We live a life of faith-filled adventure! We are a family with eight energetic, loving, crazy, happy, and very noisy children. Ray and I thought our family was complete when we had four children. Now, when people ask us if we will have any more children, we simply answer, "We don't know." We have learned that God sometimes has surprises in store for us, as He did when He brought home our two girls from Ethiopia last year!
We finally had a chance to do our immediate family Christmas on January 3rd! Here are a few pictures from that day.
All Lined Up For Christmas Dinner
Poor Cooper was sick for about a week. Anyone who knows Cooper knows that he loves to eat and this was the amount he wanted to eat for Christmas dinner! Poor guy! He was sick right from before New Years, through our New Years Party, right into the New Year!
The children sure had fun buying me presents! I was forced to eat all the candy they gave me, even though I was trying to cut back on sugar. The things we do out of love for our children! :o)
Each of the children was given one child to buy for. They had a wonderful time thinking of what to give and the excitement of the giving child was as big or bigger than the receiving child! Not one person seemed surprised to only get one sibling gift. Actually, the older ones thought it was a much better way to go, and the little ones didn't notice they didn't get a big stack. It was so much better this way!
Cooper got a homemade colouring book from Cassidy, and he loved it.
Savannah was so excited to give her gift to Austin.
It was interesting at Christmas this year. In our house we don't do a lot of receiving of gifts, though we have eight children. I don't like the grabbiness that gets taught when too many presents are given. I wasn't always this way.
Way back when Colt was three years old we had a party and the backyard was full of about 15 children. That was the beginning of changing my ways. I didn't like the child I was raising opening a gift and then being expected to move onto the next one, because he *had* to open it because someone was waiting to see him receive it. It didn't matter that he might have been thrilled to just sit and enjoy the one he had already opened.
I also didn't like the fact that my children began to look forward to going to their friends parties because of the goodie bags they would receive. That was when I decided to stop giving goodie bags. It had to start somewhere. Some of my friends picked up on the same idea, and our children began going to parties to celebrate their friend and not to receive a gift.
Our children have always given each other gifts for birthdays and Christmas, but when the girls came home and Briton was old enough to want to be involved it became such a zoo. Each child was opening eight gifts from siblings, plus ours, so we decided to change things. They still got our gifts, but we began giving them one gift from all the siblings. The ones that really wanted to do something on their own were welcome to, but I was no longer organizing the gift giving. It sure made things easier and less about 'getting'.
Noone complained. In fact, my 16 and 10 year old both had an opinion on the matter: why do we need to get so many gifts anyway? So now, with a crowd of children in the 10 and under range, things have changed and changed for the better. Christmas is really not all about the gift getting - it is more about family.
This year we did something different and it was a huge hit. Each child gave to one other child. They could buy or make something, or give something that they already owned. You should have seen the faces on the day of this gift giving. We did our family Christmas on January 3rd, because we were away for Christmas.
Cassidy With His Bow and Arrow Set From Dane
Cassidy took great pains to make Cooper a colouring book from pictures he downloaded from the internet. He had done this once before and it was a huge hit with Cooper.
Savannah with her story book from Cooper. She was so excited that she had her own book. She immediately got me to commit to reading as much as I wanted. smile
Look at the expression on Savannah's face! She was so excited to be able to give someone a gift at Christmas. I think that might have been the best part of her Christmas! She kept telling me, I want to give you your present. It's a secret!
Austin With His Plane From Savannah.
Raine and Austin with the book she received from him.
Briton Loved the Cars From Raine
What was interesting was Raine opened her gift and then dropped it on the floor. The other children looked at their gifts, played with them, or asked me to help them with them. I noticed Raine, because this was not the first time she had done something such as this.
On St. Nicholas Day, I had seen her open her gifts and then later, I saw them bagged up in plastic bags that were tied at the top. They were by her bed. I would see her watching her sister and brothers with their puzzles or toys, but I didn't see her using her gifts. I asked her what she thought when she saw her pile of St. Nicholas gifts. She said she didn't need them....
So my analytical mind put that away in a little folder - for the time being. Then I saw how she behaved at Christmas with the gift she had received from her brother. She did something similar at my sister's when she received her present. She had barely opened it - not even out of the wrapper - when she left it to see what someone else had received.
So I was adding all this together and wondering.
Then on Christmas Day (January 3rd), Raine received her two gifts from us. This year I had bought the girls gifts that were the same as each other, but I had bought with Raine in mind. She had been walking through a toy store and had mentioned that she liked Barbie. Now, our children do not watch commercials, so they would only see toys that they like at a friend's house. I don't really like Barbie; said I would never buy Barbie etc, for many reasons. But, when I was walking through the store I saw a Barbie that was a doctor and she came with babies and a hospital! I then saw a Barbie that came as a schoolteacher and one as a playground!
I decided then and there I would buy Barbie for Raine. Savannah lucked out and got the playground Barbie that came with little children. It was the first time that Raine had shown an interest in some specific toy and that was exciting to me.
When Savannah opened her gifts she was delighted, though she had shown no interest in Barbie before. She was just plain excited to be receiving! smile. When she opened her baby doll she was joyous. She squealed with delight and wanted me to open the package right away. She did not let her new toys out of her sight. They were a definite hit.
Raine had a happy expression and then put the toys aside. No interest whatsoever.
I was so surprised because it was just what she wanted: Barbie, plus she wanted to be a doctor (so she says), and it had babies in it. I am not saying she does not appear grateful. She has a big smile and a thank-you, but that is as far as it goes. The toy is put down and not picked up again. Curious!
See the pleasure? But this purse has hung on the side of her bed since she has received it, though we have been out to places where she could have used it...
Over the next couple days I was observing Raine to try to figure out what was ticking in her little brain. I decided to ask her about her attitude towards the gifts she was receiving. Her answer was interesting. It rang as 'ungrateful', but the jury was still out, as I was waiting to see how it all played out. She didn't seem like an ungrateful child, yet, her answer sure sounded it, and her lack of interest in her gifts.
When I asked her, this is what she said, "They are all the same stuff. Just different colour, or shape or size." (she later explained: What she is seeing is that she has Barbie, which are just bigger versions of the Polly Pocket dolls she got for her birthday. The baby doll she got is just a white sleeping version of the two black dolls she already had.)
"So what would you like?" "Something different."
"Like what?"
She had no clue to this answer.
"Do you think toys are a waste of money?" "Yes."
"What would you prefer to do?"
"Play outside."
"When it is your birthday would you rather not get a present?"
"No!" (She did want a present, but yet, nothing she has ever been given has seemed to give her more than momentary interest or pleasure.
So now I was further confused. Not interested in presents. All the same stuff. Rather play outside. But still wants a present. How do I find a present that interests her? Hmmm... The mind is still processing.
The day after Christmas Savannah brought me her Barbie box and asked me to open it up for her. When I said yes, she literally jumped up and down and said, "Yes!"
Raine was upstairs at this time. When she heard Savannah, she came downstairs and got out an old puzzle to work on. She was quite happy. After a while, Raine came into the livingroom where Savannah and I were playing.
Yes, I was playing. I was eleven years old again (the age I was when I got my one and only Barbie) and all those wonderful emotions came rolling over me. I decided that I would let the girls have Barbies, we will just go with the modest clothing and keep them dressed! No large breasted naked women laying around the floor in my house! grin
Raine sat on the chair in the room and said to Savannah, "Savannah, can I watch you?" As she watched, she looked at the instruction booklet.
As she said this, she was smiling, and I was noticing. Noticing that she had a box of Barbies up in her room, and I was trying to figure out why she wouldn't be racing upstairs to get them and diving into that to play with it? Why would she want to watch someone else do something that she could actually do?
Savannah and I played for a while, and then I left. Raine stayed in the chair watching Savannah. Her sister began to play act out the people's roles and was having a wonderful, imaginative time. Some time later, Savannah came out and asked me if Raine could play with her Barbie. I asked Savannah if Raine had asked for it. No, she hadn't. I told Savannah that we would wait to see when Raine came and got it herself, because of course, Raine knew her toys were her own and she didn't need to ask permission.
