merryment

taking a moment out of the hustle and bustle and wishing you all a very merry chrstmas. i will play catch up in the new year. peace of christ be with you.

sweet thoughts, (better than candy)

1: i am okay! i am alive, i am happy, and i am rested.
2: i was away for a weekend with my mom in the country scrapbooking~lovely!
3: jereme has returned and the kids are wired on the presence of their daddy. like really excited, bouncing off the walls with joy. more so than with a sugar high.
4: my husband is home! his heart is happy, his spirits lifted and his life is changed.
5: thank you for your friendly, lovely comments.
*peace*

kaos

quick thought. is it possible that one somehow mangeages to subcontiously bring about kaos to their own lives? it seems my little family is more often than not fighting against unfiar, unforseen, unreasonable circumstances.
(thanks mom and dad davies for stepping in today. off the sleepsville for me now.)

looooong autumn

Okay, so it has been like the longest fall this year. Not ever because i remember a few years ago when we still did NOT have snow on Christmas, but it is still unusually 'nice' with temps as high as 17C. That lets me feel that i am still on schedule here with a post about fall. I start with the Terry Fox run at skyli's school. She was a track star. ( the girl loves to run) doing 5 full laps. Timber and i jogged along behind. ( she is the one on the left of the two girls holding hands.)



Next we move into my fall photo shoot. I thought this would be one of the last nice days. And i guess it was since then we moved into a week of deep freeze and snow. (See my one october post. if i was advanced in my tech skills i would have you be able to click the word post and it would go there. one day i will posses the ability.)

you'll notice that sky is more than willing to pose for the camera and play model.

and Timby, not so much.


note the girlish hair cut? apparently mommy only knows how to do fem-type hair trims. opps!

we also headed out on what we thought would be our last autumn walk that evening


we went out to the farm (vriends, again would link you to my post on the market if i was in the know.) we had a feast for thanksgiving and just enjoyed the comfort of friends and food. the fields were blanketed with snow at this time.



skylar and i have created a harvest tale the last few years and it has become our little tradition. we go about collecting items the start of october and set them up to take us through thanksgiving and into halloween.

i am looking forward to cooking up these squash as the weather gets cooler.

and my big accomplishment was turning all these empty jars...


into full beauties of canned...
b.c. market fresh peaches. YUM! we have been enjoying these delicious treats.
it was a lovely day with my gran in my tiny kitchen. i am so thankful i was able to learn this seemingly lost art.

amazing racing

Wow! so my Jereme has been planing to go on this missions trip to a country that is a bit difficult to get into. He is on a team and they have gone about things in the correct manner taking time to prepare and organize. Jereme applied for his travel visa for this country with plenty of time to spare but it was out right rejected do to a a less than $1 error on his part. (why not just send notice to collect the outstanding amount???) So anyways he resent the request, incurring more costs for priority mail and re applying fee's. With a few days more than the required amount needed we waited. And waited and waited. The online status remained as processing for weeks. until thursday when it declared it had been sent. So with baited breathe we hoped it would arrive in time to depart this monday (16th). On an international flight leaving at 12:20p.m one is strongly advised to be at the airport 2 hours pre flight, but is required to be there 1 hour prior. That meant at the absolute latest we had to leave our North west central home by 10:40 to have any hope at catching that plane. And would you believe that our mail arrived late? After running down the mail carrier Jereme had his passport and Visa in hand at 10:30 and we were on route by 10:33. He dashed into the departure doors with 9 minutes to check in and clear security. Have you ever seen the amazing race? well that was what i was like, only with kids in tow. Some of the quotables from the event,
"I left my passport on the roof! on the F*&@ing roof! Pull over-PULL OVER! oh no actually here it is, Get going, GET GOING!" -jer
Shut -up just let me drive. I know how to get us there fast because i am late for everything all the time!" -Lyns
"Momma when you drive like this fastness, i think i am going to throw-up! can you slow down?" -skyli
"Nope i can't. Here is a plastic bag, if you have to, then throw up into it, ok?" - lyns

