Nick's Blog

Nicky started his blog for the D.R. today. It can be found at www.challiesjr.com .
Be sure to comment for him!

Thankgoodness for Swiss Chalet

We had quite the day yesterday. Nick had an eye infection, the turkey was rotten, and we got a call from the bank to tell us someone had copied my bankcard, photographed my pin and stolen 500 dollars from our bank account. So today, I have already taken Nick to the doctor, and later will be returning a turkey and visiting the bank to get a new bank card. What a day!

I was wrestling the turkey in the sink when Tim came downstairs and asked me what the stench was. I was in denial. I didn't want to admit that it was bad- we were going to be having 10 people for dinner!!! We decided rather than running all over town to find a turkey, we would simply order chicken from Swiss Chalet. They delivered and dinner still worked, even if it wasn't quite the same without Rick's famous gravy. At any rate, I'm learning to role with the punches. Mom made a wonderful pumpkin pie, I was so mad to find Tim's dad eating the last piece for breakfast this morning! He thought it was pretty good too!

I really need to start dinner.

And I do. But today is one of those days where dinner just seems simply uninspired. Maybe because I spent 3 hours dragging a two year old around the mall today while I tried on clothes. It has been ages since I got some new things. I had a gift certificate from Jacob from my birthday, which was finally used today. But, by the end I had one grumpy toddler. I headed into "one more store" to try and find some shirts, when Michaela, who had abandoned the stroller, wailed NO!!!! and headed at a fast clip down the hall. At that point I figured enough was enough and trailed her out to the car. I used to like shopping for clothes, but no more!

I found, (or rather Tim found) a great little site (here) that has some great printable planners. I'm currently using the freezer planner, and am looking at trying the menu planner as well. I'm a check list person so this type of thing works very well for me. I currently have a chore list on the fridge, of daily, weekly and bi-weekly chores. This way I can check them off as I get them done, and (it is a weird quirk I know) it seems to motivate me. I know, I know. Now I just have to get Tim to stop looking at me like I've grown two heads. He just starts laughing and says, "well... it's taken ten years!" Thanks dear.

Now really, I'm going to start dinner. maybe....

Soccer

I just got back from yet another soccer game. We are now finally in the playoffs. Summer soccer is not supposed to last 5 months, but thanks to the rain, it has. We won, which I guess is good. But, frankly everyone is ready to be done. The only reason we won really was that we were up two players on them. We had 10... they were playing with 8. As the weather gets colder, I start suffering from leg cramps, since we were going to play two games this week, I was taking it easy tonight. Last game on Thursday, we won't win that one, thank-goodness. I don't think I've ever played soccer in October before.

Loving Real Canadian

In what I believe is an attempt to compete with Walmart, the Real Canadian Superstore, is now doing a 50% off clearance on their meats, veg and baked goods. The meat is usually expires within the next two days, but I always drop the meat into the freezer if I'm not going to use it that day anyway. On Thursdays, I head in after dropping the kids off at school and hit the stores at 8:15 or so. By then the bright pink stickers litter the meat section.

Today I picked up- 5 packages of Ground Pork, 1 package of Ground Beef- 1 Oven Roast, and Two Club packs of Chicken thighs, for just over 29.00. I think I can get 10 meals out of it all. It works out to be 2.99 a meal. Awesome!

Canning Crazinesss

First, I'm sorry to all of you who read through RSS. For some reason I managed to post this before I was done writing it, so as such you will have already read the unedited, work in progress version. Lovely. Well, it keeps one humble. I haven't posted much as of late, as I have been very busy canning various fruits and veg. Like mad. A week and a bit ago I got together with two friends and spent two days canning about 120 jars of salsa. We peeled about 150 pounds of tomatoes. I've also put down, peach jam, strawberry jam, peaches, pear butter and plum ketchup. Tim made me promise that if he bought me a deep freeze, I would put down some apple pies (frozen that is) after our annual apple picking, and then.... I'm DONE. I've really enjoyed the whole canning experience, and am just hoping I've processed the jars well enough that I don't kill anyone! It has been a new experience and one that I've jumped into with both feet. I have to do it again next year, otherwise I won't be able to justify the expense of all the jars I've bought.

I've been thinking hard today about my chosen vocation. When we were in school, we were given grades and eventually chose to take courses based on our skill at different disciplines in school. I tended toward the arts, english, history even geography, and stayed as far away as I could from subjects such as math, science etc. (although the one exception to that was biology, for some reason I loved it, even though my grades were not stellar. I think that was more to do with the teacher than anything else!)

When going off to University, it only makes sense that we go into subjects that we excel at, and usually what we excel at is what we enjoy. Can you imagine what a farce it would have been to have me try and become a chemist? I would have failed miserably! And I would have hated every moment of it.

So I began thinking about my chosen vocation of homemaking. I would not say that this is something that I particularly excel at. It is often a hard slog for me to keep up with housework, plan the week well, and generally keep busy. I don't particularly enjoy it. There are aspects that I like, but for the most part I don't know that this is something I love to do. it has been a sobering realization, and one I'm fully aware that I need to change. When Tim and I decided to have children there was no question that I would stay home with them. It was far too important to us. We wanted our kids to have a parent around when and as they needed us. But I didn't realize how hard it would be at times.

So much of motherhood and wifehood (I know no such word but bare with me) is servanthood, and I know much of my discontent comes from a bad attitude, (and a wrong heart) toward the service. But after numerous conversations of late with mom's who are struggling to find joy in what they do, I've come to the conclusion that a lot of what they are struggling with also stems from a feeling that they are not doing a particular area well. For example, For me, it is very hard to find joy and to be content with general up keep of our house. I think it would be easier to be joyful in doing it if it was something I naturally excelled at. For my sister-in-law, she doesn't have this issue. She loves cleaning her house, and it is always in immaculate condition. I suppose it wouldn't matter as much if I didn't care if my house was a mess all the time, but it does bother me, so it is a constant source of frustration, and I constantly feel inadequate in this area.

So, how do we solve this Biblically? God requires us to be joyful in all we do, so how do we find joy in something we don't feel we do well? To be honest, I'm not sure I have an answer beyond looking to the Lord for help. Starting each day praying for contentment and asking that He turns our frustration into joy. Trusting that He has given us the skills necessary to complete the jobs given to us for His glory and above all serving our family, thus serving Him each day, and in knowing this, this should be our joy.

Children Do What They Are Taught

For some time now, I've had a growing concern about a couple of the girls in the neighborhood. These two girls are the same age as my kids, but their parents have a very different mindset. Their dad is determined to protect his two girls, a trait that is admirable, but in our opinion he is going about it the wrong way. He is determined to change his two daughters into weapons, ones that can be unleashed at any injustice, although according to him, limited to physical injustice against them. They are enrolled in martial arts, and are told to fight back if anyone lays a hand on them.

It has concerned me in the past, as the eldest daughter and Nick had a run in when Nick was bugging her. He didn't touch her, but drove her nuts, and the girl flipped and ended up hurting him enough that he was rolling on the ground. In a sense it served him right, but the lack of control was disturbing. This girl is being taught how to really hurt someone, and I can't help but believe that kids this young do not have the self-control to handle the ability to hurt someone.

Today, when talking to the mom, she mentioned that she had a call from the school yesterday. Apparently the two sisters were being bugged by two older boys. The elder girl got flicked (think two fingers) in the head by these boys, and the younger girl (abby's age) flew into protect mode. When it was done, one of the boys had a scratch down his face and the other a lump on his head from being shoved into a wall.

The father of these two girls determined because his daughter started it, she should not have to apologize. The mother did not seem terribly concerned that 5 days into school her 5 year old got into a fight with two boys.

It struck me that this child is only responding as she has been taught. She is being trained and told to fight back physically when confronted. She is only 5 and has no self-control to solve things in a civilized manner. So, is the child really to blame? It must be a terribly confusing time for her. She was hauled into the principals office and talked to, and told this was unacceptable behavior. The parents are (or at least dad is) telling her she did right.

My reaction when told was very much- "what else did you expect her to do?" But it did drive home to me very clearly how very careful we have to be when placing ideas in our kids heads.

I feel sorry for the two grade three boys. Can you imagine how much teasing they are getting? After all they were trounced by a grade one girl........

