Live Out Loud - Adventures of a mom

So my kids had this "Grand idea" .  They wanted me to help them do a lemonade sale with a lemonade stand.  I wasn't thrilled at first.  My first thoughts were simply that I would end up doing all the work.  I really didn't want to do it and had hoped this idea would leave the kids minds soon. But they kept on asking...and asking....and asking.  So eventually I gave in.  You can see the journey here . In the process, though, I have learned so much .  At first I was worried about me being the person who would end up doing all the work.  I also worried that I encouraged them to give the money for missions instead of just letting them do whatever with the money they earned. Was I a lazy mom?  Was I pushy?  Was I using them to push my own agenda?  Did everything HAVE to have a purpose?  Why couldn't I just let them have pure fun? But you see, I learned about what parenting is all about this week.  Of course it is goo...

Once upon a time there was a little boy and his sister.  They loved to watch TV and play games.  One day the little boy decided to ask mommy if she could help them do a lemonade stand.  But his mommy at first said no...and then said yes but never really got to it.  So the boy kept asking and asking until one day, his mommy said "yes". Then his mommy asked the boy and his sister what they would do with the money they earned.  The boy had not thought about that so he had no answer.  So his mom suggested they consider raising money to help the kids in Niger they had been hearing about at church. They had heard that there was a country called Niger, in Africa...it was supposed to be far far away.   People had shown them pictures of people who lived there and they had even met a missionary whose family was living there now, helping the people there gain skills so that they can have the means to take care of themselves.  The boy remembered also ...

I just hosted a Back2School Play-in Party with 8 kids in the house.  I had this idea a year ago but was never able to do it.  This year, the time seemed to fit as I had no cake orders.  And the more I thought about it the more I wanted to do it - to celebrate the ending of a great summer but to also celebrate going back to school. What is a Back2School Party?  I had not clue.  I went from a simple play in to an elaborate party and in the end, I ended up somewhere in between. There is a lot of great ideas online - the trick is to find what you can do with the budget and time you have.  I love to do desktop designs so I don't mind that at all.  I have a colour printer too so that helps.  I didn't want to spend an arm and a leg on this so I just recycled materials I already had at home.  The only thing I had to buy was 2 bags of naan, ingredients for the pizza, and 8 rulers (part of the scavenger hunt) at $0.50 each.  All the othe...

Hi - I don't usually post what others say on this blog as I treat it more as a platform for reflection for myself and to share with you the journey.  But when our pastor emailed me a few weeks ago asking for 'permission' to use the term "live out loud" in his sermon (after a chuckle) I was intrigued to hear what he had to say about Living Out Loud. As life has it though - that day the family was sick so I did not attend service. But alas!  Thank God for technology! Here is his sermon (with notes!) - as I listened I found myself nodding my head in agreement many times.  He was able to verbalize a lot of my desires in putting together this blog (and the events and the heart in it). What do you think?  Do you agree with what he is saying?  Maybe you will find it uplifting, challenging and if anything...as a good reminder of what it means to be salt and light in this world? Living Out Loud - Sermon

We just spent an entire week in Pittsburgh as a family.  We were there because we signed up to attend the Greater Pittsburgh Suzuki Institute .  What is that?  It is basically a full week of music camp - the kids AND the parent(s) are immersed in music improving their skills, practicing in fun ways, playing games using music and getting to know other families of musicians. My kids are learning piano using the Suzuki method and I had heard and read about these Summer Institutes before.  I was not really sure what they were, though, but everything I heard and read thus far seemed to say that it was a great experience for the families. We were planning on visiting Pittsburgh, PA this summer for 2-3 days anyways so when I found out the city had a summer institute, it was almost natural to consider attending.  BUT one full week? That seemed a long time, and very expensive ! I discussed it with my husband and with the kids' piano teacher and in the end we...

A few weeks ago my husband and I took a one night getaway thanks to a travelzoo offer I found online.  The inn where we would stay was north of the city nestled in a conservation area and in the midst of the Niagara Encarpment - alongside a trail called the Bruce Trail.  As I research on where to eat and what to do during our short rendez vous "hiking" kept screaming at me. If you know me...I am not a hiker.  Besides the fact that I am sorely unprepared physically, I just never enjoyed nature adventures as much as adventures into past cultures.  I spent several years in Vancouver and I never appreciated hiking as much as the rest of the world :P - so "hiking" was really not my way of thinking how to spend quality time with my husband, especially considering that last time we had been along overnight was over a year ago. But, somehow the idea sticked around and grew on me.  Why not? I asked myself.  My husband loves it and doesn't get to do it - and wh...