Summer Lover
I was perusing my favorite TV Channel's website, HGTV.ca. I don't get time to sit and watch TV until winter's cold comes, so I was checking out any new information online. I took a neat little "What is Your Signature Season" poll and the answer confirmed my belief:
Summer lover.
You love warmth, being outside and being active. Once the weather starts to chill, you have a tendancy to hybernate.
Heat is your strength, so when the temperature drops, take up activities that keep you warm: Join an indoor tennis, soccer or squash league. Treat yourself to a monthly spa treatment—try a Temaczal treatment in a heated chamber, or do an at-home treatment with a colour therapy bath — get bath oils in yellow or red, your strength hues.
In the middle of winter, make an indoor miniature greenhouse of herbs, teas or your favourite flowers. Host an indoor picnic party by buying large billowy plants, and putting down a cozy plaid blanket, then serve up potato salad (comforting yet summer food!) and mini sandwiches. Light a fire and make s'mores on a Friday night, make a beautiful fruit salad every Sunday morning or a glass fresh-squeezed lemonade on a Saturday afternoon.
Wednesday, September 29, 2004
Monday, September 27, 2004
Never Violence
I happened across this wonderful story a couple of weeks ago...
Never Violence
a story told by Astrid Lindgren
[Author of Pippi Longstocking]
"Above all, I believe that there should never be any violence." In
1978, Astrid Lindgren received the German Book Trade Peace Prize for
her literary contributions. In acceptance, she told the following
story.
"When I was about 20 years old, I met an old pastor's wife who told
me that when she was young and had her first child, she didn't
believe in striking children, although spanking kids with a switch
pulled from a tree was standard punishment at the time. But one day
when her son was four or five, he did something that she felt
warranted a spanking--the first of his life. And she told him that
he would have to go outside and find a switch for her to hit him
with. The boy was gone a long time. And when he came back in, he was
crying. He said to her, "Mama, I couldn't find a switch, but here's
a rock that you can throw at me."
All of a sudden the mother understood how the situation felt from
the child's point of view: that if my mother wants to hurt me, then
it makes no difference what she does it with; she might as well do
it with a stone. And the mother took the boy onto her lap and they
both cried. Then she laid the rock on a shelf in the kitchen to
remind herself forever: never violence. And that is something I
think everyone should keep in mind. Because violence begins in the
nursery--one can raise children into violence."
I think that too often we fail to feel situations "from the child's
point of view," and that failure leads us to teach our children
other than what we think we're teaching them.
Published by permission of Saltkrakan AB, Lidingoe, Sweden, owner of
all copyrights to Astrid Lindgren's works.
In reflecting on this story, I too thought I would find such a rock as this and as I was looking I also finished setting the rocks around our front pond. The rocks came from the farm I grew up on, where I learned life's lessons and occasionally felt a belt across my backside. As I reflected on my parenting skills, my youngest son joined me and we patiently moved the rocks and adjusted them just right.
As we neared completion, Brendan stood up and said he had found a heart rock. Sure enough, there was a beautful reddish rock in his hand in the vague shape of a heart. I could not have found a more perfect rock, and how beautiful that it should come from my most challenging of children. I have told my mother on more than one occasion that I was blessed with Brendan to teach me patience as he has indeed stretched me to my limits on numerous occasions. It is in that stretching that I grew, but it is also in that stretching that I have spanked when I knew I shouldn't. Brendan's heart rock sits proudly in my kitchen window, to remind me each day to allow myself to stretch without lashing back at my little ones.
I happened across this wonderful story a couple of weeks ago...
Never Violence
a story told by Astrid Lindgren
[Author of Pippi Longstocking]
"Above all, I believe that there should never be any violence." In
1978, Astrid Lindgren received the German Book Trade Peace Prize for
her literary contributions. In acceptance, she told the following
story.
"When I was about 20 years old, I met an old pastor's wife who told
me that when she was young and had her first child, she didn't
believe in striking children, although spanking kids with a switch
pulled from a tree was standard punishment at the time. But one day
when her son was four or five, he did something that she felt
warranted a spanking--the first of his life. And she told him that
he would have to go outside and find a switch for her to hit him
with. The boy was gone a long time. And when he came back in, he was
crying. He said to her, "Mama, I couldn't find a switch, but here's
a rock that you can throw at me."
All of a sudden the mother understood how the situation felt from
the child's point of view: that if my mother wants to hurt me, then
it makes no difference what she does it with; she might as well do
it with a stone. And the mother took the boy onto her lap and they
both cried. Then she laid the rock on a shelf in the kitchen to
remind herself forever: never violence. And that is something I
think everyone should keep in mind. Because violence begins in the
nursery--one can raise children into violence."
