Thankful Thursday

Welcome back to Thankful Thursday, a feature started by Louise at Talk Nerdy to Me, where we look back over our week and remember our blessings.  It is so good to see all that has happened, especially if you have had a particularly tough week. Being grateful is good for the soul. Here are just a few things that I am thankful for...

1. Pretty Nails

Eden found some nail polish and I relented and let her paint her nails. I know. *cringe*  And then I let her paint my nails too. *twitch twitch*  She got it all over my fingers and it makes my cuticles look even worse, but she was pleased with herself. So we showed off our fingers to everyone and we ooh'ed at how sparkly they were and it was fun!

Don't be jealous.

2. fort building

The Youngers are getting good at fort building in our house. I love memories like these!

3. this girl

seriously.  How did I get so lucky?

Happy 14th birthday, Abi!


4. oh Christmas tree

I love our family tradition of going to a tree farm (support local!) and finding our own special tree!  I grew up with a fake one that we pulled out each year on the 3rd of December, which I love and miss that family tradition, but I love that my own family can have their own.  I'm thankful that it wasn't that cold this year for our outing!

 {group hug for our fave tree!}

5.  strength and covering

I was suddenly thrust into the role of leading the whole morning with my children's group as my co-leader wasn't able to come, which made me a bit nervous, but mostly confident. And let me tell you that I wouldn't have that confidence if it weren't for the Holy Spirit. It's one thing to have the talent to lead a group of kids, but it's another to have no worries as you rest in the fact that it's His words that are being said.  I am so thankful that even though the kids were restless more than usual, the morning went really well. I had energy and spirit and Joy!

6. new-to-her princess dresses

Eden found a bunch of old dresses that Abi used to wear (and make her brothers wear too, come to think of it!) They're still a bit big on her, but she is so excited!

I let her wear one to bed, along with her new "hair pretty" and she giggled while being tucked in, saying, "Mama, I'm in love with you!"  She melts me.

7.  beautiful voices in harmony

I'm not too sure if you can tell or not, but I love music! :)  I love choirs. I love orchestras. I just love beautiful harmonies and lyrics. My heart was so lifted this week to hear a bit of Abi and the high school choir practicing after school. I am thankful that we are created to sing.

8. sudden visits to my parents

I am so thankful that I have been able to just suddenly go with my sister this week to visit my parents while my Opa was in the hospital. We don't live near our extended family (they are in Ontario), and so it's been difficult, but we have eachother. I am thankful for tea, tears, laughter, and comfort.

9. Crafty Affaire

The girls and I had a morning outing which started with a walk around the Crafty Affaire market in White Rock (support local!) and ended with lunch together. And, yet again, I meant to take photos but forgot to. Oops. You'll have to trust me that it was a fun time. It helped that I won tickets for entry through Instagram! yay go me! (I won last year too, but wasn't able to attend as it fell on the same day as Kai's bday party.)

10.  almost meetings

I am thankful for laughter and being silly. I was walking through the grocery store with my husband when I saw anther man I recognized. We had already had a strange day of many coincidental meetings with people we knew, so I thought it was another friend. That is until I realized I recognized this man through his wife's blog that I read often! I suppose I could've said Hi when I saw the whole family, but I thought it may be strange since they didn't really know me, but now I'm realizing that was silly and I should've! Maybe we'll have another chance encounter....now that I know where she shops! *wink*


So that's my week (or two) in a nutshell. How about you? What are you thankful for?   

Thankful Thursday

Welcome back to Thankful Thursday, a feature started by Louise at Talk Nerdy to Me, where we look back over our week and remember our blessings.  It is so good to see all that has happened, especially if you have had a particularly tough week. Being grateful is good for the soul. Here are just a few things that I am thankful for...


1. Everyone loves Eden

 Sometimes this girl is so ridiculously cute.

I was snuggling with Eden when she tells me that she loves me. I respond that I love her too and add that God loves her and holds her in His hands. She tosses her hair confidently and sighs, "I know. Everyone loves me!"

I am thankful for her spunky and fun personality. I am also thankful that she does not seem to have any problems with self esteem! :)

2. Rhys being helpful (and truthful sisters)

As I'm sweeping the floors, Rhys starts to pick up the Lego and says, " Mom, what I'm doing is Helping." I smile and say, "yes, thank you, Rhys." Then Eden pipes up from the couch she's laying on, "What I'm doing is Not Helping!" I just shake my head.

I am thankful for my sweet little helper. ...and my silly girl.


3. new buddies

We had friends over for dinner and Rhys made a new friend in their oldest daughter, who is in gr 10. She was so sweet and even played Lego with him. She is now his favourite!