The following day, Savannah played again with her Barbies, and Cooper got involved this time. Raine continued to watch and also, do other things. At some point, Cooper came and asked me if Raine could play with her Barbies. I told him the same thing I had told Savannah: That Raine could play with her Barbies. She could come and get them and we would open them.
So again the play continued, but Raine did not get her Barbies.
It was the next day that Raine came downstairs with her Barbies. Previously, the box had been lying upside down on a table in her room with somethings on top of it. As if she had no interest. She came to me and asked me, "Mum, can I play with my Barbies?" I gave her a big smile and told her that, Yes, she could play with them.
We went into the livingroom and proceeded to open the box. While we were doing this we discussed toys. Over the course of the night before I had come to a conclusion that I think might be the answer to all of this.
I do not think Raine is ungrateful.
I think she does not know how to play.
I really thought this through. Think about it. She said,"They are all the same stuff. Just different colour, or shape or size."
Imagine if someone gave you a book. Yes, it is your first book and therefore, you think it is pretty. Nice! And yes, you say thankyou and you play with it *a bit*, but then you put it on the shelf.
Why?
Because you are blind. Noone knows you are blind. They wonder why you don't like it. Or why you aren't interested. It is a nice book, after all! There are even beautiful pictures in it.
Then someone gives you another book and this time, because you know what it is, your interest is even less. This time you barely open it before you put it aside. You know you can't see the book, but noone else does. You don't mean to be ungrateful, but what good is a book when you can't read it.
Okay, so my figuring are this. Upon a lot of chatting with Raine I have learned a few things. She had never played with a doll until she came to us. She had never made herself a doll out of a piece of wood or a rag. I explained to her that in Little House in the Prairie, even if they were very poor a child would have made a doll from a corn cob. Simply because they wanted to be a 'mummy'.
I have never met a child who has not had a doll or had the desire to play house. It is a foreign concept to me.
Raine then told me that she had never had any real toys until she came to our house. At the orphanage there were stuffed teddies and a few things, but really no toys.
When I was trying to talk to her about the fact that 'normally' little girls love to play with dolls (Yes, I know there are exceptions, so I was being stereotypical, but I was trying to make a point), I asked her, "Would you like it if I gave you a bunch of cars for Christmas?"
She replied, "Yes. I like playing with cars."
laugh!! I told her I expected her to say no, so then I could make my point. But you see, her comment actually proves something else. She has six brothers. She does not have role models for being a little girl and playing naturally with girly toys. Savannah and Raine will play with whatever their brothers play with.
It was dawning on me that this child was old enough to have learned to not play. She had a gap in her development. She had spent about seven years working, but not playing nor imagining. She is ironic coming into my house, as I am the Imagination Queen!! I am so big on that and so my kids barely watch any TV, they get dress-up clothes for their ideas to come to life, etc. So to have a child that is the farthest extreme slipped right by my noticing it!
Where her sister is about three years younger than her, and therefore, grasped the idea of play shortly after she arrived here, Raine has not. She can certainly look busy and keep herself occupied, but she has not ever really sat down and played for any period of time.
So when she got the wonderful Polly Pockets that I thought she would love, they kept her interest for minutes. Why? Because *what do you do* with little people, clothes, and cars? You dress them. You sit them in the car. You drive the car. And then you are done.
Where is the choosing what they should wear? Where is the walking and talking, as they get into the car? Where are the different places they might decide to drive to? Where is the shopping that they put into the car?
Where? In the imagination.
And if you have not had the opportunity to work your imagination, then you have a developmental gap, and all you see is more of the same types of toys, that you have no clue what to do with!
Raine and I talked about the doctor Barbie, and I told her why I had bought it for her. I told her I was going to show her how to use her imagination. The babies could be in a hospital because they were sick, or they could have been born, or perhaps it was an orphanage, or maybe they were lost. What did she want them to be?
She thought about it and decided it would be an orphanage. We talked and talked and tried out different ideas, and she was quickly able to see how curious but fun it was to use an imagination.
At one point, I came back in the room and she had two dolls lying on their faces. She told me the bigger one had found the little one and was looking after her. We had a little laugh together at the fact that they were lying on their faces. I then played with her and showed her how we can make the characters be as real as we want. I had the little girl cry and talk to the woman and tell her she was lost, and the woman hugged the girl and then they both sat down together on the ground, while waiting for the woman's friend to come. Raine laughed to see how different her people behaved than mine did.
Learning to Play
Later, she called me back into the room to show me what she had done with the people. She told me decisions she had had them make, and things she was doing. She had decided that Savannah's Barbies would be part of her orphanage. Certain Barbies would look after the older children and others would look after the babies. I could see that she was really playacting out the characters.
Over the next few days at every moment that they were free I would see Savannah and Raine playing together with the Barbies. Once I heard Savannah giggle as she put the woman on the slide in her playground. Now, Raine would not have dreamed of doing that. Women don't normally go down slides, so it wouldn't have crossed her mind that you could *do* that.
This is what Raine has told me today (10 days later) when I asked her on a score of 1-10 what were the Barbies:
"10.I love playing with the Barbies. I always play with them. They are my favourite toy now. I really like playing with the babies."
And this is how she had nicely set it up. See the babies in their beds, and the doctor is looking after three dogs. Before, she would have left just one dog on each girls wrist because that is how they came. Here she has decided *she* wants to do it differently.
I can see that we are going to have to spend more time imagining and playing and discussing options in play. .
I haven't spoken about the land for a long time because nothing is really happening. I guess that is not really true. What I mean is we haven't been out to the land doing anything. There have been things happening in the business sense though.
I suppose I should have mentioned this earlier, as we could use prayer for our situation. I know that God is in our move, so I am not 'worried', but I would like to see it work itself out. So here is the story.
We knew that we would have to hook up our hydro (electricity) to one of two neighbours. We had heard from one neighbour that earlier prospective buyers had tried to talk to the neighbour on the east side about hooking up to her hydro line and she had said a strong NO. The neighbour on the west side is the one we talked to. He was very friendly and told us, No problem!
We left it at that thinking it was as simple as that.
Time went by and Ray called the hydro company about starting the paperwork to get our connection set up when the winter was over. It was then that we discovered it was a complicated mess. Things have untangled themselves a bit since then, but this is the story we were told at the time:
Our property runs up against another property on one side, and against another property one a second side. Both of these families, plus one other further down the line are one a 'private electrical' line. Apparently, about 30 years ago, these three ranchers put up the line, one family at a time. As they moved onto the land they joined the lines and it went from A to B to C. We want to be D.
But what they are not aware of is that this line was never owned by the electrical company. It has always been a private line. The *first blessing* is that it turns out it has been serviced by the electrical company, as if they own it. That is a *huge* blessing!
The first hurdle was the electrical company figured the poles were on private land and the electrical company didn't have a right to trespass to put up another pole for us. They could have permission of the landowners, but without going to court to make it legal, these homeowners could still call them trespassers. So they might have had to see if they could buy a very thin strip of land on which the poles were situated from the homeowners, so they could own that and not be trespassing.
Well, *second blessing*, it turns out that they *do* own a strip, even though they don't own the line. Very odd, but a blessing indeed.
The electrical guy has been doing all the running around without us asking him too. Very odd and the *third blessing*. He has been talking to the landowners and getting the ball rolling.
*Fourth blessing* - one of the immediate neighbours was told they would have to cut down about 30 feet of trees for us to connect our line to their pole. No problem, they say!!! Unbelieveable!
*Fifth blessing* - the huge ranch on our north side has told the electrical company that they are just fine with us hooking up to this private line. Yeah!!!
*Sixth blessing* - it turns out that the 14 poles that we thought we would need at $3,000 a pole, is wrong. They will actually string between 5 and 10 poles!!!! That is a huge savings!!
And now for the big one. We knew that we couldn't do ANY of the above talks until the electrical company found out where exactly our property line was. With property as big as ours, it would be very hard to find the pins. And when we called the guy it was in November or December and we knew we would have to wait til about May when the thaw came. That meant, according to the electrical company, that we would have to wait to build until probably late August.
