As For Me And My Home

This and That......

2012-01-07T22:01:00.002-05:00

A few random tidbits:

* Our library branch is closing for 6 months due to renovations. When I mentioned this to Luke, I was surprised by how upset he was at this news. I guess I should not have been. Ever since he was a wee thing, we make weekly or biweekly treks to the library. The librarians know him. They pretty much rock. But our branch IS overdue for a rehaul. And so while we will miss it for the next 6 months, we'll look forward to its grand reopening. I have a feeling we'll just have to have a Celebration Dinner to celebrate! We truly are book nerds in that way.

But because Luke was so upset at losing his library, I took him to a branch that we'd never been to before - and its almost as close as our regular branch (just in the opposite direction)! We made an afternoon of it and we were VERY pleased!! The children's section is bigger and cozier! Luke was mollified - especially when he asked the librarian at the childrens desk to show him where the books on ancient China were, and she talked to HIM (and not me) and spent quite a bit of time showing him around. I think we've found our new second home for the next little while!

* Luke has already received some donations for his fundraising Project!! Several of his friends have already given him money towards his project. He's so excited and is busy drawing and coloring "Thank You Pictures" for everyone who is contributing to the cause! At this rate, we will be making a visit to our local Children's Hospital very soon with our donation.

* In my little goal to write more handwritten letters, I've gained 3 penpals! I've already received two letters in the mail that I'll be responding to this weekend. I can't tell you what a joy it is to receive letters in the mail! We need to start a letter writing revolution!

* I just finished reading Mary Emma & Company and what a delightful little book it was! I knew right from page 41 that the widowed heroine of the story, Mary Emma, would be a kindred spirit. This is a story about a family who uprooted and moved from Colorado to Massachussets in 1912 and how they industriously made a new life for themselves. It was a VERY inspirational read.

And about page 41? Mary Emma was quote on that page as saying to her children: "Until you are all grown and ready to have homes of your own, I will not be separated from you children for a moment longer than is absolutely necessary. That means that we must find some way of making our living in our own home."

Highly recommended book. I can't wait to read the rest of the books in the Little Britches series.

Random Thoughts.....

2011-12-28T20:03:00.006-05:00

* For those loved ones who took the time to send me a gorgeous Christmas card - THANK YOU!

I had every intention of getting my family's Christmas newsletter emailed/sent out before Christmas.

Somehow that did not happen.... Expect it very early in the New Year instead!

* I've discovered my latest addiction: Goodreads. I had signed up a while ago, but somehow I didn't fully understand or appreciated its full awesome-ness till now. I think it'll be a great way to keep track of the books I want to read, plus I think it may give me that forum I crave in which to discuss the books that I read with others!

* My son received a paint-your-piggybank except it was a dino bank. It turned out beautifully. Thank you Aunt Chery for such a Lukey kind of a stocking stuffer! He decided he wanted to use it as a bank to put money for sick children.

I seriously adore that kid!!

Here are a couple of pictures of the piggy bank and the sign that is now proudly on display in our hallway. When the piggy bank is full we will cash it in and bring it to CHEO.

*I've been enjoying some cozy days and nights indoors these past couple of days. I find that the nearer that the New Year draws near, the more I become introspective in reviewing how the old year went and thinking about how I can make positive changes for the new year (or what things I'd like to remain the same).

I know that no matter what 2012 will bring some pretty big changes. Definitely with my job. Possibly with my home. Change can be hard for me to deal with - especially change that I don't initiate on my own! So I know I'll need to gear myself up to ride out some of these changes.

* Last night an old friend, Jenn, came by for a visit. It turned out to be one of my very favorite Christmas gifts. I felt intensely ministered to. She came in with a huge bag of food and some wine. Almost immediately she went to work in making this amazing dinner of rolled up chicken breasts stuffed with goat cheese, sundried tomatoes and other yummy goodness. She poured us glasses of wine and we chatted for several hours. It's so hard to describe how "cared for" I felt. There were a couple of friends who made me feel that way this past year and I'm immensely grateful to them. And I don't mean that they necessarily showed they cared via grand gestures.... I'm talking about those who took the time to check in with me, to call me, poke me. The friends who took the time to let me know that they genuinely wanted to get together with me and my family. The friends who dropped off rhubarb crisp and ice cream just because.

And as the night ended, I found myself thinking that I really should invest more in these friendships and not be such a neglectful friend. I really can let days and days and weeks and weeks go by without checking in with my loved ones.

I want more of these types of occasions where my friends feel SOOO at ease in my home that they drop by just because. And where they feel comfortable enough to bustle around my kitchen and make themselves a cup of tea while we chitchat. Where sharing a meal at the table is a regular occurence and not just a rare, special occasion.

THESE are the random things that I find myself pondering as 2011 comes to a close!

Christmas Delights

2011-12-25T15:32:00.007-05:00

Merry Christmas to all of my loved ones who may be reading this. I hope that your Christmas Day is filled to the brim with all of the people and traditions you hold most dear. I can say with honesty that my Christmas has indeed been filled to the brim with these very things! I am feeling extraordinarily blessed today that I could not help but come to my little writing spot to share.

Last evening we went to our church to celebrate Christ's birth with our church family. Friends of ours (2 different families) who do not attend our church attended with us, as well as my parents. And then we all came back to our home for appetizers and a birthday cake for Jesus! It was so nice to share my most favorite day of the year with others!

This morning, Luke and John slept in a bit and I was able to have some reading time with a cup of coffee by the tree. Bliss. Its the little things that are so comforting, isn't it?!

Then later Luke opened his stocking and I was tickled pink with how genuinely delighted he was with its contents. Contents which are very ordinary little things - nothing spectacular: His organic shampoo and body wash, a new toothbrush, undies, a little bag of our favorite tea, a box of Star Wars bandaids for the healing basket, socks, little package of chocolate turtles and even a can of flaked ham from his nanna and poppa (a gag gift which made Luke laugh). Notably missing from his stocking was his yearly handknit facecloth - which I promised would be finished by tomorrow (I'm late this year!).

The next thing Luke wanted to open was the large gift from "Santa": A box of Lincoln Logs purchased second hand from kijiji. Its safe to say that this gift is a huge hit!!
In fact, its now 307pm and Luke still hasn't noticed that he has other gifts to unwrap!! What a kid! I LOVE that it takes so little to please him. I know that when he's older - his expectations will grow - but for now, he is truly ecstatic with the few things we have chosen for him.

****

His remaining gifts, when he finally gets around to opening them:

- A beautiful handmade maple recipe box and a super cute personalized apron to go with it. I will be giving Luke cooking lessons starting in the new year. This will go on for many years. But each time he masters a recipe, I'll handwrite it out onto a recipe card to place in his wooden recipe box along with the date. The hope is that by the time he is ready to move out, he'll have a box full of well-loved recipes and memories of cooking with his momma to take with him.

- Steven Caney's Ultimate Building Book - a SUPER cool book for any budding engineer!

- Uno Card Game

- cool UFO pajamas from The Children's place and a new outfit (hoodie and pants).

****

As for me - I got two of the BEST gifts I could ever ask for!!

- A pressure canner! I've been wanting one forever. Now I'll be able to can all of the soups and broths
I make instead of them taking up valuable space in the freezer!

- A previously loved copy of The Hobbit !!! Sooooo stoked about this gift. Apparently, John was talking to his buddy about how he wanted to purchase a copy of it for me so that this can be our first family read aloud of the year. His buddy happened to have 2 copies of this book and offered to wrap one up for John to give to me. How awesome is that?? LOVE it. I cannot wait to start reading this to my two men. ESPECIALLY since I've seen the trailer for the Hobbit movie, coming to theaters next December! It looks amazing!

****

John received some Old Spice. With all of the expensive colognes out there, he's still an Old Spice man. I love that about him.
And I bought him a book to enjoy with Luke: The Book of Man: Readings on the Path to Manhood
And last but not least he received the traditional box of his very favorite chocolates: Turtles!!

****

Tonight we go to my parents for Cheese fondue and Black tower. (Black Tower wine must always be consumed with cheese fondue!!) Tomorrow we have my entire family over for Christmas dinner.

It's been a wonderful Christmas so far; filled with all kinds of Christmas delights.....

Dinner Time Fun...

2011-12-21T18:31:00.001-05:00

Conversation at the dinner table this evening:

Luke - "We're eating the earth for supper!!"
Dad - "Oh yes? Why do you say that?"
Luke - "Because the cheese layer is the crust, the potato layer is the upper mantle, the corn is the lower mantle and the meat is the core."
Dad - looks at me,eyebrows arched.
Me - shrugging, "we learned about the earths layers a while back."
Shepherd's Pie in our home is now known as Earth Pie....

And speaking of the dinner table, we have a number of books and resources that we'll sometimes read from during family dinners. One of them is a favorite. Its called The Just a Minute Omnibus: Glimpses of our Great Canadian Heritage. The stories are quite short and just really fascinating historical glimpses into our Canadian history....

Our Woodland Christmas Tree!

2011-12-19T07:30:00.000-05:00

On Saturday we got together with 6 other families to decorate a tree for the birds and the squirrels along a hiking trail that we use quite frequently. In fact it was the exact same tree that Luke and I decorated last year. It was neat to notice how big it had grown.

It was a pretty fun event - we bought Tim Horton's Take Ten Coffee and Hot chocolate so that we could all have some "warmings" (as Luke calls hot drinks) on this first cold day of winter!
Good times....

I have some amazing pics of all of the children in front of the tree - but I won't post it without their permission.....Here are some other pictures:

The pictures below were taken by my friend Andrea (she has a good eye, doesn't she?):

A Couple of Resolutions for 2012

2011-12-17T07:53:00.001-05:00

I wanted to mention 2 little resolutions I'm going to make for 2012. I have a longer list of goals for 2012 that I'll share at a later time - but I wanted to talk about 2 related resolutions that I'd like to work on..

1) Help revive the art of letter writing...I mean letters that are written on paper and stuffed into an envelope and mailed. I do realize that there are many people who have never seen a letter that wasn't electronic in a very long time. Our children may in fact grow up to never know experience old-fashioned letter writing with a pen and paper. Wouldn't that be a tragedy?? In fact I understand that some schools don't even teach cursive writing any longer.   I'll save that particular rant for another day.

I'm feeling compelled to do my part in reviving this lost art. We need something to look forward to when walking to our mailboxes.   We need to encourage our children to write letters as well. I'm thinking a modest goal of writing a letter or 2 per month would be quite easy to start with? Let's not be the generation that lets the gentle art of letter writing fade away completely!

2) My second resolution is to start a family journal. I first read about this idea on Passionate Homemaking here: http://www.passionatehomemaking.com/2011/10/24-ways-and-reasons-to-keep-a-family-journal.html. I love the idea of having a book that can also serve as a guest book, where each member of the family can record little family moments.   How awesome is that?   We already have a Family Celebration journal where I write about the times that result in us lighting our celebration candle for dinner. But I'd like a place where we can record thoughts and moments that aren't necessarily considered a celebration. Now that Luke is starting to write as well, I think it will be the perfect year to introduce this new tradition.

I'd love to hear about your goals that pertain to writing! Drop me a line!

A Very Small Exercise on Doing Without....

2011-12-13T09:14:00.000-05:00

About 6 months ago, we chucked our microwave. It was quite old, having been gifted to us a number of years ago from a dear friend who had ALSO owned it for a number of years. I started to wonder about radiation leakage and all that....LOL!! So we decided to play it safe and throw it out.

At first we were going to immediately replace it because we've never NOT had a microwave. But then I decided to hold off and see if we could get along without it. To my mind it was a glorified coffee warmer and popcorn popper. I have a popcorn maker and a carafe to keep my coffee warm - so why not try and see if we truly needed it?

There was about a week where it was touch and go - we realized that we used it a bit more than I had thought - especially to warm up leftovers. And that we would now need to build in a bit more time to reheat using the stovetop or oven.

We are now 6 months without a microwave and we don't miss it at all! We can do pretty much everything on a stove (imagine that!) or other appliances.

Although there is a pretty cool experiment I've been wanting to do with Luke using an Ivory bar of soap and the microwave (have you seen this one?? Looks neat)..... but I guess we can hold off on that for a while...

In any case, it was a pretty cool exercise on trying to do without something that you never thought you could...

How to Build a Better World

2011-12-12T13:22:00.000-05:00

“Your task… to build a better world”, God said.
I answered, “How?
The world is such a large, vast place
so complicated now.
And I so small and useless am;
there’s nothing I can do”.
But God in all his wisdom said,
“Just build a better you.”

–Anonymous

Ideas I'm Pondering....

2011-12-11T18:05:00.004-05:00

I thought I'd start sharing some of the ideas and quotes I've recently jotted down in my Commonplace journal. Little ideas (some big ideas) and quotes that I've come across in the books and websites I am currently reading. Some of them will intertwine and relate to one another; more often than not they will be random and haphazard. And it should definitely be noted that these are ideas that I'm PONDERING.... I'm neither advocating them or countering them here... just sharing some ideas that I felt compelled to write down so that I could think about them a bit more.

Book Quotes:

From "Failure to Connect" (Jane M. Healy, Ph.d):

Neil Postman's "book Technopoly presents a strong case that change, per se, does not necessarily represent an advance. 'Stated in the most dramatic terms, the accusation can be made that the uncontrolled growth of technology destroys the vital sources of our humanity. It creates a culture without a moral foundation. It undermines certain mental processes and social relationships that make human life worth living.'" (italics are mine)

"Philosophical arguments aside, what we really need to think about is how to prepare our children for life in an information-loaded but depersonalized landscape. Is it by connecting them to computers or by spending comparable time on giving them an early grounding in humanity? As one thoughtful scientist and father mused, 'should I spend the money on cello lessons or video games?' Not enough people are asking these questions." (italics are mine).

Other Quotes:

From Rachel and Oliver DeMille's A Thomas Education Blog post titled "The Key of Keys in Leadership Education" :

Allan Bloom wrote in The Closing of the American Mind that:

“People sup together, play together, travel together, but they do not think together. Hardly any homes have any intellectual life whatsoever, let alone one that informs the vital interests of life. Educational TV marks the high tide for family intellectual life.”

Old Routines

2011-12-10T15:20:00.000-05:00

This past week, I was on training in the next province very, very close to our very first home that John and I purchased together - 19 years ago!! It brought back such bittersweet memories for me to drive there every morning on my way to the training centre.

We lived there for the first 5 years of our marriage and I have some very fond memories of that first home. It was in a beautiful location on the very edge of a huge provincial park. And one of things I remember most about living there was how much John and I used to walk. In fact it was our routine to go for a walk almost every single night after dinner for about an hour or more. We had a dog at the time and so of course that forced us to go for walks.

Another thing that I remembered living there was how much more simple our life was... yes it was before children, however I think it was more than that.... we didn't have a computer then... and we only had a small tv. We had no dishwasher - so we did the dishes together. There were fewer things to distract us.

In the evenings after our walk, since I didn't have a computer, I would sit in the living room and knit and chat with John or read. Or we would sit on our front porch with cups of coffee. If John was working evenings, I would make myself a cup of tea and sit in one of the chairs in our bedroom and read or write. It was a MUCH quieter lifestyle indeed. And yet I never remember feeling isolated or lonely...we chatted with our neighbors and on weekends we visited with friends.

When I talked about it with John last night, he immediately suggested that we start going for evening walks again after supper. He remembers that tradition with fondness as well! So last night, all three of us bundled up to go for a long walk. It was lovely do see everyone's Christmas lights.

In the new year, I'm going to review our calendar and see how I can ensure that we have at least 3 evenings per week where we have nothing planned except to have family dinners, go for long walks, read books and chat. Sometimes old routines are the best.

Is it Okay to Voice an Opposing Opinion (Part 2)

2011-12-05T10:39:00.006-05:00

Yesterday I started to talk about some of the reasons that make it difficult in today's culture to voice opposing opinions and ideas without stirring up negative feelings. I'll continue with a second reason that I believe has had an impact on this phenomenon. And I feel the need to point out that this article is merely an opinion - I've not conducted any real research on this topic. It's just something I've pondered recently.   Okay - so onto the second reason...

2) Technology! More than ever, our social norms are being carved and shaped by the new technologies that we employ. As much as technology has served to make life 'easier' for us in many ways; it has also been a disservice to us in many more ways.   It has literally sped up life in a way that would make our ancestors heads spin. Everything is bite-sized and instantaneous: emails, facebook statuses and twitters, cell phone texts, faxes, tv channel surfing.... we even love our movies to be fast paced and we want 24/7 access to all of this. And the end result is something that many scholars refer to as an epidemic: the loss of our attention span.

Compare this hyper-speed rhythm with that of slowing down to leisurely read a book and ponder its ideas. Or sitting with a friend over a cup of tea to discuss great books and ideas. Who makes time for these things? I recently have been trying to start a Classics book club where we would get together once a month in person (yes - in person!) to discuss great books and their themes and ideas. The very people who spend hours surfing the internet and updating their facebook statuses every day do not have the desire to create time to get together for an hour once a month for enriching face-to-face interaction! We are becoming a society who is losing the ability to socialize in an organic way. The person who has 423 facebook friends might rarely spend time discussing thoughtful ideas with 5 of them face-to-face. We would much rather stay behind our computers and cell phones it seems.

When we do get together - we never have time to get beyond the surface level stuff. We discuss our facebook statuses "Oh I saw your status - did you get your shopping all done?" And rarely do you see people letting go of their grip on their blackberries and iphones even while visiting in person. Never mind that there is the opportunity in the 'here and now' to make deep connections - they are worried that they may miss out on a 20 second text from someplace else. So there is the constant distraction of technology even if we DO get together in person.

All of this just serves to keep us from discussing ideas. And getting too deep. If you never get beyond the 30 second facebook check-ins with friends, you certainly never get to the point where you are discussing relevant topics of any depth or great books and their ideas.

And so IF someone DOES interject into this warp speed way of life with a thoughtful opposing opinion (although its a miracle that anyone would have the time for that)- its no wonder its not welcomed for what it is - a chance to slow down and ponder.  We are immediately irritated with this blip in our fast paced life where we never have to get tooo personal and where we are all busy accepting one another from behind the shelter of our technology!!

I hope that I connected those two ideas effectively: technology and its impact on the dying art of exchanging opinions and debating them. Its often hard to get my thoughts clearly down in writing... and I feel like I've only just briefly touched this topic - there are so many other facets to how technology is keeping us from deep conversations. But I already feel like this post is getting super long....

Besides, I've received 4 email notifications and I really MUST go and check them out!!! GRIN!!! Just kidding!!

What can we do to change this phenomenon? Because we each have more impact than you may think. I've once heard that our actions can have enough of a ripple effect to impact up to 25,000 people!! So here are some ideas:

1) Take the time to read great books. Classics. Read them yourselves and read them aloud to your family. Reading great books is kind of like expanding your palate - you need to give your tastebuds time to adjust but they will adjust!! You just need to keep exposing different flavors! Just because your kids only want to read vampire and zombie books right now - don't give up on exposing them to great works of literature. They WILL aquire a taste for the finer things in life!

2) Take the time to ENGAGE in discussing these books. Venture into the GREAT CONVERSATION that leaders have been talking about for centuries. It will feel awkward and contrived at first. It still does to me. But it will in time expand our minds and become more natural! Engage even those friends who are not reading the same books as you!

3) Turn off the tv. Invite people over for tea or coffee to discuss ideas! Radical eh?? A gathering where the sole purpose is to converse!

4) If that seems like too much of a jump, then invite friends over for a board game where conversations will develop and flow....

