Father's Day

I guess it's been a long time since I posted anything again. That seems to be a theme. I'd like to say that it will change, but I guess we'll see. The kids have been looking back at old posts and enjoying our 'family history', so I'd like to keep things up for them. And seeing as how it's Father's Day this weekend, it seems to be the perfect time. 

Last week, Middlest was doing some homework that required some family history. More specifically, her own history. When she walked, talked, sat up...that sort of thing. So I dug out her baby book which is supposed to have all her 'firsts' from the first year of her life. Well, let me tell you, it didn't. It had some stuff, but it was pretty sketchy. So what did I do? I turned to Facebook, naturally. I found some pictures and some updates that filled in some blanks, but we guessed at some stuff. Then she said, 'Biggest has a baby book and Littest has the blog. I don't have anything!'  Ouch. Right in the feels. But I guess it fits the typical middle child syndrome. 

The girls like to give Julie 'pedicures.'  I use the term lightly because I'm not sure how good they really are. But they try and she humours them. Julie has quite a few tools of the trade. Various files and cuticle pushers and pumice stone and a couple little grinding stones that require batteries. So they file, push and grind away, aply various oils and ointments and she appreciates her 'treatment.'  Again, I have the air quotes around that term. One night before I tucked Middlest in, Julie suggested that she give me a pedicure.  She wasn't too taken with the idea. I asked her about it and she said, 'Are you kidding me? Have you seen your feet? They're gnarly. I would have to burn the instruments when I was done.'  Ouch. Right in the feels again. I know I rock a mean pair of dad sandals, but I didn't think I was that bad. Yikes. 

But really, I am a lucky guy. I have a beautiful wife and three beautiful daughters. And a good friend who made them these shirts. 

 

I may be a pretty cool dad, but it's easy with kids like this. Later. 

Old man

There have been several instances over the past few weeks where it has been insinuated that I am getting old. Or maybe insinuated is too soft a word - it was pretty much just outright said. 

It started at kids' quest (Sunday school) one Sunday morning.  There was an activity where you were supposed to walk like an old person. A few kids started walking all hunched over and pretending they were using canes. But then a couple of my fellow leaders (yes, my fellow leaders!) said, 'Ok, we need to walk like Dave.'  Pretty soon a chorus of 'yeah, walk like Dave' erupted. Ouch. Right in the feels. (I guess I should mention that the fellow leaders in question are in high school.) 

Julie thinks it's because I've been growing a beard. 

 

Granted, there are a few white ones in there. Ok, maybe a lot. But I think she's just using it as a ploy to get me to shave. 

The second incident happened one night as I was getting ready to walk the dog. We've had a bit of a cold snap here lately with some pretty nasty wind chills. So before I put my jacket on, I tucked in my shirt. Middlest walked into the room as this was happening and burst out laughing. 'Why are you tucking your shirt in like an old man?'  More giggling and pointing ensued. I said, 'It's cold out and I don't want to get a chill on my back.'  That's when it struck me that I wasn't really helping my case. I kind of sounded like an old man there. But my back was warm. Enough said. 

Finally, Littlest just had a birthday this week where she turned 7. (I'll write more about that in my next post.) We got to talking about ages one evening and she asked me how old I was. I replied that I was 44. Then she said, 'Holy! You are waaay older than Mom!  You're almost 50!'  I said, 'What?! Almost 50? What about 45,46,47,48 and 49?  That's like saying you're almost 12.'  She just looked at me and grinned, 'Maybe I am. Maybe I am...' 

So on that note, maybe I'll go find my slippers,  pour a cup of hot water, put a record on and listen to some Waylon. But not too loud. He knows my pain. 'I look in the mirror in total surprise, at the hair on my shoulders and the age in my eyes.'  Later. 

