dude.

Yep, the drywall has arrived. Tomorrow they start putting it up. Ask me how happy I am. VERY!

Yesterday while I was out getting my hair done my in-laws came by and totally cleaned up the garden in the front yard. They even planted some new flowers for me. They said they will be back next week to start work on the backyard. They moved into an apartment last year so I'm thinking that they are missing gardening.

Caleb's quote for today

"So, mom, I was thinking that Gary isn't really a kid type name so what did grandma and grandpa call dad when he was a kid?"

My response "Umm....Gary."

His response "Oh. I was thinking it's a good name for a dad or a snail but not a kid."

The things they say

You know I could write a blog a day about the funny things my kids say but I'll spare you all those details. However, Caleb did say something yesterday that I thought was pretty funny. I noticed while he was outside playing in the park that there was a little girl following hm around. I watched them for about an hour playing, laughing, talking together. Later when he came in he said to me "Mom if the phone rings can you please bring it to me so I can answer" I asked him why and Mikail blurted out "Caleb has a girlfriend!" Caleb didn't deny it he just said "Yep, it's true. All the girls at school keep dumping me so I thought I'd try one out at the trailer park."

I laughed so hard, he's only 7!! I love how he spoke like he was trying on a different sweater or something. Later after dinner he was outside hammering away, when I checked on him he said he was building a log house with a realistic back yard (his words!) for this "new" girl.

Awe...young love.

The blessings in life

There are so many, aren't there? Sometimes they can be very hard to see but they are there. I'm in a time right now where I can see and feel them all around me. They are very real. I feel as though I want to reach out, collect them up and put them in a safe place just in case. I suppose though that we are more aware of the good stuff after experiencing seasons where the good stuff is scarce. I have been through seasons in the past where I couldn't see any good for the life of me. It's funny though because as I reflect on the past 30 some odd years I can now see where there was plenty of good in the bad. I am very thankful that when faced with some very difficult choices God brought clarity to me. I'm not saying that I always made the right choices but His grace kept me from losing my way through some very trying times. I am thankful for wanting to better myself and not being content to settle for a life with no hope. Pushing myself to face the past and deal with it. Moving on and letting go is a blessing in itself. So what am I trying to say? Don't ever loose hope. There is good in the bad it's just harder to see.

So here's to the good stuff in life........may you all feel it today no matter what season you are in.

Well, my new cookbook has inspired my to become somewhat chef-like. I went shopping on Sunday and bought everything I need for a week of meals and on Monday night we started eating "new" food. Yesterday I was feeling rather confident in my new cooking skills and I totally cut my finger while cutting up veggies and then while I was sautaying (sp?) my beans in the frying pan and I thought I'd try the whole pick up the pan and shake and flip the beans thing, you know like how they do it on TV. Not such a good idea......beans everywhere. The boys had a good laugh. I told the kids that we will try each recipe in the book once and then they can rate the meal and if it gets a poor rating I won't make it again so as Caleb was finishing his meal last night he casually says "I give this one a 5. I could take it or leave it." Funny kid. The positive thing is that they are trying new foods and eating more than they usually would (of healthy food that is.)

Report cards and teacher interviews just finished and I was sooo proud of both my boys. Caleb especially. He was struggling at the beginning of the year to keep up with everyone but he worked SO hard and was able to catch up this past term. I was teary eyed reading his report card because it was so positive and I know how much of an effort he made over the past couple of months. His teacher told me that teaching kids like him and helping them become confident and do well is what she lives for. I'm so happy he has such great support at school. That kid has learnt the value of hard work. Again, I'm so thrilled. Ok...... enough gushing about my kids.

Oh, we had a blast on the weekend. We went to a fundraiser dance on Saturday with some of the guys (and wives) from Gary's work. I danced for hours and we didn't get home till like 1 am. Very late for us. I almost felt young again! :) Thank-you Carolyn for babysitting!

So, what's new?

Not alot. I'm eating a bowl of Special K as I type this......exciting hey? The kids were sick yet again....high fevers and colds this time. I'll be so thankful when flu season is over. We are making good progress on our master suite. The drywall will be going up soon. I'm so excited to go and pick out tile, paint, new bedding etc.

Gary and I get to go out this Saturday to a dance with the guys from his work. I'm looking forward to it, a night out is always good!

I bought a new cookbook this morning and I'm so excited to open it up and try it out. It comes complete with weekly shopping lists. I love that kind of organization.

