June

Last day of school

I'll start by wishing my first-born nephew a Happy 18th Birthday!!!  He lives too far away to just drop by but thankfully he'll be closer in the fall when he starts university. 

The most exciting time this month was our first trip to Great Wolf Lodge.  We rescheduled our trip from April when we have Covid but it was worth the wait.  It was noisy in the common areas and water park and the chlorine bothered my eyes quite a lot but the room was great, the food was delicious and diverse and we all enjoyed the slides.  Isaac's idea of a fun water slide differs from my own idea but I braved a couple of the faster ones for him.  He and Graham also went on the Wolf Tail ride (separately).  Its description reads: "Once the floor drops out from under you, you're hurled into a nearly vertical, 20-foot free fall followed immediately by a 360-degree, high-speed loop." No thanks.  Not even slightly tempted, though very impressed with my husband and son.  

The next day we said good-bye to my Auntie Celia who has moved back to England after more than 50 years in Canada.  I grew up with only three extended family members in Canada - my Auntie Celia, Uncle Peter and their daughter Natasha.  Natasha moved overseas a number of years ago.  My Uncle Peter passed away in January and now my aunt has left.  I'm happy that she and my cousin can live close to each other but it was certainly a sad day for me when she left.  I am of course very thankful for all the wonderful aunts and uncles I gained when I married Graham.  

Kohen and Lily-Anna both played very well at their piano recital in early June.  Kohen was able to attend a Kids' Retreat organized by a couple of churches.  Isaac participated in Track and Field day at school and enjoyed a Grade 6 Celebration.  Lily-Anna's class popped a balloon each of the last 6 days of school which included information about their fun event that day.  She was most excited about her walk to the park where she was given three Arrowroot cookies and a juicebox.  

Graham and I celebrated our 18th anniversary.  We went bowling and were the only ones in the alley.  Apparently most people bowl during the winter.  We also ate a delicious dinner at the Keg.  

Isaac has now finished his time at his elementary school.  He switches to a 7/8 school in September.  Instead of starting at 9:05, his first bell is at 8:20.  This may take some adjusting.  We ended the year with our usual tradition.  Graham came along to pick them up and then we stopped to get slushies for the kids on the way home. 

Happy Father's Day to an amazing Daddy!!!

We may have missed strawberry season.  We'll find out in the morning.  Kohen and Lily-Anna want to come at 8:00 am to the farm.  

Both Kohen and I had coughs for a number of weeks until we could get inhalers.  That did the trick after two weeks.  

Cutest waitress ever!

A second fish died this week (Sam).  Only one more left - Sunny.  When Sunny dies, we will say goodbye to our season of fish.  

Her new favourite shirt

It's time to say goodnight.  We bought a tent earlier this year and we are hoping to set it up this weekend.  

In other great news, one of my cousins on Graham's side has recently moved to Kitchener so it will be lovely to see her more often. 

Happy Birthday to my cousin Natasha.  It's already her birthday in England and it will soon be here as well! 

Blessings,
Elizabeth

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Marvelous May

This is usually the month I don't post much as it's Graham's birthday.  I'll see what I can think of quickly.

May is the month for celebrations.  In addition to Mother's Day and Victoria Day, there are five birthdays and two anniversaries in our family.  We also attended the funeral for Graham's Aunt Linda, Isaac went on his first Junior High Retreat, Lily-Anna had her first birthday party with friends, and Isaac had his first in-person piano recital since before Covid.  We made it through and here we are about to welcome June, the last month of the school year.  

Actually our first fish died on May 1st, Kohen's guppy.  I'm not a fan of finding dead fish floating on the surface of the water.  

I realized again this month that unless Isaac does five years of high school, June 27th will be the last time he will be at the same school as one of his siblings.  Thus, I've been asking him to walk his sister to where her class meets at the start of the school day.  Hopefully they'll remember.

Isaac played very well in his recital tonight.

I was treated to breakfast in bed for Mother's Day and my birthday and was blessed with beautiful days.  

Graham is thoroughly enjoying his work at Geotab.  He was able to meet his boss and everyone else on his team in-person last week and enjoyed some fun group bonding.

It was so nice to be able to give Lily-Anna a party with friends.  She was very excited.  We went to an indoor playground and the kids had fun.

Alright, it's time to say goodnight.  If I can access some photos quickly, I will add them.

Blessings,

Elizabeth

Micah 6:8

And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Au revoir April

I just returned from the grocery store and said that perhaps I can finally put away the winter jackets.  I'm hopeful.  We may have seen snow this last week of April but May is almost here.  

I'm pretty sure I have had sick children home some days of every week since March Break.  Lily-Anna was home all this past week with a cold.  Kohen was just home Monday to Wednesday.  

Covid finally caught up with us this month.  Kohen had been feeling unwell for a couple of days but when I felt the first throat tickle I decided to do a test.  It was the first time I had seen two lines show up on the test.  Lily-Anna was next followed by Isaac and Graham a few days later.  Thankfully our symptoms were mild, though Graham and I still feel extra tired.  I'm very thankful for the vaccines.

This meant we had to reschedule our first trip to Great Wolf Lodge.  We had planned to go on what would have been Josiah's 10th birthday, and also as part of a Christmas gift.  The kids took the news well and I think it worked out best that we were here and could focus on our memories of Josiah.

The hardest part of Josiah's birthday for me is picking out a cake.  I usually make a cake or cupcakes for the kids on their birthdays but I buy one on Josiah's birthday.  I look at all the cakes and wonder which one he would want.  A mom should know which cake her son would love.  I usually hold it together but this time I quietly cried and just pointed to the cake I wanted.  I wrote down "orange icing" for the lettering as I couldn't speak.  I welcome tears as they have been few and far between.  

