Easy day

Today is an easier day. O has his immunization appointment today and his parents figured since it's in the middle of the day there wasn't any point in bringing him at all. I'm okay with it because my day is definitely a lot less hectic when there are only two kids to chase. Reuben and V both have colds, so I put them down for an extra nap this morning, and hopefully they'll still go down again this afternoon. I think I might not let them sleep much longer than an hour to help out with that, although Reuben keeps coughing so I doubt he's getting a great nap anyway, poor guy.

We got our Christmas tree yesterday. It's making my house smell lovely, and so far Reuben hasn't gotten into too many ornaments. He hasn't been pulling on it much, more poking and pulling a bit at the needles. I haven't decided if I should try to put presents under it right away or not. I think that might be adding too much temptation for the kids. We'll see. I might give it a try and see how it goes, and if they can't keep out of them, I'll just put them away.

The baby is growing quickly. If you have access to Facebook I've posted some pics on there of my expanding belly. I'll try to do it regularly, but I'm not good at remembering to take them. I'm feeling movement quite regularly now, which helps to make it more real, and the morning sickness is gradually going away.

We found out last week that V's parents have found an alternate caregiver for her because of me needing some time off when the baby is born, and so she'll be leaving at the end of the month to start there. The new sitter can't guarantee a spot in May, so I understand why they're pulling her out now. It makes things a little interesting for us now, as I have to either find someone else to watch, or figure out another way to make some extra money. We'll have to see what happens. I'm doing my best to trust that God will help us find a way.

Otherwise not much for news. I'm having a hard time believing that Christmas is already next week! It seems like it was forever a way, and now it's almost here. Go figure I'm not anywhere near done my Christmas shopping like I'd hoped to be at this point. I'm planning for me and Tim to get a babysitter and do that sometime this week. That's all for now...

On Canadian politics *warning: may contain strong language*

*more added at the bottom*

What a load of bullshit!

I am in the middle of watching tonight's national addresses by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and opposition leader Stephan Dion. Honestly, I couldn't even watch the end of Dion's speech he made me so mad. Talking all about what Canadians want and don't want in terms of an election, and how Canadians just want their government to focus on the economic crisis and not have to deal with all this political crisis stuff. Well duh! And you're the bloody idiot who's creating all this political crisis with your stupid non-confidence vote!! What happened to democracy? So what if the House has lost confidence in its government? Have the people lost confidence in the government? Maybe we should ask them! I sure as heck would rather have another election than have power-hungry politicians choosing my parliament for me!

Btw did anyone else find it interesting to see the ominous gray clouds rolling by in the background on CBC? I thought it was kind of ironic of them...

The whole thing makes me sick. Seriously people. Dion was talking about how we have to be mature, let the vote on Monday happen and then accept the results of that vote blah blah blah. Maybe he should be mature and accept the fact that he lost the REAL election and be happy with the government the PEOPLE chose.

Maybe I'm out of the loop. Maybe Harper really has been screwing things up. But can it really be so bad as to create all this political kerfuffle that is drawing the attention away from more pressing economic issues? Wasn't there some other way to deal with the opposition's unhappiness with the way things were going? Couldn't they have tried SOMETHING else first?

Grrrrr... Stupid politicians. Stupid government. Stupid democratic system that clearly has some serious flaws when politicians have this capability of overthrowing an ELECTED government without having another election to find out what the people actually think. Honestly, if there was any thought about me ever voting something other than Conservative, it is completely out the window now. I will NEVER vote NDP or Liberal after this stupid stunt they are pulling. If they had asked my opinion first, maybe. But going ahead and doing this without finding out if it is actually what the people want, that is blatantly defying anything constitutional in my books, whether or not it's actually written in there or not.

I'm going to go do something else now. All this political thinking is giving me a headache and pissing me off more. I don't like the feeling that we the people have had any say in this taken away from us. I would rather have had the Liberals win the election than take the government by force. At least then I would know that I had the opportunity to have my say, even if my say didn't make a difference.

ETA: (that stands for "edited to add" for all you non-internet savy types) I just wanted to say, not to be stupidly nit-picky or anything, but did anyone else notice the incredibly crappy quality of Stephan Dion's tape? He was out of focus for pity's sake! And the camera angle/pathetic head-shot! Yeesh! Not to mention the whole taking forever thing to get it to the networks to be played; I thought it was funny when the CBC commentators started talking about the communications issues of the Liberals when it took ages for it to play. Anyway, that's enough about that...

We heard a heartbeat!

So we finally got to go for our second appointment with the midwife today. I'd had to reschedule twice before this because my midwife's clients kept having babies on the day when I was supposed to have my appointments. Oh well. We saw her today, a pretty standard check-up, took some bloodwork for tests, found out I've gained 4 pounds so far, and then we got to hear the heartbeat! Ticking away at 165 bpm, so good and fast, but that's normal for this early on. I'm pretty sure Reuben's was about that speed too at this point.

I'll be 13 weeks tomorrow, so officially done the first trimester. Time seems to be going by pretty quickly this time. It probably helps that I'm so busy taking care of the kids that I just don't think about it as much. The morning sickness seems to be easing slightly, not gone by any stretch of the imagination, but definitely manageable. I also feel like I'm starting to get some energy back, which is nice because then I'm slightly more motivated to get some cleaning done around the house.

Tim is currently super busy with work. We're both looking forward to December when things should slow down a little for him. Promise Keepers has wrapped up, and he's off to Montreal this weekend for some Athletes in Action breakfast thingy. He's got tomorrow off though, which will be nice to have him around.

Well, I'm going to end this now. I'm just in from choir practice for Handel's Messiah that I'm singing with Redeemer's Alumni choir. It's pretty tiring. So off for now...

The Big Announcement and a small miracle

The Big Announcement: I'm pregnant again! I am due May 26, 2009 which puts me at just over 11 weeks. The morning sickness has so far not been nearly as bad as with Reuben, thank goodness. I'm on Diclectin again, but haven't had to go past the 4 a day dose like I did last time, and a lot of days I only take 3. It's been easier to manage the nausea by keeping on eating, which also means I think I'm gaining weight faster this time too. I'm already starting to show a little bit, and my pre-pregnancy pants are starting to not fit, when before they were too big. I'm definitely pretty tired, and taking care of 3 kids all day doesn't help. Oh well.

The small miracle: O had a two hour nap today! Yes. Two whole hours. I couldn't believe it. I think I was in shock. I actually got to have a nap too. Reuben and V were sleeping also. I think I've finally figured out how to get them all to sleep at the same time. It's called transitioning to one nap, so now all of them are very ready for a nap right after we have an early lunch. It is so far working out pretty good, and today was the best day ever. I'm hoping we can repeat this in the future.

