Category Archives: Boys

Be Tie Dying

July 1, 2014 Be Enough 1 Comment

Happy Canada Day! We are wearing the tie dye shirts that we made for JC’s seventh birthday party.

All day I have been singing part of our national anthem, “God keep our land, glorious and free!”

We swam, sang O Canada while eating cupcakes, visited Papa in Vtown, ate together and enjoyed movies together. I don’t think we will make it to the fireworks, but we are very grateful to be together sporting our tie dye Canada day t-shirts!

Boys, painting

Be Saying Adiós to Diapers

June 9, 2014 Be Enough 1 Comment

Have you ever made a commitment to do something every day, many times per day for SEVEN years?

I didn’t, but it happened. How, I don’t really know.

I have changed diapers for exactly 7 years, 2 months, and 3 days starting on Friday, April 6th, 2007 and finishing up my diaper changing career yesterday, on Monday, June 9th, 2014.

I have had my fair share of help, Sexy Neck, my mom, random visitors and even my dad have lent a hand.

I think I need a certificate on my wall to mark this day, that’s a lot of bum and crevice wiping as well as money. We probably spent around sixty bucks per month on diapers. Math is not my strong suit, but we spent over NINE THOUSAND dollars on diapers. Woah! (Side note: Sexy Neck, the Math teacher, has informed me that it is more like $5,200, but still a lot of money. Thanks for reading the blog honey and for correcting my Math. We can thank Mr. Crampton for my confused Math skills.)

We are very excited to be starting our diaper-free life.

OC has been ready for many months but after our trip up north and seeing baby G in diapers, the deal was sealed. The diapers disappeared all together. Bye bye diapers. Now the trip training, high fives, floor cleaning, extra laundry and loud cheers ensues for the next few weeks while OC masters the skill of going in the toilet or on the pee tree.

* Just a note about what is ‘trip training’ for all my new mommy friends. The best thing is that you don’t have lengthy discussions or ask multiple times per day, “Do you have to go potty?”. I take OC to the potty at regular times, when I go or the brothers go or before we leave the house. We take a trip to the potty, no questions asked. No screaming or crying for anyone and no special rewards. Just us and our books relaxing on the toilet.

Here are our favourite potty books and OC in ‘action’! We laugh and laugh and laugh about Liam’s poo in the toilet. We relax and read and take deep breathes et viola. Poop in the potty.

What a cute little tush!

Independence.

Positive potty excitement.

Wiping bums.

Washing hands.

Cheering brothers.

One very happy mama.

Freedom.

For all.

Boys, Family

Be With Peeps in the North

June 7, 2014 Be Enough Leave a comment

A long road north.

Incredible companions.

My boys hearts soared.

Freedom.

Family.

Friends.

Tears flowed.

Time was shared.

Memories created.

Life interwoven.

Past.

Present.

Future.

Celebrating my mom.

Holding a new baby.

My heart overflows.

I pray these photos capture one tenth of this deep, rich trip north to my roots, my branches and my growing fruit.

Glory to God alone for how He weaves EVERYTHING together for good.

Thanks for welcoming me home PG!

Our time with Auntie M, Uncle J and our new baby cousin was sacred and beautiful.

We also spent time at lake with some very ‘old’ friends.

Past shared moments.

Birthday parties.

Sleepovers.

Walks to school.

University debacles.

Sports teams.

Now our children meet.

My boys meet these incredible women.

Sharing life.

Visiting mom’s spot in PG! It was a ‘thin place’ for me. We put two types of silk flowers, shells, a silver butterfly and rainbow loom bracelets by JC and CC in the brass base marking Nana’s spot at the cemetery.

My grandparents:

See you soon PG!

Boys, Family, Grief

Be Heading North

June 5, 2014 Be Enough 1 Comment

Heading back to my roots.

Creating memories for my boys.

Mourning my mama.

Meeting with ‘old’ friends.

Driving.

444.2 miles.

714.9 kilometres.

Mr and Mrs. W, our old neighbours who taught me about Skipbo, table manners, diabetes and how to cut THE lawn.

New baby Grace born on my mom’s birthday.

We even saw a MOOSE!

Boys, Family, Grief

Be Living with Memories

June 3, 2014 Be Enough 1 Comment

Memories have been sliding down my cheeks more often these days. In the quiet moments, when the boys talk of their beloved Nana and when I witness my dad’s own tears. I still cannot make ‘sense’ of this new existence without mom. It is completely unbelievably real. The living with ONLY memories is bringing me to my knees. This is neither good nor bad, it just is.

I have the privilege of being on the front line of receiving mom’s things as dad is ready to let them go. First it was food in the cupboard then mom’s cosmetics, then shoes, jackets and now her clothes. I readily take these beautiful things with tears in my eyes. The memories of mom wearing the clothes and seeing things she had purchased to wear this spring that I am living RIGHT NOW is very difficult to comprehend. (Two biking shirts in particular brought tears to my eyes.).

Here is batman (aka CC) pointing to the two boxes of spring clothes I have of mom’s:

Unfolding.

Folding.

Memories.

Laying down.

Sitting in it.

Sitting with.

Memories.

As mom’s clothes sit at one end of our unfinished basement, I have been sorting through our boxes of memories at the other end on my newly painted white shelf. What does one do with old yearbooks, jerseys, trophies… Are my children going to want these things? Do I want my children to be going through them. Perhaps my work now is to make space for them to create their own memories.

Unpacking.