A Purple Princess Party

Let the fun begin! On Feb 21st, Hosanna turned 4. I can hardly believe it. She had her first friend party on Saturday with 4 little girls all dressed as princesses. They were adorable! Mom and Dad, once again, helped me pull this off with dear husband as the picture taker who roams in and out of the room attempting to get some work done in between (what can I say, he works a lot on the weekends!). The next day was her actual birthday and so we had church in the morning. After service, the congregation sung happy birthday to her and another girl who shared the day. Quite funny, she was on a chair in the back of the church at the time on a time out. She didn't know how to react to being sung to! That afternoon, godparents Skip and Karen came over for cake and Chinese takeout. It was a special day for a special girl!!
We had a short but nice visit with my parents. The kids especially enjoyed time with their Oma and Opa!

Other moments in the month included my first -and hopefully my last - root canal. Not fun.

We had a great Chinese new year celebration with our Chinese friends from church complete with homemade dumplings.
After living here for almost 8 years, the boys finally got to see a Senators hockey game. Someone from church had tickets he couldn't use and passed them to Wayne. They had a great time and Will was thrilled to stay up later than Mom!

Gotta go for now - karate time!

2010 - My year to LISTEN

The start of a new year and in this case a new decade - so much hope, promise and expectations. When we look back on what the last decade brought us - all the changes, heartbreak, joy - I wonder what will happen to me, my family, friends, church in this decade. Through it all the Lord has shone His faithfulness to me, his child. Oh, I had plenty of moments when I doubted that He knew best. But it's during those times of dark, difficult moments (some longer than others) that His glory is made perfect in my weakness. This is what I long for - to bring him glory in whatever circumstances I am faced with. I know I can't do it alone - I need His help desperately. Too often I have failed to do this - I've thrown Him under the bus instead. By His grace alone He forgives me and strengthens me. And this is my inspiration to make 2010 - my year to LISTEN. I can't hear Him if I'm busy running around like a chicken with my head cut off. I can't hear Him if I've always got my radio/Ipod/Itunes on. I can't hear Him with the TV blaring in the background. I can't hear Him if I'm busy talking! I need to stop, turn the things around me off (do kids have an off button?) and listen to Him speak to me in His Word. My faith is doomed if I don't shut up long enough for Him to strengthen me and grow my faith through time spent reading what He inspired humble human beings to write down for me. The picture of Zanna at the top is of her gazing up at Daddy as he installs a new window blind. She adores him! It inspires me to feel that way about my heavenly Father and He really can do anything!

The start of a decade - that's a whole other can of worms. As I think back on the dawn of the last decade, I was pregnant with Will. The world was in a panic of Y2K and I just wanted to have my baby! We were just starting our family. The last decade was focused on growing our family - and what a ride that turned out to be! By the end of this decade, Will will be 19 going on 20 - probably in university. Zanna will be a teenager possibly preparing to go to Prep. By the end of this decade, my children will not be under my influence as much or in Will's case even under my roof. Wow! This is it! This is our time to be with our kids. To teach them, love them, enjoy them - LISTEN to them! Last decade flew by as this one probably will too. But if I've learned anything from the last one - you only get one chance. I want to be more purposeful of this one. Realizing that the time we have is now - I'm excited for the memories we'll make as a family, the places we'll go, the people we'll meet - and yes, the challenges we'll face.
Well, onto our updates! Will most recently earned his purple belt in karate. He's also teaching the lower belts and has earned the name "Sempai Will". We're so proud of him - he's worked very hard for his accomplishments! He and Wayne have also hit the slopes for some downhill skiing this month. They got a season pass that allows them to go on weekdays and nights which is perfect for our schedule.
Hosanna has her own share of accomplishments! She recently started to color in the lines and use her scissors to cut along the lines too. She passed her swimming level and is ready to attack the next. She continues to enjoy gymnastics and can't wait for Opa and Oma to come next month and watch her in action. She soaks up the time I take with her to teach her the sounds of the letters and read our Before Five in a Row books that we make coordinating lapbooks to some of them.

