so far

this Canada Day weekend....

it has ben HOT. yay!

before i begin the weekend....i had to post the latest photos from our most recent find in the insect universe...

it is either the same bug we found in the spring. or a relative. it didn't say.

and if it knew...it wasn't telling us.

does this photo not look like Aidan and the bug are having a conversation? either that or Aidan contemplating the possibility of ripping each limb off! (of which Aidan is too sensitive at this point to do, i believe...but maybe that is mommy thinking?)

they each had a turn with the bug.
fortunately their mother is of the generous nature and did not beg for her rightful turn!

no one noticed her face really wanted to do this:

love this! sometimes our eye misses little expressions like this...so i love that photography can help us out in this area.

i had been under the impression that the bug was now wandering the vast wilderness of our backyard. until i spotted Aidan choosing a vacation home for him in one of my kitchen cabinets.

here is the preferential vacation home i found for him. those rocks came in handy. good thing we have lots of greenery in the backyard. and that half-eaten apple on the counter....a feast for this tiny thing of an insect.

and i am sad to report that he did not survive to enjoy Canada Day with my darling children. it will never know the fun and festivities he could have participated in. perhaps another relative of "the bug" will stop by for a visit?!

we will start our Canada Day celebrations early this year.

concrete for our new garage will get delivered at 7:45 am Tuesday. bright and early. (see what i mean about being fun for a bug...who wouldn't like to be embedded in concrete....which somehow does not make me feel reassured....making mental note to lock the doors that day...with the kids inside!)

Saturday Kris' dad came by for more work. he is a sucker for work. thank goodness for us. i think Kristian would still be spreading gravel if it weren't for him. the pad is now ready for the concrete pouring. thankfully i know that you do not pour cement....where would i be without an engineer in my life to teach me these important lessons? (well...technically you probably could "pour" cement....but it might not make for nice pad for vehicles...)

Aidan and Kiara were intent on distracting Grandpa from working. and considering how helpful he has been, i knew we could not afford to keep him from working. the children had to be stopped!

i pulled the biggest distraction card i could think up...and hoped it was the right one.

"Aidan, do you want to go ride on a train? a real train. a real big train. with a whistle. and did i mention it is big?" (i said this to Aidan, knowing Kiara didn't really care....but she would go wherever Aidan agreed to.)

jackpot. Aidan thought it would be great.

Kiara added her opinion, "train. whistle. choo-choo." where does she learn this stuff?

so off we tooted to Fort Edmonton Park.

and we are now annual pass holders. well...Aidan and i. Kiara is still free. yipee!!!

and we can go multiple times whenever we want. yipee!!!

there was a long line to get in. the kids waited quite well. thank you water and animal crackers.

we finally got on "the train". the excitement was mounting for them.

i looked at my watch. and realized we were not going to make it home for lunch. hmmm....

this was not a great quality photo of Kiara. but i loved her expression. a good excuse to do some photoshopping! duplicated the layer, hard light, reduced opacity, lowered the saturation of the copy, grouped with previous, then applied sepia tone to original....at least i think that is what i did?! regardless...i played and i had fun here!

if you have ever been to Fort Edmonton...you know that the train leaves from the gates and drops you off by "the fort" or fur trading era. you may also notice that i will not include a single photo from that area. one mother, a three year old and a twenty-one month old who had no interest in her stroller after a long wait in a long line up on a hot day...not a great combination for photo taking. i was happy enough that i didn't lose either of them at the fort! and let's just add that it was a good thing i did not have an agenda for the day...or had just purchased a day pass. it would have been a loss. i did not have enough tissues for my tears.

we managed to explore some of "the fort" and made it to 1885 street. which is wide open and much easier to spot exploring children! hence the camera managed to get out of my bag.

this was a non-airconditioned little farm house. with the wood stove in use. the windows were placed at a perfect height for Kiara to peep into!

we have a problem with Kiara and sandals. she loves sandals. but her choices (and yes there are many and you would think one of them would be ideal) are her flip-flops which are a little tight and the 4 pairs of sandals which are just one size up, but too big. ugh! she loves the flip-flops. they do fit the best. but still, not comfortable. she walked a great deal. by the time we got to the Ross Brothers' Hardware store....her feet were starting to hurt. and all three of us were getting hungry.

by the time we bought our oatmeal raisin cookies and raspberry lemonade (which were incredible!) at Lauder's Bakery she was crying, touching her feet and repeating "owwee". the troubling flip-flops were removed and "paradise" returned.

while we enjoyed our treat Aidan and i read our pamphlet and decided it would be most enjoyable (or "quick" as mommy thought but was smart enough to not say out loud!) to take the real train back to the gate. that "real train" line came in handy! thankfully we were close to a shortcut back to the station. and since Kiara's feet were "owwee", she was content to ride in the stroller. this was an even better paradise!

just our luck, we got to watch the train pull into the station. an exciting moment. truly.

the train "rests" for 15 minutes before leaving the station. we had lots of time to just look at this immense train. this was a first for both of the kids. my kids were born into an era where trains of this size are only seen once in a while, from a distance while sitting in the backseat of a car. and they aren't old and interesting like this one. it's nice to have vehicles like this capture their attention quickly and hold it for a long length of time.

while we waited, one of the conductors came along and talked to them. they got to try on his hat. and giggled as he asked to try on Aidan's cap. then he recommended walking up to the engine. since we had time, he figured the train engineers would not have a problem allowing Aidan to see this car. Aidan was thrilled. and then intimidated. the engineers were not the jolly fat men you often see in the stories. they were quite modern. and the fire for the engine was visible easily at Aidan's height. and it was hot!

you can see in this photo that he wasn't really himself.

