what a girl wants...

...she gets!!!  well, apparently she just has to smile sweetly, stare up at Grandpa with her big dark eyes and throw out a "simple" suggestion...and then, voila!!! 
i believe it went something like this...."hey Grandpa, do you think you could ever build a tree house for us?"  (insert facial expression conveying pure, innocent longing)

and so it began....built right around a maple tree while the leaves are just emerging from their buds.  perfect timing!

the process of tree selection, blueprint consideration, wood selection (thanks Uncle Joe...so nice of you to share give Layla your wood, Grandpa spending hours in the workshop, deck construction (yes, a reading deck), fine details, ladder placement and securing the railing.

Grandma added the feminine cozy touch of two kid-sized pink and lime Muskoka chairs.  what's not to love???

i feel like i regress three years for every step of the ladder to the top.  it has a way of bringing out the "kid" in all of us....i remember fondly the "tree house" days of my childhood (hi Cam, miss you in my life), and let me just say, mine wasn't this nice!  design has come a long way since then! 

I suppose my dad has a wee bit more time now to dream up such things....truly, it feels almost magical inside.  the play options are wide open at this point...

so, no doubt there will be issues and scraps to resolve as all the kids work in various times to play.

it isn't just for Layla, of course, but she was the idea behind the reality and it's a wonderful dream come true for her.  being eight is nice....life is good....thanks so much Grandpa....

tom davis

this is big.  really super exciting. April 28th and 29th are the dates... to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the SEMC (our church!) we are being treated to an amazing weekend of events to commemorate this special milestone in our church's history.  on the Saturday evening there will be a full catered meal.  as much as you all know i lovvvve food, and i do...i'm even more excited about the opportunity to hear Tom Davis speak. Tom Davis is a huuggggeeee orphan care advocate and CEO of Children's Hope Chest .  he is also the accomplished author of "Red Letters", "Fields of the Fatherless", "Priceless" and "Scared".  sound interesting??  i mean really~ this stuff is near to God's heart.  no. doubt. about. it.   and how exciting is it that the SEMC leadership would invite a man to share this passion with our church family and guests, on the anniversary weekend, no less??  pretty huge.  we are a church that has long since moved beyond the four walls of our brick building and into the spaces beyond.  we collectively desire to be used locally and globally to care for those most vulnerable and bring hope where hope seems lost.  to give a voice to those many children who have had their voice silenced.  to bring hope and purpose to those who struggle to make sense of their very existence.  so, this weekend is sure to cause a surge of enthusiasm among us and i'm sure lives will be changed because of it.  check out this short video link for more info about the mission of Children's Hope Chest.  if you are in the Sarnia area and would like more details, i'd be happy to share.  also, feel free to spread the word... 

