Supposed to be Wordless Wednesday but.......

This little girl got her results from the CAT's(Canadian Achievement Tests) and she did penomenally. She is completing grade 2 right now so she is working at grade level 2.9, but she is testing at a 4.9!! She is testing 2 complete grades higher!! I always knew she was smart but having her teacher tell us and her this should definitely help with her conifidence.


Gratitudes
1. That Emily scored so good on her test and the teacher told her to help with confidence.
2. That the sun is shining, but with all the rain we got yesterday I don't need to water today.
3. That my cupboard doors are finally done.

Twins Grade 9 Grad

Frank is wearing the blue and Jake is in the pink and burgundy.

Frank, Jake and their best friend Kier.

Thanks to the librarian at the kids school for doing these awesome pictures.

Gratitudes

1. That God is once again watering my garden.

2.That the magnetic paint on the cupboard doors is done and dry.

3. That I have such beautiful kids.

Meal Plan Monday

Still busy painting so here is the menu, then back to work for me.

Sunday - sandwiches
Monday - spinach quiche
Tuesday - soup
Wedneday - fish
Thursday - bbq kabobs
Friday - jambalaya
Saturday - leftovers


Gratitudes
1. That God is watering my garden again leaving me free to work in the kitchen.
2. That today I finished the drawers and started the fronts of the doors.
3. That my cold seems to be almost gone.

Happy Father's Day to all the Amazing Dads

Thank You to all the men who are being the Dads that God called them to be. That are doing one of the most difficult and rewarding jobs in the world.

I am so very grateful to have such an amazing Dad in my life. Someone who guided me and helped me whenever I needed it. A man with a strong faith that gave me a base to come back to and build on. Who was and is a positive role model for both me and my children. I love you Dad!!

My children and I are also truly blessed to have had God place Rob in our lives. He willingly and joyfully came into a family with 4 children, 2 being teenagers who had been through so much. They tested him and argued with him and tried to hurt him and he smiled and pulled them closer. All the great qualities I know in my Dad, I also see in Rob. They are both extremely generous with possesions as well as their time. They are caring, loving and playful. They both make me want to be a better person and I am overjoyed as I watch my kids and see those same traits developing in them. I love you Rob!!

 Here are some pictures of all the other great Dads that have been apart of our lives.

Opa

Grandpa Don

Grandpa

Uncle Steve

Grandpa Frank

Riley

And here are some more pictures of my Dad and Rob.

Gratitudes
1. That I have such amazing men in my life!!!!!!
2. That it is a beautiful day today.
3. That the twins grade 9 grad last night was amazing. Will post pictures later.

Wordless Wednesday

Gratitudes
1. That the upper cabinets and kitchen walls are all painted, now onto the doors and lower cabinets.
2. That the boys were so helpful and put most of the stuff into the upper cabinets last night.
3. That school is almost out.

Update on Frank

So Frank and I had a teleconference with the specialist yesterday. She says that his blood work has been completely normal for the last 2 blood tests and if the next one comes back clear too he can go to cadet camp. He asked about playing football and she said they will do another ultrasound of his spleen and if they is no enlargement he can play football. Needless to say Frank was pretty happy about the appointment. He does have to keep taking the one medication but is comlpetely off the steroids. Since he is still not having any symptoms she is confused by him. She said that the way his body is reacting isn't normal and I said what teenager is normal. LOL!!

I know the real reason his tests are coming back so good and it is because God is watching out for him. A week after we got back from the Childrens Hospital, I was praying and suddenly a sense of peace came over me and all the worry and stress was gone. In an instant I felt better and KNEW that everything ws going to be OK. I don't know what Gods plan is for Frank, maybe it was healing, maybe it is something else. But no matter what it is he is being cared for by the best doctor in the universe and the only one who knows him better than anyone else.



Gratitudes
1. That Frank is doing so well.
2. That God is watching out for Frank.
3. That we managed to find a parking spot only 2 blocks from the hospital.

Meal Plan Monday

We have been busy working in the kitchen this weekend, and will hopefully have the rest of the upper cupboards painted by tomorrow night. Then we can start work on the lower cabinets.

Here is our meal plan for this week:

Sunday - split pea soup
Monday - roast
Tuesday - stew
Wednesday - fish
Thursday - bbq kabobs
Friday - pizza
Saturday - chili

All easy meals, either I can throw it in the slow cooker or I can put it together quickly.



Gratitudes
1. That God watered my garden again all weekend, it let me focus on the kitchen.
2. That I was given a $10 gift card.
3. That I have lost more weight.

Mel's Mouthful on Mothering: Do you have measles or chicken pox?

I found this on another blog I love to read and wanted to share it.


Mel's Mouthful on Mothering: Do you have measles or chicken pox?: What's the diagnosis? Is it chicken pox or measles? Have you been to the doctor?  Did he tell you what you had?  Or did you self diagnose? ...

