181 and Up

Today I will focus on 20 reasons why I am thankful for my daughter Aleana. When you live in such close quarters and see each other so often, it is easy to lose sight about what it is that you enjoy about each other. So here I go...remembering the beautiful and the reason why I first became a mother - because of a little baby girl named Aleana.

181) For her uncanny ability to be organized in a really messy way
182) For her love of baking - yum yum
183) For the love she shares with her brother Peter (her other brothers too, but you don't see it as much)
184) For her willingness to help out where needed
185) For her ability to lead and take control
186) For her zest for life and zanny sense of humor
187) For her desire to follow Christ and obey him in all she does - Praise the LORD!
188) For her self-confidence that allows her to be herself
189) For the choices she makes to keep the peace and not demand her own way - she is really growing up in that!
190) For her outward beauty that reminds me of my mother - thanks LORD - it's a blessing to remember my mother like that every day
191) That she makes beautiful cards
192) That she has interesting opinions about things and feels very strongly about them!
193) That she loves children and helps out in the church babysit in such a natural way
194) That she loves to experiment in the kitchen and in other parts of the house (the latest being bones in vinegar- which we nicely transferred to the garage!)
195) That she is so great to shop with - I love having her with me because she has better ideas of what to buy than I do!!
196) That she will spontaneously give hugs
197) That she is loyal to her friends
198) I am thankful that she has come such a long way this year in her report writing
199) I am thankful that she has survived almost 12 years of our not always the wisest parenting :(
200) Wow - here I am at 200!!! I am thankful for her love and existance. God sure knew what He was doing when He gave us Aleana.

Some gifts we don't see until we roll over them...

The answers to last blog are: Ethan didn't lose his first tooth until he was just 8 - so in the first picture he is older than you guessed. It was Jan. 2009. Sorry, if my hint led you astray.

Matthew is indeed about 18 months in the tub there and that is Matty sleeping with Aleana.

I think we have a picture of all the boys with Aleana at one time or another.

Any guesses to who this sleeping beauty might be?

Which reminds me of a story...

I remember when my sister used to crawl into my bed in the middle of the night. Arghhhhh it was so annoying - it was crowded for one thing and she snored so loud I could often hear her in the next room. Having someone snoring in the next room was bad enough but to have them snore right in your ear was another. Thankfully for her husband, she has since had her adenoids taken out. Anyway, ... once I knew she was sleeping, I would sneak out and crawl into her bed. After alittle while she would awake to find the bed cold and the room scary. She would search me out in her bed and the whole process would start over.

The moral of the story is that to this day we still seek each other out in the scary times and then try our hardest to exude our independance from each other again. That is what happens with sisters: We search, we find, we comfort and we leave again.

Here we are on top of Sulphur Mountain in Banff, AB. I am 12 and sis is 8. As always, she reflects confidence, attitude, and a wardrobe well put together for the camara. I, on the other hand, show some tripidation of being on the edge - of the mountain and of the fashion scene. Don't you just love the blue argyle knee socks and the light pink shorts? At least the sweat shirt and socks match!!! I never cared much for fashion, more for just being comfortable. Oh yes, here we were - much different but always together and here - on top of the world!!!

Down Memory Lane

It's previous obvious who this is - but how old do you think he is?

Clue: He has all but one of his baby teeth.
Not so obvious which child this is - who is it and how old?

Who is Aleana sleeping with?

Once I find the disc with all the other years on it - I hope to do this walk down memory lane alittle more often. That and scanning old pictures would be a really great project to eat up the time that I have to fill up during my boring days :) - te he.

Onto 161

Today, I will add pictures to the gifts in my life.

161) Eyes - guess whose these are.
162) Moments of complete and utter cuteness. Here Peter has placed his Pooh bear Grandma B. made him in a bed of cloths beside his bed

163) Bunk beds are great inventions. Can you tell which pair of brown eyes are peeking out?