Read the book and tell me what you think

So today I was inspired to write something a bit more than a "this is what's happening in our life" update, but low and behold when I went to blogger to put it in, they're down for maintenance. Figures. So I'm typing this in Notepad until I can get it posted properly. It's kind of weirding me out b/c the font is so strange. Maybe I should be doing this in Word.

Anyway, the reason I wanted to write is because on Justine's recommendation I am in the middle of reading Rob Bell's book, Velvet Elvis. I am only halfway through, and I am already blown away. I was blown away after the first chapter, but he continually blows me away the more I read, and now I am to the point where I have to blog about it.

The funny thing is I keep typing out what I'm thinking in my head about this book, and then I just delete it because I can't even come close to describing with any sort of accuracy what he's really talking about. I strongly recommend reading the book if you haven't already. I would like to hear more opinions on it. I think the man is brilliant, and has totally hit on something that a lot of people need to hear.

As a total aside, I think it's also funny that as I read the book, in my head I am hearing Rob actually reading it, because we've seen a number of his Nooma videos in church lately, and so now that I'm reading the book I feel a bit like I'm watching him in one of his videos, except I'm reading instead of watching. Sorry for the randomness...

Back to the point. Maybe I'm just totally excited for no reason and as soon as I'm done the book the hype will wear off and I'll forget about it. But I really hope not. I hope I can take what I'm reading, and put it into practice in my own life. I hope that maybe something in my life will change, and people will see that change and wonder what inspired it, and maybe they will ask me about it, and I can tell them about this book, and maybe they can be inspired by it too.

And in the end, isn't that kind of what spreading the gospel is about?

I win!

Today I successfully managed to get all three kids down for a nap at the same time!!

AND...

...Reuben and V actually slept in the same room together!!

How did I accomplish this may you ask?

Well, I put V down for a nap first in a playpen in Reuben's room. After she fell asleep I put a loud fan on in her room, and then I closed her door and put O down for a nap in a playpen in Tim & my room and closed that door. He cried for about 5 minutes. Then when he was quiet I checked to make sure that V was still asleep, and she was, so I read Reuben a story and put him down for a nap in his crib. And voila! All 3 kids napping at the same time! I ended up with about 1/2 an hour to myself where I could actually rest and close my eyes on the couch without worrying about which kid is going to get tackled next by O or which kid is going to get upset b/c one of the other kids took their toy away or anything like that. It was quiet and it was heaven.

I hope that I can repeat this again tomorrow...

Of little people's oddities

So I realized that it's been two whole weeks since I updated, and as Reuben and V are upstairs hopefully napping, and O seems to be playing fine on his own I will attempt to get this done. I really have been meaning to get more on here, but life with three toddlers is more busy than I had thought possible. I think I spend way too much of my day changing diapers, and when I get a moment to breathe I tend to do just that. Sit on the couch for a moment, and breathe. Sometimes I even close my eyes. Not that I get to sleep. But it makes the resting more effective.

It never ceases to amaze me the strange ways that little people have. I have lost track of how many times I have had to pull O off of Reuben or V. He has this weird way of just laying on them. I don't get it. Yesterday Reuben was laughing his head off at something O was doing, but I couldn't figure out what it was b/c everytime I got close he would stop. It was cute to hear. For some reason all three of them love to lay on the ground on pillows. They'll just plop down and lay there. Apparently it's fun. I'd love to know just why V feels the need to scream randomly at times. Or why O insists on crying himself to sleep for every single nap time, or why he refuses to hold his own bottle or drink from a sippy cup. Why do grapes taste great to Reuben and O, but not to V? Why does Reuben feel the need to take V's stuffed toy away from her, but O doesn't seem to have an interest in it? (Actually I think this might have to do with Reuben has his own bear, but O just has blankies.)

Anyway, all that aside, we're managing okay. Sometimes I think I am nuts for doing this, but the I think of the alternatives and it sometimes makes me feel better. I could be the one leaving my son with a daycare. I could be the one missing out on his laughter, the one who only gets to see him in the morning and then for a few hours at night. So I try to consider myself blessed. But it's not easy. I thought I was a generally patient person. Boy did I think wrong! *sigh* Oh well.

Well I'm glad it's Friday anyway. Tim left on Monday to do a trucking run down to Oklahoma for Voortman Cookies (indirectly, long story). He's finally back today and it's felt like a long week. The extra cash is always nice though, so I'm sure we'll appreciate it once the cheque comes in. I think Reuben is teething again because he's been crankier than normal, drooling a bit, and chewing on everything, including my shoulder if I'm not careful. He was cutting molars not too long ago, so he's either got more coming in, or working on those eye teeth. I'm not putting my finger in to check. I already made that mistake once, and got bitten for it, not surprising.

Anyway, that's my update for now. I think I'm going to go check on O. He'll probably need a snack soon. If only I could convince him to hold his own bottle...

Weekend Away

Well, Tim and I are up at Muskoka Woods this weekend doing the Trillium League Retreat again. Last year at this time we had just had Reuben and brought him along as a newborn. This year we are child-less as we have left him to stay with my parents this weekend. It will be a new experience for us to be away from him for this long, and I have to admit to being slightly anxious that everything will go alright. I miss him already, but I'm sure that he is doing okay.

It is kind of nice to have a bit of a vacation. I'm planning on sleeping in for the first time in I don't know how long, and probably the last time for also who knows how long. When you have a child in the house there's not a whole lot of chance of sleeping late anymore...something I definitely miss! It feels weird to be helping Tim again after so long. I almost forget what to do. But cable-wrapping is like riding a bike, once you learn, you never forget, you just get rusty.

anyway, I should get going. I am glad for the wireless internet access here. If I have to leave Reuben cold turkey, at least I still have email ;)...(maybe if I'm lucky Mum will post pictures on facebook, hint hint...)

Reuben is one year old!...yesterday...

So yesterday was busy and I didn't get a chance to post. It was Reuben's birthday and we had some friends over in the evening for burgers and cake. It was a good time.

Today I am having the easy day I hoped for as yesterday was so busy. O didn't get dropped off until almost 10 so I got to have a nap while Reuben and V slept. It is amazing how much better the day goes when you get to have a little nap in the morning. Then O just got picked up early by his grandma, and Reuben and V are back down for their afternoon nap. Not only does this mean I have time to update, but I will probably also get another nap in. This is how the day should be. :)

Slowly but surely I am settling in to having three kids around all day. I am still very thankful to see O and V get picked up at the end of the day, and there are definitely moments where they drive me up the wall, but today for some reason I have had patience to handle it and I am very grateful. I've decided that I do need to find some way of occupying myself on the couch while they play on the floor, because they get cranky if I'm in the kitchen doing dishes or baking too much. I think I might need to learn how to crochet or knit or something. We'll see...

