Like Sand Through an Hour Glass

Well last Friday the 27th Faith celebrated her 11th birthday. I really wonder where the time has gone? It seems like only days ago that we were bringing her home from the hospital, and she was hitting all her milestones!

In what seemed like a blink of an eye she was celebrating her 1st birthday.



Then her second.

She was growing and changing, at what seemed like the speed of light, moving from a baby to a toddler.

Then came us moving off the farm and to Spruce Grove along with her 3rd and 4th birthdays.

Faith has always been a girly girl, enjoying anything and everything pretty and feminine.

When Faith was 4 she started dance which has turned into her passion!

Then came her 5th birthday.

With each passing year Faith has grown in so may ways. She is a kind girl who is blessed with many friends.

She enjoys arts and crafts!

Faith celebrated her 7th birthday in Orlando Florida at Disney World, she was made into a princess.

Then came 8 and number 9....

Last year Faith hit double digits and I could not get over how time had flown by and now one more year later I really do feel as if  time is like sand through an hour glass!

My young lady I am so proud of you and the women you are becoming, you bless me in so many ways daily!

I love you so and thank God each day for you!

Sleeping Sideways in a King Sized Bed.

For those of you who are a few generations older than I, no I did not get the lyrics to the song wrong! You see four years ago when we moved into our house we bought a brand new king size bed with a beautiful semi firm pillow top mattress, it was luxurious to sleep in. That is until about a year  ago we have been faithful at turning the mattress every six months but it has in turn faithfully gotten two troughs on either side of the mattress. One Darcy sized trough and one Jenn sized trough, many nights we toss and turn keeping each other awake trying to get comfortable. So three nights ago now I suggested to Darcy that we sleep sideways yes with our heads on one side and feet at the other Darcy barley fits his feet hang off the end just a bit but I fit just fine ( there are some advantages to being five feet tall). The sleep was great no tossing, no turning  the hump in the middle of the bed perfectly supports our lumbar. So now today I am going through all our paperwork to find our sales slip and find out the warranty on the mattress to see if there is something that can be done about our bed. It makes me sad that we spend good money on something we thought was going to last us quite sometime and now only four short years latter it is almost unusable.

Planning!

Well anyone who knows me knows that I am an organized person, this might be putting it mildly! (who am I kidding anal does not even cut it!) Making lists and putting things on one of my many calendars is more of a hobby than anything and brings me great joy. Part of this intense need to plan is the shear delusion in making myself believe that I have some control over what goes on in my life. Many would say that due to the chaotic early childhood I had that this makes perfect sense, however I would have to disagree I would have to label it for what it is SIN. It is totally my sin nature that I was born with kicking in. I worry and do not trust God, I say that I believe he is sovereign and in control of my life. Then my mind goes into overdrive over the simplest things, things that really have no bearing on me or my family in the grand scheme of things. Things that have nothing to do with Gods glory and heaven which I know is the end result of our life here on earth. So now that I once again have been convicted of this I must confess it , repent of it and lay my worries at the foot of my saviors cross who promises in Matthew 11:30 "My yoke is easy and My burden is light". This is not to say that being organized is sin please don't get me wrong. For me the sin comes into play when "plan A" the plan that I have so carefully put together does not fall into place and I then have to go to "plan B" or possibly even to "plan C". This is when the sin comes in. In the way of my attitude and my mood towards others who are there. Or the anger that builds up inside of me due to me not getting my way, throwing a fit inside like a small child wanting to sprawl on the floor fists and feet flailing! Truly this is how I feel when my well laid plans go awry The intensity that I act on these feelings has lessened vastly in the last twenty years but the truth of the matter is that this sin rears its ugly head every now and then and I am faced with dealing with it. It is not pleasant and I do not enjoy it but as one of Gods children the Holy Spirit puts his finger on the areas in my life that are not where he wants them,  this side of heaven there will be many such times in my walk with the Lord. In the light of his perfection I am humbled and want the sin in my life eradicate, so before his throne of grace I fall and pray his forgiveness and that I would be ever mindful of his loving purpose for all the things that happen in my day to day life, because his plan for me is far greater than the one I craft myself! So with this in mind I begin a new year wanting what Christ wants not what I want!

2011, Our Year In Review

So this past year was full, very full! I am not sure where the time has gone but it went and here we are in 2012

JANUARY:

 - At the beginning of Jan. we had a visit from my Auntie Marlene, her son Ashley, his wife Erin and 

                       their daughter Malaya. Faith and I got our baby fix while they were here.  

         - It seemed like the snow would never end, we just got finished shoveling and would have to do it again! 

         - On the 27th Faith turned 10 years old!



FEBRUARY:

 - Brought with it more snow and lots of school.

