FPO LAST M

Last month Mark gave me his work schedule and said that in this particular Friday he had to go to work for abit in the morning. The day before I went and got my hair done and he was home with the kids..I thought. He snuck out and did some grocery shopping. He was acting kinda odd. My the end of the day he told me what was up. He was sending me to the spa and making me an amazing 4-course meal. wow So Friday morning I got up and he insisted on driving me to Wild Orange Spa. He had also made me eggs benedict for breakfast. I got to the spa and sat in the steam room for quite awhile. I was secretly hoping my mom was coming too, oh well, another time. I first got a massage, then a facial and then a pedicure. I felt so pampered it was crazy. Mark picked me up about 2 and wanted me to nap, not gonna happen but I did relax with the kids on the couch before our yummy dinner. He made artichoke dip, French Onion Soup, Couille St Jacque and Creme Carmelle. So spoiled. It was the end of my kids term so it felt great to relax. Mark said this was kind like my hunting trip, which he goes on each year. Did I mention he went on 2 this year? So not a big deal and even better when he shots something. Thank you Mark was such a wonderful treat of a day. So love you!!

Sunday Afternoon

Yesterday after church we came home and had lunch. It was abit rainy but the didn't hold the kids back. They all headed to the woods with a bunch of neighbor friends to play in the fort they have made. They are so enjoying their time out there. Just the other day Nash took Nate and Faith out there for the first time. I was feeling a little apprehensive to send them but I decided to go for it and see if Nash would step to the plate. Well,he sure did. They all came home so dirty but had tons of fun. At dinner time they both wanted Nash to sit between them. Clearly, it was a relationship building time. Yesterday I think there were 9 kids hanging out together, boys and girls ages 4-12. I only checked on them once.

While they were out I made some very yummy cookies. I think they are even kinda healthy. They have flax seed, sesame seed and craisins in them. They taste like a granola bar. By the time it was dark the kids were all inside, eating cookies and popcorn, trading peek-a-poohs and watching a movie. Sent them all home at 6:30 and ordered pizza. Fun day, lots to be thankful for

Thankfulness

I know it seems I don't post much anymore. I think about it and that is about as far as it goes. I thought with it being Thanksgiving last weekend I would post cause I have so much to be thankful for. Last Sunday we went to my Grampa's place called the Hallmark. They served us turkey dinner in a family dinning room and we didn't have to do all the dishes. It was a nice relaxing change. Then we went for a walk in the dark around Fishtrap Creek. This year has been so difficult for my Grampa.

We just completed our 6th week of school. Jess is in Grade 5, Nash is in Grade 3 and Faith is in Kindergarten. This is my 6th year of homeschooling and I am continually learning new things and new ways to teach things. We have a had 5 field trips and all our activities are well under way. We are just as busy as last year but our schedule seems way better. We even have days where we are able to be at home all day. All the kids are in swim lessons. Faith, Jess and Nash are in piano. Nash and Jess are playing soccer and go to Treasure Quest every 2nd Tuesday evening. Faith is doing Ukrainian dancing. Lil' Nate just goes with the flow but some days are harder than others for him. So far we have enjoyed a beautiful fall. Lots of playing outdoors and riding bikes and with both little kids now off training wheels we go on alot of bike rides. We are so thankful for our neighborhood and all our friends. We have also begun skating as a family. Faith and Nate had never been and are doing really well. Another bonus of homeschooling when can go and skate when everyone else is in school. There is a little rink close to us that is always open. Mark is now assistant store manager at the Save On close to us. He has gone on to 2 hunting trips this fall and just brought home a buck. He is so great at providing for us here on the home front.

Serving Others in Love

Praying I will use my gifts to honor God, to be a servant to all, even washing my kids feet. Warning: this is graphic and abit tear jerking and completely mind-bogging that this happens

How can I make a difference? What can I do to help?

