Family Pictures

It had been 4.5 years since we had family pictures taken (like, REAL ones....). I think it's the one on this blog by my name. Lincoln is 16 months old and Keziah is 3.5 years old. Now that they are 8 and almost 6, it was time for new ones.

I have been absolutely loving the work of a girl I went to high school with many moons ago, and so I contacted her and we set a date. In about 45 minutes, she clicked that button over 250 times.

She is quite the talented photographer. In all honesty, I was quite hesitant that we would have *any* nice pictures thanks to the antics of all of us:

• a whiny little boy who was still trying to adjust going to school everyday, plus having pictures taken past his bedtime
• an unfocused girl who would notice the details of every little weed, flower, bug, butterfly, stick etc that would catch her attention rather than the camera
• a man that had a hard time getting into "position" at times due to new shoes squishing his feet, and well, going down on your hunches when you are over 40 can be hard to do....I guess. I wouldn't have a clue ;)
• and then me, the mother bear who was busy making sure everyone was smiling and showing love to each other, as well as making sure clothing was staying in place, 'cause I lost way too much sleep on the matchy-matchy outfits (but tried to make sure they weren't toooo matchy-matchy)

Anyway, the following will attest to our photographer, Julie's work. Let me allow the pictures to do the rest of the talking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See?! Amazing work. I am so thrilled with these pictures. Julie is truly gifted in what she does and I am thankful I chose her to take these. Hopefully it won't be another almost 5 years before we do this again. By that time, Keziah will be 13 (ahhhh!!!!) and Lincoln will be almost 11 (waaaaaahhhhh!!!!). One day at a time shall we enjoy God's blessings of being a family of 4.

Sweaty September

Our summer finally came....in September. And when I say 'summer', I mean hot, humid weather with temperatures in the mid to high 30s. Love it!!!

We ended August and started September doing what we do best. Camping :) This time we went with friends as well. Where we camped was just 20 minutes from our home, yet once there, it felt like miles away. It was a very cool weekend, with only an hour or two of "warm enough weather for the beach" weather.

 

 

 

There are mountain biking trails nearby and so a bunch of guys went and enjoyed themselves.

 

 

 

 

We came home in time to start school the next morning....a very eager Gr. 3er and a very nervous Gr. 1er. They've nicely settled into their respective grades now, and Keziah has learned that having me as her teacher is not so bad after all. "It's going better than I ever thought it would!!" her words :)

Part of Keziah's birthday present was to take her to a Blue Jays' game. She loved it!! Lincoln? Not so much - it was too loud for him. It was a very exciting game and we saw it all! The Blue Jays won 10-9. We took the train in...and of course had to enjoy a sausage from a vendor as part of the experience.

 

 

 

 

 

My favourite Blue Jay player....

 

Nathan took Lincoln to the Farm Show. He made the mistake of telling Lincoln back in August. I believe Lincoln asked his dad every single day if it was The Day to go. They had a GREAT time together!

 

 

 

 

Nathan and I headed to Texas for 5 days, 3 of those days spending with his peer group. We had a fantastic time, experiencing things we would NEVER experience in Canada due to the fact that what's allowed in Texas is NOT allowed in Canada.

Texas-big clubhouse! Those are sweet potato fries - they were HUGE!!

 We stayed at a very nice resort that had a few pools and waterslides. While it was very hot back home, it was way hotter here!

 

Is it bad to say that this was the highlight of the trip?! While it was so much fun, it certainly spurned a discussion of why these guns are even needed in Texas - why is it legal to have them? Are they really that necessary?? I don't think we would have had as much fun, if any, if what happened in Vegas had happened already.....

 

 

By the way, my aim was worse than a boy and a toilet. Well, with that pink and black one just above I was able to hit every single target, but not with any other weapon.

That was our September. By the end of the month, we were all getting into the groove of school. Lincoln is absolutely loving  it and is soaking up everything very quickly. It is so good for him. Keziah is also loving it, "soaking" it all up in her very methodical way. And I am thankful with the priviledge of being at the front of the classroom again, seeing my students grow in so many different ways. I love my job! Nathan has been very busy with the business and is looking forward to a time when things will slow down a bit. It has been a tough year with all the rain we've received - but it's been a year of reminders of Who is in control of everything. We are thankful for that comfort.

We also got family pictures taken in September (first time in almost 5 years!!), but that'll be the next post. Take care and thanks for reading!!