Elliots Evening.....

While Isaac puttered away here at the house with me and a few girls....

Elliot had more interesting things to do:

Being Aware......

I don't ever want to take things for granted, but I know that I am guilty of it!  I know I have health, wealth, love, peace, and faith.  I know that the loss of ANY of these would be hard....I appreciate them, I try to be thankful for them every day.  This reached out to me today.......

 I am about to go into a weekend where almost 50 women are coming as campers, and that is 50 different sets of lives with varying perceptions and fears.  I have a strong feeling that this weekend is going to be a changing one for many of them....not all....but many.  Some are coming for a good time, but some, even some that I personally know of, are coming because they are hungry and want to meet with God....with no distractions of home and responsibilities that are there.  I have felt great honor being put into leadership for this weekend.....I love everything it stands for.  Excitement, Change, Growth!!  Rappelling down a mountain or climbing through a cave is no small feat for some of these women....some will be pushed to their limits, and I love that!!  I have had a strong feeling all the way along that each and every woman has been hand picked to come to the weekend for a reason.  And then, to add to my delight and awe and wonder of it all....my SISTER called tonight and booked her flight to come too!!

*******************************

My dad told me a story tonight of his 2 angels working overtime today to protect him from a "driving texter" who almost crashed into him.  I have always felt that there is a plan for my parents lives.....they have had so many near-misses, and so much 'good fortune' in their lives.....and now that life can slow down to the point where they have bought a BOAT!! {Like now I have a boat! sweet!}.... there is a reason they are still here when there have been many times, especially my dad, where he should have been gone: the exploding boat, the wine glass, the texting driver.....so, when I saw this picture tonight, I thought of my dad.

I love you.....and am so thankful that you have more than 1 angel.  One day I will thank them.

Interview with Isaac....Age 8

Favorite Food:  Waffles

Favorite Book:  Ben 10

Favorite Movie: Ben 10...why?  "i don't know"

Favorite Friend: Evan  E-V-A-N  {thanks isaac}

Favorite thing to do these days:  Play computer, climb trees, read books, watch tv, play piano, play with birds.

Favorite Color: Blue

If you had $100, what would you buy?:  An ipod

If you could travel anywhere right now, where would you go?  "Home" and he giggled..."I mean, Nowhere!!"

How do you like your life?: "Awesome"

Anything specific?  "Everything".

So far, so good I suppose......love that boy...he is almost 9 in less than 2 months!

I said "BELOW".....

Max and Isaac were learning to skype with eachother this afternoon.

Overheard:
Isaac: "Hey Max, can you see what I wrote to you in that box?"
Max:  "What box?  I don't see a box??!!"
Isaac: "Below where my face is on the screen".....
I overhear Max literally BLOWING onto the screen...

Isaac: "No Max, I said "Below where my face is, not BLOW where my face is"

Saturday conversations with kids......

Elliot walks into the room holding one of our bigger rock/crystals...quite beautiful:

"Hey mom,  what do you think this is worth?"

Me: "I have no idea honey"

Elliot {with very BIG eyes!!} says:  "Probably a BILLION DOLLARS!!", as a chunk from the rock falls off in his hands.

Me:  "Probably now a little less than a billion....."

Friday!!

I am Tanya's "once a year friend".  I think its funny and interesting, that this very outgoing, friendly woman - has me (along with one or two other women that she considers friends enough) to go out with!  And when we go out, it's literally once a year!   We had much to catch up on, which we did on an hour long walk down the transcanada trail...and then stayed until almost midnight at Mr. Mikes.....we had a great time.  

She sent me the sweetest text on my drive home;

"That was a wonderful visit, my heart is full and happy 

after spending time with a wonderful friend.  Good night!"

Chris was supposed to be in Victoria overnight tonight getting ready for a teen expo; they set up the sweetest booth of the whole place!!  I was seriously impressed with my mans creations; not only the booth set up displays, but the bouldering walls he just 'threw together'......he is amazing...this is all him.  (He is happy to have come home tonight because now that its all set up, he realizes that he can set our disco ball up from the beam across the booth space! haha...)

Since he was going to be in Victoria, and I had to come BACK into town for the 2nd time today, we had plans to head to Mike and Laura's for dinner.  It was a nice treat to have chris come home for the night...although he is still down at camp prepping more things for tommorow....when we got home tonight, we all just sat in the livingroom together.  The boys were on each of the boys, the boys were reading books, and chris and i just watched.  It was so nice......but anyways, back to dinner.....it was a spontaneous dinner at mike and lauras...I love their house, its so creative and inviting.   They had a fire going....and made spaghetti .... 

 AND POPCORN!!  (i LOVE Ava's face in this one!!!  Awesome!!)

