Christmas Miracles

What a Christmas we've had! We had a very eventful and busy December. One night when returning home late, we discovered something had been left on our door step. It was the first of twelve pixie gifts that we would receive for the twelve days of Christmas. This was all very exciting. We have plenty of pixie-ing but never been on the receiving end of a pixie. The kids loved the anticipation every night wondering what the next gift might be, when it would come, and who was doing it.

We also played the roll of pixie and found a Christ Centered 12 days of Christmas that we used to pixie one of Tansley's friend's family. We included the scripture to read and the challenge for the day. We thought it would be a wonderful way to share our faith in Christ with another Christian family. The girls had so much fun being stealthy. On the last day, we delivered the gift in person on Christmas eve. 

Christmas eve was spent at my sisters house in Barnwell with most of the Forsyth clan. Oh what fun to sit and talk and laugh for hours. So much fun was had, the highlight of the evening was of course the cousins nativity pageant as Grandpa read the Christmas story. As my brother put it, equal parts Christmas and crazy.

When we got back to Milk River late Christmas Eve, we had one more pixie task to take care of. We had gather some fun and meaningful gifts for the family of Kathryn's classmate that passed away last June. We had planned on just leaving the big red sack full of gifts on the doorstep to be discovered on Christmas morning. That was the plan. We did not plan on the neighbourhood full of dogs sending up an alarm when we approached the house. We did not plan on the Father coming out to check out why the dogs were all in an up roar, and finding Kathryn and I crouched down behind their truck. So we handed the sack of gifts over, told him we had hoped to leave it on the doorstep for a Christmas surprise. Wished them a Merry Christmas, shook hands and headed home. Didn't go as planned, but satisfying in a different way. 

Christmas morning was wonderful. The kids were up at 7am, which is earlier than usual, but not anywhere as early as I remember getting up and trying to wake up my parents. Kids were thrilled with their gifts and everybody was satisfied. 

Christmas feety pajamas, except James, he doesn't like that sort of thing.

Here are a few highlights:

James super hero monster trucks

Baby doll carrier for Ella

Car mat that I made to fold into a messenger bag for James

Doll house made from an old dresser for Ella from Kathryn and I

Dino finger puppets for James

A chair that I recovered for Ella with awesome fuzzy purple fabric

Platypus pillow made by Kymberly for Tansley

A warlock cape I made for Kathryn

Fancy pillow cases I made for Tansley

A night cap and slippers made by Tansley for Kathryn

A super huge insulated slurpee cup for Daddy from the girls

A cat stuffy/neck pillow I made for Kymberly

After presents were opened and played with, I got to work on our breakfast feast. We always have pancakes, bacon, sausage, eggs, whip cream, fruit, oranges, chocolate milk, eggnog, orange juice, and hashbrown patties. When I was finished with cooking the bacon and sausages, I started to drain off the hot grease into a tin can. I paused when the kids crowded around me and told them all to step back because if the grease  splattered it would hurt a lot. "what would happen?" one asked. I told them it would burn them really bad, the kind of burn that hurts for days, the kind of burn you don't ever want to feel. So the stepped back and I continued, but when I set the pan down, the handle knocked the tin can of hot grease all over both of my hands. I ran to the bathroom and put my hands under cold water. Luckily, this time of year the water comes out of the tap ice cold. I held my hands there until I couldn't feel a thing and then twice that long again. I had no idea, what was burnt and how badly. My hands were completely numb and hurt from the cold but I was afraid to take them out of the ice water to find out what the damage truly was. After some time I took my hands out long enough to discover that the palm of my left hand and the back of my right hand were both burnt. I wrapped a dish towel with ice around my left had because it hurt the most and then I held that hand on top of my right hand and sat through breakfast like that, every once in a while using my right hand to feed myself. Later my the pain in my right hand far surpassed that in my left, I wonder if my babying the left hand because at the time it hurt more could have made that much of a difference. Later in the day Brother Ken Brown came down to assist Daniel in giving me a Priesthood blessing. I was told that my hands would heal quickly, in the Lords time, that the Lord needed my hands to do the work of mother and wife, but also that He had a work for me to do.(Healing comes at a price, a price I am willing to pay). I spent the day with my hands wrapped in ice. By bed time my left hand was only a little tender, but my right still hurt. I went to bed with ice wrapped around it. I woke up in the middle of the night and got rid of the ice pack. This morning my left hand doesn't even look like it got burned, and my right hand has a funky colouring and is a little tender, but I can use it with out discomfort. It is seriously a miracle. These burns should be excruciatingly painful. When it happened I thought for sure that my hands would be wrapped and out of commission for the rest of the Christmas break. 

