who were trying to sleep as well. Then inspiration hit! I said to Keith, “Let’s throw the kids in the van and go to Tim Horton’s!” So that’s what we did, and it was well worth it. I don’t know if coffee and donuts ever tasted better!

By 8:00 we had all had breakfast, Josiah was ready to go back to bed, and Debby, Joann and I headed out garage-saleing. What fun. We all found some great stuff. The funniest part was that by the time we came back, I was pinned in the back seat of the car under a great big shelf. Why didn’t we take the van???

Keith then took Caleb and Logan and headed for the logging expo which was the reason for our trip. (Well, Keith’s reason, anyway. I just wanted to buy trees!) We ladies and Josiah went tree shopping and had a lovely lunch at Casey’s to celebrate Joann’s birthday. It was a really fun time and we made lots of good memories!

One more quick thing… Since we got back from Montana, the boys have been in swimming lessons two days a week. That’s one of the reasons why blogging has fallen farther down my list. That, combined with a new Wed. morning Bible study, has made life really crazy right now!!! But, there are only two more swimming lessons left and then we’ll be able to think about other things a little more! It has been worth it though because Caleb and Logan are both doing great in swimming. It’s so fun to see them learn! Caleb already passed one level this session and is working on the next one. I’ve been taking Josiah to aqua-tots (I go in the water with him), so I don’t have much time to watch Caleb and Logan swim. So Thursday I’m not going in the pool so I can just watch them and see what all they’re doing.

That’s all for now. My hubby has already headed for bed, so I need to go join him! :-)

Some Days We Should Just Stay In Bed!

Here, for my clamoring fans (both of you), is a post - finally.

If I were superstitious (which I"m not) I'd say we are having a string of bad luck. Instead I'll just say, "Good grief!!" It all started last night at our small group. Logan was sitting on my lap and got really excited about singing "Jesus Loves Me." In his childish exuberance he flung his head back and cracked me right on the nose - HARD!! Oh my goodness! I haven't experienced that kind of pain for a long time! It only bled a little bit, but I had a "nose ache" all evening and a headache that came and went. Today it's still tender, but thankfully no black eyes or big purple nose!

This morning, Logan started things out right by dumping the fish food on the kitchen floor. (We just got some goldfish). Sigh. But, I was impressed with how he cleaned it up almost entirely by himself.

Next stop, swimming lessons. After Logan, Josiah and I had our showers, Josiah was walking around while wrapped in a towel. (Bad Mommy moment?) He tripped on his towel or his feet but his arms were wrapped up so he couldn't catch himself. So, he bonked his forehead on the floor and got a nice little mark above his eye. And of course he cried and cried. Poor kiddo. I felt so bad.

And finally, a few minutes later, Logan wanted to open the (very heavy) door into the observation area and promptly opened it onto his toe, resulting in a nice little gash at the base of his toenail. He was not impressed and is still limping around tonight.

We should have all stayed in bed!

I'm Back!

I don't have much time to write. I'll just say that the trip went fine and we had a good time. We got to see some interesting things like Frankslide in Alberta. You can look it up on the internet. The wedding was fun! It was fun to experience it a bit from the groom's perspective, since I was the wife of a groomsman. :-) It was great to catch up with the Frey family again, too!

Traveling went fine and we got to shop in Calgary. Yay! We were looking and looking for the store Once Upon A Child. While we were looking, Keith said, "look over there!" I looked and looked and finally spotted the sign, "Scrapbookers Paradise"! We laughed and kept driving. When we finally found "Once Upon A Child", it was in the same parking lot as Scrapbookers Paradise! Destiny! So, I got to go both place while Keith was at Chapters. We had a nice supper at Chili's and then we trudged around a mall for awhile. We agreed that we don't really like them. We found a good dollar store there, though. :-) You can tell what kind of shoppers we are!

The boys did great with Kendra and their grandparents. I'm so thankful that they had good caretakers! They had fun, but were ready for us to come home. I was ready to get back to them as well!! On the way home we did some shopping in Winnipeg (of course) so we didn't get home until about 11:30. Yikes! It's taken awhile to get back in the swing of things here!