#arewespeakingthesamelanuage

The number sign, the pound symbol, the sharp sign. It had all these meanings before it's current incarnation. The #hashtag. I still use it as a number sign. Sasktel asks for the pound symbol after my password when I'm checking my messages on the phone. (The land line phone that is if you want to talk archaic.) And the sharp sign has always been in music. But the kids now know it as a hashtag. Don't get me wrong, #ilikeagoodhastagasmuchasthenextguy but there are other things in life. 

So the other day I was helping Littlest practice piano. This is her second year and it's getting to be festival season, so her teacher gave her a fairly difficult song which had some new stuff in it. 

 

She looked at it and said, 'Dad, why does the F have a hashtag in front of it?' It's a sharp sign honey, a sharp sign. Play the black key. 

#whathastheworldcometo

Speaking of that, let me talk a bit of hockey. I've been watching a bit more this year, mostly because the Oilers are competing again. I've never stopped watching playoffs or big tournaments, but the regular season has been a bit depressing for the past few years. 

The girls could really care less about hockey. Littlest still likes spending time with me, so she will snuggle in next to me when I'm watching and feign interest. A couple of nights ago, Middlest came and sat down next to me as I was watching. This was just after I told her to get her teeth brushed and get ready for bed. She put her fine art of stalling to use and pretended to be interested. The Oilers were up 3-0 at that point. She said, 'So they're pretty much winning eh?'  I said that they were now, but there was still half a game left. Then she said, 'They could get one of those things...you know...where the other team doesn't get any goals.'  You mean a shutout, I replied. She shrugged her shoulders, 'What?  I don't know hockey!'  I believe shutout is a fairly universal term. You don't know sports, not just hockey. 

The girls have also been trying to show some more interest in my hockey games. They ask me who we play and if we won and if I scored.  We played last night and got beat, mostly because we only had six players. I told this to Biggest and she asked, 'And how many players are on the field at once?' Five. And it's ice, not a field. 

#iguesstheyretrying 

Later. 

Year end wrap up

It appears we are into a new year already so I guess I should wrap up the last one. We've had some ups and downs, highs and lows, but it's been a good year. 

Julie and I celebrated our fifteen wedding anniversary in November. It was a gorgeous day back then - nice enough for a few outdoor photos. Here we are, sitting outside the Bes. (On a side note, we were married so long ago that our pictures weren't digital.  Developed from film by our photographer in her dark room.) 

And 15 years later, we were able to return for a night alone when some great friends offered to take or girls (and dog!) for the night! Here is the view from our room. 

 

The weather was weird this fall. Even for Saskatchewan. We had a huge snowfall in October and then it left for most of November. There was a slight bit for most of December and I managed to get the house decorated for Christmas on the last nice weekend before the deep freeze set in. The kids has two straight weeks of indoor recess at school before the holidays. Those poor, poor teachers. 

December was filled with school Christmas concerts, a piano recital, two adult Christmas parties and one kids party. Julie's company puts on a party for all the kids and it's always a lot of fun. Santa makes an appearance as well. 

 

 

We went to church on Christmas Eve, sang songs by candlelight and then came home to open presents. The girls all wore their Christmas dresses. 

 

Just before Christmas, Rosie gave us quite a scare. She seemed a bit off one evening and then quite a bit worse by the morning. We took her in to the vet and she ended up spending three nights there on IV antibiotics fighting a nasty infection just under her skin on her belly. But we got her home on Christmas Eve - the best present we could ask for. 

She was still too sick to go to a kennel, so we loaded her up and headed south to Julie's parents place for a few days of fun, visiting and eating. Here is CeCe telling Poppa a story. Or is it the other way around? 

 

The older two girls read the Christmas story. I really treasure time with family. As I get older and now this being my second Christmas without my dad, I realize how special these times are. I like to sit back and take it all in and appreciate it. I think that's why my favourite verse from the Christmas story is 'But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.'  I just imagine the scene there - she just had a baby (our saviour no less!) in a stable, shepherds came and worshipped and had stories of angels. And Mary found a minute to just take it all in. 

 

Nanny had a special treat for us all too. She dug her accordion out a little while ago, did some practicing, and played some awesome Christmas carols for us. 