- We drove to Fort McMurray to visit Darcy one weekend

- Kristian celebrated his 15th Birthday!

MARCH:

- For the most part March was quiet, Darcy came home from Ft. McMurray and we were all very happy that he was home!

APRIL:

In April we took a trip to Orlando to relax the weather was beautiful!

MAY :

- The month of May was packed with dance, from extra practices to two competitions.

- One of the dance competitions was in Calgary so we stayed the weekend at Des and Warrens in Strathmore.

- Darcy had won a private flight with a local pilot in Nov. at a silent auction. So he did that in May as well they flew over part of Edmonton and our house.

JUNE :

- Well June was finally here the kids preformed in a year end recital and the production of Aladdin.

- We also added a member to our household in the form of an other kitten. His name is Orlando.

JULY :

- In July we had some down time, and went to Ft. Edmonton park it is one of our favorite places to spend a nice day in the summer.

- The boys started working for Darcy and helping him frame

- Some friends gave us Eskimo tickets so we took the boys.

AUGUST :

- In August God blessed our family with a new edition. My nephew  Wyatt Memphis was born to my brother Brandon and his girl friend Tiffany.

- Darcy and I celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary!

- Our family went to family camp with many dear friends and we all had a refreshing time.

SEPTEMBER :

- We traveled a lot in Sep. going out to Saskatchewan to visit my brother, his girl friend, my grandparents on my moms side, my grandmother on my dads side, my aunt, uncle and cousins.

- We also went to Montana with some friends.

Shaye turned 14 years old and we went to the Cheese Cake cafe to celebrate!

OCTOBER :

In October we went to Irma to celebrate Thanksgiving with the rest of my family at my mom and dads.

- Here are all the grandkids!

-My mom and sisters came to our place the next weekend so we could do our annual mother daughter shopping trip before Christmas!

- Darcy and I celebrated our 35 and 37 birthdays respectively.

NOVEMBER :

- This month we went to Irma to go to Darcy's cousins wedding.

- I decorated the house for Christmas, did the Christmas cards and wrapped all the presents.

-The kids also worked hard at school knowing that Dec. was fast approaching.

DECEMBER :

December was full of getting together  with family and friends.

All in all 2011 was a pretty great year!

Bring on 2012

Dance Mom

Many people have asked what I have been up to since Sept. began as I have kind of fell off the map so to speak. Well I have been at KaRAR Studio's, as most of you know all my kids dance and this year it has grown into another member of our family. This is what a typical dance week looks like for me, Mon. Faith does hip-hop from 5 till 6 then the boy's have a pop 'n' lock competition class from 8:30 till 9:30. Tue. Faith has acro from 4 till 5. Wed. Faith has a stretch, turns, leaps class from 4 till 5 then tap from 5 till 6. Thur. Faith has Ballet from 5:45 till 7:30 then a jazz/lyrical competition class from 7:30 till 8:30. Which brings us to Fri. the boys have hip-hop from 3 till 5, then Kristian has Ukrainian from 5 till 6, Faith has musical theater from 6 till 7:30 then the boys do drama from 8:30 till 9:30. Add into the week homeschooling, guitar lessons, Bible study and french class and that my friends is were I have gone since the beginning of Sept. This post is not by any means to complain I love every minute that I spend at the studio! All of the kids and the parents are great and I am very much enjoying this season of my life! For all to soon I know that it will be over and my children will be gone from home and what will I do then?

The Birthday That Never Was

On May 18, 2000 I was due with a little boy however he was born on Jan. 1, 2000 way to soon. We named him Morgan Zachery. Each year when this day rolls around I do a lot of thinking I wonder, what would he be like? What would he look like now? What kind of cake would he want for his birthday? amid all this wondering I weep and have my moments of emotional breakdown. I know in my head that my little man is safe in the arms of Jesus, he is far more loved there than we know how to love here and one day he will introduce us to Jesus which will be amazing. But during these days I wish my head could reason with my heart as it is having a time of selfishness in wanting him here. So I pray that God brings me and Darcy peace and gives our little boy a cuddle and kiss for us and tells him how much we love him each day till we meet.

The Night Before Florida

Twas the night before Florida....
....when all through the Ford home,
not a child was found sleeping,
in the entire house.
The luggage was stacked by the front door with care.
With hopes that Mr. Art would soon be there.
The children were restless squirming in their beds.
While visions of Soarin danced in their head.
With Mamma on her keyboard, and I with the rhymes,
we put our heads together to pen some good lines.
When out in the hall there arose such a clatter.
With the 5th time to the bathroom I asked " what's the matter".
Each child in their turn responded to me "I have to use the washroom"
"I need a drink of water" and "I just can't sleep"
From the back of our eyelids with thoughts of our flight,
we wish you "Good Bye" we will see you in a fort-nite.