I Heart Faces - "Blue"

This is my friend's daughter. I love her beautiful blue eyes! This shot was taken at the beach over the summer. Head on over to I Heart Faces to see all the gorgeous blue!

What happens when my sons go momentarily unattended...

I moved the cucumbers and dip to the dining room table while I went to finish preparing supper... the boys made their move to the table for their "appetizer". This is what a found a couple minutes later...

Why are Jordan's shoes still on?
Why is he standing on the table with his shoes on?
Why does Jude have a bowl of cucumbers on his head?

All excellent questions...

YOUR guess is as good as mine!

Glimpses of our new suite

Jon has been working hard on our suite. We've been living in the bedroom for awhile, but he's just finished installing the railing and floor on the balcony....
... the sink...

... and bathtub.

Installing the shower will be a late fall/winter project. We need to get the outside stuff finished off before the snow flies. Although it's 19 degrees here this afternoon, it's not uncommon for snow to fly in October in Thunder Bay!

Now that I'm done my internship...

...there's more time for making puppy ears with hot dog buns...

...and eating cotton candy!

There's more time for riding in fire trucks...

... and eating sandy strawberries at the beach.

There's more time for finding the perfect wave to jump...


...making sand "pies" ...


... and splashing with friends.

There's more time for dressing up in costumes and playing outside...
& picking flowers...


... playing "Diego" with Jude...


and making yummy pizza braids for supper (see here for the super easy recipe).

There's more time to make rice krispie treats...

...and apple sauce...

...and playing Candy Land (and Kitty Candy Land).

I'm so very thankful that we don't need a second income and I can stay home with our little people....

If only I could find a bit more time to finish off my dissertation!

Our "Wonder Jar"

Our kids, like most, present us with daily treasures...beautiful or funky-shaped rocks, newly fallen leaves, beach glass, pine cones... we would admire them for awhile then they would make their way back outside OR would pile up on a widow-ledge. Now, they go into our "Wonder Jar".

The Little Seedlings, our cooperative playschool, is using the curriculum, "He Has Been Clearly Seen". The goal is to teach children to see and delight in God's glory through observing creation. I want our children to learn to not only appreciate nature, but also see it as a wonderful gift from a good and loving God who wants them to see and know Him. The boys will start playschool next week. At home, we'll continue to collect treasures that remind us of how amazing God is!

I Heart Faces - "Contemplative"

This is my son Jude, having a BM in his potty on the side of the highway on our recent trip to the East coast. Toilet time is always a great time for reflection & contemplation!

Check out more entries for this week's theme at I Heart Faces.

Lessons from ... this morning

1. Always close laundry door so kitten does not escape.

2. Do not allow your 3 year old and 21 month old sons help you try to get the kitten to come back into the house.

3. Always have a coffee before going to gymnastics with Jordan.

4. Do not put snacks in the cart at the beginning of the shopping excursion, no matter how short, and expect that your 21 month old is going to be able to wait patiently for them to be purchased before eaten.

5. Even when your 21 month old is screaming for said snacks, do not give in to terrorism (as a fellow mom would say), no matter how many dirty looks you receive. (For the record... I did not give in to terrorism...)

6. Always check for a cart with wheels that will go straight when you have 70lbs of kids in them.

7. Never shop at Zellers, with two children, in a funky-wheeled cart, on Seniors Day.

8. Never attempt to exchange your funky-wheeled cart with one sitting within 20 feet of the change room, even if it's empty, especially on Seniors Day.

9. If you happen to inadvertantly swipe a less-than-understanding senior's cart who had apparently taken great care in the selection of her cart AND you need to remove both of your children from the senior's cart and return to your funky-wheeled cart, never leave your son's drink in the other cart.

10. Even if you had planned to accomplish other errands, just go home :) We did!

Have a great Tuesday!!

I Heart Faces - "Back to School"

This week's theme is "Back to School". This is one of the many pictures I took of Abby on her first day of Senior Kindergarten last week. She was super excited while we waited for her bus and "chased" her backpack like a cat chases its tail (if you know Abby, you know her passion for kitties!). Check out more back to school shots at I Heart Faces.

Camping with Friends

A couple weeks ago, we went camping, for one night, 30 minutes from our home. Our last camping trip with only two children, blogged about here, here, & here, was exhausting. However; the kids are older now and we thought: worst-case scenario, it goes horrible and we pack up and go home!

We got to Kakabeka on Saturday afternoon, set up camp, & headed for the beach.

After supper there was campfire with s'mores...

...and entertainment...Jon was accompanying Abby (who was singing) on his make-shift trombone.

The kids had soooo much fun... playing, eating outside, playing, cuddling and singing by the campfire, playing, searching for the "giant chipmunk"...

The night started off great with all the little Gomers and Newmans going to bed nicely. Around midnight; however, we realized that Jude had peed (yes, I forgot to pack a pull-up, but in my defense, he'd been dry overnight for a good 2 months...), in our warmest sleeping bag. We woke him up and washed and changed a shivering-and-sad-not-quite-awake Jude back into his clothes. Jon made a trip back to Thunder Bay to put the wet stuff in the washer and get more blankets (it was a chilly night...)

The morning was filled with friends picking raspberries on the way back from potty runs, warming their hands on hard boiled eggs and coffee mugs and eating cereal out of little boxes...

...then back to the beach...

...fun times...