Every year we have a wiener roast too. It started being out in the hills after a day of sledding. But the past two years have not seen enough snow on the hills to slide down, so we had it in the yard and ate in the shop. There may not have been that much snow, but there was still a nasty wind chill. 

 

 

 

We still got the quad out for a bit and pulled the sleigh around the yard. The girls would have gone a lot longer but the driver got cold. 

 

Then we came home to enjoy a few more days at home before going back to work. My mom, my brother and his daughter came for a visit, so that was nice. 

Here is a picture of Julie wearing her Christmas scarf, Christmas socks and working on a Christmas puzzle. All next to the Christmas tree. 

I got a crokinole board for Christmas and the girls all enjoyed learning how to play. Some pretty intense aiming going on here. 

 

I guess that's about it. It has been a good year. Biggest was baptized. Middlest went to camp for the first time and had an amazing experience. Littlest accepted Jesus as her saviour. Julie and I celebrate 15 years of marriage. What an incredible gift from God. So as the sun sets in this year, I look forward to 2017 and all that God has in store for us. Happy new year! 

 

Later.  

 

 

The Great Negotiator

Littlest is always trying to get a better deal.  And her response to any request is always the same: How 'bout dis.

Me:  Time for bed.
Her:  How 'bout dis.  Five more minutes.

Me:  Go pick out a book to read before bed.
Her:  How 'bout dis.  Five books.
Me:  How 'bout dis.  Two books.
Her:  How 'bout dis.  Three books.

Me:  Put your dishes in the dishwasher.
Her:  How 'bout dis.  We have some ice cream first?

Are you starting to see a pattern here?  The thing is that she is so cute when she says it, we have all started saying it.  Let's do this...how 'bout dis...let's do that...how 'bout dis...

Last night, she was done her spelling words before supper, had already read her take home reading book and had a shower all by 6:15.  I told her she could watch TV for half an hour if she wanted.  Guess what she said.  'How 'bout dis.  15 minutes.'  I laughed .  I told her half an hour was more than 15 minutes.  A big grin came across her face.  'You just made my evening,' she said.

I aim to please.  Later.

Happy 39th Julie

Today is the 39th birthday of my beautiful wife, Julie. She keeps joking about how old she is getting. I hope she's just joking anyway, because that would make me really old! 

However, if Julie were able to retire today, I'm sure she would have no trouble finding things to do. She loves to create and would have no problem doing that full time. Colouring, painting, sewing, crocheting, making stained glass projects.  I'm sure if she had more time, the list would be longer. She sees the beauty in something old or plain and brings it out.  She has chalk-painted an old desk and turned it into something beautiful. She redid an old church door and made it into a headboard. Every year she sews the kids (and me!) pj pants. She has made a wonderfully snuggly blanket for curling up on the couch. And she has created many gorgeous stained glass pieces.  Here are her hands at work, doing some of the things she loves:

Some day she will have more time for these things, but in the meantime, her hands are busy helping people.  She is great at her job, and has helped countless people during her time as a sonographer.  But even though her hands are great at taking pictures, it's her heart that is her real gift.  Much like crafting, she sees the beauty in everyone.  She truly believes in the 'care' part of health care and people know it when they see her.  She is compassionate and empathetic and a great listener.  So I hope she carries on doing what she's doing for a long time yet.

Perhaps her kind heart is because she has a heart for Jesus.  As a parent, the greatest thing you can pass onto your kids is your love of Jesus and Julie is doing that.  All three of our girls see how their Mom lives and are following in her footsteps.  

So if you see Julie today, wish her happy birthday and let her know 39 isn't old.  She has a lot left to give this world.  She's just getting going.  Later.

Shaming, feeling old, and power ballads

Hello.  Is it me you're looking for?
Sorry about that.  But now that you're humming Lionel Ritchie, let me say welcome back.  It has once again been forever since I've written anything.  Summer has come and gone.  Even fall has come and gone.  But in my defence, fall only lasted 4 hours this year.  A few nights ago Julie asked me if I was ever going to blog again and I said that the longer I went, the harder it got to get back into the swing of things.  So much has happened that I don't know where to start.  She told me to just start.  So here I am, just starting.

