I cannot believe my firstborn is ten 🥺😭 What a huge year it’s been! I am honestly somewhat devastated to say I don’t have pictures of Dekker from every month of the last year but please take my word for it that I am enamoured beyond belief with this boy. 😍

Dekker is really coming into his own, which I think I say every year. He is open and honest about wanting/needing his alone time, though he thrives in a confident friend group where he finds belonging. He has found some of those beautiful solid friends this summer at the lake, and I know he will feel that hit when the campsite closes for the season. He built a very exclusive fort in the trees for he and his friends. Sometimes it’s full of little boys, and other times, he wants to hang out in there alone. It’s cute either way.

Dekker has excellent humour too. It’s dry when sarcastic. I wonder where he got that from 🤔 Regardless, he’s just on the edge of being a little bit snarky, so we’re reining in the sarcasm lately and trying to be funny whilst being totally polite. Lol! As you can imagine, it’s a delicate balance.

I am SO anticipating this next school year for Dekker. Not because I want him out of the house, but GRADE FIVE!!! He is SUCH a big kid!!! He’ll be old enough to do some of the actual work they have students do in elementary school, like setting up chairs or supervising things. Crazy. But they’re lucky to have him. Dekker loves enforcing rules 😆 #bossypants #notasbossyaslaela

Dekker has had some fun opportunities that he’ll never forget. He played the claw machine with Cher and brought home studies just for his sisters 😘 He went to Ruckers with Tom and Rae and won a slinky that everyone was sooooo jealous of. He’s tried and loved a lot of new foods, and in general, really seems to be coming out of his shell.

For this, I credit a handful of people and things. Firstly, and most importantly, all glory goes to God for this beautiful boy to even exist! Also, to his siblings, who challenge him (you know they do) and teach him some excellent skills in patience and consideration. Through Bradys sickness and time away, Dekker has learned more responsibility and compassion. Through his dad, he has learned IMPORTANT lessons about being a man, loving his people properly, when to stand up and when to take a backseat. From his teacher he learned how better to cope with stressful situations, and how to handle some of his big feelings. That was something we worked so hard at here, but somehow, she hit the nail on the head better than we could. For his auntie, who brings him along for things because she genuinely wants to spend time with him one on one. He feels SO special.
This boy is dearly loved by all those around him.

Dekker is an AMAZING boy, and is actively changing into an AMAZING man before my eyes. We even had to send deodorant in his backpack this year 🥺 Where has time gone?!

Dekker, I am overwhelmed with pride for you. Thank you, Lord, for giving us beautiful Dekker Thomas. There could not be a better fit for our family ❤️

I have questions 

How long do I wait before I get my hair done again? I’ve been waiting to see if Bradys is going to fall out. We’re three cycles in. You know the moment I get mine redone, his will fall out and I’ll shave mine. How long do I wait? 

How can I order a DLM over the McDonald’s app? Does anyone know? 

Speaking of McDonald’s, is their iced coffee leftover hot coffee? I’m not mad at it, but sometimes mine is suspiciously warm. 

How long is it socially acceptable to wear a bikini top rather than a bra? I have yet to find a bra that fits my newly narrowed ribcage, but my swim tops from this year are PERFECT. Bathing suits all winter then? 

Another question. Who wants to join the homemade thriftmas gift exchange? 

How long does it take to form a habit? I’ve heard people say 30 days, 45, 60, and 90. What is it, folks? 

What new music have you found this summer? We’ve been enjoying WILD, The Band Camino, and the new AJR album is great, tho I’m disappointed with how much profanity is in it :/ can’t really listen to it around the kids. 

What are legitimate jobs that Brady and I could start to pick away at? He’s a master woodworker and I’m a decently capable crocheter. Can a person make a living out of those things? Say yes. 

Is there anywhere to go for a walk in eye appointment? Brady and I both need them but it’s hard committing to scheduled things sometimes these days. Does that exist anywhere? 

My last question. What is better than this? 

The answer is nothing. 

As you guys know, the other day Brady was finally able to drive our van with our new hand controls!! It was such an open door of independence and we were all VERY excited for him.

