Blessed

One thing that I have to fight in my life is worrying about things. In each stage of my life the object of my worry has differed but it's always seemed to be there, lurking in the wings. In this current stage of my life, I find that it is very easy to worry about my children. Will they be safe? Will the catch something when we go to library story time? Will they turn out okay? What if they get in with the wrong crowd at school? Oh my! If I let myself sit here and really think I could probably have a nervous breakdown. Thankfully, I am learning what it means to "give it to God". What has always been a nice catch phrase to me, has been starting to mean something that is more real to me.

I was thinking today that there is much that I can look forward to for my children. Stay with me here. It's getting late and my brain is jumping oddly from topic to topic. I was going through pictures of our time in MN with family this summer and I realized how extremely blessed my children are to have so many wonderful people in their lives. While in MN they met up with a set of great-grandparents and a great-great aunt and uncle. Not to mention the great aunt and uncle, cousins...the list goes on. So many people in their lives that want to positively build into their two little hearts. I know this is true because these very same people have taken the time to build into my life. When the Reiss/Cochrane/Witter/Skeldon/Anderson clan get around a table for a meal there is laughter, love, joy and most of all the LORD! Some of you know what I mean when I talk with love about this great group of people. You have experienced it first hand...the quirky ways of great aunt and uncles who give your friend's husband a "bean spoon"* upon their first meeting! We have been blessed and I'm excited for our kids. What will they get to enjoy together with this family? What will they do as they get older, have children and create more great family memories? I think those are much more positive and constructive questions for my mind than what so often inhabits it.

The Lord gives and takes away. Blessed me the name of the Lord! I want to live with that attitude. My life and the lives of my children belong to Him.


Oma (my grandmother) playing with Libby. Something I love about my Oma is her love for Jesus and her grandchildren. She and Opa pray for us each day. The next best thing are her hugs.


My great aunt Jo connecting with Libby. Aunt Jo is full of life and is always willing to burst into song. Her and Uncle Gordon have traveled the world together and are so much fun to be with.


Opa playing with Libby. Uncle Gordon looking on. Something I love about Opa is that he often calls me "hon". I am so thankful for his love for Jesus. I love to see him laugh.

*Bean Spoon - we were in Banff several years ago and my aunt Jo and uncle Gordon gave Lindsay and Jeff bean spoons. Now, keep in mind this was the first time they had met Jeff. The spoons they received were wooden and the handle resembled a ladder. There was a little card attached that explained the use of this special spoon. The user was to put it in a pot of chili so that the little farts could climb out! This is just one example of my silly, yet very lovable and real family. I hope this did not offend anyone. ;)

Another reason I cannot be a brain surgeon

This past Saturday the "scatterbrained, trying to do too much at once mother" struck again. I was busy making pies for the belated Thanksgiving meal we were having the next day. I had a pumpkin pie in the oven, a lemon meringue pie on the cupboard and half the ingredients in a bowl for chunky pecan pie bars. I should also mention that the kitchen looked like a heat seeking missile just hit it. So, while trying to make more room to get access to the microwave I moved the lemon meringue pie onto the top of the stove and went on with my next thing. I had started working on the meringue and realized that I had given myself too much time because the other pie was still in the oven. I thought I would be efficient and go walk over to the dorm while waiting and put up the sign for a movie night I was planning to have later that day. I know, I know...I need therapy! I got back from the short 5 minute walk and smelled something burning. I opened the stove to find the pumpkin pie just about done but not too dark. Perfect I thought to myself. BUT no sooner had I closed the door to the oven and stood up straight then I heard a strange sound. Later Linds (who was sitting reading in the living room this whole time) mentioned that it sounded like a large bag of marbles hitting our laminate floor. If only I could be so lucky. It was in fact the lemon meringue pie, or should I say the glass pie plate that was holding the pie. What I had not realized before was that I had set it on a burner that I had failed to turn off. The pie plate literally exploded in a million small pieces and glass went flying everywhere! Thankfully our children were down for nap/quiet time and I wasn't still bent over and wide eyed looking at the pie in the oven. It took us a good 1/2 hour to clean up the mess. I must say I love my calm, cool and collective husband. After about 15 minutes of my complaining about the unfortunate situation, how I had wasted money and time and made such a mess, I thanked Lindsay for being so calm about it all. He looked at me from behind the vacuum and said, "well compared how you act about this kind of stuff I think it's pretty easy to appear calm."