One of the children came home with an art assignment the other day.  She was supposed to make four curvy lines down a piece of paper and then connect those lines with curves (essentially looking like some segmented worms).  She was then supposed to colour all her segments with shading to make it look like these four worms were three dimensional.  She was busy going about it, when I noticed the instructions and what she was doing.  She was colouring with markers and there wasn't a whole lot of shading.  I attempted to show her what the assignment was supposed to show and she didn't like it.  Oh well, I tried.

Everyone in our house is into colouring, so I thought I would join in too.  One day in Michael's, I spotted an adult colouring book called the 'Hipster Colouring Book.'  It looked like something I could get behind, so I picked it up.  A few nights later, Julie and I were colouring after the kids went to bed.  I know what you're thing - we are pretty wild and crazy.  Anyway, this is what I created:

The next morning, I was eager to show off my handy work to the children.  They all oohed and aahhed appropriately.  One commented on the hat and how it looked curved and how I did that.  I said it was by the way I shaded it.  The one with the art assignment said it looked really cool.  Then she paused, cocked her head to the side a bit and looked at me.  'Wait a minute!  Are you trying to shame me?!' Not me.  I would never do such a thing.

I guess I've been alive long enough now that some of what the kids take in school as 'history' was stuff I lived through.  One came home talking about the Quebec ice storm.  Oh yeah, I said, I remember that.  We then talked about it a bit and I asked if she knew what year it happened in.  I honestly didn't think it was that long ago.  She said, 'I'm not sure.  I think it was in the 1900's.'  Boom.   Talk about feeling old.   She said it 'nineteen hundreds' the way we talk about the 1800's or 1500's.  Turns out she was right.  1998.  The good old 1900's.

Speaking of the 1900's, I've been educating the kids on some power ballads from the '80's.  I'm not quite ready for them to hear all of Warrant's or Poison's songs, but some are okay.  Middlest has taken a liking to Heaven, by Warrant.  Littlest likes Poison's 'Something to Believe In.'  The other day after listening to it, she asked to see what the singer looked like.  Not wanting to shock her too much, I pulled up a fairly recent picture of Bret Michaels.  'Hmm,' she said, 'pretty handsome.  But not as handsome as you Dad.'  Take that Bret.  I guess every rose does have its thorn.  Later.  

Annie and her three very different boys

Almost seven weeks ago, Julie's parent's farm cat, Annie, had kittens. Annie has a pretty good life. She has a house on the deck, food and water, and is in close proximity to the treats. But she lived on her own for a while before being adopted and hasn't lost her killer instinct. She can bring down birds and gophers. 

So when it came time to deliver, Annie did not choose the safe confines of her deck house. She secretly burrowed in under an old mower. After much searching (and Annie diverting), the den was eventually found. But it was tough to see how many kittens were back in there. After careful observation, it was believed there were three babies. But then they were gone! Annie had moved them. Again, she didn't want to give up the location, but the new nest was discovered under a pile of fence posts. They made a couple more pit stops before all arriving on the deck one morning. Annie was ready to share her family (and some of the feeding duty!).  

Somewhere along the way, Julie's parents decided that since there were three cats, each grandchild should get to name one. That takes some ... courage? The kids couldn't blindly name them though, they needed to know the sex. Papa determined all were boys. 

After seeing pictures, the girls all decided on names, but the news had to be delivered in person. So we made the trip to the farm and after six weeks and six homes, the kittens were named. 

Biggest chose one that was all black. Black from head to toe. Like one certain Sith Lord you may or may not have heard about. Yes, the first kitten is...Darth Vader. 

He looks pretty menacing. 

Middlest chose the kitten that was black and white. She, being interested in unicorns and rainbows and everything cuddly, chose a slightly softer name. Meet...Fluffy. 