It's been a real kick getting to know mike and laura a little better these last few months.  I think we both feel a little more settled in our lives, our kids, our careers, our marriages, that we can look up and around and gravitate towards people we want to do life with.  I find Laura much easier to talk to now, and I find myself excited about spending time together.....our kids also seem to just love spending time with eachother, and time always feels well spent.  

I am feeling thankful tonight for a healthy family, friendships of friends and family, the fact that I am done slotting 45 women into their workshops for the retreat that is in ONE WEEK!!!!   I love these birds....however, i read a friends post this morning on facebook saying "Budgies with kid owners don't have a long shelf life.  Literally loved to death.  RIP PeachOPeach"   This freaks me out for Libby and CJ!!!  Good luck girls!! Stay on your toes!!

Climbers.....

It feels as though we are finally coming through a stage with Elliot that I have been looking forward to for a long time.  He is becoming this sweet young man who can process things a little better rather than resorting quickly to crying and losing it.  He is fiercely independent, can work on things alone, happy to have people around him, or not, and more than anything lately, LOVES alone time with his dad.  He is the first willing body to hop BACK into the car and drive back to town or to Tims for an ice capp with his pop.  If chris is heading down to camp, Elliot is first to the door with his shoes on, willing to make the trek.  Once down there, and he tires from what dad is doing, he will go explore the program room, his favorite room at camp.  He comes out with waterguns, rubber balls, bubbles, air horns, lego.....anything.

The other night we all headed down to camp to see what chris was working on.  He had rented a hole digger to help him (manually!!) dig down 5 feet to put these posts in for a system that will finally rule out the need to train or have belayers on the wall!   So, guess who belayed his brother?

 Yes...that would be Elliot belaying Isaac.  I won't tell you the sound Isaac made when he turned around and saw it was only Elliot holding him up enstead of his dad! (haha)....but its a great system that will make camp run so much easier!!

 Oh, the sun is coming up on this guy!  He is such an amazing little soul......and always has been!! 

 It's just so nice not to have crying as part of his main repertoire anymore.....

Walking in the forest with some crazy people.....

This crazy clan brought dinner over tonight after work.....such a treat!!  Here laura took the wheel after dinner as we went searching for Stinging Nettle!!!  She and Mike made a soup from it the night before and their whole family LOVED it.....so, we wanted some too!!

 Walking in the Honeymoon Bay Wild Flower reserve....Mike gave me a good lesson on different plants, flowers and trees.....I hired him for a friday night hike with the womens at the retreat -- they will love him!!

 Wren was snap happy with her new ipod.....she sent me a few of her favs.....I loved this one, mainly cause I saw her take the shot....took a few tries, but i loved the clarity of the trees behind the flower.....

 Here is her little 'adaptation' of isaac she sent me.......

Such sweet kids......

 Love all the expressions......

 Adults turns.....guess who lives at a kids camp?

 Me and Chris:  Ok!  Crazy Shot!!

Laura and Mike: Ummmm......

 My best friend.....we had a really nice day together yesturday.

 There you go Mike....he is getting it!!

Mike whipped his clippers out from his pant pocket on our walk (??)....and clipped us a bunch or Stinging Nettle....Chris made the most amazing soup as I tried to finish lunches.....

*note I said 'trying'....I was dead on my feet and felt like I was going nowhere....isaac, who was tucked in already, but always looking for a reason to get up, pushes me aside, kisses me on the cheek, and says 'you go rest, I will finish the lunches....'  and with a little direction.....he did.  Got to love that boy.  And I had the stinging nettle soup for lunch today too...and it was even better than last night!!!!

Cousins and Plumi Moos!!

Monday was a hot day!!!  PERFECT for Slurpees after school/work!!!  

Brings me back to winnipeg childhood memories!!!

 Speaking of winnipeg memories, My mennonite roots shivered when I read a recent blog post on "mennonite girls can cook" blog about their Plumi Moos....oh grandma....turns out I still love the smell, but I am not a huge fan....

 While my Plumi Moos was cooking, we enjoyed dinner with the cousins (and sis and bro in law)......

 I love that they are friends....I hope they are friends forever.  Wren is turning into a girl who loves her itouch, earbuds in her ears, and sometimes 'too cool for school'......but she is still a sweet girl that I love talking to.

 Life is more beautiful when the sun shines.....isn't it?

 Cousins meet Libby and CJ...... (here is Libby!  (short for Caleb).

 Plumi Moos!!  {hmmm....who can i pawn it off on?}

 Turns out not this guy......here he is after one little taste....light weight...sheesh.

Yet, he still holds up the Thank you flag....haha

Thoughts from my post period period.

