It Rained and it Poured!

You all know the saying, "When it rains, it pours." Well, that pretty much sums up our last few weeks in terms of interesting/exciting/new/terrible things happening around here: we've been endowed with a whole potluck of adventures. It all started with Ellie's first day of Kindergarten:

I'm still not sure who was more excited/nervous - me or her. I loved school so much as a kid I just wanted sneak in with her. She held (and still holds) my hand until the bell rang, but then she disappeared without so much as a glance backwards! And as she walked through those doors...I cried. I would have wailed if there weren't hundreds of students and parents all around me. I'm glad Rob was there. "Amateur!" was his solitary word of teasing comfort as he wrapped his arm around me. :)

Ellie came out those same doors that day BOUNCING with joy and continues to every day. I can hardly wait for my first volunteer shift.

Think they'll notice if I play dress up for a bit?

Well, the following week was Joshy's first day of preschool. Home-preschool-at-the-church, to be exact, but it makes no difference to him! Here's how he felt about it:

So this year we have a group of 6 moms, 6 preschoolers, and 5 babies at the church. We've decorated one small room all bright and preschool-like and so far both us and the kids are loving it! Josh tends to sit front and centre and eat up every bit of information he can. I absolutely LOVE this alternative to regular preschool (not that I have any beefs with regular preschool!)...and it's way less stressful than homeschooling the older grades. It's a perfect fit for where we're at right now as a family.

Their first day heading off together:

Well shortly thereafter, the moment Ellie had been anxiously longing for finally arrived:

she lost her first tooth!...

...and showed/told anyone and everyone who would listen. She kept asking, "So, will you be my tooth fairy tonight, Mommy?" and I told her "Yup! As long as I remember!"

And...I forgot.

She was very gracious.

The next night I remembered, and she bought a little toy pony with her prize money.  

At the same time as Ellie entered the world of losing teeth, Micah was hardcore in the world of growing teeth...so I thought.

Grumpy, miserable, and feverish for 5 days, I finally took him to the doctor!

 Only to find out that he actually had tonsillitis. Whoops! Sorry Micah!

He turned into a brand new kid the very next day.

Speaking of the next day, Josh woke up the next day with a fever...so I jumped right on it and brought him to the walk-in before it closed for the weekend. Strep throat for him! I don't think it affected him too badly, however, because we caught it so soon. Plus he's a super trooper when sick. More on this later.

Well, during this same week Ellie had her very first ever music lesson! We've enrolled her in a program called 'Music for Young Children' that's already blowing my mind - it's a genius program! And this time, I DO get to go with for the whole hour!
Our only problem that week was that we didn't have a proper keyboard at home for Ellie to practice on. Her and I prayed about it.

That evening on our local classifieds I found an ad for a used, upright (beautiful!) old piano...for a steal of a deal -the same price as a good keyboard! Rob and I prayed that if it was an unwise investment, God would slam the door in our faces (someone else would buy it, etc.).  But He didn't. The next evening our very musical friend Nyk came with us to see the piano, sat down to play and whispered, "Oh...I like it!"

And that settled that. Totally unexpectedly, we bought....

 Here's my main man, impersonating a...travelling serenader?

So anxious to see their new treasure!

 Love these kids. I wonder if they'll love music? I hope so. I've begun to play again in the evenings and it feels sooo good to stretch out my un-practiced fingers!

 Trying it out...there was no way there was turn-taking at first!

 I love this look on Ellie's face...like something inside her just came to life.

She really loves practicing...so far. :)

Well, the glory of that moment lasted about an hour.

While waiting for his turn at the piano, Josh (for whatever reason) decided to jump on/off the couch, slipped, and slammed face-first onto the corner of our coffee table. Blood pooled out of his mouth and nose as we ran to the kitchen sink, where it just GUSHED for a long time. When it slowed down a bit we were able to see that his lip was split open on the bottom, BIT open on the top (of the bottom lip), his teeth were pushed backwards, and his frenulum was ripped (might have to google that one). It was so nasty. My whole body ached as I saw the agony he was in.

Rob ran him over to the hospital (about a one and a half minute walk) while I waited for my mom to show up to watch the other two. By the time I got to the emergency room he was almost asleep on Rob's lap.

Then the evil doctors came!

Okay, they weren't entirely evil...but what they did was!

They wrapped Josh up in a sheet (smart move - he's a fighter) and sewed him up while I paced the hallways, praying. Praise Jesus for a tough husband, because boy did Josh scream! A nice man about my dad's age saw me and smiled a kind smile. "Is that your kid (screaming)?"