Choosing ice cream was also a challenge ... until I saw 'Heavenly Hash'.  That made me smile.  God has a sense of humor.  We ate McDonalds take-out for supper as it reminds us of the incredible blessing of Ronald McDonald House where we stayed in Toronto and Hamilton when Josiah was in the hospital.  We took flowers to Josiah's grave.  

As Graham and Isaac were still getting over Covid, we celebrated Easter alone.  I'm so thankful we serve the risen Jesus.

Isaac submitted two pre-recorded piano pieces for the KW-ORMTA (Ontario Registered Music Teachers Association) competition.  Last weekend he had his online adjudication.  He will be quick to tell you that there were only two people competing in his category but he played very well and received first place and his first monetary reward.  

One stylin' outfit for peeling carrots

I was excited to sign up the two youngest for swimming lessons starting in May but decided to cancel them the other day as the kids keep getting sick and I don't want to  waste our money.  I hope they'll be able to do lessons in the summer.  Due to Covid, an adult has to be with Kohen and Lily-Anna so it depends on four people being healthy for us all to go.  

Lily-Anna made this house today

I saw the tent that I've been eyeing since last year on sale for 40% off.  Graham and I chatted a few times and decided to get it with some gift money we had saved.  We'll start by trying it out at the two grandparents' homes (in nicer weather) and see where we go from there as we don't know how to camp for real yet.  This tent fits three queen air-mattresses and Graham can stand up inside so it at least has enough space.   

This rabbit visits our backyard

I recently read Everything Sad Is Untrue, an autobiographical novel by Daniel Nayeri, an Iranian refugee in the United States.  It's considered a teen book and is written from the author's perspective in fifth grade.  A fascinating read that I found inspiring, heartbreaking, challenging, and enlightening.     

Graham's last visit at the UW Library

Graham started his new job this month.  He had one week of onboarding to learn about the company and another week of onboarding with his team.  He mainly works from home and is really enjoying this new challenge.   

Most sadly, we learned today that Graham's Aunt Linda passed away this morning.  She was a wonderful aunt and woman of God and she will be greatly missed.      

Until next month, I'm signing off.  

Blessings,

Elizabeth

Zephaniah 3:17

The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one to save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by His love; He will exult over you with loud singing.

Hoppy's birthday gift

March

The month began with Welsh cakes and daffodils for St. David's Day.  My mom's dad was from Wales.  I had the kids watch a couple of videos about Wales while enjoying their Welsh cakes.  I was going to have my mom tell them first-hand about Wales but she was out when I called so the kids instead told her what they had learned.  I remember visiting Hay-on-Wye with my family when I was young.  It's a Welsh town famous for its number of bookstores.  

Kohen's last day being 7

Kohen's 8th birthday was next on the agenda.  He was able to celebrate at SkyZone with a few of his friends.  He had a great time.  

Kohen likes Andy Griffith and candy

We've been experiencing typical March weather which means the kids were outside in their shorts and t-shirts playing at the park when it felt like 18 degrees C and more often wrapped up with neck warmers and snow pants when it felt like -18 degrees C or under the umbrellas for the freezing rain.  

I have fond memories of my dad letting me return to school after lunch wearing shorts on one fine March day.  I loved going home for lunch.  My dad made toasted tuna sandwiches to our exact specifications (I liked mayo spread on the toast, one brother liked no mayo and the other liked it mixed in with the tuna).  And by mayo, I mean Miracle Whip.  I enjoyed that toasted tuna sandwich while watching the end of The Andy Griffith Show (if I ran or biked home quickly) as well as Leave it to Beaver.  

It was great to see more family this month.  My brother's family visited during March Break and Graham's brother flew out to Ontario last week.  The kids loved playing with their cousins and also with Ginger, another cousin's hamster which we looked after for a week.  It's nice to watch the kids enjoy the hamster.  She's very cute.  

We visited the Treetop Village just outside of Hamilton during the break.  I wish we had known how muddy it would have been as the kids would have worn their snowpants and been able to slide down the filthy slides but thankfully they had boots on (a last minutes decision - PTL).  They all had a really good time and had lots of exercise and fresh air.

March also means we get to celebrate Grandma Faulkner's birthday.  We enjoyed our visit and some yummy Indian food.

Lily-Anna and I finished our skating lessons this month.  I don't think either of us were sad to end them.  My feet always hurt.  Hopefully Lily-Anna will enjoy it more as she gets older.

After ten years, Graham will end his time at the U of W library doing web development and will become a Software Developer at Geotab in Kitchener.  When he was hired at the library, it was God's perfect provision in so many ways, especially as it related to Josiah who was born a few months after he started there.  While he is thankful for his time there and will miss his coworkers, he is very excited about this new opportunity.       

There were five beautiful blooms!

The mask mandate has lifted as have most other restrictions.  I had wished they would have waited until two weeks after March Break.  I currently know quite a few people with Covid and the last two weeks my kids have been off different days due to symptoms on the assessment list.  I'm thankful my kids aren't the only ones still wearing masks.  It's not just about trying to keep them free of Covid, it's that every time they get a symptom on the list, at least one of them has to stay home and they have missed so much school.  One day at a time.  I enjoyed playing Carcassonne with Kohen today and 'hospital' with Lily-Anna (she "broke" her wrist and needed it x-rayed).  I just this moment realized that she's pretending to be her aunt, though Lily-Anna pretended she fell off her bicycle.  

It's time for some sleep.  Morning shall come when I will finish making their lunches, hoping they each wake up symptom-free and are not tempted to tell me otherwise.

Blessings,

Elizabeth

Psalm 46:10
Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.

I'll miss picking her up at lunch next year