Team Toews

Where I'm At...

2012-01-29T17:56:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile, I know. I've been struggling for multiple reasons, but mostly because of this...

Relationships are hard. Some are super hard. And then some of the super hard ones are even a million times harder. I would frankly just love to run away from those kind of relationships and never look back and yet, because of certain life circumstances, I'm just not able.

I have been hurt beyond repair in this particular relationship. I've chosen to forgive, even perhaps trust a little again, only to be hurt all over again, and again, and again. It's exhausting.

This would be the reason that I struggle. The reason I can't bring myself to even read my Bible or utter more than a prayer of thanks for our food. I'm being stubborn. I'm being disobedient because I actually think that it's better than what God would ask of me. I so badly want to hold onto my hurt, anger, and resentment because letting it go, giving in, and forgiving feels like I'm saying, "You're right. You win." I feel like it makes what was said and done, okay.

And I don't need a lecture on forgiveness or letting go, because I know. Do I ever know. In fact, this week I did actually get out my Bible knowing what I needed to do to get to where I truly want to be which is in a right relationship with God. And guess what? I mean, you shouldn't be surprised, because I sure wasn't... I opened up my Bible to this passage: "But if you are willing to listen, I say love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Pray for the happiness of those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you."

So guess what I did? Shut my bible. Ha! Like that makes it any less true, or directed at me, right? But I did. That's not what I wanted to hear, to pray for the happiness of those that hurt me. Do you know how badly I was hurt?

So back I go to Jesus, who is the truth, the truth that sets me free. And He DIED for ME. For my sins, all my sins, past, present, and future. He also died for my enemies too.

And today, I read in my bible this passage, "...you must be even more careful to put into action God's saving work in your lives, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey him and the power to do what pleases Him." Well, thank you God for that. I knew it was Him working in me giving me the desire to obey Him with this issue (there is NO way that desire came from me :)), and I'm so so thankful that I can only do it by His power.

And so, one day (maybe more like one minute) at a time, I will choose to follow that desire to obey God and rely on His power to do what pleases Him. And pray desperately that each time I must come face to face with this relationship in our lives that I don't have a true panic attack.

Next time will be a more positive note, just needed to get that off of my chest.

You've Got Some Explaining to Do

2011-11-14T12:32:00.000-08:00

Ok, so as I lay awake that night on the retreat trying to sort out this idea that I believe was from the Holy Spirit, I wrestled with my doubts and fears concerning stepping out in obedience. Questions like this, "What if it doesn't work?" and "What if the results aren't big enough?" and, "Is this really from you God?" played over and over again in my mind until I eventually fell asleep.

But I came home from the retreat determined to obey, the sooner the better. So I sat at my computer and created an "event" on Facebook (good 'ol Facebook)!

I have worked for a doctor now for 13 years (of course on and off between children etc., but in some capacity for the entire 13 years). I love him deeply, like family. He does not follow Jesus. My heart has ached for his salvation for years, and I have regularly asked God to save him. Over the years there have been very few opportunities (well, ones that I've taken) to share the Good News with him but I have always maintained that the best way for me (HA! like it's up to me!) to save him would be through relationship and him seeing me live it. After Carly was born and I essentially gave up my position at his office (I still do his billing), a beautiful young Christian woman named Sue was hired in my place. Even now typing it out, it's amazing to see back over the years and see God's intentional placement of people and circumstances in his life... incredible!

Anyway, back a month or so ago now, this young woman told me of how she had purchased a used vehicle off of craigslist, and to make a long story short, it ended up the vehicle had been stolen prior to her purchasing it and she had lost not only the vehicle, but all of the money ($6100) she had saved to purchase it. She also was working hard to pay for most of her upcoming summer wedding.

The event was titled, "Live in such a way that demands a gospel explanation." The idea was to collect as much money as I could from friends, relatives, and patients at the doctor's office who were Christians to help pay for a new car for Sue. I knew that it would bless the socks off of Sue, but I was hoping that there would be no other explanation for the "gift" than the gospel.

In the midst of all of this, I felt such a need to hit the floor on our (Brad's and mine) knees to bring our financial situation to God's feet. We had confessed our sin in how we had handled the resources God had given us, but it never had freed us from the worry over what we were going to do about it. And as I talked it over with Brad we began to see how even though we knew we had already been forgiven, we somehow still wallowed in this pit of self-pity and guilt... something that was definitely not from God. And so we've daily been giving our situation over to God in prayer and asking for His guidance and direction as to what we can practically do about it.

I was also reminded too of the importance of listening prayer, something I do not do often enough! After we prayed the first night, we spent some time just listening to what the Holy Spirit would have us hear. Clear as a bell, God brought a verse to my mind... Isaiah 55:9 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so are my thoughts higher than your thoughts, and my ways higher than your ways. Wow. What a way to fall asleep... God just told us.

As the week went on, donations kept coming in for this "event". It was exciting for me to see God work in the hearts of His people to give. And although I was excited, I worried. I didn't think I had enough money yet for this to be a "wow" thing. One morning in the shower as I was praying, God brought another very familiar verse to my mind. Be still and know that I AM GOD. Such a good reminder in light of our finances, and this "event". I went to my computer as usual that same morning to check email and facebook, and wouldn't you know it? TWO of my friends statuses on my news feed were quotes of that same verse. Well, there goes the doubt if that verse was really from you God!

Twice over the next week God brought different people to mind that I hadn't thought of to invite to this "event"... one I even doubted as this person was not at all close to the situation or even knew Sue or the doctor, and so I let it go. The very next day there was a message from this person in my inbox... okay God, I might be a little slow, but I think I'm beginning to recognize your voice a little better. I invited both of these people brought to mind and with stories too long to write, they gave cheerfully.

As the time was drawing to a close I still worried about the amount. Silly me.

Just over a week after I created this "event" I walked in to the office, in God's PERFECT timing and handed Sue a cheque for $5035!! She was overwhelmed to say the least. It was super fun to hear her call all her family and friends to tell them the good news, but what was even better, was to be able to verbalize to her and my boss what a huge God thing this was.

And then. My boss looked at me and said, "Who are you?"

Well, if that question doesn't demand a gospel explanation, I don't know what does!

I wish I could say that I answered the question right then and there with words given to me by the Holy Spirit, but I didn't. The words didn't come, and not because I was fearful, because I wasn't.

So the next day, I sent an email to my boss answering this question with the gospel laid out plain and simple. And you know what? For once in my life I was SO excited to hit that send button. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit nervous, but I was just so thrilled to be able to share with him this truly Good News.

At church yesterday our pastor said something that sums up a lot of what I've been trying to sort out for myself in all of this, it was, "If the gospel is to be good news to the world, it must first be to you, the best news you've ever heard." And that is why to some extent I feel like a new Christian... the gospel is, to me, truly the best news... why would I not want to share that?

I wanted to add too, that in all of our financial struggles this past year, I've really felt that my ability to give joyfully was taken away. I'm a giver by nature, and I think giving is one of my spiritual gifts, but because we just didn't have the means, it has hurt to not be able to be my generous self. I can't say that I've fully 'arrived' yet, but God has shown me that sometimes my reasons for being generous or giving has stemmed from a need for acceptance from people and how that doesn't at all line up with the gospel... that Jesus is enough.

But God gave me a gift when He allowed me to be the 'giver' so to speak, of this gift to Sue. It was honestly the best gift I've ever been able to give, and none of it really came from me! That He allowed me to experience the joy of giving was just so incredible to me.

More to come on why I wouldn't trade in our financial issues for the lessons we are learning along the way...

2011-11-11T16:21:00.000-08:00

Okay, point number two, and really there were so many that stood out from the retreat weekend... I have pages of notes to prove it, but the second point that really struck a cord with me was this...

"Live in such a way that demands a gospel explanation."

I think what I took away from this, is that I was living my Christian life "by the book" so to speak. In recent sermons at church, I learned that just doing enough or obeying the law is just that, enough. But Jesus called us to go above, not just tithe our 10%, but give all that we have. Not just let a man take our shirt, but offer him our coat as well and the list goes on.

So I realized nothing that I was doing (at least in my eyes) would need a further explanation than the fact that I was raised by great parents, and I'm just one of those really nice people who really has no problem obeying the law, and avoiding major sins. We all know really nice people who give, help, volunteer, etc. who are not Christians, so really, what would ever set me apart? What would cause people to examine my life and really not come up with a good explanation for how I lived, or really, who I was?

It was the last day of the retreat when after our morning session we had some personal quiet time, and I went to my room, got on my knees, and told God that I wanted Him to truly have His way in my life. That I was tired of doing "just enough" and I was done being afraid of what He might ask me to surrender, after all, didn't Jesus say that at the acceptance of His great gift to us, that all He demanded from us was our lives?? My life in sooo many ways looked pretty much like it belonged to me and I was/am SO ready for that to change. Everyone say "aha!"

To quote another passage from my Bible study book...
"Many experience the desire to follow God in a specific action only to have their desire swallowed up by laziness, greed, or fear. The Holy Spirit-inspired action remains undone because we delayed in its immediate application.
Merely desiring to do something for the Lord and actually doing something are two very different things. Latent and unfulfilled desires may either result in disobedience or a hindrance to our walk with the Lord."

I think this is exactly where I was at, desiring to do something for God, but always allowing laziness, greed, or fear to get in the way.

As I tried (in vain) to fall asleep on the last night of the retreat, I couldn't get away from thoughts around this "gospel explanation" topic. The Holy Spirit planted an idea in my brain that kept me awake for a couple of hours and the story that has since unfolded is an amazing testament to the goodness of God. Stay tuned.

It's incredible to see God work in my life through one event, but part of the "spaghetti" is that He has woven SO many things together to be working in my life for the same purposes and it is truly thrilling. Our church, my Monday morning Bible study, our Life Group, conversations with friends, and so much more... And what's even better, is to hear that God is working in the lives of close friends totally unrelated to what is happening with me, but all with similar direction and message. It really is so much more exciting that the most exciting Friday night plans I could think of (which sometimes actually consists of an early bedtime) to be experiencing God at work, and even getting to be used by Him too!

Hopefully I will do the 'unraveling' justice as I get my thoughts out here...

2011-11-09T15:41:00.000-08:00

Before I get to the "aha" (for lack of a better term) moment, I will just give you some "life at the moment" background.

Life is pretty good in the Toews house. Brad and I have a great marriage, not without it's issues and ups and downs, but we can honestly call each other best friend, and we are a team in everything. Our kids are pretty good kids too which I'm sure is all by God's grace to them and to us! We love our home, our church community, have wonderful friends, and in general do not "want" for much... we float through life feeling pretty good about taking care of everything all by ourselves (dun, dun, dun... foreshadow alert).

Last year after making some pretty poor choices and listening to advice without doing our homework, we got to the end of Brad's first full year of self-employment without NEARLY enough money in the bank to pay for our taxes. We have spent this whole year paying off that tax bill without having the money to set aside for this year's taxes and also pay our living expenses, so we find ourselves at the end of what feels like a LooooonG year right back in the same situation, without a lot of hope to see an end in the near future. We've spent a good portion of this year feeling ashamed and embarrassed about the hole we found ourselves in the bottom of, shovels in hand. We even felt each in our own way that we couldn't possibly rely on God, or even dare ask for His help because our situation was of our own doing! Stay tuned for how God is working in this situation!

A couple of weeks ago we were booked to go to a Life Group leader's retreat with our church. I was on the planning committee and was assigned the job of some welcome baskets to put in the rooms before the guests arrived. Friday morning I was up early, cleaned the house, packed all of the kids things for a weekend away at Auntie Kristin's... only to discover just hours before we were supposed to leave that both Sarah and Carly had fevers. Try as we might to find a solution that didn't involve exposing Kristin's kids to a virus but also involved both of us going to the retreat, we couldn't. I thought, "Fine, we'll both just stay home." I really didn't want to go without Brad. But, the welcome baskets, and my friend Kelly, both needed to get to the retreat center early, and of course there didn't seem to be another option for that that involved me staying home. I left that afternoon certain that I'd just drive up and then turn around and come right back home. I had some words with God.

On the drive up, as much as I didn't want to hear it, I felt God saying, "I want you there. Trust me." It was hard for me to think that God would want me there without Brad though... you know how hard it is to convey things you've heard and experienced at something like that to someone who wasn't there?? So stay I did. I had a wonderful weekend, weird as it was to be in a hotel room all to myself!

It was away on that weekend, that I heard/read some things that really resonated in my heart and came to a much bigger understanding of what my acceptance of what Jesus did on the cross means for me. The speaker was from Soma communities in Tacoma, WA. He talked about how they "do church", living in close community with other believers, serving and giving in extravagant ways, and seeing others won to Christ regularly. What he spoke about echoed in so many ways the things I've felt for a long time God wanted from me.

Two things specifically stood out, and I think were the catalyst for a decision I made on our last day at the retreat. One of them was, "God didn't save you for yourself, but for what you can do for Him." Ephesians 2:8-10 says... God saved you by his special favor when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.

I realized that even though my head believed that confessed sin was forgiven sin, that God loves me based solely on what Jesus did for me, and that HE is the power to save, I've lived my life with my head hanging down, never feeling like I was good enough, always thinking I had to try harder, read my Bible more, pray more, to truly realize God's power in my life. My heart simply didn't factor in. I think that Satan has fed me lie after lie to the point where I think I tell them to myself and don't even recognize them as lies anymore. In truth, I was living my Christian life, all about me. But the truth of God's word spoke loud and clear to me and I finally realized that the gospel, the good news is true for me. The gospel message has power, and purpose. For me. God loves me based solely on what Jesus did for me. I can be absolutely CONFIDENT in the grace of God. What. absolute. freedom. And my purpose, is to do "the good things he planned for me long ago." Not on my own strength or for my own glory, but by His, and for His.

Reading this back, I don't know if my words adequately express the way the truth in God's word have absolutely cut through to my heart and that I've truly realized my salvation in a new way. Talking to Brad this week, the best way I could describe it was that I feel like a new Christian. I feel like if I were to share my testimony (oh, wait, I guess this is part of it, right?) that my story now has that moment of a life-altering realization of the truth... something I've always felt was missing from my "grew up in a Christian home, asked Jesus into my heart when I was 5" story. And now, my heart is SO in.

I'll save number two for tomorrow...

In the Beginning...

2011-11-08T12:08:00.001-08:00

I was raised by wonderful parents who modeled Christ in a secure, loving home. I asked Jesus to come into my heart at the age of 5 with all the childlike faith and understanding I could muster. We went to church, did family devotions, prayed together after dinner, spent a year in South America doing a short-term missions trip, and I watched my parents serve in the church (usually in multiple capacities) and show hospitality to anyone and everyone.

I think as a child I asked Jesus into my heart almost daily, just to make sure, for sure, for sure, that I did not end up in hell.

As a teen I was involved in youth group at our church. Those years are FULL of fun memories, not the least of which are the times spent at summer camp. It was one summer in grade 8 (I think) that I rededicated my life to God and decided I'd do everything in my power to have a better relationship with Him.

At the end of the summer the year I was 16 I was baptized after summer camp... making a public declaration of my death to self, raised in Christ.

Although I went through the motions, had great times of daily time spent with God, was super motivated at other times to pray and motivate the church to revival etc., the roller coaster always came whizzing down the last big drop to a stop at the bottom, and I was always left feeling discontent.

I have to mention too, that I've always thought that Jesus' words were quite literal. I never read the Bible and thought, "Well, for our stage of life, in our culture, those words probably mean... (enter whatever explanation appropriate)." I actually often felt that people could so easily justify their actions/thinking based upon their own interpretation of the Bible. That is not to say that there is no room for interpretation, but when Jesus said, take care of the orphans and widows, I'm pretty sure that's exactly what he meant! I often felt out numbered, even in my Christian circles.

Fast forward through the ups and downs of my relationship with God until probably two years ago now. I read the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan followed by several others based on similar principles/thoughts over the last couple of years. I felt so inspired after reading these books, wanting my life to look different in a better way. BUT, I was often too afraid of what God might ask of me, especially in the form of "giving things up." And, how radically different my life might look to my Christian friends.

I felt especially challenged by a Francis Chan sermon I listened to about the kingdom of God and how it should mean more to you than your own family or any thing you possess... based on the story of the man who sold everything he owned to buy the piece of land where he had found a priceless treasure. But still I woke up day after day, my life in general looking exactly the same as it had the day before, and the day before that, and the day before that. Sure I loved God and desired a closer relationship with Him, wanting to show others Christ's love and raise my kids to follow Jesus, but something was not clicking... It's like the paragraph I quoted in my previous post... I was living my Christian life, not actually believing that the truth in the Bible was actually for me. That when God looks at me, He sees Jesus because He lives in me, and that when He gave me the gift of the Holy Spirit, that I have access to unlimited resources and power, not having to rely on my own strength or abilities to accomplish what He might ask of me.

Stay tuned for my "aha" moment...

spaghetti

2011-11-07T20:26:00.000-08:00

The best way to describe what God is doing in my life is a plate of spaghetti. Ok, maybe people with more wit and intelligence would figure out a better way, but that's what comes to my mind... mmmm, spaghetti... ok, I digress.

