The Forget-Me-Nots: October 2015

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Siblings

There are no words adequate enough to explain how much I love and adore these children. I remember being pregnant with Phineas and worrying about how I was going to build a bridge from the great sibling relationship that Atticus and Milayla had been building to Phineas so that they could all have it together. It was actually the cause of a lot of concern and worry.

Then Phineas arrived. And it was so immediately clear that it wasn't going to be a problem. Atticus and Milayla embraced him so fully and couldn't get enough of him. And as Phineas has grown and learned to understand and do more that relationship just keeps growing and strengthening with it.

Seeing them play together is incredible. Yes, they do get into spats every once and a while, but for the most part they really just love being with each other and helping each other.

Atticus and Milayla have gotten really good at showing Phineas how to do different things which Phineas delights in because he is in a full mimic stage by pretending to cook things in the play kitchen, blowing kisses, giving LOTS of hugs, and zooming toy cars around the play room. Phineas has such a love for his big siblings and will give them the biggest, sweetest hugs all the time.

Meanwhile, Atticus and Milayla have become quite the team in conjuring up new games, pretend games, duplo castles, lego houses, and make believe worlds. And they are really great at making sure that Phineas gets to be part of those as well (all but Lego - Phineas still tries to eat lego).

I wouldn't be surprised if Phineas is on the bike the soonest of all three kiddos so that he can bike with Atticus and Milayla. Milayla, who has shown her great determination, dedication and grit at work when she became an expert at cycling in just a couple weeks. Milayla and Atticus have been cycled to church with us! (I'll be honest, that was a little nerve wracking on the parent side of things because, while the streets there aren't busy, there wasn't always a side walk for them to ride on so we've been putting them in the bakfiets for now).

And while the kids all have this great bond together, it's been really something to see their individual bonds with each other grow. Milayla and Phineas are always fun to watch. Phineas will snuggle right up to her and give her hugs. Then with his little grunts, syllable sounds and few words he will talk her ear off like they are in a full conversation. They will squish into a laundry basket together just to play in a different way and Phineas will care for Milayla's baby dolls just like he has seen her do. They have a very sweet and sincere bond. To give you just a very small glimpse of that, when Phineas sees Milayla at church (on the days when he comes to Primary with me or happens to see me in the hallway) he runs for Milayla and gives her a huge hug. Oh, and there is Phineas' new interest in colouring and drawing right along side her.

Then there is Atticus and Milayla. The two that don't remember having ever been without each other. They love each other so much and are the best of friends. They just get each other really well. Hearing them have conversations is the greatest of gifts. As Milayla has ventured into the world of reading, Atticus has been a wonderful source of encouragement and love as he recounts things to her that he found hard when he was beginning to learn to read. And Milayla adores when she gets to show Atticus new things that she learned. They are both so smart and quick at learning (actually, all three of them are!) and they love learning together. And when these two play together, there is never any problem figuring out what to play - they have the imagination and ingenuity (and energy!) at full speed. And what's even more - they love to be helpers to one another. It's awesome. They often get asked if they are twins.

And one cannot forget the brothers. Atticus and Phineas. The picture of the two of them says so much without saying a word. Phineas gets a lot of his physical expressions from watching his big siblings and there are definitely some facial expressions that he shares with Atticus. These two can completely immerse in play together with cars, cooking in the play kitchen, and playing tag. Atticus loves being a big brother and having ways to be a helper with Phineas (which is great because Phineas is in full exploration mode these days!). They have such a great brother relationship and Atticus does really well at showing Phineas different ways to play and use his imagination.

I sure hope these kiddos grow up knowing how lucky and blessed they are to have one another. I sure know how blessed I am to have them!

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Thanksgiving 2015

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's been a pretty lovely Thanksgiving weekend around here. Saturday had us in Montreal while I helped out with the Temple Cultural Celebration preparation and Jason took the kids on a trip via the metro (something the kids were super excited about since it has been a while!) to the Science Centre.

The kids were simply gushing about their trip to the science centre when they arrived back at the church to meet with me. Oh, I know it's cheesy, but my heart really does feel the difference of when there is physical distance between me and my family. I feel so grateful when I get to scoop them up in big hugs and kisses again. They are one of the top items on my thankful list. Always. Christ, Heavenly Parents, the gospel, my FAMILY. And then there are so many sub categories from there.

Saturday afternoon we did a bunch of dinner prep as we had planned dinner for Sunday, which ended up working perfectly.

Sunday, after church (where the kids rehearsed for their primary presentation), the kids helped get some more of dinner ready and then we sat down to Thanksgiving dinner. I snapped some photos of the kids enjoying some down time before hand. Atticus planned out an activity for us to do during dinner. He's always planning activities and games for us. He really loves it. Both Atticus and Milayla looooooove helping in the kitchen. Like, absolutely love. They even go so far as to argue about who got to help MORE because they each want to help they most. We're working on that one by reminding them there are always ways to help.

The kids were really excited to have the candle holders that they made earlier in the week be the centre pieces for dinner. I was a little worried that they were not going to work because the leaves were supposed to be dried first, but they worked! And they looked great.

