Up before the Sun

Not that it is unusual for any of us to be up before the sun during our long, cold winters, but the morning of the first snowfall is always an early one in our home.

Both excitement and disgust are hard emotions to hide, and are actually quite contagious! I am thankful that our home is awake, lively, and excited this morning. We were warm and comfortable inside, but that didn't stop us from enjoying the new snow! And we only broke a few rules.

We woke much earlier than is sane. We brought snow INTO the house (not for long!). We threw snow IN the house, AT the window! And we smiled ... and most are still excited to get out there ... but off to start our day with a big breakfast first, I think we're going to need it today!

Who else is excited? How do you celebrate the first snow?

November 18, 2015

First snow of the season ...















Last evening, leaving the arena after hockey practice, we had:
  - one confused, yet intrigued child
  - two super excited children
  - one indifferent child
  - one "not impressed" child

Any guesses?

A Winner

Sometimes you try your best and things don't go as well as you intend.  I had planned a Make & Take party to share a product I believe in with some close to me. I had to wait for Speedy's social calander before setting my date.  This year is his first year in hockey, and the schedule has been a bit to get used to. The novelty might wear off, but so far all the littles love watching him, play or practice, so each ice time is a family event! 

 

After a very drawn out evaluation process, Speedy was placed on a team, and after further waiting and ice draws, was given a schedule for the first half of this inaugural season. I was excited, not only for him, but because I could now set a date for my Make & Take. That wasn't hard, with only 3 Saturday's free before Christmas. 

If you didn't hear about this event, there is a reason. I did not tell you. I kept it private, and only invited some close family. Those that came were my (willing) Ginny pigs.  I invited them into my small home. The children they brought added to my 5 children who were home for the day.  

I had planned out, formally and in my mind, how I wanted things to go. I had gathered all of the supplies: containers, ingredients, and different "makes" that I had on hand to display. I had gathered signs and info that I would display or have close by. The ducks were in a row ... then life happens!

The first cold of the season hit. We fared quite well, and although it never took over as it has in the past (we were not defeated and lifeless on the couch), we did slow down a bit.  We also had our first real injury that required medical attention.  Sport stuck his pinky into a door jam as one of the older children closed the door. We spent that Saturday (the one just before the Make & Take) at the Children's Hospital, getting x-rays and stitches. 

Definitely more important than preparing for this little get together I was planning! That was followed by two more ER visits that week (to check and rebandage to finger), and finally a two hour visit to a Care Clinic on Friday to have the stitches removed.  This was all on top of caring for the children, homeschooling, and all out of home commitments we had during the week!  

My thought was "too much". "I can't do this." It is possible to reschedule. I did have one more Saturday open. But then I asked myself, why? Although not a typical week, nothing really out of the ordinary had happened.  Life, life with a family of 7 individuals happened. We are in this together and we do the best with what we have. We make choices about what is important and what we feel need to be done or not.  So I kept the date, realizing that many of my intended details would not come to pass. And that that was going o be ok.

I spent what felt like the entire morning cleaning my kitchen floor. In reality, the 4 children and I (dad took Seedling to work with him) actually cleaned the entire house that morning, but I did spend a hug hunk of time on that floor. I scrub it all by hand. It seems to be the only way to really get it clean. I do sweep it daily (more than once is usually necessary), and sometimes take a quick mop to it, but I do take the time to really clean it when I can. 

Why? Because it is nice to know that I can! Yes, I am busy.  Yes, I have 6 other people in my home that I contribute to the messiness as quickly as I can clean. But these are not real excuses. I can still manage a clean and orderly house. But I don't. I actually pointed out that clean floor to my guests. I told them it wasn't mine! My floor has food on it. Toys. Usually a few utensils, or even cups that have fallen under and behind the table, that I cannot get to without rearranging the furniture. I can keep my floor clean, and it is great to when I can, but it also comes at a cost. We didn't read any stories that morning.  The playdough was not taken out.   Only Speedy and Sprout got to experience the great, cool, fall weather, and only as they took out the trash and tidied the yard.  The bathroom was not flooded by the younger two as they love to play in the tub.  I was happy that these were usually my choice over that clean floor.

