Gettin' some morning lovin's

i love how he doesn't take his eyes off me... like 'am i safe, mommy?'

Gagey's new underpants :) Thirsties covers & premium prefolds. They will be paid off after about 400 diaper changes! Yowzahhhh!

But, c'mon, is there anything cuter than a baby in cloth?

Hee hee... i love this expression...

mmmm... Cai took a pic of lunch time when i wasn't expecting it, but it's kind of cute for posterity... There's just a little piece that needs a receiving blanket! ho ho ho!!

Gage, the sweetest, happiest little baby ever.

dj cool&fresh... umm... that doesn't sound cool... substitute your own cool rapper name for my little cutie. The girls took this & think it's funny.

"momma!! Take my picture!! i'm the princess of Cutieland!!" haha.. Modesty from her daddy.

Oh ~ summer has arrived. She was so shy, i thought she'd never come, but she's here & beautiful.

Today we went to the beach & got some sun. i'm lovin' family time lately. The kids are such a crazy wide age range ~ & there's always something interesting happening, or extra arms to hold the baby, or someone to visit with.

We sculpted the sand into a bumbo for Gage & put his towel over it so he wouldn't fall & he did great. (He's sitting up now (!) but he still topples when he's reaching for his little toes to chew on).

Oh! i was also going to update on his little foot. We had our ped appointment & all went well. The ped was excellent. He confirmed that Gage does have metatarsus adductus & likely will need some form of correction, but we'll need x-rays & to see an orthopedic surgeon before we know exactly what will happen. For now, we're doing stretches with his foot, trying to help it correct a little... we'll see.

My eyes are a little bleary from last night ~ Gage woke at 3am for the day... just visiting, cooing, squealing & wiggling. *Ahhhh* even the tough parts of this job ~ like being deprived of sleep ~ are sweet. Sometimes i wonder if this gratitude will wear off a little. Somehow, i doubt it.

So, a friend came to see me today. We were supposed to go to the lake today, but it was so rainy, i emailed her & said 'c'mon over' instead. So, she came. She has 2 kiddos ~ one a boy who Charter thinks is the coolest ~ & despite being a couple of years older than Charter, plays so nicely with my little guy ~ & a teeny tiny little girl who is 3 and a half? months older than Gage & about 2 and a half pounds lighter.
Anyway, i decided if i vacuumed my stairs by the time she got here, i was *awesome* ~ so, i'm awesome! Ha! (i also did 4 loads of laundry & a miscellaneous list of chores that are always needing to get done, but it would be too tedious to type them out ~ but i digress...)
So, back to my friend. She arrived with a burst of *energy* through the door. She had brought a few tidbits from her pantry that she didn't think they'd use & thought we might, a birthday present for Charter, diapers for Gage, a teething soother for Gage, & was full of upbeat, positive conversation for an hour & a half & then was gone. She's always so well put-together & her house is so sweetly tended & immaculate & she's beyond creative in inventing new ways to be generous. She's a giver.
i love seeing how people 'wear' their Chrisitanity. i really believe that as we press into the Father, it will become more natural to choose to act like Him. My friend was such a great example to me today.

bahhhh... i haven't posted for 5 days... but it's *still* raining... i feel like it's been raining forever... & all i can think about are the mosquitoes.
i don't usually get blue, but i am.
i should probably just shut up when i feel like this, but...
i could tell you all about what's right with the world:
When Neil was gone, i was *spent* on Sunday, so when i got home from church, i crawled into bed ~ didn't make lunch or anything ~ just put on my jammies & climbed in with Gage & Cai. We watched "So You Think You Can Dance" (hee hee!!) & visited & played with the baby. During commercials, i went & made a lasagne (i already had the meat cooked in the fridge) & then at around 3 pm we had 'lupper' :) of lasagne, garlic buns & salad. That night, Cai crawled into bed with me again & we visited till way past her bedtime & i realized what great company she is. She's bright, cheerful, funny, insightful, kind & a kindred spirit.
Then, today, a rainy, cold, uninspiring day, Peyton found me on the couch nursing the baby & we worked on some of her school stuff that she's not done yet... It was so refreshing & fun to just work with her one on one & watch her breeze through the stuff that she just wasn't ready for a couple of months ago. Since it went so well, Charter came & found me with his reading (he's doing so well!) & then Sloanie, with her spelling... we ended up getting a lot done.
Even little mollen got a little 'mom & me' time ~ dragged her blanket down & put it over our knees for a little snuggle time.
Tonight, i *finally* made Charter's birthday cake & he asked what was to drink & i said, "water" & he said, "OH, GREAT, MOM!! I LOVE WATER!!" (yes, he does talk all in caps...)
So, why am i blue...
i dunno...
Maybe it's the rain, the price of gas & the driving we've already committed to this summer, the fact that i live so far from my family, that i missed my husband last week & i still haven't recovered...
Really, tho, i should be ashamed of myself. My blessings are beyond comprehension... i'm surrounded by people i love & who amazingly, love me. Summer is here... just shy... & money is just money...
There's a psalm going through my head... don't know if i can remember the whole thing. i'll give you a nickel if you know the reference...

