come fly away with me

to celebrate little miss sophie some of her dearest friends came to fly away together.

they crafted, glued and colored.

they danced and ate and played.

they had a picnic and a lesson.

they were wildlife together, they were owls.

penelope, bodhi, taeya, vida blue, charlee, and sophie

receiving instructions from the lovely miss juliet the start of "the dance of the owls"

they began in their nests then stretched their wings and took flight

a wild owl picnic

i love each personality, each child, each friendship captured. how lovely that at this age we have a hand in choosing their companions, which most often ends up being the children of our very own companions. these girls...and bodhi, are developing their character, their unique attributes that will set them apart, they are growing a personality and attitude, they are truly lovely friends and comrades, and they made for the most wonderful afternoon.

four

truth is, it is hard to believe she is four. i suppose all those passer byers who warned, "time will go by in the blink of an eye, seems like yesterday that my kids were little, now i'm a grandparent" were right. time really has escaped me.

i have wondered lately if we have given her enough encouragement, enough praise, enough teaching, enough of everything/anything. it is said that you learn the most and best in this time until you are six. we have every opportunity to develop in her character, values, strengths, discipline, kindness and love, we have a chance to show her Jesus in all that we say and do - my prayer is that we are, at least in some small way. she is growing so fast, and though everyone around can see that in terms of height, not all get the chance to see that in terms of character. as we were in the toy store picking out her gift from her grandma, she had in her hands two items that were very similar to each other. we tried to encourage her to choose objects that maybe differed from each, giving her a chance to play a little more diversely. she looked at us and replied that she had chosen the two in her hand because she would be able to share with and play with her sister, that they would be able to have similar toys. i may have teared up a little inside. although she does not always make the wisest or even the right choices, she makes me proud as she shows and demonstrates an attitude of love in little moments of life. four years have passed since i first met her, i first held her and stroked my fingers through her hair. four years since i brought her home, since we have been so blessed by her presence in our family. when i first started this journey i remember getting upset with my own mom, asking her why she made having kids out to be some sort of fairy tail, some romantic idea, because surly it was not. and though there are moments, moments every day that i am frustrated, and overwhelmed with the task of being a mom, i can see why we don't always talk about the hard stuff. maybe the hard stuff gives way to the beauty we see in our children, their laughter at the dinner table as they throw their heads back in pure delight seems to undo any sort of crazy feelings you had during the day. feeling their hands as they wrap their arms around you neck and having them share secrets with you, as they whisper "i love you, but don't tell anyone" in your ear, it makes the hardness okay, it makes the task of being a mom become a joy and privilege rather than a task. i am thankful for the chance to watch this little girl grow beside me. to see her letters form words on page, to see her develop wonderful friendships, to hear her communicate her heart with those around her, to see her likes and dislikes become more obvious. i am thankful to know her, to share memories with her, to create life together with her in our family.

beautiful sophie rayne, you are at times the most challenging and witty little girl i know. you have the ability to make me laugh until tears are running down my cheeks. you sing without a care in the world. you love to dance. you ask too many questions. you are only still if the tv is on, some days i wished i would let you watch more. your favorite color is pink. you dress yourself...and some times i am a little embarrassed to take you out, but i go with you anyway, i even hold your hand so people know you belong to me. you love to play lions with your dad and hide and go seek with your sister. you are a pro at riding a glider bike, it's pink with pink tassels. you are very protective of those you love. you are beautiful, and wonderful, you drive me crazy and i kinda like it.

we love you with every part of our beings. happy birthday sophie.

prayers

penelope is our little prayer warrior. sophie warned our friends the other day as they prayed over their meal with the girls there, "watch out guys, penny likes to pray!" sophie is straight forward as she speaks to the Lord usually saying "thank you Jesus for the Lord, amen" penelope on the other hand will list by name those on her heart, there are many people in this world who are well covered in prayer from this little one. tonight however was a little shorter than usual, i kinda liked it. "thank you Lord for God, the Lord, for snacks and carleigh, amen"

a wednesday walk

walking calms my heart, something about exploring creation even in small ways that draws me a little closer to our Lord. having gone from finding the majesty of God on the tops of mountains, looking across an early morning horizon through snow covered peaks, to finding His gentleness in the dew drops and spider webs. a piece of my heart is to see care taken for this magnificent creation, which means that even our daily walks and interactions teach us to respect and care for all that we have been given.

this walk i carried my camera and documented the way we saw God in the things that were around us.

