She's 8!

Our eldest is 8! She is having a friend sleep over tonight and then a birthday party.  She asked for a scavenger hunt, pin the tail on the donkey, an obstacle course, and a piñata...and Tinkerbell.  Should be a fun party.
Today I watched the royal wedding of Prince William to Kate Middleton. I couldn't help but think that this daughter of mine will all too soon be marrying her prince. She is as tall as my shoulders!
She is so sweet. She is ever thoughtful. The other day she woke up, I was sick, and she proceeded to clean up the whole kitchen. She like order and tidiness. She is very good at organizing people.  Her favorite colour is still green. She is so much fun. Her favourite place is still outdoors.  In fact she asked for a bike for her birthday.  She just loves being on a walk or riding her bike. It's where she is happiest. Kids love her because she is so caring and fun.  It's been a bit of a rough year for our family and through it all she has remained sweet and gentle and caring. A gift to our family.
She is a sweet sweet girl and I love her so. I am so thankful that God chose to give her to us as our daughter.  He knew we needed her.  

Little Girl or little sex pot

I ran across an article that a friend posted on Facebook that sums up perfectly something Shaun and I have been observing and watching over the last several years.  It has to do with little girls and clothing.  
Here is the link to that article from CNN of all places http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/04/19/granderson.children.dress/index.html
Here is a link from the American Psychological Association on a study regarding the sexualization of girls: http://www.apa.org/pi/women/programs/girls/report.aspx
If I could agree 5 billion to infinity percent I would. It's now difficult to find "little girl clothes" you know the innocent sweetness, past size 6. I find it ridiculous. Our daughters DO NOT need to look like tramps to be beautiful little girls. Somewhere along the way we lost sweet and innocent in our vocabulary for our wee daughters and it's showing up in clothing. And along with that point we as mothers don't need to look like tramps to be sexy and attractive either. Just sayin'.
I hope that my daughters, when they are grown, will choose to dress with modesty.  I hope that Shaun and I will have taught them the reason for modesty...that we will have imparted it well enough that they will carry it on in their adult life and pass it on to their children.  
You will never see them looking like tramps while they live under our roof...you will see them looking adorable and in style (as long as it's modest) but NOT tramps. There is a difference. 

Of Yearbooks and Facebook

Perhaps I am feeling a little nostalgic today.  I heard, via Facebook, today that a man who I greatly respected passed from this earth today. I was amazed at how that news hit me. After all I hadn't laid eyes on him since high school.  He was the director of the camp I worked at every summer.  A great man.
Perhaps I am nostalgic because I picked up a few yearbooks today. I scanned through the pages and was amazed at how many people's lives I know about because of Facebook. It was fun.  Those faces I knew and loved well.  I have had the privilege of knowing so many people. I can't think of one of them whom I regret knowing.  As I looked at each face and then thought about what I know of them now I wished I could drop in and have a cozy tea with each of them.  Catch up.  Tell them the impact they had on my life and to give them each a hug.  I saw faces that are no longer with us. I saw faces whom I laughed and laughed and experienced life with every day. I saw faces who I didn't know very well but now I know better thanks to Facebook. I know a friend who I went to elementary and junior high school with in San Diego who married a friend I went to high school with in Oregon. It really is a small world.
One picture really truck me from my junior year of high school.It was a picture of my advanced placement field trip for that year.  All of us APers sitting on a beach. I now take my children to that beach every summer. I pass the hostel that we stayed in every summer and I tell Shaun every summer about that trip. :)  The high schooler who was having a grand time on a school trip had no idea that her adult life would be lived in that city.
On Facebook I have a few friends whom I have known since Third Grade.  Third Grade! That's insane. I'm one of those people who often wonder about people I knew...what happened to them? What did their lives turn out like. Are they loved well?  Are they happy?
It was a fun trip down memory lane.  And I'm so happy that I "know" so many of you still through Facebook. 

34 really?

Last week I turned 34. It was a weird birthday.  It was so weird I don't even have a picture.
It was weird because Shaun and I are on this diet. It's going really well but I couldn't eat anything that one would normally eat for a birthday.  And that was weird!  It was a really tough mental game.  We are also in the middle of packing and getting ready to move.  Not really a time to have a party to celebrate.  No time to go away.  So honestly I was kind of just wanting to ignore the whole thing until such a time as we could celebrate properly...
But in the end it was a wonderful day. Our dear friends the Neyedlis came down from Peachland.   Vangie make me a diet approved cupcake...and boy did that take some massive creativity...she wasn't a professional cake maker for nothing I tell you.
In the end, although it was very very different from normal, it was a wonderful day. I felt loved :).  Thanks friends. You are wonderful.
And now I'm 34!  No sage advice to offer. But a few things I know: I am blessed. I am loved. My best days are yet to come. I have hope. I cannot wait to see what this year holds. I have the most wonderful husband a girl could dream up...he makes me want to wake up in the morning just so I can see him. He brings a smile to my face whenever I think about him...his laughter rings wherever he is.  My children bring me the gift of their love, laughter, and joy every day. My family pour their love into me. My friends are some of the most amazing people you will ever meet...and all these good and perfect gifts have been given to me by my Heavenly Father who created all there is and he chose to love me...and you. I still get shivers each time I ponder that one.
I'd say my birthday gifts surround me every day all day and all night long.  So perhaps, though the day felt weird because of my food options, in truth it was a gift!
And next year, at 35, my food choices will be back to normal...but my waist size will be much smaller. :).
So my gift to myself for this year was to choose to work on a gift of health for the rest of my life. My husband's gift was to choose to do the same.  My family and friend's gift was to support me in that.
See I surrounded by love and gifts.
I repeat again...I. AM. ONE. BLESSED. WOMAN. 

Gail Van-Oxlade

I read through this book a week or so ago.  We had done the Dave Ramsey course on getting out of debt in the summer. We have been working very hard to become financially fit ever since.  We are taking it very seriously.

 I wanted to see what other money people said on the topic.  She was nice to read...a lighter touch than Ramsey but she said the exact same things.  Another thing I liked about her is that she is Canadian so she has all the pertinent information...which can be hard to find.  Most of the financial gurus are American.  And while it is helpful having someone specifically Canadian was very nice. 

She is easy to read, very clear, humorous,  and understandable. She is a true teacher...she puts everything in layman's terms...so we can all understand. 

The Twelfth Imam

I just finished reading this book. It's good. It's a novel.
There are points where I could let myself be very fearful about the things that are happening in our world. However, it's also exciting.  It's an interesting time to be alive...that is for sure!  Never a dull moment.
I enjoyed his book The Copper Scroll more as far as novels go.  Not because it was better written but because this one was so very real.  A lot of it he simply put into story form, from Inside the Revolution, real life scenarios.
Very interesting. Makes one think.  And pray.