My Devotions

For months now I have been struggling with my conscience. Finally listening to what I know I have to do, I told my husband to wake me up at 6:30 so I could start reading and praying in the mornings. For so long I have been using the excuse that I would do devotions when Michaela was napping, or in the evenings. But, to be honest that almost never happened. And now, with our new schedule, Michaela isn't napping, and come the evening I'm just too tired, I gave in and have done what I should have done months ago. It helps that I've asked a friend to hold me accountable and keep asking if I am reading, between her and Tim I've GOT to!

I think Tim takes some sick pleasure in waking me up at that hour. I am not my best in the mornings. I stumble downstairs in a fog, and he laughs!

I have known for some time that I am not getting into God's word as I should. It has been the most frustrating experience, battling your own flesh. Part of the membership covenant at our church is that we promise to do private devotions. Each time a new member joins we all stand and say the pledge together, and each time that statements stands out to me and gives much shame. I read with almost a sense of relief Janis' blog this morning. She echos my heart almost exactly! One thing that particularly stuck me was this statement.. "One of the biggest things God was showing me was that far too often when I read early is to read the Bible as a story. With taking notes I am trying to focus on what God is revealing about himself and then looking to see how I need to be responding in accordance to the revealed truth." I need to think on this. Tim has been trying to encourage me to ask two simple questions when reading 1) What is God saying about himself, 2) How do I apply that to my life.

So onward I go... bleary eyed but for the moment determined to stick to this. The only problem being Michaela is getting up at 6:50, and I wanted a full 1/2 hour- so do I get up another 10 minutes earlier?

Their First Day

Up bright and early this morning. The kids bus comes at 7:53, so we had an early start. Tim prayed with them took some pictures, then off out the door! It is now 9:20 seems a little long to catch the bus doesn't it? Well, the bus didn't show this morning. All us parents waited an hour for the bus to turn up this morning, only to find out they hadn't dispatched one. So we ended up driving our kids to school, 45 minutes late. What a way for them to start the first day of a new school!

The upside, I got to stick my head into the classes and meet (briefly) the teachers. The good news being I found out Abby has one little girl in her class that was in her K. class, and she knew a couple of others. Thank-goodness! Nick seemed surrounded by boys he knew as well, which was good too. So, while it was a hassle and stressed the kids out far more than necessary, at least Mommy has a visual of where they are.

It is so quiet here now! Michaela is playing quietly and other than the tapping of the keys there is no noise. I miss them already!

Entering a new era.

It has been quite the week us. Tim has been very sick for about a week. Friday, Saturday and Sunday he ended up flat on his back. Then on Sunday, Abby came down with a fever, followed hours later by Michaela with the same symptoms. Michaela woke up at 2:30 vomiting, and I only got 4 hours of sleep that night.

I decided, in my sleep deprived delirium, that it would be a good time to ween her. I never EVER intended to nurse my kids this long. Abby and Nick were both weened at 6 months. Michaela has been the difficult one. Refusing the bottle, refusing to eat, she has been much later in all things. Walking, talking, eating... everything has been delayed. Well within normal, but never-the-less simply not as quick as my first two, and not as easy. It has been a humbling experience really, as I did always slightly scorn those who nursed as long as I have. It was one of those wonderful phrases "Well if it works for HER, but I will NEVER do that." Funny really how much meaning (and how much pride) are in those words. But I certainly learned! I figured if I told Michaela- "you can't you'll barf" it would work and so far she has at least tolerated this. Cold turkey is not recommended, but what else was I going to do? With Michaela it is kind of like a smoker, cutting back wasn't going to work! The downside is that she is not napping. I figured that this would happen, but will now have to adjust my work time.

She is doing well with the toilet training. So with the end of the nursing, we have firmly moved out of the baby stage. Neat really, as in six days Abby will be in school full time and we will be on our own. In the morning we are heading out to pick up Abby's dance uniform, she is so excited!

Sportsmanlike

Nick's last baseball game was last night. (rejoice, rejoice!!!!) I have to say, their games have been getting more enjoyable to watch as the season has progressed.

Nick has struggled this year. Defensively he has become quite good. He made three outs last night, and should have had a fourth, but the first baseman dropped the ball. He always plays hard in the field. Offensively it has been a different story. Nick cannot hit the ball. We believe in part, it is not simply an inability, (if he had no hand eye coordination he wouldn't be able to catch or throw as well as he does) but it is due to the fact he is terrified of the ball at the plate. Last night, he was swinging a little better, making contact three times, (all foul) but still struck out four times. The last time at bat, just before he went up, one kid made a comment, and while he was at bat another called him chicken little ( or something like that). (oddly enough it was that child that was bawling after getting hit with a ball while playing catcher not three innings earlier and had to be hauled off... ) Nick came off his last at bat so upset, my heart was breaking. It is so difficult watching your child struggling with a skill. Every at bat, I'm standing there just praying, "Please Lord, let him just hit it once!"

For the most part, the kids on the team have been pretty good, last night was an exception. I hated the fact that his last game, and last at bat was going to be a negative experience for him. He wouldn't remember the four great plays he made, instead he would remember the at bat,and what the kids said, true to human nature I suppose.

The end of the game the coach gathered the kids around, and told them it was time for the team rewards. He was going to give out three rewards, one for MVP, one for Most Improved, and one for Most Sportsmanlike. He told the kids that these rewards really meant something, as it wasn't the coaches who choose the kids, but rather he asked everyone on the team to vote. Coaches didn't vote, didn't choose, didn't give any stipulations.

My Nick was voted most Sportsmanlike by his teammates. He was so proud. (and he got in his estimation a very cool trophy with his name on it,) Tim told me later , he was standing beside some other parents when he was coaching the first baseline, they were talking amongst themselves about Nick who had just played first base. They said that he was so nice, that every time one of their players got on base, Nick would walk up to them and tell them "Nice hit." Not something Tim or I had instructed him to do.

As we were walking off the field last night, Tim and I told him how proud we were of him, that we would rather him never hit the ball and be an encouraging, nice person, then hit the ball all over the field and be, well, a jerk. (now hitting the ball all over the field and being a nice person is also an option, but maybe next year! :) )

So the season ended on a very good note. Frankly, it was a tough one. He loves the game, he loves to play, but sooner or later his performance at bat is going to make it so he doesn't want to play anymore. As a parent, you want to shield and protect your kids from hurt and disappointment. But, you can't. That isn't life, and they need to learn how to cope with it early if they are going to thrive.

I guess though, that Nick is learning a skill, and that is being encouraging teammate with a good attitude. And really, that will get him further in life than hitting a baseball out of the park.

10 years

10 years ago today, I married the love of my life. Simple as that. It is hard to believe that we have been married for 10 years, which I think is a good thing. The wedding was beautiful, full of memories. My mom did almost everything, from the decorations, to growing the flowers and making the bouquets, to making and decorating the cake, and of course making my dress. You should have seen our house the day before the wedding! (and my poor mom's flower beds for the rest of August!) I love the fact that everything was done with such love! The day was hot, way too hot. Hot enough that by the end I'm pretty sure I had heat stroke. Not the best beginning to a marriage (me being sick as a dog), but one we can now laugh about. The funniest memory I have of our honeymoon was being chased across a field by a group of friendly, but overly large cows. We stayed at a friends cottage, and they rented out the field nearby to a farmer. We decided to go for a walk and ran into a herd of cows. They were curious, I was less than impressed. Having never been around a group of cows before, but knowing horses, I was convinced we were going to get trampled. We flew across the field and hopped the fence just in time, but they stopped and simply looked. Yeah, we were and are city kids at heart!

10 years, three kids, 4 moves. I could not ask for a better mate in life. Tim puts up with me, completes me and continues to love and support me. God has blessed me so.

Marineland

We had a guest this past weekend- one who will now forever be referred to as Australia Nick.
Having two people in the same house with the same name was interesting! About 4 months ago (maybe longer) Tim got an email from a young guy from Australia. He apparently was coming to Canada and wanted to meet Tim and was looking for somewhere to stay for a few days. I was nervous. After all, who was to say the guy wasn't going to murder us in our sleep?

Well, he didn't kill us, obviously, and we had a great time getting to know Nick. People who generally win my heart are ones who seem to enjoy my kids, and Nick was very much a big brother to my two oldest for four days, playing games and putting up with their silliness.

