Post Worthy Pics (IMO....)

Tonight is our "Thank You" Dinner, hosted by Developmental Services, time to get fancy and festive and try a new hairdo! Thanks Pinterest!!

Peek-A-Boo with an Oriole

I love hearing this guy sing while I work in the flower beds! Unfortunately, his beloved poplar tree needs to come down as it is crowding out our beloved maples...maybe next year!

Supreme Court of Canada to Make Supreme Decision on Parental /Religious Rights

The Supreme Court will be making a very important decision next week (May 18).

At issue: The Ethics and Religious Culture Course, mandated by the Quebec government as a must attend class by all children from grade 1-11, in public school, Catholic school, or homeschooled.

This case will address whether parents have the right to choose the kind of education their children will receive, particularly in regard to religious instruction. The case will cut to the core of what freedom of religion and conscience and parental authority mean in Canada.

Following is a link to a FAQ produced by the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, which clearly explains the case, and why it is so important to us all. The full text (with some key points highlighted, also follows).

Please read, be informed, and most of all pray!

http://www.republiquedebananes.com/2011/05/10/faq-on-the-ethics-and-religious-culture-curriculum-as-it-will-be-scrutinized-next-week-by-the-supreme-court/

FAQ on the Ethics and Religious Culture curriculum as it will be scrutinized next week by the Supreme Court

Mardi 10 mai 2011

This FAQ was developed by the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada.

S.L. v. Commission scolaire des Chênes,

The following questions and answers are those that we have heard most frequently asked about the S.L. v. Commission scolaire des Chênes case (hereafter “the Drummondville case”), which will be heard at the Supreme Court of Canada on May 18, 2011.

The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada has been granted intervener status in this case and will be presenting arguments in favour of broad religious freedoms for parents and advocating for a truly plural society which is religiously inclusive.

A. Quebec Court Challenges

1. Why is the Drummondville case so important for Canadian parents?

Drummondville, a case originating in Quebec, will address the issue of whether parents have the right to choose the kind of education their children will receive, particularly in regard to religious instruction. The case will cut to the core of what freedom of religion and conscience and parental authority mean in Canada.

At issue is the Ethics and Religious Culture (ERC) program, a mandatory course which must be taught to all Québécois children. The course has as its objective the instruction of children in a manner that will promote “the development of attitudes of tolerance, respect and openness”, thus “preparing them to live in a pluralist and democratic society.” The course is not a graduation requirement.

The perspective of many parents and the position of the mother in this case is that parents have and wish to retain the right to teach morality and religion to their children from their perspective, or decide who will do so on their behalf. The right to pass on one’s religious and cultural heritage to their children is a fundamental aspect of religious freedom and parental authority in Canada.

This position is supported by polling data. An opinion poll by Leger Marketing reported that 72% of parents in Quebec agree that parents should be able to choose between denominational religious instruction and the ERC program. [A second Leger Marketing poll actually saw this percentage increase and reach 76%] Even Quebecers without children largely agree with that position (68%).

2. What is the history of the Drummondville case?

The parents in this case requested that their children be exempt from participation in the ERC program.

The request was turned down by the school (as was every similar request made in the province of Quebec).

After following the appropriate appeal route at the school board level, the parents sought a judgement from the Superior Court of Quebec as to whether the mandatory nature of the ERC program violated their freedom of conscience and religion as protected by the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. They also asked the court to address some administrative law issues relating to statements that the Minister of Education made in a press conference – that children could not be exempted from participating in the ERC program.

While the Court found that the parents and children were sincere believers in their Catholic faith, it ruled that the ERC program did not violate their freedoms of religion and conscience. It also ruled that the parents were unable to satisfy the court that their children would suffer harm as a result of being required to attend this program, therefore they would not qualify for an exemption.

The result of this decision communicates that the state may impose a curriculum that conflicts with the moral codes parents wish to instil in their children and that parents do not have ultimate authority over the moral and religious education of their children.
The Quebec Court of Appeal refused to hear the parents’ request to appeal the decision of the lower court, but the Supreme Court of Canada has agreed to hear it in May 2011.