I full of gratitude for a fabulous Christmas day, for all the gifts that have been given this Christmas season. For the gifts that we were able to give to others. The gifts that others gave to us. But most especially, for the gift of  His Son, our savior Jesus Christ. I am grateful for healing and a Heavenly Father who is aware of me, and cares for me. Because none of this could have happened with out Him. 

Merry Christmas!

Remembering

I attended the Milk River Elementary school's Remembrance Day Ceremony today, and as usual, I was brought to tears as I watched these young kids "Remember" people they have never met and events they have never witnessed.

I was brought to tears as I listened to the Grade 5 class share parts of the book "Highway of Heroes" (by Kathy Stinson) and watched a slide show of the hundreds of Canadian citizens line the highway and bridges to pay respect to our fallen soldiers. I was moved to tears as I listened to Tanslely's Grade 4 class sing "Let there Be Peace on Earth" and thought about her note that she left for me on that tragic day in October. Tansley sang out with all her heart, and that class sounded like they really meant it.
I was brought to tears as I listened to the Grade 2 class share their own thoughts on how they feel peace inspired by the book "What does Peace Feel Like?" (by Vladimir Radunsky). Some that I remember were, "Peace feels like sand running through your fingers", "Peace smells like fresh flowers in my living room", "Peace sounds like children being quiet". Kymberly made me proud when she stood with her picture and said "Peace feels like tears falling down my face when I think about my Great Great Uncle who died in the war." And as always, I was moved to tears as I listened to the Last Post played and watched what few veterans we have left stand at attention.

It seemed to me that the children felt a little more connected this year. I know they have been talking about the loss of two soldiers on our very own soil this past month. And maybe that is something that is a little more real to them because it happened in their time, in their country. Whatever it was, it felt as though those kids sang out with a little more heart, and a little more feeling than I have ever heard them before.

I'm glad these kids are "Remebering" and that we haven't let them forget. And on a very personal note, that my own kids know the stories of our own families war Heroes and that that means something to them.

Let Peace Begin With Me

Today was a horrific day for those living in our nation's capital. For me, it wasn't personally horrific, but I was so saddened by the senseless violence that took the life of a soldier, here on home soil. Cpl. Nathan Cirillo stood guard and the National War Monument when a gunman shot and killed him as he honoured those who have fought and died so that we could live in this free and magnificent country.

This news is everywhere. I can't keep my kids from hearing about it. So when they ask if I have heard about it, and start telling me the versions they have heard, we have that hard conversation. First task is clearing up the rumors and the stories that naturally are blown out of proportion by teenage kids talking about it. Next comes the question "why would anyone do something like this? How would they like it if somebody did it to them?" These are hard questions to answer. We talk about evil. And how people just don't just wake up one day and decide to do these horrific things. It starts with one bad decision  and if corrected quickly, you can break that thread or repair that bad decision, but if left unchecked it becomes easier to make another bad decision and then another and another and another without correcting them, and those bad decisions just keep happening until one day they are wound so tight with the thread of bad decisions that they can't break free.  Nobody is born evil, it's a choice they make, but not all at once, but a series of choices that lead you down that path.

They asked me about the shooter. I told them that he didn't matter. Who he was or where he was from, don't mean a thing. The only person that matters today, is the soldier who died. I wanted them to see him, to know his name and what little there is to know about him tonight, so I found these pictures on facebook and showed it to them. The one on the right is from earlier that morning.

This is the young man that matters. He is the one I want my kids to remember when this day is talked about in social study classes in the future. Because Cpl Nathan Cirillo is who really matters in all of this chaos.

