Summertime Fun

The Friesens & the Pletts - we'll miss you guys.

(To get both boys to look at the camera we put a toy sheep on top of it!)

Um, James... you are totally in the picture.

I picked up this Little Tikes water play table in Grand Forks for $29!

Playing with Isaiah.

The boys in the 'hood - James (18 mths), Jaxson (4.5 mths) & Isaiah (13 mths)

Busy Boys

Our friends and neighbours Trevor, Rebekah and Isaiah came over last night for supper. It was our last time together as families before they leave on missions. We had a really great time with them - but the boys seemed to have an especially good time. Below is just a glimpse of what these two boys can accomplish in just two and a half minutes.

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

The Last Couple of Weeks

The past few weeks have been very busy, and at the same time I feel like God is teaching me so many things.

My brother Matthew and his girlfriend Mercedes came out to visit for a week. Mercedes is from Mexico, and just recently moved to Calgary where my brother now lives. She is trying to get settled in while looking for a job, but they decided first to come visit for my grandma's wedding. James adored both of them, and it was so nice to have a few extra hands to entertain him during the week. He still asks for "Matt" and "Cedes".

My grandma got married last week Friday, at 74 years old. My cousin and I were her bridesmaids, which was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I am so happy for her, as she has been single for 35 years. Her husband John is an absolute sweetheart - he writes her poems, sings to her, and has that charming eye-twinkle that is so endearing. (In the photo from left-right: my cousin Heidi, myself, my grandma, John, John's sons Reg and Randy).

Amidst all this good stuff, my very good friend's mother passed away from cancer. Her mom was also a very good friend of my mom, and I knew her as "auntie". She knew she has little time to live, and yet when my mom called to tell me that she had passed away during the night I was still shocked. I've been feeling really helpless in knowing how to love and support my friend. I'm terrible with words when it comes to death and sympathy - I just don't know what to say. However, the funeral was actually really inspiring to me. I came away with a new appreciation for God, and how I want to be more open in talking to people about Him.

God has been continuously giving me an image of a drop of water falling into a pool. So many times throughout our lives we question the "big picture", and why we have to experience certain things. God has told me that our actions can speak louder than words. We will never know, until it is revealed to us in Heaven, how our actions, words, and life affected those around us. It is like the drop of water falling into a pool. That drop of water is like our life (our actions, how we treat people, our words, etc). The ripples that the drop of water makes are like the people that we touch and plant seeds in. We can never see where that ripple ends... just like we may never see how things we've done have impacted others. But somewhere along the line, something we've done will affect someone - and so it makes me SO much more aware of things I say, and do. Just because my life may not directly impact someone to make a decision for Christ, my life might affect someone else, who then affects someone else... until finally it affects a person I don't know to decide to follow Christ. Does that make sense?

Anyway, I spent this past weekend in Grand Forks with my mom, two of my aunts, two cousins, and a family friend. We literally shopped until we dropped, and had a great time. It was my first weekend away from James, while he stayed with daddy. I really enjoyed it, even though I missed him like crazy. When I got home, it felt like I had missed a month of his life - he seemed so grown up! He is madly teething right now, getting his eye teeth. He also seems to be on an eating strike, so I am making my goal this week to be getting him off pureed foods, and onto table food.

Eighteen Months

There has been a lot going on in our lives lately. It's been a week or two of emotional ups and downs, and I haven't had the energy or ambition to blog about it. However, I could HARDLY let James' 18 month birthday go by without a post! James is everything we could ask for in a son, and far more. He keeps us laughing constantly. His latest antics mostly revolve around his talking. He is talking A LOT! He really says almost anything we say, as well as having memorized a few books already. He sings a song my mom taught him called "Wind, Wind, Wind the Thread", and does all the actions. If you ask him what he likes to watch on TV, he will say with great enthusiasm "HOCKEEEEEY!". I have about a million things I could say about him, but above all, I am so proud to be his mommy. I love every day that God gives us with James. My cousin Leanne was here today taking photos - I can't wait to show them to you!

I'm a Believer!

James has had dry skin and eczema since he was pretty much a newborn. It isn't severe, although his first breakout was terrible while we tried to find solutions to the problem. We've been able to keep it under control using the following "rules": James has to wear 100% cotton most of the time, but especially at night and in the summer. All his clothes (and now ours as well) are washed with Tide Free, a detergent without any fragrances or dyes. I also use no fabric softener. Up until now, I only used Johnson's Baby Wash on him, and ONLY to wash his hair and diaper area. He only gets a bath 2 times a week. After his baths, we would lather him in Glaxal Base cream. On flare-ups I would use a prescription hydrocorisone cream. Also, he can only wear Huggies Natural Fit diapers, and unscented wipes. That WAS our ritual, but I am now a firm believer in something new!

