Teaching Silas to Color

Brenna has been teaching Silas to color. She was very proud of his work of scribbled art afterward and was very proud to show it to Grandparents that night on Skype. I thought I would give a quick update on school. ACE curriculum in working very well for us. JEB continue to do school during our Language School time. They usually only have a small amount of work left when they get home. They say they really like it. It's amazing, because this year's favorite subjects have switched around for everyone. Brenna is finding out that she likes Science, Josh likes English, and Beth just likes them all. We leave for Niagara Falls on Friday (I may mention more about that tomorrow) and I'm glad they are able to bring school with them and not fall behind. That is the hardest thing about homeschooling...when you fall behind it feels very overwhelming to "catch up!" We did a really neat Science project. Here's what we did:
~Fill a glass half full of water
~add three large spoonfuls of salt to the water and stir until dissolved.
~place egg in salt water. (It's really neat because the egg floats!)
~now, very carefully and slowly, pour fresh water over egg until glass is full. (Don't mix water)
~Egg should still be floating in salt solution, but on the bottom of fresh water! So Cool!!
~then, stir water and watch the egg rise to the top!
It was an experiment to see how solutions affect things. We were so excited it turned out! Sometimes school experiments don't always go as planned!

Season must haves?

Okay, I would love to hear some opinions on this subject...(most girl's favorite subject!) ~Clothes~
Okay, here's the scenario...Fall is here and the weather is turning cooler... Yay! This is definitely my 5th baby, so I'm starting to show a little early. What are some must haves to pair with a jean skirt or maybe khaki? If you could buy just 2 things, what would they be?

The Spatula has been passed!

I forgot to mention in my last post that during our Family Fun Night on Friday night, Patrick passed the hamburger spatula to Josh. Joshua is now in charge of flipping hamburger duty! Josh has been flipping our pancakes for about 2 years now. He asked Patrick, "Can you tell they're done when the edges bubble?" Josh took his job seriously and the burgers were fabulous!

Random Thoughts

My sister, Taylin, had been doing a Random Thoughts Thursday on her blog. It's always so interesting to hear things that are happening "randomly." Well, it's not Thursday, but I thought I'd post a few "random happenings."
~Friday Night's Family Fun Night was another success! We had an All-American Meal of Hamburgers and French Fries. OOHHH I love that meal! Then, we voted to make Key Lime Cheesecake for our dessert. It was pretty good, but this is the second cheesecake I've made here and we've noticed the cream cheese is different here. I think they add salt to it or something. For the week during our devotion time we all had been reading in the book of Acts. Patrick challenged us to keep a list while we read of everytime we notice anything to do with missions. It was so interesting to see the children pick things out. Everyone's list was different. I'm so thankful my children have a heart to read God's Word. Then, we played the game O-Shaw...I lost :o( Brenna won
~1st Trimester Pregnancy feelings are definitely kicking in. I have been pretty tired lately and Silas's afternoon naptime has become my naptime, too! Slight queasiness has started happening too. I thought for sure, I wouldn't be able to eat dinner tonight. We tried Caribou for the first time. When I took it out of the package, I thought, Oh dear...I don't like the smell of this. But, I cooked it in the rotisserie with salt, pepper, and garlic and it was oh so good! I wouldn't mind having some more of it! Who would have thought? Caribou!!??!!
~This morning when we woke up it was 35 degrees. Can you believe it? Wow! The leaves are looking gorgeous and I love this time of year! It's my favorite. What about you? What's your favorite season?
So, here's my random thoughts and random happenings for the past few days!

We found a Birth Center!

Yesterday, we went and toured the Birth Center on the South Shore of Quebec. The building was very unique. It's right next to a big Catholic Church. It was built about 200 years ago for the Priest of the Catholic Church to live in. Since they don't have a full-time priest anymore, they don't use the building, so it is now used as a birth center. There are many midwives that practice here. I was assigned an English-speaking midwife! Yipee! She said that no matter how far along I will be in my french in May, that I will probably not want to use it during labor! The philosophy and care reminded me a lot of the birth center in Naples where I had Silas. It was very homey, with a kitchen, and "bedrooms" to have the baby in. Also, there were huge tubs in each room. That's a definite plus! The place was incredibly clean, and we felt very welcome. They have the attitude that birth is natural, unless absolutely medically necessary, intervention isn't necessary. I like that. We decided this is where we want to have our baby. We also have the option to have the baby here at home and have the midwife come to us. Since we have two neighbors living upstairs, we decided against that option, for now. :o)

We're so thankful we found a place we felt comfortable. Of course, if complications arise, a Birth Center Birth will not be an option. Please pray with us now for the health of our new baby and that things will go very smoothly (and quick!) Most of all pray that our baby will accept Christ as Savior at an early age. We want our baby to serve the Lord...that's the only way to have true joy and true peace. What about you? Do you have true joy and true peace in your life? I promise, you'll never regret serving the Lord!