"First time we've had stitches," was my reply. He nodded, knowingly, and kindly kept me preoccupied with his stories until the doctors were done. They were quite pumped about 'how well it came together'. I was pumped that Josh wasn't being tortured anymore. 

After that, Josh was a complete trooper. We tried taking him to McDonalds for some ice-cream for supper, thinking it would feel good...but he couldn't eat it (the temperature was too extreme). So for the rest of the week Josh existed on pudding, yogourt, fruit purees, and oatmeal. But especially pudding. :)

He seldom complained...unless he got bumped in the mouth, in which case he'd often start to bleed again. Poor guy. What a mess. On Friday he got the stitches out by our (much friendlier) family doctor - didn't cry this time - and it's all healing nicely. His teeth are a bit crooked and higher up than they used to be, and we'll have to get them checked by a dentist, but his regular huge old Josh smile is back, which brings me so much joy!! 

(An added blessing in all this was that Josh was on antibiotics for his strep throat, so we didn't need to worry about infection setting in!)

When we got back from the hospital that night, Micah decided it was a good time to learn to walk.

All on his own. 

With no encouragement from anyone.

That makes him my fastest walker at 15 3/4 months. :)

All he does is practice, all day long, pointing to everything he sees and asking, "Uh Daaaaaaa?" (what's that?) in a sing song voice. Cute, until he says it while he pokes your glasses as hard as he can with a twinkle in his eye, knowing he's being BAD. And does it repeatedly.

He also decided, perhaps in lieu of Joshy's temporarily missing smile, to start seeing 'Eeeeee!' (for cheese) when I take a picture of him. A camera-loving mom's delight!

 Right after all this Rob's brother Tom came for an excellent visit (no photos of this uploaded yet)...and the night before he was to leave (which was last night) everyone started puking. 

Josh took the 11:30pm - 2:30am puke shift (was a total super trooper). Rob took the 12:00am till 12:30pm (this afternoon! poor guy) puke shift. And Ellie took the 2:45am-6:30am shift. I'm super thankful I went to bed at 10pm and got 1.5 hours of sleep in before it all began! The sickies all stayed on their respective couches all day long. Micah fussed and burped a lot. I'm hoping that was his version of the flu. Really really hoping! 

So that's all for now, and in closing, I will leave you with two pictures from less adventurous times that make me really happy to go through hills and valleys with these kids of mine. Here's Micah, finishing off the summer with a good, wholesome, mouthful of dirt:

And the other two, who...well, I'm not exactly sure what they were that day.

Except pretty great and wonderful. 

Blog on hold!

Micah's teething like never before...

...so everything that isn't a necessity is waiting.

See you when the eyeteeth cut!

A Tinker Town Day

The leaves on the tree outside my window now have yellow edges, so I figure I had better get on posting some of our summer photos before summer is over. This post is more for myself than anyone else. Because I don't print photos (there are too many!) - this blog ends up acting as our virtual photo album. In case you want to peek anyways, here are some (unedited...didn't have time) photos of a SUPERB day we had at Tinkertown in July. We left Micah elsewhere and got the kids all-day bracelets for the first time...so they had the freedom to go on the Merry-Go-Round a kazillion times if they chose to.

Which of course, they did. 

Here's Rob, husband/father/leader extraordinaire...proving his dad-ness by waiting in line to unload a truckload of cash just so we could make ourselves dizzy and sick. What a great sport. 

How Ellie and Josh felt about what was to come:

They were in fact, rather affectionate all day.
Special events seem to make them want to hold hands and stuff:

 The train ride that always looks more fun than it actually is:

I'm not sure who or what they are supposed to shoot!? At least they're not aimed at each other. That's right kids - you cover each others backs!!

Waiting in line for the bumper cars. I waited and zoned out. Apparently Ellie waited and zoned in. By the time we got close to our turn she said, "Mom let's choose purple car number 13. Purple number 6 isn't working that well." That or the 6 year old driving it by herself simply couldn't reach the gas pedal...

Since I have nothing to say about his giant blue lady bug, I'll use this as an opportunity to report that this girl got her first loose tooth yesterday! I admit my stomach dropped when I felt it wiggle. I suppose she really is going to grow up, after all.

They went twice. I went once. I like the ferris wheel in theory much more than in actuality.

Ride number 1 of kazillion...it's really all about picking a cool horse. 

I hope the poor teenager placed in charge of running this ride...

