Short Story

A poem by Rebecca Pearl

There is a mighty army
Being trained to stand and fight.
A Battlefield of soldiers
Learning what is right.
A Company of warriors
That will boldly take the Word
To every tribe and nation
Til every soul has heard.
There is a mighty army,
I’ve seen them everywhere.
Most are wearing diapers
And dragging Teddy Bears.
Infants in the training
Drilled in right and wrong.
Mom and Dad are making
Soldiers brave and strong.
There is a mighty army
Trained in righteous war.
Cheer them on to victory,
Children of the Lord!

Future Monet?

...I sure hope so! Today I found TWO lovely drawings, both in places they ought not be...

Brooks drew this one. On the back of my magnetic notepad. On the plus side, his people are really improving!...is that a goatee I spy?

Kenna drew this one. On the kitchen table. God bless Crayola and the invention of washable markers.

Lleyton Grey

The man (baby) of a thousand...names. We are nickname-y people, what can I say? I've even caught myself calling him Lleyt a few times, which I swore I wouldn't!

He's known as Grey to most. Or Lleyton, Greyson, Grey-Grey, Boo, Way Way, Gregory and Chubba. The kids consistently introduce him as Greyson or Gregory. And they complain he doesn't know his name yet...I think he's still trying to figure out WHAT it is!

This kid is very close to the perfect baby. He rarely puts up a fuss about anything. And when he does, it's kind of annoying, because I'm thinking, what could possibly be your deal? You are always so good! He just such a winning personality and big grin! Our Grey-Grey is always smiling:-)

He can eat puffs by himself now, from fingers to mouth. He always uses his left hand. What would be the odds of 2 left-handed children, when neither of us are? He is hitting his milestones nicely. With his traumatic birth there was some interest in that, but it appears his hearing and motor skills are fine, praise the Lord! He can sit and roll over, and likes to transition from sitting to tummy, but does not accomplish this smoothly...and we only have hardwood floors. This has resulted in a few little bruises on his cheekbones, and a few fat lips. He has not yet tried to crawl. He can scooch across the room on his bum, it's very cute! He has no teeth yet, and no sign of them. Kenna was 11 months before one poked through, and he's seeming to be like her in almost every way (minus the intense opinions:-). Kenna never crawled in any way, she went straight to pulling up at 7 months and walking at 10 months. She was at least 8 lbs lighter than he is though, so we don't know if he will be able to accomplish the same feat, with so much chubbiness to lug around! (He's over 20 lbs!). So Brooks is my only child who "followed the books", he got his teeth when he was supposed to, he rolled, then sat, then crawled etc. (Kenna could walk and still could not roll from back to front, and Grey could sit before he could roll - but he can do both ways now!) It's fun to have a few babies to be able to compare what they've done. (Brian never crawled either. Interesting...)

He looks like Brian, with Brian's moms eyes, and my baby fat...He looks most like Kenna (fatter version), only the eyes are a different shape. He has glimmers of my expressions, so I "see me", but he really doesn't look like me at all. He does not like growling/animal noises or loud sounds, he sticks his lower lip out and it actually quivers. So cute. Of course he has 4 of the biggest fans in the world around him all the time!

I think it's pretty safe to say - he is actually adorable. I don't just think that because I'm his mom...he really is!

Recent Savings

Some things I have gotten recently for free or close to free! The pics standing up in the back are on wrapped canvas, I love them!! Note...Kenna's shoes pictured are her old/current ones. I ordered another pair from JC Penney's but they haven't arrived yet, and I got them for .49! (clearance section, with a $10 off & free shipping coupon!) They are almost the same as her old ones, just black shoes for Sundays. For all of this stuff = 4 burgundy towels, 2 pictures turned into canvases, 1 collage print, Lands End shoes for me, Sunday shoes for Kenna. I paid a total of 30.05.

I should have paid...drumroll please...177.93!! That's an incredible savings of 147.88. Granted, I wouldn't have purchased these items (not necessities, maybe other than Kenna's shoes), if they hadn't been very nearly free, but who can pass up (huge, great) towels for under 2.50 shipped?!

My loot. I'm pleased with my online bargain hunting in September!!