So we pressed on. We had computer problems that morning - my paper and markers worked just fine! After waiting much longer than usual for my oil order, I discovered that I was almost out of another I thought I needed - I had just enough, but was also able to "share and compare" with another brand (one that I used to use and love) - it was no comparison!  I didn't get around to decorating the treats the children had baked - they still tasted great (from the bites I was able to steal from them!)  One guests who was bringing an older child to play with Speedy didn't make it- after stealing more mint and orange chocolate chip muffins than I care to admit, the children entertained themselves well and left us to our tasks.   We ran late and didn't get to print the custom labels I had ready - they all left with blank labels to take home and create their own!

Oh, and I didn't take my camera out. Not once. Batteries were charged and everything. I was even ready to delegate that task to Speedy, but he stepped up and took care of the children.  I have now stolen these photos from my guests! What a fail, on so many details.... 

But we smiled, we laughed, we got to visit, and we made a handful of new, exciting products to try. The children who came over were not overwhelmed, and even asked to come back! And ... we will probably do it again! The details were NOT as important ... except one.

Yep, I forgot something I feel is too important to just "let go". 

People registered. People attended. No one went home with a diffuser necklace. Not cool - time to change this ...

Congratulations Christine! You were selected by RandomPicker.com as our door prize winner! 

(Draw details at https://www.randompicker.com/Project/Public/Protocol.aspx?Key=254657x4572 )

Neglected

This blog has been neglected! Entries have stopped, but life has not! 

I don't know if we are going to do any better at keeping this up to date, so stay tuned to find out.

Outdoor coloring

Do you remember having a Spirograph? I never had one, but sure remember using one. For my children, this was something new. And a little different. Our Spirograph is HUGE, and made for sidewalk chalk.

Our sidewalk is quite bumpy, so we adapted our activity and used an old table top, a huge paper, and some jumbo crayons. The images were much clearer, but not as messy, an just not the same.

It wasn't before they were back at the chalk, but this time, with a spray bottle. When wet, the cement turned darker, and the chalk color really seemed to "pop".

A beautiful afternoon!

Surprise for Daddy

Today the two youngest had their hands busy! They spent some time lacing. Sprout even bound several pieces of our plastic sheets together to make an envelope. Both he and Seedling then made letters for daddy! He will be so happy to see this mail when he gets home from work!

Chicks!

My aunt in BC is now raising chicks and keeping hens for their eggs. 
At the request of several families, her and her daughters have began to create an informational/educational video series on raising chicks.

If you are interested, you can find the vidoes on You Tube (http://www.youtube.com/user/mybeau65?feature=watch)
They have also set up an email account if anyone has questions for them regarding the chicks or hens:  mailto:%20peepinginn@gmail.com

Been a While

Ok, so maybe it has been more than a little while, but we are still here!

Things have been good, things have been not so good, but life is good.
My first order of business will be to post old entries that were just waiting for pictures.
Then I guess a quick update would be in order.

Welcome back!

This is the Sprout as we knew him....

And now ....

He walked into the bathroom on Sunday morning, and asked Dad, "Can you shave my head?"

I could of settled for a trim, but Sprout is very happy with his new "do".

  

 

Good Morning!

A month ago, we gathered reeds from the roadside, beside an old church outside of Winnipeg.

They were hung to dry in our basement, and now are ready for whatever we decide to use them for...

To demonstrate, I soaked a handful and make this tiny basket.

I'm not too sure what I am going to use it for, other than a demo.

It is pretty sturdy by my standards, yet not something I would trust my children with unless I didn't mind "accidents".

It is made solely of the reeds, no glue, tape, string, etc.

 So that was the first handful, but there are several more ready to be used.  I am now just waiting on the inspiration of what to do next.

Oct. 31

The weather was just beautiful today. 

We headed outdoors to soak it up!

