Will turns 9

Since last year we had a birthday bash - this year I was off the hook. It was a no stress birthday for me but more importantly, Will had a great day;make that two days! 

First of all, my parents came for the occasion and we had a great time with them. 

On the day before the big day, Will was taken out to golf with a friend and his Mom and then out to lunch for Asian buffet. In the afternoon, he invited two of his friends to play laser tag. This was of course a hit! When they returned we had tacos and homemade refried beans waiting. I even got out of making a cake this year - he wanted Dairy Queen. Fine by me!
On his actual birthday, we went to an Imax movie in the morning - Under the Sea. Which really got us in the mood for his lunch out pick - Red Lobster! He enjoyed feasting on crab legs - yes, he's high maintenance! 

Later in the day, we were surprised to see our friend Rebecca (from church) show up at our door with a bucket of four live lobster. She knew how much Will loves seafood. Needless to say, we had a feast that evening. What a 9th birthday! 

In other news, I recently tested for my Canadian citizenship test. This is not at the expense of my American. I will hold both. But "bloom where you're planted" I guess and this is where I'm planted! I am still waiting to hear whether I passed or not (I'm not worried!) and then I'll be called back to take the oath - to the Queen!! Ha! Thankfully, I now know when Nunavut became a territory. 

Enjoying Spring!

Our homeschool bookclub was revived this month. We read "Gracie and the Emperor" which was a really interesting fictional book based on Napoleon and his exile to St. Helena. 

The weather was beautiful - we stayed outside the whole time.
Lunch had a French theme to it - I made a dessert called Mini Napoleons (they're like cream puffs).

He Is Risen Indeed!

OK, so Easter already seems like such a long time ago but here we are! The kids sang with the Sunday school group "Christ the Lord has risen today" and when it came to the Alleluia part, Zanna would let it rip. Will looked so handsome in his shirt and tie - such a young man! 
This Easter was pleasantly different - Wayne was actually around this day - usually he goes up to Politimore in the afternoon but Vicar went up this year. We continued our tradition of rack of lamb on the grill and it was divine! 

If you are interested, the potty training situation has not improved and remains to be the thorn in my side. I have tried all the advice, Internet ideas and old wives tales I can think of. She'll have none of it. She apparently prefers to soil herself in her diaper and sit in it all day - either that or she knows it drives me nuts and likes to wield her power over me. Huh.

Otherwise, we have been enjoying our Spring. The tulips are blooming, trees budding and weather getting warmer. Spring also brings the yearly homeschool conference I attended a few weekends ago and the homeschool catalogs are rolling in - an exciting time for the homeschooler as we anticipate our course of action for the upcoming school year, reflect on the current one as it winds down for the year and reexamine our goals for our children. When we started this journey 4 years ago it was with the intention that while we'd take it year by year, my goal was to go through grade 3 and establish a firm foundation spiritually and  educationally.  In that time our eyes have been opened to see what a blessing this type of education has been. It's been the way we've been able to carry out what the Lord wants from us as Christian parents.  It has bonded us as a family and we are developing relationships with our children that grow deeper everyday. Notice I didn't say it  get's easier every day. We have our unique difficulties that we are forced to work out if we are to live, play and work side by side every day. There was a time that I would say - there are pros and cons to homeschooling but throughout this year, I no longer see the cons for us anymore. This peace of mind has been an incredible blessing for me as I desire to follow God's will for our family and my role as a wife and mother. 

Our church update - our Chinese friends Peter and Rebecca who have been taking Bible info classes with Wayne for 2 years and Rebecca makes us dumplings and teaches us Mandarin - completed the class finally. Yesterday, Peter was baptized in church and in the same service he and Rebecca became members! Praise God!

Zanna has started swimming classes with us on Mondays. The first week she had the time of her life. She felt like such a big girl taking classes at the same time with her brother. Last week, not so good. She screamed through about half of it. So today, we'll have to see. She also started preschool library time and goes in by herself - LOVES it! She's right up front while the books are being read, loves to do the songs and actions and participates in the craft at the end - especially if there are scissors involved!

Will is preparing for his violin exam next month. Scales are a nightmare. I can't wait till it's over. I know he'll do fine but the prep in not fun. But it's a good experience and he wanted to do it. His first recital is next month too. Looking forward to that. He's doing really well in math and enjoys reading the Indiana Jones books (since we don't let him watch the movies yet!). He got his third stripe in Karate. He has such a gentle spirit. At the same time I get completely baffled by his boyishness. I find dirty underwear in places I'd never expect but seldom in the clothes hamper. That's if he remembers to change them. My common sense is not always his common sense. There are many other strange behaviors I have difficultly grasping and Wayne just knowingly shakes his head. 

March Update

After my parents left which was the day after Zanna's birthday, sickness fell upon our household. Now this year was definitely better than last year as far as sickness ( and snow for that matter) but we did not remain unscathed. Zanna struggled with a tummy bug (ie. the runs) for a week not eating much and very tired. This was followed by just one miserable day for me followed by 3 miserable days for Wayne (we all had something different) followed by a horrible 5 days for Will. The timing was bad (when is it good). We had Seminary students come up and help our church with evangelism, door to door and an outreach event. We were set to host the young couple from Hong Kong - he was attending the Seminary for a year- she was 6 months pregnant. On the eve of their arrival, Wayne was finally feeling better. It was after they arrived that Will took a turn for the worse. It was not my finest mommy moments as I struggled to clean up after Will and constantly Clorox the bathroom he was sharing with previously mentioned houseguests that include a pregnant women.  We did survive and get better and I can only pray that our lovely guests kept their good health after the visit. 

