Adventures with the Richardsons

Photo-a-Day: 16 May 2010

2010-05-16T20:37:00.000-07:00

We met some friends at the beautiful Andrew Hayden park yesterday and we spotted the cutest little goslings. The parents were pretty protective and I couldn't get near enough to get some really nice photos. The ducklings were even cuter, but they were tiny and I never got a shot of them!

Photo-a-Day: 15 May 2010

2010-05-16T20:20:00.000-07:00

Tulip Festival time in Ottawa! This year we only managed to get the tailend of the festival and although many of the tulips were no longer in bloom, it was still beautiful. A true riot of colour. With only going this past weekend we missed the rows upon rows upon rows of different coloured tulips in one bedding :-(

More Tulips

2010-05-16T18:24:00.000-07:00

Photo-a-day: 14 May 2010

2010-05-14T20:40:00.000-07:00

DELETED! Because I shouldn't edit when I'm tired! LOL!

Watch this space, will get the photo up this weekend!

Trevor thought I was crazy when I told him that I HAD to have this carriage.... and although this is not exactly the shot I had in my head, I love it anyway!

Photo-a-day: 13 May 2010

2010-05-13T20:36:00.000-07:00

1 of Daniel today. He offered to do photos with me! It is an offer I couldn't refuse!!!!

Photo-a-day: 12 May 2010

2010-05-12T21:56:00.000-07:00

So much for the 1st of May! :-) :-)

But i'm back! I am embarking on a whole new journey of photography and I'm loving it! Spring is in the air and what the weather is GORGEOUS (well most of the time).

Here a few photos from today, taken at the "golden hour" just before the sun set. Wait, you say PHOTO, as in singular, a day? Sorry, no can do! :-)

I've not given up....

2010-04-26T09:20:00.000-07:00

on the 365 photo a day challenge!

Things have been crazy here! I will be back by 01 May (and I'll even back post some photos) :-) :-)

Photo-a-day: 14 April 2010

2010-04-14T21:17:00.000-07:00

Yes, the time with Timothy taking photos would best be described as: "A million wriggles, a 1000 goofy expressions, a 100 no-mores and VERY few photos with eye-contact"!

Yet, I had such a great time with him!

Photo-a-day: 11 April 2010

2010-04-12T16:25:00.000-07:00

I didn't have a photo for today, so I thought I would go back and find one from my files....

I love this one! Actually, I really miss the sound of african music! Technically this is anything but perfect, but it has certainly drawn me onto the path down Memory Lane!

Photo-a-day: 10 April 2010

2010-04-12T15:36:00.001-07:00

Matthew at 9 months! I had soooo much fun taking photos of him yesterday! Matthew is the smiliest, easiest baby you can imagine and he is such a cuddle bottom, I just LOVE it!

Photo-a-day: 09 April 2010

2010-04-12T15:31:00.000-07:00

I really enjoyed taking photos with Caleb! He really, really enjoyed walking with me to take some photos, although the funnest activity for him was throwing stones in every puddle and stream! :-)

Photo-a-day: 08 April 2010

2010-04-12T14:15:00.000-07:00

Boys did the AWANA quiz again this year and they LOVED it! I am always amazed at how they have no fear of tests, quizzes or the like. Their team one their section.

Dylan "quizzed" out - meaning that he got all 8 the multiple choice questions right and answered 3 of the speed questions. Thereafter he wasn't allowed to answer anymore as he "quized" out. :-)

Photo-a-day: 07 April 2010

2010-04-12T13:28:00.000-07:00

I had the priviledge of taking photos of this gorgeous little guy in March!

Photo-a-day: 06 April 2010

2010-04-12T12:57:00.000-07:00

Daniel confession Jesus to be the Lord of his life.

Dylan coming up out of the water.

Alec leaving the baptismal pool...

Dylan, Alec and Daniel were baptised end of March. It was a very moving moment for all of us. I love the fact that my kids love the Lord.

Photo-a-day: 05 April 2010

2010-04-05T18:17:00.000-07:00

I wanted to get a silhouette, but I also want to get some jumping photos. Both these photos were taken at exactly the same spot, except that in the second one Alec was facing the sunset. I want to try this again another time of the day so that I won't have to crank the ISO up so much.... I definitely want to try it again!

Um, we got some weird and wonderful expressions! LOL!

Photo-a-day: 04 April 2010

2010-04-04T19:50:00.000-07:00

We lit the first fire of the spring! Kids have been seriously looking forward to making a fire in the firepit outside and roasting some marshmallows. On the spur of the moment Trevor and I decided to get some "hogdogs" (yup, you guessed it: viennas), rolls and marshmallows and to surprise the kids!

They had a BALL! Everyone got to bed late, with hair stinking of smoke, but with happy, shiny little faces!

Photo-a-day: 03 April 2010

2010-04-04T19:46:00.001-07:00

Yup, another snapshot! LOL!

This one because I couldn't believe my eyes: This store was closed for the easter weekend. All the bags of fertilizer etc. were left out on the porch. No chains, ropes or security cameras...

Photo-a-day: 02 April 200

2010-04-04T19:17:00.000-07:00

We did the Easter March through town on Friday morning. I wanted to post some photos of the actual march, but after thinking it over, I decided that I felt uncomfortable with posting photos of people I don't know...

The event itself was really something... we walked from church to church with voluteers carrying a cross. At each church we stopped, read part of the easter story from the Bible and sang some songs.

