Treasure Hunts & Outside

The children in the neighbourhood have been busy over the long weekend creating Treasure Hunts for each other.  It shows their creativity both to create the clues, and to decipher both what the clues might mean & how their environment could be perceived.

 Here they are looking for clues they think are under somebody's shoes.

Seems the children like to congregate in our yard since its the largest on the block and not full of stuff.  Its a great place for tag, soccer, Dead Ant Tag,  and just goofing off.  But then the neighbours' draw is that most of them have trampolines and a bunch of stuff.  So they wander between the yards, playing well together and having a lot of fun.

Slightly different topic:

I was shocked, to say the least, when one of the moms stopped by the other day to say "It is such a beautiful sight to see your children out in your yard playing."  She was referring to our children playing out there on a daily basis when the other children are off to school or stuck in their houses doing homework.  Our children love to play outside and are often seen out there even when the weather isn't exactly the nicest (in my estimation, anyways).

The compliment came just as I finished reading "LAST CHILD IN THE WOODS: SAVING OUR CHILDREN FROM NATURE-DEFICIT DISORDER   by Richard Louv  and was feeling like my children don't get into nature enough.  They could get out into creation more, do more hiking, more sitting under a tree to watch the squirrels, etc and I don't set a good example in that department, but nonetheless it was nice that somebody took the time to encourage me that I'm on a good path.  Thanks, Britt, you blessed me.

From Cape Breton

Uncle Kevin

Aunty Joanne

They are out west, thawing from the cold winter of Cape Breton, and were able to come over to the Island to visit for a few days.  It was really nice to see them again.  The children adore both them, miss them immensely and are often asking when we'll be able to go back out to Cape Breton to visit them.

Some day, maybe.

Update on My Brother

For those of you who don't know, my 49yo brother became ill with headaches & loss of memory suddenly in Sept 2010, and was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer.  He was given 3 months to live if those chose no treatment.  And with allopathic treatments (ie, rad & chemo) he was given a 50% chance to survive 12-14 months.

He had brain surgery in Oct, took radiation along with chemo until Christmas, and has been taking rounds of chemo since then.

His recent CT-scan says "there is no residual sign of the tumour".

We are thrilled at this news.

He does not feel well.  He continues on with chemo for another 4 rounds.
He suffers with his memory and cognitive abilities, besides other things.  But I suppose, what does one expect when you've had brain surgery, been bombarded with radiation and ingest chemotherapy?

Their family is "cautiously optimistic".

 

Last Winter Birthday

Most of our family have Winter-time Birthdays, congregated between the last days of November until mid-March.  Toveli's was the final one of them....and she wanted to get her ears pierced.  So, that's what she got.

And she let Maret come along and get hers done at the same time.

It's helpful, because they can remind each other to clean them 3 times per day, and it alleviates some of the pressure from Mom to do the remembering (which stresses me out, because there are soooooo many things to try and remember).









On Saturday we had our best friends come down island to share a meal together.....but unfortunately I forgot to take photos!!!  But we had a good time.  The children went down to the river, walked to the 'gravel pit' (one of the 'visitors' named it that), walked their dog, ate too much, etc.  Us adults shared our hearts, books, ideas, computer knowledge.  We laughed and cried, and parted with hugs and "can they come back here tomorrow?" and wanting a date on the calendar of when we'd see them again.

Big sister, Rauchelle was here for the weekend too, but sadly had to go back today ;(  We always hate to see her go, but then that just means we'll be Soooo excited when she comes back again ;)

Toveli says "It was crowded in the house, some of us sat on the front deck to eat supper.  It was actually a really nice weekend.  I enjoyed it!"

Happy Birthday, Toveli!

The Snow is Almost Gone

Yesterday it rained so almost all the snow is gone.

I admit that I am not a lover of the snow.  I think it's beautiful.  Its quiet and encourages snuggling and hot drinks and reading a good book.  But I don't like driving in it.  And most of all I hate the time spent dressing the Little People up in it for half an hour for them to frolic for 10 minutes and then drown me in puddles of wet attire.  This is not a Happy Time for me.  Sour-puss, I know.

