Cuteness.

Just look at that sweet face. Pinchable, huggable cuteness personified.

Adorable little bundle of preciousness.
Don't those dreamy chocolate-brown eyes just melt you?
At the mention of anything chocolate, I melt.

We were thrilled to have this little fella drop by on Saturday for the evening.
And delighted to have his parents too, of course!
A baby in the house and the girls are beyond excited.
They cuddled him and carted him all over the place.
Tried to take turns.
But mostly fought over who thought who was holding him the longest.

Shouldn't have told you they were fighting. You really can't tell from the pictures.
They look like the little man's guardian angels, don't they?
Turned on the instant charm for the camera.
Because honestly, moments before the click, they were anything but angelic.


 
The mother of the handsome little man. Beautiful mama she is too, inside and out.

Miss Kayleigh, getting in on one last snuggle, before they headed home.

And the stunning trio.
Great times. Great friends. Great memories.

A Day Off.

Today I decided to take the day off. Yes, totally off.

Didn't go to work.
Didn't drive for a field trip.
Didn't volunteer in the classroom.
Didn't do any housework... except for one load of wash.

I took the little ladies to school, boot-clad, mitten-clad, hat-clad. Not the typical clad for this Vancouver climate, but with the chilly temperatures we've been having lately, there comes the need to dress like we're living in Toronto.

Dear Vancouver Winter,
Please come back. I miss you.
Love Me.

I came home and called my family, eight time zones and six thousand miles away. Sometimes I truly dislike this vast distance that separates us. How I wish that, instead of drinking coffee solo and having a telephone conversation, I could "drop in", enjoy some face-to-face repartee, and sip tea. But, I resign myself, since the latter is not to be. Still, I was grateful to hear those cherished voices and chat with all members of the home-based crew... even my baby sister, who, for once, happened to be on the premises. Turned out she is actually house-bound, due to her recent altercation with a fence. She brought me up to date, huh-hem, on her breaking news.

I returned some "didn't-like-them" items to Costco and Walmart. Stood forever, in what seemed like post-Christmas return lines, but mission finally accomplished, I went cash-refunded on my merry way.

I took Miss Lannie's violin to the Tom Lee Music Shop. This is an old violin that belonged to the mother of an elderly family friend, and was kindly passed along to us for free. Very grateful for that, despite the fact that I know squat about violins and therefore have no true sense of appreciation for their worth. This one definitely needed some minor work done on it, but I wasn't sure if it was even worthy of repairs at all. Turns out, as the friendly music man at Tom Lee declared, it's in perfect condition, can easily be restrung for a small fee, and... wait for it... is an excellent quality German model that retails new for around $1,000. Whoa. Guess it's worth the $75 in repair costs. Hope Miss Lannie takes really good care of this expensive piece of musical apparatus. And takes the time to practice it too.

Picked Stew up from work and we went for a drive together. He had to run some errands, so I went along for the ride. And conversation. It was nice, just having an uninterrupted dialogue. Need to do that more.

Drove to school to collect the little ladies... and the Term One Report Cards. They're doing awesome. Good grades, eager learners. Always putting out their best effort, which is most important. Love them so much. Proud of them too.

Made dinner for the troopers, then I headed off for an evening at a tapas restaurant in Whiterock with eight fabulous moms from school. We met when our now Grade Four offspring began in Kindergarten class. An unusually close friendship formed back then, and we've had regular outings together since. Lots of laughs and sharing. Thanks, ladies, for another fun-filled evening!

Stew headed off to hockey, so the girls and I got on our PJs and had a Read-In, huddled together in our big bed. They love that, snuggling and reading together. Alana is currently into the Babysitters' Club series, loving it, and learning lots of new words. I'm trying to encourage her to use her dictionary to look up definitions, but, lacking in the patience department, she insists on referencing mama instead. Kayleigh's still reading PM books from school, the latest being about Oceans. She asked me last night if she had ever been to the Pacific Ocean. Child dear, we LIVE on the Pacific Ocean. We do? Yes, yes we do. And your school, child, is named for the ocean that flows by our beautiful city. Oh yeah. I LOVE her.

A pleasant day off. Must do that again sometime.

Friends from Israel.