I think that too often we fail to feel situations "from the child's
point of view," and that failure leads us to teach our children
other than what we think we're teaching them.
Published by permission of Saltkrakan AB, Lidingoe, Sweden, owner of
all copyrights to Astrid Lindgren's works.
In reflecting on this story, I too thought I would find such a rock as this and as I was looking I also finished setting the rocks around our front pond. The rocks came from the farm I grew up on, where I learned life's lessons and occasionally felt a belt across my backside. As I reflected on my parenting skills, my youngest son joined me and we patiently moved the rocks and adjusted them just right.
As we neared completion, Brendan stood up and said he had found a heart rock. Sure enough, there was a beautful reddish rock in his hand in the vague shape of a heart. I could not have found a more perfect rock, and how beautiful that it should come from my most challenging of children. I have told my mother on more than one occasion that I was blessed with Brendan to teach me patience as he has indeed stretched me to my limits on numerous occasions. It is in that stretching that I grew, but it is also in that stretching that I have spanked when I knew I shouldn't. Brendan's heart rock sits proudly in my kitchen window, to remind me each day to allow myself to stretch without lashing back at my little ones.
Sunday, September 26, 2004
A funny thing happened on the way to church this morning. As usual, I was heading out early to circumvent any problems that are often encountered as we prepare for any outing with four children such as lost shoes and forgotten jackets or books. Things were going very smoothly as Brendan, Ryan and Eric were already out the door and I was just shoeing Breanna before we left, with plenty of time to spare.
As he was waiting, Brendan was perched on a rock by our front pond looking at the fish when his arms started to wave and... yes you are right, he fell in. Given that it isn't a large pond and his agility, he fortunately landed on his feet. Yet, wet up to his knees and wearing his only shoes, we had to do a quick change into dry pants, socks and now sandals before leaving. We still made it on time and didn't miss a word of Cowboy Randy's Sunday School intro!
Speaking of Cowboy Randy, we are truly enjoying our new church, Immanuel Lutheran Church of Rosenthal, southwest of Stony Plain. Cowboy Randy heads up the Sunday School team and the boys are loving both him and their teachers. Sunday School is held all but the first Sunday of each month, when all the children join their families during service. I am also excited about the New Moms program initiated by this church and the far reaching impact it has in bringing mothers from the whole county and even from Edmonton. Ruth and I will be working together in supporting these mothers and I will meet these mothers as I get to know Immanuel's members better over the next few weeks. I am feeling strongly about proposing my Christian prenatal classes to the church board as I had so successfully done in Camrose at Messiah Lutheran.
As he was waiting, Brendan was perched on a rock by our front pond looking at the fish when his arms started to wave and... yes you are right, he fell in. Given that it isn't a large pond and his agility, he fortunately landed on his feet. Yet, wet up to his knees and wearing his only shoes, we had to do a quick change into dry pants, socks and now sandals before leaving. We still made it on time and didn't miss a word of Cowboy Randy's Sunday School intro!
Speaking of Cowboy Randy, we are truly enjoying our new church, Immanuel Lutheran Church of Rosenthal, southwest of Stony Plain. Cowboy Randy heads up the Sunday School team and the boys are loving both him and their teachers. Sunday School is held all but the first Sunday of each month, when all the children join their families during service. I am also excited about the New Moms program initiated by this church and the far reaching impact it has in bringing mothers from the whole county and even from Edmonton. Ruth and I will be working together in supporting these mothers and I will meet these mothers as I get to know Immanuel's members better over the next few weeks. I am feeling strongly about proposing my Christian prenatal classes to the church board as I had so successfully done in Camrose at Messiah Lutheran.
Friday, September 24, 2004
Beloved Chairs
Do you have or remember a wonderfully cosy chair that you loved to spend time in? We drove past the local dump today and I pictured in my mind the recliner we left at a very similar dump back in Lloydminster. It brought back memories of just that type of recliner, given to us by a wonderful neighbour in Camrose when I was pregnant with Eric. It was my safe haven at the end of long workdays spent on my feet managing a local camera store. I would curl up in it after supper was made and often slept there before I crawled into bed, it is amazing how much extra sleep a pregnant mother needs!
I also found that chair a wonderful place to breastfeed and cuddle my first two newborns. Later, I also came to curse it because of it being the reason Eric was posterior which lead directly to my first cesarean, though it was long after his birth that I learned of the correlation. It was also after it became the "trick chair" which lay harboured in our basement awaiting it's next "victim" who inadvertently sat in it to be thrown back far enough to feel as if it was falling backwards. It never did, but the boys found it a wonderful place to bring those who didn't know of it's penchant to lean too far backward, likely caused by those same boys.
