Well, there has not been much to blog about lately but I'm still here. I'm looking forward to putting up the Christmas tree on Sunday......and there might even be snow! I'm not counting on it as the forecast may change and snow is rare around here. I can always hope for it though.

Hmm..........yep, not much else to say. Hopefully something interesting will happen soon. I'm off to jump in the shower.

Alright, I'm off to by a coat with a hood on it! Why I waited 30 some odd years to own a hood and an umbrella is troubling to say the least. Maybe I won't melt now.

Pumpkin patch pics

I'm back baby! I've got a new computer (yay!) and yes my email is back in working order.

I got back last night from Women of Faith......pictures of my weekend can be found on Lee's site. When my dear friend asked if I wanted to go with her I really wasn't sure if I wanted to. It's been years since I've done anything like this and I wondered if I would enjoy it or not (I may have some issues when it comes to churchy stuff) I decide hey....why not! I've been learning lately that God speaks to me in many, many ways......churchy or not. I knew He'd have something there for me and I was right.

My highlights

-The incredible performances of Nicole Nordeman and Avalon. Very powerful. Talk about some serious talent. Nicole's song Hold On stood out for me.

-Walking through downtown Vancouver at 7:30 in the morning searching for a Starbucks. I was surprised by the amount of people living on the streets. We found the coffee shop and upon exiting a little old man was in front of me begging for food. I was more than happy to give him the banana bread I'd just purchased.

- Rooming with my bud in a cheesy east Van hotel. hahaha.

- Being reminded for 10 hours that God loves me just the way I am and that I have not messed up "the plan". ALL things work for good.....I believe it.

- Joy is found in the little things. Don't miss them.

- The little red car that could. We made it there and back in one piece. :)

My computer has gone away for repairs, so I am unable to read my email right now.

Spa Night!

Hey all you ladies out there, I'm hosting a spa party at my place this friday. If you'd like to come out and be pampered please let me know and I'll get the details to you.

woohoo!!

Three years ago we purchased our digital camera and for the past 3 years we have been storing ALL our photos on our computer. A couple weeks ago I decided it was time to get the five hundred or so pics developed. Sooo....I just sent in the last order and am now completely up to date! Yay!! Lee and I have been srapbooking again and I only have 6 years of photos to get into my albums :) I think I'm going to be busy for awhile.

Busy weekend again. Friday night we had a wedding rehearsal for Gary's nephew (we were the candle lighters). Saturday was wedding day, it was a beautiful wedding. Sunday we went to the Apple Barn with Lee and family. It was their busiest day ever. We got ourselves some very large pumpkins and a bag of apples.

I so enjoy mondays. I've managed to get all the laundry done and bake some cookies. Mmm....chocolate chip. Better go grab the last batch out of the oven.

the new pink room...

 

Welcome back frizzy hair season! When I left the house this morning my hair was somewhat flat and straight with a nice healthy shine. I went and put gas in the car and bought some laundry detergent and now I'm dull & frizzy. Sigh.

I'm going to post some pics of Gracie's 2nd birthday and one of her room but I'm having some picture posting issues. I gotta put a call in to my techie girl (hehe). I'm sure I'll have them up shortly.

happy b-day to the littlest in the family

My baby girl is 2 today. I took her to the dollar store this morning to pick out a little something since her party isn't till the weekend. She went straight for a little white satin purse with a flower on it. She put it over her arm and proceeded to walk around like she was the prettiest thing in the store. It was so cute. She also picked out the wrapping paper for the "real" gift I have yet to wrap for her. She picked the one that is covered with rainbows and ponies of course!

Happy birthday sweet pea!!

I just painted my little girl's room pink for her birthday. I love it! Her things have been packed away since we moved in April, I can't wait to open the boxes tomorrow and start decorating. It's finally starting to feel like home around here.

it was a great weekend

My time away with Gary was wonderful. Our room was up on the 20th floor, it took both of us a bit to adjust to the height but once we did the view of the city was spectacular. We are thankful that we had a 24 hour break just for us. I am thankful for a great husband. Sorry Lee, I forgot the camera so there are no pics to post :( We spent saturday shopping, got some new clothes and a birthday present for my little princess (she's turning 2 in a couple days!) I have never really fully appreciated walking slowly and leisurely through stores till now, what a treat! We have decided that this really needs to happen once a year.

The rest of the weekend was full of family and turkey. We did the in-law thing on sunday and my family yesterday. Being surrounded by family is such a wonderful thing. Angela challenged all of us to write down what we are thankful for. Every year I do this and every year I feel more thankful than the last. So here it goes.........

Watching Gary and the boys sitting around the table while working on their car models. I love watching them hanging out together just being boys. I'm thankful for my boys.

Gracie's smile, her eyes, her beauty. She is beautiful.

A home that is ours. It is warm and cozy.

Friends......so many great friends.

My marriage, I'm thankful for a lifetime of love. A love that covers me.

The activity and noise in my home. My house is full.

Quiet times spent with God. Forgiveness, grace and mercy.


There is so much more but I will stop there. Happy Thanksgiving all.

so long overdue

Well, I just booked a night away for my hubby and I. It has been.....hmm......probably 4 or 5 years since we've had a night away just for us. It's only for one night but I'm so excited to just hang out with Gary, he is my favorite person to be with. Thank you Carolyn for agreeing to parent 4 kids for the night, you have no idea how much this means to us!

A very nice surprise

I opened the hydro bill today to discover that I don't owe a single penny this month. In fact, I have a $40 credit. I guess overpaid on the last bill. Nice.

Time for some new clothes :)

ok i'll play

8 things about me......

1. I hate peaches just the thought of them make me gag.

2. I enjoy almost every type of music. I have been to see Celine Dion & Def Lepard (and all types in between)

3. I LOVE to sing

4. My feet are always freezing (even in the summer)

5. Gary and I got engaged 3 months after we met and have been married now for 12 years.

6. I really don't like these games....I gave in to the peer pressure! :)

7. I have a horrible fear of flying - the last time we flew down to Texas I was sick for 3 days from the anxiety.

8. I had a pony when I was a kid. Yes, isn't that every little girl's dream? My pony wasn't very nice.



Now I tag the following people....

