My Christmas Prayer for You

Quick Update

I have so many things to say, but so many things to do! So here is just a quick note to make your efforts of clicking on my blog link worth while...finally.

Mark and I went away over night last weekend (another post on that later....) and the children stayed with my Mom and Dad.

At one point Shannon looked at my Mom and said, "Omoe, I REALLY like being here because you let me help you cook. I'm going to ask my mom if I can stay here until Jesus comes back and God makes a new earth!"

I guess I'm obviously spending more time on Religion classes than on Home Ec.; and once again, am very thankful for Grandparents to help balance things out!

Shannon - at Omoes' in February 2007, she's been taking Home Ec. for quite a while!

Brown

I thought I'd post a follow-up to my previous "Moments in Nature" post. Here is Fall as seen through our picture window. From Green to Brown. Now I'm secretly hoping we get enough snow to cover the corn stalks left in the field so I can do a White!

Reasons to Give Thanks

Scrapper's Etiquette: Papers for these pages were from K. Pertiet's 'Botanist Exclusive' Kit and J. Brisebois 'Harvest 1912' Kit. The letters were from J. Binder's 'English Garden ' Kit, and the leaf from 'Harvest 1912.' The beautiful children photographed: A Gift from God!

What is Life if You Can't Laugh at Yourself ?

I found this link in a Homeschool Moms' chat room yesterday. Quite Funny. (and so are a lot of the other Tim Hawkins videos) Enjoy!

A Homeschool Family

It's Done!!!! (Kind of...)

After several hours of intense thought, labour and more thought and more labour; my amazing husband has completed his home made hot tub!

He made it completely from scratch, using nothing but his own thoughts and ideas, and a few tips from fellow on-line, "make it from nothing and for nothing" inventors.

As you can see it still needs a little bit of work. It is missing the insulation on the outside and the plumbing parts aren't covered yet, oh yeah, and it still leaks...a little...but as long as it holds water long enough to heat it up and sit in it, what more do you want?!?!

I'm confident that he will one day figure out what needs to be done to stop the water from trickling out those invisible holes, even if it means ordering 'Mighty Putty' from that guy with the funny voice on TV. He has also been tossing around the idea of adding a waterfall feature.

In the meantime, we'll just enjoy the warmth while being surrounded by a true labour of love.

Just a Little More of the Fun I've Been Having

I created this slide show using PhotoShop Elements. I think this is a great way to keep all those digital shots you're not really sure what to do with, but can't get yourself to delete.

The main character is my beautiful daughter, just being herself.

The music is "For the Beauty of the Earth" from Chris Rice; Living Room Sessions. Awesome CD. Great sheet music for my fellow pianists.

No pictures were duplicated. Honestly.

No tulips were harmed in the production of this movie.

Just Couldn't Resist

After writing that last post I just had to scrapbook it.

Always a Reason to be Thankful

The other evening I was heading out to a meeting and my father had come over to watch the children until Mark made it home. I was scurrying about collecting things and Dad commented, "You look just like your mom, always on the run." I hurriedly replied, "There just never seems to be enough hours in the day." Without missing a beat, Brent added, "Well, just be thankful you don't live on Uranus. It only has sixteen hours in a day!"

Of course that followed with a conversation between Brent, Devin and Opa, about how they may have shorter days, but their years are longer, so maybe they actually have more time.

I didn't hear the final conclusion. I still live on earth and had to run.

Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass on a summer day
listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky,
is hardly a waste of time. ~John Lubbock

Summer's Over...

and school has begun. This year one of the greatest additions to our curriculum is the internet. Over the summer we were FINALLY able to find a high-speed provider that didn't' cost a fortune to set up and gives reliable service. YAY for Roger's Portable Internet!!!!

Here are some websites that I've found and will be using this year. Sorry to those still fighting trees, high hills and dead spots. I know how you feel. Don't forget...you're always welcome to come over here and have some fun in the fast lane (except that it will probably make your dial up seem even slower when you get home).

HOME SCHOOL BUZZ: For all you home schooling mom's this is really cool. A search engine that searches only home school related sites! You can even refine your search to just curriculum, resources, support groups. Very neat.

