the best gift of the day....

Good Bye Ellison

We've had so many occasions lately, I think we've had cake every day this week it seems.

Yesterday was the celebration for Jacob's year end. He's moving up to middle school in September. I'll miss the school and the wonderful community that it is. We had a fun ceremony, pizza lunch and the kids had an afternoon dance ~ which Jacob said was boring. I think he and his friends went outside to play soccer. I'm so good with that! The teachers said something about each student, what their strengths are and something about who they are as a person. We just adore Jacob's teacher and have known him for about 5 years, he's such a strong academic and has a HUGE love of sports - they've watched world cup games during breaks for 2 weeks. What a fantastic role model he's been for all the boys (and girls too, but I love having men teaching in elementary with all the single parents homes there are).

It's blurry.. I'm not a photographer... you can tell how much Jacob likes standing in front of people receiving praise... as much as some other people in this family.
Mr. Drew even got recognition for coming in and drawing these sillouettes of all the grade 6's and he wouldn't stand up.

Off to the last day of school!!! YIPPEE!!!

Gratitude Monday

I haven't worked on my list every week. Being thankful, trying to find joy in the small things. Life sometimes takes over, it squishes out time to reflect and pray, it makes other activities seem more important than they are, it presses down with worries and concerns that matter and some that don't. The busyness of a day sometimes can't be avoided, but in some ways I can always find time to look up and see His face, if I'm looking.

155. the gorgeous sunset
156. fondant cakes
157. thunderstorms that haven't created any lightning struck fires but bring glory in their sound and energy
158. 2 more school days for my boy
159. working with my best girl Jan this weekend, she's the one who encouraged me to apply for the home care job where she also works. We rarely work together, but this weekend we even cared for the same dying woman together. She's is such a much better palliative nurse than me! And we had sushi for lunch!
160. a fun birthday party for my 15 year old, when I was so worried how it would all go
161. being reminded that sometimes things happen because there is a battle going on in this world and someone is fighting against us.
162. seeing other people's lives circling out of control and breathing a sigh of relief that I was raised with simple common sense. Lots of questions of how to care for this girl whose life is unraveling. My caring husband helping her feel a bit more safe we hope.
163. sunshine and cherries getting red and juicy!!
164. pizza
165. one 12 year old boy we're trying to love who spent some time over here on the weekend, and my funny girl who changed his cell phone "desktop" display from "I kick a--" to " I kiss puppies"

Cake Boss

Erin has been experimenting with fondant icing! She's loves the "Cake Boss". I've only tried fondant once, so I'm SUPER impressed with her initiative and results. She's working me right out of a job, making her own birthday cake while I'm at work! Cute hey!

Then she used some of the leftover fondant to make this soccer cake for our start of summer soccer team party! Jacob added some goal posts. Kevin made the invites for this party and wondered AFTER the party was over WHY he made it so long, and a lot of the boys couldn't make it.

She finally had a few girls over to celebrate her very belated birthday party. June has just been way too crazy to find a weekend that was free.

A late night snack for the girls who stayed to watch movies was the only part of the party I had to do this year! What on earth is happening to my motherhood job?? All I did for the soccer party was get out some paper plates and ketchup. I guess I should be thankful I've taught them so well :)

Jacob's playlist

Jacob has this catchy little diddy on his video MP3 for easy listening on ALL occasions, and I mean ALL. We're still taking dibs on what language it is. The English lyrics crack me up, it's like bad electronics safety tips translated from Chinese.

this door closes...

The grade 6 class got to spend the day at Green Bay Bible Camp playing together and having fun. I can't seem to get shots of Jacob that aren't like this... at least he looks like he enjoyed himself. We'll call it an action shot. No, his finger is not up his nose.

but I did manage one when he was trapped...

I think it's called "failure to launch".

And I missed him going up the wall because I was too busy talking... imagine. But here's a great smile on our neighbor boy. He also does 100 m sprints in those shoes(untied) and places well at the top.

16 con't

I can't even get my whole blog post done at once. Here's a few additions from our day we spent together on our anniversary :) So glad the kids were still in school on Friday. Yes we're wearing long sleeves and it's June!

This is the way I always see him...

We'll live in this house and drive this when we're old.

16...

We were married 16 years ago today at 11 am. Well probably at about 11:41 he kissed the bride - it was a long ceremony compared to some nowadays. I was 12 minutes late for a wedding once (it was a friend of a friend of mine, I was her "date" - she was late) and we walked in to, "you may kiss the bride".

This 16th year has been one of our most challenging yet. We've spent a lot of boring time, frustrated time, worried time, and questioning time together this year. But never once have we questioned that we love each other and we'll get through it. That we will still be together, that God has brought us together. So here's to 16 years of hanging out with my buddy, my best friend! The one who listens to all my complaining and dumb comments, who still thinks I'm fantastic on a bad day, who encourages and in his calm, never endingly secure and even keeled manner keeps me centered. His creative, but brilliantly mathematical mind never ceases to amaze me, I know where our daughter gets it from. Even in the midst of doubt, there are things that will always be. God loves us and we'll always have each other.

what boys do best...

We got a load of sand for some stuff around the yard and before we could turn around and fill another wheelbarrow load, the remnants of the pile had been turned into this...


I love that boys are so self entertaining. It takes so little to make them happy. A little water, a little mud, and they're good to go for hours. Who needs Playstations and Wiis? We sure don't!