Mom
Rachel
Kori
Annette
Lori
Rose (if you're still out there!)

I was reminded again this morning of how blessed I am to have Gary. I know I tend to post quite a bit about how happy/blessed I feel but hey......it's just how I feel (and it's my blog) And you know what?? Gary is a good man (which most of you know but I just needed to say it again)

Thank goodness for the quiet times. As much as I love being with people I also love quiet times. They are few and far between but right now I'm enjoying one of those times. Sometimes plain old silence is beautiful.

some thoughts on God's goodness for today

Have you ever had something happen to you that immediatly brings you to your knees in complete thankfulness? It happened to me this morning. I opened my email and there it was. A friend of mine (someone I know but not all that well) had sent a list of things that came to her mind when she thought of Gary and I. A list of commpliments I supose. It was so encourging that it immediatly brought me to my knees.

It has been an interesting week for me. Some amazing highs and some horrible lows. I struggle with the same old thing, you know self worth...low self-esteem...rejection etc. We were privileged this week to have a great group of people into our home saturday night. We ate, visited and sang together. We talked about many things but one thought spoke to me. Learning to just say thank you when given a compliment. Seems simple but it can be so hard to do. If any of you are like me in any way then you probably find that most of the time seeing any good in ourselves is almost impossible. We tend to offset compliments with a negative reply. In my case I find I say thank you but inside I'm thinking "ya whatever". So I'm putting that question out there for you. How do you respond to a compliment? Can we learn to take the positive and believe it? Do we have enough faith in God to believe how much He loves us ? I know I want to get to that place.... strong and confident in who God made me. I was so stunned by God's response to me this morning through my friend. He heard me struggling in my heart this week over what I could possibly have to offer to the church and to others. He answered it in the form of a list of compliments.

And so my friend I'm just saying thank you.

Get this......

I'm actually enjoying doing the laundry today! Wierd.

Time for a change! Now I just need to figure out how to add my links again and a new picture......hmm.

Ok, ok..... I have a couple minutes right now, baby is sleeping.

Jen, to rest you curious mind, I had a wonderful day yesterday doing things for me. I had some uplifting visits with good friends and a great kick-off to the ladies group I'm leading this year. It was just one of those days when you stop, breathe, relax and enjoy the small things. It felt great......and to top it all off I came home last night to a clean house! Yesterday was also filled with it's share of struggles (as is everyday!) but God was faithful to help me find a way through them.

And for all those curious as to what's been kicking around in my brain lately here it goes. I was listening to the radio a few days back while driving ALL the way back home and the lady that was speaking quoted a verse that spoke to me. All I can remember is that she said it was in proverbs but I'm not sure where. The verse went something like this.....A wise woman builds her house , a foolish woman tears it down. I'm not sure why it spoke so deeply to me but it reminded me that there are so many ways we can tear down our homes, our families.....through actions, words and attitudes. I desire to be a strong, godly woman who builds her home & her family and I have found myself over the past couple of days paying attention my attitudes and words. My constant prayer being that God will help me to re-build where there has been destruction. It sure gave me pause to think earlier this week. Funny how a simple verse can speak volumes sometimes.

Seriously too tired to post....but I made a promise to a friend to post something! There is more in my head but it will have to wait till tomorrow when I'm awake. Today was a good day....best I've had in a long time. Goodnight!

Still here.....still alive, just super busy!!

Ok, so here's a quick update for all you who still check in on me.

Our holiday was enjoyable and relaxing, it was a much needed break from all the reno work going on at our place. The kids fished and fished and fished...........and then fished some more. No catches this year, well Mikail had one but it escaped when he got it up to the dock. He wants a fly rod for christmas this year. I loved being with my family, the cabin we stayed in was so cozy! When we pulled out of Johnson lake heading for home there was a bear right in front of the van! The kids thought that was pretty cool, it was super close and just kinda stood there looking at us.

As for the reno work, I was just saying to Gary the other day that I feel like ants getting ready for winter......working from sun up till sun down. We've been working like crazy to get all the exterior work done before the rain hits. The place is coming together, slowly. I started painting and hanging pictures (finally!!). I've been doing "a wall a day" 'cause that's all I can get done while Gracie naps.

Hopefully I'll get around to putting up some pictures soon. I just realized today that I need to get my butt in gear and get my kids ready for back to school.......man, summer flew by this year.

Ok....back to work.

"The LORD your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing."

Zephaniah 3:17 NIV

Psalm 96

Oh sing to the Lord a new song!

Sing to the Lord, all the earth.

Sing to the Lord, bless His name;

Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.

Declare His glory amoung the nations

His wonders amoung all peoples.

For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised!

Busy, busy.....so busy. It feels like I'm on the go all the time! I guess the 3 kidlets keep me on my toes. I'm really looking forward to the end of school and the beginning of summer break, I think we all need a much more relaxed schedule for a couple months. My plan for summer? Sleeping in, drinking my coffee for as long as I want before getting dressed, loading up the van and hitting the beach with the kids. We are going on holidays at the end of July (so excited about that!) we've rented a little cabin on a lake just past Kamloops for a week. Fun!

Been thinking today about how good God is. So good. He restores what the enemy steals. He has restored me & my family. I am so thankful. I am thankful to be busy running my kids around. I'm thankful for the noise that fills my home (trust me it's lound with 2 energetic boys & a little princess) I have so many wonderful friends who care for me. I'm sooo thankful for Gary. I am loved. God is good.

It's a good day to sing.......think I'll go turn some music on. Later!

Vancouver Island pics

The family on the beach in Courtenay

Caleb's beach fort

Mikail searching for crabs

Caleb swimmin' at the hotel

Me & my girl at Gary's niece's reception

fun on the ferry!

