More Photos From Life

  We are all in this house together for just a few more weeks until everything changes. I hold so much grief around this. Being in this house together has been such a gift. My oldest daughter has gone through such a complete change it has been a miracle. She went from moving out quite young and not having much to do with us to moving back in with a husband and baby on the way. She now has two babies and it has been the most precious experience to be such a part of their lives. They are not moving far and we will move even closer to them soon enough but in a few short weeks we will stop living in the same house maybe forever. 

This has been a such a precious time. My grandson is so connected to us all. I have been given so many gifts in all this ~ eleven of us in one house!!

The first day of school ever :) (beginning grade 12)

                                   My sweet grandson with his 'oosie' as he calls his soother

                                                  My sweet son holding his little niece

                                                              A fun flower arranging day 

                                                          Mommas with their babies 

           All of us at the fall fair ~ it wasn't the best year ever but we all made it there :)

                                        Baby snuggling is an important part of our every day

When my sister is over (she lived with us for many years) then my WHOLE family is complete (all twelve of us in the house for the last time together).

Sweet Sixteen

 My sweet daughter turned sixteen and at the end of her birthday I asked her how she felt about being sixteen and her eyes welled up with tears and she started to cry.

She has loved being a child and the thought of being an adult does not hold the same appeal it held for my oldest daughter. 

I didn't really know what to say. She has been and still is the sweetest daughter. She is so fun and so fun loving. She is so funny too. She doesn't always use a lot of words but her face tells a whole story. She is loyal and patient, and the favourite sibling to each of her siblings. I hope beyond hope that she will find adulthood so much better than she expects and even though us as parents have maybe not demonstrated the happiest easiest adulthood experience hers can be thousands of times better!

What a gift to have her be mine.

This is the dessert she requested. It has a layer of crushed Oreos, then homemade chocolate pudding, and then on the top is a mixture of cream cheese, peanut butter, sugar, vanilla, and whip cream. It was so delicious (and very sweet like she is).

She didn't want a friends party this year but we had a family party and my sisters travelled to my house for it which was so special.

We prayed for her as a family and my sister also read a blessing over her as well. 

Her dad wrote her a letter and presented her with a special ring to signify her great value and to help her remember this as the years go by. 

I did secretly invite dear friend who lives far away and she came as a surprise and that was really fun :)

Dedication

 Last Sunday my oldest daughter dedicated her new daughter at church and at the same time I dedicated my youngest daughter. Now obviously their dads were there and involved as well but both my daughter and I set it up and made it happen. My daughter was the one who told me she was getting her daughter dedicated and I remembered my youngest had not been dedicated yet so it was perfect.

I didn't have a lot of time to think about it, aka stress about it. On Sunday I made sure all my children were present and my sister kindly drove out with her children to be there as well. It was the simplest and smallest dedication out of all my children but also one that was so special!

We all went up to the front of the church ~ my whole family ~ and my daughter's husband has nine siblings and his family was there so they were all up there along with his grandparents. My sister came up with her children and it was a really special moment. 

My hope, the cry of my heart, is for my children to know that they know that God loves them, that God hears them, that God sees them. I have dedicated all my children to God, committing to raise them with the morals and values that they can choose to adopt or let go of as adults. 

I was SO grateful to have that moment with my family. It felt sacred and beautiful and powerful.

So often in my parenting journey I have failed and caused hurt and just done damage. The core of who I am though is that moment ~ all of us together ~ before God and witnesses ~ with family gathered. 

Pictures

This is just photos from the last while. The click of a camera. The gift of freezing time into a memory ~ a gift.