this & that

Going back to the first day of school.

My grandpa turned 87 at the end of September. Heather & I had tea with my grandparents & I just kept on thinking that here I was at 31 years old enjoying a visit with both of my grandparents. Most often they come over to our homes because their house if far from childproof!

We spent an afternoon at my cousins, Jake & Ally. They back onto the grand river so the guys went canoeing while Ally & I had a nice stroll through the neighbourhood. The boys loved visiting there & so did we!

DoorsOpen in Grimsby. These colourful homes along the lake where once a spot of a major spiritual revival. I am not sure of all of the history but there was a building built for boys of all ages. They received Biblical instruction and guidance. These colourful homes remain but I cannot not imagine choosing the paint and painting every little area of these homes.

Next stop. "Our Gate to your Plate Farm." How about that for a name! This was a great spot for the boys & it got my imagination running too. I am a want-to-be farmer & I envision our boys cheerfully running outside early in the morning to do their chores. Wearing colourful boots, even though there wouldn't be any mud in always bright sunny weather. The reality is that we are really good at growing weeds and some of the animals that we've had in the past have had tragic endings.

                     The laying hens live in a retro trailer out in the field. I love it!

The boys got to throw rotten apples to the pigs. The farmer said to throw about 10 apples but things got out of hand & before he could stay stop - everything was gone. The pigs had a feast.

 

 I had to post these pictures. I was standing in Erik & Rachel's driveway when Erik drove up. He turned off their "good"  van but the van kept on making a loud, strange noise. It sounded like something was about to blow.
It is one thing when you have a vehicle go bad, but in the meantime, Nate and Olivia were twirling in front of their other van. This van didn't look like it was going to go too far either. Talking about a bad day!

Erik explaining the van situation to Rachel. The fact was they would have to start biking around unless at least one van got fixed:)

evangelism conference

This past weekend we had the privilege of attending the Niagara Bible Conference which featured Dr. Pipa as speaker.

 

Dr. Pipa unpacked verses from Scripture in such a way that my mind could not keep up with it. It made me love God's Word even more. Every year the conference is on evangelism & we need to be reminded again & again of how important it is for us to be faithful to our Lord & reach out to those around us.
On Friday night Dr. Pipa related election to evangelism. "If you believe in election you will have a burden for the lost- you will not have a complacent attitude."
Here are some key points from Saturday's speech: Ephesians 6:18-20
-prayer must be the context, environment, & climate of evangelism
-prayer is a sign of life in the Christian, both formally & informally
-when we pray in supplication it is the kind of prayer that God delights in - we plead & come back to the same request over & over again
-this is how we ought to pray for the unbelievers that are in our lives; keep knocking, seeking, & have much perseverance
Dr. Pipa also talked about "contacts" in evangelism. He used Colossians 4:2-4 about the words that we speak being full of grace & seasoned with salt.
-we are the only Bible that people might ever read, our lives must be holy
-we need to walk wisely & intentionally redeeming the time - we are not like a stick in a stream floating along, but we must be purposeful, praying for opportunities to witness
-do acts of kindness, express concern, do something for others even if it inconveniences you- become a servant
-we are called to be faithful, not to produce results
-our speech should be truthful, gentle, attractive, delightful, it should bring joy & calmness
-this is the kind of speech that will provoke questions
-"witnessing is simply boasting about God" - Dr. Pipa

After the conference, these two delightful brothers joined us at our house for lunch. We have not seen them for years, so it was great catching up again.  Eric & Bruce were very instrumental in Adam's spiritual journey when he was a teenager & we will always be thankful to them for their encouragement.


On the home front: Sunday
Dr. Pipa had just started his sermon, when I got called out of church because Tyler was inconsolable. I have never been called out of church before with him.  I was looking so forward to listening to Dr. Pipa again but instead I ended up in the babysit.
In between church, Andrew was playing in the sandbox. He pretended to be like a cat (we think) & did his job in the sandbox and buried the evidence. Thankfully Liam saw this horrible crime & immediately reported it. And then in church Liam was leaning up against me & I noticed gum stuck behind his ear! Liam thought that Violet Beauregarde from "Charlie & the Chocolate Factory" had a clever way of keeping her gum safe so he thought that he would try it too! And then after the afternoon service, our former pastor was given a bouquet of flowers for his retirement. Andrew, with his loud whisper told my mom that they should of given the minister a toy. He would of liked that much better.  And... we still have a dinky car stuck in our bathroom sink drain. It is stuck. There is never a dull moment with a house full of boys:)

strawberries, socials, & school's out!

This is our first year eating our very own strawberries and are they ever scrumptious!
It is delightful going outside late in the evening and just eating strawberries.

Don't you think that Andrew looks kind of "monkeyish" in this picture?

After church last Sunday we had a strawberry & icecream social. It was beautiful weather and just so enjoyable. If you don't have a fruit farmer in your church you should get one:)

Here is Erik with Tyler and Kentin. I have to laugh at this picture. Erik looks like he is trying to pon off these little guys so that he can dig into the dessert.

Nate's grade 2 class threw a surprise baby shower for their teacher. They did a great job of keeping it quiet all day and they were excited to shower their teacher with gifts.

Today is the last day of school! Nate loves his teacher and he is going to miss her. She encouraged him and embraced his zest for life. At the beginning of the year whenever there was a problem (big or small) Nate would simply shut down & refuse to get ready for school, but now Nate is able to see through his problems and he has learned how to problem solve. He loves recess time and I love hearing his stories about his friends and his forts. The leaders of the forts are forever changing, some are good, some are bad. There have been horrible days when the girls managed to take over the forts, and days when he quit the fort because the boss made the fort into a "worm nursery!"  In September we will have a grade 3er. I can't believe how fast time is going and I have a feeling that this summer is going to fly  by too!

this and that

We are eating in the porch again and we just love it. The mess stays outside
and there is more to see.

 

Easter Sunday. Tyler looks like he is trying to escape!

This was my first attempt of bathing all of the boys together.  Tyler cried the whole time so that will probably be the last time:)

The day after the windstorm, Adam and his dad were out on the roof early in the morning laying out tarps over the parts were the shingles just blew away like they were light little feathers. The back of our house and the back of the barn lost many shingles too. They got it done it done in a hurry. The next storm clouds were rolling in...

Aunt Leida reading to Andrew. She is my gardening and canning expert.

 

It was hard to get a picture of the four boy cousins together. These little guys are on the move!