Very windy - it was very warm though

Gettin some air!

and we're off....

We are heading out friday morning to the Island for the weekend. Gary's niece is getting married so we are going up to Courtenay for a quick weekend trip. I'm hoping to get some nice weather so we can hit the beach at some point. I should be doing laundry....but I'm bloggin' instead. I've posted some new pictures of the kids below (except for Mikail, that kid avoids the camera like the plague) Anyhow........be back next week.

More Gracie pictures (& Caleb below)

Gracie's alway wearing my shoes around the house, this time she wanted my
neclace too.

Caleb gettin a little muddy the other day

 

Liz's Birthday Dinner

Here's a picture of us (mom, me and Liz) heading out for dinner at the Copper Room in Harrison Saturday night to celebrate Liz's birthday. It's too bad Carolyn had to work :(

Happy Birthday Liz!

Grace

Smile!

Watching Dora (her favorite!)

Shhh.....baby sleeping

Finally, some pictures!

The view from the back bedroom

The boys playing street hockey (almost every night!)

Gary's new garage !!

Our new master bedroom(there will be a deck off the sliding door) & in the corner window there will be a big corner, jetted tub....yes we spoiled ourselves!

Caleb helping (who gave the kid an axe!! ?)

Taking down the blackberries

The view from my front yard (the park is across the street)

The view from our back deck right off the master bedroom

Hey all!

I have a bunch of pics on my camera but I am still searching for the cord to put them on my computer....it's in a box...somewhere. Soon as I find it I'll post them. This morning Mikail played piano at assembly, and he did well! :) His class dressed up as hippies....they sang, danced and showcased some of the talent in the class (thus the piano playing). It was great.

Life is slowly settling in over here way out in the country. I actually am loving this new community we moved into. I wasn't sure before we moved how I would handle how "close" everyone is. We just need to plant a few tall shrubs to have a few less windows looking into our yard and it should be fine. It's like living at summer camp, at least that's the best way I can think of how to describe the community feel. The boys come home from school and are outside playing till dinner, they have made good friends already and are always busy playing street hockey or soccer in the field. Boys being boys.

This weekend is ladies retreat and I'm actually going! (missed last year cause I was home with baby) I'm looking forward to not chasing a toddler around for a day. :) I've been asked to share my testimony, I'm a little nervous as I haven't publicly shared what Gary and I went through a couple years back but I know that the time has come to push myself out of the comfort zone a bit. I must be faithful to share what God has done for me & for my family. Anyhow, Gracie is screaming for me so I must end this now. More later!

I just picked up Caleb from a birthday party. When we got in the car I asked him if he had fun, his reply.............. " I haven't had this much fun since I was 4!" (he's 7 now)

We're here

Just a quick note to let you all know that the move went well. We are somewhat unpacked and the new garage and addition will be started within the next 2 weeks. The yard was a mess when we moved in so I've been busy tackling the gardens.

Anyhow....i'll try to get some pics asap.

so much happening

Where do I begin.

First of all this year has been the WORST flu year ever in our home. I am exhausted from the never ending cycle of colds, ear infections and kids throwing up all over the house. They have pretty much been passing stuff around since Christmas. This is the first week that both the boys have returned to school. Gracie is just on the tail end of the stomach flu. I am ready for this to be done now. I have been kinda a lousy friend lately but with 3 kids and hubby down, it pretty much takes up all my time. Just reality I guess.

So on April 28th we are moving. This has been the biggest thing on my mind. After many years of renting we are finally able to get back into the market. We spent a few weeks looking around and finally found something we can afford and are able to fix up a bit. This is a very good financial decision for us as our monthly payments will be going down considerably. I have begun to pack our 7 years of accumulated stuff. Feeling a little overwhelmed. I have to admit that I am having a hard time leaving this place. After 7 years this place really began to feel like it was ours and there are so many memories here. But life goes on.....things change......and change isn't a bad thing. I am eager to get in the new place and start the reno's.

Just to add to all the chaos, Mikail is going in for tonsil surgery on April 13th and will be home for a couple weeks after that. Hopefully I will be able to tend to him and pack the house and run around after Gracie (who, by the way, is still NOT walking.......silly girl). I'm sure we will all survive April, Haha.

Well back to packing.......mom, I'll be over in a few days with boxes to store! :)

SHE FINALLY TOOK HER FIRST STEPS THIS MORNING!!!!

3 whole steps!

Some new pictures

Gracie feeding her baby in the highchair I played with as a little girl.

Mikail, Caleb & Grace

Just 'cause she's so cute!

Face of Time

I can remember when I was afraid like you
Not so long ago
Confusion ruled my life wondering what to do
Not so long ago
These are resting waves from a memory
In a hiding place in my mind
But the sweetest taste is a history
When suffering wears the face of time
The pain hurt way too much the water was so cold
Not so long ago
That’s when light rescued me from darkness I was free
Not so long ago

In the place of suffering
There’s a God worth worshipping
On these wings of worship we will ride.

© 2004 Jason Upton & Key of David Ministries.

Those of you who read my blog regularly (when I write regularly, haha!) have probably noticed that I like to post songs by Jason Upton. I have found that so much of what he writes about has proven to be very healing in my life. This one in paticular spoke to me a couple years ago while going through a confusing, difficult time. This morning I found myself singing it again and I thought of some of my friends experiencing challenging times in their faith right now. This is for you and me.

He did it!

I never would have done it when I was 8, I was far too shy. Mikail walked up in front of the whole school during assembly, took the microphone and started singing. Way to go!

Hi everyone! I wanted to post a quick note to let you all know that I'm still here. The past 3 weeks have been crazy, Gary had the flu (twice) and the boys each ended up missing a week of school because of this silly bug. I've been busy tending to all the sickies in my house and to top it off (of course) I woke up today feeling sick and ended up spending most of the day in bed. Grrr. Hopefully we will all be healthy soon.

