my lenten promise

last year i blogged about my lenten promise and the road that

got me to where i am today, spiritually.

this year, it's even cooler because now emma is learning about the lenten

season at school and her energy about it is just awe-inspiring.

emma's lenten promise is to give up candy for 40 days. since we don't really 

eat that much candy around here, i also suggested we cut down

our tv time to focus on reading and arts and crafts.

(just on the regular, recently, i've been keeping the tv off

and realized that the kids barely notice it's off..but do nothing else when it's on)

emma has also been working really hard on memorizing her 

lenten prayer and well, remembering to say it everyday so she

can put a penny in her mite box. acts of kindness deserves

a donation to the mite box and we're pretty sure it'll fill up quick!

my lenten promise is to give up junk food (sweets, pop, chips) which 

unfortunately can be so difficult!

every time i want to cheat, i think of emma and her

passion to carry out her promise for the next 40 days.

i only pray i can be as strong as her!

THAT parent.

you know, THAT parent?

the one who's there at almost every pick up and drop off, the one who knows parents of students on a first name basis, the one who the teacher knows by name?

the one who engages in extra-curricular activities, volunteers at school and tries to know absolutely everything about what's going on?

the one who fumes when they hear about a classroom quarrel, the one who is in constant contact with the teacher and the one who will report to the principal if things do not seem right?

THAT parent, is me.

see, when i was growing up, i'd be lucky if the same person was picking me up from school on the same day. i'd be lucky if my mom or dad could come along for a field trip. i'd be lucky if they could come watch a school play or volunteer at school. but that wasn't the case for me. that is why i'm THAT parent. 

as children grow, they learn what it means to be independent and how to speak up for themselves. some are outspoken from day one and others shy away so as not to create conflict. 

PARENTS: you are your child's only advocate!

while i COMPLETELY understand it is every parent's dream to be totally involved, it is without a doubt, very difficult if not impossible to achieve. because i am so blessed with the work schedule i am able to maintain, i throw myself right into my daughter's school life because i want to set an example and a standard for her. i want her to know that as much as she's learning the foundation of independence at this early age, i will always stand behind her and be a support system for her.

people may scoff at my attitude about parent's involvement in their child's schooling, but i can't express how important that is. teachers are not babysitters: they are building the foundation for future doctors, lawyers, farmers, plumbers and bakers. but, it is not without the parent that these little people will become amazing adults. school is only 50% of learning. the other 50% comes from repetition and implementation and it is up to us parents to make that happen.

no matter how your life runs, look for THAT parent in you!

i found some amazingly inspirational quotes that i'd like to share with you! take from them what you will:

“Live so that when your children think of fairness and integrity, they think of you.” 

- H. Jackson Brown

“Affirming words from moms and dads are like light switches. Speak a word of affirmation at the right moment in a child’s life and it’s like lighting up a whole roomful of possibilities.”

- Gary Smalley

“What a child doesn’t receive he can seldom later give.”

- P.D. James

“Life affords no greater responsibility, no greater privilege, than the raising of the next generation.” 

- C. Everett Koop

“You don’t really understand human nature unless you know why a child on a merry-go-round will wave at his parents every time around – and why his parents will always wave back.”

- William D. Tammeus

“If I had my child to raise all over again, I’d build self-esteem first, and the house later. I’d finger-paint more, and point the finger less. I would do less correcting and more connecting. I’d take my eyes off my watch, and watch with my eyes. I’d take more hikes and fly more kites. I’d stop playing serious, and seriously play. I would run through more fields and gaze at more stars. I’d do more hugging and less tugging.“

- Diane Loomans

Happy Belated Birthday Blog Emma!

Like that alliteration? (tee hee)

It has been far too long since I've last blogged..almost a month! Life has been incredibly busy ever since I started working (that deserves a blog of its own!) that I've unfortunately lost that moment of time where I can sit down and blog. In the midst of the busy-ness, we've celebrated a couple of birthdays..mine (eep! I'm 29 now!) and my sweet little angel Emma's.

Emma's had her heart set on a princess birthday party since the day after her FOURTH birthday party. Its kind of funny but that's sort of how she's decided her birthday themes since the age of 2. Needless to say it was loads of fun gathering up princess themed party supplies! To be inclusive, I threw in the idea of a princess/pirate party to accomodate all of Emma's male and female friends/cousins that were sure to attend. We even had the pleasure of having Princess Belle visit us all the way from Disneyland!

Here are a few photos from her special day:

5 princesses for a little girl turning 5! made by yours truly of course!

arrr matey! cousin jacob getting all dressed up as a pirate!

miss olivia torn as to whether or not she prefers to be a princess or a pirate...

even auntie coco made an appearance as a princess!

mini belle with princess belle!

getting her make-up and nails done!

it's official! Emma and Belle are best friends!

everyone had a fantastic time watching all of the kids enjoy the party. me as always 

was running around like a chicken with her head cut off but in the end 

the smile on Emma's face reassures me that my 

efforts don't go unnoticed :)

*sigh* so now, she's 5.

my little baby is now a little girl who is absolutely loving life.

having started kindergarten, i am learning a whole new side of

my little girl who suddenly knows how to express herself

and say words i thought she was too young to understand.

she can pray the 'hail mary' all by herself!

she knows words in french!

and as much as i am sad in having to let go of my baby 

who prefers her independence a little more and more each day,

i can't help but be joyful for the fact

she's growing and doing things just the way 5 year olds are supposed to.

Emma, you are truly the best thing that ever happened to me.

You are beautiful and bright and possibly the

silliest girl I've ever met. You are imaginative, creative,

brave, outgoing and best of all, you're mine!