Despite all that excitement, it was a wonderful experience having the Sem students here along with Professor Sorum and Pastor Yu - a Chinese pastor in Milwaukee. Our outreach event was a success in that the gospel was shared with people that had not heard before Jesus' love for them. Many more blessings came from their visit. We enjoyed having CiCi and Angus stay with us and learn more about Hong Kong. We come from such different cultures but are united in our faith. 
Here in Ottawa March brings March Break. So like the local schools we took a week break during that time. The kids and I went to several library things in the area including a train exhibit and a presentation of Ray's Reptiles. Zanna got to go to that one too and touched every reptile offered to her. She sat in Will's lap the whole time and he held her hand while in the other hand was a tarantula! One of the Moms approached me later and had to tell me how sweet the two kids were and what good care they take of each other - a good moment!!
Last Tuesday I organized a trip to the Log Farm for some of my homeschool friends at a local sugar bush. If you are not from this area you may have no idea what I'm talking about. We didn't actually go into any bushes - rather it's a bunch of maple trees tapped for maple syrup. Neighboring province Quebec makes up to 80% or so of the world's maple syrup and this area of Ontario does it's fare share too. It's the thing to do around here - go to a sugar bush and observe the process of taking maple sap and boiling it down to make syrup. Then if you really do it right afterwards you pig out on pancakes and syrup. The weather was great for being outside and the sap was running. We got muddy but had fun! 

Last but not least, I am ending the month in potty training hell. No, I don't believe I am exaggerating. I have given up since November - this topic really stresses me out and I don't like it AT ALL. Now that she's 3 I thought we'd give it another shot. So starting yesterday I took all the diapers and hid them. I told her the diaper fairy took them and she'll have to go on the potty. I put a dress on her with no bottoms in the morning. I walked around with my timer set to go off every 15 minutes so then she'd sit on the potty. It went pretty well actually. There were times she would go before the timer went off due to that fact that I was pumping her full of juice water. I would have hooked her up to an IV if I thought it would have helped. She was so full of liquid that when she jumped up and down we could here it sloshing around in her stomach. She thought it was pee in there! She did have an accident later in the day when she was watching TV and not paying attention. My issue now is the poop. When I put underwear on her she'll go in there and not on the potty. I don't want her to be constipated but she has yet to do it where she's supposed to.  If anyone has any ideas now would be the time to share. I admit that I am scarred from my experience with Will - when he was being trained he had a hard time with the poop thing and when he and I were visiting my parents he smeared his poop all over their office  - carpet, walls and Pier 1 wicker furniture. Oh, I should add their dog helped. It was awful, I was horrified. Even to this day he'll hold it in and stop up the toilets when  a weeks worth of poo breaks loose. Sorry to gross anyone out.  This is what has been on my mind. Very sad. Any ideas would be appreciated! 

Hosanna and Mei Mei

Here's my big 3yr old! Isn't she just adorable?!!!!!! So the outfit my dad and mom got her and Mei Mei for her birthday. It's got a purple fur trim on the bottom. I even did their hair the same. I know. I'm crazy - but it's so darn fun!!!!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Zanna!

Last Saturday, Zanna turned 3! Dora was the theme of the day as you can see by her cake. She also dressed up for the occasion just in case there was a question as to who the princess of the day was. You'll likely notice I did not make the cake - it's store bought which I have been known to do. She wanted Dora and the one at the grocery store was awfully neat. It was a hit! I also did not venture into the "kids party" at this point. I went back and forth on it but finally decided that I've got one year left to get away with it. For this year we kept it to the visiting grandparents and godparents. In keeping with the Dora theme we did tacos and all the fixings which the kids LOVE! 
Some of the gifts she received was - well, dress up clothes from us. As you see she's really into it. She's got one dress she got at Christmas and she's worn it almost everyday since. It's so torn but she still loves it. She now has a purple one to choose from and some play heels.  It was still all about the American girl doll (known as Mei Mei in our house). Mei Mei received more clothes and a beautiful trundle bed that she shares with Rou Rou. Zanna got a lovely purple dress to wear along with a matching one for Mei Mei. She also got some princess themed tablewear, an Oxford University t-shirt from across the pond. And a big part of the day was the moving out of the toddler bed and bringing in the big girl bed. Her room looks so grown up now! 

A great vacation!

We really enjoyed our trip to Mexico taken in this 10th year of wedded bliss! It was truly a relaxing, pampering holiday from our regular life (which we love, by the way). First, I have to mention the food - oh, the food. We ate well, often and too much. I mentioned in the earlier post my breakfast of refried beans and pico de gallo  (yum)! I had meals that were so good and so well presented I could cry with appreciation (of course, any meal I don't have to make is automatically appreciated!)  The beach was so beautiful and relaxing. We could lay on traditional lounge chairs or these wicker beds that were so comfortable.  Of course, it was a treat to have so much couple time - we were so spoiled! It was sort of ironic that on the flights home we weren't seated next to each other on either flight - our first time apart for a week! I guess we ran out of things to talk about anyway - haha! And now vacation is over - taught lessons all morning, took Zanna to library time, made meals, did laundry, cleaned toilet, changed diapers - yep, business as usual! 

The kids did great with Mom and Dad. I was thrilled to get the report back that Will was always very helpful and agreeable for them. Zanna did well too but had a bad day on the last day unfortunately. She woke up on the wrong side of the toddler bed! Mom and Dad stayed through Zanna's birthday and left the next day. Really, the reason why I did not worry about the kids was knowing what capable hands they were in. We were very thankful my Mom and Dad were willing to watch them while we were away.

Being away from our "lives" for a week also helped remind us how blessed we are - that what we do on a day to day basis is important and has eternal significance - and that we enjoy it! Can't ask for much more than that!!!