Over the past couple of months, and especially the last few weeks, God has been working... not that He isn't always working, but to be blunt, I feel like I've just been saved. Honestly. I have lived 29 years as a Christian, a follower of Jesus, and yet I was missing something. The best way to describe that, is to quote a paragraph from a Bible study that I'm doing with some girlfriends...

A person can walk with God, talk with Him, pray to Him, serve Him and be in church sitting on the pew learning about Him, but not trust God with her life. A girl can fail to believe what He can do for her even when she's heard and maybe even seen what God can do for other people. She can learn about God but not really believe it's all true for her. (Faithful Abundant True... Priscilla Shirer)

I think I finally believe that it's all true for ME! I. trust. God. with. my. life.

Anyway, back to the spaghetti... what I'm learning and experiencing in my life right now cannot be separated into stories or boxes, or, for the sake of this aptly titled blog post, noodles. It is however, all intertwined and uniquely tangled. It's difficult for me to convey even part of the story without telling the whole thing because even though the individual stories are great on their own, one can only be more in awe of God and His power and goodness if you hear the whole thing... problem is, the story keeps getting better and better, and it also doesn't end!

Next post will be the beginning...

Warming Up

2011-11-01T19:49:00.001-07:00

Halloween has always been one of those "issues" for us. We are never quite sure how much we should "celebrate" or not. In years past we have trick or treated with the kids, stayed home and had a movie night, and gone to a friend's house for a party and candy hunt for the kids.

This year, we did something different.

And we loved it.Recently I have been so challenged with living like a follower of Jesus. To be a disciple who makes disciples. To live my life with intention and purpose in everything I do. I've come to realize that God didn't save me for me. He saved me for His glory, to bring His kingdom to earth. And so I am going to try, with His grace, and the power of the Holy Spirit to follow His son Jesus. One of my favorite "quotes" that I took away from a recent weekend leadership retreat was, "Live in such a way that demands a gospel explanation." I want my love to be so surprising to people that the only way it can be explained is by what Jesus has done for me.

And so, what we decided to do on Halloween came out of reading this blog post although the idea was not new to me. We decided to set up a warming station on our driveway. We set up a tent, coffee, hot chocolate with mini marshmallows, and homemade cookies. And we gave out candy too. Our whole neighborhood came to us, and we were able to meet neighbors (I ran inside after each one we met and wrote down their names and where they lived so I wouldn't forget) we didn't know and generally just have a really fun time. We had a great response from people, and we'll definitely be doing it again next year. I even got a phone number from a young mom looking to have a playdate. I'm just so thrilled about seeing God work and being a part of it... and all it took was being obedient to the prompting of the Holy Spirit, and some Handy cookies!:)Unfortunately I forgot to take any pictures of our little "set-up", but here is one of my littles in costume.

PAR-TAY

2011-10-13T13:33:00.001-07:00

Here is the par-tay post... Carly's gumball machine themed third birthday... I LOVE party planning, and this one was fun and simple, something I'm trying to do more of... simple.party.planning.... trying.

The cake.

Here is the birthday girl ready for her party in a cute shirt that Auntie Ali made for the occasion.

The party favors (mini gumball machines ordered from Beau-coup.com)The table all set.Isn't she the cutest three-year old you ever did see?

Carly is Three

2011-10-10T09:09:00.000-07:00

I know it's cliche, but I just can't believe how fast time flies! Our baby girl turned three this past week. It seems that I waited for most of my life to become a wife and mommy, and now I just can't believe we're moving past the "baby havin'" stage and into the "child raising"one. On SO many levels I am glad we are into the next stage, just wish it would slow down a bit.

Anyway, onto the spunky, strong(willed), affectionate, funny little three year old, known around these parts as "Car-Car". She chose a toaster streudel written on by Sarah for her birthday breakfast and was happy to accept the birthday greetings and hugs from her siblings first thing in the morning.Carly and I spent the morning just the two of us, hanging out doing puzzles, reading books etc. and a good friend stopped by with a Starbucks for me and a little present for the birthday girl. And we went out to celebrate as a family that night. The birthday child always gets to choose what is for dinner and what activity we will do (usually this is swimming, ChuckECheese, etc.) but we had wanted to get her a Build A Bear for her present, and it thankfully (as the budget is tight) doubled as her birthday activity!

We went to Red Robin for dinner and then headed to the Build A Bear store.

Loved the "Shortcake" present from her sisters and brother!

Thrilled with the ice cream and singing of happy birthday to her in the restaurant!She choose a bunny who she named "Sprinkles" and chose a cute dress, shoes and a purse to dress her in. It was super fun to watch her make her own choices and be so happy with the result!And the very happy birthday girl in the van with her bunny on the ride home. We had such a great time as a family celebrating our youngest member!

We love you Carly Makenna!

Gumball machine party post to come!

BTS 2011

2011-09-08T13:04:00.000-07:00

All the kids ready early the first day back! (Notice the neighbors cut down our lovely hedge of shrubs so the view isn't as pretty as before.:()

It's that time of year... time to wake up earlier, put out clothes and backpacks the night before, make lunches, find awesome show 'n tell items, and deal with the influx of paper notices!

This year, as much as I am ready for back to school practically speaking, and by that I mean I have a freezer full of individually wrapped baking for lunches, all the inside shoes and supplies purchased, necessary haircuts given etc., I was not emotionally ready to see my kids out from under my care for the better part of their days. And with real summer weather finally arriving here, it's been a bit more difficult than normal for me to say "goodbye summer" and "hello fall!"

Fall is actually my absolute favorite season, so I'm sure I'll get there.

Sarah starting Grade Three! So grown up! She put lip "gloss" on before these photos and I didn't have the heart to tell her to take it off!

Autumn headed to Grade One! (She has the same AMAZING teacher that Sarah had in Grade 1)

This year the big girls both go to school all day! It's so strange only having two lunch plates to prepare come 12 o'clock! They are going to a new school and have loved the last two days... both girls came out of school smiling big and excited for "tomorrow". I know it helps having so many of their good friends and even a couple of teachers from their previous school.

Rylan is in the 4-year old preschool class this year and he started yesterday.

TODAY though, I dropped my baby girl off for her first day of preschool (in the 3-year old class)... and yes, that means I'm at the preschool every morning during the week, but I'm alright with that. Carly kept repeating "cited"(excited) in the van this morning and could hardly wait for me to leave her so she could start playing with the toys. I'm sure that having been going to the preschool with her siblings for the last almost 3 years has much to do with her 'no fear' attitude.

All set with her back pack and snack bag! I couldn't convince her she just needed one!
And today, it's a REALLY good thing she's that adorable... let me tell ya!

It's Time...

2011-09-03T17:12:00.001-07:00

After much thought and little debate, I think I'm going to give blogging a go again. To be honest, I feel a lot of pressure to blog, to comment on blogs I read, etc. and that is why I stopped for a while... I admittedly have a little OCD, and to not be able to blog up to my self-inflicted standards for blogging left me feeling stressed and that I wasn't "living up". That being said, I really enjoy blogging and I'm going to do my best to let go of the "pressure" I put on myself to do so with complete regularity, creativity, proper English, and what-not... so here goes nothin'...

To Daddy

2010-04-14T13:23:00.000-07:00

I had to post this...

Dear Daddy, Thank you for changing my mind. I love you. Love: Sarah

It is a note that Sarah wrote to Brad after she had had a particularly negative attitude one morning last week and was sent to her room for some time out. Brad spent some time talking to her about her attitude and the effects that it has on everything. I came downstairs a little while after and she covered up a note that she was writing. Knowing that I knew I'd see it eventually I didn't ask her about it but saw it on the kitchen counter a couple of hours later.

Now, I don't know about you, but I don't ever remember actually thanking my parents for "helping" me with my attitude or correcting wrong behaviour. Yesterday again I helped her calm down when she was freaking out after accidentally swallowing a bead and she walked away saying, "Thanks mom for helping me not freak out."

And so, all this has me thinking... have I ever written a thank-you note to my Heavenly Father for the discipline and correction He gives me? For helping me to change my attitude? The answer is no... but maybe I'll start.
Phillipians 1:6 And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

And to my wonderful parents who disciplined me and tried to help me change my attitude on too many occasions to count... thank you...

Around Here

2010-04-13T15:50:00.000-07:00

Our week in pictures...

The "monstah" that Rylan and I made this morning... he's going to use it to scare Daddy when he gets home from work today. (Brad is back at work this week after being off for 5 weeks!)

The kids made sugar cookies and some very colorful icing with Daddy while I had the flu over the weekend... he's such a great daddy.

And this is Autumn before......and after having her ears pierced! This kid is SUCH a girly girl. Brad took her and apparently she only let one tear slip out... she's a tough girly girl for sure! She is loving her new look and will show anyone and everyone!

And this is Sarah's last picture smiling with all of her baby teeth. As a side note, Karen Kingsbury wrote a book about our child's "lasts" (makes you cry), and I'm trying to celebrate/mourn the lasts as they happen to my kids even though sometimes we're not aware of when the lasts happen.

And this is her after... unfortunately she had to have the tooth pulled by the dentist as her adult tooth was already all the way in behind it and there was no budging that tooth no matter how hard we tried! She too was tough and didn't even flinch... the dentist said his job would be so much easier if they all could be like her... makes a mom proud!
And here's Carly trying on my running shoes... this is what this girl does... walks around the house looking for things that are not hers or she's not supposed to touch and doing "things" with them... she looks darn cute doing it though!

And this to make her Grandpa Toews proud... eating her barbequed meat right off the bone... leave it to Daddy when Mommy is out!

I have a few posts brewing so stay tuned!

Cuteness with a capital Carly

2010-02-24T10:29:00.000-08:00

This kid is FULL of cuteness.

She is also full of spunk and curiosity. She is our one child who gets into EVERYTHING. If she is not with someone in the family she is most definitely getting into something she's not supposed to. I have never considered putting child locks on cupboards etc., until her, although I think we prefer to teach her not to go into the cupboards and stick her fingers in the electrical sockets rather than childproof the house... it's always worked for the rest of them, though she is a lot more persistent. I joked the other day that she probably thinks her name is "Carly-No!" as it seems that comes out of my mouth a bazillion times a day. She loves to unravel the toilet paper rolls, stick her hands in the toilet, get the lids off of the kids' markers and eat them, and go into my container of sugar in the kitchen. Fun times.

I love this stage of development too. She is starting to say a few words, but understands EVERYTHING!!! She will go and do anything we ask her to do and follows 2 and 3 step commands sometimes. I think she will be slower at talking like Autumn was... she sometimes says a word and then she looks like, "Oops, did I just say that out loud? Now they know I can say it!" And then we never hear the word again.

She loves to do anything and everything her older siblings do, and with the beautiful sunny weather we'd been having, she was loving being outside with all of them toddling around the backyard and digging in the dirt. Here she is with Sarah's purse on her shoulder all proud of herself.

Carly is slowly giving up drinking her bottle, but still guzzles her morning and bedtime ones. She speed walks because she can't run, and falls down lots because her body goes faster than her legs can carry her. She's officially down to one nap now, and it's stretching into 3 hours somedays (hallelujah!) and she sleeps wonderfully at night. She's a picky eater, but after having 3 other kids at this stage, nothing much phases me in that department. I know she'll grow to like a lot of different foods just like her sisters have.

Speaking of growing, this girl's hair is ridiculous! The mop of curls almost visibly grows by the day. I love that I can get pigtails in it too... soooo cute, and makes her look so little girlish and less babyish. We just love her to bits and can't imagine our crazy life without her in it!

Happy Birthday Brad

2010-02-23T13:49:00.001-08:00

February 5th marked Brad's 34th birthday...

We had a great evening together celebrating as a family.
In true Brad style, he made his own birthday dinner, but I helped out with the "sides" for the kids, as steak, prawns, crab and potatoes were about all Brad cared about eating.
We then played a rousing game of hide and go seek together which was seriously so much fun. I don't think all of us have laughed that hard all together, ever.
Then we had cake, cards and a present.I have to take this opportunity to tell the world... I mean, my 3 blog readers :) that I have an extraordinary husband. He is amazing. In so many ways he makes me thankful to my heavenly Father that Brad was His choice for me. And he just gets better as the years go by. Happy B-day, B-rad!

I'm Back

2010-02-22T15:32:00.001-08:00

Okay, so I decided after much deliberation I decided to make a go of blogging again. To be honest I just haven't been in the mood to blog and there really hasn't been too many exciting things happening around here, but I'll attempt to get caught up on this thing.

I'll make the posts short and sweet but more often I think.

Our Valentine's Day.

We made this fun banner as a family one afternoon before the 14th. It was a little cheap kit I found at Target, and it really was fun to make this together. Each of us did a couple of letters and strung it all together... the picture doesn't do it's cuteness justice.

These beautiful tulips were from Brad for me... they are my favorite flowers.

This is an attempt at a picture to email to our family members... yes I am cheesy like that and buy my children matching outfits... I found the girls dresses at H&M for $5.95 and I couldn't pass up an opportunity to have all three of them matching. I resisted the pink shirt I found for Rylan knowing his father would not be impressed in the least.

The table all set for our family brunch. I can't say it was full of love like Valentine's day is supposed to be... apparently my children did not get the memo. Oh well, it was good to be together with the ones I love the most.

The kids opened their little Valentine's treat bags and we all exchanged cards and notes together. Brad and I were able to get out and enjoy dinner and a movie with great friends in the evening too. I actually really like Valentine's day and another excuse to celebrate love and being together. Because I haven't been in the blogging mood, I neglected to take pics of the cupcakes I sent to school with the girls on the Friday before, or the heart shaped scones I made for our earling morning breaky before church... told ya I like Valentine's Day!

Christmas Concerts

2009-12-27T18:51:00.000-08:00

Well, we had the privilege of watching our kids in a number of different performances this December, starting with Sarah's ballet recital (first one ever) on the 12th.
Then the kids all had a couple songs to sing at church the next day... so cute! They did very well, and as you can see, Rylan wouldn't go up there without his Spunky puppy.

And then we went to watch Autumn's preschool play on the 16th. Each of the kids had a line to recite, and in between the narration there was about 5 different songs all with unique actions. It was super fun to see her participate in something like this. She was an angel and said her line perfectly! And then because her birthday is in December it was her turn to have the class sing to her and have a birthday cupcake.

Later that same day we went to watch Sarah's school performance. She was a little rag doll in a song about what Santa had in his sack, and then participated in the large group number as well. It was really a well put together little show and we had so much fun watching!

Purplicious Turns Four!

2009-12-27T18:38:00.000-08:00

Thought I should post about Autumn's Purplicious 4th Birthday Party..

Autumn absolutely loves the color purple so it seemed a natural theme to go with for her party this year. We only invited 5 little girls (so we could do all things girly) and only 4 of them ended up coming so it was nice and small. There was nail painting, coloring, tutus, and just a lot of purple. Without further ado, I'll let the pictures do the talking...

We also celebrated as a family on her actual birthday (the 8th of December) with a trip to Chuck E. Cheese, KD for dinner followed by cupcakes and presents... forgot to take pictures of that though!

WHY?

2009-12-10T13:22:00.000-08:00

Why does December always have to feel like this... so much to do, so little time... I thought I was doing so well considering I had bought my first Christmas present way back in September, but just making a list of all the stuff I have to finish is overwhelming... and all for what? So we can "sit back and relax" and enjoy the Christmas festivities over three days??! Unfortunately those days never seem so relaxing for us. I just don't know what to cut from the list and I'm not sure if there's much I want to cut from the list... it's all fun or for fun things.

I find it especially difficult because the people that seem to suffer the most with my busyness, even though most of it is for them, is my family, Brad and our kids... they go to bed later than normal, eat a little more "convenience" food, and watch more TV... just a second, that doesn't sound much like "suffering" does it? Well, my mommy guilt tells me differently.

As funny as it sounds, I'm actually looking forward to my surgery and having NOTHING to do afterwards but rest and recover... it'll be a nice break, and once I'm off of painkillers I should be able to spend some quality time with my kiddies and Brad... so looking forward to that.f

Anyway, enough procrastinating, off to tackle the dreaded list.

Too Busy...

2009-12-02T21:14:00.000-08:00

... does not even accurately describe my life these days. Yesterday before 4pm I had baked and iced birthday cupcakes, set a nice dinner table, washed, dried, and folded 5 loads of laundry, tidied the entire house, done school drop-off and pick-up, did 2 hours of my transcription work, and gone to Superstore to get a few groceries for the dinner and bought a birthday present too... yeah, ask me what kind of mom I was yesterday... or no, don't ask me that. We had Brad's family over for birthday dinner for Autumn and Mom Toews. Thankfully Brad came home on the earlier side and was able to do all the dinner prep while I did Superstore and picked Sarah up. We had a really nice dinner and Autumn was thrilled with the new digital camera she got from Grandma and Grandpa and the lipsticks from Uncle Jake and Auntie Tara.
Anyway, there are about a million little things on my list of "to dos", and all of them have to be done before my surgery on the 17th. Oi! On the list for tomorrow is making peanut butter balls for a cookie exchange, doing the billing at the doctor's office and making goody bags, a banner, and picture favors for Autumn's birthday party on Saturday. I am having to really concentrate on getting in quality time with the kids in the midst of it all.