Littlest had a kitten that was mostly black but has two white spots on its underside. And in typical Littlest fashion, she picked something totally random. Meet...Justin. 

There was one brief moment of panic when I heard, 'Justin is a girl! He has boobs!'  All cats have boobs, I replied. Whew. Crisis averted. 

So there you have it. One mother. Three sons. Three very different names. Thanks Nanny and Papa. Later. 

Sarah, Johnny, 1D, Corey and sugar bugs

Over the past month or so, I've started listening to songs with the girls before bed.  We'll say our prayers, get snuggled in and then listen to a relaxing song or two, depending on the time.  If it's two songs, we each get to pick one.  This actually started with Littlest.  One day she wanted to listen to a Sarah McLachlan song.  If you knew me in the '90's when I was going to the Lilith Fair festivals, you would know that this is a weak spot for me.  So we spent the next several nights drifting off to sleep while Sarah sang about being in the arms of an angel.  Pretty relaxing.

Eventually the other girls caught wind of this and they wanted in on the action.  I was filled with shock and awe and pride when the first song Middlest ever wanted to listen to was 'Boy named Sue.'  Maybe not the most relaxing, but she asked for Johnny Cash!  How could I refuse that.  It all worked out when I played her some Sarah after.  A few days later she asked to hear 'Perfect.'  Without missing a beat, I said, 'One Direction?'  Why do I know that?!

As time goes on, I'm having to dig a bit deeper into my musical vaults to find calm and soothing songs.  My sister would be happy to know that there has been some Corey Hart lately and that he has been pleasantly received.  Except for a few years of teenage denial, I've always liked Corey Hart.  I even owned Boy in the Box.  After that, my sister bought all his albums, so there was no reason for me to.  But I do have his greatest hits on CD and now on iTunes.

After Littlest and I listened to 'Chase the Sun' one night, she wanted to know what he looked like.  So I showed her the album cover.  Then she wanted to know what he looked like when he smiled (she felt it was a very serious picture).  So we did a quick google image search.  As it turns out, I don't believe Corey Hart smiled during the eighties.  He was too busy perfecting the brooding look I guess.  We did find a picture from 2011 with a slight smile, but definitely no teeth.  Littlest then decided that he must be a very serious person.  She said, 'I wonder why he doesn't smile more.  He should.  I smile all the time.'  I replied, 'Yes, yes you do.  And I love it.  Goodnight.'

I don't want to name any names for this next story, just so I don't embarrass anyone.  This way they can all deny it.  We were laying there listening to the smooth sounds of 'Never Surrender', the child with her eyes closed and me rubbing her back.  Then a hand came up to her face, a finger came out, gave a little poke in her nose and then went into her mouth.  I snickered.  'Having a little night lunch?' I asked.  She wondered what I was talking about and I told her what I witnessed.  Then she giggled a bit and closed her eyes again.  We laid there a few more minutes and then she asked, 'Dad, do boogers have sugar bugs?'  There's a question I didn't ever anticipate answering.  Looking back, maybe I should have answered yes, it might have been a deterrent.  But then it probably would have meant a trip back to the bathroom to brush teeth again.  I simply giggled to myself, said no and kissed her forehead goodnight.  Later.

I sure miss saying goodbye to you

There are a lot of songs out there, especially country ones, that deal with death and losing someone. Until you are faced with that situation, they don't stand out as much. 'Over you', 'I drive your truck', 'Drink a beer', were all just good songs until we lost Dad. Since then there have been many nights walking the dog that I have cried a bit while listening to these and other songs. 

There are some songs that aren't specifically about dying that strike a chord too. 'Hasn't hit me yet' comes to mind. There is another one by an east coast Canadian singer that goes like this:

'Winter came a bit too soon, 

I sure miss saying goodbye to you.'