Life has been a little too busy around here.  All good things, but a few things often suffer when one gets spread a little too thin.

It's nice to have the birds in our life now...we have finished our 2nd full day of them, and they are a welcome addition to the family and our home.

It was a bit of a rough day between Chris and myself.  When we run into a little trouble, I spout off to my sister, get madder while on my own, get quiet and have my 'angry eyes' on when I get back around Chris, and then he makes me sit down and talk it out....which makes me more mad, and then exasperated, and then reserved while I process, and then I often realize I am being selfish or realize its not a huge deal in the big picture...and move on.

I am still feeling a little distant, and feel myself processing the week, how I feel about things, if things are going well, how we are doing with raising these lovely boys.....checking in, and re-checking, you know?

Time is flying......too fast...STOP!!!

Peaches and Pepper: Day 1

We got our lovely birds home, and out of their boxes after school today.  The boys had no idea where we were taking them until we arrived at the house and rounded the corner and the birds were sitting on their perches, side by side looking out the window at us as we came around the corner.  I was excited to see them again.

 Upon getting home, the cage was cleaned and prepped, and here is our first introduction!! 

 I was amazed at how quickly they all took to eachother!!!  Such sweet little birds.....

 It thrilled me to see how comfortable these girls were with grabby little boys!

 The boys learning to put their finger out for the girls to step onto...pretty funny.

 Elliot has taken to Pepper......

 And, as you can see, Peaches (or maybe Libby?) has blended quite well with Isaac.

 Bed Time.....

 This is going to be good.....

This weeks highlight reel.....

I have been wanting to get a hot tub for the womens retreat for years and years - and there is only one place in the area that rents them, and not only is it $495 plus taxes, it wasn't available this year because qwanoes is running THEIR womens retreat on the SAME weekend as Imadene!!  SO, they rented it......but God is good....so good.  One night last week, Isaac and I were cuddled up in bed about to fall asleep and I figured I would just take a quick look on usedcowichan.  Low and behold, there was a hubby who had just ripped out their deck and wanted someone to just come and take their beachcomber hot tub away!!  Still worked, new filter, a bag full of new chemicals....and it turns out they go to a church in ladysmith where a friend of ours is pastoring, so it was a great excuse to head out there for church sunday morning and pick up the hot tub!!  We had a wonderful morning seeing old friends, and picking up this sweet hot tub with ceder siding (it matches the lodges!!).....and to top it off, the husband was a fisherman, so he gave us a box of frozen prawns!  Paul wired it all up after chris pushed it up between the two lodges with the tractor - and here we are on the first morning!!!

I have been missing having pets in our lives......so, I took the boys to the SPCA the other day for a little visit with the cats and dogs.  We were going to bring them some food, but when I called to see what they needed, they said garbage bags and laundry soap!!  (I am going to see about making them a big vat of homemade laundry soap and see how that goes over...sure would save them alot of money!)

Elliot really liked this noisy little pup.....thankfully she was just waiting for her 

owner to come back to pick her up as she had just been adopted!!!

Isaac spent most of the time here running the fence with this sweet lab/pointer cross.  Super sweet guy....even won me over a little bit just watching them play as best they could through the fence.  Not long later, I caught the dog barking like a maniac....no thank-you...been there, done that...next!!!

Pulled a fourth day at work this week to get some 'extra help' with my contracts.....at lunch time my two favorites and I went out to "The Jar"!!  And we all had fish tacos!!   Randi is new to my 'photo additions'...but she is awesome, and also my new contract supervisor....so she put her whole day aside to work with me....I was pretty thrilled....

After a long day in Nanaimo, I picked up Nic and we headed to Cow Bay to see Kim for her birthday!!  But before we met up with her, we stopped in to meet a couple of birds who were looking for a new home.  The moment I walked in the room, I knew they were to be mine!  More on that later....other than I am very very excited to bring these guys home tonight!!  We are leaving soon to pick up the boys and then head over to where the birds are -- the boys have NO idea!! ;-)

Happy Birthday Kim!! 29!!!!

It was a long day, and though it was only 8:30 when we all parted, Nic and I were like "we should go out for coffee, or something to make the visit last longer"...we have missed eachother alot....we both were a little bleary eyed, we hugged and said good bye.  I was starving by the time I pulled into camp...and knew Chris would have only had chicken strips....so I went down to camp hoping that a plate of food was left from dinner...and there it was....in the camp fridge, waiting for me......

So, the seniors are gone now, I need to work on the womens retreat... I cancelled my ride with Major today because time felt quite crunched since Chris said he wanted to come to town with me......so, should be an exciting afternoon!  Auxanos are coming here this evening for their final bonfire.....their final day!