 The littles had a lot of fun in the leaves.  They were perfect for piling and jumping in: they were big and crunchy.

Speedy was more interested in raking.  He even knocked on the neighbour's door and offered to rake her boulevard for her.

From our tiny, postage stamp front yard, we filled four garbage bags!  They are excited to clean up our back yard, but the large tree hanging over our lawn is still green! 

"It was very fun playing in the leaves.. and my mom picked my foot up and put my while body in the garbage"-Sprout

"Yeah, it was silly when mom put Sprout in the garbage"-Speedy

"Yeah"-Seedling

I have been working on a math board for Speedy.  Skip counting and mutliplication are on his agenda.

A circle peg board on one side lets him wrap yarn around every 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc. I am trying to get different colored yarn for each color (hint, hint  if anyone is de-cluttering their stash).

On the other side of the board, there is a target. 

The inner circle counts by 1s: 1-12.

The next circle counts by 2s: 2-24.

The next circle counts by 3s: 3-36.

etc.

 

The target was painted in one afternoon. I expected that to take much longer.

The numbers are going to take longer. I am using craft paint and a toothpick, but it is turning out beautiful and will be worth it!

Reflections of our Thanksgiving

 As Thanksgiving approached, we took an afternoon to ponder our thoughts on thanksgiving. 

Food, football, and family!

Sounded about right.  A few thoughts about pilgrims and the "first thanksgiving" ... then came the question "But mom, is Thanksgiving one of God's holidays?"

OK, so that was a loaded question!  And I am definately raising a future debater, so here is a summary of our conclusions...

... "Thanksgiving Day" is NOT mentioned in the Bible

... "Give thanks unto the Lord" IS read 100 times in the Bible

... the Bible talks about the Feast of Tabernacles and the Feast of Sukkot, meant to celebrate and remeber the sheltering presence of God gave his people in the wilderness

... after the Jews inherited the land, the theme shifted to an expression of thanskgiving for God's provision during that time

... is our holiday related to this Holy Day?

maybe

... some scholars beleive the pilgrims lived with jews in Holland (a safe haven from religeous prosecution at the time) before coming to North America

... they were Puritans, and their religious idealism led them to call themselves the "new Isreal", and their journey to the new world as an "Exodus event"

... once in the new world, they sought the appropriate biblical holiday to commemerate their safe arrival in their land of promise

(I am not a historian, however, and do not quite take this as fact)

... our Thanksgiving, then, could be a variation on the Feast of Tabernacles

... the "first thanskgiving" was a celebration of thanks and honor to God for His intervention and blessings

...we want to be careful that our holidays do not alter, replace or distort the meaning of a festival of God or other biblical truths

We revisited what our Thanksgiving was about ...

Thanksgiving for Gods love and provisions.

Clothing. His Word. Food. Good weather. JESUS. Healing. Toys.

Reading about the Feast of Tabernacles was not enough.

We took advantage of the weather, windy as it was, and went to work in our backyard on Wednesday.



Our fort in the summer is now bare in the fall

We made several fieldtrips to find branches.

 

We then weaved the branches into our driftwood fort to make our own Sukkot (Sue-coat).  As we worked, we talked about what it would be like to have to live in the wilderness for years (not just an exciting weekend!)  We also talked about current times when we feel we need or receive Gods protection.

When it came time to have our meal in our Sukkot, it began to downpour, but Speedy convinced the younger two that rain shouldn't stop them.   I offered up a simple "Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good. His love endures forever." (1 Chronicles 16:34; Psalm 106:1; Psalm 107:1; Psalm 118:1; Psalm 118:29; Psalm 136:1 - your pick!!!), and listened to them pray as I prepared my camera.  My heart melted, especially when they prayed that they were thankful for the rain, that it came at just the right time to make them even more thankful to God that they have a strong, dry, and warm house to live in.

We went on to have several Thanksgiving dinners with our various families.  Food is still a great part of our Thanksgiving, but it is just that, a part of our Thanksgiving, which is much greater than food alone.