graduation

Today was "Graduation" day for our little Lidiyah. She is in senior kindergarten and they had a ceremony and presentation that she eagerly participated in. She was so cute as she performed some songs with her classmates and every parent/grandparent there was gushing with tears, laughter and pride.  What is it about little ones and the funny ways they dance and react to a crowd? Some get shy and barely move, while others are confident and show off their moves..lol...

It was so sweet to watch her recieve her graduation certificate from her lovely teachers...it made me so proud.

After they had time to take pictures and that was followed by a reception with Cake, snacks and fruit trays.

We are so proud of all our children but especially today we were so happy for Lidiyah.

Congratulations Lidiyah! We can't wait to see how you will grow and change in the years ahead!!

Mail!

Its Monday! and the SuN is shining...
our two littlest girls have been so patient with me today, as all morning I've been on the phone with business calls, it's one of those Monday's where I like to get all my stuff done so I can go on and enjoy the week. One of those calls was to the "Above Rubies" office and I was blessed to chat with Nancy Campbell (again!) and she told me our package was in the mail! I'm pretty excited as we've had a mail strike and now these should be coming soon.

These are the aprons that are on their way!

If you know our family, you will know that the girls of the house, well we all love pretty things and Aprons happens to be one of the "lovely" things we collect. It all started when our firstborn daughter was a toddler and I bought her her very first apron at a craft sale. She and I spent so much time together in the kitchen that her first apron had so many washings and was getting worn so we found her another one and here we are a decade later with more little girls in our family who have their own aprons too! Oh- and of course mommy didn't miss out on those craft sales and Etsy sales either..lol..I have some sweet aprons of my own too.

Anyhow, back to these gorgeous aprons in the mail. They are made from the lovely ladies and daughters from Above Rubies. I want to support this amazing ministry and what better way. Above Rubies has blessed my life and many of my friends lives not only through their website, but through their incredible magazine and awesome retreats. I have been so refreshed to attend one of their Mother's retreats and still have fond memories and spiritual moments from it.

Another website to find beautiful handmade things is Etsy. Now be careful, because it can be hard to get off that site! It's basically like Ebay but its pretty much ALL handmade. I have bought baby blankets, cloth diapers, pillowcase dresses, soft cloth playbooks, and cute baby toys off there. ~happy sigh*

 
Well that is all for today, I have some laundry to do, and then I need to pack our cooler to meet dear hubby on his lunch at the waterfront. Have a Blessed Monday!

new book!

We went to Chapters and bought some new books. Chapters is a weakness for me, as I always find sooo much I want to buy and have to use self-control to narrow my choices down. I could spend so much money at that store!-just thankful we dont have one here in our city but have to travel out of town to visit one.

I found this book by an amazing Christian Lady author which many of you will know by the name of "Nancy Rue". I have bought a few books by her for our 10 year old daughter which she has really enjoyed. To my delight, I came across this one for mothers...

Nancy Rue has a way of using humour and I have been diving into this one at night. She has very practical applications and lots of wisdom. Here is an excerpt from the back of the book:

"this equips you as a mom with comprehensive, expert, and encouraging guidance for helping your daughter's cross the bridge between girlhood and the teenage years...every mom faces that time when her daughter is no longer a little girl but not yet a teen. She's a "tween", trying to figure out how to deal with her increasingly complex world.."

that pretty much sums it up well. We have such a sweet spirited daughter, but I do see some mood changes and other fun things in her that I would love to understand and this book seemed appropriate for such a time as this!

More from the book.....

You know you have a tween in the house when:

- one day she wants no part of your advice , and the next she's in your lap begging for help

- one hour she's playing dress-up with her little sister, and the next she has a sign on the door that reads NO SIBLINGS ALLOWED?

-one minute she wants to operate the stove or the ATV or the chain saw, and the next she's afraid to ask a waiter for a glass of water

-one second she's asking you to drop her at the corner so her friends wont see what you're wearing and the next she wants to borrow that cool necklace you just bought..?

These made me laugh...

Wordless Wednesday

beach bum

So we had the most amazing weekend! the weather was so beautiful and warm, and it really felt like summer. We spent most of our time outside, visited the "nutty chocoaltier" for their "sunday scoop " deal, and visited the park.



I'm kind of bummed out for our older  children as their school year is actually longer this year- and they will miss trips to the beach this month of June. I am just hoping our weekends continue to be hot!

I think tonight we'll head out to the mall and get some new beach toys/gear.  I need to get some more pails, shovels and water wings for our toddlers. The children were eyeing up some floaty toys there that some other children were using... so maybe we'll get them some of those too. Oh-we need to get some stronger sunscreen too, right now we have SPF 30, but I would feel better if we had SPF 45!

Welcome SUMMER! (though not official yet)

more pics

Our sweet newborn sleeping...so precious!

Celebration cake Daddy went out and bought to welcome baby Zionnah

Zionnah nurses like a champ and is gaining her weight beautifully! This is our midwife using her scale to weigh her

Love this!

 

Introducing....

I am so excited to introduce our newest addition to the family! (Long Overdue I know, it's taken a bit to get our groove back after enjoying time with a new babe in the house and savoring every moment)

We had a different birth again this time in that my water broke the Friday before our "sweetpea's" due date and then we waited to go into labor, but as it has happened before, my body took a bit to kick into high gear of what would be called active labor. It wasn't until the actual due date that things progressed and when they did, it went so fast. Very fast and intense.

We were so excited that indeed our 7th Blessing was a GIRL!!

Our SweetPea arrived and the second I saw her and she was placed upon my chest I wept, She was so beautiful, soft and tiny...