Kiara, on the other hand.....she loved every bit of it. i had to pass her up to one of the engineers to hold her, and she gave no complaint. Aidan didn't want to step up there without me. it is so nice to be needed! lol!

on the way back to the gates, they let out some steam. it looked so beautiful. so many rainbows.

apparently you can get into Fort Edmonton Park for free on Canada Day. and no doubt expect crowds. the events are unique for Dominion Day....as it used to be called in the early days of our nation. one day when the kids are older it would be fun to attend.

and then an enjoyable fried chicken picnic with Cam and Paula and kids. add in a new playset. some marshmallows. everyone had a good time. hard not to!

a memorable day.

and today was HOT! we spent some time visiting our next door neighbors and meeting their newest grandhild. Kiara and their granddaughter are just a few months apart in age. and an interesting age it is. love those twos! they love to host. chocolate gelato with brandy....or grown up ice cream as they called it! who knew that combination could be so yummy?! or maybe it was the heat?! either way it was refreshing. almost as refreshing as the water fights we had with Aidan...i'll have to share pictures of that!

the basement is pleasantly cool. great excuse to scrapbook my evenings away. if only we could get Kiara to fall asleep when she normally does. somehow knowing that her sleep routine will return in November is not so reassuring.

and tomorrow? more HOT weather!

another laugh

not everyone reads the blog where i post all my crafty news....

but if you scroll to the bottom of yesterday's post.....there is a link to two YouTube videos.

warning: it does have to do with scrapbooking. but you will totally laugh even if you detest anything crafty! (although your laugh will probably have more of an evil hint to it...)


http://roxolsenprojects.blogspot.com/

(there is also a link over here on the right.....under the heading "another part of my heart"...titled "my scrapbook pages and projects")



remember....scroll to the bottom of the post.....i actually posted 4 video links. if you watch the first two and are in the "detest anything crafty" category....these videos will probably hurt...a lot.

you will know you found the right one if you read:
number one
number two



and i'll leave it at that for now. and just in case you are wondering....the person in the video is a scrapbooker...and she is amazing at scrapbooking. but i think she is even funnier behind the camera!




tomorrow we have our last gymnastics classes. both kids have great coaches. this will be their play day. and they also get certificates of completion. very cute!

we also have the year end BBQ for Aidan's soccer group. again, another great coach. and a great group of parents too. we laughed so much. watching him try to teach these kids some skills....but the kids were like lemmings...they follow the person right in front of them! tonight they played a game. coach said to "keep the ball from going into your own net". well....they took him literally. all of the kids stood right in front of their net in a group! no way Beckham could even get a goal past these stars!!! and none of the parents had a camera. and yes we kicked ourselves.

i'm sure i'll have some great photos to post after this weekend!


the next few weeks are supposed to be HOT. i love that. i do recall from having had two summer pregnancies that July is the month that does not cool down much at night. in August we can still have hot days, but it has cooled down enough at night. i've also learned that it helps to remind myself that in four months i'll be wishing it were so stinkin' hot!

the summer before we bought our house, we lived on the top floor of a three story walk-up. our kitchen was in a centre corner of the two bedroom apartment. no windows in the kitchen. we faced south. and i don't think it had great insulation either. it was a record breaking hot summer. one night i actually got heat stroke from cooking spaghetti. no joke. i remember discussing the idea of sleeping outside on our balcony. and i think we would have done it too....but then it finally rained and things cooled down! that was hot. our house gets hot, but it has never come close to that high heat.


okay time to quit. now i'm rambling....

three

children in the house.

and i have a minute to post!

(one is sleeping. two are being amused by mr. tv.)

one of my favourite paper scrapbooking companies is Cosmo Cricket. i do have several favourites. and right now they have the coolest "robot" stuff. i'm now in a dilemna....do i do a project now...because i can't wait to cut this paper up and put it to use and admire it as much as i can. or do i wait until October and use it for some project in relation to Aidan's birthday. (he loves robots right now, and has been reminding me for at least the past two months that he wants a "robot birthday".) or i could do both!

i just learned that Cosmo Cricket put out a call for a design team. and they have chosen. one of the amazing scrapbook artists i've followed this year applied. she didn't get it. oh man. i wouldn't have stood a chance! Chatterbox Inc. has one out right now...ends today. another company that would be fun. can you imagine how fun it would be to get free stuff from either of these companies for a long period of time and told to just create! well....they probably have more parameters than that....but a gal can dream!

regardless of dreams....i also love to find answers to the history behind some designers and companies. i find it totally fascinating to learn stuff that isn't ordinary. i love art. i love history. does that make me a cool nerd?!

back to my story....

i learned how they came up with the name Cosmo Cricket. and never in a million billion years would i have guessed. a computer generated anagram!

read about it here...on their website.

so i thought i would try it on my name. not so cool.....

Loaner Xenons
Lean Xenons Or
Learns Ex Noon (notice what happens when you move the "s" over to the "ex"...yeah...next one...)
Relax Neon Son
Annex Roles On
Snarl One Oxen
and en francais.... La Xenon Re Son


what about my kids.....

lets start with Aidan:
Donas Alien
A Sedan Lion
Alas Done In

what about Kiara:
Areal Ikons
Anorak Leis
A Real Oinks

hmm....how about Kristian:
Oriental Skins
Airlines Knots
Toenails Rinks
Assertion Link

is it just me....how come the anagrams on my name make NO SENSE?!

try yours. go here.


it doesn't take long. i managed to search. and write a post. still have one child sleeping. but only one watching tv. one is trying her hardest to get into any kind of trouble! and i even had to answer the door.....okay let me share that story...since i still have some time!

as you know...our backyard is wide open without a fence or garage. and just now my insecurities were confirmed about feeling vulnerable.

a stranger rang our back doorbell. i had also left the door open. screen door unlocked. okay...breathe....

she wanted to take our bags of bottles. that were sitting on our deck. right beside the house. behind the barbeque. not exactly easily visible from the alley. unless you were looking.

EEEEEEEEKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!

sure....and while you're here....why don't you take the rest of our junk that you could possibly pawn and make even more money.......

i can only hope that these people were truly decent. and also any other people walking by and checking out what we have to "offer".

okay....off to think happy and positive thoughts......

living

like we mean it.


i promised to post some cute photos of the kids.

i think i mentioned that i found a skateboard at a garage sale for $3. (that's $1 for each year of his life! good deal?! haha)

he decided that he wanted to try it out on the sidewalk. those toys look so simple....until you step on it!

my second year in teaching grade six i had some very active boys. definitely memorable. they were in trouble a lot...at least it seemed. but when i look back on that group, they include some of my most favourite and memorable students. these boys definitely had spunk! some of the problems they got themselves into we could have all done without. but they were great when it came to class discussions. they truly put all they had into their comments.

anyways one group of them were into skateboarding.

growing up in a family of girls, on a farm, in between skateboarding phases....was new to me! i had - ONCE - been allowed to sit on my cousin Bobby's skateboard in Lloydminster and ride it down the sidewalk. and that is all i knew of skateboarding. truthfully.

skateboarding really came back into style that year. it was something to watch these kids learn new stunts on the little chunk of yucky tarmac we had. it was also amazing to think that they spent most of that year enjoying that activity during recess. the tarmac was resurfaced a few years later....much needed resurfacing!

one day i thought it would be fun to learn a trick or two. they made it look easy. so they tried one trick. i failed. they taught me another one. the "apple turnover". no clue if they made these names up themselves or what! i had to lay the skateboard upside-down across my toes. then quickly jump up, turning the skateboard over in the process and land with my feet on the top of the skateboard. i had great beginners luck with this.

then one day i was wearing perfectly slippery dress shoes. and a long dress. and definitely not good skateboarding attire! it all happened so fast...i landed face first and totally flat on the tarmac. and was quickly reminded of how painful it was to have scraped elbows and knees. i hobbled in to the school....i think it had even been my supervision recess...so definitely a scene. Mrs. T - our school secretary cleaned and bandaged my wounds. and i promised her no more skateboarding stunts. i do wonder if that would have been covered under workers compensation?! and that ended my skateboarding career. yes i am sure the world will never recover!

the boys were horrified. when i returned to class...it was the most silent i had ever heard from that group. out of pity and fear, they pampered me the rest of the day. which only had an hour remaining. they confessed that they were worried i would sue the boy who owned the skateboard. now would that not make for humorous and interesting courtroom drama?!

now let's look at how my baby boy did with the skateboard.....

he's already a number of steps ahead of me. proper footwear and attire. great start! and look at that safety equipment. smart kid!

see that smile of excitement on his face? i'm not sure he has ever seen someone skateboard before.

off he goes. no tricks. just trying to move.

and oops! maybe he needed someone with skateboarding knowledge to tell him how to get going?

and the look of failure and frustration. actually he is holding back....

maybe next time he'll have more success.

it was at this point that he decided to go and get his bike. he could do that. and he enjoyed it!


now Kiara is not doing something as cool as learning a new athletic sport.

this girl LOVES shoes. and like every child her age, loves to try on big shoes.

as far as stunts.

her latest trick is to climb out of her crib when we put her in it to nap or sleep.

lovely.

this is a trick that Aidan never tried. but Kiara has mastered it.

we put her in. she climbs out. we put her in. she climbs out. and can repeat this for as long as two hours. how is that for stubborn? and diligence? or a pain!

finally, we have decided to just close her door and hope that she doesn't find more trouble to get into...like climbing her dresser or the walls. thankfully she has not mastered door opening. which is made more difficult by our 60 year old doorknobs. one thing to be thankful for these days.

this is how we found the princess a few nights ago.

you would have thought she would climb back into her crib where it was comfortable. but i guess she had not intended to fall asleep. wait for her parents to allow her to stay awake until whatever hour she wanted to go to bed.....and then grew tired of waiting?!

sigh.

stuff like this is funny. when it is someone elses' kid.

so some updates on the garage building.

Kristian and his Dad finished the concrete forms on Saturday. so we will soon have concrete. yay!

you can see the playhouse off to the right.

the railing is finished. it is going to look so cute when we finish the outside. we want to put wood shakes or boards to give it the look of a seaside cottage. i think that might be on the list for next year.

i took the kids to a couple of hardware stores today to see if we could find a good mis-tinted colour. Rona had the cheapest prices. just so you know! HD had a gallon mistint for $9. R had the same size for $5. i'm sure you were curious to know! Aidan really wants a dark brown colour. i am not so sure. but we did find a dark brown at Rona. my adirondack chairs need to be repainted....so maybe that will be our test. at least he didn't pick pink or some bright and tough to get used to colour!

and tell me i am not the only parent with this problem. Kiara insists on climbing anything and everything at the store. put her in a cart. and that becomes something to climb too. ugh! at some point she is going to have to learn shopping etiquette. i'm quite sure i've learned enough about patience.....

we had our final good-byes to Julian Dabbagh yesterday. Kathy spoke some words at the end. what an amazing woman she is. her children are so fortunate to have her as their mother. our children are fortunate to know both these children and their mother. this is a terrible time for all of them right now. but i am confident that they will all rise above this tragedy and inspire all of us to do the same. and yesterday it rained. most of the day. i'm sure it was God crying with us. He understands. a few months ago i had posted the words to a song by Mercy Me called Bring The Rain.