Unfortunately, I HATED the hand controls. Which I couldn’t really talk about, because they are a big part of Brady’s freedom and I didn’t want anyone to be discouraged or make Brady feel bad for needing them. But truth be told, I really didn’t like having them in the van. The mechanisms are big, and they make it hard to put the keys in. The parts underneath the steering column are close to the knees. But the WORST part is that they installed the hand controls with the steering wheel locked up as high as it could go. Not only did it suddenly feel like I was driving a bus, but I couldn’t see my entire dashboard anymore. If I raised the seat to be able to see everything, I would constantly bang my knees on the mechanisms.

I say again, I HATED the hand controls. But I kept quiet about it.

I can’t tell you how grateful I was when Brady finally got to drive it and expressed his distaste of the hand control setup too! I was SO relieved. He called Golden Mobility right away and we scheduled an appointment to get the controls adjusted more to our liking.

That day came today. They pulled the van into their shop and loosened up the system before asking Brady to climb in and move the steering wheel where we wanted it. The tech said it would be totally doable, especially since we told them they could notch out the trim in the van.

We left, grabbed coffee and a bagel, and were back within a half hour. And it was done!!!!!

We both sat in it and made sure it felt right, and Brady drove it home. It is worlds apart better! What a huge relief!!! Only a teeny tiny part of the trim was notched, and you wouldn’t see it if you weren’t looking for it. The steering wheel is where it belongs, which was the biggest issue. The mechanism is still close to the knees, but now that we don’t have to raise the seat, it doesn’t matter as much. And the keys are still tricky to get in there, but again, such small potatoes in the big picture. We are both just SO relieved to have the steering wheel back where it belongs. Now we can both see all of the guages, and Brady’s actual controls are closer to the wheel. It is SO much better!

Just in time for us to go back to the lake for one last hurrah!

How long have you followed? Lots and lots of readers are new this year, so you may not know.

Four years ago, I had the devastation and pleasure of delivering a teeny tiny baby boy in the hospital. I was 16.5 weeks pregnant, and his heartbeat could not be found at a routine prenatal appointment. I felt such confidence as I booked the ultrasound that everything was well on the inside, but that the baby was just positioned further back. I had high hopes that I might even be lucky enough to learn the gender so early in the game.

Instead, I experienced the highest level of grief I knew at that point. Our baby had passed away.

The baby measured too large to safely induce miscarriage at home, so I was sent to the hospital for a D&C.

I will never forget the person registering me asking me to repeat myself over and over why I was there, trying to convince me I didn’t belong there.

“I’m here for a D&C. I’m here for a D&C. I’M HERE FOR A D&C!” I’m not exaggerating when I say that was actually one of the most traumatizing parts of the whole thing for me. Finally someone who knew I was coming cut it off and whisked me away.

Then I was told that my baby also measured too large for a safe D&C. So I set up to deliver.

Shortly after 7:00am, our baby was born.

It’s a boy 💙 We named him Jamin.

Its pronounced “JAY-min.”

Jamin means “at the right hand of God.”

And that is exactly where we believe him to be.

I will never forget those couple of hours I was able to spend with him in person. God made it clear to Brady and I when it was time to let him go. Jamin simply wasn’t made for earth. And that is ok. Experiencing that grief was an opportunity for us in many ways. I will always be grateful for the journey we took with Jamin, and I deeply anticipate seeing him again someday in Heaven, at the right hand of God.

You are dearly loved, sweet boy. Happy birthday, Jamin.

A really, really exciting thing happened on Friday.

Brady’s drivers license was fully reinstated!

Brady has been working at getting his license back for a while now. He did the initial drive with the hand controls driving school guy. He confirmed that Brady understood how they worked, and that he would tell the right people on Brady’s behalf. When Brady called SGI to ask about the next steps, they said they required his doctor to write a letter to the medical assessment unit, who would then decide whether or not he could move forward, and then Brady would get a learners license of sorts, practice practice practice, and then he would have to take a road test before he could FINALLY get his license!

So. Many. Hoops.

But he’s been willingly, happily working towards this goal. We contacted Dr. Guselle and she wrote the letter almost immediately. We waited a week before contacting the medical assessment unit, and they said they didn’t have the letter. So he called Dr. Guselle’s office, where they confirmed it was sent when they said it was, and agreed to resend it. Brady called the medical assessment unit again, and they confirmed that they had it.