Speaking of family time, we went to get our Christmas tree on the weekend as a family. As is tradition, we went out to cut down our own tree this year and had a really great time together. We took advantage of the fact that it wasn't raining on Sunday afternoon, and headed into Aldergrove to the tree farm. We usually go to Murphy's Tree Farm but found upon arrival that they are no longer a "U Cut" farm, so we turned around and headed to Frosty's Tree Farm which we really liked. It was a great family atmosphere and nice and clean too! Once we found "the one", Rylan helped Brad cut it down with the saw. It was so fun to see the boys doing the blue job while all of us girls looked on! Then all of the kids helped Brad haul the tree out of the "forest" while I carted Carly. The kids with their tree, you know the one that goes in the playroom with all the colored lights, homemade ornaments and tinsel... yep, that's the one...The owner then offered to take a family pic with our tree which I thought turned out pretty well.
After our tree getting, we headed over to our friend's house and had pizza and decorated gingerbread houses as families... so fun, I hope to make that a Christmas tradition too.
Okay, that's it for now... off to cross something else off of the list, I just heard my dear husband come in the door after doing my errands... love him. Hope to post soon with advent calendar and decorated house/tree pics.

What's Up... with random pictures.

2009-11-13T11:55:00.000-08:00

this is my most adorable nephew Caden... I heart him.

I'll tell you what's up...

I don't know why, but I always feel the need to play catch up on my blog and then the task seems so daunting that I leave it longer, and longer, and longer... until I figure why bother trying to catch up and let's just start with today.

I am in the midst of Christmas preparations and planning Autumn's purplicious 4th birthday party at the beginning of December as well. I have so many things to do (I'm sure most of you can relate), and so many other things that I really WANT to do and make time for - you know the special family things and a party for my sunday school girls, etc. - that I just don't have the time to write every couple of days.

One day maybe my blog will be filled with links and buttons for other blogs and sites and the header will change every month... until then...

So today, I got an email from a cupcake blog that told me my apple cupcakes would be featured on their blog... kinda cool, right? You can check it out, here.

I filled my kids advent calendars yesterday. I think I'm a little more excited for Christmas in our house this year because last year we were renovating and things like the homemade advent calendars and decorating went by the wayside. I also ignored myself and didn't fill Carly's calendar this year like I would have for other one-year-olds in the past... she just doesn't get it, and I'm sure her siblings will be happy to share. I will share my calendars in another post... I remade them all four to match this year, and I still need to find a topper for them before I take pictures etc.

I don't know about you, but it seems like this week everyone took a look at their calendar and thought, "Oh, December is close... must fill it up!" We've been flooded with dates put on the calendar for catering, parties, recitals, family dinners, etc.... our December weekends are almost gone - mostly with fun stuff though.

In other news, I've decided to have my surgery (message me if you want more details) in December to take advantage of Brad's time off work etc., so I'm excited and nervous about that all at the same time.

this cute thing is such a monkey these days... so stinkin' cute I can't stand it sometimes though!

I'm also doing pretty well at the Biggest Loser challenge and the weight is slowly but steadily coming off which I'm pleased about. And, in true biggest loser fashion, this is what my hubby made for Sunday night after the kids are in bed supper the other night... I have to "diet" in real life, and in real life I will enjoy the occassional bad for me, tastes so good supper with my bestest friend.

And that's it for now. Hopefully I'll be back with a new post sooner rather than later.

Stuff

2009-10-19T09:52:00.000-07:00

Wow how the days fly by! I have many posts in the making, but thought I would rid my mind of some of the half done posts floating around in it and just do a quick update post. Maybe youngest to oldest today...

Carly is so cute. That's pretty much all I have to say about her today... oh wait, she is taking 5-6 steps now between people or pieces of furniture - yay! Other than that, you just read a post about her, not much is new. Rylan is officially potty trained - another "yay"! We started last Saturday and just kept him in undies and were very positive about the whole thing in general. About half way through the week he would go on the potty every time we took him, but I kinda believe that if you have to constantly ask and take your child to the bathroom that there might be more than one of you that is "trained"... so we stopped asking, put up with a few more "accidents", and let him tell us... and today, I happily say, he's done! Three down, one to go. And the other night I put him in bed and asked him if we should pray or sing a song, and he promptly closed his eyes and sang/prayed "Jesus love me... this I know... Bible tell me so... amen." :)

Autumn is constantly talking about her purplicious birthday party in December. She LOVES all things purple and so that is what her party will be about, but she really doesn't go a day without bringing up some aspect of her party... I love that she's so excited for it... I am too! She didn't pass her swimming lessons, but for it being her first set ever she did SO well. She just doesn't like doing floats which is completely understanding for her personality... she's a bit of a control freak like her mom... doesn't like the feeling of being out of control when she asked to float without the teacher holding her. Nevertheless, we feel that she advanced by leaps and bounds with her comfortableness (I know that's not a word) in the water. Yesterday she decided to jump off the fourth stair up from our front door just as Brad came back inside the house... edge of door meet Autumn's forehead... yep, nice bruise.

Sarah passed her swimming lessons... she did so well and we were a little surprised because we had heard that it's a bit of a harder level, and with her being on the smaller side for her age sometimes she needs more strength than she has to do what's necessary to pass, but she did. Her school teacher has told me on several occasions what a kind and thoughtful little girl she is... and yes, I am bragging a bit... she makes us very proud and thankful. We also got news on Friday that her school is scheduled for closure come September... not good. We are praying that that does not happen, and we'll be doing everything we can to keep it open along with most of the other parents. I am a little stressed at the moment with the amount of things on my "to do" lists, and a few things that require a lot of thought... here is a snipet of my list:

-Autumn's birthday invites

-plan trip to Seattle (we're going there with friends on the 30th)

-update kids scrapbooks

-finish advent calendars

And as for the thoughts, they include, plastic surgery, a cruise in March, finances, holidays, Christmas presents... you know, the usual stuff.

Brad is deep in the heart of our ensuite renovations on his "free" time. We've picked out everything pretty much... now it just needs to be assembled. You should see our bedroom... piled high with all the stuff that was in the bathroom, and all the new fixtures, tile, paint, etc., that need to go in the bathroom... maybe that's why I'm not sleeping well - the mess! His job is going well from everything that I hear, and we had a couple chances in the last two weeks to get out for a date night... so good.
The pics scattered throughout this post most of you have already seen, they were taken by my friend Carmen (www.carmenvandyckphotography.com) and I just got them back this past week - they're too good not to post here.

One

2009-10-07T10:47:00.000-07:00

How can my baby be one already? Carly Makenna has been a wonderful addition to our family and we are blessed beyond belief. She is full of spunk and attitude and fun and we just love her to bits.
She LOVES to get into to anything she's not supposed to such as the one house plant we own, the cupboards with the breakable stuff, and the toilet. She loves to play chase, climb up the stairs when no one is looking, splash in the bath, and she loves to be held while I walk around the house. She is close to walking, has 7 teeth, can clap her hands, wave bye-bye and sign for "all-done", she also sort of blows kisses (SO CUTE!). She also has fabulous hair!We celebrated with our family this past Saturday, and would be having a friends lunch today but she is sick and we will try again for that on Friday. I'll post pics when all of the celebrating is done. The picture at the top of this post is courtesy of my friend Carmen vanDyck (www.carmenvandyckphotography.com).

Happy First Birthday Lolli!

A Week in Random Order with Mostly Random Pictures

2009-09-23T21:27:00.001-07:00

It's been over a week since I blogged last... time flies when you're having fun.

Let's see what we've been up to...

- made a horse cake... on the same day I made more apple cupcakes - this time for Autumn's class - also made cupcakes and various other baking for sister's baby shower the next morning, cleaned the entire house and had company over after dinner for some seriously "bad for you" but "oh so yummy" snacks made by my fabulous husband who loves to deep fry!

-swimming lessons for the oldest two every Tuesday and Thursday after dinner... apparently (because Brad has been taking them) Autumn is a little fish and is so brave... who knew? She told me the other day that she wanted to invite her swimming teacher to her four-year-old birthday party... cute.

-had a great Sunday lunch with friends who ended up staying and visiting into the evening hours... love Sundays like that!
-I joined a "Biggest Loser" competetion with some friends and friends of friends... time to lose this weight once and for all... the end is January 5th... I'll keep you posted!

-Carly has become a whiny little thing the last few days... hopefully teeth, but I distinctly remember the other girls being like this around a year old... she just crawls after me all day and cries if I don't pick her up. Thankfully she has settled into some excellent napping habits these days and I have at least four hours of peace from my adorable "cling-on". She is a little monkey, and we're always finding out something new she can do, like getting up onto Rylan's bed all by herself. And she's started to babble some funny things especially when we're in the van driving... it usually sounds like "atickultickultickul" over and over... really cute!

-I'm starting to miss TV a bit. I'm thinking about getting my parent's treadmill again because trying to find a time and a partner for exercise outside of the house is just not happening, so I was thinking that if I'm on the treadmill doing nothing but exercise then watching TV while I'm on it would mean the TV was not taking up time I could do something else with... hmmm... and I'd be motivated to exercise if I wanted to catch up on Survivor or something like that... hmmm... something to think about.

-That's all I've got tonight. Any guesses what my favorite form of punctuation is these days...?? It's so good for thought typing... dontcha think?

Happenings...in no particular order...

2009-09-15T21:03:00.000-07:00

This kid has a great smile, and she loves to flash it every time I have the camera out. She is LOVING school, had her first ballet lesson yesterday which she also LOVED, and I was happy to see more than a couple moms that I recognized in the waiting room - I love Abbotsford! And she had her first swimming lesson tonight, that from all reports seemed to go really well too.

I got a haircut... I don't really like it straight that much, but it does the curly thing quite well, so we'll see... it's a little short but thankfully hair grows!

This is Autumn on her first day of preschool this year... had to take the picture inside because it was pouring that morning. She also did very well at her first ever swimming lesson tonight. We are enjoying a little more one on one time the last few days which has been great!
Another view (although dark) of my haircut... Sarah took the picture.

This is a familiar sight these days... Carly wakes up, other kids go in, climb in the crib, and everyone giggles and has a blast until mommy comes and spoils the fun.

We stopped by a Fall Fun Fair at Bakerview Church on Saturday evening to see some friends of ours who are pastoring there now... kids had fun... here's the face painting that lasted all of two hours because of bedtime.

We celebrated our friend's Alf and Kelly's son Ezra's first birthday party on Sunday afternoon, and here is the barn cake with animals I made... correction, my dad and I made with some help from my mom. My dad was the one who did our cakes for us as kids so I guess I know where I get it from. I really like working on projects with my family! The cake was actually a copy of one from gold old Betty Crocker, but my dad added the silo and I changed up a couple of the details. We had a good laugh at the party though when this VERY red icing made some teeth just that.

Here are our kids all dressed up to do Toews family pictures Sunday afternoon. We headed out to Derby Reach and met up with the rest of Brad's family there. You can go here, to see a snipet of the results. I thought the kids did fabulously well considering it was past Carly's nap time and it was hot and they were traipsed(sp?) all over the place to get some good pics. Pretty cute, huh?!

That's it for now. Off to prep school backpacks, and hopefully get a better night's sleep than last... Ry was up tons with croup... oh the joys.

Blopdate (Blog + Update)

2009-09-11T19:11:00.000-07:00

I think it's high time for an update of the Toews for those of you who care, and those of you who live far away and don't see us all the time.

Brad has started a new job working with a long time very good friend of his. He is installing wood (and other) flooring. This is a much more physically demanding job than he's had for a long time and so the "need" for a hottub has apparently become much more urgent. He is enjoying it so far and I know he'll be good at it. He catches on quickly and really enjoys learning new things so I'm sure he'll be up to speed in no time. Our only concern is that it is working with a friend and it's a friendship too important to lose over "a job", so we pray that everything will go well in the working/friendship relationship and have been careful to talk (and write) everything out. He has been on a bit of a "spree" around the house again finishing up all the little things about the renovation that have been waiting around for quite some time... I am LOVING it! He has done some work almost every night this week after the kids are in bed either inside or in the shop that he is building in the backyard. I can tell he's enjoying the satisfaction of getting some things checked off his "Honey-Do List". Sarah took this pic of us...

I am on my last few weeks of maternity leave for the fourth time and this will be the first time I don't go back to my 'out of the home' job... weird. I will be doing the transcription work from home again, but hopefully more on a "fun money" basis as Brad's new job should provide enough for us so that I don't HAVE to work... God is so good. Honestly, His provision for us is something that can so easily be chalked up to "luck" or "good timing", but we know who has the best timing now, don't we? At the exact time that Brad needed a job, I was going off mat leave and not going back to work, God provided a great opportunity for Brad's employment wrapped up with enough income that I probably won't have to work.

I am loving being at home these days and feel more and more like it's my God-given job and privelege to make our house a home and to impact these little people entrusted to us for the short time they live with us! I am a lover of all things organized and lists and so this is the perfect time of year for both. Recently I spent a week and went through EVERY cupboard, drawer, nook, and cranny of my house and purged, cleaned, and organized... and then we had a garage sale and got rid of ALL of the junk! It feels so good to start fall like this. And I've been checking things off of my "to do" list and doing organized things like meal planning and scheduling and stocking up on things in advance. I'm determined to not feel like I'm always one step behind, and I want to have the time for the important things like jumping on the tramp with the kids, have a family dance party, baking cookies for friends, spending time with God... living life with intention.

And as for my no TV, that's going really well. I'm surprised at how little I miss it. I actually think it's good when you don't even know what you're missing... I know all the shows are starting up, but I don't even really know when because I haven't been watching to see the ads for them, and I don't know what to expect "on the next episode of..." As for what's been replacing the time, I can say that Brad and I have connected at the end of each day and talked about just regular daily happenings, I've read my Bible more, I've been asleep earlier (sometimes), I've had more time to cross things off my lists and it's made my days more organized with less stuff to do so that I've actually had nothing to do other than sit and play with my kids, or help Autumn learn to write her name, etc.... it's been good.

And on to the kids...
Sarah is loving grade one so far and I'm excited to see the progress she makes socially and intellectually this year. She is such a great kid. She is a responsible, sensitive, caring, smart, fun, gentle, sweet little girl. She is incredibly helpful with her younger siblings and is protective of them too. This year she will start ballet lessons which she is really excited about and possibly piano lessons too. We also have her signed up for some swimming lessons too as we didn't get a chance to do them in the summer like usual. We treasure being her parents and are so priveleged to watch her grow up (which is happening way too fast by the way).
Autumn - our "spunkle", has been a bit more spunk (read: funk) than sparkle lately... she continues to challenge us with her attitude and opinion. She definitely is going through a bit of a phase (let's hope) lately and everything seems to be a battle. She'll choose disobedience (which doesn't end well at our house) when there's a very clear choice in front of her, she'll often start sentences with "I don't want" or "I don't like", and will sometimes just run to her room and cry for the smallest of weird reasons. It's frustrating for me because sometimes at the end of the day I can't remember a single positive interaction between her and I, and it's not for lack of trying! We persist and we pray, hoping to discover what makes her tick and learn how to love her in her language! I know someday she will be "sparkly" again! :) She went to preschool this week like she was never on a break and starts swimming lessons for the first time next week. She loves to play by herself and I've seen her take on a more of a "big sister" role now that she's home much more without Sarah. She amazes us with her words sometimes and I know she's got a very active thought life by what she'll sometimes bring up in conversation. One of my favorite things that she does right now is say, "schleeping" (sleeping) - it's really cute! She has caused me to pray more (which is a good thing), but she still brings so much joy to us and growth to our parenting philosophy!Rylan... what to say about my Ry guy... this boy would make any parent want to have a hundred kids if they would all be like him... seriously. He is SO good. Not abnormally good I would say as he still has very "normal" two-year-old moments and sometimes expresses his anger with sinking his teeth into his sister's arm (okay, this only happened for the first time yesterday), or he shows his disappointment in a mini freak out sometimes, but for the majority of the time Rylan is a happy, obedient, loving little man. He is funny and I laugh out loud over something he does usually more than once a day. He is also so affectionate... he loves to give hugs and kisses or even just be wrestled and tickled. It's easy to tell his love language is physical touch and it's pretty darn easy to fill his tank! His vocabulary is crazy these days and I often will overhear him talking or singing and say to myself, "did he just say/sing that?" He is very smart too... he does puzzles as easily, if not better, than his older sisters, can already count to almost 20 and although I cannot think of any more good examples right now, he amazes us with his little brain! He is also very coordinated which maybe just surprises me because he's my first and only boy and in that aspect he is so different from the girls, but he can throw a ball, catch a ball, and just seems to have some natural athletic ability (thanks Papa!). He is the source of much joy and laughter in our home. My favorite thing he does right now is give me "running hugs" where he'll start from far off with arms open wide and run as fast as he can diving full force into me for a hug... it's the best! I pray that even as a teenager he'll run to me at the end of a sports game (totally assuming he'll play sports) in from the sports field and give me a hug like that and I pray he continues to make our family laugh.Carly is quickly approaching her first birthday... yikes! I can't believe that I'm planning my last (most likely) baby's first birthday party... this "baby having" stage seems to have come to an end so fast (maybe it's 'cause I had all four of them in 5 years). We are loving watching this crazy cute little girl develop her personality and learn new things. She is FULL of mischief though, and I can already tell we have our work cut out for us with her. Today, for example, she got into the dirt in our one and only house plant FIVE times... she was disciplined each time for this, never flinching or even crying... not sure what else to try! I am told that Brad was like this as a child so I fully blame him, and look to him for ways to help Carly learn to obey her momma! She has become a picky little eater, but by #4 I could really care less... not that I like it, but I know as she gets older she'll get better... that and I don't cater to her. If she doesn't eat what's on her tray she goes hungry until her next bottle. She also is not the best napper, and never has been. I think it's partly because she's been so out of routine this summer and even last year I was always waking her up to get Sarah or whatnot... even still, she has a very difficult time going back to sleep after she's been woken up, which means she doesn't transfer sleeping from the van into the house, and is a very light sleeper to boot and with three older siblings who sometimes don't have a volume switch is not a good combination. Thankfully she is usually quite happy and content as long as someone else is around so if she has short naps it's not the end of the world. My favorite thing she does these days is wave... I could not even imitate it if I tried... it's the cutest thing... her hand kind of goes in a neat little figure 8 or circle or something... you have to see it. She's very close to taking more than one unaided step and crawls super fast now. We all just love her to bits and she's never lacking for some older sibling attention.

