Sometimes...

Sometimes...

a girl just needs a quiet place to read.

As you can see...Emma found one!  :)

With Love,

Camille

**This was how I found my girl the other day ~
She was unaware of my presence until the photo was taken.

Down Under Up Here

We've had a visitor.  

All the way from "Down Under" to "Up Here".

At least, from our perspective it's up.  :)
It took fourteen hours of flight for our guest to finally
arrive in our neck of the woods.
Australia really is on the opposite side of the globe.

What a thought!

This is the first time we have had the opportunity
to host the daughter of a blogging friend in our home.
Isn't it amazing what can happen when you blog?
Real live people are on the other side of the screen.
Sometimes, they are on the other side of the world.
Those people have the potential to become our friends.

And, that's how it happened.  What fun!

Miss M's Mum sent us treats from her homeland.
Included in the mix was a tube of Vegemite.
Now, that was a taste experience!
I preferred the chocolate.  :)

It's been like having a big sister for Emma around here.
They went ice skating together and played "Life".
They cleaned the dishes together and made friendship bracelets.
And, that was only on the first day.
Emma will be sorry to see her go.  

On her second day with us, we put her to work.
The employment?  Baking a Lemon Meringue Pie.

It was yummy, nummy!  SO good.  
Her Mum was right ~ 
she knows what to do when it comes to baking.

We headed out for the afternoon to our local beach.
The girls climbed up a big rock at which point
Miss M informed us of her fear of heights.
Ann...I was trying to take good care of her ~ truly!

They conquered it.

However, coming down was more of a challenge.

Thankfully, nothing got broken or even bruised.

I breathed a big sigh of relief when they were once again on solid ground.

Just prior to her flight out of town today,
we were able to scoot down to the city and visit Stanley Park.
It was a perfect day ~ warm-ish with blue skies and sunshine.

We've all become fast friends.

A pile of leaves is an open invitation for this ~
Wouldn't you agree?

The real reason she came to Canada was to 
visit with friends who live on the Prairies.  
So, we only had her with us for the weekend.
Just before she leaves for home, we will have her for one more day.
We are looking forward to it ~ I think she is, too. 

Thank you, Ann, for letting your girl come stay with us.

It's been a blessing to us all.

Anyone else want to send me their young people?

Let's talk.

With Love,
Camille

Fresh Memories ~ A Thankful Post

We are in the midst of the everyday and the routine

and the sometimes-not-so-ordinary things that make up our lives.

Nothing new, really.  However, it is.  

We are making fresh memories together.
Memories are always being made ~ it's the nature of life.

These are the moments that we will cherish in years to come.
That's how it is, isn't it?  

We look back on precious days and events and ordinary

things that reside in photos and in our memories.
They are held in highest esteem.  

Interesting how that works, don't you think?

We long for long ago.

Why do we do that?  Sometimes it robs us of now.
It can keep us from really living this day.  In this moment.
Do we take notice and stop to consider
that these things ought to be treasured up now?

I'm storing up these memories.  These treasures.
I am seeking to live in the moment as the memories are made.

Cherishing and enjoying and entering into every little detail.

May the Lord give grace to hold everything with a loose hand

all the while praising Him for the gifts He gives.

They are all from Him.  They all belong to Him.

He may claim them back at any time.
We are not entitled to any of them.
Yet, He graciously gives and we live because of Him.

My list today is made up of the random things that have been
such lovely blessings in recent weeks.
The here and now is precious.  We are not guaranteed tomorrow.
This ought not to make us tremble.  If we are the Lord's we have nothing to fear.
It ought, however, to make us thankful ~ for every little thing.  
Thankful for every gift no matter how small or insignificant.

Everything is a gift.  Directly from His hand.

Our niece and her husband have a little teeny tiny doggy ~
Her name is Charley, and we were blessed to have her stay with us.
Isn't she just the absolute cutest thing you ever saw?
(Emma is allergic to dogs ~ this was a trial run to see if she
might tolerate one this small.  Apparently she doesn't.  Isn't that sad?)

  

The boys were blessed to be able to take two separate camping trips ~
The first was in the mountains, and included lots of hiking.
The other was to a little local island, and involved a ferry and bikes.

The first trip found our two boys out in the bush
with two boys from our friends' family.
The photos from that trip will likely be featured in future posts ~
God's creation is absolutely stunning.

I am thankful to have a husband who tells me that
we must let the boys do these things ~ it's a rite of passage into manhood.
They were safe and went with responsible young men.
It certainly is a blessing to see them developing these kinds of friendships.

The second trip was to Mayne Island and involved Betsy for transportation.
There were six boys on that trek.  The boys were taken to the ferry
where they loaded up their gear on their backs and bikes,
and journeyed over to the island.
It was an adventure, for sure!

I take no responsibility whatsoever for the food choices they made ~ LOL.

I am thankful that they all stayed safe and enjoyed their time away together.

God is Good to provide such wonderful friends for our boys ~ we are thankful.

The photo below shows the young men as they ventured out ~

Calvin and Fraser are together on the far right.

Emma missed her brothers.
She planned and shopped and decorated their room
to welcome them home from their first trip away.

See how she decorated the bed?
Confession ~ it was done a little too early...
we ate the chocolate bars and I had to replace them ~ LOL!  

I am thankful for sibling friendships ~
Austin's absence from the photo below is painful to my Mama heart.
However, I am thankful that he is where we will one day be.
And, again, God is Good.  Always.

A lovely friend sent me this praying angel ~

wasn't that just the sweetest thing to do?

It's a reminder to my heart that God's people care 

and that we ought always to lift one another up in prayer.

