Each year, around this time, Cher and I try to make time for an iced capp date. Her brother, Scott, loved a good iced capp with whipped cream on top. So we try to hit the day of his passing (or somewhere in that ballpark) with his drink to give it a happy spot.

This year, I picked Cher up once the first batch of kids were in bed. We went to the good Tims in Warman and got our drinks. As per usual, the pictures we took turned out flawless 😎

You. Look. SO. Pretty.

😏

Thank you for the lovely date, beautiful girl 💜 I love you. Thank you for letting me into your life and sharing Scott’s details with me. I didn’t get to know him when he was here, but I’m glad I get to celebrate his life now 💜

Thanks for the yearly iced capp, Scott! You are loved and missed.

There are a lot of nice parents out there who got their kids flowers. Same with ballet parents. And I always forget about that. I never think of flowers.

However.

I did make Laela and Rowan little throw blankets in honour of their parts in the musical this year.

I made Laela a star shaped throw blanket in the pink that matched her character, Peach.

And I made Rowan a striped wavy blue blanket that was meant to look a bit like ocean water.

Since the show ended today, I gave them their blankets when they were out in the living room reading after the younger ones were in bed already.

Rowan reacted quietly. He discarded the blanket he was using, laid this one on top, told me it was a perfect, and kept reading. He was EXHAUSTED, so he didn’t say too much, but I also know he is terribly sentimental, and it will mean a lot to him. 🌊

Laela was also quite quiet, but she raved a little bit. Lol! She loved the yarn I chose, and how it was so soft but also heavy. She loved the color, and now that she crochets, she was so interested in how I got the shape. She thanked me many times. I know she was really happy to have it. ⭐️

But now that everyone is tucked in, I am ready to put my feet up and get some rest in. It was a FULL afternoon, but a really nice one. Thank you, Lord, for giving us so many invested, hard working people who got this musical off the ground. It was a treasure to watch and witness.

Today was the night we were able to go watch the musical at the kids’ elementary school. The Dahlsjos accompanied us as well, and we walked as a group to the school and made it to our seats just in time.

The play went off without a hitch. It was SO adorable charming, and goodness those kids worked HARD.

Laela played the role of Peach, the starfish in the tank gang. She also filled in a handful of songs as a fish in the sea chorus.

Rowan was on the sound crew. Specifically, he controlled the mics. This felt like a pretty sizeable job for him but he loved the responsibility and seemed to thrive in it!

Both children did beautifully at their jobs, and we got to mess around a little on the stage after for pictures and such. Laela insisted that I be in the picture with her, which was unlike her, but I jumped for it. After a picture of just her, of course.

We walked back home as a group. It was SO cute to see Laela and Avery walking hand in hand, and even Solly and Jaxon for a minute there. SUCH a fabulous pairing of families, in my opinion. We’re an odd bunch but I know we are all SO here for it!!

I am SO proud of ALL the kids and so grateful to ALL the volunteers who put such immense time and effort into this production. Thank you for making a beautiful experience for the children and the audience who had the pleasure of viewing it. These times are precious.

Welp.

Big thanks to Dekker’s youth leader who gave him a box of BeanBoozled.

Big thanks to Dekker from his siblings for being allowed to eat candy in the morning.

Big thanks to Dekker for guilting me into eating one of these wretched jelly beans before 8:00am.

Big thanks to Dekker for selecting the candy that tasted like barf, just for me.

This is teenagers, right, guys? Not for the faint of heart, or stomach.

It was a really full day over here! A good one, but a FULL one!

Cher came in the morning and we had a coffee before we got into the workday. Cher cleaned in the house, but more importantly today, she helped a lot with the babies so I could work on a project that I was in a real time crunch to finish. That was a HUGE help to me. I feel kind of self conscious doing things I really enjoy when others are working for me 🤣 But I decided that was my own personal complex and the only thing getting in my way was me! So while she played with babies, fed them, and diapered them, I kept my head down and crocheted a gift for one of my children that needs to be done before the end of the week. And thanks to that time, all I have left to do is tuck in ends! Which is AMAZING!!!