This week was a bit overwhelming at times since we started swimming lessons every Tues. and Thurs. morning. Thankfully, that only lasts for 5 or 6 weeks! The boys are loving it, so that helps make it worthwhile. I guess that's all the news for this time!

Alberta!

Man, I love those Canadian Rockies. It was so nice to drive through them and just soak it in! On our way home, we met some friends from Three Hills for supper in Calgary. That was a blast. We haven't seen them since we left there four years ago, so it was great to catch up. And we got to eat supper at Red Lobster. :-) They are, from left to right, Brad and Marci Penner, Caroline and Sweiss Ubels, and us, of course!

Here, they are, for all of you who are clamoring for pictures! The wedding was fun and of course, it was great to see Mark tie the knot. Lety is a very nice lady and I'm happy for both of them! The wedding was at a beautiful lodge and you could see the mountains. It's so beautiful there! The strange picture of the guys is them showing off their Spyderco knives that Mark gave them. It's a guy thing! The picture of Paul, Mark and Keith was taken on the deck of Mark's house. He has an awesome view - lake and mountains!

We're Off!

Well, this is it! The big trip starts tomorrow. (In case you forgot, Keith and I are going to a friend’s wedding in Montana). This week has been a marathon of getting things ready to go and having a birthday party for Caleb yesterday. (We have a seven-year-old! Yikes!!) I’m so excited to be going on a trip with my hubby, but I’m also a bit sad/nervous about leaving our kids. I will be praying for them!!


In the good news department: 1) I found a dress for the wedding – and it’s red!! It needed a few alterations, and of course, that’s not quite done yet! :-( 2) I’ve been at this awkward weight for quite awhile where I have some pants that are too big and some others that are too small. Well, in the last couple weeks, I graduated into one of the smaller ones. But one pair of pants really isn’t enough if you know what I mean. This morning I tried on some others and I have at least three more that I can now wear!! Praise the Lord!

So, I should sign off. There are piles of laundry to fold, a dress to finish, pictures to upload to Wal-Mart, kids to love, suitcases to pack… And all in just a few hours. Hahahaha! I think I’ll be burning some midnight oil tonight! But I’ll survive because in the next few days I’m looking forward to: Wal-Mart, Olive Garden (hopefully!), mountains, time with my sweetheart, Michaels(!!!!!!!), flying, seeing old friends (and Keith in a tux!) I think we’ll have fun. God bless all of you!

Wisdom from Caleb

Here’s a poem that Caleb wrote the other day:


Spring

In spring rivers running and grass is coming.
In spring lots of rain.
We get out our bikes,
But the best of all is the...mud!!!!


I was looking through a journal the other day and found this quote from Caleb about 2 years ago. (At the lunch table, out of the blue.) “Mommy, did you lay the egg I hatched from?”

Always Loved, Never Forgotten

Three years ago today, my Mom’s earthly body succumbed to MS. Her spirit, however, stayed strong to the end. I know that she’s with her Maker and Redeemer now and is strong and healthy. That’s a comfort to me, but I still do miss her! I’m so thankful that I had her as my Mom for 36 years. I always knew I was loved by her and had a special place in her heart. In many ways, she was my best friend, and we shared so much together. She taught me so much about life and living for Jesus. When I was young, she disciplined and taught me faithfully. And I remember how she gradually let me go to be my own person. As I got older, our relationship changed from mother/child to mother/friend. And then as she got physically and emotionally weaker, I became her strength in some ways.

Special Memories of my Mom:

*Staying up late (all night one time!) playing games and/or talking.
*Her teaching me how to sew.
*All the beautiful flowers she liked to grow. I remember the flowers we had at our house in Minnesota and how they made an impression on me when I was young.
*Taking “girl trips” together. For a few years, Rachel, Mom, and I went to visit Sheldon’s and go shopping on Thanksgiving weekend since Dad and the guys were hunting. Mom, Darla, Rachel and I had a fun trip to my cousin Rosie’s wedding. And, of course, there was the wedding shopping trip in Winnipeg with Mom, Rachel, and Carolyn. Oh, the things we learned on that trip!
*Her and Dad coming to visit me in Russia – and bringing a suitcase full of treats and presents.
*Special traditions such as at Christmas. These meant a lot to Mom and she did a lot to make them happen.
*Planning my wedding with her help. Our only disagreement was because I told her she couldn’t do everything she wanted to do – like make the cake and all the bridesmaid dresses!
*The way she just enjoyed people and always had time for a cup of coffee with someone.
*I always knew that her eyes would light up when I walked into the house.
She was one of the few people who could listen to all of my stories, woes, and blessings of parenting – and be truly interested.