After an emotional conversation, I sent the kids to bed and headed down stairs to get some sewing done. Later, when I came back to the computer I found this note from Tansley

I smile. How perfect. Her class is learning this song for the school's Remembrance Day Ceremony. Thank you Tansley, for the reminder that peace begins with me.

Kidnapped

September 25th marks the day the man I love the mostest entered this world. Last year I made a cake and surprised him at work with it. This year I wanted to do something a little different and since the kids didn't have school that day, I decided that we should kidnap him. The forecast was for a beautiful 27C day. Originally I had wanted to steal him from work and then go on a drive through Logan's pass and along the Going to the Sun road, but the road had closed for the season for construction. So instead we would just take him out for a picnic lunch at Indian Battle park. When I told the kids about it they started talking about getting all dressed up in disguises.

I laughed at them and told them they could go right ahead. I had simply thought that we would show up unannounced and take him away, but the kids had something bigger in mind. So we made fake mustaches and beards, and they came up with their accessories and a plan. They would put a paper bag over his head and tie up his hands and we would "throw" him in the back of the van. When we entered the store, we all went different directions so that we would come at him from different angles.

 Tansley took his cake to his office and left it on his desk. James ran up to him and roared really loud "scaring" him, and Kathryn came up behind him and put a pillow case over his head(we forgot the paper bag and scarf to tie him up with, but happened to have a pillow in the van), and he was successfully captured and taken to our awaiting get away vehicle. We were terrible at keeping our identities a secret as we kept accidentally using our real names in conversation. I think he may have been on to us. We headed down to Indian Battle Park and set up  our portable BBQ and did up some home made burgers(which I neglected to take a picture of, but they were amazing!).In our haste to get on with the kidnapping, we neglected one very important part...the giant slurpee from 7-11. So our poor hostage didn't have anything to drink with his delicious hamburger, but he would survive. The weather was terrific and we enjoyed a delightful fall afternoon at the river bottom. And it is very possible that they kids had way more fun than dad did through the whole kidnapping event. They kept commenting on how AWESOME it was.

We then took dad back to work and surprised him with his cake at work and left if for him to share with his co workers. However somehow that entire cake ended back at home...now who is going to eat all that cake? Somehow I think there are a few ruffians that will be able to take care of the cake problem.

After we took dad back to work we headed back down to Indian Battle Park to take advantage of the beautiful fall day and walk along the paths covered in crunchy leaves...and to grab a few geocaches. It was super hot, but I loved being out with the kids and was reminded as to how much I love spending time at Indian Battle Park. It may be the thing I missed most about living outside of the city. And yes, miss Ella is walking barefoot, you can thank her older sisters for that one...terrible examples that they are. What a great way to spend dad's birthday!

One year older and wiser too

Here is to a new school year, back to regular routines and off to new adventures.

Kathryn is off to Grade 7. She turns twelve next week. HOW. IS. THIS. POSSIBLE? She likes her clothes and has her own style. She likes to be dressed up and doesn't have any qualms about wearing a skirt or dress to school. She is enthusiastic, and a bit sassy...but show me a 12 year old that isn't. She is your typical big sister, in that she is great at keeping her younger siblings in line...well great at trying, they don't like to listen very much. She is definitely a leader, both at home and in her class at school. She is excited to be playing volleyball again this year and looks forward to playing basket ball in the new year. She is super excited to be joining Young Women's. I love this kid. She is my best helper and I can count on her to get things done. I just can't believe she is twelve.

Tansley is off to Grade 4. She is super excited to have a male teacher in the school this year. MRES got a new principal, Mr Allan Rancier, the first male teacher the school has had for a long time. Tnasley gets to have him teach her half of the time. She thinks that is pretty cool. The first thing she told me about him was that he always wore awesome shoes. Tansley is an awesome big sister. She loves to take the younger kids for walks or up to the park. She loves math class. One day when I asked her what the worst part of the day was she said math class, because it was too easy and that she liked it better when it was trickier. She's growing up and I just can't slow it down. I love her, each and every bit of her.

Kymberly is in Grade 2. She loves school. She loves to learn everything. She loves everybody and everything. She is an excellent reader and loves to read every day. She wants very much to be like her big sisters and do everything that they do. This sometimes doesn't go over very well with the big sisters. If only they could understand what a huge compliment it is too them. Kymerbly has a tender heart and often expresses concern for her classmates when they have had a hard day at school. She is often making cards  to hand out to make people feel better. She honestly just wants everyone to be happy all of the time. I love her to pieces.