On trusting God...

My Dad recently updated his blog, which is super cool because he doesn't often get a chance to write. His last paragraph brought up some interesting thoughts to mind about conversations with God and life being confusing. I have noticed that God has a tendency to tell us things right when we need to hear them. For instance, lately, He has been saying to me "I am in control".

This has so many applications to life I don't even know where to begin. In the end, I think it all comes down to trust. Which translates into faith. Which pretty much is the basis for everything.

And suddenly my head is flooded with even more thoughts, like, if we have faith in God, how much of that is believing that He is, and how much of it has to do with believing in who He is? Because if we believe in Him at all, we MUST believe that He is who He says He is. Which means that we can trust Him. And we trust Him because we know that He is in control.

Does that even make sense?

Anyway, back to the whole issue of God being in control. It really does make life a lot easier if we can just get this idea into our heads and hearts. I say heads AND hearts because it is one thing to know He is in control, it is another to believe it and feel it and live without worrying because we have that knowledge. I am really good at worrying. It is something that I am desperately trying to work on, and actually managed to pull off this weekend with the whole CCAC debacle. I have to say I was quite proud of how un-panicked I managed to stay for the whole weekend without knowing if we were suddenly going to be slapped with that whopping bill.

Well, I think that covers most of what suddenly ran through my head. I'm off to go have my morning coffee now. O showed up a little early today, so hopefully I can get all 3 off for their morning nap at the same time. Fingers crossed...

Nothing profound

I don't really have anything profound to say today, even though I had some cool stuff happen yesterday. We had our first alumni choir practice for the Messiah that we will be singing this December with the Redeemer Concert Choir. It was great to sing again in an ensemble, and I'm really excited to have two evenings a month that I can get out of the house for a bit on my own. I also found out that the CCAC is NOT going to make me pay the premiums for my benefits while I was on mat leave...long story, but I got a call from them last week saying that I owed them $2400 for the year, even though I had specifically said that if I had to pay the premiums I didn't want the benefits. Anyway, they screwed up, and I don't have to pay, so I was thrilled to hear that.

The babysitting is going fine. I'm not going to say it's the easiest thing in the world to juggle three toddlers, but I'm managing. In a bizarre twist of planets aligning all three of them happened to be sleeping at the same time this afternoon, so I actually got a bit of a nap in too. O managed to sleep for over an hour so I was ecstatic! (So far he's only been a 30 minute napper...not cool...)

anyway, that's all for now...off to fold laundry and keep O from tearing apart my books...

For your viewing pleasure...

Reuben's latest antics:

I win!

So you know how restaurants these days like to give you little slips of paper that say if you go online and fill out a survey on your experience you might win something? And you know how a lot of times people don't even bother taking the slip home with them, let alone actually bothering to do the survey because who ever wins anything anyway? I am here to tell you that it really is possible to win something...

Wanna know how I know that?

Cuz we won a free dinner for two from the Golden Griddle for filling out one of their online surveys!

Yup. I am totally excited. I know, it's a little lame that it's from a breakfast place and not some place cool like Swiss Chalet or Kelsey's or something like that, but still. It's the principle of the thing. And besides, they have dinner food there too, including steak, and the whole deal gets us a soup/salad/juice, and an entree, and a slice of pie, and a coffee/tea/soft drink. I am quite looking forward to the nice date night Tim and I will get out of this.

For the record...

In case I don't get a chance to post more today, I thought I'd let you all know that I caved and ran to Walmart last night to pick up a cheap high chair. The cool thing is that it folds up real nice so it won't take up a lot of room in my kitchen, and I got it cheaper than anything I've found so far on Kijiji. Granted, it's not a top of the line high chair, but I think it will suit for my purposes. I will still keep my eye open for a good deal on the second high chair that I still need...

Also, if you ever make brownies and forget to add vanilla, the taste is not drastically affected. In fact, I haven't even noticed much of a difference at all. Just so you know...

I need more high chairs

I believe I mentioned in an earlier post about needing more high chairs to get through lunch. Well, today only highlighted that fact. The little boy (we'll call him O, and we'll call the little girl V, for the sake of not having to say little boy and little girl all the time without putting their names all over the internet)...anyway, O joined us today for a few hours around lunch. Let's just say, I was insane for thinking it would work somewhat okay to feed one kid at a time. I knew that it would be hectic, but I was not quite prepared for the two kids who weren't eating to throw minor fits at being ignored. It got slightly better once the two kids who weren't eating turned into kids who had already eaten, but only slightly because I wasn't able to keep them from bonking each other and trying to climb on each other while at the same time feeding yogurt and cutting up pancakes for the kid who's turn it was to eat. Not to mention O was in desperate need of a nap because he recently dropped his morning nap and has started needing his afternoon nap immediately after lunch...except that his parents were coming to pick him up after lunch/before his nap so he could nap at home...(it's a long story).

But I survived, and Reuben & V are down for their afternoon naps, at the same time for once, and I am seriously considering joining them after the morning I've just had. I am only thankful that I was able to get the chance to eat some pancakes as well, even though I did have to microwave them b/c by the time my turn came around they were cold.

Windy days

Well, so far the babysitting is going well. I had the little girl for two days this week, and today is her birthday so she's at home with her parents. She'll be back Monday and then the little boy will be joining us for part of the day as well. I've decided that I definitely need to get another high chair or two, because doing lunch in shifts really sucks. So I'll keep my eye out on Kijiji for something second-hand and maybe hit up a Mom to Mom sale at some point. I think Reuben is enjoying having someone else around to entertain him, and he seems to have discovered a new interest in his toys now that he has to compete with another baby for them, so that's kind of nice. Even today he is playing better on his own than he has in a while.

Tim is doing a run for Northland that started yesterday. He should be back sometime this evening. I'd forgotten how much I absolutely hate being by myself at night. I can handle the day and even the evening, but I can't stand going to bed alone. It's totally irrational, but my brain keeps coming up with horrible scenarios where bad guys break in, and I have no way to defend myself and Reuben...I know, it's stupid...

It's pretty nice weather today, although very windy for some reason, but I'm still hoping to get out to the grocery store and pick up some things later today. We haven't gotten out as much this week with babysitting and all, so it will be nice to get some fresh air.

anyway, I can't think of anything else to say, so that's all for now...

