This and that

So, it's been a busy couple of weeks.  I know I'm tired because my knees have been sore for a while.
On Friday, December 10th, we had the youth over for dessert as part of the progressive dinner.  We had ice cream sundaes with many good toppings to add some extra goodness.  It was a nice night.  It reminded me of my days in youth group and the whole high school social scene.  It's crazy.  Yeah, lots has changed, like every other kid has a cell phone.  Don't get me started on that.  I could do a whole blog entry just on why I think cell phones are wrong.  But in a lot of ways, things are the same as when I was in high school.  Oh yes, my stepdaughter Eternity has heard the words, 'When I was your age' come out of my mouth a time or two.  I guess that means that I"m officially old!!
Then on Saturday December 11th, our church was a part of the Pelham Christmas Parade.  We made a float and we all had red and white striped matching scarves.  I was a part of organizing the float and getting the scarves made.  There were 30 made in all.  A few of the lovely ladies at our church chipped in and got the job done.  I made a few, but I did the majority of the cutting of the fabric.  It was a lot of work, but it was worth it and kind of therapeutic for me.  We couldn't have asked for better weather on the day of the parade and we were able to hand out 230 bibles and 300 flyers about the candy cane and how it is a symbol of Jesus and what He did for us.  It really was an awesome day and we hope to do it again next year. 

We also had the Awana Christmas concert on Tuesday, December 14th, which Eternity and Emma were a part of.  Emma is definitely not afraid of being on stage and performing.  Eternity would rather be behind the scenes, but she was brave and pulled off a small part in the Trek play.  (Trek is the Awana group for Grade 7-9).  This was a nice time to talk to parents and hang out afterwards.
On Wednesday December 15th, we went to Emma's nursery school in the evening to watch her perform as the Star on the night when Jesus was born.  Her teacher told us that she was playing the Star, but also that she was the star of the show.  She definitely carried the other kids through the singing of the songs.  I'm not bragging, but I am proud of her confidence to perform. 
There was also the Sunday School Christmas play on Sunday December 19th.  So, it was definitely a busy week.  When things slow down I always feel like I should be doing something.  I'm usually busy with something but when a busy spell ends, I feel like I should be running off my feet. 

I struggle with how to do Christmas.  How many gifts should we buy?  Should we buy any at all?  It's easy to get sucked in to what our culture is telling us, mostly through advertisements.  Bobby spoke on not losing sight of the manger at the Awana Concert, so I guess I need to ask God to help me find the balance of the true meaning of Christmas and how many gifts to give.  I don't want to feel guilty either way that I sway, but I do want to keep the true meaning of Christmas at the center of it all.  God sent His son Jesus to live among men and to be a perfect example on earth and then to die for our sins since we all fall short of God's perfection and His glory.  Jesus was born so that He would die for us.  That is love.  'Greater love has no man than this, than to lay down His life for His friends'  That verse if from the Bible, but I can't find the reference right now. 

Anyways, that's what's been happening.  Despite the busyness and the tiredness of it all, it's important to keep our eyes on Jesus.

Can it be? Is it true?

I think Eva has had a major break through with the potty training!  I'm sure she'll appreciate that I posted this on our blog in 10 or 15 years.  But I'm excited to share it with whoever happens to be reading this.
Yesterday I very nearly gave up after she peed on one of our dining room chairs.  That was the end for me.  I was getting more impatient with each accident I was cleaning up, but trying to hold it together at the same time.  Not easy for an extravert like myself.  I bought some pull ups a few days before and have been using them on her for sleeping and outtings.  The annoying thing was that she wasn't really feeling as wet as I think she should be while wearing a pull up.  Is there any difference (besides price and fancy artwork) between a diaper and a pullup?  You'd think I would know the answer to that one!  Anyways, aside from all that, yesterday I told her to sit on the potty after supper and miraculously after a minute she had done her business.  I figured it was just a fluke.  But then today she had no accidents and peed on the potty about 7 or 8 times!  I guess you can say that WE'RE trained.  She is getting it.  It's amazing!  Now we just have to stay consistent and to keep reminding her and to not get lazy.  That is oh so easy to do when life gets busy.  Anyways, I just wanted to say that I'm feeling a lot less like a failure.  It's cool to see her succeed at something she wasn't too thrilled about at first.  Smarties and high fives all the way!! 

This blogging business..

