Church Skating

Our church had congregational skating this past weekend. It was a good time of fun, fellowship, and exercise for all those who came out. We put Kylie on skates for the first time. I had found skates last year at Canadian Tire for really cheap, and so I bought them. And since I bought them, she had to wear them - not that she'll probably ever be able to skate in them before she out grows them, but it was cute anyway. She had mixed feelings about the whole thing - but she did ask to have them put on a second time as the night progressed. . .

Pardon the picture taken throught two layers of glass where it happened to be a little warmer . .

And Kylie and her Opa taking a rest.

Thanks to all who came out!!

Happy Birthday Kade!

Kade celebrated his 5th birthday last week in what ended up being one of the busier weeks of my life. But it was fun! We didn't do anything too special for the day, but had a nice dinner, cake and coffee with my mom and dad after supper, and of course the presents.

On the weekend, Jeremy came over for a sleepover. Kade absolutely loves Jeremy and they get along really well. Jeremy is always a treat to have over and keeps us all entertained. As we were driving to our house, he was telling Kade all about how he was soooo shy in JK and hardly said a word. I asked him if he was still shy, to which he answered, "Yah, kind of."

And of course, who really wants to look nice for a picture. They only wanted goofy pictures, but I made them stand for at least one "nice" one.

As with all birthdays, but especially those of my own children, there is a time of remembering and reflecting. It sure doesn't take long for them to reach school age! The best way to sum up Kade is to say "boyish" or "masculine". Kade very much dislikes anything girly, pink, purple, wimpy etc. He refuses pink popsicles. He won't drink from a pink cup. Even red, and yellow are kind of iffy. I'm safest with blue. This behaviour of course doesn't not come from nowhere. It is a result of much teasing from dad and uncles. There was a season, where Kade wasn't even sure he could like his own mother because I am a girl. Kylie was the only exception to the rule. I'm happy to say, that even though I know he always loved me, that he is now willing to show it a bit more readily. Kade loves his brother and sister. Kylie is often getting great big hugs and Kade is proud of her every accomplishment. Kade and Kevin don't always get along, (though they do most of the time), but if Kevin is gone, Kade will ask over and over when Kev is coming home. Kade's hero is his dad. He want to eat the same, dress the same, do his hair the same, etc. We use this to our advantage sometimes. Kade is an easily distracted child. It can take him 10 times longer to do a job than it should, because of the many distractions along the way. The benefit of this is his great imagination. I love watching Kade play on his own. Kade had a tender heart and a stubborn streak. He is a very easy child to raise and to live with. We love him dearly and love what he brings to our family. We are thankful for the five years God has blessed him with. We are thankful for his love of Jesus. He is really beginning to grasp the whole meaning of what is is to be a Christian and loves Bible stories. He also has a wonderful memory and it is neat to hear him recite verses or sing songs as he plays. We pray that God would continue to bless our Kade and that his love for the Lord will grow every day!
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And at Jenn's very good suggestion, I'm adding this song's lyrics, since the music is not available.

"Little Boy on his Knees" by Cheri Keaggy

He see's me in the morning,

Lifting him out of bed.

The sun comes with little warning,

A brand new day's ahead.

To the kitchen for some breakfast,

A plate of toasted bread,

A cup of milk just as expected,

Close your eyes and bow your head.

You can thank him for anything you want to,

For the flower's and the trees

And pray,Lord Jesus, make me,

A little boy on my knees.

He's Mommy's little helper.

Learning to comb his hair.

And loves his baby sister,

Though he doesn't always share.

A quarter in the bucket,

A memory verse or two,

Although he may not know it,

He's beginning to follow you.

You can thank him for anything you want to,

For your Daddy and for me.

And pray, Lord Jesus, make me,

A little boy on my knees.

As we teach our Son to serve the Lord, in every way,

Lord the most important thing is this that we now pray,

Lord, we thank you everything you give us, but most importantly,

We pray Lord Jesus, make our Son a little boy on his knees.

