Life on the Home Front

Well one week of regular daily walks down, 3 nights up every 2 hours with kids, no naps....am I feeling better or worse? One baby already up from his short morning nap.... Off the computer again.....

Life Begins Again

The newest ( and last ) addition, Jonathan Ronald Dumont, makes us a family of 6! So life begins again......Strangely I rarely have time to sit at the computer, but here's hoping and I can start to catch up. Now Roger's lost interest in his program and Jonathan is awake again... so until my next moment....signing off.

Somebody's Praying Me Through

Tonight I'm thinking about the new year ahead and the years that have past. Looking ahead to heading back to work, figuring out care for Roger, paying bills, financing home renovations, wondering how to fit in new tires, trying to plan for and anticipate extra expenses...... Then I think back to how far we've all come, myself and my family. Thinking about the hard times we've all had to face and the blessings that have been poured our way. It's all been reminding me of a song Brian has sung. It reminds us of what we don't see, what's going on around us that we may never know....

Pressing over me like a big blue sky
I know someone has me on their heart tonight
That's why I know, it's gonna be alright ‘Cause
Somebody's praying me through

It may be my Mother, it might be my Dad
Or an old friend I've forgot I had
But whoever it is I'm so glad that
Somebody's praying me through

Through the tears, through the rain
Through the sorrow, through the pain
It keeps bringing me through
Over and over again

So when you're drowning in a sea of hurt
And it feels like life couldn't get any worse
There's a blessing waiting to push back the curse ‘cause
somebody's praying you through

I heard from an old friend a week or so ago. She managed to track me down. We haven't seen each other in 20 years. She told me that for the past year and a half or so that I had been on her heart and that she had been praying for me. What a thought that someone out there, someone I would never have imagined, would be unselfishly praying me through the good and the bad times.

Christmas Season is here!

Walked into a store tonight with Brian (first chance to look at gift ideas alone!) and the first thing I saw was a sign stating that there were only 12 days left till Christmas. Wow! It always amazes me how many people are actually ready by now and I'm usually just starting my Christmas shopping. Somehow it all comes together by Christmas Eve. It took a sudden blizzard yesterday to put me into Christmas mode. Sadly, due to the blizzard, Brian missed Mikayla's Christmas concert. We picked Thomas up early from school and were all packed up for the 1 hour trip up the highway with extra time to drive slow in the blowing wind and snow. But the conditions were just right to ice over the highway. After 10 minutes, a few fishtails on the highway, and an accident just up ahead, it was time to give up and head home.

I can hardly keep Brian away from Christmas decorations, and I keep finding more and more things that "the kids would just love"! Yet I have nothing for little Roger! One thing I'm forgetting, wrapping paper! Tonight I thought I'd put some presents under the tree. I'm certain though, once I buy more paper, I'll find a whole stash packed away from last year, year before.......

For the first time we managed to fill our Operation Christmas Child boxes. Thomas was amazed to learn he just had to pick out items he would love and that the box would get to another boy just like him. Of course, I under estimated the shoe box capacity and we filled 4 instead of two. Aside from my shoes no longer having a home, I guess we made up for missing out last year (and the year before....). Thomas is still trying to figure out if Santa is real or not, but he does seem to have a firm understanding that Christmas is about giving and Jesus' birthday. I am just enjoying the fact that I have a family to share Christmas with.

Report Cards

Gotta love that time of year! Report cards, Parent teacher interviews. Thomas has been having problems with school since grade one. The teachers he has had haven't helped much. Instead Thomas often ended up piled with extra practice work on top of assignments sent home to be finished. For a child that takes 45 minutes to finish a page any other student could do in 15, Thomas had pretty much written school off by Christmas of grade 2. This year he was shuffled out of his regular group away from the boys that often lure him into trouble. He's also in a class with a wonderful teacher that has taken the time to figure him out and give him credit and praise for all he knows but has difficulty showing due to learning delays in reading and writing. Thanks to some patience, understanding, and compassion, Thomas no longer fights going to school, And I no longer feel like I have to fight for his needs to be seen and heard. This teacher has been a true gift, now if only I could convince her to do grade four next year too!

Count your blessings

For the last week or so the hymn "Count Your Blessings" has been rumbling around in my head. I'm not sure I've ever really put much thought into what we sing with this old hymn:

When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Refrain

Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,
And you will keep singing as the days go by.

Refrain

When you look at others with their lands and gold,
Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold;
Count your many blessings. Wealth can never buy
Your reward in heaven, nor your home on high.

Refrain

So, amid the conflict whether great or small,
Do not be disheartened, God is over all;
Count your many blessings, angels will attend,
Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.

Refrain

I must say it has an impact when you take those words to heart. Everything that we are worrying about today, trying to tackle on our own instead of giving it up to God. Forgetting possibly all the ways in which he has answered our prayers and blessed us in the past, somehow still being reluctant to look to him first.

Amazing what can change in a year!

I must say it does feel now that we have a complete family. Pieced together as we were, Roger just seems to secure us all in place.

Nothing like a 20lbs 5 month old to add joy and back aches to your life. Laughter and fatigue, smiles and laundry. Today we did a full clothing change, baby clean up, change table wash down, bouncy seat & exaursaucer clean up, topped off with a bath for Roger. Everyone needs a little extra excitement to their day now and then. He is very precious with his self made mohawk and squeals of delieght.