Well, early one January day, we had a very strange thing happen. The days got warmer and we hit highs of 8 or 10 degrees! It was unbelievable! The snow began to melt. I didn't think anything of it with regard to our land. We all just enjoyed the lack of ultrafreeze that we could have been having. Ie: -30!
One night as I was lying in bed listening to a drip, drip, drip of snow melting off the trees and roof, I suddenly had a thought run through my mind:
You can find your property pins now.
I know I wasn't thinking of the land. I know that wasn't me thinking those thoughts. I shot up in bed and thought, "Thank you, Lord!"
I talked to Ray about going out to the land to search for the pegs, as soon as we could, before the snow came down again. Well, the thaw continued and continued.
Pretty soon we could see almost all of our grass! I knew the land would have the pegs showing. As I was going to my chiropractors office one day I thought, I should be praying about this hydro, rather than just trusting.
So I prayed. Before this point I had been rather stressed. Ignorance is bliss and I had been just fine, until the electrical man called and got me rather than Ray. He ended up telling me all our woes, and to be honest, for a while there, I was rather worried! After I gave it back to God I was okay again, but at first, I dwelled on it and wondered how we could work out all these problems.
Finding one of these in the snow would have been a real problem!
Well, I got to the chiropractors office, and as I sat down, the receptionist said to me, "The electrical company and the surveyors were out at the land yesterday! They found all the pegs."
Oh joy!!! Those guys had been so on the ball that as soon as there was a thaw they headed out to the land to find our pegs. Unbelievable. It is not everyday that a private agency will take that kind of initiative! I was thrilled. I felt it was an immediate answer to the prayer I had just prayed.
So now, this is where we are at:
Two of the three landowners have agreed to us hooking up to the line. The third party has been contacted and they have left a message, but they have not yet made contact.
The file is now being passed onto the negotiators office. They will be sending a land representative out to the landowners to negotiate a deal. Apparently, there is a value attached to us joining the line. This means that the land representative has to tell them that they have the right to charge for the electrical company joining us to the line. *Seventh blessing* - the electrical company pays these values!!! Not us!!!
If they say they want no compensation then we could be ready to go in three weeks. If they want compensation and want to take it to court then it could take a year. I really believe from how I have seen the miracles unfold thus far that God will work it out. I believe that He gave us this thaw. Even the electrical company said we were 'very lucky' to get out to the land. He said normally they couldn't get started til May. Well, we are four months ahead of that!! I know God wants us on our land.
But all the same, I would ask that you pray that God will soften these people's hearts and they will not ask for compensation and that they will simply sign the papers giving the electrical company the right to own the line.
God is so good!!
There is one other really neat factor. It turns out that one day when I was at my chiropractors office the receptionist said to me, "I hear you just bought 170 acres." I told her we had and where it was. She then went on to tell me that we were neighbours! I am very pleased. I know this lady and she is a really nice lady. I am happy for her and for us. I know that we will be good neighbours and we have already seen evidence of how kind she and her husband are!
They have used our land for walking for the last 18 years, and we are not about to stop them now. I am so glad that we are the ones to move on there and they are the neighbours closest to us!
One funny thing, when we first got to the land I was scared of getting stuck in the mud, so I went shooting past their property in my minivan flying through the mud. As I passed their house one of the kids told me there was a guy waving at me. Ooops! I knew I must have looked so rude, but that was not my intent! This was before we knew the neighbours. So that was brought up when I met her at the office and realized they were neighbours. Good first impression!! I talked fast to show her I really wasn't going to be a crazy driving neighbour!
And then one day her husband did us a really nice turn and got burned for it. He decided to plow our driveway. Well, you can imagine how long this driveway is. She laughed when she told this story. Apparently, he had driven his truck over a large boulder and ripped up two tires and bent his plow. Because they go on the land all the time, she told him, "You know that big rock is there!" He said, "That's what you get for trying to be a good neighbour." grin Thankfully, he wasn't upset with us. Poor guy!
It is moments like I am about to share with you that make your heart swell. These are the times you want to share with people when they ask you, 'Why would you want so many children?'
Today, my two boys were over at a friend's house for a few hours. During the visit, one of my boys called me and asked me if I could do something when I came to pick them up. Could I bring $10. You see, they know an eleven year old boy that has no parents. This boy tragically lost both his parents within a year of each other not that long ago. One to a car accident and the other followed with a stroke. This is not something you hear of much anymore. At least not in the paths that I have crossed in my lifetime.
Thankfully, this young boy has a much older brother, who he lives with. But it is not easy to raise a child as a single parent.
Cassidy and Austin heard from their friend that Jesse did not have an Air Soft gun. All the boys in their crowd: Cassidy, Austin, and their friends, Jake, John, and Brady all own guns, but Jesse does not have one, nor does he have the means to earn money to buy one.
They took it upon themselves to pitch in money, so that when it is his birthday in May, they can buy him a gun and a huge box of bullets. The one boy even has a jar at his house where he is collecting money and on it it says, "Do not remove money."
I was very touched to see Cassidy consider this a priority enough to call me from his visit time. We agreed that he would earn the money and then he would pitch in his $5 towards the purchase.
Later that evening, while I was making a snack, Austin came into the kitchen and said to me, "Mum, do you think I could go to work for Dad and earn $10?"
When I asked him why, thinking he wanted to buy a game for his DS or something, he replied, "Because Jesse doesn't have any mum and dad and we want to buy him an Air Soft gun for his birthday cause he can't earn the money himself." He figured if they each put in enough money they could buy Jesse the *best* gun, and not just a simple one. Plus, they could also buy him the largest box of bullets.
Those are the kind of people that make real friends! When they buy what they can just afford for themselves, but the best for their friends.
It is moments like these (and trust me, there *are* lots of them) when we are extra blessed, above and beyond the norm, for being parents!
And what is really neat about this is I feel that God just revealed something to me. Just a couple days ago, I fell across a really wonderful idea that I had decided to put into practice next Christmas. A friend had invited people over for a pre-Christmas party. People that would normally go without. She and her family went shopping and bought gifts for the people as well.
I so loved the idea that I ran it by Ray. Over the course of the next year we would watch for people - preferably one child for each of our children to invite - and maybe a single mum - that would have a hard time at Christmas. We would have the pleasure of shopping for each of these people. Then we would have them over and our house would be full of at least 20 people, so each one would not feel singled out, nor would they know why they were chosen. They would be informed that they were allowed to invite one friend, and so they chose 'you'. It would not be a 'charity' party. It would be a blessing to us.
I am so excited about this idea! To me this is a much more fun and Christmasy idea of a party than just a party with friends! I can just see the house all decked out in decorations and treats and punch laid out on the table, music playing, gifts under the tree! And then the guests of honour arrive. *smile*
Hopefully we are in our house and we will be able to do this. If not next year, then the following year. So I believe that God has already begun preparing the guests for us! How wonderful! .
When I was a child I had a wonderful family in my life. I considered the mother and father my auntie and uncle, and the children were as good as cousins. Actually, my mum went to boarding school in England with my Auntie Morag and they were the best of friends, since they were eleven years old.
When we were all babies our parents made the decision to move to Canada. One year, my mother's brother and his wife, and my dad, my mum, and my brother, who was one year older than I, immigrated to Canada. The following year, my Mum's best friend, Morag, her husband, and her three tiny boys followed us.
It was a new beginning for us all. Sadly, we had left our other relatives behind, but thankfully we had these two families.
Over the years we would always spend Boxing Day with these families. Auntie Morag was a huge influence in my life. I loved her dearly. She was the kind of person that always came to any event that was important to me. Auntie Morag and I had a special relationship, and going from what she said to me once, I know it was because she didn't have daughters, and from that we created something very dear to both of us.
At Christmastime, she would listen to my little girl's heart, and would give me that very special something that I really wanted. I remember getting my one and only Barbie at the ripe old age of eleven years. And then there was the year I got the pogo stick! What fun that was!
Sadly, at the young age of 55, Auntie Morag died of cancer. The saddest thing was that when she died we lost touch with her two of her boys. They were all grown-up men, and you know how women are the ones that keep the families together.
