Felt very clever this year. A day or two before December graced my calendar I did all the hard decorating and cleaning that comes with this holiday seasons arrival. Twinkling eyed children arrived home that day. I hadn’t warned them; it is always fun to gift your children a surprise, after all children treasure a good surprise far more then adults.
All posts in Dem Kids Sayed WHAT?
If not in the storm then when?
Putting on the armor of God each day could be summed up in the idea of surrendering each day to live consciously within Christ. Living through him is the most powerful armor one can wear to face this life. Some of us, more then others, notice or are overwhelmed by the day to day storms. The storms are for real, they can be crippling and sneaky and devastating, especially if your spiritual skin is too thin.
Soccer Stars
I have my own two little soccer stars. The boys both have been drawn to the game since they could walk. The oldest is now on a team each spring. He was so eager to start, watching his older sister trying it out, trying to play from the side lines.
Moments With My Three Year Old
Lovely moments in time, specifically today, but everyday, are in beautiful abundance when you spend so much TIME with children!
My three year old has been very chatty today:)
Morning Moment
“My cars are on your mark and engines ready!” says my three year old as he lines up cars in front of my breakfast. “The blue will win because he is blue! RRRRRRRUMMMMM!” Watch out mommies toast! I had somehow gotten in the middle of a crash derby race!
After Our Walk Moments
My three year old picked his first ever bouquet of dandy-lions for me on our walk this morning! He then told me he couldn’t get me a lady bug cuz a lot of them where dead on the grass… awe 
The street sweeper and cleaner went by and he screamed “OH BIG TRACTOR for me, for me!!” We had to stand and watch every time it went by.
After Snack Moments
There’s an old computer keyboard in the basement, three year old is pounding on it “I working on my puter… I don’t know why but we need a new one upstairs Mommy.”
“Can I watch a movie?” I said for sure. “Ya an adventure!” The joy with which he throws himself onto the couch and under his favorite blanket, just for a half hour cartoon before lunch, reflects how he throws himself at everything in life. Kids are excellent examples of GUSTO if you let them show you!
TTFN
Win Some
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| (Our youngest two, wrestling with their Daddy.) |
I was up much of the night with my preschooler. He was coughing so hard he couldn’t sleep for long periods at a time… thus neither did I… So today I am all the more grateful for a little day-highlight I am going to share with you
MOM- “Nap time.”
KINDERGARTNER (DAUGHTER)- “Yeah I guess so.”
PRESCHOOLER (SON)- “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”
MOM- “Lets go guys. Mommy is tired too.”
KINDERGARTNER (DAUGHTER)- “I know, lez take a toy or two okay?!” (talking to her brother directly) “And then we can pat one another on the back for going to nap nice like this!” (pats her brother on the back… after a couple minutes he returns the pat… to my surprise they then walk quietly to their rooms and laid down for nap!)
TTFN
Snow Aliens In March
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| (Awe, my baby boys first snow angel… or alien…) |
It is a good thing we got out in winters first real batch of snow. Only a week later, since the snow storm, and most of it has melted! This is the prairies so we could get more or we could end up with a warm wind that sweeps it all away. Such a strangely warm winter this has been…
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| (I have fallen and I can’t get up!) |
Where I am living weather is a normal conversation to have with anyone and everyone. Weather conversations can get very intense. One specific thing I have started to notice was the difference between my friends out west (on the coast) and my friends here on the prairies. Out west they assume they are entitled to snow-less winters and warm weather… out here we assume we will be punished for good weather, he he he… I don’t know how many times I have heard, this year, ” We are going to get punished in July for this mild winter”! It makes me smile at our differences.
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| (Take picture of snow ball mama!) |
Now my kids and I have an advantage in that we are totally happy with a snowy winter so we don’t get down either way. Kids don’t think about the future like adults do. We often have an attitude of ‘if I think the worst I will not be disappointed’. That attitude doesn’t usually turn out the way we think. Generally we just become more grumpy personalities and in some ways always disappointed as everything is a chance to be negative.
