This is why I work out at Curves...

 So I can go places like this... 

and do hikes like this...

with guys like this...

  

 

stop and take pictures like this... 

 

(and still be able to catch up again)

listen to conversations like this... 

 

It's going to be hard... do you think you can do it?

result in moments like this... 

 

We can DO IT!

and conversations like this... 

It's REALLY steep... I don't want you to be afraid, but to respect the mountain

 run ahead of the rest and take pictures like these.. 

see critters like this one...

savour moments like this...

Watch my sons learn perseverance under their daddy's gentle encouragement

And keep doing that until we look back at this picture and laugh at how young we all looked!

I. LOVE.MY.FAMILY.

Our first canoe trip!

Ever since our purchase of a canoe back in March, Peter has been excitedly anticipating our first venture out. Finally, after a few false hopes, the day was here!

Lunch all packed, we headed out (a little later than we had planned), driving the 45min to Burnstick Lake. 

Along the way we stopped to give directions to a poor, confused man from BC, and while Josh was helping him, I got some amazing pictures of this Great Gray Owl! 

 He was so big, it was an incredible experience to get up close and get these pics...

The lovely part of canoeing in May was that no-one else was on the lake. Josh unloaded our sleek addition, and the boys excitedly tumbled out of the van. 

 I just had to get a pic of Markus in his cute little overalls. I LOVE overalls on little boys - bought these for Timothy when he was 4mon old!!

 And, we're in!! Timothy was a little stiff in his movements, and had a hard time bending over with the life jacket - which involved some tipping, as you see here. :-D

 Both were quite tickled to be paddling. Timothy eventually lost his paddle, and Peter quickly felt adapt enough at paddling to begin instructing Timothy...

 Both boys had their dragons to fight in order to enjoy the trip. Peter's was fear and worry of tipping, and Timothy's was sitting still. They both did an excellent job of conquering said dragons, and it was a most enjoyable 2 1/2 hrs!!

Nesting Terns

I got some amazing loon pictures - it was so fun to be out on the water with them!

Love the way the two ducks on the outside have their wings down, and the middle duck is straight!

At one point I heard squeals from Peter, and turned to see that Timothy had unwittingly captured him with his paddle!

Mmmm, food! We enjoyed amazing Gouda cheese made fresh by my Mom from their Jersey!

"Ummm, what is THIS green stuff doing in my sandwich? Gross!"

 The trip was a blast, and afterward we did a bit of backroading with our trusty Toyota... Peter had a few moments of "Daddy, are we going to tip over?", while Timothy zonked out within 30 sec of leaving the lake.

And this, ladies and gents, is why I need a knife!! Pussywillows! :-D

It was a wonderful day, and we look forward to many more such memories!!

God spins with joy?!

Did you know that God actually does happy dances because of His love for us? 

If you're anything like me, that sounds almost sacrilegious. I've always seen God's love for me as a more serious thing, a love based on the will, not emotions. 

During a special time of focused prayer/Bible study, I did a bit of a study on joy. My first surprise was just how much we are commanded to be joyful. My second, was that joy is actually a part of God's nature - which is why we are told to imitate it. My final surprise though, reduced me to tears. 

I read a passage that is very familiar to me, and that I've always loved, but this time I went a step further and dug into the meaning of the words a bit more. 

Zephaniah 3:17 - "The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty. He will save, He will rejoice over thee with joy. He will rest in His love, He will joy over you with singing." 

The first 'rejoice' means "to be bright, cheerful, make mirth". Honestly, I've never associated brightness, cheerfulness, or mirth with God, and it was amazing to think that not only is this part of His nature, but it's how He feels about ME!

The next 'joy' means "blithesomeness or glee. Mirth, pleasure, rejoicing". Glee?!

The part that made me cry though was the meaning of the next 'joy'. It means to "spin around under the influence of any violent emotion". 

Now, those of you who know me well know that I can completely relate to a type of joy that involves spinning and violent emotion. However, I've always seen this as a more negative part of who I am, the part of me that makes other more "serious, and thus more Godly" people (my perception) see me as a bit on the less mature side. 

I can't begin to explain what it meant to me to discover that this part of who I am is actually a reflection of the character of God! 

And, this is how He feels about us! He actually spins around because of the violent emotion he feels over us and sings! 

Doesn't that make you feel special? And humbled?

This is just a piece of the journey God has been taking me on over the past few months to show me how much He truly LOVES me, and I hope it fills your heart with as much joy and awe as it does mine! :-)

Moments in our week...

This week has overall gone much better than I expected, as my first week on my own. I admit, today has been a 'low' day in a number of ways. However, I've been telling myself that after two great days (albeit, containing a number of crazy moments), a not-so-great day is to be expected, and this one contains a few external factors as well (like a body that is NOT functioning the way it should considering how much Markus is nursing... :-P).

Here are a few glimpses of our week!

 Both boys were much more captivated than I expected by the simple exercise of practicing pouring. Peter worked with rice, and Timothy with pasta - kept both boys busy for quite some time!!

We finally made our snowman - as the snow was finally sticking together!! I think we pretty much used up the rest of our snow - it was replaced this morning, but melted again by this afternoon - crazy weather! 

 This activity we did today, one I was REALLY excited about, and one that worked out great! Peter matched each number with the correct amount of beans. I started out getting him to put them into groups of two, then realized that was information overload for the poor guy, so had him just put them in piles, then we worked on sorting by twos later.

 I anticipated Timothy wanting to imitate, so made him a sheet as well, although it turned out he was much more interested in grabbing Peter's beans than playing with his own. :-P

 So, we put it away and pulled it out again at quiet time when Peter could work uninterrupted.

 This adorable little munchkin is becoming so alert and responsive! I knelt down beside him to talk tonight, and he just beamed a great big smile - so sweet. :-D

This is how I've gotten a great deal done this week, and I love having him close but my hands free - really love the Moby Wrap!! 

Having a hard time believing it's only Wednesday... :-P