5) Open your home more often to invite different people over for a meal and try and engage in different topics - be bold and talk about the no-no's: Religion and politics!! This is a BIG step out of my comfort zone - but how enriching it would for Luke to break bread with people from all walks of life!

6) Its a very long process, and its a balancing act - but teach your children to examine different viewpoints offered to them. Its hard not to stay polarized in our position and its hard to remain teachable and open minded, especially when conversations get a bit heated.   But we must teach our children to look for the truth in others opinions and ideas. Conversely, there will be times after careful examination when we will decide to disregard ideas and opinions, in a gracious way.  All this takes years of practice - it won't happen overnight - but the main idea is to ensure that we don't let the art of conversation and gracious debate die away!

Many of these things are outside my own comfort level - but I think its vital - we are raising tomorrow's leaders after all!! Its imperative that we give them exposure to discussing, debating and even opposing opinions and ideas with real live people! We need to raise leaders who CARE enough to take the time discuss these kinds of topics with others. Lets snatch those game boys away (are they even called game boys any longer??) and create situations where we can meet with other families to chat about all sorts of  ideas and books!!

Is it okay to voice an opposing opinion??? The answer is a resounding YES please!! But take the time to first read quality materials, then take more time to reflect and ponder the ideas....and then try and discuss in person!

Oh and if any of you are interested in taking part in a Classics Book Club - please let me know!

Is it Okay to Voice an Opposing Opinion? (Part 1)

2011-12-04T06:01:00.003-05:00

Today I'm timidly venturing out of my comfort level (where I talk about our cute little family traditions and goings on) and approaching a deeper topic. I had an absolutely fascinating conversation with a colleague at work the other week. Its one that I'm STILL thinking about! I can't remember what prompted the topic... but somehow we landed up discussing the topic of "conversations" and how in todays society it is frowned upon to voice an opposing opinion. And the more I thought about it, the more saw the truth in that.   Much to our disadvantage, we've somehow lost the ability to share or offer an opposing idea without getting angry or passive aggressive or at least VERY uncomfortable. Even worse, sometimes we'll just remain mute rather than risk upsetting anyone with a different opinion instead of just calmly presenting an opposing opinion.

What a great loss to our education, to the development of our children.  The leaders of this world, the people who will bring about good and great change, must be able to freely OFFER and discuss ideas, share them, dissect them, oppose them, offer differing ideas.  Likewise they need to be able to RECIEVE differing ideas and feel comfortable in knowing how to evaluate them critically (and by this I mean from a "critical thinking" perspective) and they also need to EXPECT that their own ideas will also be debated and not accepted at face value.

When did disagreeing or debating come to be perceived as rude? When did discussing opposing ideas automatically come to be perceived as negative? I had no ideas to offer my friend at the time of the conversation.... but I've been pondering this idea for a while and I think I have at least a couple of ideas.

1) I think that we live in a society where it is impressed upon us to be ACCEPTING of everyone. I believe that our culture is becoming increasingly insistent that we accept other's opinions or who they are without argument or opposition. On some levels, I truly am a Live and Let Live kind of a gal... but I believe what's happened is that we ACCEPT on autopilot without truly thinking about what we are accepting. And because its now become so rare to have discussions where we are offering a differing opinion, when we actually venture to do so, its received as though we are not being accepting of the other person.   Or, (and I love this one!) the person offering the differing opinion is accused of not being open-minded (I guess, the insinuation being that being open-minded means vacuously accepting everyone else's opinions without deep though or reflection.)

In many ways, I believe we've become a society that has traded in its critical thinking skills and conversational skills so that everyone will be comfy and no one will feel as if they are not being accepted. I've talked before about how I can't even talk about ideas and topics that are relevant to my OWN family without someone taking it as a passive condemnation of THEIR lifestyle!!

Its also a slippery slope because while we are walking around being so careful as not to say anything that might cause someone else not to feel accepted, we become apathetic. We simply stop caring about the ideas we may have been pondering. Apathy is a very dangerous place for a society to be. An apathetic society is one that is very easily manipulated and in which our very rights and freedoms are at risk. But that's a topic for another post!

As well, if we're accepting everyone's ideas that means they must all be right.... and if everyone is right, is there any wrong? Most people will agree that we are a society where are very little "wrongs" any more. Because those wrongs always impede someone's right!

And so what do we talk about that's relatively safe? Pop culture! Twilight movies, funny youtube videos, facebook statuses, Pinterest Pins... very surface level, meaningless pop culture (even if it is fun!!)....  Which is driven by...

2) technology!!

I feel that our social norms are being shaped and carved by technology but its such a big topic that I'll talk about that in Part 2.

A Great Booklist for Boys

2011-12-03T06:00:00.000-05:00

I'll say up front that there are a couple of books on this list that I don't agree with (The Graveyard Book, for example).... but the remaining 48 listed here are on our To Read list and many that I'll be wanting to obtain for Luke's Library. If you are a parent of boys, you'll want to check it out. THESE are the kinds of books that make leaders out of men!

http://artofmanliness.com/2009/11/15/50-best-books-for-boys-and-young-men/

It's Advent Time!! And Other Little Tidbits..

2011-12-02T07:58:00.002-05:00

My favorite time of the year!! I adore the Advent season. For me, its a time when I consciously make the effort to slow down and ponder about what I feel Christmas is truly about. And what its not about!
Its not easy in today's society to keep Jesus as the focal point of Christmas! Yet I feel keenly that its what is needed most.

We have a few traditions that have become so sweet to us. Our Nativity set that we set up on the first day of Advent. Our advent wreath with 5 fresh white candles. Our stack of Christmas books and devotionals unpacked. And last but not least, a simple advent calendar that has 2 windows to open each night: the first window a Christmas symbol and behind the second window a small piece of chocolate!

Here's the picture of this year's advent calendar (you can't see the chocolate windows in this picture, which hang below the picture):

Every night we light the appropriate Advent candles, I'll share a Christmas story, read a portion of scripture and/or a devotional...and we'll all three sing a Christmas hymn or carol and then Luke will get to open his calendar windows - best part of his day! LOL!!

We've been more or less doing the same thing for Advent for the last 8 years. And every year, as I strive to slow down and settle my heart to ponder the Greatest Gift of all time, there comes a point where it hits me. And I find myself awestruck at what He's done for us. This point sometimes comes on Christmas eve..sometimes sooner..... but it always does come - this overwhelming awe for this Light that God has given us. A wondrous hope and a gift for all eternity. For ETERNITY!!
And to think it started with a wee child born in a manger! WOW!!

*******

I just discovered the 9th book in the Anne of Green Gable series!! The Blythes are Quoted. There seems to be a bit of mystery surrounding what is known to be L.M Montgomery's last piece of work. It was submitted to her publisher right before her death laid out exactly as we see in The Blythes are Quoted. However at that time it was deemed inappropriate to publish as is - perhaps because of the darker themes present, perhaps because of the times (WWII), perhaps because L.M Montgomery's message was not crystal clear with this enigmatic work. And so it was dissasembled and only parts of it were ever previously published. However thanks to the dedication of a few Montgomery fans, it was published in its entirety AND in the exact format that L.M Montgomery had submitted it, in 2009!

I've only just begun - but I was thrilled to BITS to find at the beginning, a poem that is referred to in Rilla of Ingleside (the 8th book) called the Piper. In the story, this poem was written by Anne's son Walter, who died in WWI. The poem had been alluded to several times but never actually written in the book. So it was an exciting start to this mysterious read!

I'll update as I finish reading it - I DO hope it can erase the dissappointment of The Story Girl which I just finished. I had such high hopes for the Story Girl because it is alleged to be the favorite of Lucy Maude herself... but for me the entire story felt extremely contrived and the descriptiveness just didn't ring true as they do in her other more notable works. I hope I don't sound blasphemous when I say that it almost didn't feel like an L.M Montgomery piece of writing!! In any case, not a book I'll be purchasing for our library.

But I WILL update you on how I like The Blythes are Quoted. I'm looking forward to seeing how her writing had progressed or changed towards the end of her life.

*******

Luke's latest passion is medieval history! We started learning about this era in our studies and he cannot get enough. He wants to see jousting in real life (can't wait till next summers Medieval festivals), he wants to read all about knights and castles and how people lived in these times.....Its been fun trying to find some fun activities, websites and books to supplement our curriculum!

*********

I'd stopped writing my little family newsletter during the past 2 years.... partly because I couldn't quite shake the feeling that it was a bit tooo boring, a bit too cheesy and like all family letters a bit too braggy..... and partly because I'd gotten lazy about keeping it up. But I've received 4 or 5 comments over the past 2 years from different people asking me when I would continue them.... and I really did like keeping in touch through this format, so I'm going to resurrect our family newsletter. If you are a friend or family reading this, and would like to be on the mailing list, be sure to let me know!

*********

Well I think I've written enough for one morning. Time to wake my little honeybear out of bed so that we can get started on our plans for the day! We are making elderberry syrup this morning!

I'll be back soon!! (sooner than a month I hope!!)

Love,

Trace

XXX

A Sunday Tea Party with the Stuffies

2011-11-06T21:35:00.000-05:00

After church today, Luke invited me to join him and his "stuffies" for a tea party. Then he promptly asked me to help him set it up. I initially was about to say no because I was feeling exhausted. But quickly changed my mind because he's never asked for a tea party and the phase in which he'll be willing to sit and have tea with his momma and his stuffies will be fleeting. All too soon he'll be too old (and cool) to do this. So I decided to make it extra special by bringing out Grandma's china (which will be handed down to Luke when he's older) and setting the table with flowers and a nice table cloth.

I think its safe to say that all of the tea party guests had a delightful time. And if one of the guests was oblivious that he was drinking Sleepytime Vanilla - well there was no harm done, right? :) It must have worked its magic because he actually took an hour nap which gave me a much needed little rest!

***

I just finished the book Same Kind of Different As Me. And wow - very powerful. Very touching and inspiring! I'd wholeheartedly recommend it!!

***

Since I was able to relax during Luke's nap, I decided to work on putting together my 2012 Booklist. I only have a couple more to finish for 2011. One book, I am unable to locate which is dissappointing... but all in all I have been very pleased with my 2011 book selections!! I really felt like I've learned a great deal this year. Several of the books really impacted me in a big way... and I really feel like some of the selections I've chosen for 2012 will do so as well.

I'll completely finalize the list by New Years Eve... but I'm feeling really good about the list as it is now.. so we'll see!

***

Here's our little Scarecrow!! This was Luke's costume for Halloween this year. We had a wonderful time this year for Halloween - we spent it with another family that we are quite close to, and I think its safe to say that our boys had a blast! We went to a glow-in-the-dark 3D indoor miniputt and then we had a treasure hunt in the dark outside in my friends' backyard where the boys collected some great little treasures and treats! And then we capped it all off by getting the boys in their jammies and watching Disney's The Sword in the Stone before heading home again.

Such wonderful memories were cultivated this evening! Memories I know we'll hold dear for quite some time!!

A Little Bit of an Update

2011-10-22T20:20:00.000-04:00

Oh my - I'm always surprised when I come to visit my blog only to find that it's been a month since my last visit/update!!

Here are some random bits going on within our household:

* I just got over the flu - I haven't had one like this in about 7 years. I get a gastro bug every year it seems - but nothing even close to being as rotten as the bug I just had... 5 days of high fevers, severe achiness, just nasty... so I'm hoping now that my immune system just got a little stronger after being exposed to that nasty virus. I DID get a lot of reading done, since I was bedridden.... I finished the entire 8 books of the Anne of Green Gable series!! Such a wonderful read...

* Luke and I just finished reading Mr. Popper's Penguins... I soooo remember that book as a child!! And Luke really enjoyed it. We wanted to finish it before today because our local family cinema was showing Mr. Popper's Penguins starring Jim Carrey today. Luke and I went to see it along with some members of our little playgroup. It was a cute movie - but I was very dissappointed in how little in common it had with the book. The plot differed enormously from the book... and even the major theme of the book didn't transfer into the movie... but all in all, it was a cute movie and we had a wonderful time.

* Work is still very stressful and we are still being told that there will be indeterminate job cuts within our little organization - so I still feel very stressed, not knowing if I'll be out of a job soon... especially since it was just announced that Procurement services will be centralized....

* Because of my job uncertainty, John and I have been discussing selling our home and moving to a much cheaper area (about 50 minutes out of the city!!) - where it would be possible to live off of John's salary if need be. We are going to spend the winter getting our home spruced up a bit - there are so many little things that need to be done - so that way when and if the time comes, we can sell quickly.
I love my current neighborhood - it truly feels like home - and the thought of leaving it really saddens me... but I also think that the next few years are going to be very trying for everybody - I think it will be smart to reduce our cost of living as much as we are able to. And besides, if we have to move - it doesn't have to be forever!

* Our trailer is closed up for the year.... sniff sniff.... we had a wonderful time up there this past summer... We're going to miss it. May seems so far away.... but we are looking forward to doing some hiking and snowshoeing on Saturday mornings now.... and we have the NAC Kinderconcerts to go to over the next 5 months....and we also look forward to getting back to our beloved Sunday routine - church and family dinners... and we hope to keep in touch with some of our campsite friends over the winter... so that will make the time fly by. :)

Random Thoughts..

2011-09-18T22:06:00.000-04:00

- We celebrated Luke's 5th birthday this past week. And somehow this year I did not go through an entire box of kleenex. I know - I found that odd too! I find myself in awe over how quickly he is growing... but the waterworks show just didn't make an appearance this year. In addition to the little beach gathering we had last weekend, we also took him out for dinner at his very favorite restaurant ON his actual birthday. His favorite restaurant happens to my favorite too - so I was quite pleased with his selection!

- We went to a local fair today - the same one we've been going to for the last few years. The weather could not have been more perfect. And I yet again forgot to bring my camera. In my defense, we went right after church (is that even a defense??). In any case - Luke won yet another monkey!! Every year since he was 2 years old he's played a carnie game and chosen a stuffed monkey for his prize. This is his 4th stuffed monkey. I think its safe to say its now a yearly tradition. I'll have to take a picture of his ~~group~~ troop of monkey's (I had no idea that a group of monkeys is called a troop) and post it. They are a cute bunch. Ooh-Aah, Eee-Eee, Ooh-Eee and Banana! Ooh Aah is still the favorite. That poor skinny little monkey is already getting a bit thread-bare. I have a feeling my mending skills will be sorely tried over the coming years.

- We lit the celebration candle a couple times these past weeks: the start of homeschool AND the fact that Luke is now standing to pee! This is a big deal to him. I taught him when he was young to pee while sitting on the toilet and he just always stayed with that habit (much to my delight - less cleaning for me!!) - but just recently he decided that he needed to stand. So it was cause for celebration according to him. We went along with it.

- Speaking of homeschool - Luke is really, really digging the Boxcar Children series (which is on our read-aloud curriculum). We are starting our 3rd one already. It's a really cute and charming series, written back in the 20's and 40's. Apparently there are over 100 books in the series, but only the first 19 were written by the original author Gertrude Chandler Warner (the rest, I believe are set in modern day times). I think we'll only read the first 19.... I cannot see how the original charm could possibly be retained by being set in modern times by a completely different author (I hate when they do that!!).

- Luke starts Beaver scouts this week. He's quite excited!! I hope he's blessed with a great teacher!!

- I'm rereading Anne of Green Gables. And oh - how I'm ADORING this book all over again!!! Miss Anne-with-an-E is SUCH a delightful character - I can't see how anyone wouldn't love her to pieces after reading this book...She is like an older female version of Luke with her very chatty ways. This of course is listed on my 2011 Booklist - and I'm looking forward to reading 3 more in the Anne of Green Gable series this year and the remainder next year. If you've only ever seen the movie - I would highly urge you to read the book - its SUCH a fine piece of literature and you'll be laughing out loud in no time!!

Learning at Home Update...

2011-09-12T21:25:00.003-04:00

We're entering our second week of learning at home and it's going great so far! Our curriculum this year is a pretty hefty jump up from last year but we are really, really enjoying everything so far!

Luke is really enjoying learning to print his letters... I was really surprised by how much he already knew - besides teaching him how to spell his name, and helping him to spell the odd word whenever he asked for help - I had not formally taught him handwriting until now! This week we are focusing on the letter B!

Today was a more relaxed learning day, and he spent some time making clay pots just like some of the early peoples did:

And then when he was done that, he turned it into Jabba the hut (even though I swear he's never heard of Jabba before). We are SOOO letting him watch Star Wars very soon!!

We also learned about the Water Cycle (or hydrologic cycle) and he found it rather fascinating to learn that the rain that fell in our backyard today or the water that he has in his glass is as old as the earth! And that we could be drinking water that dinosaurs drank long ago!!

Learning at home rocks!!

Beach Birthday Celebration!

2011-09-11T21:04:00.001-04:00

Luke's official birthday is not for a few days yet.. but we had a wee little beach birthday celebration at our campsite. When I asked him what he wanted to do to celebrate his birthday, he said he just wanted to spend it at the beach. I would have thought he would have had enough of the beach this summer... we spent almost every weekend there, and he played at the beach for hours and hours at a time.. but nope - this is what he wanted to do for his birthday most of all...so I could not deny him.
It was a tiny little celebration (I had to severely limit the number of friends he could invite) - but altogether wonderful just the same!!! Luke was surrounded by loved ones. We are blessed beyond belief!
Here is a picture of the birthday cake that The Cupcake Fairy made for him (in keeping with the beach theme:

A Sandcastle Cake!!

Love the little crab!

This was a bucket of cake and the seashells were edible and quite delicious!!

Luke LOVED having his own sandbucket full of cake!!

I can't believe he'll be 5 in just a few days.... oh I'll need to stock up on the kleenex - I just know it!.

Recipes as a Legacy or a Treasured Keepsake

2011-09-05T15:24:00.000-04:00

For some time, I've had it in my head that I'd like to create a family keepsake by compiling all of my family's BEST loved recipes and creating one big cookbook complete with pictures, little favorite sayings and stories....how amazing would that be to hand down to our children?
Another idea I've had is to give Luke a nice wooden recipe box for Christmas like this one: Ironwood Gourmet Acacia Wood Secret Recipe Box. Then we'd start cooking lessons in the new year. Starting with the most simplest of our family recipes of course. And then each time he masters a recipe on his own, I'd hand write the recipe onto a recipe card along with the date and place it in the box. The idea being, that by the time he is ready to move out onto his own, the box will be jam packed with handwritten recipes that he's able to make. And jam-packed with memories of cooking with his Momma.

Family dinners are so very important to me. Having Luke being nourished both physically but also emotionally by memorable family dinners is a legacy I want to pass along to him. Having a tangible record of this in the form of our beloved recipes would be a wonderful gift to pass down to him.

Here's a post from another blog that talks about something similar:
http://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/2011/09/creating-family-treasures-hand-written.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Down---to---earth+%28down---to---earth%29&utm_content=My+Yahoo

Who Am I Blogging For?

2011-09-04T07:43:00.004-04:00

Just a quick post this morning....I found myself up early this morning and one of my very first thoughts was that it would be nice to post a quick update on the blog. Just as quickly, my thoughts turned to insecurity: "oh that'd be boring for others to read" or "I'm already a black sheep in the way I think - perhaps I should just stick to something a bit more mainstream or quote unquote: normal?"

And that's when my brain put a big crashing halt on to where my thoughts were leading me....

Many times over the course of my blogging career I've noticed that I'm writing with an audience in mind. And just as many times, I make the conscious decision to stop writing for an audience and only write for me and my family. I've pondered many times over whether to make this blog private, for this very reason. Each time I've decided to keep it open to the public because it is nice for friends and family scattered everywhere to get little glimpses into what we are doing as a family and little glimpses about what is going on in my heart.