- Seasons by Andy Brown

It seems like a weird thing to miss, but I do. Whenever anyone of us would leave mom and dad's, he would always come outside to see us off. Weather didn't matter. Middle of winter, he would get dressed up, come outside, wave and stand there till we were out of sight.  Even near the end when it obviously wasn't easy to manage the stairs, he still came out. It was something that was important to him.  I don't think I'll ever stop missing that. 

Today is Dad's first birthday that he's not here to celebrate. Last year we were still able to enjoy a big party with him. This year we're left with the many memories we have. Waffles. Music. Stories. A good beer. The way he put everything in God's hands. The way I would call him and ask what he was doing today and he would always say 'nothing.'  Then we would talk for twenty minutes or half an hour about nothing. 

I made waffles on the weekend and Biggest helped me. We dirtied three bowls, folded in egg whites and listened to Johnny Cash and Johnny Horton on vinyl. Making new memories and keeping old ones alive. 

Happy birthday Dad. I miss you. I'll see you again. Later. 

Saskatoon, fools and fun dad

Last weekend we had the opportunity to go to Saskatoon. We had some appointments scheduled for Friday and then stayed over till Saturday. It's always nice to go back and reconnect with friends. We went and hung out by the river for a while. Walked on the train bridge. Watched the pelicans. Saw a beaver. Posed for a picture. 

We came home Saturday evening and went to church Sunday morning. Now most of my funny stories here involve the girls but I have to tell one from Sunday school. I teach grade 5 and 6 boys so it is often interesting. The story talked about a man storing up stuff here on earth and God called him a fool. I asked why God called the man a fool. The first response I had was, 'Because it's nicer than calling him an idiot.'  True. Not quite what I was looking for, but true nonetheless. 

This came in the mail this week too:

My awesome wife ordered it as soon as she saw 'chewbacca mom's' video online. It is pretty awesome. I surprised a couple of coworkers with it as well. 

This weekend Julie is in Phoenix with her cousin, so it's just me, the dog, two cats and three girls. I'm doing my best to make it a fun weekend to they don't miss mom too much. We started by getting slurpies after school yesterday. That was followed by hotdogs, chips and pop for supper. Yum yum. 

This morning we went swimming. There is only one indoor pool in Lloydminster for about 30000 people. It has a water slide and a wave pool that goes off once every hour. I checked last night and the Saturday hours are 9-9. Perfect. Everyone was up well before 7, so we had no problem making it there by 9:30. We were the only ones in the pool! We left around 10:30 and still the only ones! 30000 people and not one other person at the pool except us (and a couple geriatric people swimming lanes).  It was strange indeed. 

From there we headed outside to a family fun day in the park. 

There were horse carriage rides. Here is the view from the cockpit. I sat beside a nice old fellow who told me about his 14 miniature horses (and two babies) and the nice weather this year. Last year's ride was incredibly hot and the yer before that it snowed!  Early June in Canada I guess. 

There was also a petting zoo. I use the word zoo loosely. A bunch of animals and kids crammed under a tent would be a more accurate description but I don't think it would look as good on the sign. And who can resist a good goat? 

There was also a train ride. And by train ride I mean a bunch of barrels on wheels pulled by an atv. But again, doesn't sound quite as good. Nevertheless, it was one of the highlights of the day.  The older two said they were happy to ditch me for 5 minutes. I didn't have the heart to tell them that the feeling may have been mutual. 

And did I mention there was free cake?!

We rounded off the day with a movie and fairly early bed time. Now it's just me and the hound dog, chilling on the bed. It's hard work being fun dad all day long. One more day to go though, so I guess I better rest up. Later. 

Victoria Day

Today is back to work after a nice, relaxing long weekend. We've been celebrating Victoria Day for quite a while now, and it's fairly routine. Unless you're six of course. Then you have all sorts of questions about why we get the day off, who queen Victoria was, when her birthday is, when she lived and died. 

Julie and I weren't that familiar with all these stats either, but a quick Google search showed she died in 1901 and was queen of England and also empress of India for a while. Wikipedia also shows a nice portrait of her. It was generally concluded by the girls that the queen was not the best looking individual to ever grace the throne. 