3. Is this the same as the Loyola case?


The Drummondville and Loyola cases are two separate cases. Loyola High School v. Courchesne is a related case that is still in the Quebec court system. Loyola involves Montreal’s Loyola High School which sought the right to teach the ERC program from a Catholic perspective. The Ministry of Education denied the school permission to do so. Justice Gérard Dugré of the Quebec Superior Court stated that the decision to impose the course on the Catholic school demonstrated “a totalitarian character essentially equivalent to Galileo’s being ordered by the Inquisition to deny a Copernican universe.”

He found that the Ministry’s mandatory course violated the school’s freedom of religion under the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms. This Ministry of Education’s appeal of this decision is still waiting to be heard by the Quebec Court of Appeal.

4. Why did the judges in the Loyola and the Drummondville cases come to different conclusions?

Judges do not necessarily agree, especially when first confronted with a new challenge in the law.

Further, this course is a departure from previous government mandated instruction that is being presented in the setting of significant social and religious upheaval that has occurred over the last 50 years.

The Drummondville case is about Christian parents seeking accommodation for their children. The Loyola case is about a Catholic school seeking to teach about Christianity, other religions and ethics from a Catholic perspective. One judge disagreed with the parents in Drummondville, a decision the EFC disagrees with, and another agreed with the school in Loyola, a decision which the EFC considers reflective of the law that should be applied in both cases. The Court of Appeal made its decision in the Drummondville case on narrow technical grounds. That’s why the hearing of the Drummondville case by the Supreme Court of Canada on May 18 is so important. The decision by the SCC will ultimately be determinative of both cases.
5. How does a case dealing with a Quebec curriculum affect all Canadian parents?

While the case being heard is dealing with Quebec curriculum, the Supreme Court of Canada will have to comment on religious freedom, freedom of conscience and parental authority when rendering its decision.

This decision, as it is from the country’s highest court, will have incredible precedential weight and be binding on all other courts in the country. It will also significantly influence how other provincial governments address the issue of potentially controversial curricula and accommodating parents’ beliefs, values and wishes for their children’s education.

B. Ethics and Religious Culture Program

1. What is the ERC program and why is it so controversial?

The course is mandatory in the sense that it is required to be taught to all students. However, oddly, the successful completion of the course is not required for graduation.

The program was mandated at the beginning of the 2008-2009 school year for students from grades 1 to 11, whether they are attending private or public schools or if they are homeschooled. It addresses morality and various world religions including Christianity, Judaism, Islam and Hinduism.

Parents in the evangelical Christian community are split on the ERC program. Some welcome the opportunity for children to learn about the contribution of religious communities to the culture of Quebec.

Others are concerned that the format used for teaching young children about a variety of religions, as required by the course, will convey to them that all religious beliefs and all moral codes are relative or of equal merit, i.e. they are all the same.

However, most agree that parents should have the right to choose whether or not their children participate in the program. Unfortunately, every parent who has requested that their children be exempted from the classroom has been refused.

2. What are the positive and negative aspects of the ERC?

The course offers the positive aspect of reflecting on the contribution of religious communities to the culture of Quebec. Unfortunately, the nterpretation and context of the government designed curriculum is an interpretation of history, current events and religious belief that is very selective and does not recognize the legitimacy of the sincerely held religious beliefs concerned.

3. How does the ERC program affect the parent-teacher-child relationship?

The ERC program puts parents, teachers and students in a difficult position, notably for those families that have sincerely held religious beliefs.

Parents have expressed concern about how their children will be affected by being taught one understanding of religion, morality and ethics at school and another at home. The child is put in the unenviable position of having to determine, at some point, which authority to trust and/or which to be untruthful with. Parents do not wish to have their child’s trust in their educators undermined, nor do they want their children to lie to educators about their religious beliefs or religiously informed position on ethics and morality in order to pass a course at school. Children should not be required to engage in this type of cognitive dissonance.