Holidays

We spent last week in Oliver, BC at lakeside.bc.ca What a great time we had. This is place I remember coming to when I was younger. With our 4 kids we stay in the Cabanas. You bring all your camping stuff minus the tent. We even have a sink with cold water and a couple of outlets, maybe that is why I can do this sort of camping for a whole week. The weather was fantastic. We have been waiting for this family holiday cause our one to Oregon was cancelled till next summer. A couple of weeks before we left Faith learned to ride her bike on two wheels and while we were at the campsite Nate learned. The whole campsite was cheering him on! Nate is now also out of is baby seat and into a booster. My baby is growing up. Part of me is delighted to see him take off on his bike and part of me is a little sad. My parents also came up for 2 nites to surprise the kids. It was nice to have them to there with us. Mark also just purchased kayaks for us all. Faith and Nate still have to ride in our boats but Mark did find out the hard way that Faith is able to use the orange boats and he had to go for big swim after Faith. We had tons of fun using to kayaks too. We came home to lots of clean up but it was well worth it. I canned 40lbs of peaches that we picked up in Keremeos. We are now on our countdown till school starts. I think I have everything in order and ready to go, supplies, curriculum, etc. I am aiming not to over schedule us. The 3 oldest will be taking piano. Faith is taking Ukranian dancing. Nash and Jess are playing soccer and all 4 will be taking swim lessons. There is still alot of play time and down time in all that. Now I am praying for right attitudes from everyone. They say that want to be homeschooled so I will continue to work with that until the Lord shows us different.

PS Mom if you want to see pictures on my blog bigger just double click.

There is so much more to post about our summer. This was just a highlite, perhaps there will be more to come later.

Lil' turkey

Who wouldn't sleep well on a tummy full of cookies. I baked cookies today cause it was much cooler than it has been and my Natester kept helping himself. Every time I turned around he had another one in his mouth. I finally said put them on the counter and go up to your room. I told him he should rest and that he did.
I have never had a child challenge me the way he does. He has made me re-think my parenting and sometimes I am just at a lose. He says and does things I have never had a child do. He gets into things I have never had a child get into. He can also be so cute....thankfully! He says this thing,...."Mommy I miss you". How can he possibly miss me when we are together every minute of every day? I still treasure it.
PS He just woke from his nap and asked if he could have more cookies...what a guy!

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

If a picture is worth a thousand words than this post is worth a few million. I am so far behind so to bring our life and goings on up to date, I thought I could just post some pics. These go from most recent to the end of May.

Roller blading with Aunt Deedy

July 1st Canadian eh'

July 14th Faith had her adenoids and tonsils out

Father's Day morning
We all surprised Mark wearing Oregon Duck shirts. If it's Dad's team, it's our team too!!

A visit to Sooke to see Mark's parents. Mark and his Dad hanging out on the front steps.

Playing in the pool with Papa. It got abit carried away and there were a few bare bottoms showing. hehe

At Faith's ballet recital. Faith was a puppy..so cute!

Baseball season ended in June. Nash tried being catcher, definetly not his favorite position.

Jess loves to pitch.

May 25 Jess turned 10..time sure does fly.

I also just had a very small gathering of 15 grads at a friends place for our 20th reunion. It was fun, visited with everyone and talked about everyone else. Hopefully we will pull off a big 25th reunion.
Our Oregon trip was cancelled firstly because the 3 bedroom did not come available like we thought it would, Mark got transferred to Save on here in Abbotsford as Assistant Store Manager and his holidays changed and Faith had her tonsils out which was a last minute part of the operation. The recovery time is much longer than just having her adenoids out. It is good we are staying home and not doing much. I am working on my attitude cause I was really looking forward to this holiday time.
I most sign off cause I am being paged in 4 different directions and we have nothing to eat for dinner.

Summer's here

We have been done school now for almost 3 weeks. We have slept in, played tons and just enjoyed some down time. Ball season wrapped up a couple of weeks ago. Some seasons are better than others but the kids had fun. Last weekend Mark and I went away for the nite for the first time in 5 years. It was so relaxing. We went to Whistler, ate, slept and had some uninterrupted time. Thank you to our friend Kelly who came and stayed with our kids.
The kids have been loving the pool in the backyard and time with friends. Today we went to the lake with friends, had a great time and got abit of sun. Nash and his buddies have been riding bikes tons and playing in our back forty (weird term). The picture shows the good clean fun they had the other day. They said they got muddy doing jumps and then decided to have a mud fight. What can a say but, 'hang on I'll get the camera'.
My Grampa from Moose Jaw went into the hospital on Friday by ambulance. He collapsed and was not breathing. My moms siblings were called and they all arrived Friday nite. My cousin Shelan came too and spent the weekend. Grampa is now the cardiac ward and waiting to find out some results. He is in so much pain with his shingles and waiting for a different cast to be put on his ankle after rupturing it a month ago and now his heart is beating irregular and there is some issues with his stomach. Poor Gramps. It is very hard to see him in pain and very discouraged. I know this has been very hard on my mom. I know the Lord will not give her more than she can handle. Praying that Grampa heals quickly.