That didn't stop Littlest from celebrating the day though. 'We celebrate her birthday even though she wasn't very good looking,' may or may not have been overheard. She also made everyone a picture for the occasion complete with the funny crown piece on her head. 

Keep in mind, Littlest is just learning to read and came up with this all on her own. So if you need some translation from her phonetic spelling, it's Victoria died queen birthday. Pretty impressive I thought. 

So there you have it. It's always a good idea to know what you're are celebrating if kids are involved. And also important to celebrate the less attractive monarchs too. Later. 

Biggest gets Baptized

Deciding to move from Saskatoon to Lloydminster almost two years ago was one of the hardest things we have done as a family.  We really had no intention of leaving until an opportunity presented itself.  We prayed about it a lot and door after door kept opening for us.  We really felt like God was telling us this is what we were supposed to do.  It was hard on all of us to leave our jobs, schools, church and friends behind.  

One of the first things we did after moving was find a church.  We felt an immediate connection to FBC here and have been going there ever since.  We are all growing in our faith here, but the blossoming of the girls has been amazing.  They all love to go to church.  I started teaching Sunday School during the first service of the morning this year, so Biggest comes with me for that and then attends the second service with Julie and me.  I'm pretty sure I didn't pay that much attention when I was ten, and I'm definitely sure I never took notes during sermons.  But she has a journal that she brings every week and diligently listens and takes notes.  It is pretty amazing.

About a month ago, Biggest came to us with some questions about baptism.  She talked with Julie and then with me and we found places in the Bible where it talked about it.  Then she decided that she would like to be baptized.  My initial thought was that she was too young, but listening to her talk, we knew she was ready.  We asked our pastors, she took a baptism class and she was ready to go.  

Julie's parents, my mom, my brother and his family as well as Biggest's best friend from school were all there to celebrate the occasion.  Then, just before the service started, two couples from Saskatoon showed up to surprise us.  It was pretty awesome.

While waiting to go in, Biggest told Julie that she couldn't stop smiling:

Talking with Pastor Ryan and still all smiles:

Getting ready:

Taking the plunge:

Still smiling:

A big hug:

There are still plenty of days we all miss Saskatoon.  But then there are days like this when you know you are exactly where you are supposed to be.  The theme for Sunday School this month is contentment:  learning to be happy no matter what you have.  Today's lesson was about focussing on what God has given you today.  If we spend too much time looking back at what we used to have and how things were, we will miss what God has given us now.  And I don't want to miss the gifts He's giving us now, because He is doing some pretty amazing things.

And there was cake too, which is always a reason to be thankful:

 Later.

Star Wars and Mother's Day

I have a friend at work who is a bigger Star Wars fan than me.  Crazy, I know.  It just so happens that his birthday is on May 3.  How could the biggest Star Wars fan I know miss having his birthday on May the fourth by one day?!  It really is a cruel world.  (Just to clarify for any non-geek types out there - May the fourth has become Star Wars day because is sounds like 'may the force' as in 'may the force be with you.')  It also happens that this friend loves tacos and his birthday is two days away from Cinco de Mayo.  So we decided to celebrate these three days with one big Star Wars/taco/birthday party at work.  It was pretty awesome.

Here is the Star Wars shaped snack mix:

The taco bar all set up:

And the birthday boy showing us how it is done.  A taco inside of a taco:

Julie decided to celebrate Mother's Day this year by getting two wisdom teeth carved out two days before.  Needless to say, there were no big brunch plans.  The girls were still able to shower her with their gifts that they made at school.  Their home-made gifts really are special.  Biggest had a picture frame with four holes in it that she filled with pictures and sayings.  One said, 'together, we can do hard things,' which is one of Julie's mantras.  Middlest's card even said, 'I hope your mouth isn't too sore,' and she had some very stunning portraits drawn.  It must have felt like looking in the mirror for Julie.  Littlest had a canvas with a handprint on it so we would always remember how small she was.  Pretty awesome stuff.  

