A few more!

A Daddy for the first time! Love the exhausted look on his face but clearly joy at holding his newborn son.

 

My first nephew. You can’t imagine, unless you’ve been an auntie, the joy of holding a newborn that you haven’t birthed but know you love almost as much. I have waited for what seems like eternity to feel the comradarie of parenthood with one of my siblings and knowing that I can now share in the joys and pains of raising children with my brother (who also happens to be one of my best friends) makes this moment all the more special.

 

Grandma again! I imagine for my mother there is no greater joy than seeing a healthy grandbaby and knowing that her children can experience life’s most precious gift all in one little package.

 

Uncle James is pretty excited about his new title as well. Thankfully we all have awhile to get used to it.

 

Although I would like to post some individual pictures it’s pretty hard to capture the essence our vacation with only a few and I have over 600 pictures. Granted I can’t put some of them on for “security purposes” (as per my little brother’s instruction) but the ones of my kiddos and “fun” ones I’m allowed to share over the internet. Most of you who read my blog are aware of our recent vacation to Regina and the purpose of our trip. Since Tim prefers I don’t share much about his current occupation I will leave it at the fact that I am very proud of all my younger brother has accomplished and all he will accomplish serving his community.

Our road trip was a success in all ways imaginable! The kids were great, hanging with my parents and siblings was great and seeing Tim after six months was fabulous. Our drive included 12 hours on the road to Calgary (well more like 11 with the time change) on Thursday and 8 hours on the road to Regina on Friday.

We stayed in a Best Western in Regina with a great pool and waterslides and attended all the great family festivities planned from Saturday to Tuesday. We headed back to Calgary on Tuesday afternoon and stayed with my Aunt for the night. Our original intention had been to go to Calaway park again this year on the returning Thursday but the weather was not cooperating so we drove home that day instead.

The kids were disappointed but dealt with it really well. I was probably the most disappointed because I was pregnant last year when we went so I didn’t get to go on all the rides. Anyway, once we got home we went to “The Great Escape” in Langley instead. It was fun and pretty reasonable. Saturday we capped off the holiday with a Pig Roast at my parents place for Tim’s return and Joel’s birthday celebration! It was a full day of fun, family, food and funniness (those who attended would understand that last one)! Needless to say I’m happy we chose to make this trek and although it was a lot of driving it was well worth the time spent!

A wonderful country we live in! Sometimes when I am feeling reflective I begin to think what would have been should God have seen fit to place me in this world in a different country. Perhaps somewhere European, somewhere American, somewhere African, etc. How much different my life could have been, how much different my circumstances would be, how much less I might have to be thankful for. I try not to be complacent or take for granted the abundance I have but as a human being that can creep in without so much as a thought. Yesterday was a gentle reminder of all we have to give praise for…a beautiful world, a great country, amazing friends, family, life!!! I’m not sure I need to say more but, “Thank you Lord for all you’ve given”.

We started out the day with a great homemade pancake/waffle breakfast with three other families, then off to the parade where we met up with three more families, then home for a restful afternoon, complete with naps all around and quiet time as a family, then off to an evening bbq with four other families and topped if off with some great fireworks. Needless to say it was a busy, fun-filled day with some exhausted kids at the end but everyone was happy and feeling very patriotic. James said that this day of the year ranks close to the top of his favorites and I have say, “well said James, I think you’re right”!

This is just a tribute to a wonderful couple whom we have known for many years and recently celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary! Dave and Nancy Collins are the kind of couple that anyone would want to know and emulate in their own lives. They are dedicated to each other, their family, their faith and living a “real” life. In the last few years we have had the privilege of getting to know them on a more personal level. They love each other deeply but don’t pretend to have it all together. They are great parents but know that every child is unique and as they grow will make their own choices and mistakes, knowing this you can see how they let go and let God. They seek God’s will and know that not every choice they make will please Him but they also recognize that in his graciousness God allows us freedom to come to him in our own time and in own way. They’ve seen goodness and struggle in their lives but from an outsider’s perspective they have weathered it well.

I am blessed to know them and as the picture below indicates my children will also reap the benefits. I pray God grants them many more years of love and life!

I could not resist this beauty! My daughter has so much spunk but there is no question that she is a stunning little lady. I can only imagine what she will be like as she gets older but I can only hope that this innocent, soft inner beauty that I see in this child remains as she grows to a young lady!

 

So Jake has always been our clown. He loves to make us all laugh and he is rather good at it (he’s also very good at making me want to pull out my hair when he’s whiny)! Anyway, these video clips are of his preschool fieldtrip to a local dance studio to do some “dance”. For anyone who knows Jake they know he LOVES to dance, break dance, hip hop, etc, basically anything that requires a little bit of body movement. We are thinking of enrolling him in a hip hop boys class. So these are for your enjoyment.

Finally here is a little clip of his preschool graduation. I can’t believe he starts kindergarten next year. I’m not sure I’m quite ready to give him up yet. Of all my kids he’s my most affectionate (so far, I guess we’ll see what Annie is like). He loves wholeheartedly and has no problem showing his feelings. Thankfully I have one more year of having him home half days because I think I’ll need a gradual transition to having him gone all day.

And one last one of Annie doing her army crawl. She is such a happy baby, the last few days she’s been kind of grumpy but she’s teething so we gotta give her grace for that. Other than that she’s super content and such a joy to have in our family. The kids love her dearly and dote on her constantly. In my family my brothers and I always joked about how spoiled our baby brother was but as a mom I watch my three older kids with their baby sister and I know it’s inevitable that little Annie will always have our hearts.

Alright so this video is my very first ever since getting a new camera for my birthday and a new computer for James for Father’s day. I am having so much fun taking pictures, editing and blogging now that I have all the appropriate technology. These first videos are a few of Sam’s baseball games. So far baseball has been the only consistent sport in Sam’s repetoire and one he is quite good at. He is an amazing athlete with a love for the game and a natural inclination to understand the concept. Every coach so far has been completely impressed with his abilities. We continue to encourage him to be both competitive and sportmanlike in his athletic endeavors and know that as he continues to be involved in sports he will learn many valuable life lessons!

These videos are of Jakie and his baseball games. He’s also a natural despite how we thought he would be a bit clumsy! I can’t quite figure out if he picked it because of watching Sam so intently for the last two years or from practising on the Wii but either way he’s quite good. He can hit the ball almost as far as Sam. Although he’s planning on playing Friday Nite Basketball in the fall I imagine that baseball will be a part of his sports repetoire as well.

Alright so this video is my very first ever since getting a new camera for my birthday and a new computer for James for Father’s day. I am having so much fun taking pictures, editing and blogging now that I have all the appropriate technology. This first video is an edited video of a few of Sam’s baseball games. So far baseball has been the only consistent sport in Sam’s repetoire and one he is quite good at. He is an amazing athlete with a love for the game and a natural inclination to understand the concept. Every coach so far has been completely impressed with his abilities. We continue to encourage him to be both competitive and sportmanlike in his athletic endeavors and know that as he continues to be involved in sports he will learn many valuable life lessons!

These are mostly for the benefit of Tim (my little bro in Regina who hasn’t seen the kids in 4 1/2 months) but the rest of you can enjoy the pics of my beautiful children as well. Hopefully I’ll figure out how to get some video footage on here to!