Tom & Jerry (aka Spencer & Collin)

This morning while Vlad was showering, the boys decided to trap that monster inside his cave. They pushed a mattress up against the door and blocked it completely. Then, in true Tom & Jerry fashion, they "cemented" him in by building a wall of cardboard bricks against the mattress. And, of course, they laughed hysterically when Vlad realized he was "trapped." I think some renaming is in order...

The Newcomer's Dilemma

I try hard not to feel sorry for myself. I really do. And when I feel myself succumbing to that downward pull, I do what I can to cheer myself up. I play music, I check my facebook page a few times a day to connect to people I know, I go to a Mom's group when I can, I call my mom, I take the kids to McDonalds or the library, and when all else fails I go for a drive just to see people and places. Despite the homeschooling and having my kids always around, despite the wonderful hubby who overfills my life with blessing, despite the slow-moving photography business that does occasionally afford some social interaction, despite the nice neighbor family who provides good playmates and the occasional social dinner at each other's house...it's lonely in our little corner of the world.

I've been trying to fight it off, but lately I can hardly seem to shake that empty feeling like something is missing; that something is people. I miss being in a place where we walked into church and someone was there to give a hug, ask how our week was, and ruffle our kids' hair or pinch their cheeks and call them by name. I miss having someone who I can stop and talk to on the way out instead of silently, invisibly, coming into church and leaving again, week after week after month after month after year.... I miss friends who I can stop by their house for an impromptu coffee and playdate. I miss having someone in town to call just for a quick chat. Sundays are usually hardest. I see families coming and going from our neighbors' houses; moms, dads, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins....someone there to catch those fleeting moments of children's childhoods, to chat with over a cup of tea about silly little things like the bad roads, the new coffee pot, and which shade of paint to put on the walls - people just to share life with.

I have to chide myself not to let envy spring up in my heart, and to use that recognition of a missing element in our lives to spur me to action. I have got to be proactive....invite, host, join groups, invite some more! I have got to get this ball rolling. I try not to let it bother me that we have already invited many many times without much success. (The few times we have had people over have been wonderful - there are so many fantastic people in this church and area). I try not to let the dilemma of a newcomer tie me down - creating friendship out of thin air when others' lives are so full of friends and family and busyness, and drumming up the emotional energy to try again and again until we see some results. I try not to let it bother me that we aren't invited anywhere ourselves. But sometimes, it just does.

Last year when I was enrolling my kids in school and had no one to put on our emergency phone numbers contact list, was a very difficult moment for me. Now we do have someone - we have our neighbors. What a godsend!! There is progress...

As always, after I've wallowed in the mire of self-pity for a while, it's time to get up, wash myself off, and get back to the grind. Social life is hard work. I put a vinyl quote on our wall after Christmas. It says "Bless our home as the children grow, bless our  lives as we come and go. Bless our families as we gather in. Bless our home with love and friends." The love is already here, and with my own family I have so much to be thankful for: the kids are doing well, we have a cohesive family unit, and things are generally peachy. My prayer for this year is that the "friends" and the "families gathering in" part of that prayer will be answered as well.

The boys are still in Scouts, and still going to programs at the YMCA. We are joining a group that organizes events for home schooling families, and my prayer is that we all can find friends among those who have a similar lifestyle. I just met a friendly American librarian on one of our frequent trips to the library, and she told me there is an American Women's Group in Winnipeg. I'll be attending that group for their monthly meeting. As she said in her southernly twang, "Sometimes it's just nice to talk to the girls from back home." I was also kicking around ideas with Vlad for creating a family's night out at church, and for inviting our neighbours in for a neighbourhood potluck. There is so much more we could be doing. You know, in all our spare time.

So thanks for listening to my heart, even though today my thoughts are not very uplifting. And thanks for reading this little place in cyberspace. I "see" you all, and knowing you read really does make us feel not nearly so much like a little household all alone on a big, snowy prairie.

Love to you all , my friends -
Carmen

In which there are tons of photos, but not much else.

These are some photos that I snapped during the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas. We were still homeschooling through all of December, of course, so we didn't have a lot of play time. But we did manage to go on a few outings. Thank heavens we ended up in Phoenix before our December unit on transportation! We were able to avail ourselves of multiple methods of transportation in the larger city, and made some fun field trips out of it! We also spent a bit of time with my brother and my sister-in-law. The kids have a great time bonding with their cousins Owen and Audrey. Poor Owen falls more than any kid I ever knew. And I can't figure out why, because he is a very coordinated kid! Maybe it's just his enthusiasm over everything. He really kept us hopping, including a trip to the emergency room (made by his father, not us!) Somehow my kids avoided major catastrophe, even though their favorite thing to do was visit the skate park nearby my parents' house. Collin was quite the go-getter this year on his scooter, compared to last year when he poked along. 

