Nope.....

....no poopies!

 

Glad I got a little helper to assist in sniffing out the stenchies.

Not so glad when he walks up behind me, stretches out my waistband, takes a big sniff and says the same thing. "Nope, no poopies! Good job for staying dry mommy!"

 

Oh, the things kids say!

Shrove Tuesday and the much anticipated Lent

One of the downsides of having such a hard year last year, was that we were just trying to survive. There wasn't much time for looking outside of our own family and looking at the needs of others. We didn't have many 'large dinners' for major holidays (or perhaps we did...I literally cannot remember). We addressed many 'in your face' needs (eg. meals for new moms), but lacked in spontaneous giving. And we have noticed. We feel the desire rising up in our souls to give. Give more. Give because we can. Give because we want to. We have felt the desire to invite others over for dinner. To bring cookies to friends. To surprise people with some of the "desires of their hearts." To watch our friends kids, so couples can go out on a date. We feel like we are ready to look outside of our own family and look to the needs of others. Its such an empowering time.

So, today, on Shrove Tuesday/Pancake Tuesday/Lent-eve, we are inviting a few select people over for a pancake dinner. We are excited to start our 'giving' journey with a meal. But aside from this desire to be hospitable again, we are excited for Lent.

Last year for Lent, I decided to "give" every single day. Whether it was a card or a meal, cookies or a night out, I wanted to give. Except, I made it about 10 days before LIFE happened. Micah cut open his finger, stitches, antibiotics, no sleep. Giving, gave way for life. Luckily, there is grace. And I accepted that with two little boys, and an unexpected injury and no sleep, that giving every day for Lent was not meant to be.

But this year. Oh this year, I am excited! The boys are older. I'm amazed at what I can accomplish on little sleep. So this year, instead of giving something up, or even giving every day, we are doing 40 days of Lent activities. I will be gracious with myself, since LIFE happens. But the goal is to do an activity with the boys every weekday.  Instead of sacrificing something for Lent, we are adding to our lives.

The boys loved the Advent activities leading up to Christmas. I realized that the busyness of life got in the way during that time, yet candlelit dinners and reading books often made up for my laziness/tiredness/busyness. But I also know that Lent is much calmer time of year. There aren't many pressing "Easter" activities to clog up my schedule.

So, we will proceed. Forge ahead with activities. Things that will hopefully bring us closer as a family, and force us to look outside of ourselves and see the needs of others. My desire is for the boys to learn the Easter story, learn to pray for others, and have fun doing Easter crafts and activities.

I have set up the Passion week timeline on a wall in our house. I wanted a visual representation of the Easter story, so the boys could "see" what happened.  Since they cannot read yet, its hard to just write down the story. So there are words and pictures as a reminder to me and Dan about all the details of what happened.

We hung a large cross in the center. Our plan, and the activity that I am most excited about (and Joel too), is that we will pull a name out of a jar EVERY day until Easter (that's 47 names, since we included Sundays) and pray for that person/family or place. We will then write their name on a flower that I have cut out of construction paper and place it on the cross.  I am excited to see the cross "beautify" as time goes on.

 

I am excited to do some Easter/Lent related activities. Simple things, like colouring Easter pictures. To do crafts, like making palm branches. Going through the Easter story with the Resurrection eggs and adding to the chaos with follow-up activities. And to do more difficult things like making paska or baking and decorating cookies to give away to neighbours.

 

Lent and Easter is my favorite time of year. I love the anticipation of what is coming. The sorrow of Good Friday and the grace it brings. The joy of Easter morning and the empty tomb. I love that there is less chaos and consumerism around this time of year. I love that there are DAYS worth of celebration.  I love that this time of year is about Christ, and Christ alone.

 

So, today I look forward to tomorrow and the beginning of Lent. I look forward to 40 days of activities. To 47 days of praying for our family and friends. To six weeks of giving and grace.

Micah's Big Boy Bed

Alternate Title: My love/hate relationship with Ikea

OR

Why does Ikea furniture always take a minimum of 3 hours to put together?

On Family Day, we decided that today would be the day to move Micah out of his crib and into his own big boy bed. We headed to Ikea for a mattress, since we already had his bed flat packed and stored under Joel's bed. (Its a bunk bed that can be separated into two twin beds).

Once we got home, we put the bed together. What a mess! But FIVE hours later, we finally had both boy's beds together. (Putting together Micah's bed meant taking apart some of Joel's and reassembling it with a new taller headboard).  We scrambled around and rearranged Micah's room to fit his new bed and promptly put Micah in it to go to sleep. He was a bit startled, but once we explained where all his favorite items were, he settled down and fell asleep.

We haven't had a problem with the transition (yet), and Micah stays in his bed all night long.  I'm sure we will have problems in the future, but Micah is pretty laid back about most things, so hopefully it'll stay that way. He loves his new bed!

Diggers

Joel's new love: Diggers!

Sick Boys

The little guys were sick the other week. So sick, that Joel sat and watched an entire movie without moving. Not even a twinge of movement. (Normally, he can barely sit through a five minute show, let alone sit perfectly still).

