Construction Advice

Busted!!!

"There comes a time in every rightly constructed boy's life when he has a raging desire to go somewhere and dig for hidden treasure."

- Mark Twain
Well, I'm not sure exactly what hidden treasure Mr. Elijah is digging for but he has found what may just delight him for years. For the last two summers my brother John has joined the elite group of college aged tree planters, working in the True North fighting moose, bears and freak snow falls just to keep the forests going. We always thought this was appropriate as for a couple of years Naomi had a knack for using up paper napkins like crazy and we'd always say, "go ask Uncle John to plant another tree!". Well, Uncle John's tree planting days are over and if the conditions are right, and someone has left the washroom door open, Elijah has just found great delight in unraveling the toilet paper until it's unusable.....I hope somewhere, someone is planting a tree!

P.S. Is it just me or does he look a little like Charlie Brown?

Sweaty Palms

Alright, so this picture isn't completely true. We couldn't get a good angle when Jerusha preformed at her spring recital so we had her pose at the piano afterwards. However, we did have the great joy of listening to our eldest child preform "Power Walk" by Robert D. Vandall. She memorized the piece and played it flawlessly she was completely professional. I however, had the sweaty palms that is all too familiar, I was instantly whisked back to a time in my childhood when it's silent and all eyes are on me waiting for me to begin. I'm so glad it wasn't me up there! When I told Jerusha that her recital would be in the sanctuary at church and that she would be playing on the grand piano, the one Pastor Geary plays on no less, she looked up at me and said, "will Dad be preaching?" Love it! This girl is ready to bring it! Move over George Beverly Shae (that reference was for the grandparents!) (you're welcome!) How fun put your children through those same torturous rites of passage that we had to go through, I'll just sit comfortably in the audience....with sweaty palms.

Light the Torch!

Is it just me or do you hear the Olympic anthem right now too? Here's sweet Naomi at her very first gymnastic class. She was built for this...all but the front roll, which you can see she hadn't quite mastered when I took the picture, she has since figured it out and can somersault with the best of them.

Here's Naomi getting ready, she tends to get silly when she's excited and as you can see, she's pretty excited! It's fun to watch Naomi do something on her own, something just for her to do...and she's LOVING IT!!!!

Up For It!

Well, the world is looking brighter for Mr. Elijah! From rolling, to the army crawl, to crawling and now standing up, our little one is on the move! And look how proud he is of himself, yeppers, once someone experiences the world on their feet, it's not likely they'll go back to their bellies! When we found out our third one would be a boy I heard chuckles and warnings about how busy boys were and wishes of good luck keeping up with him. Elijah is only 9 months but I'm finding those well-wishers to be on the right track. From the moment he wakes up until he goes down for naps, this boy is on the move! How fun it is to watch him discover new things (he found bubbles particularly hilarious the other morning) and to master new milestones. He charms anyone he meets with a sweet smile and a laugh, that is until someone tries to take him from Mom.....He's a blessing we didn't even know we wanted and now that he's here, I can't imagine life without him.

What Life Sounds Like

"Music is what life sounds like." - Eric Olson

Mondays are full. Somehow there's always more laundry than usual and after taking as much as a Sabbath as I can, it seems I play "catch-up" on Mondays. In the evening, after a quick snack and half of a practice Jerusha has piano lessons. Off to Mrs. Willmann's we go, the little ones and I go for a walk if it's nice, or read books in the van if it isn't and Jerusha comes bounding out of her house excited to start on the next page of a piece that is quickly becoming her favourite.

Jerusha has impressed me with her musical abilities, even as a really little girl, she always sang on key which I never thought much of until I listened to other kids singing, and now she has piano....what a blessing to express yourself in music! She is quickly moving on to more difficult (and more lovely) songs and I frequently hear her playing just for fun. She really cracks me up with her aria entitled "candy" (things that inspire I suppose!) We have a tradition in our house, each child has their own "song", a hymn that I've sung to them since before they were born, partly out of wanting to nurture, and partly out of curiosity about a study I had heard of. Anyways, Jerusha's song is "Like a River Glorious" and just lately she's been singing along with me adding her own harmonies, she took it to the next level a couple nights ago as she came up with a three part harmony arrangement and recruited Jeremy to join in.....I don't think it happened quite as she had heard it in her head ah, the joys and frustrations of a composer! Whether it's a favourite song on the radio or a cherished song of worship to the greatest Composer, I hope you get a chance to enjoy some music this week!