Big Brother Josh

When we found out we were expecting Silas, all three of our children were excited. We knew they would all love their younger sibling, but we are a little amazed at how much. I'm sure there have been times of unnoticed jealousy in the past 8 months, but we have not seen it. JEB truly adore Silas and still love to have time to play with him. We always knew Beth and Brenna would love to help with Silas. We knew they would change diapers, change clothes, feed him, and all sorts of "mothering" things. We just sort of figured they would love that...and they really do. We knew Josh would be a great big brother, but we really didn't know how involved he would be with the "hands on" stuff of baby care. Josh has become the model big brother. With the girls he's very protective. He has the attitude, "No one can annoy my sisters...but me!" Is that good, or not? Still trying to figure that one out! :o) Josh truly seems to love his time with Silas. Sunday morning we had a 35 minute drive to a church we had never been to before. So, needless to say, we were rushing around getting ready. Josh came and got Silas and took him to their room to play. Josh has been showing Silas toys that he has in a box under his bed, and Silas loves them. Especially to suck on them! But, that is how Josh has been, ready to play with his brother.

One thing Josh really doesn't do is change diapers. We've made him change two....it was a sort of "you need to learn this for when you're a Daddy" type thing, he was fine with learning, but he'd rather not do that anymore! So, I don't make him. Patrick and I are trying not to fall into the trap of letting our older siblings do too much for the younger ones. The Christian life is a life of balance, and we're trying to balance teaching them to be a help, but let them be brothers and sisters, not second parents. Know what I mean? From time to time Josh asks if he can pick out Silas's clothes for the day and get Silas ready. Josh did that today, and what a blessing! (You should have seen the socks! Beth wanted to know if they really matched that outfit!)

My main reason for this post is to do a little bragging on my son. I think it must sometimes be hard being the first born. He's been our "practice kid". We've made bunches of mistakes in parenting. I think it always helps when we go to Josh and tell him "I'm sorry, I've messed up." One of my greatest desires is for our children to see that we are real, and with being real, they'll see we make mistakes, too. It's probably hard for first born children because they always have younger eyes watching them. They're always an example, whether good or bad. I'm truly thankful E, B and S have Joshua for a big brother. I know he's not perfect, but he loves his sisters and brother and watches out for them. He's a true help to me and Patrick.

I love you, Josh and I'm so proud of you!

Gorgeous Day!

Today has been busy, busy, busy. We've completed much, and still have much left to do. Of course, we had our shopping incident (read post before this), we did a day of school (JEB finished several paces and I graded their PACE test...all A's Yay!), some cleaning, laundry caught up, and music practice. Tonight starts the National Preacher's Conference of Canada. I am the piano player for this, so I've been practicing "O Canada". Part of me wants to give equal time to practicing "The Star Spangled Banner"! :o) It was nice this afternoon to spend a little bit of time outdoors between our busyness. I think after school and then a conference tonight, the kids need this time of fresh air! I called the weather number (Meteo) and they are calling for a high of 22 degrees Celsius today. Does anyone know what that is farenheit off the top of their head? We're learning the metric system pretty well...another step the Lord is preparing us for St. Barths! I heard there won't be too many days like this left, so I'm glad we got to enjoy it.

If you look good, you can see Silas's three teeth! The fourth is just about completely broke through.

I'm glad I had a chance to post these pics before we leave tonight. I know Mom, Dad, and Denise will like seeing the kids get fresh air. Growing up, my Mom was a BIG fan of fresh air...she made me go outside. I'm not so sure I always liked it then, but now I love being outside. My Dad is outside ALL day long working, so I know he's a fan of fresh air, too. Denise was asked the other day by a car passing, "Who does your lawn?" Of course, she does, and does such a terrific job. So, these pictures are for the Grandparents! We love you guys!

As I'm typing I hear showers running and people getting ready for tonight. I sure do love my family and the joy that they bring.

