My Baby...14 years old!

14 years ago today, my life drastically changed...I became a Mom. I never realized how much being a Mom changes everything in your life. I had a new title. I was not only daughter, sister, and wife, I became Momma. Precious title, isn't it? The minute I found out I was carrying my baby inside of me, I completely fell in love with him. When I saw him that loved expanded and grew...it was truly love at first sight. Being a mother takes so much energy, thought, and time. It's the hardest job ever, but the most rewarding. I'm so blessed to have my Josh as my son.

Josh is such a gentlemen and thoughtful towards me. Now, don't get me wrong, he definitely teases me, scares me, and plays practical jokes on me (So much like his Daddy!), but he also makes sure I don't lift anything too heavy, opens doors for me, and is so protective of me. I am so blessed!

Josh has grown up so much this year! He's now 5 feet 7 inches. He weighs 110 pounds, which he says is all muscle! :o) He likes to show off his biceps sometimes. Boys will be boys! We've given him more responsibilities this year, like staying home without us, having a small job, and he's our trashman, too!

Josh loves to tell jokes. Mostly very corny! He's a lot like Pastor Strange, he's got a great memory for jokes! He's also been practicing since October learning to Juggle. He's gotten very good! He also really loves to do magic tricks and is coming up with a Gospel Magic routine.

Joshua still likes to play outside doing things like basketball, football, baseball, (any sport, really!), hide and go seek...you name it, he loves being outside! He's hoping for some camping time this year.

I was so glad that his Grammy was able to be here for his birthday. She made it very special for him. Do you like his new suit? Thanks, Grammy!

Patrick and Joshua share such a sweet relationship. Josh has always tagged along wherever his Daddy went...from quick trips to the store, to fishing and hunting. They are so much alike, that it's scary! (Pray for me! Two Patricks...oh dear!) I'm so thankful they are so close. They not only have a Father/Son relationship, but they're also friends. Thank you, Lord.

We started off the morning with birthday pie. This year Josh requested Key Lime.

Then, at church they sang "Bonne Fete" to him.

Then, Denise took us all out to lunch. It was very delicious!!! In this picture they're trying to remember how to make a chicken out of a napkin (Mom, I think we need another tutorial on this!)

I ordered the grilled Vegetable Sandwich...Oh Wow!!! It was wonderful!!

Denise wanted Josh to order something really special. Josh was going to get a burger, but she talked him into the Surf and Turf. He loved it! He said the Lobster was amazing.

Happy Birthday my boy! I sure do love you. I'm so thankful that you're so good to me and your Dad. You treat me so special and make me so proud. You're such a great example to Beth, Brenna, Silas, and Callie. Keep serving the Lord. Give him your whole heart, you'll never regret it!

Love, Momma

Cooking With Grammy

We're enjoying our visit with Denise and Marc. But, we had to halt plans for a little bit. On the way to the park Wednesday Brenna started feeling bad. We thought maybe she was just carsick. She started feeling a little better, but when we got home....well, let me just say...I think she ate a whole lot of strawberries earlier in the day! How do I know? Have you ever seen bright pink...maybe I'll just leave it at that. She's feeling better now, I'm so glad! The kids have enjoyed cooking with Grammy. First, Silas helped sample her Johnny Cake dough. Patrick's always wanted me to learn how to make her Johnny Cakes. It's one of those recipes that she makes, but doesn't have the measurement. Well, me and Brenna watched and tried to figure it out. They tasted wonderful!

Then, she taught Josh how to make Patties. Joshua loves Jamaican Patties, but Denise makes them with a St. Thomas twist. They were also excellent!!

Visiting with Denise and Marc

We are so excited to have Patrick's Mom and brother come for a visit. We've got lots of fun things planned this week! We took them to the mall and rode the roller coaster and a couple of other rides. Josh is having a great time having another guy in the house! Blurry pic, I know, but can you see how excited Patrick is to ride the roller coaster? He had his hands up the whole time!

We went for a walk in our walking park.

Yay! Callie Grace is awake! She still sleeps a lot.

Silas loves to throw rocks in the water. Somehow he ended up in the water! Boys!

Patrick is glad to have some time with his baby brother, Marc. I'm glad he's got this time with him, too. I'm so thankful they were able to come for a visit. Now, we're excited for a great week!

