spring

i'm certain i post something like this every spring.  but really, does it ever get old?!  wait, don't answer that....

seriously, what's not to love about this long overdue season of spring and the new life popping up all around?  so, naturally, when my dad discovered this adorable nest by our little pond area, it was absolutely necessary to photograph!  this mama robin (not seen in the picture, but watching from a short distance away) thinks just like me....she likes warm ambiance and an inviting abode.  she likes clean and tidy~ i wanted to whisper to her "enjoy it now! this is next to impossible to maintain once the crew arrives!" :)  she has created this cozy little nook in our shrub, sheltered from the wind and safely tucked away from obvious view.  she sits on her three beautiful blue eggs and waits.  and waits.  and waits. 

can you see the nest?

 

it is so fascinating, and our kids are now watching and waiting too.  i hope she adjusts to the peering eyes and giant bodies on the other side of the window.  yes, spring 2014 is here~ enjoy the bright, bright, sunshiny days!

siblings

two unrelated pictures. when i stumbled upon the scenes i found myself smiling. 

having siblings isn't always peaches and cream.  i know.  it can be more like oil and water...

but more often than not, in our daily life here, there are glimpses of real bonds that run deep.  some days i must search high and low to see it with my own children~ only to never really find it on the day i'm looking.  other days, however, i see different pairings shine with obvious connections that will carry them, we hope, for life...

i loved having two brothers, especially as i got older into my teen years (might have had something to do with their cute friends :) i'm positive i wasn't subtle about how i felt about them either)...  i still do love my older brothers deeply.  one is close by, and one feels very far.  my heart aches with the distance between us.  even still, the memories we hold from our childhood are very grounding to me. we three had our share of antics, scraps (why did Tim insist on crossing over the imaginary line in the back seat?? and why did Joe always get to read the cereal box while we ate breakfast?  it couldn't have possibly taken that long either....sheeshh...) laughs, tears, and funny memories together...

in theory, even for our own kids~ these memories should be foundational.  family ties should hold tightly.  as we branch away in different directions, the roots are still needed for life-giving support.  i think that was God's design.  i pray it will be so for my crew of six....

 

 

above, teaching the fine art of the "selfie", and below, a cheap haircut by the older sister.  turned out alright!!

personally, even a quick stroll through an old photo album with weathered pages brings back loads of memories. or a few minutes of video footage from years gone by can surface all the reminders of a family that is cherished, with common experiences shared...so, maybe this blog will be that reminder for our kids one day...

"baseball 101" by Hudson

Hudson always has a captive audience when AJ is around.  what's not to love about that??  see, the thing is, the rest of us do try.  we really do.  but 100% of the time Hudson's stories morph into long and elaborate versions that are part truth and part fabricated.  such is the case with the videos below.  each one is about three minutes long, but even still, i had to post them. i know i'll love reliving these moments in a few years time... this particular evening was a laid back Friday~ also a pizza night which is often the way we like to cap off a busy week.  AJ was struggling through dinner, yawning more than he was chewing, and everyone but Hudson and myself had left the table.  Jeff was dropping off a few kids at youth group.  Hudson launched into a baseball discussion, and i don't even remember how it got started.  all i do know is that he had been going for some time before i clued in and decided it was cute enough to secretly record on my phone.  baseball shoes were on, gloves too.  off he went....i picked up the video more than five minutes into the mostly one-sided conversation of baseball tips....sweet AJ has a way of making Hudson feel like he is the "king pin".  so, naturally Hudson ran with it.  i was giggling on the inside, loving the glorious preciousness of it all...

 

 

 

 

(not sure what happened when my camera went wonky and recorded the bench and my foot at the end of the second clip.  whatever, i'm amateur...)

so, this is a perfect way to signal the start of baseball season.  wrestling wraps up in a few weeks, and tomorrow Hudson heads out for his first ball practice.  AJ will be starting as well on Saturday mornings in the next little bit.  both are very excited.  i am too.  i look forward to the warm sun and the familiar sounds of the baseball field.  watching the team develop and improve over the season. enjoying the time with other parents and grandparents.  sitting and watching the promise and fun each game holds.  summer enjoyment at its best...

if the snow ever melts, that is...

change

i'm not the biggest fan of change.  not when the change fits under the "significant" category, at least.  i can handle a wardrobe change, a room layout change, a menu change, or even a hair cut that says "change".  i also love a bed linen change (line-dried! my fave!), shoe change, and perfume change.  when the change impacts my kids in a way that is challenging, i'm not quite as thrilled. 
this past month has put "change" in the  forefront of our minds.  we've learned that the elementary school our four youngest attend is closing.  Temple Christian Academy is finishing off the 2014 year in June and closing its doors.  this is the place all six of our kids went on the first day of JK.  this is the place where our two oldest graduated from.  Adam was set to do the very same just one year from now~ with his original classmates and friends from JK on.  this is the place where friendships have been forged, potential has been realized, sports have been played and class productions have been performed during countless assemblies.  this is the place where the kids have experienced spelling bees, speech meets, wins, losses, class parties, class trips~ lots and lots of great memories.  i have loved this school.  our kids have loved this school.  as i said to someone last week, our children have been "obliviously happy" there, free to grow and thrive and become secure in an environment that fostered this with caring (and patient) teachers along the way. 
so, the school news was a reminder that chapters begin and they also end.  we are so thankful for the twelve years we spent at TCA.  still, we are moving onward with a renewed sense of direction and trust that God is working things out according to His purpose.  the kids are set to go in September and have already enrolled in the public school around the corner.  this means the fall will bring with it a ride on a school bus, every day!  for Layla, she'll attend with her cousin in the same grade!  it will bring bigger classes, a much bigger school, different teachers and new friends to be made.  it will bring highs and lows.  we know this.  yet, in all of the thinking and praying and discussing and deciding we've engaged in over the past few months~ there is underlying Peace.  God knows these four kids better than i.  He will continue to guide our steps as He always does~ right into the halls of the new school.  change.  my acceptance hasn't been instant, but i'm getting there. 
hope the new school is ready for the VanderSlagt crew~ because they're coming! :) 