And little miss Claire was unbelievable, if I do say so myself. She dashed around that skate park like she owned the place - totally figured out the scooter and was not a bit daunted by all the big guys with skateboards around the place. In fact, I don't think she even noticed them!

My kids' favorite hang-out. See Collin down there in the corner?

 Claire, skating around as if she owns it all. Not a bit worried about the skater dudes.

 Spencer, showing off on his new ripstick. He was one of hte few kids who could actually manage to get on and stay on this thing! It's really really tough!

 Claire, happy as a lark, and very very proud of herself!

 My kids on an outing to ride the LightRail. We made a field trip to different modes of public transportation. Aunt Rachel, Owen and Audrey went with us this time. Aunt Rachel suggested we visit Smeeks, a vintage candy and toys shop. She knows so many good places in Phoenix!!

Claire holding onto the rail in the train. Isn't she angelic?

 A beautiful church (or somethign like that) we walked past when we got off one stop too early from the Light Rail. The exercise did us some good!

Our kids digging into the loot after we visited Smeeks.

 All month long, my parents were renovating their upstairs. There was only supposed to be an overlap of renovation mess and our arrival of about three days. However, as renovations go, it took waaaaay longer to finish all that work. We still had beds and places for our stuff, but it was sort of chaos in that upstairs most of the time. The chaos was paying off, however. By time we left the renovation was nearing completion, and was looking beautiful!

 My dad built a cable car bunk bed when I was in kindergarten. My brothers slept on it for years and years. Now they have pulled it out of storage and revived it for our kids. It was repainted, and is now in the "boys' bedroom" in the upstairs. Here is Claire having a blast on the top bunk!

 Never a dull moment, Claire and Owen got into more trouble than I care to describe. Here is Claire vacuuming up the mess when we found that she and Owen had emptied Mom's powder jar all over the bathroom floor (and mirror).

 Owen and Katya, seeming to be a bit confused what all the fuss is about, looking on as Claire cleans the mess as best she can (Mom and Grandma to follow!)

 Poor Claire! Forgotten when she was put in time out while I was schooling with the boys. She fell asleep in her time out spot on the stairs.

 Since we were doing a unit on transportation, and we needed to do a bit of study on ships and shipping terminology, and we also needed to do a gingerbread house since it was CHristmas time.......we decided to do a gingerbread SHIP!! We named our ship, complete with masts, rigging, a ship's wheel, anchor, poop deck, sails, and crow's nests, a cannon, cannon balls, adn waves, the "JET 99."

 notice the gingerbread man for the ship mascot (which I can't remember the name for right now).

 My kids enjoying mom's "kids' table." I gotta get one of those.

 Katya - her precious, ornery baby self. This baby has a HUGE sense of tease and humor!

 This was too hilarious of a photo opportunity to pass up. I rounded the corner adn found that someone had dumped tons of bath bubbles in the tub while it was filling! She was up to her chin!!

 Loads of fun!

 Rub-a-dub-dub! Three kids in a tub...

 Sisterly love. These two really do adore each other.

That's all for now, folks!!

Thanksgiving

In late November our family took off from Winnipeg and trecked across the US once again to arrive at my parents' house just in time for Thanksgiving. Now, my cousin Stacey who has a fabulous house and an even more fabulous penchant for entertaining, invited us all over for the Thanksgiving feast.
It was a really great time! Unfortunately, I didn't do so well with turning my camera on all the events. However, her dining room was so spectacularly decorated I just couldn't help but snap a few photos.
So, here are some of the images I captured that evening. We had a great time! Thank you so much for your hospitality, Bill & Stacey!

The Dining Room, all decked out for the Thanksgiving feast.

My beautiful niece, Audrey.

The kids always have a great time at Riley's house.

Collin's first time holding a chicken.

Spencer's too!

With a huge backyard, a tennis court, and bikes and gear galore, the kids had a blast in the beautiful evening.

And then they rightfully crashed on the couch for a movie!

Get a load of Riley's ringlets!

With all that activity, it's no wonder we found Claire asleep in strange places that weekend!

A take-your-breath-away moment.

Coming down the stairs, I came across this scene. Spencer using his developing reading skills to regale his brother and sister with a story.