And to be honest, I would say that most of the time, I don't really care that I'm different. For the most part, I don't mind that my writing exposes my 'thought processes' as being very much deviated from the norm. I am truly a geek at heart and I'm absolutely fine with that. Most of the time I don't care how boring my posts may be to others.

But there are the odd moments such as today when I catch myself and realize that yet again, I've avoided writing for weeks on end because subconciously I'm afraid that I may come across as boring or "way out there".

And so, over a fine cup of dark roast, I re-read my disclaimer . I smile and nod my head. Yep - it still fits.

My blog may not be slick. It may not be clever. It may not be exciting. And I know that it's gotta be boring as all heck to those of you who may stumble upon it. But these are MY family moments that I'm recording. MY wee little thoughts that I want to capture before I forget. And these little tidbits are priceless to ME and someday my son may be interested in rereading about the delights of his momma's heart as she navigates through this tricky path called Motherhood and this tangled walk called Life.

And so, as we embark on a new school year, I'm re-dedicating this blog to me and my two men. It is for the three of us that I write. But mainly for me... :)

Weekend Recapped...

2011-08-29T22:57:00.000-04:00

Luke and I were supposed to go to the campsite this weekend. Its John's weekend to work, so he was going to stay home and go to work. But then when I remembered that he was working nights - I thought it would be nice to have the house to myself for a couple of nights. Now that Luke no longer naps, he's ready for bed by 700pm - so that would give me a few hours to work on some projects, watch my movies from Zip, have a beer and put my feet up. So that's just what I did!
On Friday night I watched Jane Austen's Persuasion (starring Amanda Root)...... - it had been a couple of years since I last watched it - and it was just as good as I remembered it!

On Saturday night I watched A Walk to Remember - wow what an amazing movie!!! I kept thinking that it would be such a great movie for preteens to watch in order to see a neat role model in a young woman who is comfortable in who she is and isn't afraid to let her faith in Christ shine. There were scenes with very brief vulgarity (and that dissappointed me to no end because I felt the movie sold out and had to add some sort of sexualization in order to appease the mass) but all in all - it was a really touching movie!! I really loved it!

I also working on putting together my family's 72 hour emergency kits. I'm slowly coming to the realization that I can no longer continue to put this important project off. It seems that you cannot turn around these days without reading about fires, earthquakes, hurricanes, etc, etc and the many people having to evacuate their homes for these reasons.
I almost have them completed -I will try and post pics once they are completed. They are much heavier than I'd like... especially Luke's... i don't see how he'll be able to carry it for more than a short while. Let's hope that we dont have an occasion where he'll have to do so!! John's is the heaviest of all, as he'll be carrying extra items and it's stuffed to the gills and he still hasn't packed any clothes in there - I think he'll need a bigger backpack. Once you get the water and food packed, there is barely room for anything else!! He also needs to pack some extra asthma medication and an epi-pen.

I also need to figure out what documents I need to pack and in what format.... a USB stick of scanned documents?? Photocopies of originals? Should I be renting a safety deposit box for our original documents and other valuables (of which we have very, very little)??

John and I also talked about how we should probably develop some sort of disaster plan for our family. Like where will our designated meet-up spot be? Odds are that if a disaster should strike, we won't all be together at the same time - so it makes sense to designate a sport nearby as a meet-up spot for small emergencies but for larger emergencies apparently it's smart to choose a meetup spot far away from our neighborhood.

It's a lot to think about and prepare.. but it feels good to finally get going with this important project!!

Where has the Summer gone??

2011-08-28T08:51:00.000-04:00

My poor neglected blog. I'm averaging a post once a month lately. Well, the end of summer means back to routines and I have no doubt I'll find my blogging groove once more. In the meantime here are some very random thoughts:

This summer sure has gone by in the blink of an eye though. And the weather has been glorious! We've spent much time at our trailer this summer. Luke has been a regular little fish, spending oodles of time in the water and digging in the beach. We also spent a week at a gorgeous cottage that we rented from a friend - which was really nice because it was quite private AND we could fish right off the dock. And fish we did! We caught enough to have a large fish fry - yum!! Speaking of fish fry - our trick is to mix pancake mix with beer - super easy and delish!

I was able to do loads and loads of reading this summer as well. I've updated my booklist to reflect what I've read so far. I think I may actually complete my booklist before the end of the year! And this may be the first time that I actually read every single item on my list... usually there are a couple that I never get to.

-------

So all in all - our summer was wonderful with loads and loads of free time. Bedtimes were flexible and routines were on hold. All organized activities were dropped and most of our free time was just that - free to do what we wanted. I LOVE having the freedom to do that. It may not be possible or feasible to do that every year - but its such a gift to have days that are not ordered by anyone else but our own family. If Luke wanted to spend 4 hours to build a sandcastle or hunt for frogs... if he wanted to jump off the dock 387 times in a row, he was able to. SUCH a gift!!

And I think it was because our summer days were so carefree that we are now VERY much looking forward to more of a routine! Luke has been eyeing our shelf of homeschool books - this years titles look VERY tempting - and has been repeatedly asking when school starts! He's starting to ask about his AWANA friends and when swimming lessons will begin again. And we're giving Scouts a try this year as well.

We've been carefully considering all of our activity choices and we've decided that we want to continue to safeguard our weekends and keep them as committment-free as we possibly can. This winter we want to do more snowshoeing and we also want to try X-country skiing as well! I think that will be the large Christmas gift to Luke and myself - X-country skiis. John is still on the fence about whether he wants to join us in the skiing. He still harbours hope that he'll get back to downhill skiing - even though he's the first to tell me that that its just way too expensive and not very convenient for us to always have to drive an hour away to get to a ski-hill. Its just not an expense that we can afford. I don't mean any disrespect for those who love the sport - but for our family - it just doesn't make sense for us to join a sport where you have to pay to play for each time. On our very limited budget, once we invest in the equipment - its nice to be able to participate in the activity free of charge and at a convenient location.... we have trails almost in our backyard that we can even walk to if need be!

In any case - we will probably reconsider downhill skiing in the future, mainly because it is such an important part of John's childhood and he wants to share that with Luke! I love that about him.

---

Jumping right along with my random-ness - I wanted to talk about a book that I recently read that was quite a surprise to me. Simplicity Parenting was a book that I added to my 2011 Booklist on a whim and, even at that, I had preconceived it to be another fluff of a parenting book that happened to capitalize on the simplicity trend. But I was wrong. Out of all the books that I`ve read this year, I think that this one will prove to have the most impact on our family. The author starts off a bit deep (which I LOVE) in explaining his research and why he deems it imperative that families try and live more simple lives. His research and theories are very compelling. But the book then talks about the many facets of our lives and how we can simplify them. He offers very practical and do-able suggestions. In reading this book, its very easy to see just how overly complicated we`ve let our lives become and how surely this must be impacting us and not necessarily in a good way.

One suggestion that we`ve `already adopted is regarding mealtimes. Every day is a different theme:

Mondays: Loaf and Ladle Nights (home made soups/stews and bread)

Tuesdays: Taco Tuesdays

Wednesdays: Pasta or Pizza

Thursdays: Cafeteria Thursday (I wrote about this tradition in the past - where we eat ALL of the weeks leftovers from the fridge and have icecream and toppings for dessert)

Fridays: Freezer Meal Friday

Saturday: wild card (anything goes)

Sunday: Roasts or casseroles.

Immediately it was comforting to both Luke AND John to know what to expect for dinner each night. If it's tuesday -it must be tacos! And for me, there is so much room for creativity within these boundaries. There are thousands of soup recipes that if I wanted to, we'd never eat the same soup twice..

And what I love about this is that it makes menu planning soooo much easier and yes, Simpler!!

In any case, its a book that I'd highly recommend.

---

Before I sign off this long-winded post, I'd like to once more ask for your prayers.

You'll remember that last year I was appointed to my position at work on an indeterminate, part time basis. Since then there has been a turnover in management (at all levels). And my managers/directors have made it known to me that they are not in support of having part-time positions. In fact my unit will be undergoing a re-organization and I can be fairly confident that this will mean that my position will be changed to a full time one. This has been a constant source of worry for me in recent weeks.

If I am forced to work full time, we will no longer be able to homeschool. To many people, this may seem like a minor change to adapt to. No big deal, right? Just enroll Luke in school, like 99% of the rest of the population, right?

EXCEPT (and its a big exception), that I feel so very, very called to homeschool. It was an enormous decision to make as a family, and its devastating to me to realize that it can be easily undone on the whim of someone who simply wants only full-time staff on her roster.

I personally don't know how things will go. To be very honest, it's looking very bleak for me to continue part time. But God is bigger than this and his plans are always better than I can even conjure up. (even if they don't alway seem so at the time!!).

I AM looking at various options, but the fact of the matter is, I need a job that will pay very well in order for me only work part time. That limits my options.

So I'm asking once more for your prayers. And support. And if you happen to be a millionaire reading this (with money to spare), paying off my mortgage would allow me to stay home with my family on a FULL time basis!! Grin! But if not, I will gladly take your prayers and ideas as well!!

Booklist Update

2011-07-28T11:37:00.000-04:00

I've just finished updating my 2011 booklist. I'm about half way through the list. I've really been enjoying this year's selections. I just finished the Great Gatsby last night, and can't believe that I'd not ever read it before now. I think that there is great value in reading and REreading the great classics as an adult. I appreciate and enjoy them a great deal more as an adult. Themes which my immature brain could not quite grasp in school, I'm now understanding a lot more. Although I'm sure, if I read the same classics in ANOTHER 20 years, I'll have an even greater understanding of them.... :)
In any case, I would love to find a local book club that discuss only classics. I've not yet found one - if anyone knows of one, please let me know!!

Here is a link to my updated booklist and my random thoughts associated with each read:
http://asformeandmyhome.blogspot.com/2011/01/book-list-for-2011.html

I've already started compiling my 2012 Booklist. So much FUN for this book geek!!
If you have any suggestions for my 2012 booklist, please let me know!

Still Alive and Kicking!!

2011-07-16T21:43:00.000-04:00

I can't believe its been 6 weeks since my last blog post. That's not like me!! I don't have any valid excuse... only that I've been busy with work and we've been at the campsite every weekend we can. Its been a glorious summer so far.

Some wee little tidbits (nothing exciting, I'm afraid!):

- our current family read aloud is The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe... the Narnia series is one of my most beloved of all books. Can you blame me for wanting to introduce Luke to it already?? This will surely be one of MANY times that we read this book... but I'm happy to report that he ADORES it!!!! I've kept the book on the bookcase in our trailer at the campsite, so we're only reading it on weekends.... but I do believe that this book was the first chapter book where Luke practically cried when I stopped reading for the evening...(and that was after reading 3 chapters!) My mommy friends who are book fiends, will gladly back me up when I say that there is nothing as gratifying as having your child ADORE the same books you do/did. One of lifes warmest moments indeed!!

- Rereading the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe has resurrected a childhood dream to learn archery (remember when Susan was given her bow and arrows from Father Christmas??)... I was talking it over with John and he encouraged me to find a class this fall so that I can finally learn! And as an adult, I think I will appreciate what a great survival/preparedness skill this would be!

- Luke has really been enjoying the outdoors this summer... he's taken an avid interest in fishing. He watches the Fishing Network with daddy like its cartoons, our campsite had a fishing derby for the kids last weekend, and he caught a few fish, he also has been going fishing with daddy as well.... there is a new dock at the campsite, so Luke has been spending hours jumping off the dock. Its been wonderful to watch him! Next weekend we're going to try kayaking with one of our campsite neighbors - can't wait!

- We went strawberry picking with friends a few weeks ago and made loads of freezer jam - which we shared with family and friends. I'm actually wanting to try the same recipe with raspberries - now that they are in season in Ontario. I love raspberries even more than I love strawberries - but I'd never thought to make raspberry freezer jam. I'll let you know how it turns out. One of my campsite neighbors made a batch of blueberry freezer jam - he has a jar for us - so I can't wait to try that one too!

- Is anyone else getting stressed and nervous about the state of the U.S economy? Its on the news every day lately, here in Canada and its featured in the papers quite a bit too. Our own government is taking drastic measures in order to reduce its 4Billion deficit - including cutting many, many public servant jobs (as a public servant - its a bit nervewracking). I can't help but feel a very heavy sense of foreboding lately....as a nation, and a continent, its been quite a few decades since we saw very hard times. I have a feeling that very, very hard times are ahead - the likes which we've never seen. Preparedness has been on my mind quite a bit in recent months. The average North American has no preparedness plan, no reserves, no means to survive even the most minor of hardships, let alone a catastrophic one. Anyone else having similar thoughts?

- On a completely different note - I just recently started using my treadmill again. I'm using it in the evenings after Luke goes to bed. I love watching my pvr'd television shows while using the treadmill, but I found that I had to blare the volume very high in order to hear it over my clip clopping!! So I purchased a wireless headset that allows me to watch the tv with no volume on. It AWESOME!! I'm not a tech-junkie, ( I STILL don't own a cell phone!!) but when I discover a piece of technology that really works for me, I get excited!! LOL!! And I even installed it myself! :)

- Have I mentioned the Book Depository before? If not, and if you are a reader who still reads actual books (as opposed to ebook versions), you will LOVE the Book Depository.com. They offer free shipping on all of their books worldwide!! And the service is wonderful. They ship as they recieve it in their warehouse, so your shipments will be likely be staggered if you are ordering multiple items.. but its all free shipping!! The reason why I mention this now is because I just ordered all of my summer vacation reading!! My 2 week holidays is coming up in August and I wanted to have my pile of books ready to go!

- I NEED to start taking some photos of our summer!! I rarely have any photos from the past few months.. a shame because we've been having such wonderful times. Time to get back into the habit of taking some snapshots!

That's about all I've got for now. I hope you are having a wonderful summer!!

Luke's Heartfelt Plea to God

2011-06-02T22:17:00.000-04:00

oh my little guy.....

He got a sliver today.... his first ever.. I tried to take it out with a pair of tweezers.. he wouldn't let me...
He had big, huge, fat tears... which always seems to undo me because he doesn't cry all that often... (whine yes, cry no! )

And then he said to me "Oh Momma, I have to go to my room to talk to God about this... alone"...

And up he raced...and I could hear his loud, urgent, achingly heartfelt pleas to God to help his finger to heal all by itself... it literally brought tears to my eyes!!! I felt sooooo relieved that he has such a pure and trusting faith in God... I can't tell you what a gift it was to witness this complete and unbroken faith in his Heavenly Father...

But then of course, I started to worry and prayed that this would not be something that would actually shatter his faith in God if woke up the next morning and found that his finger still hurt.... ya know???

So when he came down later, I talked to him about how sometimes God chooses to answer prayers by bringing us people who can help us... he listened to me.. but he still wanted me to leave his finger alone for now...

I seriously love that kid....

Productive Saturday!

2011-05-28T18:43:00.000-04:00

I got tired of waiting for sunny weather to start gardening... here's what I did with my front porch today...
I also planted tomato plants and zucchini plants and cucumber plants as well...

This morning we also went garage sale shopping and got some huge steals.. a really cute wooden chair for 50 cents that I'll repaint to put in the entrance way... a large child's backback (I'd been looking for one for Luke for a 72 hour emergency kit - I'm making one for each of us)... and a water fountain for $1.00 and some beautiful cloth napkins and a matching tablecloth for $1.00 as well!

All in all - a productive and yet relaxing Saturday!

Luke Graduates!!

2011-05-27T22:47:00.000-04:00

Well this entire month has pretty much flown by in a blur!! May is always a busy month for us.... a couple of special occasions to celebrate: My birthday (heeeheee), our wedding anniversary (18 years!!)...

And this year we added a new special occasion to celebration: A little graduation ceremony to celebrate Luke completing his first year of homeschooling!! We invited the grandparents over for dinner. They have been ever so supportive of Luke homeschooling and they take an interest in what he's learning and for this we are ever so grateful!! We had a special dessert ordered from the Cupcake Fairy of course!

And Luke recited his favorite poems of the year: The Commissariat Camels (Rudyard Kipling) and Hurt No Living Thing (Christina Rossetti). These poems were taken out of one his favorite curriculum books this year: Animals Animals by Eric Carle. It was chock full of poems about animals taken from all different sources and poets. And of course it contains Eric Carles famous artwork! This book will be kept for many years as we created such wonderful memories while learning the poems together...

And then after his recital, we presented him with a graduation certificate and a gift.

Here are a few pics:

Luke pretending to be serious, moments before reciting his poems.

Wait for it.... wait for it...

Ah, here is the obligatory Lukester funny-face only mere seconds later... !!

I LOVE the enthusiasm he put into his recital... this picture captured it perfectly!

Being awarded his diploma...

Awe, look at that happy face!!

He was so very proud of himself for the ENTIRE evening!! It was so cute!

Oh - ignore the big white spot - that doesn't appear on the actual certificate.. I just tried to blur the last name with my non-existent photoshopping techniques.. I actually used Windows paint.. LOL!!

Oh sweet boy - he opened the card first without being asked!!

So that was Luke's "Graduation" ceremony in a nutshell! The cutest part was to see how so very proud of himself he was... he was so excited to recite his poems for Nanna and Poppa!!

It was a wonderful year of learning for us both! An absolutely amazing experience! We are actually very much looking forward to starting our next year's curriculum.. both of us keep eyeing the books on our shelf and its taking a lot of willpower on both of our parts not to dive in right now! LOL!!

OH! And I should mention that we are ESPECIALLY looking forward to starting our next year's homeschooling year because one of Luke's best friends will also be homeschooling!!!! We are so excited!! And they are using the same curriculum as we are - so we already have plans to get together for some group activities...its going to be an amazing year next year, I can just tell!

But for now, we are pretty much easing into our summer routine! And looking forward to NOT having any formal activities or classes to attend for a wee while will be very nice!

Formal swimming lessons are over until September. AWANA is over until September - there was a little awards ceremony for that as well as next year Luke will be moving on up to Sparks - we got a little teary eyed at saying good bye and thank you to the amazing teachers he had for the past 2 years though! They were such amazing and kindhearted people. Luke absolutely adored his teachers and eagerly looked forward to seeing his friends each week!

All we have on the go right now is our neighborhood soccer program once a week till the end of June.. and then we will be completely living the care-free life (when I'm not working that is! LOL!!) until September! And from experience.. by the time September rolls around, we are more than ready to get back to our regular routine!

This summer we will be taking some time to learn about Africa since we are going to see the Lion King in July.

And we will also be learning about the Fruits of the Spirit...

but other than that, all of our learning will be taking place in the form of playing, gardening, hiking, swimming, camping and just being outdoors!

Bring on the summer weather!

Scattering Sunshine!

2011-05-02T18:40:00.000-04:00

Our little faith-based playgroup chooses a charitable project each month to work on. We choose projects that our children can get involved in. I know I've talked in the past about how vital it is to me that Luke grows up with a sense of responsibility to help others, and our family motto was even chosen with this in mind!! But truly, there is nothing more rewarding than to see our children working together to scatter sunshine within our community!

For our latest project we decided to do a food drive for our local food bank. My friend, who is the coordinator for these wonderful projects has a large dining room table and our goal was to see if we could fill it by the time the food drive ended. And we DID!! I'm so proud of our little playgroup!!

Rascal

2011-04-27T20:53:00.000-04:00

Another quickie blog post...I just wanted to take a minute to record the fact that we finished reading our current read-aloud tonight: Rascal (Sterling North).
If you have boys, this is a wonderful title to add to their own personal library.

