I have changed this first paragraph many times over the last few weeks. It started as "Josh has 2 more weeks of school. The kids have finished up the HSB and Ken has 2 - 1 week modules to do yet." Then it said, "Josh just has exams to do and Ken just finished his modules. We are excited that he gets one week off before we go to Ontario."....
Well, time has passed again and all of that is done! (: Now the kids just have to finish up math and we are going to keep working on Who is God? This book is amazing. It's worldview for kids. I am reading it with the 4 kids and their ages range from 5-13 and they are all learning. I recommend it.
Last week we were in Ontario and I got to visit family, but the time went so quickly. There were so many coffees that I missed out on. I always say I should make a trip just for visiting. I would love to go out to the St George/Brantford area and visit for a day. Then do 2 days in St Thomas and just soak it up. My heart says it's a good idea, but my mind is not sure. I am way too practical. In my mind there is too much to do to go to Ontario for a 'just because' visit.
I have been thinking a lot about my complete practicalness. I love being fun and spontaneous. But as my life has gotten fuller with the kids, as homeschooling takes up more of my day and because there are so many people at home all the time, it's hard to keep up with things. In turn I have become very home focused and that is OK to a certain extent. My house isn't at all spotless. My goal is more order than sparkling. A dear friend said to me last week, "Sometimes life is about showing up." Hmmm. That got me thinking...
I have always known and strive to put things that are super temporal to the bottom of my list and put those things that affect the eternal and relationships to the top. But I find that a hard balance to find sometimes. In order to focus on those good things, my mind has to be clear and that means I need order. So it's kind of circle. Does that make sense? It's something I need to keep working at for sure. As I work on it, a fun trip to Ontario is at the top of my list! (:
I have realized the power of the camera on my phone. I now take a batrillion pictures everywhere I go. I used to think that people with their phones out all the time were weird. Now I get it. My phone takes better pic than my camera does and it's fun. I am capturing way more events in our lives!
Here is a picture of Grace and her besty Rachel at Calvin College. They make me smile in a big way. They are so sweet together. Look at Grace's hand on her leg. Seriously, so cute! They are having their first play date this Thursday. Both girls are counting sleeps! (:
We are starting to head into "one more" time in Grand Rapids. We have one more school year, one more Christmas, one more Art Prize, one more birthday for everyone.... Lots of one mores. I settled quickly into my house and into the geographical area etc. But I realized in the last few months that I have finally settled into church. Church family is so important to me. Last picture blog post I did, I posted a picture of the derby car race from church. As I was editing it, I looked at it closely and said, "Oh these are my people!" It startled me to realize that it was for the first time. The people here have always been nice and we have been involved in things, but MY people have always been the St Thomas people. To a certain extent St Thomas will always be 'the people'. They are my roots, all of my family is there and the people there walked our dark days with us. They know who we are and know our hearts intimately. There is a bond there that can't be severed. The excitement I felt about claiming GR as my own in the last bit, is kind of being drowned out by the fact that we are on our way out. These years go by with a snap of the fingers. I will enjoy all of my 'one mores' and try not to think too hard about steeling myself for a move back to Ontario. I am truly excited to see where God takes us next and have the utmost confidence that His plan is perfect. But I just might leave a part of my heart here in Grand Rapids, MI.
The kids made a fort with left over wood. Our new fence is so pretty. Since the FBI arrest, we were feeling a little on edge. That part of our property went right up to our neighbors driveway. After he got released he called kids over once when they were playing outside. That was the end of the line for us. So we asked for a fence. Our men, who are involved in the church across the street, are the kind of mewho know everyone and the fence went up quickly. I am quite sure our neighbor is in jail now. We saw his uncle/brother or whoever emptying the house and moving stuff in this past week. So maybe we have new neighbors now. Whatever the case, I am thankful for our fence.
Grace is still in her jammies here. I love nighties.(:
One of our favourite beaches in Saugatuk. It's number 2 on the list! (:
I was looking at the side of my blog and realized that some of those pictures were 4 years old. So I took some new pics for the side. The kids are getting so big. We are back to odd numbers this year. 5,9,11,13,17.