And then suddenly, he was gone. and it all hit me. when i told skylar i was crying because i was emotional, she came up with the reasoning that emotional is a big feeling of sadness mixed in with a big feeling of happy. I like that. kids are so lovely in their simpleness! so now i play solo in this game of life for the next 2 weeks. wish me god speed, cus luck has nothing to do with it.

it's about Thanks

This is Adrian. Lauren loves him, and we love Lauren and therefore we have fallen in love with Adrian too. He is wonderful even if he let's Timber drink soda pop. ( Don't do that Adrian!) Adrian is a soldier and I had the experience of standing with Lauren last month in the hanger out at the base where we said goodbye as he headed off in one of the current deployments to Kandahar. That was a really hard day. It was WAY harder than I thought and having him in our lives has challenged my thinking on all this war/soldier/army business. And i think if Steven, getting ready for the Sudan. I think of Miranda and Ollie. Today at Skylars school assembly they played a video, (find it here,)
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=2736336
(hope that works.) It's called soldier. I thought it was great, because it was kinda to me. I call them fighters, I don't like what they do, but things are different when you love the person in the uniform. When you have seen those families say goodbye. And it isn't that I don't appreciate all that our forces have done and will do or that I am Naive to what it means. I am well aware. I come from a millitary family, but I am a lover and ... well there is so much to it. But on remembrance day, it isn't about what I think or where I stand on certain issues. It is about saying thanks.

So thank you! Thank you Adrian, and Steven for serving now. Thank you Daddy, and Grandpa, and Super Grandpa. Thank You Uncle Royden, Bill, Andy. Aunty Deb and Karen. Thank you too all that I do not know but who serve. Thank you for your risk. Gods Peace be with you.

who are these people?

So i ventured out for my evening. no nightly walk with myka and found skylars pumpkin smashed at the edge of our lawn. I thought i'd heard someone on our porch earlier but since it didn't start a barking fit, i thought i was mistaken. who does that? comes up on my porch to grab a perfectly good pumpkin, not even carved, and smashes it? i just do not understand. And while walking i discovered another poor squash who had met pavement a few house down. this ticks me off. the nerve! Jerk faces!
promise to post recent-ish photo's soon. this one is of me by Timber on halloween. by budding photographer.

feed us!

this photo of timby pretty much sums up how i am feeling these days. i have finally pulled my but out of bed and am no longer taking antiviral or spreading the bug. but just finding the energy to stay awake all day is a skill i am looking forward regaining. Anyways, to those of you who read this and are interested in making food for our little family, we have a little list of allergies.
Soy,( this i in more than you think so please check the labels, this includes margarine!)
Dairy,( yep no soy and no dairy when cooking for all, dairy is just be clear, milk, cheese, yogurt, butter, whey and caisene.)
Rice, Barley, Buckwheat.
Pork,Lamb and Shell Fish.
Thank you if you still choose to take on the task. Call if you have any questions. I so appreciate the meals as jereme is off to brazil next week and i was hoping to be making meals ahead. That isn't happening, plus as i mentioned, just exsisting seems to take all i have.
much love.

so funny but NOT!

"What's new with you Lyns'?"
"Oh not much, you know the usual, got the swine flu. Thought i might die, but i appear to be mending. You?"
Yes, it's true, i have contracted H1N1. In the words of Jereme 'funny, but NOT!' Thanks for you prayers and meals.
More to come later when it doesn't take all my energy to keep my eyeballs open.
Peace.

octobrrrrrr!

taking some quiet time for self. just wanted to sat damn it is cold outside. too cold, too soon! haven'teven got the garden all put to winter. sheesh.

remember september.

So skylar learnt how to pump her own swing this summer and is now enjoying the freedom of swinging at great heights at her own leisure.


Timber is just plain old cute as a button. growing more and more into a little boy, and becoming less of a baby everyday.


