A Turns 9!

We threw a little surprise birthday party for Aidan this past Monday as it was his birthday. When we asked him what he wanted to do for a party this year he replied "I want to go to the WaterPark at West Ed (mall)." So we asked him "OK, who do you want to invite?" He said "no one, I want to go with just you and Wes." I asked him "do you want your brothers to come?" Aidan said "no, they will just cry the whole time..." So, Wes and I decided this might be a good opportunity for some one to one time with our oldest boy.
So, a few boys from the neighbour hood came over as well as Aidan's grandparents and the party goers yelled "surprise" and threw balloons down from the upstairs as he walked in. He had a huge smile on his face...about as full of expression as this boy shows!
You can tell I am not a boy because I have never shot my mouth full of whipped cream out of an aerosole spray can thingy...all the boys, including Addison thought this was pretty cool. Guess who showed it to them? You guessed it, first a demonstration by my husband himself! Boys, boys, boys!
Aidan doesn't like cake so we made ice cream sundaes where everyone got to load up their sundaes with a variety of toppings. Yummy yummy in my tummy!

I still can't believe that Aidan is 9 years old. Every year on his birthday I can get quite emotional as I think back to the day he was born. He really went through so much to stay with us here on Earth and for that I am sooo very thankful to our Lord. I did not know the Lord at the time of Aidan's birth but now I recognize that He had an angel sent to help us in a number of ways, with the most identifiable being a lady who knocked on our car window to ask if she could help us get somewhere as Ben was looking at a city map and I sat there in labour. This was in a back alley in the area of Burnaby, BC...and it was early in the morning. She saved us valuable time in finding the nearest hospital and the way everything else progressed, her timing was more then a coincidence. Thank you Lord for Aidan!

Inside Out...

One of my favorite worship songs...I cannot sing this song loud enough or raise my hands high enough to even come close to how this song makes me feel. "...cry of my heart is to bring you praise...my soul cries out..."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tv0qZl_Qu84

(I don't know how to put the video right into the blog yet....still learning :)

Bye Bye :(

Wylie really liked the same stuff as the kids, including Asher's soother and bottle. He would actually jump up on him and nip the soother out of his mouth so he could play with it then he would chew on it.
Here is Wylie checking out the sprinker and having a little drink. This was very cute to watch.

Sharing ice cream with Addison.

A photo of Wylie at the vet last week...what a sweetheart!

Today we say good bye to a family member. Wylie is going to a new home today. We have had him for a month and I am giving up. I don't have it in me to be a good dog owner with little ones. For those of you who thought it and never said anything...thanks...although there were those of you who did say it and yes I will admit you were right. I feel like a bit of a failure. I really care about Wylie...he just isn't getting the attention and love he deserves.

Wylie is going to a good home and if it hadn't been for Ben & Sue saying they would love to have him I couldn't give him up. Ben is Aidan's dad and Sue is his step mom and they live on an acreage and have dogs and have raised dogs so they know the drill and they are EXCITED about getting him....Sue even said she could hardly sleep last night because of her excitement. That makes me happy for Wylie. Also, because he is going to Aidan's dads house, this means that we will still see him, get to know how he is, and most importantly Aidan will still be able to care for him when he is at his dads. Wylie also has a friend there, a puppy named Minnie and they became great friends when Ben & Sue puppy-sat for us when we went to Canmore for the weekend. The puppies even slept together.

So yes, I made a mistake. I bit off more then I can chew...no pun intended.

A Season?

Good morning. It has been a while since I posted....I know. I have been struggling with what to write about. Then I went to church. I really needed to go to church yesterday, I had missed the last 2 Sundays and I was sooo needing that spiritual fill to keep me going. It is like my gas (not that KIND of gas silly) that keeps my motor running. I often wish there was church service more then once a week, just to get me through. So..yesterday at the service there was a baptism following the worship which I thought was sooo cool. Our church usually has baptism services where a bunch of people are baptized, so this one was unique. I was excited to be a witness to this, without even knowing this young lady that was declaring that Jesus is her Lord! The testimony of this lady was incredible with her experiencing God talking directly to her in the middle of the wilderness and one could sense her total reliance on Him. God told her to be baptized and here she was...doing it...now...being obedient....not waiting for the next service but listening and acting NOW! I found myself a bit envious how she seemed so in tune with God and seemed to have minimal distractions to allow that relationship with Him to form and build. I found myself asking "when do I have time to really listen to God like that with everything that goes on in my life, all my different roles as wife, mom, daughter, friend, and on and on.

Over the past few days I have also been struggling with what God wants me to do be doing right now. There are things that I would love to be doing (photography for one as a little business) but is that what He wants me to do? What about our boys and my role as a mom and wife? How do I be a good friend to others when I have all this on my plate? How do I be a good servant when I dont' clearly know what I should be doing? Part of me is saying that I need to put my selfish wants aside (scrapbooking, photography business) and be a MOM first and foremost to our boys and a wife to the man I love with all my being. But first I need to love my Lord and He is the one that often gets put on the back burner because He does not seem as real at times over a two year old that is throwing a tantrum or a puppy that just peed on the rug. I want Him to be my priority and there is soooo much I want to learn. So much I want to learn about being a good mom, a good wife...the list goes on and on. There are times when I wish osmosis worked and I could strap on a book to my body and be filled with knowledge I am seeking...crazy I know. You should see the number of books I buy and never read, but REALLY want to. My husband and I talk that this is season in what God has in store for our lives and maybe one day I can be a Beth Moore like I dream about.
Well there are mouths to feed and little boys to dress as I sign off. I am very excited to celebrate our oldest son's 9th birthday today! Wow how fast they grow. I am so excited that he knows the Lord and has the opportunity to grow with Him as he grows and matures.