Great Thought

I love this...

"The Bible calls debt a curse and children a blessing; but in our culture, we apply for a curse and reject a blessing, something is wrong with this picture." Doug Phillips

Been Forever

I know it has been forever since I blogged. Either I feel too tired or too busy but the month of May is too important to just skip over. Faith turned 5 and lost 2 baby teeth. She was so thrilled and so brave. I really thought she would be freaking out when they were coming out. Jess turned 10..double digits..no going back now. We visited the SPCA, fed some dogs and held some kittens and watched Hotel For Dogs with her friend. Both birthdays were very fun and relaxing. I also turned a year older and a wee bit wiser. We enjoyed some time at Chapters and dinner at the Olive Garden as a family. This month has been a bit challenging on the homeschool front. Keeping the kids focused and motivated has been tough but we overcame and we now have only one week left!! As I post this, it makes me think about Nash. It has really only been this last month that Nash is taking off in the reading department. Ya hoo!! I was actually getting worried but he is enjoying reading on his own now and attempting some difficult books. Wonder what kind of lil'student Faith is going to be. She seems quite motivated right now but time will tell. We are all looking forward to our summer break!

Too Busy

How has our weeks gotten so busy? I am tired so this weekend while Mark works late for 4 nights, I am going to get to bed very early. This afternoon I put a note on the door 'Resting..please do not disturb' The nice weather has brought the kids out, which is great but sometimes we just need some down time and a break. So all the kids had a little quiet time in their rooms and then we watched a movie together before dinner. It was nice that it was quiet for a while. I think I can take alot..noise..comotion..things going on but finally when I am tired, it all has to stop. This is just a quick glance at our week....

Mondays - am school - pm ballet and baseball
Tuesdays - am Regent school - pm swim lessons
Wednesdays -am school - pm ballet and baseball
Thursdays - am piano & school - pm babysit 3 kids
Fridays - am school(every 2nd Friday Learning Center co-op) pm free time ..aaaahhh

In all that there is still friends and birthday parties, errands and school planning.

How do kids go to school all day and then still have activites and lessons and any play time? I am really looking forward to the year end of some activites. We are aiming to finish school up mid June. School is going well. I can not believe Jess is almost through grade 4. We are currently working on an Explorers Unit with Nash and all enjoying that. I love that I know what they are learning and where they are at. I am learning so much too and how fun to be doing it with my kids.

My goal is to bed in bed by 9:00 each nite so on that note..."Good Night, Sleep Tight"

The Jerseys are Retired

Soccer season is finally over. Our wrap up day was postponed due to weather and spring break. Nash played for the Panda's this year and improved greatly. Saturday morning Nash played 2 hours, three shorts games. All season Mark said to both kids if they got a hat trick (3goals) in a game they would get Webkinz. Well, in his first 2 games Nash scored 3 goals. He was thrilled. He had worked his tail off! He ended up choosing the Hedgehog. Jess played on Toni's Tigers this year and had an absolute blast! Jess played for 3hours on the Saturday afternoon, in very wet and cold weather I might add. She also worked very hard and did score a goal. So... Mark took her to get Webkinz also and the little kids also scored on a new Webkinz. Nash was happy for everyone and perhaps we were celebrating the end of soccer for this year!! We have retired the #4 jerseys and some dirty cleats that will be passed down to the little ones. We are onto baseball now. Jess and Nash are playing for the same team in Mission again this year. They have already been talking about who gets #4....."take me out to the ballgame..."

Grounded

The kids are grounded from TV this week so...Friday afternoon this is what became of our living room and the kitchen table. They made a huge fort. This is normally not allowed. I was too tired to not let it happen and I figured it was pretty harmless. I had to go in and check it out. It was quite warm in the fort that is why they all got out of their clothes. Mark was not really impressed but they cleaned it up quick and we captured a few pics before the take down. I still was too tired to make dinner so we ordered in Chinese food. Just a few bites in my front veneer came off..can you say hill-billie. I was so bummed. It is amazing what wonky teeth can do to your appearance. Thankfully, on Saturday afternoon I found a dentist that would put it back on. Not to self...be more careful what I bite into or try and rip open with my front teeth.

