This morning, everyone got up for breakfast before VBS. While Dekker is away, Wavy and Solly are tagteaming his morning dishes chore. They’re both still pretty cute and little, and our dining table is huge, if you can believe it. So they each choose a side, and they pass the cloth back and fourth, wiping their portion and passing it over. It takes forever and cleans nothing, but its very cute 🤣
This morning as they wiped the table, I heard Wavy say to Solly “We got this, babe!” And I melted on the spot because DANG that was sweet! Solly took it in stride and agreed with her, and they continued on, both encouraged and optimistic for completing the task at hand.
Anyway. They were cute. They still are. The weather is not. Perhaps it will all melt away by morning and we can just pretend this April snowstorm never happened.
Laela is leading a group of 5-7 year old kids through our local VBS.
Rowan, Solly, and Wavy are attending VBS.
I spent the morning at home with the babies and Cher, getting some things done but also not pushing it too crazy. It was peaceful and nice. Then Brady had something unexpected come up and he came home for a brief pop in bearing coffee! Heyooo!
Nap time actually contained naps for all three babies. Kids played outside, and the girls went on a secret sister date. Everyone reconvened in time to make it to Rae and Toms for an Easter egg hunt 💜 How fortunate are they to be SO well loved???
It was a really nice day. A very cute one.
It wrapped up the day with leftover paska buns and fruit salad in the living room, with some french Mr Bean on the tv. Or, monsieur Bean, I suppose.
I am ready to pack it in soon. But first, puzzling and a little bit of true crime.
I wish Brady could’ve made it to church today, but he wasn’t up to it, and that was ok, too 💜 Every word he spoke had him dry coughing. Meanwhile, LD is getting over a cold and has a rash, and just looks like hand foot mouth. While I think we’re totally in the clear of possible spreading of a virus, it all just looks really bad and I didn’t want to pop a baby into the nursery that people would feel uncomfortable around. So Brady and LD got to spend some time just the two of them. The rest of us hauled out, made a super quick stop at Cher’s on the way, and made it to church in time to snag our bench! Hahaha!
It was nice to be there. People were so welcoming, as they always are. A friend snagged Munchie Mix right away, while Spoons went to the nursery without any struggle. There was a baptism. The music was great. The sermon was great. My mom came with us. All around, it was really nice. But it was nice to go home to my two back at home, too 💜
We had paska and fruit salad for lunch, and the nappers went down for a late nap, Brady included. Quiet time was spent reading, puzzling, and some even played outside. There was peace, for which I was so thankful. And with the nap starting late, it ran late, so getting supper assembled was less chaotic. Which was a nice preface to a delicious supper of turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing, corn, and peach jello. SO much yummy food. Thank you, mom 💜 for cooking the lions share of the food this weekend.
While the day was super lovely, I’m grateful that its time to wrap it up soon. I love crawling into bed with Brady at the end of the day. Having a snack and watching our show. Its simple, but its peaceful and together and we love it.
Weekends are pretty precious over here 💜 It tends to be hard to decide how much to rest and how much to accomplish on the Saturdays we spend together. Today, we aimed for rest. It wasn’t fully restful, but it was still nice.
We did a bit of a small, hard thing before we all loaded up and headed to the city for iced coffee and a quick marketplace pickup. A free one, even, which helps justify the drive, hahaha! We made it home in time to get lunch going before home care showed up for some discussion and help. They are an incredibly kind team of people.
Naturally, at that point, we had a perfect storm of events.
We were definitely done with everything we needed from the nurse, but she kind of lingered a bit. Which normally is TOTALLY fine, but at the same time, we had another tricky thing happen that we needed to tell the kids ASAP, as well as Dekker needing to leave for his missions trip pronto. I had to be in the appointment, and with Dekker, and with everyone else.
But, I finally said I had to leave to take Dekker, so we wrapped up the meeting, and then the other hammer dropped, so the kids didn’t get their info quite when I would’ve liked but at least I was there for it. Nothing dire, I promise. Sorry for the vague. As always, can’t post everything on here :/ But like everyone else’s lives, ours is not always easy.
The kids spent a big portion of the afternoon in the street, playing with the cul de sac kids. I really love our street.
Laela made KD for supper, with leftover ham and broccoli salad from yesterday on the side.
Toddlers are wiped and are already quiet in bed.
Just have to feel Munchie a bit more and hopefully they’re not too far behind 🤞
Lord, protect Dekker’s group as they travel up north. Let them arrive safely, sleep soundly, and have a total and complete blast serving the community in Your name!! 💜
It was a really lovely day to be home all together 💜 Brady and I slept in really good and proper. We got up to the kids all reading in the living room quietly. The day began. Two kids went to church but the rest of us hung back and moved a little slower. My mom came later in the morning, and we set out a very low key lunch of crackers, cheese, garlic sausage, apple slices and orange slices. Super simple. Should’ve added pickles but literally only thought of it right now. But no one was unhappy! We had a great big snack and everyone was full.
