Peter finds Juliette very entertaining. These 2 are just so funny together. Juliette comes up with some very creative ways of playing with her little brother. She is such a loving and fun big sister.

I love gratitude journalling with the girls. 

Grandma She-She found this robin's nest for us. The girls have been really interested in how the robin made it's nest and what materials were used to make it.

Warmer weather has made for some sweet times of learning outside... and eating watermelon :)

Numerous times a day, Karis asks me "Mom, do I look like a mom?"

Karis LOVES her baby. She often brings it with us when we drive somewhere in the van. Sometimes she places the baby in the passenger seat and asks me if I could "please buckle baby." Clearly, Karis does not understand the complexity of getting 4 kids in the van to go somewhere. 

Some days, when I don't buckle baby she says to me, "Mom, baby really isn't safe right now."

Sometimes the girls like to have Peter try things that he is not ready for yet. Like sitting on this chair.

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Post church picnic.

I love my baby boy.

Juliette and Karis can be the best of friends or the worst of friends. It all depends on the day :)

Karis: "You're Elsa and I'm Anna, Juj"

And Peter is getting into everything these days. Ella often says "don't get into mischief, Pete."

Do Hard Things

I am currently reading a book called "Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations" by Alex and Brett Harris. It is a very inspiring read and has stirred up the following thoughts...

The book has made me think about doing hard things. What hard things am I doing in my life? What hard things do my kids see me doing? Doing hard things builds character. I also think that when you hang around with or are parented by people who do hard things, it is contagious.

When I was 15 my mom had breast cancer. She went through chemotherapy, radiation, lost all of her hair, moved to Vancouver to be treated at the cancer clinic for 6 weeks (away from her kids)... cancer took over her life for awhile.

During this time I did not hear my mom complain once. Not once. Instead, I heard how grateful she was. She told me how amazing her friends were in cooking her meals and cleaning her home, how amazing her hair dresser was for giving her free haircuts and then styling her wig for her.

I remember one night when she was very sick from chemotherapy she was walking to the bathroom and did not make it. She got sick on the hallway floor. The only reason I know about this is because I heard her - not because she complained about it.

When my mom visited in March, we drove by the cancer clinic on the way to the aquarium. She looked at the street and the area and told me how beautiful it was to go for walks in that neighborhood. She displayed "an attitude of gratitude" (as the girls and I call it :)

Years ago, I went to Honolulu with my dad and watched him finish the Honolulu marathon. As I watched him cross the finish line, I felt so proud of him. Proud of the training he put in to get to this point, and of what he accomplished by all his training. It inspired me to the point that I began to run marathons. My dad had a goal of running the Boston marathon. So I wanted to run the Boston marathon as well. And guess what? We both achieved our goals. I saw my dad do something very hard and I wanted to do the same.

Spencer loves to memorize scripture. By the suggestion and encouragement of a friend, Spencer recently memorized John 17. So the other day, I was doing dictation with Ella. Since this is our final stretch of homeschool for the year - I gave her the option to choose what she would write about. She chose John 17. When I opened my Bible to read the first few verses for her, she told me that I didn't need to read it out loud to her. She had memorized the first 4 verses and could also write them beautifully. "I'm going to memorize John 17 with Dadda" she said.

There's a theme here: we observe others doing hard things and it encourages and inspires us to do the same.

For those of you who are very uninterested in my thoughts on doing hard things, pictures of our kids will be posted soon :)

May Long Weekend

Last week, Ella and Dadda went on a date to the park. They had a great time doing log rolls down the hill.

Ella is very thoughtful and loves to make Dadda a special card for their dates. I love her drawing of herself and Dadda sitting on the bench talking. Their dates usually include some time to sit together, have a snack, and share their hearts. 

On Saturday we explored the Fort-to-Fort trail. The girls loved riding their bikes and taking turns pushing Peter in the stroller. We even ventured over the bridge to Brae Island.

Karis was fascinated by the kayakers on the Fraser River.

And we stopped by the 50s café for some much anticipated ice-cream.

We took a picture by Elvis for Grandpa Clark to appreciate.

Dadda got a new hat - and the girls have enjoyed trying it on. Ella looks quite fashionable in it

Over the weekend we spent lots of time snuggling on the couch and reading good books. Karis likes to multitask between listening to the story and picking her nose.

We had a nice visit with Grandma She-She and Great Grandpa Ed in Burnaby.

And continued west to Stanley Park.

It was a hot day, and the girls enjoyed the water park.

And Peter dipped his toes in the Pacific.

We also discovered that if you flip this elephant hat up just right, you can hardly see all the pink on it and Peter can wear it.

We all felt the same way on the drive home. All 4 kids fell asleep. The adults wanted to, but instead enjoyed the peace of a carful of sleeping kids.

We have been enjoying poetry tea parties lately. The above book, "Poetry Speaks to Children" is so much fun. It also comes with a cd of the poems read by the real poets. It has been great for us to learn the proper cadence for reading poetry.

"The Swing" by Robert Louis Stevenson

Happy Mother's Day

Spencer, the girls, and Peter blessed me abundantly this mother's day. We planted veggies in the garden, they bought me a special tea set, and made a crêpe breakfast on Sunday morning.

I love being a mother. I also love sharing this journey with my own mom, and with all of the moms that I walk beside. You are all a gift. Happy Mother's Day!

Planting carrots and cucumbers.

Juliette sees a worm.

Juliette leans over and gets her fingers ready.

She lets the worm squirm between her bare fingers as her big sister cringes in the background.

Karis chose some very practical gardening shoes. And a Hawaiian dress.

This beautiful tea set will work perfectly for our Saturday afternoon tea parties!!

Karis is a self-taught printer (and also taught by Ella). I didn't even know how many letters she could print. Then the other day, she asked "how do you spell Peter?" And above is a picture of her printing :)

3 pairs of sparkly shoes :)

All ready for her music recital.

Langley Community Music School

Ella took music lessons this year at LCMS. She was in the Orff program. Her class learned how to read notes, keep rhythms, and play the xylophone. It was so fun to watch their year end recital. 

Next year Ella has decided she wants to take violin lessons. And I think Juliette is going to opt for violin lessons as well. 

Pete Pulls Himself Up!!

There is much excitement around here today. Peter pulled himself up for the first time! The girls are very impressed with him.

Dr. Grandpa Rob

Ella loves to make things for her sisters. The other day she made these pink baskets. The girls played store. The baskets were a great toy for the moms (aka -Juliette and Karis) while Ella and I did math.

The author hard at work. 

Spencer and I went out on a date last weekend. We went to our favorite Langley restaurant, "Beatniks Bistro."

Karis always enjoys hanging out with her friend Hailey.

Ella cut her knee quite badly last Tuesday. Thankfully Grandpa Rob was coming for dinner and so we asked if he could stop at the store and pick up some larger bandages. But who needs to stop at the store when you have saved a First Aid kit from 30 years ago?

We mistakenly thought this was 30-year-old orajel. But Grandpa Rob informed us that it is a "collector's item." 

And Juliette decided to wrap the tensor bandage around her face like a thief. The girls adore their Grandpa Rob. 

Peter loves going for car rides. Especially with the Cat in the Hat.

Peter has also shown that he his quite protective of his Momma. When Dadda gives me a goodbye kiss in the morning, Pete often gets bent out of shape, pushes Spencer away and says "na, na, na". He sometimes even huffs at Spencer. Spencer then looks at Peter and says, "I loved her first." 

Karis fell asleep on my shoulder this afternoon while I was reading to the girls. These moments are like honey for a mother's heart.