Live Out Loud - Adventures of a mom

I experienced our first ice storm ever.  And it did not disappoint.  I admit I could have been more prepared - we really lucked out that we had lots of candles lying around, that my 7 year old had an 'explorers' flashlight in the toy box and that my iphone was charged.  The ipad was half charged and the computers had some battery left.  And yes....we were very thankful for our gas stove! (though we realized we needed to start the stove as it uses electricity to start it!) Our backyard deck We woke up Sunday morning to find out we had lost power sometime in the middle of the night.  The house was cold but bearable.  We were thankful aside from the power, the water was still working.  So we tried to keep things as 'normal' as possible for the family.  My husband even managed to make pancakes for breakfast! And for lunch?  We had sushi last night so we just gave it to the kids!  No need to heat anything :D The ice storm wa...

I used to hate change.  I used to ask God why things had to change, especially when things were, in my opinion, going well. But soon enough, life teaches you that change is just part of life.  God then teaches you that change is not only part of life, but that they are opportunities for growth, and windows into the excitement of a dynamic life. I used to think being a stay-at-home-mom meant giving up my career to focus on home and the kids (back then I thought that just meant washing, cleaning, feeding and changing diapers). Then I learned that being a stay-at-home-mom meant learning to enjoy God's presence in all the mundane things I did during the day.  And in that process, I became closer to God and gained a deeper perspective on life.  He shattered some lies I had lived with and replaced them with truth about who He is, who I am, and what I'm here for. But then, God showed me there was a world outside the comfort and safety of my 2 story semi ...

There is a little rectangular framed poster in the front foyer of my kids' public school.  I wonder sometimes who has noticed it and how many people actually take the time to read it. I did. The poster is about how to build community.  Whether it is in my church or in the school, amongst my stay at home moms or in the news, I hear the same cry:  we need to build community, people are disconnected, we need to make sure people are heard. But...how?  where does one start even if one wanted to?  Sometimes life seems to work against this.  I might see the benefits of building community but while I take care of the kids, get groceries, deal with work, resolve conflicts with the in laws, pay my bills and the million other things we deal with on a daily basis...let's be honest.  Most of us just hopes that someone else would have the time to build this community many of us agree in principle is needed! What I like about this poster is its simpl...

“You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. 14  “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.   15  No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house.   16  In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.  Matthew 5:13-16 (NLT) My kids go to an English Public School in Ontario.  Tonight I attended my first school council meeting.  I have never attended one, nor did I really know what school councils were.  I attended mostly for selfish reasons (i.e. I wanted to be involved for my own kids' sake) but as I sat and heard about what school council was - that it exists as an extension of the school to serve the entire student body...

It's the time of the year for mom and dad to be busy preparing for birthdays and celebrations!  Sarah had been quite literally counting the days to her 5th birthday party.  After 5 years I have come to love theme parties - it makes it easier to plan, it has a focus, and it is actually quite fun!  The other thing we are still trying to continue as a tradition in our family is that we celebrate together (Sam at first complaint there was going to be too many girls, and was actually invited to a birthday party to which we kindly declined) and we continue to try to host it at home to keep costs down. So as we began brainstorming on themes for Sarah's party, Samuel started working on a song during his note reading section in his piano class.  We all fell in love to the song and so that is how we came up with the party theme: Samuel's First attempt at "Over the Rainbow" with teacher As the years progress I am learning to also appreciate more and more 'markers...