After reading the first chapter or so, I began to question just how much of it Luke was absorbing, or 'getting'.... a great deal of it seemed over his head... and I'm sure that a lot of it did fly over his head...

However this evening we watched the Disney classic movie Rascal that is based on the book. Its a lovely, sweet G-rated family movie!! Loved it! Luke enjoyed it quite a bit too.. but I was quite surprised to see that he had retained MUCH more of the book that I gave him credit for... he kept pointing different areas in which the book was quite different - and mentioning book scenes that were left out of the movie....

Rascal is a lovely, lovely book and I'll definitely be purchasing a copy for Luke so that he can reread it again as he grows older. Highly recommended!

Heaven is.....

2011-04-26T20:13:00.001-04:00

snuggling with my little man in my bed, after his evening bath... his hair damp, curling and sweet-smelling.. his cheeks rosy... and I read a chapter or two or (as is the case tonight) three from our current family read aloud... he snuggles in close with a stuffed animal under one arm.... and his eyes slowly start to close... I continue reading for a while yet - knowing that he's still listening, not quite having reached the Land of Nod. And besides, I'm not anxious for our special time together to end... Fifteen minutes later however, he is sound asleep and I ever so gently pick him up and carry him to bed...

These treasured moments will be forever imprinted in my heart... sometimes I wish I could freeze these moments forever so that they don't change.. so that we don't change.... so that my little guy will always fit so perfectly in the crook of my arm and so that when I carry him, his head will always fit so wonderfully on my shoulder...

Heaven.

Vacation Over...

2011-04-25T22:28:00.000-04:00

And so my wonderful vacation must come to an end... back to work tomorrow....
This vacation has been a wonderfully productive one...and it was filled with some pretty special moments too. Here are a few snapshots:

I love this picture. It's pure Luke. He can never resist a puddle and especially not a mud puddle.

This was taken at a local farm and it was to be an Easter Egg hunt.

However Luke couldn't care less about finding Easter eggs...

he only wanted to play in the water and mud!! And yes, he's airborne in this pic!

Having a blast in the mud puddles at the farm.

More puddle jumping..

Luke with 2 of his buddies, looking at a deer.

We all got a kick out of this duck! My friend dubbed him the Don King duck!!

All of that puddle jumping tuckered this guy out... he's taking a much needed breather.

My table setting for an Easter brunch/dinner

Luke's Easter treats that were waiting at his place setting on Easter morning.

The art bin is full of artsy goodies for my artsy kid!

A closeup of the chocolate egg that I made myself!! Luke doesn't do well with sweets and chocolate. I mean his personality undergoes a dramatic transformation when he eats chocolate and sugar. So I really try and limit his sugar intake . However since I've been told over and over again that Easter just isn't Easter without chocolate, I decided to give him one really great quality chocolate egg. I melted down some organic chocolate (1/2 bar of dark and 1/2 bar of milk) and poured into 1/2 egg molds and then joined the 2 halves together and wrote his name with very runny cookie icing!

I'm so proud of this dorky egg - and the best part is that Luke ADORED it...seriously adored it.. and told me that I had made it exactly how he wanted it!! That little charmer....

As he ate a piece of it, I read him the legend of the Easter Egg and how it symbolizes Christ's resurrection.

And after the story, he asked me if I'd make him a special easter egg EVERY year!! How can I say no to that??

Next year, I think I'll try and remember to place a little trinket inside before I join the two halves of the egg...

On Easter morning at church, Luke made his debut on stage with the worship team to help sing a Third Day song called Children of God. It was absolutely beautiful... the children did a WONDERFUL job! I'm so proud of that little man!

He had practiced quite a bit and when it came time to sing in front of the congregation, he really sang his little heart out!

Here he is looking straight at me just before the song started.

Happy Easter!

2011-04-21T21:49:00.001-04:00

I've been on vacation this week and it has been absolutely lovely to just have the time to putter around the house and work on wee little projects!

Todays project was putting together the instructors binder for our next year of homeschooling, which we're starting in September - but I want to get everything in order and ready so that we can just have a more unstructured unschooly kind of a summer!

I've mentioned in the past how much we thoroughly enjoyed our first year using Sonlight curriculum - which I pieced together by purchasing the titles at used book sales and used book stores. The books have been an absolute treat to read. A few of them were titles that I would not have chosen myself - but I'm sure glad that Sonlight did! They've ALL been excellent books! Just a wonderful, wonderful curriculum! And we're very excited by next years book selections!! I've just purchased the last of the books. I managed to cram them all onto one shelf in my office, and Luke is having a VERY hard time resisting them!

Next year's curriculum is a BIG leap developmentally speaking from the one we're just finishing.

Just to give you a bit of an indication, here is this year's instructor guide:

And here is next year's instructor guide:

Next year will be when virtually ALL of the core subjects are introduced, hence the amount material needed in the instructors guide! But Sonlight does a beautiful job of making it super easy to follow and its very well organized - so instead of feeling overwhelmed, I'm feeling super excited to dig in!

Okay - I'll shut up about Sonlight now. I am not an affiliate of Sonlight, and I do not earn any sort of commission.... I'm just a thoroughly happy homeschooling Momma!

*****

Another little thing we did today was to dye Easter eggs!! It wouldn't be Easter without coloring some eggs!

Our 5 food dyes

Luke's dropping an egg into the blue dye

The finished eggs! Once again, I'm thoroughly dissappointed in the yellow dye!

We left our eggs in for a good 30 minutes in the yellow dye because from experience I know it never takes.

And once again it did not even show up on finished eggs!

Anyone have any tips for me?? I want yellow eggs darn it!!

*****

Happy Easter my dear friends and loved ones!

As we celebrate the joy of His Resurrection, may the blessings of peace, gladness and hope fill your heart and home.

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

John 11:25-26 (NIV)

Life with Luke...

2011-04-09T21:06:00.003-04:00

Happy days are here again! Tonight as I was picking up Luke's pants from the bathroom floor, I noticed that they were exceptionally heavy.. digging into his pockets, I found something I haven't seen in quite a few months:

ROCKS!!

I didn't realize how much I've missed finding Luke's beloved rocks everywhere...

Finding 3 rocks in Lukes pants this evening put a smile on my face that I'm sure was a mile wide.

I seriously love that kid...

Here are a few pictures I snapped the other day:

"Oh Momma, bet you can't guess what's different about me today.."

The clown had put his jeans on backwards and insisted on wearing them that way ALL. DAY. LONG....

He cracks me up... such a quirky little kid...

Oh and he really made my heart melt a few nights ago.
He had been as bold as brass and talking quite rudely. I very assertively told him that until he could begin to talk in a more appropriate manner, that he could play quietly by himself - I did not wish to speak to him.
Several times he tried to initiate conversation, but I quickly let him know that right now, I wanted to be by myself for a while. He slowly trudged to his room and I didn't hear from him for quite a while.
Later, I called him down for dinner... and we had a great meal and quickly forgot all about our earlier squirmish. Before I knew it, the evening had passed by and I had tucked him into bed and was getting ready to go to bed myself. Here is what I found on my pillow:

I've been told that this is our happy home and that the yellow line at the bottom of the picture is like the yellow lines we see on roads...

Oh that child can press my buttons like no one else - he has a fiery temper on him... but then he also has a heart of pure, pure gold. And I love him fiercely... that precious son of mine.

On a completely different note, (or maybe Luke's picture of the rainbow reminded me) have you watched A Shine of Rainbows yet??

LOVED it! I watched it last night and thoroughly enjoyed it!

Random Thoughts

2011-04-02T21:19:00.001-04:00

Just some rambling thoughts on nothing really... but I do find getting things off my mind and down on paper (or in this case: on the screen) helps me to sift through them.....

* Last night I attended a Live Auction and Comedy Night at my church - several friends joined me and it landed up being a really lovely time! The comedy was funny - Don Kelly (host of a Canadian television show called Fish Out of Water) was the feature act and he had me in stitches. The live auction that followed, raised over 6K for a local charity that supports families who are facing childhood cancer. It was actually quite educational for me, because I learned all of the different ways that this charity helps families out, and we heard the story of one family's battle against cancer and all of the many ways that it impacted them. Eye opening indeed. So it felt good to be involved in this charitable event - and I was extremely proud of the playgroup that I belong to, because collectively it donated a number of the items being auctioned off and raised a really good chunk of money!

* I think its time I stop procrastinating on my mending.. I have a basket full of clothing that needs a little TLC here and there.... two pairs of Luke's pants that need to be made into shorts (he's so thin, that pants tend to be too short before they ever become too tight!), another pair of Luke's pants whose knees need reinforcing, a pair of my jeans that need some stitching repaired, a few buttons to replace, some old t-shirts to be cut up into rags, and a bag whose strap needs fixing. Phew! Time to get to it!!

* I am having a really hard time believing that we are almost finished our first year of homeschool!! WOW!! Where did the time go?? It's been a really great year for the most part.. February and the very beginning of March were a bit difficult.. I had been warned by other homeschoolers that these months tend to be difficult - as its the end of winter and everyone begins to feel a little cooped-up and isolated.. I think this is true of many people whether you homeschool or not...however, the last few weeks have brought sunshine and a renewed sense of excitement as we're spending more time outside and we begin to look forward to the summer months!

So I'm planning a little Last Day of School celebration on May 23rd... we're going to invite the grandparents over and Luke will do a little recital of a chosen poem that he's memorized as well as talk about his favorite subjects and school memories. I might put together a few pieces of Lukes work to show Daddy and Nanna and Poppa. Then we'll present Luke with a little Certificate and we'll have a special dinner to celebrate and there will be a special commemorative dessert as well. Luke also wants to celebrate the Last Day of School by going to a movie. Since the 23rd falls on a holiday Monday, there will probably be a children's matinee movie showing at our local family cinema - so we'll probably throw that in too! Why not, eh?! LOL!!

I had hesitated on doing something that officially marked the end of school because, really - we deliberately make sure that we are learning something new every day. I never want to send the message that learning is something that we deserve a break from.... A zest for lifelong learning is of great importance to me, and with every fibre of my being I'm trying to foster this value in Luke as well.

However I still love the idea of celebrating our accomplishments within the more structured portion of our learning. Luke and I both achieved a great deal this past year and I just can't let that go unnoticed!!

* I am also very much looking forward to the return of our Monday Parks and Picnics! I have my picnic gear all ready and I have a brand new shade umbrella as well. I just love spending hours outside at various natural settings, watching the kids run around and play and chatting with friends, reading books, playing outdoor games, etc, etc... if you are local and you want to join in - please let me know - I'll make sure to let you know where we're meeting up at each week!

* John and I have planned our annual day outing to a local waterfall. He's been visiting this waterfall every spring since he was a young child and for the last 18 years (that's how long we've been married!!) we've carried on the tradition... but now our tradition takes on a whole new meaning because Luke is now looking forward to these yearly visits too!! The 3rd generation to enjoy yearly visits! It's a great waterfall too - it runs down a little mountain and its at its mightiest in the springtime. There is a hiking trail that brings you to the top of the mountain - we have yet to make it to the top with Luke... but we have a few years yet to accomplish that! Its quite strenuous.. and truth be told - I'm not sure I'm fit enough to make it myself!! LOL!! It's been a quite a few years since John and I hiked all the way to the top of the mountain!!

Well, those were my random thoughts for today! Enjoy your weekend!

Maple-Mustard Roasted Vegetables!

2011-03-30T18:14:00.001-04:00

I'm dusting off my maple recipes... first because its Maple Season! Secondly because I'm hosting a potluck next Friday evening for a few of the women in my playgroup and the theme is Maple. We're also going to watch a girlie-movie: Either Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion or a Shine of Rainbows.
So we have the movie selections figured out, but I don't yet know what Maple dish I'll make.

My CSA delivery today gave me pretty much all of the veggies I needed for this recipe - as soon as I saw the parsnips, carrots and sweet potatoes, I knew we'd be feasting on Maple Mustard Roasted Veggies tonight. Its a favorite recipe of mine...and its super easy.

Maple-Mustard Roasted Veggies!

Recipe:

A baking pan full of peeled, trimmed and cut-up veggies. I use root veggies such as:

Carrots, parsnips, turnips, fingerling potatoes, sweet potatoes, garlic heads, quartered onions. I also tend to add a few bell peppers cut into quarters and if I have a winter squash on hand, I'll throw that in as well.

Marinade:

Whisk together 1/3 cup of olive oil, 1 tsp red chili paste, 1/4 cup maple syrup, 3 tbsp dijon mustard,

1tsp kosher salt, 1 tsp dried tarragon or thyme, 1 tsp freshly ground pepper

Here are the marinade ingredients:

Now add the marinade to the pan of vegetables and mix well.

Here's what it should now look like:

Roast uncovered for about an hour at 375 degrees. Stir every 15 minutes.

YUMMO!! My favorite part is eating the garlic cloves!

These Arms Are Made for Hugging...

2011-03-29T21:56:00.001-04:00

Today, I was serenaded by the sweetest little boy....

After getting home from a very trying day at the office, Luke ran up to me and sang this adorable rendition of These Boots are Made for Walking:

These arms are made for hugging

And that's what I'm going to do

One of these days these arms are going to hug all over you!

(sung while launching himself onto me and giving me a humongous bear hug!!)

I seriously love that kid!

****

Mondays are usually our day to visit the library.. and we really scored yesterday.

We borrowed a few really wonderful books!

First up- A book that we had requested a little while ago was finally ready for pick up:

Rumpelstiltskin

A book illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky is treasure indeed and this one was no exception...

We loved this one and have read it 4 times already!

Secondly we found this gem on display on top of one of the shelves:

Its a poem about light intertwined with Impressionist paintings.

(including 4 from my fave: Van Gogh!)

Beautiful.

And finally:

This is a really cute book. I'd never heard of Sarah Garland until this book. Now I think I'll take a peek at what else she's written! She's gotten the Lukester VERY excited to start gardening!

It was a very successful Monday at the Library!

P.S - My mom is feeling back to her normal self! She called me last night to tell me that she was feeling great! Phew! I know... I'm such a worry wart... but I do thank you for your prayers!

Busy Weekend!

2011-03-27T21:30:00.000-04:00

What an action packed weekend, its been!

I kicked things off by attending a baby shower for a dear friend... Lots of fun and giggles!! I cannot wait to meet her little one when he arrives!! Only my friends could argue about the sound that a giraffe makes and make it hilarious as can be!

****

Then Luke had a sleepover at Nanna and Poppa's on Saturday evening, so Luke and I had a date night in.

We watched the cutest movie ever. Probably the best movie I've watched in a long time:

Flipped

Its a 'coming of age' movie for sure.. sweet as can be.. but quite intelligent- not sappy.

LOVED it.

I was actually surprised John agreed to it... I think he only did so because Rob Reiner was the director, otherwise it would have been a no-go for sure I believe.. But he rather liked it too! So thats saying something for sure.

****

Then this morning it was a trip to the sugar bush.. which turned out to be a very packed ordeal.. we went at probably the busiest possible time ever. The food was wonderful and it was actually an all-you-can-eat deal AND it was super close by (5 minutes drive from my house!)... but we had to leave early because my mom wasn't feeling well and it was super cold out. So we didn't really visit the sugar-bush part of things... but next year we plan to revisit and go first thing in the morning before the crowds are out and about!

****

Then this evening Luke and I read some of his homeschooling books. We're focusing on the letter S this week in our curriculum and one of the suggested projects was to make Slime! Yes, Slime!! How could we NOT do that??

Luke LOVED it.. he helped make it and then played with his slime at the kitchen table for almost an hour, until it was time to go to bed!

Here's a very quick how-to:

The Instructions

The ingredients - I couldn't resist using green food coloring.

To my way of thinking, slime isn't slime if it isn't green.

Now, doesn't that look like a nice, appetizing batch of Slime?!!

It was delightfully squishy!!

****

Here are a few pics, just because:

Part of my spring tablescape on the first day of Spring.

Luke and his beloved Nanna. Those two are as thick as thieves.

Makes my heart smile.

Nanna didn't feel well today, so we're praying that she's feeling back to normal soon.

Being a dialysis patient, her immune system is somewhat compromised. I always worry when she comes down with something... which usually translates into me being a nag (are you eating enough? Are you drinking enough fluids? Do you want me to bring you anything? Eat MORE! Drink More!). Anyways, if you are reading this maybe you could take a moment to say a quick prayer for her to start feeling better soon?

Thank you!

On a different note - Luke has been very much into numbers lately! He's fascinated with them. Just this evening as I was typing the above, and just before Luke dozed off to sleep, I could hear him counting by 2's... and then by 10's... and then by 5's.. and then by 100's (which we've never done before)... it was so cute because when he got to 1000, he paused and called out to me "Hey Momma - does 10-hundreds come after 900?" I confirmed that he was correct... but that we usually call it a thousand. Smile.

Plans to Celebrate Spring this Weekend!

2011-03-19T15:26:00.000-04:00

Yay! Spring has finally arrived... not officially till March 20th... however this entire weekend, for us, is all about celebrating Spring's long anticipated arrival!!

* Luke is taking a nap right now, so that he'll be able to stay awake for a moonlight walk this evening. We don't want to miss this evenings Super Moon!! NASA reports that the moon tonight will appear exceptionally larger - a rare phenomenon - the last time it happened was in 1993!

* Tomorrow night's dinner will be a special one:

Roasted Fingerling Potatoes (from our local CSA!)

Asparagus

Mustard Encrusted Roast Sirloin

And for dessert: Memories of Camping S'mores Crumb Bars!!

(only 8 more weeks before our campsite opens - we can hardly wait!!)

And we'll be sure to light our celebration candle!!

* Family Night tomorrow after dinner:

We will be watching E.T!!

I haven't watched this since it debuted on the big screen back in 1982!!

* Monday Morning, on the 21st, which is what I grew up knowing as the first day of spring

(did you know it changed in recent years??!!),

I'll set the table with some flowers,

and there will be a basket for Luke containing a brand new kite (which we'll fly that morning) along with a new pair of gardening gloves and gardening tools.

For breakfast I'll make Carrot Cake Waffles for Luke and a raw Carrot Cake smoothie for me.

A Long Week... Finally Over!

2011-03-18T21:05:00.001-04:00

This week was a rather long one for me... I hope I don't sound like too much of a spoiled princess, however I'm no longer used to working full time hours! My colleague was off this week, and being fiscal year end in the gov't in the particular area that I work in = B.U.S.Y!! So I worked extra days to cover his absence....
And it was very apparent to me how quickly I have become accustomed to only being away from the house 2 days a week!

I'm also glad this week is over because I've been finding myself getting more and more emotional and stressed out by the situation in Japan. My hubby has it tuned to the news as often as he can... and I'm finding it increasingly more difficult to watch everything unfold... My thoughts and prayers are still very much with that country... and we are helping with relief efforts. But this evening I need to take a little break from the media and give my mind a rest. How incredibly blessed and fortunate that I am able to do just that...

This evening, I'm relaxing with a cup of Honeysuckle White Tea, and I'm putting my feet up and reading my two favorite magazines:

MaryJane's Farm (such a gorgeous magazine... I've only discovered it about a year ago, but I'm so glad I have!)

Mother Earth News (an old favorite....)

Speaking of favorite magazines, I was so upset to learn my 3rd favorite magazine will be no more.. Mothering will no longer be publishing it's magazine...I loved that mag!! Thank goodness its' forums will remain!!

