Before and After!

And you thought I forgot about this newly established theme. Pfffft. Nope, haven't forgotten at all! Life, like everyone else's, just seemed to have picked up speed, which means blogging kind of takes a backseat. But life is good!! It is full. It is adventurous. It is fun.

Blogging for me is a night time activity, done in peace and quiet where I can put my thoughts down. However, my nights have been quite full with meetings etc. My days are definitely quieter than my nights, but I do not like to blog when my littles are up. It requires too much thought and concentration for me and so to be interrupted just would not go over well. Hence, the nighttime blogging.

But here I am! I have a night free AND I feel like blogging. I have some catching up to do (i.e. Thanksgiving camping etc.) but I start tonight with a BEFORE and AFTER.

I took these pictures back in September, but I thought I'd better share them before it gets too cold out there, 'cause who knows, maybe they will inspire you to get this task done while it is still do-able, weatherwise.

This task, like many "cleaning" tasks, had been in the back of my mind for pretty much, well, all summer. There just always seemed to be an excuse to *not* do it. And for the most part, it never really bothered me that it wasn't being done. Until I had to share this space with someone else. Then it was embarrassing and I would 'promise' myself that I will do it before the next weekend. I did that for 12 weeks. And then finally buckled down and got it done.

So what am I talking about?

The Car.

That's right - taking out the vacuum cleaner, dust cloth and a pail of hot soapy water to finally, finally clean that car of ours. And it wasn't that bad of a task to do - especially when you have such a willing helper!

Thankfully, we do not do a lot of eating in the car, so there really weren't a lot of crumbs to deal with. And I didn't have to use my fingernail to peel off any old pieces of candy, smarties or once-soggy fishy crackers from the carpet. We also didn't find any stale bread crusts or chewy french fries under the seats from 6 months ago. But don't worry. We found lots of dust!!

Yup. To clean the car was definitely way overdue! And so, away we went, scrubbing, dusting, and vacuuming everything (and despite what the pictures may show, I did do my part as well ;)

Within the hour, we were left with a sparkling and pleasant-smelling car!

I can see how fast I am going now.....I can no longer use the dust as an excuse: "No, sorry, officer, I did not know I was speeding. Let me just blow the dust off my speedometer for a minute....."

And now I know which way to turn the dial to get some heat!

So, why did it take me all summer to do this?! Who knows, but it sure was nice to no longer be embarrassed in the church parking lot, knowing that so many were passing my car and could see in, thanks to the lack of tint on my windows.

It felt good to get it done, even if it only lasted 3 days. The sand vacuumed up from the summer has since been replaced by leaves.

But I challenge you to get this task done, if you haven't already, before it is just too cold to haul out the vacuum cleaner and a pail of hot steamy water that will only stay hot and steamy for 2.5 minutes. Go. Get it DONE!!! And while it may not stay clean, enjoy checking this off your to-do list before the snow flies. :o)

From the Archives

It is nearing the end of October, with this coming weekend welcoming November. Eek! Last week I had to scrape the car as it had a good layer of frost on the windows. And while driving down the road, it looked like snow in some spots. It's coming, it's coming!!!

But before Winter comes and all that comes with it, we have Fall yet and need to finish up October.

The last day of October is Halloween - at least here in North America. There are many countries in the world who do not "celebrate this holiday." Holiday??! Who am I kidding? However, by the decorations that are being put up, the displays in the store and the giddiness of everyone around us, one would think that is most certainly *is* a holiday.

Two years ago, I, the Halloween Grinch, wrote a little piece on my blog about Halloween. Two years later, my line of thinking is still the same, and so I thought I'd repost it. I don't know who my "readership" is, and maybe it hasn't changed in two years, and so you've read it already. But in case it has changed and there are one or two new readers, and you are one of them, this may interest you. Or not.

So, here it is: Why We Don't Participate in Halloween

While most look forward to October 31st, we can't *wait* for the days following, when we may buy candy at half the price it was, as well as stock up our dress-up box!  See? We can have fun, too! ;)

Colours of Fall

The season of Autumn is in full-swing here. The colours are vibrant, the nights are frosty and yet we've been spoiled with some warm temperatures during the day.

Keziah has not been able to go to school the last two weeks due to her surgery (which I am sure you read about on her blog), but due to her feeling so good, we decided to take advantage of some free time and go for some hikes.

Enjoy the pictures, knowing and praising God for showing off His marvellous creativity and might, as He displays this through the changing of the seasons.

After our hike, Keziah came back with quite the red tongue :o)

God, Please Continue to Keep Our Land Glorious and Free

It sure has been quite a week here in Canada, particularly in a city that is 5 hours from where we live. I am sure most, if not all, of you have heard of the events that have transpired around our government buildings on Wednesday. It definitely has made us sad yet alert and thankful once again for the men and women that serve in our military. May we continue to pray for all those who serve this beautiful country that we live in. To read a bit more, here is a link

However, our prayers don't stop there. We also pray for these radicals, the men and women who are so lost in their way that they feel the strong need to take not only others' lives, but also their own. What is so sad about all this is, while what happened in Ottawa is tragic, events like this happen daily in other countries! May these countries remain in our prayers, as well as the leaders that are in positions of authority. We pray for the terrorist groups as well, the many that are around the world who feel they are above and beyond the law. May they see that although they are convinced that they have control and are on top, there is still One higher than they. And that is the King of kings and Lord of lords.

Psalm 2 New International Version (NIV)

Psalm 2

¹ Why do the nations conspire^[a]
    and the peoples plot in vain?
² The kings of the earth rise up
    and the rulers band together
    against the Lord and against his anointed, saying,
³ “Let us break their chains
    and throw off their shackles.”