STARFALL: Shannon is doing JK type activities this year and is starting to learn her letters and their sounds. Here's a site I found that fills in wonderfully while I'm busy teaching the boys. It is phonics based and goes from letter sounds to "I'm Reading!" Best of all...it's free. You don't even have to give your e-mail address.

NATIONS OF THE WORLD: This YouTube video was recommended in a home school chat room, and has become our world geography for this year. Devin has really latched onto it and has memorized the first verse already. Challengers anyone?

ANDY STANLEY: (yes, the son of Charles) As mentioned in a previous post we were introduced to Andy at Camp Mishewa earlier this summer. I looked him up on line and love to listen to him while doing my dishes. This is the first part of his series entitled: "What you can expect from God," an interesting approach to the growing "Health and Wealth" philosophy. (look for parts 2-5 in the "Related Videos" section over on the bottom right)

CAKE WRECKS: This is a site of professionally made cakes, gone bad. Nothing educational, some comments not even necessarily kid friendly but I have to admit, many made me laugh...out loud. It's a huge site, so here are some of my favorites:

A Failure to Communicate
Inspiration vs Perspiration
and
Handwriting Class?

Fabulous Summer (#3)

The Civic Holiday Weekend is set aside for camping with the Aunts, Uncles and Cousins on my father's side. Although we don't always make it out (because it is held in Cambridge...6 hours for us but 1/2 hour for most of the others) we LOVE it when we are able to make it fit in our summer schedule.

We went up a day early and treated the kids to a day at African Lion Safari, and honestly, FABULOUS is the best word to describe our day. It is such a well laid out park, with lots to see and do, and our children seemed to be just at their targeted ages. They, well, actually, we ALL loved the bus tour through the game reserve, the different animal shows, and especially the splash pad which made a fantastic cool down intermission.

Camping was equally great, with only a few quick showers on Saturday afternoon (it's all about the rain this summer!) The boys made fast friends with their second cousins and spent the entire weekend playing Star Wars in the bush, or riding their bikes down the paths, leaving lots of time for us to sit and chat and catch up with the adults.

Family, Fun, Fellowship....FABULOUS!!!!!

You'll REALLY like the water Daddy! Come on. PLEEEEEEASE!!!!!

Couldn't NOT put in a picture of the Lions!

"The Dark Side" ready for battle.
There were 4 more boys similar in stature already in the bush posing as the Jedi...

Fabulous Summer (#2)

Our first camping trip was also a repeat experience, and one that I'm sure will be repeated several more times in the years to come.

We headed back to Camp Mishewa, on Round Lake (up near Pembroke) for a week of "family camp". Mishewa is owned and run by the Evangelical Missionary Church and during family camp they offer programs for the kids and study sessions for the adults. Several other families that we know (and love) went as well and we calculated that our collective children accounted for about half of those there, so we basically never saw our kids...except for meals and snacks!

In the morning the children learned new songs and bible verses as they studied the Fruit of the Spirit and the adults were challenged through a video series by Andy Stanley (son of Charles) entitled "Go Fish." Jesus calls us to be his disciples...not so that we'd become better people, not so that we live happier lives, but to make us fishers of men. Challenging series...fabulous speaker!

Afternoons were spent with unlimited SUNSHINE down at the beach. We enjoyed 7 days with only 2 teeny, tiny, sprinkles of rain during the day. Considering the summer we've had...a true miracle!

The Beautiful Beach of Mishewa

Brent and his buddies came in third in the sand castle competition. They recreated China, including the "Great Wall,"a working waterfall, and a star lake!

Devin spent an evening fishing and came back with a 5 pound big mouth bass!

Fabulous Summer (#1)

A lot of catching up to do ... we've been having soooo much fun!!!

We celebrated Canada Day by returning to the Museum of Civilization. We discovered this gem of an idea last year and couldn't resist a repeat experience. The museum hosts the Children's Museum, which the kids absolutely LOVE and on Canada Day admission is free! So while the kids and I had a great time exploring inside, Mark staked a spot out on the lawn outside amidst the gathering crowd, and quietly read his book...think we may need to reverse roles next year...

