Half-Way Pretty

Come visit us, and we'll take you here.  But it's only half-way pretty right now because the trees are still bald.

Bonus bird.

It has some really interesting architecture.

And roaring,

Falls.

 Lots of them.

A bridge,

With towers.

A staircase,

A protuberance,

A place to tie your shoes,

Here's a picture of Tristan.
Oh.  And a smokestack.

Rocks,

Old buildings,

A Big lake,

A bald tree house,

Stones for one,

Stones for two,

Running commentary,

(click on him to see his cool eye)

Aerial views,

Ice cream,

And Climbing trees.

Really, it's a must see.  And just wait 'til you see what you can do here--

Must.

Make.

Big.

Splash.

huh.

Something tells me that was anti-climactic.

Important Public Service Announcement

To all trampoline owners and those who jump on neighbor's trampolines:  Look closely at the warning signs posted on the trampoline pad.  Do you know what this one means?  Well, luckily we have Sawyer to interpret it for us.  Are you ready?  The above sign means-- "No Humans Allowed".

Thank you, Sawyer, for clearing that up for us.  The world will surely be a safer place.

I'm afraid non-humans aren't off the hook either. Only those non-somersaulting, non-shoe wearing and non-offspring bearing are welcome.

And please leave your knives and cigarettes behind.
Thank you.

A Use For Recyclables

If you don't move your recyclables out to the recycle bin in due time, they will be found and put to use:

Poor Motorcycle Guy. He had no idea his life would turn out like this.

I can relate.

What else is a Munch supposed to do?

Here's a flower to cheer you up.  Amanda brought it to me, it perfumes the whole house.

The kid's think it "smells like bad breath!" and is tantamount to spraying a Home Fragrance spray called "Bad Breath" throughout your whole domicile.

Poor little Easter Lily. Beauty is in the nose of the beholder.

Two Good Things About Convalescing

 First, the kids step in to help.  This morning while I was getting ready, Tristan called through the bedroom door, "Mom, there's a surprise for you on the table!"  He was so excited.  I came out and saw this:

 He'd done it all himself.  And made the executive decision that the pitcher there on the far right should be used for maple syrup. It's the size of a tea pot.  It was full.

The second good thing about convalescing is that they get to eat cereal for breakfast:

  And this is how they feel about that.

Just after the lovely tea table discovery there ensued a squabble over the benefits of cereal:
Kiki proffered, "You guys eat cereal like pigs, you don't need that much. It's like dog food-- dry kibble full of nasty stuff."
"There's no sugar in here." Tristan countered.
"There's five gallons of sugar in there."
"Huh-uh!You're so weird!" Tristan said.
"How much is a gallon Tristan, how much is a gallon?" said Wise Girl.
"It doesn't even say how much sugar is in here.  There's not a gallom!"
"It's gallon, Tristan, a GALLONNN."
"No, Kiki it's in GRAMS!" he said, brandishing the cereal box.
And then Sawyer, the youngest, innocently said the wisest thing of all--
"Kiki, how come you're eating cereal when you don't like it?"

A valid question.

The Whole World's Coming Up Roses

Guess

What

We

Have?

Yes!

Oh, they've needed this.

For a long time.

But Daddy wasn't too keen on it for several years because he thought it was too dangerous. Suddenly he changed his mind.  Kiki was so happy she made this cake to thank him:

Complete with a demonstration of the reservations Daddy use to have.
This--

And this.

We love our new trampoline.

Lessons from a Couch

I never guessed that part of God's plan for me would be to stop doing the things I thought He created me to do. I am a wife and a mother.

I do laundry.
I cook.
I clean.
I cart.
I teach.
I host.
I help.
I partner.
And now...I stop.
I rest.
I sit.
I lay.
I cry.
I watch the things I used to do go on without me. And I ponder verses like:

"In Thy book, they were all written, the days that were ordained for me when as yet there was not one of them." Psalm 139:16

"Behold, I have refined you, But not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction". Isaiah 48:10

And I pray.  I pray for people like the young wife I know who is incapacitated by disease. Her hopes of being a homemaker and vigorous help to her new husband are replaced with waiting to get well and watching him serve her.
And I marvel that part of God's perfect plan for us is giving up everything we thought we were supposed to be, and becoming who He intended us to be through waiting and not doing.
And I see.
I see that "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him". Job 13:15  I used to say. But now I see.
And I plead for those whom God has designed to sit and wait.

A Face For All of Us---The Sequel

Did you know, if you want to work in Canada, you have to have special papers?  And if you want to live there without having to renew these papers every two years, you need to become a permanent resident. You could become a citizen, but who wants to do that? Just kidding,  just kidding! We are die-hard Americans, so all we wanted was to work in Canada without the hassle of renewing our paperwork all of the time.

Almost 2 years ago to the day, we started the permanent residency process. It's not supposed to take two years to complete, but they're also not supposed to lose your paperwork.

When they do lose your paperwork, you have to go back to the border and renew your work permit every two years until they find your paperwork again.  And waiting at the border means wearing a face like Sawyer there, above.

Today we went again, and of course I took my camera.  It was an opportunity I couldn't pass up.  I kept it handy and chronicled what happens to you while you wait for your papers to be processed by an agent:

You arrive and take a seat, thankful that there isn't a line.

It isn't long before you realize the lack of a line was a lie.
.

So you wait.

And wait.

And wait.

And wait. Your head sinks lower with your hopes.

Some acclimate to waiting easier than others.
Dr. Suess-ish, ya think?

Here's the happy family. Yay. 

Someone's in trouble for something.

All manner of bad behavior evidences itself while waiting here.

It's satan. I just know it.

And when you get really bored, you result to things like this:
  nostril bokeh

So, the short version is, now we are the happy recipients of work papers, good 'til 2012.  And now there are TWO faces to choose from when you find yourselves in a line waiting for something that could have been preempted by competent behavior on the part of the government (and I really hope they don't read this blog).

Take your pick:

   2008                                                                         2010