Anyways, we made it thru this week and got some nice photos to share.  So, here's the kiddos enjoying themselves (while mama enjoyed the fireplace for a moment or two!)

This was a beautiful, peaceful sunrise the other morning.  I can appreciate the beauty.  Just not the cold.

Family Fun

Rauchelle caught the train down to spend the weekend with the family to celebrate my birthday.  Its a challenge for her to find the time from work to get down to our place via the train, but it beats the bus!!She treated me to beautiful bag of wholesome, natural goodies in a great natural fabric bag with says about 'A Wise Woman......'  I was a bit giddy opening the packages as they were daintily wrapped, and we aren't big on Gift Giving.  I think Rauchelle had as much fun watching me open it as she had shopping for it!

 Then....what Mama wanted to do was for the Family to go out for a walk together.  I see this hill from the children's bedrooms and I was curious as to what was up there.  So, the rain had stopped and we trekked out.

Toveli found a four-leaf clover.

Rauchelle had brought 

bandana's for Maret and Mitchell, and was wearing some herself, but 'Jesse' was feeling left out so he mooched one off of Rauchelle to be a Bandit.

Always somewhere's new to climb and conquer.

Rauchelle is always up to fun and a challenge. 

 She did stand on this and roll it.  This is where she fell off.

Two Buds at the Top

We found a water reserve at the top of the hill, and it had a ladder..........so of course we had to climb it.  Only of course, the bottom had a metal cover to discourage climbers, but we got over that, one way or other.

The littles climbed up the backside, squished between the ladder and wall.

Evaluating how much farther he had to climb.

He got right up to the top!

Even Mama did it!

There's most of us, at the top.

Rauchelle and Toveli

Taking a leap of faith.

Thanks, family, for making my day a special, love-filled one!  I am Blessed.

Digital Sabbatical, What It's Looking Like

I am still practising taking breaks on Saturdays and Tuesdays from my computer.  It's a practise because it isn't habit, yet.

I am doing well at it, looking forward to the breaks where I don't surf, where I ignore FB, let my emails pile up, etc.

I get more book reading done and am more likely to play board or card games with the children.   I am finally getting around to doing projects with them that I've been intending on doing for quite some time but just haven't gotten around to.

You know, things like teaching them to sew.

Everette and I often sneak in a 'coffee break', even if we aren't drinking a coffee.  It might be a quick walk somewhere, a jaunt to the grocery store where we are able to get some adult conversation done without little ears listening in.

Or lots of Saturdays now we go to the Royal BC Museum, or  take in the IMAX , or the aquarium, or the Art Gallery now that we have a bunch of annual passes (thanks, Ministry of Education!)

When the weather gets drier and warmer I'm sure we'll be taking more family walks at Whiffen Spit, or down at the river or at the Potholes.  Or checking out the Galloping Goose Trail.

Like so many people, I enjoy the wealth of information and experiences made available via the internet.  But there are some things that I don't like. ...and that includes the Time Sucking feature of it.   I want to be able to find a balance.  I know it doesn't have to be an All-or-Nothing scenario.  This tool can be beneficial, and that's what I am actively pursuing.

I don't have an iPhone and a bunch of other digital and techno stuff (although I do now have an hTC but I don't use it for much more than a phone and a voice recorder), so taking a Digital Sabbatical for me is mainly just taking a good-sized chunk of time away from the computer.  And I take that time to refocus, and do stuff I often (ashamedly) neglect.

Maybe you need to practice a Digital Sabbatical too.

For some people it might work to take 2 days off in a row.  Or during certain hours each day, say from 7pm until the next morning.  Or lots of moms who have little ones at home, they are well disciplined to stay off the computer unless their littles are sleeping (& no, I don't think they are drugging them to sleep longer hours!!).

My system is working well for me.

I've been hashing over some stuff with Everette over the last few weekends (see, the Sabbatical lets me fit that in!) and am likely to be implementing some more changes in my life concerning the internet, blogging, family time and health topics, but that's all a work-in-progress.  This week I already cut about half my 'friends' on FB who I really didn't converse much with anyways(& that's usually superficial) and I feel better with that already.  Not that I spend a lot of time on FB as it is, but each thing I spend a little bit of time at seems to eat away all my days.  You know what I mean, don't you?  You are likely experiencing the same thing.