September already??

I'm REALLY trying to make an effort to write a bit more than I have in the past. So, be proud, it hasn't even been a week and I'm already updating again. It really does help that Reuben has done a lot in the last few days...

To summarize:
- he ate spaghetti with a fork. We didn't think he could do it, but he did. It was funny when sometimes he would put food on the fork, then pick it off the fork with his fingers to put it in his mouth.
- he's starting to stand on his own on occasion when he doesn't think about it and let's go of whatever he's holding on to. Then he realizes that he let go and sits down. It's funny to see the thought process of "oh no, I can't do this!" before he plops down.
- he's slept through the night all week except for once. I am beyond thrilled.
- he's figured out how to clap his hands. It's so cute to watch!
- he walks behind his push toy. He prefers to walk beside it pushing it sideways across the floor. It's hard to explain exactly what this looks like, but it's pretty funny to see. I'm trying to get a video of it, but he never wants to do it when the camera is running.

Tomorrow the little girl comes for me to take care of. It will be her first full day with me, so it'll be interesting to see how it goes. She's here tomorrow and Thursday, and then has Friday off because it's her birthday. Next week the little boy will join us on Monday morning, Wednesday afternoon, and Friday for the full day, and will be full-time the following week. So my life is about to get busy. I'm not too upset about this.

We had a good holiday weekend. Tim was off starting on Friday, and then we spent Saturday and Sunday helping Jon work on his house. I guess I should say that Tim helped him, and Reuben and I hung out watching the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics that Jon had downloaded. Honestly, even though I didn't really do anything, it was nice to get out of the house and have a change of scenery. Monday we hung out a bit at home and also went for a walk down by the lake and let Reuben spend some time at a splash park there. The poor kid's legs and feet got all scraped up from crawling on the concrete, but he didn't seem to mind.

well, I think that's all for now. Hopefully I won't be too busy to update more often...

A random update

The last few days have found me in a rather introspective mood. I can't put my finger on what exactly has made me feel...well, off...for lack of a better word. Maybe it's the almonds I've started eating as a snack. Or maybe I'm just going through one of those weird, "things are changing and I'm not sure how I feel about it" times.

Next week I start babysitting already. I can't believe how fast the time has gone by. My maternity leave is already up. I've received my final payment from EI (I think, at least according to my calculations...there might be one more smaller one coming yet...) I've given my notice to the CCAC. It's official: I'm never going back. Reuben turned 11 months old on Sunday; in a month he'll be 1 year old. I can hardly believe how fast the time has gone. My little boy is no longer a baby.

Speaking of Reuben, he continues to surprise me with the things he's learning today. Yesterday for example, he not only figured out how to open the cupboard doors in the kitchen, he also managed to climb up onto the couch all by himself, and for some reason has started this weird growling thing. He is also able to crawl under the couch if he really wants to and can pull the table away that I have blocking the stairs, so I've had to put something heavy on the legs so that he can't get up there unless I let him. (I think it's time for another gate.) He finally slept through the night again last night. I was thrilled, especially when he didn't even wake up until 8 o'clock...totally not like him. He is currently napping, and I really should be going to take a shower, but for some reason felt like updating instead. I blame the coffee...

I can tell the end of summer is here. The days have become cooler, and even though I know September can sometimes still be pretty warm, the chances are less and less likely as the days go on. Part of me is glad, b/c it's a whole lot easier for me to be motivated to go for a walk with Reuben when it's not boiling hot out, but a huge part of me hates to see fall come. I like green. And I really hate the mess the leaves make when they fall off the trees. Not to mention fall means winter is coming, and I REALLY hate winter. I am definitely not a fan of being cold...

Well, enough of that...I think I'm going to go take that shower now. Maybe one of these days I'll get better at posting here more often. But that is probably wishful thinking...

The Un-Vacation

I've got some quiet time to myself for the moment while Reuben and Tim are napping, so I figured it would be a good time to start updating on our Un-Vacation, as I am calling it. Tim's company, Artech Communications, was hired by the International Cadet Camporee 2008 to provide staging and sound equipment for the week, and the deal was that Tim would go up there to do that. The Camporee would provide us with a campsite at the nearby family campground for us to stay on for the week and Tim would drive back and forth daily for their assemblies. We get a nice vacation, they get their sound needs taken care of, everyone is happy.

Sounds like a nice time doesn't it?

Ha.

The fun began on Tuesday August 5th at 2am bright and early...okay maybe not so bright yet. We packed the car, stopped at the shop to pick up the truck full of equipment that Tim was driving down there, and we headed north. We arrived in good time and spent the day setting up the stage and equipment. The boys would be arriving the next day and the first assembly was scheduled to be Wednesday evening, so we had lots of time to get things set up.

Then it rained. And rained. And rained some more. And then there was a massive thunderstorm. And it kept raining.

We were supposed to be at the family campground already that night, but we ended up throwing up our tent at the Camporee site b/c we didn't think we'd get there in time to set up before the rain. Heck, once the rain stopped we couldn't even LEAVE because of all the mud. Vehicles were getting stuck everywhere. And it turned out that our brand-new tent leaked, so we ended up "sleeping" in a camper on a table that turned into a bed. The camper was a bit of a hole that one of the Camporee staff had been staying in sporadically throughout the time that they were setting up and building the campsite. It was meant as a hunting trailer, and it was obvious that a bachelor was living there.

Yes, me, Reuben, and Tim, shared one of those tiny beds. We couldn't all sleep on our backs at the same time. The entire night defined "uncomfortable". I am not kidding.

THEN, at about 1:30am we get a knock on the camper door from an OPP officer asking if we were part of the Camporee b/c there was a coach bus from Los Angeles stuck in a driveway up the road and needed help. So Tim and the other two guys that were in the camper with us went out to help.

This was only Day 1.

The next day was spent dealing with the mud that was leftover from the rain the night before. I eventually made it to the family campground and got set up there, then went back to the Camporee site to pick up Tim who was waiting for them to do their evening assembly.

Well, that assembly got cancelled. The mud was so bad that they couldn't get the ATV's and 4-wheelers through to the campsites where the cadets were staying to bring them their food. So the staff cook-tent ended up making burgers for all of them, but it took a long time to get them all fed. They were also having difficulty getting through to bring the boys their supplies they needed to make their shelters for the week. In the end they said, forget about assembly, eat supper and get your tents made.

So we got to head back for the night, and that was the end of Day 2.