just some sentences

loved this weekend.  slept in one day (relatively speaking, of course....up early compared to the real "sleeping in" years between 14-20).  Easter was, again, very blessed....family, extended family, God's saving grace and the gift of Jesus remembered with our awesome church family, a great KidJam class on Sunday, baking, yummy food, egg decorating, family time at the park, one-on-one with my daughter, friends, chocolate, a sweet date with Jeff which included beef tenderloin.....pause for a moment, while i remember.....oh, how i would fail as a vegetarian...anyway, loved it.  i'm sure to wake up bitter at the alarm clock tomorrow, as usual...bad attitude, i know...
praying for my cousin C.  she's facing a serious diagnosis and treatment right now.  i don't know her well, we are a few years apart, yet can imagine the incredible struggle of the day-to-day burden she carries...if you think of her, please pray for her strength and for her family that surround her...
thinking also of Yonas this week.  i do believe he had a birthday and is now 14.  i wonder what the day held for him.  did anyone there remember?  did he even know of the significance of the day when he woke?  i'm certain his birthday didn't include cake and cards and words of affirmation.  not likely a favourite meal or candles or song.  we did sent a note to his social worker but have yet to hear back.  the last update said this, "Yonas' medical status is going well, he is taking his medication consistently. His health status is improving from the past and he looks so hopeful and wonderful.  The social worker and the nurse follow up his health and medication seriously.  Generally his health is very good and he is not considered as AIDS patient."  sounds good at the moment, for sure.  no change in his paperwork.  thanks again to those that participate in his sponsorship.  we will soon send another payment to cover the next six months of his basic sponsorship needs.  life-changing for him~ i'm sure of it....
AJ is full of random thoughts lately (much like this post).  for example, "mama...fire can make you die"....."um...yes it can, buddy".  a touch morbid, but true at the same time...Hudson is having a few better weeks lately.  his teacher reports the same and sees some "maturing", however slight....this is the very best news ever....i feel giddy and slightly optimistic...Joelle is crazy into the highschool athletic options.  she is so into it.  currently doing rugby (which i'm clueless about but must educate myself on soon) and track.  a different practice at every turn, even early mornings now.  wow.  gotta love those four plus years of life full of endless opportunities and so little responsibility...Adam is in the middle of a science project for the upcoming school science fair.  cute to see him with his friend and their similar "problem solving, engineer-type" ways...did you know you could extract actual visible iron filings from certain cereal brands??  yah, me neither...yummy...maybe Lucky Charms are the way to go after all...
i'm considering a pair of Vibram minimalist toe shoes.  can't believe i'm saying this.  i scoffed at the sight of them last year when Jeff carefully opened his own much anticipated shoebox....they aren't pretty, yet i'm hearing so many good things from people that wear them to run.  might be interesting to see how they would change things for my knees and shins....curious, but still undecided...plus, i'm watching for a sale...
Blue Jays baseball is back.  always fond of that and the sign that spring is officially here.  the game is on in the other room as i type.  the sound of the commentary soothes me in some odd way.  reminds me of many Friday nights we spent at Jeff's grandma's house, years ago...he'd come home from university for the weekend, pick me up (we were dating) and we'd drive to his grandma's cozy little house for coffee, Dutch treats and Jays baseball.  she loved it, we loved it....such a special memory... at the time, i remember thinking he must be someone special to care so deeply for his grandma the way he clearly did.  i was right.  she did spoil him like crazy, but it went both ways...
i'm off to catch an inning or two now....have a great week!

results (in which i publicly declare myself champion)

it was a toss up...do i post the final NCAA March Madness standings, or do i let it slide on by with no further mention?  do i tell the throngs of loyal readers the final results or do i leave them hanging, unsatisfied and uninformed with lingering questions nagging their minds?  well, after much contemplation, i decided an incomplete story just really isn't fair or well, um...complete, and all humility aside~ a reader's gotta know....
sooo.....here it is.  pretty crazy spectacular, if i do say...

drum rolllll....

Shana~ 120 :) (offering "bracket consultation services" in 2013.  sign up early to beat the rush)
Hudson~ 101
AJ~ 93
Jeff~ 84 (maybe next year, jeffrey....)
Layla~ 80 (she's so thankful to Kentucky for bumping her up out of last place)
Adam~ 79
Joelle~77
Hannah~ 64 (graciously in eighth)

all eight prizes were purchased from The Dutch Market and were very yummy...you really can't go wrong.  it is the Dutch market, after all...adam declared them to be the "best yet".  we've only done this twice, but hey, it still sounds impressive...they were assembled and drooled over.  all wondered who would pick what.  we did our picks last evening and most were very satisfied.  sweet Layla, however, went to bed feeling quilt that maybe her daddy didn't pick the one he actually wanted.  she feared he really wanted hers but picked another so she could have it instead.  i attempted to reassure her all while realizing i'd given birth to a mini version of me.  oh. my. word.  i used to slip my dad "petty cash" during Monopoly when it appeared he was in financial ruin, or during Dutch Blitz i'd try to subtly and gently help him move a few cards off of his unmoved pile by pointing out places they'd fit in the game, much to his chagrin as i think it stung a bit to have his young daughter recognizing board game shortfalls in a grown man...right Dad??  :)
good times....good outcome...
back to normal and less spectacular soon...

comin' home

my peeps are getting chatty about their grandparents arriving home from Florida really soon.  they really miss them during the winter months and there is always much anticipation about their homecoming.  as usual, sweet Layla translates her thoughts to art.  here's what she came up with this year....in her mind, it's Florida in a nutshell...

drive safe grandma and grandpa.  and brace yourself for the excitement of the littlest ones, in particular.  might want to create some planned chaos for yourself in the coming hours, just to make

"re-entry" a little easier...