We ended up taking the whole gang to Marineland on Monday. We had a good time, even though I didn't get to feed the whale as I was hoping. We watched the killer whale demonstration, and ended up getting soaked! Michaela was fine through the first two splashes, but we got caught off guard on the third and both of us ended up getting a face full. One unhappy baby. She hates being wet and thankfully I brought a change of clothes. As the wails of toddlers went up around us, I wondered if the trainers kept track of how many children they made cry!

The final ride of the day (and the only ride for me) was a trip up the sky screamer (137.2 m or 450 feet in the air at 96 km an hour or about 60 miles an hour) Australia Nick apparently likes crazy ride. (He also talked my husband into going on the rollercoster. ) Why I did it I'm not sure. I wasn't afraid of dying on the ride, my body just hated the sensation of hurtling 60 miles an hour in the air. The ride let go and as we shot upward a scream ripped from my throat. about 3/4 of the way up I realized that the man sitting next to me was shushing me as one would shush a distraught child. Me, very indignatly "What do you mean Shush!!!!!!" Him, with a French accent "It's better for your brain....." Me. "Better for my brain????" Him "Yes, yes, you know more oxygen, better for your brain to breathe...." huh.... funny I wasn't so worried about my brain as my heart leaping out of my chest... At this point I was so indignant and distracted I had just about forgot about how terrified I was, then they winched us up for the final drop. I told the man I was going to scream again.... and well .... yeah.... both Nick and him assured me at that point the worst was over and it was. I'm not scared of heights- but speed. So my memory of Aussie Nick will forever be etched as that crazy guy who actually enjoyed the Sky Screamer, and I will always remember the Frenchman who made me laugh. I was shaking so hard when I got off the ride I could barely get my shoes on.

We loved having Nick stay with us, and hope if he is ever this way again we can again extend hospitality to him. Have a great trip Nick!

Faith and Trust.

The story of Job has always been something of of a problem for me. On one hand one has to admire (and ought to strive for) the faith Job has in the face of such extreme trial. On the other hand, the thought of God standing and watching as your entire life is ripped apart is somewhat unsettling. Would I have enough faith to trust God, that all things work for good?

It has been quite a week. Tim and I have been bombarded by hurting people. In seven days no less than four situations have come up in which people are in difficult situations. Each one uniquely different, yet each one causing such pain in the lives of the people in them. None of the people I'm speaking of read this site, and I will not mention specifics, however, when one has so many situations coming at them at once, one can't help but compare the way people are dealing with the situations.

In three of the situations, the people either do not believe in God, or have turned away from Him due to the situation they are in. It has been so hard to watch the bitterness and hardness in these people. I come away from these encounters rattled. On one hand I understand to some extent why they feel as they do. But, it took a comment from a friend to put this in perspective. She said to me, (and this is somewhat paraphrased) "But it is during these times (as a christian) we must shine...." We have to trust. That is the difference I am seeing.

Compared to the other case, where the hurt is still there, but the people are glorifying in God for what He is accomplishing even in their fear and sorrow. Do they still panic? Absolutely. Do they still fear? Yes. But that is in moments of weakness, in the moments of being human, but underlying it all is a sense of peace and trust. They are still able to see God working, and still are content, and still glory in what He is doing.

The comparison is black and white, and has made for some sobering moments for Tim and myself this week. When we are in times of trials, and they will surely come, will we have the faith of Job?

Quiet

Tim has taken the three kids out. The house is silent except for the hum of the air conditioner. It is raining outside, in sheets. I'm watching the ever growing puddle outside my front door. I'm sitting (obviously) for the first time today it seems. It has been a busy day, full of house and food preparations for guest tomorrow, and birthday parties for kids requiring parental attendance. I'm relishing the quiet.

I feel slightly off kilter, and have been pondering why. It has been quite a week. It feels in some ways like we have been reeling from one set of news only to be hit with another. Tim seems able to just keep moving, but I need to stop and absorb for longer than he. God is in control, nothing surprises Him. He is sovereign over all things.

Michaela has not napped today... again. This worries me. What will I do without any down time during the day? She slept for 11 hours last night, after not napping yesterday as well. Oh how I hope this isn't the end!

Nick was at a birthday party last weekend. A pool party. I went to that one too, as I was less than comfortable with the whole thing... good thing too. My son, who really is a very weak swimmer- close to non-swimmer really, decided that he was quite able to swim in the deep end, thank-you very much. I didn't want to embarrass him, so I let it go, figuring he could manage, put stayed by the edge of the pool. He was holding onto a inflatable raft, which looked like it was going to flip on him. I took off my shoes. Sure enough the thing flips and he pops to the surface with the biggest eyes you have ever seen. He was just out of arms reach really from the side, so I sit down and try to talk him over. I knew it would be better for him to get there himself. I was transported years back to my Life Saving classes when the instructors were telling us what a non-swimmer looked like- clawing a the service and sinking under- The third time he went down, I accepted the inevitable and went in fully clothed and hauled him out. The silly kid hopped out and got right back in the shallow end- thank-goodness I supposed. I was more shaken by the panic I saw, as all he needed to do was flip on his back and float. So much for all the money spent on swimming lessons!!!! So I sat for the next 2 hours in soaking clothes, resolved to get him into a pool and teach him some water survival myself!! Good grief.

I need to go and finish the potato salad and take the chicken out of the oven. Tim will be back soon and the house will once again be filled with little voices. As good as it is to have the peace, I do miss them even when they are gone for only 1 hour.

Blessings.

Liam and Prayer

I haven't had much time to post lately, summer is so busy! I wanted to take a moment today to point you to my friend Kimberly's blog. Kimberly is Liam's mom and she has their prayer request for Liam posted here . They are pasting all of the responses to their prayer requests for Liam into a book he can take to appointments, so if he gets scared he can look at them and remember all the people who are praying for him. If you feel so inclined take a moment to write to them letting them know who you are and where you are from and that you are praying for them. It has been such a wonderful lesson for Liam about the body of Christ, and I'm sure it is ministering to his parents as well.

On a much happier note- My sister-in-law has some beautiful pictures of my newest little niece on her site . Isn't she adorable? And of course her big brother looks so pleased too. Welcome Ellie!

Blessings!

Prayer Request

We had a good day today. We headed out to the Buffalo zoo, and then over to Niagara falls. The kids had a good day, and I had a good time too, despite only having about 4 hours of sleep the night before. God was very gracious, and granted us a strife free day. It even rained, yet despite it all we had a wonderful time.

The zoo was a little different. After visiting the Toronto zoo recently, it was interesting to compare the two experiences. We were one of the first ones in the zoo this morning, and really had the place to ourselves for a good portion of the day. The Toronto zoo tends to try and mimic the animals habitat and give them tons of space. Consequently you feel like you are viewing the animals from afar. At the Buffalo zoo, the animals are so very close to you. The kids got to see first hand some very cool sea lions. The only thing separating us from these animals was a very small waist high wooden fence. Neat, but a little scary too!

The gorillas were a little testy too. We were standing off to the side watching them when the big male decided he didn't like being looked at. He rushed the glass, and slammed his fist into the window to let people know. Thank-goodness I hadn't been standing there, I would have screamed for sure! As it was we were all a little rattled, you could see that he was upset, and he obviously felt like he was being challenged for some reason.

We came home tired but happy. But, we came home to a rather sobering email. Many of you will remember Nick's buddy Liam. Jay (Liam's dad) wrote an email asking for prayer for Liam. The gist of it is as follows. They have asked us to pass along this prayer request to anyone we know who will pray, as such I am asking here. Liam has been suffering from migraine headaches for a while now. He had such a bad one a few weeks ago that Kim and Jay, took him off to the ER where they did a CAT scan as a precaution. They found a mass in the right lateral ventricle of his brain. Now, there is good news. It is not cancerous, and it is not right now putting any pressure on the brain or blood flow to the brain, so there is no threat right now. Liam will be having an MRI to determine a course of treatment, and Kim and Jason are asking that we pray for Liam and for the treatment.