C. Effects on Religious Freedom and Conscience and Parental Authority

1. What are the potential implications for parental rights in Canada, if the decision goes against the family challenging the ERC?

If the Supreme Court of Canada gives license to the Government of Quebec to force children – in public schools, private schools, religious schools or being home schooled – to be taught religion as the government understands religion to be and ethics based on situation and conversation without a foundation in truth, then our country is headed for disaster.
Democracy or not, when the state makes decisions to set up the authority of the classroom and the teacher on religious instruction as determinative against the authority of religious communities and parents, the country moves toward a state controlled society that will, if history bears out, in short order ignore citizen’s freedoms and rights. In short, Canada will shift away from a pluralist democratic society and head toward something of a more totalitarian nature.
2. What are the potential implications for religious freedom in Canada, if the decision goes against the family challenging the ERC?

In Canada, we currently face challenges to what has traditionally been a strong constitutional and legal foundation for freedom of religion.

There are currently challenges to our freedom to practice our beliefs, particularly more public components of practice. For Evangelicals that would include things such as outdoor meetings in public spaces; school clubs; comment on social issues from a biblical perspective in the news media; and, even the selection of location for new worship facilities. These are just a few examples of noteworthy challenges facing the Church in Canada today.

Belief formation is a more complex process and thoughts are more difficult to monitor. Historically, parents have determined how and who will provide religious instruction. If the state mandates instruction on religious belief, that creates contradiction between parental authority, along with their chosen religious authority, and the authority of the school and teacher.

Approval of this type of course would most likely lead to the type of persecution seen in other nations where state-approved religion and religious instruction is acceptable and non-approved religious instruction, belief and practice is punishable.

The sound research of Brian Grim and Roger Finke, published in their 2010 book The Price of Freedom Denied, demonstrates that religious freedom and tolerance for the beliefs of others are diminished when the state mandates religious instruction from the state’s perspective.

If the government decides what will be taught as true about religion then Canada has a major problem.

Freedom of religion, as defined in a series of Supreme Court of Canada decisions – the vast majority of which have included presentation from the EFC, will lose its robust nature if parents and the very religious communities and leaders they trust to educate their children about religious beliefs and worship are identified as somehow naïve, brainwashed or intolerant by the state imposed curriculum. True religion will stand only on the same footing as ancient mythologies if taught in the classroom according to the ERC curriculum or the type of curriculum that will be developed in other provinces if the Government of Quebec is successful in this case.

3. Does the law support the position that parents should have the right to determine what type of education their children will receive?

Yes, as the law currently stands, parents have the right to determine what kind of education their children will receive. In Quebec for example, the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms states at section 41 that parents have a “right to give their children a religious and moral education in keeping with their convictions.” Section 3 guarantees the right to freedom of conscience and freedom of religion. Section 2 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms assures both freedom of religion and conscience in regard to government action – from school boards to Parliament.

Additionally, there are a number of cases from the Supreme Court of Canada which support and describe this right, including: R. v. Big M Drug Mart Ltd., (B.) R. v. Children’s Aid Society of Metropolitan Toronto, The Queen v. Jones.

There are also a number of international human rights instruments that support broad parental authority, including The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which states that, The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to have respect for the liberty of parents and, when applicable, legal guardians to ensure the religion and moral education of their children in conformity with their own convictions.

4. Are classroom exemptions really a sufficient means to accommodate the religious beliefs and parental rights of parents?

It is interesting that in the 1980s, in Ontario, the issue before the courts was whether exemption from participation was sufficient accommodation in regard to the saying of the Lord’s Prayer in opening exercises for the school day.

The Court of Appeal noted that exemption was inadequate because it singled the exempted children out for potential ridicule by their peers. The court also noted that while religious instruction in the public schools was permissible, that instruction was not to be mandated, determined or directed by the government or else it could be found to be state imposed indoctrination.