Thanks for the bikes, Grandpa and Grandma

Last week my Dad called and said he wanted to buy the kids some bikes to enjoy for the time that we have left in Canada. I think my Mom talked to him about our great neighborhood and how it would be perfect for bikes, so they decided to buy the kids some! They were extremely excited to put it lightly! They told us how much we could spend on each bike, and we began shopping!! We found Josh's bike at the flea market and the girls at a yard sale. They love their bikes already and two nights ago we told them it was time to quit riding for the day! (It was 9:55pm and they were having races around our house!)

Summer Study with my Girls II

The girls and I continued on our summer study of the virtuous woman. I was so proud that they had remember to memorize Proverbs 31:10, 11.

In this week's study we looked at verse 12 where it says to do him good and not evil. (this is talking about the husband, but this can also apply to any man figure in their life, like their Daddy and brother) One way to do them "good" is to apply the fruits of the spirit to our life whenever we have any interaction with our "men" (or really with anyone!) the three that really stood out to my girls is love, temperance and longsuffering. Sometimes we don't always get treated the way we want. Joshua is a typical older brother and likes to bother and annoy his sisters sometimes. Even though they can't control his actions, they can show longsuffering and temperance toward him. Sometimes it's easy to get angry when things aren't exactly the way we like them. (I guess this is not just for my girls :o) We talked a lot about the verse in Proverbs that says a soft answer turneth away wrath. As ladies we need to make sure and apply this verse to our lives. Not that their Daddy and brother show them "wrath", but when there is some frustration it's best to have a soft answer and to not argue.

Our assignments for this week:

Memorize Proverbs 31:12 and quote along with verse 10 and 11.

To put Proverbs 15 into action and have a soft answer. Then, the girls and I will talk with each other next week about ways we were able to do this

Happy Father's Day, Dad!

My Dad is a wonderful Father. He has four daughters, and I'm number 3. There are so many wonderful things I can say about my Dad. He's faithful to his job as a Dad, he was there for every game I ever played, every time I sang in church, everytime I ever had an awards ceremony or was involved in anything! He was always there to cheer me on. I've always known that he loves me very much and is very proud of me. My Dad is a family man. Everynight he would come home from work and we would have dinner on the table for him. We always sat around the table together and had dinner and talked about our day. I'm realizing as I grow older that not many families seem to do that! I remember watching for Dad to come home and wanting to be the first to give him a hug. My Dad is an extremely hard worker. He owns "Willoughby Auto Sales" and is the perfect example of having an excellent work ethic. He takes his job of providing for his family very seriously.

My Dad is a wondeful husband. Growing up I always thought it was so gross when my parents would kiss. I'm not saying that it's not gross anymore, but I love that my parents are still in love and want to be together. While my Mom was here we skyped my Dad a few times. You could tell he missed her very much, but was also happy that she was able to come here. How sweet!

My Dad is a wonderful Father-in-law. My Dad and Patrick have an excellent relationship. They say that a girl usually marries someone like her Dad. In my case, it's true. They have the same exact sense of humor, play the same tricks on me, and act goofy at the same time. Having them in the same room is sometimes a little traumatic for me! They also love a lot of the same things...cars, fishing, boats, tools, dumb jokes :o), and me! Dad has been like a father to Patrick and a best friend at the same time. I know Patrick really misses my Dad while we live away.

My Dad is a wonderful Grandfather. It's so neat to see how much my Dad adores his Grandchildren. I love it how he's not afraid to make silly faces and say goo goo gah gah and climb down on the floor and play with his grandchildren. He finds special things to do with each of them. My kids love to be with their Grandpa and miss him very much. He's also a great source for shoes and bikes! (More on that in another post!)

I wish I could be with my Dad on Father's Day. Living away can sometimes be hard. I just hope my Dad knows how much I love him.

Dad,

Thanks for being a wonderful Dad and for loving me and encouraging me. Thanks for checking on me and truly caring about me. I know you want me to be happy and want what's best for me.

I love you so much! Happy Father's Day!

Kami

Another Great Family Fun Night!

Patrick was in charge of planning the activities for Friday night. He told us at the beginning of the week that we must put a Bible verse to a tune and teach it to the family on Friday night. Everyone came up with different verses, Beth and Josh put their verses to a nursery rhyme. And Brenna and I used hymns. They turned out very good and I think this is such a great way to memorize a Bible verse!