The museum closed at 9pm so we had just enough time to gather and bathroom everyone (we went with some friends) do the limbo train through the crowd, and eat some snacks before the big show. FABULOUS!!!!

Moments in Nature

MOMENT #1
Inspired by reading the blog of a friend of mine, (hers was simply entitled "Green") I took a look out my window and noticed that I too, am currently surrounded by 'Green.' I had to sit for a moment and remember the days, that seem oh, so long ago, when we were surrounded by white, and once again, reflected on the faithfulness of God, and marveled at the changing seasons.




MOMENT #2
This morning I was out weeding the flower beds, and enjoyed listening to God's MP3 player, as mine appears to have stopped working. Today he had loaded for me the following songs:
Bullfrogs in the Pond; The Neighbour's Donkey Bray; The Bees' Bumble; The Hummingbird's Dance; The Birds Upon the Treetops; The Wind in the Maples; and the beat of the sun on my back.

This is My Father's World!

I Suppose...

...when your last field trip was to the Medieval Festival and you saw a lot of this....

































...you just have to expect that one day you will go outside and witness this...

Year End Celebration

Our home school group had a year end/graduation party at the beginning of June. It was a wonderful afternoon to celebrate everyone, and especially the graduates.

The children were all encouraged to bring along something that they had done, made, or studied during the past year. There were many projects, bug collections, lego creations, and even a hand carved chess set. Brent had been reading a book on science tricks and decided he wanted to do a magic show. We researched and experimented with quite a number until we finally settled on 3 that he was able to perform without fail.

When the MC called out that it was his turn he jumped up, pumped his arm and whisper-shouted "YES!" He was made for the stage. Not an ounce of fear. (I was a nervous wreck!)

He made a salt shaker disappear, read the mind of a graduate, and made an egg go into a bottle. Next time you see him ask him to show you!

15 Years Ago

OK, I'm a bit behind on my postings, but I still wanted to include this...at least my blogging is more up to date than my scrapbooking!

On May 29 Mark and I celebrated our 15th Anniversary. 15 years to testify of how God provides "more than we can ask or imagine" and how He remains to be "our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name. " (Ephesians 3:20 and Psalm 33:20)

Looking at these shots I don't think we've changed a bit...well, OK, Mark got bifocals...but other than that...

MICHAEL !!!!

For those of you who aren't related to us, here' s a little family tree info. Mark's oldest brother is 15 years older than Mark. Mark's oldest nephew was 24 when Devin was born, his youngest niece was 13. Our children have a lot of cousins that are a lot older than them! Fortunately, Mark's sister had a daughter the day after Devin was born, and adopted another a few months older than Shannon, so they do have some cousins the same age on that side (and yes, the nephews have been having children right along with us as well...)

But today's focus is on the older guys, the ones whom our guys look up to, love, and admire, and in particular, Michael!

Michael took a special place in our hearts as we followed him (in spirit) as he rode across Canada on the Sea to Sea bike tour a couple of years ago. We put pins in our Canada map every day to mark his progress, followed along in their devotional and read his blog. We met up with him when the tour took him only 1/2 an hour from our house, ready with our "We 'heart' Mike on a Bike" sign.

Then he moved to Lake Louise and our rendezvous became few and too far between.

Last week, he came home for a visit and took the time to come to our house for lunch. The kids were all over him...as the picture shows. He listened to all their stories, watched all their new tricks, AND tuned up their bikes! (which of course was followed by a race around the driveway)

Thanks for stopping by Michael..we still 'heart' you!

Up Where They Belong

Here's a shot we took of the kids during our "tiptoe through the tulips" at Dow's Lake on Mother's Day. The tulips were AMAZING, and I did manage to get some good shots (amid the HUGE crowds) but thought I'd share the MOST beautiful things in my life...those who call me Mother.

(copyright info: the 3 papers and brad are from the Scrapper's Guide Travel Kit (Linda Sattgast) . I learned the folded corner technique from one of the Scrapper's Guide videos)

And just to clarify the picture in the last post...the tulips were from my Mother's garden, I took the photo's and made the collage.

I Love Tulips!

Scrapbooking Fun!