I really need to do posts on each of the kids individually to give updates on them. They are growing and learning so much these days. Milayla is READING! Atticus is touting off history and math like crazy. And Phineas is a full fledged walker and has a few words under his belt along with plenty of sign language.

Our Thankful tree was on the wall next to our table. We still have more to add to it. Lots more. The kids want to leave it up so we can make sure that we do our best to get everything.

One thing I'm grateful for that I still need to add is prayers. Prayers are incredible. And I love getting to listen to other people pray. Especially my children. It is such an indicator of how they are growing spiritually and how they are building their relationship with their Heavenly Father. It's incredible. And sweet. And peaceful.

I love seeing/hearing the things the kids come up with for the thankful tree. Like Milayla writing out that she is grateful for 'Gras' and that the kids love back scratch songs (the songs they get with both Jason and I at bedtime when we sing them a song of their choice and scratch their backs). And then when I hear comments like "WOW! Mommy, we're just never going to run out of things to be thankful for". I hope it all sticks in those hearts of theirs. We DO have a lot to be thankful for.

The dinner menu was mostly items that we had done last year; sweet potato dollars, stuffing, cheese and crackers, veggie tray, biscuits, steamed veggies, gravy, lentil & butternut squash salad and some things I know I am forgetting about. Dessert was the always-popular, pumpkin pie, whip cream, marshmallows and fruit salad.

Monday morning greeted us with pancakes, books and cuddles, drawing with chalk, bike rides to the park, and Halloween decor to be put up. It was an incredibly beautiful day so we packed up a picnic dinner in the afternoon and rode down to the lake. Biking as a family still fills my heart with such fond memories of our time in The Netherlands. Our time there made a lasting change on my heart. I can't help but think (and hope) that life will take us there again another time - even if for just a visit.

We finished the day, and long weekend, with books on the couch. I don't think we will ever have enough book time. We adore book time around here. And family time. Family time is the absolute best.

So thankful for this wonderful eternal family, for time with them, and for thankful hearts.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Friday, October 9, 2015

Disney on Ice

I have an email address that I check maybe once a week. I have a few friends that use that email address and otherwise it is just the email address that I use when I need to provide something for sign-ups and when I feel the inkling to enter a contest here and there. And in all the time that I have had the email address (for about as long as we have been married) I have never won anything in those contests. At least not that I can remember.

So imagine my surprise when I opened up my email on a whim to see an email address telling me that I had won a family pack of tickets to Disney on Ice. I was stunned and reread the email a few times to make sure I was reading it properly. I was. We had tickets.

I told Jason and he reread the email a couple times too. Long, redundant story short - we were very surprised.

The kids had swim lessons the same night which would mean we were going to arrive a few minutes late which actually worked out PERFECTLY! I was really glad that I stuck to my instinct that they still needed to go to swim class because it set the timing in motion better than we could have expected.

The kids had no idea where we were going. It was going to be a surprise. It was so fun to hear them trying to guess where we were going. When we got there, the first parking lot was full which meant that we got to be in the less busy, second parking lot right by the door. We ended up going in the wrong door but then the security kindly escorted us to the ticket pick up from the inside.

At this point, the kids still didn't know. Atticus thought it might be a movie. Milayla was just walking around with stars in her eyes about all the wonderful things it could be. When we went in to our seats all three kids beamed as Atticus and Milayla shouted out (while jumping up and down) "It's a show! It's a SHOW!!!"

I was really excited to see how the kids would react to the show, particularly when they don't know many disney characters. But they all loved it. Even Phineas who clapped and pointed throughout most of the show until he finally curled up to me and tried falling asleep for a little while. The smiles were huge. Jason and I enjoyed it all as well. Immensely. It just felt like the stars aligned for it to happen and we had such a great time with these kids of ours. It was so awesome to step away from some other things that are going on right now.

Milayla was in awe of all the partner lifts and her favourite part was seeing all of the princesses gliding across the ice. She was really in awe of everything.

Atticus thought it was really amazing when all these floating lanterns came down from the ceiling and he kept telling me "These are really smart skaters!". And there was also a part for Under the Sea when they had black lights making all the 'fish' glow that he thought was pretty fantastic.

Phineas clapped every time someone was lifted in the air. And finally had to hop down on to the floor from our laps so that he could dance to the music.

And Atticus and Milayla were so intensely focused on the show that they jumped at different 'surprise' parts in the show.

Because we were parked in the 'late comers' parking :) we had an easy, quick, stress free exit and were on the way home with very tired kiddos in the back who just couldn't stop spilling over about how incredible it all was and how they want to go to more shows together. Jason and I couldn't help smiling at each other because we know something they don't know yet and I think they are going to be a couple of very excited children about something coming up. I would write more, but I can't because Atticus and Milayla enjoy getting to look at the pictures that I put on the blog post (because they end up going in to our photo books) and reading some of the things I've written. So I cannot spill the beans, yet! Let's just say, I'm excited for them to find out.