On a more positive note, Mikail is leading O Canada in front of the whole school tomorrow. I'm so excited watch him!! He is not to thrilled about having to do it but I think it's great that he is going for it. I'm so proud of him :)

Blue Sky!!

The sunshine is beautiful today. I've got all the blinds and curtains wide open and the house is filled with sunshine. I LOVE it. I certainly appreciate the light and warmth more now that the 30 some odd days of rain have stopped (for today). Yesterday I drove Mikail out to the throat specialist in Chilliwack and as I was driving I couldn't help but be captivated by the surrounding mountains they were gorgeous. Incredibly white in the sunlight. We live in such a beautiful place though most of the time it is covered by clouds and rain but when it clears it is stunning. I am thankful for this place. Isn't creation beautiful?

Anyone else totally lost at the Superstore???

The past 15 years! Ack!

Alrighty then....15 years......this will have to be a summary. I can hardly believe it's been that long since highschool! I'm totally feeling old right now. This post is for Rachel, Sinead and Kori (and whoever else may be interested.) While I was blog surfing a couple weeks back I happened upon some friends from highschool. Jen, if you are reading this go check out Rachel's site, I've added her blog to my links. Ok, back to the summary.

After highschool I attended Columbia Bible College in Abbotsford, I lived in the dorms for 2 1/2 years which was a very fun experience. I don't remember getting much school work done, however I did become pretty darn good at playing pool, somehow I came out a couple years later with my certificate in Early Childhood Education and a Biblical Studies diploma.

I met Gary at the end of my time at CBC. We met at Roaring 20's while I was attending Northview Community Church. We were engaged 3 months after we met and married 8 months later on August 6, 1994. We moved to Mission and I taught preschool for a couple of years.

On May 1, 1997 our first son Mikail Isaac was born. What an experience, adjusting to parenthood and all, we did survive the sleepless nights which was a total shock to our system. By the time Mikail was 1 we had moved to Chilliwack and on May 9, 1999 our second son Caleb James was born. I didn't know what I was going to do with 2 boys since I came from a family of 3 girls and my mom came from a family of 3 girls. We were kind of like generations of girls, I hadn't even really ever thought I'd have boys, only girls. None of us (my mom and sisters that is) really knew what to do with boys, we definitely were not prepared for all this energy, but Gary assures me that the craziness that is in our home is very normal. Shortly after Caleb was born we moved back to Mission. When Caleb was 2 I went back to teaching preschool and soon had an opportunity to create and run a Fine Arts Preschool program. I had a great time creating the program and teaching it for a couple of years. On October 12, 2004 our daughter Grace Abigail was born. Yes....a girl! She was born the day after Thanksgiving. It has been so cool after years of 'boy stuff' to be able to enjoy all the girly things with her. She wore nothing but pink for the first few months till I finally branched out to purple, and red and maybe a bit of yellow. She was a wonderful surprise to Gary, I and the boys. Our family is complete.

Right now the boys are in grade 3 (8 years old) & grade 1 (6 years old.) Grace is 15 months. Gary and I celebrated 11 years of marriage this past August. We attend church here in Mission at New Heights Communtiy Church. We were part of the team that planted this church 9 or 10 years ago (forgot how long it's been but I'm sure someone will remind me.)

So, there's the summary. Now you'll need to do one for me Rachel!

Gracie

She is growing so fast! 15 months old.

The song I can't stop singing today.....

The King's way

There is a road
That leads to peace
That leads to life
But few will follow
We're at the crossroad
Which way will we go

There is not today a more holy way
Than the steps that lead me to the cross
Where my will can't be the priority
And these crowns I've gained
I count as lost
When I hear the spirit say
That this is the true King's way.

~Jason Upton~

Wow, it's been awhile since I wrote!

Christmas was good, well, besides all of us having the flu! Poor Gracie was sick Christmas Eve and Christmas day. It took me over a week to recover, I'm just now starting to feel like myself again. I took down all the lights and decorations today.......it looks so bare. I've also been cleaning like crazy.

Gary and I got out on New Years (first time in 8 years). We decided to go see Narnia (very good movie) and then visit with some close friends. It was a wonderful evening.

Not much else new around here besides the boys returning to school tomorrow. I'd post some Christmas pics but I was too sick to take any and Gary forgot. I'm hoping Carolyn or Liz got some. Oh...Gracie stood on her own today :) Bring on the walking!!

This and That

Well, for those of you who may be wondering, Grace has decided to return to waking up a few times a night. However she has been sleeping through about once a week or so........I'll take whatever I can get!

We've had such a wonderful Christmas season so far. Gary, after being self-employed for several years, returned to work this past spring and as a result we were able to attend a fancy Christmas party! It's feels like it's been years since I got dressed up and went out for the evening. The party was at Heritage Valley....it was beautiful! We got to enjoy an amazingly yummy buffet, I won a waffle maker, Gary won a gift certificate for some tools (totally made his night!) and we enjoyed listening to a great live band while we danced and danced and danced! My feet hurt for days from dancing in heels!

We were also invited to a christmas party by some people from our church.. The dinner was delicious and it was great getting to know people that we see regularly but have not had the opportunity to get to know. After dinner we sat around with some guitars, drums and even cowbells and sang christmas carols. It was so much fun. It feels like Christmas.

I'm just so happy. I'm not really sure how to express it except to say that I'm finding so much joy here in my home with Gary and the kids. Sometimes when I think about it I feel like I could burst.....God has been so good to me, to us. It's funny because this is the first year that financially we are not even sure how we are going to get through christmas. I'm finding that I'm not as stressed as I thought I'd be. Instead I am just so very thankful for what I do have and I feel filled with hope for the future.