I have to say that doing a blog has proven that I am no longer computer savy.  I want to make my blog esthetically pleasing, but man, I've been doing a lot of fiddling and can't seem to get it how I want it.  Making it pretty is the scrapbooker in me.  I've done some digital scrapbooking on the computer so I've learned how to fiddle, but I seriously feel like I'm missing something on here.  It probably takes practice right?  I'm kind of getting tired of Facebook and how distracting it can be, so I'm trying to gradually make the shift to just doing a blog.  And if you want to read it, you can very easily.  Facebook is so distracting and overwhelming to me these days.  As a mom, I feel like if I use the blog as a sort of journal, at least there will be some record somewhere of all the exciting things that happen in our family.  Just the every day stuff.  Like for example, right now, I'm making a sorry attempt at potty training Eva.  It's just an emotional rollercoaster for me.  Yay! You peed on the potty!!!  Oh man, you peed on the floor again.  Oh yay, more pee laundry.  I guess that's the life of a mom in general.  It has it's ups and it's downs.  But after almost 5 days, I am still feeling fairly determined to get her trained!  There have been promising moments and discouraging moments, but I know she will get there eventually.  I kind of felt the same hopelessness at times with Emma and now she is so good at using the washroom and she even boldly proclaims that she's going to use the washroom as she runs up the stairs.  It's awesome!  Anyways, there's my thoughts on potty training and the fact that it will eventually happen. I have to have faith!!  Here's a picture of my Eva who has her own sense of style and is not afraid to show it!  This was at an open house at Emma's nursery school.  Eva makes herself right at home there.

What am I doing?

I wish I was a much better blogger. I can't seem to get in the groove. There are so many moms out there who have something so thoughtful or creative or updating on a hobby or something that they are working on. Sometimes I feel so plain and like I should be doing so much more as a wife and mother. Especially since I'm still on mat leave. I think I need to be more focused in on stuff, I get distracted and even though I'm busy all the day long, I still feel like I waste a lot of time. How is that? I chat on the rare occasion, I don't sit on here and play games. I did that more when I was pregnant with Benjamin. I watched a movie called Julie and Julia a while ago and it was all about Julie Child the cool chef and a girl named Julie in present day who decided to spend a year cooking one of Julia Child's recipe's each day. Then she would blog it and ended up with many followers. How do I get more out there? I want to be more than I am. Not in the material sense. I'm content with what I have. I just want to be more effective in my roles as a wife and a mother. I know that God is the only way to change myself. I can't do it in my own strength. I'll be praying and asking him more what He wants me to do. Am I to homeschool my children? Do I need to work more than just sleep shifts on the weekends? Is there something that I can do from home to create an income? Is there something unique that I can pursue as a job? Lots of questions that I need answers to, in His time of course. Anyways, thanks for listening and I'm going to post this now.

Eternity's Baaaaaaack!!

Yes, she has returned from a summer at her mom's house. We are pumped to have her back with us. In just a week's time she will officially be a highschooler!! Scary thought, but time just keeps marching on!! Tonight her and I drove passed Empire (her old school) and she said, "I can't believe that I'm not going there anymore." Ahhh, how sweet. She's coming to grips with getting older and moving on. Empire was a really good school for her. It was a scary thought at first since Empire had such a bad reputation. But it turned out to be a very good place for her. Good principal, great teachers and the secretary LOVED her, so that was a bonus :) We are not going into the teenage/high school years full of fear and dread. Instead we are excited to journey with her through these exciting years. The high school years don't have to be horrible and full of rebellion and attitude. Kids need direction and guidance and boundaries. She's a very good kid and we are blessed to have her living with us. It's already been 2 years since she moved here. Hard to believe. Anyways, we are happy to have her back.

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I feel that I need to post a couple recent family pictures on here. The one of us all dressed up is at Amy and Brian's wedding in June. The one on the porch is in Kirklake Lake, ON at the mining museum


Don't you just love that picture of Benjamin with his spikey hair? He was a couple days old there and after his bath his hair literally just went "POOF!". I had nothing to do with it!

WHOA! So, it's been a really really long time since I have updated our blog. Lots of reasons, really. I find Facebook to be all consuming and once I'm done on there I have no juice left. Life just gets busier all the time, so I guess I just have to make time to get on here. I didn't even know my password, so it had to be reset! I'm a silly girl!

First off, I must say that I have to put up some updated photos for sure! We have an addition to our family of girls!!! Baby Benjamin was born on April 23, 2010 at 11 pm weighing in at 13 lbs 2 oz. Yes, you read that right. THIRTEEN POUNDS!! I could tell you the whole story, but let me just say that I was priviledged to have a safe and healthy home birth. I have been fortunate to have all of my children at home. That is such a huge blessing! I love it and wouldn't have it any other way, unless of course I had to. I was actually at the hospital for a routine check up on the baby when I felt my first contraction. We came home and the labour progressive intensified through the evening. People have said to me, 'Most people go to the hospital when they go into labour. But you LEAVE the hospital!!' Yes, that is true. God knew that I did not want to be there, so He worked it all out. Pretty amazing :)

I will try to get on here more often. There is TONS to say and write about, but supper is just about ready and Baby Ben is squirming on my lap. So I have to go for now! But I will return soon, I promise!!