we woke up to...

this.And then it was impossible to get Aaron to eat his breakfast, snow was much more interesting.

Owen was making faces at me...the little mouse (I want to say rat but that sounds too mean). He woke up at 5:30...and I thought he stayed in his room but I guess I was so sleepy I never heard him go downstairs, get into the fridge and help himself to a square...and then he popped back into his room and thats when I thought he just go out of bed...bad little boy. I found a couple of squares on the floor this morning, plus he was in the office...thankfully the computer was in my room...or else well, I don't want to think of what he might have done. How do you keep this child from going downstairs?!?! He is climbing out of his playpen/cot, and then even out of the stairgate I put in the boys doorway...*sigh* it is a lost cause to be sure.

Amelia gave a sweet smile this morning, she too was extremely excited that it was snowing, and kept telling me that it was now winter. :)

What did the forecaster say? oh about 2 cms of snow? Does this look like 2 cm?

Owen had too long of a nap yesterday on the couch...do you think he will cry when he tries to get out?

my sister

Is wonderful.

A wonderwoman or superwoman...poor thing she is probably exhausted by being at my place. But we sooo enjoyed her visit here! Oh, I'm tired too, visiting takes a lot out of a person, but it is a good tired, and we get an extra hour tonight...well, not that it means much with little kids, because inevitably it throws them off schedule.

So, why is my sister so wonderful you might ask? I mean, she is of course wonderful because she is my sister, that makes her special enough! But, on this occasion she knocked my socks off, so to speak! Ok, she brought lets think, one main meal, two lunches, breakfast fixings, and loads of snacks. She also brought a lot of things for the kids to do (crafts, books etc etc!). She also took all 5 KIDS (her two, and my three) to the park and to the library while I went to go get groceries. AND she brought me these....


Tompoezen!!!
What a neat word too eh? There is always something wonderful having a sister who lives near a Dutch bakery... :D

But, my dear sister bought me these as well...

Aren't they pretty? They are so lovely, but not as lovely as the one who gave them!
So, Jackie, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR EVERYTHING!!

Now...how can I repay at least in some measure her kindness? Leave your thoughts and ideas in the comments section. :)

fall pictures

Mom came up for a night/day and we went outside for a bit...Aaron here did not want to look at the camera, nor smile (he wasn't being the best of boys today)

We tried getting one with all three kids (complete failure) so we tried with two and that er, nearly worked.

My favourite leaf comes from my favourite tree, the Maple tree (of course!)

At least one child knows how to smile nicely in the picture...aw, she looks cute.

Even Owen didn't do as badly as Aaron. This is my mom (oh, excuse me Amelia just corrected me, it's Oma not mom.)

Playing in the yard with a ball.

the pussycat and other things

Haha, no not a real kitty. But this reminded me of one! :)

:)

Must be somewhat comfortable!

Oh yes, we are always this happy when we do school! I wish! :)

"What? I was supposed to smile?" Haha!

Delicious Chicken Soup!

I have to tell you about a method of making chicken soup...a lot of you probably already know about this (especially those Nourishing Tradition peoples), but I'm so silly not to try it out...and now I see the difference! Let me tell you that to make wonderful chicken broth you can't just boil the bones...I mean yes you'll get good broth but I wanted flavourful broth that I only need to add SALT (or salt, pepper, onion powder) to instead of adding a chicken bullion cube which has MSG in it. Ok, so I make a chicken in the crock pot for a dinner meal. After you take off the chicken meat for your dinner pop the bones, skin and leftover bits into the crock again and fill with water...then add chopped onion, and chopped carrots, and chopped garlic...and yes I thought it would be a waste to throw it away but not if it means I don't have to add MSG products to it later on!! You'll need at least 3-4 cloves of garlic btw the more the better (well don't overdo it). So you cook that on high over night in the crock. Strain and there you have the beginnings of chicken soup! Add your usual ingredients, mine are: chopped/diced Carrot, onion, celery, dried parsley and the leftover chicken...and salt. I can't believe I only used salt! And did it pass the test? Aaron likes it, and started talking about Oma (my mom) lol...that must mean it passed with high marks. I don't think I'll ever make broth without cooking it with the other veggies...amazing what a difference. :) If you haven't tried it, you need to! :)

soo tired,

I'm very tired. I'm waking up too much in the early hours of the day and having great difficulty going back to sleep if I do at all. I'm tired of seeing 6am...but nevermind, some people get up much earlier, but maybe they are able to cope, because I can't...well, not without coffee. Oh dear, what have I gotten myself into again? I thought I was off of it, and then you go to Oma's (my mom) house and well she makes coffee 4 times a day!!! Typical Dutch. So, inevitably I end up with one or two in a day, highly unusual, and not very good for me.