Well.....this short (but sweet) post is for you Rose, who I met briefly while hanging out my car window.

Cars, cars and more cars!

Well, we all survived the weekend! The kids were good to me with no major incidents to report(other than Caleb's high fever on Saturday....he's ok now) 360's display was one of the best in the show, they walked away with a couple armfuls of awards and some very encouraging words from the celebrity guest of the weekend. I am feeling so encouraged and full of hope for the future! Ever get the feeling like you are on the edge of something really good? That's how I've been feeling lately. I took the kids to see Gary on Sunday for a couple of hours and as you can see they had fun! The pictures above are from their display..........it was quite a bit bigger than the couple pics I posted but I didn't want to bore you with endless pictures of cars. The picture in the middle is of the car Gary is doing up for the show in Vegas...it is a work in progress and coming along nicely. They gave Gary the day off yesterday (yay!) and my lovely friend watched Gracie for me while we had a nice coffee together......thank you Lee!! Today it's back to normal around here. I got a smokin' deal on shoes at Shoe Warehouse this morning, I love their clearance section.

Anyhow.....back to real life. Later.

A post dedicated to my man

A couple of months ago my hubby started a new job. After years of working at a local body shop doing run of the mill ICBC claims he was offered a position at a costum fabrication shop. Basically they do all sorts of custom hot rods, choppers etc. Now, I have to say that for years it frustrated me that nobody could see his extraordinary talent when it came to fabricating, painting and whatever else goes into making a smokin' car. But alas, finally, someone discovered him. This weekend the guys from his new shop are putting on an awesome display at the big car show coming to town, which means I will not be seeing him from now till monday! So much prep goes into these things. I can hardly wait to load up the kids and go check out dad's cars at the show. Next November we head off to Vegas for the grandaddy of all car shows where Gary's handiwork will be on display next to all the big wigs of the car world. The guys who hired him have been blown away by his work and I am beyond thrilled that he has a job he loves and that he is appreciated by his new boss....how rare is that! If you like cool cars and are out in Abby on the weekend check out his display and let him know it rocks!

So.....till monday I'm basically a single parent.....but that's ok because I'm so proud him!!

Funny story about Grace - literally the second before we sent her down the aisle she threw down her bouquet, sat down and said "NO!" So when we opened the door I totally did not expect her to do it but we thought we'd try anyway, so we gave her a little push and immediately she put her hands in front of her and walked perfectly down the aisle with Becka. It was sooo cute. It goes to show that when it's showtime you just put on your best smile and go for it! She even made it through most of the ceremony! Thanks for the pic Misty.

Here is a picture of us from my mom's wedding yesterday. It was a very beautiful wedding. The kids did awesome....I think Carolyn has some pics of how cute they all looked. Misty has a picture of my mom and Terry on her site. I love weddings!!

a laundry disaster!!

The whole load of the boys clothes came out red & pink. I had checked all the pockets before I put them in but I guess one little red crayon got missed. The whole inside of my dryer is red. I can't afford to buy them all new clothes. Seriously, I could cry right now........

cute, cute, cute!

Gracie has taken to playing with her dolls most of the day, feeding them, rocking them putting them down for a nap. It is so cute to watch. I've said it before and I'll say it again....I love having a little girl!!
For Christmas the boys and I got an aquarium. So far we've had a few casualties and one very bad big fish who decided to eat a little fish. We finally settled on some little tetras, a bottom feeder and 2 frogs. I have enjoyed the whole process and taking care of the little guys with the boys. Sometimes the boys and I just sit and watch the crazy frogs jump around. I could see myself getting hooked on a larger aquarium in the future! It's a blurry pic of the frog but a pic none the less

The reno's are starting up around here again, finally!! I'm so excited!!!!! Time to finish the place and just enjoy living in it.

There you have it my post about nothing.

the many adventures of jenn.....

Ah, yes......only me. Over the many years that we have had children in our lives (10 or so, years that is, not children) I have been spoiled and had a weekend away pretty much every year. Gary however has not. I had signed him up plenty of times to get away but he always backed out as he just prefers to be at home with the family. So this weekend he finally got away! And this is my first time doing this mom thing solo for a couple of days.

