Thankful

It has been a long time, but I am thankful. 

I am thankful for opportunities to learn and grow in ways I did not think I would be able to over the years.

I am thankful for a partner in life who sees me as I am, sees my potential, and encourages me to grow and reach for it.

I am thankful for the listening ear, the devil’s advocate, the look at what is on the other hand.

I am thankful for the chance I have to be the listening ear, for the confidence and the trust in sharing thoughts and feelings.

I am thankful for the opportunity to watch four amazing children, that somehow we are blessed to nurture and shape, develop into their own intricate, beautiful, and individual personalities.

I am thankful for parents and parental figures we have been blessed with, who have given us advice, helped us along the way so far, and are wonderful models for us.

I am thankful for the enjoyment I have found in running this little world; of planning and carrying out meals, baking and creating, cleaning and teaching.

I am thankful for the faith that has been given to me.

I am thankful for rest, for work, and for play.

I am thankful for recreation and family time.

I am thankful for family, both of blood and of bond; for the close connections that shared past brings and for the opportunities to create new connections and bonds.

I am thankful for children who cuddle; who still love to hug, to hold paws, and curl up on the couch beside us.

I am thankful for vibrant laughter and sharp humour.

I am thankful for hot tea and coffee.

I am thankful for the freedom that is found in honest communication.

I am thankful for the chance I have to be human; to show the children I am not prefect, just as they are not perfect, but we are perfectly us just the same.

I am thankful for small tasks that feel amazing once they are accomplished.

I am thankful for boots in the hallway of varying sizes.

I am thankful for music and the places it takes me.

I am thankful.

6 months condensed

Wow, I am ashamed of how behind I am on this blog!

It has been a busy spring here.  Smarty broke his pinky finger playing basketball, I started work after completing my online program, the Sergeant participated in a kids' triathlon, replaced our Civic after it collided with a deer (and bought a new truck.  SO SHINY!).  The school year wrapped up nicely, we took our summer vacation to visit family, and are just back from that.

During that holiday we went fishing in Manitoba, played in various pools and splash parks, saw the Royal Saskatchewan Museum and the Museum at Depot, celebrated my grandmother's 95th birthday (and saw lots of people I hadn't seen in too many decades, which was really nice).

We visited friends who had recently moved, saw a movie, bought Smarty new glasses (why did they break when we were away???), and Sergeant lost a tooth (why do they lose them in small towns while we are visiting people??), and everyone got a little teensy bit sun burned.  Which was alright since that happened after having the coolest week on the lake in Manitoba I have ever experienced in July ;)

We have quelled overtired fears and feels, we have survived so many hours in the vehicle.  There have been memories made with all grandparents, assorted cousins, new-to-the-kids extended family, and lots of cuddles.

Hubby and I have experienced a new freedom of leaving the eldest in charge at home for small amounts of time while we go shopping or go see a movie.  It really is nice having him that little bit older.  And the babysitting course he took seems to have been really helpful for his confidence and ability to move into that role.

Summer is moving along too quickly.  Halfway finished already, then it'll be full time school for all the littles with 2 of them on the bus together and the other 2 still being dropped off and picked up by me.  I really do like having the freedom to do that with this work I am doing.  I cannot say enough good about the experience I had with the whole process with it so far.

Until next time...

FINALLY!

This little one is so proud of her smile! After eating tough and crunchy food all week, she finally lost her first baby tooth after biting into a hamburger on Sunday evening.

Now shes carefully watching the next loose one beside it...

We are sitting and waiting on this snow storm that it supposed to move in tonight and stay most o the weekend. Littles don't have school tomorrow, Hubby has the day off, and I completed the last of my work for my practicum today, so it is going to be a weekend completely free of outside work!

Smarty will be taking a babysitting course through the school tomorrow that I am excited for him to take. Sergeant has another archery tournament on Saturday afternoon. The one he had last weekend he did amazingly well! Scored the second highest for his school!

Overall, the beginning of March is showing that it'll be a busy, but good month :)

"Welcome to my life."

I was not going to blog tonight. Nope, nope. However, something happened tonight that needed to be written down.

Sergeant has had a loose molar for FOREVER! It is his first molar to get loose, he was determined to pull it out a month ago but he wasn't able to get it. And every day since then we've been asking him "How's that tooth coming along?". Nope, not yet.

Also, Monkey has been wanting to lose teeth for FOREVER! She has been telling people she has loose teeth for a year or more. Nothing has come out yet.