⁴ The One enthroned in heaven laughs;
    the Lord scoffs at them.
⁵ He rebukes them in his anger
    and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,
⁶ “I have installed my king
    on Zion, my holy mountain.”

⁷ I will proclaim the Lord’s decree:

He said to me, “You are my son;
    today I have become your father.
⁸ Ask me,
    and I will make the nations your inheritance,
    the ends of the earth your possession.
⁹ You will break them with a rod of iron^[b];
    you will dash them to pieces like pottery.”

¹⁰ Therefore, you kings, be wise;
    be warned, you rulers of the earth.
¹¹ Serve the Lord with fear
    and celebrate his rule with trembling.
¹² Kiss his son, or he will be angry
    and your way will lead to your destruction,
for his wrath can flare up in a moment.
    Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

 

(Nathan just called me half an hour ago - he happened to be on an overpass on the way to a conference, and stopped as he noticed the processional of Nathan Cirillo's body was passing by. Too hard to describe in words, he said, but man, are we both proud to be Canadians. Here are some photos of the processional)

Made it!! And Some Camping Pictures

It's over!! No longer are we a family of 7, but we are now a family of 4 again. Phew - I am tired!!!! But it went well. Actually, it went well for everyone but Lincoln. He had a tough time this last week, sharing his space, his toys, his sister, his mom, his everything. While he had some enjoyable moments with his cousins, I believe he is thankful for things to return to normal.

Before we head out for our next camping trip, I still have our last one to post about! I know, rough life, eh?! Getting behind in camping pictures blog posts.....;)

A few weeks ago, we were in for a beautiful and warm weekend, so off we went, not far from home, to enjoy some family time. Little did we know that everyone else wanted to spend time with us as well! Strangers even!

While our site was open, and trailers were all around us, the plus of our site was that we had lots of picnic tables to use!

Keziah felt the need to build a bear trap.... (and no, there are no bears here. Catching neighbours was probably a lot higher of a chance. Note, that is not Nathan's truck but from "next door"... :o)

But I do believe we didn't have the worst site at this park......this one takes the cake. Yes, that's a stoplight you see. A stoplight for a very busy road. Hmmmm. So peaceful. Not.

But this park definitely had some very beautiful spots to explore and experience, like some old ruins (a wedding was set up) and caves, where the kids looked for King Saul and David :o) :

 I always knew this boy was strong!!! But didn't know he could hold up such a heavy rock!)

Even though the weather was so warm, we didn't go swimming. Would you?!



Enjoying some time at our campsite.

The picture of roasting marshmellows is so typical: Keziah's is 3 feet above the fire as she doesn't want it burnt, and Lincoln's is in the dirt. Sigh. I love these kids so much and how they are so different from each other!

We came home from church on Sunday to a very empty campground. We were pretty much the only ones left that stayed till Monday!! It was *so* nice!!

Overall, while it was not quite what we were expecting, we are thankful to have had a weekend to spend time outdoors, taking in our awesome Creator's works with the colours He has on display.

With Thanksgiving around the corner, we would like to wish you all a blessed and thank-filled weekend. Just knowing what God has done for us gives us reason for thanks. All glory, thanks and honour to Him!

Breathe. Deep......and a Before/After

What a whirlwind the last 9 days have been, and the whirlwind is on the verge of turning into a tornado.

Last weekend we were experiencing some fantastic autumn weather, and so we packed up the trailer and headed away for a 4 day getaway. The sun was warm and the colours so vibrant (were the leaves not green like, just a week ago?!), so we heard nature beckoning us out to enjoy it all weekend long. And enjoy we did!

Well, we tried to enjoy where we went. We literally were in a camper parking lot, with everyone else and their cousin, who also decided to enjoy the weather by camping. It wasn't until Sunday afternoon, once everyone left, that we became relaxed. But we live and learn - not to go to this campground again!!

But more about that later. Like I said in my first sentence, life has picked up speed here. I came home from camping on Monday, with two big unexpected things happening within a few days of each other due to the death of loved ones:

The first one being, I made a 3 day trip to Cincinnati to be with a friend who lost her little guy (more about this on another day).

And the second one: I came home on Thursday, after driving for 7 hours from Cincinnati, to welcome not only my own two children, but my three nephews as well! My family has doubled in size and will remain double for a week as my sister and her husband are Out West to bury a beloved aunt of my brother-in-law's (aren't my nephews adorable?!).

And then, on top of the unexpected things, there are the things that have been planned all along: leaving next Thursday for our annual Thanksgiving trip, as well as Keziah having surgery the day after we get back from camping.

See? Forget whirlwind. Tornado seems fitting. Breathe.....I can do this. One hour day at a time.

However, despite all this, I have not forgotten my new series of "Before and After". This week's one is not a cleaning one; if you need motivation to get that hotspot cleared up or those baseboards dusted, you won't find it here :o)

The big Before and After actually has something to do with Keziah and her mane. With surgery coming up, and too many tangles for school mornings, it was time to tame the mane.

Before (ah, I love her hair!!!)

After:

Before:

After:

I love it shorter on her (and she is loving the lack of knots)......however, I don't love how such a simple change can make her look so much older.

But she still is my gorgeous, mischievous, fun-loving full of life little girl!

She isn't the only one that got a hair cut. I did as well.......but for some reason, there are no before and after pictures of that ;). I also got my hair high-lighted, but I am thinking it will need to be re-done once the next 3 weeks are over, thanks to more grey :o) Oh well, I shall wear the grey with pride. I think.

Anyway, all 5 kids were sound asleep by 7:40 this evening. If they go down to bed like they did tonight, I may even be able to catch up on the blog and post about some of the things I mentioned above.

Take care and have a great weekend!