It was only a day or two before it was reviewed and put through. The MAU told him to go to SGI, and have their employees call them, and once they had spoken and confirmed to SGI that Brady was able to operate a motor vehicle, he could get his license.

Don’t I need to take a road test? What about a learners permit? I’m just… good to go?

There were a lot of question.

The person on the phone triple checked, and said there was nothing in his file to suggest he didn’t know how to drive, and he should go get his license.

• 

• 

Sooooo I bawled. Because things rarely feel easy. There are never less hoops to jump through to accomplish goals. Ever. It is always more difficult than it used to be.

And this time, it wasn’t. I was overwhelmed with gratitude for Brady. For Brady’s heart. For Brady’s independence. For our family.

So we switched spots and went to pick up ice cream!

Oh, and we filled up with gas. Brady wanted to.

It was really, really nice to drive together like we used to 💜

He even had the opportunity to drive us out to Tom and Rae’s camping spot. Two and a half hours. He was SO happy. And so was I. We all were.

This is just one thing. One small thing. But in our world, it is victorious!! Thank you Lord, for this one part coming with more ease than anticipated. We are overwhelmed with gratefulness.

Ok, friends. Its mid-August. Its time for me to crush everyones summer dreams (my own included) and tell you that warm weather is on the outs, and fall is coming. Don’t get me wrong, I am pro-fall. I just really love to soak up the summer heat before I can’t anymore. An exciting part of fall for me iiiiiiiiis…..

the homemade gift exchange!!!!

For the last two years, I’ve organized a gift exchange of solely homemade gifts! I usually try to have names picked by early September, so that means you have two weeks to decide if you want in or not!

I’m here to lay out the basic parameters! Not every little detail, because those will come later, but I really hope lots of you want to participate!

First of all, a small change from previous years. Gifts can be homemade or thrifted. That way, if you want to participate but you don’t feel particularly crafty, upcycling or thrifting is always an option!!

When I say “crafty,” I want to specify that gifts do NOT have to be crafts! We’ve had baking, canning, and fancy food come through our exchange. I don’t know anyone who would turn down a few pans of cinnamon buns or a big bowl of guac! 🤷‍♀️

I want to specify that this exchange is for ANYONE. EVERYONE. If you are not from the local Saskatoon area, I will ask that you please send your gift in the first week of December. And that being said, if shipping costs are a hangup for you, PLEASE get in touch with me! I am happy and willing to pay for you to ship your gift. I’d ask that you would try to produce something that would fit in an expresspost envelope, to ensure it makes it to its point of arrival on time.

The last thing I’m throwing in here this year is that we’d LOVE if some MEN wanted to join! This has never been an exclusive exchange just for women, and I know many men who are talented and gifted in creative ways. So if you’re even thinking of joining, please comment or send me a message! I’d love to talk you into it!

Its never too early to start working on your nifty thrifty gifty! 🎄

We did not go to the lake this weekend.

I know. Its SO unlike us.

Weeks ago, we planned with Tom and Rae to join them at their camping spot this weekend! They even included Cher 💜We’ve all been looking forward to it, and it did not disappoint. It is a very private, secluded piece of land that they, along with a couple of their friends, have transformed into a little oasis. There is comfortable housing, delicious food, friendly people, low expectations, and quad rides to last a lifetime. No big agendas. It is very restful there.

Tom and Rae brought the kids bikes from home in their truck, so the kids ripped around from place to place, treat to treat, hunting down their next quad-driving victim, all the while dodging wasps. What is up with the wasps this year?! Yikes they’re terrible!!!

I don’t have too many pictures of our time there, but I can show you a couple from the way home.

These two were TUCKERED OUT! Solly didn’t even make it to the highway. Wavy was maybe 20 minutes after him. They were wiped. The others were awake, but intensely quiet almost the entire drive home. It was perfect. We knew we had run them hard.

We came home right at suppertime, and my mom faithfully arrived right around 5:30, armed with hot rice and curry, cooked carrots, and watermelon. Not only did we not have to cook, but we got to eat GOOD homey comfort food! Thank you, mom!

And thank you, Tom and Rae, for having us to your spot once again, and for driving the point home that we are family. We are SO grateful to call you ours, as well.

What a beautiful weekend.

We’ve been doing projects left right and centre at the lake, while simultaneously feeling SO restful and peaceful. It is ONLY God who makes it possible! We are immensely grateful for the people through whom He works to make these things possible.