I am so thankful for this family of friends who shared a meal with us. I am thankful for this girl who didn't have to spend time with my boy, who is half her age, but she chose to on her own. I love it when people show compassion and interest and attention to my children!

4. B cross country

Bryn joined the Cross Country team at school this year! I'm so impressed with him! He loves to run, so this fits, but it's just incredible for me to think of! After all, his father and I aren't runners (I hated PE class!) and his two older siblings tried to avoid things like this too (having asthma does put a damper on things though), so to have a child who actually loves to run and wants to do it for an extra curricular event is crazy!  I am so proud of him!

The Cross Country team consists of gr 4-6 students in our school and they had been running every week this month, finishing off with the big Christian School Bear Creek Run. (several local schools meet together at Bear Creek Park for a huge race between the grades. I hated going as a kid! haha) 

I love that this boy was excited about this event! I'm sad that I missed the big run in the end though, but hopefully next year I can cheer him on in person.

5. surpassing goals and fun teachers

This year, the elementary school made a goal of raising $2000 for the annual Terry Fox run. If the students made the goal, the vice principal Mr V would get duct taped to the wall. If they made over $2000, the principal Mrs D would be added.  In the end, they raised over $2300, so not only were the two teachers duct taped, but the lovely teacher librarian Mrs dG volunteered as well! What a fun group of leaders we have at the school!

 I loved that the teachers made this fun! I love that the kids were so excited too!


6. Optimistically Hopeful

Okay, I'll be totally honest here: the recent elections results in Canada this week were not what I was expecting or hoping for. But after the shock and fear wore off, I decided to be positive about it and change my thinking. So for now, I am remaining Cautiously Optimistic. Sometimes change is good.

7. Good Laughs

Laughter is good medicine. When I read this, I had to share it!

In case you don't get it, it references the song Safety Dance by Men Without Hats, a great 80's tune I love!

It's been a crazy busy two months here and some of it where I just got through by laughter, a few moments to catch my breath and lots of prayer! I am so thankful for those things!

8. Friendships and opportunities

We drive home two school friends of Abi and Rhys' (who happen to be siblings as well) twice a week and so that's been making things a bit busier and carries it's own set of struggles, but I am so thankful for this opportunity to not only build up the friendship between Rhys and this boy, but also the chance for us as a family to offer help selflessly to a family who needs it. We have been blessed in so many ways! How hard is it for us to just offer a blessing to another?

9. Late Start Friday

Seriously, our school starts late every Friday, which means that we get to sleep in an extra half hour! What's not to like? I am very thankful for Fridays!

10. New Friends

Both of my older boys made new friends this year...whether it was with a new student to the school or just a new-er one (new the year before but hadn't known our family before).... and it's been so great to see them extend themselves and create new friendships. I am thankful that they have been able to spend time with new friends and that it has worked out with get togethers. 


This is just a brief list even though I have so much to be thankful for. It's been a busy Fall so far with so many  new things going on. Our family is still adjusting, but hopefully soon we'll feel more relaxed and find time again for our usual things. (like my TT lists)

What about you?  If things have been incredibly different, or stressful, or busy lately, take a few moments and just start a list of things that you are thankful for right now. It's amazing how freeing it is! It changes your perspective just a bit and turns that stress into moments of peace.

Adventure Park

It was all because I saw a friend post the question on FB. She wanted to know of some fun and easy places to check out with her son since they were going into Children's Hospital and wanted to make a day of it. It made me stop and consider. I go into BCCH often enough, but I tend to go, get the appointment done, and head home. Get in, get done, get out, get home! But what if this time, I actually planned to make it worth while also? We were going down there for an appointment for Kai's Holter Monitor and that would only take half an hour, and I would have all of the kids with me, so why not make it fun?

I thought of Granville Island and then considered Steveston, but someone said they may not be very fun for kids. Just a lot of walking and stores. H'mm... maybe they were right. It's not like I was planning on buying things. The boys would get restless fast. But Once Upon A Time was filming again; maybe it would work out to see some of it in Steveston! (I was being hopeful for a fangirl moment!)

My sister in law mentioned the Terra Nova Adventure Park in Richmond instead. I'd seen the pictures before of her afternoon there and thought it sounded like fun, so I gratefully accepted her idea and printed out directions! There are the typical swings and slides, and spinning cups, but there is also a water feature (although the water wasn't on due to restrictions) and a rope obstacle course. Most cool was the tandem zipline and the 10m tall "tree house" with 4 platforms and slide, and the twisting slide build into the hill!