i will acclaim His majesty,
Shout for joy,
Give glory
Exalt the name of the Lord, Glory to the righteous one.

Kinda gives me a better perspective. Gratitude, Praise, Joy... here i come.

My sister jess is coming to visit me today!!
Yippee!!
Neil is away in Kelowna & we had thought of going with him, but decided against it when we discovered we wouldn't have a vehicle, so we'd be in Neil's parents hair all weekend.
i just *wish* we'd have some nicer weather. Spring was so long in coming & now we're still waiting for a nice long string of warm days. Today is supposed to be pretty decent, but the rest of the forecast for the week is calling for rain.
Anyway, i've done no cleaning for jess... i should go tidy at least a little. & the kiddos are asking for another chapter of our read aloud (the Anne of Green Gables prequel).
p

So, we're back from our big "gig"!
We went to the homeschool convention in Sexsmith where me & my crew played for their 'Welcome Cafe'. They did so well & i'm so glad we went. It was so nice to go back & see a lot of our friends & remember what a great time we had for those years we lived there. i feel pretty blessed to have lived in Sexsmith when i started my homeschooling journey. i totally didn't think that i was a fit for a homeschooling mama, & yet i just didn't have peace about sending my little girl to public school. ~ It was obvious that homeschool was a fit for her, even if i thought it wasn't for me. Lucky for me, Sexsmith was full of other homeschooling mamas, who encouraged me to give it a go. Within the first couple of months, i was in love with the whole lifestyle & was watching my shy little girl come out of her shell & bloom into this confident, smart kid. Now, here we are... Cai's going into grade 7 next year... "jr. high"... & i feel like in a sense, i've blossomed too ~ into a more confident homeschooling mama. i'll have 4 kiddos officially "in school" next year ~ grades 7, 5, 3 & 1 & i know without a doubt that home is where we need to be next year. Neil & i are always saying that we just take it one year at a time ~ deciding what to do with our children's education ~ but as i'm coming up to the halfway mark with my firstborn, i can see us choosing to keep her at home till the end. i've seen so much good fruit keeping them home & to be honest ~ i really enjoy having them around. They make me laugh ~ they help with the chores, laundry, vacuuming, dishes, babies... i love that their strongest relationships are with each other ~ i can catch bad habits, or disrespect before they become strongholds in their lives.
i know homeschool isn't a great fit for everyone ~ but i'm really glad it has been for us.

A while ago, i wrote a song about motherhood & i sang it at the convention. i see my roll as a mama as a part of the work that God created me for. & i felt myself 'born into' that work during the months of my pregnancy & during my first labour & delivery... & that's where this song came from:

For All That You Created Me
i held her all day long
she smiled at me ~ i sang her a song,
She looked inside my soul
& saw i'd been reborn.

For all that you created me
For all that you created me
For all that you created me,
i'm yours.

In me, i let her grow
protected her from this cruel world
so many in danger there
Lord, listen to my prayer,

For all that you created me
For all that you created me
For all that you created me,
i'm yours.


To bring you glory, Lord
is my highest calling, my greatest goal
To serve you here & now ~
in this home, i sing my song...

For all that you created me
For all that you created me
For all that you created me,
i'm yours