Busy Busy Busy

We are so busy!
It is crazy, there are after school activities on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and at least 2 Fridays of the month we have to be in 2 places at once, and the other 2 we can just go to one.  I am already tired of it.  Then there are afternoon activities on Tuesdays, and our oldest has to be at church early at least one Tuesday and Wednesday a month and Dash has an activity on Friday morning.  It is kind of overwhelming really...some of that will end though in a few weeks.  And then a little more a couple of weeks later...then we will just be left with Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday evening - oh ya, and Thursday morning...and  then 2 Fridays a month.  Whew!  I need a blackberry - wait I have one!!!
hmmm, what I need to do is phone the relatives to see when they are available to come for Tapper's birthday!
Tomorrow - I will do that tomorrow!

Sometimes it is hard to blog

Sometimes it truly is hard to blog - sometimes it is hard to share all that you think and feel and know.  Well actually most of the time it is.
It is hard to share thoughts and feelings that are less than enthusiastic.  It is easy to share enthusiastic photo posts, and news of the kids and the rest, and just add in all the exclamation marks (yes, I know I use a lot of them!) and then people can 'hear' how you feel. They can get the tone of what you are writing- or at least I think they can.
It is not always so easy to post when life is in a 'blah' stage or when things are on the negative side of the spectrum - why is that?  I know that one time on a different blog, I posted a very short message about how I felt when Dash had another tachycardia episode and I had been convinced that God had healed her...so I needed to deal with the reality that she wasn't healed. That her future was still uncertain, that we would have to continue with medications and hospital visits.  I felt frustrated, disappointed and sad by it all.  I quickly had someone I knew IRL come to me and admonish me for not having enough faith, and for doubting God's good intentions, and on and on....and I was irritated (still am, truth be told) because I had a ton of faith, I knew that God could heal her in a heartbeat (pun, haha) if He wanted to, and by the very nature of the fact that He didn't - He obviously had something better in mind...I never doubted that, or let it go - even if, for a brief moment I had felt frustrated and disappointed. So how to express life when it is not in the exclamation mark phases???
I am not depressed, I do not doubt that this season is for a time, I do not forget that my God has given me a new life through his son Jesus, and I don't refuse to acknowledge joy....but I am feeling blue lately, blah actually, and I do have faith that it is only for a time, and we will back to regular programming soon (exclamation marks and everything).

really behind, but still want to show these pictures!

 We also had a first birthday in our house this summer....

 Yes, I copped out and bought a cake.  I guess the reason is that we were barely home from our journey when it was her birthday, and the laundry alone from a vacation is daunting!  But she didn't seem to care.  The real downside to buying a cake is that it was vanilla, so you can't really see how much of a mess she made all over her face.

But a mess was made, cake was had and we have a 1 year old!

 What is that that my daughter and husband are holding??  Have you seen it before?  Can you tell by the first glimpse what it is?
I am a sucker for world records, the world's largest, the worlds longest, etc.  I would love to see the world's largest frying pan...don't ask me why, I just would!  We stopped on the second lap of our summer journey quickly to see the World's Largest Ukranian Easter Egg!!

 Pretty big, heh??

 Yes, all my kids had to have a picture where I tried to make it look like they were holding it up...I know, not even slightly original, but remember....I have never been anywhere, so whenever I go somewhere I don't mind taking typical tourist shots!

 What I didn't know is that there would be this awesome caboose there...really neat actually!

 We crawled all through it, and being a typical mom I read aloud all the historical info on the posters inside...I think I even took pictures of the writing, but will not bore you with it!

Wow, that girl is super strong!

blogging from the new computer

I wish I could show you some pictures, but truth be told, they are all on the old computer.  Switching computers is such a pain in the rear.  I mean, all of my stuff is on the laptop, but I want to use the new, fancy, super-fast, high-speed, wonder machine!  Wouldn't you?

There are a few problems though.  First of all, I keep making all of these typing errors. So I assume it is because I am going from a condensed laptop keyboard to a full sized one, right?  Makes sense, doesn't it?  No - I read this blog post the other day and realize it is because of the upside down enter key on the multi-lingual keyboard.  And apparently it is standard from big box stores in Canada - nothing you can do about it, except buy a computer from a smaller retailer, get used to the weird key placement or buy a new one.  I haven't decided what course of action that I am going to take yet. At least there are options.