Whew... you made it to the end... glad we're not the Duggars, right?! There you have it... that's where we're at. We are certainly enjoying some good times together as a family these days, taking extra time to snuggle at bedtime or all together on Saturday mornings, doing family devotions after supper, or just having impromptu dance parties in the middle of the kitchen... this is definitely the life!

First Days

2009-09-08T15:41:00.000-07:00

As a child I LOVED the first day back to school... I wanted cool weather so I could wear my new clothes, love the smell of a new box of crayons, and loved the "organized" feeling of it all. So, now as a mom I really enjoy reliving the "first day" with my kids.

Sarah was off to her first day of Grade One today... where has the time gone? I remember back when they announced Vancouver would be getting the 2010 Olympics and Sarah was a baby and I thought, "She'll be six and in grade one! Seems like so far away." And here we are just like that.

I had a mini back to school spa for the girls yesterday and we did manicures and pedicures so they looked all pretty for school today (Autumn's for tomorrow).I made these cute little cupcakes for Sarah's class too... yes, I'm THAT mom... go ahead and make your comment... :PAnd here is my girl ready for her first day of Grade One.

Sarah's teacher is, by all reports, just incredible, and she has all the same kids in her class as last year with one new little boy so I think that's a great start! It will be weird having her gone all day now and I'll miss her, but she is so ready and excited for it... especially the eating lunch at school. And speaking of lunch, I took my kids out with three of my cousins (one of whom goes to Sarah's school), to lunch at McD's after picking Sarah up from school... a nice tradition I think.

Better Late than Never

2009-09-04T17:53:00.001-07:00

Rylan turned 2 in January. We were renovating, then I had no furniture, then there was a couple flu bugs, and then all of a sudden it was May and I still had not had a party for my boy's birthday. Well I had already purchased some of the party stuff, including the very cute puppy dog favors and I was really feeling like it was not right that Ry would have an empty page in his scrapbook where his 2 year old party should go. So, I decided to have his party on May 30th... better late than never... and here I am blogging about it in September... I repeat, better late than never. Here are just a few pics from the puppy themed party.

the "pup"cakes...

all the guests got to take home one of these cuddly puppies... aren't they so cute?

the doghouse...

keepin' it simple...

this was the other take home treat... puppy chow... yum!

And now, I'm starting to plan his 3rd birthday party... hopefully it'll be in January this year!

Welcome to my home... renovated... a photo tour...

2009-09-01T14:54:00.000-07:00

Well, even though my house isn't as "done" as I would like it to be, I've been "encouraged" to get some pics up here of the new and improved Toews family home, so here it is... I admit my "before" pictures are not as good as they should be, nor do I have enough of them but I can't change that as this point! I'm still hoping to get some window treatments and add some more accessories as the bank account allows. Our room and ensuite and our downstairs "office" and playroom have yet to be started so if you have the patience, stayed tuned for those "before" and "afters".

At the front door looking upstairs before

At the top of the stairs before

After

Looking down the hall before (to the left as you come up the stairs)

After

The "artwork" in the hall

Rylan and Carly's room (no before pics) which is the first door on your left down the hall

The bathroom (as seen in previous posts) before (this is the first door on your right down the hall)

After

Sarah and Autumn's room... the last door on left in the hall

The living room looking at hall/top of stairwell... notice wall on the right between living room and kitchen

At the top of stairs looking into living room, "before"

After

Again, kitchen/living room wall with dining room on the right, "before"

Dining room "before"

After (note: table and chairs are yet to be refinished)

Kitchen before... imagine a laundry area recessed to the right of this bank of cabinets with side by side washer/dryer and cabinets above...

Laundry area after... we stacked the appliances and a shower is framed in now in our ensuite which backs this area, door on the right leads to our deck and backyard

After (where microwave and cabinets were before)

Standing in the kitchen doorway before

After

And this is where that wall used to be

So there you have it... do you feel like you've been in my house? I hope so. Stayed tuned for the finishing touches as they get added, and like I said, the other two rooms of the house too! We are LOVING our new look, the openess of the living areas and the things that we "splurged" on are proving well worth it!

My Last Day

2009-08-31T13:38:00.001-07:00

Today is my official last day of watching TV (hopefully) until the end of June 2010.

A month or so ago when I was at the Women of Faith conference I began thinking about my life and how I really wanted to live it... and I felt that God was calling me to be a better steward of my time. And amongst some major self discussion I came to the decision to stop watching TV. I really want to do it for a long enough time that I can judge the difference it makes in my life and in our family life and so "the school year" is the time period that I'm attempting to do it for.

Now, if you want to know, I am making allowances for the weather channel when I'd like to see the forecast, and in the event of a major world news event I would definitely turn the tube on for news coverage of that and also if Brad and I would like for a "date" to watch a rented or ppv movie there is room for that too... but no more Grey's Anatomy, Survivor (this will be the first season ever for me not to watch it!), Oprah, Biggest Loser... and the list could go on. Not to mention how left out of conversation I may find myself feeling when the season finale of the Bachelor is about to air... I'm guessing the benefits will far outweigh those "seeming" negatives.

So that being said, I am hoping and praying to spend my time normally spent lounging in front of the TV doing things more beneficial for me and my family, and for the things in this life that are eternal - the word of God and people.

As I sit here and type this, I glanced over at my calendar already on September's page and there at the top was this quote...

"Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of."
- Ben Franklin

Fitting don't you think?

And so there you have it... it's out there... I've "said" it and now to follow through... I'll keep you posted about how it goes!

2009-08-27T10:44:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, my Grandpa passed away on the 20th of August... one day short of his 93rd birthday. He was an incredible man who left a legacy of faith for us his family. Yesterday we had his memorial service, and here is what I wrote for my sister to say on behalf of his five granddaughters at the service. It was a great service... an incredible testament to the work of the Lord in grandpa's life, and the amazing love and care he showed to everyone he met. We will miss him, but we know we'll see him again one day!

Memories of Grandpa/Pop Handy
By the granddaughters…

Recently my sister told my mom she was “such a grandma” when she went to get toilet paper for my nieces to use as streamers, and my mom thought that was one of the highest compliments she could ever receive. So as I read through some memories of Grandpa that us girls jotted down I just have to say that our grandpa Handy was “such a grandpa” or “Pop” which became a favorite name for him after the Christmas we gave me a bottle of gingerale, his favorite, as a joke.

Grandpa was “such a grandpa” for so many reasons, but just to name a few…

He was always ready with orange tic-tacs or quarters to press into our little hands, usually at the most unexpected moments.

He loved to tease us and went as far as calling us “his boys” seeing as after raising two boys he ended up with five granddaughters! I remember him even having a boy name for each of us… Frank, Henry, etc…

When it came to eating green vegetables in his home, he made sure he was the one to dish them out and would only put 2 or 3 on our plates… not the kind of thing a mom or dad does… only a grandpa.

He liked to save the last pieces of the puzzle that was always out at Christmastime, for us girls to put in, making us feel like we were needed to complete it and it couldn’t be done without us.

There was room for sleepovers in his closet and he made sure there was a little nightlight so we wouldn’t be scared.

He often got down on the floor and played with us, read to us, or just stayed long enough to find out what we were up to.

We all remember the great “Bunny Fort” that us girls made under the stairs at grandpa’s house in Abbotsford and the granddaughter’s room with the big bright blue cushions… we made some great cousin memories there.

And he never left us without a big bear hug and verbal affirmation of his love for us.

He was SUCH a grandpa!

And as we got older there were other ways he was “such a grandpa”…

He would ask if our toes were injured when he saw the bright nailpolish on our toenails…

He would make a effort to get to know the “potentials” when new boys were brought to family dinners…

His generosity with quarters turned into unexpected financial gifts for schooling or other reasons…

He gave advice on having happy babies when we were pregnant, or how Vicks was the cure for our kid’s bad coughs…

He was always ready to offer a Bible verse or even pray on the phone with us when we were facing difficult times…

His and Grandie’s home was always open for us to visit and we could always count on some gingerale and yummy snacks being served to us and whoever else we brought with us.

He prayed special prayers of blessing at our weddings…

There were encouraging emails, cards in the mail for all occasions, phone calls just to tell us he was praying for us, appreciated something we did, or just that he loved us…

He was SUCH a grandpa!

And as a great grandpa he was just the same… getting down on the floor to wrestle a great-grandson at the age of 89 and listening intently to them as they told him long stories or asked questions, or even just joining in as they all ate ice-cream cones.

We are especially thankful for the beautiful prayers of blessing he prayed over each great-grandchild as he held them for the first time, moments forever etched in our memories.

There is no doubt that each one of us felt immensely loved, cherished, and adored by our wonderful Grandpa and Great-grandpa.

But beyond being a wonderful Grandpa, he was an incredible man who had some amazing qualities we have all benefited from… he was among other things, a spiritual mentor, prayer warrior, Bible expert, enthusiastic cheerleader, loving husband, dad, and grandpa, and Godly example.

And they say behind every great man is an even better woman… and well, Grandpa knew how to pick ‘em… we are all blessed to have known and loved our Grandma Handy and to have another equally amazing Grandma also known as “Grandie” in Grandma Aime, and while we know that Grandpa would not have been the man he was without the love of these two women, he was the most amazing example of a husband, always treating our grandmas like the treasures that they are and never lacking in romance or the twinkle in his eye when they were near. He was an amazing example to us, our dads, and our husbands as well.

And as a cheerleader, Pop was always so enthusiastic about the work of the Lord in our lives or the jobs we were doing with our families. He was especially good to our moms, and we always knew how treasured his daughters-in-law were, cheering them on in their work too. We love how he smiled and cheered when he heard the great-grandkids recite a verse, sing a song, or tell him they’d asked Jesus into their hearts.

But, I think the one thing that sticks out most to each of us granddaughters though is Grandpa’s prayer life. We know the time he spent talking to God each day was treasured, and that each day, every family member was brought before the throne of God by name. Only the Lord knows the ways in which our lives are different or the times we were protected because of Grandpa’s prayers. I’m sure that his and Grandma’s prayers have sustained more than one family in a time of challenge or growth and have been reason for more than a couple of blessings in our lives too. And knowing Pop, he’d be the first to give God all the glory!

There aren’t many people who live on this earth that have the chance to change the course of history, but our grandpa was a man who made a single choice in his life… the one to follow Jesus… and that has undoubtedly changed the course of my history and that of my sisters and cousins as well, and for our kids, and their kids, and hopefully for generations to come, and for that we are eternally grateful. We need not look far to see Pop’s faithful footsteps leading the way in front of us, and we look forward to the day he will greet us in heaven with a bear hug, hearty laugh, and possibly a serving of fizzy gingerale and a couple of orange tic-tacs.

Lifegroup Camping Cultus Lake

2009-08-11T11:46:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we camped at Cultus Lake with our church Lifegroup. This was our third annual trip. My pictures are only of people I know are fine with me posting pics of their kids on my blog as usual.

Ezra and Carly share a ride.

We had a great time. The weather was a little chilly, but it didn't rain except for a sprinkle in the middle of the night. There were games, eating, hanging out, eating, sharing, eating... you get the picture.

this would be the "baby gate" Brad created to keep the little ones under this play tent... as you can see, it needed a little something!

is he cute or what??!

we found all three kids sharing the same pillow one night.

I think I've seen this face somewhere before...

The downsides were not being able to have a campfire, especially when it was needed for the warmth in the early mornings and evenings. Also, the bees... they were everywhere. Brad went and bought some brown bags so we could hang pretend hives everywhere and although they didn't work to eradicate the bees, it definitely helped! And surprisingly enough only one sting the entire weekend and it happened down at the lake and not up at our campsites!

Taeya enjoying the water.

The kids played very well together and the only challenging part for us was Carly being on the go so much... it was hard to keep her occupied away from the dirt! The big girls and I headed down to the lake on one afternoon and they had fun in the water with their friends. Brad, Ry and Carly napped in the trailer while we were gone. We played several games of "Farkel", a dice game and ate nachos done in our microwave (yes, we take our microwave camping) both highlights for me!

Sarah with an inch worm.

my fabulous friend Kelly and I

I chickened out of our ladies only swim on the last night which has become a tradition of sorts... too cold, too much hassle for me, but I enjoyed watching all of the others! :P

I took this pic while the others swam.

Already sad it's over for another year and looking forward to next!

Camperland Camping

2009-08-11T11:32:00.000-07:00

On the August long weekend we were able to join my Uncle and Aunt and their girls (Chelsey is our fabulous babysitter) up at Camperland (next to Bridal Falls). It was hot but we had a nice shady spot and it really cooled down at night so sleeping was good.

Autumn making some juice.Sarah's photography...
Camperland is a membership campground and so two of our nights were free because we went on a tour and let them try to sell us a membership which we of course did not buy. But, because it's a membership campground, it's really nice... pool, hottubs, nice bathrooms, store, there's even a restaurant right in the campground!

Rylan fell asleep watching a video in the van while we made dinnerI thought Autumn ate some yogurt... nope, lip gloss!

the kids love to help with meal prep... the girls shucking the corn...
Our kids loved the pool and kiddie hottub. We had a relaxing time and find it really great to camp with a family with older kids who love ours... we went in the pool and at times neither Brad or I had a child to look after! We had fun playing games, eating, and just catching up a bit. My sister, BIL, mom, and dad joined us on Sunday for the day and that was great, even got some snuggles in with my one and only nephew!

Sarah's 6!

2009-08-11T11:25:00.000-07:00

On Sarah's actualy birthday, July 30th, I was working and so our fabulous friend who also happens to be our tenant, looked after the kids for me for a few days. She made Sarah's day really fun and made and decorated cupcakes with the kids which was especially nice because I had asked Brad to make some when he got home from work that day and he didn't have to!
Sarah's choice for family birthday celebration was Chinese food and games as a family... so simple, so fun!
We gave her a DVD and some girly lego that she LOVED! Her siblings gave her some fun stuff for her school lunch kit this year and a skirt.

flowers that daddy brought her

I can't believe she's six... on the downward slope to double digits... crazy.

Another one...

2009-08-05T13:34:00.001-07:00

Lately I've had babies on the brain. I don't know why exactly, and maybe it's been the birth of a niece and a nephew in the last month, or the fact that my baby is nearing her first birthday, but nevertheless, they are on my brain.

And before I go further I will warn you that this is a spontaneous blog post and not one that has been carefully considered for days on end, so what spills out after this is purely my thoughts at this point and NOT serious considerations for those of you who already think I'm nuts for having four!

You see, I feel as though I've prayed about every major decision in my life for a long time before coming to a decision, and yet haven't really considered praying about the major decision to "put an end to" having kids permanently until recently. We were so ready to be done after Carly was born that practically even before she's done using something we are shipping it out the door to be used by someone else, very eager to get rid of the baby "evidence" in our house. Not to mention the fact that I just really, really, really don't want to be pregnant again... but every reason I come up with for not having another one is selfish in my eyes and does not display the kind of trust in God I would like to think that I have. Ever since I can remember I've wanted to have five kids, and probably only because I love the idea of a big family, but until I started to have kids I always wanted five. So is this a desire that God placed in my young heart for a reason? Am I ( and my I, I mean "we") denying myself and my family more blessing by stopping at four? Who am I to think that I can't handle more, that my older kids would be better off if we weren't stuck in the baby stage any longer? Or that God wouldn't provide above and beyond what we need regardless of the number of children we had? Everyone I've talked to about it as well has never mentioned God in their decision. Why not? Is it something we just assume is our decision alone to make? Or assume that if God really wanted our family to have another member then He would work through trivial surgical procedures? Or do we feel the need to justify our decision by things people can relate to? There are a few familiar Bible verses that mention the blessings that children are to their parents and the "full quiver". I'm pretty sure that if God told me that He wanted to continually bless me with whatever, I wouldn't be saying, "No, stop, I don't know if I can handle it."

I've heard every sort of reason to stop having kids... money, enjoying the ones we have, too much work, not enough bedrooms, having to book more than one hotel room on vacation, buying a bigger vehicle... the list goes on. I do want to be sensitive as well and I know that there are all sorts of other reasons such as physical and mental health, and know that there are people out there who would love to be able to have even one child and can't, so please don't read this and think I haven't considered those very good reasons as well.
So all that to say... I'm not sure where I stand on the subject except that the Lord has been hearing about it a lot lately. I would appreciate your thoughts and comments on the subject, Why you decided to stop having kids if you have already? Do you ever regret not having more? Why should we stop?

