Happy Mother's Day!

To both of our beautiful mothers-
Happy Mother's Day!
We love you very much and are thankful for the
precious gift you are to us.

My Miracle Mother

Mom, I look at you
and see a walking miracle.
Your unfailing love without limit,
your ability to soothe my every hurt,
the way you are on duty, unselfishly,
every hour, every day,
makes me so grateful
that I am yours, and you are mine.
With open arms and open heart,
with enduring patience and inner strength,
you gave so much for me,
sometimes at your expense.
You are my teacher,
my comforter, my encourager,
appreciating all, forgiving all.
Sometimes I took you for granted, Mom,
but I don’t now, and I never will again.
I know that everything I am today
relates to you and your loving care.
I gaze in wonder
as I watch you being you—
my miracle, my mother. By Joanna Fuchs

A Lesson in Tithing

As most of you know, our oldest daughter Kaley turned three a couple of weeks ago. Along with the many gifts that she received, she also received some money from her grandparents in the mail. She has received money before for gifts, but this is the first time that she really knew what it was and what it was used for. With all of the excitement going on, we decided to put it in a special place so that we wouldn't lose it and keep it until there was a good opportunity to use it.

We were getting all of the things ready that we needed for church on Sunday morning and I glanced up and saw the money laying on the shelf near the kitchen. Ding ding ding!!! This was the perfect opportunity to talk to her about the important life lesson of tithing! So, we got the money down and asked her if she remembered what that money was for. She did, and we explained that whenever we receive money, that we give a portion of it to God before we spend it on anything else. We then explained that she would put the money in the envelope at church and that during offering time, she would be able to put it in the plate. We said that her money would be used for helping others learn more about Jesus and the love he has for people.

I thought that this great life lesson would be received with welcome and open arms of a certain little three year old and that she would be excited to be able to put her tithe in the offering plate at church. Well, the lesson was not as warmly received as I thought it would be. Kaley got a sad look on her face and said, "But I don't want to give my money away, I want to keep it!" And, no amount of explaining or offering the bright side of this occasion did any good. She was quite adamant about not wanting to give her money away!!!

Needless to say, she did put her tithe in at church that morning, but I can't say that she was a cheerful giver:-). Little did Kaley know that her response wasn't all that different than how we as adults can sometimes view our money. I am, however, excited and thrilled to be able to see how God is going to bless that $.25 that she gave and use it to bring others to a closer walk with him. God is good, all the time!

Family Photo Scavenger Hunt

Last night we participated in our church's Family Photo Scavenger Hunt. It was a blast and so much fun for all of us. We were given 1 hour to go and take as many pictures as we could from the list. Some items were worth more than others and the only *rules* were that every member of the team had to be in all of the pictures and the same person couldn't take all of the pictures. So, we charged up the battery in our camera, filled the car up with gas, loaded the girls and headed to the church.

There were about 30 items on the list, but as many of you know, with two little children in car seats, the feasibility of getting in and out of the car many times is very time consuming! So, we had to pick the ones that were easiest to do:-) We had a ton of fun and had a great time together as a family!

Getting ready for the scavenger hunt.
Kaley wanted to show you her *funky* hair that had colorful extensions in it!

Chloe waiting for us to get ready:-)

Scavenger Hunt!
"The entire team having a tea party with stuffed animals."

"The entire team wearing hats"

"The entire team in a bathtub"

"The entire team under the Player Drive street sign"

"The entire team taking a picture with a firefighter" Our friend Kevin:-)

"The entire team on a spiral slide"

"An adult member of the team in a child's car seat"

"The entire team jumping"

Friday Fun Family Night

We try and make every Friday night our family night where we do something fun together. Tonight, we decided to make it the ever popular pizza and movie night. The girls and I went to Tim Hortons to pick up some donuts for dessert while daddy got the pizza ready. We made our own pop (that post to come later) and had a great dinner. Chloe even got a *treat* of rice cereal...yum:-) Next week will be even more exciting for her as we start to introduce vegetables!

Anyways, after dinner, we put on the movie Toy Story. We weren't sure how Kaley would do with a full length movie, but she watched the whole thing! She went to bed singing "You've got a friend in me" - it was really cute. Chloe is unfortunately a lot like her mother and fell asleep halfway through the movie.

It was a fun night spent together. I love our little family:-)

The First and Last Snowman of the Year

Wednesday night is daddy and Kaley night and you never know what fun adventures will occur! This past Wednesday was no different. I passed them coming home from church while they were on a sled ride and they turned around quickly because Kaley had something she needed to show me...


a snowman! We had a couple of really mild and warmer winter days so most of our snow had melted away. But, since we live in Ontario and you never know when the snow will come and go, we got another snow fall with the really wet and heavy snow. It was perfect for a snowman and they made a great one.

Unfortunately it warmed up the next day and the snowman was no more, but Kaley and daddy had a great time and some good memories of winter fun.

Happy 3rd birthday Kaley!

Our baby girl turned 3 today! We never thought three years ago that parenting would be this much fun. As I was thinking back to before Kaley was born, I remembered a song that I heard while I was pregnant that I quickly coined as "Kaley's Song." I heard it again the other day and thought I'd share it on this special day.

We love you SO much Kaley girl! You make us proud to be your parents and we thank God for the blessing that you are to our family. Love~ Daddy, Mommy, Chloe and Baracus

Kaley's Song
a.k.a. My Wish by Rascal Flats

"My Wish"

I hope that the days come easy and the moments pass slow,
And each road leads you where you want to go,
And if you're faced with a choice, and you have to choose,
I hope you choose the one that means the most to you.
And if one door opens to another door closed,
I hope you keep on walkin' till you find the window,
If it's cold outside, show the world the warmth of your smile,

But more than anything, more than anything,
My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.

I hope you never look back, but ya never forget,
All the ones who love you, in the place you left,
I hope you always forgive, and you never regret,
And you help somebody every chance you get,
Oh, you find God's grace, in every mistake,
And you always give more than you take.

But more than anything, yeah, and more than anything,
My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.

This is my wish
I hope you know somebody loves you
May all your dreams stay big

Getting Back the Healthy Habits

It is funny how quick healthy habits seem to go by the wayside and how LONG it can take to get back to that place where those habits are simply a part of the every day routine.

Unfortunately for me, I didn't realize how far off track I had become until it was a week before Mark and Kaley were to leave for a weeks vacation to Calgary. I can't explain it other than I was in a *funk*. I wasn't sleeping well, eating well, my emotions were all over the place and it felt as though I was in crisis mode. Needless to say, I was looking forward to the week where I could get back to the place where I was the person, wife and mother that I needed to be- where love, grace, patience and compassion flowed freely.

It took a couple of days to clear my mind, relax and to focus on the important things that needed to be put back into place. After some much needed time to pray, talk with God and journaling, it became clear what I needed to do:
*start the day with prayer, and reading the Bible
*go to bed early and get up early
*exercise
*start using health food supplements again
*plan out my week

I had originally started with a HUGE list of things I wanted to change and then quickly realized that it was way too high of expectations and it would be hopeless to maintain. These were the things that, if implemented, would make a big difference-yet were relatively easy to put into practice.

Now, to make these things a habit once again!

This is an amazing Bible study that I recently started again.
I did it the first time about 12 years ago and I am loving it so far!

This is part of my eating healthy plan:
My food guide, protein powder, hot lemon and honey water, fish oil and coconut milk.

My Week Planner-
If I plan my week according to what I need to do and want to do and the actual time it will take to complete the tasks, then my time can be used effectively and purposely.