Babies went down for naps. Dekker and Rowan went for a bike/scooter ride together. Laela, Solly, and Wavy went to the park. Brady, mom, and I played SkipBo. It was such a lovely relaxed afternoon of chatting and catching up. There is always so much to talk about, and never quite enough minutes, so today, we took those minutes 💜 And it was nice.
The time came for everyone to reconvene, so we did! The kids either played with the toddlers downstairs or they helped put supper together. We ate roasted potatoes, ham, pineapple, cooked carrots, and broccoli salad. Once again, it was not a complicated meal at all, but it did taste good and everyone ate all they wanted with plenty leftover.
I sat beside Spoons. Spoons eats great and doesn’t need to be fed. I helped with potatoes, because they’re apparently less exciting than the other things, but once I convinced a few bites in, it was a very easy sell. When the plate was clear, Spoons passed it and very clearly said “more.”
It was amazing, hahahahaha! Like, grandma, we get it. Move along. 🤣
But for real, thank you Lord for the life You’ve given us. We were never promised ease, or comfort, or perfection, but we were promised Heaven, and I do believe Your Word to be true. Thank you for saving us. Amen.
Its hard to find the balance between valuing time and money. Especially growing up menno styles, if you had the physical capabilities to do something, even if you had NO time or desire, and even if you COULD afford to hire it, it felt shameful to do so. Or to buy something you could possibly otherwise make yourself. I understand where this came from, don’t get me wrong, but its something Brady and I have nitpicked over the years. When do you pay for convenience? How much is our time actually worth?? While this is not exactly the same situation, its in the same arena. Go with me.
In my quest to purge our house, we’ve even looked into getting a dumpster dropped off for a few days to fill with our junk. I don’t want to load the landfills or be reckless but I HATE having so much stuff cluttering my house!!
My next move is to look into donating a bunch of our furniture thats kicking around that we don’t want anymore. I know there are some companies that do that, and I do believe I have enough to offer to get myself on that list. But also.
There is SO much, I really should try to sell some of it 😕
But then I have to SELL some of it! 😩 And I’d really rather not have all the fuss and hassle that comes with that!
Being that we are not swimming in money and could use a little, selling would be smartest in that way. But also, is the hassle worth the money? Or do we “pay” for the convenience of not selling things this time? Ugh.
The list of items to get rid of is long, and the list of jobs to do is creeping up there as well. At least some of the jobs are fun. The list of furniture to purchase that will actually work for us is small by design, but it does exist. I want this place to work better. And its going to happen. I’ve worked in the pantry for a couple of days here and there now, and its starting to improve. Hopefully the whole place keeps improving.
Talk to me, friends. What would you do in my position?
I hope to have many a wiener roast here this year 💜 Help us brainstorm a way to have a patio! That’s a very real dream.
Just the one. But not the kind you want, so its better that way.
Well. Had.
Yesterday, I delivered things to Value Village, and then popped in for a few things. As I walked the store, I noticed a guy near me. He caught my eye, but I didn’t linger and kept on moving. I find more stores have a general order of operations, and at VV, I tend to hit things in the same order. This guy showed up in most of the same spots. Maybe he just had the same process as me.
As I found my way towards the end of my store, I didn’t like that this guy was still right near me. Every time I looked up, we made direct eye contact. I didn’t really want him to approach me, and I didn’t want to give him the chance to follow me out or approach me outside the store. I really prefer to believe the best in people and not always be suspicious of everyone, but I’ve also learned to be on high alert in many of the neighbourhoods I frequent for some of my fostering endeavours.
So rather than panic or even really worry, I changed course and went from near the tills to the complete opposite end of the store.
And that stinking guy FOLLOWED ME!!! 🤬 Didn’t care for that. So once I perused a little and was sure he had followed me, I went back towards the front of the store where there were more employees as well as the security guard, chose a rack, and just stayed there. I looked at that same rack of tshirts for so darn long. Finally, there was a quick turn, the guy went to the till, paid, and took off. He left SO abruptly, I might’ve even said he was annoyed. And GOOD!!! Ugh. I gave him a few minutes before I went and paid, and left myself. Straight to my vehicle. Driver door unlocked, hopped in, locked behind.
TO BE CLEAR! I was parked SO close to the doors. If I had a longer walk, I would’ve asked the security guard to walk with me. But I watched my surroundings really closely and was safe. I did not see that man again. But goodness. I really strongly disliked that.
Same Value Village that asked us to leave because one of my children was pushing a cart, not at all recklessly.
*sigh* I love thrifting, and that is easily my most convenient location considering my usual timeline and location. Don’t do me dirty, VV!
And don’t do me dirty, skeevy shopper creeper man! Don’t follow women through stores!!! It only makes you look super yucky and everyone around you feel unsafe! Don’t!!
It was a nice day with an oddly chaotic evening, yet I’d say all around it was a good day! Grateful for every one!