So I get back from Oma's/my mom's and two days later we have Mark and Mercy over...and of course I didn't even take one picture....not one! I'm pregnant...yes, it is an excuse, and a good one too, and yes, I use it all the time, because unfortunately it is quite true! We enjoyed having company over, and getting to know the little Olivia and Charlotte. Amelia was being taught how to play with a baby doll - which she needed a bit of teaching I think. :) Another good thing was that my evenings were full and usually late (ahem...) while we chattered. I also have the babies car seat (because they are so much cheaper in the states!) so we are happy to get two big items off of the list...now maybe we can focus eventually on babies bed and clothes, which a good friend of mine has offered these particular things. :) Yes, we are being provided for. Much to be thankful for.

Scroll down to see big pregnant bump...and still uhm 8-9weeks left, slowly getting there.

Yogurt, again.

Pilgrim's Bonnet.

Cheesy smile.

Oh. Its me, without my hair done (not uncommon) and one big er little baby. Taken today, 32 weeks. I know, I look very thrilled...if Jett was behind the camera the smile would be sweeter. :)

smallish update

Amelia is getting tired here...but she ate quite a bit.
To prove my kids can eat... here is Aaron's plate after a second helping of a very bland meal. Yes he eats peas and rice (he really likes rice for some reason!)

We have made it to 31wks now and still counting. I feel like a duck and an elephant. I waddle, and I'm slow. The heavier baby gets the harder it gets for me. This is one of the harder times in pregnancy but I still don't think it compares to being sick for 20wks (which it was with Amelia). But we are slowly getting there, week by week. It is now quite the chore to sweep and mop a floor. Instead of running after kids, I'm waddling as fast as I can. Sleeping is a big issue, because I am limited to my left side...and very rarely will my right side do. My body must think that I need to wake up at 2:00am in preparation for feeding the baby...but couldn't it wait for 9 more weeks?? And why does Owen have to go from sleeping through the night at Oma's to waking with me? Must be the creaky bed...will have to move the little man into Aaron's room, maybe that will help.

But, we are doing fine. I have quite a number of people that I can call if I need them, so I shouldn't complain.

We are missing Jett, and I didn't realize Owen knew what the program Skype looked like and what it meant...he was very upset when I closed it down one day without seeing Daddy...so I had to show him pictures of Daddy for awhile to appease him. He was quite happy seeing the photos, thankfully!

And I just got back from my mom's yesterday after a good week and few days. It was nice visiting her, although I think we were a bit too much for her! We did a lot of shopping...with a lot of nice finds. :) On Sat we went to my sister's for thanksgiving dinner (yes we have it earlier than the USA) which was nice.

And now I need to wake up sleeping handsome(?) or else he won't sleep tonight for me!!

Upcoming ordination

I feel obligated to update here, but after the sad event a day ago or so I find it hard to write much. Sad for us, glorious for him, need to remind myself of this. This world is not our home, but our journey to our eternal home. We will miss Rev. Cartwright. I still have (although packed away, somewhere in Scotland or perhaps its on a boat now I'm not sure) a picture of him and his wife, and a short letter he wrote to our Amelia. I will have to read it to her again, and remind her of him. Life is so short. I have this time now in Chesley, and I need to be making use of it. My Oma is turning 90 this year (November) and we know that not many people even make it to 90. So, I need to be seeing her or having her come here more often! I grew up (20 yrs!) with my Oma living in the granny flat connected to the house.

Tomorrow (very early in the morning for us here in Canada/USA), Jett is to be ordained/inducted Lord willing. A solemn and joyous occasion. Much prayer is needed for the one who is to undertake the solemn duties of the ministry. Pray without ceasing.

All three children have colds. I don't think I have it yet, but I have had allergies for weeks now so who knows what is a cold and what isn't!

Here is Amelia stuck looking at another book.This was taken before Owen made a good mess of the containers...but thought he looked soo cute in this sleeper! I think its been awhile since my children have had a one suited sleeper!

This is a project I worked on using scraps of material from our wedding quilt. I've been promising Amelia a butterfly/flower pillow case especially since Aaron has a train pillowcase. Yes, it is not perfect, please don't look too closely... :)
I need to have visitors over, but I'm not sure who wants to be around children that are full of the cold (thankfully it isn't a bad cold - no fever).