164) The moon - it's so pretty.

165) Helmets for go-getters like this young man - the perfect protection

166) Big warm parkas for outdoor skating (accompanied by bright smiles)

167) I do not believe I have mentioned strollers yet. Very handy on outdoor ice.

168) Hum...here I am putting on my 50 year old skates from my Mom. They still work very well. I am thankful for hand me downs.

169) This is Matthew's ginger bread house he made at school. I was thankful that I could help out that day.

170) Hosea and Mae from the Philippines. They taught us alot about being gracious and hospitable. They opened their hearts to us and we were blessed.

171) Here are their children Han and Amos - they played with our children despite language barriers (at the end of their visit, their English was coming along) and will be missed.

172) The gingerbread house the children received from Grandma F. - they had fun decorating it and eating it!!

173) I love gifts - and because that is what this list is all about - I am thankful for them.

174) Long rolls of newsprint paper that was donated to us. The boys made wrapping paper for us.

175) I am not sure who drew this anymore (no one is home to ask) but it's really cute and for the art work I am thankful. Don't you wish you could have been in the stable?

176) For ears to hear the preaching

177) For a nose to stop and smell the roses

178) For a tongue to taste sweet things

179) For the sense of touch to enjoy hugs and kisses

180) For hair that covers my head from the cold (who knows how long I will have it?)

140+ - of 1000 gifts

The oldest male in the house and the youngest male.

As promised, here are 20 organizations that we appreciate and support in some way or another:

I am thankful for the work of...(not in order of importance)

141) Bethesda

142) Rehoboth (same organization as Bethesda but different name and different province - AB)

143) Manoah Manor - can't wait to live there!

144) Creation Science Association of AB and BC.

145) William of Orange Christian School

146) CRWRF - Canadian Reformed World Relief Foundation

147) Focus on the Family

148) Union Gospel Mission - doing a great job of caring for the homeless in Vancouver.

149) Salvation Army

150) Prolife BC

151) Canadian Reformed Theological College

152) Mission Brazil

153) Mission Aid Brazil

154) Vacation Bible School - Maranatha Can R.C.

155) Gems and Cadets - Cloverdale Can R.C.

156) Middle East Reformed Fellowship

157) Eirana

158) Cascade Christian Counselling

159) Family Life Today

160) A Rocha

Happy New Year!!

Today, I don't have any pictures. I do feel that I have some explaining to do. I have not been on here for awhile because I had a goal that I was trying to reach. Alas, I have now realized that my goal is unattainable. I had wanted to publish my blog into an albumn for our family BEFORE I started up my blog for 2010. Ha!! That was wishful thinking. I was hoping that this project would be finished in oh, say, one hour. Ha!!! Another burst to my wishful thinking bubble.

First the cheery, bright and bold company that I wanted to use was no longer in existence - which I didn't realize until it took over an hour to attempt to download everything, and then my technical support agent (AKA Will) showed me that there was no "communication" going on in that down load - ARGGGHHH. Next step - find another company. Not hard because I had one already picked out. Only problem with this one is that the editting is labourious.

Honestly, I don't mind that - it's enjoyable - but I want it done before next Christmas. So that's my project and I figure if I stuck to my orginal goal I would never get on here again - good thing I'm older and less stubborn than in times past and I realize that goals can change. Oh yah, I am moving up in the world (pat on the back!!). For those that don't know me as well as my zany sister - I am ONLY being funny. Problem is not alot of people get my sense of humor. Wow this is really sounding junior highish - I think I'm going to bed!!

One last thing about my zany sister - next time you see her - get her to tell you a funny story because she is really good at that. She makes me laugh - thanks sis - I love you!!

So have a blessed New Year, and I'll continue my gratitude journal tomorrow. Stay tuned - it's about organizations I am thankful for!! Which ones do you appreciate?
My number one organization is God's church. I already used that in another 20 so I will be starting with something else. Til then, Shalom.