Then just before Christmas we had a wonderful phonecall. It was Alastair, her youngest son. He is just one year older than I. It was so odd to talk to someone that I have not spoken to in so many years!! He told me that he, his wife, and their two little girls would be coming our way and would we like to have a visit. Would we!! Oh my!!
When Alastair walked through the door fifteen years fell away and there was my old 'boy cousin'. Yes, he was now in his forties, but seriously, do they ever look old? Or do we just remember our dear friends the way we perceived and loved them when we were children?
Ray, Justine, Alastair, and Dominica
The City Children Enjoying the Country 'Cousins'
And just like Auntie Morag, Alastair and his family came bearing gifts! They had an Olympic shirt for each and every one of us, even Colt, who is living away from home. They also brought the four younger ones the Olympic mascots teddy bears!
It was a wonderful reunion!!! They have the most precious little girls and we had a lovely evening of catching up on all the years that have gone by. They have lived in Poland, France, England, and are now living in Canada. How wonderful to know that our next generation of children can grow up knowing each other. What a legacy to see the third generation still connected after 60 years of original friendship!
One of the reasons I have not been blogging is because as soon as the holidays were over Austin and I spent every day scrapbooking. I had decided that I would help my boys create their own scrapbooks. I didn't really want to do the whole albums by myself because I could see the value in doing it more on their level, while spending time with them. I had a ton of input, obviously, because I wanted the albums to be the quality as if I had done them for them. Austin made many creative decisions and gave me his thought on what we should do. It was a great team effort. We are not done yet. He will be using the computer on his own creating headings and then writing up words to add to the pages. I will also be adding some of my own thoughts, so that it is a combined effort. He managed to get 65 pages done over the holidays. He is now up to the beginning of 2006!
I will continue in this manner with the rest of the children when they hit the age of 10. Cassidy has already begun his and he will need less guidance that Austin did. Colt and Dane will not be doing their albums, so that means I am delegated. But at least it is only two albums versus eight! And I am enjoying this one on one time. .
I called the kids to the door to take a picture of them. You would think by looking at the lower half of the picture that it must be summer. Then you look at the upper half and you know that it is winter! Kids just don't feel the weather like we do.
These nutty boys were having so much fun outside that they didn't want to come in. So why not serve dinner outside? They were happy. Play time right til bed time!
Cooper and Briton have been poring over bird books. Cooper came up with the grand scheme of making bird traps. He had learned how to do this while he was having a conversation with a gentleman we ran into on one of our walks. Funny how people wonder about socialization of homeschooled kids. :o)
The way it happened was this: I was out for a walk one day with some of the children. We ran into an old friend, and as I was chatting with the lady, the husband very kindly let the little boys sit on the bumper of his car and had some interesting chat time. I had no idea what they were discussing until Cooper told me that that was where he learned how to trap birds!
The boys built their trap and then set up their stools by the kitchen glass door. I heard them discussing what kind of bird each of them would catch. Cooper reckoned he would catch a Stellar Jay. Briton was going to catch a Cardinal. It didn't matter that we don't get Cardinals in our area. He liked the picture in the book and that was good enough!
The one that I heard them talking negatively about was the eagle, "We don't want to catch an eagle cause he'll kill our birds!" As darkness descended still the boys sat. They were determined they would catch something, simply because they had set up their cages. The faith of a child is a beautiful thing!
As it got to the near pitch black stage Cooper was sure he saw one of the boxes had fallen down. There must surely be a bird caught! Now, neither of these boys likes the dark. In fact, they are both terrified of it. They sleep with lights on every night.
But hey! There was a bird out there and they had no choice! If they didn't go out there the *eagle* might come and kill their bird. They had to go. It was do or die. Literally!
So they bravely threw on their jackets, held hands, and walked slowly and cautiously out to the boxes, which were strategically placed a little too close to the woods behind our property. They discovered the box had fallen by itself and then they made a quick bee-line back to the house.
That night they went to bed knowing that in the morning there would be two birds. One for each of them. They had decided that if they caught too many of them they would sell them. Cooper woke early and before he could even get dressed he was out the door checking on his boxes. Again, a box had blown over, but there was no bird inside.
I was a little worried about how their litle hearts would fare with no birds coming, but I worried needlessly. They soon forgot about their traps and began another game of imagination and adventure elsewhere. .
I found a fabulous way to school the younger ones. Every day I have to report on what the kids have done in school, so I write up an observation making note of what they have done. I find it is easier to do this while schooling than later, cause then I remember more.
So then I had all the little children cluster around me at the computer desk. They each had a stool as their desk top. I could teach from one to the next so easily. I would love one of those kidney shaped tables, but I am not likely to get one.
Other times I have a child at the computer who needs help with reading, and so I cluster the children around me and that child, so I don't have to wander too far.
One day Dane came downstairs and grabbed my camera and said he *had* to take a picture of my kind of schooling. grin
This method worked wonderfully until I realized the one negative side effect of sitting in one place for so long. My butt grew! I put on nearly 10 lbs! lol! So now we are back to schooling anywhere as I dance around kitchen. :o) .
One day I was sitting in the kitchen, and Briton came into the room pushing a laundry basket. He had a proud look on his face, as he stood up straight and strode with head held high back down to the laundry room.
He had seen the girls doing laundry and had been watching them. That little guy had learned each and every step of running a load of laundry! He moved the washing to the dryer, emptied the lint guard, turned the machine to go on for 60 minutes, and shut the door!
Climbing Up To Empty the Washer
Most Efficient Way of Getting the Clothes Out
Loading the Dryer
I had someone video tape, while I took some pictures and it was amazing. Hopefully sometime I will be able to post the video. It really shows just how capable our little children are and how much they want to be considered big enough to help! Briton was as pleased as punch when he completed the job with no errors!
Now I just wish my older boys could learn to do as well! .
Savannah is the most adorable little girl. She has really melded (if there is such a word!) into our family. She has had ups and downs and learned many lessons, but through it all she has been a real little trouper with a very sweet heart. I am so glad to have her as my daughter!
I have heard mothers say that when they heard their child say, "I love you," for the first time when it was not being prompted by the mother saying it first, that it is a wonderful feeling. Well, I think I heard comments recently that, to me, dug deeper into Savannah's heart.
One day, I was doing her hair, and I told her how adorable she looked. She turned to me from looking in the bathroom mirror, and said, "You are the best mother in the whole world." Those words meant more to me than anything I have ever heard from her. More than, "I love you." Why? Because her Sintayehu, her Enat, was so very special to her heart.
After this comment, we began talking about other things and her Ethiopian mother came up. We talked about how big her missing her was in the beginning - even to six months ago. Savannah used her hands to show me a 12" space and said she missed her that much in the beginning. She then gestured again to show me a 2" gap and told me that was how much she missed her now.
She then burst out cheerfully, "I still love her."
What a beautiful remark. Her heart's pain has diminished, but her heart's love has not grown any dimmer. How wonderful to see my little girl come to a place where she can tell me that I am the best mum in the world (and trust me, this little one struggles with English, so where she got those words is beyond me!), but yet still be able to tell me moments later how much she still loves Sintayehu. Through it all, she was beaming.
Since that time, she has a few more times spontaneously said other comments of a similar nature that really show her belief that she is home and she knows how much she is loved and accepted. What a wonderful feeling for both of us!
I was sitting working on my blog today when Savannah came bounding into the room.
"Mum, can I tell you something? I love you. You are the best mum and dad and everybody."
I smiled at her and gave her a hug and said she was the best Sweet Savannah. When I sat back, she just stood there looking at me for the longest time with this satisfied smile on her face.
It is truly remarkable. It is like something has just clicked in her little head.
It is almost like she is saying, "I like these people. They *are* my family. I am happy. I love them. Yes." If you could only see the look in her eyes as she makes these comments. .
A friend gave us some clothes recently and the girls had fun finding things they liked in the gift. We don't normally get offered hand-me-downs for our girls, so it was a real blessing for us.
I think it is time I gave God His own post. You see, there are so many times when I see provision in our life and I praise Him. But really, this is a journal and what better place to record how good He is to us than in our family journal!
Example:
This week I changed our menu. We have a three month, 2 week menu. This way we have a set menu for three months and I know what we are eating. We have fourteen different things, so we only encounter the same items twice a month. It works well for a number of reasons, including the fact that the children can be taught to cook because they know which items are on the menu, and they have three months to become proficient.