And speaking of Tea.... I'm also reading a book that my naturopath suggested I read: Foods that Fight Cancer. There is an entire chapter devoted to Green Tea... and I've learned that green tea is apparently a real hero when it comes to preventing cancer. It contains a compound call Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG for short)... but you need to steep it for 8-10 minutes to release the maximum amount of EGCG, and you need to then drink it within the hour... I really love green tea... I have several varieties.. my all time favorite is this organic Strawberry Rose Green Tea by St. Dalfour, that I buy at a local bagel shop. Whenever I feel run down, I literally crave this tea... when I feel sick and unable to keep most things down, somehow I'm able to keep this down.. Anyways, its quite nice to know that I'm doing my body a wonderful thing by drinking something I find so comforting and delicious!

Family Night - Coloring a Retro Velvet Doodle Poster!!

2011-03-09T22:00:00.000-05:00

Tonight we had a relaxing evening! Luke and I spent well over an hour coloring a Velvet Doodle poster... I remember those from childhood.. for a couple of years as a child I received a Velvet doodle poster each year for Christmas...

We had such a nice time... I popped this CD into the player (the Classical Kids cd's are WONDERFUL by the way!!):

Mozarts Magic Fantasy

Made a pot of this tea to share:

And together we quietly listened to the musical story, chatted a bit

and created this:

I forgot how Velvet Doodles help even the hopeless look like a decent artist! Mistakes don't really show up on the black velvet! LOL!! I was also amazed at how long Luke kept at it... I figured we might get this large poster done over a few nights... but he was quite content to color for quite a good long while..

We both signed the back of the poster and dated it... and it will surely serve as a sweet reminder to our relaxing Family Night...

Oh How I LOVE Arnold Lobel!!

2011-03-08T18:00:00.001-05:00

I'm so excited.... I was browsing through the list of books I still need to purchase for next year's curriculum (I have most of them purchased) and I gasped ( in a good way!!) when I saw that one of the selections had been changed. Instead of another Mother Goose selection (which didn't really appeal to me) I now need to buy this book:

The Arnold Lobel Book of Mother Goose

Doesn't it look adorable?? I'm quite delighted to have to purchase this book! Oh how I ADORE Arnold Lobel!! And a while ago, I blogged about rediscovering one of my favorite childhood books Miss Suzy, which was also illustrated by Arnold Lobel. And who could forget Giant John!

And of course, I have fond childhood memories of Frog and Toad! Luke will be getting the full set of them as a gift when he is learning to read.
And oh my goodness, when I was browsing Amazon for other Arnold Lobel items, I came across this:

The Frog and Toad plush toys!!!

I'm not one for lots of stuffies.. but oh my goodness.. wouldn't this make a sweet gift for a new reader to accompany the Frog and Toad books?? I see that they are currently unavailable to order... but I'll bookmark it to keep checking... Too cute!!

Did you grow up reading Arnold Lobel, and if so, what's your favorite?

A Tour of Our Art Gallery!

2011-03-07T20:00:00.001-05:00

It's been a while since I featured some of the artwork that's hanging in our Gallery... here's whats featured in our latest exhibit:

I think that this might be a Lambeosaurus.. or is it a Corythosaurus?

Whatever it is, he sure is cute!

A Pteranodon?

Yet another dino....

And another dino... can you begin to see what Luke's favorite subject to draw is??

Ah... finally! Something that isn't a dino! I've nicknamed this cutie Twinkle Toes!! LOL!!

Thanks for taking a tour of our little Art Gallery!

P.S - I'm at 8/10 decent pics already!!! (the real ulterior motive for posting these pics! LOL!!!)

When Life Throws You Snow....

2011-03-06T15:54:00.000-05:00

..... Make Maple Taffy on Snow!

You've heard of the phrase, making lemonade out of lemons... well today, Luke and I made Maple Taffy out of snow! We got another huge snowfall overnight. Surely spring is around the corner?!!

In preparation for our trip to the sugar bush later this month, we've been learning about how maple syrup is made, so it was the perfect excuse to make Maple Taffy on Snow! We're not getting our new 2 litre bottle for another week or so, however I still had a bit of last years maple syrup left, so that is what we used.

How We Made Maple Taffy on Snow

1) Bring about a cup of maple syrup to a boil. You are supposed to heat it until it reaches 235degrees F, however my candy thermometer no longer works, so I had to estimate when it reached the soft-ball stage. I had a cup of cold water nearby and when I thought it was ready, I placed a spoonful in the cold water to see if it formed into a little soft ball...

2) Since it takes about 10-12 minutes for the syrup to reach the proper consistency, we had time to go to our back porch and fill a baking pan full of snow. Here Luke is packing it down with his hands:

3) This picture looks like we're ignoring the age-old advice to stay away from yellow snow! LOL!! But its the best pic I have of the next step, where you pour thickened syrup in a few lines, so that you can roll it up with popsicle sticks!

We found it worked best if you let the syrup cool off for a couple of minutes.

4) Enjoy your maple taffy pop!! Luke couldn't wait for them to harden, he had to taste test right away!

YUM!!

Here are a few books we've been reading regarding the maple syrup season:

Sugaring

The Sugaring Off Party

Maple Syrup Season

At Grandpa's Sugar Bush

Sugaring Time

A Couple of Updates!

2011-03-02T22:39:00.004-05:00

Last summer, if you recall, I had asked for prayers for Luke. I was very worried at the time that he had a serious condition. Well we FINALLY had our app't at the specialist yesterday! It was a long wait.

I am so very thankful to report that he does NOT have the serious condition that we were worried about. Praise God!! Instead he has another rare disorder that is not nearly as serious... and that he will probably outgrow by adolescence!

You see, we were worried that he might have neurofibromatosis.

He does not.. instead he has a childhood version of mastocytosis which is called urticaria pigmentosa.

It took 5 doctors to diagnose him with this.

There is not a whole lot known about urticaria pigmentosa. And it can affect people in different ways. Apparently chances are higher that he may experience anaphylactic reactions (we will obtain a prescription for an epi-pen) and some of his gastro problems are probably tied into this condition. He should avoid extreme temperatures, and over-exerting himself with exercise. I am also researching a low-histamine diet to reduce chances of any flare-ups and we'll hope and pray that he outgrows this disorder by his adolescent years (apparently there can be complications if you have this as an adult).

So for me, this is VERY good news indeed that he does not have the more serious condition that we were worried about!! Thank you for your thoughts and prayers... so many of you have been praying for Luke and asking about his appointment and I'm so pleased to finally have good news to report!!

*******************

For my February Goals, is a 50% a pass or a fail?!!

I think I'm going to give myself a passing grade with a strong recommendation to redo a few of the goals! LOL!!

1) We paid off ALL of our debt (with the exception of our mortgage)!!! This was a biggie for me. I felt sick to my stomach having debt while only working part time... from now on we save up the cash first for any purchase we make. If I can obtain a discount by using my credit card, then I'll use the saved cash to make a payment on the card FIRST and then I'll use the card to make the purchase. But it feels great to have the weight off my shoulders!

2) I really did well with this one... I have 23 meals in my freezer!! WOOT WOOT!! I almost feel protective of them and don't want to use them.... but not quite! LOL!! Each week when I menu plan, I'll simply plan to double one or two recipes and I'll keep adding to my freezer each week as I use the older meals....

3) I'm ashamed to admit that we haven't gotten our thank you cards completed!! I had hoped to tie them into a nice little Valentine's theme... but nope.. I procrastinated horribly with this one!

4) And I barely took any pictures. So I failed horribly at this goal too. I don't know what it is with me and pictures.... We just don't have an affinity... LOL!! But I'll definitely revisit this goal as its important for me.

**************

4 Goals for March

1) 40 Bags in 40 Days. My church doesn't observe a liturgical calendar... and so we don't officially observe the Lenten season. But I really love the spiritual discipline of "going without". In previous years I've chosen a variety of different things to go without for 40 days. You would think that cutting something out for 40 days should be relatively easy.. but it never is! This year I'm giving up "STUFF"! There is a challenge going around the web called 40 Bags in 40 Days. You basically divide your home into 40 mini areas (a cupboard, shelf, etc) and tackle an area a day, with the goal of ridding yourself of 40 bags of stuff to donate, recycle, toss. But they need to leave your home.

So my goal is to rid myself of 40 bags of stuff..

2) Take 10 Decent pictures of my family/home. They don't have to be good... just decent. Let's see how I make out with THAT baby step.

3) Add $500 to my Car Fund (to save up for a replacement when our current one bites the dust, and to pay cash!) and $500 to our Emergency Fund. This probably sounds like a lot of savings for one month (especially since I only work part time)... but I'm expecting a tax refund... :)

4) Make a list of Gifts to Make. I know, I know.. who wants to talk about Christmas when the first day of Spring is just around the corner? But I want my homemade gifts to rock their recipients world this year... :) And that means giving myself lots of time to craft... and being organized to capture sales at Michael's or Fabricland!

The Blessings Fund

2011-02-26T22:04:00.002-05:00

Our little faith-based playgroup chooses an Act of Kindness every month. We try and choose projects that our children can really get involved in as well... For the month of March we've chosen to help a local family of 3 who is going through a really difficult time. They were involved in a pretty serious automobile accident a few weeks ago. The newspaper featured an article about them... The mom at the time was just over 8 months pregnant (she just recently had the baby - a girl!) but the little boy was in very critical condition. It wasn't certain if he would pull through. He has -THANK YOU LORD! However he has a long road ahead of him including some surgeries and he will be staying in the local children's hospital for 1 year for rehabilitation. The family will have their hands full with driving back and forth to the hospital and caring for their newborn.

Our playgroup has decided that we wanted to raise money to buy gift certificates to a local Meal-assembly kitchen so that they would have a freezer supply of healthy meals at home that they could easily pop into the oven. We also want to purchase a large Tim Horton's gift card as well, so that they can grab some sandwiches and coffee on their daily trip to the hospital. March is not even here and our playgroup has already raised almost $600.00! The women in our playgroup have very big hearts. I just love them to pieces!

When it was time to decide on our family's next Blessing Fund project, naturally I had hoped that we would choose this Act of Kindness that my playgroup had chosen. I talked to Luke about this little boy and how he would need to live at the hospital for many, many sleeps. I told him about how it would be a blessing for this family if they didn't have to worry about shopping for and preparing healthy meals every single day.
Afterwards, he went to his own piggy bank and took out $10.00!! Now, he doesn't really know the value of $10.00 but I tried my best to explain to him in terms that he would understand: This would buy a Schleich dinosaur, or 10 sheets of stickers at the dollar store, or a new book to read or new paints and paper. I told him that if wanted to give me a smaller amount, that would still be a wonderful gesture and would be such a blessing to this family. He paused momentarily but still handed me the $10.00 bill. I seriously love that kid!!

Once March is here, we plan to do a bottle drive with the children so that hopefully we can raise enough to supply this family with a few months worth of meals (and coffee!)

If you are local, and you want to donate to this Act of Kindness, please contact me and I will forward the information to you.

Our Homeschool

2011-02-21T22:34:00.004-05:00

Its been a while since I posted an update on our homeschool, so I thought I'd share a wee bit about how its going. Basically we are LOVING it...

We are, what is known in the homeschooling world as, eclectic homeschoolers.. which means we take a little bit from various homeschooling methods or philosophies, combining it in a way that works for us. So we borrow from the Classical style, the Charlotte Mason method, I still introduce unit themes on a regular basis (via our learning table) and we throw in some loosey-goosey unschooling for good measure too!

I've noticed that we are entering into a new phase in our learning lately... we are slowly moving past the phase where everything is a craft and slowly moving into something that many people call Inquiry-based learning. This really excites me! There is a whole methodology associated with Inquiry Based learning... and we'll probably get around to looking more closely at that methodology someday because I believe it to be a wonderful way to sharpen critical thinking and other valuable learning skills and its just great discipline. But let me explain what Inquiry based learning looks like in our home right now....

* The other day while we were in the car, Luke asked me how long it takes for "normal chicken eggs to hatch" (we're reading The Enormous Egg right now, hence this is where his curiosity about eggs originated). I told him to remember that question so that we could write it down in his journal when we got home...

* That night while I'm tucking him in, he remembers his question. We get his Commonplace journal out so that I can write it down for him. I also jot this down in my own homeschooling journal so that I remember to follow up on what he wants to learn.

*The next morning at the breakfast table, I ask him "how can we learn about this?"

* He immediately reminds me that we have a book about Eggs and Chicks. Great.. thats our first spot to go to. But we are dissappointed because the answer we find there covers a wide range of different species of birds...I ask him "how else can we learn about this?"

* We decide to try the library next because its library day for us. We go to the library and I walk with him to the librarian's desk, where I help HIM to ask the librarian to show him where the books about chickens and eggs are.

* On our way home with our books, he tells me "Momma, you know we can also go and ask the farmer that we buy our eggs from.. she would know too! And maybe we could also ask her what her

chickens like to eat best of all." (my mind twirls with the possibilities of where I can take this question!!) This question too will get written down..

* Before he knows it, he is knee deep in learning about about chickens, eggs, a whole new slew of words, calendar days, how chicks will follow the first thing that they see - which is usually its momma, but is sometimes other farmyard animals! How what the chickens eat directly impacts the nutritional content of the egg WE eat!
Pretty soon, this can be called a project.. with all that he is learning, he will make connections with other things that he's learning...

* and the most exciting thing is that he OWNS this..HE asked the question, HE figured out how to find an answer, HE followed up, HE asked more questions, HE made his own connections with larger topics...HE's learning HOW to learn and what to do with the information that he's learning. This is huge....
There is just no way that he would have been as interested if I had been the one to dictate what he had to learn and how to do it. Humans just aren't wired that way...

* Today its eggs, and asking the librarian a simple question that leads to learning about where
our food comes from .

Tomorrow it could very well be a question about lego robotics, and connecting him with a
robotic engineer mentor which could lead to a passion about developing robots that specialize in long-distance surgery which could in turn save lives.

If you want to learn more about inquiry based learning or project based learning, the most interesting and informative blog I've come across regarding this is Camp Creek Blog. Spend an hour or too browsing through the box on her blog called Project Based Homeschooling. Fascinating reading.
I can't recommend it highly enough!

We Rocked our Family Night!

2011-02-11T21:20:00.000-05:00

Oh my goodness.... today was such a wonderful day!! I really need today after the week of yesterdays I've had!!

As of this morning I have 9 more meals and 3 side dishes in my freezer!! I'm feeling a little more "prepared".

Later in the afternoon, Luke and I had a wonderful visit to the library... he asked the librarian to help him find books on spiders... sheesh, doesn't he realize I have arachnophobia!! But we actually found some wonderful books... and our next chapter book! The Enormous Egg!! This book was certainly around when I was a child, and it looks vaguely familiar... but I'm not sure if I've actually read it or not...but it looks rather charming.. so this is our next family read aloud....

After dinner we went to our local wave pool and had a wonderful time! I think we've turned a corner, in terms of Luke's comfort in the water... he had a blast diving into the waves face first... we couldn't stop laughing...the 3 of us had such a great time that we didn't want to leave! LOL!! But we finally did, and then we capped off our evening with a trip to Tim Horton's for a timbit for Luke and a coffee and an apple fritter for John.... I opted to wait till I get home to make myself a pot of Strawberry Fields tea (from Teaopia)... a sweet friend bought me some for my birthday and its quickly become a favorite!! I'm on my second bag of it already! LOL!!

Tomorrow morning we are waking up early to go to the local winter festival that's going on right now... so its off to bed for me, with my book and cup of tea, in hopes that I'll be able to fall asleep on the early-ish side tonight!

Books We've Read Aloud as a Family

2011-02-11T15:27:00.002-05:00

I'm starting an ongoing list of the chapter books we've read during our family read aloud times. Just the chapter books. If I were to list ALL of the books and stories we've read, this post would be endless... still, it is my hope that through the years, this list grows to be very, very long... and that it is filled to the brim with wonderful memories.

I've placed a link to this post at the top of my blog, under the heading titled Books We've Read Aloud as a Family. I'll try and update it regularly. Go and check it out!

Busy Busy Busy

2011-02-10T21:40:00.001-05:00

It's been busy busy for me lately... this time of the year is always busy for me with fiscal year end at work.... but there's also a lot of internal org politics going on that's causing my colleaugues and I to be even busier than we would normally be - I don't want to say too much obviously, but things are so hairy lately at work that my director has just quit. Next week is her last week - she's not even sticking it out till the end of the fiscal year end... that gives you an indication of how hairy things are! LOL!!

When things are that hectic, I tend to shy away from the computer when I'm at home... and the phone....
So I'm behind on catching up with everyone on Facebook and emails and blogs... I'll take some time this weekend to catch up for sure.... but not tonight....

Tonight I'm going to bed at a decent hour and curl up with one of my booklist selections and reading myself to sleep...

On another note, I'm really looking forward to my weekend... I have a batch cooking session with a friend planned for tomorrow morning (9 more meals will be in my freezer by tomorrow afternoon!)... then the 3 Musketeers are going to enjoy a family evening by going to the local wave pool. Saturday night, DH and I have a date planned... and Sunday will be a nice relaxing day... :)

Oh - we finished our 2nd Dinotopia book... it was wonderful.... so now we're looking for another chapter book for our family read aloud time...does anyone have any suggestions??

And now I need to head on over to my library's website to my requests in for books on Maple syrup, sugar bush, etc... one of the themes we have planned in the weeks ahead!

More Random-ness...

2011-02-09T22:35:00.001-05:00

Never under estimate the power of a well-timed story. This evening before bed, we read a cute little story called The Determined Frog. A little frog who says "I can't give up and I won't give up!" Luke seemed to enjoy it, but did not comment. Then tonight as he was saying his prayers: "... and please forgive me for getting so frustrated when I was trying to build a house with my lego's today. Please help me to keep trying and not give up." And not a word from me needed to be said about his little 'episode of frustration' earlier...love it!

I already have 3 freezer meals completed... I'll have 2 more completed tomorrow and by the weekend I'll have a total of 14. And then next week, I'm making some freezable breakfast bagels with a friend so I'll be well past my goal. Yay!

I LOVE great commercials... and this one is the BEST one I've seen in a while. I've watched it at least a dozen times now, and I still giggle EVERY time I see it.. its sooo cute.. and the musical score is pretty special too (grin)! Be sure to hit pause on my musical playlist first though (bottom right hand corner), so that you can actually hear the commerial.

I Need to Learn how to Embroider!!

2011-02-06T22:04:00.000-05:00

I found this charming little picture on my pillow this evening:

The other day Luke had asked me what kind of animal I'd like him to draw, and I said a hippo... and then didn't think anything more of it till I found this cutie on my pillow tonight!

I just love it... its so cute... I need to learn to embroider so that I can make this into a pillowcase for him...

I seriously love that kid....

Goals for February and Other Random Thoughts

2011-02-02T21:51:00.004-05:00

There is a blog that I read quite regularly, called Frugal Girl... she posts 4 goals each month and then updates her progress at the end of the month.... I rather like that idea.. so here are my 4 goals for February:

1) Pay off the last of my credit card debt. As mentioned in a previous post, 2 years ago, we had paid off ALL of our debt, except for our mortgage. In the past year, we've not been as diligent, and we had quite a few repairs and other unforseen expenses that caused us to use our credit cards without paying off the balance at the end of the month... so we've been working hard at paying them off and as long as everything goes according to plan, that will be done by the end of this month! Woohoo... then we can get back to building up our car fund... we want to pay cash for a newer (but not brand new) vehicle by 2012....

2) Make and Freeze 10 Meals for the Freezer. I find that things just seem to run more smoothly when I'm organized and have some meals already ready to go in the freezer...some of Luke's events happen right after I get home from work and so there's not much time to whip something together for dinner... as well, I'm always wanting to open our home and let family, friends and aquaintances know that there's always room for one more at the table - so it's nice to have emergency meals on hand! Also, a few months ago, a friend dropped off a jar of homemade delicous chicken soup when she heard that Luke wasn't feeling well - it was the loveliest gesture and I thought wouldn't it be nice if I had some soups and meals frozen and ready to go when MY loved ones are in a similar situation?! It's time to get organized!