Jason writes this"We would ask that if you are the praying type, you would consider joining us in praying over these next few weeks or months as we seek to determine the next steps. We would also ask that you pray for whatever opportunities God has in mind as we go through these next weeks. We have really been challenged to not dwell on the “why” questions but rather focus on the “what” and “how” questions. Reflecting on Romans 8:28 which reminds us that “in all things God works for the good of those who love him” we are asking that God would open our eyes and hearts to how He is going to use this for good and what He might do in and through this situation and in and through us."

So please pray for their family. We told Nick about Liam, and he asked how he was doing. We explained how Liam has named the mass, "Tubby the tumor" and Nick just cracked up. "That's so Liam!!' says my son and well really, that sums it up. It's amazing how faithful 8 year olds can be. I was worrying he would be so worried, and his attitude was very much, "well, let's pray... God is in control!"

A side note- Michaela is now eating apples and carrots. A fruit and a veg. but we are getting there. We have also cut out her bed time nursing. Three nights now. I feel like I'm the most evil mother around, she gets so sad. But we are working on it!

The Fruit of my Labour

All right, so that is really cheesy, but I just had to use it! I got into trouble last night, when I told my two friends I made Strawberry Jam a couple of days ago. We were supposed to do it together, but I hadn't heard from them. The one girl said she still had jam left over, and well.... I hate to bug people, so I simply got it into my head to do it myself. Lesson learned!

The jam seems to have turned out well. The kids and Tim seem to like it at any rate! I have pictures, but we still haven't found a good way to get them off the camera onto my computer. The kids insisted that we spend some time actually picking the strawberries. I had no intention of taking three kids into a strawberry patch, but they were so excited! When I saw that it was actually about 1/2 the cost to pick it yourself, my cheap side came roaring out! I remember how much the farmer people hovered when I was a kid, and didn't feel like risking the wrath of an irate farmer. However this experience was good. I did end up talking to the farmers wife, who told me that we had such a drought last year that even with the amount of rain we had, it wasn't until the last rainfall that they saw puddles forming on the ground! The ground has just been soaking the water up!

I promised the girls that I would behave and wait for them to do the salsa, and peaches. Tim is even willing to take a day off work for me to do each.... See.. I just have to bribe his tummy to get him to take some time off!

I'm reading MacArthur's Twelve Extraordinary Women right now. Not that far in yet, just a couple of chapters, but am enjoying it.

Grocery shopping today. And laundry. My two least favorite tasks, but two that are vital to the running of this household. Tim is already hard at work, and Michaela has yet to wake up!

Run Ragged

For the most part, I've gotten used to Tim being away. The total number of times he has been gone in the last 6 months adds up to 7 times I believe. Some times are easier than others..(think back to the dreadful flu and shudder).

This time has been a little different. I've been run off my feet. Not sure what is going on, but for a happy homebody we have been crazy busy. Thursday was CW, then Friday we shopped and drove out to Brampton, now in the next half hour I'm supposed to be taking the kids over to the park for a game of neighborhood pick-up soccer, then later they are going to a movie and dinner with our old renter. Frankly, I don't want to. I just got Michaela down for nap- and she will not be pleased after only 30 minutes. And.... I need a break.

Anyone got any easy idea's for feeding 5 hungry guys? One is a vegetarian to top it all off. Tim has his Sunday night meeting tomorrow, and we decided it would be easier for everyone to come here and have me feed them... normally not a big deal, until they added the vegetarian. (Sorry Josh, but it is a pain!) I HATE tofu!

Tim will be back late, and be a write off in the morning- but it will be good to have a break!

Canada's Wonderland

It was a day full of sunshine and laughter. Tim let this morning for B.C. on a rather unexpected business trip. I took the kids (all three of them) with Jen and her two to Canada's wonderland. Thank-goodness soccer was canceled!

Michaela loved the water park. She loved the pool, the splash pads and came away with a sun-kissed face and a big smile.

What a good way to start the summer!

The Eastern Cougar

Nicky finished school yesterday... my little boy now in grade three!!! I was reading through his report card when he came to me with a booklet clutched in his hand. "Mom, you have to read this..." It was titled the Eastern Cougar and I thought it was his project on the animal he had done in class... I was a little off, it was a work of fiction, titled "Diary of an Eastern Cougar" I'm going to copy it below- without picture unfortunately, as they do add something... but enjoy!

May 2nd- Today was the 1st day of school, my teacher was Mr Deer He got sick so my dad ate him and we had to go home. My dad made the kill so he got to eat it all. I'm hungry.

May 22nd. We found a new teacher We had to pay 300 deer horns because dad ate the last teacher and almost this one too. I stopped him.

May 30th- Today in gym class we played wrestling. It was fun. I won! My teacher said were going baby deer hunting. I can't wait.

June 2nd- Today we went baby deer hunting and it was fun. I caught the biggest deer. It was a grown-up. Only ten. I ate it for Lunch.

June 17th - Today we had a real people drill. They caught me, but I bit his nose. He said ouch so I did it again. It was so fun that I did it again and again and again then he ran away. I'm sad, I hope he comes again.

June 20th- My class picture turned out terrible. My fur was sticking up straight and my claws weren't sharpened. Just horrible.

June 30th- Mom says there are 3 things I should always remember. 1. Try to avoid humans. 2. Never disturb dad when he is eating. 3. When being chased run fast. I tried and it hurt. Mom says not that fast.

July 1st- Today it was dad's birthday. I have him a deer leg, but I got grounded because I ate it. I'm really really hungry.

Nick Challies is 8 years old. He lives with his mom and dad and two sisters. Nick's favorite subjects include gym, art, science and writing. In his spare time he enjoys playing or watching baseball.

Tim and I were doubled over laughing with this piece of work. I'm hoping others find it funny as well and it isn't just a parental thing....Gracie, come on, I know you are laughing!!!

Stretching

I had an interesting conversation with one of my sister-in-laws yesterday. I've been feeling so challenged of late. I've been looking forward to the summer, but have been amazed in watching it come how booked up my fall is looking.

We've agreed to take on more responsibility's with our church, (teaching Grace kids being one) as well as deciding that small groups are a must. Here is what our week will look like next year. Sunday- two services- the evening we will be having around 4 guys back to our house for an accountability meeting with Tim (and one wife to hang with me) all of which will need to be fed. Thankfully this is only twice a month. Tuesday we will have TAG, and Wed teaching Grace Kids. Abby's dance will fall somewhere in there as well. Overwhelming and this is before the fall conferences are added. As well, I am on the condo. board for our townhouses. When I think on how little we did just a few months ago......

I love being busy, but there is such a thing as too busy!

My living room is still awaiting paint, but the lazy days of summer are fast approaching. Nick's last day of school is Tues. Then Abby's grad. on Wed.

Tim and I have decided that my time can be better served outside of Ebay for now, and I'm going to work for him. Shades of College Pro! I'm going to be managing the Ad campaigns on his site, and trying to expand that business to other sites as well. Looking forward to the challenge of learning new things, but a little scared as well.

Better finish dinner. Blessings all.

Slowly returning to normal... kind of.

I think I will miss the buzz of the past 5 days. It has been fun having everyone around- only wish Justin and Grace could have stayed for longer. It was fun getting to know my newest brother-in-law a bit better. I have been so richly blessed by all my extended family! It is amazing to me thinking that I have been a part of the Challies clan for close to 13 years now. My sister-in-laws feel much more like real sisters to me, and I whole heartily approve of their choices in husbands. These men have stepped up and shown their true character and Godly leadership in our family. Even though everyone is far away from each other, and we don't talk or see each other as often as we like, we have a bond that is unbreakable. I thank God for each one of you!

We have another busy week coming up, and it won't be long (only 7 days left of school.)

I'm looking around my house shuddering wondering how on earth I'm going to have 9 people in this weekend.

I have been buzzing around praying that God will grant me the grace not to snap at my children as I feel I am on the verge of doing. There is no way, at this point we will have the ceiling painted, and me in my foolishness, did not realize that the new ceiling was going to require a complete paint job of the living room as well!

Nevermind. As long as the living room is cleared out, I can deal with what is coming. I think.

We just received the church budget for next year, and it is well... interesting. We know and trust that the leaders have put a lot of thought and prayer into this, but it is never-the-less a daunting budget. I am somewhat concerned about the practical reality compared to what has been presented, (a little too much like our former churches budget for my comfort!) and will find it interesting to see what others think.

Life has been so fast paced of late, it seems like school will be out before we know it.