So, as I said, on Monday I changed our menu. This is a picture of the new menu:
The interesting thing is that the next day our dear friend who supplies us with bread gave me a call and asked if I needed any bread? Well, the funny thing was that that very day I was making buns for the first time in years because I had run out and I committed myself to making Sloppy Joes *before* I had looked in the freezer to see if I had buns. Of course I would have buns! I always had and abundance of buns. Right? Wrong! This day I had no buns. So out came the bread machine.
Then the phone rang, and I said, "Yes! I can use some buns!" Her husband, Bill, came by a few minutes later and he had lots of boxes of buns. I took what I could use and my son carried them down to the freezer room.
It wasn't until later that evening that I was unpacking the bread and buns into the freezer that I saw God's specific provision. Garlic bread.
If you notice my menu, it says Spaghetti/Garlic Bread/Salad. Well, I don't usually write such a detailed menu, but this time I did because I wanted to be sure to get my vegetables and salads on the menu because I have been notorious for slipping in that regard.
As I wrote garlic bread on the menu, I remember thinking that I would just have to get off my lazy butt and make the stuff. I certainly wasn't buying it! I never buy it. Much too expensive! So there I was all ready to do a little extra work to make my meal more than just a meal, and God honoured and blessed my busy little life by sending me the bread.
That is just another way that God honours us mums that have big families. He knows how much time it takes. One loaf of bread for you is three loaves of bread for us.
I love the fact that when my mum comes over for any event she invariably ends up picking up a children's book and reads it to the children. They quickly cluster around her and settle in for a good listen. This time with Granny has become such a special part of their visits with her. She infuses wonderful feeling into the characters in the story, and for me, her daughter, listening to her reading stories to my children brings back memories of my childhood. .
Raine's new extensions. This time we did the yarn extensions. They took less time (9 hours instead of 11) and look more real. This picture was taken before I trimmed the bottom of her hair. It was much nicer than working with synthetic hair. My husband and Cassidy went to the wool shop without me and did the choosing. I am impressed. They brought home three shades: one grey/black, one dark brown, and one black. Combined they created a really nice look. Everywhere she go people comment on her hair. They have been in for two weeks so far and they show no signs of wear. The last extensions lasted for eight weeks before I took them out. By then they were looking like dreadlocks. :o)
Savannah had her hair done in Christmas colours (could also be Ethiopian colours!). I actually find that with baby soft hair they don't keep the beads and styles very long. So I end up doing something cute and it lasts for a few days to a week. In this style I put an elastic on the pony, then I beaded three beads and then I joined the tail of that one to the beginning of another pony tail. At that point I added the two together and wrapped an elastic around them and then added more beads. In this manner, her beads are actually very securely attached to her head. They do not hang loose and I got a good week out of them.
If I did the same style to Raine they would have been attached for at least a month. Raine and Savannah's hair could not be more different! Raine's hair is a coarse, thick texture, and Savannah's is soft and fine. I condition them the same, but Raine' is different. Here Savannah's hair is in cute little triangles. So sweet for a cute little girl!
While at my sister's this Christmas, I had the pleasure of seeing her daughter's 'other' side. She is a hoot!! To me, I believe everyone should experience a boy. Well, my sister's first child is a sweet, kind little girl. But she is all girl. Ahria, on the other hand, is almost boy. *grin* I LOVE it!! Of course, I am partial to boys, so what can I say. *smile*
What I discovered while trying to take her picture is that this little girl can NOT just take a picture. She must perform. She is only two years old, but what an actress!! It wasn't until I was watching her totally UNable to take a normal picture that I realized who she resembled! My dad's sister, Auntie Lorna, in England. I told my Dad and he totally agreed. The ironic thing is that she even looks the spitting image of her!! Too cute!
So here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure. My sister asked me to dress her and I had the pleasure of picking out a dress from her closet and putting her hair in the cutest little braids. I then stood her in front of the tree and told her Auntie wanted to take a picture. And this is what I got:
And finally, when I walked over to her and gently placed her hands by her side and said, "Ahria, just put your hands like this, okay?" this is what I got:
Look at her stiff little hands. She has no clue how to just stand still. She HAS to pose!! So cute!
Then later, at the dinner table, I wanted a picture of her and Briton cause they are so adorable. Well, here we go again. *laugh* Briton loves to have his picture taken and posed accordingly. Ahria....
When I make spaghetti, I make spaghetti! I remember having a friend many years ago who would make spaghetti for each time she had it. I told her how my mother always made it by the batch. My friend figured it took her only a few minutes to make the recipe, so there was no need to do more than one batch at a time.
I am sharing this information with you because I want you to know that *anytime* you can make a batch of anything for the freezer you are saving yourself so much time. Think about it.
When you are going to make a dinner of spaghetti sauce you are going to get out the ingredients - 5 minutes, brown the meat and onions - 10 minutes, open the cans - 5 minutes, compile the ingredients and add the spices - 10 minutes, clean up your mess - 10 minutes. Total: 40 minutes.
When I make a batch up spaghetti and that includes one for that evening, plus three or four for the freezer it takes me: about 60 minutes to do it all. I simply brown more ground beef and open more cans. But I still have to only compile the recipe and clean the kitchen one time.
When my family was smaller I would make the same size batch as I do now, but at that time it stretched further, so I could easily put 8-10 batches of sauce in the freezer!! Do the math - that would save me 10 recipes x 40 minutes= 400 minutes. Instead I would spend 60 minutes.
Now that might not sound that astounding, but imagine if you have other recipes that could be put in the freezer? What about Sloppy Joe sauce? Or Chicken and Sauce recipes? When I had more small children and less older helpers I used to live on my freezer sauces and recipes. Now that I have older children to help with the cooking I can rely on less freezer and more fresh. So if you are a mum who has limited time, but you don't want to do a lot of freezer meals, you could simply do the spaghetti sauce, because that is a really easy to one to put away!
And think what you could do with the time you are not cooking? Relax, go for a walk, read to your children, blog, read a book, work on a craft. All in one hour a day!
Preparing the Sauce
A Full Batch of Sauce
Freezer Batch Spaghetti Sauce
6lb ground beef 2 medium onions, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped 1 red pepper, chopped 3 stalks celery, chopped 3 cloves garlic, minced
2 - 10 oz cans mushrooms 2 - 28 oz cans diced tomatoes 2 large pasta sauce cans (Heinz 2.84 litres each) 1 can 680 mls pasta sauce 2-3 cups water (enough to wash out pasta cans) 2 Tbsp oregano 2 Tbsp basil 3 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce 1/4 cup sugar
1) Brown ground beef and onions. Pour into a huge cooking pan. (at least 12" tall)
2) In a couple tablespoons of olive oil, lighty saute the green and red peppers, celery, and garlic.
3) Add the green and red peppers, celery, and garlic to the browned ground beef.
4) Add the mushrooms, diced tomatoes, pasta sauce, water, spices, Worcestershire sauce, and sugar. Mix well.
5) Bring to a high heat - do NOT burn - then turn down to very low and let simmer quietly for a few hours. Stir occasionally. Cool and then freeze in family size portions.
Part 4 - Later in the evening my brother took his daughter home to his house to have Christmas with her. This was the only time we had with Colt, so we did the gift giving from our family to Colt, and he to us.
All the Kids Watching Colt Open His Gifts
I was so impressed with his thoughtfulness. He doesn't have much, not having a well paying job, and having to support himself with rent and such, but all that aside, he still managed to bring gifts that were just right for each of us.
Cassidy knew that Colt was walking to work and decided on December 22nd to knit him a scarf. Did I mention that he had never knitted before? Nope. Never. He went to the store with his dad and picked out the wool he wanted. When he got home he discovered the needles he needed to use were at my friend's house. So he went on a two km sprint to get them. Once back, he had a quick (literally 3 minute) lesson in knitting and then began. He worked for the rest of that day, and by the end of the following day, right before bedtime, he was done. A beautiful warm scarf! Is there anything that boy can't do? Actually, we have discovered one thing he struggles with: writing.