3) Send out our January Thank You cards! Good heavens I can't believe how late we are with that.. but I really want to make sure that they are sent out.. we LOVE LOVE LOVE receiving all of the Christmas cards and Christmas pics and letters from our loved ones.. and since we didn't send out cards this year, I want to make sure to let everyone know how much I appreciated receiving theirs!! Even if it is 2 months late..

4) Take more pictures of our daily life. In the past year, I've noticed I've barely taken any pictures... I used to be a bit better at taking candid shots of our days...even if it was just pictures of our learning table, or a craft we're working on... Luke is doing really well on his snowshoes and I have yet to take a picture of him wearing them.. or while he's at the piano practicing... these are the little moments I want to try and remember to capture. Taking pictures does not come naturally to me and I just don't think of it most of the time.. but I want to get in the habit.

***

Tonight was Candlemas! This is something that John and I have been celebrating for almost the entire duration of our marriage! Basically all we do is forgo the electric lights after sundown and rely on candlelight.. just like the pioneers... Simple.. but nice. Luke gets a kick out of it and calls it Candlebration!

Some years we make our own beeswax candles.. this year I wasn't as organized.. plus I had leftover beeswax candles from last year.. so we burnt those instead.. plus tons of votives...

And we played a few rounds of Pop-o-matic Trouble until Luke started getting droopy eyed and fell asleep on the couch... I love these simple but special family times... see - tonight would have made a lovely occasion to take a photo.. but didn't even think of it! LOL!!

***

I had no idea that Luke could count to 100 until this evening when he started counting and then just kept on going... cool! Its amazing how much they absorb and learn when you aren't looking! LOL!!

***

The Great Backyard Bird Count is on in a few short weeks.. time to refill the birdfeeders, get some bird related books and learning supplies and get the birdwatching station set up at our back patio door... :)

Random Thoughts....

2011-01-25T22:21:00.001-05:00

* I feel like I've won the lottery! A nurse that John works with gave us 3 huge bags of children's non-fiction, educational books. Now I'm never one to turn down the offer of used books.. but lets face it, whenever you're given a huge quantity of books, inevitably there are many that you pass on... but with this huge batch of books, literally every single one was a keeper. There were many titles on our homeschooling list... and even the ones that were not, were titles that I'd have chosen for Luke... I was astounded... She says that she has more that she can give us too. I think I need to hug her....

* We finished Nest for Celeste, as our family read aloud.. it was cute.. and the drawings were really great. I'd definitely recommend it! Now we're onto the second Dinotopia book in the series: Journey to Chandara. This was one of Luke's Christmas gifts. It's pretty awesome so far... we're thoroughly enjoying it. These books are ones that I know we'll enjoy again and again over the years. The artwork is wonderful and the storyline is quite entertaining!

* I'm excited to be planning my veggie and herb garden again this year. I really missed not being able to access our back yard very much last year... as such, my existing garden was badly neglected.. I hadn't planted anything new.. but the perennial plants that popped up were pretty much ignored... This year I think I want to change things up a bit.. I have a little raised bed garden (only 24 square feet).. but I have a pretty big slope in the back yard, and the raised garden is at the top of the hill, where its flat. But all of that sloped space is wasted, so I think I'm going to get John to help me dig terraces into the slope and see if we can't maximize all of that sunny space a bit more. Of course, this is providing we're ABLE to dig.. there is a Bell box behind our backyard... so I know we'll have to place a call with the city to see where we're able to dig...

* Tonight we lit our Celebration Candle! Luke had a breakthrough with his swimming lessons. You see, the poor child has inherited my aversion to swimming.... I CAN swim.. I just don't like to. Unlike my husband who has been a strong swimmer since the tender age of 3. For me, I hate putting my head under water. Luke is very much the same way... he's had to repeat his swimming class level a few times now because he's systematically refused to perform some of the basic skills that one needs to in order to progress to the next level... like putting his head under the water!
But tonight, we FINALLY had a breakthrough... for whatever reason, he decided tonight was going to be the night.... and he did - 5 times!!

We lit the Celebration Candle at dinner.... and then I took him on a special Hot Cocoa date at Tim Hortons after supper, where I read from Dinotopia while sipping our hot drinks..... I'm so proud of that kid!!

Homemade Mayo!! Recipe Perfected!

2011-01-08T16:45:00.000-05:00

Who knew I'd get so excited over mayonnaise?! But I really am excited!!

I've been wanting to ditch our Hellman's.... as much as I LOVE it.. LOVE the taste, the texture, the whole bit....there are so many things so wrong about it: GMO Canola oil (don't even get me started on how we've been coerced into believing that canola oil is healthy - its sickening... canola is a huge industry in Canada...as Canadians we've been hearing about how 'wonderful' it is for decades now... its gross.. anyways do your own research on this topic.. and stay away from canola); GMO soybean oil to name but two....

And the thing is mayonnaise can be soo nourishing and healthy for you... if made with the right ingredients... and in the right way...

I've tried the Nourishing Traditions recipe and many of its variations, quite a few times... and while many rave about this recipe, its too far removed from Hellmans for me. Too olive-y oil tasting for me... LOL!!

But I've been experimenting and I finally came up with my OWN Nourishing Traditions mayo variation!!! And it's yummy!!

Here it is:

Nourishing Traditions Style Mayo

1/4 cup of coconut oil, gently melted (use expeller pressed, so that it doesn't taste too strong - dont use your virgin coconut oil for this)
1/4 cup of cold-pressed flaxseed oil
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil

1 whole egg, at room temperature
1 egg yolk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon Dijon-type mustard (or slightly less)
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (or slightly less)
1 tablespoon Whey, optional (taken from draining yogurt)
Sea salt and and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Mix the 3 oils together in a glass jar, set aside.
Place egg, egg yolk, mustard, salt and lemon juice and whey in your food processor. Process until well blended, about 30 seconds. With the motor running, add the oil blend drop by drop. This takes forever... but you can't rush it. Taste and check seasoning. You may want to add more salt and lemon juice. If you have added whey, let the mayonnaise sit at room temperature, well covered, for 7 hours before refrigerating. With whey added, mayonnaise will keep several months and will become firmer over time. Without whey, mayonnaise will keep in the refrigerator for about 2 weeks.

Why the whey?? (teeeheee... sounds like I'm trying to say 'by the way'?)

You don't have to use the whey, but if you don't, your mayo will only last a couple of weeks.. and it won't be as firm... AND the biggie - your mayo won't be lacto-fermented.. which is a big part of why this mayonnaise is so healthy for you. Anytime you can ingest traditional fermented foods, you are doing a huge, huge favor to your digestive system and you are giving your immune system a big boost too. But don't take my word for it - do some research and you'll see what the big deal is regarding lacto-fermentation...

And why the three oils?

Well, I automatically excluded any oil that was high in Omega 6 (I'm trying to decrease Omega 6 and increase Omega 3). Which doesn't leave me with very many choices. However this blend actually works very well. The coconut oil helps to firm up the mayo as its refrigerated. The flaxseed oil is extremely high in Omega 3, but you can't cook with it, so I find it hard to actually sneak into my daily diet.. plus I find it doesn't mix well on its own...(although some people are successful with making mayo with only flaxseed oil, I'm not one of them). And the EVOO because of its health benefits....

Anyways.. that's my exciting news for the day... now on to experimenting with sourdough.... :)

Life with Luke - Memorable Conversations!

2011-01-07T22:06:00.006-05:00

Just a few random things to record today.... mainly little Luke-isms.... I'm loving this age more and more.. 4 1/2 is so sweet... he's beginning to be a little more self aware... and starting to realize that he isn't quite the centre of the universe...his statements and conversations reflect more of an awareness of others around him.. its pretty cool.

I'm really starting to think he may have inherited John's artistic talent. He can draw for hours and hours throughout the day. Not at one sitting mind you.. but by the end of the day, he can easily churn out dozens and dozens of really cool pictures. He also loves to color and paint... and he loves to build with his Tinkertoys or Lego... Cars and trucks don't seem to hold much interest for him... but toots and all talk of tooting is just hilarious in his eyes.... and of course he's still all about the dinosaurs...

At 4 1/2, the questions are still coming at me a mile a minute.. oh the questions!! Just a couple from today:

* "Um... wait JUST a minute. Remember how Santa left the fireplace doors open? How come there were no footprints?" (sounding all suspicious) This just moments after he was seen snuggling on the couch with his new tracking book! I knew that book would be a hit - and sure enough, its his new favorite.

* "How come WE get to go to heaven after we die, but dinosaurs have to go to museums after they die?"

And such a quirky sense of humor he's developing!! I've probably said this for every age so far, but literally a day does not go by when he's not making me burst into uncontrollable laughter.. Todays little tidbit:

* "Oh that's just NASTA!" To which I asked "Nasta?? What's Nasta?" His response: "That's when something is just TOO nasty for words. Then it's NASTA! And you have to curl your lips when you say it."

He's just a really neat, neat kid... I seriously treasure almost every moment I get to spend with him..... I say almost because he's far from perfect, and I DO need my mini breaks away - alone! But for the most part, he is a hoot to hang with!! And man, he's figured out how to make his momma's heart melt... Tonight's heart melter:

* After asking me to remind him what each of his 4 birthday cakes were: "I think for my next birthday cake, I would like a cake of my house with the Three Musketeers standing in front. Cause thats my most favorite thing in all the world." I seriously almost choked up over that one...

But then in the very next breath: "OR maybe I could get a scary fire -breathing dragon cake with red red eyes.... ooooh that would be NASTA!"

I seriously love that kid.....

Household Ledger

2011-01-02T21:34:00.001-05:00

Two years ago, after diligently keeping to a strict budget - we paid off every stitch of debt we had except for our mortgage... it was a wonderful feeling.

Lately I found that I've become a little less diligent. And since I now only work part time (and I have every intention of ONLY working part time) ... I cannot afford to deviate from our budget. Despite my vow not to use credit - we did use credit a few times this year- and I'm really wanting to get that paid off as soon as possible. And to get our emergency fund built back up. We don't want to use or rely on credit at all. And we are desperately trying to save up for upcoming major expenses.. ie a new furnace and a used car.... so that we can pay cash. That is the goal anyways...

I used to use budgeting software on my computer and I would faithfully record every expenditure. I've not done this in over a year (such a slacker!!). But I've come to realize that I don't like doing this online. Even though there are some excellent budgeting software out there (YNAB was my favorite!!), I'm really trying to CUT my computer time.

I also firmly believe in keeping track of even the tiniest of expenses. Luke 16:10 confirms the importance of being faithful with the little things.... I know for me, when I'm diligent about tracking the pennies, the dollars just seem to fall into place.. when I'm complacent about the pennies, I tend to be complacent about the dollars as well...

So I've gone back to a system that I used to use years ago. An old fashioned pen and paper Household Ledger! I was inspired by Mrs. White over at The Legacy of the Home, after reading that she also uses an old-fashioned ledger to track her expenses...

Here is my new Household Ledger... I've set it up in the front as a basic general journal... and then in the last half of the book, I made tabbed sections for various Account ledgers that I post my journal entries to... (ie Emergency Fund, Car Fund, Credit Card account). I've placed it in my kitchen and created a little basket to place my receipts to enter.

Like any new habit, this will take some time for me to get accustomed to... it is my hope that I stay up-to-date with entering my receipts and entries each week... that is what I'm aiming for in any case!

My new Household Ledger

Book List for 2011

2011-01-01T23:16:00.011-05:00

I've finalized my booklist for 2011! I've chosen 52 books... one for each week of the year... even though I actually will read probably double that amount (a side effect from being an insomniac)... but I have to leave some room for spontaneity, so I'll only pre-select 52. The biblio-snobs out there will notice straight away, the lack of "important" books... but really, I'm just not into 'pretentious' and life's too short to pretend that I enjoy high-brow reading...although I AM trying to make an effort to read more classics.. anyways, here's the list:

1. ~~Free Range Kids~~: Recommended to me by a friend. I tend to border on being over-protective. This will probably land up being something I NEED to read.... DONE! hmmm... well.. what can I say about this one?? The message was great.. I really did NEED to hear/read it. I do err on the side of helicoptering and I really needed to read more about this issue... The delivery of said message on the other hand was less than desirable. I found the author's sense of humor to be on the condescending side and hard to swallow....

2. ~~Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods~~ : I'm a long time fan of Ms. Fallon's Nourishing Traditions... I've wanted to read this book for a while now.. DONE! WOW!! Great read! I immediately wanted to make fermented mead since I have everything on hand! But so far, I haven't gotten around to that little project... the sauerkraut recipes sound great too...

3. ~~The Great Gatsby~~ - A classic I've not yet read. DONE! I initially found this book a bit hard to get "into". But the more I read, the more thought provoking it became for me. On the surface, this story is about a tragic love affair (albeit a one-sided affair) between a man and a woman... but we know that on a deeper level Fitzgerald intended the main theme to be an expose on the decaying moral and social values of that era (the swinging 20's). Personally I think that the ecomomic fallout that occurred in the 30's helped to propel this book into becoming the well-loved classic that it is. And all throughout the book, it kept occuring to me that this book is SO VERY relevant to us as a society TODAY!! We are on the verge of another economic fallout due to much greed and mismanagement. Its amazing how things come full circle. Apparently I'm not the only one to think that we could all benefit from this book's message because a new movie based on the book is set to hit the theatres in 2012!!! Some pretty big names too... Can't wait to see it. In the meantime, I think I'll plan to watch the 1974 version with Robert Redford. Great book - HIGHLY recommended!! Highly gifted writer.

4. Mrs. Dalloway - another classic

5. The Storyteller's Startup Book - I'd like to nurture my storytelling craft which, for the most part, is pretty non-existent

6. ~~Simpler Living: A Back to Basics Guide to Cleaning, Furnishing, Storing, Decluttering, Streamlining, Organizing, and More~~ - to be perfectly honest.. I could easily fill up an entire list of books of this nature and be content... I love 'back-to-basics, sustainable living' type books... DONE! I found this book to be a waste of time to read, to be perfectly honest.. I don't think out of the entire book that I gleaned even one idea to implement. Would not recommend. There are better books out there.
7. Mere Christianity - C.S Lewis: this has been on my mental to-read list for a couple of years.. 2011's the year..

8. ~~The Importance of Being Earnest~~ - oh, I have a feeling I'm going to ADORE this classic..DONE! Very witty little piece of writing! Whipped through it in one afternoon while at our campsite beach. A fun little read...

9. ~~Shannon: A Novel~~ - I recently read the book "Ireland" by the same author and loved it... hoping this one is as good. Done! Well sort of. I could not finish it... there was one rather vivid description of a child being very, very severely punished, and I just could not stomach it after that. This is my own issue though. And I have no doubt that I would have loved this book if I could have gotten past that one scene.

10. ~~Sarum: The Novel of England~~ - this comes highly recommended from a friend whose favorite author is Rutherfurd. Did I get that right, Joe? Historical fiction tends to be one of my favorite genres.. I'm sure I'll love this too. DONE! I finally finished this gigantic book! I really liked it! Learned an enormous amount about the history of England... there is no better way to learn history than through a really great historical work of fiction... and Rutherfurd really did a great job with this book...

11. ~~The Pillars of the Earth~~ - I'm not normally a Ken Follet fan... but this actually sounds interesting! Maybe it'll convert me... DONE! WOW!! EXCELLENT book!! It managed to turn me into a Follet fan!! LOL!! I'm looking forward to watching the mini-series based on the book. If you like historical fiction, you will love this book!

12. ~~Herbal Antibiotics: Natural Alternatives for Treating Drug-Resistant Bacteria~~ - a topic that happens to fascinate me.. natural remedies... DONE! So glad that I have this secret weapon on my bookshelves..... fascinating read and I learned a GREAT deal! Some of the alternative I had known about and some of them were new to me. Luke has never, ever had to take antibiotics and although I would not hesitate to give them to him if they were TRULY needed, this book has given me the confidence to keep doing what I've always done - trying natural alternatives first!

13. ~~A Nest for Celeste~~ - this will be our family's first read-aloud of the year. The illustrations look gorgeous. I think Luke will love this one. DONE! This was one of family read aloud selections.. we really enjoyed it.. the illustrations were wonderful... we landed up learning quite a bit about Audubon... and grew to love the wee little heroine of the story... definitely recommended.. I was quite sad to see that it didn't win a Newbery medal, as I felt it should have.....

14. ~~Wild Things: the Art of Nurturing boys~~ - comes highly recommended. DONE!! Great reference book that I'll keep referring to over the years. I really liked this one.

15. Celtic Christianity - sounds interesting..

16. ~~The Forgotten Garden~~ - another recommendation.... looks good. I'll probably land up waiting almost the entire year for it from the library though.. I'm number 392 on the waiting list!! DONE!! Oh MY! I could NOT put this book down... I stayed up till the wee hours of the morning reading this one... Kate Morton is a new favorite author! Thank goodness my friend loaned me another of her books! :) HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend this fiction book.

17. ~~Toolbox for Sustainable City Living: A Do it Ourselves Guide~~ - see my comment for number 6 DONE! Interesting read... not completely unforgettable.. but some good content indeed!

18. ~~Canoeing, A Trailside Guide~~ - I'd like to introduce Luke to canoeing at the campsite this year. It's been years and years since I've canoed.... DONE! Great how-to book!!! I'm so wanting to purchase a canoe this year!!! But I'll settle for at least renting one at the campsite...

19. Failure to Connect - I love reading books that confirm what I already believe! LOL!! I think that this will prove to be one of those books..

20. ~~Free Range Learning: How Homeschooling Changes Everything~~ - looks interesting! DONE! Excellent book... so much so, that I'm purchasing it for our own library... probably one of my favorite books on the topic of homeschooling (maybe even next in line behind Educating the Wholehearted Child!)

21. ~~Simplicity Parenting~~ - this looks good too.. DONE!! As posted in my August 28th entry, this book will probably prove the book from this list that has impacted my family the most. many great suggestions in this book with the research to back it up. Highly recommended.

22. ~~Continuum Concept~~ - I've had this on my to-read list for the last 3 years... I'd kinda like to cross this one off the list... plus it looks good. DONE!! Absolutely fascinating read. the kind of book that forces you to think about how the concepts mesh with your own beliefs. I found that I had to jumble very few of the puzzle pieces in my brain to make many of the beliefs introduced in this book, fit. I even found connections to a couple of my beliefs that were sort of fragmented (I knew that I believed a particular idea, but didn't know how it linked up with these other philosophies). So that's always an exciting moment when you can make a link or a connection!! It reminded me of the documentary called Babies.... just a really fascinating read.

23. In the Company of Others - oh how I LOVE Father Tim... I miss that character... I was initially discouraged by the lack of good reviews for this book.. but I miss Mitford... I need to reconnect with that quirky community!

24. ~~Educating the Wholehearted Child~~ -new edition comes out in March 2011!! I own the older edition (its my favorite homeschooling book!).. but this one has been totally revised and is supposed to be bigger. DONE!! My favorite homeschooling book is now better than ever! Totally impressed. A must have for all homeschoolers and actually anyone who wants to create a learning environment within their homes and families.

25. ~~Happy Ever After~~ (4th book in Nora Roberts Bride Quartet) – the obligatory FLUFF!! Enough said... DONE!! I was so sad to see this awesome series end. Roberts is SUCH a queen at her genre. I cannot wait for her next trilogy to come out!!