And for those of you who are wondering where Brad stands on the subject, he just laughs at me every time I say, "We are SO done." Or, "I want another one." He does know what my thoughts are at this point and I'm pretty sure he'd be easy to convince either way!

WOF

2009-07-28T19:16:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I went to Women of Faith (a Christian women's conference) in Seattle with three friends of mine.

We had SUCH a great time. I was long overdue for some time away from life and was reminded how needed it was over and over on the weekend.

We left early Thursday morning to get a day of shopping at the outlets before the conference started on Friday. Shopped until we dropped, ate dinner out, talked until 1am at the hotel before going to bed... so fun! Friday we went to most of the day part of the conference after a breakfast at Starbucks. We managed to shop a bit on Friday afternoon, ate dinner at a 50s burger joint, and made it back for the evening part of the conference. We stayed up way too late again that night and we were all a little sleepy for the morning part of the conference on Saturday. We managed to shop for 3 hours at Target after the conference ended and stop for a nice dinner before heading home. The drive home was fairly entertaining as we were all a little overtired and everthing is just a little more funny when you're tired... laughed so hard I had tears streaming down my face.

The three friends that I went with are relatively new friends and I SO enjoyed the ease I experienced with them. We were able to get to know one another better, talk through some of our 'issues' - yes we all have them - and really have a great time together. I am ever so grateful to God for bringing these women into my life and cherish the memories we made on our first weekend away together.

As for the conference, it was great! I loved seeing Steven Curtis Chapman, found Mandisa very refreshing and real, and enjoyed the variety of speakers. I feel a little like I've been 'put through the ringer' spiritually and emotionally. There were many things I felt God speak to my heart about and I hope in time to be able to process it all and apply it to my life.

All in all I had a fabulous time. Really, great friends, good food, awesome shopping, spiritual food... what more could a girl ask for?!

Sarah's Sixth Birthday Luau Party

2009-07-19T09:43:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Sarah's birthday a bit early this year (yesterday) because of holidays and friends holidays etc. We wanted as many of Sarah's friends to be there as possible. Unfortunately two of the three boys had the flu going through their houses and weren't able to make it last minute leaving only one boy and seven girls! All in all it was a great time I think.

The kids started off on the tramp with water, in the sprinkler and throwing water balloons.Then we came up on the deck for some "hawaiian" drinks, and some games (limbo, pineapple bowling using coconuts, tatoos, and a pinatat), presents, and cake.

We had the party from 2-4:30pm which I would definitely do again... just snacks and cake - it's not only easier not having to make a meal, the kids ususally don't eat much other than the junk food anyway. And we had lots of time to get everything ready before the kids came.

Here are the pictures, I'll let them speak for themselves. (I'm careful not to post pics of other people's kids on here because it's still a "public" blog so it's just my kids)

the table

more decorations

tiki tatoo station

surf 'n sugar shack (where the slushy drinks were made)

Rylan having a turn at pineapple bowling

the limbo (can you hear the limbo rock song in the background?)

fun hula-girl picture cutout

cake

because he wanted to dress-up too...

the "goody" buckets - a pair of flip-flops, tropical skittles, and a growing sea animal thingy

Sarah's 6 year old picture (we give one to each guest and family member every year on each of our kid's birthdays)

and because we just couldn't resist this cuteness...

Aloha!

2009-07-16T12:47:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday Brad walked in the door from work with these...

It was a thank-you for all the extra work I had to do packing us up to leave for camping and taking care of him and Ry when they were sick.

What a guy. I think I'll keep him!

Camping... the good, the bad, and the ugly...

2009-07-15T13:15:00.001-07:00

The good...

-beautiful weather for the most part

-good times with friends/family

-Powell River is beautiful, has lots of different beaches (when you have use of a boat), has a great lake for swimming, and the best sunsets

-the campground had laundry facilities... (stay tuned for the bad and ugly)

-the campground bathrooms were cleaner than any other one I've experienced

-our kids had a blast

-beaches all to ourselves

-great fishing and crabbing

-good food including fresh fish n' chips

-didn't gain ANY weight even though I wasn't "careful" but I did manage to exercise a few times - yay me!

-fun beach combing

-Powell River has an indoor pool

-Carly learned how to crawl

The bad...

-when we set up I discoverd that the toilet in our trailer had leaked the blue cleaning stuff all over the bedding and beach towels that had been packed around it... went to friends of D&K's to do that load of laundry

-it rained for two days straight... like poured rain... we went to the indoor pool the second day and entertained the kids with nail polishing, tatoos, and silly digital camera fun and the campground had a covered picnic area where we were able to have a fire in the evenings

-everything got muddy... off to the laundry facilities

-Autumn peed the bed one night - she never does that... off to use the laundry facilities

-Carly had a random (or so we thought) puke one morning that covered all of her bedding... off to use the laundry facilities again

-Rylan got a huge gooseegg on his forehead on the second day... not a surprise to any of you who know him

-Sarah fell off her camping chair and hit her head on a rock the first day.... nice big bruise and scrape on side of head

-Autumn did two faceplants in the dirt... thankfully she was unscathed

-Carly learned how to crawl making it into both categories because she almost always crawled straight to the dirt and rocks and would try to eat anything and everything she could grab

-Carly cut two teeth while we were there... cranky days and sleepless nights.

-camping with four young kids is the amount of work of having four kids at home multiplied a hundred times because you have no dishwasher, there's dirt everywhere, no bathtub, cooking outside... you get the picture.

-the misquitoes were bad leaving my poor niece covered in bites and made her eye get so swollen

The Ugly...

-we did not get one full night's sleep thanks to puking/peeing/teething/itchy kids

-we accidentally paid $75 for parking when we were supposed to pay $5. We ended up getting our money back, but it was the last straw on a very stressful morning full of small catastrophies on already tired and cranky Brad and Laura

-Rylan and Brad both got the stomach flu the day before we left... I'm a pukaphobe... being trapped in a tent trailer in the middle of the night and not being able to drown out the sound of puking husband is one of my worst nightmares! We also had to move campsites the morning of the sickness and I had to do a lot of the grunt work myself and ended up spending the last day of beautiful sunshiny holiday to pack up what I could and take care of sick boys and entertain other three girls... off to use the laundry facilities once again.

Okay, enough ugly! I will say that our vacation was good. We have to remind ourselves that for our kids and for the great memories all the work is worth it! Is it relaxing?... not so much, but we'll do our time and soon the kids will be old enough for it to be a bit more relaxing for Brad and I... and until then we'll dream about the cruise we're taking next year to celebrate our 10th anniversary without kids!

Carly's dedication

2009-06-18T13:46:00.000-07:00

Last sunday we had Carly dedicated, which is our way of publicly acknowledging the gift of Carly to us, the fact that she is not OURS, but belongs to the Lord, and also to commit to raising her to know and love Christ.
Here are the verses we choose for her:

Ephesians 3:16-19 NLT

I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit. And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love. And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

I was kind of disappointed because I really liked the wording of the verses from the NLT, but they were read from the NIV which doesn't quite have the same readability, but that's my fault because I should have specified.

The meaning of Carly's name is: strength of character... we pray this is true of our Carly.

We choose video instead of pictures of us in the church, because I wanted my Grandpa to be able to watch it as he was in the hospital and couldn't make it to the church.

My Sarah

2009-05-30T19:48:00.000-07:00

We're nearing the end of Sarah's kindergarten year, and I can't help but wonder where the time has gone. In a few short months she'll be gone full days to school, and I'll be packing school lunches and joining the throngs of people out on the roads to pick up their kids between 2:30 and 3:00 in the afternoon. So often I find myself wishing that time would stand still when it comes to Sarah these days. Every day she seems to exhibit some new form of independence, and yet, really? Isn't it my job as her parent to ultimately prepare her for independence? You'd think I'd be glad that I'm doing my job, right?

Looking at these pics I took of her a week or so ago, I'm really stunned by how beautiful she is. And yet as much as I see those bright eyes with thick, long lashes, a great smile, and fabulous curly hair, I see my Sarah in these pictures... that excited, caring, fun, responsible, sensitive, smart, sees God in everything little girl that I have the incredible privelege of being mommy to. I am so proud of the beauty inside her. The other day she came to me with a picture of a transformer from a coloring book, and said, "mommy, I'm going to take this picture to 'Sam' at school because 'Sam' likes transformers." And this might not seem like much, but 'Sam' seems to be one of the most "difficult" boys in Sarah's class, and I just thought it was so sweet that she would think of him and take that picture to him. A lesson for me, for sure. You see, it's so easy to take/make/do something for someone we like, are friends with or related to, etc., but how often do I go out of my way to make that "difficult" person's day?

This is also a girl who loves Jesus with her whole heart, and is burdened for people who do not. On the way to school the other day she asked me if she could take the CD (a Kid's worship one) we were listening to into her classroom and ask her teacher if she would play it so that the other kids could learn about Jesus. I couldn't be happier... but then found myself trying to explain why in the public education system that I wasn't sure her teacher could do that. That wasn't easy!

Tonight we were at the park with the kids and Sarah had brought her bike to practice riding without training wheels. And as I looked over to where she and Brad were (I was on the playground with the other three), I couldn't help by try to capture that picture on the memory card in my brain... Sarah teetering along on the sidewalk, huge smile on her face, and Brad jogging along behind her... these truly are THE DAYS. I pray that I can make the most of them, and that God makes the most of her!

How Time Flies...

2009-05-06T10:07:00.000-07:00

I have so much to blog about and really... so little time. It's all I can do most weeks to make sure the kids are taken care of and the house doesn't fall apart around us, not to mention getting in my exercise, somewhat of a social life, and work.
Rylan on Friday - hanging upside down.

Yesterday was my 32nd birthday but I'm just going to pretend it wasn't. Rylan has had a stomach flu since Saturday night, and by yesterday he just looked awful and was still throwing up. I had taken him to the doctor in the morning, and he warned me to get him to the hospital if he hadn't improved by supper time. I have a picture of him, but it honestly doesn't even do justice to how terrible and sad he looked. Even at the doctor's office he didn't want to be held, just preferred to lay on the cold floor of the exam room.

Hugging his Spunky puppy - can you see how sunken his eyes are?

So I had already prepared myself for a low-key day at home even though I had some friends request to take me out for coffee in the morning. Anyway, Brad came home early (to cook me dinner) and ended up just making KD for the girls and getting his bags packed to take Rylan to the hospital. I opened a couple of gifts from Brad and the kids, and cried as I kissed Ry goodbye and told him he should be brave and he would have to have a "poke" at the hospital. "Otay Mommy." He said.

He didn't even really want to be snuggled. :(

Sarah and I cried together after they left because she was so sad for her little brother - such a tender heart that girl has.

Later, I ate a bowl of cheerios for my dinner and watched some TV I had on the PVR and went to sleep (which was not great to say the least).

I did open a few cards from friends/family in the morning... their gift of words to me meant so much! And my friend Rachel called from Uganda which was a highlight.

This sweet "picket" sign was also a highlight. Sarah came walking down the hall singing "Happy Birthday" to me and holding this.Oh well, there will be other birthdays, and I really just wanted my boy to feel better so I didn't care much that my birthday wasn't really celebrated.

I'm happy to report that Brad says he looks like a different boy this morning after getting IV fluids at the hospital. Hopefully he'll be able to keep down some liquids and come home later today. We all miss him here.

And now, go read her blog...

2009-04-17T13:36:00.000-07:00

My fabulous friend Rachel is in Uganda for a couple years working in a school. Go read her latest post about girls at her school and their need for "sanitary products". Hopefully you'll realize how much we really take for granted living here, and want to help make those young girl's lives a little easier.

Go Read Her Blog

2009-04-15T20:43:00.000-07:00

If you are a young mom, I think you'd enjoy reading Karalyn's blog. She is a very talented writer... entertaining, challenging, great!

Sarah Singing

2009-04-14T20:45:00.000-07:00

So here's my first attempt at posting a video on my blog. I came across this footage yesterday. Sarah was just over two here... enjoy!

2009-04-13T19:57:00.001-07:00

So here are pictures of all four kids around six months of age.... who does Carly most resemble?

Rylan

AutumnSarahCarly

Carly's 6 Month Photo Shoot

2009-04-13T16:31:00.000-07:00

Had some fun today taking Carly's six month pictures! I did "edit" a few of them in Picasa just for fun, but mostly they're unedited. Sit back and enjoy pics of my Car-Car.

Un-Birthday

2009-04-07T20:11:00.000-07:00

Today my Car-Car is 6 months old.

I must admit to feelings of sadness as this is our (God willing) last baby and I'm trying to soak up all the babyness without spoiling her.

She is such a happy little thing... actually, I shouldn't say she's little, she was 17lbs 20z today! She definitely has a little thunder in her thighs, a little junk in her trunk, a little budda in her belly... I can't think of any more.

She is on a great schedule at this point although being the fourth sometimes her non-schedule like days outnumber the scheduled days at this point. She is starting to eat some solids. She is liking her cereals finally and the sweet potatoes and pears are pretty good too. She makes the best sour face when I give her applesauce, and gags repeatedly with the chicken with broth, which for the record I will say I CANNOT blame her for. I don't know why "they" recommend starting babies on meats now after cereal, and I am going to wait and just go with what I've done for the other three kids because being the "pukaphobe" that I am, I cannot sit there and watch repeated gagging.
She is not really very active at this point which is a little different than the other three. She doesn't roll from her back to her belly yet, but I attribute this to the fact that there is no reason to roll to her belly as there's always some cute sibling face there to entertain her when she's on the floor on her back. She's loving her exersaucer and anywhere her siblings are, and she definitely enjoys the TV - time to bring out the Baby Einstein. And her siblings are the only ones that are able to get a really good "belly" laugh out of her - it's the funnest thing to watch!

We moved her to the rear-facing bigger carseat recently as she had reached the height limit for her infant carrier. And now we get to rid ourselves of our first major item of baby equipment - yipee! See, as much as I'm sad to see some of the baby phase ending, I really am looking forward to the next stage and not having my house scattered with large pieces of baby gear.

I just can't believe her first birthday party is only half a year away!

Tears

2009-04-06T10:22:00.000-07:00

On Saturday my girls and I were in the van on the way to my parent's place and Psalty Kids Praise album was on. There is a song that goes like this...

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, (Okay it's a little hard to get the gist of the song, but that's the whole first verse) It then goes through things like, He died, He died... He lives, He lives... you get the idea right?

Anyway, the "He died" verse was on and this is what happened...

Sarah: "Mommy, sometimes I get so sad thinking about Jesus dying."
Me: "Really? I think that's a good thing Sarah because it should make you so thankful to Jesus for doing that for you."
Sarah: "Yeah, sometimes it even makes me kinda cry."

At this point I look in the rearview mirror to see her and I can see the tears welling in her eyes and then start to silently fall down her cheeks.

Me: (choking back tears myself now) "Sarah I think that's great, but Jesus doesn't want you to be so sad, he wants you to remember what happened on the third day after he died."
Sarah: "Yeah, He rose from the dead."
Me: "And now He lives and He's building our house in heaven for us."

There are moments in my kid's lives that I hope stay in my memory as long as I live... that is one of them.

When I am pregnant, I pray three specific things for each of my kids long before I know who they are, I then continue to pray these things for my kids as they grow. One of the things I prayed for Sarah was that she would have a soft heart for the things of God and an ear tuned to His voice. And God has yet to disappoint me on answering those prayers.

And on that note, when was the last time you were moved to tears because of the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross for YOU?

Around Here

2009-03-29T13:25:00.000-07:00

Can't say much is really happening around here other than the same old, school, housework, renovating work, preschool... you get the picture.This is one of Autumn's favorite things to do at the moment...

She loves to put on every single headband we own, and she does it often. And when she doesn't do that, she takes about five or six shirts out of her drawer and puts them all on. And she'll wear them all day. Apparently she doesn't get hot.

My kids being silly, dressed in pjs with all their winter finery on. Rylan as you can see does not have too many "boy" options in this department, mostly because his stuff was in his room where Carly was sleeping.

Spring break was fairly low-key around here. We did a lot of playing, watching movies, and staying in jammies way past lunch! We did try to have a few friends over but that got cancelled due to illness (theirs, not ours). The one exciting and fun thing we did do, is go to Build-A-Bear. For those of you who don't know Build-A-Bear, it is a VERY expensive place to go and have fun and make your own teddybear, or stuffed whatever really. Autumn already had one from a birthday party she went to, so Sarah and Rylan both made one and picked out outfits for them, Autumn picked out a very sparkly purple bathing suit for her bear who incidentally had come along with us on the outing. Auntie Tara came with us and we went to McDonald's for lunch after.

Rylan named his bear Jack, and he is so cute with it. Tucking Jack in with his own blanket at night and taking him pretty much wherever we go. Sarah named hers Strawberry, and dressed it in pink head to toe - shocking, I know!

We did take advantage of one of the few sunny days and went to the park to play. Carly LOVED the swing, and even went down the slide with Autumn. It was great to get out and enjoy some fresh air.