The other problem is the extremely messy desk in here.  My husband, who apparently on this blog will remain nameless, needed to get into the attic...and the attic hatch is here in the office, so I emptied the closet so he could get it into there, and then he did what he had to do and left it this way....so now I have to put it all back in the closet - and I need at least 2 shelves installed.  One above the filing cabinet and current laser printer so I can install my really cheap colour ink jet printer that I bought with the new computer.  And a bigger one above the girls desks, to house shoebox size bins for craft stuff I don't want the kids to be able to reach without help.  Sculpy modeling clay, playdoh, markers, paints, and then a few more.  Right now some of them are on the top shelf of the bookshelf in here, but if they had their own freestanding shelf, I could fit more books on that bookshelf, and then the rest could go there too. 

That needs to be a project for this week.  I better write it down somewhere else so that while I am out i can stop at Home Depot - or maybe even give myself an excuse to go to the new Lowe's store!  I know how to wield a drill and a level - I should just do it!  I promise if I actually do, I will post pictures of before and after so you can have a full understanding of how much better it will be in here!

So, yes, this is a boring blog post about nothing, with no pictures, all just to check in!  We have a field trip today so I better get everyone rolling!  Have a great day!

The rest of the rest of summer...

So the rest of the rest of summer included some excitement for us!
We came home from Cypress Hills on Friday, started the laundry and went to the wedding on Saturday, changing laundry each time it was possible.  Then we packed up and after church on Sunday headed straight to Edmonton.
Here is what we saw...

We headed to Edmonton and took a day at the mall - let's not really talk about it too much, because it was kind of a bust.  Do you have any idea how much it is to go to the water park??  Like, I don't think so!
I was flabbergasted!  I know, I know, if we didn't have 5 kids it wouldn't be so bad.  But WE DO have 5 kids, so it is terrible.  I mean seriously, you can practically get into Disneyland for the price of admission to the pool...I refused!  So we watched the Seal show - it was fun...they are crazy!  Then we wandered for a while, got separated, got stressed finding a bathroom that was open...had a snack and left.  Not really the time that we had hoped for, but whatever.  We weren't really in Edmonton to go to the mall...we were there for our little Dash to have a procedure to correct her Supra Ventricular Tachycardia.  It all kind of happened faster than we had expected, and we found ourselves with less than 2 weeks notice for her procedure date.  We were able to get it all arranged and so we headed there to the Stollery Children's Hospital to have it done.

 Here we are just getting there.  I don't know what the deal is, we were EXACTLY on time, but it was all so rushed as if we were late, which let me tell you (as one who is late often) we were NOT!!  So they rushed her into her little gown here, and then I snapped this one....Norman Rockwell or what...

 Teeheehee!

And we took her downstairs for the procedure.  Here we are trying to distract her a bit with this book.  She was doing awesome with the whole idea while we were getting there, even up to the day of the drive.  But then once we were there at the hospital, and by this point, there were so many nurses and doctors coming and talking to her, she was getting a little overwhelmed.  Luckily it was time, and the doctors were pretty good at reassuring us, so we didn't cause her extra stress.  What a weird scenario though.  To take your 4 year old to have a procedure done on her heart while never having met the doctor before.  Strange I tell you!  This province needs a children's hospital already!
So anyway, she was in surgery for 3 and a half hours.  I have to admit the first half an hour was very hard for me.  I could barely talk, I felt like I would throw up if I even said anything, and it was all a little surreal.  I was just waiting for the gift shop to open so we could buy her a stuffie.  So finally, once it did I was able to find some stuff I loved, and then I felt a little less trepidation.  So then we went upstairs to have a bit of a bite to eat, and just as I felt like I was going to jump OUT of my skin if the pager didn't go off, it did go off and we were able to go back to the ward to see her wake up.  The first few minutes in there were a little scary for me as well, because it seems like she was really sleeping!  I would post the picture of her that I first took, but it is on my phone and I haven't figured out how to get it off.
Once she was awake they took her down to pediatrics and then she stayed overnight.  Originally she wasn't supposed to stay overnight, but because the auxillary pathway was on the left side of the heart, and because we were from out of town and even where we were staying was an hour from the hospital, they had her stay. But check this out....

Just so you know, I have never, and I mean NEVER, even when she was sleeping, seen her heart rate below 120.  Seriously.  Never!  Here it was at 101 - her normal was between 120-140 - unbelievable to me!  I am so happy about the whole thing! So now we are 2 months since the procedure, and so far so good. She has been off medication since 3 days before and she is doing great.  That time in the hospital was hilarious.  She had to lay on her back for 3 hours before she could sit up and so after a bit we propped her up a bit to have some juice.  So the plan was to give her juice and if she kept it down, give her some fruit, and if she kept it down she could have some toast, and if she kept it down...well you get the drill....so anyway, she did great!  She was SO hungry and she drank and drank and then ate and ate, but she couldn't get over the fact that she was allowed to eat IN BED!!!  And that she had a TV in her room and could watch TV in bed.  It was hilarious!