As I was getting the girls out of the tub tonight, I checked in on Monkey's mouth and I could see a little nub of a new tooth coming in behind one of her front bottom teeth and that tooth was decidedly loose. Yay! Ecstatic Monkey! She quickly got dressed, brushed her teeth, and ran downstairs to show Daddy her mouth. Next thing I knew, I had Sergeant skulking up the stairs, very slowly.

I have been designated the official tooth puller in the house. My fingers are smaller than Hubby's and I can get a better grip on the white little nubs.

He told me that he was told to get mommy to pull his tooth out. So I got my fingers ready and approached. He flinched, he tensed before I even got my fingers on the silly thing. It took me less than 10 seconds to get it! And he stood there. Stunned. He was anticipating more pain, maybe? the sound of bones cracking perhaps?

But, once Monkey saw what I had done for Sergeant, she demanded that I try it for her. Her tooth wasn't, isn't that loose. So I did a little pull, just a little harder than I had when I was just wiggling it, and stopped. I know when to stop. She was not a happy Monkey. She felt her tongue all around, put a tissue in her mouth for the blood (there was only a single drop...) and sat next to me needing cuddles because it was just too much. Then she discovered a hole.from where the tooth had cracked from the root.

Still crying, she got up and showed Daddy the hole. He was less sympathetic than she had wanted. She needed to be fawned over and coddled. So she showed Sergeant next. "Look, I have a hole! and it hurts!"

He examined her mouth carefully. Squinted those killer blue eyes and peered into the recess of her mouth. He told her that it would make it easier to pull now.

Then she said "But it really hurts!"

To which that 9 year old responded with the wisdom of a tooth pulled veteran, "Welcome to my life."

And Hubby and I nearly died.

So now, we have a girl who is experiencing new feelings in her mouth but is now getting excited again for it to fall out. "Maybe even at school tomorrow!" And we have an almost 10 year old imparting the wisdom of the tooth losing to the littlest of the family.

There is always so much that goes on, with lulls in between. Go, go, go, with some downtime to recharge and reset.

We have come up against strep throat, big feelings, talk of self-discipline and prayer, lots of cuddling, lots of reading.

The boys and Daddy are really enjoying playing on and exploring the X Box we got for Christmas this year. Girlie is excited to play too, and to learn the controls and plots of the games she feels comfortable playing, and Monkey has decided that it is boring and needs to watch Netflix while the others are playing on it in the basement. Good thing she has parents who think that's a pretty good idea too.

A couple weeks ago Smarty brought the Lego bin up out of the basement and there was so much creating and playing. And little, itty, bitty Lego pieces all over the floor. But it was worth the injury hazard to watch that imagination and creativity. Monkey built and then had some imaginary play. Animals, creatures, people, had some pretty neat adventures.

I am nearing the end of my year-long online course, and am surprised sometimes that the day to day stuff gets done! But I have amazing support from Hubby, and a few (repetitive) conversations with the kids, reminding them that Mommy doesn't have the same time o get things done as before and it is important that they follow instructions when needed. And it wouldn't hurt to have them do a few things without being asked... but that's something that takes practice and repetition anyways.

I have a few pictures I am going to post. Archery is up and running, a couple from over the holidays.

 

She was thrilled when Daddy was able to get away from work to watch her Christmas concert! 

 

First band concert playing the alto saxophone! They really did have a lot of fun.

 First archery tournament is all finished! We got the scoring back last week and Sergeant did fantastically well!

Best part of finally having snow!

Again, too long

Way, way, way, way over due!

We have successfully navigated through the beginning of school, Thanksgiving, Halloween, Remembrance Day, and Christmas.  Some of that time was solo parenting with Hubby away on exercise, most of it he has been home (thankfully).

For the Christmas break we stayed home for the first bit (I really do love having Christmas Eve and Day with just our little crew) and then travelled to see Amma first, then Grandma and Poppa in the south of this sunny province. It was freezing most of the time, warmed up the last couple days we were away, and we got home with time to orient ourselves and simply be before school and work started.

Hubby had the week before everyone was out of school off too, so he and Monkey spent a lot of time together so I could load on my own school work in order to take some family time off without worry of falling behind. I am so grateful for that!

There was a beginner band concert for Smarty, school concerts for the younger ones, Sergeant and Girlie had speaking parts and Sergeant surprised us with a singing/dancing solo/with 2 other students. They all did amazingly well!

We currently have 2 children on antibiotics for strep, there have been the regular ups and downs for readjusting to routine after a break, but overall we all seem to be moving forward. I got a dayplanner and have been using it to write down the things that don't get onto the calendar (like making the time to blog) and so I hope that it will help keep me on track for writing. Because I do enjoy doing it, just have issues sometimes making the time. The time already exists, I just am hoping to be more intentional with it.

Hope everyone had a a good holiday season!