In my search for tutorials for Photoshop Elements I stumbled on the Scrapper's Guide website. I subscribed to their weekly tips and started to learn quite a few neat tricks. (even if it meant I had to leave the internet on overnight so I could download some of the videos!) Linda (the instructor) is very easy to follow and has a goldmine of knowledge!! They announced that they were producing a training DVD for latest edition of PSE and I immediately ordered it. I'm now getting even more of a sense of how powerful this program is, and how much I don't know...but am learning!!!! Here's my latest page. (I think if you click on the picture it should open up bigger in your browser) I love using the Sticker Edge technique that makes the words look like a sticker. The Puzzle pieces are just one of the MANY presets in PSE, a new world the DVD introduced me to. All I had to do was click and drag in the pictures, and could resize, zoom in, zoom out...amazingly powerful! And of course don't forget that I could pick my font colour from Shannon's pjs.

Mark Makes Blog Headlines

Mark - an integral part of our lives, whom we love dearly, but for some reason doesn’t usually make the headlines in our blog. Today is his turn.

Several months ago Mark went and put some pot lights in for a lady. Usually his company works on all of their jobs together, but this time Mark had gone alone, and successfully completed the task. She called back recently and asked to have some more work done. “And,” she asked, “could you please send the OLDER GENTLEMAN who come and did the work last time. I believe his name was Mark. He was so kind and courteous, just a real joy to have around.”

Needless to say the guys at work spent the rest of the day searching for jobs that would be suitable for an ‘older gentleman!’

I just want to know how she knew Mark has just picked up his first pair of bifocals!

From the "Totally Unexpected" File

Every Wednesday we take Lisa bowling at the Chesterville bowling alley. She has bowled for many years and is actually quite good, usually scoring around 150. She loves it, and lets the world know when she has thrown a strike with her loud joyous shouts of "Yes! I did it!"

Today when we arrived, our fellow bowlers were all waiting outside. We were told they were filming inside, and would be done in a few minutes. I assumed the local high school's media class was at work.

When we entered I soon realized they were not amateurs. They were a crew from TVO, filming a segment for "Mark's Moments." Never heard of it but, cool. One of the regular bowlers is a young boy who is going blind, and they are doing a show on "A Day in the Life of Palmer." Then it hit me...it's probably TVO Kids...my kids watch that!

I asked Devin if he knew Mark from TVO Kids. His face immediately indicated yes, as he realized why the guy across the room looked familiar. Guess he couldn't place him without the big black box around his head. Devin went over and said "Hi" and had a little chat. We called Brent over, who by this time had started bowling (he keeps Lisa company), and soon he was also star struck, trying to figure out how to have a conversation with someone who was so down to earth, funny, and wore very cool shoes...but normally entered our living room through the TV.

The owners of the alley took a picture and quickly printed it off for us; sometimes technology is just too cool. Mark graciously signed it, along with personal notes to each of the boys. Despite what the sign says over his head (oops...) he was a very responsible young man, GREAT with the kids, and certainly an unexpected visitor in our tiny town!

He said he was going to post the photo on his blog on the TVO kids website. I imagine the boys will have me checking a couple of times a day until he does.

Mark's Moments airs on TVO on Wednesday at 5:55pm, Saturday at 10:20am, and Sunday at 1:23pm. Palmer's segment won't be on until late May or June.



On the way home Devin decided he is going to always carry around his Alfredsson, Heatley and Spezza cards, because "You just never know who you'll meet."

Our Hockey Stars

Hockey season for the boys drew to a close on March 22nd. The "league" that they play in consists of boys from ages 7-12. They play every other Saturday, doing drills for about 30 minutes and then scrimmage for another 30. No tournaments, no fund raising, no parental brawls, no bank loans to cover expenses. We are just thrilled to have this opportunity for the boys.

This was Devin's 3rd year, and Brent after having said he didn't want to play in September, asked if he could join in February. We had been skating at the arena most Thursdays with other homeschoolers and I guess he finally felt confident enough on his skates to join in on the "real thing." (Another benefit of a less formal group; and having mom as the administrator...)
They approach the game with different mind sets, although both are intent on scoring goals. Brent admitted that he was a little frustrated, because when he finally was able to get the puck on his stick, "Suddenly there is a crowd of other players around me, and I can't shoot it at the net!"
As administrator, I decided to take pictures of all the boys, and used my Photoshop to make "hockey cards" for them. I still am discovering how much there is to learn in the program, but am having fun exploring!

