A Happy Birthday

One of the special things of being in Ontario was spending a bit of time and/or meeting some of Steve's family. One of these special people is Aunt Mary.
I was going to send you a card, Aunt Mary but I forgot so here's a very public "happy 65th birthday!" May the God of Psalm 65 bless you, strengthen you, nourish you, provide for you and make you a blessing to everyone you meet every single day. We thank the Lord for you.

With love, Steve & Leanne Leah, Sam, Cam, Cara and Cody

Back Again

It was a wonderful time away. It's wonderful to be home again. We thank God for bringing us home safely to our dear Cara and Cody. I hope I can be back at updating very soon! Picture taken by Leah this morning as we left Ontario.

Leah's First Show

Sorry about the poor videography... I was so busy trying to actually watch her I sometimes forgot to watch the camera.

It being her first show we were a little unsure of exactly what Leah was to do for this round. Her first round on the horse was her compulsories round which consists of a set of required moves in a required order. The video shows her freestyle. This is where we were somewhat unprepared for what Leah was expected/allowed to do and for some reason forgot to make sure we clarified that at the last lesson. So, while snuggling in bed this morning we came up with a routine based on moves she wanted to do (the stand being her favorite!) and, my error, I thought she was only allowed 7. She actually was allowed a full minute for her round and so she could have added a few moves back in to make it flow a little better from move to move. Oh well, she had a tonne of fun and it was all about the learning experience anyway. Next time we'll know better.

Lots of fun! A special thank you to Nana Lynn who introduced Leah to this special sport and taught her so much of what Leah knows and to Mrs. Barb who now keeps Leah coming!

Priceless and Telling conversation

This afternoon after spending some time outside all the kids headed downstairs to play Mom & Dad. Not all were as willing. So Sam figured a way out of his dilemma.
"I have to go to work," he declared and headed upstairs to play with his new playmobile in utter peace and quiet. He was after all the construction worker on the excavator! His ruse worked quite a long time but 2 minutes ago Leah started getting suspicious and came stomping upstairs declaring it was time for Dad to come home.
Sam, realizing the gig was up, waited for her to come into hearing distance and then before she could utter a word stated, "And Dad was VERY late for supper tonight!" Hilarious.
But it only got better from there.
"Dad, you need to come home," Leah demanded, "I need your help. The kids are all being bad and I don't know what to make for supper!"
Hmmm, sounds like someone else I know... ;)

Two Paraphrases and A Picture

The more we see of our own faults the less we see of the faults of others. (what a way to live!)

The greater knowledge we have of our sins the greater joy we will have because of our increased knowlege of the infinite grace of God. He becomes everything, we become nothing!


And one last thing. She is Papa's morning lunches side kick. It almost makes putting together daily lunches a wonderful thing! :) (yes, I am a very spoiled wifey)

The Cream Puffs

Now, one would think, from looking at these pictures that Cody is the one sharing his cream puff with Cara. But this is how it really went down.

Cody gobbled up two (small) cream puffs and starting asking (none too nicely) for more. When I showed him the empty bucket he quickly realized his only other option was disappearing at a decent rate of speed and so he quickly asked, "Cara, will you share wif me?"

It absolutely cracks me up that a son of Cody's daddy - who will not even share a spoon, meal, dessert or whatever with his dear wife - is willing to bite into, even finish if his sister will let him, a cream puff that comes pre - licked, pre - slobbered, pre- mushed and it matters not a whit to him!

At first Cara said no (not because she is crazy about cream puffs but because she wasn't done licking her chocolate off the top yet :) ) but when Cody put on a sufficiently sad face Cara aquiesced, "okay, Cody, you can share my cream puff." And she offered it over in such lovingly cupped hands I think she was sublimly letting him know what a precious gift she shared.
He, of course, grabbed the cream puff and took a chomp before she could change her mind and only needed a gentle, "my turn, Cody?!" before he sent it back to her, licking his lips all the while.

He was a little more careful than she and tried very hard to keep a few fingers on it to assure himself it would come back in his direction once again.