Random

Doing school!

Eating puffs, after some squash. He's the cutest kid!!

Baby Shower

Those of you that have facebook have likely noticed my status updates, regarding the 'baby shower of the century'! I got the inspiration and idea from Lauren Mirecki, a friend in Ontario, who also threw a Dr Suess baby shower. What a great idea!! We just ran with the theme! It was so fun!! This shower was for a friend of mine, she also happens to be the daughter-in-law of our pastor...so she's popular! And as it evolved, everyone was invited, co-workers, family, and ladies from church! I couldn't wait to see it all come together. Saturday was the day!! Enjoy some pictures of the grand affair!!

I made 180 of these!

Some food!

Some of the presents!

Thing 1 & 2 cupcakes, and Horton Hears a Who cupcakes

AMAZING CAKE!!

"Congratulations! Today is your day! You're off to great places, You're off and away!" The gift card holders I made, themed after Oh the Places You'll Go. Our gifts for winners of the games were gift cards to Panera Bread, Tropical Smoothie and Starbucks!

Some of the food cards. There's a Wocket in my Pita Pocket...Poodles eating Noodles Salad. We made an Ooey Green Oobleck Punch with lime sherbet and sprite. Yum! Everything was so great!!

Setting up! We had to hold it in the gym, at church, to accommodate the large volume of attendees. I think the balloons did a nice job of distracting the eye from the otherwise drab/industrial room.

Food!

Sarah, in the middle is the Mom-to-be, due in December! Lori (on right) made and decorated the cake. Chani (Lori's sister...is expecting her 5th baby in Jan!)...drew all the characters onto gum paste with food coloring. Wow!! It was truly show-stopping. They did an AMAZING job.

A game we played - Modern Mom. Hold a cell phone on your ear, hold a baby, and hang items of clothing on the line

Two teams competing! We also did a "Now and Then" quiz on Josh & Sarah's baby behaviours, and a Baby Bingo game, based on the gifts she was given. It was fun!

One of the Great Ones

It has been said, there are no great men of God, only weak men, with a great God.

My Grandma (Clarene Shantz), passed from this world, into her eternal home, on Friday evening (October 1st). This news is sad for us, because it's always harder to be left behind, than to be the one moving on to new places. And what better place than heaven!

My Grandma had a life that could be regarded as typical in almost every way. In the grand scheme of the world, she wouldn't stand out in the crowd, I guess, just like most of us. Sure, she had her share of sadness...at the death of her 4 day old baby boy. And of tragedy, when her 18 year old son was killed in an industrial accident. But her life was marked with great joy too. She was a faithful pastors wife for 53 years. She raised her children well, and they love the Lord. She has 18 grandchildren, and 7 (soon to be 10!) great-grandchildren. She was a wonderful cook, loved to entertain, and was very hospitable and helpful. She was very creative and crafty, she loved to paint, crochet, sew...you name it, and she's probably done it, and done it well. She was thrifty, generous, and resourceful. She was practical. She loved the Lord. It was only about 6 six weeks ago, while visiting her, and she was talking about the funeral arrangements she was thinking of. She said,

"I don't want any eulogies. If you don't know what kind of a person I was, there's no point in trying to convince you now. There will be plenty of people there who have never heard or accepted the gospel, and I want the time to be put to good use."

And didn't she have a valid point? There is no need to try to make her out to be better than she was. She was human, and just as imperfect as the next person. But she was remarkable too, and we can (and have!) learned much from her, by the way she lived her life. As a testimony to God. She knew the secret of life...and it's Jesus. She knew that His gift of Life was the the most important thing in the world. She wasn't concerned that her name be lifted up, but that God could be glorified in her death, and the gospel shared to people who are still lost. She was a great lady, and I will miss her very much. I won't be able to attend her funeral, so I am not sure how it will all be, in the end, but I know her wishes will be honoured, and the gospel of Christ shared.
She has left a godly legacy, passed to her children, her grandchildren, and her great-grandchildren...and it will never end.

It has been said that there are no great men of God, only weak men, with a great God.

My Grandma knew this.

And in her weakness, HE was made great.