This easter has been particularly touching for me. Maybe because the weather has so suddenly turned warm and there are green buds on the trees, I am so clearly reminded of the new beginning we have in Christ. And the reminder to extend the same grace and mercy to others, as He extends to me, is always a good one!

Photo-a-day: 01 April 2010

2010-04-01T20:41:00.000-07:00

It is incredible to think that Dylan is 12!

Photo-a-day: 31 March 2010

2010-03-31T19:31:00.001-07:00

Two snapshots of our new dog!

Um, just looking at these it looks like Daniel is about to beat the poor pooch! Nope! He is about to throw that stick and Blackie (yes, yes, I know, it isn't the most exciting name, but my kids cannot be convinced to name him anything else) is waiting excitedly!

We got a dog! He is a 2 year old labrador/bernese mountain dog cross and is just lovely. I was a little aprehensive about getting an older dog, but just knew that adding a puppy to the mix in our crazy, chaotic household would not have been a wise thing. Well, I believe that God sent us the perfect dog!! :-) :-) He is actually really obedient, doesn't snatch food from anywhere (even the floor), is ever so patient with the younger children and loves running and playing with anyone who is willing and able! Him dragging me on the leash is the one vice he has and one we will have to work on, although his willingness to always come when called when he is off the leash makes up for it, somewhat!

Epiphanie Camera Bags

2010-03-31T18:54:00.000-07:00

11 days??? How is it possible that 11 days have flown by without me making a single entry? Maybe it is a little bit of post-winter, pre-spring blues.... Anyway, today the weather was GLORIOUS and I feel like I have something to share (and maybe even a photo-a-day post a bit later :-) )

I stumbled across Epiphanie Camera Bags for Women website! Well, actually a fellow photo-a-day blogger gave met he link! Thanks, Vee!

Be still my heart! How gorgeous are these bags?! I am not known for stylish handbags, I guess my "trademark" is probably rather my well-used rucksack which doubles as diaper bag and camera bag in a cinch! But the truth be told, I would at the blink of an eye spend money on this bag

I can totally se myself with this bag... I've shown Trev, and hinted that a new camera bag ("Just like this one, honey....") would make a perfect birthday gift. :-) :-)

Photo-a-day: 20 March 2010

2010-03-20T22:32:00.001-07:00

Photo-a-day: 19 March 2010

2010-03-19T09:16:00.001-07:00

I have been wanting to do this for a while (actually I had a different orientation in mind but the space didn't allow for it). Bought some little wooden plaques from Dollarama, painted them with blackboard paint, stuck some fridge magnets with the names of the days of the week on them, and hung them. Eventually I would like to use different hooks, but for now these will do.

There is plaque for every day of the week and 1 extra for telephone messages.

I'm hoping that this would help us to keep track of our commitments :-) :-) :-)

Photo-a-day: 18 March 2010

2010-03-18T21:21:00.000-07:00

We're out of the snowboots and into gumboots! The melting snow, and especially the run off in front of our house, is providing hours of fun for the boys. They are building dams, bridges, canals, etc.

The processing today is totally just for me.... I felt like playing around in photoshop to achieve a totally different look, something I rarely do as I don't really know my way around PS.

Photo-a-day: 17 March 2010

2010-03-18T20:02:00.001-07:00

Caleb turns FIVE! How the time flies....

Caleb is like vibrant swirling colours: he flits, darts and dances. He is a study of emotions: I am yet to meet someone who can move through such an array of emotions in such a short span of time. Oh, life with him is never dull. I love his cheeky smile, his squirmy hugs, his sense of humour and even his teasing :-) :-) How very blessed we are to have this little man as part of our lives!

We have a family tradition that it is cake for breakfast on birthdays!

More Birthday Photos!

2010-03-18T19:56:00.000-07:00

The cake Dylan and Alec decorated for Caleb (with just a little help from me).

With his new bike.

Opening some more presents.

Flying his kite. But I actually posted this so you can see that the snow is almost gone! The grass is starting to turn green, too!

2010-03-16T19:48:00.000-07:00

Yup, the winter guy has been replaced! I know these are kitchy, but honestly? I like them, I like the playfulness that they bring to the change of season...

Photo-a-day: 15 March 2010

2010-03-15T17:32:00.000-07:00

Its been a while! :-) No excuse, just been busy and too lazy to pick up my camera.

We finally took this winter-dude (I have no idea what you call the thing you hang on the door LOL) off. It felt good!

Will post a photo tomorrow of the new spring one!

Photo-a-day: 11 March 2010

2010-03-11T08:17:00.000-08:00

Isn't the sky just BEAUTIFUL?

And in line with my "spring-is-coming" obsession: Can you see the snow is starting to melt around the trees? LOL!!!

Photo-a-day: 10 March 2010

2010-03-10T15:27:00.000-08:00

Can you see it? Barely? Well, I'm blaming the fact that I don't have a macro lens, not the fact that the bud is so small! LOL! But I promise you it is there!

Photo-a-day: 09 March 2010

2010-03-09T10:00:00.000-08:00

Few people really know how busy Timothy is or how I am challenged to re-examine everything I thought I know about parenting with Timothy, it is not a bad thing, just requires a major shift in the way we approach things. My brother mentioned when he visited in August that each of my kids have seem to be more busy than the previous one and he wonders how Matthew will be.... I gave him this SHOCKED look and told him NEVER to speak of such things again! :-) :-)

Well, Matthew is 8, yes EIGHT, months old and today he found a big blue marker on the table (he must have stretched BIG TIME to get it), took the lid off and drew over the carpet. Probably about 40 sq cm.... lines, dots, squiggles etc. Then he drew all over his hands and his face!