The next day, Micah was hit pretty hard. But Joel took care of him and asked to snuggle him on the couch. Micah obliged.  The poor guys.

 

But we are on the up and up. Both boys have returned to their normal crazy selves.

Now if only blogger/Picasa would return and I wouldn't have to upload each picture individually. Then this blog could return to normal.

The Big 5-0

Seven months ago, Dan started a new job. With the new job, came weight loss. Partly from not eating treats all day long, and partly from the physical labour involved in the new position. But seven months later, Dan has lost a total of 50 pounds (and counting)! Totally amazing!

Before: July 2013, a mere 7 months ago

Today: Feb 2014 --- 50 lbs lighter

 

These pants were a bit too tight when Dan started this weight loss journey.
Now, they no longer fit, even with a belt.
He still wears them, since we haven't bought any new clothes for him yet.
We didn't want to keep buying new clothes every few weeks, so we decided to wait until the weight loss sort of plateaued.
That hasn't happened yet.
Perhaps 50 lbs is a good reason to get some new clothes. You know, ones that fit.

Really???

Saturday morning I woke up with a migraine. Again. This is the third migraine I have ever had in my life. It is awful. Light sensitivity, sounds that make your body cringe, head in a vise grip that keeps on tightening..awful.

My first migraine was about three months after I gave birth to Joel. I thought nothing of it at the time. Just an overtired, stressed out new momma. That was, until, about three months after Micah was born and my second migraine struck. I'm guessing it has something to do with the hormones. But I was really blown away, when three months after my miscarriage, I had my third migraine. I sort of expected it, but was hoping that since I didn't go through a whole pregnancy that I would get away without one. I was wrong. At least now I know there is a pattern. I know how to deal with them.

I guess it was the perfect end to an already difficult week.

HARD: 2013 in review

2013 was a hard year. Not in a tragic life altering way, but in an every day difficult sort of way. The days were just plain tough.
The first three and half months of the year were spent in a sleep deprived fog. We slept in 45 minute increments. Those days and nights were tough. It was hard to parent and be patient when all you wanted to do was sleep. We took the easiest possible way out when it came to discipline. It was about survival, not thriving.

When the fog slowly lifted (it took a few months to feel normal again), we found ourselves contemplating a move. The next few months were spent budgeting, packing, cleaning and subsequently moving. We enjoyed our move. And not two weeks later, Dan started a new job.
This meant we had to readjust our lives to accommodate Dan's new hours. It was an adjustment but we have felt blessed by the new schedule. It works much better for our family. But at the time, it was just another adjustment.

Joel had a lot of regression after the move. We had to re-potty train, re-introduce bedtime routines, and finally stop slacking in our discipline. It was another few months of adjustment for our family. During that time we also had a few visitors from around the world. We were busy and it was a trying time for our family. We were still tired from lack of sleep so dealing with disciplinary issues and potty training accidents just added to the chaos.

It was for about a month after the summer that we felt okay. We finally felt that we had pulled into a rest stop. Life had calmed down. We had found a new rhythm. Things were going okay. Looking back, this was a time of rest before we hit our biggest hurdle of the year.

An unexpected pregnancy, followed by an equally unexpected miscarriage.  Once again our lives where thrown into turmoil.  Certain daily life tasks became difficult as we mourned the loss of Judah. We still mourn, but the pain has lessened as time has gone on. When the sting of loss lessened, we were thrown into the Christmas season. Busyness ensued and before we knew it, 2013 was over.

It was definitely a hard year on our family. It was a hard year on our marriage. (Life lesson: Your husband looks a lot more lovable after a good night sleep. A lot of marital discord can be solved after sleeping eight...even 6...no wait, four consecutive hours). Regardless of how hard 2013 is, we can look back and see God's faithfulness. As much as this year was difficult, we have seen how God drawn us together as a family, allowing us to appreciate one another in new ways. We have been blessed with a new home and a new job, both of which were desired and prayed for. We have seen our lives evolve and change. Difficult days were well...difficult. But we have come out of this year stronger, more committed to one another and well rested. We are excited and slightly hesitant to see what 2014 will bring. But we have no choice but to move forward, anticipating the highs and lows of the coming year.

Is it 7am yet?

 

 

Literally every morning, I can find Joel staring at the clock, wondering if its 7am yet.

He knows he has to wait till the long hand goes "up, up, up to the top."

I've made this rule. No ukulele before 7am.

Its not really that big of a deal to play it before 7.

Secretly, I really just want a few minutes of silence in the morning.

That sweet, sweet half hour of silence energizes my soul.

 

Then, when the clock strikes 7, the sounds of Jingle Bells can be heard echoing the walls.

For the next twelve hours, I hear Jingle Bells. I hear, I just wanna be a sheep. I hear made up songs and multiple songs mixed together. One child or another is usually singing.

These four walls are filled with music.

But once in a while, its nice to have a few moments of silence.

Crescent Beach

A nice afternoon walk at Crescent Beach.

Micah grunts and groans EVERY time he picks up a rock. Even if its just a pebble. Super funny.

Throwing rocks in the ocean.

Joel found a shell

complete with a critter still inside!