She did great, but really came back to life when her sisters came to see her.  She was so glad to see them, and it was one of those moments, because they all piled on her bed to play cards, and it was almost as if she, even at only 4 years old, sighed a sigh of relief and all was right in the world again.  I loved it, it really touched me!  

It was all so amazing.  I had asked my awesome cousin, you know the one in the post about Calgary, if she could come watch the rest of our kids in Edmonton whenever the hospital phoned with a date and she said, sure thing.  So then when they actually did call I had to phone her quick and she was going to Edmonton the weekend before anyway, so she just stayed extra days!!  She also made all the arrangements for us to stay at her parent's, my aunt and uncles and that was awesome.  They have the humongous house outside of Edmonton on a few acres, so we were able to stay there and everyone had a room of their own except Amelia and Abbey still shared - but seriously...where can you take a family of 7 and have them be accommodated so well?  It was such a blessing!  Then the other thing that worked out kind of well is that the weather was all rainy.  Which might sound like a bad thing, but if you have ever tried to keep Dash from running around with that much space, you would know that rain was exactly what we needed - because after the procedure she wasn't allowed to run around for a couple of days.  We had the most fun, my kids absolutely LOVED my aunt and uncle, they can hardly wait to see them at the wedding in a couple of weeks and we had a great time.  AND the icing on the cake is that it seems, that as far as we can tell, the procedure was effective, and it seems that we might be done with SVT forever!  Yay!

The rest of summer...

The rest of summer included a wedding - a wedding where I chose this picture of in case they don't want to be featured on my blog....but it was such an amazing day!  We came home from our adventure in Cypress Hills to attend the wedding of a young couple at our church.  The bride is one of those people that you just know are going to be in your remembrance forever...know what I mean?  People who affect you and that you care about for some un-pinned down reason.  I mean, she loves my oldest daughter and acted as a unofficial mentor to her for a number of months last year, so that probably helps, but it started even before that.

I don't really know I guess, maybe it was just because she is the first born and so am I, or because she has one of those sense of humours that surprise you when you begin to learn that it is there, or maybe it's that she always has a smile that can cheer you - or maybe it is simply our shared relationship with the Lord Jesus that makes you feel like family...I don't really know, but I do know that I adore her, and have since I was introduced to her.  And then there is her fiance (I guess it is currently her husband)...now, I don't know him terribly well, but what I do know is important.  I had the privilege of serving on the worship team when he was leading one week - and let me tell you, he has an amazing passion for leading worship - he wants to be a part of people worshiping, he wants to lead them to the very throne room of God to worship in His presence - he literally radiates with it, and he has an amazing commitment to quality at the same time. I even remarked to my husband about it - about how he was so young, but so on fire for worship...it was humbling, and I thought about it for a long time.  Then he goes and proposes to one of my favorite ladies...what an amazing thing to witness.  

See, I have this hope.  This vision.  This desire.  This ache for my daughters to grow up to be young women like her, and for them to be courted and marry a man like him (at least what I know of them).  I want my girls to be women of grace, and I want the men who will pursue them to be men of God.  Real men, men completely unlike Mark Driscoll talks about in this sermon.

And I know that requires us to teach them how to be that.  How to be women of grace, and accept no less than a man of God.  It is a hope for sure...and one that I am glad God cares about as much (or more) than I do, because this, like so many other parenting tasks seems mostly overwhelming.  And largely impossible on my own!  Good thing we are not in this alone!

See, I do know that this couple is not perfect, just as I am not perfect.  But they are having a much better start at their young married life than I did, and they are doing things in a much better fashion.  Making better decisions, following closely after this God that I didn't even meet until I was their age - and by that time I had already made a world of bad decisions!  I guess it should all drive me to my knees, knowing that only with help am I going to be able to show my girls that they are VALUABLE, that they have incredible worth, that they are to be CHERISHED!  Side note - that was my favorite part of all three weddings we were able to attend at our church this summer, the sheer look of joy on the faces of the young men waiting at the end of the aisle for each of the beautiful brides. And to think our heavenly groom awaits us with as much anticipation as that!  Crazy!

Anyway, it took me a long time (weeks actually) to decide whether or not to post this post, and whether or not to post the link, and so I am going to end this one here and post the rest of our summer pictures in another one!

Blessings!