This is what he looked like AFTER Dylan cleaned him up whilst I was desperately trying to wash all the marker out of the carpet!!!!

Please, please, please let this be a once off thing..... please!!!!!!

Photo-a-day: 08 March 2010

2010-03-08T17:02:00.001-08:00

A photo I took of Dylan. I love his smile. I find that the older the kids get the harder it gets to get a really natural expression when I take photos.

Photo-a-day: 07 March 2010

2010-03-07T19:07:00.000-08:00

Oh, Spring is in the air! I'm sure we will have some more cold weather and snow in the next 6 weeks, but spring is coming! You have no idea how excited I am!!! I have loved winter this year, but I am looking forward to summer, I'm looking forward to green grass and bright flowers, I'm looking forward to going out without taking 30 mins to get everyone dressed in their snowsuits. I am looking forward to playing in the park, going for long walks on balmy evenings!!! Can you tell I'm excited?

The next week is probably going to be dedicated to slushy, snowy photos! Bear with me! :-) :-)

The perfect snowball (Daniel made it with the snowball maker).

Trevor squishing a snowball on Dylan's head during our walk!

Photo-a-day: 03 March 2010

2010-03-03T18:02:00.001-08:00

Have you got a piece of furniture in your home that isn't really your style, but that you totally love? This gramophone is that piece in my house. It invokes feelings of strong family ties; of melancholic homesickness; of memories of childhood. Funny, how one piece of furniture can have so many emotions tied to it.

When we left South Africa my parents gave it to us to bring with us to Canada. Oh, I cannot even begin to express how grateful I am!

A few more photos in the post below.

Gramophone

2010-03-03T16:06:00.000-08:00

Carving on the doors

Photo-a-day: 02 March 2010

2010-03-02T18:12:00.001-08:00

Took the kids for a walk in the woods today. It was WONDERFUL! I have really loved winter this year, but I am ready for spring! I had to laugh at Timothy: As we were walking along the road on our way to the woods he suddenly exclaims: "Look! Grass! I SEE GRASS!!!!" The weather is warming up and the snow is melting in places and although we have at least another month of snow on the ground, it is good to know that spring is coming!

These snowshoe tracks drew my attention. I suddenly wondered what it would be like to be out early in the morning surrounded by the snow, all on your own, with nothing but silence and God to keep you company... This might very well be something I would try next winter.

Few more from today!

2010-03-02T18:04:00.000-08:00

More tracks. Somebody was also out horseriding through the woods this morning, we could see the horse tracks.

This rowdy bunch made the most tracks by far! :-) But they also LOVED looking for tracks.

Then we found this cool snowbank. The boys spent ages there slipping, sliding, jumping and rolling.

I want to go back to this spot and take a photo every season. I think it would be really interesting to see how it changes with the seasons.

Photo-a-day: 01 March 2010

2010-03-01T18:05:00.000-08:00

Went to a ladies' night at church tonight. It was really nice being around other women, fellowshipping, crafting and eating! LOL! The lady who spoke to us about Esther was really great and it really touched my heart.

Photo-a-day: 28 Feb 2010

2010-02-28T20:24:00.000-08:00

Today marked the end of the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver. Without the doubt the highlight for most Canadians was the hockey game (that would be ice-hockey) between Canada and the USA.

My photos are bad snapshots of the TV....

Winning goal scored!!!

The man who scored it:

The face of defeat!

Canada was third on the overall medals list, but tops with gold medals and they broke the record for most gold medals won by a hosting nation.

Photo-a-day: 27 Feb 2010

2010-02-27T22:08:00.001-08:00

Daniel and I went for a walk today to take some of his 7 year old photos, since it was his birthday on Thursday. We had so much fun! I'm posting LOADS more photos in the post below... and I will probably add some more as I'm editing them!

Where did the time go? Daniel is 7!!!

2010-02-27T21:30:00.000-08:00

This precious child of mine, who is a study in contrasts; who has THE most giving heart; who loves to receives, but at the same time is willing to give beyond measure. The child who has such a very strong sense of fairness; who can cuddle the cat like no-one else can. My cuddle body; my snuggle bum! Ag, man! Where did the time go????? I am loving the little person he is!

2010-02-27T21:00:00.000-08:00

Photo-a-day: 26 Feb 2010

2010-02-26T17:02:00.000-08:00

Caleb spinning his sparkler around this evening. I decided to grab my camera at the last moment and had to quickly think of settings. I think it turned out pretty well, though, would love to maybe have a slightly faster shutter speed and maybe have focused a bit better....

Photo-a-day: 24 Feb 2010

2010-02-24T19:02:00.000-08:00

Woke up this morning to a winter wonderland. Those of you who live where it snows, will know that some snowfalls are just more beautiful then others. This one was gorgeous. Large, fluffy clumps that clung to everything. I couldn't bring myself to dress and to go out so early in the morning, though. And I knew that it would soon melt as the days have been warmer and the snow doesn't stay on the trees for very long. So, I opened the door a little amidst moans from my husband and children and to the joy of our cat and took some photos that way.

There are 5 more photos in the post below.