A funny thing happened yesterday while we were at the mall shopping. We were coming down the elevator in Sears, when the door opened there was a lady waiting with a baby in a stroller. I instantly recognized her from blog world. I have been checking out her blog regularly since she had her baby last year. I originally came across her through a link on a friends blog.......anyhow......I walked out of the elevator and said hi to her and her baby (called them by name) forgetting that she totally has no clue who I am!!! I must have scared her. I quickly explained how I knew her and her little family. The funny thing was that moments later her husband walked by and I smiled and said hi (once again forgetting that he does not know me!!) I didn't stop to explain myself that time. I guess this is the reality of living out part of our lives on-line. Wierd.

sleep :)

I'ts been almost 14 months but it finally happened. Gracie slept through the night last night (YAY) in fact she slept for 12 hours!!!!! I got a solid 9 hours of sleep......I did the whole wake up and panic thing wondering if she was alright. For those of you who don't know Grace has been up every 3 hours or so since the day she was born. Yep.

Let's see if she keeps sleeping (hehe)

A proud mom

Mikail just sang a little solo at the school assembley this morning........I'm soooo proud!! He sounded great. He was nervous and sang quietly but was right on the melody, I think he suprised himself. I'm glad he has a teacher who pushes him to try. I knew he could do it. He also received an award for his excellent reading skills. I have great kids :)

(everyone's gotta brag about their kids now and again, right?)

It's going to snow!!!!!

I'm decorating, listening to Christmas music and feeling down right Christmas-y. Gracie is being very (umm).........helpful. She loves the lights. The boys have cleaned and decorated their rooms already. Caleb wanted his own nativity set because (in his words) "Christmas is about Jesus mom, it's all about that little baby". I'm so thankful they can see what it's really about even at a young age.

Well, the cordless drill is charged.......time to climb the ladder and hang the lights.

I LOVE Christmas.

The note on my kitchen table tonight read.....

Dear Mom & Dad,

Don't forget to take my tooth and replace money with it. The tooth is on my night table.

From,

Mikail

King

Today I finally found a melody that fits
A melody that fits
Today I finally found a song that I can sing
A song that I can sing

You are my King, You are my King
I bow down before You and crown you the King of all Kings
Forever I'll sing, forever I'll sing
I'll sing of Your mercy and how I have been set free

The rulers of the earth will bow down before Your throne
They'll bow before Your throne
The nations You have made will worship You alone
They'll worship You alone

They'll sing for You
I'm set free
I'm set free
If the King has set you free
You are free indeed.

~audio adrenaline~

"You prepare a feast for me

in the presence of my enemies.

You welcome me as a guest

anointing my head with oil.

My cup overflows with blessings

Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me

all the days of my life

and I will live in the house of the Lord forever."

Psalm 23:5&6

the first piece of cake

The most wonderful thing about turning 1 is finally being allowed to eat cake. Grace's first cake was none other than chocolate......yummy! Gary put a lovely piece in front of her and she literally inhaled the thing...........seems the girl already knows how important chocolate is to well balanced diet!!

Check out the picture here.

Happy Birthday Grace!

Happy first birthday to my precious little girl.

23rd post 5th line

"So forward, march! Pick up those feet and get the people going!"

I think everyone else has been tagged already! If you havent here are the rules.....

1. Go into your archive.
2. Find your 23rd post.
3. Find the fifth sentence (or closest to).
4. Post the text of the sentence in your blog along with these instructions.
5. Tag five other people to do the same.

a sign of the times

Apparently I need to have a username with a minimum of 4 characters to get into my son's room.

mondays.....

It's quiet in the house, the kids are at school and Grace has just gone down for her nap. Silence is a rarity in this place. It's one of those moments where I feel like I can breathe deep and relax. This weekend I enjoyed my birthday celebrations. My birthday was on Saturday and I was blessed to have three days of parties! Unexpected and thoroughly enjoyed! Actually, the previous week was filled with many visits from some wonderful (wonderful!) friends. I am incredibly blessed by all of you!!

The other night I read a blog about the meaning of home. The author had spent time reflecting on what home meant to her and compiled a list. You can read her list here. It got me thinking about what makes my house my home. I thought maybe I'd share mine too. Thanks for the inspiration Julene.

My home is.......

* a safe place
* somewhere a song is always being sung (or whistled by my 6yr old son)
* filled with lots (and lots) of laughter
* a place where mistakes are made and forgiveness is freely given
* always open for a cup of coffee, chocolate and a good visit!
* LOVE
* where learning and growing apply to the adults as well as the kids
* cozy and warm on a cold night......a hot bubble bath and warm blanket are easily found
* surrounded by the beauty of God's creation, majestic mountains and a gorgeous view.
* filled with many dreams and aspirations
* a family planted firmly on God's grace

Upon reflecting on these things, I am thankful. What does home mean to you?

catch up

Well, I finally have some time to sit at the computer and catch up on blogging. The past four weeks have been like a whirlwind! The boys started grade one and three (both in school all day.....Yippee!!) This has left me hanging out with my daughter during the day, our favorite things to do have been going out for coffee and hitting the mall (mostly window shopping but just as fun). I have been battling being sick and worn out, Gracie is still up at night, I don't think she is feeling 100% either. I've been up 5 times each night for the past week or so............I'm tired. I finally went and got some antibiotics for myself yesterday so hopefully soon I will begin to feel normal again. Grace started crawling recently so I spent last weekend baby-proofing the house. She now has a safe play zone. Have I mentioned how incredibly beautiful she is? Cause she is.

Been thinking alot lately about how God really intended for us as His church & His children to live. I still have way more questions than answers. My conversations with Him have been full of questions lately.........there is so much I do not understand. I'm pretty sure it's not my job to figure it all out, just to continue seeking Him. The following scriptures has been on my heart lately as I have been so focused on my kids.

"Let the children come to me. Don't stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these" Matthew 19:14

"Therefore, anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven and anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me." Matthew 18:4&5

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Most of the time I feel as though I'm totally overwhelmed with the job of parenting. God has been reminding me to relax (which can be hard for me!!) and enjoy my kids..........enjoy them!