Do you have or remember a wonderfully cosy chair that you loved to spend time in? We drove past the local dump today and I pictured in my mind the recliner we left at a very similar dump back in Lloydminster. It brought back memories of just that type of recliner, given to us by a wonderful neighbour in Camrose when I was pregnant with Eric. It was my safe haven at the end of long workdays spent on my feet managing a local camera store. I would curl up in it after supper was made and often slept there before I crawled into bed, it is amazing how much extra sleep a pregnant mother needs!
I also found that chair a wonderful place to breastfeed and cuddle my first two newborns. Later, I also came to curse it because of it being the reason Eric was posterior which lead directly to my first cesarean, though it was long after his birth that I learned of the correlation. It was also after it became the "trick chair" which lay harboured in our basement awaiting it's next "victim" who inadvertently sat in it to be thrown back far enough to feel as if it was falling backwards. It never did, but the boys found it a wonderful place to bring those who didn't know of it's penchant to lean too far backward, likely caused by those same boys.
Thursday, September 16, 2004
Bittersweet
My brother-in-law, a wonderful and kind man who we can all learn a lesson in patience from, has been asked by our Lord to join Him. His immediate family will be taking him off of life support today as soon as his oldest two children join them from Montreal and Halifax.
Death is hard in that we know it will be a time before we meet that person again in heaven. Yet it is also a celebration when you know a person who as kind and generous and as strongly Christian as my brother-in-law has gone to meet our Lord. No more suffering and worry and stress, only celebration. We will miss you greatly, our journey in this world was made far better because of you.
My brother-in-law, a wonderful and kind man who we can all learn a lesson in patience from, has been asked by our Lord to join Him. His immediate family will be taking him off of life support today as soon as his oldest two children join them from Montreal and Halifax.
Death is hard in that we know it will be a time before we meet that person again in heaven. Yet it is also a celebration when you know a person who as kind and generous and as strongly Christian as my brother-in-law has gone to meet our Lord. No more suffering and worry and stress, only celebration. We will miss you greatly, our journey in this world was made far better because of you.
Wednesday, September 15, 2004
The last two weeks have been a whirlwind. Starting with Allan's holidays, we had a wonderful time with just the right mix of vacation and visiting family. While we were gone our builder put the final finish on our cherry hardwood floors, a wonderful gift to come home to.
Sadly, the finish "fish eyed" which basically means that it looked splotchy, something no one expected. The only way to remedy it, however, was to completely refinish it. We had anticipated having it done closer to Christmas but our builder called and said he could do it last week, so the kids and I packed up again and headed off to my parents farm for three more days, leaving Allan behind to live around the refinishers as he came and went to work.
We had a glorious time with my parents and my sister's family and returned home to the most amazing floors, they were perfect. The dust covering every surface took a few hours to remove, but my house is so clean now.
Monday we recieved a call that our brother-in-law had a bad heart attack and was in the hospital. They fear he suffered brain damage from lack of oxygen before the ambulance arrived, despite Allan's sister (his wife) giving him CPR. We waited until yesterday to visit, hoping he would be awake, but he is still under sedation. Today he is having a cat scan, so we are awaiting to hear more. Meanwhile, Eric stepped on a piece of glass which I couldn't remove Monday evening so we spent a "wonderful" three hours in the Stoney Plain hospital, but we met several great nurses and the ER doctor was fabulous.
We have been homeschooling amid it all, the boys are loving their new math curriculum and are enjoying returning to formal learning.
Sadly, the finish "fish eyed" which basically means that it looked splotchy, something no one expected. The only way to remedy it, however, was to completely refinish it. We had anticipated having it done closer to Christmas but our builder called and said he could do it last week, so the kids and I packed up again and headed off to my parents farm for three more days, leaving Allan behind to live around the refinishers as he came and went to work.
We had a glorious time with my parents and my sister's family and returned home to the most amazing floors, they were perfect. The dust covering every surface took a few hours to remove, but my house is so clean now.
Monday we recieved a call that our brother-in-law had a bad heart attack and was in the hospital. They fear he suffered brain damage from lack of oxygen before the ambulance arrived, despite Allan's sister (his wife) giving him CPR. We waited until yesterday to visit, hoping he would be awake, but he is still under sedation. Today he is having a cat scan, so we are awaiting to hear more. Meanwhile, Eric stepped on a piece of glass which I couldn't remove Monday evening so we spent a "wonderful" three hours in the Stoney Plain hospital, but we met several great nurses and the ER doctor was fabulous.
We have been homeschooling amid it all, the boys are loving their new math curriculum and are enjoying returning to formal learning.
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