26. ~~A Wrinkle in Time~~ - this was much loved childhood book... I'm looking forward to re-reading.. DONE! I can't believe how much I'd forgotten of this book! Considering how much I loved it as a child, I was surprised a couple times when I could not remember what would happen next... but it is every bit as good as I had remembered! Maybe someday I'll get around to reading the rest of the books in the Wrinkle series!

27. ~~Books Children Love~~ - this was on my 2010 Booklist and I never got around to reading it.. DONE! GREAT compilation of children's titles!! Some titles are out of print, but I respect the author for still including them. A great book is a great book and still worth reading, even if it takes a bit of effort to track down. I've already used this book to choose some of our read aloud books. I have a feeling I'll be referring to this book quite a bit over the years.

28. ~~The Charlotte Mason Companion~~ -a reread for me... DONE! Definitely among my very, very favorite books on the topic of home learning....I don't think I'll ever tire of reading this book...
29. ~~Anne of Green Gables~~ - another beloved reread.... but after reading Emily of New Moon last year, I've been wanting to reread to see which I love better. DONE!! Without a doubt one of the best books and series ever written. As much as I LOVED Emily of New Moon - I still love Anne even more.... I landed up reading the entire series (instead of the first 4 as I had planned). I think my top spot for my FAVORITE novel now is between Jane Eyre and Anne of Green Gables. If you've always thought of Anne of Green Gables as a sweet childhood book - I would encourage you to read (or re-read) the entire series and discover just how gifted L.M Montgomery really was as a writer.

30. ~~Anne of the Island~~- I'm going to read the first 4 in the series this year.. and the next 4 in 2012. DONE!!
31. ~~Anne of Avonlea~~ DONE!!

32. ~~Anne of Windy Poplars~~ DONE!!

33. ~~Writing Motherhood~~ - I had a similar book on my list last year... I never got around to reading it.. this one looks good too... DONE!!

34. ~~A Kids Herb Book~~ - now that John redid the back deck and stairs to access the back yard, we can have our garden again! This will be a great book to share with Luke as we plant the herb portion of our garden... DONE! I'm so glad that I purchased this book.. it will be an excellent book to share in the coming years with Luke.. We love the herb garden portion of our garden, and thanks to this book, we can't wait to plant a few new herbs in order to make some of the recipes featured in the book!

35. ~~The Reluctant Entertainer~~ - one of my resolutions is to open our house to others more often...and to teach Luke about hospitality... this will probably inspire me in that respect... DONE!!

36. ~~Christmas Jars~~- this looks like quite the charming story! DONE! OH!!! Definitely a charmer of a story!! It will make you feel warm and fuzzy inside for hours and hours after reading it!! And will likely make you want to start a Christmas Jar of your own!!! Its a very quick read that I most heartily recommend!!

37. ~~Sisters on the Fly~~ - this looks like it'll be a barrel of fun to read... DONE! This was a fun little book to read about a huge movement of women who have taken to camping, fishing, restoring vintage trailers.... the sisterhood theme is prevalent throughout... Many of the women featured were women after my own heart!! This was a cute, fun-hearted little book!!

38. ~~Stitch by Stitch: Learning to Sew, One Project at a Time~~ - I need a refresher course in sewing... the projects in this book look cute.... DONE! I have not yet made any of the projects.. but the book is perfect for a rusty-beginner sewer such as myself. The projects are cute and very clearly explained. One of the simple projects that I've chosen to do over the coming months is to try the Napkins with Mitered corners. I have some leftover fabric that would make great cloth napkins! Great book - I would definitely recommend.

39. Mary Jane’s Outpost - I love MaryJane's magazine... and her Ideabook was quite lovely. Hopefully this book will be as good.

40. ~~The New Handmade: Simple Sewing for Contemporary Style~~ - can you tell one of my resolutions is to sharpen my sewing skills? DONE! I write done, because I've already read through it quickly once.. but it'll be a resource book that I'll need to refer to again and again in the coming months... I have a little project chosen from the book and can't wait to get started... and then I'd like to move onto the next book (below) on my list....

41. ~~Sew What Skirts~~ - and yet another sewing book DONE!!

42. ~~The Self Esteem Trap~~ - another recommendation from a friend...DONE! Oh, what an important read this was for me... if you too were under the impression that building the self esteem of your child meant including words of praise, telling them how unique and so very special they are, then I'd love to get your opinion after you read THIS book... and yet wow... it makes perfect, perfect sense... what a "ME" focused world we've become with huge senses of entitlement and what a trap we've set... GREAT, GREAT book...I just wish all of the people who aren't into reading parenting books would read this one! (Grin!)

43. Getting Things Done - another reread for me.. this is the geekiest of geeky books.. and its AWESOME!

44. ~~The Storehouse Principle~~ - another reread for me.. I've read this a couple of times already... but I've always found it to be quite motivating.. so its time to read again... DONE! I always find this book so motivating to read... in fact this year, it really kickstarted me into wanting to really buckle down and pay off the debt we had accumulated... I'll definitely want to read this again at the beginning of next year again..

45. ~~Seasons of a Mother’s Heart~~ - another reread from my favorite author Sally Clarkson! DONE! There is a reason that Mrs Clarkson is one of my very favorite authors. She speaks to a mother's heart like no one else. I speak with perfect honesty when I say that she has been my biggest mentor as a mother. I feel so blessed to have discovered this Godly woman so early in my motherhood walk! Her very words leap off the page and envelope you into a sisterly hug. This particular book was written with homeschoolers in mind, but all mothers will benefit from her godly, warmhearted wisdom.

46. As Sure as the Dawn, Book 3 in the Mark of the Lion series by Francine Rivers - I am LOVING this series.. the first books that I've read of Ms. Rivers! Very good.

47. ~~Same Kind of Different as Me~~ - yet another recommendation. It sounds powerful. DONE!! Very powerful story. Highly recommended.

48. ~~One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully, Right Where you Are~~ (Ann Voskamp’s new book!) I'm so excited to read this one... Ann Voskamp's blog is one of my all time favorite blogs. I know that this book will be amazing. DONE! Oh to be able to construct even one sentence that would convey half as much as one of Ann's. My word, but can that woman write!! I have this habit of putting a book down whenever I need to let a particularly good sentence or idea marinate for awhile. Well, I must have looked ridiculous because I was putting that book down every minute or so... but then I had to keep coming back for more, so I would pick it back up again, only to read yet another brilliant sentence and had to put it down once more. Highly recommend this one. Quite powerful and if it doesn't change you upon reading it - you aren't human.

49. ~~Fresh Food from Small Spaces~~ - I always love to read about gardening in small spaces... since I live in suburbia-ville with a postage stamp for a backyard... DONE! Pretty decent book! I particularly loved the section on sprouting.. the author makes a pretty convincing case of at least trying it... very easy and cheap source of nutrient dense food!

50. The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook - don't know what to say about this one, except I'm sure that the recipes will be delightful... I believe its along the same style of cooking as Nourishing Traditions...

51. ~~The UltraMind Solution~~ - another recommendation from a friend. DONE! I'm so glad I added this book to my list. Some crucial information in this book. It is literally PACKED with information... I will need to read it at least a couple of more times to absorb it all..In fact, I have it on my library's Reserve list once more already! I'm so glad that Integrative medicine is really making its mark...it is thanks to experts like Dr. Hyman, for sure. Pretty soon, I hope that it will be the new mainstream! For sure, I recommend this book with two thumbs way up!

52. ~~Everyday Blessings: The Inner Work of Mindful Parenting~~ - and one last recommendation from a friend! DONE! Great book! So many great ideas about gracious, intentional parenting between these two covers. Very real and authentic...the authors practice buddhism, so there inevitably were a couple of ideas that conflicted with my core faith beliefs, however I would say that pretty much everything that the authors wrote dovetailed nicely with my own very strong belief that children should be parented with love, dignity and consideration.

Phew.. okay... that's my list.. lets see how many I finish in 2011! Happy Reading!

Surefire Way to Get a 4 Year Old to Take a Nap

2010-12-30T15:31:00.000-05:00

I don't know about other 4 year olds... but Luke functions better with one. By the afternoon, you can really tell if its been a no-nap kind of a day! Here's my recipe for surefire success for those days when I know he really needs to have a bit of sleep...

1) I let Luke in on what the afternoon holds for us. Sometimes its something exciting.. sometimes it really isn't.. but I've found that the secret is in the telling. If I sound excited about making a batch of pasta sauce. And if I tell him all of the fun little ways he can help me, then usually he begins to look forward to our afternoon 'adventure' as well. And really, the domestic adventures keep him from getting too self-absorbed... Not every activity will centre around him (too many of them already do!) and not every activity will be centred around playing... but my hope is that he will learn to have fun while working at and around the home..

2) Once I've told him about what we have planned, I make sure to let him know that we'll begin as soon as he's had a little sleep.

3) We go upstairs to my bedroom. He snuggles under the covers.

4) I put on soothing music. Lately its been THIS cd.

5) I sit in my lazy boy with my knitting basket and work on whatever project I have on the go.

6) When needed, I remind him that its Quiet Time... and to close his eyes... (In the beginning of this routine, the reminders were frequent. Now they are much fewer and further in between.)

Usually within 15 minutes he's out like a light... And now I have a pocket of time just for me...

5 Years Ago Today...

2010-12-29T20:48:00.001-05:00

was one of three most happiest days of my life. On December 29th, 2005 I found out that I was pregnant.
Parts of this day are so strongly etched into my mind... I remember waking up at 500am and just deciding that I needed to take a pregnancy test...the thought had just popped into my head... almost nonchalantly. There was still the teeniest, tiniest little part of me that wished fervently that this would be the day we received our great news.. but mostly I had shut that hopeful part of me away... and so on this morning...before John woke up for the day, I casually tip-toed to the bathroom to take yet another test before getting ready to go to work.

And oh.my.word.... I remember the stunned feeling as I saw the ever so faint second line... and slowly... ever so slowly that teeny tiny hopeful part of me began to grow... I get goosebumps just thinking of that FEELING! It was almost a physical sensation... as it slowly dawned on me that this might INDEED be the day that John and I received our great news... it almost felt like a big thaw... or what imagine it would feel like to be thawed.. LOL!!

I remember waking up John to tell him the wonderful news... He was stunned... and half asleep. After hugging me.. he fell back to sleep with a huge smile.... afterwards I would learn that he thought he was dreaming..

Other parts of the day are a blur... but that feeling I remember so very clearly. And waking my husband to tell him that our wait was over.... And I also remember falling to my knees in that tiny ensuite bathroom...in tears and immense gratitude... thanking God for this incredible gift...

5 Years later, I'm still thanking Him... what a blessing it is to be a Momma.

Merry Christmas!!

2010-12-24T13:49:00.001-05:00

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. Ye shall find the Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

Luke 2:11-12

Every year I start out with the best intentions of being organized for Christmas, so that when my very favorite day of the whole year comes along, I can just sit and relax and laugh with my loved ones...

Ya.. um that never happens! LOL!! Last minute crazy-ness abounds around here.. LOL!!

But later on this evening, as we go to our Christmas Eve church service... I know that I'll have that pocket of hushed quietness... where I can sit in contemplation and wonder at God's greatest gift to mankind....

No matter your faith... I hope that you find your own pocket of quietness today and tomorrow so that you can sit and KNOW that you are loved beyond belief...

Merry Christmas everyone!! May your Christmas be filled to the brim with blessings of all kinds... and may you take the time to appreciate even the tiniest of those blessings.. Hugs and Kisses....

Blessing Fund Updates:

This past month, one of my dearest friends organized a little charitable project for the local Snowsuit fund... our family eagerly participated along with hers.... here is a pic of the donations that our two families compiled....hopefully this will prove to be a blessing to some dear children who are in need of warm winter outwear to keep warm!

As well, Luke gathered 3 large bags FILLED with toys that he'd like to donate. I'm talking the large garbage bag size! I'm so proud of him! I held on to the bags, just in case he changed his mind about some of them.. but nope - it's been over a week now, and he still hasn't asked for any of them back.

So its time to donate.. BUT I'm having a very hard time finding a charity that will accept used toys!! Even the charities that USED to accept used toys are now no longer doing so... very odd...

So if you are local, please let me know if you have any leads on where I can donate these toys to? Many thanks!

A Very Productive Jammy Weekend!

2010-12-19T12:00:00.002-05:00

Except for our weekend hike, and short jaunt to the stores.. we've been enjoying a Jammy Weekend!
We've been enjoying lots of fun activities.. but it's also been a productive weekend so far. Here are a few things I've accomplished this weekend:

* Made a batch of super probiotic yogurt in my crockpot. Click the link for a great article on why its better to make your own yogurt. Plus its' a lot cheaper! Also, try to add probiotics that contain Bifidobacterium as this helps to fight super bugs such as helicobacter pylori...

* Made another batch of Master Tonic... I swear this stuff is awesome.. but not in taste - no it pretty much tastes vile... but I add it to a bit of OJ in the morning and at night.. and I swear there were three separate occasions so far this season where I KNEW that I was coming down with something.. and this seemed to nip it in the bud....

* Making a batch of Maple Baked Beans. YUM!

* Wrapping gifts....

* Made an AMAZING dinner of Prime Rib last night - yay for leftovers!!

* Purchased a butter bell for my butter.. I swear - why didn't I know about this item years ago? It totally keeps butter spreadable and keeps it from going rancid.. love it. I'm really trying to increase my Omega 3 intake, while decreasing my Omega 6 intake.... (you can google how doing this will greatly help with becoming more anti-inflammatory and therefore prevents disease).. so I'm trying to do away with margarines and vegetable oils (except for coconut oil and olive oil)...

* Added another 10 books to my 2011 Booklist.. I'll share it soon...

* Finalized my 2011 Intentions... will share some of those soon too...

* Making a batch of Graham Cracker fudge for our new neighbors...

Phew... so often I feel soooo NOT on top of my game.. that I hope you don't mind that I took a few minutes to brag about the rare occasion when I actually feel semi-organized! LOL!!!

I'm Loving the Christmas Season!

2010-12-18T10:20:00.006-05:00

I'm just having a wonderful weekend so far with my little family! Feeling blessed indeed!
Today we're having a family day:

We're going for a hike in just a short while.
I have a prime rib roast ready for the oven later today. We'll have Caramelized oven veggies to go with it! YUM!
Later tonight we're watching a Christmas movie and having our annual Sleep under the Christmas tree night!

All of our Christmas shopping is done... Luke's gifts are wrapped and ready to go under the tree. Our tradition is to give 4 gifts: Something to Wear, Something to Read, Something you Want and Something you Need.

So his gifts this year are:

Something to Wear: Socks and underwear. I kid you not - this is what he's asked Santa for!!! Santa had a great chuckle over that one!! Socks I can understand - we're down to our last 3 pairs.. I don't know what he does with them! We have a lot of singles who are missing their mate. But underwear? The kid has piles and piles... shrug.. oh well.. socks and underwear it is! I usually do a pair of jammies too.. but I just realized that I'd forgotten to pick him up a new set... if I have time, I'll do so - if not, I'm not going to worry about it.

Something to Read: the second book in the Dinotopia series! The first one was amazing - so I'm really looking foward to this one! It will be our first Family Story time selection in the New Year! Also for his Stocking: an animal tracking book to add to his collection of field guides. He LOVES the show Mantracker and really wanted to learn how to track.. so we bought an Ontario tracking field guide for him... this will be a fun addition to our weekly hikes!

Something he Wants: More big-boy lego!

Something he Needs: A touch sensitive piano keyboard for the lessons we're starting in January!

I'm just looking foward to being home during the Christmas season... and not having too many plans... we're deliberately keeping our schedule open so that we're free to accept any invitations that come our way to visit and have fun with loved ones or just to spend time outside snowshoing and hiking and tobogganing.

His Stocking: A knitted facecloth (another yearly tradition) - I'll post a picture of it soon, Badger lip balm, tracking guide, organic body wash for kids, a little box of chocolate Turtles (my hubby adores turtles at Christmas - and I always put some in his stocking.. Luke has decided he'd like in on that action too!). A fun toothbrush. A Learn-to-Draw Dinosaurs book ( I suspect this will be a big hit) and new coloring pencils.

Okay - well, we're off on our hike - later 'gators...

3 More Working Days...

2010-12-16T21:55:00.000-05:00

I only work 3 more days and then I'm on Christmas vacation for 11 days... I can barely wait... we're staying home for Christmas... but that's okay... I just really need a break from work.

Soooo thankful this work week is over for me... things have been more than a little crazy at work.. crazy-stressful....

And as usual, when things get stressful, I don't sleep. No matter how much I try.. I just can't....

So top on my agenda for Christmas holidays is SLEEP.

My little man with a big heart...

2010-12-15T21:53:00.000-05:00

I'm so proud of him... we were down in the basement this evening and it was a MESS....

I said "Luke.. look at all of these toys.. what are we going to do with them?" I had initally hoped he'd offer to simply clean up and put them away...

Instead...

"I have an idea Momma! Let's give them away to children who don't have any!"

After checking with him countless times during the process... we actually filled up 3 huge garbage bags full of toys...

He really seems okay with giving them away.. more than okay in fact... he seems really, really happy about it... (melt)

But I've put the bags in the garage and will wait till Friday to give them away.. JUST in case he all of a sudden decides he MUST have something out of them...

Such a sweet moment

But then I go ruin my charming moment by forgetting that I was supposed to meet a friend at the local mall at 630pm , instead of 800pm at her house... I'm such an idiot.

Working on my 2011 Booklist...

2010-12-12T21:58:00.001-05:00

I've just updated my 2010 Booklist... I've not done too shabby! I've read the majority of the books that I've set out to read. A few I'm going to skip.. and a few will be added to my 2011 list and I'll have a few books to reread as well.

I'll post the official list once I've gotten 52 titles lined up... but here's a sneak preview of what I have on my list so far:

-Free Range Kids (i'm prepared to have a hard time with this book.. i'm naturally protective.. but I think I NEED to read this, plus it comes recommended by a dear friend whose judgement I've come to trust wholeheartedly :) )

-Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods - I'm a fan of Nourishing Traditions.. so this topic is keeping with that theme of introducing live cultures and probiotics to your diet.

-The Great Gatsby - I'm aiming to read one classic per month in 2011.. so this may be the first one of 12.

-Mrs. Dalloway - another classic

-The Storyteller's Startup Book (i'd like to nurture my storytelling craft which is pretty non-existent)

-Bedtime Storytelling: A Collection for Parents (for the same reason as the book above)

- Mere Christianity - C.S Lewis - I'm really looking forward to this read...

-The Importance of Being Earnest - another classic

- Shannon: A Novel - A friend loaned me the book Ireland: A Novel, by the same author. And I fell in love. It was amazing. I'm looking forward to reading more from this author.

- Sarum: The Novel of England - the same friend who loaned me Ireland: A Novel, has loaned me this book to read. It looks great!

- The Pillars of the Earth - Another historical fiction. I'm not normally a Ken Follet fan... but this one looks quite good!

Okay - so that's part of my 2011 list so far... Help me out a bit? I need some inspiration What's on your to-read list??

Family Story Time

2010-12-10T20:27:00.001-05:00

Diann Jeppson, in the book A Thomas Jefferson Home Companion, offers a wonderful description on how her family implemented a nightly family reading time and how they decided to arrange their house to support this activity which had become a priority to them.

