Life at Oak Grove

I don’t think I am the kind of person who will stay in the past.  But sometimes if you look back at a year that is almost finished, you can see what God has done…

And 2010 is no exception for this.  

At the beginning of the year, I decided that it was necessary for me to get into the habit of reading my Bible daily.   So using the Bible League of Canada devotional Day Planner, I followed the reading suggestions to read through the Bible during 2010.    Tomorrow is the last day and I must say that even though sometimes I didn’t feel like it and might have skipped a day here and there, I rapidly came to my senses and catched up the next day with the double readings…   And I only have four chapters of the book of Revelation to read – which is schedule for tomorrow.    I am happy to say that reading through the Bible in 2010 helped me to growth and discover a new side of God.   I am so ever glad that He is my Father in Heaven and that He adopted me as His daughter.

2010 was also a year of blessings.   As some of you know, I review products and books on my blog Canadianladybug Reviews!.   Earlier this year I was asked to rejoin the TOS Homeschool Crew for the remaining of year 2 and right away I was blessed with a geography curriculum which we had not in our homeschool.   I also extended my requests of reviews to various companies including toys and the response was above and beyond what I was expecting.     I think I have established precious relationships with them.   I also established fun relationships with PR companies and Mom Central Canada.    We shall see what 2011 will bring but I have a couple of ideas for next Fall season…

On the homeschool front, we started a bit later this past September since we were on the road with my husband due to a contract opportunity in the Northern Ontario area.    Nevertheless, we brought some work to do on the road and we visited a few museums as well.  So technically we still learned a lot.  The kids are still talking about the Zoo in Toronto and the Science North in Sudbury.  

We were able to squeeze two trips during 2010.   One in May when we went to the Boston area for a week and a three weeks road trip to Toronto – Sudbury – Elliot Lake back in August/September.    We had a blast both time (even though the first trip was mixed with sickness).   

I was blessed that my father-in-law agreed to come and build a play structure for the kids.  I don’t think our backyard was more used than this year.  It is amazing what a structure do.   But I must admit that it is a cool structure that I designed.   We bought the wood and father-in-law with hubby and eldest son worked hard on it.    Honestly, I think that if an earthquake happens, the structure will outlast the houses around… LOL

In the end, we had an interesting year on many levels.  

For 2011, I am still debating what to do for devotional.   I have an idea but I wonder if I want to tackle my plan.    I guess I see a HUGE mountain in from of me right now…   I still have one more day to decide if I jump in the water or not.

I am planning to continue homeschooling and I pray that God will continue to pour patience in me every morning.   I hope that He will also bring challenges and open opportunities for us as a family, as business owners, as a reviewer/blogger, as a wife, as a mom, as a friend and more.    I know He will bless me again in 2011.

Happy New Year everyone!

It’s Christmas Eve today and while doing my devotions I realized that it is also the 10th anniversary of the death of my dad.

He died before any of my kids were born.

But honestly I didn’t have much of a relationship with him…  You see he left my mom while I was in the 20s.  And let me tell you that separation and divorce affects children of all ages.    (I won’t go in details today though.) 

As I look back at my youth I wonder if he was ever present.   Oh!  He was there physically but emotionally that is another story.    But I don’t want to go on on his behaviour and how he was.

I just know that he passed away due to sickness (cancer) which has eaten him inside after he left.   And I don’t think I would wish that to anyone.  But it’s what happened.

But as I think of him, my earthly father, I see that he gave me a love of photography.   He always took wonderful pictures and through him I think I got a love of photography.    He also loved tennis but it wasn’t my piece of cake.  

Dad also volunteered for driving when I needed to go somewhere but he never talked much.    I say volunteered but I wonder how much my mom tried to make him spend time with me in that way.

Dad had his faults but because of him photography is part of my life and I love it.    And if you wonder – the picture his me when I was about 3 or 4 years old… taken by my father on winter day.   It is one of my favourites.

So thanks dad for giving me a lot for capturing the memories of my family.    I appreciate it.

I guess part of me regret not spending more time with him at the end of his life.  But I disagreed with his choices.   I also regret not sharing more about my Saviour with him.   

But there is no point of living in the past – I know it is not healthy from experience in my family.   So I look toward the future and ask God to guide me in building a special relationship with my kids.  

In the meantime, I want to share other pictures he took when I was younger.

This is me when I was 5 days old in 1969.

Playing in the toy box.

Summer of 69 – camping.

Christmas 69 – the famous Fisher-Price ball.   Note: the fuzzy soccer ball still lives and my kids had it when they were babies.   Not it is stored for the future grandkids.

Fall 1969 – in the woods that my uncle owned in Valcourt, QC.

Recycling 101

There are more – mostly slides.   Eventually I will scan them and have them on my PC.    He had a gift in taking pictures and somehow he was able to pass this on to me.

Thanks again dad.

On December 5th, my kids and I took some time in the afternoon to put up the Christmas tree.

Our Christmas tree is artificial – a slim tree which doesn’t take as much place as a regular one.  This year, we opted to put it in our dining room which had more place than the living room.

Having kids that are a bit older is nice because this year, I asked Alexandre my 9 year old to put the tree together and spread the branches while the younger siblings were napping.

Then once the younger kids woke up, we tackled the tree.  

Having the kids to help now is extremely nice.  I don’t feel stressed or pressured anymore.   And they enjoy it so much.   Even my soon-to-be three years old participated eagerly and was VERY careful with our ornaments.

As much as I would like to have lights in our tree, it has been a couple of years since we put some in it.   The reason is very simple.   One set of the lights has only the red and blue that comes up.   Somehow the green has stopped functioning.   And personally I don’t like having only one or two colors in our tree.  One of these days I will be new lights but not this year.

   Here’s the final result of our tree this year.    As a tradition, only dad can put the star on top of the tree.   This star has been part of my youth believe it or not.   But it is still nice so we continue to use it every years.

The decorations in the tree comes from old Christmas and new ones.    We have a mix of ornaments from our younger years as well as new ornaments that represent our family.

As comic fans, we had to have some well-known characters in our tree.   Batman, Robin, Superman, Spider-man, Ironman, Wonderwoman, Catwoman, Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy as well as the Ewoks have joined our older collection of ornaments.

I also painted some.    A lady leaded a fun activity a couple of years ago at the church we were attending and I went.  Honestly, I wasn’t too sure I would be able to paint something but it turned out quite nice and I cherish this painting very much.

Also in our Christmas tree, each kid has three special ornaments.   One being a Christmas ball with picture of them during their first year of life (one as a baby and one a bit older).   My daughter Jasmine was born on Dec 19th so her older picture is about a year later which was her second Christmas.   Also each child has a Baby First Christmas and Grandchild First Christmas in the tree.   Having four kids, that makes 12 special ornaments in there.   Other special ornaments are also included in the tree like our new house, our dating ornament, as well as two special figurines for our wedding year.

Intertwined with Christian ornaments, there are Christmas balls.  Most of them I made myself one year with glass balls and paint.   It gives a marble style to the ball.   Another one that is included in the tree is the ornament on the left side in the picture below.  This is an older Christmas ball that used to be in the tree at my parents house.   Somehow, this one is my son Alexandre’s favourite.   *grin*   It is very different than the ones I made…

Other decorations are around the house.  But this year, I took out my LEMAX small collection of houses.    I’ve decided to put it on the mantle above the fireplace.    One of these days, I would like to put it under the tree like my mother-in-law.  

Voilà! – That’s our Christmas tree for the year.  

Merry Christmas everyone!