Cassidy's pleasure is written all over his face.
Dane gave Colt a copy of the remarkable fiction short story that he wrote and illustrated about World War II.
Colt got a copy of the first blog I made: Raising My Boys In the Country. That has got to be the best gift. What child (not mine!) doesn't love pouring over stories about their own childhood!
We also exchanged gifts with my parents. I love giving to my mother because she is the most appreciative person. Anything you give her delights her.
Savannah has discovered the joy of gift giving!
Me and My Sister - So Glad I Have a Sister!
Cassidy, always a boy with a book in hand. Sneaking away for a few minutes respite from the craziness of the day!
We thought the evening was drawing to a close. After all, it was about 11:00 pm. And then...
Uncle Dave threw on the stereo FULL BLAST with Neil Diamond. Oh my goodness! We ALL love Neil Diamond. All that is, except for the teen boys. They decided they were not being roped in and so they slunk off to the basement to play some Play Station. But not the wee ones. Let the party begin! They danced and danced and danced until past 1:00 am!
And my mum was loving it all! While we adults stood around watching and smiling and taking pictures, she sat on the couch as their main audience clapping with a wide smile all over face and a glint of tears in her eyes.
Ray Got in On the Action
Then He Wangled My Mum into the Dancing.
The next thing I knew I saw Cassidy with a small sleepy child in his arms carrying him off to bed.
When all the children were tucked into bed we gave my sister the present that touched our hearts the most. It was just her, Dave, Ray and I, and it wasn't for any fanfare. It was simply something I wanted her to experience. There is a wonderful organization in China called Harmony House.
This home is a ministry in China that I learned about when I read the book Saving Levi. That book began us on the journey to adopting our girls. I wanted my sister to feel that feeling in her heart that comes from having a connection with a child in another country.
So we decided to connect her with a foster child through Harmony House. In this small organization they take children that have been abandoned due to deformities, and they pay for surgery for them. These children then typically live in the home for about two years before they are then adopted into families.
There are 19 children that can be fostered, so it is a small home. If you read the story of Saving Levi, you would be so touched. This tiny baby boy was found badly burned and abandoned in a field. Through the book you will see how God spoke to the hearts of John Bentley and his family. How He showed how he would use this tiny baby boy to change the world. It is a story of love and triumph and you will be changed after reading it. As we were. And now because of that book we have two little girls living in our home that would otherwise probably not be.
Please consider fostering one of these children. You can go to their website and look at the pictures, read the profiles, and then choose the child you want to foster. In this way we were able to choose a little boy, Benjamin, for my sister. I thought I would choose a girl, since she has daughters, but when I saw his sweet little face I was so drawn to him. Wouldn't you be? .
We are so very blessed!! When we made the decision to move to the country it was with the understanding that we would utilize the land by buying some 'toys'. We had no sooner made the decision to buy our land than we fell across an ad in the paper for two snowmobiles. We were only thinking of buying one at this time, as they would be very expensive.
This ad seemed remarkable! They were asking for less than half the cost of one new one, for two models that had less than 100 miles on each machine!! A friend offered to drive over with Ray to check them out and see what he thought. This guy is a pro and we knew he wouldn't steer us wrong. After a visit to see them Ray and our friend were very pleased. It was a remarkable deal. They had barely been used and were in mint condition. God is good! We ended up with one for Ray to use and one for me and the smaller kids. Both good machines, but according to our friend, "Justine will need velcro to stay on the bigger sled!" LOL!!
Watching Daddy bring in the snowmobiles.
A few days later, Ray decided to head out to the land to clear the driveway of snow. He neeed to be able to let the hydro man in. Ray took Cooper along and Coop had a blast!
We don't want to use the sleds on the land yet, because there are stumps everywhere. But we do understand that the rancher that owns the land next door lets people on his land. We will contact him and see if he will let us on. That is a huge piece of hilly ranch land! .
Part 3 - My brother had plans to bring his daughter over on Boxing Day and then it turned out that she, like some of our other children was slightly under the weather. We didn't mind. We were so thrilled to have her with us, that bug or no bug, we wanted the show to go on.
The cousins had a wonderful time, and it was great to get them all in one room.
The kids quickly decided that Uncle Carl made a wonderful target as a punching bag!
This was so cool! I had not seen Jaymie for Christmas or gift giving before, and I so didn't want her gift to not work. I was trying to make it dance on the charger! Silly me. Wondering why it didn't work. Feeling bad. And then the brain figured out the dancer comes OFF the charger and dances on the counter. She was such a patient little trooper while I was hounding out batteries and then trying to get the thingy-ma-bob to work!
Then Jaymie was enraptured. So precious!
We love Little House on the Prairie, so it was fun to get my sister's daughters hooked, also. .
It is hard to believe that Cassidy is 13! He had a few friends over for a sleepover for his birthday. He also had his grandparents come over one day.
A good time was had by all.
The boys all moved out to the recroom that we have built out of one half of the garage. I didn't get pictures out there, but I should have! They only imerged from the room to use the bathroom and to get meals! But they had fun: Playstation, Nintendo DS, board games, videos, air hockey, foozball - anything that they wanted - and no grownups present!
It proved to me that we really need a full basement! It was wonderful that the guys had their space and yet, we really didn't even know they were here because of having that outside room. They were able to stay up late and yet didn't keep the rest of us awake. Gotta love it!
They made their own pizzas and made ice cream sundaes. The next day they made icecream floats. The food was a hit! But then isn't it always - with boys?!
Jake and John
Brady
Then because I had told the little kids that I wanted them to stay out of the reccroom because that space was for the big kids this weekend, Briton decided to make his own 'party'. He would sit in front of the juke box and listen to his music.
Soon his brothers and sisters joined him. They thought the party was wonderful too!
Part 2 - While the big kids were still sleeping some of the little ones were awake. St. Nicholas had already visited at our house as we celebrate Santa on December 6. So our children were aware that their cousins would be receiving from St. Nicholas on December 25th morning. But all the same, I was very proud of them because there was not a whisper about their gifts, while they saw their cousins opening their gifts from under the tree through-out the days we were visiting.
My sister was very considerate and tried to open them discreetly, so that our children wouldn't notice the number, but honestly, they didn't even notice or comment, for which I was proud of them. We had not yet had our family Christmas and so their patience was admirable!
Austin had fun being the garbage man, while collecting the St. Nicholas wrappings.
Pajama Cousins
D.S. Cousins
And of course, St. Nicholas made a drop for Colt, at our house on his way by with the other children's gifts. He knew I would be seeing Colt on December 25th!
Enraptured Audience
Everybody had a hand in preparing the food. I brought and made breakfast and desserts.
The first hit of the day was the Instant Cinnamon Rolls. So easy. So quick. But watch out! They do rise!! Oh my goodness. I thought they rose high when I made them at home, but at my sister's they took over the table!
Christmas Morning Cinnamon buns
Angel cake pan with solid bottom (not one that comes apart) OR I used a 9 x 13 pan for the second batch
20 frozen dough dinner buns (2 bags)
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup vanilla instant pudding mix
2 Tbsp cinnamon
3/4 cups raisins (optional)
1/2 cup melted butter.
1) Before going to bed Christmas Eve pour the frozen buns into the pan.
2) Sprinkle the remaining ingredients over the top in order given (do not mix them).
3) Cover and leave on counter over night
4) Christmas morning bake at 350 deg for 30 to 35 minutes, then turn out onto a plate.
These were so simple and so yummy!!!! We used whole wheat buns and they were delicious!
A tip: put a baking tray underneath to catch the raisens, sugar and goodies that decide to fall off during the baking process, or you will end up with a stinky oven.
And now for the desserts!
Linda, the chocolate trifle was a big hit! I make another trifle that is known as Justine's Trifle, but really, it came from my aunt 24 years ago, when I was living in her little island restaurant. I ate it loved it and learned the recipe. So here are two delectable, but very different trifles. I now have two that I will be known for.
Justine's Trifle
enough white cake to cover bottom of glass dessert bowl (about 4 litres size) 1 large raspberry jello package 2 bananas 1 large instant vanilla pudding package 1 large can (19 oz) can fruit cocktail real whipping cream shaved almonds (optional)
1) Make your cake mix and when it has cooled, break into a piece big enough to cover the bottom of the pretty glass serving bowl.
