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?