Oh my boy James started pre-k this year. He was so excited to start school. The first day was just an orientation day and only 1.5 hours. When it was time to go he was disappointed that it was over already. They have changed the rules this year and a parent doesn't have to sign him in in the mornings, so he is free to walk to school with his big sisters and I'll still be picking him up at lunch. As much as I love the idea of not having to look presentable at 8am, the idea that he doesn't need me to walk him to school, was a little heartbreaking. How can he be old enough for this? I worried that he would be OK on that first day, but I knew that he would be, I mean, look at him? On his first full day when I picked him up, we walked home hand in hand as he told me about his new friends and the toys he had played with. He never holds my hand. Like never ever. He has always wanted to run out on his own. That day, I wished we lived more than just two blocks from school so that moment could last just a little bit longer. My little man is growing up, soon he'll be a young man and heading off to new adventures at the big school....oh man. Just. Stop. Now.

Little Miss Ella is my only little one at home all of the time. I can't believe how fast she is growing up. Her words are just exploding right now and she thinks knows that she is cute. She loves shoes and is always stealing everybody's shoes. When she gets them on her feet she'll say "pretty?" She also LOVES to be outside. and when it is cold and wet and mommy is too much of a wimp to get all dressed up to go outside too play...she gets very very mad. She loves babies, and puppies and kitties. In fact, yesterday while we were outside and I was working in the garden she followed our cat, down the driveway, down the sidewalk, across the street and down two houses and into someones yard, all in a matter of just a few seconds. I had called after her as she walked down the driveway, and when I went to get her, she was nowhere to be seen, I gentleman driving by saw me looking and calling her name and told me he had seen her following a cat in to the neighbours yard. What a turkey. But even so, I love her and love watching her learn so many new things every day.

I seriously have the best job in the world, being a mom to these 5 rascals is amazing. They make me smile, they make me cry. They challenge me, try my patience and test my limits. They love me, encourage me and never give up on me. They hug me and kiss me more times in a day than one could possibly count. And even though they are growing up, I know they still need me...at least to read them stories at night.

One Last Summer Hurrah and an Answered Prayer

Friday after the kids were out of school, we packed up the van and head out on one last camping trip. We had planned our last camping trip for a couple of weeks before at Gold Springs Park, but it had rained all weekend and we ended up canceling our reservation. We were totally bummed and really wanted to get one more camping trip in to finish off our awesome summer. We didn't want to spend too much time driving, and being that it was the long weekend, all the conventional campgrounds nearby were completely booked. So we decided to venture out to the exotic destination of Del Bonita and camp out at the local campground. Daniel and I stopped by the Wednesday before on our way home from the temple. I noticed that the thistles were pretty bad especially around one of the swing sets, so I made a note to bring garden sheers and gloves. When we arrived Friday afternoon, I put Kathryn to work right away clearing thistles while I got the tent set up. It was a beautiful afternoon, with just a little wind. Being the smart mom that I am, I knew there would be plenty of space for flying kites so I brought a bunch of our 60cent kites that I had bought earlier in the summer. They fly amazingly and are really easy to get up in the air, so the kids did that while I was setting up camp.

Once camp was set up, we just took some time to take in the beauty that was all around us.  We enjoyed a delicious dinner and planned to make smores for dessert, but had to wait a while for the wind to die down before starting a fire. And just like magic at about 7pm the wind stopped, and we were able to enjoy some tasty smores.

Before bed we all sat around the campfire and read scriptures together.  The kids headed to bed around 9pm and I stayed up with the fire a little longer. I headed to bed at 9:45, the earliest I've been to bed all summer...or like in forever. At 11pm some car headlights shone on the tent, to single the arrival of Daniel, a surprise visit! After he arrived the wind really picked up and I said, "well I guess we'll get to see how our new tent holds up in the wind." 

