Annabelle's Kindergarten Graduation...

Today was the last day of school for my beauty. I am so proud of her.

Annabelle has done so well this year and has really advanced herself. This year she made many great friends who will be going to school with her all through till grade 12. She also asked her Lord and Savior to be a part of her life this year and I am so glad for that.

Annabelle had a big year, a fun year and a year that she will probably never forget. I am so proud of her. Here are a few pics from her graduation celebration. They loaded up backwards. Oh well.

The God Of This City!

Charlene and I had a great time at the GTT (Geographical Training Time) in Prince George last weekend. We sang this song a lot which summarizes the main theme of the conference to me: Christians living out their gospel centered lives to actually affect the rest of mankind. Not the Jacuzzi Christianity or Vampire Christianity (only using Jesus for his blood) that we often see lived out. If you go to my church I strongly suggest you get the CD set of the sermons. Awesome!!!

Annabelle

Much better now. The prayers and medicine and liquid have done the trick. She is still not eating a lot but she is at least eating. She is not in pain from hunger anymore so I am very thankful. Thanks to Jenny and any others who prayed for Anna.

Why doesn't she just tell me???

It has been days since Annabelle has eaten anything substantial. I have been trying to get her to eat but she keeps choking and having to spit out her food. It has been so frustrating.

Yesterday she woke up with a headache and her legs were aching and she couldn't eat at all. I was getting so frustrated and then I asked her, "Well, does your throat hurt or something???" And sure enough, of course it did. But she went 3 days without informing me of this She was getting mighty hungry by this point.

Annabelle wanted to go to school but I got an appointment with the doc for about an hour later so I went and picked her up. Took her into the doctor and was relieved to hear that she just had a throat infection. Her throat was soar and swollen. That explains the choking on the food and having to spit it out. He said to just make sure she is drinking lots. Okay, I can do that, she has no problem drinking. I asked about the legs and head hurting and he said it is probably just that she is achy from the infection being in her system for quite a while already and to just have her rest. She is home from school today. I was going to send her but because she hadn't eaten in so long, she was very weak when she got up today. So weak she could hardly walk.

Annabelle has always had a little pop belly which I love to bits. It is now gone. She can't stand to loose a whole lot of weight as she is only 40 pounds and that is low for her age as it is. At breakfast this morning I thought that it would be a good idea to get a little food into her so I made her about 3 tablespoons of rice krispies (her favorite). She ate about 1 tablespoon worth and then she puked it all up. I asked her why she puked and she said that she choked and then it made her throw up. I felt so bad for her. All that was in her tummy was a little milk, that small amount of cereal and her medicine.

Why didn't she just tell me earlier?! She hates taking medicine. She hates it enough to say she is not sick when her fever is 40 degrees just to get out of taking Tylenol. Yes, the yummy chewable kids ones!!! Well, today for lunch she managed to get a banana into her tummy. I am so glad. She is not so achy now. And she has been drinking a lot today so I think she is on the mend. We have been praying much for her so she will be better soon. When you think about Annabelle today, please say a little pray for healing for her throat. Thanks!

Library and school

I headed to the library today with Joel which is always enjoyable. I wanted to mention to anyone who would like to check it out that there is a book sale going on. I picked up quite a few great kids books for my beauties for $3.00. Can't beat that price.

Joel got a letter today from his, soon to be kindergarten teacher. For anyone who wanted to sign their kids up to the 2009/2010 year of school they are having a special day for all the new kindergarten students coming up mid June so register soon so your kids can be a part. It is just one hour in the classroom to meet the teacher, have a snack, hear a story and play centers. I loved it with my other kids. It really gets them used to the idea of being in the school.

Okay, not feeling so well today so I am going to go and try to get rid of this headache. I don't get them very often so it makes me feel pretty bad. Hope everyone is having a marvelous day!