I must say I have always been bad at crying over spilled milk. I have been realizing a need to work on this lately and my, has God been giving me opportunities! I think I am making some progress though because this time I managed (with God's help) to not cry like Liam when he can't get on his jacket and I managed not to say anything I wouldn't want my children or my grandparents to hear me say. :) From the entire pitcher of orange juice on the floor last week to the exploding pie plate, I am in a frustrated state of learning how to slow down and relax. When these sort of things happen I tend to call myself down and go on and on about being an idiot or being really stupid. I joke about not being a brain surgeon but the real issue is learning to slow down and focus on what is really important so that I don't have to run around the kitchen like a recently beheaded chicken. I need to figure out that balance. I want to live somewhere between lazy and crazy busy. I know it exists and I am learning that if I take the time and work my will to put God as my centre, things more naturally balance out and I could probably say, "I was able to let God work through me and was able to bring him glory through this" instead of "I didn't think about God until a pie plate exploded in my kitchen and I needed help not swearing." Not to say that bad and frustrating things aren't going to happen but when God orders my steps I trust I would have the confidence that he is helping me and being my strength. Oh, so much to learn!

Reluctant Bathing Beauty

Here's Libby at the beach during our September heat wave. She's sporting a bathing suit handed down from a friend but forgot to borrow the excitement for sand and all things beach. This is when I first put her down on the sand and she got better later once she got used to it. If only I looked that cute in my bathing suit!

I am now a soccer mom

When did this happen? One minute I am beside myself with pain as I push him into the world and the next minute I am watching as he takes part in his first soccer practice. I am a soccer mom. The fact did not really hit me until after the first practice. Lindsay was getting Libby into her car seat and I was helping Liam into his when I had one of those moments. You know the ones. Where you all of a sudden seem to see yourself in the current context but almost as if you are watching yourself from somewhere else. No? Okay, maybe it's just me. That moment it hit me like a ton of bricks. We are parents of two and one of them just finished playing soccer. He's wearing little soccer shin pads, a yellow jersey and can't stop talking about his favourite part of the practice. When did this happen?

It's great how two people can see things so differently. I'm thinking, "wow, I'm old. I'm a soccer mom. I have to make sure I don't get too involved and start yelling like those crazy women they do documentaries about on W5." While my lovely husband gets in the car, buckles up his seat belt and says, "wow, a soccer mom. That's pretty hot." So while being a newly minted soccer mom doesn't make me feel overall "hot", I'm glad my husband thinks so. :)

Rub a dub, dub, little Libby in the...sink?l

Yes, in the sink she was. During our week in MB with friends all the cabin had was a shower so we decided to improvise. What a cutie!

Bemidji

In August the four of us traveled down to Bemidji, Minnesota to meet my grandparents, a great aunt and uncle, an aunt and uncle, two cousins and the Skeldon contingent (my parents, Brad and Rachel). We had booked a cabin for 5 nights...all 5000 square feet of it. When we first got there, I was worried we would lose someone in it if we weren't careful. Indoor swimming pool and hot tub, enough bedroom space to sleep 18 people, wrap around deck, lake front view, huge living area, and great 30 above weather...that last part didn't come with the house. :) We had a great time checking out the surrounding area by car, on foot, on bicycle and by pontoon boat. We enjoyed wonderful food, great fellowship, games, movies and much laughter. There was a intense touch football game enjoyed by the younger generation of guys and my uncle and dad...and then a group hug from all the sweaty football players that my great aunt had to endure. Did I mention these guys picked the hottest and most humid of days to attempt this grand display of athletic skill and competition? The kids had a blast and loved all the attention they received. We had been there for about 4 days when my great aunt asked, "does Libby ever cry?" Now that is a holiday! It was just a bit rough once we got back home and detox had to happen.

It was great to be together with family and I would go back to that spot, especially with them in a heartbeat.

Aunt Bec and Libby waiting for the pontoon boat to arrive.


Pappy and Liam checking out the lake.


Crossing the head waters of the Mississippi River...who knew it started in MN?


Lindsay perched on a rock while crossing the Mississippi River head waters.