Apple Bowl

100m

800m

I think the annual track meet has got to be one of my favorite days of the school year. It's so fun to go out and watch the kids have fun, try different events and visit with all the other Moms - that is the best part :) Everyone tends to get so busy with their lives and we come and go dropping and picking kids up, but don't always get to see each other. After 10 years in the same elementary school community, it's just a great place to be together with the women I've raised my kids with, oh ya and try to keep 26 grade 6 boys in the right place at the right time, that was my job this year. This was my last one, so I was especially out to enjoy the day!

There are some very diverse characters in this bunch,
can you tell? Oh I love these boys.

Grade 9 Grad

What a fantastic day! It started out with getting flowers - it's not every day I get flowers, and they weren't even from my mother or my husband! What a TOTAL surprise!

Thanks you know who you are!

She was lovely!

A dear friend sent a corsage that was so perfect and her favorite shades of blue.
It ended up in her hair, I knew you wouldn't mind! She was afraid of smashing the orchids.

I know... I'm sorry about bragging on my kids so much lately.... but Erin received an award for the top mark in the school on the Pascal math exam- the 25 top math students wrote this national exam. Plus she got a medal from the University of Waterloo, who hosts the contest, for being in the top 20% of students that took the test nation-wide. She ranked 2900 out of 26,000 top math students in the country. My nerdy husband graphed it on a bell curve. She was so embarrassed, but proud of herself too!!
Poor girl, beating out all those boys.

What a gorgeous bunch of young ladies!

My boy has such a soft spot for little kids. He is so great with them and has had a lot of people comment at how patient and caring he is with younger ones. I think he'd make a great teacher one day. The cutest little 5 year old boy (he's probably almost as cute as Luke Dukes) gets babysat across the street and rides the bus home with Jacob and is often at the door asking to play, who is always obliging. Today as we drove in from Costco, he runs over to ask Jacob could he please borrow J's mini bike. "Of course you can", and as he's walking in, Jacob says, "Who can turn down such a cute little guy like him?" It was such a grown up comment and so sweet! As soon as he had the groceries carried in, he was out there himself :)

Happy Birthday to my 15 year old!!

Some sibling love (they wouldn't hug even though I asked nicely), that's as good as it gets at this age. They were sharing a cake for Erin's birthday, the grandparents were here so we thought we would honor them both.

I am trying to learn this video making software for a grade 6 end of year presentation, so here's my little sample movie I made for turning 15! It could be titled, "These are the Horses I've Loved".

Gratitude Friday

I will try be thankful, it'll be good for my soul:
148. my children
149. I'm not very thankful for it, but it's raining again today. I know that it's so in August our hillside doesn't look like this

that's smoke not cloud!

150. 12 more days of lunches to make for 2,
then 4 more days for 1 boy
151. shoes and jewelry have been bought for the grade 9 grad, we're all set!
152. that my body felt good running today after fighting against different ailments for weeks
153. the tall wavy grass along my walking route
154. that tomorrow is always a new day

I can't get very far in my list, but I tried.. today was not a good day......

..........I just couldn't post this last night. The day was one where we both just were about done with it all. Hitting the bottom of feeling like we know what to do next. Not feeling like God was giving any answers, but to just keep trusting that He is all we need.

But today is a new day!!! I didn't realize the power of those words I wrote yesterday!
Thank you Lord. Kevin's license to work cross border was approved Thursday (and they just told us today)!!!! After 3 months of waiting for that, not knowing for sure if it would actually happen, and wondering if we should wait or pursue other options, feeling like if it wasn't approved we would have waited all in vain. Then having another option fall flat in our faces yesterday and me feeling totally burnt out. Always God's timing is perfect. So I will be thankful that we are all healthy and strong, and have faith and love and maybe now even a JOB!!! Start date TBA....

Exodus 33

There's a story of old that tells of a people who believed in their God, but many a time they doubted and struggled and wandered aimlessly. They couldn't keep focused and were so easily led astray. I try with all my might to fight against those same tendencies, and have to re-focus so often, to live and be Hebrews 10:23. These people also had leaders who were real, who failed, who believed, and who sometimes made huge mistakes.

But this particular story was not one of them... that leader raised in the palace of Egypt, we all know him, Moses, he felt often so inept. Finally his people were close, they were going to step into their promise, the land flowing with milk and honey that they had waited 40 years for, but not because they had done so well. Only because their God always keeps His promises. So Moses was told to go and get it, everything they had always wanted, but there was a catch. Isn't that always the way? God wasn't going to go with them, He'd had enough of them and their stubborn ways. But in all his wisdom, Moses knew, they needed HIM, the GREAT I AM. They couldn't do it alone, they had tried. And so he turned God down, he refused the deal. He gave up everything so that he and his people could still have God's presence.

"Then Moses said, 'Now show me Your glory." Can you imagine seeing God's glory the way Moses did? I would sometimes like to more fully know that He's here - I mean REALLY here, when there are so many days that feel absent. "When my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back, but my face must not be seen." His hand was on me!

My Bible study girls ~ that I just love~ were discussing the rock and the being hidden by God's hand, and I came across this photo yesterday. How cleft-ish! Cleftomania! (oops I digress, that's a geocache my husband and his brother hid). A little man-made looking, but a perfect hiding spot from seeing God full ON!

GLORY! I want to refuse the deal too!

this and that...

I didn't know if I should title this post "things that are white", "Kevin is really bored", "you really can take a photo of anything" or "EGGS".

PS. the sun is shining today!! Maybe we can take the stormtroopers outside!

ohhh Summer, where are you?

I long to feel you warming my skin... filling my heart with much joy, and freshly picked fruits.... bringing sunshine to my soul.... making my children want to play outside....






We will be patient.... we are learning a lot of that this year.... but please come soon!!