Summer Fun

Of course I never returned to July's post.  I wrote that short sentence south of Montreal on our way home from our trip out east.  We drove out to New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and PEI and had a great time.  Some highlights were Hopewell Rocks at low and high tide, Bunkie Land, the Halifax Citadel, Peggy's Cove, and Anne of Green Gables (the house and the musical).  I was a little nervous about the drive and the driving in terms of tiredness and arthritis but I asked people to pray and God kept me awake and pain-free even though I managed to forget my weekly medication at home.  I don't think any of us went stir-crazy in the van so that was another huge blessing.  It was amazing to get a little glimpse of the masses of trees in our country.  

Graham and I honeymooned out east so it was nice to revisit some of the same spots.  We were hoping to visit Amos Pewter (the shop) in Mahone Bay but realized that we wouldn't be able to make it there before it closed.  So, it was a lovely surprise to see that Peggy's Cove had an Amos Pewter so we saved on shipping costs for Christmas.  We always order two ornaments for our tree and have done so since our first married Christmas.  

Apart from our holiday, July was a mix of a camp for each of the kids in various places and some swimming lessons for Lily-Anna and weeding and lawn cutting for Isaac as well as VBS.  Lily-Anna also had her hair cut short.  

August has disappeared but it has also been a good pace.  Isaac and Kohen volunteered at VBS at our church.  My brother and sister-in-law and their family visited for a few days.  Last week, we helped my mother-in-law prepare for her move this past weekend.  We are grateful for all the help she had on the weekend and our family is looking forward to her Hot Dog Soup now that she has a full kitchen again.

Lily-Anna has had a handful of music lessons this summer which helps make September so much easier.  I purposely made sure there was nothing planned this week so they can have lots of freedom before school starts next week.  She spent a lot of time reading today.  We may have bought the last of the school supplies today as Kohen needed a binder ... but something often surprises me at the last minute.

This summer the kids have read a lot of books.  For a while, Kohen was reading four different series at once as the different books became available at the library.  Libraries are such beautiful blessings!

We have a few more little adventures between now and the start of school but I'll have to write about those next month.

Blessings,

Elizabeth

P.S. We've been enjoying studying the Psalms at church this summer and Lily-Anna particularly enjoyed Psalm 23 which she also studied at camp.   

Psalm 23

A psalm of David

The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing.  He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He refreshes my soul.  He guides me along the right paths for His name's sake.  Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.  You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.  You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.  Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

July

 To be updated shortly …

June

Life has changed a lot in June.  My wonderful Father-in-Law, Ray Faulkner, has gone to be with Jesus, just shy of his 79th birthday.  I am so thankful that Graham and his two brothers were all able to be together with Ray and Betty for most of Ray's final two weeks while he received hospice care in his retirement home.  The funeral brought glory to God and honoured Ray for his life of service to Jesus whom he was ready and excited to meet on the other side.  I miss Ray and will continue to do so but I'm happy for him to be out of pain and with his Lord.  

The kids have all finished school for the summer.  Lily-Anna enjoyed a belated birthday celebration with two friends.  They went to a horse barn where they enjoyed brushing and riding the ponies both inside and on a trail.  They also spent some time with goats and cute bunnies.  Lily-Anna requested a "Beach Cake" so she and Kohen decorated the cake to make it seem like water and sand.  She also had a sleepover with her friends but they were tuckered out so thankfully they weren't awake until all hours.  

Kohen had a Grade 6 celebration with his classmates as he will be attending a middle school in September.  Isaac, Kohen, and Lily-Anna will all be in separate schools then.  

Lily-Anna had her first piano exam.  She has now completed Level 2 piano.  Thankfully God reminded me at 1:38 today that her lesson started at 2:00 so we flew out the door and made it on time.

Graham and I enjoyed celebrating our anniversary at a Thai restaurant he has been wanting to try.

I've been helping my dad get to programs at the gym as well as physio sessions.  This will be a new experience juggling helping my dad and being with the kids this summer.  

I learned today that a woman who had been a prayer warrior and blessing to me when Josiah was with us recently passed away.  I looked back at emails she sent me.  She was an encourager.  

