I'm still alive!

LOL! I have been taking photos, but life is pretty hectic, so I haven't had time to download and post them! Will be doing so tomorrow or latest Thursday!

Photo-a-day: 05 Feb 2010

We were priviledged to see the studio of Debbie Gilmer today. She graciously agreed to teach us more about pottery and it was a wonderful experience. Debbie set us all at ease and explained it all in terms that we could easily understand, yet without dumbing it down! I think that I am going to take some lessons from her in September. Watching her really made my hands itch to do something creative!

The kids got to make some pinch pots. I will post photos of those later. I just couldn't wait to post this photo. It is my favourite of the day!

Photo-a-day: 04 Feb 2010

This is the gorgeous tablecloth my brother got me in Mozambique! I absolutely LOVE it! LOVE IT!

Baie Dankie, Erik!

PS: it is actually straight and it is actually painted straight, too! The kids just struggled to hold it up straight whilst I took the photo!

Photo-a-day: 03 Feb 2010

We LOVE homemade bread! Today's was wholewheat seedloaf and it was YUMMY! I just wish that the younger kids will stop opening the breadmaker's lid and poke at the crust to see it "implode".... yes, it makes for delighful giggles, but for weird-looking loaves!



And it got thumbs up!

Photo-a-day: 02 Feb 2010

Yes, I could have stolen a few moments to sneak outside and take yet another snow pic :rolleyes: , I could have waited ALL day for the gorgeous blue jay to come back and eat from the birdfeeder, or I could have taken photos of the breadrolls I baked with Daniel if only they weren't eaten quicker than it took me to get my camera! But the photo I posted pretty much reflects what I spent too much time on today... okay, we did the homeschooling, made waves and sank ships in the bath with the younger ones (Even the winds and the seas obey Him), read-aloud, read lots of picture books, prepared meals, cleaned the house and all those other pesky things that moms have to do! LOL

Our "new" house doesn't have a dishwasher, and the portable one we bought really does a crappy job, in fact it annoys me so much that it is now a shelf on the outside porch. So, we wash dishes by hand... Oh, I remember the days as a child when I would beg, plead, stomp, whine, procrastinate, basically anything not having to wash the dishes. De ja vu! I try to do it with a good attitude. I try to remember that I should be grateful for having food to eat and something on which to eat it! But the truth is: I still really don't like doing dishes!!!

Photo-a-day: 01 Feb 2010

Kids and I set a table with our winter crockery and the colours were just so vibrant. The photos don't do it any justice. I didn't really want such a shallow DOF, but since I was already shooting at such a high ISO, the light was fading fast and I don't have steady hands at ALL, the only variable was really the aperture! :-( I think I would like to try something similar on a brighter day, so I have a bit more space to set up rather than be stuck right in front of the window. Or else I need to charge some batteries and use my flashlight (shudder!!!). Maybe I would even iron the tablecloth... but probably not! :-) :-)

All in all, definitely not my best photos ever, but I had some fun taking them anyway!

Photo-a-day: 31 Jan 2010

We have taken a whole new direction with our parenting in the last couple of months. The paradigm shift has been a huge and difficult one, but definitely one that God has guided us to and through. Grace-based parenting (phrase coined by Chrystal Lutton) has been such an eye-opener for both Trev and I. I love Chrystal website, and also love GOYBP (Get off Your Butt Parenting! LOL). What has been particularly encouraging for me has been to realize that living out a grace-based lifestyle does not mean that we need to be permissive parents.

I particularly love the idea of a Comfy Corner and time-in, and yet I also find it really hard for this place to be a true place of comfort and not of time-out or punitive punishment. We are getting there and as I'm extending the grace of God through Jesus to my children, I get to experience it on such a more tangible level.

This photo was taken of Timothy after he choose to go and sit in the comfy corner to calm down. He wasn't really sleeping, but kept playing this sleeping game with his teddy!



This second photo was taken during a crazy, noisy and fun-filled supper. We had to decide about whether to attend the Church Family Day or the Church Bowling Evening. Both are next month and due to financial constraints we can only attend one. The ranks were divided - pretty much evenly down the middle (Matthew didn't get to vote).

It eventually became so overwhelmingly noisy that Trevor thought a "talking stick" might be a good idea, except we used the "talking bells". Needless to say these did nothing but add some more chaos to the procedings. Dylan eventually fetched the pamphlet about the Family Day and made a pretty good case for it - do you see the talking bells hanging from his arm? After some debating and deliberation we had a re-vote and decided that we will be attending the Family Day and go bowling for Caleb's birthday in March!

The family day promises to be a lot of fun with skating, tabogganing, cross-country skiing, ice-fishing, snow-shoeing and a huge bonfire for roasting hotdogs and marshmallows!