the water cycle~ by AJ

i am so intrigued by my seven year old...he is sharp and attentive, and brings home lots of little facts and bits of academic knowledge that he is picking up during each day.  his teacher would be happy to know he is really listening and taking in what information she is teaching.  the other day we were reading a story, and i could tell AJ was thinking about whether it was true or not.  i offered "AJ, this isn't a true story, you know that, right?"  he added "then it's FIC-TION", spoken clearly, even without two front teeth...i smiled, and gushed~ telling him i was most impressed that he had learned that detail, and he continued to talk about fiction versus non-fiction.  super cute.  i can only hope that a keen interest in science, or simply school, continues......

 

then the other day as he was heading out to the rink, the topic of the ice came up, and with it mention was made of rain...well, he launched into a full description of the water cycle, which was mostly accurate too!  i contained my grin and decided to later record his description because it is one i want to forever remember.  once the camera was running he wasn't quite as elaborate in his explanation, but i think it still captured it well enough...

 

 

my little budding science guy, perhaps...

 

mlk jr. day

yesterday was Martin Luther King Jr. Day. 

 

 

i thought i'd post some of his most memorable quotes in honour of this day~ and the legacy of a courageous and inspiring man...

 

 

"If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward."

 

"I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear."

 

"Faith is taking the first step even when you can't see the whole staircase."

 

 

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge."

 

"Only in darkness can you see the stars."

 

"Forgiveness is not an occasional act.  It is a permanent attitude."

 

i wish i could formulate my thoughts on issues of race as it relates to my black boys, their future, and our family...apparently today i can't.  i type, i delete.  type, delete. 

quite simply, i'm sooo thankful for the historical representation of this man, this agent of change, who boldly stood for justice and liberty in a non-violent way...i'll finish with one last and powerful quote,

 

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter"

 

evidence

here's some free advice in the form of a gigantic run-on sentence...if you ever were planning on taking a cellular device that wasn't yours (that had once belonged to your sister, and was barely even operational anymore), say...to school on the last day before the Christmas break, when handheld game devices were allowed by the teacher on this special "party" day, and if you were going to do this without mention or permission (even after a summer episode in which this occurred, had been found out, and didn't end well for you) and deliberately decided to hide the device in your backpack, perhaps it would be smart to remember not to leave evidence on the phone of photographs that display your shenanigans and incriminate you as having possession of the device.....

he probably wishes he'd thought of that....

 

it was fun for the day though! :) :)

recap of the random sort

happy new year family and friends!  i'm back!  after missing a week while deep in the throws of holiday mode, i'm back at my computer wondering where the past two and half weeks disappeared to so quickly.  it was a rush and then restful and even a delightful shift away from our usual "normal".  two weeks where we throw our schedules and routines upside down and break from it all~ and instead incorporate lots of food (ahem...), family, friends, celebrating, play and naps.  so nice, full and blessed. therefore, time for a recap of sorts...because i'm that sort of person.  always enjoying looking back, forward, organizing, summarizing, and categorizing.  that's how i roll....no mocking please.

Christmas was wonderful.  Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinner are always spent with our extended families.  all eight of us love this.  we have some awesome and fun families to call our own.  i wish already that i'd taken a few pictures of these two occasions.  i didn't.  i failed.  if i had~ you'd see delicious croquettes being deep fried (yummmm!!!) and Christmas Eve service together and a hilarious gift game exchange and cousins together playing and stockings/gift bags opened and turkey and sweet potatoes and endless baked goods that called my name (too often)...and on it goes.  blissful memories i/we hold dear.  Christmas morning with our eight~ equally wonderful.  peaceful and fun~ hot coffee sipped while stocking treasures are revealed, gifts ripped open, toys assembled and clothes modelled as i happily discovered that most things fit!  then i absolutely loved moving on to my kitchen to make brunch while i heard the sounds of the kids in and out of the kitchen, showing me treasures or playing games together.

 

it always feels like a surreal pocket of time where all are contentedly playing and discovering and getting along in harmony.  i caught myself singing along to my Christmas music, and glancing up at the wooden manger (made by my dad) containing our own version of the swaddled newborn baby, beside the lit tree.  it was a snapshot moment in my head~ a deep and heartfelt joy for The Gift that changes everything for me, for us.  an undercurrent of peace and hope that i was deeply aware of as i fried the sausages and sliced the fruit.  so thankful for all of it...

 

beyond Christmas we coasted through and had a productive last week of holidays together.  an ice rink was made (thanks Jeffrey!), the tree found it's way to the front lawn, a few things were tackled on the list of "things to do while on Christmas break", friends came over, games were played, movies were watched, and the popcorn popper got regular use (and where has all our butter gone????  Jeff and Hannah are surely to blame for that one....).  added to that~ driver's education happened for our oldest (what??!?!??!?), our youngest lost his second front tooth (oh how i'll miss those teeny tiny baby teeth...and he's our last to lose them...a wee bit sad about that), our middle child whipped me repeatedly in the tabletop hockey game (a favourite gift of 2014~ given to the three boys by J&B), hair was curled with new curling wands, and on it went.....

 

(in case any of you are wondering, i do take more pictures of my fabulous oldest four, but almost always there are protests and complaining and threats that sound like "don't you dare put this on the blog!", and so on~ AJ and Hudson remain willing subjects.  i kind of remember feeling the same way about pictures when i was that age, so i generally respect their wishes...)

below, Hudson watching the World Juniors game in the goalie pads.  always playing the part and deeply engrossed.  just like baseball....

when Monday morning came and the alarm gently roused me to a state of wakefulness, and it was STILL VERY DARK, i was less than impressed....however, once up and moving, i sensed that all of us were ready to get back into the routine we were so familiar with.  we were refreshed and ready to return to some structure.  structure is good~ spoken by one who generally thrives on it.

 

below, Monday after day one of school in January 2015.  homework!!!!  just a little, thankfully.  they took it well...

 

wishing you all a smooth transition back to your "normal" and a purposeful and joyous 2015!!  cheers! :)