...had earplugs!!

Our short-legged, tall-torsoed children:

Is it just me, or is she thinking that in 10.5 extremely short years

she ain't going to be pretending anymore?

Not so sure about the start of the roller coaster. He ended up loving it!

"To kick her, or not to kick her...?"

And that smile, ladies and gentlemen, pretty much sums up our day:

Highlight of the trip: Rob and I convinced the kids to ride the big ship ride with us. You know, the one that swings back and forth? We told them that if we sat in the middle 'we'd hardly feel it moving'. HA! Rob and I scream-laughed the entire time while trying desperately to keep our kids from flying off the ride, and I was heard shouting, "WHAT WERE WE THINKINGGGGG????" while the kids just buried their heads in our laps and waited for it to be over. 

Surprisingly, they still trust us.

The Tire Park

The tire park is, you know, alright if it's just us and the kids.

The tire park is extraordinary if

BAPA

comes along!! 

Check it out:

 Bapa and Ellie went straight for the zip line. His enthusiasm was
so contagious she went for it.

 How good bravery feels!

Cousins! Ellie chose to wear all black this day so her 'pretty clothes' wouldn't get ruined.

That apple fell RIGHT under the tree. :)

Micah in a nutshell: dirty feet and a stick in hand.

Bapa's lap - a little (cozy) piece of heaven on earth. 

My mom and I were stunned when we realized my post-heart-surgery-should-really-take-it-easy dad was showing off his old tricks.

This is how much he enjoys getting my mom's pants tied in a knot.

One of my favourite kids of all time...my nephew Drew.

 Bapa also happens to be king of the under-duck.

These two are a gift to each other! 

 Wha...Bapa...whatchu doin' up there!?!? I'm calling your Doctor.

Nana's camera never left her hands, either! 

I love counting those freckles at bedtime. 

When I'm done she always says, "Oh SHOOT. Yesterday I only had 7." 

The Cousin Tree.

(Micah loved this.) 

And lastly...my favourite picture. Two of my 4 favourite guys.

(*Note to self and others: If your time at the tire park is kind of ho-hum, perhaps you

haven't gone with the right person.)

The Most Expensive Lemonade in Town

As most of you already know, Ellie had a lemonade stand yesterday.

She raised a little over $1100.00 in one afternoon, and some money is still trickling in.

My heart is still pounding in amazement, so I thought I'd write the story of how this all came to be.

I'd been asking the Lord recently to break my heart for the things that are important to Him. If one reads the Bible one quickly realizes that His heart is completely for the broken, the hungry, the poor, the orphans, the widows...and more. Within a couple days of praying for this, the drought in Somalia was declared an all-out famine, and I could not get it off my heart. Looking at photos online would always bring me to tears as I felt some of the calluses from living in a wealthy country fall off my heart.

One night before bed I asked Ellie what she wanted to pray about. She gave me her usual answer, "I dunno."

So I decided to tell her a story instead. I told her -  at her level - about the famine, and all the kids that were quickly becoming sick, and even dying. I told her about the crop failure and the death of animals and how without a miracle, this was not going to be a happy ending.

Ellie SHOT straight up in bed and said, "I know. I got it!" And with arms flailing in exclamation she told me of her plan. "Let's cook up all our food and send it to the kids so they won't be hungry anymore. Then let's gather all the toys that we don't use -but still like - and then they'll have things to play with again." Secretly amazed at how this sparked something inside of her, I hugged her and explained why that was a great idea but wouldn't work. And then I remembered Ellie's desire to have a lemonade stand one day. When I suggested we have one and give all the money to Somalia, she was ON BOARD.

The day of the lemonade stand could not come soon enough!

In the meantime, Ellie knew what to pray about. She prayed for manna to fall from heaven (like in the Bible) and for rain on their crops. She prayed for every miracle she could think of. And Josh prayed for 'chocolate milk, apple juice, orange juice and regular milk' for the kids. One day at breakfast he prayed, "I pray for Somalia that they wouldn't have fat tummies anymore (from malnutrition) and that they would have breakfast, dinner and lunch. Amen."

I was stunned and excited as I realized that telling my kids about some of the hard things in the world around them automatically caused SOMETHING to come to life inside of them because

I was telling them about the things that are

actually important to God.

(I wish I were a faster learner.)

So yesterday was the lemonade stand. I sent out a Facebook invitation to all the friends I had on my list that lived in or close to our town. Rob prayed with Ellie that Jesus would accomplish everything He wanted to and that we would end up making a SURPRISING amount of money to give to Somalia.