Brent and the Medical Profession

Entry one: Approx 6 years old. Brent needs to get a booster shot. It takes both the doctor and I using our 4 arms and 4 legs to keep him still long enough to insert the needle.

Entry two: Approx 6 1/2 years old. Brent sticks a "Pick-up-Snake" (image the game "Pick-Up-Sticks" but more "snake looking") in his ear and now says it hurts. The doctor is unable to get the scope in his ear because he won't sit still. The specialist a few days later has the same problem, and finally they end up doing a special hearing test and determine that he can hear fine, therefore he must not have damaged anything.

Entry three: 7 1/2 years old. Brent goes to get his eyes checked. He wines at the dilating drops, but endures. As the doctor is examining his inner eye, he suddenly starts to squirm and claims he's hungry. He then rips off his sweater, is now sitting bare-bellied, and says it's not hunger, but he thinks he is going to throw up. We throw a coat over his bare belly and rush him out for fresh air. A few deep breaths and we're good to go.

Brent doesn't do pain or doctors well.

Entry four (and the real reason for this post, just thought the history would be enlightening): February 7, 2008. Still 7 1/2. At 9:30pm my 3 children who are supposed to sleeping come upstairs. Devin is laughing, Brent crying, Shannon indifferent. Brent has swallowed a nickel. An American nickel. It now hurts, mid-chest, off to the side; kind of the stomach area, but could also be a lung. We decide to call the tele-health line and after 25 minutes of being assured our call was "important to them", they answered, and strongly urged us to take him in to the ER; because it hurt (it shouldn't hurt in his stomach). I had a busy weekend planned and I decided dealing with it now was easier than when we had a house full of company, so off we went.
But first, having learned ER lessons with Devin and Doctor lessons with Brent, we stopped and explained all the possibilities, and said a prayer asking for courage, and pain tolerance. Worked like the Bible says it does.
The first 2 nurses we saw, thought I was off my rocker, and said that tele-health sends EVERYONE to the ER. But the scare that he may have aspirated it into a lung, although the pain was by now lower in his chest, led them to allow us to see the doctor.
The doctor is a father of 3 sons and assured me that he knew all about swallowing things (and sticking things in places where they don't easily come out of).
He had no problem suggesting an X-ray. "Best to know where it is, and how it will come out," he said. A few minutes later we could clearly see the American nickel lying perfectly horizontal in the small intestine. He suggested we take the nickel off Brent's allowance and sent us home.

Brent was co-operative, enjoyed checking out all the machines in the ER, was fascinated by seeing his insides on the X-ray, and was overall an 'A' patient. I'm just really thankful he didn't have to have a scope put down his throat!

He still won't tell us why the nickel was in his mouth, and refuses to look and see if it has "passed."

Time to Announce a Winner!

Well, that was fun! And actually, most of your guesses have been heard at one time or another while the dress was being worn, (which has made for some interesting discussions) but Lorie was able to come up with the "picture worthy" phrase.

The exact quote went like this. Shannon is all dressed up, and trying to find someone to play with. Finally she grabs the "sweeping apparatus" hands it to Lisa and says, "Here, hold this. I'll be the bride, and you be the BROOM!"

A Freudian slip on the real role of men in a marriage???

Congratulations Lorie!!! (a mom with 3 little girls...maybe that was her advantage)

Guess the Caption and Win!

My mom bought this wedding dress for Shannon (at a yard sale for $5). She has had soooo much fun dressing up in it. We've even had "aisle walking lessons" in the living room with Opa, while I played the wedding march on the piano.

The other day she had it on, and said ... to Lisa. It was so cute I had to snap the shot to preserve the moment.

What did she say?!? That's where you come in. Post your guess in the comments section. In a week or so (because I know my blog isn't worth checking every day) I'll post her quote and offer a prize to the winner. What are you playing for? Win and find out!!!! (just giving myself some thinking time) Come on, be a sport! Think like a 4 year old.