Day 3 was a standard day as planned. Tim went to the Camporee for morning and evening assembly, and came back to our site in between. It rained off and on throughout the day.

Day 4 (Friday) we headed into town because it was raining again, and we needed to pick up a heater for the tent because Reuben was getting too cold at night and had been needing to share our bed or he wouldn't sleep. Tim headed back to the Camporee early that day because there was a special band coming in for the evening that he needed to set up for. By now the boys are pretty wet, and aren't having any chance to dry off because it just keeps raining. The mud is also ridiculous, and the roads in the Camporee site are becoming impassable.

Day 5 (Saturday) The fun begins. Camporee staff made the decision after a 2 hours meeting to cancel the rest of the event and evacuate the boys. The main reason: cold. Yes the boys were wet, the rain was terrible, and the mud even worse, but this could have all been dealt with. When the temperature was predicted to drop into single digits overnight and a few boys were being treated for hypothermia, this became a problem. They arranged for the boys to be taken to an arena in nearby Sundridge (town population 1000) and the first busloads started to arrive that afternoon. They got about half of the boys out Saturday evening. Progress was slow due to the mud issue, as the only vehicles they could use to get anything out of the camp were bulldozers.

Day 6 (Sunday) The rest of the boys were evacuated to Sundridge, and family members start converging to pick up their sons. I joined Tim at the arena and did what I could to help at the cook-tent that was preparing to feed the mass of boys and their parents. About half of the boys were picked up by the end of the day, and the other half stayed at the arena overnight, entertained by DVDs that Tim was able to set up for them.

Day 7 (Monday) This was the first day of nice weather that we had all week. Sunday had been partly sunny, partly cloudy, and still rained a bit, but Monday we went all the way until supper without rain. Reuben and I spent the afternoon at the beach and Tim helped out at the Camporee site to rebuild the roads so that they could get the rest of the equipment out. At this point we couldn't go home if we wanted to because there was no way to get Tim's sound equipment out due to the mud.

Day 8 (Tuesday) The mud had finally dried up enough that Tim arranged for the truck for his gear to come back up, and by early afternoon his gear was out and we were able to pack up and go home. I spent the morning helping out in the staff area, which was still filled with mud. I ended up taking off my shoes and walking barefoot through mud that was shin-deep in places. I am told that this was significantly dryer than earlier in the week. We got home around midnight, and I was thrilled to be able to wash my feet and sleep in my own bed.

So that's my story...there are more little details that I haven't gotten into. Some fun rumors flew around involving the army being called in, and my personal favourite, that the Canadian army wouldn't come, so the American National Guard was coming with helicopters! :) Amazing what a little gossip can come up with. I'm off for now. Pictures are on Facebook, but I might get a couple up here at some point too...

Cursed roofers!

So we're getting a new roof on our block of townhouses. I am SOOO ready for them to be done! The racket is getting really annoying, and I am quite certain they are the reason I couldn't get Reuben to nap until late yesterday afternoon, subsequently throwing off his bedtime, and leaving me with an exhausted child this morning. I am not impressed.

My morning glories are blooming, I'll try to get pictures up soon when I can take some good ones. It makes me happy to see the purple flowers every morning.

Reuben is cutting his eighth tooth and it's making him miserable. Combine that with three late nights in a row, and we've entered into the world of tantrums. Mummy and Daddy are not thrilled.

Other than that, not much for news. We're heading up to the Cadet Camporee starting Aug 5 b/c Artech has the contract for it so Tim will be running the stage for their assemblies. Reuben and I will be camping at the family campground about a half hour away, so I'm looking forward to that. I'm really hoping we don't get too much rain like we have been lately, b/c that could make for a long week.

well, off for now. The roofers have quieted a little bit, so I think I will try to squeeze in a nap...

Some new videos for you...

Bathtime at the campsite...


Last week Reuben learned how to play...

Wow two posts in a week!

Well, for some weird reason I feel compelled to post again so soon. Believe it or not I actually typed up a pretty long post just the day after the last one, but then never got around to publishing it, and now it doesn't make any sense. Oh well.

I've been feeling a little off the last few days after having some enlightening conversations with friends. Reuben's sleep habits probably don't help any either. He's slept through the night twice this week, then last night was up at 1:30 (a VERY odd hour for him). It doesn't help we've been getting him to bed late and the heat has been making him nap more frequently. Honestly I think I felt more rested when we were at a stable schedule up him waking up once between 3 and 4 then when we mess around with sleeping through the night only occasionally.

So my brain feels like it's flip-flopping between running away with me to the point of overload and then stopping dead in it's tracks so that I just feel rather like a zombie. It's an odd feeling... Most of the time I couldn't even tell you what thoughts are flooding my mind b/c they come so fast I don't even have time to ponder them. ...and don't tell me I should cut back on caffeine b/c I tried that earlier this week by going one day without coffee...it was a very bad idea...I remembered that I really don't function well without it anymore (see above paragraph describing our sleeping habits).

anyway, Reuben needs me to come play with him, so I'll end this weird rambling now...

I almost burned my lunch to give you this...

Well, I thought it was high time that I got around to updating again, and I've got some time to kill while my lunch is cooking. Many times I'm not sure what to put in an update, generally because life seems to continue on without much excitement. Reuben occasionally hits new milestones, but not frequently enough to make my updates here any more often. He's crawling around all over now, pulling himself on the furniture and walking along the couches. We went for our first camping trip with my parents over the July long weekend. Good times were had by all, and I was pleased with how well Reuben did. I was afraid he wouldn't nap, but he did fine with that, and loved crawling around in the sand. He wasn't a huge fan of the water, but it was pretty cold so I wasn't surprised.

I officially have the two kids lined up that I will be caring for full-time starting in September. It will be interesting to have three little one-year-olds running around the house. I like challenges, so while I pray for extra patience, I'm also kind of excited to see how it goes.

Tim continues on working for Artech. They've recently moved to a new building in Milton, so he put in a lot of extra hours for that. It's nice to have him home more now that's done, and he has actually had some spare time to do a few runs for Northland. While I never enjoy having him gone overnight, the extra cash sure does come in handy.

We recently celebrated our three year anniversary...it's hard to believe that it's only been three years. And I say that not meaning it feel like it's been an eternity, but more that I can't imagine my life without Tim anymore. We look forward to many more...

Well, lunch is about done now, so I'm off. Dear reader, I hope this update sees you well and happy. I have no idea how many people read this that I hear from frequently or how many I barely have contact with. Either way, I'd love to hear how you are doing...drop a comment or send me an email to let me know. I wish you God's peace my friends.

