Kade turns Six!

Last Wednesday, Kade turned six . . .

We started out the day by going to Bible Study. Kade got a day off from schoolwork which made him happy. After Bible study we came home and just hung out. Jonathan was home for lunch so we opened a few gifts and played with them and just relaxed a bit.

After supper (which at Kade's request was hotdogs, salad, and applesauce), we opened the rest of the gifts and then the kids watched a movie. Opa and Oma came over for a visit too.

Kade did not want a cake for his birthday-- just popsicles. But since it was rather hard to put a candle in a popsicle, we did a bit of icecream too.

He actually made a wish before he blew out the candle. I wish I could have read his lips because it was rather cute to see him concentrating on saying his wish and then blowing out the candle quickly. And he refused to tell anyone what his wish was . . . .

We had a birthday party for Kade this year too. We did it on Sunday between services. Sunday morning we woke up to rain. (second birthday party I've done - and its rained both times!) But it did stop and Jonathan took the boys outside and played some soccer and I'm not sure what else.

Lunch

It was a special treat that Christiaan could come too!

Time flew by and before we knew it it was time to head back to church. But Kade had a really fun time and couldn't wait to show all his stuff to Kevin.

And a few closing words about this second born son of ours:

If I had to describe Kade, I’d have to say that he is a big teddy bear. He is our cuddliest child and loves to sit and snuggle on our laps – and he told us that he wasn’t going to be old too sit on our laps for a long time – for sure not until he is 20! Kade is also very easy going. He takes life very easy – minute by minute. He has no real sense of “rush”. He will do things in his own time – sometimes it is fast, but more often it is rather lackadaisical. He can be sidetracked by almost anything –especially when sent to do a chore for mom or dad. Kade is also extremely generous. He shares with Kevin (often when Kevin doesn’t deserve it) and will almost always give in to Kevin in order to keep the peace. Not that they don’t fight. They do. Sometimes quite often. But more often than not, you can find them playing and having a great time together. They love to ride their bikes, play soccer or football, explore and build forts in the woods, jumping on the trampoline, or just hang out. Kade also loves Kylie and can often be found giving her a hug or a squeeze. He is very affectionate and most often gentle. It is not too hard to please Kade. When indoors, Kade enjoys colouring, building knex or lego, and if he had his way, he could probably watch movies or TV all day:). We are so thankful for Kade. We are thankful for the wonderful boy he is and continues to be. We are thankful for his kind and sensitive nature. We are thankful that he loves the Lord and is always interested in learning more about the Lord. The other day he was asking pretty deep questions about how we know for sure that we are going to heaven. He is definitely beginning to think more deeply about these things. He continues to have a wonderful and quick memory for the verses we are learning and we pray that he will continue to memorize and hide God’s word in his heart. We pray that God would continue to bless this young life and make him a blessing to those around him. We pray that God would protect and hold Kade in His tender care. We love you Kade and are so thankful to God for you!!!

Wordless Wednesday

Sandhills

On Good Friday, we usually like to head out to the Lake. We haven't done it every year, but we have done it for quite a few years since we were first married. So we headed out again in the afternoon thinking we would go to Port Burwell again. The boys really wanted to bike and that is a great place to bike, see the lake, and start getting excited about camping and summer. But as we got closer we saw signs for Sandhills and decided that it would be a really fun place to take the kids. My family used to go every year when we were young and we spent hours on the hill. We also went on Thanksgiving Day when Kevin was about two, so we thought it was a good time to visit there again.

The kids were excited and got right to work. And it IS WORK. I only climbed up once b/c it is very hard on the legs, lungs, etc. But of course a kid doesn't feel these things and they went up and down and up and down (kind of like I did when I was a kid I suppose;)

The top of the hill - a very nice place to stay put and take in the action.

The next few pictures show a bit of my nervous side - well actually they don't show me being nervous, but in my opinion, they do show why I had reason to be nervous! This is the opposite side of the top of the hill - the water side. When I was a kid, I remember (not sure if correctly or incorrectly) it being a cliff with a pretty straight down drop off. Well, it still looks the same to me, but the kids (and of course Jonathan) insisted on going down that side - and not just a little bit either. I had to urge them back many times. But they always went back. Jonathan of course says I worry too much - but it IS STEEP, and there is WATER and ROCKS down below!!!

Kevin

Kade (he looks a bit warm!)

Kylie also loved the hill, but when the boys took their first run down, she tried too - except I was videotaping the boys and only mildly paying attention as she told me three times, that she was going to run down too. She did. And her legs went VERY fast - I only saw the part where she went head over heels and looked like she was going to break her neck. I don't have it on video - just my voice shrieking to Jonathan to rescue her. She stuck to the smaller hills and a slower pace after that. So she still did have lots of fun!

This is down on the beach - and do you think this little trooper would let me help her. NO! She wanted to do it all on her own.

The kids - Kylie ever the stinker and goof.

Uh yah. Like I said . . .

A new family picture. Somehow our self timer pictures seem to work pretty well for us! (I'm always rather shocked)

What a fun day. It brought back lots of good memories for me and also created some new memories for the kids (and us). The weather was really quite remarkable for the beginning of April. It was a treat to spend a day together as a family and to enjoy another wonder of our great Creator!

Big People Hockey

A few weeks back, Jonathan and the Friday night hockey crew, headed out to Watford for an all day tournament. We all tagged along. The kids love to watch Jonathan play and so do I - especially when its against another team. I must admit that regular Friday night is not quite as intriguing since they just play amongst/against themselves. But a tournament is lots of fun b/c they actually keep a real score, play against other people, and there is just a real sense of competition. (But this of course is written by a fan. I have a feeling that the players would say that all these elements are there each and every Friday night they play!)

Here are a few of the players in action:

They ended up playing three games. Losing once and tying once which put them at the bottom of their pool and so they played the consolation game against the other bottom team - and WON! A Loss, a tie, and a win - and of course a whole lot of fun. Made for a good day!

And of course you must have fans on a day like this. So here is a sampling of some of the enthusiastic fans:)

Since the guys won the consolation game, they also won a tropy - almost as good as coming in first place:)!