Last Swim Meet of the Summer

Er, rather, last REGULAR swim meet, as we still have the big deal one at Brock next Saturday. :)

So JA was so good today!! I finally have photos to share :)


JA and her friend K. They swam together all summer. Both girls have improved a great deal!

Getting ready to launch off the wall for the backstroke, 25 m.

Freestyle, her best stroke.











The Fly (butterfly), man, I don't know how these kids do it! That one kills me!

Things to do

This post is all for me... when I make a list of things to do, I often accomplish more! :)

So here's today's to do list (in no particular order)

• wash sheets on our bed and Zachary's bed
• put sheets on the two beds
  
• put away clean clothes
• empty dishwasher
• make lunch
• tidy kitchen
• clean upstairs bathroom
• sweep floors
• get kids to dust the house with Fairy Duster
• figure out a new project for my Hostess Club
• drink water
• go swimming
  

For today

I'm borrwing this idea from a few blogs I read... thought it was a good thing to do.

Outside my window...it's calm, and overcast, and probably hot and humid, I haven't checked.

I am thinking...about Michael and his appointments today

I am thankful for...food on the table, a reliable vehicle, and a roof over our heads, and mostly for praying friends.

From the kitchen...banana bread, and raisin bread

I am wearing...chocolate brown comfy shorts, and a red t-shirt

I am creating... something with paper for my hostess club

I am going... to go to the wading pool with the children this afternoon

I am reading... Chicken Soup for the Soul, Tough Times Tough People

I am hoping... that Michael is successful today!

I am hearing...Zachary and Sophia playing house together, and NOT fighting in the living room!

Around the house... there is a hurrican to clean up... and I will do it.

One of my favorite things... is spontaneous kisses from my family

A few plans for the rest of the week...creating some cards and some scrapbook pages, cleaning the house, doing laundry... soccer and swimming!

Finding the Joy!!

I've been thinking. Dangerous, I know! LOL But seriously, I've been thinking, and reading my Bible (the book of James and can't get past the first chapter, so much good stuff in there!)... and wondering, and sometimes griping quietly about the season of life we are in right now. Michael is still jobless. It's frustrating to think that we might have to take a job that is not in his field nor is it productive in promoting him to a new career.

I always talk and think "God is providing, he knows what he's doing, etc" all the cliche things Christians tend to say and do in times of big or little crisis. I'm not denying that God is in fact providing for us in this time of financial unsteadiness, for sure and beyond all I can imagine He has taken care of us. However, the unemployement train is pulling into the final station soon, and I find myself worrying about what we will do next. It's like we've gotten used to this new lifestyle, and it too can be ripped right out from under us. I don't like that feeling. Not. One. Bit. I dont. I don't know anyone who does. It's times like these that I find myself saying the above statements out loud, but in my heart of hearts I fret and worry and wonder and consider things I should not consider (like selling our home, or moving across the country or other such things). I become inflexible... after a life of relative leisure, where we had no worries about anything, I am unwilling to change that... I don't want to have to give up stuff (not that we have lots to give up, but ya know, we all have vices and desires and wants), or convenience, or time together as a family. I don't want to give up my sanity, or at least the little bit I have left LOL.

In the past few days I have been reading a few blogs of folks who are in similar situations that we are in. They have had some profound things to say.

MckMama is the mom to 4 children, the youngest of whom has heart problems. He's not even one yet. The trials. I can't even imagine. She said "Perhaps having a good life, one that we are satisfied or joyful in, is not measured by how much subjective good there actually is in our lives, but simply in if we look for satisfaction and joy." Who can argue with that? So today I will go to bed and look for the joy in things... I will not see the joblessness, I will see all the extra family time we have had this year that we would not have had otherwise. I will not see the mess that is my home right now, I will instead see the wonderful family that I have been blessed with who made the mess. I will not see the bills coming in, I will rejoice that we have not yet had any ulitilies cut off! I will not see the rising cost of gas, but be grateful that we still have a van to drive, and places to go and people to see. I will not see the glass is half empty, but is waiting to be filled!!

God is good, and there is nothing more I can say but that.

So if you are still reading... kudos! :)

We went camping...

....and it rained. A lot. But that's OK!

So Tuesday we spent the majority of the day packing up the van. We had the car top carrier on, all sleeping gear loaded, clothes, etc. We intended to get to bed by 9:30, but did make it by 10. That in itself is amazing! LOL! We also aimed to get up and going by 4:30... which meant 5, and we were gone by 5:30. Not bad. We were aiming to avoid rush hour traffic, as we were heading north, through Toronto. We were only 20 mins from home, and we came accross a tractor trailer accident. It was crazy, the thing had crashed thru the cement median, and was at this crazy angle. I got an OK picture of it with the kids looking on in amazement.






So we got there in good time, and JA's friend K met us at the gate. I guess she had been looking for us all morning! :) We were camping with her family, altho a few camp blocks from them. WOW, they have quite the set up with their trailer and trenches and tarps. Envy did not begin to describe how we felt when it started to rain on Thursday! LOL We were camping at Mikisew Provincial Park in South River, ON. It's half way between North Bay and Huntsville. Here's JA and her friend K.