Wordless Wednesday

Gratitudes
1. That the storm last night passed right by us.
2. That I have great friends.
3. That I am able to stay home with my kids.

My bathroom floor is done!! The flooring guys just left and there are no more soft spots and it looks really good. After work Rob will put the vanity back in and then I will put everything away. Then the only thing left to do in the bathroom will be to replace the tub surround and to either cut some panelling to cover up the hot water tank or maybe I will make a curtain for it.  Then the bathroom will be completely finished.

Last year Emily saw a kids couch that a friend had and she really wanted one too. I looked at Walmart and the ones there were $35 and much smaller than the ones we had seen. The fabric on the ones at Walmart was alot thinner and they looked cheaply made. So I told Emily no and that we could keep an eye out for one that was better quality. On the weekend I saw one on a garage sale site so went and took a look at it. It was in really good shape and it was one of the bigger ones with thick foam and sturdy fabric. It also has a zipper to take the cover off for washing. I paid $15 for it and Emily and all the other kids are loving it. Since I brought it home there has been at least one kid or cat on it at all times. LOL!! I consider it money well spent.

Gratitudes
1. That my bathroom floor is fixed.
2. That my toilet is back in, and that I have a wonderful neighbour that let me use hers until ours was in.
3. That I found the kids couch that Emily has wanted for a long time on a garage sale site.

Meal Plan Monday

Last weeks menu worked out pretty well, with only one minor adjustment. Friday was a really bad day so we ended up just having sandwiches. Here is this weeks menu.

Sunday - salad and sandwiches
Monday - spaghetti
Tuesday - leftovers
Wednesday - chili
Thursday - leftovers
Friday - hamburger soup
Saturday - leftovers

I know lots of leftovers and not much variety but there is a method to my madness.  Yesterday we started taking the kitchen apart to paint and then the floor guy called he is coming tomorrow morning. So my kitchen is mostly packed up for painting and now I need to pack my bathroom tonight so it is ready for morning. Needless to say I needed meals that wouldn't require alot of prep work or needed me to stand by the stove.



Gratitudes
1. That it is a beautiful day for the kids track and field meet today.
2. That a friend brought me some boxes to pack up my bathroom.
3. That my friend also brought me some brown rice pasta to try so I don't need to use regular noodles.

Yesterday was the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day for me.

I made my lunch and dropped it on the floor, which hadn't been swept. Then I stubbed my toe and it took us forever to get our papers done for some reason. I forgot to take anything out for dinner. The desktop computer crashed,it looks like it might be our power source. On the way home from dropping |Frank at youth group I got rear ended, thank God there doesn't seem to be much damage besides a dent. The last thing I needed to get done for that day was to decorate a cake that had to be delivered this morning, and when I was flipping it onto the platter it started to crumble then broke apart and half of the cake landed on the floor. Once I calmed down, Jake went through the cupboards and couldn't find another mix in the flavour that was ordered. I ended up calling the lady and she told me to make a different flavour, since it was then 10pm and the stores were closed. Once the cake came out of the oven, I went straight to bed before anything else could go wrong.

This morning I got up early and got the cake onto the platter and decorated without any problems. I cleaned up the house, then had a shower and then loaded everyone in the van. We dropped off the cake then went downtown and found a parking spot right away. Which was amazing since Spectrum was on today and it was busy down there.  The twins, Tracey and Matthew went to the library to wait for me while I took Emily across the street to her art class. The library was having a used book sale so I browsed there and found a few books. Then I took the twins to Canadian Tire and they bought the hiking backpacks they have been wanting, they were 30% off. Then we came home and relaxed.

All in all today was a much better day than Friday, and I really enjoyed spending the time with my kids and grandson. Now I am going to read and then head to bed early, because the twins need to be at the armouries by 4:45am tomorrow morning.

Here is the cake that didn't make me cry.

Gratitudes
1. For amazing children, when I started crying after the cake fell, Jake didn't say a word he just started cleaning up, he ended up cleaning the whole kitchen. I asked him once I calmed down and he said he knew I would need to do another cake s he was trying to make it easier for me. All the other kids weren't here but as soon as they were told they just gave me big hugs and asked what they could do to help too.
2. That today was such a great day.
3.That we have a laptop that I can use until we can fix or replace the other computer.

Jake, Skylar and Frank after they passed the ballroom dancing class.

The class ended in April but they have been holding practice nights and an actual dance once a month. All three of the kids have been going to the dances and to some of the practices. I was really surprised when I asked the twins if one of them would take the class so Skylar had a partner and they both started arguing about who got to go. They were even willing to pay for the class themselves.

Jake and Skylar dancing

Gratitudes

1. That it finally stopped raining.

2. That I got my computer working again.

3. That Tracey and Matthew came out to visit for a few days.