A typical Sunday

Today, was a typical Sunday.

Got up. Got myself and the kids ready for church. Our first service starts at 9:30 and this is the one we attend. During second service, Sage and Jonah go to preschool Sunday school (J.A.M.-- Jesus And Me) and Austin and I go to R.O.X. (Radical Over Christ). During both services, Cameron runs the P.A. This morning in R.O.X., our lesson was about prayer.

After church, we went through the McDonald's drive-thru and picked up lunch to bring home and eat. After lunch, Sage and Cameron took a nap. Jonah and Austin played on the computer. And I made brownies & scrapbooked.

After Sage's nap, we watched A Bug's Life on TV. I made waffles for supper. We all hung out together in the living room.

Austin got his dominoes out in the evening and set them up.

Unfortunately, Cameron wasn't feeling well, so he went to bed early.

Sage and Jonah got baths. We had a snack, read some stories and tucked the kids into bed. Austin stayed up a little later and read to me.

Once Austin was in bed, I checked a few items I'm watching on ebay, updated my blog and waited until 10pm to watch Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.

A relaxed, casual Sunday. The best kind of day.

February 1st

I cannot believe that February is already upon us... Wow, January just flew by!

And with the arrival of February means that the Design Team at MSS have posted their layouts using the fabulous February kit.

Here are the layouts that I made with it:

(for Sage's album)




(for Jonah's album)


(For Austin's album)


(For my family album)


(Also for my family album. This one makes me smile-- I asked Austin to take the photo and it took , like, 10 tries before I got one I was happy with!)


(And this I made after being inpsired by Lisa McGarvey at Two Peas. I decided to do something similar for my word for the year and framed it with my verse.)


Happy February!

Waiting...

Waiting for the kids to fall asleep.

Anita lent us Save the Last Dance 2 and I want to watch it tonight. But Sage keeps calling from the bedroom.

Cameron is the softy. I don't put up with it for as long as he does. I'm mean. I'll close her door and tell her good night. (then of course, I'll open the door and ask: "Will you stay in your bed?" "Yes." "Then I'll open the door. But stay in your bed. Night, Sage.") And she'll obey. But Sage has her Daddy wrapped around her little finger, so it can drag out the bedtime routine a little when he's home.

I'm tired though and would like to get to bed early.

Oh well. Guess I'll wait a little longer...

Online Crop

I'm helping host the online crop this weekend at MSS. Last night, from Anita's (where I had a great time!) Today, from home.

The challenge that I posted last night was called "Stamp it Up" and it was to stamp on chipboard. Here's the layout that I did for it: (it's also my layout for Ali's challenge to list our scrapbooking essentials)



Here are a few more layouts that I made using the different challenges.

For two challenges: Marcy's Split personality (to journal on patterned paper and cardstock) & Jen's Lyrically speaking challenge to include song lyrics on a layout:



For Anita's challenge to not use anything "new" on a page:



For Marcy's magic number challenge: to use seven embellishments:



Thanks for looking!

What I did today...

Took Austin to school.
Put away laundry.
Did the dishes (three times!)
Cleaned my bathroom.
Talked on the phone.
Played with pictures on my computer.
Uploaded my pictures to Walmart.
Picked up Austin from school.
Made meals (again, three of them!)
Cleaned up two of Sage's accidents.
Made this:

Weekend Scrapbooking

Last night and this morning and afternoon, I spent at my church. We organized a crop there for the weekend. Tracy was quite shocked when I was still there last night at 1am-- but I left shortly after that. Was back at 9am. Took a quick trip to MSS in the morning, but otherwise stayed at the church all day. Got eight layouts done (4 last night and 4 today-- it took me four hours to get one done this morning/afternoon!) But the good news is: I'm almost done scrapbooking my Christmas photos! YAY!

So now, I'm home. I watched Shrek with my kids this evening. We ate popcorn and I snuggled under a blanket with Jonah & Sage. It was a great way to end my day.