At the same time, a lovely man from our church was quietly working away on a job he offered to do for us, just to be helpful. Maybe you remember, but when we officially take ownership of this house, the first order of business was taking out a big wall. The ceiling has been unfinished and open with tuck tape sticking out for over a year. Its definitely an eyesore that you see the moment you walk in, but it hasn’t been a priority for obvious reasons. This man took it upon himself to offer his time and effort, and today, he has it beautifully closed up, exactly how we wanted it, with slim pine boards across the ceiling and down the walls. Not only does it tuck away the tape and tarp and messy mess, but it also brightens the room WAY up!! Its SO lovely! He is determined to come back and mud and tape the portions of the wall that are still beat up, and I won’t turn him down. Our house works pretty well, but there is no shortage of projects to do, and most of them are a lot harder for us to do now :/ So the offers for handyman services are not being turned away! Lol!

Yet still simultaneously, we had plumbers in the garage, redoing a vent that a very sticky inspector wouldn’t pass.

Another supportive friend dropped by bearing farm fresh eggs, and warm hugs filled with love.

Lastly for the morning here at home, another lovely friend drove by and deemed our yard ready for change!! Weather permitting, we might have a fresh ramp before the weekend!!!

So tools whirred and babies played and I crocheted like a crazy lady, and stuff got done!!

Away from the house, the day was busy also. Brady had a home care nurse visit him at work, which is honestly SO handy! Radiation later in the afternoon. And supper came, also. A delicious feed of spaghetti and meat sauce, with veggies, ranch, and cupcakes.

It is overwhelming to type this all out and see just how good we have it. We continue to be absolutely showered with support and love and help and care. I don’t know how we will ever thank all of the people who are putting into us these days, but I trust they will reap rewards in Heaven someday, which will be way better than anything I could say or make to express my thanks.

We’re humbled. Blessed. So so grateful.

*wrapping up bedtime prayers*

Me: Lord, be close to Dekker and give him a restful sleep tonight, even if he is a turd burglar. Amen.

Dekker: Um. Mom. What’s a turd burglar?

Me: It’s exactly what it sounds like. Someone who steals poops.

Dekker: And. Why would someone do that?

Me: You tell me, turd burglar.

Dekker: *hysterical laughter as I leave the room*

💩🥷

Goodnight, all you turd burglars out there.

The day began with a coffee with Cher where we made plans for the upcoming couple of weeks. It goes without saying that our life has picked up speed a bit recently, and being that summer is coming up, Cher has plans to increase her hours here as hired domestic help 💜 What a huge help she is! Plans were made, hugs were shared (Cher-ed) and forward we went with our days!

I spent the day with the babies, who alternated their naps, which, while I really love when they nap together and I get baby-free time, is also nice because I can do some things either way. If the littlest Peanut is napping, the others can play together somewhat. If the two older babies are down, Peanut and I can snuggle or chat and nothing else in the house gets ripped to shreds. So, both are wins.

Highlights for the day were as follows.

Eating chicken lemon rice soup out of a large ghost mug.

Brady sending a happy selfie from the lunch he grabbed on his way to radiation.

And no photo proof, but an unexpected gift being delivered to our house this evening. Completely unexpected, and SO appreciated. You know who you are. Thank you.

Tomorrow hooooooolds… ready?…

A community occupational therapist appointment.

A home care nurse appointment.

Radiation.

An oncologist appointment.

A social worker visit.

A handyman consult. (which means a really lovely man from our church coming by to see what help he can offer us in our home 💜)

And a foster visit.

Those are just the scheduled appointments. There is still regular life stuff on top. However, not all days are like this, and for that I am SO grateful!! 😅 I’m not sure days can be much fuller than tomorrow will be! But it will be a day full of needs being met, from every angle, for all of us here 💜

Goodness, Lord, I am just SO grateful for all you’ve given us. Overwhelmed, and grateful. Both. Equally.