The whole group. Are we ever blessed to have such a wonderful family. God has been very good to us!

A wonderful day away

We didn't go far. Only about 10 minutes from campus but it could have been 12 hours. Good friends of ours live just outside Nipawin on an acreage (I think that's what it's called) beautifully situated in the bush. You enter their yard by a winding drive way with trees and shrubbery on every side. It's quiet, peaceful and because it's the Gruchys the company is always awesome! We have been blessed to know this family since we first started attending our church. They have spent a lot of time creating this great spot and Liam, Libby and I were blessed again to be able to go out and visit this last week. We got there just before noon on Thursday and Joanne was packing us a lunch to take on the quads. Now, many of you know that I am a city girl. I have learned a few things since living in a smaller setting but it is hard to get the city "oh, I'll just take the bus" out of me. Last year when we went on a similar quad adventure I ran into a small bush. For some reason steering these things does not come naturally to me. Thankfully Joanne is patient and was willing to let me try again. Oh, by the way, neither the bush or the quad was hurt in that unfortunate bruise on my pride. :) Liam went with Joanne and I had Libby on my back. We drove around their land for a bit and then stopped to enjoy a picnic lunch. What a treat! Back on the quads again after lunch I was feeling much more confident. No bush run ins this time. I'm getting better. Just don't look at the white knuckles. Liam played with toys while Joanne and I had a great visit. I appreciate so many things about Joanne...her listening ear, her honesty and her desire to bring glory to God in all she does. Talking with her always encourages me. Much to Liam's excitement, Jordan came home from school later that afternoon and spent some time playing with Liam. In Liam's mind, all the toys in the world could not substitute for time with Jordan. All the while Libby had a wonderfully long and restful nap. We drove home later that afternoon and I felt so rested. Of course, being a mother of two young children I could have gone and had a nap at the drop of a hat, but I felt rested in my soul. These weeks are very busy for us as Lindsay teaches a module and fall programs start up. It is easy for this task oriented mom to get lost in the to do lists. The escape to the Gruchy's home was again, a blessing. Here's some pics from that day...

Falcon Lake, Manitoba

In July we took off for Manitoba for our first week of holidays. We drove all the way to Winnipeg that first day and spent that night with our dear friends Martin & Darlene and their two little (well, not so little these days) Kepler and Theodore. We enjoyed a fun visit with them. Complete with a great meal, trains and toys for Liam to play with, late night visiting and late night Baked Expectation cheese cake. YUM! Thank you Darlene, my partner in chocolate and sugar crime!



We said goodbye to the Blumrich family the next day and drove about 2 hours to get to Falcon Lake which is just inside Whiteshell Provincial Park. We pulled up to the cabin and had fun reuniting with our friends Dan, Laura & Jaxon and Kyle & Kassy. We then spent the next seven days and six nights in a great spot. While the weather could have been hotter we had a great time reconnecting. There were lots of laughs, great food, theological discussions, fun games, beach time, did I mention food already... Each couple took care of two lunches and two suppers. Let's just say we ate well. It was hard to go back home where I did not have Laura and Kassy helping me come up with great meals. And let's not forget about Dan teaching us how to make bacon on the BBQ! It was a bit tiring as Libby and Jaxon decided they didn't want to keep up their usual schedules for sleeping. So, the living room became the early morning lounge area complete with toys and satellite TV featuring cartoons. The cabin was great. It was comfortable and was very spacious. We would definitely recommend it to others and go back again ourselves. We had a great time and it was very hard to say goodbye. It was a blessing to be with such great people that are usually very far away. Love you guys!

Here are some pictures from our time in Falcon Lake...

Kids and Traveling

I am so thankful that while we gallivanted around this summer from wedding to the lake to holidays the kids, overall traveled fairly well. Of course there were the inevitable moments when...

