Well, I finally did it! I took the girls shopping!!!!!! The son decided that there was no way that he wanted to stand around while girls tried on clothes, and tried on more clothes and tried on more clothes! So he stayed home, with the dogs and watched t.v.,..he definitely thought he got the better deal. I did buy him a pair of jeans, two long sleeved shirts and a belt, so he was happy....daughter #1 got a pair of jeans and a pair of casual pants and underwear, daughter #2 got a pair of jeans and 4 tops and daughter #3 got 3 new tops, a hooded, zippered jacket, and a new hair cut! So, that's me done shopping for awhile,..although daughter #3 grew like a weed the last few months so I really have to find her jeans. Unfortunately, even though she's 5'3", she's only 85 lbs. with no hips...so the pants that would fit her leg length you could fit three of her in.....sigh. My days of having that problem were way back in 1970...so long ago they're like a dream! Second oldest daughter decided to brave the shopping extravaganza and came along for moral support and a younger opinion...fortunately for her just as we finished up sweet boyfriend came along and rescued her!
So, now it's my turn...you may remember that out of the goodness and generosity of my wonderful mother-in-law, hubby and I got to go to Bermuda for our 35th anniversary...well,..while we were there our actual anniversary dinner was shared with about 50 other people....not exactly a meaningful, romantic time, although quite beautiful. So, once again MIL comes through because she's had a tradition of giving us, as an anniversary gift, $5 for every year you're married! So 5 x 35= $175 that we are going to spend on a really nice restaurant...the kind with cloth tablecloths and everything and hubby emailed me yesterday that he has made reservations at said really nice restaurant for tonight! Hurrah!!!!!
Friday, August 29, 2008
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Changes
My eldest daughter and I have asked to take on the ministry of the Sunday school program at our church. When we first started coming to this church, eight years ago, I kind of shied away from getting involved...why...well, I'll tell you why.......burnout.
From the age of 14....many, many moons ago......I have been doing Sunday school.....and I loved it...I started out teaching at one of the local hospitals. Every Sunday morn, an adult and I would drive to the hospital...she would take the older children's wing and I would take the younger kids wing. I would go to each bed and see if the child was mobile enough to come to a small room and that's where I would 'do Sunday school' with them. I'm not sure how many years that lasted but then I moved on to teaching in the church Sunday school. After I married, we moved around with my husbands job...every eighteen months we moved to a new city, and we also had two children. When eldest daughter was school age we decided that this nomadic life wasn't compatible with school life so hubby got a new job and we moved and stayed put in the city where I was born, and returned to the church that I grew up in. Once again, I was back to teaching in Sunday school. As the years progressed, so did I and when we made the difficult decision to start attending a small church closer to where we lived (we did move to the country suburbs after 3 years of yucky city life) I was head of a large primary that had six separate classes. At the smaller church, I started once again into teaching, and once again progressed to being ,this time, the Christian Ed. director of all the youth ministries. I enjoyed the job but in the last few years I took on a partner in crime...I felt myself wearing down...you know, the initial enthusiasm is there but after a short time the flame just burns out. After over forty years of youth ministry, I was burned out. It was at that time that our church head office, in its' infinite wisdom', decided to amalgamate with another in our denomination. It was not done well and we decided not to attend the new church but ended up at a church, for a year that was not of our denomination. At that church, I got involved in the library ministry...I've always enjoyed books so it was a good fit! Alas, after the first year, and a few 'visits' to another church, not the amagamated one, we returned to the denomination that both my husband and I and several generations before us had attended. It felt like home.....but I still shied away from getting back into youth ministries. I kept asking the Lord to direct me to another ministry but He never did. So, after an eight year break, I'm back......not quite as enthusiastic but I like to think of it as 'maturity and wisdom' and I'm sticking with that!
In eldest daughter, I see the enthusiasm which is good...very good...because, you see, we're trying out a brand new program, at a brand new time ...a few people have already expressed negativity at the new time...some people don't even want to be part of this new and exciting program because of the new time......is it just a case of 'well, we've always done it that way'...well, no not entirely but there are a lot of people not open to the fact that people's lifestyles are just different then they were forty-four years ago when I started. Back then, stores weren't open on Sundays...in fact, not too many places were open on Sundays to distract church goers, forty-four years ago it was almost unheard of for a child to have an athletic practice or even a birthday party on a Sunday! Sunday school didn't have to compete with all the extra attractions and parents weren't tired out from all the activities that they've taken their kids to all week! Forty-four years ago the only kids that needed to be picked up on the Sunday school bus were the kids from non-Christian homes because the parents didn't think that it was important for the kids to come. Today, parents don't always see the importance of Sunday school, they think that if the child attends church that it's good enough...I would disagree.....children of today face many obstacles to living the difficult (difficult because not too many of their friend are doing it) life as a Christian and just going to church with their family is, of course, very good but it's not enough. Children of today are not as accepting as children forty-four years ago, they ask more questions, are more skeptical....a few will get the answers in church, in between passing notes back and forth, written on the church bulletin or reading or even playing Gameboy or games on their cellphones (or even texting), yes some will get the answers but the majority will not and when they reach 'the age', the age that some of my teens did, where they make that heartbreaking to their parents decision, not to attend...they leave, without getting their answers...the answers that they could have got in a really good Sunday school class.