Living in the Basement

Today was interesting. Bob, our drywall guy, pulled out the entire ceiling, threw back up the drywall and go the first coat of mud on the ceiling today. I'm very excited. We have a massive fan on now to try and dry the stuff so he can put another coat on in the morning. Thank-goodness! We may be done in time yet!

I spent the day trying to keep two kids busy in the basement. Which was tough. We ended up over at Jen's for quite awhile. She bought a new wii game, maybe called guitar hero? She is a little addicted. But it was fun to try. Abby is likely to be up with nightmares tonight as her friend Kevin informed her that his dad's car was stolen from their house while they were sleeping. She is a little freaked out. Thanks!

Not sure what I'm going to do in the morning. Can see how tough renovations would be. At least we get to go out!

Blessings.

Well.... shall we say.... uh oh?

It is going to be one of those weeks. A little while ago we had a leak in the bathroom upstairs. We now need to patch the ceiling in the living room, and have decided, since we HATE the popcorn ceiling, that we want to simply replace the whole thing. So, after contacting a neighbor who's business is drywalling, we waited...and waited and waited. Finally on Sunday he contacted me and said he had an opening.... this WEEK.

This Friday we are having a family over for dinner. Friday night as well, we are having a friend come and stay with us for 4 or 5 days. Sat., we are going to my mom's for lunch, for fathers day and then Grace and Justin arrive for the night.

Basically, we have no furniture in the living room, and will be living in the basement for three days. This project HAS to be done by Thursday night, leaving me enough time to clean up, move the furniture back in time to have 7 people for dinner (not including my family) and get the basement turned into a bedroom for Kathrine coming. Can you say uh oh???????

I knew I was being challenged to be more hospitable, but man! Throw me a curve ball!!!!

Control... I want control!

Hospitality

I've been thinking a lot about hospitality lately. I'm going to be called, (or am being called) to do a lot of it in the near future, and I want to do it well.

It seems to me there are two schools of thought regarding having people in your home, and I'm not sure how I feel about either. What we have always done in the past, is simply to open up our home. Basically to include the person staying in our family. Generally this method doesn't require a whole lot of extra effort on our part. The person staying with us doesn't feel like they are putting us out, and for the most part seems to work quite well.

I'm thinking of changing this. Making the person feel more important, more special. Making more of an effort in the small things. Fresh flowers by the bed, don't think I'll go as far as mints on the pillows, but you get the idea. I'm just not sure.

I love that people feel a part of our family when they come to visit and I don't want to change that, but have been challenged to become more of a servant and to serve people better.

In light of this, Tim and I have taken to sending out "encouragement boxes" to people. It is simply a small box with a few items inside- a chocolate bar, some soap, a candle, coffee and of course a book. Put in a pretty box, with a homemade card simply letting people know we are praying for them. We take one person every two weeks and send it out. It has been so much fun! It has been so good for Tim and I as well, as we talk over who we feel we should send the box to, and that person's name goes up on our chalk board in the kitchen. A constant reminder to pray. We have been trusting God will bring someone to mind who is in need of a little encouragement.

Tim gets home tonight, we are having a bunch of people in for LOST. I've been busy cleaning and getting snacks ready for tonight. I always go overboard with the food for these things! Don't you wish you were coming?

100

This is my 100th post. Sort of exciting. Now I just have to talk Tim into making the site more 'pretty' . Seems to me with a web designer for a husband, this should be a fairly easy task. But since I have been asking for more than a year... and something has yet to materialize.....

We are going to Grace Kids tonight. The first time I have ventured out on my own. I'm a little nervous. Rexdale is not the best neighborhood. But it is a straight line from the highway to the school.... now if I can just remember how to get home.......

I've been running around doing house repairs today. Tim is not handy... so it often falls on me to get these things done. I wait and wait for him to do it and finally throw up my hands and do it my-self. Beside the bathtub we've had some water damage, so I cleaned out the rather large hole, repaired it, and am just waiting for it to dry to caulk and paint. The downstairs window was replaced, but the trim needed to be repaired as well. A little wood filler, and once that dried it needs to be primed and painted as well!

I've been trying to find a Wii fit. It is supposed to be good exercise and fun as well. They are no-where to be found, but if I wasn't so lazy I could have had one yesterday. Jen found one, but I waited too long to go and get it!

At Last

Tim is away at his last conference for the Spring season. It as def. been a time of growth for me. how stressful it has been! As I look outside at the beautiful GREEN, I thought, just a short month ago that this time would never happen. (around the time Abby was throwing up in the bathroom) yet here we are. How much easier it is when kids are healthy to look after them as a single parent!

WE are going to have a busy couple of weeks- or month really. Grace and Justin will be stopping by twice in the next couple of weeks. Kathrine will be coming to stay for a fews days as well. There there is some kid from Australia who is doing a world tour and visiting all the people who have influenced him. So he is coming to visit Tim. A little odd, but should be interesting! All in all Tim is delighted as he loves having a revolving door!

I'm still hoping to head down south at some point in June... but when is still a mystery.

My garden is looking....well... interesting. The plants need to grow up... and it looks...well... colorful. I'll post pictures sometime when I figure out how.

The kids are scrambling to go outside for a bit..... so I'm going to do that... have a good night!

Idenitity

I don't think, as a child I ever suffered from an identity crisis. For the most part, aside from the occasional very typical teenage times, I was very comfortable with who I was. I remember being fairly self assured.

From time to time, since becoming a mom, my sense of self has become somewhat eroded. Tim mentioned to me this morning that it seems I have been a little depressed lately. He noticed as he has been the one making dinner the last few nights, and the house is hanging upside down. Now, to be fair some of that is circumstance, but it is true never-the-less.

I'm never sure which comes first. In the summer, it is always tougher to keep on top of the house. Outside calls me, the kids want to be out, and trek enormous amounts of dirt inside. But, I'm not sure if the situation has changed, or if my ability to cope has. The chores just don't get done. I can't get them done, no matter how good my intentions. So is that that change in routine or something else?

I've never handled change well, and perhaps this is my own inability to cope with change (my routine has changed now that everyone wants to be outside) that is causing this. As a child my mom often threatened to send me home when we went on family vacations because I was such a little terror. Change in routine destroyed me for a few days and I was almost impossible to live with. I've been on such a short fuse the last few weeks!

Frankly, I'm thinking there must be something like that going on.... nothing else really makes sense. Mental battles are so difficult!

I've got to get the laundry done, Tim is leaving in the morning for yet another conference... but it is the last one!!!!!

Spring

It has been a long time since I've posted. It seems that spring time, as much as I love it, is always the busiest time of year for us. The kids have been living outdoors as much as possible. So much is happening, I'm not sure where to begin! Michaela has been taking swimming lessons, and as much as I hate getting in the water, she LOVES being in the pool .... kick, kick she says as she happily frog kicks around. Nick is happily engaged in baseball, and Abby decided to forgo soccer so she can start her beloved ballet in the fall.

It seems the kids will be moving schools in the fall, but we still have yet to hear the official word.

Tim has one final conference this week and then he will be done for the spring. Tim is hoping to take all of July off work, concentrating on writing and is hoping to start another book.

Me, I'm just holding it together. This time of year balancing the housework, and outdoor time is always a challenge.

My husbands quote for today.. "I like sad stories about dogs...they make me cry at the end too....." ahhhh the great Tim Challies.....

Soccer

We just had our first soccer practice of the season. I decided to play again, even though it was a little tough as I def. felt my age! This year I have talked my sister into playing for our team. We were very short good forwards last year, we weren't able to score enough, even though we had the best defense in the league. Em is going to be a welcome addition. I had actually forgotten how good she is! We seem to work well together, if one practice is any indication. We scored 4 goals in our scrimmage. She is very quick and our coach was pretty excited! Cool. I came how very encouraged and excited about the up-coming soccer season. Fun!

Now- if only I can walk in the morning!

Back on our feet.....