Here she is, seconds old!

We named her "Zionnah Hope"

We chose "Zionnah" as it is a Hebrew name which means "One of true Goodness" (...it is pronounced "Zie-on-uh")

Her middle we chose for very specific reasons and felt it was very fitting to call her Hope , mainly due to some amazing things that played out during my pregnancy with her and some things dear hubby and I were learning through certain circumstances. I can still say her name over and over again, and I fall in love with it everytime. It is so "her"

She weiged in at 6 lbs 8 oz and 47 cm which is 18.5 inches

born on her due date Saturday April 30 at 5:50 p.m

She's a Beauty and such a Miracle!!

She is adored by all her siblings....

Each morning the children want to hold her and are so good now at taking turns

We are so blessed to have another little one in our lives to raise and nurture!

Now that little Zionnah is here, we can't imagine life without her! She fits so well into our family and we are so thankful for her LIFE!! Thank you God for the sweetness of a newborn in the house...

Here is our first official family pic with all our Blessings!!

Still here!

Hello everyone!
I have been very neglectful of this blog and haven't updated in quite awhile! just wanted to check in and let you all know that lots of wonderful things have happened since last update and I hope to add more posts soon about them....
One exciting event is the birth of our 7th Blessing!!! I'm so excited to share more about that day soon, probrably in next post....

cheers!

Preparing for Easter

I found this amazing link that I'd love to share with you all especially for this season of Easter. As we take the time to reflect on the true meaning of Easter and prepare our hearts to celebrate. I am hoping to buy the ingredients tomorrow and try it.

Here is the Recipe I've copied and pasted from the website I found:

Easter Story Cookies


by Rachel Keller

Begin this recipe on Saturday, the day before Easter.

1 cup whole pecans
1 teaspoon vinegar
3 egg whites
pinch salt
1 cup sugar
zipper baggie

wooden spoon or a wooden meat hammer

duct tape or packing tape

Bible

Preheat oven to 300*F.
Place pecans in zipper baggie and let children beat them with the wooden spoon or hammer to break them into small pieces.

Explain that after Jesus was arrested he was beaten by the Roman soldiers. Read John 19:1-3.

Let each child smell the vinegar. Put 1 teaspoon of vinegar into the mixing bowl.

Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross he was given vinegar to drink. Read John 19:28-30.

Add egg whites to the vinegar. Eggs represent life.

Explain that Jesus gave his life to give us life. Read John 10:10-11.

Sprinkle a little salt into each child's hand. Let them taste. Then put your pinch of salt in the bowl.

Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus's followers, and the bitterness of our own sin. Read Luke 23:27

So far, the ingredients are not very appetizing! Add 1 cup sugar to the bowl.

Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because he loves us. He wants us to know and belong to him. Read Psalm 34:8 and John 3:16.

Beat with a mixer on high speed for 10 to 15 minutes until stiff peaks form.

Explain that the color white represents the purity in God's eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus. Read Isaiah 1:18 and John 3:1-3.


Fold in broken nuts. Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper covered cookie sheets.

Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus's body was laid. Read Matthew 27:57-60.

Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF. Give each child a piece of tape to seal the oven door.

Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed. Read Matthew 27:65-66.

Leave the kitchen. If you've been making these cookies just before bedtime, GO TO BED!

Acknowledge that the kids are probably sad that they've worked hard to make these cookies, and now have to leave them in the oven overnight. Explain that Jesus' followers were in sad when Jesus died and the tomb was sealed. Read John 16:20 and 22.

On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie. Ask the kids to notice the cracked surface. Have them bite into the cookies. The cookies are hollow!

Explain that on the first Easter morning, Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty. Read Matthew 28:1-9.

HE HAS RISEN!

Made it!

So today officially marks my 37th Week!!!
I am doing a happy dance because with each pregnancy you never know if you will hit each milestone..Life is so precious and anything can happen.

My midwife called me yesterday to tell me who was on call this weekend "should" I go into labor. That surprised me yet was so profound...especially when she told me that "on Sunday night at midnight we will consider you full term and in the clear to go into labor anytime...and safely have your homebirth".
After she told me that I was full of adrenaline, and excitement. Baby is really coming...and soon.
She also made me promise to call her the minute I think anything is up because based on my charts with each child it keeps getting faster and last birth, the midwives barely had time to set up before baby Hannah was born!

Today dear hubby and I are going to finish up our Homebirth List from the midwives, and get last minute things. I am still trying to decide what type of music I want to labor along to and am hoping to get some nice candles today too.
I am so thankful to be full-term and I am also trying to savor each moment of this pregnancy. I am very aware of SweetPea's sleep wake cycles and cannot believe how big he/she has grown. My skin feels so itchy and quite stretched. My midwife checked me early last week and my uterus was measuring 35 weeks, and then 8 days later she measured again at our home visit and it was measuring 37 weeks!-thats a 2 cm growth ...this little one is really packing on the pounds I guess!

I have been drinking pots of red raspberry leaf tea to strengthen and tone my uterus and have just recently started the old evening primrose oil trick. I have researched and chatted with many pregnant friends and have heard great things about it..plus it can't hurt!

I have still quite the list of things I want to do and I am trying to stretch them out, in case I end up going past my estimated due date (which has happened before!) I always find the last month the most emotional and trying month. So much anticipation, excitement yet at the same time some frustration especially if time is dragging on, not to mention being uncomfortable at night trying to sleep because of a heavy belly, and getting up to use the bathroom every hour! It's nature's way of prepping your body ahead so that when you have a newborn who needs to be changed and fed at all hours of the night it's not such a shock! lol...