Feeling in need of some sunshine and outdoor time. The kids start swimming lessons tomorrow afternoon with our homeschool group. Spring break is over for most kids and we are well into the swing of our third term. Need to do some home organizing and purging. It will happen when time allows in the mean time we will enjoy life and all the blessings God has given us.

Mark and I watched the video Fireproof this weekend. We thought it was great. Some say the acting was abit cheesy, true but the message was great. I would totally recommend it. Thankful we watched it in our home together because we both shed tears. Praise the Lord we will celebrate our 15 year anniversary this October. I have to honestly say married life just gets better. We know each other so well and what makes each other tick. We are also getting older and a little more mature...I think. I think we have grown up lots since becoming parents to 4 children. Life is full for us but I can't imagine anything less!

Lord, Give me Your Eyes

This is a video I watched awhile back and it has weighed so heavy on my heart. Be prepared to cry. This seems so unimaginable. You will have to turn my music off at the bottom of this page. How can this be? How can I make a difference? How can I help those in need? How is it that God chose me to be born here in Canada with such an abundance? with all the extras, God help me not to lose focus. Tonite I read and watched an updated video and these kids are being sponsored and doing much better.

I also just found out that this woman whom I just finshed reading about passed away. Her name was Haregewoin Teferra. She has cared for orphan children in Ethiopia for a long while. She felt sick and died in her bed. She was still caring for children. The book is called There's No Me Without You by Melissa Fay Greene. She had such a love and such a heart for these children. She was also responsible for many successful adoptions of some of her children. I would highly recommend this book. It was very eye opening. Again, we are so blessed.

Happenings

I have felt very busy lately both for real and in my head. My cousins from Edmonton were here this weekend. Their hubby's had the kids and they came to see Grama Penner. It is so crazy that I live in the same town and don't see her as much as I would like. Also, the truth be known I find it hard to visit her now. She has so aged and it is really hard to watch. The Menno Pavilion is a good place for her, it's just that she now has a schedule and I don't want to interrupt that. The parking there is lousy, so sometimes when I would like to swing in for a 10min visit I cannot find a place to park. Her place is perfect for her but so small to visit with the kids for very long let alone they start to get a little bingy. Short visits are great. Wow, this just sounds like a lame bunch of excuses. I need to make more time because I know I will regret it if I don't.

My Grampa went back home to Moose Jaw this weekend. He ended up being here for 3 months but boy, did he go home so much healthier. I really enjoyed having him here and we saw him much more this last month. We did lots of fun things and made lots of memories. He even jumped on Mark's new quad and joined me at the kids piano recital. It was so special for the kids to also spend time with him. Kinda happy my parents were away for a week cause it really gave us time to be with him. Wish he lived closer. Hopefully he will be back out soon. I know he has to go home and more grieving still has to come and I find it hard to know he is there alone. Gramps, if you ever read this know you are loved and prayed for!!

It is also portfolio time. Time for me to put together samples of the kids work over this past term. After 5 years of homeschooling, you think I would have this down pat. I always make it a bigger deal than it needs to because I know the kids are doing great. I guess it is just proving that but should I really have to prove it? We are also involved again in Learning Center. A huge co-op of homeschoolers and the kids take different courses taught by other moms and I also have to teach a class. This year it is called Crafts for a Cause. We are making usable crafts to sell at the end in hopes to raise $ to buy seeds for 3 families. I am on a budget plus working with 6-8year olds and they should really be a usable craft so people will actually buy them. I have stressed way too much over this. My kids just love learning center so it would be very disappointing to not do it. Next year, I just have to think of a easier class. So the last little bit I have done some unnecessary stressing. My portfolios are now done and the teacher comes for a visit on Tuesday evening. I think I have my next bunch of craft classes planned so I am feeling much more relaxed and I really like that. We are not really taking a spring break cause we just did our trip to Disney and there was another week not alot of school got done becasue we were so busy. Looking forward to a great week and some visits with friends!!

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I thought this was really cute but I cannot get my blog to show the whole thing, which was actually the whole family. ..such a rookie

Happy 8th Birthday

Wow, time has flown. Our big guy is 8. Since we just got home from Disneyland, we decided to not to do a big party. We had one special friend over for dinner, played and watched Space Buddies. It was so relaxing. In the morning, the big kids were off at a homeschool class on Tuesday. My dad had been working very hard on a new bed for Nash. We got it up and installed while they were gone. Nash came in from class and there was his new bed and Papa was hiding in the closest and Grama and my Granpa were taking pictures. He was thrilled. The little kids are not allowed up on the bed, so far they have not wanted to.