September 12th is skylars birthday and this year we had a royal ball complete with piniata and a dance. 4 years olds with a stick and a blindfold proved to be less dangerous that i thought, but also took a lot longer that anticipated to break into the loot filled mache.


september has always proven to be a busy month for us. My family has a load of birthdays and celebrations, (hence the annual cold lake long weekend mentioned last post.). This year proved to be no different, adding two new lives into the mix. This little man was welcomed into my niece's arms on the 19th. He is called Bentley.


just 9+ hours later, my little sister welcomed in to her life this little miss. Alexis was born on our anniversary, the 20th. Both of the new creatures are lovely and gorgeous. These babies are dangerous!


And that is that. Tomorrow we move into october, a month of frigid temperatures and much to be thankful for.

summer ends

**This is my friend james. james and his lovely wife jenni, (my Friend first) are farming this year. Living their crazy dream of organic produce farming and selling it at market. Since it was a thought in james head last year, i said i was in. so this spring, summer, fall, i have devoted nearly every saturday to transforming the curb side of 104th street into a glorious harvest of eye candy and deliciousness. thus is a mini photo journey of our mornings. we will be there at the downtown market until thanksgiving weekend, so come and say hello and get yourself some of the tastiest veggies grown right here, close to home.


i am unloading the camera to make way for the photo's of the fall, so here are a few more things that have filled up the tail end of sumer. **
























We had a family day picnic at Laurier park. I am in awe of matt and kaits youngest of three girls, cora. is she not stunning?








skylar headed off to kindergarten this year. it has proven to be more of am emotional time for me that i bargained for. but she is loving it so far as i can tell.



















and we did our annual september long weekend trip to cold lake, where we had one day in the sun with no flu, the rest were gross, sick days. bummer. stay tuned for september updates. our busiest month of the year. full of birthdays and anniversaries.

thinking about...

sometimes life deals us too much it would seem. when that happens i think back to the journal i kept in bible college. a time when i was so in love with Jesus and all the insight of him i could get my hands n. i still love Jesus but life ha filled up alot of the open space i once had. today i had a long conversation with a lovely woman in my life, who's life seems to have dealt her too much. (you know who you are*) and after an honest tearful conversation, i found myself thinking of the journal. full of my favorite "pearls of wisdom". And i thought that i would share a few.

We are NOT worthless, we are so very PRECIOUS, for we have been bought at a price...a very costly price: sealed with crimson red.

Clouds of doubt are created when the warm, moist air of our expectations meets the cold air of Gods silence.

"...But the LORD is faithful, and he WILL STRENGTHEN and protect you from the evil one!"2Th 3:3

" ...consider this: you do not support the root, but the root supports you" Rm 11:18

Give light unto my eyes oh Lord, even when it hurts, shine on me and let me see the truth of your own words. Give light unto my eyes...i lift my soul to you. here my cry tonight Lord, give me faith a new.

XOX

getting to know all about you...