I was able to crochet this morning, thanks to Cher who happily occupied babies while I got some work put into a baby blanket I’m making for a gift. I had a debacle about the hook I was using, which caused me to lose some time, but I have it all locked down now. You crocheters and knitters know – size DOES matter – 🤣 so when you can’t remember which hook you used, it can get a tad dire. But, crisis averted, and I eventually landed back on course.
Then, a yummy lunch and some relaxed YouTube.
About an hour before the kids got home, I got into some jobs. Have I mentioned the spring purgey itch I’ve been feeling? I want to throw the whole house away. But, since we live here, I’m going to start with the things inside. I started in the kitchen and packed up some big flat Costco boxes with small appliances that I just don’t ever use. Lots of things I’ve upgraded over time but never got rid of the original one. Some organization stuff I didn’t end up liking. A couple of platters. You know, the things that live in the back. I also pulled two big black garbage bags full of old food out of there. Dumped out containers holding the end of things that have lived in there for far too long. I didn’t do a deep purge, but I didn’t have to before I was already LOADED down with things to get rid of in one way or another. As I walked it all out the door, I did a quick once over of my clothes and while I still have far too many, I got right of a HEFTY armload or two. There is a lot more to do, but it was a good start.
Brady had an appointment this morning, and we had arranged a Marketplace pickup for him to do at 5:30, so he worked a little late before leaving for the pick up. I had to leave our house with Rowan by 6pm. I made a super extra yummy supper, ate some, and we high fived as I left the driveway and he pulled in 😅 He ate some shortly thereafter and made me feel like a total rockstar! With food being extra tricky with all of the pain in his mouth, a meal that a) tastes how it should and b) doesn’t hurt is VERY hard to come by!
I dropped Rowan at parkour and made a run to Value Village to donate a stack of items. I poked my head in for a few minutes, got followed by a total creep, and then headed back to parkour to watch the last 45 ish minutes. Rowan was doing super well, and crossed two skills off his card! Thats a BIG deal! He’s never accomplished TWO new skills in one session before!
We grabbed a donut on the way home to celebrate.
We got home, recapped my three whole items from VV that I bought for Brady, Laela, and Munchie, of course. Then we prayed and hugged and tucked in for the night.
Munchie Mix is not sleeping, but is squeaking and talking in bed, which is fine with me. It won’t take long. I will do this, lay in bed, wait for Dekker to come home, and plan my next move with fixing my house. The list is long, and we don’t have much money to throw at it right now, but we’re going to do our best with what we have. At the moment, that is cleaning up what we already do have, and making our space work well for a person in a wheelchair, as well as toddlers who like to get into juuuuust about everything.
Maybe after all of that thinking, I will sleep. 🤔 Perhaps.
No surprise here. I made a cardigan for me. I made one for Laela. So its obvious that Wavys is coming next, right? Right.
Its PEENK! 😍 And soft and cozy and heavy and quite luxurious, if I do say so myself.
Its quite long on her. I sometimes forget just how teeny she is 😂 But she is all about it, and had ZERO complaints.
Laela’s response was the perfect big sister response.
“Wave, you should wear it today so we can be twins.”
I really couldn’t be happier with how these things came out. They really are exactly what I envisioned and worked for. Don’t we all actually want to wear a blanket?? I know I sure do. And these definitely give that.
I’ll talk less about cardigans someday, guys. But clearly that day is not today. And with the weather as it is, it feels like the right day to talk about them. 🥶
Dekker has been petitioning for some bookshelves in his room for a while now. Specifically since we got him *ahem* some books for Christmas…
He does have a book shelf, but its really deep, and really isn’t a good use of space. So today, we bit the very basic bullet of buying some simple bookshelves from Walmart. Two shorter shelves that he wants to put side by side. On his closet well. Totally easy. The hardest part of the day for this boy has been WAITING for them to arrive!!! Literally this. All day long.
We call him a nerd very lovingly, and he takes pride in it. He just ached for them to come all day long so he could build them, and then spend hours organizing all of his different series. Had you heard he likes to read?
Finally, after 7pm, an older gentleman finally arrived with his shelves. We saw him walking down the ramp before we even realized he was there. Dekker excitedly went to the door to gather his shelves, and the guy kind of went off a little bit 😬 He told him he needed to scan them first and take a picture, which was all true, but he was SO unnecessarily gruff about it. Dekker said “ok” and he closed the door and waited. I said I was sorry the guy was a bit crusty, and before I could say anything else, Dekker jumped in with the best response.
“Oh thats ok. He’s probably been in his car all day and just wants to go home.”
My boy. 💜 Yes. Thats exactly the case. Way to see him as just a regular human. I loved that.
And as happy as I was about that, Dekker was that happy about this.
He’s already in it.
He’d got until 8pm before I call it and he has to actually wind down. This will not relax him, hahaha! He is WAY too excited 😆 But goodness I love how happy he is, and how grateful he was when I said I’d buy him some shelves. He is a fun kid to do things for. I’m a big fan.
Congrats on your bookshelves, my dear boy! 💜 I love you!!