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Below is a picture of my hilarious son (speaking of enjoying them) Caleb makes me laugh everyday, what a wonderful gift......

i'm so on the ball

bought my first christmas present today.......now to find a place to hide it where i wont forget it's there........

BLUE You give your love and friendship unconditionaly. You enjoy long, thoughtful conversations rich in philosophy and spirituality. You are very loyal and intuitive. Find out your color at Quiz Me!

What Classic Movie Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

ok....this is funny

find your inner PIE @ stvlive.com


those who know me well will know why........

the concert

Yes, I survived!........and I can actually say that I had a blast! I love going to concerts......and I love all kinds of music! I also have not been out in..... oh gosh, probably about a year. Thank you Liz for attempting to take Grace for night (she has a very hard time being away from her mommy!!)

I was very curious to see who would be attending a Def Leppard concert and suprisingly (at least to me) there were alot of young people. We had a very interesting crew sitting behind us, I swear they were the rowdiest row in the whole place. Lots of drinking & smoking (more than just cigarettes) I was trying so hard to be careful not to breathe in too much "smoke" Haha, just ask Gary about that! Anyhow the music itself was awesome, it brought me right back to the 80's, the guys put on a great show. It was great to sing along to all the songs which I still remembered all the words (who knew!) I pointed out to Gary that the guys had their song order sheets taped to the stage beside their microphone stands, He laughed and said that only I would notice something like that.

Funny thing, I ran into a couple while leaving GM Place (friends of Carolyns) who I was totally shocked to see there. She said to me while we walked out "Well, it really was not my genre of music but I think I recognized a couple of the songs from the second band" Really........she didn't even know who she was seeing! She only came to support her hubby. Carolyn, can you guess who it was?

On my way out the door to see Def Leppard. This will be my first "rock" concert. Haha....... should be an experience!

Just got back from camping with a couple of girlfriends and all the kids. The kids were great and Gracie did quite well for her first camping trip. I'm feeling pretty proud of myself considering I pulled it off without the help of my hubby. I did have help from some awesome friends, thanks girls!

I'll post pics later

something to celebrate

Well, 11 years ago Gary and I were on our honeymoon in Maui. Two weeks hanging out on the beach and with each other. August 6, 1994 we were married. I was so young then and I'm not sure that I really understood the importance of the vows I was about to take in front of family, friends and God. Now, 11 years later I look back and realize that I really (really) had no idea of the kinds of choices that would confront us (me) in the coming years. Through the different seasons of our relationship we have both made some poor choices, some more severe than others. We have been through financial devastation, health problems, severe depression/anxiety and unfaithfulness to name of few. We have been through the fire and by all accounts never should have made it.......but we did.

Today I just want to express the joy that I have found in my repentance and obedience to God and in the blessing of an amazing, patient and very loving man.

Today I am thankful.

no height, no depth

Once I was far away and now my life is found in You

Once I was without hope but now I have a vision of Heaven

Fallen from grace

by faith lifted up

now I believe....

*

No height, no depth can keep us

from the love of Christ

No life, no death, no trial

Can tear us from

the love of God in Christ

*

How wonderful the love our Father God has given us

That we could still be called children of God

Fallen from grace

by faith lifted up

now I believe....

*

No height, no depth can keep us

from the love of Christ

No life, no death, no trial

Can tear us from

the love of God in Christ

*

No height, no depth can keep us

from the love of Christ

No life, no death, no trial

Can tear us from

the love of God in Christ

~margaret becker~

Yesterday we decided to skip church and head out to the ocean.

The boys spent the day looking for crabs.

I love days like these.

My hubby just handed me concert tickets. He had done some work on a friend's corvette and in lieu of payment they kinda decided it would be much more fun to go to an upcoming concert. Soooo.............on August 27th we are going to see none other than Def Leppard..........ya, my hubby's an 80's man. Well hey....at least it's a night out!!

the last day......

Well, I went out for my last kid free coffee this morning. It was nice. After that I went and wandered through the superstore in peace for awhile. That was nice too. I have a half an hour to go till I pick up Caleb. I'm kinda excited thinking about hangin out with them for a couple months. Waking up with no plans, jumping in the car and heading to the beach for the day, going for walks. I love walking with my kids, we have the coolest conversations. While I was driving home from the store I was thinking about how proud I am of them. They've completed another year of school and worked hard (yes, I know it's only grade 2 and kindergarten but they really have worked hard!). I think we'll do something special for them this evening to celebrate. I love my boys!!! Bring on summer.

I woke up this morning to the sound of Mikail strumming like crazy on his guitar singing "SCHOOOOL'S OUT FOR SUM-MER!" I think maybe he's excited for summer break. My little rock star! Heehee.

Then when I picked up Caleb from school at noon and we were driving back through the neighborhood he says "Mom, there sure are alot of cats in our neighborhood that need haircuts". Hmmm..........Can't say I've ever noticed that before.

I think maybe they will be entertaining me all summer!!!!

Sometimes I just really don't have anything to say, nothing profound or very spiritual, but apparently I still need to blog (right Nikki?) So here goes an update. The boys are off school in a couple of days and I am praying for the nice weather to return, it's so much easier to keep them occupied when the weather is nice. I'm about to put on my "mom the entertainer" hat to keep them focused for 2 months. Let the fun begin!! Speaking of my boys, Caleb was standing beside me yesterday and I noticed that his head comes up to my shoulder......HELLO!!!.......he's 6 years old!!! How the heck did I give birth to a tall kid??? After all we are generations of short people!!! He is a tiny bit taller than his older brother, I'm thinking this will be the year he passes him.