It rained ALL day on Thursday. We spent the day under the Klassen's tent, reading, kids playing, and attemping to keep a small fire going. We ended up eating supper out, as we were just desperate to be warm and dry! LOL!

We did get in several trips to the beach (Eagle Lake), which was nice. It was nice and sandy, and the water was clear and shallow. The kids had a blast! We built sandcastles, made new friends, and swam around. Every year the Klassens build a 'sand shark' in 3D, and it's very cool, but I got no photos :( They invited JA to help this year, and they made a hammer head. Love the beach! :)







We didn't get any photos of our site, but we had Lake Beaudry twice. It was nasty, but thankfully stayed away from the tent. :) The tent did leak a teeny bit, but nothing that couldn't be dealt with. Thankfully, the dining tent had no problems until the last night, at which point it rained so hard that it came in thru the seams. Michael dug lots of trenches to drain water away, and they mostly worked :)

The kids had a blast. They loved biking around and using the walkie talkies to tell us where they were etc :) We went to a little program about tadpoles that the park staff put on, and it was pretty fun and informative.

On our way home, we were privy to a double rainbow that lasted at least half an hour. It was amazing and brilliant! I was reminded how God promised not to destroy the earth by flood again... and how he keeps his promises. My heart was encouraged.

We stopped at Webers for supper on the way home. It's a unique place that has the best hamburgers going! We ate in the train car since it was still raining. The kids LOVED it!! It has been a while since we have been there, so it was a great treat :)




It was nice to come home though... to dry and warm/cool air!! I'm still up to my ears in laundry, as I have to wash all the sleeping bags, plus our clothes, and beach stuff and whatnot. Michael has the tent set up outside, hosed down, and drying out.

One last photo of Sophia hanging out at the bathroom, waiting for the girls to come out.

I really am still here!

I have lots to write about, but nothing to say. So much has been going on in our lives, and still no job.

We just went camping at the IL's trailer, and had a great time! I will post more on all that later... end of school, soccer, swim team, camping... and job hunting. Are you hiring?!

Destination Create!

Ok, so Destination Create was awesome! The first weekend of May (which also is National Scrapbook Day weekend!) I packed up my gear (ok, so I spent the better part of the previous week packing up!) and headed out to the Four Points Sheraton in Thorold. I went last year and had such a good time, and got lots done. This year was no different. We had fabulous meals, great goodie bags, I took an awesome class with Caroline of Maya Road fame, and had some great roommates.

The event started on Friday at 11am, but b/c I had to do lunch duty, I decided to wait until JA was home from school to go. So we all went in and dropped my gear off. No tears this year from anyone!! YAY! I found my table, dropped my stuff, and took a look around, did some visiting, and went to supper.  I was sitting with Cathy B., Vanessa I., and Karen T. Behind me were Sherry P. and Cathy M. I didn’t know the other two ladies at the table.

On Saturday morning Vanessa let me borrow her SUV to head to the Fairview Mall for bowling awards for JA. I missed it last year, and didn’t want to miss it again. More on bowling awards later.

Saturday afternoon I took the best class ever!! Honestly, I have taken other classes before, and have never been 100% satisfied. I have enjoyed them, but WOW this class was AMAZING! Caroline , the co-creator of Maya Road flew in from Texas to teach some fabulous classes. I wasn’t going to take any due to the cost, and the no job thing still... but I am oh so glad I took the plunge and got the last seat available! We made a butterfly book made of chipboard and acrylic pages. We had different techniques on several pages – using Maya Mist (similar to Glimmer Mist only better!), painting on chipboard, rubbing stickles on (wow, it gives a totally different effect!), stamping on patterned paper, embossing the acrylic with Tim Holtz distress embossing powder, and using ribbons and lots of chipboard embellishments! After the class time flew by, I went back and started working on my book. On Saturday night I had it completed! I do want to add a teensy bit of journaling to it, and some ribbons to the jump ring to make it totally complete... but that will come. I will post photos soon! The product we got in that pkg was also beyond amazing!! We needed 5 chipboard letters, she gave us the whole tin, we needed a few little bling flowers, again, the whole tin! We got yards and yards of ribbons, several patterned papers from Pink Paislee, whole packages of chipboard scrolls, and then some!! It was certainly worth the price, as the value of the product was beyond wow!! So glad Karen talked me into the class (you know, twisting my slightly rubbery arm LOL).
Friday night we went up to the hospitality suite and had a little surprise 40th birthday party for Patti. Several of the ladies from the Nook/Nook boards made a 4x4 chipboard coaster for her, and it turned out so beautiful!! Everyone put such efforts and each one was a work of art. She cried. Mission accomplished ;) LOL
I stayed up WAY too late both nights, and suffered for it for the next few days, but it was all so worth it!! I got started on my ‘secret project’ , did a page in our Florida album, and did a page in the Port Weller School album as well.

All in all, a fabulous retreat, and I cannot wait for next year!!!

HUGE thanks to Barb, Patti and Elia for putting on a fabulous weekend!