We celebrated our 3rd Forever Family Day this month. She enjoyed looking at the pictures from our trip to China and we went out for some Asian food. We also had our China travel group families that live in the area over to our house for a reunion and potluck. All the girls are doing great and growing into such lovely young ladies! How blessed we are!!

My Angel

I think his halo is a bit off!

Wii wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Hard to believe another new year has arrived. Time goes to fast! Here's a picture of Zanna and her baby Rou Rou totally exhausted by all the festivities. For Christmas both her dolls Rou Rou and Mei Mei received new outfits so everyone is happy - ha!
And this is the year of the Wii for our family. We're stressing this fact to Will so he's not mistaken this as his Wii. Honestly, I didn't think I'd have much use for such a machine but I have to admit it's sort of fun. After playing it for awhile one afternoon I'm sheepish to admit my right arm is quite sore!!! But aside from having another toy to play with it is also my new "leverage". Wii time will be limited to weekends and must be earned - this gives the mama new power!!
Jake and Fran flew in from Calgary to spend Christmas with us. We had a lovely time having them in our home and visiting some local museums, shopping, etc. They were able to see Will and Zanna in our church's Christmas Eve pageant. Will was Joseph and Zanna was an angel. They were both adorable (of course) and did a fantastic job with their lines and songs. At home we celebrated Jesus' Birthday as we traditionally do - singing the Happy Birthday song before diving into birthday cake and tearing into our presents. Through the season as I was reading the Christmas books we have to the children, I thought of how some of these stories and pictures make the stable seem sweeter and cozier than it surely was. It romances the idea of dear baby Jesus being born among sweet smelling hay and the soft breathing sounds of the cattle in the barn. I don't know about you but I've been in a barn and it's not like that. My hair stinks to high heaven after spending any significant time in one and the noises those animals make is anything but soft. A baby - not any baby but the Son of God and son of man - humbled himself to be born in such poor accommodations and to such unassuming parents - for me! To take a quote from one of my favorite Christmas books The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, "Hey! Unto you a Child is born!"

Happy Advent!

Now that we are in the full swing of Advent - having lit our 3rd candle yesterday - we've been doing some special things to celebrate the season.

I took the kids to see a performance of the Nutcracker ballet. Also joining us was a family friend. The four of us had a lovely time although I'm not sure Will is too interested from here on out. He put up with it but he'll probably stay home with Dad from now on.

Most recently we went to spend the afternoon with a group of fellow homeschoolers at a local estate museum where we celebrated an old - fashioned Christmas. The kids rolled their own
beeswax candle and stuck cloves in apples rolled in cinnamon. They also made gingerbread cookies - yummy! To end the trip we assembled outside for some chestnuts roasting on an open fire and hot apple cider.
Of course we've set up our tree and all the Christmas decorations. After putting up with our live tree falling over the past two years and making a wet mess all over our hard wood floors, we purchased a fake one. I'm not thrilled about it but at least I don't have to water it and clean up after it.
We got together with another homeschool family last week for a "Christmas around the world". I taught the children some ways they celebrate Christmas in Mexican complete with a pinata and the other mom taught the kids about Christmas in India which included learning some Christmas words and eating some Indian treats!

The bottom picture is of Zanna at her last gymnastics session. We'll resume in the new year but as you can see she's enjoying "hanging around"!

We've managed to make it through our first snow storm of the season where I spent most of my day driving around for no particular reason (don't ask!). And I'm already tired of trying to get Zanna in and out of the carseat with her winter jacket on. Is it spring yet?

Yesterday Will had his violin Christmas concert. He played "What Child is This" and "O, Little Town of Bethlehem" - the first to play of 13 students. He did a lovely job - I was very proud and made sure to video tape the performance for Daddy who had to work. Zanna was his biggest cheerleader, jumping up and down and giving him two thumbs up.

Happy Halloween/Reformation

As promised to the grandparents, here are my two trick-or-treaters. In case you can't tell, Zanna is a "princess" bumble bee and Will is a red Lego. He and Wayne made his costume and it turned out great! Their evening was a success as they came home with way too much candy.

These are a few of my favorite things

As time heads toward the Thanksgiving and Christmas season, I pause to give thanks for all the "little things" that brighten my day, make me laugh or give me a touch of comfort. Here we go.....

