Just life...(birthday, hospital appointment, baseball)

Grace turned 7 on June 15. My yummy baby is not so little anymore. She will always be my baby. I know she is not the youngest, but in my heart I put her with Tessa. Two babies is ok. (:

I took this while Ken and I were going for a walk on our anniversary night. It's so pretty. 

I like this one too. (: 

School is done. The kids and I have been slow for a few weeks already. But Ken and Micah are finally home. The year went quickly, but was still long, if that makes sense. I got my first shipment of school books and I am so excited to start again. We need this time of rest, but my new history curriculum looks amazing. It's not just history. I can use it for bible, geography and even do novel studies with it. We did our history backwards. We did Canadian history last year and are doing world this year. It still works. (:  We are planning to do a little school with kids this summer. We do half a lesson of math a day. I am also doing grammar with Grace. She is super excited about it. It will keep her fresh with her reading, writing sentences and penmanship and it only takes 20 minutes a day.

Here is our first batch of books. To most people it's not exciting. But I find it thrilling. I even smelled them. Haha.

Micah has his hospital appointment on July 20th. It's such a blessing that there is no hard involved. It's not something that hangs over our heads. We don't dread it or wonder what we are going to find. Even though we have no scans, they could find something. That is not beyond possibility, but Micah is His and we will trust. I am thankful for the peace He gives. Micah is having blood work,  his heart tested and a pulmonary function test. We have noticed as he has gotten bigger that his lung function is a bit less. It's nice to be able to compare this year to last year and the year before to have a clear picture of what's happening in his lungs. He will also meet with his oncologist for a thorough check up.  This is the first year that I won't be able to go back with him.  Micah is perfectly capable of doing this stuff by himself. But my role has been his caregiver and advocate for 10 years. I can do this. (insert winky face).  I do get to sit with him and the doc after everything to chat. I get two years of that and then he is completely on his own. Once he hits 17,  he will be an adult in the medical world.(:  It's kind of hard to believe that he is so old. November is our 10 year anniversary of the start of our cancer journey. We are so blessed. His life, his age and his current health are more than we could have ever asked for. The Lord has been especially kind and gracious. We praise Him.

A boy and his sister. 

I am in love with chess. I never thought I would say that. Chess was always in a category with pocket protectors and I don't fit into that category. Siah taught me in the winter. He has a keen mind for strategy games. He can plan many moves ahead in his mind. I fly by the seat of my pants. A plan usually emerges at some point, but I have to work hard to beat him. I have beat him a few times, The first time was on advice from Micah. The second time, was a true blue win. He challenges me. He does acknowledge that I am getting better. (: I adore saying check and check mate. I think it's even cuter when he shakes my hand at the end of the game.  Micah and I play together too. We are more even and I have a better chance of winning with him.  I found these awesome chess pieces at Bibles for Mission, along with the board for $1. The pieces are perfect. The board not so much. We are looking for a big pretty board that is hard and shiny. We want one that the pieces click when we put them down. We may be nuts, but it's so so fun! (:

Baseball is keeping us hopping this year. Micah, Natalie and Josiah are all playing. Often they each have 2 games and a practice each week. Last week just Siah alone had 4 games. They love it and we love it. It's so good for them. Although, I am excited when we get a night off. (:

Siah is pitching and playing short, 2nd or 3rd. I only have video of him pitching. I should get a few pictures. It's just hard to through the fence. He loves baseball and this year is one of the first times that I see his fire. Siah is naturally quite quiet and is a booky boy. He is very much like Ken in that he is super steady and when he is excited he does not jump up and down or yell with excitement. He nods his head and smiles. I think it's ok to say this... He is naturally very coordinated. Sports come easy to him, but he has always been a bit too relaxed on the field. Something has clicked in him and it's a blast to watch him come alive out there. He is a one of kind and is such a love. (:

Natalie is pitching, catching and playing infield. She has had to work on her pitching because they have different rules here in Canada in regards to the rubber. She used to take a step back, lean back and then step into the pitch. But here, she is not allowed to do that and it was hard to unlearn something that she has done for years. She is getting use to it being a co-ed league. Her team is about half and half.  In the states, only girls play softball. She has a really nice team. They encourage each other and it's so good to see.  The parents are so nice too. It makes it more fun to watch.  I got some neat pictures at her last tournament while she was warming up. I never take pictures from this angle during a game. That would be rather distracting. They are poor quality, but I still like them.  It's been fun to watch her be determined to learn a different way to pitch. She is fiercely competitive and it's been good for her to be in a more relaxed league than she is used to. It's good for character development. (:   She loves baseball.  I think she will play for many years.

The lean

The windmill

Release

Shaking hands after catching

Micah pitches and prefers to play short. But this team has been together for a long time and he left. So he has to find his place again. He gets to play short and 2nd, but he has also been trying first base. He is starting to like it. He is a bit short for that position. He can only stretch so far! (:   It's kind of cool that he is back playing in St Thomas. He is stepping into where he left off in a way. He has the same coach he grew up with and some of the same guys. I haven't been to one of his games. Often his games are at 8:30 and that is too late for the little girls. He loves playing under the lights. They even get walk up music. It's fun.

My girlie is getting so big. We have a funny lip and a sill goes deep in on the windows in our kitchen. She likes to balance on the lip. Don't mind her dress. I was seeing if it fit her and it was easier to try it on over clothes. It was even easier just to leave it on! (: She is watching the kids.

Tessa got a hold of Ken's trail mix. Once I noticed, she had eaten all the chocolate out and was working on the raisins. Smart girl. 

Rainbows have abounded at our house lately. Grace has had her desires met by seeing a full rainbow.
The first one is from last week. This was at night and I couldn't pull Grace out of bed. She wouldn't wake up.

This was a full one as well on Saturday night. It was so clear and bright. Grace was so moved that she had tears in her eyes. If you look closely in the first two pictures, you can see that it was a double full rainbow. I know the two pictures are almost the same, but I was wasting too much time trying to figure out which one I like better. So both will stay.  (: In the third picture, you can see Grace on the trampoline enjoying it. It's too bad that it was too big to get in one picture. 

Genesis 9:11-13 (ESV)

"I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”  And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations:  I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth."

God is so incredibly faithful.