My cousin has a very special birthday tomorrow so I wish her well.  I wish I could celebrate with her.  I was hoping to go strawberry picking but it's supposed to feel like 35 degrees at 8 AM so I think it may be wisdom to skip that tomorrow.  

I'm thankful summer is here.  Happy Canada Day!

Blessings,
Elizabeth

Psalm 116:15
Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful servants.

May

 It's 11:35 PM and I was just reminded about this blog post.  Every night before bed I write three lines in my gratitude journal and I can look back at all the entries for that date each month.  I mentioned the blog in one of my previous entries and that's the only reason I remembered.

Given that I need to get to sleep, this will be short.  We celebrated Graham's birthday today and Lily-Anna's birthday yesterday.  It was a blessing to be able to celebrate with some extra family from out west.  

This was my first year celebrating Mother's Day, my mom's birthday and my birthday all without my mom and all within five days.  I had a couple of good pre-cries and then the actual days were fine.   I'm always thankful for tears as they are had to come by.  

I cried for Josiah yesterday but I was sleep deprived and I was listening to an audiobook in which a mother was with her child and didn't know if she was going to live.  In this case, the mother and daughter were squirrels but I was bawling and Kohen was with me.  He is a good comforter.  I have LOVED listening to the Mistmantle Chronicles with Kohen.  We just finished the fifth book and have one more to finish the series.  Thankfully they are all available through the library.  They take place on an island surrounded by mist.  On this island are squirrels, hedgehogs, otters, and moles.  There is real evil and good and they pray to "The Heart" who loves them and hears them and helps them.  

I recently had bloodwork and I'm happy to report that my triglycerides are now in a normal range.  I still have to lower my cholesterol levels but I'm going to keep working on it.  

There is much more to say but it will have to wait.

Blessings,

Elizabeth  

Deuteronomy 8:7-8, 10

For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing out in the valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey ...  and you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.

April

I'm not sure where April went but I'm happy for May and warmer weather (I think it felt like 6 degrees today).  I just got caught up reading old Josiah posts of when he was in the hospital so now I don't have much time to write. 

Graham must have been feeling spontaneous tonight as we drove to Burlington to buy a shelf from Ikea for Lily-Anna's bedroom.  I was able to find one shelf on Marketplace but couldn't find a second one.  Our girl needs some more storage space so hopefully this will help.  

May brings a number of birthdays to celebrate, including my mom's and mine as well as Mother's Day without my mom.  I guess we'll be taking flowers to her grave.  It will be nice when there's a headstone and a permanent vase there later this year.  

I'm just looking at the month of April on the calendar.  It appears that April was full of dentist appointments.  In much more exciting news, Lily-Anna played the piano for Level 2 in Kiwanis for the first time.  She tied for second place and enjoyed the experience.  

It was nice to celebrate Easter.  We were with family on Friday and Saturday and then were with friends on Sunday.  Kohen and Lily-Anna enjoyed their hunt for chocolate.  This was the first year we've let them hunt while Isaac slept.  We basically told Isaac where his treats were hidden.  I reminded them that last year for the first and only time, I hid treats at Grandma and Grandpa Lucas' home so they had more than one hunt.  I'm glad my mom was able to experience seeing the joy on the kids' faces as they searched for treats in her home last year.  

We enjoyed celebrating what would have been Josiah's 14th birthday. 

Isaac finished the badminton season at school and Kohen started learning the ukulele in his music class.  Oh yes, Kohen also had braces put on his teeth.  He definitely wasn't feeling the best for a few days but he is fine now.  

Kohen received a bronze medal at the Kids Club he attends at a baptist church in town with his friends.  He had to memorize some Bible verses, read a book and write a small report and do some acts of service.   

My dad has moderate to severe osteoarthritis in his right knee.  He is getting a brace and we are hoping that it helps relieve his pain when walking and exercising.  I take him to exercise programs at the gym three times a week.   

I'd best wrap this up so I can get to bed.  My health program will be finished in a couple of weeks so I will report back next month.  It is going well.  It's a slower process than I would like but I believe I will be able to sustain a number of good habits and I am so thankful for this program.