I tend to pray for similar things each evening as I tuck the kids into bed. Not on purpose, but the prayers have evolved over the last few years, and many of their details have remained the same.

When Brady went in for his spine surgery, I began to pray actively for God to protect our children. From what, I really couldn’t tell you, but I felt strongly that they needed God’s strong hand over their hearts, brains, and bodies. I prayed against anything that was NOT from God, and that it could not come anywhere near my children or our home. In Jesus’ name, we ONLY want Jesus in our home!

In the last while, I’ve felt compelled to specifically pray that our family draws nearer and nearer still to God, and I’ve prayed for guidance in helping the kids find their faith and build their relationships with the Lord, based on what they believe, not just what I believe. I want them to love the Lord. And I want them to know the Lord themselves. So I’ve been praying for that.

As I’ve been praying that we draw closer to God, I’ve also prayed that we draw close to one another as a family. It is hard times. That goes without saying. And its been a pretty indoorsy time of life, being that its been winter. But the kids are butting heads ALL over the place, and I just ache for them to be close. I literally pray that my kids can be friends with each other.

And today was such a great showing of how great that could be!! The kids played outside, mostly together apart from a few breaks here and there, ALL afternoon. It was AMAZING. Ever Dekker went out there to join them, and that’s really saying something! They had their moments, of course, of coming inside with tears, or chilly fingers, or to sit on the couch for five before it seemed the game beckoned them back outside. It actually came to a point where I had to call them all back in for supper, which honestly never happens. Especially not in the cold, mucky weather. That has never been their jam, but today, it was a win.

Macaroni and chicken fingers for supper, because keep the good times rolling!

It was a REALLY beautiful way to wrap up the weekend. Our smoothest, most restful day in a long, long time. Thank you Lord for ALL you do for us, and all the ways You look after my family 💜 We are SO blessed!

We had this great idea. Dekker isn’t into it, but I sure am. Get ready.

We learned the other day that the high school in Warman offers commercial cooking. Commercial!! Isn’t that awesome?? I would’ve been ALL over that as a kid! As we talked about this, Dekker said he thought maaaybe his high school offers the same thing. He’s not completely sure. He says he’s read it on a calendar, but its not been offered to him yet, so he can’t say for sure. I got super excited and was about ready to bully him into taking it when he’s older, until I realized it would very likely be offered at the same time as Industrial Arts, which is WAY higher on his list. SUCH a bummer.

Brady had a genius idea in the moment, and suggested that Dekker become a fancy pants baker, and that he learn to construct vastly complex cakes, where he can both bake commercially as well as build the structures to support the large cake on top.

Dekker politely declined.

But!! If he did become a grand cake baker – he should name his business…

*drumroll*

Dekker Ate Cakes.

You’re welcome.

🎂

I know how to spell it. You guys know I love a good play on words.

My two smallest big kids tend to butt heads quite a bit from time to time. You guys know how it goes. There are stages of who clicks with who at whatever point, and it shifts from day to day. Everyones loves each other, but some don’t show it quite as well as often 😅 You get it.

Today, Wavy and Solly struggled this morning. Pestering and kicking and fighting and finally, taking time apart on purpose. Now, we’ve moved into intentional together time, and its working!!!

I bought this cute National Geographic puzzle from VV a while ago that was very Nemo-esque. Today, the two youngest are working on it together!

They both have their own ideas, but they’re managing their differences surprisingly well and smoothing things out as they go! Its cute. They’re both attempting to teach one another how to best do puzzles 😂 Meanwhile, the hum of a bobcat whirs nearby as a loving man from the community clears our yard of snow. Once the ground dries out, he will re-pour our front ramp to make it easier for Brady to use. Longer, with a gentler slope. As a gift to us.

So there is blessing to my left, of my children working to be friends, and to my right, with an incredibly generous friend helping our family in a large, practical way.

It doesn’t need to be said that our life is incredibly challenging right now. Yet in moments like this, it is plain to see we have it SO unbelievably good. Praise You, Lord, for all you give us, teach us, and prepare us for. We love you, no matter the circumstance.