"Alas for those that never sing
but die with all their music in them!"
- Oliver Wendell Holmes

Rain

Last month we had record amounts of rain. It feels as if it's been raining for 40 days and 40 nights, one local nursery had a sign in the front saying that they were building an arc and anyone who felt it was necessary was welcome to join them. Usually I don't mind the rain but it's starting to get old. Jerusha's soccer season has come to a halt, they were supposed to start in March but they've only had two games, one of which my parents were able to watch (mostly from the van as it was, yes you guessed it, raining!) BUT, on a very special Saturday we had one beautiful sunny day....and a very fun birthday party!

On April 16th Jeremy was ordained. It was a long process of study and defending his theology and doctrine in front of three different councils and then the vote was unanimous to ordain him. The service was such a blessing, with a dear friend Ken Atchison giving the message, our friends leading worship and many friends and even family there to support him. It was such a worshipful time and during the laying on of hands such a Spirit-filled time, it is a very cherished memory for both of us. We've always felt the Call to minister in a church setting and have been serving for 11 years now, but this felt somewhat like a confirmation and to have the support of the church, our denomination is such a blessing.

On April 21st Jerusha turned 7. Wow......is it always shocking to watch your children grow? I know they do that, it somehow just surprises me at times. On her birthday, Roo and I went for a bike ride at the end of it we told her that her bike was simply too small and she's not able to ride it anymore. A very disappointed Miss. Taylor schlepped her way up the driveway when Jeremy brought out a new bike for her to ride. Needless to say her schlepping turned to skipping and off we went on another bike ride! We had her party here at the house last Saturday and with all we did in a very busy weekend that was by far the most exhausting! She had a blast and it was well worth it!

Naomi has mastered her name! She'd be happy to spell it for you and she's super close to being able to write it for you too. ("A" gives her a bit of trouble but she's almost there) Naomi has been very inquisitive about spiritual things lately. We took our time working through the Easter story, at our church we have a prayer garden that takes you through the garden of Gethsemane through to the empty tomb and we stood there for a while looking in the tomb to see if Jesus was in there. ( while we did not see Jesus, Naomi did see an empty Coke can) She is becoming aware that we all have a big problem and the God loved us so much He came to rescue us. I love being on the "ground level" of teaching these truths to her, what an awesome responsibility!

Elijah has decided that sitting still is for the birds so off he went learning to crawl just this week. My parents we out to visit for Jeremy's ordination and Jerusha's and my birthday and I really thought he would take off then, but he decided a week later was a better fit for his schedule. He's on the move......really on the move.....and quite proud of himself too!

That's all I have to report for now. I haven't written for a while as our computer had all but died, but thanks to some tax cuts (Thank you, Obama) we have a new one! I look forward to keeping you up to date! And maybe, just maybe, this rain will stop.....if not, I'm getting a canoe!

Update

So much has happened since I last logged on so here's a quick update....as I'm sure you surmised from the title. ...

In November my Grandma Helen Letkeman passed away. It was not unexpected and to be honest, the first thing I felt was relief, she had wanted to go home to quite some time. Eli and I flew west to be at the funeral and just to be with family.

Christmas came and went at lightning speed. Jerusha got an ipod and has been bopping around the house listening to Highschool Muscial. Naomi got her first bike and with the weather being snowy, has really mastered making the sharp corners as she wizzes by in the basement. Elijah, well, he just sat there and took it all in.

We went up to Newmarket to be with family the day after Christmas (Boxing Day) and got to go to the Holmes' family gathering, always great to be with family!

The New Year came, the ball dropped, Dick Clark didn't look quite as bad as he did last year, school started again (yeah!) and now, Jeremy is in Haiti.

Yep, Haiti. He's there with folks from our church (including our senior pastor) and he's preparing the mission trip that he will lead the youth to in June.

Phew! Now that we're on the same page I'll try to keep you posted weekly.