Then we were divided into teams for two competitions.

The first was Bible quizzes and riddles. For some of the questions Patrick wrote sentences that had a book of the Bible hidden in it. Our job was to find the hidden book. It was hard, but we all did great!

Then, we had some water balloon games. One of them was a little nerve wracking for me! One team had to sit in a chair while the opposing team threw water balloons at them. Of course, Josh was the one throwing at me! ( I think Patrick rigged this one a little!) They got a point for each time they made the balloon pop on the opposing team (no head shots were aloud) I had a very difficult time being hit with freezing balloons! Brenna said he should have filled them with warm water at least! When it was my turn to throw, I couldn't seem to hit Josh at all!!

It was great competition and me and Beth were victorious!! Yay!

Then, we had some Caribou stew...that's right! Caribou! My friend Estelle gave us some and I've been trying to decided how to cook it. Since my Mom left we've been addicted to her beef stew. I'm so glad she showed me how to make it! I've made it three times already! So, I made the caribou into Caribou stew and it was excellent! We all liked it!

Thanks to my Sweetie for some great family time!

Callie Grace~6 Weeks Old!

My Callie Grace turned 6 weeks old yesterday. Here's a few tidbits about my Callie Grace:
~Last night she slept 7 hours! Yipee!
~She had her 6 week checkup today and she weighs 9 pounds and 9 ounces. That's 2 lbs and 1 oz. gained! She also now is 22 1/4 inches tall
~She has a very tiny head. She's in the 10th percentile.
~She just started smiling for us, but she really makes us work for it!
~She is an excellent sleeper, but is starting to wake up more during the day.
~She is adored by all of her family!

(Love the cute shoes? They're from her Aunt Keela and Uncle William!)

My New Rocking Chair

Last week Callie started fussing during church. I took her upstairs to Pastor Roy's living room (we're meeting in his house on Wednesday nights until they get a building for the church) and sat and rocked her in their rocking chair. It was so nice and comfy! I cuddled with Callie and watched her gently fall asleep. I thought about how baby days pass so quickly. Rocking your child to sleep happens less and less as your child gets older.

After church I told Patrick that I would really like a rocking chair. I want more moments rocking my baby while I have them to enjoy and savor. We have a glider in our living room is broke. (it's the landlords. Our house that we rent here in Canada is furnished.) It's like there is a big bump in the track and half way through a rock you hit a huge bump and then there's the awful SCREEEECH. Not suitable for taking baby to dreamland! On our way home from school Friday we saw a yard sale at a local business. Out front was this rocking chair. A little old, but in good condition. It was very cheap, so Patrick bought it for me. When we got home he took off the awful skirting. Wow! What a change! Then, I recovered the cushions in some brownish/rust colored fabric.

It is soooo comfy and inviting, and guess what? It rocks without a huge bump along the way!! It's smooth and I've enjoyed many moments with Callie and Silas. Seperate sometimes, and sometimes both of them at the same time! I love the arms....the woodstain has been worn off. You can tell this rocking chair has been lovingly used. I wonder who was rocked to sleep in this chair? Who had stories told to them here? Who was loved and cuddled in this chair?

Thank you, honey, for my rocking chair! I love that you bought it for me simply because you love me and want to fulfill all my dreams. You're my Prince Charming!

Finger Paint Family Fun Night

We had another great FFN last Friday. My blogging friend/fellow missionary wife posted on her blog about washable finger paint.http://caribbeanmissionarywife.blogspot.com/. I decided it would be a fun activity to try. The kids had fun painting messages, flowers, and shapes into our table cloth.

We let Silas try to paint, but when he saw the paint in the bowls he started to eat it. Oh dear!

Then, we had a great Bible Time together. Everyone picked one hymn that they would like and we enjoyed singing together. Then, Patrick announced that we are going to start doing a Bible Survey study together. We did an overview study of books of the Bible and their themes. It's going to be a very good study!

Earlier in the week we voted on our dessert for FFN. Josh finally won with his idea of Cherry Cola Cake (he's been wanting to try this recipe for a while!) I've had this recipe for a long time but just have never tried it. I received it from our church's newsletter, SoundBytes. It was very delicious and Josh delivered 3 pieces to our neighbor, Mr. Gabe.

How about you? Have you enjoyed some Family Fun with your blessings this week?