proud boys

Jeff's Friday night hockey team took home the cup this year.  below, proud boys with their daddy. the grainy iPhone picture doesn't do justice, i should have used my Samsung Galaxy :), but it still shows my cute husband with his very interested and impressed sons.  Hudson, in particular, can't help but get in the moment, and you can almost read that in his expression.  it's like he's part of something that rivals the Stanley Cup presentation, and he loves to imagine such moments.  just like when he's watching NCAA basketball.  he's so torn between simply watching and zipping outside to practice what he's just witnessed on the TV screen.  like by simply watching a slam dunk he might be able to pull it off now himself.  i think that's how he thinks...i love it...the healthy confidence is there, alive and well....like father like son. :)

 

sports highlights

before March break it was a week of bliss for Jeff.  time off work to travel to first, the Ontario Winter Games with Hannah, and then, OFSAA (Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations) with Joelle and Hannah.  he made it back just in time to unload the van, re-pack the van for Florida, catch a few hours sleep and hit the road again.  he loved it all~ but for those that know him well, that's a no-brainer...

i hated missing these two big events, yet much carried on here while they were gone with the five of us that stayed behind.  i was sooo happy for matches on video, pictures and texted updates.  kept me going.  proud of my two for even showing up.  these two tournaments are big, surely nerve-rattling, and physically draining.  they wrestled with character and strength.

Hannah with other Sarnia Winter Games competitors below...they connected, made fun memories, and loved the hotel lifestyle a whole bunch.  making your own bed at home isn't nearly as glamorous...plus the in-room coffee maker was put to good use too, i'm quite sure.  knowing Hannah.

 great team support with a strong podium finish for a friend of Joelle's~ she clinched a silver medal for all of Ontario to finish off her highschool career! 

  

 

so funny, because ten years ago i wouldn't have believed i'd have two daughters in the above photo, for wrestling....hockey, maybe, but wrestling stills surprises me... :)  if wrestling had been an option when i was in highschool, i think i'd have gone for it like they have.  fun to see them experiencing it.

 

florida

sigh.....we're back....settling in, trying to stay warm and positive in the snowy North...actually, i'm having to practice what i've preached to the kids.  i told them "don't be sad it's over, be happy it happened!"  and so it is, i repeat this to myself multiple times a day as i get back into my groove carefully and gently.  last week's March break is already feeling a bit distant, however, thankfully this blog will forever allow me to remember the wonderful time away we shared together.  i know i talk a lot about being grateful~ and i definitely don't always get it right, but on Friday as i walked alone to the pool to meet my crew there, i was so consciously grateful for the amazing opportunities we (our crew of eight) have in this life, and Little Harbor, Florida being just one of the many.  Layla and i had just been talking about how many people worldwide never even take one vacation, and how sweet Yonas would probably not even understand the concept.  that many people never even leave the city or village of their birth.  really, we met people in Africa like that.  it is inconceivable for them to consider a vacation ever, let alone every year.   last year we skipped a family vacation and it made this one feel long overdue,  but imagine never having that luxury?  so, the walk to the pool in the warm sun with palm trees at every turn :) brought all these thoughts to the surface and i whispered a prayer of thanks for such extravagance we enjoy in North America. 

to sum it up, Florida trip #1 was refreshing, fun, and adventurous family togetherness which restored all of us, i do believe.  our rented condo began to feel like a second home, and it was all we had hoped it would be!  it was restful and warm and extra great to meet up with Jeff's dear parents as well.  thanks to their knowledge of the area, they showed us around and just spent time hanging out with us.  our kids have all said how much they enjoyed that, B&C!  it was great to laugh more, slow the pace, sleep in, hang out together minus the distractions, and even the thirty-six hours on the road were so much better than expected.  for the record, the kids are travelling champs!  they didn't like the long drive, but weren't complainers at all, and eight in the van went far smoother than i had envisioned.  anybody have the Little Critters book "The Trip"~ well, that's more what i was imagining! haha...nope, no frazzled nerves or disasters in or out of the van~ i guess the kids are getting older now, but even still, that's thirty-two limbs in a minivan....

so, here are a few pictures.  all from my phone, so not amazing photography but still, it works...

 

oh, how we loved the hot tub~ especially in the evening after dark.  one of my favourite things was watching the kids go from cold pool to hot tub, over and over again. 

 

 

Joelle driving me around in the golf cart at the trailer park where Jeff's parents are.  on an alligator hunt.....five were found~ and the biggest is below, slipping into the water....eeekkk!!!

 

 

my three fish...

 

 

 real flowers!! everywhere!  it was so good to see....



i know, i should take up photography in my spare time :)

 

whose legs are these??  Layla, mastering the hand stand.

 

this is what i loved this week~ chillin' together.

 

supper at the restaurant on the last night...

 

 

at sunset, a view of the hotel and marina.

 

Little Harbor beach.  i. want. to. go. back.

Steak 'n Shake on the way home.  fun place with good food.  all eight of us for $23??  ummm, why doesn't this chain exist in Canada??? 

 

all tuckered out.  was really smooth driving at that point so we decided to keep truckin' home.  it was great to climb into bed, even if it wasn't the king size bed i'd gotten used to :)

 

that's a wrap!  my tan is fading but my heart is full!