In a family room set aside for this nightly ritual "we built shelves and installed bins, which we stocked with art supplies, Legos, Tinker Toys, yarn, crochet hooks, knitting needles, drop spindles and wool, small looms, sewing kits, clay, dry erase boards, beads, scraps of fabric, trim and stuffing, sewing cards, embroidery supplies, a huge stack of educational color books from the Dover company and a variety of other quiet handiwork projects. We carefully selected these items to keep hands busy (without requiring a child's full attention) so that each could be attentive. Before the advent of radio and television, families would gather in the evening around a fire with one person to read and the others to sew, spin, knit or repair a harness."

According to Diann, they gather in this room on most evenings at 8:00pm to read great books. Sometimes, only a small section of a book will be read, and they will discuss heartily and happily for the next 20 minutes or so, veering off into many interesting and related tangents. And sometimes they become so engaged and engrossed in a story that they dare not stop for discussion at all - as was the case with Call of the Wild.

Reading selections range from Shakespeare to biographies of notable leaders - which she will read a few pages of before moving on to the current engaging novel that they are reading... and they will read and discuss for up to 2 hours each night, while the children work on quiet handicrafts.

What I found very interesting is that she claims that children WILL develop a taste for things that at first might seem foreign or tedious! She mentions that her 4 year old has been seen on many an occasion toting around a book of Tolkien's works begging to be read to from it!

The picture the author paints of her family reading time is so sweet: "The traditions and structure are strong, the invitations warm and inviting. A sense of belonging pervades. Our time reading and discussing grows sweeter every year."

While I'm not sure that I can commit to devoting 2 hours every night to our own family story time... I WOULD like to commit to implementing a regular family story time.. even if its only once or twice a week to start. I too would love to fill our hearts and minds with great stories and ideas and to develop a habit of discussing such great works and ideas! This will be one of my intentions for 2011 for sure!

Family Night!

2010-12-09T05:53:00.000-05:00

Last night, John, Luke and I had family night.. without tv! (being tv free is a concept that is still foreign to John! But I'm still working on him! LOL!!)

He lit the first fire of the season in our fireplace... there's nothing quite like the crackle of a real fire!
And we toasted marshmallows and made S'mores!! Memories of our summer came flashing back... and we talked about our favorite summer moments..

Then I read a few stories aloud and after that we just generally hung out in front of the fire and the twinkling lights of the Christmas tree... Luke with his pencil and stack of paper, drawing his pictures... me with a book.. and John... well he kept trying to find excuses to turn the tv back on.. :) But in the end, he sat and hung out with us...

A cozy and quiet Family Night!

Commissariat Camels

2010-12-07T18:45:00.006-05:00

Commissariat Camels

by Rudyard Kipling

We haven't a camelty tune of our own

To help us trollop along,

But every neck is a hair-trombone

(Rtt-ta-ta-ta! is a hair-trombone! )

And this is our marching-song:

Can't! Don't! Shan't! Won't!

Pass it along the line!

Somebody's pack has slid from his back,

'Wish it were only mine!

Somebody's load has tipped off in the road--

Cheer for a halt and a row!

Urrr! Yarrh! Grr! Arrh!

Somebody's catching it now!

This is the poem of the week in our homeschool. It ties in with the letter C, and the fact that Luke has had camels on the brain (you might recall in a previous post when he wanted to learn about the two different types of camels). I would not have thought to choose this poem to learn - it's part of our curriculum - but Luke loves it. He had me write it out in his Commonplace Book. He's had me recite it at least 9 times yesterday and probably a dozen times the day before. The first time I read it, I was "meh... I could take it or leave it"... but it has a catchiness to it... and I've found that the more I read it, the more I've warmed up to it. That happens a lot with poetry, I believe.

This poem is excerpted from The Jungle Book. I don't actually recall this in the Disney-fied movie... but when Luke heard that it was from the Jungle Book - he immediately wanted to watch it again... you know.. for the sake of research... LOL!! It's an old favorite of mine, so it won't be a hardship for me.. I'm all set to pop the popcorn and get comfy with my little guy.

Learning's great, isn't it?!

Caring for God's Little Woodland Creatures...

2010-12-06T16:02:00.000-05:00

Our first little Christmas Caper...
The other night, John and I sat and watched tv together and strung popcorn and cranberries.
This morning Luke and I made pinecone birdseed treats and paper snowflakes. To make the pinecone treats, tie a cotton string loop around the top (so that you can hang it from a branch like an ornament), then slather it with a mixture of lard and natural peanut butter and then roll in bird seed.

Then we visited a nearby trail that we hike on frequently and decorated a little Christmas tree for the woodland animals...

No sooner had we finished, when almost a dozen chickadees came to visit and a red squirrel as well. By the time we left, they were munching away.

If you look closely in this pic, you will see 2 little birds:

The quality of this picture is not the best, but you can see the little red squirrel who came by to visit before we left:

It feels good to bless others and the littlest of God's creatures need not be exempt from those blessings...
And its such a joy to be a witness to my son's reactions as he sees how his efforts are appreciated!

Random Thoughts...

2010-12-01T20:33:00.000-05:00

* Luke is SOOOO my child! Today during Quiet Time, he frantically called me to his room. I ran up, thinking something must be terribly wrong. He said "Quick - make a new list for me. A list of things I need to learn about: the sun, marshmallows and the 2 different camels. And give me the list so I can keep it in my notebook and we won't forget to bring it on Library Day." A list-making geek in the making!! I LOVE it! :)

* Okay people - time to call me up to tell me you are coming over for tea! I have a freezer full of goodies thanks to Cookie Exchange last night....so dial that phone or send me a pm. whatever.. just drop by, kay?

* I'm so proud of me! I powerwalked for 45 minutes today: at 630am!!! I won't mention that I flaked out on a couple of friends for tonights walk.. but that's besides the point.. 630am!!! I'm so proud of me...

* It's the start of Hannukah... and is it wrong that I can never think of today without also thinking of Adam Sandler's Chanukah song?? Sigh... I love Adam Sandler... :) If you haven't heard of it, here it is:

Squeals of Delight!!

2010-11-30T00:30:00.001-05:00

You know how Jane Eyre has been on my 2010 booklist, waiting for me to finally read it after all of these years???

Well I've JUST finished reading it... and I can't believe I waited as long as I have to read it! Once I started, I really had a difficult time in putting it down... I LOVED it!! This is a serious contender for my most favorite book ever.

There is MUCH to say about the hero Mr. Rochester... and I can tell from my internet search that he is either loved or very much disliked....

For some reason whenever I read about Mr. Rochester, I couldn't help but picture Colin Firth - even though he will eternally be Mr. Darcy to me.... I went poking around to see which Jane Eyre movies had been released in past years and who had been cast as Rochester....

And check THIS out: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1229822/ !!!!!! On the big screen in March 2011!!! I am sooo there!! Who wants to join me??

Fit by Forty

2010-11-29T10:20:00.001-05:00

You should all feel so privileged.

No... I REALLY mean that.. for years I've lied about my age.... or hemmed and hedged when asked....

But now for the sake of accountability, I'm disclosing my real age.

I'm 38. And I just about had a heart attack. No, not a real one... but just about... when I looked on the calendar and realized that I'd be turning 40 in exactly 18 months.

Whoa...

I'm so not ready for 40. On so many levels.

One of those levels is physically.... Physically, I'm in the about the worst shape of my life. And about the heaviest too....

For those that know me... this is not the REAL me... even if you've known me for a few years... you really haven't met the REAL me...

The REAL me is at least 40 pounds lighter.

I'm determined that if you have not met the REAL me, then you will do so by the time I'm 40.

Fit by Forty. That's my main project these days. And I'm shaking things up big time in order to ensure that I reach that goal.

Stay tuned for more updates....

The Facebook/BBC Meme that started me thinking...

2010-11-27T23:55:00.016-05:00

A short while ago, a Facebook meme went around that listed 100 great books. It was supposed to have been created by BBC with the assumption that most people would not have read even 6 of them.   After spending some time looking for this list on the BBC website... it seems that the Facebook one doesn't exist on BBC.. HOWEVER BBC has it's own 100 Big Read books...and it DOES share many of the same titles as the Facebook list... but it's not quite the same. AND BBC does not make the assumption that most people will only have read 6..... So the Facebook meme is a bit inaccurate...

However it IS a great list.. and it certainly got me thinking quite a bit on this topic of reading classics.

Earlier in the year, I read the book titled A Thomas Jefferson Education, as mentioned HERE.  More recently, I just finished reading A Thomas Jefferson Education Home Companion . The authors of these two books heavily advocate an education that is entirely centered around studying classic works...

And then just a few weeks ago, some of my friends were dishing out questions on Facebook (we're having our Christmas gift exchange in a couple of weeks and these questions were meant to generate ideas for gifts!).. and one of the questions was to name some of your favorite childhood books and authors... when I gave this question some thought, I was surprised to realize that the books that made the largest impact on me were the heavier books that one might consider classics... Oh I read Sweet Valley High books and Nancy Drew and Judy Blume books as did every girl from my generation.. and they bring back sweet, sweet memories indeed!! How can you not love them??

But truly, the books that truly shaped my way of thinking were books such as the Diary of Anne Frank, Anne of Green Gables, The Little Prince... these books presented ideas and characters that I QUITE remember... they made me want to strive towards the ideals that they presented... In the case of Anne Frank's Diary.. I remember crying for days afterwards at the injustice of it all... but to this day, I still recall her idealistic viewpoint and perhaps her most famous quotes of all: "... because in spite of everything, I believe that people are really good at heart."   and "How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world." I remember thinking about that for days and weeks afterward... they were ideas presented to me that my brain (indeed my heart as well!) really latched onto and provided me with much to ponder. No doubt my diaries from that time frame will be a witness to the fact that this book totally had a hand in shaping my character.   And the very same can be said for some of the other classics that I read as a child...

And now I'm reading Jane Eyre.. perhaps 25 years later than I should have...the friendship shared between Jane and Helen Burns reminds me just the tiniest bit of the first time I read about the friendship shared between Anne and Diana in Anne of Green Gables... not to mention Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice...

There is a reason why classics are timeless.... It is my belief that the really great books capture our imagination, stretch our minds, present ideas to us without spoon feeding us pre-digested thoughts and give us much to ponder and process. They gently (and not so gently) point us toward human conditions and ignite within us the desire to become more and do more than we already are. There is a reason why the worlds greatest leaders received educations steeped in classics.

The list of classics that I've read is pitifully short. I'd like to change that. As A Thomas Jefferson Education points out, as parents we can be continuing to educate ourselves by studying classic works even while we are raising our children, the leaders of tomorrow.

There are a couple of ideas that I'd like to try...
First up: I'd like to find a book club that meets monthly that is focused specifically on classic books. If you are reading my blog and you are local, AND you know of such a book club, can you let me know?

OR if you are local and you are interested in joining in on such a book club, can you also let me know? If there are enough of us, perhaps we can start our own...

Oh, and if you are curious about those two lists of 100 books (as mentioned at the beginning of this post), you can find them both compared HERE.

Blessings among the Thorns....

2010-11-27T15:08:00.003-05:00

Continuing with my committment to focus on my blessings as opposed to the thorns.. these past few days have brought with them some special blessings....

* My husband's birthday the other day. We had a wonderful birthday dinner celebration at home. It was quite nice, if I do say so myself! Tonight, as part of his birthday celebration, we are dressing up in Blue and White and ready to see our hockey team take on the local NHL team... Go Leafs Go!! Should be fun!

* Ironing out the details for a spring-time retreat for myself and 4 other friends. We're renting a pretty swank cottage for 3 nights. I can hardly wait. We've decided that we all need some restorative peace and quiet, so our theme will be a Semi-Silent retreat.. during the day,we'll each do our own thing - in relative silence... but in the evenings we'll chat, share dinners together, play board games, laugh and have fun! I'm so excited! No doubt, I'll need a suitcase just for my books alone..! LOL!!

* We've started adding little Christmas touches to our home... Advent season is a big part of how we celebrate Christmas and that begins on Sunday. We don't have our tree up yet, but that will happen during the coming week for sure.

* A birthday celebration this morning for two very special twins. I'm so glad that things worked out so that we didn't have to miss out! Was really, really lovely to spend time with great friends and watch our children doing the same. Thanks Aunt D!

* I love Christmas books. I borrowed this one from the library the other day and am quite enjoying it's old-fashioned charm. The recipes sound absolutely wonderful too!
Pioneer Lady's Country Christmas

* Watching Luke fall asleep on Grandpa's lap when we had him over for dinner recently. After dinner, we all settled down to watch a football game on tv. It was a cozy scene.. I had some crocheting to do...our tummies were full with a great meal.. we had warm drinks to sip... all that was missing was a crackling fire in the fireplace. I was debating about whether to put Luke to bed, since it had been an especially long day for him. But he crawled onto Grandpa's lap and snuggled till he fell asleep. That warmed me and John's heart indeed. Special memories are being etched onto his little heart forever...a special bond is being forged between those two.. and nothing could make me happier. One day all Luke will have is memories to hold onto... how wonderful that there will be such special ones...

My Wee Man with a Mighty Heart

2010-11-23T20:56:00.006-05:00

I am enjoying this age of 4, more and more. The constant boundary pushing, the inability to appropriately express his frustrations, the tantrums... while they still do happen... they are happening a little less frequently.
And every so often, I'm fortunate enough to catch the tiniest glimpses of some of the character traits that God has blessed him with.

One of the attributes that I see forming in him is a sense of protectiveness and nurturing. Ever since he's been tiny, he's always shown a very brave little heart. Even when you can tell he's nervous, he's loath to admit it and he'll soldier on. Whenever John or I caution him about something or other, Luke takes great pride in telling us not worry and reminding us of just how very brave he is.

I know that in the years ahead John and I will really need to focus on helping him to temper this braveness with a strong measure of responsibility so that it doesn't turn into mere recklessness. I'm quite sure we'll have our work cut out for us, with this very strong-willed young man!!

But already I see the stirrings of a protective soul. Here are a few things that melted my heart lately...

* Recently we were at the birthday party of a dear friend's son. The children at the party were 3 and 4 years older than Luke. They were a wonderfully boisterous group of boys - especially after the icecream cake dessert!! At one point 2 of the older boys were play fighting, in a realistic way... Luke marched right over and stood in between them and tried to hold them away from one another and telling them to "Stop fighting".
As sweet as that was, we had a little chat later about how it might have been more appropriate to seek an adult's assistance if he thought someone might get hurt.

* The other day at a friends cookie decorating party. The children were downstairs playing while the adults were upstairs chatting. At one point Luke came up, looked around the room and then went up to a mom (whom I've only met once before) and asked her to come with him. At first we both thought he simply wanted her to join in the fun downstairs. She went to get a coffee first, while I followed Luke downstairs. It seems that Luke didn't know her daughter's name, but that he was very concerned for her safety because she had climbed up onto the top of a cupboard and so he wanted to tell her mom. I was so glad to see that my little chat with him about seeking an adults assistance had sunken in! LOL!!

* Yesterday, out of the blue as I was tucking him in, he told me "Momma, I don't want you to worry. When you and Daddy are old and in a wheelchair, I'm going to be the one to take care of you."
I have no idea what kind of thoughts are running around in a 4 year olds mind that makes him think of a time when he may need to take care of his parents... certainly this is not something that's ever come up in conversation.... but I hope he remembers his promise in about 30 years or so! LOL!! Such a sweet boy.

* Today, as we were driving in the car, we passed by the used car lot that is situated beside a Chinese restaurant that we frequent quite often. He asked me if we could go and look at the cars again sometime soon. When I asked him why, he said "I'd like to bring my savings bank and buy a new car for you. But is it okay if I pick out the color FOR you?"

I seriously love that kid.... He's going to do great things for God someday... my wee man with a mighty heart.

Blessings....

2010-11-21T20:02:00.002-05:00

I'm reading a new book by Debbie Macomber called God's Guest List:

Its quite interesting because the author talks about the Gifts that God presents us with, the people that come into our lives for a purpose.. and I immediately thought about how blessed I am to have friends in our life who are becoming a family to us of sorts.

There are certain times of the year when I'm more acutely aware of the fact that Luke is an only child and has no siblings or sibling-like relatives... Christmas time is one of those times..

My storehouse of treasured childhood memories is very limited.. but one of the memories I have is sharing in the anticipation of the arrival of Christmas with my sister and close cousins... at one point when we were growing up, several of our close cousins lived close by in the same community. And I remember shared Christmas memories... those are truly of some of my most treasured childhood memories...

As a parent, you want your children to have a storehouse of treasured family memories as well. These memories act as an anchor or a touchstone in later years.. And Christmas memories are always especially magical for a young child!

So I'm especially grateful for the dear friends who are becoming more and more like family to us! Dear friends who are adopted aunts.. and whose children are becoming ever more important to Luke during these precious childhood years...

I love the fact that our families are becoming closer... that we have some special events to look forward to... events like Christmas cookie decorating...christmas cupcake decorating....a December birthday celebration... The Festival of Good Cheer (can't WAIT for that one!!) and also our regular events like weekly dinners, playdates, hikes, family movies... etc.

One of my intentions for 2011 is to continue to build upon these friendships.. to build that tribe (as per this article that I posted about a while ago)... to nurture the family that these dear friends are becoming to us.
I thank God for placing you all in our paths!! Luke is sure to grow up with a storehouse of treasured memories, surrounded by such loving people! Thank you to each of you. Love you!!

A Jammy Kind of a Day...and other random thoughts..

2010-11-20T19:33:00.003-05:00

It was a jammy kind of a day for us today! So wonderfully relaxing! John brought me breakfast in bed this morning. Luke was over at my parents, on his monthly sleepover - so I was able to just lounge around in bed, drinking my coffee, reading my book, checking my email on my itouch... :)
John and I had had a date night last night with a couple friends of ours - was loads of fun!! We had a game night at their place and the laughs were a mile a minute!!

When John brought Luke home a bit later in the morning, we snuggled in to read 3 library books that we had requested and had finally arrived:

In November (by Cynthia Rylant)

Gorgeous illustrations and a wonderful description of the month of November.

Luke asked me to read this one over and over quite a few times.

Owl Babies (by Martin Waddell)

Such a cute little story. Luke instantly connected with the littlest owl named Bill!

On Mother's Lap

This is the perfect snuggling book!

It's actually perfect for mothers who have two young children.

But we really enjoyed this sweet book!

* Luke has really taken to using my rebounder trampoline. He's been using it off and on for the past 2 years. But lately, he's really noticed how its helped him to get rid of the sillies.

We didn't go on our usual hike this morning - and he only played outside for just over an hour today- hardly enough time to burn off his boundless energy! Later in the afternoon, he came up to me and told me that he needed to go upstairs to use the trampoline for a little while "because I'm really worked up right now, and I need to get rid of some of these sillies inside me."

Well, it was hard to keep a straight face as I gave him my blessing to go ahead and use it.

I'm really glad I decided to keep it. I hadn't used it in a while, and I was considering donating it.

So glad I chose to hang on to it!

* Luke and I are going to a Kinderconcert tomorrow morning at our local arts centre downtown!

I purchased a subscription to all of the kinderconcerts being held in the 2010/11 season.

The prices were so reasonable, and I really wanted to start introducing Luke to the arts, so I thought this might be a good way to start.

The kinderconcerts are geared towards young children - they combine music, instruments, theatre and storytelling. We're going to get up very early, have a nice breakfast, get dressed up in our Sunday best and off we go! I think we might even stop for a cup of tea at a tea shop I know of downtown afterwards.

* Have you tried the new PC Red Velvet Cheesecake with Cream Cheese Icing??

Not something I'm supposed to be eating (especially since it has wheat AND dairy!!) - but John brought it home from the grocery store today.. and oh my it is incredibly good!!