Victoria Day

After a very cold, rainy and seemingly long spring we were delighted to spend a GORGEOUS Victoria Day visiting Uncle Peter and Aunt Grace at their incredibly beautiful home!

Leah is super busy with a piano exam coming up and a new part time job and is relaxing in a pretty marvelous way!

 The canoe and rowboat were in constant use and thoroughly enjoyed!!

hearts full

 So yummy after his weekly "spa treatment".  The kids love to watch Troy get his bath in the sink and are delighted if he's kicking his feet and they pop over the edge.  And everyone wants a turn to carry him in his towel because he's just yummy!

 Troy hates sitting in the car seat. Not sure what it is.  He might fall asleep in it but he won't stay sleeping and before long is hollering loudly.  But this day we were in the grocery line up and he was still in his car seat and still smiling.  Usually I'm either carrying him or he's screaming....or both.  It was worth taking note of!

Krista found this vintage buggy when her youngest was born.  It was perfect for berry season on the farm.  We are delighting in borrowing it so I can go walking and he can enjoy it too instead of screaming... see note above :O  Super smooth and comfy ride!

Our dear, dear Oma.  We love her so much but Oma's answer is ALWAYS "love you more". And we don't argue it because she pours love over us all the time.  Love + love you more = lots and lots of love and feeling so blessed.

7 weeks

The weeks are flying by and this little boy...

Is bringing SO much joy to our family...

We can hardly contain ourselves 😍

So thankful. 

Time is Flying

Wow, some old pictures that never got posted...

Our biggest non reader reads to his baby brother the most often. What a wonder! Because shouldn't every 3 week old be well versed in Garfield? :D

Because doesn't matter if you're only a couple weeks old, you're one of 4 boys so you have to learn to wrestle. Right now!!

Always lots of people willing to snuggle and read stories!

Went to school at 1 week old for show and tell.  Cam was the funniest/sweetest telling his class, "we're going to make mom's grocery bill SO high because I like to eat and so does he!" :D :D

Big sister is an absolute puddle to his cuteness...just holding on to the soother for dear life!

Never gets Old

Got my eye on you.

 Can't tell from the front but the back?? there's a LOT of hair there! Little fuzz ball.

Overwhelmed

Friday, March 3, we were blessed (oh, so extremely, overwhelmingly blessed) with the healthy and safe arrival of "little Troy William." Watching the faces of two attentive nurses and a fantastic doctor turn more and more serious as first his heart rate dipped alarmingly, then head delivered with the cord wrapped 3 times very tightly about his neck made for a tense few minutes.  

And for even greater thankful hearts!!

These are a few favorite pictures from day 1... I think the pictures of our kids with their brother are either on Steve's phone or all the phones of loving aunts that brought them for their first visits. But we do have pictures of them. 

He was so alert right away.

My dear, dear Oma and Opa.  Who so proudly and lovingly told the nurse that Troy is their 55th great-grandchild!

 Opa William.

 Cousin Curtis fell head over heels in love.  Immediately.

 The special sleeper the big boys picked out for their little brother. Baseball.  Always sports!

 And another of my favorites.  He's yawning, not crying :)

For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.

I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.

Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.

~ Psalm 139:13 - 16

100% truth.  Breathtakingly, wonderfully made.

2017

Another year is dawning, dear Father, let it be

In working or in waiting, another year with Thee.

Another year of progress, another year of praise,

Another year of proving Thy presence all the days.

Another year of mercies, of faithfulness and grace,

Another year of gladness in the shining of Thy face;

Another year of leaning upon Thy loving breast;

Another year of trusting, of quiet, happy rest.

Another year of service, of witness for Thy love,

Another year of training for holier work above.

Another year is dawning, dear Father, let it be

On earth, or else in Heaven, another year for Thee.

Frances R. Havergal (1836-1879)

Wacky Hair Day

The kids are having a read a thon at school and this year's theme is dr. Seuss.  Reading a certain amount of books gained them a theme day, thus Wacky Hair Day.

Now, I'm not very exciting when it comes to hair.  Just never got into the habit of gelling the boys' hair and usually just put the girls' into pony tails.  But for a special day like this?  It's fun to get into spirit of it and make memories.

