Owen turns 1

This morning I woke up about 6:30 (thanks to J's alarm) and realized what a HUGE difference it was from last year!! Last year at 6:30 I had given birth to Owen and was recovering with horrible afterbirth pains (which lasted for a good hard 3 days). I was bothered by the midwives thinking I could just get up and shower...still bothers me now when I think of it and it makes me want a homebirth next time (if the Lord is pleased to give us more children). It also doesn't help that Mr. Owens came just as the midwifes were supposed to change shifts...ah well I had Jett next to me and we hope the Lord was with us too. I remembering singing Psalm 121 whilst in labour I think I was just at transition and it was soon Owen would be with us...we only got to the end of the 3rd stanza before another contraction came...but I'll never forget that moment, it was peaceful and the words encouraging.

So fast forward a year and we get this ... :)

Happy Birthday Mr. Owens!!

I decided against a cake but thought cuppies would work well and especially for a caterpillar :)
I think you can see his top teeth in this picture

Opening up his first present

Not at all enthusiastic eh? Well he was actually do for a nap, but I figured if we got the gifts out so the older kids could play while O had a nap then by the time he gets up they would be more willing to share. And so it was!

Yep, completely uninterested

the second toy

Amy of course took the pink cuppie...but she didn't eat it all!! It looked like a crown...!

And last of all the traditional song...

warm days

We've had two days (so far) of the warmest days of the year. Of course that means lots of sun too. We made good use of the backyard for some fresh air, and Vit D. :)This was from yesterday. He finally posed for the camera!

Mr. Owens

What I found in the abandoned nest out back...can you see her eye?

What I found Mr. Owens doing to a mirror image of himself...

:)

He was put on the grass for the first time and he wasn't quite sure about the feel of it :D It made a good video clip, I'll see if I can post that later.

The Synod is over, and I am glad Jett is home! He is to take the services here in Perth this weekend and the next too I think, and then the Perth Communion starts. May has just slipped away on us!

On Monday, Amy has to see the doctor in Glasgow. It's just a check-up on her condition. I really hope they have the DNA test back...but I doubt it. I am starting to wonder if they really took blood for the test in the first place! :)

Wednesday marks Mr. Owens 1st birthday and I think I'll make a caterpillar out of cuppies (cupcakes)...after having J's cake I didn't want another big cake to eat through...besides I'm only allowed one sweet thing in a day so cuppies work well I think. Did I ever mention that I wish I could take a course on cake decorating? I would really like to learn the art of piping roses, leaves etc. I like things to look pretty I guess :)

Uncle Lyle & Anna were over last night for dinner. I enjoyed having them as it is rare to have relatives over! *hint hint*

All right, I had better go and start preparing dinner now. :)

School of sorts, Belfast Zoo & N.Ireland, J's Birthday etc.

Owen fairly happy in his new car seat (we are very happy with this one!)

At the Zoo we saw lots of Animals (it was cold that day though, so not very many photos)

Aaron viewing the Elephants.

What happens after a looong walk through the Zoo but sleep?

Oh and snacks and funny faces! :)

Amy's handwriting, the first bit was of course traced but then she started writing out the rest on her own.

Oh, and this of course is Aaron's work :D

Little do you know it but he has screeching vocal chords...!

Lynne had put a doll house up in the Larne Manse...

Poor Granny, she was in the bathroom for almost the whole time we were there!

What we found at a Petrol station in N.Ireland! I was sooo thrilled I had to get Jett to buy a coffee....this picture was my doing.Jett's Birthday Cake just moments before Owen took a corner off... :(

So we patched it (notice the y is messed up...thanks to Mr. Owen).

We've been busy since we got home from N.Ireland last week. The ferry went so so...a bit bouncy at the beginning not not not my cup of tea at all...especially first thing in the morning!! But it smoothed out for the majority anyways. The Edinburgh Comm. was this weekend and it went well, I nearly didn't go as the kids were noisy in the hall on Sat...long story here and not enough time to explain the hall/vestry issue. This week is the Synod so Jett will be gone for a few days. Ah well, it will be a loong week for me, and perhaps a short week for J! And May is almost gone?! Owen turns 1 next week all being well.

Gotta catch the little rascals... :)

On this day 5 years ago...

We got married!
Happy Anniversary to us! :D

My new extended family...with a lil shorter version of Sam :D

My family, with my sister about 6 or 7 months pregnant, but that is me, I wouldn't have had it any other way.