Lord we thank you for everything you give us, but most importantly

We pray,Lord Jesus, make our Son,

A little boy on his knees.

We pray that someday he'll become,

A young man on his knees.

Kiggy!

About a week ago a kitten/cat appeared meowing on our doorstep. The kids were just thrilled. They asked me what we should name it, and considering our record, I said that its name should be "Runaway". They thought this was just swell. (apparently they didn't quite grasp the implication) Anyhow, true to its name, it was gone the next morning - - but back the next night. . . and then gone the next morning -- but back the next night . . . then not back the next morning . . .or the next night. But two days later the cat came back and is now pretty much a permanent fixture. (Did I mention that I fed it a little bit each time it came?:)) The kids love it and play with it quite often, but Kylie is absolutely in love with it - though it may not always seem that way. She wants to be outside with it all the time - or wants it to be inside with her. She cries and gets very mad when I make her come inside and "kiggy" stay outside. I think it's great actually. She is all of the sudden very easily occupied and distracted. The only down side is of course the immediate separation - until she forgets. I think "kiggy" really likes the kids too surprisingly enough. She follows them all over. Her love for them, makes me wonder if she actually belongs to someone in our area . . . Hopefully "out of sight, out of mind" will work if she disappears or is claimed.

Here is a short little clip of Kylie in action:

The twosome

The separation

The reunion . . .

The difference between 7 and 27

As we were getting the kids ready for bed . . .
Kevin: "The only thing I don't like about days is nights - and that's because all you do is sleep and that's boring."
Somehow I can hardly imagine Jonathan uttering such a thought!

Good Friday

In years gone by, we used to make a point of having a family outing on Good Friday. In fact I have many fond memories of some of our Good Friday ventures - except that the last one I remember is when Kevin is about a year - which means our "tradition" got kind of lost at some point. But, clinging to those memories, I was determined to have a family outing this year if the weather was nice. And it was. We decided to go to Port Burwell and we had a really nice time walking the beach, climbing rocks, playing at the playground, checking out our campsite, and biking through the park. We are really looking forward to returning in a few months!

Here is the last of the snow/ice chunks. (though it barely resembles that)

The sand was just covered in shells. The boys picked up handful after handful to hurl into the water.

The rocks were of course a big attraction for the boys. There were lots of hideouts and crawlspaces and tunnels to explore.

We packed all of our bikes onto the back of our van using the very handy contraption made by Ken. It makes it so easy to just quickly load the bikes on and take off on a little trip.

Pit stop at the playground.

So we are thankful for another Good Friday. Not just because it is a holiday for the world, and there is no school, or work. We are thankful for Good Friday and what it really means for us - that we have received the gift of salvation because of the Father's love for us in sending His only Son! As we think of Jesus' death at Calvary, we realize that it really is Good Friday, but we must also recognize that every day is good because our God is good and the gifts and love He gives His children every day are good!

How deep the Father's love for us,

How vast beyond all measure.

That He should give His only Son

To make a wretch His treasure.

How great the pain of searing loss,

The Father turns His face away.

As wounds which mar the chosen One,

Bring many sons to glory.

Behold the Man upon a cross,

My sin upon His shoulders.

Ashamed I hear my mocking voice,

Call out among the scoffers.

It was my sin that held Him there

Until it was accomplished.

His dying breath has brought me life

I know that it is finished.

I will not boast in anything

No gifts, no power, no wisdom.

But I will boast in Jesus Christ

His death and resurrection.

Why should I gain from His reward?

I cannot give an answer.

But this I know with all my heart

His wounds have paid my ransom.

Six more weeks of winter??!!

I'm supposing that I should have cheered when Wiarton Willy said that there would be six more weeks of winter - - because we are now 9 whole weeks from that day and six is better than 9! Lest you think my life revolves around the weather, I am not obsessed with spring, just looking forward to it! (We've had that taste and it was GOOD!)