As most of you know the last two weeks have been some of the most difficult days in the 10 years Tim and I have been married. Michaela was hospitalized for three days with a severe stomach bug, and as I walked in the door from the hospital that third day- Abby was throwing up all over the bathroom floor. She ended up as sick as Michaela and Tim left a day later for a four day conference. It was rough... very rough. My father was a gem- driving in Monday night to calm me down, as without Tim, I was having 10 fits about Abby- who couldn't keep any liquid down for three days. After the fiasco with Michaela I was convinced Abby was going to need to be in the hospital with an I.V. as well. Michaela sat in the ER on Thursday, was poked twice for blood, had a urine collection bag strapped to her- had a q-tip shoved up her nose and down her throat to test for influenza. This all before getting an needle shoved in her hand and then splinted for an I.V. Her fever was 104 at one point. I cried. A lot.

I simply have never seen my kids that sick- and hope never to again. The backend of the virus was a cold- that robbed me of my voice for two days.

We are slowly getting back to normal- I am catching up with the house- work, and (yea!!!) the garden.

We found out on the weekend that a good neighbor of ours is selling their house. Their mortgage company is refusing to renew their mortgage. I am sad to see them go- but once again am praying for an 8 year old boy-with like interests for Nick to play with!

Please continue to pray we are done with bugs for awhile. I really need a break!

Sickness hits again......

Frankly, it is getting a little unbelievable. But Abby and I are sick again. Really sick- with what the doctor is calling raging tonsillitis. Not Step- which is good- but we are sick enough that he placed us both on antibiotics. I'm so tired of all of this, so please pray for us. I believe Nick and Micheala, have both had it already- Tim can't afford to get it,he has too much work to do- I need to sleep! Pray that we get and stay healthy for awhile!

Good news Bad news

It has been an interesting day. We took Nicky off to his orthodontic appointment today. His first of what will prove to be many. He had an extreme overbite, and well, we were told today that it is only correctable by surgery. I sat today in the office, Nick in the waiting room as the doctor didn't want to scare him, listening with a measure of disbelief. I asked about other options, and was told that there was none, if we were to use that office. He was not willing, in Nick's case to try any of the other methods as he felt the results would not be satisfactory, and we would end up in surgery anyway. We are welcome to get a second opinion.... which we will get, but he seemed so certain. This won't be happening until Nick is 15, thankfully as I asked about cost and almost fell out of my chair when I found out between braces and the surgery we are looking at $15,000. That's right fifteen thousand dollars. So, we are going to be saving our pennies, as we have no insurance, the biggest downside to being self-employed! I was fighting tears all the way home, Nicky blissfully unaware of what was going on. I'm scared for him, scared for the surgery, scared that the work won't be done in time to avoid major teasing.

That was the bad news. The good news today, Tim's book has gone to a second printing! The publisher sold out of the first run, 5,500 books and has gone to make more! We are so pleased and excited by this news. So, Tim has to hop to it and write another book to pay for Nick's teeth!!! So , even though the day started with bad news, it ended with good news, which is always nice!

The Purge

Tim and I have decided we are done with babies. It has not been a easy decision in some ways. The thought of never carrying another little one inside of me upsets me to no end. We are done with a very precious stage in our lives, and that thought is tearful and sobering. I do not want to go through the first two years of babyhood again. In some ways I am mourning the loss of a stage of life we will never get back, rather than mourning not having another child. And that, my friends is a pretty good indicator we are done. Life moves on, and if the only reason that I want another baby is so that we can continue on in this stage of parenthood, that isn't a good reason at all for another baby!

So, the purge began today. It was less painful than I thought it would be. Cribs, high chairs, and all manner of baby stuff, placed off to one side to be recycled. Baby clothes set aside to be sorted. All done with efficacy and a desire to clean up. I am a firm believer that you have to be ready to do this sort of thing. Even if you are sure you are done actually bearing the children, you have to be ready to part with the baby things. I am ready.

But...... I have to say, I was fine until I sat down to write this post. Now, tears are pouring down my face and while I'm still sure we are done with kids... I'm no longer so sure I'm ready to part with the my babies things.....................

Logs vs Specks

It is funny how stress sneaks up on you. You think you are coping just fine with everything that has been tossed at you, only to find some small matter is your undoing.

I've noticed this time, before the undoing has happened, that stress has been building in our lives. Tim is so very busy with work right now, clients are starting to get mad, but each week he finds he is called to run errands, meet people for lunch and small things that seem to eat away at his productive time. Then there are the conferences, that require a day to get there 3 days in between and a day to get home. Tim is stressed, and as a wife I am desperate to step in and help. Can I answer emails? I need to do something- and yet there is little practical I can do to help him.

I am stressed too. Business is starting to slow down as it often does in the spring, and I need to find a way to keep things moving, made all the more difficult by and unreachable manager and a slowing economic trend. I am stressed about the kids school situation next year. I am stressed about being left at home for what will amount to a week a month without a husband around. I've become very inwardly focused, trying to cope with my own life.

When you are very stressed out, you tend to focus so much on yourself and you forget what is happening in everyones lives. You seem to forget that everyone has things at any time they are struggling to work through. Getting your head stuck in the sand and bemoaning your fate seems natural, normal and necessary. No one can have it as hard as you.

Our associate pastor preached a sermon about dealing with the log in your own eye before the speck in your neighbours. You know when you hear the beginning of a sermon and all the air whooshes out of you, and you get that feeling in the pit of your stomach, like uh oh? I had that, but the funny thing is I didn't know why. I knew I needed to hear this now, but didn't know how it was applicable right at that moment.

I think I may have figured it out. I haven't been dealing with the stress in my own life very well right now. It took one very hurtful event to show me this. And so, while it is tempting to criticize the stress that caused this hurt, I need to check the log in my own eye first, and see how I have been blinded by what is happening around me right now.

It has been a hard lesson, and I am still licking my wounds, but God is sovereign , gracious and works all things for good. That is my comfort. I know, if I let Him, He will use this to His glory, and that, really, is all that matters.

Reluctant

I have been reluctant to post about the chos of the last week. Tim tells me I always post about the bad things and never focus on the good. I've taken this comment to heart and will try to do better- but i just HAVE to post about the past week.

Friday- We have a rough morning getting the kids out the door. I get to the bus stop slightly rumpled to find Jen standing there with Mosey's backpack. WHAT!! Abby doesn't have school does she????? Well, Tammi turns up to confirm that yes the girls have school today. Well, now I have to go home, pack a lunch and a bag for Abby and take it back to the school... Just then Nick comes running up " Mom, Mom, I forgot my LUNCH!" Wonderful, now I have to go to Sunningdale as well.

I run those errands, then head to the grocery store- where Michaela throws the biggest tantrum in the line she ever has- I die ten deaths of embarrassment as she screams for 20 min, while I'm waiting to pay for the groceries. All the experts tell you to leave the store- with no groceries, but really I spent an hour and half gathering those and it isn't feasible to leave them!!!!

I make it home even more rumpled.

Friday Night- 10.00 - I start feeling sick. by 10:30 I'm throwing up- I crawl into bed to be woken up at 11:30 by Michaela throwing -up. Everywhere- babies have no sense of a bowl.
We spend the night on the couch, both of us throwing up every 20 minutes or so. In the next 36 hours every vertical service in my house is covered in vomit.

By Monday- we are starting to feel better- but now I'm bleaching the entire house in the hope that this will be contained to the two of us.

Fast forward to Wed. I'm feeling good- It has been 5 days or so- no one else has come down with it.
-Dinner time- Tim heads out and get's Nicky's request of McDonalds for dinner- he comes home and announces that the driver side window fell into the door. We have no window and it is still below freezing. Just then Abby announces she is feeling sick.

Abby spends Wed. night downstairs with Tim, throwing-up.

Now- God has been gracious, as Abby doesn't appear to be as sick as Michaela and I- she is keeping down fluids now and complaining she is starving. And she makes the bowl!!

I am worried this is a different bug... if Michaela get's sick again.......

Fun huh? And we are getting yet another snow storm.

Eight Years Ago.....

Eight years ago today at about this time (it is 9:00ish) I was busy pushing a little one into this world. It is hard to believe watching my tall son bounce around this house this morning that it has already been 8 years! I could have never imagined so long ago what a blessing it would be to have this child in my life, but he has been a constant source of joy and laughter for us.

This morning- we woke up to yet another snow storm. Much to Nick's delight, school was canceled! What a birthday present! He headed out into the snow to help Tim shovel the neighbours driveway before settling down to play with his presents.