I love noticing that Siah's expander is doing it's job. When he smiles, his jaw is starting to look more normal! (:
I think we may need to do this one over. She was looking into the sun! (:
We went to the Dutch Village in Holland for an after school treat. We also had free passes for the kids, so it was an easy choice. (: But it was SO SO fun! There are a few rides, animals and dutch stuff. I told the kids they could pick one fun thing to do this week since they will be missing Ken. Ken is the fun guy. He takes them to the park every day, he takes them fishing or to the beach. He does it because he loves it, but also to give me some time to pull things together here at home. I appreciate his love and the time he takes for the kids as well as his care for me. Anyways, the kids want to go back to the Dutch Village this week. It's a good choice! (:
I have lots of pictures of that day, but this was my fave. My Oma would love this picture. I should print it out for her! Ken is trying to make them laugh and Grace had to point at silly daddy! (:
I watched THIS VIDEO on facebook last week and wanted to save it somewhere. I was going to write about it because it hit me deeply. But there is no time this post. Next time! (:
Well, time has passed again and all of that is done! (: Now the kids just have to finish up math and we are going to keep working on Who is God? This book is amazing. It's worldview for kids. I am reading it with the 4 kids and their ages range from 5-13 and they are all learning. I recommend it.
Last week we were in Ontario and I got to visit family, but the time went so quickly. There were so many coffees that I missed out on. I always say I should make a trip just for visiting. I would love to go out to the St George/Brantford area and visit for a day. Then do 2 days in St Thomas and just soak it up. My heart says it's a good idea, but my mind is not sure. I am way too practical. In my mind there is too much to do to go to Ontario for a 'just because' visit.
I have been thinking a lot about my complete practicalness. I love being fun and spontaneous. But as my life has gotten fuller with the kids, as homeschooling takes up more of my day and because there are so many people at home all the time, it's hard to keep up with things. In turn I have become very home focused and that is OK to a certain extent. My house isn't at all spotless. My goal is more order than sparkling. A dear friend said to me last week, "Sometimes life is about showing up." Hmmm. That got me thinking...
I have always known and strive to put things that are super temporal to the bottom of my list and put those things that affect the eternal and relationships to the top. But I find that a hard balance to find sometimes. In order to focus on those good things, my mind has to be clear and that means I need order. So it's kind of circle. Does that make sense? It's something I need to keep working at for sure. As I work on it, a fun trip to Ontario is at the top of my list! (:
I have realized the power of the camera on my phone. I now take a batrillion pictures everywhere I go. I used to think that people with their phones out all the time were weird. Now I get it. My phone takes better pic than my camera does and it's fun. I am capturing way more events in our lives!
Here is a picture of Grace and her besty Rachel at Calvin College. They make me smile in a big way. They are so sweet together. Look at Grace's hand on her leg. Seriously, so cute! They are having their first play date this Thursday. Both girls are counting sleeps! (:
We are starting to head into "one more" time in Grand Rapids. We have one more school year, one more Christmas, one more Art Prize, one more birthday for everyone.... Lots of one mores. I settled quickly into my house and into the geographical area etc. But I realized in the last few months that I have finally settled into church. Church family is so important to me. Last picture blog post I did, I posted a picture of the derby car race from church. As I was editing it, I looked at it closely and said, "Oh these are my people!" It startled me to realize that it was for the first time. The people here have always been nice and we have been involved in things, but MY people have always been the St Thomas people. To a certain extent St Thomas will always be 'the people'. They are my roots, all of my family is there and the people there walked our dark days with us. They know who we are and know our hearts intimately. There is a bond there that can't be severed. The excitement I felt about claiming GR as my own in the last bit, is kind of being drowned out by the fact that we are on our way out. These years go by with a snap of the fingers. I will enjoy all of my 'one mores' and try not to think too hard about steeling myself for a move back to Ontario. I am truly excited to see where God takes us next and have the utmost confidence that His plan is perfect. But I just might leave a part of my heart here in Grand Rapids, MI.
The kids made a fort with left over wood. Our new fence is so pretty. Since the FBI arrest, we were feeling a little on edge. That part of our property went right up to our neighbors driveway. After he got released he called kids over once when they were playing outside. That was the end of the line for us. So we asked for a fence. Our men, who are involved in the church across the street, are the kind of mewho know everyone and the fence went up quickly. I am quite sure our neighbor is in jail now. We saw his uncle/brother or whoever emptying the house and moving stuff in this past week. So maybe we have new neighbors now. Whatever the case, I am thankful for our fence.
Grace is still in her jammies here. I love nighties.(:
One of our favourite beaches in Saugatuk. It's number 2 on the list! (:
I was looking at the side of my blog and realized that some of those pictures were 4 years old. So I took some new pics for the side. The kids are getting so big. We are back to odd numbers this year. 5,9,11,13,17.
I love noticing that Siah's expander is doing it's job. When he smiles, his jaw is starting to look more normal! (:
I think we may need to do this one over. She was looking into the sun! (:
I have lots of pictures of that day, but this was my fave. My Oma would love this picture. I should print it out for her! Ken is trying to make them laugh and Grace had to point at silly daddy! (:
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