Congratulations!!

Amanda, Trysten and Shawn walking along a bridge in Canmore. I took these photos before the actual ceremony.



Howdy, all is well over here on this hot hot day! I am busy trying to edit photos from my sisters wedding this weekend. Here are a few to see...hundreds more to come :)

Even though my sister and Shawn were married by a JP, I felt the presence of God there. After the ceremony and signing, as the JP was reading a poem on marriage, I was covered in "chill bumps"...the way I feel the Lord around me. I am so thankful He showed up on this special day. I pray one day my sister and her family feel the "chill bumps" of His loving presence too!

Overwhelmed

Wow, I use that word a lot! For good things, for great things, for all sorts of things. This "wow" is for my feeling of being overwhelmed. It comes and goes in waves on certain days. Maybe you know what I mean in trying to run a household with 3 boys and a puppy? Adding to the regular day to day is an exciting event coming up this weekend....my one and only little sister is getting married (pictured above). The wedding is in Canmore so we are heading there tomorrow. I am the matron of honour and also the official "photographer" for the wedding. I have never taken on such a responsibility but am excited about it...well sort of...sort of stressed and sort of excited and at the same time I want to be able to enjoy the day and evening with family but not sure how that is all going to work out. And with our 8.75 year old, our 2 and 1 year old I am just starting to panic. We are sooo blessed to have Wes' parents come to Canmore on Saturday and help watch the little guys for us.

I am not usually the worrying type, but overwhelmed kind yes that I am....just ask my husband. I have to go and get my toe nails repainted tomorrow morning before we leave becaue the shade of red I chose ended up being a fushia color in the color in the sun...totally clashes with my black and red shoes...*sigh* Give me a minute here just to give all my worries to the Lord for He will sustain me and He has the power to make Saturday a most extrememly beautiful day for everyone. I pray that His hand is at work throughout our weekend keeping all family and friends travelling to Canmore safe. I pray that Shawn and Amanda feel a peace that only He can provide in enjoying their day together. I thank the good Lord for Shawn coming into Amanda and Trysten's life!

On a most wonderful note, I got an amazing present today from "My Boyz"....well I have received a couple this week but this one took me for a complete surprise. When I went to have a little snooze this afternoon there was a box under my pillow that held a beautiful necklace with diamond pendant on it. I had not been able to find a necklace to wear with my dress for the wedding that looked just right. My husband is sooo incredibly good to me. Thank you my love, thank you!!

Pancake Sunday!

Mmmm, mmmmm good! We started a "tradition" in our household when we have "pancake Sunday" and, you guessed it, we eat pancakes for supper. I make the pancakes from scratch (no pancake mix for this mom) and we try different varieties. Our family favorite to date is banana chocolate chip pancakes. Ya, not so healthy I know...chocolate for supper...yum!

We had a verrrry enjoyable Sunday today! Loved going for a long bike ride with the whole family to the Little Ice Cream Shoppe for a cone after supper. Really nice family time, not done nearly enough!!

I would love to hear about any weekly/monthly traditions you have as a family!

Love

Sooo...Wes and I had an argument today. Started this morning and went on til early afternoon. I cannot believe how good God is! Read on....

So here I am, so angry with Wes as we were arguing about one of those "thorns in our sides" and when this "issue" comes up we almost always end up arguing because Wes thinks I open myself up for a world of "potential hurt" and I don't look at it that way. So, today I just wanted Wes to suck it up and get over this "issue." I was not taking his feelings into account. I was angry at him. I was not loving. I was even childish in some of my statements. I told him, through tears, that I didn't even want to be around him today.

Then I sat at the kitchen table and opened my Study Bible and my reading for today was from 1 Corinthians 13 titled "Love." I thought in my head...."oh great, do I really want to read this?" I went on to read this chapter and take notes:

LOVE "...is not easily angered.... does not keep record of wrongs" (Wes suggested I have an anger problem in the "heat of the moment." Do I Lord? Why did I bring up him not getting me strawberry ice cream when that was 2 days ago? Why am I hanging onto that Lord?) 1 Cor. 13:5

"When I became a man, I put childish wasy behind me." 1 Cor. 13:11 (Why was I acting like a child and storming around and taking off to the park with the boys rather then talking it out with my husband?)

LOVE "...REJOICES WITH THE TRUTH." 1 Cor. 13:6

Wow...can you read what I just experienced? Maybe I cannot write it like it happened. But oh the chill bumps I had after reading that chapter. Could God have been right in front of my face and spoke any clearer to what I needed to hear??? Wow! Our Lord is amazing! I had to go and share with Wes what just had just happened. Thank you Lord for your incredible word and your all-knowing Spirit!