We were so blown away. Our first customer, a five year old boy from church, brought his entire piggy bank. He'd been asking God if he could help the poor and who should he give to? Then he heard about the lemonade stand and had his answer.

His dad sent $300 along with the family. He didn't even get a cup of lemonade.

Some brought 25 cents, some brought a loonie...most brought $5, $10, or $20 for one cup of lemonade. 

One person quietly snuck in a $100 bill.

"The best lemonade in town", they called it.

Giving tastes so good. :)

Rob and I couldn't believe it when the margerine container was so full people were having trouble squishing their dollar bills in. Ellie kept telling me, "Somalia is going to be RICH, Mom!" And I thought, "I feel like the richest lady in town right now."

By the end of the day we were all suffering from lemonade comas and borderline heat stroke and were supremely thankful for God's faithfulness. 

So last week Ellie woke up from a nightmare that "Indians" (whom she had seen on an old Mickey Mouse cartoon) had been attacking Rob. I told her that "Indians" were not called "Indians" anymore, but "Aboriginal people" or "First Nations people" and explained to her some of the oppression that many of them are still living under. 

She SAT up in my lap and said, "I'm going to draw them some pictures. Can we go see them?"

We just might, Ellie! We just might!

In the meantime, we've got something worth praying about.

p.s. Please consider giving to a charity that is supporting the famine in Somalia if you haven't already. If in doubt, GOOGLE 'East Africa Crisis' and look at some of the pictures. :)

The Lighter Side of Things

 I have an overwhelming amount of 'summer fun' type photos that I'd like to post for my in-laws' sakes :) but the key word there is OVERWHELMING. So while I work up the courage to jump into that project, let me divert your attention to...

the Lighter Side of Things.

We were driving to Superstore one day when Rob asked me a question about the pharmacy drive-through. No clue what it was, but my answer to him was, "I don't have a hot clue."

Rob, "Do you have a cold clue?"

Josh, "I had a cold flu!"

Ellie, "No you DIDN'T! You never threw up!"

Josh, "YES I did! When I was cleaning up the elf!" (Josh smashed a $1 garden gnome to bits and pieces when we weren't looking, and had to clean up all the pieces after, crying the whole time. No puke though.)

Me, "What did you throw up?"

Ellie, "I think he means he had a tenter tamptrun. Tenter tamptrun... tenter..." (looks confused as she tries to explain he threw (up) a temper tantrum).

Josh, "Yeah, because I was upset."

Puking a tantrum in the middle of a cold flu. GOT IT. :)

Even though Micah has already uttered his first words, Ellie and Josh continue to be enthusiastic about all his 'other' first words. For instance,

Micah, in his carseat, "A da da da da da."

Joshy, from the back seat, "MOMMY!!! Mommy! Micah's first words are 'GOD IS FAITHFULNESS!'"

Wow. Smart baby.

What happens when Micah gets left alone in a room with his sister.

 I threw together a casserole one evening that ended up having pasta, chicken, broccoli and oregano (among other things). While we were eating Ellie said, "We should name this casserole."

Rob, "How about broc-egano casserole?"

Josh: "How about EYEBALL SPLASH!"

And the winning name is...(drum roll please)...EYEBALL SPLASH! 

 Josh has appointed himself Ellie's hero lately. She likes to pretend she's falling off one of our swings (with great gusto and drama) and Josh puffs out his chest (seriously) and sprints to stop the swing for her. It makes me giggle every time. (If you compliment him on a job well done he waves his hand and says, "It was noffing, really."

Well, one day Ellie comes down the stairs from her room and again, with eyes wide and voice full of expression she declares, "Mommy. JOSHY is SO BRAVE. He just killed a spider on my wall." Josh comes running in behind her, and in his lowest voice and a forced scowl on his face he gravely agrees, "YEAH. I SAVED her LIFE. I'm a  HERO."

You go, Joshy!

 Josh started panicking the other day when trying to catch up with Ellie, who had already run into the backyard to play. Looking for his sandals he huffed, "Mommy, I can't find my other flip."

Me: "You've got your flop, then?"

Josh: "No, I've actually got my FLIP but I can't find my FLOP anywhere!"

And lastly, I'll leave you with a good 'ol leg-slapping joke, written by Josh himself:

Q: "Why did the lip jump over the eyelash?

A: "To JOIN THE BAND!"

(Bet ya didn't see that one coming!)

Hope you're all enjoying your summer!!