Adam's FIrst Day of Kindergarten

Adam was so excited to start school this year! He barely slept the night before!

He loves his uniform (and I love that back-to-school shopping for clothes was so easy!).

I thought I would cry, but it wasn't that bad! He was so happy to be there, he went into the room and started doing puzzles. I don't think he even noticed when I left! This is the opposite of me. I cried and held onto my mom's leg until the teacher forced her to go! I'm so glad Adam likes school so much. He had so much fun on the first day. He really enjoyed playing on the new playground - especially the glider. He has to wait a week before he goes again because they're doing staggered entry, but he's already asking when he gets to go again.

Adam Bids Daddy Good Bye!

The other night, Ian went to give blood. Adam looked confused when we told him that, so we tried to explain what it meant. I told him that Daddy was going to give his blood to help people who are sick at the hospital because sometimes people get really bad cuts and go to the hospital where the doctors have to give them other people's blood because they are bleeding so badly. Daddy was going to help people who needed it.

Adam looked thoughtful for a few moments before he said matter-of-factly, "I'm really going to miss Daddy." He thought that Ian was giving all of his blood and that he wouldn't be coming back! Poor little guy! So then we explained that Daddy was only giving a little bit of his blood and that he'd be home soon!

Noah Asked Jesus to Live in His Heart!

Every night at bedtime we pray with Noah. We say, "Thank you for..." and he fills in the blanks. Then we finish off, and I always make sure I pray that Noah will ask Jesus to be his Saviour and live in his heart. Well tonight, after Noah thanked God for Mommy, Daddy, Adam and "me", I prayed the same thing again, and Noah asked about Jesus living in his heart. I asked if he wanted to ask Jesus to live in his heart and he said yes! So we prayed together. Noah prayed (repeating after me, of course!), "Dear Jesus, thank You for loving me. Please live in my heart and be my Saviour. Amen."

Then Noah wanted to tell Daddy about Jesus living in his heart! I know he's only two and this is a first step to a relationship with God, but I'm so thankful that he's on his way to knowing and loving Jesus. Ian and I made a big deal out of him doing this, and reminded him that now Jesus would always be with him. He went to bed very happy!

I'm thankful to God for allowing us to lay this foundation with our children. I just pray that both Adam and Noah will grow to be men of God, standing up for truth and standing strong in their faith. Praise the Lord for these first steps!

Our {Spiritual} Family Heritage

This summer, Ian's parents took us all to Jamaica for a family vacation. And by "all", I mean Stephen, Twyla, Ivy, Davis, Spencer, Wendy, Andrew, Heather, Graham, us and Locksley and Margo. What an amazing trip!

It is so amazing to see a country from the perspective of someone who was born and raised there. When you think of Jamaica, usually you think of the tourist-y beaches and hot weather. But Locksley showed us about the people. He took us on some tours of some amazing places there (still tourist tours, but amazing to see with him).

We are so fortunate to have been able to do this. Our boys are so lucky. I hope they will remember, though I know Noah is pretty small. I really appreciate that Locksley wanted to share that part of his life with us and show our boys about part of their roots.

It is so important to know our family heritage, especially being a child of God. We are heirs with Christ. God sees us as His children. We need to remember our spiritual heritage as well as our earthly heritage so that we will not become tangled in the things of this world. This is a lesson God has been trying to show me this summer (I say trying because I haven't been listening very well). But I think I'm starting to get it.

I find that during the summer, I tend to put God on the backburner because Ian's home and we're not in our regular routine. I've been letting busyness get in the way of my relationship with God. I need to get back to my roots and learn about my Family Heritage by spending time in God's Word and spending time with my Father.
What a treasure to have the whole family together.

{I've posted more photos here.}

On Motherhood

Wow! It's been awhile since I've posted. My mom was just visiting us from B.C. She left this morning. We were all sad to see her leave, as it was nice to see her. It's weird how much you realize you need your mom when you become a mom! The boys just love her too. She had special time with both of them, and I think it made them feel really important.

Adam celebrated his fourth birthday this weekend. Where has the time gone? He is no longer anywhere near being my baby. I can't believe he's starting preschool in the fall. Time really should slow down as we get older instead of speeding up! I really need to make sure I take the time to enjoy every minute I get to spend with my boys, especially since right now they still want to spend time with me. I know that will change, and then I'll wish they were small again and still needed me!

But for now, they're still my little boys who need their Mommy. I'll enjoy it while I can.

Patience and Poop!

Well, yesterday morning when I went to get Noah up, his diaper had overflowed up the back and there was poop all over his crib. What a way to start the day! He ended up getting a bath, and I had to wash all the bedding - sheet, pillowcase, bed cover, crib pads, etc. Fun, fun.

Well, I didn't think anything else of it until after nap time yesterday afternoon. When I went in to get Noah up from his nap, he had somehow managed to get all of his clothes and diaper off, and guess what? Oh yes, there was poop all over the place again, even on the walls! Well, Noah looked at me and said, "Bath!" Who'd have thought that a 22-month-old could be so clever? He loves baths, and he had discovered a way to get one!

Suffice it to say that it was more of a hosing off than a bath that time, and I was a lot less patient than I had been in the morning! Again I had the joy of washing all of his bedding again, along with the wall.

Oh, the joys of motherhood. I should have taken a picture, but I wasn't feeling very "capture the moment-y" at that time! (This photo is actually from last week, not yesterday.)

Hugged by God

I had the most amazing time of prayer this morning. It wasn't anything long or out of the ordinary. It has actually been awhile since I've had a good prayer time - I've been too "busy" to stop and talk to God, so I've been missing Him. (Of course, it's my own fault - I chose to do other things... why don't I ever learn?)

Anyway, I had a lot of dreams about my dad last night, and I was just thanking God for being my Abba Father, "Daddy God". I suddenly felt God hugging me. It was the most surreal, amazing, fantastic feeling I've ever had. I felt like I was just curled up on His lap and I could actually feel His arms around me. Does that sound bizarre? I just sat there and basked in His presence and enjoyed my hug from my Daddy. He really is the Father to the fatherless and the loving Father.

I just had to share my wonderful moment from this morning. I pray that I never forget that feeling or forget how much God loves me and just wants me to trust Him as my Daddy. What an awesome God.