It's hard to believe looking outside at the winter wonderland that it was 20 degrees out when we brought him home from the hospital on the 6th. We are going to have more snow on the weekend too!

At any rate- Happy Birthday Nick!

Nicky gets a job

My oldest little one is growing up. Tim called the local paper last week, at Nick's request, to see if there was any openings for a delivery boy. The local paper, called the Oakville Beaver, comes three times a week. We haven't been getting it lately, now we know why. Nick is now been hired on as a paper boy. He will be delivering around 100 papers (our townhouse complex) three times a week, and is getting paid 50.00 a month for doing so. He is so excited! Tim and I had to laugh as he already has figured out what he want to buy, several times over. I was a little startled to find out this would be three times a week, and 100 papers at that, we have to insert the flyers and everything, but, it will be good for him, and Tim always worked from the age of 8 or so, first with paper routes, then at restaurants peeling potatoes and finally the gas station. He firmly believes in the responsibility little jobs like this create, and since he turned out so well, who am I to argue?

Nick and Abby also have had their Sat. chores increased, since I discovered that they are old enough to do some real cleaning. They have to clean their rooms Sat morning and now, Abby cleans the bathroom sink, Nick the bathtub. They did a really good job of it too! I just need to remember to put them in old clothes. I decked them out in gloves, but Abby still manged to destroy a favorite shirt (bleach cleaners and a five year old.... even with gloves up to her armpits she still got it on her sleeves!) At any rate, they are now really helping and boy how excited am I!

Anne

Anne of Green Gables. I remember really liking the movie when I was a kid. Tim recently got it for our kids on DVD and we have been watching it in bits and pieces. Abby loves it..... I mean LOVES it. I would have never dreamed a little five year old girl would been so into the dreamy silliness of Anne. She loves the balls, the weddings, the dresses and most of all Anne's imagination. We just passed the part where Anne turns down Gilbert's proposal and she was ever so upset. Just further proof that she is a girly girl at heart. Nick is so funny. He hates (much like me) watching anyone get into trouble, so... every time Anne gets into one of her scrapes he runs. Literally. You hear "uh oh"... and see his back vanishing rapidly into the kitchen! He must like it too though, as he is upstairs on Tim's laptop composing a story called , 'Amy of the blue lake or something"... we will have to teach him about plagiarism! It has been a busy weekend. I have ever so much ebay work to do... Shirley is going to kill me, as I have about 17 orders now in my inbox. I have no idea what is happening, but am looking forward to March when due to tax season, it usually slows down. We find out next week what is going to happen with the kids schools next year. I have a little girl who has not had a nap today, so it is going to be an interesting night!

What I want to say......

There is so much I want to write about, but I have had so little time!!! I honestly don't even know where to begin. I only have a couple of minutes before we start the bedtime routine, so this won't be long.... Tim is reading Narnia to the kids, Michaela bouncing from lap to lap sometimes listening.
If you haven't had a chance to check out Johanna's wisps of whimsy you need to take a look today. She has done these hand painted letters that are just adorable!

O.k. it is bedtime- so many thoughts so little time!

For the First one

The next conference had better be easier. It has been the longest four days that I've had in awhile.

Let me see he left on Thursday-

1) Thursday 1 hour before he leaves the toilet explodes and water comes pouring out of the base- the toilet backs up into the bathtub. I am left without a toilet upstairs and the possibility of no bathing for the kids.

2) Thursday night- Abby starts coughing and proceeds to cough for the next 48 hours straight- really- she pulls all the muscles in her stomach and is so sore she starts crying when she coughs. We both only get 2 hours of sleep that night.

3) I take Abby to the walk-in and find out it is viral (good I guess) but that means there is nothing they can do for her

4) Michaela starts coughing Friday night. And coughing, and coughing. Throws-up in bed twice due to the coughing. Abby continues to hack

4) I’m so tired I can barely see straight- Now Tim missed his connection and is due home 4 hours later. Doesn’t sound like much- but he was supposed to be home by 7 and that would have meant he could have bathed the kids and put them to bed. Just means my break isn’t going to happen tonight. And Michaela is starting to sound like Abby- she couldn’t nap she was coughing so much, so I’m worried about tonight.

Sound like fun? There are times when you know God is testing you, and this has been one of those times. I dropped Nick off at my Pastors house yesterday for a kids event, and he gave me a hug and asked how I was doing- "Good, it's been good" was my perky reply. I lied.

Now like all things in my life, I tend to over react, and I know I am in this case as well. Truly, in the grand scheme of things people are going through much worse. But life is so hard when you are worried about your kids and functioning on four hours of sleep, and have no help with the day to day stuff of the house. Lying awake listening to Abby at 12:30 in the morning after a scant hour of sleep I had one of my conversations with God.

"You aren't listening to me are you? She is still coughing and she sounds worse- What do you want from me???"

See right there is my problem- I am always content with God's will when it lines up with what I want, but as soon as there is a bump in the road I'm miserable and assume that He is working against me. Of course, this is particularly true when I'm tired.. Did I mention I've had four cokes today so I can function?

At any rate- it has been a long four days.....

Tired

I was up most of the night last night with Abby, who is really quite sick. The poor girlie just couldn't stop coughing despite my anti-coughing measures- (the poor child was slick with the vicks rub, had the humidifier on and cough med's but this cough just laughed and kept on tormenting!)

I took her off to the walk in this morning, as her poor little body was hurting from the constant onslaught of the last two days. There is nothing they could do as it is just a viral infection. She is better now- much better in that she is coughing way less- but Michaela seems to be getting it now- oh, no rest for the weary! I hate this time of year- but we only are a few weeks away from March and then on to April and warmer weather and less germs!

I'm functioning on auto-pilot today. Poor Nick got sent to the bus stop and I asked Tammi to watch him get on the bus as I needed to get Abby to the clinic before it opened so we wouldn't be there for two hours. (as it turned out I was fifteen minutes early and it still took over an hour to be seen- there was already five people inline waiting before me and other 6 showed up before the doors opened!) Nick, of course, had a fit. He NEEDS for me to see him get on the bus, it wasn't enough that I was dropping him off only 5 minutes early. He wanted me to come and see him at school after the doctors, when I said no, he was even more upset. In tears he asked me to write a note to put in his lunch. He felt a little better after that, but was still whimpering when I dropped him off!

I'm off to do a craft with with Abby! I end these things so abruptly, but that is when the kids call!

Snow Day

I can't remember the last time we had two snow days in one week. And then they are forecasting more snow for Sat. Tim's conference season is getting off to an interesting start. He leaves tomorrow for the first one. We are praying he is able to get out, since they are forecasting a further 10 cm of snow tonight (on top of the 10 cm we got today with a nice layer of freezing rain). Then we are praying he can get back on Sunday, since apparently there is another storm brewing . But that is days away yet, and goodness knows they are terrible at predicting these things!

We have one conference a month until May, when there is two that month. I'm not dreading the conference season as much (although Abby seems to have come down with yet another cold and is coughing non-stop today...) This may have something to do with the fact that Tim is not going to the Shepards conference this year. That was always the hard one as he was gone for 6 days and was on a different time zone so phone calls were difficult. It is always hard when he is away, as I seem to count time from phone call to phone call (once in the morning and once at night is what i demand..... that way I know he is o.k....) But when he does call most often he really isn't there. It takes a lot of energy and concentration to blog these things, and I find he is a little 'out of it' whenever I talk to him. That is hard. At any rate, I stocked up today on paper plates and plastic glasses! I really find that is the key to survival for me!

I'm a little nervous this time around about night. I miss Tiazzi the most when Tim is away. I slept better knowing she was around. Early warning system! Jen's car was broken into last week, and Barb (our next door neighbor) has had bikes stolen out of her backyard a couple of times now.... which I think is lending to my nerves. We live in a good neighborhood, but it is surprising what still lurks around! I may 'borrow' Josie (Jen's dog) for a couple of nights.. just to help me sleep- although.. if there is a thunderstorm I'll be in trouble as she has to be drugged (sedated) every time there is a hint of a storm!

Well, I'm off to make dinner...one of of those nights where I don't feel like cooking!