Starfish

Hey there, not feeling so hot today but I have to share a little of my life with a 2 year old. I wear a cross around my neck on very many occassions and even in my everyday mama, laundry-doing, grocery-shopping day to day life. I have come to treasure this cross and I am learning more and more about Jesus and how He died for each of us. So, as I wore my necklace yesterday, Addison (our 2 year old) grabs it as I was carrying him and says "starfish?" And I said "no, it is a cross so Mommy remembers what Jesus did for us." And he repeated "cross" and "Jesus" a few times and that was it for yesterday. Then again today he was looking at my neck and saying "starfish." Haha, oh he is too precious. How simple life is in the eyes of a child, don't you think?

In my "word" reading today I was led to Romans 7 in my Study Bible:

"What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God - through Jesus Christ our Lord!` Romans 7: 24-25 In talking about the power of sin...Jesus is the only one who can empower us to live according to God`s will. If we try to live in our own power, we die. Jesus is the life.

Yucky!

Hey there, I am writing to apologize for my delay in posting more about my WONDERFUL weekend experience with Beth Moore...I will get it on here at some point...just not yesterday (family visiting) and not today. I took Asher and Addison to the doctor today and they have been diagnosed with hand, foot and mouth disease. Not sure why it is called a "disease" because it is really just a virus. But anyways, our two little ones are not feeling well and need extra mommy time and mommy patience. I am starting to feel the effects of a cold coming on I think...Cold FX here I come!! I don`t have time to be sick!!

I decided on the weekend that I am going to start each morning with God and His word. So I did just that this morning. In my study bible I was led to Romans 3 and the main things I took away from this are as follows:

• GRACE gives people the power to live holy lives
• GRACE TRANSFORMS - we are made right by grace and by grace we can live right!

As Beth Moore suggested, that is my word to help me enjoy this day. Today I pray for grace of God to be with me in all my actions and that everything I do be pleasing to Him!

WOW!

Hallo!

On Friday evening and Saturday morning/early afternoon I had my first "Beth Moore experience." Do you all know who she is? I had heard her name before as my sister-in-law has said she is one of her favorite authors, but I have never really read anything of hers. I think I even have a book of hers "Feathers from my nest" sitting upstairs on our book shelf. I had heard from a few of the ladies at Friendship Factor that she was great.

Soooo, my mother-in-law and I took in the event called "Living Proof." WOW, WOW, WOW! In my opinion Beth Moore is an amazing speaker: she kept me wanting to hear more and she is one of the most hilarious, and at the same time "real" speaker I have ever heard! And I absolutely loooove the fact that she is a woman up there telling us ladies to "do that thing."

This event was a Simulcast at CrossRoads Church and I wasn't too sure what to think about the whole "simulcast thing" before I experienced it. You have to know this...this is the coolest....this simulcast was seen at 715 locations in 4 different countries to a total of 700,000 women!!! WOW! That is a whole lot of learners in His word and a whole lot of praise to our Strong Tower, Conquerer, Deliverer and Saviour!!!

One of my favorite things on this earth is seeing people praise the Lord without reservation. I could just watch these people at church every Sunday and I stand in awe of their expressiveness for our Heavenly Father. Last night and today I found myself going up on my toes with my hands raised in thankfulness to Him: His spirit within me. WOW!

I will share what was spoke into my heart tomorrow as I am needing some beauty sleep and we have 2 sick little ones that I am not even sure of a decent nights sleep. Please check back as I am soooo looking forward to sharing this inspirational message with you! Nighty night!

More Testosterone?

Hi there...please join me in welcoming "Wylie" to our family! I picked him up yesterday and he is a 6 week old Golden Retriever. And yes he is a boy...another boy. I can't seem to get away from them :) We are all pretty excited (even Wes) about this new little guy. Asher may not be the most thrilled as he was the "current" baby in the house...all he has done is swatted at him so far and I can't even get a photo of Asher and the little pup as of yet. Time is all I need and maybe all that Ash needs too. Asher will still always be my little baby though! Gee, I feel like crying as I write that! OK, on task...dog...Wylie...yup he is cute. He has slept a lot since he has been home. He plays for about 10 or 15 minutes then sleeps. Last night we could tell he was missing his mommy and brothers as he cried sporadically while in his kennel. I got up with him at 2am and took him to the "pee spot" and all he did was kept laying on my feet, I would take a few steps away and he would walk over and lay on my feet again. If Wes wasn't home I would have brought him into bed with me to cuddle...but Wes would totally be against that so I have to respect the boundaries we agreed upon when we bought him. Maybe tonight I could sleep on the couch with him??? Haha! So for his first night he was wide awake at 5am and crying without letting up so Wes got up with him...he is so good at mornings...thank the good Lord!! Wes said the little guy was hungry so maybe that was what he was crying about. I feel like we have a newborn again...kinda fun trying to figure all this out and so glad we get to do it as a family.

Note: puppies like to lay in flowerbeds and poo by irises, or ours does at least. So much for our nice flowerbeds and yard!