Get-togethers, projects, and painting.

I'm waiting on coffee to finish before I eat a homemade cinnamon roll (I can't be making these too often...lol!) soo, I thought I would post a few pictures of the Kuiper get-together/Reunion thingy, and a few others of the kids, and projects.

And as always, blogger doesn't know a thing about order (maybe I should write them) here is my kids painting and the easel they are borrowing from Aunt Jackie (they love her...it is a good thing we are 3 hours away or else I think my kids would be forever spoiled).At Jackie's house, we enjoyed a lovely pulled-pork on buns and tons of salads, cookies, chips, fresh veggies & dip and of course a lovely Dutch cake that I didn't photograph (but it was good). On top of this all, was seeing loved ones again, Jett and I only made it because we were able to sleep overnight at Jackie's and we could leave around 3, Jett could study in the morning for awhile which helped for the Sabbath...but we both agreed that it is very hard to do "Saturday get-togethers" for us. A lot of people I know don't know what this is like because they aren't a pastor/minister or elder in a church, anyways....

This is a pic of Uncle Kees and Oma. Interestingly in the photo he was showing her a copy of an advertisement of the "Volendam" (sp). Oma sailed on this boat to Canada.

Uncle Kees again, with Jackie.

Rebecca's sweet daughter Angela. (Care you must come and see her! She is a doll!)

Jay & Roxanne's chihuahua and Owen.

Oma and her daughter Bertha (who was surprised and happy that Oma came all the way down).

Uncle Dave and Jay

I know, I did a pretty bad job of taking photo's...missing a lot of people and kids. Sorry! :(

Ooh, green fabric with polka dots...what could this be for?
Oh Mom, your machine is still wonderful...works so well. No, this is not an apron well...actually it is kind of an apron of sorts because it is used as a cover up/nursing cover. Mrs Stephanie taught me how to do this a couple of yers back and well, that one is sitting in Perth ready to be shipped to NZ...soo, here I am making another (can always use a spare right?). in 1 hour or less (I had some issues with a safety pin) you can have a lovely cover...easy, no measuring (well, just get a metre/yard of fabric), cut straight and sew straight (obviously) and buy some "D" rings.
And onwards...I need to see what I can send along with Jett for Tuesday. I doubt it will be much, that man just has too much stuff or er, likes to have his books with him, but love him just the same. :)

why I'm not blogging lately...

...is because, well, I don't feel like it. :) Can you blame me? I'm sitting here wondering what my three youngsters are doing in the other room (mess maybe...they are kind of quiet). My husband is upstairs probably preparing for the Sabbath and/or preparing for the ordination/induction that hopefully will be Sept 23rd (yes, soon!) This means, he is also leaving very soon and for a very long time, so if I don't feel like blogging I think you can see why.

That is the main news here, his departure and the upcoming ordination/induction. The next news is Amy has started kindergarten and it is way too easy for her, I'm hoping we can get through a whole lot (without forcing it much) before December. Aaron is being potty trained and that is going not too badly especially considering Amelia's training was awful (and we aren't through yet). Oh I'm 25 weeks pregnant and the weight is affecting things, like moving fast etc but other than that everything is going well. And Owen has a craze over cars/trucks.... how many can you fit under your chin? Well, so far I think he can fit about 6-7 little cars/trucks in his hands and under his chin...he has to sleep with them too, we are trying to limit that to 2 cars because falling asleep on them must be so uncomfy. I'm waking up just before 5 every morning and hardly falling back asleep....so the mornings are a bit er, groggy. :)

Can't remember if I posted this photo...but this is my two year old in mid air jumping from table to little loveseat... he is very active :)

:D

Holiday at Mom's

We went to my mom's for a few days & nights to spend time with our little family. Jett took me and the kids to Black Creek Pioneer Village which was neat (old stuff, old clothes etc) but I realize more than ever how I would not want to live in those days...it was tough! And to think that they had little to no understanding of germs...eek. :S One funny thing I noticed was a certain fire place in the "doctors house" I looked at it and said, "Uh, Jett doesn't that look like a fireplace you would still see in Harris?"

The next day we went to the Hamilton Harbour/Waterfront and enjoyed the water, geese/swans, boats, ice cream and of course the trolley ride (which was called train by Amy and Aaron...) In the afternoon Mom babysat the kids so Jett and I could get some needed shopping done.

