Wig Fitting Party

It was an appointment for my sister-in-law; she's the one who really needs the wig... but when you get a group of women in a wig shop, there's going to be some experimentation. Linda did find a great piece that was treated to suit her colouring and style and she also bought a couple of pretty hats to keep her little head warm this winter. The rest of us, on the other hand, well, we might be heading back for some other items that are of lesser necessity. For not being a colour-my-hair-much-girl, I'm now considering becoming a redhead :)

So glad Linda is spunky enough to turn her wig fitting into a party by including all of us--a memory we'll keep close for a long time.

Seven

There she stood at my bedside, the morning before her birthday, just as her brother had done.

"I'm so excited to be seven tomorrow!" Emily whispered.

"So, I suppose you're happy that seven is in the numbers?" I replied, remembering Oliver's dismay about turning five.

"Well, yes," she began, "but eight actually suits me better."

I laughed out loud and wondered how I'm going to feel about becoming forty this year. Seems there's a need to contemplate numbers in this family :)

When light dawned this morning, my newly-turned seven year-old girl bounded into my room once more, this time without whispering. She had found a loonie where she had laid her tooth under her pillow the night before and she was grinning ear to ear and hopping like a bunny. She slowed to a stop and became serious.
"But Mommy," my girl mourned, "It was my most helpfulest tooth."

"That's okay," I encouraged, "you'll have a new one to replace it in just a few weeks."

And out she bounded with more vigor than she had coming in.

Emily, your spunky and dramatic personality keeps us in stitches. You are a confident and giving girl. We love you so much! Happy Birthday, Big Girl!

Of Meniscus And Mischief

The meniscus bubble sat close to overflow and my two older girls' eyes were like saucers as they crouched low to see. Unless we investigate life and God's laws of science, we can miss so much. They felt as if they had just become privy to a miracle--and it is--all of His creation, physical and biological and spiritual. As most children do, these two gobble up all things "hands-on" but when their little siblings arrived in the kitchen, begging to be a part of the fun, well, things took a different turn. Suddenly, my kitchen floor was a small flood and soap was everywhere... but, that was part of their investigation :)

So, even if things get a little mischievous, and my response may seem as though the Caledonia dam has burst through, I know my mind's file is storing up these memories as positive ones. May we, as parents, always view our children through future eyes that look back and miss these growing up and experimental days.

Strength

We curled up with tea in the living room anticipating Mom's arrival. It was a late birthday surprise--a brunch with the sisters (and in-laws) and we were especially thankful our sister, who is fighting cancer, was well enough to join us. Our personalities are all so very different and yet we love one another fiercely.

We talked and laughed and ate more than we do in our own homes. Linda light-heartedly talked of needing a wig soon and she made us all stronger with her own strength. I silently prayed as I sat next to her at the table, thanking God for her life and the way she keeps us all laughing, no matter what the topic or where she is on her journey. One woman can walk through a fire and actually pass God's peace and hope onto others by her attitude. I learn from her heart whenever I'm in her presence.

Gratitude:

1071. Linda's life and God's strength in her
1072. in-laws and the richness they bring my life
1073. coming out of the fog of family "sickies" (a month of colds and flu)
1074. kids who care about the homeless
1075. beginning school again
1076. life without sugar (I think :)
1077. snow... but the lack thereof so far :)
1078. fun in helping prepare for a women's retreat
1079. a bride and groom who cried during their ceremony
1080. how they rally around and pray when times get tough

If You Give A Mom A Cookie

It was the smell that had me at the door. I knew in a moment my New Year's Resolution to avoid sugar as much as possible was going to be checked at the door with my jacket.

We were a motley crew struggling to push arms into lab coats buttoning each other up, piling winter coats in the office and snapping on elasticized hair nets. We laughed at the sight of ourselves and followed our tour guides

into Voortman cookie factory... the largest around (shipping all over the world and the first in North America to make trans-fat free cookies--just sayin'). Since the Voortmans attend my in-laws' church, we had the privilege of treading where tours no longer tread.

Thanks, Lisa, Rob, and Mr. Voortman for your hospitality and patience with our large family. And thanks for the big box of sample cookies that we've been able to share with many friends... not to mention, I've eaten more than my share. Sadly, if you give a mom a cookie, she's going to want a whole lot more.

Five

It was the day before his birthday and he tapped my arm to wake me. As I peered over the edge of the bed, still groggy, my eyes met my boy's worried expression. "What's the matter?" I whispered.

"I don't want to be five," he whispered back.

I stroked his head as he rested it on my other arm. "Why don't you want to turn five, Babe?"

He raised his head and sniffled, "I wish five wasn't in the numbers. It's too hard to write!"

I probed some more because I sensed there was more to it than just the fact that this strange and crooked number was difficult for my son to print. He mentioned that he was scared to become like a boy he knows who is five, but I'm still not sure we got to the bottom of it.

Thankfully, come January third, that boy hopped out of bed, ready to begin a day full of surprises, balloons and plenty of attention. He proudly held out five fingers to whoever asked, and he mentioned to me later that being five was just fine with him :)

Oliver, you make everyone older than you in this family, happy. We love to watch you play, listen to your stories with mixed-up words, and we love your passion for justice. Happy Birthday, Big Boy!

Challenges For 2012

We used to be party animals, in that, we used to have to have grand plans for New Year's Eve. We've stood shoulder to shoulder in Times Square in a crowd of people spraying champagne, police on every corner. We've ushered in the new year and skated at Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto. We've shivered amidst the throng while Colin James sang through the night in Niagara Falls. We've attended parties and thrown parties too. Now my husband and I are content to relax at home, watch the ball drop on T.V. for just the last couple of minutes, and snuggle up in bed.

What's most important to us today, is that we are intentional about how we live out each year. The choices we make each day are more crucial than which location we'll hit on that famous and final night of the year. While making New Year's Resolutions has been a habit for me, personally, in the past, I inevitably fail in my humanness to acheive them all perfectly anyway. However, the challenges the Holy Spirit urges in me, now those, are going to stick, with His help, because they lead me to become the woman I'm meant to be.

So that is why I am joining the Gentleness Challenge. It's simply demonstrating the fruits of the Spirit toward your children and, as a homeschooler who's with my children all day, it's a good thing to aim at :)

So, Happy New Year, Friends! Check out this link (http://womenlivingwell.org/2012/01/introducing-the-gentleness-challenge/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+WomenLivingWell+%28Women+Living+Well+%29)

and I pray that your challenges for 2012 (new or continued) will draw you and your family closer to Jesus.

The Smell of a Good Competition

He made a scene in Toys'R'Us back when we were scanning the wall of car toys for our son. It was as though the drudgery of shopping suddenly vanished when my husband, who had spotted the very thing he adored as a child, started freaking out. With a raised voice, pointing frantically, he rapidly attempted to describe to me the sheer bliss that this double race track had afforded him. Any ideas we had previously imagined for our boy went flying out the window with all the excitement. One down, three kids to go :)

And this is how I found him on Boxing Day morning...

Deep in pieces and parts (all lined up and organized), my husband tried to prepare Oliver for the joy of what was to come, if he could only get it put together with "these terrible instructions".

I entered the room to check the progress from time to time and once I caught Terry smelling one of the cars. "What on earth are you doing?" I inquired.
"I'm smelling my childhood," he replied with a smile, "because there's just that certain burnt smell of the race."
Okay then. Apparently, boys need Daddies for a reason :)

Since then, they've raced those two cars together and one generation passed a "good competition" onto another, especially the smell.