And here's a shot of me mid-sentence (attractive, I know) in Cat in the Hat. We all love this book and especially like to read it on rainy nights!

That's it for now.

Ages

2009-03-10T13:34:00.000-07:00

It feels like ages since I've blogged and yet I sit and can't think of much exciting stuff to write about. Maybe it'll come to me.

Carly going for a ride in the doll's stroller.

We spent most of February sick with one virus, infection or another. All of us except Carly were on antibiotics for strep, there were fevers, coughs, snot, vomitting, diarrhea, rashes, you name it. Brad was actually home sick for 7 days. And by sick I mean he was in bed only rarely shuffling around to get some more tea or use the bathroom. He does not get "sick" days at work. Pay cheque was a little on the small side to say the least. I felt like a single parent for a week. We are hoping and praying we are over the worst of this cold and flu season.

I have racked my brain for ways that this would not happen to us every year. My kids hands are going raw from all the hand washing. I've blasted through a container of Lysol disinfecting wipes. We eat well, we drink water, they sleep well, the kids take vitamins... what else can we do?
Papa with the gang - Autumn being... Autumn.

It does help me to know that we are not the only ones and almost every other family I know with young kids has suffered this season with various colds and flus. I guess when it goes through six people it just seems to last forever!

Sarah can actually read to her siblings now - so fun!

We are now in spring break although this year it would better be named "Winter Break". It is COLD outside. Currently I am looking after a little girl for the afternoon... her parents are on a cruise... trying hard not to be jealous.

Nana with the kids this past weekend.

I'm not sure if I shared this on my blog, but Autumn asked Jesus into her heart a while ago. We're so thankful for her simple understanding of what Jesus did for her on the cross and what it means to have Him live inside her. We will pray daily that she walks with Jesus the rest of her life. She has made a point of telling people her "news" too which we are of course very proud of.

Sarah's class has a bear named Simon that each child takes turns taking him home for the weekend and journaling etc. Then the next week that child gets to be Star of the Week in the classroom and along with being the teacher's special helper, they get to do show and tell and a science experiment and stuff like that. Well, I clearly remember on the first Friday of Kindergarten as another little child took Simon home for the weekend and my precious little girl sobbed all the way home because it wasn't her and she kept saying, "But what if I'm the last one?" I tried unsuccessfully to convince her that it didn't matter when she got to bring Simon home but that everyone gets a turn and hers will be equally exciting even if it happens last. And maybe my point was driven home a little bit when she came home a week ago Friday and announced that she indeed was the last member of her class to get Simon for the weekend, but... that meant she got Simon for the whole of our two week spring break. "See?" I told her, "Sometimes it's okay to be last."

We are having fun with Simon the bear but I do feel a tad bit of pressure to do some stuff over spring break so his journal sounds exciting - it's a whole two weeks you know!

Sorry in advance Buddy!
Rylan is driving me crazy with his official "two"ness. He is constantly changing his mind about things and finds that his preferred mode of communication involves rapid movement of his feet, tears and a very loud cry. It is very trying to say the least, and finding the time to discipline him appropriately and to understand what it is he's trying to communicate is difficult with three others demanding my attention. On a more positive note, he seems to be taking after his daddy when it comes to cooking. I CANNOT be in the kitchen without him pushing up a chair and "helping" me. It doesn't matter what I'm doing or that he sometimes must move his chair several times to keep up with me... he's there. I do want all of my kids to leave my house knowing how to cook and bake etc. so I'm glad he's showing an interest. I just hope one day I come home from work to see that my boy has made his family dinner - all of the "don't touch that" and "that's hot Ry" and "don't you dare take another bite" s will all be worth it!
Carly continues to be quite a happy little thing. She has more recently become a bad napper and sometimes, being the fourth child and always in and out of the carseat and having her schedule adjusted I can't really blame her. I'm also not as stressed as I used to get when the first two would wake early from naps etc., all I can do is roll with it. She is giggling a little more, grabbing her toys quite easily and "talking" very loudly now. She's on her way to being six months old already - I can hardly believe it.

Brad's shift at work recenlty changed to 9-6 which, as much as I'm thankful for continued provision for our family, I hate that shift. He's home more in the morning, but not long enough to make the school travel any easier, and now he's not home until 6:30 which means he has about one hour with the kids before bed. At least he can stay up a bit later too which means a little more work on the house gets done.

And speaking of the house, the renovations are slowly coming along. I'm still waiting for the main pieces of our furniture, and sometimes the amount of progress is not very visible (filling, sanding, touching up paint, etc.), but it is slowly getting done and I'm thankful for that. And here's your sneak peek of our entry way from the top of the stairs.

Before
After

See, I did find things to write about.

Valentine's Day

2009-02-15T14:35:00.000-08:00

We started the day off with a fun family breakfast of heart-shaped pancakes. We took turns going around the table and telling everybody what we loved about each other.
Then we all opened our cards and we gave the kids their Valentine's treats.Brad and I went out with another couple to Milestone's for supper, then to the movies (we saw "He's Just Not That Into You", and then to Starbucks for coffee after. We had a great night.My cousin (who is 13) babysat for us - the first time with all four kids! She did great and the kids all did very well for her.Love, love, love, love.

Lollipop

2009-02-10T14:08:00.000-08:00

Our little "lollipop" is four months old already! It's so hard to believe that her cute little bum fit nicely in the palm of my hand and I could hold her up on my shoulder like that just a short time ago.
Carly is still a great baby. She is on a wonderful four hour schedule now, waking up around 7am, having a bottle, awake time for two hours and then a nap for two hours, repeat, and then her third nap is around 45 minutes and she's awake for a bit between that and her last bottle at 7pm and then goes to bed for the entire night. She is quite happy and content during her awake time and rarely cries.She is very smiley, but getting a giggle out of her is tough work! She is grabbing at toys now and loves, loves, loves to suck on her fists. She does "talk" some too, but that has been fairly scarce lately which I chalk up to the fact that there's too many other people talking all the time!I had her at the doctor's today for her immunizations. She weighed 14lb 6oz (the 75th percentile for her age), and she was 26" long (95th percentile), and surprise, surprise her head is a whopping 17 1/4 " (off the percentile charts). She fussed VERY slightly on the third shot and that was it - I guess she inherited her mommy's pain tolerance!
And that's an update on "Car-car" or "Lolli"(Rylan's name for her). We all just love her to bits and we're trying to treasure all of the "lasts" of our last baby.

HOW?

2009-02-03T10:32:00.000-08:00

On my mind today... and every other day!

I need to take care of myself (this helps me do the rest). That includes:
exercising daily
eating healthy
daily devotions
maybe painting my toenails once in a while

I need to be a good wife. That includes:
taking care of myself
praying/doing devos with Brad
showing him I love him somehow every day
going on dates once in a while

I need to take care of my children. That includes:
looking after their physical needs - which is a long list in itself
helping them develop socially
helping them develop spiritually/teaching them about God and how to have a personal relationship with him
helping them develop intellectually
making sure they feel loved and secure

I need to take care of my home. I won't even start the mile long list that would include!

I need to contribute to our income. That includes:
doing the billing for the doctor's office
doing my transcription work (16 hours a week when I'm done mat leave)

I need to be involved in our church. That includes:
once weekly life group
service in some area
going to church on the weekend

I also need to be a good daughter, sister, friend... the list goes on.

Needless to say, I'm overwhelmed! How do you possibly do it all?

Legwarmers

2009-01-29T10:15:00.000-08:00

Who remembers wearing legwarmers as a kid? I do, I do!

I think these may be the most impractical thing I've ever purchased for a baby of mine, but arguably one of the cutest!

My older girls also have a pair each and while theirs may be a little more pracitcal, nothing beats the cuteness of these!

Two

2009-01-26T10:16:00.000-08:00

Well our little boy turned two January 12th!
We celebrated just as a family having his favorites for dinner and ice cream for dessert, all around our little kids table because our dining room furniture was still not upstairs because of the reno.
We then gave him his presents - he loved these froggie boots.
We'll be celebrating with a party for his little friends sometime in February when the house is a little more condusive to party throwing. Good thing he's only two and couldn't care less when his party is! And my family went bowling and had dinner for his and my niece's birthday this past Saturday and we'll be doing some joint celebrations with Brad's family this coming Sunday.
Rylan continues to light up our days with his "boy"ness, his sense of humour and his affectionate ways. He is talking so much and coming up with cute new sayings almost daily. He has taken to putting a skip in his step lately that we love to watch too and is becoming very... let's say, vocal, about what he wants and doesn't want. Oh the joys of two!

We just love him to bits.

Christmas

2009-01-24T10:34:00.000-08:00

Christmas was a little different for us this year being at my parent's place because of our renovations. It was great though aside from sick kiddies and the fact that Brad was only around for a couple of days. We spent Christmas Eve in traditional fashion going to our good friends for supper and then back to my parent's place for our gifts and late night nachos.
Christmas morning we made breakfast and opened gifts and then I went for a nap and Brad helped my mom with Christmas dinner prep. Later in the day the extended family descended and we enjoyed fantastic Christmas dinner and good company.Boxing Day morning, as is tradition, we went to my aunt and uncle's for brunch and a gift exchange and some relaxing and then we went to Brad's parent's place for Christmas dinner and gifts with them.
We are all spoiled and blessed in so many ways.

2008-12-30T07:48:00.000-08:00

The reason for my absence, is that I am literally absent from my home, and the ability to upload pics to my computer.

We are majorly renovating the main area of our upper floor at the moment, with plans to renovate the master bedroom as well as the family/playroom downstairs in the very near future as well.

The kids and I moved to my parent's place on the 19th, and plan to be here until the 4th of January, and that's if the house is ready to go back to. Brad is staying at our house with the exception of the 23-26th when he came to my parent's to stay for the Christmas celebrations. He is doing most of the work himself with some help from family and good friends.

The kids are all recovering from a bad virus (cold) that also gave a couple of them croup. I was thankful that the worst of it hit on the nights that Brad was actually staying with me, even though it was over Christmas day etc. It has made for some short (in total) nights for me having to get up to feed Carly and several times to deal with coughing, crying kids. Carly though has decided to sleep through the night for the past three nights and I'm sure hoping it's a continuing trend. I'd just like morning to come closer to 7am than to 6am!

I'm pleased with the progress at the house, but as with all renovations things aren't going quite on schedule and we've had to readjust some of our (my) plans for what I wanted to see happen in there. Brad is working long hard days and I'm so thankful for his willingness and talent to do so.

I'll certainly have lots to post when I'm back at home... until then...

Isn't She Lovely?

2008-12-17T19:57:00.001-08:00

2008-12-15T15:45:00.000-08:00

I was tagged...

Here is the fifth picture in my fifth picture folder...

Brad and I at Cactus Club for my 30th birthday dinner.

Three

2008-12-14T12:21:00.000-08:00

Autumn Evaleigh turned three December 8th.

We celebrated the Saturday before with a Rainbow themed party with eight of her little friends. The invitations were individual t-shirts in all the colors of the rainbow and a note asking her friends to wear them to the party.

Because of the ongoing renovations upstairs, I had to make the downstairs playroom into a party room. It was a little squishy but we made it work. I "wallpapered" the room in plastic tablecloths in rainbow colors and reused some of the decorations from my niece's three year old rainbow party a couple of years ago. There was basically play time, present time, and cupcake time and I'm pretty sure despite Autumn's shyness she enjoyed herself.

As goody bags she gave out packages of Crayola original markers (which I bought in the states ages ago for a fantastic deal!) and a pack of Skittles.

We celebrated as a family on her actual birthday by going out to McDonald's for supper and to Castle Fun Park. Next time we'll make the trip in to Chuck E. Cheese's though as most of the little kids rides etc. at CFP were broken... lame.

Happy Birthday miss Autumn. We love you to bits and are so proud of the little young lady you are becoming!

Carly

2008-12-04T09:28:00.000-08:00

She's almost two months old already our little Carly. She is still a good baby - definitely not beating Rylan in the best baby department, but I can't complain. She's very content when she's got a full belly and goes to sleep very easily on her own.

Her nights lately have been a little frustrating. I think by this time with the other three, there was a definite pattern to their nights, always waking at the same time, and then back to sleep until the same time in the morning. With Carly we never know when she'll wake up and how long she'll sleep after, which kind of makes me wonder how long it'll be until she sleeps through the night. Sarah was 7 weeks, Autumn was 15 weeks, and Rylan was 9. So far Carly's at 8. Thankfully my favorite man in the world does the night feeds so I can sleep after her 10 or 11pm dream feed until the first one of the morning. I can't tell you what a difference this makes in my day!
She's really smiling a lot these days, but I have yet to capture it on the camera, usually because she's smiling at me and as soon as I put the camera in front of my face she stops smiling! She's definitely filling out and growing like crazy the last couple of weeks too - I'm noticing her sleepers getting tighter and some of them almost too short... sniff, sniff.
Her siblings still can't seem to get enough of her too. Rylan calls her "Lolly" and the girls still fight about who gets to hold her first. We all just love her to bits and can't even imagine what life was like without her (except for maybe the long full night's of sleep).

Advent

2008-12-03T22:33:00.000-08:00

Well the advent season is upon us again. A time to look forward to the celebration of Jesus' birthday, and what better way to "wait" than candy?

As kids my mom made us reuseable advent calendars out of a long strip of fabric with 24 bows, and every year she tied candies in each of the 24 ribbons and we had a treat each day from December 1st to the 24th.

I decided to carry on this homemade advent tradition with my kids and made my version seen here.

They are so much fun to do, and the treats can change as my kids grow etc. I'm still not finished Rylan's yet, and I'm hoping to actually make four new ones all the same because I can't find any other Christmasy shapes I like as much or that really match the ones I have. Next year I'll have four matching ones to hang on my new wall!

The pictures don't do them justice, maybe I should have taken one before they were filled up! Ignore the 171 boxes of Ikea kitchen cabinets all over the place!

Room

2008-12-03T22:15:00.000-08:00

I made my very first ebay purchase a little while ago and I love it! How fun to get something so great delivered right to my door!

I've been looking for a while for some surf theme bedding to go in Rylan (and now Carly's) room. It needed to be gender neutral so to speak, and I was hoping it would already match the blue color I had painted in there.

So I found this great 5 piece crib bedding set on ebay from Pottery Barn and it fits the bill perfectly! I made the 5 pieces work for both the crib and Rylan's toddler bed and it already went with some art work I'd done for our first baby's nursery.The furniture was all made by my dad, the "Handy" man. He didn't actually make the crib though, but he put in the panels at the ends in the beadboard to match the change table and armoire. Furniture placement in the room is limited to the three walls because there is a massive closet, and then a small "craft" cupboard all along one wall. After figuring out that I didn't really have room in the space to put a crib and a regular twin bed, I found a picture on the Pottery Barn website and asked my dad to build a toddler bed for Rylan. I absolutely love how it turned out and Rylan thinks it's pretty great too. He's had a very easy time adjusting to being in a bed though just in the last couple days figures he can get up and play during nap time.

All in all I really love the room and it'll be this way (with the addition of an area rug hopefully) until I have my dad build a set of bunks for this room once Carly needs to go in a bed too.

Mileage

2008-12-03T13:17:00.000-08:00

I've been meaning to blog about this for a while...

When the gas prices started to go up quite high around here I was secretly in my heart lamenting how much it cost to fill up our van and wondered in my mind if God could somehow provide for us in this way. And I thought to myself, "how silly, God's not going to make the price at my gas station lower than everywhere else." (Not that He couldn't if He wanted to, but you know what I mean.) And then I thought, "Well maybe He could just make my van go further on the same tank of gas."

That small self conversation from the heart was the beginning of 100 more kilometers per tank than what we were used to getting. Coincidence at first I thought (nothing like a doubter eh?) but it has consistently been going 600 or more km per tank where it used to go only 500 or so.

So recently the gas prices are lower again and lo and behold the van is back to 500km per tank! Isn't our God so good?

A Moment to Blog

2008-11-26T10:54:00.000-08:00

Well this entry is just to let you know I'm not dead, just too busy to blog.

I've got birthday parties, Christmas, and house renovations on the go. Oh yeah, and four kids to look after. Blogging has been low on the priority list but I hope to post a couple things next week.

Halloween

2008-10-31T21:10:00.001-07:00

I couldn't resist dressing this little ducky up!

Well here, in pictures, is our fun family Halloween.

We carved pumpkins last night together.
Here's Autumn at her Pouty day, uh I mean, Party Day at preschool. Read post below for more details.

Then we dressed everyone up (Carly only for the pictures though). The kids and Brad went out Trick or Treating in our neighborhood while I stayed home with Carly and gave out candy.

I also set up the downstairs room into a comfy cozy movie watching spot for the whole family and surprised the kids by buying the new Tinkerbell movie and watching it together while munching on popcorn and candy of course!
This is my second post today so be sure to scroll down to read more.

Update

2008-10-31T13:51:00.000-07:00

I think a bit of an update on the kids is a little overdue, so here goes...