:)

Our news regarding New Zealand

(Auckland, NZ)

I've been meaning to write about this much earlier but everything seems to be getting in the way. For example, my brother in law finds a cheaper flight for the end of this week, leaving us to scramble to get him a ride, thankfully we found a bus from Brantford to take him to Buffalo so hopefully things will turn out okay today for that! Another example is that I do not have my own laptop, but this we hope to change in the near future.

So. Finally I am telling you about our visa situation. Sitting at my mom's place is Jett's visa, and all three children as well, but not mine. I was not issued mine, and can't be issued until after I have the baby, this also means we need to apply for the new babies visa as well (can you see this being long and drawn out?) But I was so happy to hear that Jett has his visa (and even the kids for that matter) it just means we are bit closer to all being allowed to go!

We decided instead of waiting in North America (Jett can't stay up in Canada for longer than 6 months so in order for him to attend the birth he would need to be out of the country for some time anyway) that the appropriate thing to do would be to start the work in Auckland as soon as possible. It does mean we will be separated for 2-3 months during the latter part of my pregnancy, but I feel comforted knowing Jett will be working where we believe he is called to.

I can't say why all of this is happening to us, only that the Lord's ways are not our ways. It is a trial, but He has not left us without help. He has remembered mercy. Some of you might think how am I supposed to cope without Jett with three littles and an ever growing camel's hump! I've thought much about this too, and worried too, but I'm not left without help. Of all places to have to stay for the rest of the pregnancy Chesley is probably the best spot! I have already 4 people I can apply for help when needed, and my sister already has offered her services if I go into labour early (and even when I do she would like to come).

So, Jett's flight is booked for mid-September, and the ordination/induction to follow shortly thereafter. We should be so thankful we have the doors opened thus far!

Happy Birthday Amelia!

This Saturday we celebrated Amy's 5th birthday (her bday was actually on the Sabbath). I don't like doing too much for birthdays, simply because it tires out the mommy and I don't see the need to go all out for a child...that doesn't mean I don't have cake and a gift. Also...if I had to do this when or if we had 6 children I think I would be pulling out my hair...so, best not to start something I'll regret later. :)

Yes, she was taken with the balloons. It was hard getting her interested into the presents because of the balloons lol! But she managed to open them, and find, books, school supplies, a memory game and my dear sister purchased Amy's kindergarten books (due to come in sometime this week or next)! Ok...so maybe I'm more excited then Amelia...but she was thrilled to hear about them. I just hope she will be as thrilled half way through the books! :)

Sat evening it was easy to get her to shower and get ready for bed with the "new" books to read afterwards... :D Bribes I know.

Ooh the balloon again...

And I would've posted a video but for some reason it doesn't want to work. :(

In other news I'm half way through the pregnancy. News about our immigration to come in the next post.

its a zoo here (almost!)

Myself and the kids did visit one last week with my mom and sister (and her two children). Amelia liked feeding the goats.

And we were able to convince Aaron, after a while of watching us have fun! Jackie had the largest goat try to nibble at her skirt, and then the bag of food... :D

I could post photos of animals, but I think we all know what usually is in a zoo! This was a smaller one, so not so much walking for a pregnant mommy! :) And they had a little park area for wee ones to run around in.

Now, I must tell you something. I've been using yogurt as a face wash. Just plain organic yogurt. And it is actually really nice! I've tried the baking soda but to do that everyday is just a bit too rough on the skin for me. But yogurt...is so nice. :) Now, I have to admit I'm not diligent enough washing every night or morning with it...I do have three littles, a husband, a pregnancy, and brother in law to deal with, so time is harder to come by.

Speaking of yogurt, look what I found my son doing a day or so ago...

Yes....yogurt in his hair! *sigh*

And what of our visas? Well, last Friday or Thursday we found out that my standard of health is unacceptable and on the basis of that they could refuse our application (pregnancy is considered an unacceptable standard of health - I still think its so silly but nevermind). However our last and final option was to write a guarantee (oh I cant remember how its spelled!) that the birth etc would be covered (cost), and the church has graciously done this for us. We may still be refused, but we can only pray that they would let us through - please remember us! We will likely know the final outcome later next week. And yes, it has been a very stressful time, but I hope I am learning more and more that all things are in His control, and whatever happens it is in His providence. Our ways are not His ways neither His thoughts our thoughts. (I'm not quoting the text perfectly, just trying to remember the content).

Until next week then or the week thereafter!