Bring me joy, bring me peace
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings You glory
And I know there'll be days
When this life brings me pain
But if that's what it takes to praise You
Jesus, bring the rain

so hard to say those words right now....

but i am also working at repeating and remembering psalm 121.

thankfully God is more patient than i am.

more

of the same.

more work on the garage.

more progress on the playhouse/shed.

the concrete forms are now in place for the garage pad. just waiting for the gravel to settle as we get quotes and dates from concrete companies. the sidewalk forms still need to be formed. i guess that is not as difficult? hmmmm....

the playhouse looks even cuter. Kristian completed the railing while i took the kids to a nearby splash park. without the camera. (which is probably a good thing?!)

i need to take some photos of the yard this week and share them. our yard used to look so "together". it was never a manicured yard. but it hardly seems worth mowing. sigh.

i've been taking photos of my peonies this week. they are only single petal. so they don't last long. the day after i took these the colours were severely bleached by the sun. and the petals looked a little worn from the wind.

this is earlier in the week. still a few buds had not opened.

and the buds that had opened were still not open fully.

and then...

so delicate.

this poor flower. i think Kiara played her own version of "loves me, loves me not". who taught her that?!

and there are the remnants.

check out the bugs. i have seen a few of them around this year. i wonder what they are. and i wonder if they are good to have around.

it was good to keep busy today. we are all quite tired. the day was hot. and our house is now a bit warmer after baking LOTS of cookies for the memorial tomorrow. i pray for my friend, Kathy and her kids and her family a lot during the day. i have not successfully made it through a single day without thinking of her and thinking of some new way to pray for them. we are so thankful that Ella was finally released from the Kamloops hospital today so that they could return to Edmonton. she will still be in the hospital, as i understand. but at least she is getting closer to home.

i took some great and some interesting photos of the kids. i can't wait to share.

today

is better than the day before.....

still so many questions that don't have answers.

but i keep reminding myself that God is Sovereign. and the tough part is to remind myself that life needs to go on. so for the past few days i've done my best to focus on LIFE.


as usual we are very behind planting our garden. but Aidan and i managed to get it done while Kiara was napping. and i think i've trained the boy well enough now....he can do the planting on his own next year!

he was responsible -- with direction! -- on the little area closest to him. the only vegetables he cared about were peas, orange carrots, while carrots (otherwise known as parsnips), beanstalks (i guess he'll figure this one out soon enough that he planted beans) and peas. he also wanted "punkins" and sunflowers. but we put a big patch of those in another area. i made sure we had lettuce, radishes, cucumbers, zucchini, swiss chard and spinach. not sure why those didn't excite him as much....haha

so we should see some sprouting of life soon enough in the garden. and then a lively little boy will be heard throughout the neighborhood.

these are the apples on our newest apple tree. this is the second year we have had it. and i am astonished at the number of apples already growing.

the pear tree is hard to get to these days. its surrounded by dirt hills, concrete, wire....not exactly orchard surroundings. still it is managing to bear some fruit.

spring is a great time of year with so many trees in bloom. lilacs just bloom. flowering fruit trees just bloom.

but the genuine fruit trees bloom with a purpose.

all of the blossoms last for such a short time. they are beautiful. thankfully the smell of the blossoms on our fruit trees do not get my allergies into action.

the blossoms don't all begin at the same time, nor do they end at the same time.

but the fruit blossoms remind me of LIFE. without the blossoms, we would not have the fruit. and in order for the fruit to be produced it needs the blossom. (and of course some pollination!) but the blossom and the fruit cannot exist at the same time. the blossom needs to die in order for the fruit to present itself. the blossom serves a purpose that can only be fulfilled by dying and becoming edible fruit. the purpose of the blossom is to produce fruit.

just the reminder i needed of 2 Corinthians 4.

so fragile.
so perfect.

LIFE.

we're working hard to enjoy every minute.

we set this up yesterday afternoon. my $5 garage sale winner. and it works.

they played with it again this morning. it was the first thing they went to. and you know...the rocks actually make it more realistic. if it were only deeper....then the boats and the rocks could fit!

it is neat to see the two of them playing things together. Aidan is lucky right now. for the most part, Kiara wants to do whatever he is doing at the moment. and i predict he will have another six months of that utopia.


i have to confess. they did not do this entirely on their own. but at the same time i have to congratulate myself. i stated, "ok. it is now book time." and this is what i got. now, if i can only figure out how to get 100% success every time i ask them to do something.....

tonight we had a party. Grandma Olsen is another year older. she celebrated by buying everyone else gifts! we won't tell her it should be the other way around....

for Father's Day Grandpa Olsen was given a large television. by his good son! haha. no it was not the one i'm married to. heehee. and then he was given a wii. with MarioKart. he loves car racing. but i think that they will need a couple more controllers for the little boys to play now. that provided some fun entertainment on Grandma's birthday. and it got the boys out of our way while we got to sip wine in the backyard while the kids pretended to be teachers, worker-men and families. Kiara is growing up so fast....she has no clue what they were really doing. but she was happy checking out the play space and the little chairs. and the patio door. she could open and close it by herself....or "self" as she phrases it!

and i did stop by Urban last night. just for a quick hi. and how was it that i ended up buying more scrapbooking supplies?! those girls are just too good at their jobs. ugh! it did get me to tidy my craft area (note that i did not say "room"....) they have these corner rounders that can punch through steel! well...not quite steel....but thick stuff like chipboard and artboard! the only thing i would change about it was if they could have designed it like the EK success ones....you could take off the "plate" and then use it to make a scallopped edge. but then, how often will i want a scallopped edge on steel anyway....

i made some cards today while the kids had their quiet time. that was very therapeutic. i don't normally make cards. but i had to make one for Aidan's teacher. and i liked how it had turned out. and i liked the ones i made today. but those were given away to grandma as gifts. she liked them. she has been working away at cleaning and organizing her house. she has a tough time saying good bye to old things, and an easy time saying hello to new things. i think i spotted an antique traffic lamp in her basement tonight. where in the world did she find that?! for the kids, it is an exciting place to explore.

well....i have two goals for tomorrow. one is to bake A LOT of cookies for the memorial service. the other is to keep the kids out of harms way...AKA let Daddy and Grandpa work on the concrete forms. with any luck we could have those done this weekend. oh, i hope so!

and well...if all goes well....it would be nice to do some scrapbooking.

those are the plans.

finding

some joy despite the circumstances.

i am going to do more to concentrate on the fun things that happen around here. and the annoying things too!

grief is still there. but it is changing. i still wish we knew why. but it is amazing to see how we are being stretched and how we see what we can do to reach out to Kathy and her kids. God has been good.


this week is a busy week for Aidan. he had a playschool field trip to the zoo on Monday. great timing for that.

it looks like they have a new exhibit at the zoo....

sigh.
some days it would be handy to have something to keep that little one contained!

she can now "escape" her crib. bedtime for Kiara has gotten worse as the summer daylight hours grow longer. Aidan falls asleep nearly as soon as his head hits his pillow. but she is up as late as we are...or almost. this morning she was a total grump. i'm really hoping she hits her peak tiredness and gives up the battle.

Kiara is also anxious to not wear diapers. i'm wiping up enough accidents, that i may as well just try this toilet training! her new word is "self". which means that she wants to do something by herself.

tonight Kris took her out for a little date. just the two of them. this was the first time for her and Daddy to go out alone. of course it was bedtime for her when they got home. i could hear her in her crib calling, "Daddy. shoes. backpack. outside. go, go, go." she was pleading for him to take her somewhere again! crazy how that can almost make you feel guilty for making her go to bed!

Aidan had playschool this morning again. and he goes for his last day on Thursday. i know that his playschool next year will be great. but i am sad that he won't return to this group next year. there were some really nice kids in his class. his teacher has been great. for him and myself! it was my first experience being on "the other side" of the classroom. and i think she understood that and gave me grace when necessary, and was patient! not every teacher is successful with children and parents! that is a special gift.

as much as i love playschool. their special classes. i am looking forward to less planned days for us. the kind where you don't know what you will do until you've had breakfast! i think my mind is so accustomed to a routine for ten months...or at least the cold months! and that two month break of routine. it has been my routine for 30 years now....since my first day of school.

my short term goal is to complete planting our garden before the end of June. who guessed that a million little projects would be so numerous and time consuming?! but Kiara is so energetic at this stage of her life...she isn't much help with gardening. and with not having a fenced in area for them to play....i'm worried about getting too busy with the planting and having her walk away. on Saturday night Kristian and i were talking in the backyard and i realized that their voices didn't sound as near. sure enough, Aidan had managed to unhook the one gate to the front of the house. and Kiara was on his heels. they were in front of the neighbors house by the time i got to the gate. i was frightened about what could have happened...yet relieved that both of them had at least stayed on the sidewalk.

yes...just thinking about that....next year will have to be the year she can help with the planting. we'll save a few seeds for her. and teach her how to water. (i have some adorable photos of Aidan watering the flowers at that age)

congrats Roslyn on winning Wilna's rak!! you will have to share (as in show!!) what you got. and this is your first week with your new job too. so much happening this week. i'm happy to hear about happy things like that. perfect!

trying

to find some sense in the midst of this chaos.


Kris left at 5:30 this morning to work out of town. it is supposed to be a long day. none of us slept well last night. it was hard to have him leave the city this time.


a few months ago, our pastor had a message based on the words behind Psalm 121. the passage of Scripture that starts with "I lift my eyes to the hills- where does my help come from?" it starts with that question....and ends with the answer. the verses give you the impression that God will not allow hurt or problems to come our way. Pastor Steve went on to look deeper at the words. and when you do this, you learn that when hurt or problems come your way God will not leave you, He will be beside you and be your comfort. Kathy and Julian were sitting in front of me that Sunday. Kathy turned around and said, "Let's memorize that chapter! In fact let's have fun with it...." so we gave ourselves a deadline of a week to memorize it. (which ended up being two...but that was fine with us!) the person who did not memorize it had to buy the other coffee. if we both memorized it, then we'd go out for coffee together and each buy our own. i printed the scripture out and have had it posted on my refrigerator door ever since. i see it every day. and still don't have it memorized. Kathy won. i still owe her coffee. a very large coffee.

when i was having trouble sleeping, i kept thinking of Kathy. then i'd think of Kris leaving town the next day. then i'd think about our own family. then i'd pray. during one of these cycles i'm sure God reminded me of these verses and the events surrounding it.

and years ago, when i taught at Meadowlark Christian School, the students had verses that they memorized each week. after hearing 24 kids repeat the same passage of scripture each week (and some needed to try more than once!) it was not difficult to learn the passage myself. one of my favourites was 2 Corinthians 4: 7 - 18. it was a tough one to explain, i found. today my good friend and cousin shared that she had been reading the book of 2 Corinthians lately. she reminded me of the last portion of chapter 4.