In Ross v Moncton District School Board the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the classroom is to be a welcoming place for all students. As a result, exempting a student might or might not be a sufficient accommodation. Other measures may be necessary. For example, in Alberta there is a school board that has separate class space for Christian students to receive instruction in certain subjects from Christian teachers using a curriculum that founds its instruction in biblical principles.

5. Do other provinces permit children to be exempted from course material that is inconsistent with their parents’ beliefs?

Provinces across Canada permit classroom exemptions, either in regulation or practice, or other forms of accommodation.

For example, in 2009, the province of Alberta amended the Alberta Human Rights Act to include a provision which requires that parents be advised when children are being taught about religion, sexuality or sexual orientation. If a parent objects to the material, their child may be excused from that class.

Further, in Ontario in 2010, a spokesperson for the Ontario Ministry of Education stated that, If there is a component of any course, in conflict with the personal beliefs of the parents, something they don’t believe in, the parents can withdraw the student from that component of the course.

Providing accommodation for parents and children is a normal part of living in a pluralistic society and is a practice that governments are well familiar with as part of their duties and obligations under human rights laws and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

D. Living in a Plural and ‘Secular’ Society

1. Isn’t this type of program necessary if a child is going to live in a secular society?

The term secular is often misunderstood to mean a society that excludes religious thought and perspective. This isn’t the case. In a 2002 Supreme Court of Canada decision, it was stated that,

In my view, Saunders J. below erred in her assumption that “secular” effectively meant “non-religious”. This is incorrect since nothing in the Charter, political or democratic theory, or a proper understanding of pluralism demands that atheistically based moral positions trump religiously based moral positions on matters of public policy….The problem with this approach is that everyone has “belief” or “faith” in something, be it atheistic, agnostic or religious. To construe the “secular” as the realm of the unbelief is therefore erroneous. (Chamberlain v. Surrey School District No. 36.)

Those who continue to uphold the belief of a non-religious or non-inclusive form of secularism suggest that their form of secularism ensures freedom of religion for every individual by recognizing an “equality” of all religions, although denying their unique and exclusive claims. This results in stripping the religious person of the right to express their beliefs, publicly ground their position on other issues in those beliefs or comfortably participate in the public sphere without suppressing their beliefs. This, in effect, pushes the authentic religious into ghettos and out of the larger society and the discussions that take place in the public square.

The ERC program does just that. By purporting to present all religions in an equal manner, giving each of them the same level or lack of credibility or importance, the ERC relativizes religion thus removing room for the exclusive claims of religion on one’s life and eliminating the potential for public disagreement which is the rationale for tolerance in a pluralist society. The ERC does not permit the very environment required for preparation “to live in a pluralist and democratic society”, accepting of others and tolerant of beliefs and lifestyles with which one might disagree or disapprove.

2. Is Canada at risk of becoming a nation of intolerant children and young adults if such mandatory programs are not implemented in classrooms?

Canada has developed with a unique cultural and constitutional context. A heavily Protestant nation accommodated Catholic separate schools in its constitution when what are now public schools were Protestant schools available for attendance by any student.

Our strong heritage as a pluralist democracy grounded in Christian principles and practices has created a society of acceptance – and tolerance in disagreement – that is the envy of much of the world and has made a home for people with a variety of religious beliefs and expressions.


The goal of the ERC to develop “attitudes of tolerance, respect and openness” in order to prepare children “to live in a pluralist and democratic society” is betrayed by the very lack of tolerance, respect and openness to pluralism and democracy that is demonstrated in the ERC curriculum itself and by the Government of Quebec’s approach to mandatory instruction.


The Ministry of Education has not demonstrated why this course is needed to ensure a peaceful and tolerant society. Canada’s longstanding tradition of education from a Judaeo-Christian foundation has bred a vibrant, multicultural nation known for its acceptance of others and tolerance for differing opinions and religious beliefs.