Everything is a chance to not be negative too. Kids are living now and so unconcerned with what may come that they are usually happy with any weather. The attitude of ‘make the most of what ever it is’ seems to flow from children. The more I relax as a mom, and go with their happy little way of looking at life, the better I am at mothering and the better I am at living in general.
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| (If life gives you snow, make snow soup!) |
Baby Boy has been really into making snow angels this past week. New discoveries are always so fun. He calls them ‘snow aliens’ though… not sure where he got it from but I corrected him and he gave me a look as he corrected me in return… and I realized he knew exactly what he was saying. I guess he isn’t as weirded out by the idea of aliens as I am, he he he. “Such a pretty snow alien,” he smiles.
I want to be a woman of praise… living to praise Christ Jesus in all things and the least I can do is learn to praise him no matter the weather. I am thankful for our dump of snow because of the fun the kids and I had in it. If it hadn’t snowed my Baby Boy wouldn’t have discovered ‘snow alien making’ or my five year old wouldn’t have been able to make me ‘snow soup’. My oldest two got to make their first, ever, snow forts and where so impressed with their abilities. I got to watch it all, capture it all and treasure it in my heart. Thank you Lord for working on my heart, strengthening it in you to be able to praise no matter… no matter the weather and with hope to learn praising no matter the circumstances.
TTFN
And Down To One Fish
Well you never can tell with fish. Yellow-whisker just didn’t seems as healthy from the get go. The day before she died I was starting to warn the kids she seemed ill.
We are now down to just Nia. Sure didn’t take long for the first experience with a pets death to happen thanks to our new fish adventure.
The kids handled it well, although all differently. Youngest two seem very unaware. My eldest is just hoping we get a new fish; maybe a fancier one like a Beta next time.
My oldest boy, however, was the one who found her… belly up… He looked so ash colored as he came and told me. I took one look at her and confirmed his suspicions. He then looked really solemn. I asked if he was okay and he shook his head ‘no’. I said it was okay to be upset and when he started to cry I grabbed him in a big hug. I assured him it is always a hard lesson in life to learn… that life ends.
After we hugged for a while he asked if he could go be alone in his room. He then asked the sweetest question, so honest, “Is it okay if I am not okay for a while? I still feel sad”.
“Absolutely okay my boy”, I assured him.
For now Nia is very healthy looking so we will stick with her and when she goes we will debate trying ONE Beta or just two new goldfish again.
TTFN
The Sun Is Gone!
Christmas was a full day. We had all stretched our energy to the max by the time we where heading home from connecting with my side of the family that evening. We had just pulled away from my brothers home when my youngest piped up. “THE SUN IS GONE!” he spoke with earnest concern. We tried to ease his mind by explaining it would return come morning. He then asked who runs the sun. We explained God runs it, he he he. At that point my clever five year old daughter jumped into the conversation, “Hows he control it? With his hand or with a controller?” Between giggles we managed to share how he generally speaks things into being. He is that powerful that his very WORD makes something of nothing thus something happen. “I would like to control the sun,” she then added.
“And what would you do with it if you controlled it dear,” asked her Dad?
“Oh pretty much what God does with it,” she said matter of factly.
“If it works for him it must work of us I guess,” I chuckled in reply.
Indeed I am thankful for God’s control over it all. This is a broken world, but he knows that, lived through it when incarnate in Jesus Christ, and has and sees the very biggest of plans and reasons to it all. He holds the mysteries and we can only trust him as we haven’t his clarity on LIFE itself!
I have no idea where the kids little minds come up with this stuff but I know it all seems to fit in some way and this conversation really added to my Christmas.
Merry Christmas!
TTFN
Lovely Weather For A Sleigh Ride Together
Can you hear the sleigh bells jingling?
Ring ting tingling too?!
Pops and Grams (my husbands folks) where kind enough to let us know about their community winter day in the park, Sunday past. Oh what a grand opportunity to bask in Christmas feelings! A sleigh ride is a sure fire way to take me back and make me all sentimental.
We had neighbours, up north, who had two very strong (mid-sized) ponies to pull us on what we called hay rides; probably since there was a lot of straw involved. We often came home with it up our jackets and down our ski pants. Sleigh rides are so civil down south! There was only one boy who kept hopping off and on and he got ‘spoken to’.