About Randy Pausch...

It is noon, and my son has finally fallen asleep for his morning nap a few hours and a cup of coffee late for me to join him in the quest for a more rested state of being. Unfortunately for me, lucky for you, because now I have some time to kill and a caffeine rush that is causing me to be able to type fast enough to keep up with the thoughts racing through my mind.

I thought this might be a good time to explain the two links I recently added to my side bar. (See side bar...they are the two links below everyones names and above my daily comic strip kick.) For my birthday this year I was given the gift of choosing my own gifts, both from my parents and from my husband. Naturally, I gravitated to the bookstore where my eye was caught by this little book under the best sellers and listed for 30% off. As a good Dutch girl, how could I resist such a deal, and for some reason I decided to go for it. This book was called The Last Lecture and was written by Randy Pausch.

To give you a brief overview, Randy Pausch is a computer science university professor in his late 40's who was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer in September 2006. Last August 2007 he was given 3-6 months of good health. In September he gave a "Last Lecture" at the university where he used to teach as a way to leave behind a legacy for his 3 young children. The book is written with the help of a journalist Jeffrey Zaslow and is based upon this lecture. It was finished in January 2008, published in April, and is now already a best seller, thanks to a huge following that grew up after the university lecture made its way to the internet. If you would like more info than that, feel free to check out the sites that I've linked. The first is to a blog that Randy has set up that updates his health status and various other life activities, and the second is to the webpage for the book. If anyone wants to read the book, I of course own it, and you may borrow it, as long as you promise to return it. :)

I'm not completely certain what it is about this book that has so struck me. Honestly, while I was reading it I couldn't put it down, not entirely a shocker for me, but since I generally am not hugely into non-fiction, also not completely normal. (It's taking me weeks to get through a couple C.S. Lewis books I've got here in the house, and I happen to LOVE C.S. Lewis...figure that one out...) But there was something in both the style of writing and the story itself that has touched me. It is the kind of book I wish that I could write...except that I don't have nearly the inspiration, wisdom, or life experience to drive it. The story is heart-breaking...a man not even 50 struck with cancer, aching to find a way to tell his children how much he loved them, children who are so young they will probably barely remember him, probably one of the biggest reason he has so desired to find a way to leave them this legacy. His oldest is 6, the youngest is not quite 2.

My caffeine jolt is fading, so I'll just say this, to a certain extent a lot of hype happens when you hear of such sensational stories as this. Is the book really so good to deserve it all? I don't know. But I do know one thing: this man who is going through so much is able to do so with astounding optimism, and I believe it is that optimism in the face of such despairing circumstances that has sparked the interest of so many. If you read the book, you'll have to tell me what you think...

Sick baby

Well, Reuben has pneumonia. He woke up with a fever this past Saturday, and it didn't go away all day or Sunday, and still had it Monday morning. When I called the doctor's office they said to take him right to the hospital, so I got to spend my birthday in the ER! Fun yay. They ordered a chest x-ray because they heard something funny in his chest, and turns out he's got a bit of pneumonia in there. He's on antibiotics for it, so hopefully that will clear it up. He's been rather out of sorts with it, and not sleeping well either, so we're both pretty tired at this point. His fever is gone, which makes him a little more like himself again, but he still gets cranky easily and needs more naps than usual.

Otherwise not a whole lot new going on. Tim continues to be busy at work with no signs of slowing down, although they have completed the move to their new location, so hopefully he will start to be home on-time at night again. Reuben figured out how to climb stairs yesterday!! The kitty was sitting up on the landing, and he wanted at her, so up he went! Tim and I couldn't believe it...looks like I'm going to have to watch him on those things now...

Here's some updated pictures:

My garden

Here's some pictures of my garden.

These are two of the garden before I planted everything so you can see it as a clean slate.



Here's the whole thing as it looks now, or at least as it looked two days ago. We've had a lot of rain and things are really starting to shoot up. In case you're wondering, the newspaper between the rows is to prevent the neighbour cats from digging around and pooping everywhere. So far it seems to have worked, although I got lazy and didn't put enough around my carrots and I need to replant that row because they haven't come up. You can also see that we have a maple tree in the next yard over because there are helicopters everywhere.


This is my little corner of flowers, some daffodils and some other random flowers that were growing in our lawn that I transplanted.


Here you can see my morning glories coming in along the fence. You can see my onions and lettuce next to them.


And that's it! Still haven't gotten around to putting in my beans, mainly because it's been yucky weather the last couple of days, but I'm hoping to get off my lazy behind and do them tomorrow. The coffee grounds I sprinkled around my flowers seems to have prevented that squirrel from coming back for the rest of my daffodils, so I may end up saving up more to put around the rest of my marigolds. Either that or I may invest in some garden sheeting...but then, that costs money, and spare coffee grounds I have plenty of as I do enjoy my morning coffee. Well, off for now...

Just a quick update

Not much new to report. Reuben is motoring along with his crawling, and I've had to put up our gate to prevent him from getting into the kitchen and playing with the cat's food and water. I keep a gap underneath it so the cat can still get in, and the little stinker was reaching his arm under it today to grab the food dish. So I moved it, and I think we'll be okay. Now if I can figure out how to keep him from playing with the VCR, we'll be all set. It may be time to invest in an entertainment unit with doors.

My garden is coming along. All my veggies are up, although the carrots are being a little slow. I put in some marigolds along the edge today. I've got a little corner with some other flowers. A friend gave me some spare daffodil bulbs, and some stupid animal has already dug them up once and eaten one of the bulbs. I was not happy to find this out. So I replanted the ones it left behind, and sprinkled some coffee grounds around them, (apparently this is supposed to repel certain animals). We'll have to see if it works. I still have to get my beans, peppers, and tomatoes in. Hopefully I'll do the beans in the next day or two, and the peppers and tomatoes in the next week or so.

anyway, I'm in the middle of making lunch, so that's it for now... Hope everyone is well!

Crawling...

So Reuben is starting to crawl. He's only really doing a few steps at a time, but I managed to get a bit of a video of it yesterday...



I'm sure it's only a matter of time before he's going everywhere and getting into everything.

Reuben's latest milestones...

So, I'm going to be lazy and post this in point form. Here is what Reuben has been up to lately:

- Six teeth. Four on top, two on the bottom.
- Learning to push himself around the room. Generally backwards, but can also turn himself around quite easily and rolls all over.
- Taking baths in the big tub. He's only slipped over a couple times and we catch him quickly. He likes to push himself around b/c it's slippery.
- Babbling. "Mamamamama" "Mum" "Babababa" are his current favourite words. Still no "dada".
- First yucky cold. His nose has been super plugged and he's developing a cough. Not fun. Due to plugged nose and mouth-breathing, he has been drooling EVERYWHERE. Even worse than with teething.
- Naps are becoming more normal, as in, an hour long morning nap, and at least an hour long afternoon nap. Mommy is very happy about this.
- Solids are going well. Applesauce is the current favourite. Not close to feeding himself yet though.