BTW, I even used my 75 - 300 lens, which I generally despise. I still don't like it, but I felt a little less antagonistic towards it this morning, since it saved me from going outside :-)

More Snow Photos

2010-02-24T19:00:00.000-08:00

Photo-a-day: 23 Feb 2010

2010-02-23T17:36:00.001-08:00

My favourite Christian blogger, Ann Voskamp who has a blog called A Holy Experience has inspired me this week to set up a prayer bench. A place where we can sit quietly amidst the noise and choas of a busy household to turn our face to God, whenever we feel angry, sad, lonely or just need His gentle touch. It is a place to experience God's mercy and His grace, not a place to be condemned or to be judged. It is a place where I can grab a few minutes of reading a precious verse or two of scripture; a place where I write down my feelings and thoughts; a place where I can meet Jesus to carry my burdens and to fill me with joy. I am praying that this place will be the same for my children.

In the storage area below the bench, there is a box of flour (again inspired by Ann in her post here). Next to the box is a journal for each person where they can write or draw their feelings, where they can draw a picture to tell God how they are feeling or verbalize a sign of sorrow, where they can turn the page and know that sins are forgiven and that we start on a new page because of God's grace. There is a Bible so that we can read about God's love as He wraps us in His arms. There is a little book with encouraging quotes to remind us that we serve a God of love.

Photo-a-day: 22 Feb 2010

2010-02-22T18:08:00.001-08:00

Today's photo is actually one I took on Saturday. It was a pretty busy day, so I never even picked up my camera today. Trev stayed at home today as he wasn't well and Dylan and Alec attended the first meeting of a homeschool play writing/producing/performing group. They had a wonderful time.

Photo-a-day: 21 Feb 2010

2010-02-21T14:30:00.000-08:00

Looking at Ottawa from Gatineau from across the river. The "fatter" tower in the front is Senate Library and the "thinner" tower at the back is from Parliament Hill.

Photo-a-day: 20 February 2010

2010-02-20T22:36:00.000-08:00

Ice fishing. This snow sculpture received 3rd prize.

I have posted another 4 posts below with snapshots from our visit to Winterlude today. We had great fun, so have a look if you have the time!

What is Winterlude?

2010-02-20T22:30:00.000-08:00

We have been looking forward to Winterlude for weeks!

Winterlude is a very large festival of outdoor activities including public skating and skating displays, snow and ice sculpture competitions, musical concerts at the Winterlude Snowbowl, children's play areas, an 'ice lounge', bed and waiter races and numerous off-site events.

Winterlude is most famous for the Rideau Canal, which is cleared for ice skating displays and musical concerts. For many years the Canal was regarded as the world's longest. Although that title has now passed to The Forks, Winnipeg[2], the Rideau Canal remains the world's largest by area.

Other primary sites include Jacques Cartier Park in Gatineau which is turned into a massive snow park with slides and structures, events and activities for children and the snow sculpture competition. In recent years, the snow sculpture competition has been between teams from the different provinces and territories. In the past, there were competitions between local teams.[3]

Confederation Park is the site for the ice sculpture competition, the ice lounge and musical concerts. Dow's Lake has a large skating area and hosts the various bed and waiter races.

Related activities include special exhibits at the Ottawa museums, special events at the Byward Market and a 'loppet' type race is held in Gatineau Park.

Thank you, Wikipedia, for providing a summary! :-)

We went to the Snow Park in Jacques Cartier Park in Gatineau, Quebec today. I always find going to the French province interesting as all the signs are in french and even the traffic lights look different (horizontal, rather than vertical). We are hoping to go back tomorrow and get an opportunity to ice-fish, see the dogsled rides and see the snowboard acrobatics on trampolines. Today we spent time in the ice-maze, on the ice slides and checking out the snow sculpturs. Another bonus for us is that it is all free (except for parking)!

Winterlude 1 - Snow Sculptures

2010-02-20T21:40:00.000-08:00

Beaver. If you look at this particular snow sculpture you can see the damage the warmer weather has done. We have had temperatures above 0 degrees C.

Love this snowman. Look at the child sitting on his shoulder! This sculpture received 2nd prize.

Men climbing a frozen waterfall. This one got first prize and it is easy to see why: the detail is incredible!

Photos of the ice-slides, outdoor snow theater etc. to follow.

Winterlude 02 - Ice Slides

2010-02-20T21:09:00.000-08:00

Trevor and Matthew going down the ice slides in a tube!

Taking our tubes back up the hill.

There are a number of different ice-slide. Some for big groups (yes, our family fitted on one of them, just!). Some for individual, some long, some short, some very fast and some just a little slower!

Winterlude 3 - Ice Maze

2010-02-20T21:00:00.000-08:00

Winterlude 4 - A little of this and a little of that.

2010-02-20T20:55:00.000-08:00

Outdoor Snow Theater where the screen is made of snow. We didn't stay for the movie as it was a 88min long French movie, but they provided blankets and popcorn (free of charge :-) for those who were watching the movie.

The volleyball area was a huge hit!

Timothy with the Snowhogs.

Alec waiting in line at the tube rides.

A whole lot of stall selling souveniers, various beverages (hot choc and coffee are very popular) and food.

Stall selling beavertails. Beavertails are a sweet and delicious pastry that is traditionally Canadian and is very popular in Ottawa. The name Beavertails come from the shape of the pasty.

Photo-a-day: 19 February 2010

2010-02-20T07:27:00.000-08:00

Thursday night it was WHAT NOT TO WEAR evening at Awana. Kids had great fun getting some stuff together to put on.

Photo-a-day: 18 February 2010

2010-02-18T14:24:00.000-08:00

I have decided to post only one photo in my photo-a-day post and then post other photos in another post! So, here is my favourite photo of Matthew today.