To compel tolerance is to dispense with it. Every religion – including no religion – is, in essence, exclusive. Compelling tolerance by state-mandated compulsory religious and moral education can only be accomplished by violating the freedom of religion and conscience of each religiously devout individual.

Finally!

After living in our house for over 7 years, we've have found a solution to the big blank canvas over our tub.

It's been driving me crazy, but I don't frequent stores that carry home decor, probably because home decor is the LAST thing I pull my wallet out for. Yet, the big yellow wall glared at me.


Mark came up with the idea to put up photos of our vacations. But since we aren't world travelers I couldn't imagine what we would possibly put in the frames.

As I've been scrapbooking our photos, I finally found some that I thought would be worthy of the wall...changing the theme from "Vacations" to "Family Fun."

I finally carved some time out of a trip into the city, and hit Ikea and bought some frames. And, for the record, I even bought the second lowest price ones...not the cheapest!

The result....

I LOVE it! Every time I go into the bathroom, I'm filled with good memories; memories that remind me that I don't ALWAYS nag about cleaning rooms and memorizing time tables; memories that give me joy.

I'm reminded of a time management course I took back in my working (out of the house) days. The speaker (David Sweet, who is now MP for Anacaster) told us of how every morning he would go to get a tie out of his closet. They were all jumbled together, and it always took a while to find the one he wanted. One day he bought a tie organizer, and was surprised to discover how much negative energy his disorganized ties had been sapping out of him every day. He encouraged us to take care of the little nagging things in life, in order to get the energy/drive to help us take care of the bigger things.

I've finally learned my lesson. Guess I should go fix the pulls on my roman blind that come undone every morning.

What are you going to tackle?

Hockey Cards

I mentioned earlier that I was having trouble coming up with a hockey card design this year. (I make them every year for the kids hockey club...) Well, while looking through a photo editing gallery, I came across a picture that had been edited using the Zoom Blur Filter. I scraplifted the idea, added stars and names, and they're done!

You'll notice that our kids all have different jerseys on. Our hockey involvement consists of a group of friends renting ice, every other week; dads coaching; working with the kids for 1/2 hour of drills and then 1/2 hour of scrimmage after. We LOVE it! It's a great way to get some exposure to the game, without donating body limbs to the local organization.

Shannon asked if she could do ballet this year, but the time and money commitment was a little larger than we were willing to give, so she readily agreed to play hockey with the boys. She's done really well. Chatters and giggles the whole time she's on the ice. She's entertaining to watch.

Brent seems to be getting more involved in the game this year, a little more aggressive in terms of going for the puck, getting involved in the play; a little more intention to his stride.

Devin would live on ice if we let him. He's glad we have some older players this year to challenge him. His cousin Josh is one of the coaches, and he's always sure to tell me when he was able to "deek" Josh out, or steal the puck from him!

Daaaaad!! Can you come help?!

This is what happens when you don't follow your father's advice and stay on the trail he groomed for you. Fortunately for Devin, this happened in the back yard, and not the back 40!

Another Week...Another Post

1. I entered the new year knowing I really had to get tough on myself about my eating and activity level. While I haven't had huge success, I have lost a couple of pounds, which is better than gaining a couple of pounds.

2. I need some new pod casts to listen to while I walk on the treadmill.

3. For the last 3 years I've taken pictures of all the kids that play hockey with our boys on Saturday morning and make "hockey cards" for them. This year, I can't seem to get motivated, can't get the creative juices flowing, so I played with a picture of Shannon instead.

4. The original pic...taken December 2007


5. And after a few hours of playing with many different editing methods


6. I've started drifting from scrap booking sites to photography sites, and while you can do a lot to edit pictures, it still is a whole lot easier if you have a good shot straight out of the camera. More of finding out how much more there is to find out! Which is probably why I'm not eager to do the hockey cards...I'm not happy with how the players were posing in the pictures.