Today my Mom and Dad left for Cuba. The kids and I took my Granpa on a field trip with us to the VSO. It was great. Then Granpa took us out for lunch to the Olive Garden. I really wish he lived here...maybe one day he will. He will be going home soon. It will be hard to know he is on his own but we know he has to.

Joy in the Everyday

I have a few things to blog before the main event of today is shared. It is Nash's 8th birthday. What a special gift from God he is to our family. There will be more to come on the events of the day at a later post. They are all chillin' with Dad right now.

Just a day or two before we left for holidays Nate got into the baby powder. I walked into his room and he was in his closet with powder all over him and the floor. I screeched, "NATE!" Then I told him not to move and I grabbed the camera. I really scared him cause he knew he was busted. He was not impressed with me snapping pictures but it was pretty funny and thanfully it was only powder. We had a talk and he did say he would not do that again.

Saturday Jess had a soccer game. She scored right at the beginning off the game. She was thrilled and feeling fairly positive about the outcome. Well, needless to say there was one girl on the other team who pretty much dominated the whole game and before ya knew it, the score was 14-2 at the end. Half way through the game Jess was so bummed but by the end she had turned that frown upside down and had a great time. Thanks for the great attitude Jess..you rock!!

On another thankful note...this morning for Nash's bithday breakfast we decided to got to Tim Horton's before the kids class. I was not even out of the subdivision and the police had me pulled over. I had not come to a complete stop at the stop sign, not sure if I ever do there. She took awhile writing the ticket and then came to the window to deliver and had crossed through it 'warning'. I was so thankful. It would of been a 167 fine..ouch. So there was one of those teachable moments with all 4 kids in the truck. Mommy was wrong and I need to obey the law and that was such a kind police lady to just warn me. After that I was showing the kids what a complete stop feels like. arrrggg She lives at the corner where this happened and probably sees tons of people in the subdivision do that. Anyhow thank you to our nice police lady neighbor for the warning. So we no longer had time to go in and have breakfast we just ran in and got our treats and ate in the truck on the way to class.

Our Disneyland Trip

I have been stalling to do this cause it seems like a big project or something cause I am so out of blogging lately. Here goes anyhow. We had a wonderful time. We went 10 hour days and it didn't feel like it. We had a four day park hopper between Disney and California Adventure. Our hotel was about a 2block walk on the same side of the street. We swam at the pool in the evenings. The kids were great!! We did all the rides and lots even 2X because there were no line ups. One ride Faith did 3x it was one of her favorites, The Jumping JellyFish. We saw all the shows we could, Aladdin, HSM 3, Fantasmic, Disney Playhouse and Jess even got to talk with Crush and do Jedi Academy. Nash and I did the roller coaster first!! It was so fun. I think I said "YEE HAW about dozen times on it. I have no idea why it just kept coming out. We met all the characters except Donald Duck, who we saw but said we would come back to him. Later we heard that his apprearances are rare. Oh well, it gives us something to look forward to for our next trip. We ate alot of junk food and fast food, slushies,hot dogs, pizza, corn dogs, cotton candy, ice cream and chirros, but boy, was it good. Nate kinda lost it when he had his chance to meet Belle. He loved her dress, of course cause it was yellow (his favorite) but he got too shy or something and then when it was too late he wanted to go back. In a few years he will be braver..he was so cute and then really was not so interested in meeting Cinderella but she told him, "Nate, use your big boy words" Never expected him to be so taken back by it all, especially the princesses. Everyone made great purchases, sweatshirts, a bag, keepsakes, stuffies, baseball hats and Tinkerbell Pollys. Yes, we have already talked about going again. The week flew by like we knew it would.

Came home to a painted house. We had hired a friend to paint the stairwells while we were out of the house but my parents and my Granpa did the rest. They even cleaned and mom washed towels and cleaned bathrooms. It was such a treat to come home to!!!

So life is back to some what normal. They kids had a field trip this week. Jess is getting ready to write some test for the government. We have enjoyed being outdoors this week. Mark is on his late weekend, so the kids and I watched Madagascar 2 for our Valentines evening but we did have a special breakfast as a family.
This month seems very busy for us on top on holidays, there is alot planned and going on.

"He is a shield to those who put their trust in
the Lord" Proverbs 30:5b