2) Make up the jello and pour it over the cake. The cake will rise slightly.
3) Drain the fruit cocktail and spoon the fruit cocktail over the cake and into the jello. It will still slightly rise. Let set in fridge.
4) Make up the instant vanilla pudding mix.
5) Slice up the bananas and cover the entire surface of the trifle with a layer of bananas.
6) Pour the vanilla pudding over the bananas. Smooth over the surface.
7) Whip up the whipping cream and smooth over the vanilla pudding.
8) You can decorate with some shaved almonds on top. Delectable!
Linda's Trifle
enough chocolate cake to cover bottom of glass dessert bowl (about 4 litres size) 2 packages of instant chocolate pudding mix 2 real Skor bars. Do NOT buy the chips 1 tub Cool-Whip
1) Break up the chocolate cake.
2) Make up one chocolate pudding.
3) Add some thawed Cool-Whip to make it milk chocolate colour.
4) Make up another chocolate pudding according to package directions.
5) Now begin to assemble your layers:
Put a layer of cake pieces, then a layer of chocolate pudding, sprinkle with Skor pieces, a thin layer of milk chocolate pudding, a layer of Cool-Whip.
6) Repeat the layers until your bowl is full. Sprinkle with Skor pieces on the top.
I actually doubled this recipe and made two bowls of the dessert and it was quickly gone!
My dad having his second bowl. He *says* he wasn't eating by the bowl so he could have a third bowl. I believe him, but millions wouldn't! :o)
Making Tree Decorations of Cookies
Girl Cousins
Dad and His Biggest and Littlest Boys
All Hands on Deck - Preparing the Turkey Dinner
I love the relationship between my mum and Ray. He knows how to play her, like he is here, and she loves it.
Hungry Little People
My Baby Sister's First Christmas Dinner - Delicious!
In early November we headed back to the land to see if we could decide where to build the house.
Checking out the view from the top of this hill. He is trying to see past the trees that are in the way. Actually, he is being silly. LOL
Big brother helping little brother over all the logs and branches. It was getting a little tiring for his short little legs.
The marsh grasses were nice and dry, and so we were able to hike out into them to see how close to the train tracks we could get. We heard a train but it didn't come close to our land.
In time we will figure out what time of day the trains come by. The kids had fun falling into the grass. .
Part 1: This was a wonderful Christmas. It was the first one that we got to spend time with my 8 year old niece. She lives a distance from us and circumstances prevent us from being together each year. This year my sister bought a house that was big enough to house our whole family, my parents, her in-laws, and my brother and his daughter.
The best part of all, though, was Colt had managed to get Christmas off. We surprised him by organizing a flight home for him, so he arrived in Vancouver at 9:oo pm Christmas Eve and we would have his company until the wee hours of December 27th.
We headed out to the airport knowing that we had a few minutes to spare. At it turned out, when we arrived we found out his flight had already arrived!
I have to mention here that this was Colt's first solo flight. Ignore the fact that I had flown to Europe at 20 years of age and travelled independently around the continent for a year. This was my baby! grin
So when we are waiting for him we are wondering where we will find him, since he was not at the luggage turnstyle. Thankfully we are in the technology age and I could call him and find out where he was.
He had no clue, as what he said did not match what we said. We had come upstairs and so had he! His flight should have been upstairs and he should have been going down.
I approached this kind lady that worked at the airport. Actually, she approached me. We had ascended the escalator intending on finding Colt and discovered that only people coming IN could use the escalator and they should be going DOWN.
So she made us stand in a certain area that was 'behind the boundary', while she asked us his name. I told her how old he was, his age, and that he was 6'3" tall, but that this was his first flight. She probably was nodding her head at me, thinking, "Oh, yeah. First-born. Yep. I've seen enough of those to recognize it!" *grin*
We decided to go downstairs and wait by the turnstyle again. In a short while, Colt called my cell and told me he was getting near to our turnstyle. It was like waiting for a celebrity! "He's getting closer. He says he just passed turnstyle #3. He's got to be nearly here. Oh, look! There he is!" And we were off and running. *grin*
Dane was so thrilled to see his big brother. We all were. When he finished hugging everyone he told us what had happened. As he had entered the security area upstairs a bunch of people had descended upon him. They were the security that we had met. They asked him his name and then laughed and told him that everyone was looking for him! They told him, "Looks like your whole family came out to meet you!" He laughed at that because half the family was still at my sister's! LOL!
Cassidy held on to his brother's luggage like it was the crown jewels. You could see the love in his actions and noone was taking his job away from him. :o)
We got home to my sister's and Cooper was still awake.
Poor little Briton had been under the weather for a few days and because I had had to leave him, I had put him in the music room before I left. So he was asleep by the piano on a little pile of blankets. I didn't want him far from the grown-ups if he woke up.
The boys are all familiar with their stockings and know which one they are to look for on the morning of St. Nicholas Day. This year my mother had made the girls each a gorgeous petite point stocking. The stitches were ever so tiny! She usually made the boys each a beautiful embroidered birth announcement, but because don't have actual facts on the girls, she thought it would be nice to make them their stockings with their birth names on them.
It took Savannah a while to find hers.
I Think This is Mine?
Happy Girl!
Savannah must have done this puzzle twenty times in the first few days. She really enjoyed being able to do it. Briton was exactly the same with his Toy Story puzzle.
After everyone had opened their gifts they disappeared to play with their treasures. Then Ray and I began to make the St. Nicholas Day brunch. I remember being a child on Christmas with all the stocking tiny treasures and wanting to play with them, but there was work to be done. So, since my children are such good and willing workers every day of the year, it was nice to be able to send them on their way, while Ray and I prepared the brunch.
And It Was Yummy!
I love St. Nicholas Day. It is a quiet family day and there is no huge pressures. A time of gift receiving followed by a nice meal, followed by a relaxing day of games and puzzles and movies.
The church we are attending was offering family pictures in November. I did not go for them because I did not want a picture without Colt in it. A number of weeks later, while at church, I was tapped on the shoulder. A lady told me that they were doing the pictures downstairs. Did I want to do them. I decided I might as well, or they would not have a picture to put in the church directory.
These are the pictures, as they were. I wish the background was more muted, but overall they were pretty good.
There has been something that has been going on for a few months that I have not written about. I didn't because I didn't want to 'jinx' it and make something real. Honestly, I am not a superstitious person. Well, not normally. But when it comes to my health I am a little leary.
As some of you know I went for an x-ray of my spine last week. The reason I did this was because for the last three months I have been having intermittent tingling in my left hand and foot. It does not have a pattern and it is not easy to figure out if there is a trigger.
Big things like M.S. worried me, and I didn't want to put words to that. But Praise God, I am claiming no M.S. The doctor decided to see if there was 'something' compressing my spine. They were looking for cancer or arthritis or something else (I forgot what). Well, Praise God again. No ominous things showed up on my x-ray, and according to the chiropractor I have a text book spine. Or as I loved telling my son, the chiropractor says I have the spine of a 30 year old! *grin* He also could not believe my pelvis had delivered six babies. Love it!
Anyhow, please my prayer friends, hold me in prayer, as the symptoms are still here, and I would love to see them go away. They are very irritating. It is like walking on pins and needles and other things like that. I have seen my homeopath and talked with her and have yet to get a remedy. The doctor tested me in the office for many different areas of my neurological abilities and everything was excellent. That is a good sign.
You know what I think it is? Grief. Isn't that a strong word?! That word did not even cross my lips until someone else suggested it to me. She told me that though I was 'fine', and not caught up in feeling the need to get involved in controlling my son, Colt's, life, or not worried about him, that I was indeed, grieving. She said when your first-born leaves home it is a big thing. (Not only that, he is a 10 hour car ride from home: two plane rides or 24 hours by bus!)
Then my sister pointed out to me that her mother-in-law is dealing with the same thing this year. Her daughter, husband, and children have always lived in the same neighbourhood, and just this year they moved to Calgary. That is a long way away when you have always lived near each other! Her mother-in-law's grief has been very, very real.