My little Carly is doing well. She is still a great baby, despite some recent struggles at night, although we're hoping it's mostly because of the cold she has and how stuffy she seems at night. Those of you who know me, know I'm a scheduler with my babes. It just works for us. Carly has basically fallen into a schedule without much effort from me which is great. She eats, is awake for about 45min, and then goes down well on her own to sleep until the next time to eat. We're just struggling to eliminate the awake time after her nighttime feeds at the moment. She has yet to smile, but she focuses on our faces now and it seems like smiles may be just days away at this point. She weighed only 8lb 10oz when I weighed her yesterday, which I was a bit surprised at, but my doctor assured me she's doing fine, and she shows no signs of not being okay to me. I think maybe she'll take after Sarah in the physical stature department. Her older siblings still LOVE to hold her, and Sarah has even taking to changing diapers despite a rather messy accident last weekend!

Rylan is nearing two and definitely showing signs of it! He has taken to stamping his feet on the floor when we say something he doesn't like, and gets the "do you really mean that?" look in his eyes when he is asked to obey in some form. Oh the joys. Despite all of this he really is such a happy kid and soooo much fun to have around. He is sensitive as well, and just today was having a good cry because Autumn was being disciplined and he ran to get her baba (blanket). We laugh at him daily, especially around the dinner table. He is so affectionate too, and obliges easily when asked for hugs or kisses. His vocabulary is developing quickly as well, although not always clear. My favorites at the moment are, "who is that?" or "what is that?" and when asked what he's doing, he often responds with, "...um...". Too cute that boy is.
Autumn is... Autumn. I really struggle for the words to describe her. Just yesterday at preschool she decided to freak out a bit because it was party day which means all the parents are there to watch them sing their songs etc., and everyone was in costume which I think threw her off a little bit, but she proceeded to stand in the party line up arms crossed and huge pout on her face the entire time! And that was after I calmed her down and told her she had to listen to her teachers and go in the party line with her classmates. Other parents were telling me how cute she was. All I was thinking was, "Would you think it was that cute if it were your child?" She also peed her pants twice today. Why? I do not know. That is just Autumn. She constantly challenges my patience level. On a good note though, she really can be such a sweet heart. She's the one who spontaneously says, "I love you mommy/daddy." She gives the BEST hugs, and is in general very thoughtful of others. She is very creative we're discovering, and watching or listening to her play is always entertaining. Her and Sarah have become quite the buddies in these last couple of months (thank you Lord!) and she is quite the leader in their imaginative play. She also has acquired an imaginary friend. Her names is A-wee-see-ah, (phonetic for Alysia I think). She is constantly telling me stories about her adventures with this friend, and the other day her imaginary friend even made her cry by, "bugging her so much." She is our "spunkle", and we love her to bits!Sarah is growing too fast. I have a love/hate relationship with the age 5 so far. She has been overly emotional, whiny, and negative since her birthday in July. But she is super helpful, is understanding things on a different level and is starting to enjoy the responsibilities that being older brings. Our biggest challenge with Sarah is her "glass half empty" attitude. It seems we're always dealing with her negative comments and attitude about nearly everything in her life. I think it's mostly in her personality or disposition, so finding ways to help her deal with that is our main focus, knowing it may possibly be something she'll struggle with for the rest of her life. She is always asking questions which I also have a love/hate relationship with! And Brad and I are starting to have to be careful about what we talk about in front of her and have taken to spelling the important words - I guess that option only lasts so long too!
Brad and I are enjoying our kids so much, and I often find myself trying to snapshot moments in my mind because I'm aware of how quickly the time is going. Parenting is sure challenging and I'm increasingly more thankful to God for His plan to have Brad and I in it together. I LOVE to watch Brad interact with our kids and the way their faces just light up when he comes home from work. He is a fantastic daddy and a huge help to me. We're praying for God's direction and timing as Brad's work at the bridge project will be coming to an end soon and he'll need another job.

As for me... life with four kids is not too much different than life with three. I have to be really organized - which I love anyway, and I'm trying to be intentional about spending quality time with each of the kids now that my time is divided even more. I'm feeling great (okay, maybe a little tired) and like being pregnant was a distant memory except for the leftovers in my midsection! I'm starting to try to take the weight off now for the last time and get back into shape - ugh!

Off now to make dinner and get children ready for trick or treating in the pouring rain!

Auntie Cathy

2008-10-29T13:16:00.001-07:00

We were blessed to have my aunt come and visit and help us out for almost ten days. She left last Friday.
Anyway, it was a great, very relaxing time for me. Auntie Cathy is the type of person you can have in your home and not feel like you have to entertain or always be making sure she's comfortable. She completely makes herself at home in our home and I love that. She was an incredible help to me and the kids, and helped Brad out with a large function he was catering the weekend she was here. She filled my freezer with cinnamon buns and shortbread cookies, let me nap, played with the kids, snuggled Carly, cleaned up, folded laundry... the list goes on.
Thanks again Auntie Cathy! What a great way to adjust to another baby in the family. We so enjoyed having you here!

One Week

2008-10-14T21:45:00.000-07:00

Carly is one week old today. Already time is flying, and I find myself trying to make the most of the moments I have with a newborn because she will be our last baby unless God has other plans.

FOUR in the tub!

She is so far an excellent baby. It is actually quite difficult to get her to wake up and she has spent most of this past week asleep - even at night believe it or not! I wake her up for feeds every three hours during the day and try to get her to have some awake time afterwards, and then she sleeps until her next feed. At night she wakes only once to eat, and except for the past two nights she has settled right back to sleep after her feed at night. Of course last night because I was on my own, and Brad was back to work today she decided to feed twice, and not settle so nicely back to sleep afterwards. Somehow they know when you extra specially need that good night's sleep.

Carly and her friend Ezra Ens, born only a few weeks earlier.

Her siblings are adoring her like crazy, and we referee and time their holdings so it's fair! Rylan is so good with her and beams when he gets to hold her. All three of the kids are showing signs of adjusting to this major change in our family, but nothing major!

Carly and Great Grandpa Handy

Today was the first day I was on my own, getting all four out the door this morning for school drop-off etc. It certainly takes some preplanning and organization, and I foresee lots of hat days for mommy in the future!

Physically I'm feeling great aside from some weird hip/back issues, and adjusting to being a milk machine!

And Carly Makenna Makes Six!

2008-10-09T15:26:00.000-07:00

Well, my doctor/boss/new best friend had mercy on my big uncomfortable pregnant self and induced me early. Now lots of you who may be against "induction" may think "why would she want to be induced early?". Let me tell you. I have been induced with every single baby. Even the one time my water broke hours before my scheduled induction, I still did not kick into labor without the help of my friend oxytocin. They just simply do not come out by themselves. I have often wondered what would happen to me and my babies were I not living in the land of modern medicine. So, with as few people knowing as possible, we were scheduled to be induced Tuesday morning. We woke up and called the hospital as per protocol to see if we could still come. Thank goodness they said we were still good to go. We dropped the three kids at Kristin's and headed to the hospital for 7:45am.

At 8:30am Dr. DeLair broke my water and we sat, and sat, and sat..... nothing!

At 11:30am the nurses started me on IV oxytocin which is the labor inducing hormone meant to get contractions on the go, or make them worse if you're already having them. Still I sat, and sat, and sat... nothing! I did mention that my body just does not labor on it's own right?

By 4:30pm I was on the maximum dose of oxytocin that they can give before they start back at the smallest dose again and I was finally feeling some contractions that were difficult to talk through, but I was no further along as far as dilation or anything... disappointing.

At 7pm I was feeling more pressure and was told I was 5cm. I thought I was going to be in labor forever at that point, but they all reassured me that I was going to go fast now.

At 7:35pm I was 9cm.

At 7:38pm I felt like I needed to push and actually could not help but push. Dr. DeLair and the nurses did not have time to set up the bed properly or even roll me to my back from my side. Carly Makenna Toews entered the world at 7:39pm, 8lbs 4oz, 22inches long.

We are so thankful to God for a safe and healthy arrival of our new little girl. She is perfect and we are loving her to bits!

We are especially thankful for a good labor and delivery with no complications, and no stitches!!!I am LOVING not being pregnant anymore. Breastfeeding is another story...

Baby Number 4

2008-10-06T15:22:00.000-07:00

Here I sit 39 weeks and 2 days pregnant, feeling as if it will never end!!!

I am frustrated because I am so uncomfortable that I find it hard to do anything. I don't remember being in so much pain at the end of the other three pregnancies, and I just can't wait to be done. I also sit wishing and praying that maybe, just maybe this time will be different and I'll go into labor on my own, but that just doesn't seem to happen where I come from unfortunately.

I am excited to meet this new little one and see who he or she is, but to be honest I'm more excited to be done being pregnant. I am actually surprised a little at Brad who seems to be a little more sad for lack of a better word that this is the last one. He keeps mentioning how he can't wait to snuggle this new one. I could not believe when he said the other day, "Maybe we'll have to have one more." To which I promptly replied, "I don't think so."

Anyway, that's all. I don't think I'll blog again until I have baby news.

Rylan

2008-09-15T10:52:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to share an update on Rylan. He is at such a fun stage right now, not that with him all the stages haven't been fun, but we find ourselves laughing daily at something he does or says.

Most recently he has learned how to give a blowfish or raspberry on someone's belly. He has been trying for quite some time when he sees Brad or his sisters doing it to each other or to him, but last night as he lifted up my shirt and was kissing the baby, he tried a blowfish on my belly and it worked! He laughed so hard as did Brad and I and then tried again numerous times, but was laughing so hard he could barely blow out as he put his mouth on my tummy. So stinkin' cute and quite a good laugh for us!

The other night too he was fooling around in the living room and decided he was going to twirl around thus making himself quite dizzy. After he stopped twirling, he tumbled into Autumn and took hold of her to support himself I think but ended up taking her to the floor in a classic tackle. Again, all parties involved and in the audience laughed and it was one of those "funniest home video" moments we wish we had our camera out for. He then proceeded to tackle Autumn five or six more times as the rest of us watched and laughed. It seems these days that is a goal of his, to make us laugh which is just so great in my opinion, laughter is good for the soul.

He is talking up a storm though he still needs an interpreter for outsiders to understand what he is saying. The other morning after I put his sweater on he followed me around the house saying "hudun" over and over and crying because I was not stopping to help but for the life of me I could not figure out what he wanted. Finally he began tugging on his hood and saying "hudun" and I clued in, "Oh, you want your hood on?" "Yeah, yeah, yeah." He said finally smiling.

He is quite an affectionate little man too and easily gives great hugs, kisses, blow kisses etc. He often asks to say good night and hug his sisters before we put him in bed, even if the girls have gone to bed before him.

And he also is loving babies right now! Good timing I think. When we went to visit our friends Alf and Kelly in the hospital yesterday after their new little boy was born, I picked up the baby to hold him and immediately Rylan said "hold it, hold it, hold it, hold it". He was thrilled and we couldn't get the smile off of his face as he held his new little friend. And he talks about another friend's baby who he recently held too all the time. Hopefully this is a good sign that he'll embrace big brotherhood and hopefully not smother the new one with his love!

This kid is and always has been such an easy, good-natured boy. He is just so good. I can only pray that number 4 takes after him!

First Days

2008-09-10T10:28:00.001-07:00

Because of a gradual start, Sarah's first official day of Kindergarten wasn't until this Monday. She was incredibly excited to go and didn't look back. Off she marched into class with her new backpack on.
Mommy did well too. I am truly excited for her to begin this stage of her life, and she's really ready for it. I am consumed with thoughts of "where did the time go?" and "did I do/teach her enough at home for her to be ready for the real world?" and "hopefully she makes friends" and "hopefully she doesn't pick her nose and eat it in front of her teacher or new friends" but really what can I do? I just trust that God is in control and pray LOTS.
I am increasingly pleased with our decision to send her to the school she is going to. It is not the local school that we are in the catchment area for as that one has an "inner city" label and was on lock-down a few months before the summer for a gun threat. It is a small country school and we already know quite a few people who go there. It is so great to see friendly faces for Sarah, and friendly moms I already know when I drop off and pick up. I have also met some other moms already who just have nothing but great things to say about the school and the teachers etc. Sarah's teacher and principal are Christians, and five kids in her class go to our church. I pray God continues to orchestrate her friendships and connections at school so she has a solid Christian group of friends throughout her school years.
Truth be told, I am not a fan of private Christian schools. I do think they have a lot of things going for them, including many opportunities for extra cirricular things that public schools may not offer, and that's not to say if that's your choice that I think it's a bad one or a wrong one, and someday maybe it would be the best thing for one or all of my kids, so I won't say "never". Likely we'll be unable to afford it anyway. But, I really believe that we are to be "in" the world to be a light in the darkness and for me that means the public school system where our kids will be able to have an influence on non-Christians. Autumn also had her first day of preschool on Tuesday this week. She was super excited to go and was just in the greatest of moods on Tuesday morning. She didn't want me to leave however when I went in to drop her off and there were a few tears shed. The teachers there really encourage the parents to make their good-byes short and get the kids adjusted as quickly as possible and I also knew it'd be the best thing for Autumn if I didn't prolong the sadness, so I got her settled at the playdough table,

Rylan and I gave her hugs and kisses and we left. She apparently did great and told me she's excited to go to the next class.

She is going to the same Wind and Tide preschool that Sarah was in last year, and she has one of the same teachers that Sarah had who I just love, and she also remembered Autumn's name etc. so that helped a lot. But I just love this preschool. This one is a Christian preschool and the program is just phenomenal! I'm really looking forward to seeing Autumn grow and learn in this new setting.

I was so apprehensive at the beginning of the summer knowing she was headed to preschool in a couple months, with her insanely shy attitude sometimes, her potty training issues, and to put it plainly, her tantrums etc., but it's amazing what a couple months can do. She is doing fabulously at the potty thing, and a few friends have commented recently about how talkative she is and how easy it is to understand her. She truly has come quite a ways in her language development this summer too and is not nearly as shy. As for the tantrums... it's hard to say... let's just hope and pray she is a "better for other people" kind of kid.

It is truly good to be into a fall routine, all be it a busy one. I really cannot fathom how I am going to do all this with four!

San Diego Part 2 Lots of Pictures, Few Words

2008-09-09T15:50:00.000-07:00

So our week in San Diego went as follows:

Sunday - relaxing day spent at local park and swimming etc. at the house with a yummy steak dinner

Monday - day at the zoo, lots of walking, Laura sore and tired, back to the house to swim etc., Kristin watched our kids so Brad and I could have dinner out in "downtown" San Diego - so nice! Unfortunately we didn't take any pictures on our "date".

Tuesday - all day disappointing deep sea fishing adventure for the guys and Ali, HOT outlet mall with six kids, swimming and dinner making for me, mom, and Kristin
Wednesday - all day at Sea World - really fun, great shows, Autumn had a very "off" day and that was not fun, stayed for the night shows which were really a lot more entertaining than the day ones
Thursday - Kristin and I took our older girls to another mall to do some back to school clothes shopping and have lunch which was good except the girls could not be more disinterested in back to school clothes and were much more focused on brining home presents for their little sisters, then swimming, and then Brad and I watched Dave and Kristin's kids so they could have a nice dinner out together, then the whole family played the peg game - boys won again - always do!

Friday - we spent most of the day at the house swimming etc. with our kids and napping and then met up at the beach for the rest of the afternoon with everyone else, had dinner, and Brad, Dave, Joel and Ali rented a wave rider thingy and the rest of us had fun watching them attempt to surf, bodyboard etc. We played peg game again - not even close this time!

Saturday - pack up, drop of rental car, fly to Seattle, shuttle to hotel where van was, search for something quick but not fast food for kids for dinner, drive home, unpack van - aka -LOOOOONG day.

All in all it was a fantastic holiday. It was sunny, the company was great, kids did very well and had a blast with their cousins, Brad and I went on a date, went to some neat places and did a little relaxing too.

Looking forward to the next one already.

San Diego Part 1

2008-09-02T18:30:00.000-07:00

I decided I'd do this post in parts seeing as I have so many pictures. I have to admit that I'm not a big fan of packing up for holidays. What a process to make sure you have everything you need for yourself, three kids and a hubby who thinks two pairs of underwear, a shirt and a pair of shorts is all he needs!Last week we spent time with my family in San Diego. My sister and her family had been planning a big California trip for quite some time, and it turned into our whole family meeting in San Diego for the week. Dave and Kristin are still on their month long trip!

My parents so generously paid for the accomodations and food while we were there so we just had to pay for the flights and entertainment, and perhaps my slight spree at the Gap outlet! This is the pool and hot tub view from the above deck.
Each family had their own room and bathroom and the rest of the house was spacious and just perfect for what we needed. Here's Brad cooking in the kitchen - just where we all like him!
And pictures of the flight there. We flew out of Seattle because it was a lot cheaper, and so we drove down there on the Friday before and spent the night in a hotel with my sister and BIL, Ali and Joel. After checking into our dump of a hotel with rude customer service, we sent Brad and Joel in search of a better night's sleep. They came back not too long after with good news and we drove a short distance down the street to a much nicer hotel that was only a bit more money, and well worth it. It did however make our sleep that much shorter, as we woke up at 5am to catch our 7:15am flight. Thus, the extreme tired look appearing below!

It was so nice to be traveling with two sets of extra hands. Sarah was able to sit in the same row as Uncle Joel and Auntie Ali, and we barely heard from her on either of the flights there or back. Flying with small children is really not my idea of a good time, but the kids did well and the extra hands sure helped.

And the view from the back deck. That is the ocean in the background there. Don't palm trees just say "vacation"?

