Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving Monday

I am still in my PJ's at 10:30 had a great visit with my neighbor friend till after midnight. What a blessing that family is to ours. I fed the kids breakfast in the back lane and they are all enjoying a beautiful morning with friends. Jess has gone to mom's to help with dinner prep and hang out. I have plans to get some things done in the house today, so here goes. The pic is from last Thursday. We went to the zoo with friends for the start of our science co-op in the diversity of life. Hope to get a fall family picture when Mark gets home.

Bringing us up to date!

It has been has great year this far and here I am on 10-10-10. Thanksgiving really helps you reflect on how much we have to be thankful for. God is good. We are blessed as a family in so many ways. Today in church Nash made a list of all that he is thankful for on his hand, he ran out of room, I love that, so he got home and made up a longer one. This is the week that Mark always goes hunting. We miss him but also enjoy the unstructured-ness of this week. Well, maybe I do cause meals aren't as big a deal when Daddy is not coming home for it. We did our turkey dinner with him last Monday and one tommorrow with Grama. We just have an extra long Thanksgiving weekend.
The following photos are just some of the highlights of this past year. This helps me feel OK with moving on and blogging. The kids also enjoy reading this like a short story or journal of the Shipton Crew.



This summer flew by. It seemed like we waited for it to come and then it was over. Here the kids are playing in the sand in Long Beach, Wash. We went with Mark's parents. We swam in the pool and flew kites. We also went to Oliver and the Shuswaps for a few nites
Nate celebrated his 5th birthday in July. It was a hockey theme. He wanted his 2 friends Jesse Peters and Jesse Peters. One is a wee bit darker than the other that is how we tell them apart.

We went to the Canada Parade. Our new neighbors came too. They have 3 children that are great friends with our kids. The Peters family has been a wonderful addition to our neighborhood!
Nash played baseball in the Tadpole II division. They had a great group of boys on the team. They came in 1st place this year! Jess turned 11 in May. We had a swim party with 10 girls at the pool. We also had a family party. These clothes were for her Maplea doll.
Mothers' Day we went to Harrison for a picnic lunch. The kids played and got wet in the lake.
We went to the park for a picnic with my brother's family and mom & dad. Here is the 7 grandkids!
Faith turned 6 in May. She had a Tinkerbell theme party with a group of her friends. We did crafts and played games. She had a great time.
We took Grampa John to the Abbotsford Heat game for his birthday. We ate good food, cheered hard and saw some fights. Nash was there also but at his friends birthday party across the arena.
Our new addition....Nash got a hamster for his birthday. Never thought I would allow it but I caved and he is so cute.
Nash turned 9. He had a swim party with all the neighbor friends. They all came here for pizza and then we took them all to the Walnut Grove Rec Center. We also had a family party.
The Olympic torch came to town. The kids got in their olympic gear to watched it run by.
Faith performed this year at Malanka in January for Ukrainian New Years. It was so adorable and they did an amazing job.

And the school year begins....

Our first day of school...had French Toast for breakfast, did an art project on Van Gogh and went to a Not Going Back to School Party at the wave pool with about 100 other friends.

I have not blogged all year so I don't know where to start. I may just bring my year up to date in point form and pictures and move on. Life is flying by. We are into our 4th week of school. Grade 6, 4, 1 and K ...aaahhh! So far so good. Feel pulled in all different directions but would not have it any other way. The kids still want to be at home, so that is a blessing. We are back into soccer and piano lessons too. We have a new school room this year, still some finishing touches to happen but it is great to have all our stuff in one room and all together.



September 7 Grama Selma's Birthday. We love you Grama!

Happy 2010

Had so much fun with friends last nite. So much to blog. More to come later.
Happy New Year Everyone!!

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.