Saturday was a beautiful day, it was warm and a little windy. Daddy headed off to work and we got ready for a lazy day of outdoor fun. After breakfast was cleaned up, we headed out for a nature walk. I came prepared with masking tape so that we could make nature bracelets by wrapping it around our wrists with the sticky side out. The idea is then that you collect bits of nature and stick it to your bracelet. The girls and I all collected things like flowers and pretty leaves, James collected rocks and a single dandelion. Such a boy. The rest of our day was spent with flying kites, playing clue, teaching Tansley how to do a sudoku, folding a cutting construction paper, having little naps, swinging, playing on the slide eating food, and generally just having a great time enjoying the great out doors. 

For supper I had planned to do a wiener roast, but it had been windy all day and I wasn't sure it would be a good idea to have a fire. But just like magic, at 6pm the wind died down and we started a fire. We sat around the fire eating hotdogs and smores. Ella was tired and fell asleep in the chair eating a hotdog. We kept the fire going strong until after we had read scriptures and sent the kids to bed. By then Ella had woken up and her and I sat by the fire until the kids got settled and were sound asleep, then we too headed to bed around 10pm. Again in the middle of the night the wind howled and I prayed we'd be safe and the tent would hold up.

Sunday came, we got up enjoyed breakfast, boiled some water and had sponge baths, and headed off to church in Del Bonita. When we left there was nothing but a slight breeze and nothing to suggest I'd need to worry about anything. We had a very enjoyable time visiting the Del Bonita branch. They don't usually have a primary, but with my five kids and another family with 4 kids visiting "home" they put together an impromptu primary. It was wonderful, and spirit filled. The wind again had picked up, but the day was still pleasant. After church we headed back down to the campground, as we came up over the hill and around the bend I saw it...our tent blown up on its end against the camp kitchen, and flapping in the wind, I was afraid for the worst, but hoped that maybe all we would need to do is replace a few poles.
I pulled up, turned the van off, got Ella out and shut the doors. It must have been quite a strong wind to have blown the whole thing up on its end with all of our stuff in it, including a playpen. The wind was still blowing hard. I decided that I wanted a picture of this because I knew I'd be blogging about it, but my camera was in the tent somewhere, so I went to the van to get my phone. When I got to the van, I saw that the doors were locked and I could see my keys and my phone sitting there in between the seats. For some reason in my haste to check on the tent, I had taken the keys out of the ignition and dropped them there. All weekend I had been so careful not to leave the keys in the van because I had noticed before that the kids had been accidentally locking the doors. Our crappy situation had just gotten much much worse.
We were expecting Daniel later that day, but I had no way to reach him. There isn't any cell service at the campground, but I had noticed that up at the top of the hill you could get a signal...but that didn't matter because the phone was locked in the van. The girls and I got to taking the tent apart and I realized that the tent was in much worse shape than I had hoped. Poles were broken, joints were busted and the tent was torn. Some pegs were still in the ground with the loops or guy lines still attached and the velcro pockets that held the fly to the poles had been ripped right off. The tent was toast. I was sad. It was only our second camping trip in that tent, and we really liked it. With the tent down we began the task of trying to get our stuff out of it. During this whole time both James and Kymberly were in hysterics, bawling afraid of how we would get home and sad because our tent was destroyed. The thought entered my head “we went to church today, why did this happen” and immediately the response came in a very clear voice in my mind “you asked for safety”. I couldn’t argue with that, the Lord had answered my prayer and humbled me for having doubted him. If we had been at camp instead of at church, Ella would have been napping in that tent when the wind came up and tipped it over. I can only imagine the panic that would have caused. While at church the branch president had mentioned that he had noticed us from his place and wondered if we would need help packing up. I had told him then that my husband would be coming so we should be fine. There is only one farm yard that over looks the campground, and it wasn't too far away, I thought about going for a walk to get help, but then decided that we needed to pray first. We knelt together on the grass. I first thanked our Heavenly Father for the wonderful time we had had, for the safety that he had granted us, for the opportunity to go to church in that wonderful branch and be spiritually uplifted. Then I asked that he help us know what we needed to do. To send us help that we needed and bless us with whatever else we were in need of and to calm James and Kymberly and let them know that everything would be OK. I knew before I was done praying that we wouldn't be walking anywhere and that I should get started making lunch for the kids.
 I got the older girls busy folding up  blankets and pillows and putting clothes back in bags and I headed to the kitchen to start making lunch. Luckily I had left the coolers in the camp kitchen while we went to church so we had plenty of food to eat. I had just got the makings for sandwiches out of the cooler when a truck came down the road towards us. Over the weekend many vehicles had stopped in at the other camp kitchen and visited the outhouses or let their pets run, but this truck was coming out towards us. When it reached us there was a couple inside, they asked how things were going. I told them that we were in a bit of a predicament. They didn't have a cell phone, but they'd see what they could do to help. He took a look at our van and after some discussion decided that it wasn't a good idea to try to jimmy the locks on our new van. So instead, they decided that they would take Daniel's phone number and go up the the farm house and use the phone to let him know to bring the van keys and that the tent was down. As they drove away James was devastated that they weren't going to help us, I explained to him, that they were going to go call daddy and that they were an answer to our prayer. He said "No, Jesus didn't come to save us!" I told him that Jesus couldn't come to help everyone, but that he had sent this nice couple to come and help us. That is how he answers prayers, he sends other people to help us. Kymberly asked if she could say a thank you prayer, I told her of course she could, and she offered the sweetest prayer of thanks. Not long after the couple returned to let us know that the call had been made, Daniel had been reached and he was on his way. I thanked them, and let them know that they were an answer to prayer. We had just finished offering up our prayer when they arrived. The lady said "Wow, that gives me tingles". Now all we had to do was wait. While we were waiting the branch president's wife came down to check on us to see if there was anything we needed. We had all the food that we needed and plenty of blankets to keep us warm in the cool wind. So after we visited for a bit, she headed back home. After not too long, my knight in shining armor arrived to save us and help pack up our devastated camp.