18 February - More Photos of Matthew

2010-02-18T14:21:00.000-08:00

Some more photos of Matthew. Yes, the poor child does own some clothes, LOL! I had just finished bathing him when I decided to take some photos of him!

Photo-a-day: 17 February 2010

2010-02-17T19:01:00.000-08:00

Everyone loves playing with the wooden train tracks and trains....

Stage one of the village the kids built today. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of the final product, but it was something pretty spectacular!

Photo-a-day: 16 Feb 2010

2010-02-17T07:02:00.000-08:00

Today's photo isn't one of mine, but one I just had to post. This one is especially for my mom. Haai, Ma!!! We were talking about the Norwegian Curling Team's uniform pants this morning and I promised her that I would post a photo of it!

You can read more about the team and their pants here.

I'm not sure who took this photo, but I found here.

Photo-a-day: 15 Feb 2010

2010-02-15T18:38:00.000-08:00

WARNING: LOADS of photos!

Today we attended the church family day at Silver Lake Wesleyan Camp. What a lovely place and the organisers did an amazing job! There were activities for EVERYONE. As usual I packed loads of activities and snacks, not sure what would be available and how well the younger children would cope with the activities that were on offer. Well, we never had to take out a single activity or snack we packed!
We had the most wonderful day! We have been blessed to have found a wonderful church family and we truely feel embraced and loved in our church!

We didn't do the snowshoeing, ice-fishing or cross-country skiing as we don't have the equipment, but we were on the go the whole time!

The horses were called Jim and Sam! We thought these were rather unusual names for horses!

Timothy the reindeer pulling Matthew! :-)

The excitement was too much for Matthew. Tucked him into the Maya wrap and he slept for a good 1.5 hours. I LOVE the wrap!

Family photo sans Trevor (he was the photographer) and Daniel (he was skating ahead).

Daniel really took to the skating! So did Alec and Caleb. Timothy and Joshua used bobskates with twin blades. Dylan "stole" my skates because his skates don't fit anymore (only to be discovered today). Once Matthew woke up he was luckily willing to give them back!
The organisers also set up a snaking skating path and I loved skating on there. It has been many years since I've really skated. Last year I only ventured on the ice a little as I was pregnant with Matthew.

Alec sledding!

At the big bonfire. People were cooking their hotdogs (viennas) over the fire. I must admit that I seriously missed boerewors rolls :-) and then marshmallows. YUMMY!

Timothy.

Dylan.

Caleb.

I'm sorry I didn't get a photo of Alec. He is a master marshmallow mouthstuffer!!!

At the play area

Guys were riding on the lake on their snowmobiles. Trevor would LOVE a snowmobile.... LOL!

There were two ice-rinks, one for hockey and one for general skating.

This is what the ice looked like in spots. I used to be worried about skating on the lakes/river/canal but this website has set my mind at ease (at least most of the time) LOL!

Photo-a-day: 12 Feb 2010

2010-02-12T17:28:00.000-08:00

Piccolo got into a fight today... Trev had to take him to the vet. None of the scratches or puncture wounds are really very deep, but there were just so many that we felt that we couldn't self-treat him! Will have him neutered as soon as these wounds have healed.

This is a photo I took of him a month ago.

Photo-a-day: 11 Feb 2010

2010-02-12T17:12:00.000-08:00

Isn't this beautiful? I love a beautiful sunrise!! Right now I'm reading Mission of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson and when I saw the sunrise this morning it reminded me of how new beginnings are always possible. Sally's faith and her encouragement has really touched my heart.

Photo-a-day: 10 Feb 2010

2010-02-11T18:14:00.000-08:00

It has been a crazy week of a stomach bug doing the rounds in our house.... can you say URGH!? Seems we are pretty much over it, although Dylan choose to stay at home tonight instead of attending AWANA.

I never thought I would think rodents are cute, but gerbils are actually pretty cute and the fact that they are diurnal is is a huge point in their favour!

This is what I saw after Timothy came in from outside! LOL! He sat for quite a while just licking the ice crystals off his toque.

Yes, if you look carefully, you will see Daniel in the top of that tree....

Caleb, Joshua and Timothy had some game going here. The taboggans are all tied together and they were transporting snow to a snow fort they were building. There were a couple of arguments abouts who was going to be the reindeer to pull the contraption first!

Our van! BORING, I know, but it was parked in the driveway and was something to photo of in a pinch. LOL

I'm still alive!

2010-02-09T18:25:00.000-08:00

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

2010-02-05T10:34:00.000-08:00

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

2010-02-04T16:21:00.000-08:00

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

2010-02-03T18:11:00.000-08:00

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

2010-02-02T18:17:00.001-08:00

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

2010-02-01T18:13:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-31T18:12:00.000-08:00

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!

Photo-a-day: 30 Jan 2010

2010-01-30T15:44:00.000-08:00

As a transplanted South African, there are many things I miss about SA, but Ntomfuti and Pepsi are two wonderful ladies of whom I have very fond memories! I miss the cheery "Sawubona!" in the morning; I miss the sincerity of "Unjani?", knowing that they really wanted to know how I was doing; the genuine love and concern for the children; the total honesty of the Zulu nation; the singing whilst working. I can honestly say that we were so blessed by them being a part of our lives. Both were excellent domestic workers or as I prefer to call them: The Domestic Wonders! But they were more than that: These wonderful ladies were my friends as much as they were employees.

