Dance with all your heart!

Arianna-The CUTEST elephant ever!

Andrea-Stunning as a butterfly

Joshua-A monkey... charming as ever

We have the three oldest kids in dance at KaRAR Studios. Arianna is in ballet, Andrea in hip hop and ballet and Joshua is in hip hop. Every June, the studio puts on a show that is a spin off a Disney movie. This year was The Lion King and it was [again] a phenomenal show of dancing, acting, and choreography put on by countless performers ranging in age from three years all the way up to adult. I also must credit the studio manager Natalie D. for her countless hours of prep work, teaching and training. Volunteer parents who helped backstage, organized kids, and even sewed costumes all helped pull an amazing show together.

I love seeing my children's creativity come through in this "art" form. I have noticed a huge change in Joshua's coordination and rhythm after two seasons of hip hop. Andrea is a true performer and her abilities shine on the stage. Arianna is in it for fun yet as she is only five years old. They love what they do and I love how they glorify God in their actions. They are dancing for Jesus with all their heart!

Computers... a mixed blessing

On Monday night, my laptop shut down... just. like. that. A slight feeling of panic entered my heart as I thought of the hundreds of pictures, videos, digital scrapbook pages and the many 'papers' and 'embellishments' I downloaded. Doug brought the laptop to some good friends of ours who did something called "imaging the hard drive" (like taking a picture) and then returned the laptop to us. We will send the computer off to Sony and hope that they can fix it. With any luck and much prayer, our techie friends will put all our information back onto the computer and I'll be back in business.

A few things have happened this week as I have been computer-less. When I went to bed on Monday night, I felt somewhat convicted by God that perhaps I have been spending too much time in the cyber world and not enough time with my Father. I have taken such delight in watching Sarah become more confident in crawling, had a wonderful day with my mother in law and two little girls, played video games with my kids, and I have noticed a change in all of us. I can't believe I let a machine consume so much of me.

I am still praying my laptop can be restored with all the information and programs but I know I will keep myself in check and be much more aware of the amount of time I spend online. I am also trying to take the time that I normally would have spent on the computer and spending it with the kids.

Teething Necklace

http://hyenacart.com/inspiredbyfinn/

My favorite is the 'Congac Round". I have a blogger friend who piqued my interest in these!

Sign of Hope

At the end of June in 2007, I had another miscarriage (that made 3 losses). Shortly after I was recovering, my sweet friend Shawna came by with an apple tree which was from a small group of girl friends. The thought behind the tree was that there is "hope" and that each spring and summer, this tree would bud and one year [hopefully] will provide me with fruit. Last year, I wasn't even sure this little thing would make it, but it survived yet another harsh Alberta winter and has even blessed me with a few sweet pink buds. I know our summer season isn't very long so I don't know if it will even bear fruit this year but I was again reminded of the "hope" I have. That hope also came in the form of a precious baby girl named Sarah who was born exactly one year after the miscarriage.
May we all have hope.

Baby Legs

So I have a few on-line friends whose little ones are sporting these new "Baby Legs" and after seeing my 11 week old niece receive a pair at her baby shower, I decided to get Sarah a pair. After all, now that she's crawling and the weather is not always warm, they would suit her nicely. Of course, I had a terrible time choosing just ONE pair, so we came home with... three pairs. At least she WILL wear them for quite a while as they are very big on her short little legs. And now, to show them off to you...

And she's on the move!

We're SO proud of her!

Today...

Sarah learned to crawl. She's not very coordinated yet but I can see her potential and she is certainly mobile. It is so wonderful to watch her pleasure as she accomplishes something that she's been working so hard on for so long. I can also see how un-baby friendly my house is yet. I'll have to watch the little things on the floor, the outlets, the open stereo cabinet... the list goes on. I suppose my next few days will be spent ensuring the living room is safe for my curious baby!

In just a month

...my "baby" girl will be a year old and I'm sure I'll document that day as well. Today was fun as we went to a playground and Sarah went on the swings for the first time. She loved it. Her giggles and full faced grins were infectious and it was wonderful to watch her experience it for the first time.









~She is about 13.5 pounds
~She does not sleep through the night
~She loves to nurse frequently
~She is so close to crawling
~She ADORES her older siblings
~She is so much fun and has changed so much in these 11 months

I look forward to this next month of changes for her and then to see what will happen with her in her second year.

Time for the summer cut

Joshua had been wanting to grow his hair long but with warmer days upon us, he decided that he wanted it short again. I brought out the clippers and off it came!

It's Mother's Day...

~Shirley Van Neck~

Had I known 10 years ago that it would have been the last Mother's Day I spent with my mom, I wonder if I'd have done anything different. Knowing that in 9 weeks, she would be physically gone from me. It's been so long and I find myself forgetting more and more what she was like, what she did, how she sounded, even the scent of her perfume.