Faith like Potatoes

Anyone heard of it? Adam and I rented this new movie, Faith Like Potatoes last night and it was a really good one! I was pretty impressed by it. Only complaint was we had to turn on the English subtitles for some of it as the music seemed a bit loud and so the accents were hard to make out but that could be just for us. The acting was really great to the most part and the story is just awesome!

This story is based on a true story about a Scottish farmer in Zambia who relocates with his family to South Africa. They start from scratch to build up their farm. When you are done, watch the documentary. It is incredibly accurate to the man's story. This is a christian story line so when I looked at the comments from people, they either loved it or hated it. Anyone who commented who didn't seem to be christian seemed offended at the amount of God in the story. Everyone else loved it!

If you are heading down to the video store to rent a movie, think of picking this one up. It is worth the watch for sure!

A moment to spare

This week has been crazy busy!!! I had too many kids here but was watching a couple extras as their babysitter was out of town. It was okay but I was so worn out by last night that I fell asleep in the bath at about 11pm!!! God up this morning and it was a day of soccer. I think that there is not much cuter than seeing a bunch of 5-7 year olds playing soccer. They are so sweet and try so hard. Here is Joshua's team... he is next to the colourful goalie. He is doing so well and really likes his team and coach.

Annabelle proudly sporting her green timbits uniform. She is loving it even though she thought she wouldn't and she is doing really well and learning lots.

We went out last night fishing. Didn't catch anything but had a great time with family having a wiener roast and goodies by the fire. The kids always love playing in the sand and rocks. It was great. It makes me excited for the rest of summer and fall!

Adam and I just finished watching "Laugh your way to a Better Marriage" together. It was great. Very good stuff. And it was definitely great to have the comedy to break up the serious stuff!

Looks like it might be a beautiful day and the kids are begging to go to the park so I think that I better get some lunch on the go. Hope everyone is doing well. God bless!!!

I was reading and listening to Psalm 137 tonight and thought of this song instantly. Great song! Good thing they don't try to add the last verse into the song, that would be sad. lol

Still on night shift

Man do I get lonely when my love works the night hours. We had a wonderful day today, Adam slept and I visited my mom and then she watched the kids so Adam and I could go out fishing together. What a treat! It was cold and rainy but I don't mind as long as we are together out there. It was nice having all that time to talk. Headed for home, cleaned up and then my mom, Aunt Josephine, her hubby, and my Uncle and Grandfather all came over for a few hours. I made cookies and coffee and we had cake and chips and visited till now. I am tired!

Tomorrow I am teaching in Sunday school. I am excited about it although I didn't have a huge amount of time to plan it. I think it will be great anyway. I am going to talk about attitude. It should be good. I think we will have good discussion. I hope!

Been really slacking on my Tupperware stuff. I have been putting in parties but not working very hard at anything.

Got signed up to a course at the college for fall and I was actually accepted! I am so happy about it! It is an office technology course and I will be doing it correspondence mostly. That way I can be with the kids when needed.

Can't believe that Joel starts school in the fall and Joshua will be in grade 2! They are growing so fast and getting more and more well behaved as time marches on. I love them so much! Tonight is Joshua's night for a sleep over with mommy and he is so excited about it. Adam is at work all night so it is prime time to have sleep overs.

Well, don't really know why I wrote this except that I am bored. Don't have much to say, I guess I am bored and a little boring! Hope everyone is having a great May long weekend, even with the rain. God bless!

A day in the life

Sometimes I wonder where the time goes, then I remember. The days pass with very little excitement most times. Very little that one could say means anything. But yet each day has more meaning than the last and each mundane task of life begins to make more and more sense. As I wake every morning to make my beautiful children a nourishing breakfast and pack them lunch, then sit down and have a cup of tea before spending the rest of the day cooking and cleaning and caring for mine, and others children till the night hours have arrived again, I think about how wonderful it is! How much a miracle every part is.

Joshua came to me tonight just to snuggle and be held by me and I thought about how blessed I am that my 7 and a half year old boy shows so much love and still receives love with open arms.