To get to the point of today's post: Keeping the house tidy and clean without domestic help! Yes, I am aware that millions of women around the world do this, but I am quite willing to admit that I was totally spoilt in South Africa. Totally!

I am still blessed in many ways with children who are willing to pull their weight in keeping our home clean and tidy, and then some more. I have the tendency to become a slave driver, something I totally have to guard against. A wonderful lady (mother of 11 children) from our church blessed us with a great product called Spintastic. The idea of Spintastic is that children spin for chores and then spin for rewards, it is adaptable for different families' specific needs. We have adapted a bit, tweaked a bit and have come up with a way for this to work really well for us!

Everyone spins for 1 additional chore (on top of our everyday keep-the-house-clean chores) and then Saturday morning is Spin-for-Reward morning and everyone really looks forward to it!

This week these are the rewards everyone got:
Daniel: Bubble bath by Candle light.
Timothy: Play a Game
Caleb: Pick a Reward (he choose computer time)
Joshua: Favourite Dinner (mom-burgers, basically homemade hameburgers)
Alec: TV time (he choose an episode of MacGyver, which we found on YouTube)
Dylan: Computer Time

Photo-a-day: 29 Jan 2010

2010-01-29T17:05:00.000-08:00

I CAN'T DO IT! Seriously, I'm finding it totally and utterly IMPOSSIBLE to only post 1 photo a day! :-) :-) So, I'll have to post more than that! I'm justifying it with the fact that this blog is both for the photo-a-day challenge and for our family and friends to share in our daily lives!

We went to the library last night, and that means that the children pretty much eat, drink and breathe books! Fiction, non-fiction, picture books, chapter books: there is absolutely no discrimation. We check-out between 100 and 130 books every 3 weeks. Some of those are ones that I choose for school and about five or so of those are for me. For the rest we basically walk down the non-fiction/reference shelves and pick whatever grab the kids' fancy. The rest is made up of chapter books for the older kids and picture books for the younger ones.

Next morning, the kids take all the books out of the big plastic boxes we use to get the books home from the library.... then the books get spread out all around them and after that it is a free for all! :-) :-)

Then they slowly but surely start drifting off to find a spot or two where they can comfortably read... these are 2 of the poses I could snap before they started getting self-conscious! LOL! Sorry that they are slightly fuzzy and that they are so grainy, but my camera doesn't handle low light well at all (and I shot at ISO 1600 and still slightly underexposed, ARGH)

Alec got the sunniest spot! LOL!

I was eventually hoarse from reading to Daniel and Caleb, but they kept on bringing more books for me to read! Joshua, Timothy and Matthew were having their morning nap, so I got to read all the pictures again later in the day!

Photo-a-day: 28 Jan 2010

2010-01-28T21:04:00.000-08:00

Have I really missed 3 days? WOW! Time indeed flies! Hopefully we can get back on track! :-)

It has been a pretty busy week. We moved kids and rooms around and I think that for now this will work well for us. Today, our focus was on getting everything in its place so that things can return to normal...

Caleb (4) has suddenly developed a great love for chess! His main purpose is to "capture" any piece he can!! LOL!

The sunglasses featuring in all 3 the photos today was a gift from Daniel to Caleb. Caleb kindly shares with anyone who asks nicely (and if they catch him in a good mood).

Alec took the photo of Matthew and Mommy.

Photo-a-day: 24 Jan 2010

2010-01-24T18:37:00.000-08:00

Way too much cute-factor here! LOL!

Photo-a-day: 23 Jan 2010

2010-01-24T17:50:00.001-08:00

Sledding today!

Saw this loghouse under construction on our way home. Doesn't it look cool?

Photo-a-day: 22 Jan 2010

2010-01-22T18:12:00.000-08:00

There was going to be no photo for today, until a few minutes ago! Dylan, Alec, Daniel and Caleb are having a camp-in tonight. They are camping in the basement.

It is hysterical... they figured out that if they rub the sides of the tent, static electricity builds up and as soon as you get into the tent your hair starts flying about! It is pretty cool!

I'm expecting that no-body will be going to sleep soon!

Pseudo campfire... a lamp is definitely safer inside!

The headquarters of the Men of the Spiky-hair Tribe (their own name):

Photo-a-day: 21 Jan 2010

2010-01-21T14:04:00.000-08:00

This is so arb, but since right now I'm on a weightloss and get-fit kick, it is appropriate! LOL!

Is started using the Wii Fit Plus and the Wii EA Active about 2.5 weeks ago. The first week I lost 2.3kg, the second week I lost 1kg and I haven't weighed this week, yet.

The Wii Fit Plus is a lot of fun and I can burn a lot of calories without even realizing it. The Active is less fun, but provides a pretty decent workout (can you say OUCH? LOL).

It means that I have to get up at 5:15am to fit it into my day. I then manage to do morning devotions and get my workout before the kids wake-up... both times I cherish and both helping me to ease into the day before the cacophanous choas hits me! :-) :-)

Photo Blog Challenge - Yellow

2010-01-21T13:15:00.000-08:00

Decided to try the Female 2 Female Blog Photo Challenge today. I didn't take a new photo today, but choose one that I took in August 2009.

This was at the Ottawa Light and Sound show at Parliament Hill. It was AMAZING. Only thing to remember is that when you ask you husband to bring your tripod, he might not remember if he is busy with a hundred other things! Next time I will definitely take the tripod and set up further back to get the whole thing in

This one I took the day before, and I thought I would just post for comparison...

Thank you, Natasha, for the cool badge! LOVE it!