I try hard to keep her memory alive:

• a beautiful picture of her shines on a small part of my living room
• my babies all wore a simple pale green sleeper that she bought her first grandchild
• I consider yellow roses to be my favorite because they were HER favorite
• I have friends who use the same turkey dinner stuffing recipe that she did
• my first daughter has her name... Shirley
• I drink my tea the way she liked... lots of sugar and milk
• I usually make sure my babies are dressed, especially when we leave the house. She didn't think a baby should go out in pyjamas
• I cook like her, using many of the same ingredients that she did
• I do things a certain way because that's how she did them

I know that no one is perfect but my mom was. Maybe I just picture her "perfect" because my memory won't allow anything negative to be thought of her but that's ok. She didn't yell at us kids, the house was always clean because I don't remember what it was like when she had four kids all under 9 years old, supper was always on the table when my dad got home, life was organized, she was always in control. I put her on a very high pedestal. I looked up to her and when she was gone, I didn't know how I would go on. Here I was, 7 week old baby in arms and no mom to tell me what to do for diaper rash, colic, or sleepless nights. There were (and still are) things I wish I asked her about and wonder what she'd think of me now. I hope she'd tell me that I'm doing a great job of being a mom. That if the laundry isn't done right away, that's alright. That if the house is a mess when my husband comes home, that's ok too. That burnt potatos will be fine with some gravy on top. I'd like to think she's super proud of me. That she would look at her four beautiful grandchildren and say how pleased she was of them.

On Mother's Day, I try not to get too self absorbed in missing my mom. I have four kids who adore me and want to serve me and make me as happy as possible. I will receive a bouquet of yellow flowers (ok, dandilions), handmade cards, breakfast in bed and coffee. I will delight in their faces as they gift me with treasures they have found or made in school. During "Mother's Day" I will do my best to be cheerful and happy for my excited kids who want to bless me.

May you all have a Happy Mother's Day!

Happy 10th Birthday Joshua

Ten candles on the cake this year! I am a mom of a... PRE-TEEN!! Double digits! *sigh* It's an old cliché but "where'd the time go?" On to the next stage of parenting now.

Playing with PSE 7.0

I recently started taking pictures in RAW form and am having fun editing them in Photoshop...

Through the years of Arianna

I had to post just a "few" of my favorites of my little girl!

Five years ago...

I give birth to our third baby and second daughter, Arianna Joy. She came into this world on May 4, 2004. It was hard to decide which of the hundreds of pictures I would use to document this day so I chose one picture from each birthday or at least as close as I could. Wow... how the years have flown by. Happy Birthday Arianna!

Newborn...

One year old...

Two years old...

Three years old...

Four years old...

And now, five years old...

I Surrender All

All to Jesus I surrender
All to Him I freely give
I will ever love and trust Him
In His presence daily live

I surrender all, I surrender all
All to Thee my blessed Savior
I surrender all

All to Jesus I surrender
At Thy feet I humbly bow
Worldly pleasures all forsaken
Take me, Jesus, take me now

I surrender all, I surrender all
All to Thee my blessed Savior I surrender all

All to Jesus I surrender
Lord, I give myself to Thee
Fill me with Thy love and power
Let Thy blessing fall on me

I surrender all, I surrender all
All to Thee my blessed Savior I surrender all

10 months ago...

... I was in the hospital with my loving husband and wonderful doula ready to birth our fourth baby. Eight hours later...


and now, 10 months later...

My Latest Hobby...

...digital scrapbooking. Here's some of my favorites!

Spring!

Spring is a season when I can truly see and feel God's greatness. Watching the snow melt into little rivers flowing down the curb into the drains, noticing the fresh new green on my front hedge, and seeing my children's flushed cheeks as they insist on playing outside without coats on. Waking up at 6:00 with my sweet baby girl isn't quite as hard when the sun is up to greet me either. My tulips alongside of the house are one more reminder that maybe the cold, harsh winter is over for another season. Ah, spring. It makes me happy.

Las Vegas!

For Christmas last year, Doug told me we were going on a trip to Las Vegas in the new year. An additional surprise was that we'd be going with our friends Scott and Lelia from Alabama.

Our weekend began with a thrilling helicopter tour of the strip. WOW is all I can say. We spent Saturday touring the hotels and checking the boulevard out. That evening we took in the show Stomp Out Loud. It is definately one of those "must see" shows. Those performers had incredible talent. Sunday we drove to the other end of the strip to check out the MGM, New York, New York and the M&M's store. When we arrived back at the hotel, we decided to play some slots. I lost a quick $60 but Lelia took home $300! Lucky lady!! On Monday, Doug, Lelia, and I went to the outlets while Scott was nursing a sinus cold. I don't think he minded THAT much.

We stayed in Caesar's Palace in the Augustus Towers room. There was a large jacuzzi tub complete with a TV and remote. Not that I had time to watch TV while in the tub, but it was luxurious anyhow. Our room was wonderful. Definately a nice treat since we won't be doing many overnighters after June. I had no idea of the size of the hotel until we walked to a restaurant at the other end and it took us almost 30 minutes to walk there. I don't think I've walked that much in my life! I wish I had a pedometer to have at least an idea of how many steps I took.

Las Vegas had a certain appeal to it. I'd love to go back for slightly longer and take in more things and do some more touring at a more relaxed pace. It was wonderful to see Scott and Lelia again!