7. It's very windy out tonight!!! So glad Mark had today and tomorrow off, and thus was willing to drive the boys to Cadets. Well, not so glad he had no work today, and only worked 3 day last week, and 2 days the week before, and only 2 days the week before that. But he has got a lot of wood cut, which has been a bonus, and a few other little jobs done around the property. And Bryan (his boss) says they are booked for the next 2 weeks (after this one) so that's a sign of good things to come, and for that we are thankful.

A Week (or Two) in Review

1. Sunday, January 23, the temperature dropped to -30C overnight. The next night wasn't much better, and that was the night I had to get up at 2 in the morning to go and get Mom and Dad from the airport. I had a fun chat with 2 other daughters, also awaiting their parents' return from the Dominican, wondering if we would get a bigger inheritance because we had been thoughtful enough to bring along their winter coats.

2. My cousin noted on Facebook that cold snaps are a great time to defrost the freezer, (because you can just throw all your food outside) so on Monday, when Mark got the e-mail that there was no work for him that day, guess what he volunteered to do?! LOVE my guy! Any guesses at how old the roast is that we found?

3. Why is it more appealing to sleep in than to go to bed early?

4. I've started scrapbooking last summer's trip to the East Coast...sigh! What great memories! This is one of my favorite shots. It just epitomizes the time we had to just kick back and have FUN as a family!



5. Speaking of feet...this year I needed to buy new winter boots. And have spent some time in sports and various footwear stores. I've learned 2 things. Yes, I need more than one pair of winter boots. A knocking around, in and out of the car, in and out of stores pair; and a tobogganing, hiking, playing in the deep snow pair. The other, more important tidbit that I picked up is: SOCKS are almost as, if not more important than boots. Wool socks. And yes, they come in more styles than the grey ones with white toes that always leave my feet itchy. Unfortunately, they cost a pretty sum...but oh, so worth skipping (a few) Starbucks for!


6. We had an exchange student from Finland stay with our family when I was in Grade 12. She bought the most flimsy pair of winter boots, and my dad commented that she'd never keep her feet warm. She told us, "Boots don't keep your feet warm, socks do." Guess it takes a while for things to sink in.

7. My last foot topic. Our baby girl turned 7 on January 27. She no longer has tiny feet. But they are still precious, and still fit in the palm of her Daddy's hand (almost).

Links Worth Sharing

Just a few websites, blogs, articles that recently made me laugh, stop and think, or were useful in my everyday life.

1. Grammar Girl

I stumbled on this site when trying to teach the boys (and learn for myself!) the difference between affect and effect. She offers clear explanations, and mnemonics to help remember them. Yes, she even explains how to pluralize last names (and Phyllis and Emily were right!)

2. Youth Groups Destroy Lives (or do they?)

This link leads to Ron Hosmar's (youth pastor at Calvin CRC) blog, where he comments on an article by David Fitch. A lot of food for thought on how we treat our young people; what is the best way to disciple them in a relationship with Jesus.

The following paragraph really struck me, probably because it speaks to (one reason) why we home school as well.

It’s a fact that, due to the economic and cultural changes of modern society, children/teenagers have been segregated in school classrooms, and targeted as a separate niche consumer market by culture industries. As a result, they look increasingly to their peers for a sense of right and wrong, for values, identity, codes of behavior. They have less connection with adults either in or outside immediate family (you need both) as role models for life. This undermines healthy development and fosters hostile and sexualized youth culture. Children lose their true individuality, become overly conformist, desensitized and alienated. Being “cool” matters more to them than anything else. This is American culture! In the words of child psychologist Gordon Neufeld (a book I’d recommend), peer orientation undercuts the necessary parental connection in that parental nurturance cannot get through, is always insecure, cannot bring the child to rest, and is unable to be fulfilled (closeness unmet). As such peer orientation crushes individual development.

I could go on, but I think these two men have said it more wisely than I could; for the most part...I concur!

3. Sheila Wray Gregoire

I've heard Sheila speak at many different events over the last couple of years, and recently started following her blog. She's not afraid to hit some of the tough, politically/socially incorrect topics.