Adam is on night shift so I told Annabelle she could have a sleep over with me and she acts as if she has won the lottery, because to them, my love is the world. I can't believe it even as I am typing but it is true that I can make or break a day in their life by caring for them right or just brushing them off.

Yesterday we went to Joshua's soccer practise and I watched as Adam and Joel kicked the soccer ball around. I wished in that moment that Adam never was too busy or had other things to do than be with us. I saw Joel just light up in adoration to his father and I realized that his love is their world too.

All our children have strong faith in a God who never fails so I trust that when we do fail then they will know that they can always fall on Him who is higher than us all and find rest under His wings.

Some days aren't really fair and I feel sad and people don't always come through the way I so wish that they would so I am learning the true need to lean on God alone and to let the rest go.

I realize that though I do very little in the worlds eyes, my days are filled with great things that far surpass the greatness I could find in prestige or popularity. My days are filled with instilling the love of God into my children by my example. Adam and I are trying to take more time for us and I hope that the kids will experience a true example of Christ's love for His church through our lives together. I have been making special effort to try to plan some dates, no matter how little or big for Adam and I just to enjoy each other. It is far too easy when concentrating on kids to forget the love that made the children. It is time to get back to that but most of all, to focus on our First Love to teach us the way that love is meant to be.

Just a few rambling thoughts for the night. I miss you already Adam and you have only been gone an hour and a half. I love you.

Zippermouth Creek

Took a new buddy, co-worker, Norm out fishing yesterday. We went to Zippermouth Creek. On my first cast this baby bit my line. About 15 minutes to land, what fun!!! Took over 5 minutes for the fish to revive. What a glorious feeling holding such a majestic creature and feeling him slowly gain back his strength. I've always laughed at the idea of going out and catching and releasing but yesterday was one of my best fishing days. I went to another spot after and got into a large Dolly and a steelhead!!! Psalm 3:3 :>)

Finally finished!

I hadn't had as much time for reading so this one took me a little longer. It was a great read! Not one that I would read again mind you. I love Frank Peretti's books but I have to have long breaks between them on account of... they freak me out!

This one was not as scary as some can be as it was quite normal till about 3/4 of the way through. I am not going to say much but as anyone who has read Peretti knows, it has a lot of the spiritual side of life in it. And the story itself was very interesting and hooked me pretty good.

The main character in the story was an ex pastor and I was very pleased at how he was portrayed and how he works through his struggles with God and church throughout the book. Very encouraging fiction life to read.

I am on to reading The Dream Giver for parents. I am really enjoying it, should be done soon.

By the way, if Tamara happens to read this blog, the book that you recommended, did you get it from the library? Hoping I can check it out soon.

Hope everyone is very well and enjoying the April showers. Don't forget, they DO bring May flowers!

It's only Friday... Sunday's coming...

More Than A Friend- Jeremy Riddle

This may be one of the most beautiful songs I have heard. Funny I don't remember putting it on my Ipod and it started playing on my walk to church. I love that Tim has played it at church since!

Smile of a Child

I have told a lot of people about this channel before and have thought many times of posting about it but never got around to it. Here is the link to this great 24 hours a day christian children's programming. It is wonderful! Sometimes the picture quality is not exceptional and sometimes there is no picture at all but when there is a picture the programming is great. Much better for the kids spirits than our much loved Kids CBC which, yes, our children watch often but I would rather this for sure!!! hope you all enjoy it. And it can be made full screen of course, just right click on the box.

Annabelle

I am so glad to report that the recovery from the surgery has been great. Today we took off the bandage and that went fine. We are supposed to take off the rest, I am not sure what it is called but I would say it is just like tape that acts like stitches, like butterfly stitches. Annabelle is very scared for this to come off. She doesn't want it at all. I feel so bad for her. Now she is walking funny because she doesn't want her dress to rub on the tape. She thinks it is going to hurt. It looks great though and I hope she will let me take the rest off soon. I don't want to push her too much as the rest of the whole surgery has been so possitive, I don't want to be the one who makes it hard. Again, I pray for peace for her.