This is a very good program, a program where kids will get their answers, a program where they'll not be afraid to ask the questions....and I pray that they'll get the chance.
From the age of 14....many, many moons ago......I have been doing Sunday school.....and I loved it...I started out teaching at one of the local hospitals. Every Sunday morn, an adult and I would drive to the hospital...she would take the older children's wing and I would take the younger kids wing. I would go to each bed and see if the child was mobile enough to come to a small room and that's where I would 'do Sunday school' with them. I'm not sure how many years that lasted but then I moved on to teaching in the church Sunday school. After I married, we moved around with my husbands job...every eighteen months we moved to a new city, and we also had two children. When eldest daughter was school age we decided that this nomadic life wasn't compatible with school life so hubby got a new job and we moved and stayed put in the city where I was born, and returned to the church that I grew up in. Once again, I was back to teaching in Sunday school. As the years progressed, so did I and when we made the difficult decision to start attending a small church closer to where we lived (we did move to the country suburbs after 3 years of yucky city life) I was head of a large primary that had six separate classes. At the smaller church, I started once again into teaching, and once again progressed to being ,this time, the Christian Ed. director of all the youth ministries. I enjoyed the job but in the last few years I took on a partner in crime...I felt myself wearing down...you know, the initial enthusiasm is there but after a short time the flame just burns out. After over forty years of youth ministry, I was burned out. It was at that time that our church head office, in its' infinite wisdom', decided to amalgamate with another in our denomination. It was not done well and we decided not to attend the new church but ended up at a church, for a year that was not of our denomination. At that church, I got involved in the library ministry...I've always enjoyed books so it was a good fit! Alas, after the first year, and a few 'visits' to another church, not the amagamated one, we returned to the denomination that both my husband and I and several generations before us had attended. It felt like home.....but I still shied away from getting back into youth ministries. I kept asking the Lord to direct me to another ministry but He never did. So, after an eight year break, I'm back......not quite as enthusiastic but I like to think of it as 'maturity and wisdom' and I'm sticking with that!
In eldest daughter, I see the enthusiasm which is good...very good...because, you see, we're trying out a brand new program, at a brand new time ...a few people have already expressed negativity at the new time...some people don't even want to be part of this new and exciting program because of the new time......is it just a case of 'well, we've always done it that way'...well, no not entirely but there are a lot of people not open to the fact that people's lifestyles are just different then they were forty-four years ago when I started. Back then, stores weren't open on Sundays...in fact, not too many places were open on Sundays to distract church goers, forty-four years ago it was almost unheard of for a child to have an athletic practice or even a birthday party on a Sunday! Sunday school didn't have to compete with all the extra attractions and parents weren't tired out from all the activities that they've taken their kids to all week! Forty-four years ago the only kids that needed to be picked up on the Sunday school bus were the kids from non-Christian homes because the parents didn't think that it was important for the kids to come. Today, parents don't always see the importance of Sunday school, they think that if the child attends church that it's good enough...I would disagree.....children of today face many obstacles to living the difficult (difficult because not too many of their friend are doing it) life as a Christian and just going to church with their family is, of course, very good but it's not enough. Children of today are not as accepting as children forty-four years ago, they ask more questions, are more skeptical....a few will get the answers in church, in between passing notes back and forth, written on the church bulletin or reading or even playing Gameboy or games on their cellphones (or even texting), yes some will get the answers but the majority will not and when they reach 'the age', the age that some of my teens did, where they make that heartbreaking to their parents decision, not to attend...they leave, without getting their answers...the answers that they could have got in a really good Sunday school class.
This is a very good program, a program where kids will get their answers, a program where they'll not be afraid to ask the questions....and I pray that they'll get the chance.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Questions...what's a mom to do?
Well, we're getting down to the wire here.....the last week before school starts....I've read quite a few blogs where mom's have talked about this....some kids, in some parts of the United States have already started back to school, some moms are homeschooling, and can have their own timeline.....I did that for two years, and at my age, unfortunately, that's not going to happen! Part of me really wish that I could...last year I wasn't really happy about some of things that went on in both of the schools that my kids attend. The three oldest are in high school-one in grade 11, one in grade 10, and one in a comprehensive class (which he likes to say he's in grade 11, but since he's allowed to stay four more years til he's 21 I wonder what grade he's going to say then...grade 15?).....anyways, and then the youngest is just going into grade 7. Now the youngest is a predicament ......she's 13 but intellectually and emotionally a 4 year old. When they had her as a teacher's assistant, part time for a kindergarten class, they had the problem of her becoming a kindergaten student instead of helper! I've been warned that the grade 7 curriculum is very hard and they're not quite sure what to do with her.....she doesn't qualify for a full time Educational Assistant (E.A.), and actually she has to spend a lot of her time in regular class placement. I honestly get the feeling that she's just being babysat there and not really learning anything. The option...special class placement, isn't really an option....the nearest special class is at least an hour and a half drive away, which would make for an exhausting day, especially for a child with a serious heart condition. Oh, I didn't mention that part, did I.....Megan has a fairly serious heart condition that began with her being born with Transverse of the Great Arteries, and she has what they call a Fontan, in her heart to help shunt the blood over to her lungs....she does function physically well,...but does show some scary signs at times that indicate that she may be struggling...or may not be...it kind of throws teachers into a tizzy! Now, Megan's older brother Ben, who is also delayed (in the high school comp class) had an excellent E.A. throughout elementary school, did okay academically, because that's what his E.A. focused on, but since he's been in high school, and they've focused more on life skills, he's lost most of the academics! So, what is the answer for Megan? I don't know...it surely is a quandary....I feel I'm too old to take on homeschooling Megan at this point in my life, but it is a concern when the head of resource at the school says that they aren't quite sure what to do with her in regards to her work......doesn't really give you a lot of assurance...and whatever they teach her academically, does it really do any good when she'll just lose it in highschool anyways?