And thank you to Jeanette for the hint to check out the Female2Female Blog for the challenge! It was a trip down memory lane looking through my photos and deciding on which one to post... and was encouraging to see that summer was indeed beautiful and that it will be here soonish!

Photo-a-day: 20 Jan 2010

2010-01-20T12:50:00.001-08:00

Timothy enjoying some rooibos-tea! Those of you who know him will know what a feat it was to get him to sit still for long enough to take a photo! :-)

Photo-a-day: 19 Jan 2010

2010-01-19T19:32:00.001-08:00

Kids built this awesome snowman today! I'm really impressed since it actually isn't all that easy and they put sooooo much effort into it!

I know it is a photo a day, but I just love Mr. Frosty Winterland! The eyes, mouth and buttons are Smile counters.

Photo-a-day: 18 Jan 2010

2010-01-18T19:41:00.000-08:00

I'm cheating a bit and I'm backdating to the day I wanted to start. I have been taking a number of photos the last few days and I want to share a bit of this and a bit of that.

Joshua needed his dreads locked again. I aspire to doing it every month or so, but I sadly never get to it and only do it every second month or so. I don't know why, because it looks so much nicer when it is done more regularly.

My Joshy-sploshy is such a crazy ham in front of the camera (actually pretty much all the time)!

Photo-a-day: 17 Jan 2010

2010-01-17T20:03:00.000-08:00

Yup, first solids! Doesn't look too sure, does he? LOL! After this first bite, he started grabbing the spoon and started pulling my hand towards his mouth. I think he is ready!!!

Photo-a-day: 16 Jan 2010

2010-01-16T20:06:00.000-08:00

Took the kids bowling and what great fun (it was 5 pin bowling, not 10 pin bowling). Everyone had a GREAT time! Daniel was the undisputed winner... Here he is in action!

Photo-a-day: 15 Jan 2010

2010-01-15T20:10:00.000-08:00

This is the other member of our family, Piccolo, or better known as Picci. See the scratches on his nose? He got beaten up pretty badly by a neighbourhood cat earlier this week. Here he is relaxing on the beanbag in the children's "Comfort Corner"...

Photo-a-day: 14 Jan 2010

2010-01-14T20:18:00.000-08:00

Yup, it takes us forever to get dressed to go out in the winter. There is a whole procedure to get everyone dressed and out the door. Dylan and Alec's snowsuits hang in the cupboard, but for the rest of the kids we have these hooks on the wall at the front door.

The little winter hooks for toques.

Parc Omega

2009-08-16T10:27:00.000-07:00

What an interesting experience. I think as South Africans our experience of wildlife is a bit different: We are used to looking at wild animals in their habitat (even if it is replicated) and I can't think of anywhere in SA where I have ever been where the buck would come up to the car to eat. Maybe because Canada is so HUGE, place like Parc Omega is a great way to see some animals from all over the country. I know that Canada has amazing wild parks, so I know that this isn't the norm, but I still found it kind of weird!

The only regret of the day was that our van windows at the back can't open all the way (they just flip open and closed vertically), so the kids couldn't really get the full experience.... But Uncle Erik and Daddy did a great job in giving everyone a couple of turns to come up front to feed the animals and meet them face to face!

Driving...

2009-08-15T19:59:00.000-07:00

Some love driving, some hate it, some don't mind too much....

2009-08-15T19:43:00.000-07:00

Pophuis in Progress! :-)

2009-08-15T19:35:00.000-07:00

When we first got here (and still on the odd occasion) we refer to our wooden houses as "Die Pophuise". It was really strange in the beginning to knock on the walls and almost be worried that you were going to put your hand right through it.... in fact the boys managed to kick a hole in the basement whilst playing soccer! LOL! Luckily it isn't too hard to fix.

Photo of one of the pophuise in progress....

Countryside!

2009-08-15T19:06:00.000-07:00

Postboxes on the side of the road for the homesteads/farm houses in the area. A special post car (with steering on the right, not on the left, drives along and drops off the post. Everything comes in the mail, including your chequebook and credit card!

I love the look of haybales in a field.

Erik

Isn't this just beautiful!

Visiting Merrickville with Erik

2009-08-15T18:58:00.000-07:00

My brother, Erik, is here from SA to visit! Seeing him made me realize exactly how much I have missed family! It was great being able to speak Afrikaans again in person and to just really catch up. It was also AWESOME seeing Canada through his eyes.

Merrickville is a little town which is known for its arts and crafts. It is actually really, really pretty.

Erik is here!

2009-08-15T17:48:00.000-07:00

At the park having late lunch.

Sibling Love

2009-07-21T17:21:00.000-07:00

Caleb was very, very upset that Matthew woke up and decided that he had NO interest in being photographed, but this is what I got:

2009-07-12T10:52:00.000-07:00

Here is MATTHEW!

2009-07-12T10:48:00.000-07:00

Will get to the birth story, but here are some photos of Matthew straight after his birth....

Being weighted

About 7 hours old

First photo - straight after the birth

Maternity Photos and Pregnancy Update

2009-05-11T23:53:00.000-07:00

I am 31 week this week and my pregnancy is going really well... other than one bout of UTI I have had absolutely no problems. Sleeping is becoming slightly more difficult, but that might also be aggravated by the little Timmy-body who likes to crawl into bed with us in the early morning hours....

Everything is still on track for the homebirth as long as we get to 37 weeks - so please pray.

Baby is moving around A LOT and seems to like pushing his/her little bottom out on the top right hand side of my uterus. Sometimes, I have to gently push it back so that I can just breath properly :-) :-)

I decided this week that some maternity photos would probably be a good idea...
Um, or maybe not!
My photog friends will really appreciate this: Can't find the tripod, can't find the shawl that I want to use (you know the one I have the photo in mind with), can't find enough natural light except at the window facing the road (I don't think so) which means that I have to use the Speedlight with which I have a serious love/hate relationship. Then I had to try and do these self-portraits - HOW do you focus on yourself in front of the backdrop when you are behind the camera??? Eventually I got Dylan to stand on a little stool to be almost my height (yes, it only takes a little stool), then I focused on him, told him to move the stool and put a mitten where it was so that I would know where to stand. The next step is to push the timer button and RUN to get to the spot.... except I have NO idea what the pose will look like, since I can't see myself!!! :-) :-) Add to this Caleb, Joshua and Timothy underfoot and it makes for interesting times!

This is all I managed.... I'm hoping to take a few more over the next couple of weeks... But no promises!

Yar, well, no, fine!

2009-05-05T23:38:00.000-07:00

Most of you know that our life with 6 busy boys is never dull! Sometimes, though, I wish that we could have a bit less excitement in the blood department. We have now been to ER twice with bleeding heads. The first time was Caleb who ended up just needing a bit of "super" glue and this time it was Daniel!

The boys were all playing outside on the little jungle gym, when I heard this terrible scream... but I'm pretty used to that, so when everyone stormed into the kitchen, my response was: "Yes, are you bleeding?" Obviously expecting them all to say: "NO!".... Guess again!

Dylan and Alec are both talking at once and Daniel is crying and crying! As I turn around there is just blood everywhere! Literally, dripping on the floor, running down Daniels jaw, all over his shirt and the whole back of his head. Now, I know that head wounds bleed, but MAN that was a lot of blood.

I'm usually pretty calm in situations like these, but I was feeling a bit whoozy and kind of wondering if I actually wanted to touch the back of his head. I had the awful vision that it would just feel soft and that something terrible was wrong. Of course the cat trying to lick up the blood at the same time didn't do much to settle my stomach.

I eventually grabbed a tea towel (a clean one, may I add) and pressed it on the wound to get the bleeding to stop - and kicking the cat away with my foot.

I eventually get hold of Trevor... after dialling, re-dialling and re-dialling his number because I'm still feeling a bit stressed. In the meanwhile Daniel had stopped screaming, but the bleeding just wouldn't stop. Trev told me that he would get home and take Daniel to the hospital.

By the time he got here, the bleeding had stopped and I had determined that although the wound wasn't that big it was DEEP! So, off they go to the hospital where they waited and waited until they finally got to see a dr.

So, whilst they are waiting Daniel asks Trev: "Where is my brain?" Trevor explains to him and shows him. "Will I lose some brains because of this?" "Um, no!!! :-)" which led to huge discussion on the skull and how it protects the brain!

After 2,5 hours they were finally back home... Daniel with 2 staples in his head and a pile of stickers in his hand.

He kept begging me to find somewhere to take him somewhere where he would need to walk through a metal detector....

Aviation Museum

2009-04-19T23:15:00.000-07:00

Yes! Another Museum!!! :-) Trevor took Dylan, Alec and Daniel to the Aviation Museum one weekend afternoon whilst the little ones were having a nap - um, and me to!

I am only posting a couple of the 40+ photos they took!!! I will ask the boys' to help me with some captions as I have no idea what planes all of these are!

Anelle

Awana Games Day

2009-04-18T22:36:00.000-07:00

Well, Awana seems to feature quite strongly in our lives! The boys attend a meeting every Thursday evening (At least from September through to end of April, when they break up for the Summer). The focus of Awana is really scripture memorization, but the children take part in plenty activities... Besides those which have already been mentioned (like the Grand Prix, the Sleepover and the Bible Quiz) they also had a Crazy Hair night, a Penny Month (to collect money for missionaries) and the GAMES DAY!

Daniel spoke about the Games Day NON-STOP since he first heard about it! He asked me at least once a day when it was and reminded me that we just COULDN'T forget about it!

I had a homeschool conference on on the same day, so Trevor took all 6 the boys with him! BRAVE MAN! Daniel's team (the Sparks) competed in the morning and Dylan and Alec's Team (T&T) competed in the afternoon.

Daniel was totally and utterly over-the-moon that his team won!!! The ribbon and medal have found a very special place of honour in his bedroom!

Dylan was asked to be the score keeper for the Sparks games.

Final Scores

Getting his Ribbon

Mrs M showing Daniel their winners plaque

Dylan and Alec at the T&T Games. Although they have quite a big group of T&Ters their team was small. So they joined up with the Chinese Christian Church to form a team.

Science Museum

2009-04-03T22:22:00.000-07:00

The Science Museum must be our favourite museum in Ottawa - and that says a lot, since there are museums a plenty here and our whole family seems to enjoy visiting them.

The homeschool group organises some visits to the museums for special classes every so often. So far Dylan, Alec and Daniel have attended 2 classes each, with 3 more coming up in June.

This visit, however, was a family one... It was great because we got to watch (and participate in) some of the demonstations and could just walk around at leisure. One the the children (and Trevor) enjoyed thoroughly was on Electricity. They loved the static elec experiments and I think the chain-of-pain was great "fun" for them. Basically, they formed a chain touching one another with elbows, knees etc. etc. to complete a circuit! Lots of OWs and OUCHes!!!!!!!