We said goodbye this morning to the two young exchange students who had spent the last five days staying at our place. They were visiting from a christian school in Nazareth on an exchange program with Pacific Academy. Sweet girls, and now we miss them already!

Interestingly, over the last few days the weather here has been unusally cold... yesterday with the windchill factor, the temperatures dipped to -20 degrees. Cited to be the coldest November day on record since 1985!

Our poor Israeli friends... coming from a climate where 30 degrees is the norm, this cold must have been a new experience for them!

Hopefully they enjoyed a warm welcome despite our wintry weather.

Surprise Snow.

We don't usually get snow around here in November.

So you can imagine the sheer excitement at a mere inch of the white stuff on Saturday. It was decidedly enough reason to drag out the snowsuits.

And recreate Frosty.

Silliness.

Crazy Bandz, they're called. Or Silly Bandz.

They're the whole rage. The latest fad. The hottest in school trading trends.

Silicone bands shaped into just about anything you can imagine. Wear them on your wrist. Use them to tie up your ponytail. But as soon as you lay them flat again, they'll revert to their original shape.

Animals. Fruit. Disney. Cars. Western. Sports. Music. Letters. To name just a few of the themes.

Most come in primary colors. Some are neon. Or rainbow. Even scented. Some that glow in the dark, which are currently rated to have the highest trading value.

Innovative. And they're pretty inexpensive. You can aquire a generous supply for only a few dollars.

Quite the pre-teen fashion accessory. And my little girlies are caught up in the frenzy and excitement of accumulating their very own stash of Silly Bandz. Counting them. Showing them off. Trading them. Then counting them again. And again.

Fun and games. Until the next fashion trend.

Leaning on Him.

The road of life can take some unusual twists and turns. Unexpected bumps in the road. Diversions from the normalcy to which we so easily resign ourselves. Even in the christian life. More so in the christian life.

So what do we do... give up? Blame God? Resort to our own devices?

The picture is beautiful... the disciples are sitting with the Lord, sharing in the last supper with Him, and He is tenderly washing their feet. Then the disturbing news comes from the lips of the Saviour... one of these chosen twelve will betray Him. A bump in the road.

The disciples are immediately consumed with self-doubt. They stare at each other with worried concern. Troubled, they enquire, "Lord, is it I?"

But there is one disciple who "leans on His breast". Unperturbed by the tumult of fear around him, this disciple chooses, in quiet confidence, to rest on the bosom of his Lord. A place of comfort. A place of devotion. A place of intimacy.

Let me be like this disciple, the one "whom Jesus loved".

Let me cast aside fear and anxiety, and lean on the One in whose Hand my breath is. (Daniel 5:23)

For thus saith the Lord God... the Holy One in quietness and confidence shall be your strength.
(Isaiah 30:15)

Hamburgers in November.

Delightful little hamburger cookie treats I made for tonight's Bible Hour.

If you come and bring your favorite buddy along I'll make sure you get one. Or two.

No fries on the side, though. We specialize in sugar only.

October Thirty First.

October 31st. Glad it's over and done with for another 364 days.

Several of the little people who came trick 'r treating at our door were dressed in some of the most ghoulish and devilish costumes I've ever seen. So much for my thinking that it's only the "living-on-the-edge" adults who don the garb of witches and vampires and all manner of bloodied beasts. Guess we're living in the days where evil child costumes prevail, and decent ones are few and far between.

Our girls, however, were giddy with the excitement of dressing up as Pioneer Girl and Snow White. And of course, predisposed to their mother's genetic weakness, they are eager little beavers when it comes to acquiring one's very own supply of chocolate. So for about twenty minutes they charmed our street neighbours, then returned home with a bag full of goodies that would make Cadburys proud.

Then off came the costumes and on went the meeting clothes.

We took some of our own abundant candy supply to the hall, and before gospel meeting, handed it out with Bible verse magnets and invites to our Monday Night Bible Hour. Praying that some of those cute little zebras and lions and princesses who received the invitations will come and join us on Mondays.

The scary little witches are welcome too, so long as they come in their regular attire.

Sad and Happy.

Sad moments at the funeral service were seasoned with a few happy moments too.

Even though it meant waking up at six o'clock, driving (half asleep) for two hours and crossing the border in our jammies... getting to cuddle with big brother Kyle was definitely one of those happies.