Things I admire about my Mom:
*She was always full of life and energy.
*She loved to laugh.
*She could - and did – laugh at herself. And she let us laugh at her foibles too.
*She always cared about me and my family. She loved my boys so much.
*She was wise and helped me see my blindspots in my parenting.
*She loved the Lord and loved people!!
*She suffered well and stayed strong to the end.
*She loved to make beautiful things and be creative. She was always making something or getting into some new craft or sewing project. She made clothes and blankets and other things for her kids and grandkids and when she couldn’t do that anymore, she resorted to making cards on the computer. It’s special now to have some of the things she made!

Even after three years, I still miss her very much. It really is true that each and every person on this earth is unique and irreplacable. The huge hole that she left isn’t the big gaping wound that it was, but the scar is still there and the ache of missing her will never completely be gone. I thank God for giving her to me (us) even if it wasn't long enough.

A Little Rant

We're heading for a wedding in MT in 2 weeks - and I don't have anything to wear! Help! With having babies and such, I haven't really kept my wardrobe well-stocked. Well, it's well-stocked as in I have clothes in about 5 different sizes. But at this particular size (none of your business!) and this season, there's really not much there. I had found this sorta cute pink fabric for $1.99 at Wally World (not my first choice of colors, but it's okay for that price!) So, last week I whipped up a cute little dress - and it's, um, too little. Grrrr. I used to be a fairly decent and meticulous seamstress. Apparently not so much anymore! There's a slight chance that I'll lose enough weight in two weeks to wear it, but maybe not.

Now I'm looking into all my options... I looked all over our poor little town and came home disgusted with current colors and styles. The other night Keith (!) and I perused the Sears catalogues. We found a few possibilities, but I'm a bit skeptical. I ordered a few things - good thing it's easy to return stuff. I just have to say that I'm not impressed with the current colors! I'm not a brown, grass green, coral or turquoise person! Where's all the red, blue, and sage or olive green?? I know my tastes have changed over the years with whatever "they" are offering, but I must draw the line here. It's makes me frustrated that some un-known "fashion gurus" (who are they anyway???) get to decide what colors and styles I can and can't buy. The funny thing is, a Sears sale catalogue just came yesterday with a red (!) dress in it. Not sure that it will work for me, but I'm going to order it and see. And my friend Phyllis is going to Wpg this weekend and will look for fabric for me. Now that's desperate - letting someone else buy fabric for you!

Okay, I'm done now. Sorry to bore you with all that! Down with brown! Up with red and blue!!!

A Hint From Matilda the Mommy - and other stuff

Your 4-year-old has a cute little dress outfit to wear to church, complete with vest and tie, but his shirt never stays tucked in... What do you do? I recommend duct-taping his shirt to his underwear! It really works! The little cutie is in church right now with duct tape as a part of his ward-robe.

Oh, and I'm not in church with them because Josiah is sorta sick and very grumpy. He had a fever yesterday and during the night. Sigh. It feels like it would if my family were getting together for a meal and I couldn't go be with them. :-( Derek and Elise are coming over for lunch so that will be fun. I have hardly seen them since our adventures in Kenora. Scotty's probably already walking and talking and ready to start school. Well, maybe not.

We had a fun first at our house this week. Caleb lost a tooth. He's pretty proud of it. We didn't even know it was loose until two days or so before it came out. He didn't know why his tooth hurt sometimes and just never mentioned it. Now that he knows what's going on, he discovered two more loose ones! So, he's fixin' to have a real hole in his head. I think he feels like a really big boy!