I think that's about all for now. Reuben passed his cold onto me, so I've been pretty dragged out lately, hence the laziness. I was lucky to even get most of the dishes done today...laundry on the other hand...

Hope all is well with everyone who reads this...

My little babbler

Smell - to perceive with the olfactory sense

In a strange fit of boredom (yes boredom, who would have thought?) I have decided to excite you all with two updates in a row! Miracle... That and I have an inexplicable urge to share about the strange smells in my kitchen. I have determined that I can always tell when garbage day is coming up because my kitchen starts to have strange smells in it. And I always notice it when I'm on the computer. This is probably because the garbage can sits next to my desk. Every so often starting from about Wednesday, I catch a whiff of an odd odor, and I wonder, what is that smell? Then I remember, oh right, the garbage can is right there. It really drives me bonkers sometimes. Maybe I will have to take the suggestion of all these Bounce ads I keep seeing that have different ideas for ways to use the product other than in the dryer...like to keep your garbage can smelling fresh.

My cat is a moron. For some reason I have yet to determine, she enjoys being tortured by Reuben. See, whenever she walks near him, he has the uncontrollable urge to grab her fur...and yank. At this point one of two things happens - either he comes away with a fistful of fur, or, he grabs skin along with the fur and the cat is now totally under his control and unable to escape as he forces her to the ground in a fit of aggression...okay maybe not so much the fit of aggression, but she does get pushed into odd angles, and it does not generally look like a pleasant experience. Now, you would think that after experiencing this punishment once the cat would learn its lesson and leave Reuben alone. Ha! You would be wrong. No, instead she keeps coming back for more! I can not figure it out.

well, I think my inspiration for the day has ended. At least I've run out of random things to comment on, so I will go and make myself some lunch now. I'm hungry. And maybe I'll do some dishes...maybe...if I feel like it...

Oh joy more teething!

Well, Reuben has been SUPER whiny the last week from his teeth being sore (you should see the faces he's been making!). Yesterday I found tooth number three!! It's on the top in the middle, and I think there's an eye tooth coming in next to it yet. So I'm hoping we're at the tail end of the teething crabbiness, because this kid has been MISERABLE!

I've been babysitting a couple times for the girl that will be full-time in September. It's been going okay, but I have officially determined that I never want twins! Or at least I would never want twins if I were a single mother. The daytime is not so bad, but trying to put two 6 month olds to bed at the same time by myself was a bit of a challenge.

Tim is away again for a couple of days this week. He has training in Ottawa for some certification program. We deal. At least it's not a whole week. I can handle two nights on my own.

well, I hear the children waking up! (that sounds so weird...) So off for now...

Just had to share...

Love the face!

Easter Ponderings

I have woken up with this refrain in my head: "Christ the Lord is risen today, Alleluia!"

I think it may have something to do with the fact that this is one of the songs my parents' church is singing this morning, and I helped them type up the Powerpoint slides for the service.

Yet the words are true. Christ is risen today. Easter Sunday. This year a day with mixed feelings. Joy in knowing I serve a risen Lord. Sadness over the recent death of a family friend. Guilt over probably not making it to church again this morning (Reuben's schedule is really not conducive to a 10AM service, an hour later and we might be okay, but I am not about to go just so they can call me out of church again to try to calm a screaming baby...and I hate that I have to justify this to myself). Anxiety over whether or not the turkey I am cooking later on today for at least eight people will turn out.

Thoughts of turkey aside, I am determined to focus my attention to the joy of today. To remember the sacrifice my Lord made for me, the great love that He has for us, and to offer Him the only gift I have, however unworthy...my heart.

Christ is risen indeed!

Thoughts

I'm not sure if I've admitted this here before, but I like online forums. I'm currently a member of one that is a group of women who've all had babies in September. We started at the beginning of our pregnancies, and have continued on. It is difficult for me to explain to people, including my husband, how much I appreciate having a place to go to ask questions about babies, vent about life, and generally share conversation with other women who are at about the same point in life that I am.

But that's not really the point of this post. Where I'm going with this is, today I was reading the blog of one of the women who I met on this forum, and she has inspired me to write today, if not more frequently all together. Not that there was anything in particular that she wrote that made me think of something specific to write; just that it made me feel like writing...about something...

It is not easy for me to always find the words to say the thoughts that are running through my head.

Maybe the problem is that there are too many thoughts in my head. Or maybe it is that my thoughts aren't always thoughts, but a mix of emotions, sensations, experiencing life by just taking it in instead of analyzing with words...my husband would probably discount this by saying that my mind never stops moving. This is true, but just because my mind is moving doesn't always mean it is thinking in complete sentences.

All that aside, I do find it rather cathartic to make the effort to put into words the thoughts in my head. And so I sit here with my coffee, thinking...

I am thinking about that stupid dog next door that barks endlessly. I am thinking about how great it is that Reuben has slept through the night for two nights in a row now, and how even greater it is that he is having a two hour nap this morning. (Hurray!!) I am thinking about how my home daycare thing is really starting to take off - I've got one girl lined up to start full-time care in September, and two other mothers interested in starting part-time care soon...they come for interviews next week. I am thinking about how awesome God is, how He continues to provide for us even when there are times I can't see how He might possibly get us the money we need to pay the bills, He comes through. I am thinking about how I love being a mother, at home all day with my son, even though sometimes it gets boring, but then I realize how much I sometimes love boredom, because it means that I'm on my own schedule, and I can choose to not be bored by doing something I actually want to do.

Those are my thoughts today...I could go on...I could always go on...as Tim says, my brain never stops...but I think Reuben is finally waking up from his nap, and he needs to be fed...so off I go, until the next time I decide to pour out my thoughts...

Snowbound

I'm having a random bored moment while Reuben is napping, so I thought I'd take the time to get another post in for all you who check back here with regular frequency. The fact that it is snowing today has kind of bummed me out, even though it's pretty, but I'd been planning to walk over to the grocery store this afternoon and pick up some much needed cream and sugar for my morning coffee...drinking it black just isn't the same. Of course there are some other things we need too, but those are the important ones. ;)

I am thanking the Lord that Reuben is finally having a long nap. The last few days he's been stuck on 30 and 45 minute naps, which makes for a very long day of constantly trying to get him to go to sleep. My brilliant plan to get him to 2 hour and a half naps with a 45 min catnap late in the afternoon has not worked out quite as I'd hoped. If I could just get him past that morning 30 minute nap we'd be all set. *sigh* One of these days. You gotta love how children just seem to run on their own schedule, as much as we try to teach them that there are better ways of going about things...