Our Latest Adventure

Patrick wrote about our latest adventure with the police on our family blog. A little scary for my Elisabeth!
Here's the link:
gimenezfamilylife.blogspot.com

Ribs and a Movie Family Fun Night

*Warning...Your mouth may water!!*

Patrick found a terrific deal at our grocery store, Maxi on Ribs. We were able to get 3 packs of ribs for $15! Since, we love BBQ Ribs, we decided to feast on them for family fun night. ( By the way, we had so much leftover, we had some for lunch today and still have some left in the fridge!) Patrick slow- cooked the ribs for several hours, then broiled them until they were slighty crisp. Oh, they were so good! Then, we voted on which dessert to have. We chose this one, Lovely Cherry Layer Cake. I ripped this recipe out of Taste of Home magazine several years ago, and have never tried it. Wow! Why did we wait so long? It has a homemade buttercream frosting. In between the layers of white cake was a cherry chocolate cannoli filling. Since it was a full size cake, we gave away a large portion to our upstairs neighbor, Gabe. He liked it, too!

Last week, we noticed how Silas loves to watch football on TV. Beth found the Toy Story DVD and said Silas would love to watch it! It's been a while since we've watched a movie, so we decided to do a movie night with Popcorn. Silas loved Toy Story...for the first 5 minutes, then he just played with his toys on the floor. Oh well, he'll love movies eventually. The rest of us enjoyed his movie for him! Then, I got so sleepy! Usually that is my first symptom of being pregnant, being tired! Well, it's starting to hit me now! I guess I really am going to have another baby! :o)

Our Brenna...A One of a Kind!

Brenna has a very unique personality...and sense of style. She's the type of girl who knows what she likes and sticks with it, and it may not always be what is "popular" for the day...she is definitely an individual! We've been trying to get all of our winter gear ready for the cold months ahead. It's been a blessing to find some good Friperie (thrift store) to get some good deals. The very first day, Brenna spotted a fur coat and now has been dreaming to have one. I don't think Patrick is all that crazy about our little girl wearing a Fur Coat.

So, when we were at the Friperie the other day, Patrick spotted this fur scarf. Without Brenna knowing, he bought it for her. He told me this would for sure satisfy her desire for a fur coat! She was so excited when he showed her what he bought for her. She loves it! She's been wearing it all over the house (look at last weeks family fun night pictures). Beth and I have not been all that excited to find little furry hairs all over the house from her scarf! Ugh!

Well, Patrick's plan, unfortunately didn't work. Brenna hung a list in her room, that for Christmas she just HAS TO HAVE a Fur Coat and Fur Hat to match her new scarf! Oh Boy!

This week (even though it's not over yet) hasn't been our greatest week. We've been fighting some sort of "bug". Yuck! It started on Monday with a few stomach issues with some of us (I'm trying to be sweet and not list names and specifics :o) Then, Beth and Josh started to run a low grade fever. Then, it was Silas's turn. It ended up we all had just a touch of something. Praise the Lord it went quickly! Do you notice that sicknesses like that can really drain you? So, Wednesday I missed school to say home with Brenna and Silas. I made some homemade Potato/Chicken soup and served it with Grilled Cheddar Cheese sandwiches. Even though we weren't feeling well, we still had plenty of homework to do. I'm praying that some of this info will stick in my brain. We're learning a lot about masculine and feminine, and how to ask questions. I've also been on the hunt for a OB or preferrably a midwife. I think I've found a Birth Center with several midwives that speak English. I talked with one Sage-femme (midwife) today and she seemed a lot like my midwife, Dawn. I love using a midwife and the philosophy they have. She is ordering an ultrasound for me that I should have some time next week. I'm praying that there will be an opening for me to have the baby at the Birth Center (they only accept 22 per month, BUT they haven't begun to register for ladies due in May. They think I'm at the top of the list.) Once again, I'm feeling the strain of a language barrier. Even searching for a doctor online has been very difficult. I'm so thankful Madame Estelle has done a lot of calling for me. Hopefully when the baby comes I'll be ready to communicate in French, but I think I'll probably be wanting to speak in English ;o)
I think we are now on the mend and ready for a weekend full of homework!