My sister also cried on her daughter's first day of Grade 1. She says she has adjusted now. LOL! I never went through a first day of Grade 1. *grin*
Mandy said maybe I should stop pretending I am fine. Stop with living the feeling that the world is saying: "Hey, get over it. They all grow up and move away. So why should you be sad? It's part of life. He's a big boy now and doesn't need his mummy." Actually, I didn't realize I was pretending til now.
Maybe she is right. Maybe I tell myself that I am not weak and clingy if I admit: "I am sad. I wish my son would move closer. I wish I could see him in his first love relationship. I wish I could meet the girl that is so important to him. I wish I could see him in his apartment making all those grown-up decisions. I wish I could have coffee with him. I dread him having children and not getting to be a Nana that lives nearby and can have the kids stay at my house whenever they want."
There I said it. Call me weak. I don't think so. They say when you love deeply, it hurts just as deeply when you let go. And I did let go. Now my heart has to mend. And it will. In time. .
This is the most delicious recipe! None of my recipes end up exactly the same, so even if I write this out you will find that your version is slightly different from mine. But it should still taste delicious! Even my most picky child who won't eat *anything* ate three bowls of the soup! Probably because it doesn't have celery, mushrooms, or onions!
The following recipe is so easy that even a child can make it. And does at my house!
The first thing I should mention is that when I know I am making soup, I always drain my vegetables and potatoes that I am cooking for dinner into my large soup pot. This way I have a vegetable stock for the soup. So without even trying I have saved all the nutrients and have about 5 litres of base!
Smoky Meatballs
2 large eggs, fork beaten 1/2 cup water 2 cups dry bread crumbs 1 cup chopped onion 1/2 tsp garlic powder 2 tsp chili powder 2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper liquid smoke (optional - and I don't use it) 3lb ground beef
I like to double the sauce, so I end up with more sauce for my soup recipe
1 1/2 cups chili sauce (3 cups) 1 cup white sugar (2 cups) 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce (4 tsp)
1) Combine the first nine ingredients. Mix well. Shape into meatballs.
2) Brown in a frying pan. Put into an oven dish or crockpot.
3) Combine the last three ingredients. Pour over the meatballs.
4) Cook in the oven for about 1 hour or the crockpot on high for a few hours.
This is a delicious recipe, feeds 10 people, including 4 adult eaters. A tad spicy.
After dinner is when I begin to compile the soup recipe from the leftovers. The kitchen is already a mess and it will only take a few minutes to begin, and the balance can be done in the morning. But this way I have a headstart.
Cajun Meatball Soup
leftover mashed potato (I had about 4 cups) leftover meatballs and sauce (I had about 8 meatballs) 6-8 medium carrots, peeled and sliced 6 large bakers potatoes 1 tall can creamed corn 2 cups black beans 2 cups Texan bean mix 1/4 - 1/2 cup dry barley
Making Dried Beans For the Freezer I always cook up lots of beans and keep them in 2 cup servings in ziplocs in the freezer. This is simple to do. I put on a large pan of water and put in about 4-6 cups dry beans. Whatever kind I want. I bring the water to a boil, and then I turn it down and let it cook on a medium heat for about 3-5 hours. I then rinse the beans and then bag them into servings for the freezer. This is fast, efficient, and way cheaper than buying cans!
Okay, so with this recipe I make either rice or potato. I usually save the leftover rice and use it in a soup the next day. This last time I did it I made mashed potato and I did something different than I usually do. I used the mashed potato in the soup.
I always make enough of the meat dish to have some leftover sauce and meatballs. You can even do this recipe if there are only two meatballs. Where there is a will and a budget - there is a way!
I took my second largest pan (6 inches high x 11 inches across) and I dumped the remains of the sauce and meatballs into it. (I already had the cooking water from the vegetables and potato that I cooked for dinner in the pot.)
I broke up the meatballs with a fork. I then decided to try putting the leftover mashed potato into the pan. It seemed a shame to toss that much leftover food away, but I had not used mashed potato in soup before. I put it in and then mushed it around and decided it looked quite gross. But I was willing to give it a shot!
I then selected the carrots and large bakers potatoes. I peeled them both and then sliced the carrots and diced the potatoes. I tossed them into the mixture. I poured in the can of creamed corn. This makes a nice thickener, tastes good, and is nutrious. I added the bags of beans and the dry barley.
I then put it in the fridge and left it til morning. The following day I turned on the stove, brought the soup to nearly a boil, and then turned it down to about 3 and let it cook for a number of hours. I did not need to add any more seasoning because the sauce from the meatballs added a nice flavour.
Well, I have to tell you!! When I served it up for the kids for lunch today I had a taste. Boy, was I impressed!! I had forgotten I had put mashed potato in and I was wondering why the soup looked so thick and hearty! It was delicious!! I have found the secret ingredient. So in future, always make too much mashed potato if you intend to make a soup from your left over chicken or meatballs!
This pot of soup will last us two or three days, but as it dwindles I will often add things to it to stretch it. Perhaps a couple cans of regular tomato soup or some more beans or another can of creamed corn. This way I will get another day or two out of it. You know, in the old days they would have a vat of hot soup on the back of the stove and it just kept on going. Each day bits were added to it and it always tasted different, but it was always hot and yummy! Time to get back to my soup making lunches!
And then God's provision. We have my dear friend, Rusty, who blesses us with as much bread as we would like. Do you think I would be making these beautiful loaves of bread? I would love to say yes, but sadly it is no. I don't have the desire nor patience to make such pretty bread. But it sure tastes delicious with the soup!
Nothing like a good book with your bowl of soup!
Cassidy puts up with the camera because he wants to have his photo in his blog book, *not* the Blog World! :o)
Austin loves to be on camera and knows he is heading for Blog Fame. .
I love this picture!!! See the pleasure on Briton's face and the sweet smile of love on Raine's face.
Briton decided he would make lunch one day. He got out all of his ingredients and began his task.
Notice the frozen bread? grin Austin reminded Briton that we would have to microwave the sandwiches again, as that is what he did last time he wanted to make lunch.
The children came downstairs, thanked Briton for his lunch, and then bent their heads to pray and thank the Lord for this blessed lunch. .
Before you turn on this dance performance, please pause the music on the right hand side. Then, if the video starts out choppy, let it keep loading and the move the slider back to the beginning. It will smooth itself out and play properly once it has had a chance to load completely.
Raine went to do a performance for her hula class. It turned out that she was a special 'guest star' because my mother happened to be in the audience. Neither knew the other was there. At the end of the performance my mother stood up in the audience and pointed to Raine and said, "I'm claiming that one. She's my granddaughter."
The lady putting on the event asked which child and Raine waved her hand. To this the audience gave a round of applause. It was so sweet that what was a typical Christmas party for my mother's volunteer group became a personal recital for her from her granddaughter! This video shows Raine doing part of her dance. She did not like her outfit she had to wear. Her other outfits are modest and sweet; this one was not something I would have preferred. The teacher is big on modesty, but had only enough fabric to make these small tops. She does put the girls in two grass skirts with black leggings underneath, so that is nice. Raine came home and said to me, "Mum, that top is gross!" lol
You can see her beautiful rhythm with the music. I wish I had more to show you, but someone else took the video and the photos were blurry. It is hard to get pictures close-up because whoever takes Raine to her performance ends up at the back of the room. I will upload a blurry picture to show you her pretty other dress.
I am a mum to eight children. This is something I never dreamed I would ever say! I homeschool all of our children: from Preschool through Grade 12. We live in the country, preferring the quiet life to the hectic, noisy life of the city.
All Lined Up For Christmas Dinner
Poor Cooper was sick for about a week. Anyone who knows Cooper knows that he loves to eat and this was the amount he wanted to eat for Christmas dinner! Poor guy! He was sick right from before New Years, through our New Years Party, right into the New Year!
The children sure had fun buying me presents! I was forced to eat all the candy they gave me, even though I was trying to cut back on sugar. The things we do out of love for our children! :o)
Cooper got a homemade colouring book from Cassidy, and he loved it.
Savannah was so excited to give her gift to Austin.
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