Blah blah blah

I'm sick of snow, I'm sick of being tired all the time, I'm sick... well just my attitude. My daughter (Bronwyn) on the other hand is sick - throwing up etc. Lots of clean up and laundry and yet the house still looks a total disaster. How is that possible?

But, spring is coming as is a new day. My prayer for tonight is that Bronwyn sleeps well and is restored and that Mari sleeps well and I am restored! Gavin - well he's doing great. Bossy but great.

Love to all our family and friends.

Mari is a creep

Well a creeper. She is just one step from crawling - I can't believe the little stinker. I tried to get some video of her with my little camera (I have no clue how to get the footage from the video camera onto my computer) but it was out of batteries - of course!

Other than that we are holding steady. Its been a quiet week. Today we took a long walk that involved the park and cinnamon buns - nice!

We found lots of ice to crack and crunch. It occurred to me that I was teaching my son to dawdle. My best friend, Ali, used to complain that I was a dawdler - well I was. Today I was teaching my son the fine are of taking your sweet time.

This memory lead me down a bit of a trip through my rosy past. I was telling Bronwyn how lucky she is to have lots of girly stuff. I had two older brothers and I often got their hand-me-downs.

I was remembering how in grade 4 Bonnie Nicholson had a Holly Hobbit lunch box. It was beautiful. It had a separate compartment for the sandwiches and fruit and a little thermos for soup as well as juice. Oh, I thought that Bonnie had really arrived. I didn't say anything or act jealous. I had years earlier been the one to inform Bonnie that Santa wasn't real. She didn't take it well, and well I got into T-rub-el! So I minded my business, but secretly I was so jealous. Of course you ask, "Well, what was your lunch box like? I couldn't have been that bad." Well...

I had a bright orange plastic lunch box with a big sticker that read - Get off the track for Eddie Shack. Couldn't get worse eh? Yah.

Anyhow - I appear to be babbling - sorry.

Gavin and Bronwyn were just at the table having a cookie with milk. Bronwyn who really doesn't like milk asked for more. I said really and went for the fridge. She corrected herself and said - "No, not milk, cookie." Sigh.

Oh dear, I best go either rescue Daddy or the kids - not sure yet.

Great days

When I woke up this morning I would never have imagined that today would be such a great day. We woke up to LOTS of fresh snow. After a week of spring and warming weather this was disheartening. Just yesterday the neighbors were over and the kids were playing in the muddy sand box and the puddles all over the yard.

The kids all crawled in bed with us and played and goofed. Mari tooted really loud and caused a great deal of laughter and hilarity.

We decided not to go to church. Our street hasn't been cleared all winter and we had serious doubts that we'd get off our street let alone any further. When we told the kids we were staying home Gavin asked for waffles.

In our house waffles don't happen without whipped cream. Wes agreed to make the 5 minute hike over to the nearest 7-11 and get cream. Then I suggested, "Why don't we ask the neighbors to come over?" Cheers all around -particularly the kids. Wes walked off to the store while I phoned over and invited the neighbors for waffles.

We did a quick clean up and then I started cooking. I had two assistants when I started, but by the time I was cracking the first egg they were both in time-out. While we have two little wooden chairs, which are identical, they both apparently needed the same one. A bitter war ensued, which ended in the proverbial time-out.

The Harckhums arrived, just as I was realizing that I only had a tiny bit of baking powder left and not much floor and hopefully enough syrup. Mari had been neglected so long that she fell asleep in her excersaucer. Daddy finally moved her to a more comfortable spot.

It was chaos, but great fun. We are so lucky to have such great neighbors. They have become good friends. As we munched on bacon and waffles (I kept mine separate. For those who are wondering - bacon with syrup is gross!), Wes and I both commented that the waffles didn't taste quite right and that they seemed a bit funny. Our guests were happy, the kids were happy and the waffles were edible.

I then decided to heat up my coffee. I opened the microwave door to insert the coffee and saw a bowl of melted butter. Half a cup in fact, the very 1/2 cup that was mentioned in the recipe.

Aha - so that is what I missed - I knew there was something! Everyone had a good laugh, mine was a phony laugh though. If you know me, you know I am cheap and laughing over a half a cup of melted butter - well what the heck am I supposed to do with that! Later in the day we had a very big bowl of popcorn. While I made the popcorn, Mari, once again her tears falling on deaf ears, fell asleep on her little play mat.

We also played outside and I made a little tunnel through a small bank for the kids - perfectly safe! Wes went out several times through the day to push various stuck vehicles and help them on their way. Really, not much of anything was getting by on our little loop.

We had frozen pizza for supper (not my favourite) because we were all so worn out. Daddy also managed to get some work done in the basement, while I cleaned up the wreck of a kitchen and did more laundry, the white load in fact - you know all the socks and undies - sigh!

While I had a shower, I'm averaging 2 a week these days, Daddy got the kids in pjs and ready for bed. Now they are all sleeping (even Mari) and peace reigns, for now...

So all in all - a surprisingly great day!

Muddy muddy boy

We were at Mom and Dad's on Sunday, as usual. The kids were having a blast outside in the warming weather. We have had so much snow this winter that it is muddier and wetter than normal. Carissa and Bronwyn sat at a little table and had a tea party. Robbie tried his best to have fun by sliding down a bit of a snowbank. Gavin, well Gavin found some mud. Not just a little mud - a lot. Cindy had to go intervene at one point as the other kids were complaining that Gavin was throwing mud balls at them. Oh...

I had to strip him outside and take him in to the house half naked.

Boys!

Prayers again

My heart is heavy again tonight for our friends Kim and Ben. Quinn, their son, is having serious health issues again. A rare but possible side effect of the heart transplant has emerged. Now I usually ask first before publicly asking for prayers (but I think Kim will forgive me??).

Please pray for Quinn, healing isn't enough at this point - it also needs to be fast so Kim can manage more easily while Ben is away.

God Bless you our friends you are in our thoughts and prayers.

Will winter ever end?

I for one am sick of it!!

Here are some pictures of our recent adventures.

In my defense

Gavin always defends himself when I catch him in some misdeed.

Example:

Me - Gavin don't hit your sister.
Gavin - but she hit me first, or she wasn't listening to me or she did blaah blahh blaah first.

You get the idea.

Bronwyn is a fast learner. This happened this evening. Bronwyn and Gavin were laying on their little pooh couch fighting for space. Gavin cried at me and I saw Bronwyn kick him in the head. I scolded her and told her not to kick her brother. She responded, "Ganna's hair got in my kick."

Poor country

Oh, my heart is just aching today. This news story has just frustrated me and caused me great sadness. There should be a limit to how much one nation should have to endure let alone a good man who is trying to help.

Just when the news couldn't get worse... it does.

Spring is coming

I can feel it - spring is coming.

More importantly I'd like to solicit prayers for Wes' cousins' wife Karen. She has been struggling with her health for the last couple weeks and they have finally diagnosed her with Lupis. She has been in a very bad way and it has been a very scary situation for their family.

Please pray for Karen and Darren. Pray for the Doctors who are caring for her. Also pray for their little two year old boy that he may soon have his Mommy home and his life back to normal.

Thank you for your prayers and God Bless you all.

Little dancer

I was a huge Degas fan in my earlier years. I still am, but not nearly as much as I was at one point. Here is my little dancer!