Imagine the tent standing straight up on its back end with the roof smashed up against the camp kitchen. It wasn't the way he had wanted to end our camping trip. I had more fun things planned for another night with daddy. But we had fun while it lasted and we were glad to have got one more camping trip in before really getting into the swing of things. It also ended up being a great lesson for the kids, Heavenly Father hears and answers our prayers, and most of the time it isn't Jesus who comes to help, but just regular folks that he sends to our aid. Now they'll have their own story to share in primary.

What is this world coming to?

My nine year old went to a birthday party last night. They were going to a movie, I was told that they would be seeing "How to train a dragon 2", but when they got to the movie theater, that movie was no longer playing in the evening so a new movie was chosen. The movie that was chosen was rated PG, when I was a kid that meant that I wouldn't be concerned about my 9 year old watching such a movie. But apparently that isn't the case in this day and age. PG movies now come with language and violence warnings. Here is a listing of PG movies now playing at the Lethbridge Galaxy Cinema:

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Action/Drama
          PG - Violence, not recommended for young children, frightening scenes

Guardians of the Galaxy, Action/Adventure/fantasy
          PG - Violence, not recommended for young children, course language

How to Train Your Dragon 2, Action/Adventure/Family/Fantasy
          PG

Into the Storm, Action/Drama/Thriller
          PG - Not recommended for young children, frightening scenes, Language may offend

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Action/Adventure
          PG - violence

The Hundred-Foot Journey, Drama
          PG

Transformers: Age of Extinction, Action
          PG - Violence, not recommended for young children, frightening scenes

How many of these movies would you take your nine year old to see?

There are 4 other movies playing at Galaxy right now, one is rated G, two are rated 14A and one at 18A. Call me old fashioned, but to me most of these movies should have a higher rating. Since when does a movie with a PG rating require a language or violence warning??? In my mind a PG movie should be OK for kids. If it requires a language or violence warning then it should have a higher rating. Seems pretty simple to me.

As it turned out, the movie "Guardians of the Galaxy" had accidentally been rated "G" on the App that the parent had used to choose the new movie. Not knowing what the movie was about or anything she had trusted this information and taken this group of kids( ages 5 to 9) to a movie full of bad language and violence. Even with it's correct rating of PG, this mistake could have been made because on most general listings it only lists the ratings and not all the warnings.

For me a lesson was learned. I need to be much more vigilant in understanding the ratings of today, and not assume that they are the same as they were when I was a kid. I guess I just don't go to the movies enough.