My Turn in the Nursery

Every Sunday morning it is my turn in the nursery. This is when Silas eats, so I have to be in there! This week about half-way through the service, I had a special visitor. This is a picture of Ines. Ines and her family moved to Quebec about a month ago from the Ivory Coast. They do not know English, and I barely know French. When she came into the nursery we both said "Bonjour!" Then, I asked her how her week was at school. (Patrick and I were practicing on the way to church how to ask them that) From what I can tell she has been tired and cold. I realized she's probably experiencing a good bit of culture shock moving here. Ines tried to talk and she played with Silas some. I decided since I didn't really know how to say "You should probably go back into the church service", that I would try to talk to her. Even though we've been here since May, we've only had about 10 classes in French. It is still very difficult for us to communicate and understand. When you understand MAYBE one word per sentence, it can be very difficult. We thought we'd be moving along much faster, but we're studying our hardest, and praying the Lord will bless our weak minds! :o) She began to take out toys....I would say every word I could think of about the toy....door, window, car, etc. She would then teach me things I didn't know. We would both laugh when we couldn't understand each other. I pulled out my French-English dictionary and figured out how to tell her that she is now my teacher. I also told her "Thank you for being very patient!"

Then, I got out my camera to take a picture of her and Silas. She loves Silas, especially his hair. Then, she wanted to take pictures. Ines is truly a sweetheart, very soft spoken and ready to be a blessing.

I realized Sunday that I have a very long way to go in learning my French. I also learned that kids are kids, whether they're from Ivory Coast, Canada, or the USA. God has given me a burden to reach children. I want to tell them that the Lord loves them and show them how much fun being a Christian can be. I want to teach them how to have true Joy! I'm so thankful the Lord let me and Ines try to communicate. I've made a friend and I'm so thankful.

We have an announcement to Make!

Patrick posted the announcement on our family blog....here's the link!
gimenezfamilylife.blogspot.com
He's very proud, so I'm letting him share the news!

A Special Treat

We went to a Missions Conference in Sherbrooke, Quebec on Saturday. We knew we had a 2 1/2 hour trip ahead of us and we were hungry for dinner. Madame Estelle rode with us and she brought some amazing McDonalds coupons. So, we stopped for dinner! Yay! It's been a very long day since we've had McDonalds!....4 months (127 days) to be exact. :o) On deputation, if we were travelling without our Motorhome, we ate McDonalds a lot. It's just about the cheapest place and it's very quick for when you're trying to hurry to the next meeting. To say the least, we've missed it!

GameTime Family Fun Night

For this past Friday's Family Fun Night we all wrote down our favorite family game on a piece of paper, then we folded it up and put it in front of Silas. The first one he picked is the game we played. He picked Beth's paper and she had written down the dice game. Some people call it Zilch. We had a hearty competition, but Beth won! Then, we picked another paper. Patrick's was picked, and guess what is said??....The Dice Game! Since we already played it, Patrick wanted to try to recreate a game he saw a commercial for. We got out our scrabble tiles and everyone got 12 tiles. Then, with the rest of the tiles we formed 2 4-letter words. Then, at the same time everyone put tiles over the tiles to form words. It was a lot of fun! We laughed over the words we came up with!

We also played a couple of computer math games. We're trying to get quicker on our multiplication and division. We found a great sight! Here's the link Cool math 4 kids .com - Online Math Games . I think Patrick and Josh are loving the Coffee Shop game.

Then, for dinner we had Pulled BBQ Pork, Baked Beans and Brenna's Coleslaw. Brenna has become an expert Coleslaw Maker...the best I've ever had! And, we had Chapman's Chocolate Ice Cream for dessert. It was a very relaxed and enjoyable Family Fun Night!

My Silas is 8 Months

On September 6, Silas turned 8 months old. He's growing into such a fun little man. He makes all of us laugh and we all find ourselves watching his every move.
Here's a few of his latest that he does:
-He can stand all by himself. I think he's ready to walk anyday now. I know it's early, but he's so steady !
-He has a funny habit where he holds up his pointer finger and puts it by his cheek. I want to get a picture of this. It's pretty weird, but adorable.
-He is (still) eating very well. He likes everything we give him. We're trying to give him finger foods. He loves Baby Mums (It's a rice husk cracker) and his latest is bread. He's still not very good at feeding himself. He tries to put food in his mouth, but it usually goes to his lap. It's funny because once he misses, he chews anyway, with no food!
-He finally has the hang of his cup and loves when I add a little juice to his water.
-He loves bathtime!
-Says "Da-da" "Nay-Nay" (usually says this only when he is hungry) "Ba-Ba" and some unknown language where he puts his tongue in and out while he's making sounds.
-I think Silas believes when the Pastor is making announcements, he's actually just having a conversation with Silas. Silas is Very talkative and loud during announcements!