Six hours ago as I was hanging out with the kids, feeding the new frogs we just got in the aquarium and feeling pretty darn good about how well I have handled this whole "I'm on my own with 3 kids for the whole weekend thing" everything changed. My dear son who shall remain nameless used the bathroom. I heard the toilet flush followed by "OH NO!" and my child running as fast as he could out of the bathroom. Not good. As I ran to look I saw water pouring out of every possible part of the toilet. I ran for towels and waited for it to stop....in the end 2" of water all over the bathroom floor. After spending a good half hour cleaning up the water (and whatever else may have been in there) I realized that indeed we do not own a plunger. So I thought to myself it all looks pretty good now I'll just flush and see.......nope.....another inch of water on the floor. I called my bud Lee and told her of the story to which she said "Jenn, the tap to turn off the water is just behind the toilet, didn't you know that?" No I did not..... but now I do.

So I packed up the kids and we went to Canadian Tire and bought a plunger.

So here I sit. I figured I'd bog first and then tackle the house. Gracie is still coughing but the fever has gone down. She seems to be more like herself again. I have NO plans for today at all (yay) I love days like these, not too many though 'cause then I go stir crazy. My plans are to clean, clean and clean some more. Exciting I know.

Gary had given me a Casting Crowns CD for Christmas that I'm loving right now. Actually he gave me 2 CDs, Casting Crowns and Todd Agnew and both are excellent. Anyhow there is a point I'm getting to here. A few weeks back a received a call from a lady who had heard about the situation me and my hubby found ourselves in a few years back and she now finds herself in the exact same situation. Most of you know my story but for those readers who don't I'm not going to go into the details here online. My heart broke for this lady as she shared what had happened to her and the choices she had made and is making now but beyond that was how her family, friends and church have chosen to treat her. I could not believe it! Tough love they call it. I'm not so sure I believe in tough love. My own personal experience was full of grace, love and forgiveness and it has brought unbelievable healing. Granted there are many hurt people in this situation and everyone deals with pain differently but I'm seeing how anger and bitterness only causes more pain. This lady only wants to be heard and she is struggling to stand under the weight of judgement from those around her. She feels abandoned. I have spent many hours in prayer and shed many tears for her and her family. I have also spent hours thanking God for the measure of grace he poured over me. So undeserved. If you think of it please say a prayer for her too. She is in a time of confusion and there is so much healing that needs to happen.
As for the song I was wanting to mention, it is called Does Anybody Hear Her (Casting Crowns.) It has spoken to me. If I can figure out how to play it on here I'll do that. If not I'll post the words later (I know words aren't very exciting)

Alright back at it......

my poor baby...

....is sick again! The day after she came home from the hospital she developed a bad cough and and it has moved into her lungs. I just started her on an antibiotic yesterday. She just isn't herself at all, mostly laying on the couch and napping alot. It's been hard to get her to eat and drink enough as well. I'm wondering if she picked up something from her stay in the hospital. I'm keeping a close eye on it and hopefully we won't have to make a return trip.

In other news I opened the new tub a margarine this morning to discover the name Caleb carved in it with a knife. What a funny guy, I guess he felt the need to sign the butter.

I got a good 6 inches cut off my hair last week and I'm so happy with it. It's so much faster and easier to take care of. I'm trying out the curly look today, usually I blow dry and straighten it. It was done in like 5 minutes.....so wonderful.

Well I'm off to put some stew in the crock pot and make buns to go with. Yummy! I'll keep you all updated on Gracie.

Quick Update

We are back from the hospital and Grace seems to be doing better now. For those of you who don't know, last week Grace got the stomach flu and 24 hours later we had to take her to the hospital because she was so badly dehydrated. She spent 2 days on an IV and came home Saturday night. Quite the experience I must say! Life was kind of on hold for a couple days while I stayed by her side the whole time. While I was at the hospital I was so thankful that I knew she was going to be ok, there were many kids there that had a long haul ahead of them and my heart ached for them and their parents. I was so thankful to be able to rock my baby for hours on end without having to get up for anything, that time with her was precious. She was a trooper and the nurses thought she was the sweetest thing (me too!) Now the challenge is to get her to drink enough liquids so we don't have to return.

The day before she got sick our furnace quit working and the pipes to our washing machine froze. Yep, when it rains it pours. Thankfully the pipes have thawed and late last night the washer was running again but the furnace is another story.

Thank you everyone for your prayers.

New colors, a new haircut & a renewed effort

Wow, she sure is starting to look like a little girl! It's so exciting watching her grow but so sad to see the end of her being my little babe. We spent some time this afternoon coloring in her new Strawberry Shortcake coloring book. It reminded me of being a little girl. I took her in for her very first haircut just before Christmas, she now has bangs and is pretty darn cute if you ask me.

I have never made a new years resolution before but this year I asked myself if there was one thing that I felt needed to be top priority for me. Something that I would really make an honest effort doing daily, something that I will make whatever changes are needed. I could only think of one thing. More time with God, more worship and more effort on my part (ok, I guess that was three things.) So here's to making it happen and doing whatever it takes. Living, laughing, loving and learning. Enjoying life.

Happy new year everyone!!

Christmas!!

The boys just before opening their Christmas Eve jammies!
Nothing like new PJ's
Gracie's Christmas "princess" dress.

snow pics

The view from the front.

I seriously love the view from our back deck! Gorgeous.
There was a very large snow drift that developed in the back.
The boys had a blast sliding down it. 

 

Brave

This is very much a mom's post. I have family on the brain. I hope to be able to share some thoughts with you over the next few posts on being a mom please join in and leave a comment expressing your own personal thoughts on the subject.

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I've been thinking recently about how parenting has changed me. I was trained in ECE and taught preschool classes before I had kids of my own and this training was not as helpful as one might think (at least not for me.) I figured I had this parenting thing totally figured out, after all, I spent 2 years studying behavior management and psychology of children under the age of 5 and spent 3 years managing classes of 15 (yes 15!) 3 & 4 year olds with ease. I recall spending most of my time while teaching saying to myself "my kids will never do that!" Haha, those words have come back to haunt me many times. I was very critical and judgemental of parenting styles and choices. When my first born came along and he was colic for the first 6 months and all that learning went out the window, he was the exception to the norm and most of what I learnt did not apply to him. He was also born with a very strong will and I soon found out that this parenting thing was (and is) much harder than I thought. This is the first thing that has changed in me. Eating my words and changing my thoughts. It is not my place to criticize other parents. It seems to me that so many of us are trying to parent everyone else's children! Everyone has opinions on how one should be doing it right. I am guilty of this myself. There is nothing wrong with opinions but we really need to be encouraging and building each other up not tearing each other down. Now, I definitely want to be clear that obviously I'm not referring to situations of abuse or neglect. I'm talking about the smaller things. Some kids are born with a naturally quiet nature and some just aren't. I have seen wonderful parents struggle with challenging situations and I have come to respect the hard work they put into it daily. I have a few people in my life that don't talk about me and how I have chosen to parent. I feel safe sharing my struggles with them and appreciate their input in my life. I have learnt to focus on my own not others. I have learnt to relax.

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Nicole Nordeman sang a song when I saw her last month that speaks about the second thing that has changed in me. Recently my son has been facing a big battle with anxiety.....he is only 9. I wonder how my little one can have such big fears. I can see how he is tormented by overwhelming panic in some situations and it is so hard to watch. He can't make it go away on his own. I am committed to do whatever it takes to help him get better. I am, by nature, a very shy & timid person. I have forced myself out of my comfort zone many times because I know it is good for me. It is funny how you will do just about anything for your kids. It's like a whole new person emerges if anyone messes with one of your babies. When I was teaching I used to wonder why parents were so "passionate" and sometimes unreasonable. Ha! I get it now. I have surprised myself over the past couple of years how I have been able to walk right into my kid's classrooms or to the principal and express my concerns (as reasonable as possible). My kid's have made me face so many of my fears. They make me want to be brave.

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Brave (Nicole Nordeman)

The gate is wide

The road is paved in moderation

The crowd is kind and quick to pull you in

Welcome to the middle ground

You're safe and sound and

until now it's where I've been

'Cause it's been fear that ties me down to everything

But it's been love, your love, that cuts the strings

So long status quo

I think I'll just let go

You make me want to be brave

The way it always was

is no longer good enough

You make me want to be brave

I am small

And I speak when I'm spoken to

But I am willing to risk it all

I say your name

Just your name and I'm ready to jump

Even ready to fall....

So long status quo

I think I'll just let go

You make me want to be brave

The way it always was

is no longer good enough

You make me want to be brave.

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Much of my thoughts have been focused on my family over the past few years. It is fair to say that I am passionate about marriage and family. I feel blessed to be able to be at home and be so involved with my kids. I have much more to share about this choice as it has not always been easy. All you moms out there be blessed and be encouraged!! More to come at a later date........