• I wished we had installed limo glass between the front and back seats before we left home. At the push of the button one can enjoy silence.
• You wished you had done a better job at explaining the correct way to hold a juice box...no, not the middle!
• You wish little sister would just give in and fall asleep already. Can you really blame her when she has a brother who just loves to make her laugh.
• You told your aunt you would arrive about two hours earlier the is actually humanly possible when you are going 100 km/hr down the highway instead of traveling in a leer jet.
• You take over driving to give your husband a break and within 5 minutes of take off everyone in the car is asleep. You end up feeling like Mack on Cars trying to stay awake. Once you've downed a few handfuls of M&Ms the quiet time is actually quite inviting.
• The happy and loud Libby decides she would like to grace everyone in the Applebees with her amazing voice. Soprano? At this point, I think maybe she might be one.
• Liam decides that he needs to sing a duet with his sister at said Applebees restaurant. With voice changing not for a few years he actually might still be a soprano too.
• Liam decides that he needs to go to pee...again. If you have never helped a little boy go pee on the side of the road you haven't really lived...it gets a lot more interesting when he needs to do more than pee but has trouble with the timing. This moment is not helped when mom (who finds this just too funny and thinks it's a good photo opportunity) gets out the camera. Tears then took place. Wrong move mom...the picture was deleted.
• You realize somewhere into song 15 of the Veggie Tales CD that you are singing along with talking vegetables and must look like an idiot not only to your children, your patient husband and the people occupying the cars passing you that already have a hard time sounding out "Saskatchewan". The obviously mentally challenged lady in the front seat is not helping improve their view of the neighbours to the north. What is it about the "Mysterious ways of the yodeling veterinarian of the Alps" that tickles my funny bone and makes me feel six again.

These are just some of the things that make family road trips an experience. Along with the crazy pull your hair out moments there are many good ones. Both Lindsay and I grew up taking trips just like these with our families. I remember good things and bad. Mostly good. Talk to my mom and dad and they have more than a few hilarious stories about the bad side of our vacations. God bless them for putting up with me...the etcha-sketch throwing brat and Brad, the "do you come with an off switch" boy. We endured the long road trips to Wisconsin and Lord willing we hope to make many of those trips ourselves with our kids. We have already had moments of real conversation with Liam and it's been so neat to hear a bit of his heart and mind. I think Brad would agree that some of our best conversations with our parents happened while we were driving. In a way I feel like I have been passed the traveling torch and now get to pass it onto my kids. Adventure, connection, and memories are ahead of us. Are we there yet? I hope not, I'm enjoying the ride too much.

I'm still here

While I am gearing up to start blogging more often again, I thought I would just get something quick on here so that the link on your blog to my own will no longer read the very embarrassing, "A.L.L.L. in the Family...a month ago." Yes, I know I have fallen off the wagon in the area of blogging. There really should be a support group for people like me. Every time I walk past my computer on the way to something else, I feel guilty. Not guilty enough to sit down and write something clever aside some cute pictures of my children. No, instead I walk by and let another day slip by. We'll tonight, right here, right now, it ends. I will get up, dust myself off and get back on that wagon. We'll see how long the trips lasts this time. My family will be grateful and if anyone is still out there and hasn't given up hope I do hope once in a while I can bring a smile to your face, encourage you, or just plain impress you with how cute our children are (now I have a smile on my face :). This is, no doubt going to be one of those posts that I read the next morning and think, "wow, it was just way too late when I sat down to write that." Oh, well, what are blogs for if not to ramble. Good night.

We've been busy...

Yes, we have been busy. Isn't that what I say during the school year too? I guess it goes for summer as well. Except this is a different kind of busy. Not as routine and usually involves long hours in the CRV with two kids. I shouldn't complain, Liam and Libby travel fairly well. They are like those clothes you get that are especially made with traveling in mind. You pull them out of your suitcase at the end of a long trip and you still want to wear them. We pull our kids out of the CRV after a long trip and we still love them to bits. Even though our ears may be ringing from Libby's shrill but happy shrieking and Liam's "are we there yet" questions. They are still able to produce smiles for those that we have traveled to see.

Two weekends ago we traveled to Tofield, AB to celebrate the wedding of our friends Andrew and Jenny.





We were also able to spend time with my aunt and uncle who live in Leduc, AB. We had a great visit with them both nights we stayed with them. We enjoyed some great food, great visiting and were also able to see my cousin, Janine.




While there were found out that their two sons, my cousins Jordan and Braden are biking across Canada this summer to see the sights and raise money for the Calgary Food Bank and possibly another organization called the Joshua Fund. Let me put a plug in here for them...their website is www.thederksenbrothers.com. It's something that I think would be very cool to do but I don't think I would be able to pull it off. I guess I will live through them. :)