We're so thankful for our precious baby boy! Children truly are an heritage from the Lord! We pray everyday for Silas to accept the Lord as his Savior as soon as he understands, That is the most important decision he will ever make!

Silas, I'm so thankful for you, my little Mr. Boone. You bring me such joy and I love watching you grow up and try new things. You're growing so quickly, and time is going by so fast. I love my time with you and I'm cherishing every moment...Love, Momma

Cerise de Terre

Our landlord has lots of different things planted in the garden. He showed us this fruit (I'm not sure if it's a fruit, vegetable, or what?) It is called Cerise de Terre, which means "Cherry of the Land". It doesn't taste like a cherry, more like a tomato. I told Josh to pick me 15 of them to put in our salad.

After you pick them, you peel away the outer "leaf". I don't know if it's a leaf or not, but that's what it feels like. Brenna did the "peeling away" part.

Then, we put them in a nice green salad sprinkled with Rice Vinegar and served with Pickled Beets (This is one of Beth's favorites) and cottage cheese. Delicious!

Language School

Our first "official" day of Language School was yesterday. Class went great! Our professor is Madame Plant. She is a retired Language Professor from Laval University here in Quebec. We have private classes in her home Tuesday through Friday. She's very gracious to let us bring our four children with us! We brought Silas's pack and play and it works out very well that our class is during part of his nap. Yesterday and today he took a good nap and I was able to stay completely focused on French class. JEB worked on their school Paces at her kitchen table. Today, she even had a basket of cookies for them to snack on during school.

I really like Madame Plant's teaching style. I seemed to "click" with her right away. She speaks to us mostly in french. At times, we stare at her with blank looks, but, for the most part we are really learning to pick up our french by her speaking to us completely in french. She uses many different aspects in her teaching. We have oral dictation, oral workbook pages, internet games, and translating current events. She's really training our ear, and making us form sentences. Very difficult! But, this is exactly what we need. She also had us pick a passage in the Bible that we will be working on translating and some other things with.

The Lord had His guiding hand on us when He brought us to Quebec and gave us such a good teacher. He is "ordering our steps" and we are so thankful!

My Mother-in-Law

Okay, honestly, when some people hear the word "Mother-in-law" they cringe. Patrick and I both agree that that is not true for us!
Today is my dear mother-in-law's birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DENISE!

I met Denise 16 1/2 years ago when Patrick brought me home to meet his parents. I have to say, I was nervous, but Denise was so sweet and thoughtful and welcoming. We became friends right away. When Patrick went into the Air Force, I visited with Denise and Carlos (and baby Marc) a lot. We would go shopping together and have lunch. I even spent the night a few times. As the years have gone by we've gotten closer and closer and have so much in common. For one, we both love to cook and are always exchanging recipes. She is an excellent cook! We also have the same shoe size and the same taste in shoes. We've even bought the same pair, at seperate times, without realizing the other one already had those shoes! Do I really want to match my Mother-in-law?? :o) Another thing we have in common: We both think that Patrick is wonderful!

Thank you, Denise, my friend, for giving me Patrick. He's such an amazing husband and I'm so thankful you raised him. Thank you for trusting me to take care of him. You are a strong lady and have a sincere desire to serve the Lord. You've accepted me from the beginning, and I'm so thankful for you.

I love you! Happy Birthday!

Kami

Our Weekend

We had a great weekend! On Saturday a couple of ladies from the church invited us over for some more Quebec food. It was delicious! We had Quebec pizza and Italienne Poutine. Poutine is french fries with a gravy on top, or in this case spaghetti sauce, and then on top of that you put cheese curds that squeak. Then, for dessert, they heard Patrick likes Oreos, so they made him an oreo dessert. Wow! It was good!

Silas even had his fair share of Oreo Dessert!

Then, we walked to the park by their house. It was such a gorgeous day! Il fait beau! We realized this was Silas's first time to go down a slide! He loved it and I think JEB loved it just as much to be able to take him down!

We were trying for a cool picture of the four of them on the slide...that didn't exactly happen!

We had excellent service in church on Sunday. Then after church Sunday night we invited people from church to go with us to Casse Croute. It's an ice cream place with lots of extra stuff. Guess what we got...(besides ice cream)....?....POUTINE!! We love the stuff! Come visit us and we'll give you a good sampling of true Quebec food. We're learning, but we love it!