Before I head to bed, here are a few layouts that I got done from the weekend:

A good story

I love a good story. Whether it’s a television show, a novel or a movie, I love it when I can totally get into a story to the point where I forget everything else that’s going on. Or where, when the end of the novel (or show, or movie) comes, I’m sad to say good-bye. Or where I get so totally caught up that I laugh out loud or cry.

I took Austin & Jonah to go see Charlotte’s Web a couple of weeks ago at the movie theatre in Winkler.



And even though I knew the ending, I cried. With tears rolling down my cheeks. I had to get a grip so I wouldn’t start sobbing.

And then the best part: Austin was sitting two seats down from me and when Charlotte was “languishing”, he looked at me, and it was like looking at a mirror. He had the exact same expression on his face and tears in his eyes. I loved seeing him get as involved in the movie and that it touched him. It was a wonderful moment.

Today...

would have been my dad's 71st birthday.

But instead, we lost him 6 1/2 years ago to a battle with cancer.

My dad was such a great man. Quiet. Respectful. An english gentleman.

He was funny. Witty, I guess. He loved a good pun. (An aside, I think I got most of my high school english teacher's jokes because he had the same sense of humour as my dad. So I would be laughing, while the rest of the class would be confused. They probably thought I was sucking up, but I wasn't. I just thought he was funny.)

My dad loved to golf. When he retired, he spent a lot of his time golfing. And going on winter trips with my mom so they could golf.

In this picture, he's holding Austin when Austin was a day old. He was so proud to be a grandfather. He passed away just over a week before Austin's first birthday.

It makes me sad that my dad has missed so much of Austin's life. And that he never met Jonah or Sage or Noah (Trevor's son.) It's really too bad, because he was a great grandad.

It seems crazy to me that I can still miss him so much after almost seven years.

But I do.

Tuesday

Nothing much to post... Had coffee with Anita this morning. Always a good time. So relaxing and easy to just visit and talk about anything and everything.

Getting ready for our first crop at our church on Friday night and Saturday. We've got over 15 people signed up so far. Hoping it goes well (it should, but I worry nonetheless.) We want to go and purchase door prizes on Thursday evening at MSS. (Totally looking forward to that!)

Can't think of anything else to write-- I think I'll head downstairs and scrapbook a little while Sage is still sleeping (Marcy's sketch had gotten me all inspired!)

Willow Tree Angels

My collection of Willow Tree angels began several years ago, when one of my closest friends, Val, gave me one for my birthday. It was the angel of happiness and I was absolutely delighted with her.

I received my second one from Val the following Christmas-- an ornament-- the angel of beauty. And for almost every birthday & Christmas since, I have gotten an angel from her as a gift.

I love my collection of angels. I think that they are beautiful and wonderfully crafted. But what I think I love most about them, is that when I look at them, I think of Val and the treasure that our friendship is to me.











I made the mini-album with 5”x6” chipboard, Daisy D’s patterned paper and a We Are Memory Keepers decorative eyelet. I cut a brown hair elastic and attached it to the back with a We Are Memory Keepers snap, so that it loops around to the front to keep the album closed. I used Jessica Sprague’s Echoes of Asia digital kit to add frames to my photos, and I added text as well in my Microsoft Picture it Publishing.

My joy journey

I had to stop at my church yesterday to take care of some R.O.X. stuff. While I was in the library, this book caught my eye.

I started reading it this morning and liked what was written in the introduction:

"If you were to define joy, how would you do it?

Scripture gives us clues. For starters, Nehemiah 8:10 tells us the joy of the Lord is our strength. First Chronicles 16:27 tells us that strength and joy are in God's dwelling place. John 16:24 tells us to ask and we'll receive so that our joy will be full. John 16:20 promises that our grief will turn to joy.

No matter what definition of joy we use-- abundance, happiness, fulfillment, whatever-- our relationship with God is integral to true joy in our lives."

Not up to very much today. Cameron's taking the van (his truck broke down at the farm and he need to go and work on it) so Jonah, Sage and I are chillin' at home. (Cameron suggested I walk to get Austin at lunch and then walk him back afterward, but I sent a lunch along with him, because otherwise we would really be chillin', because it's freezing outside!)

Tuesday

Not up to too much today.

Had a new friend over for coffee this morning. Things we have in common: both teachers who aren't working right now, both moms, both Christians, and both... scrapbookers. So needless to say, we had lots to chat about!

I got my scrapbooking space rearranged last yesterday. I stole the shelving unit out of Sage's room and reorganized all my stuff. Went through my stuff and created a pile to give to Carley, our babysitter.

Here are some pictures of my "new" space:





I'm quite excited about this. Everytime I go downstairs and look over at my area, it makes me smile! And here's the layout I created this afternoon there:

I used pictures from when we went to my mom's to help her set up her tree. (It came out a little orange in the scan-- it's lighter irl!

Tonight we have Bible study. Not terribly excited about going. We're (Cam & I) are in a group with three other couples. But the other couples are all in their late forties/early fifties with kids all grown and out of the house. (One couple has grandkids Austin's and Jonah's ages.) Anyway, just not feeling like I'm connecting well with them-- even after a year and a half. Kind of wishing we could be in a group with couples who are in the same stage of life as us.

Anyway, enough rambling for today...

A word for 2007

When Ali Edwards challenged me to choose a word for 2007, the word “joy” immediately popped into my head.

I think there were a few reasons for this.

Three years ago, at our church’s women’s retreat, we were put into small groups for the weekend. In my group, we were asked to speak God’s word sitting to the person beside us. Cindy Penner spoke the words to me: pure joy.

This totally resonated with me. Not because it’s what I felt I had or expressed in my life. But because, that was my desire. To be a person who has pure joy.

When attempting to define joy, I found most of the definitions to contain the word happiness. Which I get. But I also think that joy is something more. Something deeper. Something lasting, that isn’t dependant on circumstances. It’s just there, regardless of what’s happening around us.
Along with the word, I thought I’d choose a verse to go with it to be my verse for the year. So, I went to Bible Gateway to search for a verse. And found 333 references for joy in the New Living Translation. When I started reading some of them, especially in Psalms, I found something interesting:

Almost all of the verses that resonated with me connected joy to God. Being in God’s presence. Seeking Him. Trusting Him. Being full of joy in Him.

So, this is my word for the year: joy. And though I’ve chosen seven verses (so far) that I’d like to meditate on throughout the year, my chosen verse for 2007 is Psalm 16:11: “You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.”

This is what I want to be: a woman of joy. Not because my life is great and everything is going well. But because I'm finding joy in being in God's presence and in trusting in Him.

The right thing to do

Do you ever have those moments where you don't know what the right thing to do is?

Not a moral or ethical dilemma.

Just unsure what's best for my kids. My husband. Me.

Tonight, Cameron and I were suppose to go to a Congolese fundraiser supper at our church tonight. It was time to get ready. We'd just gotten home from picking up Cameron at the farm and stopping at Giant Tiger to pick up milk and some panties for Sage (we're potty training!)

Jonah had fallen asleep in the van and when I carried him in, he wanted to be held. So I indulged him.

Then I mentionned that Carley would be coming to babysit. And he started to cry.

Normally, it wouldn't have bothered me. I'd have thought: "He'll get over it and be fine."

But tonight, for whatever reason, I couldn't. So I called Carley and cancelled. I don't think she was very happy about it.

And I felt bad.

Then Cameron questioned my decision and said he'd been looking forward to going with me.

And I felt bad.

And then my brother called and when I told him, he reminded me that Jonah would have been fine 3 minutes after I left.

And I felt bad.

And when I suggested to my kids that maybe I should go, Austin said: "No, I want you to stay mom."

So I stayed at home with them this evening.

Not sure if it was the right thing to do or not.

Sometimes it's hard to know what the right thing to do is...

Good things

Here are a few things that I've enjoyed over the holiday season:



Hanging out with this guy for a couple of days (believe it or not!)

This is my older brother, Trevor, who took this photo himself with my camera and told me that he wanted to see it on my blog. So, here you go, Trev.



Spending time with my nephew, Noah. He's Trevor's 3 1/2 year old son and is adorable. I think what makes him even cuter is the fact that he speaks in French 99% of the time. Trevor insisted that I speak to him in english and by the end of the second day, Noah had replied to me in english once(which was also very cute!)



Spending time with friends (ALWAYS a favourite thing to do!) This morning, I had coffee with Anita and she took this picture of our girls. I think it looks like they're doing some sort of interpretative dance, but they were really just chasing each other around the living room.



Playing games with my kids. Jonah and Sage got Dora YUM and Diego Lotto for Christmas from their uncle Trevor and they've been quite a hit. I've also played Battleship with Austin (also from Uncle Trevor) a couple of times (he creamed me yesterday with no help!) and I taught him how to play Yahtzee last night (a huge favourite of mine from when I was a kid!)



Scrapbooking with Austin tonight. He's been telling me for a while how he's good at scrapbooking and hinting that he'd like to scrapbook with me. So tonight, after supper, we went downstairs to my scrap space and made the above layout together. I was surprised that it wasn't as frustrating as I thought it would be-- it was fun and a great way to spend time together one on one.

Christmas in Winnipeg

On the 27th, we went to Winnipeg to celebrate Christmas with my mom. My older brother, Trevor, and his son, Noah, flew out from Montreal to join us.

We stayed the night at the Canad Inns on Pembina Hwy and a had a great time enjoying their pool. Here are a few of my favourite pictures that we took there:



(I'm not sure why Cameron wears a shirt in the water. Trevor asked me if it was a religious thing. Not to my knowledge...)



This little girl looks so good in a bathing suit! (Although Trevor felt the need to tease her about her thighs-- he said I should put her in speed-skating!)



This little boy is so adorable-- love him!



We had such a blast going down the waterslide! Jonah and I must have gone down it together at least a dozen times!

Merry Christmas!

Our kids were up this morning before 8am-- we were done opening gifts by 8:10am!



How awesome to see the happy expressions on Austin's, Jonah's and Sage's faces when they opened their gifts!







Wishing you a merry Christmas filled with wonderful moments and things!

Mouseless

Our computer mouse died last night (or was broken by a certain seven-year old!)

I couldn't believe how many times I went to use the computer, only to remember that I couldn't!

First thing this morning, we went to pick up a new one.

When we were leaving the store, Jonah, who's 4, said: "Mom, did we get a pet?"

(I guess he heard me tell the lady I wanted to buy a mouse!)

Christmas concerts

Austin had his school concert last night. I knew it would be hard to take pictures of him and his class on stage, so I tried to get most of his class to pose in the foyer.



Here's a picture of him as they were getting on stage.



It was the best one I got. He was in the last row with four or five rows of kids in front of him.

So the school concert is done. Now I'm looking forward to his church concert on Sunday morning.

The cheetah

In the middle of October, Jonah started pretending to be a cheetah. He’d run or bear crawl around the house and make a “ming” sound with his “paws” together in front of him.



He’d talk about being a cheetah or about cheetahs in general a lot. If I called him “Jonah”, he’d say: “Um, Mom, I’m a cheetah” & want me to address him as such.

A week or so before Halloween, I told
Jonah that I had a cheetah head that he could wear. “A cheetah head?” he asked.

When I explained that it had cheetah ears, he said (rather indignantly while touching his own ears): “Mom, I have cheetah ears.”

Then, on Halloween, he suddenly wanted to wear the cheetah head. And wear it. And wear it. He wore it to bed that night and for the rest of the week. He wore it to church and the whole week after that.



And for the month or so following
that, he’s hardly taken it off.



Since it’s made of polar fleece, it
has doubled as a toque, which has been
good on cold days. And I guess inside, well, it’s just lots of fun to wear…

I’ve really enjoyed watching Jonah play this way and make believe—he’s definitely the cutest little cheetah I’ve ever seen.

Putting up the tree

We put up the tree this morning. Other than some frustration with the lights, it went pretty smoothly. A few things got broken but I had crazy glue on hand, so it was all good.

I also had my camera on hand...

Step #1: assemble the tree.



Step #2: put on the lights.



Step #3: put on the ribbon & ornaments.



Step #4: pose as a group in front of the finished tree.