-my little partners in crime-

-how sophie sees her world-

-pennys view point-

so beautiful the way a season can change. leaves on the ground are just as impressive as those still hanging onto their branches. the sun streaming through the trees and the color that surrounds us, we give thanks. i miss my days in the mountains, but i am thankful for the little adventurers who travel by my side and explore the twigs and rocks with me now.

adventure day

adventures have always looked a little different for scott and i. we aren't really big on resorts or crazy get aways, maybe because we can't afford them, maybe because we have never tried them. we do find much joy in small adventures though. things that take a little effort, a little spontaneity, and a little creativity. we had a conversation the other day about the friendship that we have been blessed with, the ease at which we are able to do life together with, and the fact that we so enjoy being together. it can be a challenge to be unique with a little family, but we promised each other that we wouldn't change the way we experienced our days even when our family changed our lives. so yesterday we headed to whistler. simple, beautiful and wonderful. we packed muffins and hot chocolate for lunch, grabbed our winter jackets and headed out. the drive was spectacular. the colors of the trees and the snow covered mountains made for thankful hearts. we talked about the different seasons, listened to real and princess music, read books and held hands. when we arrived the air changed our cheeks and noses red. our hands quickly found a way into our pockets and sophie stole my mittens and then announced that she wiped her boogers on them! we found a playground, and a trail, walked through neighborhoods and marveled at the handy work, we came across a yard sale and then made our way to the village strip. the lights in the village came on and we strolled, ran, chased, and danced our way from shop to shop. we bought sophie her own pair of mittens and then poked around some more. we made train noises and blew our breath like a smoke stack. the air was crisp and clean, there was a smell - tree smell. everyone had their wood fireplaces burning. we bought a tea for the drive home. the girls fell asleep five minutes into the drive. we were quite as usual, then i broke the silence and said thank you. these are the days that i love. days together, days that are simple but thoughtful, days that took a little bit of effort but create memories. i have no pictures, only words to document this adventure day. i am so thankful for our little family and the pace at which we have chosen to do life with. when we got home we tucked the girls into bed and then looked at properties in whilstler on mls. we found a beauty for just over two million dollars, we laughed and went to bed ourselves.

November 11

i found a large part of my day being thankful today. thankful for the people and places around me, thankful for the family i have and the freedoms we enjoy. thankful for a day of remembering, thankful for people like my grandpa and grandma.

norman george alexander anderson, that's my grandpa. he was born in the district of clayoquot bc, tofino on november the seventh 1922. by 1934 he had joined the rainbow sea cadet corps, in the january of 1940 he joined the navy. he married my grandma in 1947 and by 1957 he had a family of two and was promoted to lieutenant with seniority. on september 12th of 1964 he was promoted to lieutenant commander with seniority. in november of 1972 he retired from the royal canadian navy. his journey during these years has been documented, read, re-read and some stories have been told. hard to imagine the life he has lead, the adventures he undertook and the hardship he and his beautiful wife endured. hard to know what to write to honor him and those who battled with him, to honor those who stayed behind to grow families and bless their children. what words do you use to say thank you, thank you for; the years of service, your willingness, your passion and drive, your attitude and courage. thank you for standing strong no matter what adversities you faced, for holding each others hands when you had the chance, for choosing to fight for that which you believed in - both abroad and at home. thank you from the bottom of my heart for the journey you took and though i have no idea, no understanding of all that was seen, heard, touched and suffered, thank you. thank you that i don't have to know. thank you for the tears you have shed apart and together, thank you for raising your family well and teaching us through example.

my prayer this day, that those who lost would feel loved, that those who suffered would know hope, that those who fight would find peace. may our actions today both big and small demand peace, may we make choices every day that would result in shalom.

thank you to my grandparents. thank you with all that i have.

puddle party

it was really very nice in the morning, and when we got into the car to drive home the rains cleared but for the three hours of being outside for her birthday party, it poured...no one seemed to notice or care. we played in the puddles, ate hot dogs, sang happy birthday and filled our tummies with treats, even stood around a beautiful fire...in the rain.

i kinda love the friends the girls have chosen and though some of them could not make it, the ones that share their life on a daily basis were there and i was thankful. for the past four years we have made a decision to share our lives and memories with some of the most wonderful students and in return they have been ever so kind and beautiful to us, especially to our girls. some read books, others play dress up and all tolerate their craziness. we have been blessed by these people and will find it hard to watch them walk across the stage and move onto a new adventure in their lives by the end of this school year.

i was thankful for our little puddle party. thankful that we have shared so many memories around that little fire pit, thankful that so many different people have poured into our lives, thankful for the family that we have been given. i was maybe even most thankful for the rain. gotta love the chance to jump in puddles, run hand in hand through the rain drops and come home for so hot chocolate, something beautiful about sharing that kind of an afternoon with family and friends.