On the bright side --- I accomplished a great deal of INSIDE work today!! (which is a good thing because I am not easily inspired when it is beautiful outside and it feels good to have it done)

Spring's Dirty Duo

Introducing member number one of this dirty duo: Let's call him Mr. Puddle. Here he sits on my driveway calm and unobtusive minding his own business. Alone he can be a rather beautiful thing - i mean see the reflection of the trees glistening off of him. Okay beautiful may be a stretch, but really Mr. Puddle is no bother as I look out my window on this rainy day. But unfortunately this mother fully comprehends the great attraction Mr. Puddle holds for member number two of Springs dirty duo.

So without further ado, I introduce to you member (or shall I say members) #2 of this duo: My three wonderful and fairly clean children. So the beginning of this week was a bit wet, but things were warming up beautifully by midweek which means my children spend most of their days outside. I find this really wonderful. I love it when kids can play outside. They ride their bikes. They play in the sandbox (or my garden . . . ahem). They play on the trampoline. They play sports. Wonderful!! Did I mention that they ride bikes? Oh and where might they drive those bikes? Well on the driveway of course. It is at this point that Dirty Duos first member meets its second. I mean what could be funner for a boy than to race back and forth on the driveway through a big puddle. Think of all the water spraying up behind your bike. In fact the "skill" of the ride seems to be measured by the number of speckles of mud flicked up onto ones shirt. Wonderful fun. . . until these boys walk into their house with um . . . very dirty clothes. Not so wonderful anymore, but instead of telling the boys not to bike anymore, this mother tells her boys to avoid the puddles!! This mother apparently does not fully understand the magnetic pull between a bike with a boy, and a muddy Mr. Puddle. She does now. Now you may look at that puddle above and say - well Denise, that is hardly a puddle. Yes, I'd agree. It was coming along wonderfully. That was yesterday, and Mr. Puddle was almost gone when I put the kids to bed. Wonderful. But then we woke up and Kevin asked, "Why did God flood our driveway?" I don't know Kev, but I will remain thankful that it is our driveway, and not our house, our town or the world.

Ah yes. I have spoken of the boys, but lest you think Kylie is innocent of Mr. Puddles allure, I will tell you otherwise. Wednesday, Kylie enjoyed tromping through the puddles back and forth (in her rubber boots - very good) in her skirt and tights. When she tired of that, she tromped, or shall I say sloshed, over to me. Glug, Glug, Glug went her boots as water oozed gently over the top with each step. Wonderful. Then it was Thursday and I popped outside to check on her and found her sitting - yes sitting right in the middle of the puddle. I had to get the camera for that one, but as Kylie is prone to do, she was up and out before I got back outside. I couldn't very well tell her to sit back down in the puddle - imagine the message that would send! So the picture below is the best I have of the "damage".

So the result of this duo is laundry. Now anyone who knows me well, will know that laundry is my favorite of all household jobs. So I can't really complain too much. But I do limit the kids to one wet and one dry outfit. If they are both wet, well that just too bad isn't it:) It is at this point when let's say Kevin wants to change into outfit number three and I vehemently forbid it, that Jonathan will say, "But I thought you like doing laundry?" Ah yes. I do. But there is a limit! These picture below pretty much define spring for me:

But I remain thrilled that spring is on the way, and I will continue to encourage my children to avoid Mr. Puddle, knowing full well that it will last for about 30 seconds. But I will also long for sunnier days than this one, because today the kids are inside - and forbidden to even think about going out the door - and that is okay. I stopped at the second hand store and Kade picked 10 things for $1.00 from the bin. They are happy and so am I.

The picture below is Kevin on duty "babysitting". Kade and I were inside doing dishes after supper and Kevin had the job of keeping Kylie out of our way so we could get things accomplished . I'm not sure about this, but Kylie didn't seem afraid, and Kevin seemed in control so I didn't say anything. . . until Kevin and Kade traded jobs and Kade thought he'd try it!Enjoy your rainy day!