April Thus Far....

Thanks for all the comments on my painting! I'll be taking orders in the Fall :o) All kidding aside, I confess I like it too and look forward to another session.

My weeks are flying by. Now that I am at school one full day and two half days as an EA, my days at home are eaten up fairly quickly with visiting people in the church, making meals etc. and taking care of my own household. I do love it though - all this structure. While I loved supply teaching, knowing each week what days I am at school is right up my alley. Makes it easier to plan my weeks.

Here's a little catch-up on some of the happenings the past weeks:

Bear with me as I speak for a moment about the man in my life. I can't help but be proud of the award he received a few weeks ago: Employer of the Year in the region we live in. What a huge honour for him! While he knew he was a finalist with one other company, he honestly did not think he would win it. But win it he did!! What a great way to celebrate 10 years of owning Gelderman Landscape Services. All the honour though does go to our God, who has blessed Nathan very much in his work.

We were excited to dress up for this event

Now that I am working a bit out of the house, everyone needs to pitch in and help. Just kidding - I am just enjoying this age where helping mom is fun yet! Lincoln loves to dust!

Our school community is pretty excited as last week we had the groundbreaking ceremony to officially start the digging for our new school. This has been a long time coming, and we are so thankful to God we have reached this point.

 

 

 

 

One night Nathan and I saw a black garbage bag that had blown into the pond. We had fun convincing the kids that it was a hippo :o)

Lincoln really enjoys to colour and do paperwork. I am so thankful for this - eases my worries a bit with him starting kindergarten in September! His fine motor skills have come a long, looooong ways in the last few months. I think the tongue has something to do with that.......

 

 

 What he was working on....he can print his name as well now....just the 'c' gives him trouble and so it looks like an 'u'

While Lincoln loves to colour, Keziah loves to craft and makes things out of things. This has been gracing my counter the last week or so, and the intention of it looking like a cow's head just is not the first thing that comes to mind every time I walk by it...... :P Those are eyeballs, people! C'mon now.....can't you see the horns?! And the nostrils at the bottom of the orange circle?! But yeah, pretty um, eye-catching, huh?!

Last Saturday, Keziah was at a friend's house and Nathan was working. That left just Lincoln and I so we decided to go for a hike. He is such a great little hiker! We hiked for 1.5 hours!

 

 

 

 

 Can you spot him?! Just look for some fluorescent legs....

All though we are lacking the colour green, I was struck by the beauty of all the different browns. The picture doesn't do it justice, but when I actually took the time to open my eyes and observe my surroundings, it was quite serene and beautiful.

And just a funny to end:

One supper, Lincoln kissed me right on the lips. He then stated lovingly, "We are married now." Lincoln promptly turned to Nathan and said very seriously, "You need to move out to a new house, dad, and find a new wife, 'cause I am married to mom now."

What a clown! Loving it though as I know it can switch in a heart beat and he'll be so embarrassed to show affection. So I am soaking it up as long as I can :o)

Autumn!

Although it is November, we have been experiencing some amazing weather. Like plus 20 degree Celsius weather. Not just for one day either, but for four. FOUR days in a row!!!! And you can bet your booties, I am enjoying every. single. moment of it, 'cause I know what is coming next.........my daughter's favourite season and my dreaded season. Winter. Well, if winter was for 1 month, it wouldn't be so dreaded, but yeah, not where we live! We get to have winter for minimum 5 months! Yippee-I-aye!!

In the last few weeks, we've been able to enjoy a few hikes with friends, observing God's creativity around us. The colours. The animals. The smells. The sounds. Autumn is just such a beautiful season.

 

 

There were lots of these guys, much to the kids' delight!

 

And cool looking prints in the mud.

A year ago I cried because it was snowing. But not this year!! We will continue to enjoy our days outside, where it is warm enough to wear just an undershirt apparently (yes, he *is* wearing an undershirt.....you just can't really see where it starts or ends, thanks to him losing what little tan he had from the summer :o)

And while I bemoan the fact that Winter is coming, I am thankful for God's faithfulness in the changing of the seasons, year after year. Autumn is not the only season where He shows His creativity; He does the same in Winter. Hard to see it sometimes when it can be so grey, cold and blustery, but all of that is from His hands as well.

I am thankful for a God that not only has the weather and seasons in His hands, but has me as well. While I don't look so forward to Winter as it can affect me, I go into the season with confidence and comfort, knowing He is there with me every wintry day. May you feel His presence wherever you are as well, no matter the Season of Life you are in!

Hiking!!

On the Holiday Monday last week, swimming isn't the only thing we did. The weather was perfect for a hike. We have never really gone on a hike with both kids. Someone always needed to be in the stroller or backpack carrier (we never found one we liked) and so hiking was just something we didn't do a lot of. Besides, when Nathan and I hike, we like to hike. Not stroll for a few minutes and then be done.

We found out last week that our children are now of age to enjoy a hike lasting more than a few minutes, on a path that is longer than a couple hundred centimeters. :o) In fact, we hiked for an hour.....covering about 2 kilometers! I know, doesn't sound like much, but remember, they are 3 and 5. And the path was filled with ups and downs.

 

 

 

 

What you look like when you get taken out by a tree root......

If it wasn't for this girl, I would not notice every pretty little flower 2.4 cm from the ground.

 

 

 

 

The day was certainly a warm one, so what better way to end a hike than hitting the yogurt shop?!

 

We are excited that this hike may be the first of many with our kids. We can't wait to show them the great outdoors our amazing Creator has made.

And here's a little proof that the day, totally wore out a little 3 year old. Be ready for a good chuckle!!

Lincoln: Dessert?

Last Hike of the Season = Photo Shoot

I had planned to do this blog post Friday night, but just when I was about to start, our power went out. Thankfully it came back on after an hour or so, which is good because it was a cold night for no heat!

It is now Monday night, and as I write this, my bath tub is full with water, flashlights are on the counter and my phone is fully charged. You'd think I am expecting the power to go out again! Well, that is because I am. The wind is blustery out there, blowing upwards to 80-100 kms an hour! It is supposed to be like this all tonight and into tomorrow. You know it's windy out there when the water in your toilets have white caps. (I am kidding, but the water is moving all around in them!)

But despite the wind, today was very warm, which reminded me of some pictures I took when the kids and I went on another fall hike. I shall let the pictures do the talking......some of them are my new favs!!

I took some pictures of the kids in the cornfield nearby, but Linc was just way too concerned about the farmer. "The farmer get mad at me, mom! I in his corn!!!"

Yup. There's no question. We have the cutest kids on the planet.