Then he decided to trust her and let her be in charge. :)

With a "my turn" here and a "do you want an other bite, Mom?" there it went back and forth until it was all gone. I would have dashed for the video camera but I'm thankful to say I got similar footage of popsicle sharing last week. Special stuff.

Three

Three years ago today...they were born in the morning and at night when they looked girlish and boyish in their pink and blue I squashed them together in a car seat just so I could remember how tiny they actually were. Not that this picture lends itself much to an acurate perspective....
They are special friends and that's for sure. I have a couple of pictures of cream puff sharing from the other night (for another day) but I heard Cody say, "you want a 'nother bite, Mom?"

They will play Mom & Dad for hours together. For one gift opening is a serious business. Delighted but not quite as expressive as...

this. :) Made me smile, he did this special face with each gift, book or toy.Their turn to get a special cake.

Happy birthday Cara and Cody! We are so thankful to God for the preciousness that is twins, for your health and for your sparkle.

Happy birthday also to special cousin Tyler!!! and thanks to Auntie Krista for having our birthday bash at her house!

Morning's Quote

Cara and Cody were in the tub together this morning. I had soaped up Cody's hair and was about to rinse it out when Cara piped up, "can I put a ski jump in your hair, Cody?" "Sure, Cara!" So here came these two cute little hands cupped together to scoop up a section of her brother's hair.
But instead standing the hair up off his forehead she miscalculated somewhat and pulled up the hair along the top of his head parallel with his ears. And she burst into that awesome Cara chortle.
"You look like a dinosaur, Cody! You have spikes!!!"
That was a video moment. Too bad I was so ill prepared :)

In some way world's apart!

Today I went to the university. For years I've let the dental hygenist and dental assistant students practice on my teeth. It's easier on the pocket book.

But never before today did I have an experience like I had this morning. Upon arriving on the parking lot and searching for an empty spot I came across a familiar little black car (full of dents :) ) And right next to that little black car? An empty spot.

So I parked my van and hopped out feeling a little wierd. You see, I had parked next to my baby sister. The one who started grade 1 the day I started my post secondary education at the same institution we were both at today. And the feeling only got weirder (in a really neat and special way) when she called my name and gave me a hug when she spotted me in the waiting area. She was the one in her element now, I the one feeling a little out of place and like a visitor. She the confident one spending hours upon hours cementing friendships through the tortures of intense classtime common to nursing student classmates. I, the one on the outside, a bit of an intruder. My years of wandering through these buildings and considering it my domain were some 13 years past.

It made me feel old.

And it made me wish I had brought a Timmy's card to leave under her window wiper ;)

when you should pay attention to your gut

"where's the twins?" I asked Sam and Cam while they played a game and I folded laundry quietly upstairs. It was too quiet. It had been too long since I had checked on the twins and my mother-fifth-sense-beacon-light was flashing red warning signals at my brain.
Just finish the wash and go check, I told myself. But too bad for me, that wasn't quick enough.
Not 2 minutes later Cara came flying up the stairs, "I sorry, Mama, I sorry, I din' mean too, it was a asident" and she threw herself at my arms and mercy.
I couldn't get too much of the story she was telling as she was too busy saying sorry and trying to placate my anger before I could even figure out what I should be mad about but I did think I heard "glass" and "throw it." So I picked her up and let her hug my neck as she nervously chattered her sorry's on the way downstairs.

And this is what we found inside Leah's room. A jar of BBQ sauce with both it's bottom and top broken off and sauce splattered here and there.
She and Cody had filled up her little shopping cart with items from the pantry and for some reason were throwing them all about Leah's room. ??? I have no idea why but I am ever so thankful that 4 of the items were canned goods and 1 a pkg. of soup mix.
As for the 6th item? Why yes, that was the bottle of SWEET & STICKY BBQ sauce I had picked up on sale and stored in the pantry.

I went to put Leah's wash away before and was surprised for a moment went my socks refused to glide across the floor.
Aparently one wash with Pine-Sol wasn't enough!