i haven't done one of these in a long time. my WSM (wicked step mother) sent it to me via email and i thought i would post it here. Fun!
1. What is your occupation right now? so many, but a mother first, and then jereme says i am in sales. i work at 2nd cup, for weight watchers and for my friends who are farming and selling at the farmers market. I also am some times a doula. A do-what you say? google it!
2. What color are your socks right now? dark green
3. What are you listening to right now? the kids playing in the backyard with squeels of delight.
4. What was the last thing that you ate? too many chocolate chunk cookies. cookies get me everytime. 5. Can you drive a stick shift? yes, and i do everyday!
6. Last person you spoke to on the phone? hmm, i think it was my mother.
7.Do you like the person who sent this to you? my WSM? Yes
8. How old are you today? 27yrs but i am so much more mature than that. :)
9. What is your favorite sport to watch on TV? ummm we don't have t.v, but i do like playoff hockey
10. What is your favorite drink? water is so good, and my treat is caramel corretto, iced or hot. and for booze, i like fruli beer.
11. Have you ever dyed your hair? used to all the time. but i have been o-natural for about 3 years now. and yes there is grey. 12. Favorite food? oh that is tricky. i am a foody. i love food. cin-buns get me though, as do cookies. i love a good salad and i enjoy good 'ol meat and potato dinners. Oh wait it is fries. i adore fries.
13. What is the last movie you watched? the hang over. inappropriate hillarity
14. Favorite day of the year? sigh, that is tough, i think it changes every year. i like easter though.
15. How do you vent anger? cry, yell, i am sad to say sometimes i get a little physical. mostly i cry.
16. What was your favorite toy as a child? my cabbage patch doll phoebe, who now belongs to skyli.
17. What is your favorite season? Autum, althoigh this has so far been a bit too chilly for my liking. but i love the sweaters, scarves and harvest.
18. Cherries or Blueberries? i can't choose. we went through tons of both each week this summer. market twice a week just for them sometimes.
19. Do you want your friends to e-mail you back? Yes, if i send them emails, but i don't plan to send this around.
20. Who is the most likely to respond? irrelevant
21. Who is least likely to respond? see bove
22. Living arrangements? In the 2nd cutest house in our neighborhood with my love jereme and our two kids and our dog.
23. When was the last time you cried? this afternoon. (i was angry)
24.. What is on the floor of your closet? bags of old clothes, a chair, a storage box, shoes, a basket of scarves and mykas bed. likely some of jeremes clothing too.
25. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending to? not sending it to her, but it is lindsey and/or bryn. friends since 13yrs ago.
26. What did you do last night? worked at 2nd cup, walked to og, gave timber nursies...
27. What are you most afraid of? Children dying, being hurt, mistreated, abused, abducted, wronged in any way.
28. Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburgers? Cheese would be great. i can't wait to have cheese. Timbers is allergic and till i finish nursing, i am off dairy. pat on the back for me.
29. Favorite dog breed? i like a lot of 'em and have a few tops but my #1 is a cocker spaniel. i'd love on in chocolate brown.
30. Favorite day of the week? i don't have one.
31. How many states have you lived in? None. I live in Canada
32. Diamonds or pearls? pearls. i love them.
33. What is your favorite flower? i like so many for different reasons. i will say sweet peas.

like momma said

Yesterday was a bad day. you know, nothing in particular, just a bunch of stuff pled up to make for a series of irritating events that make for a day one wishes not to repeat. the highlight of badness was when skylar threw a ball in the house. Inevitably that ball hit a special vase and it tumbled to the floor breaking in an irreparable fashion. You know the vase that we used at our wedding, the only one we kept. it is unique and used for long, tall flowers, like the sunflowers we buy every february to remember Hadessa, the baby we lost between Skylar and Timber. sure it is just a vase and it is a part of being a parent, but like my momma, and her momma, i myself have said, DO NOT TROUGH BALLS IN THE HOUSE! and in a response of irritation, i would like to point out that Jereme is responsible for letting the balls be thrown n the house. :p
Here are some photos from funner days spent this august.

i am a hypocrite

Yep I am. I can no longer deny it. I, the woman who saves spiders and other bug life from human hierarchy. The same woman who rescued a mouse from the milner cabin on the august long weekend, has a house full of mouse traps baited and ready to slaughter. i feel bittersweet about this. We have thus far taken two mouse lives. Which leads me to my second hypocritical confession, the whole i am woman, hear me roar image, also fake. Sure i know i could get by with out man folk, well , minus the whole needing them to create more life, and i am not saying that i don't love men oh i do. But i claim to be a strong woman who can do anything He can do. But when it comes down to it, not so much. I could have emptied the traps, had i really needed to. And since jereme was off hiking a mountain all weekend, one would think that i needed to. But that is not the case when you have fine man friend folk who will drive over on a sunday morning, before even eating their breakfast to take care of the nasty-nasty for you. Thanks Zapf! Although, today i sucked up my ovaries and set the new traps. Go me! Here are some photos from the weekend not so long ago where i helped rescue the little vermin. have i mentioned the lovliness of the cabin before? LOVELY!!!