On a more serious note - God has been leading Gary & I into a season of greater faith in Him. It seems that as each day passes we are loosing more and more control over even the most basic provision of our needs. We are both working very hard (Gary works so hard that I barely see him) and yet we constantly seem to be struggling to bring in even the basics. It has been bothering me lately because I just do not understand how someone can work sooo hard and get nowhere. Sigh......as I type this I'm totally feeling like I have shared too much and want to delete it but I know that God is also teaching me to let go of my pride. Ahhhh........scary to admit that. The cool thing is that God has given me a great measure of peace. He will provide. Like I said I'm learning to have total faith in Him.

Ok....I guess I did have something to say.

I just woke up after 8 HOURS of uninterrupted sleep!!!! First night in just over 8 months. My litttle sweet pea is STILL sleeping. I've showered, made the lunches and am enjoying a cup of coffee. We are heading out the the Vancouver Game Farm with Mikail's class today (Gracie's first trip to the zoo).........I'm so excited.

thank you

to my beautiful friend who brought me homemade pecan pie. mmmmm........heated up with whip cream SO YUMMY!!! this is my favorite pie.

(forgotten all about the lawnmower incident.....) hehehe

oh yeah......

.....just sat down and learned how to play "amazing grace" and "it aint gonna rain no more" on the guitar. i was given the guitar a year and a half ago and figured it was time to try to learn something.

Ladies......

I have to cancel biblestudy tomorrow morning. It is sports day at the boy's school. See you all next friday!

We are reading through "The battlefield of the Mind" by Joyce Meyer in our biblestudy group. It is a really good book. Each week I read a chapter aloud to the group and then re-read it to Gary in the evening. Gary and I really enjoy reading together. Anyway, last night we read the chapter from last week. Funny how when you read something the second time through a whole new thought or concept jumps out at you!! The last paragraph in the chapter convicted me.

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"If you desire victory over your problems, if you truly want to live the resurrection life, you must have backbone and not just wishbone! You must be active - not passive. Right action begins with right thinking. Don't be passive in your mind. Start today choosing right thoughts."

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Yep, that one made me think especially after I had just blogged about all my "wishes" for my life. I guess I realize now that I am guilty of being passive especially when it comes to my mind. I'm not being active in renewing my mind daily. Granted my life is insane right now after having baby number three but my neglect in fighting the battle in my mind has brought discouragement. I said to Gary " The battlefield IS the mind!!!" This is where I must defeat the enemy.

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I'm looking forward to finishing this book. I tend to be a very practical person and want to know exactly how to get from point A to point B. I think I will begin with becoming active in right thinking. Builing a backbone to go with my wishbone

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So with that being said I will focus on this today.......

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"For I know the plans I have for you" says the Lord " They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope" Jer. 29:11 (NLT)

All I ever wanted?

There is a song that I used to listen to as a teenager. I loved it......I loved the words, I loved the emotion it evoked in me, I loved the pure worship that invaded my soul. It is a song that echoed a cry, a prayer from within me. It is entitled All I Ever Wanted. I have been listening to it again recently and have found it to be very ironic that it was and is one of my favorites. Ironic then because at that time in my life I struggled to grasp on to any happiness I was able to find and ironic now because I'm still not in a place where I feel fully content with where I am at or with who I am. However there is something within these words that speaks of my inability to be content with my life and God's ability to lead me to that place. I suddenly desire to be able to grasp contentment.

My struggle as of late has been with my own expectations of what my life was 'supposed' to be like. I have seen some of what I expected in life become reality but, of course, many of my dreams/aspirations still remain distant and unreachable. So the question I'm faced with now is this, can I really sit here today.......right now......and say that this is all I ever wanted? I have been so disillusioned with life. Perhaps I have been living in a fantasy world. Somehow listening to the words of this song recently has helped to keep me grounded. I am reminded that my life has purpose, there is a plan, there is hope......there is contentment. It's not so much about the fulfillment of all my dreams but rather realizing that contentment is a choice I need to make right now, not later when everything in my life has finally lined up and all my ducks are in a row (so to speak). I must begin with a very basic truth. I was created to love God. I was created to worship Him, to find all of my self worth in Him. He has given me so much. I think back to when I was 15, on my knees listening to the words of this song, praying the words of this song (it is such a clear memory)........my dream then was to have a family of my own and to be living the call of God on my life. Indeed my dreams have come true though many are still in process. So what of the other stuff......the other dreams that appear to be unfulfilled and seem so important in relation to my happiness. I must give them to God. He desires good things for me. I will continue to believe this. I will choose to believe this. To be perfectly honest some of what I desire so desperately may be far more trivial than I care to admit.

I sing this song from my heart. I'm really not there yet but by His grace I will sing this.......

All I Ever Wanted

From where I lay I can see the sun rising through the trees
Before I face this morning rush I get down on my knees

I lift my eyes and I thank you for this life you've granted me

I pray that every day I live Your heart will be pleased

I pray for hands to hold You higher than anything else

And a heart to love You more than life itself

This is all I ever wanted

This is all I want to be

All I ever wanted ........... is to love You faithfully

From where I stand I can see the dreams that You have fulfilled

Such kindness I did not deserve but You gave it still

What do I have that You did not give there's nothing that I can see

So all I have to give to You is what You've given me

I give these hands to hold You higher than anything else

And this heart to love You more than life itself

This is all I ever wanted

This is all I want to be

All I ever wanted .......... is to love You faithfully

I know I don't have the power to love You like I should

But everyday with everything I have I wish I could

I'm standing here now, these words I pray, I want to love You better whatever it takes

This is all I ever wanted

This is all I want to be

All I ever wanted ........... is to love You faithfully.

~Margaret Becker~

another cloud pic.......

taken last night at sunset

Don't forget......

Party tomorrow night to celebrate Liz's 30th. The band will be playing!! Come hang out, dance and eat. It all begins at 7:30pm @ the church office. Hope to see all of you there!

