Soaking up Some Rhythm

Well, the first day of school has past. The second day of school is finished as well. And on we were to the third this morning. Some moments I feel overwhelmed by the starting process and some moments I feel relief that we are ‘back to the books’. We are in the in-between time of summer with all of its carefree days coming to an end, and the beginning of a new rhythm with order and books! There is excitement and trepidation, stress and relief, business and order etc. The in-between sort of sets a balance. It can tip one way or the other but eventually we will find the rhythm of new order.

Yesterday afternoon, I suggested the girls color for a while and they chose to color their vowel pages! Score!! I sat sipping my tea and soaking up the beginning of a new rhythm for the mundane…and I smiled. When I was overwhelmed earlier, I had prayed and now I am feeling gratitude that He will be near as we find our groove for this school year.

I was reminded that I cannot look at the whole year, and the whole messy house (which is rather upside down from summer slacking and dudes renovating). Instead I just have to take the next step (only one!) and get to work- the ‘whole’ will be taken care of and with a thankful heart it will be taken care of pleasantly! And when I sin in the process, there is Grace enough to clean me up and trusting that grace I will move along with joy.

Wishing you God’s blessing as you start the routine of school in your families, whether it is through home educating or through seeing them off to school once again. Don’t forget to pray for God’s strength in your rhythm and remember His grace for the mundane. We have a King who cares for His people even in the changing of the seasons!



Snapshots of our first day of School!

A One-Year-Old in the Classroom!!!  Oh Dear!

Grade 2!!

Grade 1!!

First Day of JK!  She is such a hoot to teach!

Do you Feel Sorry for Me?

Chalking

Esmé

If you know this girlie, then there is no explanation needed...:O)

But let's have fun explaining anyway...

1.  She's her Father's daughter
2. She is crazy!
3.   It's normal to stand on trucks

And just so you know, she wasn't just standing on the truck-she was jumping.

My Lovie

Brouwer's Line

A peek at our new property on Brouwer's Line!  We have no real plan for when we will officially move here-we are still working on getting ready to sell our current home.

This is the veiw from the road.

 Standing on the hill in the back yard

 The two hills (or mountains as Jude calls them!)

 We had a fresh basket of books from the library-ready to be read after a picnic lunch but Brie decided to be grumpy so we went for a walk instead.

 Took the girls for a picnic just to get out of the house.

 Joel cutting the grass for us...not our lawn tractor.

Don't Cry Over Spilled Milk!

Apparently the bottle liner was not in properly...this happened as we were getting ready to leave for a campfire-Murphy's Law   :O)

Sandwiches on the Counter-because that's just fun. :O)

Chips n' Salsa
The girls often play 'restaurant'. When I bring them the food they are usually chatting with each other about how their Mom is the 'resaurant lady'. I pretend not to hear their conversation so that they keep chatting because it is very fun to listen in!

Wacky Hair! :O)

Tim Horton's cups are favorite toy around here.

March 2011-Trip to Michigan for Kezia's Baptism

Pic 1-Ksena 2006                                                            

Pic 2- Brie 2011

 Hotel Swimming!

 Such a fabulous big sister!!!! 

 Hotel Sleeping...

 The drive up...eating Dutch candies.

 Eating Out with the Luiting Clan the night we arrived.

...and sadly I did not take pics of Kezia at her baptism!!! 

The Bahamas...March 2011

Dan and I went to the Bahamas in March. We went to the same place in the Bahama's a few years ago with Taun and Rob and our respective families. It was such a refreshing trip and I am so thankful that Dan's Mom and Dad were willing to take our crew of ladies for a week!

I started reading One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp the first day we arrived (or maybe even on the flight there...)  This book is amazing but every sentence is a work of art and a meal to digest so I could not finish it on a holiday. 

 The view of our island (Spanish Wells) from the ferry that we took to Harbour Island.

 We used bikes to tour Harbour Island like a good Dutch couple should!  It was a blast!!!

 Just the view from the restaurant that we ate at...:O)  Can you imagine!!!

  While we were touring a funeral procession went by-it was more like a parade with dancing and a band!  The man leading the procession held a stick and he poked people who didn't move along properly.

Dan fishing from a boat that we had access to.  There were no life jackets or a paddle on board...we mentioned this to a local and she laughed at us and said "all you need is a pair of 'flippas' " -Apparently if you have engine trouble and get stuck in the middle of now where (which we did) all you need is a pair of flippers to use while you swim and push your boat to shore...We ended up sitting in the blistering sun on the open ocean for about an hour and finally another boat came past.  Just as they were about to pull us to shore our engine decided to work again.

Golf cart to get around the island...

Morning beauty...normally I do not get up early but I was sick so instead of trying to sleep I grabbed the camera and tried to catch the sunrise...

On our last day there a fellow Canadian (from Quebec) caught a Lemon Shark...at the beach we had been swimming at...not to worry though-it was only his third shark in about four days and Lemon Sharks are harmless.  I did not know that there were 'safe' sharks out there...did you?!  I will not believe it!

Dan and Don posing with sharkie while I panicked.

Oh, yes, friendly indeed!

Now there's a happy shark face!

 The End...and Sharkie did not eat us or these pics would not be here! :O)