It was a really, really, really, great night. And I am just in awe that it worked out so well. I know Disney on Ice isn't a necessity in life, but it sure felt nice to have a surprise outing with these kids and to feel like we all soaked up the time together so well. As we carried those sleepy-eyed babes into bed I couldn't help feeling so blessed to have them in our family. When I asked Milayla what her favourite thing is about our family she responded that her favourite part is that we get to BE a family. I do love the wisdom of children. And I love these children with all my heart!

So very grateful for the time we spent together this day and every day!

Monday, October 5, 2015

A bit of uplifting and inspiration for Monday

Now that the video links are up for the General Conference talks I wanted to post the link for Elder Holland's talk. I listened to it this morning while I was making breakfast before the kids woke up.

I love being a mother. It has been my most direct path to becoming a better person, knowing Christ better, and learning what it feels like to truly, deeply love another human being.

I wish these children of mine could feel every ounce of love I have for them that pours out into many facets of our family life in many different ways.

Of course, those same children are quick to say how loved they feel and even quicker to share their delight that our Heavenly Parents and Jesus Christ love us and them even MORE. They are absolutely amazed by that little fact. Children are incredible. And being a mother is amazing.

Enjoy!!

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/watch/2015/10?lang=eng&vid=4529689466001&cid=5

Sunday, October 4, 2015

General Conference, Apple Picking and Pie

This year's apple picking trip on Conference Weekend nearly didn't happen. The kids had been sick all week and we just weren't sure if they were going to be better in time or if we would just have to postpone until another time.

On Saturday morning there were some unfortunate variables. Jason had put extra items on his roster of things to do not realizing/remembering that apple picking takes the entire morning. And then we were late getting out the door, which worked great for Phineas' morning nap, but not so great for traffic.

But we made it! And we are all so glad that we did. Pretty sure the kids were most excited about hanging around in the trees, climbing ladders and eating apples. Honestly, every time we take our family out of the city like this I find myself wondering if we could move out to some land and have a go at our own little orchard. And then I remember that I am getting to pick the fruits of someone else's labours and we don't know the first thing about growing it all (though we are planning to get started next year! On a smaller scale, of course.). Not to mention, I know a small bit about how much work goes into running an orchard because Omi and Opi work so immensely hard on their orchard. All that to say, I love the outdoors, but it's not a step for us - at least not right now.

In the meantime, we'll enjoy the time that we can get to be outdoors, whether that means our own backyard or picking apples in the orchard. We really just took our time in the orchard before heading back to the barn, visiting the animals, playing on the playground and picking out our pumpkins. It was a lovely trip. The wind was chilly but the sun was warm and the resulting apple pie was delicious!

For those who don't know, on General Conference weekend in the fall we go apple picking and make a pie with it. Then we all share some pie after watching all the conference sessions and talk about our favourite parts.

Some of our favourite parts this year,

Milayla - the story about the little boy who dug a hole, filled it with water, and tried to go swimming in it. And how his grandmother wouldn't let him come inside the freshly cleaned home until she had cleaned all the mud off of him with the hose.

Atticus - The story about the little girl who wouldn't keep her seatbelt on in the car, but she would once she learned why she needed to wear one.

Me - Not sure if this was my favourite part, per say, but it definitely stuck - ponderize. The word is a little odd, but I love the idea. Planning to pick a scripture that the kids and I will do each week in homeschool. We've been doing the Articles of Faith but will look at doing scriptures afterward. Every day - 20 years! Also, the bit about saving money from the same talk.

Jason - The story about the surfers who were upset about the barrier in the water that prevented them from getting the big waves - only for them to see that there are feeding sharks on the other side of the barrier. It was a great story.

Jason and I have had very lengthy, in depth conversations lately about inspired leadership and are so grateful for steady, constant, inspired leadership. And even more grateful to have been blessed to have had some great leaders in our lives. And how grateful we are for personal revelation for guidance in our lives. I could go on for a long time about that though so perhaps another time.

After this weekend, our weekends look quite a bit different for a little while. I'll be helping with the cultural celebration for the upcoming Montreal Temple rededication which is going to be really neat in a lot of ways though it will change the way our Saturdays have typically looked. Going to have to soak up some more time with the kids during the week!

All this to say that I enjoyed the weekend with this sweet and awesome family of mine so much! And now, I will let the pictures do the rest. Couple notes about the pictures - there are a series of Phinny that I didn't trim down because it was really his first experience interacting and walking around the orchard (last year he was in the wrap and completely unaware to it all) and it was pretty amazing to see his curiosity and the accompanying faces. And it was like a flash back in time to see him wearing the same elmo hat, blue rain jacket, and navy blue runners that both Atticus and Milayla have worn - so very very precious and sweet. Seeing that he was still on the sick side of things he was getting cranky when we were headed back to the wagon and I loved seeing Milayla step in and give him hugs and kisses instinctively. I need to write more about the connections between these siblings another time. For now, here are the pictures of curiosity, apples, hugs, ladders and the ones that I love more than anything!

(that's blueberry on the ear from morning snack)