Even the good things seem to be robbing from us.  And we are letting them.  I know I am;  that's my present struggle.

Being careful of the little foxes that ruin the vineyard (Song of Solomon 2:15).

If you take a Digital Sabbatical, what does it look like for you?

The Least

“He has the most who is most content with the least”

~Diogenes 

About Shame & Vulnerability

A heart to heart about our biggest fears and the door to joy and authenticity.  Living a life where "I am Enough" and "I Accept Myself" even though I know I am not perfect.  And needing to ingrain that in my children.

With all of our imperfections, we are still worthy.

Regrets of the Dying

I look at this list as a guide as to how I might chose How to Better Live.

1. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me. Disconnecting somewhat from my religious upbringing has helped in this area.  Fear is another common issue.

2. I wish I didn't work so hard. I think I have a fairly good grasp on this one.  And learning to live more minimalistic helps Everette not live with such pressure to produce.

3. I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings. Not so good at this.  People-pleasing is an issue.

4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends. I have few friends, but some close friends.  And my family truly are my friends.  But sometimes I think I have bailed too often.

5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.  A real issue with me these days and has led to many discussions with Everette.  I understand "that happiness is a choice."  
"The so-called 'comfort' of familiarity overflowed into their emotions, as well as their physical lives." 


Yup, I can identify.

A Sweet End & a New Beginning

We had the privilege of having my eldest brother and his son spend a few days with us, along with our own dd Layne, and last night we were joined Momentarily (1 sleep) with Rauchelle.  But it was a sweet way to spend part of the last of 2010 with some of those that we love.

And tonight was Shabbat so we celebrated with a Special Meal.

A wonderful way to go into the New Year of 2011.

New Years Apple Challah

(Toveli's Request)

Blessings to all of you,

and all the best for you and your loved ones

in the New Year.

(DPP) Fourteen

A new ink-well.  A new calligraphy pen.  A new art, becoming.  

A new 14 year old. At our house.

Today we had Everette's family over to celebrate Danaka's birthday 

and feast on something besides turkey dinner.  

And feast we did. 

We played games.

Took lots of pictures.  

Even pictures of others taking pictures (thanks Laars and Tasha!). 

'Rock, Paper, Scissors' reverberating through our heads. 

Lots of giggles, tickles, and wiggles.

  

An extra 5 pounds, and still a stuffed fridge.

Fun Fun Fun

Happy Birthday, Danaka!

Crazy Day for a Party

We had it all planned out.

Saturday we would meet Rauchelle in Nanaimo and pick Layne up at the Duke Point ferry.  We'd go for lunch and spend some family time celebrating Layne's birthday which was actually the day before (Friday).  Then Chelle would return to O's where she lives, and we'd take Layne home with us for the weekend.

Then we made the Birthday call to Layner Friday morning and sang "Happy Birthday" to her.  She announced that what she had planned for the afternoon had fallen through so now she was free and could come over today (Friday, her actual birthday).  So with some quick phone calls we changed plans for the day. 

Instead of a fairly quiet day at home preparing for Shabbat (bake bread, vacuum house and clean bathrooms) we whipped into action, got the bread rising, baked a cheesecake, did the house work, made a bed up (on the floor) for Layne, packed changes of clothes for the little guys, ate quick lunch and hit the road by 1 pm to pick Layne up at Duke Point 22 hours ahead of our original schedule ;)  and proceeded to travel up to O's for the One-Day-Late American Thanksgiving Dinner intended for an American who had to cancel coming and which turned out to be a Birthday Dinner for Layne instead!!  With fresh challah that rose beautifully in spite of getting a few chills en route, and an Oreo Cheesecake Danaka baked before leaving home, and an awesome meal put on by Lisa and Rauchelle.  It was a huge Success.

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY LAYNE!!

The Paper Bag Princess

Munchworks is always a great

way to spend an evening........

But its better when.........

You get to Share It!

Did you ever wonder how the paper bag survived the dragon's fiery breath??