Happy 30th Liz!!

my little sister is 30 today........

my favorite things

no special order, just 10 things i love


1. singing......LOVE IT!
2. ice cream
3. painting & decorating
4. cute shoes
5. dancing
6. coffee - even better when joined by a good friend
7. watching my kids grow up - it's hard to let them grow up sometimes but i love watching them grow into who they are. they are so cool.
8. caleb's adventures
9. gary's adventures ~giggle~ ah, they are so similar
10. camping, going for walks, being at the beach, bike rides.

hmm.......i think i may have more than 10

11. christmas
12. my potato salad
13. hot baths by candlelight
14. a good book

nothing like a good haircut........

Now I look loved.

Well, I managed to get the house somewhat clean for biblestudy this morning (giggle) unfortunately the dog wasn't looking to hot. Poor guy, his fur is so overgrown and tangled......... he is one large mat. I found myself desperately trying to explain my dog's sorry state to the ladies. Hmmm.....I'm beginning to realize that I'm constantly feeling the need to try to excuse everything in my life that does not appear to be perfect. If it's not the messy house than it's the kid that needs a haircut or the yard that looks neglected. Today it was the sad looking dog. The good news is that 9am tomorrow morning he visits Diggety-Dog. I will feel much better once my dog looks like someone loves him.

I finally got over this stupid flu. I was flat on my back for 3 days. Started feeling better this afternoon. Now Gary's in bed with it :(


Think I'm gonna have a piece of pie now........I'm sooo hungry.

I haven't shared many stories about my oldest son Mikail, he hasn't got quite the same zest for life as Caleb, but in his own way he makes me laugh.

This week is Spring clean-up week and as the saying goes one man's junk is another man's treasure. I can be easily persuaded to collect stuff with grand visions in mind, it's a sickness I know. Yesterday we arrived a few minutes early at Mikail's piano lesson so I parked the car to wait for him to go in. Mikail piped up from the back seat "Mom I'm just going to go over there to check out that junk pile" he jumped out of the truck and proceed to rummage through several piles of well used stuff. He kept coming back to the truck every couple minutes wondering if Gracie needed a new desk or if I needed any pots to put my plants in. He didn't see used, old and broken things he only saw the potential in everything he looked at. Watching him made me smile........he has vision.

Today as we walked home from school continuing to examine each and every junk pile along the way he ran over to a large piece of particle board (about 6' x 3') and began dragging it down the road. Mikail's not very big so it was quite comical watching him. He was desperately trying to convince me that he has this "project" he's been wanting to do in the backyard and it needs a board just like this one.

His persistence paid off......he did manage to score a nice pair of roller blades for himself and I watched him roll home a pretty nice desk chair from a neighbor's house down the road. I'm sitting on it right now as I type this.

By the way Carolyn found a nice plant stand that Gary and Mikail went and retrieved for her. It runs in the family I guess.

where does this kid come up with this stuff

The scene moments ago.........

Caleb running around the house waving a fly swatter (chasing a fly) singing at the top of his lungs........

"You can't always get what you want,

ohhhh, you can't always get what you want

BUT you find sometimes you get.......... (**SMACK**).......what you need."




Poor fly.

happy birthday to my boys........

They had the same due date two years apart

Mikail couldn't wait to get here & Caleb was happy to take his time

There are 8 days between their birthdays

One big party every year!!!

Happy 8th Mikail

&

Happy 6th Caleb

We love you!!!

Caleb came home from school with a list of descriptive words describing his mom. They are as follows.....


kind
nice
smart
crazy
good driver
supportive
helpful
caring
silly
loving
a bit strict (heehee)


At the bottom of the page he drew a wonderful picture of a race car. Good thing I'm a good driver!!

One of these days

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I want to go where the sun always shines

Where people are peaceful with no battle lines

And children are playing in innocent ways

I want to go there one of these days

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I want to go where the leaves are all turning

And life's only certain to be wonderful

Where water is plenty but the skies never grey

I want to go there one of these days

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Some say that I'm only dreaming

And that this can't be true

But my faith has only been increasing

Since the day that I met you

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One day we 're going where love never dies

Where no one is hungry no empty eyes

And joy is abundant in everyone's praise

We're going to go there one of these days

jason upton

Caleb went out in the back yard to play the other day. A couple of minutes later he came flying through the back door slamming it behind him saying "Whoa.......there are things flying around everywhere out there!" He stopped to take a breath and calm down I then heard him mutter under his breath " I guess it's not safe to play outside anymore."

Seems he still remembers being stung by the bee last year.

So.......what does a little girl wear to a cat's birthday party?

little white cloud

Just took this picture from my back porch.

woke up to the sound of my son barfing all over his room, hallway and the bathroom. poor guy.


guess we'll be staying home today, and i'll be scrubbing the carpets, walls, shower curtain.......it's amazing how far puke travels. gross i know....... but hey, this is my reality for today. at what age do they actually make it to the bathroom before it all comes out????

I'm still here......

Wow, it feels like my life has slipped into warp speed or something. I'm not really sure what is keeping me so busy.....I guess having three kids may have something to do with it. I spent all of last week helping Carolyn move, it was very busy and crazy but thankfully she is now settled (and decorated.)

I thought I'd give you all an update on Gary. The results of the tests came back and they were all good, nothing appears to be wrong. This is good news, though he still feels like something is up. The doctor advised him to cut caffeine out of his diet and change some of his eating habits. We will see if that helps the pain in his muscles. He has an appointment in May to have the lump in his arm looked at and then removed. Thanks to all of you for your prayers. Gary also began a new job (well, old job) today. He returned to work at the body shop he used to work at years ago. I am a little concerned about him being exposed to all the chemicals again but we had to make this change in order to bring back some financial stability. I am so thankful for my amazing husband who will do whatever it takes to take care of me and his 3 kids. And He does it without complaining, he's a good man.

This change of course means that Gary is out the door early and not around during the day to help out anymore. I'm now running to the school three times a day and transporting children to music/piano and tap lessons. Definitely feeling like a taxi. All is good.......Gracie is old enough now and tags along without fussing. I'm really enjoying the mom thing.

I remain thankful & content.