{ten}

My oldest child turned 10 on Friday. Creepy, huh? The thing is, I totally remember my tenth birthday. I remember my party, that I got the soundtrack from the "Muppet Movie", and that my friends didn't all get along with each other. And now I have a child with 10 years behind him. 10 years of memories and experiences and hurts and triumphs. I've been a parent for 10 years. 10 years of worries and joys and frustrations and laughter. I had no idea how much my life would change with this one, much wanted, loving little boy. There have been struggles as I've had to, over and over, die to myself and suppress my selfish nature. There have been moments of take-your-breath-away realizations that this little person has been entrusted to us. I think the point of it all, in the beginning, was to teach him all he needed to know to live a life of significance. What I didn't know was just how much I would learn from having him around. I'm so very proud to be his mom.

This baby that I gave birth to 10 years ago is going to football camp as his gift from us. Thankfully it is just a day camp that runs at the nearby university. He is completely thrilled with this opportunity. It's taken a while for me to wrap my mind around allowing him to play a sport with so much contact and the potential of pain.

The journalling on this layout reads: June 22, 2007 Noah, you woke up this morning and you're 10! You'll have lots of choices, opportunities, and decisions in this stage of your life. Daddy and I are here for you to talk, to help, and to cheer you on. XO Mommy

Thanks for looking, this was a fun one to work on!

Lilies of the flowerbed

When I was a child my mother spent hours out in the yard working on her flowerbeds. Every spring she would (and still does!) take me on a tour of her plants. I remember boring hours spent looking at annuals in greenhouses. I understand it now. I love peeking my head out the front door every morning to see if the perennials are growing in the early spring or if a bud opens as the plants mature. I breathe deeper in a greenhouse. I still have a lot to learn. It amazes me that God could think up so many colours and beautiful types of growing plants for our enjoyment. Butterflies, ladybugs, and other crawlies keep my children close to the blossoms. I get a small jolt of pleasure each time I pull out a weed and great satisfaction in digging in the dirt.

Enjoy these pics of our lilies, taken in this morning's sunshine. The bulbs were a Mother's Day gift from my husband and children several years ago.

{The Bride}

As a little girl, I wasn't captivated by princesses and fairies and make-believe prettiness. I guess I've always been a cynic at heart. I suppose I went through a phase where I imagined my Prince Charming but he was more likely to be at a coffee shop than a castle and wearing chinos than armor. I know, not very imaginative or fantastic.

Enter my three daughters. Much to my chagrin they've bought this whole Disney princess thing hook, line, and sinker. They pretend to be mermaids or French girls with hunchbacked friends. They sing songs that start like, "I love being a Princess." Especially my youngest. She even sighs. I roll my eyes. This isn't what I want them to think beauty is about.

We spent this past weekend at a family wedding. Georgia commented to me at one point, "I didn't know there was going to be a bride!" The back table was, jokingly, I presume, decorated with a bride and groom Barbie in full princess garb. I roll my eyes. My daughter collects all the clear heart confetti she can find to make the Barbie princess even more shiny. She is captivated. I am not. Until the magical moment. Georgia asks the bride, my cousin's new wife, to dance. She says yes. She engages this child and connects with her in the most beautiful way. I am humbled by her sweetness and loveliness as she bends down to talk to this 4-year-old little girl. It's like they are the only two people in the room, on the dance floor. I stop rolling my eyes. I guess you really can have the whole package.

While I know better and the cynic in me doesn't even think I should type this, I wish them a happily ever after.

Tea Party Girls

It was a weekend of "functions." The girls were invited to a tea party on Saturday afternoon, hosted by two young women from our church. These are not ordinary young women. They are the kind you hope your girls will turn out to be and the kind you hope your sons will marry. Sweet, generous, and thoughtful, they usually have a following of little girl admirers in between services on a Sunday morning. Several young girls were invited and the party was rounded out with women from different stages of life: some mothers, some singles, some grandmothers, young and old. The backyard where the tea took place looked like something out of a magazine with tables set with white linens and fresh flowers, shaded with lovely mature trees. The girls could hardly wait for the day to arrive and did not look back when I delivered them for their 2-hour party. What an investment these young women chose to make and what an impression it left on my girls. Sophie was concerned about how to sit, Georgia was counting the sleeps, and Olivia was excited to report that they won a garden decoration for having the most girls from one family. Good times.

I was too weary to post on Friday afternoon but I should have. There are such contrasts in the life of a mom and Friday really showed proof of this to me. My children are well-behaved, generally speaking. Friday afternoon we went out for our usual library date; the little girls go to a story time and the rest of us browse and read. Following that we headed to the grocery store and they were like aliens! My youngest wanted to be carried, my oldest was a pest, and the two in between asked for every other thing you could think of. I shop with them weekly, they know the drill. It was one of those humbling trips that I'm glad to leave behind. We'll do better next time.

Sunday evening was another fun event: the high school graduation tea for the four youth at our church who will finish Grade 12 this month. This is a big deal where the girls wear their formal dresses, walk out under an arbour, and each set of parents writes a tribute that is read at this time. It was really wonderful to celebrate (not to mention the decadent chocolate dessert that was served). At the end of the evening I had a chance to speak to my oldest daughter's Sunday School teacher. She's just a wonderful lady and we're so pleased with the quality of her teaching. She shared an amazing answer that Olivia gave to a question she asked. The question: "Why does God not always give us what we pray for?" The answer from my 7-year-old: "Maybe He knows that if He gave us that thing, we would love it more than we love Him and that wouldn't be good for us." And a little child will lead them...

We are on summer vacation! I'm hoping to have a little more time to post here. Enjoy your day!