Leaf cookies and apple cider. The smell and the taste are divine as are the memories behind them. Mom started this tradition and continued it even when we left her nest for high school at Prep. She would painstakingly layer them between bubble wrap in an effort to keep the fragile cookies from breaking. I would receive this treat in the mail come fall and share them with a chosen few in the dorm. The rest I would keep for myself and indulge in while sneaking off to the TV room for Brady Bunch reruns - a short time of quiet that was hard to find living in a girls' dorm! I now continue this tradition with my children although my leaf cutout is different from Mom's. Now I'm the one rolling the dough and carefully cutting out the shapes for my children to decorate with a variety of sprinkles. I imagine a time will come when I too will be layering them in bubble wrap to send off to the States. I'm in no hurry for that!

My Nutrimill wheat grinder. How I appreciate the freshness of the flour this machine makes for me as it grinds whole wheat kernels into flour. I use this to make cookies, waffles and pancakes, muffins and breads. I love the nutty taste and texture! In this way I keep all three parts of the wheat berry and all the nutrients it holds. If I don't use all I grind I will keep the rest in the freezer until I need it since there are no preservatives in it. Which leads me to.....

Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a day and the new Healthy Bread in 5 minutes a day cookbooks. I recently discovered these and shared them with several friends who are equally thrilled. The concept is that the time it takes to mix, rise, knead, rise again, etc isn't as important as we thought. By using their master recipe you can make up a batch of dough for 4 loaves in minutes and after allowing it to rise for a few hours, stick it in your fridge until you are ready to have freshly baked bread. On baking day it will take you 5 minutes of work to prepare it (not baking time of course). I'm here to tell you it works. I love it and the variations to it like using it as pizza crust. Today I am using the modified whole wheat recipe and have it on my counter top as we speak. I can't wait to sample it after it bakes!

Obviously I like to bake. I know my life it too hectic when I don't have time to bake. Then I'm miserable! I also like to cook and lucky for me my family likes to eat. My most recent cookbook purchased is Jamie Oliver's Jamie's Food Revolution. My favorite chapter is the Indian curry. After going to an authentic Indian restaurant last week and eating their stuff which was Fantastic it was confirmed that these recipes ain't too shabby. Love it.

On our trip last February to Mexico we had TV screens at each of our seats that had a choice of various shows and movies. It was then we discovered the Office. We became hooked ....fast. Since then we've become slightly obsessed. We've purchased and watched all the seasons so far. It's great for when there's nothing on TV which happens often. We'll often make quotes from the show to each other that we find hilarious - people around us are sure to think we're nuts. We had passed by this show previously thinking that it looked so stupid and the camera moved around too much (both are still true). We think one of the funniest episodes is from Season 5 called "Stress Relief" when Dwight sets the office on fire for the purpose of a fire drill.

Bath and Body Works has finally come to Canada and more importantly to me - Ottawa. I had to wait 7 years but by golly, it's finally here. I entered this abyss of lotions, soaps and air fresheners days after it opened to find the Christmas music playing and surrounded by people just about excited as me. I thought I was going to cry.

www.shutterfly.com is my new favorite website for all things picture. I've made two photo albums, a calendar and my Christmas cards simply by uploading the digital photos I want and dropping them into a pre-existing layout and adding the text I want. It's quick, easy and makes no mess. I'm all over that.

Books - specifically the ones I am reading with Will through Sonlight this year. We are studying American history (with some Canadian supplements, of course!) this year. Sonlight is the curriculum we use and there is a lot of reading both for Will and me to read aloud. Their motto "the way you wish you'd been taught" is true for me. I've learned more than I ever imagined. I'm fascinated by history and by what we can learn from the past. The Bible is the best history book out there with the way world history is intricately weaved through and in and among it. And now as we study the discovery and history of North and South America and the very beginnings of the United States and Canada I have a growing appreciation for it all. Will and I are reading about different Native American tribes and learning about them, where they're from and praying for them. The novels I read to Will I just can't get enough of - I read until my voice goes hoarse! We are currently reading "The Witch at Blackbird Pond". Before that was "The Sign of the Beaver". There are not enough hours in the day!!!

These are a few of my favorite things!