One of my fave movies, and songs...

Glasses??

I went to the eye doc today because early this year I was having some serious dizziness and the doctor recommended an eye exam. Turned out that the dizziness was all because I had an inner ear infection and soon cleared up. But I had already made the eye appointment and thought that I might as well get checked out.

When I was around 16 years old I was told by an optometrist that I needed reading glasses. I got them and then found that my sight seemed more strained with them than without. So I wore them off and on for a couple years and stopped. But I have kept them just in case. I took them in with me today and the eye doc said that this prescription is quite off for my eyes now, but she can't say if it was proper so many years ago. I went through all the different tests and I was noticing that my left eye sure doesn't focus as quickly and I had to really strain on a lot of the tests because of that.

The outcome of the eye doctor visit is that I have pretty close to 20 20 vision but I am slightly far sighted which means I will have a hard time seeing things close up (reading, computer and such) and I have astigmatism in my left eye which means my eye is oval shaped. This I think was what will affect my night vision while driving, double vision which I often get when I am tired and cause me to tire very easily when I am watching movies or reading and such. This explains a little of why I have had to struggle to read for long periods of time. Otherwise my vision is good and my eyes are in good shape.

The optometrist says that I don't have to get glasses. I can live without them but as I get older she says that I will notice more and more the problems my eyes have. She recommends me to get glasses just to wear at night, in dim light and reading books or computers. I am going to call our medical plan through Adam's work and see how much we are covered for these things. Then if we are covered enough I will probably get them, even if Adam thinks I look like a nerd in glasses! ha ha When we tried out the prescription in the office I couldn't believe how everything came totally clear immediately instead of fuzzing and then coming clear. How "eye opening"! And I got my pupils dilated so it is very hard to see what I am typing.

Time well spend...

Remember way back when I finished Fireproof, the novel and said I would write about other books I finish as I do? Well, here I go. A little later than expected but...

The Dream Giver by Bruce Wilkinson

This one I got on cassette tape actually from www.christianbook.com because it was only $1.00 US price and I thought that since our car is from the ancient days of cassettes we may as well use it! I am going to get a hard copy of this book though because after hearing the whole thing I was so encouraged I would like to read it myself one day.

The start of it is written much like the Pilgrim's progress but with a man on a journey to his "big dream" instead of on his life journey with Christ. This big dream is given to him by the "dream giver" and is going to take much courage and perseverance to pursue. There will be many things that come in the way to try to deter him, even things that seem good but are not God's will. Then the second part is by the author about his big dream and how God helped him achieve it and brings new dreams the further he goes in the journey. I am not doing it justice here but I would recommend this book. It is a fairly easy read and is not extremely long.



One Tuesday Morning by Karen Kingsbury

This one was recommended to me by a good friend and I almost didn't read it because it is longer than a lot of books I feel I can read and get through. I am not a long time reader all though I LOVE to read now. I have not read large books and I am still working at making it through the bible. I know reading is a skill I want to grow in so that I can hopefully pass the passion on to my children and maybe they will be through large book, especially the bible before they are 28! I am glad I read this. It was a challenge because of the size but the content I really enjoyed. So on with the book.

This is a fiction story of course about two families both with husbands trapped in the world trade center disaster. I can't tell much or it will give away some vital information but it was a very emotional and interesting story. I couldn't put it down. I have to admit there were some areas in plot that were a little predictable at times but the overall story I never would have been able to guess. It also brought me right back to watching the disaster on TV while I was pregnant with Joshua and this time I really was able to comprehend what was happening, what happened and how many people were really lost to the world, the city, and to their families and friends.