Last weekend at the lake, we worked on getting the ground levelled out.

Our campsite had a pretty significant slope to it, which is why we built the nice big deck – even ground. With that, though, Brady took a few falls and it felt a bit more urgent to get the rest of the ground more level. The campground manager offered to help us, and was SO willing, but he’d forget and we wouldn’t ask, so it kept getting pushed back. This last weekend, he noticed again, and we set a time. And it got done!

First he scraped it way down, as level as humanly possible. The small amount of slope that was left is perfect for drainage.

Wavy did not like the skid steer. Nor did she like the shoulder ride.

We did a bit of shovelling while our help went to grab lunch and do a few other things, and then he came back and scraped a little bit more. He got it perfectly right!

Then he brought a few loads of gravel and sand, and used his scoop to flatten out as much as he could.

Aaaaand then Brady and I got to work! We shovelled and levelled and raked out all the rocks.

As soon as it was possible, Brady put the fire pit in place. We had delayed having a fire that day so nothing would be hot when we were working, but we were EAGER to get back to it!

When our landscaping work was finally all done, I went for a couple loads of wood and split it all in preparation for a nice ongoing day fire!

As I’m sure you can imagine, there is more to do. I would love to have a short little retaining wall type of thing around our fire pit area, as there is a significant drop there and I think it would look tidy. And patio stones would be AMAZING, though we’re not holding our breath. For now, this felt like AMAZING progress! It is WAY more level, and WAY more secure. Before we left for home, we enjoyed two nice rains, which is going to help pack the sand and gravel down good and proper.

Just one more step towards making this place perfect for us. As if it isn’t already. This is aaaaall just gravy.

Brady’s chemo schedule is funny. It makes total sense, don’t get me wrong. He always starts on a Friday, because it seems like it would be best to be sick over the weekend and not as much in the week. With the way our life currently is, that means Brady has done all three rounds of chemo at the lake, with all five of the kids, and countless projects. This may seem repetitive if you’ve been following, but for the third cycle in a row, Brady has had NO complications or challenging side effects. Praise God!!

This particular cycle fell over a weekend where kids were coming off of colds, and on the Friday he took his first dose, it was clear he was starting to develop a runny nose. He was discouraged, but what can you do when you have six people living in your house, all with snotty noses? We joked that maybe his chemo could kill his cold online with his sick cancer cells, lol!

And it did.

Ok, God did. I know this. But his runny nose ran (ha!) for the hills, and he was completely healthy and strong through his entire chemo cycle!!!

Thus far, Brady can attest that the worst part of chemo has been that he can’t eat for a few hours before he takes the pills. So that means that weekend at camp, he can’t snack after the kids go to bed. And thats a BUMMER. But if that is the biggest hit he takes, so be it! We are both overcome with thankfulness that he is not suffering worse.

The next cycle is right as the kids start school. If you want to pray in some way, please pray that Brady’s chemo continues along as it has been, and that there are no ill effects at such a time when the kids are finding their feet in a new school year and as we all work for the new schedule, yet while we still work to get to the lake on the weekends while we can. God knows what we need, and we’re listening, but those are our prayers, if you care to pray them with us.

Thank you, friends. And thank you, Lord.

This morning, a couple we know from years ago came by our home to pray for us. I kid you not, they drove to Dalmeny, chatted for a few minutes, laid hands on Brady and I, and prayed over us. And then they left. The intentionally came to pray. This is something we should ALL do more often.

It was a powerful stretch of time in prayer, where they thanked the Lord for all the blessings He had already reigned down on us, and asked for more. They prayed for our physical and mental health, and for that of our children. They prayed in a way that we knew they had followed along, but also in a way that made it clear that their prayer was led by God Himself. We felt truly touched and accepting of the prayers that were offered. We receive your gifts, Lord!

I want to thank the people in our lives that understand Brady’s situation is long game. It did not end when he came home from the hospital. It did not end when he could walk on crutches. It did not end when radiation ended, and it will not end when chemotherapy is over. Of course our needs will vary over time, but our need for prayer will not.

We are overwhelmingly grateful for the continued pray and support from our people. God is working. He always has been. He’s never stopped. He’s never left. And He won’t.