Another sweet friend sent these home-made journals ~
One for me and one for Emma.
We are so thankful for the love shown to us in these
beautiful ways ~ God is so Good!

I'm thankful that my Emma desires to learn
the finer arts of the home ~ she is learning to knit.
This is her first attempt at it.
I thought I would start her out small with a dishcloth...

...but, it grew and grew and grew!
Can you believe that I only cast on 45 stitches?
What happened??!!
We're not sure what this will become...
but, we will figure something out.  :)

I am thankful for a special time out with Emma's Grandma and my Mum-in-Love.

We were able to go to a tea room and enjoy...

...Afternoon Tea!  Isn't this just the prettiest tray of goodies?

It was a real treat.

God's Goodness to us comes in these and a myriad of other ways.

We are thankful for His Loving Hand upon us.

He is gracious and kind and does all things well.

In the midst of sorrow, there is joy.

In what ways have you been blessed this Summer?

Feel free to share in the comments section of this post ~

I'd love to hear what's been a blessing to your heart.

With Love,
Camille

One More Time

The children have done this once before.

The opportunity to do it again presented itself,
and I agreed to take them one more time.

Really, I don't fancy the idea of it becoming a habit.

I'm not at all in favour of them doing it for real.

Inside.  With harnesses.  And ropes.  And thick pads below.

That I can handle.  A few times ~ I think.  :)

Austin and Calvin came along last time.

They were unable to join us yesterday.

That's why only Fraser and Emma are featured in this post.

It was just me and them.  My two youngest.

Dear me.  How quickly they grow up.  

Emma was able to touch that blue rock at the tippy-top of the wall below.  :)

Fraser's in the striped shirt.

He made it to the top and rang the bell.  :)

There were places where they could free climb ~
 Fraser made it to the top of the wall in the photo below.

I happily kept my feet firmly planted on the floor,

while cheering my children on and snapping photos.  

It was the safest thing to do, wouldn't you agree?  :)

Happy Weekend!

Camille

Another *L* in the Family

It's official ~ I'm getting old.  :)

Our Calvin has his learner's license ~

wasn't it just yesterday that he was our baby?

Time waits for no man, or, in this case ~ woman.

We must enjoy these seasons or we will forever be looking back

with fondness on days gone by all while missing out on today.

One day, I will look back fondly on these days ~ 

at least, I think I will.  *Wink*

As I advised when Austin got his learner's ~

Get out of the way!  :)

This is going to be an adventure.
Calvin's logged just over an hour ~ only 59 to go.
He must have an instructor (mostly me) with him for the first year and 60 hours ~
then, he will be able to challenge the road test for his *N* classification.
I'm in no hurry for this year to pass by ~ however, I do hope I survive it. 

On a side note ~ I have a little story to share about the 

vehicle we teach our children to drive in...

she's affectionately known as "Old Betsy".

When we acquired this family van, I was expecting Emma.

We were unable to fit another baby into our car, so a van was a necessity.

When we purchased her, Betsy was a new-to-us seven year old vehicle.

I casually mentioned to Howie that I thought she would be a

great van for the kids to learn to drive in ~ he laughed.

Austin was not quite seven years old at the time ~
when he would be old enough to drive, the van would be sixteen.

I smiled and secretly hoped I would be right.
And, I was.  Betsy is perfect.
And, she made it.  She's eighteen.

She's got a scratch or two already and

over 200,000 km on the odometer ~ a great provision, if you ask me.
Hang in there Betsy...you only have to last another six years ~
That would see us through to the end of Emma's year of learning.

What about you?  Have your children begun the adventure of driving?

Will you teach them to drive when the time comes?
If you do, please know that you have my greatest respect.  
It's certainly not for the faint of heart ~ or the weak of stomach. 
Let's cheer one another on...okay?  :)

Many Blessings,
Camille

Bits and Pieces

Life's been full of random things lately.

It's been busy and good.  Never a dull moment.

These are bits and pieces of our lives from recent days.

Howie had the rare opportunity to work on his R/C plane

and take it flying ~ he only broke one piece of it this time!  :)

Calvin is one brave boy when it comes to electronics ~

here he is attempting to replace a computer part.
In case you are wondering, it hasn't come together yet.  
Perhaps it will ~ time will tell.  
He has had success in the past, I'm sure it will happen again.  :)

Emma has quite the collection of Geronimo Stilton books ~

they are silly and colourful adventure stories.

They are great for reading in the bath.  :)

I've been baking a few new things lately ~

this was one of those *new things*...YUM!  :)

Even though the weather on May 13th was cold,

Fraser and Emma braved the waters of the outdoor pool.

It was the opening day of the swim season ~

Emma's philosophy is that if it's open, we must not miss out.

Don't they look like they are having a good time?

Brrr....it was too cold for me!

Mother's Day produced some of these ~ aren't they beautiful?

The *old* Austin continues to emerge ~ It's a wonderful thing!  :)

Fraser got his first *for pay* lawn cutting job

at a neighbour's house ~ it's to last for the season...what a blessing!

Calvin graciously went to help out ~ another blessing.

Howie tackled a plumbing job for me ~ 
now, that's love...don't you think?

Only one part was required for the job, and below is the bill ~

what a provision!  SO thankful we didn't have to hire a plumber.  

Emma's taken to playing outside on a picnic blanket with

the neighbour girl ~ they play Monopoly, Uno, Life and Taboo.

What about you?  Are you treasuring up some memories?
It would be lovely if you would share them with us here.
Enjoy these days ~ each one is a gift from HIS Loving Hand.

Many Blessings,
Camille