The lovely bridesmaids...which I look back and think...ugh, I should've stayed with Care's ideas for the dresses...because the other seamstress made them look so plain!! :( Well, I guess you learn eh? Except I can't redo this day, but just tell you what I should've done :)

And quite frequently in the rolls of film we had was some pics of this lady...who turned out to be the photographer's future wife :D

So much has happened in 5 years, and so much to be thankful for!

oh the beautiful Psalms!

Take a peek at Mercy's blog for their psalm sing...how I miss Texan singing with babies slightly playing, crying or singing along in the backround... :)
http://itsagreyskymorning.blogspot.com/2010/05/psalm-singing.html

Hope you don't mind Mercy!!

Teaching your children the Psalms

So, I've been curious, how do you teach your children the Psalms when they are so little they cannot even read yet? How do you keep their attention!? Especially when little ones have small attention spans!

Well...here is how I do it.



Does this remind you of singing songs with "actions" too? It works for Amy!

In other major news, Jett passed his exams! We only have one mark back, but so far he has done well, to the Lord be the glory!

This Friday we are leaving for Larne, N. Ireland and hope to be there for two Sabbaths which means no internet (unless it is dial up). We hope to dip down into the Republic of Ireland (no, Northern Ireland and Ireland are NOT to be confused) but other than that and maybe (I REALLY HOPE) go up to see the Giants Causeway. So, that is the plan, Lord willing.

We hope to get back the 11th of May...and of course mother in law will know what day that is! Somebody is turning (shhh) 35!! :)

I might try to update one last time before we leave, but don't count on it as I'm trying to spring clean a bit before we head out...the cupboards in the kitchen are all clean!! :)

2 cups

This morning I had 2 cups of tea! :)



Update to come I hope! Jett is taking this last exam today!

at the end of the day...

My house looks like a mess. Playroom with 2 out of 3 not ready for bed.
The kitchen with dirty dishes.

The living room usually is worse then this (clothes strewn on the floor or shoes, and the covers are more off than on the couches)

But as 7pm approaches the kids are in bed leaving me to do dishes...

...tydy the living room...

...fold laundry, and clean up toys.

Yes. I do this every night (Sabbath being the exception).
But now it is quiet and I can read, and relax in a fairly clean atmosphere...:)

this week...

...was Jett's last week of classes. Unbelievable. Of course, we are still looking at a study week, and then his exams and then a month and a bit of more studying for licensing and trials on June 23rd. But, with regards to actual classes, they are over. If everything goes well, and the Presbytery is satisfied on June 23rd, Jett, Lord willing, would become a probationer. I'm learning about this system you know. I have been brought up somewhat under the church but never did I fully understand the steps (if I can call it that) of a student for the ministry. So, I make mistakes, and say the wrong thing and feel very silly but anywho I learn in the long run (I hope!).

On another note, Aaron has betaken himself to "good" reading already! ;) I'm not being serious, but it was cute to see him take ALL the FP & YP magazines off the shelf and "read" them.

My ever growing girl! She is definitely a little princess...no tomboy here (thankfully!).

She is finally interesting herself in making tea for me... :) oh but she didn't want to be in the pic, so Aaron had his go at it...notice the cow in his hand :D

I laughed sooo hard seeing this...

I also tried to get a upclose shot of his curly lashes...he is the only one that has them. No wonder Effie (Campbell) says he could pass as a girl!

Quite enjoying his morning bottle.

What are you living for?

Just a few thoughts I typed down...nothing orderly but that is because of time restraints. :)

I was listening to a sermon online last night (as I usually do on a Prayer meeting night)…the content was on the love of Christ which was really good (of course). In the sermon the minister also spoke about how in the Reformation times (and other times) it was a “killing time” a time that people died for Christ, rather than deny Him. But we do not live in those times, it is a “living time”…but, are we living for Christ just as they in the past had died for Him?

So easily we live for ourselves, and for our pleasures. Some of my readers may only be living for themselves, jumping from one pleasure to another…but they find little satisfaction. Amazing really, how one keeps searching for satisfaction in everything else but they never look to Christ for it because He is not appealing to them and yet the fountain of satisfaction and true happiness is found in Him! That baffles me greatly, although it shouldn’t as I know that our hearts are blinded by nature.

And too often there are things to take away our time that should not be there. And wow, we live in such a day that is pumping out these time-wasters, and distractions…and unfortunately it works very well. Moderation is a very good thing, but is hard to keep by if all we see is immoderation!! And impossible too if we are relying on ourselves. How I like simplicity!

Our chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. Are we glorifying God in our everyday lives? Are we being conformed to Christ, becoming like Christ?

Please remember that when I write these kinds of posts, I am not pointing fingers at anyone in particular. This is mainly for my own benefit so if I am pointing, let it be at myself. E.S.