A Dutchman's Dream

Is it a racist comment if you belong to that race?

Back in the fall Lisa and I were in the city for a doctor's appointment and went to Wendy's for lunch. In her kid's meal, Lisa got a coupon for a free ticket to a 67's game (Ottawa's Jr A hockey team).

Hmmmm. We like to try to take the kids to a game each year (unless we're feeling exceptionally generous and take them to see the Sens). So seeing a coupon for a FREE ticket got my Dutch-money-saving-mind working over time. A kid's meal costs roughly $4.50. A ticket to the game costs $11.00; $15.00 for adults. Sounds like a money making venture.

I had to take all the kids into the city for another appointment in a few days. Guess where we went for lunch?! Another 4 kid's meals, 4 more coupons, and we were all off to the game for free!!! ('cause Shannon would stay home)

We finally found a night that suited our schedule, and invited Omoe, Opa and a couple of friends to come along (should have thought of that in the fall and bought more kid's meals...)

When I went to the box office, I needed 5 adult, and 4 kid tickets. They let me use the coupons for all of the adult tickets, and just pay for the 4 kids at the lower price! Completely unheard of in the coupon world. I'm beside myself!!

We enjoyed the game, along with the popcorn and juiceboxes we brought from home, and resisted spending $5 for a hot dog or piece of cheese pizza. The boys don't even ask anymore. They've learned our ways.

THEN...during the second intermission the announcer reminds us all to take our ticket stubs to the nearest Wendy's for (are you sitting down!?!?!!?) a FREE KIDS' MEAL!!!!

WOOOO HOOOOOO!

Of course we had to stop on the way home! As it turns out we had to buy an adult meal and then we got the kid's meal for free...but...they accepted my ticket stub that clearly showed I didn't pay a dime for it.

I should figure out exactly how much I saved (being the math mind I am) but maybe I'll save that for another contest... And I just like thinking of it as "LOTS"

Now if only the Sens would partner up with Quizno's on such a deal...

Our Jesse Tree (for Advent)

I know...a little out of season, but before I put it away I thought I'd take a picture of it. And then I thought it would make a good blog post, but I'd never remember to post it just before advent '08 so I thought...no time like the present...
So this year for advent (well, actually I guess it was last year) we decorated a Jesse Tree. A Jesse Tree is a tree branch (we used a mini Christmas tree...actually a mini-singing-Christmas tree) decorated with symbols representing the stories of people in Jesus' family tree, and other important persons from the Old Testament. The symbols remind us that our belief grows out of deep roots of thousands of years of ancestors in the faith. Each day you hang a new symbol and read a corresponding Bible passage. You can get as creative as you'd like with the symbols, and there are a variety of web sites that offer Bible passages and/or devotionals.

Here's a link to the one we used... http://www.rca.org/NETCOMMUNITY/Page.aspx?&pid=1628&srcid=1602 (or just Google "Jesse Tree" )

What exactly did you think would happen?

Brent and Shannon took the recycling out this morning and declared it "Beautiful" outside; they just had to go for recess right away! Being the evil tyrant I am and not willing to be so easily swayed on this just the 2nd day back after holidays, I insisted that Brent finish his school work first.
He quickly sat down to work then asked, "Mom, my calendar (which is another whole blog post topic) says that spring starts on the 21rst of March. Soooo, (because he never just says "so") why is the snow melting?" Good question...
Once the work was done the 3 of them quickly got dressed and headed outside. 15 minutes later I heard the pitter patter of sloppy boots on the deck, and they all entered declaring "My feet are cold!"
They took off their winter boots. "No wonder! I've got ice cubes in my boots!" Shannon announces. Brent turns his boot upside down and water pours out. Devin declares he has no idea how the water got in! They're boots, aren't they? Great time for discussion on permeable and non-permeable fabrics.
We pulled off all 6 water laden socks, replaced them with nice warm "grandma socks" (of the knitted variety) dug the rubber boots (non-permeable) out of the basement and sent them back out to enjoy the spring weather, in winter.
Like one of my old work mates used to say, "Don't live in Eastern Ontario if you can't take a joke!"

Happy New Year!!!!!