But we didn't have much gel.  So I asked my hair professional friend if it's true that I remembered her talking about using corn syrup in hair.  Yup, she confirmed, works like a CHARM!!  So, we're getting one less recipe of stropwaffle syrup out of our corn syrup bottle but the boys' hair did. not. move.  I should add that we "gelled' then sprayed with hairspray and dried it all good with the blow dryer.  Dertermined to outdo the rain!! The good news? It washes out better than gel.

Sam opted for crazy spikes in the front...

and a smiley face in the back.  but in real life it was actually kind of creepy and halloweenish....

Cody went for the ever popular mohawk although I've never seen a mohawk quite as rigid as this one... I could push down on it and it didn't move.  I informed Steve that with a corn syrup, hair spray, hair dryer combo he could probably build a house with no nails.  Not that it would do very well in Wet Coast weather....

He had ponies decorating the sides and back.

 Cam had a combine taking care of his wheat field.  Although he was very wimpy about the hair pulling involved with trying to move corn syrup through it, so his wheat didn't stand in very straight rows!!

We aren't very practiced farmers so we started by clipping straight up the middle instead of the outside rows.

 I laughed really hard when at supper Cara said she had spilt her chocolate milk while playing Red Rover.  Cara does not drink chocolate milk for anything! Why did she have chocolate milk in her hand??? Until I clicked in that she meant her hair had escaped the cup!  I'm a little slow sometimes!!!

The biggest lesson for the day was that by having all the lunches nearly ready to go the night before I had all the time I needed to get this done before the bus came.  Not that I've gotten anywhere for tomorrow's lunches. 

Bigger!

I knew I was feeling bigger with this baby than I had with the twins.  Tonight I went looking for proof.

21 weeks 8.5 years ago with 2 babies

21 weeks .5 week ago with 1 baby

I've told many of you that I'm bigger than I was with the twins!  And my dear Steve cheerfully informed me that we probably just have a chunky baby.  Obviously he's not the one looking forward to delivering!! :)

just to remember

I can't say any of our kids lack for healthy imagination but here are some of Cody's best since our announcing he was no longer going to be baby of the family.
5 min after getting the news of the baby..."Cam you have to teach me EVERYTHING I need to know about being a big brother!!"
This summer while at the swimming pool, patting my non existent baby belly... " Baby, you're SO lucky. Swimming night and day and NEVER needing goggles!!"
Then a few weeks later..."Mom do you think he's diving for sinkers?" (pool toys)
And this morning's. With the twinkliest of eyes and a barely restrained dimple..."I wonder what his birthday suit will look like? Will it have orange stripes?! Or maybe green stars?!" He'd make dr. Suess proud.

Halfway and so thankful for all the love this baby gets from family and friends alike.

A Day out of the Desk

Sam got to spend last week Friday with some of his school mates climbing in the gorgeous BC mountains.  I get blown away every time I look at his pictures.  And he sure didn't have a fancy camera to take them.  Just incredible!!

I didn't do the hike so I don't know too much about the pictures or the mountain peaks but enjoy the scenery from your computer chair!

 I'm pretty sure they hiked along the top of this!

 He really like the stone "statues" some other fun person had set up.  Cool birds!

 Victory!!!

 Still my favorite from the day.

O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

When through the woods, and forest glades I wander,
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.
When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur
And see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

And when I think, that God, His Son not sparing;
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;
That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin.

Back to School - for faithful blog checkers!

Getting SO big. And so thankful they're healthy and looking forward to school.

 Trying to get everybody acting normal is almost impossible.  Cam's doing his hand on hip, chest puffed up look and just won't stand up straight!

 Sunny day, bus waiting activities... jumping shadows... and the boys in the very back ground who practice their math, or physics or whatever it is and try to estimate at what point to leave the driveway to race the oncoming vehicles and beat them to the next driveway.  All the teachers can be thankful that we at least get rid of a decent amount of energy before even getting to the classroom doors!  The neighbors???? They might not be quite as thankful.  Things are rarely quiet.

 Especially when you're fencing each other's shadows with baseball bats.

Swing!!!

And DUCK!!!!!

Thanks for persevering, Aunt Mary, and for encouraging me to get on this!  I would think this is a nicer sight than seeing that dinosaur over and over again!!