Some of my recent fav's are:

Planning Your Daughter's Future


Does Modesty Really Matter

and she recently posted the following article on her Facebook Page

Hands Off My Dishes


4. And for a good laugh for those of us who grew up in the 80's...

The Most Exciting Bad Paid-For Photos Ever

7 points of Happiness

1. Home Depot finally had the doors we were dreaming of putting on our pantry on sale. $139 off each door X 4 doors = very happy Dutch people! Here's the before:


Very rough cut wood, slab style door, but at least they protected visitors from seeing the scattered contents of our pantry.

2. Here's the after:


Sigh of contentment!

3. Now I just have to decide if I let my neurotic persnickety side win, and ask Mark to try to re-stain the trim to see if it will come out a little darker.

4. Did you notice the BASEBOARDS?! Also a new little addition to our entire living area. No more pencils, marbles and dust bunnies hiding between the wall and floor!

5. AND...the screws we had used as door handles for the last 5 years...


6. Have also been replaced!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Skipidy-Do-Double-Da!!




7. I'm STILL in love with new paint colour!

7 Quick Takes Friday

In an effort to post more often, I thought I'd give this a try... 7 quick thoughts, once a week.

1. This will probably be more difficult than I think, as I've discovered that when I get a keyboard in front of me I discover my love to gab.

2. I will not fret about whether my thoughts are profound or not; I will not try to change the world through my blog.

3. I will not share only the funny things my children say, or the amazingly intelligent things they do, or the creative activities we participate in. I will make every attempt to be real.

4. It is 8:05am. Only Brent is up. I've had a bowl of porridge, but am still in my pj's and need to shower. Enjoying a cup of Bengal Spice Tea from Celestial Seasonings. If you love Chai Tea, try it!

5. Our Christmas Tree still stands in the corner. The children took off the decorations, a few days ago. The box remains in the living room. I will take off the star and lights this weekend so that we can toss it outside.

6. We brought Mom and Dad to the airport this week Monday for their 2 week trip to Dominican. Believe it or not, we had a lot of fun as we waited the 1 1/2 hours in line for their check-in. Their flight was a direct Ottawa-DR so the whole plane load was checked-in in Ottawa, by the three CanJet check in ladies. As time progressed the children got more antsy, and more silly, and more giggly. I continued to reassure the people around us that they would not be spending the next 5 hours sitting next to them. We went home and the kids enjoyed the rest of the week skating on the pond (after their school work was done...)

7. How I wish I could have just pulled out our passports and the cash to buy a few extra tickets that day!!! Oh well, our day will come, maybe. For now, we will look forward to our camping trip with the deHaans in June, the Norgs in August, and try to plan something extra in between. Any ideas?

7b. See. I knew it would be tough. When you pluralize last names do you just add an s or 's?

Photo Editing

I've been learning a lot about photo editing recently; just picking up the colour a bit, making eyes sparkle, skin a little softer or doing complete overhauls and adding textures and turning the photo into art.

Here's a quick example of what I did with the picture of the kids jumping. Not a total do-over, just a few little things (including covering up Brent's Belly Button! (which he is so ashamed to have showing))

In discussing the possibilities of photo editing with a friend yesterday, she said they had discussed it back in university (before this even became a possibility to the average Joe) and their prof asked the question: "Is altering a photo a little like altering history, and not leaving the true story behind for future generations?" Hmmmm.

So here is the original Straight Out Of the Camera (SOOC)



And here is the touch up...



I think history will be OK with that.

Catching up...

This year I will try to update more often. Promise. To start off, let's go back to December to get caught up...

For those that aren't on Facebook, or didn't receive one in the mail, here is our Christmas card for this (past) year.

I loved this layout, but the photo of the kids originally showed Brent's belly (as in the blog header picture...will have to change that too!), and he didn't want that being 'publicized,' so we went with the other picture. Now that I've had more time to play with the photo (and a great tip from my sister-in-law on what technique to use) I was able to photoshop it! Don't believe anything you see in a photo any more!