Blessings,

Elizabeth

 

Psalm 32:8

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;    

I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.

March

Well, if anything, I guess March is going out like a lamb, but I don't think it came in like a lion.  Perhaps the thunder and lightening earlier this evening should count for something but all looks quiet on my street now.  It currently feels like 8 degrees Celsius but by school time tomorrow morning it will feel like -2 degrees.  I'm sure more lovely weather will arrive in April.  

March has been fun.  It was so lovely to have Graham's brother and two of his "kids" with us for March Break.  Our kids had fun with their cousins.  They enjoyed going to Activate and did some rock climbing.  We were also able to celebrate my mother-in-law's birthday together.  The time always goes too quickly.

It was good to celebrate Kohen's birthday at the start of the month.  He enjoyed playing virtual reality games with a few friends after some pizza and cake.  

I mentioned last month that I would say more about the 12-week program I am doing to become healthier.  I have a weekly online group meeting led by a physician and a dietician and each week I have online modules to complete to learn about things such as fasting, nutritious eating, sleeping, exercise, etc.  Six mornings a week I am briskly walking on our walking pad for 30 minutes (while listening to praise and worship music) and I'm fasting at least 12 hours overnight and trying to eat the right amount of fibre and protein.  I'm giving myself at least a 7-hour sleep window each night.  I enjoy my oats mixed with all sort of healthy additions most mornings and new items have made their appearance in my fridge: cottage cheese, kefir, kimchi (I haven't been brave enough to try it yet) and sauerkraut.  I tried tempeh this week but I most certainly need to find a new recipe because it was less than satisfactory to say the least.  I'll report more next month.

My aunt told me that in England this week, one can buy very very cheap vegetables.  The same happens the week before Christmas so that everyone can afford to buy some good food for these holiday celebrations.  I think that's a lovely tradition.   

That's all for now as I need to get a good sleep.   I'm thankful for Holy Week.  It will be good to remember the original Good Friday and celebrate our Lord's resurrection on Easter Sunday.  How blessed we are - beyond measure!  

Blessings,

Elizabeth

Hebrews 10:19-24 

¹⁹ Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰ by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, ²¹ and since we have a great priest over the house of God, ²² let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. ²³ Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. ²⁴ And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,

 

P.S. This site is not allowing me to add photos tonight so that will need to wait unfortunately.

February

I just remembered about this so I don't have very long to write as I need to get a good sleep. This afternoon, Graham, Kohen, Lily-Anna, and I walked 5 kilometers with friends for The Coldest Night of the Year to raise money for Ray of Hope. This site raised the most money of all the sites in North America. The walk ended with a delicious bowl of soup at Ray of Hope.  It was still a chilly -10 degees or so, but I wasn't complaining that it was not technically the coldest night of the year as it was colder the last couple of years.  

I started a program to help me become healthier but I'll write about it next month as I am just finishing my first week so I'll know more in a month's time. I have made some positive changes including exercising and eating and sleeping well so I am both thankful and hopeful. 

Early Birthday Celebration with Family

For Lent, I am not going on FaceBook and that has been a real blessing too as I wasted too much time there before bed in the past.

Every February, I look forward to my Valentine's dates with my kids.  I still need to go out with Isaac but our schedules haven't allowed that yet.  He wasn't feeling the best this past week but is much better now.  

My dad is in a program at a gym so I take him there twice a week and help out.  He has also been going to physiotherapy so I help with his exercises at home.

Isaac took his First Aid and CPR training last weekend and also took his Food Safety training online.  He's working on trying to get a job.  We also celebrated his last visit to the orthodontist.  This weekend he played the keyboard in the youth band for the Junior High Youth Retreat.  I hope I get to see him do this one day.

I loved reading an Andrew Clements' book to the kids last week and happily listened to a Kate DiCamillo book while walking on the walking pad.  Junior fiction is great.  

Graham and I enjoyed attending a Marriage Summit at our church earlier this month.  

It's definitely time to get ready for bed so I'll say goodnight.  I'll briefly see if I can figure out photos.  

Blessings,

Elizabeth

Psalms 19:1-2

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.  Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge.

P.S. The spice racks have been WONDERFUL!