The older three,...well, that is also a concern....the boy in the comp class participated in a few things that I wasn't actually thrilled about last year, the grade 11 daughter, had some assignments, watched a few movies (teachers show sooooooo many movies now!) that I wouldn't even allow coming in my front door, and the one that is in grade 10 this year went through all the normal grade nine attitudes which is annoying in itself but did quite poorly in her grades and the teachers passed her anyways!
Now, if I was 20 years younger there would be absolutely no question that I would homeschool these children....special needs kids are way different socially and the "regular" kids aren't exactly kind. Next week, they will all go back to school, bright and early Tuesday morning......I really feel that I'm in the middle of a quandry.
The older three,...well, that is also a concern....the boy in the comp class participated in a few things that I wasn't actually thrilled about last year, the grade 11 daughter, had some assignments, watched a few movies (teachers show sooooooo many movies now!) that I wouldn't even allow coming in my front door, and the one that is in grade 10 this year went through all the normal grade nine attitudes which is annoying in itself but did quite poorly in her grades and the teachers passed her anyways!
Now, if I was 20 years younger there would be absolutely no question that I would homeschool these children....special needs kids are way different socially and the "regular" kids aren't exactly kind. Next week, they will all go back to school, bright and early Tuesday morning......I really feel that I'm in the middle of a quandry.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Rej and Myra's Quilt
In the month of June a good friend of ours, Myra married the love of her life Rej. Rej is quite the outdoorsman and hunter, so the theme of the wedding was hunting and even the bride wore camouflage. I started working on their wedding gift in February, a quilt, and I thought I'd show you how it turned out! When Don and I went to San Diego in February, I took it with me to do the marking, as well as taking Afton's quilt to work on the handstitching. Then, in June, because I was desperate to get it done in time for the wedding, I took it to Bermuda with us to work on the hand stitching. This quilt gets around!
This is a closeup of the stitching pattern on the outside border.
The happy couple really liked it, especially the leaf pattern since it fit in with their nature theme outdoor wedding! I really love quilting!
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
So, here's Afton
My husband decided that he'd just place Afton beside me the other day...poor wee thing isn't quite sure what to make of it all but was surprisingly content.
P.S. can you tell that I'm just learning all about posting pictures. Oh, well, at least you get to see my grandbabies!
Birthday Glimpse....
Here's Jairus enjoying the birthday cake....he also enjoyed cleaning off his sister's plates when they weren't around to stop him!
The Birthday girl enjoying her cake too!
Verity enjoyed the cake after becoming very upset when she realized that she couldn't open any of honour's presents! That's alright greatgrandma was there to console.
Honour enjoyed all of the attention but had to kiss all the 'boys' present because she didn't blow out all five of her candles at once!
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Honour
This is my first grandaughter. Her name is Honour and she is five years old today!..Five years ago when we were waiting for Honour to be born, this nana was fit to be tied. You see, daughter Leslie was planning on a 'home birth'.....I have read about them, I've seen them on the television but I've never actually been part of one, in my very own family, with my very own grandchild!!!!! I'm not sure how well I hid my apprehension, but the day that Leslie called and said,..'I think the baby's coming today' was certainly a day of excitement! I jumped in the van and raced to her house.....which was a very long 45 minutes away.....to be greeted by Leslie hanging over the front porch railing with a grin on her face....like she had nothing better to do that day but give birth...if she was scared, she didn't show it.....the day was spent quietly, going for long walks....I remember this one car pulling up to Leslie and I as she was paused in her walking, in mid contraction, and the lady saying...'is she okay?' and I said, 'yes, she's just in labour'.....the poor lady wanted to drive us to the hospital but I assured her that everything was okay....
that afternoon the long awaited moment came and Honour was born......a beautiful, quiet birth.....I was so excited that I wanted to shout it from the front porch...I remember going outside and looking around and you just wanted to stop people, anyone..and say 'do you know what just happened in this house....the most amazing thing has happened...my little grandaughter has been born and she's beautiful and her name is Honour Elizabeth!
Now, five year later here she is, at a campfire, eating marshmallows with her little sister and her mama beside her.......still, amazing, still beautiful.....
Happy Birthday Honour!
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