Long Morning

But a good one. I set out this morning to cook. I had spent the better part of yesterday cleaning the house after the weekend. It seems no matter what I do, the house is hanging upside down come Monday. Small house, five people I guess it makes sense. At any rate, I was feeling quite a sense of accomplishment yesterday, and decided that today would be a good day to get some meals done. I was asked to provide a meal for a girl in our church who just had a baby, and was told about a neighbour who had a nasty accident, (more on that in a sec) and so thought I would combine resources and make a couple of meals up to give away. On the way to school this morning, I mentioned to Jen that I was thinking of getting Abby's hair cut. Next thing I know, I had company for the hair cut, (Jen got her little one's hair cut too) and then we stopped by the grocery store for a few supplies. It was close to 11:00 before we got home and I had to hurry to get the cooking done!

The neighbor is an interesting story, he used to be our landlord, recently divorced and moved into our old rental house which he owns. He is our age. On the weekend, a bunch of the neighbor hood guys were out at a house party of sorts, and well, they all were very inebriated. Very. Which is quite typical for this group. Apparently somehow, this guy fell on some glass, (he may have fallen on his beer bottle..) and managed to cut his arm from his wrist to elbow to the bone. Thankfully, there was one sober guy there who called 911 and they rushed him off to the hospital where he was told he was lucky as he almost lost his arm. Needless to say he is in a fair amount of pain etc. On one hand it is hard to feel too sorry for the ding dong. I mean really, but he is ,for the most part, (when he is sober!) a nice enough guy who has gone through some tough stuff lately. Since I'm making the meals up anyway, it isn't too much hardship to send one his way.

Paul did an excellent sermon on work on the weekend. It was a good reminder that we are made to work, and our discontent with work only started with the fall. I have been feeling the winter blah's lately and it was good to be reminded that the job I have been called to is caring for my family, and in serving them, I am also serving God.

On days that I am really busy I seem to get a ton done, on days where I have little planned, I never seem to accomplish anything? Hmmmm... is there a lesson here? Ebay exploded on me yesterday again (is there something with Feb 4th?) and I sold 9 units yesterday alone. I have a lot of work to do, so I'll sign off, make lunch and put Michaela down for a nap. Take care everyone- may God grant you a blessed day!

Looks like we may have a fight on our hands...

I am headed out tonight to a meeting regrading the fate of our children's schooling next year. It seems that the current school (the one Nick attends and the one Abby will attend next year) is overcrowded and they want to move the entire Ward 6 (us) out to a "new" old abandoned school- this means our kids have to begin again. I'm not totally opposed to the idea, but want to make sure there is going to be good funding for the start up of a totally new school. Should be interesting.

Had a fight with Michaela today as I decided she needed to eat some apple sauce as she still refuses to eat any fruit or veg. All I did was give her some and we ended up with the entire dinner she just consumed on the floor. What am I going to do... I'm worried she is going to end up with scurvy or something! This happens anytime I try to give her something that isn't meat or carbs.......

Sunday

I'm at home today, Abby actually is doing fine, and Nick really is too, but yesterday Abby popped a fever again about 4.00 and since we were supposed to go to a friends for lunch (we have a church members meeting again) we had to make the call. Now, looking at my three kids roaring around, they could have gone. Sigh.... I really wanted to go to that meeting too, as there are several issues that have come up that I would have liked to hear what everyone has to say.

So today, instead of fellowship, will be spent painting Abby's room and laundry. I finally have got around to fulfilling my promise to Abby and am redecorating her room. When Nick moved out, part of the deal with Abby, who was none too pleased about being by herself, was that we would redecorate the room from the neutral boy/girl theme it is now, to a pink/fluffy girl room. Well, the color she choose is not exactly to my taste (can you say bubble gum pink???) She is thrilled.

We had a Mommy/Abby morning yesterday and went off to pick the paint and some accessories. I didn't want the typical Disney comforter for the beds, so we found one that both of us are reasonably happy with. On a funny side note: Abby had me so overwhelmed with details (she wanted the matching throw pillows and the matching shams and the matching sheets and of course x2 as it is a bunk bed and one very fluffy pink rug) that when I got to the cash I had a heart attack as I had somehow grossly miscalculated how much it was all going to come to! We got out to the car, me still in a stunned state, when I came to my senses and told Abby we had to go and return some of this as Daddy would kill me. So there we were in -15 degree wind, negotiating which pillows etc I would return. She was pretty good, and I returned about 100.00's worth of stuff, and Abby was happy as she got to keep two pillows. (we also kept the rug and the comforters....) What a girl...

Hope everyone is having a very blessed Sunday!

By the way, Michaela has stopped referring to herself as Layla, and instead has taken to calling herself ... YOU. It is pretty funny as you point at her and ask "who's that" and she very proudly announces "you!!"

Wonder

Oh how I long for the spring! No more bundling little ones up in coats, boots, hats and mitts just to walk 5 minutes to school! I want to putter around in my garden coaxing the plants to life again!

Canadian winters seem so barren- dull, grey and bitter!

And yet....

The weather this year really has not been terrible. God has granted us a winter with breaks in the weather- that has allowed us to quit hibrating from time to time and be outside again.

For awhile now I've been reading a site about a pair of missionary doctors in Uganda. Their story is quite amazing. Their site is here. They live with their three children in Bundibugyo, Uganda. The region of Bundibugyo has suffered an Ebola outbreak and it has been so interesting following their journey. Interesting and heartbreaking.

It is so fascinating with the advent of the blog how in touch we can keep with people from different countries. How much more specific and deliberate we can be when we pray! And, how quickly we can respond to specific prayer requests. I suppose before the internet, (and airplanes!) it would have taken months for updates and prayer requests to reach people. Obviously it would not have affected the outcome as God is sovern and knows and controls all, but what a difference it has made for the laypeople! We now see in a much more direct and quick answer to our prayers from all over the world. I'm sure this has changed the way we pray significantly.

At any rate, check out the site when you get a chance, they are on vacation in Austria right now-for a much needed break but will be back in a couple of days.

So much for Normal

Michaela came down sick Sunday night.... really sick. I think she had the flu and finally took her off to the doctor yesterday as she was simply not getting any better. She then was diagnosed with strep.

In the grand scheme of things I guess she really wasn't that sick. But, she wasn't that well either!

Today, after being on the antibiotics she has finally turned the corner I think. I've kept her on Tylonal in an attempt to have a normal day and will hopefully see no fever. It has been a long four days of little sleep and cranky baby.

I am weary.

I remember when the other two kids hit three how much easier it got when they were sick. It still isn't nice, but there isn't the same level of care required.

Off to finish the laundry- I spent the day trying to catch up on housework, as my husband had the audacity to suggest I've been on vacation for the last four days!

Tim's Book

Came out last week. It was so much fun to see it in person. How cool! I've always wanted to be published, so it has been fun living vicariously through my husband.

One rather nasty side that has come from all this has been an attack on Tim. Justin Taylor of Between Two Worlds posted a article about Tim's book, simply stating that it was out. What resulted was a shock.

People were making fairly damaging statements about Tim's character. I was furious. Tim's response is here. My husband is far more gracious than I!

I am constantly amazed by the lack of grace on the internet. It seems that even normal people lose their senses when confronted with the ability to comment without being held accountable for their thoughts. Tim has said time and time again that bloggers have to have thick skin. People love to make sweeping judgments, and clothe them in self-righteousness! "Don't be too hard on Tim..... I wish him the best, after all, this book is his attempt to make a mark and gain his fifteen minutes of fame, Tim is young, theologically immature, and untested in handling God’s Word, he knows little about discernment, and he is insecure and lacks credibility! But really I wish him all the best!" (this is a paraphrase and not the actual text) And some people had enough nerve to claim that wasn't a personal attack! Grace people grace!!!!!

As Tim has stated to me, he has no problem with legitimate questions about his credentials, but to attack him personally, and not even bother to judge the work on it's own merits is a little hard to take.

At any rate it has been a little unsettling. I'm looking forward to going back to church on Sunday. I managed to get to one service while we were away, but since Tim was preaching, and since it was a really small church with no nursery, I didn't get to hear much. Tim did really well, and surprisingly I wasn't at all nervous for him!

We get back to the school run on Monday, and hopefully I will get back to a more structured Bible study. This blog started off well, and then quickly ended up being more of a couple of times a week update for everyone! I enjoyed the structure of posting things that required more thought and will have to do so again!

Blessings everyone, and Happy New Year!