The day before Julie had her oral surgery, she took the time to paint all the girls' toes:

With this being the long weekend and us not being the camper-type, we decided to have a movie night this evening.  We finally got around to watching 'The Force Awakens' with the girls.  Julie and I had seen it in the theatre, but the girls still hadn't seen it.  As I was getting ready and putting the movie in, Littlest asked if Yoda was in this one.  I said that no, he wasn't and that he had died in the last movie.  Then she said, 'That's too bad.  I miss the old days with Yoda.'  Yeah, me too.  Later.

Piano, pie, Pepsi and love

Another month has almost passed by yet again.  We just finished another year of music festival last week.  All three girls played piano - Littlest one song, Middlest two songs and Biggest played three times.  It was a long and stressful week for all involved, especially the parents.  I think it is harder on us to sit through it all sometimes than for the kids.  My mom was able to come and hear each girl play once.  Last year Dad was still able to make it...his last trip to our place, he was able to hear the girls play.  Littlest wasn't taking lessons then yet, so he never did get to hear her.  She still talks about him lots though.  Even tonight as we were praying, she was thankful that Papa was in heaven.  Then I asked her if she missed him and she said yes.  I asked her if she remembered talking to him on the phone a lot during his last year and she said yes.   Then she wished they had phones in heaven.  Me too.  

Well, that train of thought took a bit of a detour.  On a cheerier note, we celebrated Pi day and work this year.  We ordered in pizza pie and three of us made pie.  March 14 is a great day.  Here is a shot of our handy work.  The middle one in cherry, made by me - my first attempt at pie crust.  It turned out really well, if I do say so myself.

One evening this month, Julie was out and Biggest was at a sleepover.  Littlest went to bed, so Middlest and I settled in to watch Survivor.  There wasn't much Pepsi left, so I had a drink right out of bottle.  Middlest looked at me with longing eyes and I could see she wanted some of that too.  So I let her.  Momma's away, and look what happens.

We then settled in for our date night.  Except that each time I said it was a date night, she said it wasn't a date.  'Let's just call it a Daddy-daughter awesome night,' she said.  So that's what we went with.  No date.  Just an awesome night.

A few days later we had some salad for supper.  For some reason, Middlest couldn't get enough.  (She's usually our pickiest eater, so if she was into something healthy, we weren't going to get in her way.)  After about 4 helpings, I told her to just finish it out of the bowl.  That opportunity proved too much for Littlest to turn down.  So they both dug in and finished it off.

I haven't had a good Rosie story for a while.  Some days she is pretty excited when we get home.  A couple days ago when I came home she was especially revved up for some reason.  She was going crazy and trying to jump up on me.  I put my leg up to stop her when she proceeded to wrap her front legs around my leg and make some pretty unladylike moves with her back end.  'Rosie!' I said sternly.  That's when Middlest walked in and saw her 'hugging' me.  She said, 'Dad, she's loving you!'  Yeah, something like that.  

I was doing some laundry last night when Biggest wanted to learn how.  That's a lesson I will gladly teach.  So I told her that the first step was sorting and making sure everything is turned right side out.  This is the step that takes the longest.  I'm not sure how they do it, but all three girls are able to get undressed with all their clothes below the waist still attached to each other all inside out.  Pants inside of underwear and socks inside pant legs.  This is the most frustrating and time consuming part.  Finally she said, 'Now I see why you are always yelling at us to put our clothes right side out.  I'm actually starting to get annoyed with myself.' I call that a parenting win.

Julie has been playing in her stained glass a bit more lately.  She started making some suncatcher wind chimes.  They look really cool and make a nice sound coming in through the window.  Here is one of the finished products.  

That was taken on a beautiful day.  We have had a few really nice days, but still have some cool mornings.  This morning was one of the chilly ones.  The wind was really brisk, so the girls decided they should take a page out of the penguin playbook and huddle up to stay warm while waiting for the bus.  Heads in, butts out. 

It's nice when they look out for each other.  Later.