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

i've recently learned that it is helpful to keep reminding myself of the truth of a situation to get me through tough times. it is so easy to look at many circumstances and see the negative. but continuing to repeat the truth of the situation, and a lot of prayer has been a great help. i could really do without this lesson....but a lot of what we get in life is also not what we ask for!

so i grieve. i cry. and when i feel myself starting to drown in that sorrow....i am thinking of Psalm 121. grateful that i have a second chance to memorize it. reminding myself that God shares our sorrow. and holding on to the promise that God's ways are best....even though they do not make any sense. and then i have 2 Cor. 4 to remind me that there is a greater picture.

i expect that the grief is the strongest right now. the hurt is so fresh. but i am confident that God's Sovereignty will make sense....at some point.

i have learned a lot from a total stranger this year. Angie. you have probably heard me mention her name a few times! one of her readers shared this quote from Melodie Beattie:

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity.... It turns problems into gifts, failures into success, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.


one day at a time.......

why

I Thessalonians 5:16, 17, 18 (NIV)
"Be joyful always;
pray continuously;
give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."


my daylilies are always in bloom around Father's Day.

when we moved into our home ten years ago, the previous owners wrote down the name of every plant, when it was planted and how to care for it. i still remember reading that "the daylilies bloom around Father's Day."

these daylilies original home was next to our garage. now gone.

they were transplanted by me. the one without a good green thumb.

and still they bloomed for Father's Day.

we gave Kristian his gifts today. my plan was to take photos of them to share with you. Kris got to stay in bed a little longer and wake up to a cooked breakfast and good coffee and two little sprites who gifted him with "good morning daddy" and hugs and smiles.

we had no idea how fortunate we were to be able to celebrate with him today.

we were deeply grieved to learn that a most amazing man, husband, father and friend died suddenly in a car accident yesterday. when you met Julian and Kathy, you never forgot them. and our world is a better place because of the life they lived. right now it just doesn't seem real. for sure when we wake up tomorrow we'll learn that this was just a dream and the world will be right again....so hard to understand.

i know that Julian would not want us to grieve for long. he would want us to be happy for him....now in heaven with the God he served faithfully and with all of his heart. he would want us to carry on, continue to serve God faithfully and with all of our hearts. an unpleasant reminder that we don't know when our last day would be and to live each day to the fullest, as if it were our last.

Julian and Kathy serve with Young Life Canada. the main focus of the organization is to reach out to teens. they got involved in a lot of other areas too. incredible parents to Ella, four years old and to Everett, two years old. they are expecting their third child in November. he was so encouraging and inspirational. he was a busy guy, yet would cross the street to say hello. he would stop and give my kids a hug and ask how they were. one minute talking to his family and the next...hanging out with Paul and John and Elijah and Moses....

so today has been tough. cannot begin to imagine how Kathy is. i've spent much of the day praying for her and her children. asking God "why". and asking God to tell us what to do. holding my own children and husband closer. i'm grateful to be a part of their lives, but regretful that we didn't spend more time together. so much to think about. a good opportunity to weigh my priorities.

what else can be said?

***update***

news stories: Edmonton Journal online Sunday; CTV Edmonton

Edmonton Sun

another busy day

the "boys" worked another Saturday on the garage building.

here is a point of frustration of dear hubby....

we discussed long and hard about what side of the lot to build the garage. finally decided that the spot where the "old" garage stood was probably best. the original lot had a HUGE driveway. longer than what we needed. the minimum length required in our neighborhood is 4 feet, too short for our liking. and here is where my grievance begins....

WHY is this measurement in feet in the first place? all of the drawings are in metric. could we pick a system?!

WHY do they issue their permits based on the distance from your house, when there is a minimum distance from the back of the property? and how difficult can it be to figure out? i recall doing similar measuring problems in elementary math classes!!

WE are totally confused now. Kris is much more difficult to confuse than i am...and it messed him up! so either the permit system is totally weird...or we have lost all sense. (well....after dealing with the permit office...both of those statements could be true!)

so after the initial permit...we looked at the numbers and think....hmmm....that is shorter of a driveway than what we were thinking. so we made a call. of course nothing permanent like this can be handled via the phone! so he went back to the city and tried to get the numbers to jive. we thought he had been successful then they measured everything out this morning....instead of making the driveway a foot shorter, the permit office person made it a foot longer! (or something sort of like that! when the boys talk numbers....all i heard was "longer driveway than we had ever discussed".)

thankfully these boys are smart and know what they are doing! they leveled out the area for the garage and measured out everything the way they wanted....so i'll drag all the kids i can find and head to city hall Monday morning to get it straighted out. surely Kris -my super smart man - will get metric measurements from the back of the property and from the house. surely this problem has a simple solution. these measurements must be so exact. there is very little room for error...when it comes to inspection. drawing another permit is the last cost we want to add. all because of insane measurement descriptions! {insert scream}

i heard once that it is really rare to get building permits in Greece. i don't know if everyone is at the beach instead of working.... it is common to see just the ground floor of a home that has been sitting vacant and unfinished for years. i guess some people get impatient (imagine that!) and start to build before the permit gets issued...when they have been waiting for YEARS since the application. i gues it is the "better to ask forgiveness than permission" policy! then when the city officials finally get around to approving the permit...they see that the building has already begun to be built....they fine the person and not allow any new permits to be refiled. of course i'm basing all of this on the fact that the person who told me knew what they were talking about.....


