cookies!!

So my little munchie has been growing like a weed, and starting to eat "real" food. So far she likes Cheerios, peas, eggs, and pancakes. Today was her very first cookie! Arrowroot of course, and don't tell, but she may have had more than one!

amber necklace

I have heard great things about amber necklaces for teething babies. Ellery has had teeth since she was 4 months old. She constantly drools and has to wear a bib all the time to keep from getting soaked, one of her nick names is "soggy".
I have never before used an amber necklace and thought it might be worth a try. Although she is a wonderfully happy baby, she never sleeps more than two hours in a row and that includes at night. I am not one to let them cry it out, well not at seven months, and so in attempts to get more sleep, we found this beautiful necklace at Mooney's Baltic Amber. I think it looks beautiful on her, so even if it doesn't end up helping I will still be happy with the purchase. I think I'll ask for one for myself for Christmas.....may its me that needs it?

halloween

This year we did halloween a bit different. We don't do the trick or treating thing because getting candy you cant eat is never fun. In years past we have gone to the church's fall festival, but the big kids didn't want to go this year, so it was up to me to make a fun alternative and I think it was a hit!

 

Lynk is four!

Last week we celebrated a very special birthday! My smallest boy turned four.
He is my tractor/car/ anything with wheels loving boy, my easy smiling boy, my good sense of humor boy. He still gives me cuddles and is my "snuggy darlin'", although we keep this as a whispered secret between us. Your favorite colour is rainbow, your favorite stuffie is "super puppy".
Lynkin, at four you love people and your family most of all, you have a soft side and cry easily when things go wrong, you long to be like you big brother. You were a bit sad that you were only turning four, when what you really wanted, was to turn ten like him. Soon little man, all too soon. Don't be in such a big hurry to grow up....four is a really great age!

gifts from his brother and sisters!

everyone is really generous with their re-gifting

tractor time!

ellery needed a hat too!

the big kids pooled their money to but him hotwheels

rainbow cupcakes!

yum!

First Snow!

This week brought with it the first snow of the year.  I love the first snow,  looking out on the white clean of outside, knowing that the busy days of summer and fall are over.  The cozy, quieter days of winter will be keeping us indoors more and this is the time when the bulk of our school bookwork gets done.

Hot tea, cuddles under blankets, read alouds, movies with popcorn and rosy cheeks  after outdoor play are some of the thing I look forward to the most. As I watch my family grow, this season also brings refection on who we are and where we are headed.Questions are asked. Where have I seen the most growth, physically, emotionally, spiritually? Who needs sharpened? And where?  What needs to change in our home education routine? These and many others are just a few things I ponder, and pray about.  I think this year will bring many changes........I need to take a deep breath and embrace whatever life brings.

New Baby

Ellery Gail was born to us on April 13. She weighed 6 lbs. 13 oz. and was was 19 1/2 inches long.
We chose the name Ellery becasue we thought it was pretty and the name Gail after my favorite Auntie, who passed away 8 years ago. I spent my summers at her farm and those times are some of my most cherished childhood memories.

We are completely in love! I have been so blessed with this pregnancy, and we had prayed she would come early. ( the coming week was a mess, Nathaniel's trip to Calgary, a final exam) God faithfully answered those prayers, and His timing couldn't have been more perfect.

Welcome to the world sweet girlie of mine, I am so blessed to have you.

flowers and art

March 5: beautiful flowers, given by my husband, as a cheer me up a couple days ago
                the creativeness found in Ayla, which inspires me to create too
                sunshine! after what feels like an eternity of grey days