Here's a snapshot of my first born over the years:

2006

2007

2008 

2009

2010

2011

Happy Birthday Emma!

happy canada day eh!

phew!

it was an absolutely fantastic canada day long weekend for us 

filled with nothing but the outdoors.

we've been kinda waiting for summer around here so the second the sun came out

we were right out there enjoying it! our first stop was langley's krause berry farms for

some strawberry picking. both emma and olivia just adore strawberries

so we thought it would be nice to show them where they come

from and what hard work it is to pick them!

their mouthwatering shop has a bunch of cutesy

novelty items along with local honey, pastries and fruits & veggies from their farm

my parents decided they'd join us and enjoyed a DELICIOUS 

strawberry milkshake..

daddy and emma waiting in line for buckets and a wagon!

time to start pickin!

olivia the little daredevil would not sit down in the wagon, so my

dad had to keep watch behind her! she pretty much rode around everywhere

like this hehe!

me and emma gettin right in there! there were rows upon rows of

ruby red strawberries. i haven't been strawberry picking in ages and i don't

know if this is commonplace at u-pick farms but

i really appreciated the order they commanded when you come to pick.

each family is assigned a row to pick from both sides

so that they're efficiently picked and not gone to waste.

olivia enjoying some snacks while we picked..

grandpa and emma! she did excellent picking strawberries, 

though needed a little guidance to not pick out the ones 

that weren't quite ripe..so grandpa would show her where the really

red ones were!

grandma strawberry picking!

grandpa needed a little break as his back was getting sore,

and as a matter of fact, within minutes of picking, ALL of our backs were getting sore.

even emma complained a bit of discomfort but we all 

happily scoured the patch for more juicy strawberries.

being there totally put things into perspective and i have a new found 

respect for those in the picking industry..its a lot of squatting and bending and i

could not imagine a whole day of doing that!

here's olivia going to town on a strawberry..she 

could not resist the buckets in the wagon.

all that picking sure built up an appetite! we had their home made corn 

pizza..i swear i ate the equivalent of 3 corn cobs..it was very tasty!

after lunch, the girls and daddy spent a little time at the playground.

then we went on a horse-drawn carriage ride around the farm, emma 

was lucky enough to be co-driver!

here's the stash! i've already made strawberry smoothies and

had strawberries and cream...i think i'm going to attempt making ice cream!

after the farm, we headed back home to freshen up and recharge our batteries.

we wanted to do something to commemorate canada's birthday, so we headed

to the cloverdale millennium amphitheatre to join in the festivities!

there was lots to see, but man was it ever packed. these are the only pictures

i took because it was just too crammed to have the camera out!

we ate dinner there: emma had a mr. tube steak and the rest of us

had ukrainian food. couldn't resist the freshly squeezed

lemonade and the mini donuts either!

the next day, we hopped on the sea to sky and set up

shop at alice lake. alice lake is our family favorite place as it brings 

back memories of the countless times we camped there. our whole family joined us up there

and we made it just in time for a little bit of sun!

emma getting the beach toys ready..she had her mind set on 

building a big sand castle.

the view from our spot of the lake, there's a really nice 

trail that goes around the lake that we took sometime after lunch..it definitely

built up the appetite for our dinner!

olivia enjoying emma's princess camping chair..i think she's the perfect 

size for it!

it might be time to get emma a bigger chair of her own...

grandpa and emma playing catch with the velcro ball and mitt..

total memories from back in the day..note the fluorescent pink and green ball!

our olivia is fearless..she just trudged into the water and plopped down..

even put some sand and dirt into her mouth which sent me and her

daddy in a frenzy! the wind was blowing, i had the camera, my hat and olivia's

hat went flying..it was chaos.

mama and olivia..all bundled up!

then emma wanted a turn in the lake..didn't last long as the sun

got clouded over..

but the sand castle did happen!

emma and jacob at the playground..

we had a great time just being amongst nature..listening to the birds chirp,

feeling the sun and wind on your skin and enjoying the company of family!

finally, yesterday we took a little trip to white rock beach.

we very seldom come out simply because the age demographic that

frequents that beach isn't always the type you want your kids around..

but i thought we'd just go for a little stroll and see where the day takes us.

we packed the girls up in our bike stroller which we thought would

be more fun for them as they could sit side by side rather than behind one another.

this turned out to be a fantastic idea as you'll soon see..

me and the girls!

i guess all that fresh air got to olivia..she fell asleep on her big sister's shoulder!

emma was sooo sweet, we could hear her singing 'rock a bye baby' to 

olivia and she even covered her little ears when a train came by!

love, love, love..

and a little more love...

we walked all the way to the end of the promenade and noticed how quiet it was..

like waaaay quieter, and that most of the families had set up shop over here.

the tide was out so after having some ice cream, we brought our bike trailer down to the

beach to have some beach-y fun!

the water babies just couldn`t get enough of the ocean..and i don`t blame them..

the water was soooo warm!

then it was time for silly camera fun..

just has to squeeze in a little more love...

it was bound to happen. olivia got her dress wet so we figured it

was warm enough to have her right down to the diaper..she was having

a blast satisfying her curiosity!

we finished up our day at the beach having fish `n` chips at -in my opinion-

one of the tastiest little joints on this part of the strip: 

we got the 4 pieces and fries..which was just perfect for the 4 of us

as to our surprise, the girls loved the fish! it came with a big container

of tartar sauce and extra cups for ketchup and vinegar if you wanted it.

you know its a good day when your daughter can`t stop telling you how

much fun she`s having..it warmed our hearts very much hearing her say that!

we will be back to this side of white rock very, very soon..this time

more prepared with beach toys that the kiddies can play with.

there was ample parking, a wash room nearby and just the perfect

environment for the little ones.

phew, right! it was a fantastic weekend..and i definitely look forward

to the next sunny day we can spend outside!