yesterday i took the kids to the dollar store. we hadn't been for many months! they sell the cutest work gloves for kids. you can see them right behind Aidan (in the photo below). i found some gardening gloves too. and some golf clubs. and a badminton set. i figured this stuff would be good enough for the kids to enjoy at this age. they also had alphabet and number strips. i once spent at least $15 on some similar strips back when i was teaching grade four. the number strips go to 100. i can already see the potential....crafts, learning....

with determination. a pair of his scissors. he set to work removing ALL of the packaging. no he was not asked. no he has never done this before.

in this photo he is gathering up all of the garbage. and again...no he was not asked to do this either.

he has been wanting to go to the "robot carwash". can you figure out what that means? for the last month he has been earning quarters towards taking the x-trail through the automatic carwash. unbelievably this was not one of those chores that earned him money. but he is still working at adding money.

speaking of robots. he has decided that he wants a robot themed birthday party this year. and he made this decision two months ago. he has not forgotten.

watching "Bob the Builder" is no longer a show he looks forward to. he still likes "Max and Ruby" and "Toopy and Binoo". he now also likes "Word World" and "Word Girl" and other more educational shows. i can see that he is memorizing word patterns. he isn't always paying attention to the sounds the letters make, he is more interested in the shape and what words have that letter. so while other kids can tell you what sound an "A" makes...Aidan wants to know what words have an "A". i think he has something against "sounds"! way back when he was a year old it was the same problem with animals....it seemed like ALL the other one year olds knew their animals and the sounds they made. except for Aidan. i wasn't sure if he didn't know them or just didn't care. i'm not worried about this stage of his development...i just think it's funny! the fact that a three year old even cares about letters is good enough for me. beyond my expectations anyway.


so while the boys slaved away at the gravel encrusted backyard....i got to teach at Urban today! yes my first class went very well. i was more nervous about presenting the project and scheduling a date than i was about teaching. then Kris pointed out that i am a teacher...so i should be happy that i wasn't nervous about that part! good point. the only time i was nervous was the 20 minutes before the class...worrying if i remembered everything i needed. and once the class got rolling, about 30 minutes later i was fine. phew! and i cannot wait to do it again. i'm so pleased that the entire process was so positive and enjoyable.


and tomorrow is Father's Day.

Happy Father's Day Dad!

Happy Father's Day Kristian!

i guess i better get to sleep....i'll be the one making the coffee in the morning....

busy day

it is always nice when it works out to have busy mornings and quieter, more relaxing afternoons. i always feel a bit more recharged.

we babysat our little friend, Will, yesterday. i feel more like a supervisor on those days. it is always neat to see my kids jump into action with younger kids. Aidan wanted to set up the playpen on his own. even though it had been decided that he was to help me do it! i found him on the floor, playpen ready and the directions in his hand!! i think he wanted to surprise me. and Kiara, who normally likes her share of cuddles and attention from me during the day....well....spent that time doting on Will. the only thing he had to worry about was getting too much attention! unfortunately neither of my kids were happy that he had to take naps....trying to keep Kiara away from the bedroom while Will was trying to sleep....yeah....slight challenge. finally she and Will were asleep...Aidan having a quiet time....i thought a perfect opportunity for a quick, refreshing shower. and it was. until i heard Aidan open the door to the room Will was sleeping in....which did happen to be Aidans' room. Aidan wanted a drink of water. naturally. the poor baby ended up waking up...probably frightened and really tired. and i'm covered with soap. i do think Aidan learned his lesson. at least i hope he did.

and Kiara can now officially climb in and out of her crib. by herself. great.

the x-trail had to go in for scheduled maintenance today. we got to use "Daddy's going to work car". yes, Aidan's phrase.

i took Aidan to get a trim. Kiara actually sat on my lap for most of the time. amazing. then she climbed into the chair after Aidan was finished. i had been contemplating trimming the back of her into a bob (my hairdressers' suggestion). but i was not brave enough to do it on my own! i have a difficult time as it is getting her ponytails in straight. with a quick decision to make....the hairdresser and i quickly figured we may as well give it a try since Kiara was so willing.

so she got a trim! and sat for it. she did quite well. considering a lot of things! we can thank Aidan for being a good role model.

you may have guessed by now that i'm a little bit sentimental...it all happened so fast that i didn't have a chance to think about this being her first professional hair cut. i totally forgot that i had the camera. thankfully i remembered before it was over! she even got her hair blowdried and her pigtails put back into place. and thankfully i remembered to get her baby hair. phew! because that is something my grandchildrens' grandchildren will definitely want to see! okay not quite. but when i am old and can't walk...i'll want to see it! yes that sounds much more truthful....anyways.....i totally forgot to add this request to Simone (the famous hairdresser) and she also forgot about it too....i ended up picking pieces up off of the floor.....there was some on her cape...but i couldn't leave my baby girls' curly baby hair on the floor of a salon....it seemed....sacrilegious! gotta love those crazy mommy moments....now is that crazy mommy...or...crazy moments....really...is there a difference?!

the next item on MY agenda was to take some photos of the kids. together. both looking at the camera. both smiling. good. not fuzzy. simple? NOT!! their treat from Simone was large lollipops. s-u-g-a-r. mental note recorded.

first shots good. but no faces.

second location. same problem. they do look so cute from behind!

okay better. yes great shots for some scrapbooking. but not for gazing at their beautiful faces and people thinking how much they look like there super attractive parents....c'mon....we're not the only ones who think that about our children....{wink}

a little better. the lollipops are finished. the gooey syrup is wiped from their faces. but the sugar is still roaring through their bodies....

i went back to the first photos. this is the best i got. for faces, that is. even if they are syrupy and miscoloured! at least they're happy....

and how could i end an entry without some garage update....