I sort of stumbled across a website that advertised a great soap for people with eczema. After reading all the reviews, I decided I would order some online. I was excited when I saw that they had an actual store in Winnipeg, at Polo Park mall! We went there on Saturday, and I purchased their eczema treatment package which contained a bar of soap, and a stick of body butter (as seen in the photo). The price was reasonable, and I was willing to try anything. I used the soap on James on Sunday, and was very nervous that it would cause a major flare-up. Bar soaps are SO horrible on his skin! I did it anyway, and then put the body butter on all his eczema spots. His worst ones were behind his knees, and they were quite red. I continued to put the body butter on at each diaper change. Today, his eczema is GONE. That's right folks, it might sound like an info-mercial, but it is completely gone! I am so excited, I've been telling everyone about Rocky Mountain Soap Company, Pumpkin Patch Soap, and their unscent Body Butter. It's an answer to prayer!

They also have a line of baby products, with soap and body butter for babies. I am definately going to use it when we have baby No.2, if God blesses us that way.

My Mother's Day Speech

So this is what I've come up with to say in church tomorrow. I dedicate it to all my mommy readers. Happy Mother's Day to all of you! I love you!

What does motherhood mean to me? Wow. That is such a hard question to come up with a half-decent answer for! Motherhood means a million things to me. I thought about talking about what Motherhood doesn’t mean to me – like sleeping in on Saturday mornings, clean floors, fancy suppers, or being able to listen to an entire church service uninterrupted. I thought about how motherhood makes me love things I never thought I could love – like crumbs on the rug, boogers on my shirt, and toys all over the house. But I love these things because they are proof that my son lives in our home. Having him, and the joy he brings, is impossible to describe. To us he is a treasure, a miracle, just amazing. He is what makes me a mom – and I love being his mom.

I have a blog on the internet, and this week I asked my readers what motherhood means to them. These are just a few snippets from the responses I got, and I had to completely agree with all of them.

Motherhood truly fulfills me, and brings out the best in me. It's got to be the BEST job in the world! It’s rewarding, irreplaceable, indescribable. A God-given role, a privilege, an honor. Blessed beyond measure. Best of all, my children love me despite my short comings and feel thankful to have me in their lives.

It’s the greatest gift I have ever recieved. Being a mommy sometimes is so very challenging but yet is something that is the most rewarding. Indescribable joy that can never be replaced.

Another woman said, “Motherhood has finally driven home the true power and meaning of God's sacrifice of his son. When I really think about just how overwhelming my love for my son is, and realize that God loves all of us like that and infinitely more, and because of that love he sent his Son to suffer and die for us. It makes any frustration of motherhood completely disappear. I don't think anything but parenthood would have driven that message home in such a way.”

For myself, I know that motherhood changed how I see God, and how I want Him to see me. Motherhood pushed me to know God intimately, and to seek Him with all my heart so that I can learn how to better take care of my son. Motherhood has pushed me to take up the motto “Fully Rely on God”. Motherhood made me realize that I want to stand before God one day, and know that I did all I could to show Christ’s love to my children, that they would want that same love in their lives. Motherhood made me realize that I want my children to rise up and call me blessed. Motherhood made me realize that I want nothing more in my life than to be able to confidently say to my children, “Come, take my hand and follow me”.

A verse that has helped me through the mystery of motherhood has been James 1:5. I keep it on my fridge, and I read it daily. I like the Message version, which says “If you don't know what you're doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You'll get his help, and won't be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who "worry their prayers" are like wind-whipped waves. Don't think you're going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open”.

So to all you mother’s out there, or soon-to-be-mothers, mothers of adopted children, mothers who have angel children, or those that are hoping-to-one-day-be-a-mother, happy mother’s day to you. May God richly bless you today – you deserve it.

I Need Your Help!

I've been asked to say a few words in church on Sunday about "What Motherhood Means to Me". I don't really know in what direction I want to go with it, and I'm looking for inspiration. What does motherhood mean to you? This is a question for moms, soon-to-be-moms, dreaming-of-being-a-mommy, or perhaps just something about your own mom.

It's Ordered!

Friday Photoshoot

A BIG Mistake

I decided that I was allowed to get a treat for myself at SuperStore yesterday. As I made my way through the aisles, I thought about what I wanted to treat myself with. At first I thought, "flip flops!". I went into the clothing section on the lookout for some new shoes. Sadly, there were no flip flops that interested me. Then I thought, "A book!". So I went to the book section, but didn't have the patience to look through all of them in hopes of finding something I'd like. And then it hit me! Following the leading of what could only be my "Aunt Flo is coming soon" hormone-induced craving, I found myself parked in front of the freezers. I'm not proud of what happened next, but it looked just like this...What a BIG mistake! This treat seems to be making frequent half-hour visits out of the freezer, as well as loosely being labelled "breakfast" and "lunch". In all honesty, I wasn't really concerned about the 290 calories per 125mL serving until I had polished off half the container - and realized that was about 250mL. This little wicked delight packs into one small pint a mix of both chocolate and vanilla ice cream, laced with brownies and chocolate chip cookie dough. Wow. It's amazing, actually. So thanks to Ben & Jerry for making me the happiest ate-too-much-ice cream-tummy-aching woman in town. I was bloated before the ice cream binge, but now I find myself having to crack open the fly on my jeans just to breath. Ick.

So if you are looking for a yummy treat today, don't delay! Get to your nearest Ben & Jerry's dealer and pick up a pint of Half Baked. Nothing would really make me feel better than knowing I have company in my gluttony. Enjoy!