This one I think I will see if the library has in. I don't know what you call it when there are just two books in a series but this is the second and final part anyway.
This is the book I am working on right now. I like Frank Peretti's work so I am enjoying this. I am only through the 5Th chapter and it is very thick so I will let you know when I finish.

The Visitation by Frank Peretti

I am not really a book report person so hopefully this isn't too boring for you all. Just thought that I would fill you in on a little piece of life these days.

Annabelle's surgery

Annabelle has finally had her belly button hernia fixed. She has had the hernia from birth and the doctors said that around the time of her starting school, if it hadn't fixed on it's own (which sometimes happens because it is only an under developed muscle I guess) then it would be time to do surgery. The hernias will only fix on their own till a child is about 6 years old and then they just get bigger. On adults, they just need operated on more quickly because they just don't repair themselves.

I had this same surgery after I gave birth to Joel. It was horribly painful for recovery. But the doc said it would be much better for Annabelle and sure enough it is.

Annabelle was so scared about the surgery and she was scared that something would go wrong. I told her that on the very odd occasion Jesus takes people home to heaven when they have these things done but that she would be fine because we had lots of people praying for her safety. She asked if she could let Jesus in her heart so she was sure she would be okay. I told her she definitely could and that Jesus would love to hear her pray a prayer. I asked her a few questions, if she understood that Jesus died on a cross for her sins and if she new what if meant to make Jesus Lord in her life. Then I explained these things in terms she could grasp and she prayed the sweetest and most sincere prayer to the Lord. Then she fell asleep and she slept so soundly.

Here is a picture of Annabelle before bed the night before the surgery. She was so cute in her new nightie and socks from my mom, just for wearing to the hospital.

6:45 am heading to the hospital. She was so tired!

Getting weighed at the hospital - 20kg

Hospital bracelets on

Blood pressure

And the "arm hugger"

This is the freezing cream under plastic bandage. But weirdly enough, they put her IV in her arm. But she doesn't remember any of it anyway.

Cute in her hospital gowns.

Then they gave her the "drink" which is really horribly tasting medicine and once they got it in her mouth they blew on her face hard so she would be forced to swallow and then she cried. This was the only time she was really upset. She hates medicine. The nurses told her she won the prize for taking the medicine and that she could have a sticker! She was happy again then.

Sitting waiting as the "drink" started kicking in. She was so cute. It makes them super sleepy and a little weird. We couldn't understand anything she was saying and she was singing a little. Then I prayed with her. She was so happy and at peace.

Waiting to go into the OR. Her one eye closed and the other didn't much. They said this was just a side affect of the sleepy stuff.

After the surgery. She was crying a little bit but it was because she was coming out of the anesthetic. She did so well and never thrashed or screamed or anything like some kids do. They warned us of all the things that can happen. She just whimpered a bit and then I told her she did really well and she said, "Is it all done??" She was so surprised and she said she didn't even know she went to sleep. It was so sweet.

We brought her a gift, this book and a new outfit. So cute and she loved the story, but doesn't remember hearing it.

Adam waiting with Annabelle for the doctor to come and let us go.

And she fell fast asleep.

Then the nurse took out her IV and the doc said she could go. He is a wonderful surgeon, same one who did mine and he is great with kids.

Daddy on the elevator, carrying his princess to the car.

And then at home, relaxing after breakfast with the treats she picked out and watching the movies we rented with her. The surgery started at 8am, was finished at 8:30 and we were home by 10:30 with Joel.

My friend Tye lee had taken Joshua for the night and Joel slept at his cousins house (thanks Rod and Berna!) all because Annabelle really wanted Daddy to be there as well as Mommy. I was so glad that Adam was able to come. Can't believe how God took care of Annabelle and today I am just trying to remind her that she still needs to rest. She just wants to be up playing all day! She is already feeling great.

Yesterday we had a few visitors as it was my birthday and people came with gifts for Annabelle and I. It was so nice. Annabelle's teacher is coming today to bring her a little gift too. She is so excited.