We arrived around noon, with a lunch, and didn't find it too busy. There were lots of people there, plus a birthday party and a daycamp group, but I didn't think it was too crowded for the kids. They were patient on the rope climb treehouse structure, and waited just fine for the ziplines. I did lose track of Rhys though, for a good few minutes. This made me a lot more nervous than when it happened at home!  It happened when we were transitioning from the one playground  (the "homestead") to the second (the "paddock") The Olders ran on ahead, but I was waiting to gather the Youngers, when I noticed that he wasn't with either group. It's a fearful moment when you are running between two places, knowing that you need to be quick, and you are trying to think of possible ideas. Could he have left the park, not knowing where we were? How many entrances were there to this park??? Did someone take him? Kai and I started to call his name when suddenly I thought I heard him. Yes! He had decided to climb back up the treehouse for another slide! I actually wanted to cry for the fear and then the relief!

Other than that moment, it is a great playground. Lots of things for the kids to do and for multiple age levels.

I was proud of the kids that made it up the tree house! They felt by the first tier that it was taller than they expected, so some climbed down, but I was so impressed with Rhys, Bryn and Abi for climbing it! I think in another year or two, Eden will do just fine. She struggled with the rope ladder.

 

 Of course, Rhys climbing that ladder was so impressive! It turns out he isn't afraid of heights either! He went at his own pace and climbed with no problems!

The zipline was a lot of fun. But it's definitely not something that kids can do on their own. There needs to be an adult to help with the pushing and retrieving! I figured it was a good excuse for me to get active! (it wasn't easy trying to take photos while also pushing the kids along!)

 

 What kid doesn't love to spin? There were the cups and the "spinnery" (that's the name given on the City of Richmond webpage!) to get dizzy on, which occupied my kids for a while.

My kids love to spin!

Rhys got a parachute man at the BBCH, so he dropped it from the treehouse (he didn't wait for me so I didn't get a good picture of it) and climbed a tree to drop it from.

It was a fun afternoon! My kids are already asking when we can go back, so I'll have to plan another trip again soon! There are the covered boardwalks over the slough and trials to discover still!

weight loss pjs

long weekend, woohoo!

I hope you're all having a wonderful Long Weekend!  Ours is going to be full of friends and BBQs, so we're good!

Happy BC Day!

not a morning person

 Actually, I'll say "sort of" or "I guess"!

Gandalf said it first..
"Do you wish me a good morning, or mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not; or that you feel good this morning; or that it is a morning to be good on?"

Thankful Thursday

Welcome back to Thankful Thursday, a feature started by Louise at Talk Nerdy to Me, where we look back over our week and remember our blessings.  It is so good to see all that has happened, especially if you have had a particularly tough week. Being grateful is good for the soul. Here are just a few things that I am thankful for...

1. trees to climb

2. dinner with friends

 I am so thankful for the friends that we have and that we could go out and enjoy an evening together, and that our kids play well and that it is just like being among family.

 3.new sunglasses

 {I'm Batman}

4.  swings that make you fly

4. texts that give you hope again

 I received a message from a friend that I hadn't heard from in such a long time that I had just about given up on our relationship; she just wasn't responding to me and it hurt.  I don't know what will happen in the end, but I am thankful that she sent something. 

I am thankful that even though friendships change, He is always faithful.



5. sparklers

 {yay. sparklers.}

{that's better. that's the spirit!}

6. music that makes us move

This is currently Rhys' favourite song:  Build Your Kingdom by Rend Collective.  (he also loves their song "Lighthouse")  He will play it over and over and sing and dance, and it is so wonderful to see!  I love his spirit!  (and, seriously, how FUN is Rend Collective???)

7.  front yard visits with neighbours

We live in a really good neighbourhood and have been blessed that the people who live on either side of us are great people. We have known eachother for 12 years and our kids have grown up together and we have shared in each others' lives!  It's nice to be able to sit in our yards and just visit!  I am thankful for the women I live by!

8. water to splash in

9.  rest

I am so thankful that after several busy days, when my body is fatigued and I feel overwhelmed, that He gives me rest.  I am given a day of quiet, where I can rest on the couch without the kids needing much. My body needs this every so often!

10.  laughs at the dinner table

My Hunny was teasing Abi about something and told her to "suck it up, Princess!" Eden stood up on her chair and pointed her finger at Abi, hotly telling her father, "She's not a Princess!  I'm a Princess!"

What a funny girl!  Apparently there can not be two princesses!


So that's my week in a nutshell. How has your week been?  I'd love to celebrate your Thankful list with you: share it in the comments!