Aidan had a great time while Totem delivered the materials for the garage concrete pad. this little contraption is a moffett made in Ireland. Aidan thought it was great. the delivery guy was talkative and funny. we learned he used to be a chef. and now is doing this. can a career change be any more different? he said to Aidan, "make sure you go to school....get an education...or you'll end up doing this for a living....but actually this is a lot of fun....shhhh...don't tell!" how do you say....lucky? we saw some guys digging a hole...by hand...a few weeks ago. but then again....i became a teacher...took 4 years...and some days ditch digging looked like a vacation! thankfully we live in a country where we have a choice. i heard once that the average North American changes careers 4 times in their lifetime. i would say that is lucky.

and that is our day thus far....and we still have soccer...a Daddy to pick up a car....and of course a night of scrapbooking for me....and this has been our quiet week. wow.

garage at stage two

it seems hard to believe that our garage has been "gone" for over a week.

Kris' dad came over on the weekend to give Kris a hand. some advice. and teach Aidan a thing or two.



over the week, Kristian was able to do some leveling around the new garage pad. but there was so much existing "ancient" gravel that the job was tough and slow going. he pulled out a few more of the concret blocks. and we now have a good stack going. all the blocks are in good shape. know anyone who wants concrete? they're free. to a good home! really there must be some way to recycle these things? yes we want to know!


here is one view after the weekend of work. there is now a gravel crush pad from our house to the ....ugh....alley...

we see a lot of things now that the alley is open to us. mostly people driving by slowly and staring at the ....uh....progress?

i would like to take the kids out and away from daddy and grandpa working. but that is tougher than it sounds. Aidan is worried that grandpa (or uncle John, when he's here) will leave before he gets home again. he isn't too bad....for a three year old.

grandpa got help with installing the playhouse/shed windows and door.

daddy got help shovelling.

grandpa discovered the first day that Aidan LOVES to hammer nails. again not a regular activity in our home. phew! so grandpa just cut out some wood, got some nails started and let Aidan do the rest of the work.

isn't this adorable?!
grandpa has had experience being a foreman. Aidan certainly has had experience with direction.

this is my most favourite photo. it turns out the project was a flower box for a playhouse window.

installation with a REAL DRILL!!

and the flowers need dirt.

grandpa thought yellow flowers would be a perfect addition. you know the kind that start yellow, then turn white and fluffy. the kind that can last forever without water......

thank goodness we had lots of flower seeds already at home to choose from! Aidan has been helping to water my plants for two years now, and he also helped me plant seeds last summer. this is his second year picking out his own seeds. yes, i'm a teacher. why do you ask?

so hopefully we'll see a teddy bear sunflower, nasturtiums, morning glory and brown-eyed susan vine.

this is just a cute-sy picture of Aidan. he was posing for me. i need reminders like this when the days are glummy. is that a word? i think it fits. so it will stay.

again cute-sy picture. i think she's eating food. every single photo has her hand in her mouth. hard for me to believe but she kept this dress quite clean that day. one of her grandma's brought it back from Madagascar.

yesterday i took the kids to the zoo on a whim. and i purposly left the camera at home. {{{gasp!!!}}} it was nice to not have to carry it. and it was just fun to hang out. they were both good. Kiara had one moment, but i'm sure it had a lot to do with getting tired. and after it passed, she resumed to her happy self. i like those special days when there is no agenda and we can just do stuff because it looks like fun. so we rode the train. Aidan wanted to follow the train. and well he did actually. i had to laugh because he was slowly getting further away from us. he was just too excited to wait for us. Kiara is a good walker, but she's not always as fast as Aidan. and she also tends to want to explore and focus more than he does at times.

they have a petting zoo with farm animals. and the most incredible bunnies. they seriously looked like they could be in a storybook. i've never seen bunnies like that in my life!! Daphne the mommy sheep was super friendly and so was her lamb. and the goats are ironically quite nice too. one of them sneezed and frightened Kiara. she got over it.

i'm sure she thinks a lot of these animals are like extra-large stuffed animals. and i'm sure she'll figure the differences out soon enough. Aidan seems to think that the animals eat people. of course we can't let him believe that nonsense! so he is now starting to grasp the concept that animals like to nibble people without swallowing us. hmmm....

we went out for a last minute grocery shopping trip to Andy's IGA. i like to go there when i need to pick up just a few things. Aidan loves this little grocery cart. so far Kiara is fine with letting him push it. i figure i have about 3 or 4 more months before this will become a new sharing issue with them. they make yummy cookies. so maybe there can be some kind of "sweet" deal arranged? ohhhh my neighbor, Jenny, informed me of the high quality of their apple fritters. so for the past year.....i have officially lost count of how many of these scrumptious treats i've consumed. i picked some up for our mom's group one morning and they were still warm. i may have heard the angels singing....much too beautiful for my voice!

the kids and i get to babysit their friend, Will tomorrow. we're all looking forward to it. last time they both drove him crazy rubbing his little head. not that i blame any of them! then they smothered him with love as they took turns hugging him.