(Garnet and I, our first photo together. Also our first Christmas holiday together.)
Back home we spent more time wrestling off and on the ride then sitting and looking around. It was one big brawl from start to finish. Mr Hillier only ever stopped the ponies if we fell so far behind that we couldn’t catch up, weighted down, as we where, by our snow gear. We laughed so hard and loved ever minute of it. I remember it was one of the first things I had to do with him, when Garnet and I where dating. My brothers took it upon themselves to immediately try to throw the city boy off. It took a lot of work, Garnet is a stubborn and big fellow. He was game right away though. I remember I got him worse then anyone else; he was hanging on by his hands at one point and I coyly unhinged his fingers till he rolled away, carrying my brother with him. My brother had been hanging on to Garnet’s foot trying to pull him off from that side. My boyfriend landed safely… on top of my brother… knocked the wind right out of him, it was all terribly funny!
Well the ride this Sunday was really genteel and sweet. We climbed up and sat orderly. The kids gushed about the horses and the ride. My sister and I broke out in ‘jingle bells’ with her daughter and my youngest boy at one point. All adding up to romantically Christmas-y memories to keep. It was such mild weather for this time of year and thus truly was ‘lovely weather for a sleigh ride together’.
My youngest pointed out the ‘horse’s bums’ and my second youngest thought they might not be real horses but was pleased when we told her they are. All four kids really enjoyed the hot chocolate served in the skating shed. We finished this romantic evening with coffee and soup at Grams and Pops house, just a couple blocks from all the fun.
I couldn’t help stealing glances at Garnet through it all, remembering our first sleigh ride together, up where I come from. I can get so enamoured with him still. Ahhh romance always adds to this time of year.
Wishing you a very merry Christmas!
TTFN
Autumn Walks and Bearded Dragons
(Yes this is a picture from last fall… with no camera I have to try to enjoy my favourite season without picture taking and so I have been looking through last years collection.)
Baby Boy, Riddick and I walked the big kids to the bus. As the bus pulled up my littlest guy yelled ‘LOOK a clue!’… he had been watching “Blue’s Clues” just this morning so I suppose he was still hunting down clues. It was so lovely that we walked slowly home kicking at leaves and talking about the wind… Baby Boy doesn’t like the wind… “Iz nice out Mama. Iz windy dow.”
We had to kick around at home for a while before going for our walk. We had decided to go to ‘Tumble Weed’, a thrift store just down our street, but it wouldn’t be open till ten and we where home by 8:30. When we did head out Riddick had to stay home so we could shop. My boy lead the way and so we took it very very very slow. I was such a well behaved Mama today and even pointed out possible distractions for him. “Look honey a big bunch of leaves! Throw them at me!”
Some how we still arrived at Sherbrook half an hour before the store was going to open!
Thank goodness for Bonny and Clyde! They are the residents bearded dragons and are still little and very social. They where watching my little man just as much as he was watching them. The lady who takes care of them noticed how nice Baby Boy was being and so showed him how she gives them a bath. “It is more of a shower,” she explained as she sprayed them down with a little spritzer bottle. They obviously thought it was cold as she blinked at her and tried to get away from the spray. She then set out their morning salad and we enjoyed watching their sticky tongues pop out and snatch food. She then got them to jump for us, a cute trick of theirs and petted them and carried them cradled in her hand. You could tell they just loved her, for as soon as her hand was in the pen they ran and climbed up her, even rubbing at her wrist almost like a cat or dog would. One of the few lizards awake during the day and even friendly when wild I could see why they where a popular pet. We decided we will have to come visit them again.
We did a little shopping and my little man found a noisy 50 cent truck while I was tickled over the two pretty tea cups I got (only a buck each). As we left Baby Boy thanked the volunteer at the store and said good bye to everyone we passed. He is a very friendly guy to all the residents there and we will have to pop in more often.
Walking home was just as slow but also just as lovely. Crisp fall air, beautiful colors and me and my boy holding hands meant I was in no hurry to get home. By the way we where home before eleven and so still have so much more loveliness, in this day, yet to come.
TTFN
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