I've been trying to also get into the habit of taking him outside for short periods in the afternoon. We don't stay out for long because there's really not much for him to do out there other than sit in the snowbank and watch my pathetic attempt at making a little snowman. It melted before I could get a picture taken for you. I think we both appreciate the opportunity, however short, for some fresh air and sunshine.

The last few days I have been having an interesting time looking quite seriously at the option of taking care of kids at our home as a way of having a job next fall without having to leave Reuben. The only thing is that we don't have a whole lot of space in our current home, so theoretically we would have to have moved into a house in order for me to take in enough children to make it worth while. I'm considering seeing if I can find someone who wants part-time care to start potentially in the spring, so I can see how I like it and if it will work out for us or not. We will have to see how things go.

Anyway, I think Reuben will be waking up shortly, so I'll end off with some pictures of him in the snow...what a cutie!

Just thought I'd share...

Reuben has officially learned how to roll onto his stomach from his back. His arm gets a bit stuck, but eventually he's able to get it free...

*sigh* ...they grow so fast...

Moving through life

Well, I've come to realize I've been slacking off again on my updating, so prepare yourself for a long post...well, maybe not so long on the writing, but I'll put up a number of pictures anyway.

Life continues to move along in that way it does. We're already almost through February and Reuben is nearly 5 months old. It is absolutely amazing how fast time flies when you have an infant child! There are still moments when it's hard for me to believe how I could be so blessed to have such a wonderful baby. His smiles have the power to make my heart melt and his laughter fills our house with such joy. He is able to sit up on his own for longer and longer periods, and he just loves to bounce in the jolly jumper. He hasn't gone back to sleeping through the night yet, but I have hopes that we'll get there soon. Maybe he'll be one of those babies that needs to go on solid foods first.

Work is going well for Tim. They're coming out of their slow season at work and soon he'll be doing shows almost every weekend again. I can't say as I particularly like it when things are that busy, but I know that he loves his job, so I don't complain too much. ;) And as long as he gets some days off during the week, we get used to the weird hours.

I like being home all the time with Reuben. Slowly I find ways to fill my days with chores, cooking supper, random house projects like finally cutting our Ikea curtains to the right length. I'm always thinking about what job I'll take once my maternity leave is up, and I'm actually very seriously considering babysitting in my home as an option. We'll have to see...

Anyway, here are all the pictures I said I'd post:

A new video...

Reuben likes to be in the jolly jumper...

The promised pictures...

For those of you who may not have checked back here in a while, you will probably need to scroll down to catch up on all the updating I've been doing...believe it or not I've posted quite a bit in the last two days...







If you look closely, you can see the teeth in the bottom of his mouth in this one:


Uncle Jonny is not teaching Reuben good behaviour, but I will admit it'd kind of a cute picture:

I have a caffeine addiction

In a sort of random and inexplicable way, I am feeling particularly good about life this morning. I'm not sure why. There isn't anything particularly special about this morning. We slept a little later than normal (read that: Reuben slept a little later than normal so the rest of us got to sleep in too.) The extra sleep was greatly appreciated, but meant that we kinda missed church.

So I think both of those things, the sleeping in and missing church, cancel each other out as far as making this a good morning. I like sleeping in, but I don't like missing church. I did have my morning coffee earlier than usual...perhaps this is the cause of my elevated mood. Or maybe I'm just really enjoying the fact that it's a beautiful day outside, I'm home with my husband and infant son, and I don't have to grumble about the fact that tomorrow is Monday and the work week will be starting all over again. I really don't miss having to go to work every day. Occasionally I miss the contact with people, but then I just call up a friend, or remind myself that Coffee Break is on Tuesday, and Wing's Night with our friends is on Wednesday, and then it's only two more days till the weekend when my husband is home all day from work anyway.

My life is weird.

...and I think it's a fairly safe bet to say that it's the caffeine causing my good spirits...I'm starting to feel somewhat jittery, and my fingers are typing faster and faster...

I have to admit I probably spend way too much of my time at home online, and not enough cleaning house and doing laundry. I'm part of a message board with women who all had babies at the same time as me, and I enjoy sharing stories with them about baby milestones and frustrations. I can be proud of myself this week though: we got ground beef on sale at the grocery store, a whole 10lbs worth, so I fried up a whole pile of it, and made enough meat loaf to last for a month! Yay me! Yet another step into housewife-hood. I really felt like my mother when I was separating the beef into little baggies to put into the freezer. I remember her doing the same thing when I was a kid. All in the name of savings...

anyway, I've been rambling on for long enough, and clearly need to find an outlet for this caffeine energy. Maybe I'll do dishes or something...yeah...right... Oh, and I will get on those pictures yet sometime soon...

He has a tooth!

Yes, you read that right, Reuben has his first tooth! My parents came down for Reuben's baptism that was yesterday, and when my dad was playing with him he found it. Of course, then the rest of us all came running and had to put our fingers in Reuben's mouth to feel it too... And there it was, a sharp little tooth poking through on the bottom. You can see that there's another one next to it that will come soon as well. My little boy is growing so fast...

We had his baptism yesterday in the evening service at Mountainview CRC. A fair number of family and friends were able to come and celebrate with us, and we enjoyed the opportunity to see everyone again. Reuben did very well for the service; he didn't even cry when he got sprinkled. I think he actually smiled at the pastor for that part. I'll post pictures later when I get them off the camera.

Other than that news, things are going well here at home. I've settled well into a routine of things finally, and I'm enjoying my new role as a mother and housewife. Coffee is an essential part of my morning, and I am ever so grateful that Facebook has a Scrabulous application. I've been once again conscripted to assist with sponsorship for this year's All Ontario Youth Convention. Thankfully I am no longer the leader of the team, and only have to worry about contacting the universities and a few other long-standing supporters. I may need to invest in a printer...

Well, I will head off for now. Pictures to come later...

He's rolling!

Well, Reuben hit another milestone today. He rolled from his stomach onto his back! He did it several times in a row, so we know it's not a fluke. A couple of times he got stuck on his arm and needed a bit of help, but the rest was all him. We've also gotten a couple of good pictures of him smiling, as you can see: