God Answers Prayer

Over the last few weeks, I have been specifically praying for three separate situations -- none of them are about me but others in my life. First of all, my dear friend Jill has been battling a brain tumor for one year now. Last August she was diagnosed and was immediately put on chemotherapy for one year. One Year. Every few months she would have an MRI and over the summer she got very ill with all the effects of the medications she is on. From ulcers to chronic pain, she has had a very crappy few months, let alone an entire year of this nasty stuff. Her latest MRI was last week and I have been asking God to shrink that tumor -- even just a bit so that she would have some good news for once.

On Friday, He answered. But it was no. The tumor is "stable" but not really any smaller. A YEAR of this treatment and she has had no shrinkage that is noticeable.

My mother-in-law found a funny spot on her face this summer and immediately went to the dr. to have it checked out. It was biopsied a couple of weeks ago and the results came in. We were all praying, of course, that it would be a benign spot.

On Friday, He answered. And it was no again. She has surgery this week to dig deeper and remove the cancer.

The final situation is a pretty personal one for a friend, so rather than go into the details, the story is that I've been praying for months for this situation and asking God to bless this family.

On Friday, He answered. I found out that his answer is no -- at least for now. So they continue in a time that requires patience and stamina and holding on to hope.

What do we do when He says no? He did answer my prayers, right? Just not the way I had it all planned out...What happens when we ask for things with heart-wrenching prayers and He doesn't answer in the way we thought He would?

There are many options, I guess. From anger and fear to submission and trust. The thing that gets me, is that we chose how we react...like in any situation in life, we make our choice. It's not easy, but I'm choosing trust. I'm not happy about it, but what better option is there? Get mad? Be bitter?? No thanks. That's not how I want to live. That's not "life abundant"...and no matter what I think is good, God knows better.

But maybe you'll think twice before you ask me to pray for you... :)

Excuse me, Sir...

We went to the mall today to purchase the required music book for our piano lessons. I dared my 7 year old to do something once we got into the store and to my surprise, he did it.

After we had paid for the book, he went up to the clerk and said, "Excuse me sir, but I was wondering if I could purchase a glockenspiel??" (his exact words) You should have seen the look on the guy's face...he sorta did a confused frown and then it slowly turned into a pleasant and humoured surprise. "No," he said, "I'm afraid we don't carry glockenspiels...and I see we have a comedian in the store."

This little funny spot in our day made me laugh and then, (as any good mother can) it made me concerned. Not worried, oh no, I'd never worry...

My 7 year old son went up to a stranger because I dared him to. He wasn't offered a treat or money, he just did it. Which was funny -- but then I start to think about how easy it was to get him to do that and he isn't even the youngest in our family -- ya know how the babies of the family are typically the ones who will do things to entertain. Nolan is this totally funny kid with this wicked little mischevious sense of humour that has us cracking up at his one liners.

I wasn't like this as a child -- for sure as a teenager and adult I'd do things to get a laugh but NEVER when I was that young. So now I'm a bit worried about what Noles will be like as a teenager -- and even worse, what sort of trouble he and Jack (our real baby of the family) will get into when they are both a bit older. The prophet inside of me foresees Nate and I humbled and humiliated about the pranks and incidents that are ahead -- but I also see us bursting with laughter as these 2 continually keep us entertained.

Oh and by the way -- this is a glockenspiel...

Whale Tales

So yesterday, the kids and I went to Marineland with our homeschool group. For those of you who don't know what Marineland is, it's a cheasier, less exciting Sea World. But seeing as my kids have never been to Sea World, Marineland was just great to them.

Ever since a highschool project on marine animals in places of captivity like Marineland, I have been an anti-Marineland person. So when the opportunity arose to take the kids there, I thought we would pass. But then I rethought it and figured they should get a chance to see the animals in real life, while I discreetly point out my views on the place. Some individuals who know me well were shocked that I would actually step foot in a place I had so long been disgusted with...

I thought about wearing a sandwich board with something like "Happiness Is Marineland --except if you're a whale who lives here." But that was too long and I didn't have time to make any signs or sandwich boards. :) On the way there, we road with another family and I could hear my kids in the back, singing the Marineland theme song "Everyone Loves Marineland....except my mom." When the other kids in the van asked them why their mother didn't like it, they casually said "Oh, she feels bad that the belugas have to live in small tanks of chemically treated water." They've heard me at least, but their tone suggested they didn't really believe it...
Alright, I admit that this guy doesn't look sad about his situation, but really, does a beluga ever look sad??

However, it was a beautiful day! The weather was amazing. There were about 90 people from our homeschool group so it made it a cheap and fun day. A regular adult rate is $40 and I got in for $30. The regular child rate is $33 and the kids got in for $10. Not a bad deal at all!

Also, the place was dead. Our homeschool group and a few other families were the only people there. We never waited in line for a ride, just ran right on and got to see every show and every sea creature from fairly close up.

So here we are....riding the rides, feeding and petting belugas, and watching the dolpins and seals do their tricks....
The above ride was a cute little set of viking ships that go around in circles...
Here's Nolan feeding and petting "Andre" the beluga from Russia. They are really cute up close and Andre chatted away to Noles. It was cute -- but that doesn't make it right!! :)

I know you're probably tired of my harping on this already -- but this guy belongs in the Arctic Ocean, not in some small gymnasium sized pool just off the QEW.
Here's the momma and the baby Orcas...

They are beautiful, fascinating and intelligent creatures and it was really cool to see them up close. The boys got drenched at the Killer Whale show when the Momma kicked up some huge waves with her whale tail.

At the end of it all, I asked Nolan what he thought of Marineland. His response: "It was soooo awesome!" And then I said, "And how do you feel about whales living in tanks?"
His response: "Aw, mom, they're probably used to it."

Phooey.

Battle Stations Ready!

Living with a 2 year old is sometimes like being on the battle field...at least to me it is.

Jack is a pesky little thing at times. The crying, the hollering and the fussing is something that wears a person down. I love him to pieces. I think he's hilarious and adorable, sweet and cuddly -- but there are moments (long moments sometimes) that he is just plain terrible.

I just finished a 20 minute battle with him. First off, I'd like to say that I won. My mantra when living with a 2 year old (and may be when the kids are 16, this will be my mantra again) is "I have to win. I have to win." Because, in all honesty, it's true.

I am the mom. I have to win.

Here's the battle scene re-enacted:

Jack: "More milk"
Me: "Where's your bottle?"
Jack: "More milk!"
Me: "let's find your bottle."

(Five minutes looking all over the house for a bottle because he cut off all the nipples to all his bottles except one)

Me: "Here's a cup with milk, we can't find any bottle."
Jack: (screaming with tears) "No."
Me: "But you lost your bottle and now we don't have one."
Jack: "No want to."
Me: "What??"

And the saga continues....
As if you want to read 20 minutes worth of it. So, how did I win?? I took him by the hand, sat down on the couch, looked him in the eye as I held his hands and explained clearly about how we have lost his bottle, we don't have anymore cause he cut them up and now he has to have a cup.

Jack: "NO WANT TO!"
Me: "Wanna go to Auntie Marshy's??"

The battle is done. The art of distraction is BY FAR the best maneuver I've got.
So -- off to Auntie Marshy's for piano lessons we go.
If you are a parent of a darling little 2 year old (and I know you're out there...) then hang in there, stay tough, don't give in and make sure that the battle scene you're headed for is one that is worth fighting for and winning. Sometimes it's necessary to say no, but often it's better to find a way to say yes.

By the way, Nate got home safe and sound from his canoe trip. There were 3 canoe tippings (man, I wish I could've seen them) but other than that, it was gorgeous weather and good times.

And also, there will be NO photos of my hair post-fire incident. First of all, I never took any and secondly, do you think I'd really post a pic of me with burnt eyebrows and bangs?? :)

It's Thursday morning ~ before the kids are up. I'm sitting here with my cup of tea, all alone. And I don't really have anything exciting to say...not even anything un-exciting to say. This week has gone by quickly (don't they all??) -- Nate heads out on another canoe trip tonight leaving me with the kids for the weekend.

Normally I wouldn't sleep well with out him here. I'd try and stay up late and every noise I hear would be a bad guy rather than the skunk that regularly visits the breezeway for snacks from the recycling bin. I'd probably even pull the canoe-paddles off the walls in the kids bedroom just in case I have to beat some bad guy over the head. But not this time...oh no, I have a plan. (And it's not hiring the skunk to stay outside the house all night long...)

My friend's husband is also going on the canoe-trip -- so the girls are staying together! Jo and I will be home with 5 kids, watching chick-flicks, painting our toes and (of course) chatting till all hours. So don't feel bad for me about my husband-less weekend...I'm sure I'll survive!

The big question is what nail polish colour to choose...have a great weekend!!

Canoe Trip

We did it! We came home happy and dry from a 3 day trip near Haliburton. We left on Friday morning with the grey clouds and rain following us -- when we got to the marina, the rain had stopped. We paddled a couple of hours to a great campsite. This is us in the "kitchen" of Site #1...aka "It's Not My Fault" Point.


We had a great evening and sleep here. The next morning we paddled away with not-quite-clear-skies, but NO rain. The sun poked out here and there to encourage us. We found our second site (aka Wintergreen Sound) by noon, had lunch and then relaxed, explored and fished.
That is a fish on the end of Nate's line. The fishing was fun - almost everybody caught at least one. But they weren't worth cleaning and frying. The biggest one was about 10 inches long.
Anyone know if this REALLY is a bear print??

The trip was excellent. There was a one big tip in some rapids...but it wasn't Nate and I so that made it really funny! Unkind, I know, but I had a hard time stifling my laugh for a while afterwards. There's nothing like a good canoe tipping to lighten the mood of those who are dry.
You'll be happy to know I had NO incidents with fire or lighting the camp stove.

There is nothing, NOTHING like the great outdoors to boost your spirits and relax you!

Nothin' Much

The last few days have been somewhat busy and I haven't had time to sit down and write about it. So in a nutshell, here's whats been going on....

Last weekend was the championship tournament for our London Sistas in Soccer league. The tournament ran from Friday evening to Sunday and was a huge hit. This was the first time we'd ever done this in the league and I expect we'll do it again next year. The bonus to the whole weekend (other than perfect soccer weather) was that my team won our division! Yeah for Orange Passionfruit Tea! If I get a pic of our team after the final game, I'll post it so you can see us in all our glory....orange and hot pink jerseys with matching orange and hot pink striped socks -- it's divine.

After the tournament there was a host of other things -- bridal shower, archery lessons, home-schooling (no more tears since day 2 ---dang it...I'll try harder) and of course, the typical antics from Jack.

Now I'm doing the cleaning and packing before we leave for a back country canoe trip (sans l'enfants). Nate and I will head to Minden with 2 other couples for a weekend in the woods -- it should be a great time provided the sun comes out and stays out like it's supposed to.

So that's it -- pretty dull and sorta back to the "my fridge stinks" level of blogging you'll come to expect. Oh, I did light my own hair on fire this week. Totally true -- you should see my hair and my eyelashes. Ya know when they put the warning on the box of matches that says "Close match box before lighting."?? It's important to do that for a very good reason. I'd tell you about it but you'd never believe me.

I'm hoping we're done with hair-burning, spearing and other such nonsense -- although my eldest son is doing the archery thing and it's a bit scary when he and Nate are out there firing arrows in our backyard. Here's hoping the neighbours aren't out when one goes sailing over the fence...

Back to school!

So far, so good. We've had two successful days of home-school for the 2008-2009 year. The kids have been motivated and excited about new curriculum and the new year.

Two days of school have passed and I have already experienced tears from a student -- twice. So...I'm looking at a 1:1 ratio of school days to tears. I'm wondering if I can keep this up the entire year -- it's good to have goals and everything. Never let it be said that homeschooling is for wimpy kids...ah no, it takes a special kind of kid to tolerate your mom being your mom and your teacher.

At school, if you mess up reading and pronounce a word wrong, a school-teacher might say, "Oh, try that again, dear." But not at home-school. The mom-teacher can say things like "What?? You messed that word up last time. How many times do I have to tell you?"

Not that I said those words EXACTLY, but that's because it wasn't reading class...it was math.

In actual, true-to-life fact, the first two days have been great. Really. The tears were due to frustration on a math question and then because that same child got caught lying about what she did with her dirty laundry. That could happen to any mother -- homeschool or not.

Jack is, by far, the biggest challenge on the homeschool scene. I don't always want to make my blog about his shenanigans, but in the last two days he's lit his hair on fire and demanded to wear his turtle costume when we went shopping. I'm not kidding. I also had to say the words "Don't ever stab your sister with a spear again." to my 7 year old son. I know I thought my life was boring before I started this blog, and I think it was. But lately, there have been some interesting things going on here.

Despite it all, we keep on. And the homeschooling will continue tomorrow, tears or not. How bad can it really be, right? What are my 3 older children doing right this moment as I type?? Playing school -- and no one is crying. And Jack is running around in the turtle costume...

Windows and Chicken

Today was a special day!
Once a year, the Penny side of my family has an event called "Windows and Chicken" -- there is no particular date to the event...just whenever the spirit moves us to do it and when everyone is available to get together for a day.

So, what do we do? We do windows and chicken. All the family gathers at one house and we wash all the windows, then we move on to the next house and wash all the windows and so on and so forth until the last house. Then we eat chicken.

It's a great day. All your windows are clean and then you eat your favourite chicken dinner.



Here we are enjoying two kinds of chicken (my brother eating his favourite boneless wings from the Waltzing Weasel and my dad with his KFC.)




My friend, Wendy, thinks that Windows and Chicken should be a national holiday where families get together and participate...it's not a bad idea, really. Get's the job done and makes for a pretty fun day.