Stay tuned for more vacation posts.

Sarah's Celebrations

2008-08-03T16:08:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, the actual day of Sarah's birthday we spent the day inside mostly hanging out together. I made her all of her favorites for breakfast and lunch and we ordered Chinese for dinner at her request. The plan was to go to Castle Fun Park after dinner, but Brad couldn't get off work any earlier and we thought it'd be too late, so instead we headed to the mall together after we ate to purchase some earrings for Sarah. Wednesday marked eight weeks since her ear piercing and so she was able to change her earrings. Autumn gave her some money to spend for her birthday and that's what she used it for. She had a fun day, but was obviously more excited for the carnival party on Saturday.

the invitation

the birthday girl just before her friends came

the locationAnd, for the Carnival party held yesterday (I started this post a looong time ago), I'll let the pictures do most of the talking. Thankfully it did not rain and kids are not phased by a little cool breeze! I fully admit that Martha Stewart Kids magazines are my friend, and most of the booth ideas etc. came from an issue I've been saving for a few years, thanks Martha! Both my sisters and my brother in law Joel came over the night before and helped with the signs and booth set up - couldn't have done it without them! I also had the amazing help of three of my cousins and my former nanny that day, as well as both of my sisters, and Brad of course did all the food - it was definitely a team effort!

thanks Uncle Joel for this fantastic booth construction!

We rented a bouncy castle, but I don't think I have any pictures that don't have other kids in them in the castle (I try not to include pics of OPK (other people's kids) on my blog unless I get permission first).The kids all earned tickets at the various activity booths, and then traded them in at the prize table to fill up their goody bags.

Fun was had by all. Parties are always a lot of work, but creative me loves the planning and preparations even if at the end of the day I'm dead tired, I love it, and my kids are worth it!

Happy Fifth Birthday Sarah May!

2008-07-30T16:27:00.000-07:00

Today my firstborn princess turns five! How time does fly! I recall so clearly the sunrise in our hospital room the morning she was born (5:05am). What a beautiful day to enter the world, our world. It will never be the same.

Never in my life have I fallen so instantly in love with someone (unless you count your daddy - hahahahaha!).

Sarah, you continue to be such a joy to our family and to all who know you. Your smile lights up the room and your excitement over things is contagious.

I cannot believe that you head off to kindergarten in the fall and that our full-time mommy/sarah days are nearing an end for good. Five just seems like a huge milestone to me, and to you too. We're so thankful for your spirit that is sensitive to God and that Jesus lives in your heart. You constantly see God in life and various situations and your insight is beyond your years. You are such a big help around our home and are the bestest big sister ever!We love you little Missy!

Slacker

2008-07-05T21:41:00.000-07:00

I too am a slacker blogger as of late. I can't say much exciting has happened around here lately and therefore no exciting blog posts.
My weeks have been quite honestly filled with frustration, exasperation, and some sparse moments of happiness with my kids. I am truly missing my "get out of the house" job! My main frustration lies in the way my children have been getting along. I am out of ideas and tricks and methods of discipline to try and make them understand that the whole world would be a happier place if they would just be nice to each other. Just this week I told Sarah she wasn't allowed to watch TV at all until I saw that she could get along with her sister and brother. The next morning, my sweet Sarah woke up and proceeded to do some "second glance" and "did I just hear you right?" things with and to her sister, and I mean in a good way. So, later in the day I commented to her on how great it was to see her being so nice and teaching her younger siblings to share etc. And she said, "It's because I really want to watch TV again." Nice. So, I reward that with her being allowed to watch TV the next day which completely falls apart with downright "meanness". AAAHHH! So every second day could be good.

Anyway, enough venting. I'm working on a chart and reward system for the good behaviour, and Brad and I have been trying to crack down on our discipline as we both realize we have been slacking slightly in that area as well. Hopefully some good old fashioned summer outdoor activity will help.

Our Canada Day weekend was fairly uneventful except for the slightly spur of the moment purchase of a tent trailer. It is a 1995 Dutchmen with a king, queen and double bed, and it also has a toilet and shower. Because of my pregnant state, and the fact that even when I'm not pregnant I do get up to go to the bathroom at night, and having little girls for a while, I really wanted a toilet, or at least a tent trailer with the porta potty stored in it, so that was a huge selling point for me. We spent most of the rest of the weekend cleaning it, buying some necessities to put in it, and stocking it up for our camping trips. We are all very excited about this purchase and can't wait to take it out for the first time in a couple of weeks. Brad and I both have fond memories of camping trips as kids, and we hope that this is a good investment in our family memory making! Having four children and not being independently wealthy, we anticipate that camping will be our main mode of holidaying for quite a while, and we're quite happy with that.
It was so fabulous to have Brad off for the entire four days of the weekend though, even if it was just so he could get a slight glimpse of why I've been so frustrated with the kids lately. We were supposed to go to our Life Group's year end social on the Monday night though and ended up staying home mostly because our children were just plain grouchy and needed an early bed time. I think perhaps Nana and Papa who were babysitting the night before while we were at a wedding, got them into bed a slight bit later than normal, which is I guess what Nana's and Papa's are supposed to do! We enjoyed a picnic at the park/waterpark this week with friends, and Auntie Tara met us there to spend some time with the kids. It was great to get out of the house, and the kids actually all went in the water. Usually Rylan and Autumn opt out of the spraying water. That same night we ordered Chinese to share with Rachel and said our goodbyes to her. She left Friday for Africa.I went into the office yesterday to do some work, and to have my prenatal appointment. All is well with me and the baby. I made up for my zero pound weight gain last month, and no, I'm not going to divulge how much I made up! Baby's heartrate was 144 and I'm measuring right on schedule. I suppose I should post a belly picture, seeing as most other preggos I know do it regularly. I'm just SOOO not a fan of my pregnant body. I don't think I have really any belly pics of the last two pregnancies let alone this one. I'll get Brad to take one and if it turns out okay I'll actually post it and not delete it immediately from the camera. I really am sort of in denial that in about three months I'll have a newborn again, Rylan will be a big brother, we'll have to put up the back seat in the van, Rylan will be in a big boy bed - yikes, typing it all out helps... I think.I've come down with a lovely summer cold thanks to my children, and I can't take anything for it. So, off to have some tea and try to sleep. This last picture is what I get when I ask Brad to get me a bowl of ice cream pretty please. "It's all about the presentation, Laura."

Goodbye Rachel

2008-06-22T14:12:00.000-07:00

One of my very best friends in the world, Rachel, is moving to Uganda in just under two weeks, and she'll be gone two years! She is going there to be involved with a school for sponsored children. Needless to say, I'm thankful we live in a day where technology allows us to "see" each other, and talk to each other like we lived close by.

Saturday night her parents hosted a big farewell party for her in their backyard - which is huge and beautiful. It was of course decked out with everything African, and very classy which is sooo Rachel. There was authentic Ethiopian cuisine, and an African band who was quite entertaining.Rachel is unique in the fact that she has many, many, friends and she does a great job of maintaining and developing her friendships - there were over 100 people there to prove that! It was a fun evening, and we all were thankful that the rain held off.
Here is a picture of the gigantic map of Africa cake I made for the party.

Unfortunately, that is the only picture I took of the party, Brad helped out with the food a bit and so I was busy with the kids.

Anyway, words cannot express how much we all will miss Rachel. She is as close as a sister to me, and is a real "auntie" to our kids. Rachel moved up the street from us when we were young kids and we've been friends ever since. She is an incredible friend who goes the extra mile to help and to care for us. She is the bestest auntie to our kids and goes out of her way to make them feel special and loved too. We all LOVE her to bits!

We will miss her immensely, but are so proud of her decision to spend part of her life in this way, and pray the best for her time in Uganda.

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2008-06-17T17:01:00.001-07:00

I've been on a bit of a spree the last couple days. There are a few new posts to read, so scroll down if you want.

Toews Look-alike Meter

2008-06-17T09:18:00.001-07:00

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Family history

Toews Look-alike Meter

2008-06-17T09:14:00.003-07:00

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Geneology - Family history

Toews Look-alike Meter

2008-06-17T09:14:00.001-07:00

Toews Look-alike Meter

2008-06-17T09:08:00.001-07:00

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Free genealogy - Family origin

Father's Day

2008-06-16T16:27:00.001-07:00

Well, in pictures, and a few words, here's our Father's Day...

Here's the bestest Daddy I know.
I let Brad sleep in, then the kids and I brought him his morning coffee and presents which consisted mostly of desperately needed clothes. Brad does not eat breakfast very soon after he wakes up, so breakfast in bed is definitely out of the question much to Sarah's disappointment. We resurrected the King Daddy crown from two years ago which is a tradition Brad LOVES (get the sarcasm?). We spent the rest of the morning getting ready to be out of the house for the day, making food etc. Then headed to Brad's parent's for a Chinese food lunch and visiting, outside for once!
Later in the afternoon, we headed for White Rock beach for Fish n' Chips from Moby's Dicks with my family, which is now becoming yearly tradition for Father's Day which is especially more enjoyable in the beautiful weather we had yesterday. The beach was gorgeous, and actually a lot warmer than I had expected. We had great food, and enjoyed watching the kids explore the beach, and just being together as a family.
We had a great day together as a family celebrating Brad, and our dads/grandpa/papa.

And, to finish off, I must tell you all who care to read what a great dad Brad is. I've often read/heard that it is better to look for the perfect father for your children, than the perfect husband when you are seeking a mate, and while I of course considered the kind of dad Brad would be before I even went out with him, he has by far surpassed my expectations and dreams of daddy to our kids. He is consistently patient with them, very 'hands on' in every aspect of the daily parenting and caregiving, not afraid to discipline and back me up, deals with the puke, is a great teacher to them, and often tells them how much he loves them which I know is not always easy for men! I just adore watching him play with and teach them, snuggle and tease them, makes me love him even more! I look forward to watching him grow as a dad as our kids grow into adults.

Tagged

2008-06-16T16:10:00.000-07:00

So, I was tagged by Jennifer, so here goes...

What was I doing ten years ago?
1. Just starting work at Dr. DeLair's office.
2. Saying I would "never" marry Brad Toews.
3. Still working part-time at Blessings Christian Marketplace.

What are five (non-work) things on my to-do list for today?
1. Grocery shopping
2. Wash the covers of the couch cushions - thanks to two snotty nosed children last week.
3. Laundry - 7 loads.
4. Make appies and dessert for Life Group tonight.
5. Practice reading with Sarah.

Five snacks I enjoy:
1. Chocolate
2. Ice Cream
3. Grapes
4. Popcorn
5. Nachos

5 Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
1. Give, give, give to charity.
2. Buy vacation property big enough for my whole family.
3. Hire someone to do housework.
4. Travel with the family.
5. Buy Brad a restaurant.

Places I’ve lived:
1. Surrey, BC
2. Cochabamba, Bolivia, South America
3. Abbotsford, BC

Jobs I’ve had:
1. babysitting/nannying
2. Blessings Christian Marketplace (bookstore).
3. Dr. Len DeLair's office.

Ear Piercing Adventures

2008-06-05T14:14:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, June 4th, was my niece, Olivia's 5th birthday. My girls and I were invited out for dinner with the birthday girl, her mom, her sisters, and my mom, the girls' nana. We missed you Auntie Ali!

Anyway, we headed to Boston Pizza in Langley for dinner which was fun and yummy. Then we headed to the mall to get Livvie's and Sarah's ears pierced. I am so proud of how brave Sarah was. She is normally quite a chicken when it comes to things of pain, and often loudly lets us know when she's hurt, so she surprised us when, even after seeing Livvie get hers done and crying, she sat bravely in the chair with a huge smile on her face, and only cried slighly by her standards after the piercing was done. She absolutely loves her newly acquired status, and I think they look pretty adorable. We chose tiny little crystal studs in white gold and they are perfect for her dainty little ears. On our way out of the mall, all of the little girls, 5 of them were holding hands and saying in unison, "No boys allowed." So cute!We then headed to Baskin Robins for ice cream treats - thanks Nana for treating. What a fun and memorable night.

Time Sure Flies...

2008-06-04T10:42:00.000-07:00

I wish I could say "when you're having fun", but it hasn't seemed too fun around here lately.

The weekend following my last post and the potty-training weekend, we took our kids and my three nieces to a family fun fair at Sarah's soon-to-be elementary school. It was really a fun time, and I thought, a really well done school fun-fair. Shortly after arriving home however, both Autumn and Rylan started throwing up. Joy oh joy. The only thing good about having two kids going at the same time, is that it's all over with together. This sort of happened out of the blue, because both kids seemed fine all day, and even polished off great dinners that night. And, not a proud mommy moment for me but, Sarah had a VERY mild version of the same virus I guess but I passed it off for "being in her head" because nothing really significant developed.

Little Elijah and Autumn watching a ride.

Anyway, that had been on the Wednesday prior, so I'm guessing the little two caught what she had just two days later! And then, the following week, I got it, although just the nausea and not the actual puking thank goodness as I LOATHE throwing up. Unfortunately I had to call Brad home from work to deal with the kids so I could take some gravol and go to bed. And again, it was short-lived with me too and I was feeling much better the following day. It took a bit for the little two to be done with the diarrhea though, and I'm happy to report that it didn't deter Autumn's fabulous potty success! She is still doing fantastic in this area, and I'm sure it'll only be a matter of time before she gives up the diapers at bed time too!

Because of the pukers the last weekend, we had to cancel plans with my Uncle John and Auntie Cherie and their girls, so we made up for it this past weekend, and went there both Friday evening, and Sunday afternoon - so great to visit, and when we go there, our kids basically disappear and get taken care of by the older girls - very relaxing for us.

Saturday we spent in the yard pretty much. I invited my parents out for a "work-bee" basically, and they were happy to come. I can't tell you how nice it was not only to have help in and outside of the house, but to have the company while we worked was fantastic. My parents are soooo great at helping out with anything, and I'm sure we accomplished at least three times what we would have on our own. I'm actually not embarassed to have people in our backyard now, although we still have a ways to go, and many projects to complete. Thanks again mom and dad for always helping us out and giving us great company. My mom and I did sneak in a visit to some of the home stores, and we stopped to eat a yummy Greek dinner too before finishing up in the yard. Needless to say, the bath water that I drained after the kids were done was brown and full of sand - proof that even they helped out in the yard!

Nana reading to the kids before bed.

One of four planters on the deck.

Brad's herb garden. I'm sure it'll look more impressive in a month or two.

Work for me has been very slow. I did two projects last week, and so far have had none this week. And while I quite enjoy the slower pace of just being a home, I miss my job at the doctor's office, and am starting to wonder about the reliability of our "second income". I am getting a lot faster at my transcription job though, and it will definitely be worth my time when I get the different projects.

Last week also brought Sarah's preschool party day for which I forgot my camera. She did well again doing all her songs and answering questions about the things they had learned. Rylan loves the music, and this time tried to stand right on the party line with the preschoolers, and was waving his hands and "la-la-la-ing" along with all of their songs. Too cute.

Speaking of Rylan, he is getting to be such a big boy. Every day I watch a small part of his "babyhood" disappear. He is saying so many words now, and even is stringing two together already. He is such a source of joy and laughter in our house as he does funny things to make us all laugh, and just doing his normal sort of things are so cute they bring a smile to our faces often.

Autumn's language skills are also taking off. She even told me something would be "dangerous" this morning. It's almost like all of these words have been trapped in her, and they're all coming out at once. She does continue to put and "H" in front of some words instead of the usual first consonant sound, and my favorite these days is her "hip-hops" (flip flops). She continues to be so proud of her "big girl" status and will tell anyone who listens about her panties, and the fact that she is a big girl, and Rylan is the baby of the family.

Speaking of baby, I went for my second ultrasound this week, and it was much better than the first. I had a way nicer technician, who let me watch the baby on the screen the entire time, and took a couple pictures of the baby for free, and they're better than the first ones. You can see them below. I am feeling really good, other than the pain in the veins in my legs. I can't tell you how much I'll be glad to forever be done being pregnant, and get some of my "issues" surgically dealt with after this baby is born. I'm also proud to report that for the first time ever in any of my pregnancies, I didn't gain a single pound in the last month between my doctor's visits. That is not to say that I may not easily make up for it next month, but I made a conscious effort this time between appointments to eat a little better, and it paid off. I really don't want to have lots to lose after this baby like I have with my others, but we'll see in time. I'm feeling the baby move a lot now from the outside, and Brad even got the chance for the first time the other night.

The first peek. This is the second set.

I'm also happy to report that I was able to find insurance for our trip to San Diego in August, so that is very relieving. We are looking into booking our flights, and planning some of our day trips etc. while we're there, and then we'll be all set. I'm getting excited for summer holidays, and hope that the weather catches up here sooner rather than later!

On Monday the Life Group ladies all went down to Bellis Fair to do some shopping. I had a great time, found a few things to purchase, and enjoyed a Haagen Daas peanut butter chocolate ice cream 1/2 pint on the way home - yum. I really am amazed sometimes at how 7 of us girls who are all so different can get together and have such a great time socializing, and really doing anything together. I am so thankful for these friends!

And that is the end of the marathon post, which I started off thinking that I didn't really have much to report - maybe it's the lack of adult conversation lately??? Sorry for the lack of pictures too - slacking on that a bit lately too.