Ant-Man and the Wasp adventure

Last Friday, July 6th, we had planned to go to the Landmark Theater in Kanata to see the movie “Ant-Man and the Wasp” with our whole family.   We enjoy seeing the new super-heroes movies in theater so we splurge a bit and bring our kids to these movies.   We arrived for the 1145am showing.

The movie was going on when suddenly the screen when blank and emergency lights opened in the theater.  We were literally about 15-20 minutes close to the end of the movie.   After waiting 15 minutes or so, we decided to checked on the website for Hydro and saw that there was an

issue in the area we were located.  The theater is smack in the middle of the bottom section on the photo below.

We decided to leave and request some free tickets – the theater was already giving some away.   We were disappointed but we needed to go to our campground from the week-end and could not wait until 330pm for the outage to be fixed as mentioned on the twitter account of the Hydro company.

So we drove and as we got closer to our destination, we jokingly said “What if the theater in Renfrew had the movie starting at 1pm? We could arrive where we were at when we were at Landmark.”  So hubby said that if it was the case, he would go in and offer to pay a reduce amount for us to see the end of the movie.

Well…. we arrived on main street.  Usually we turn to go to our campground before the theater but we see the sign.   And guess what….. the movie had indeed started at 1pm.   And there was a parking spot in front of the theater on the other side of the street waiting for us.  Hubby and one of our boys go in the theater.  He asked if he could pay a small amount for us to see the end of the movie and explain what happened.  The lady at the OBrien Theater in Renfrew allowed us to go in for free so we can see the rest of the movie and the fun part during the credits. 

The best part is that when we sat down it was about 5 minutes before the movie stopped at Landmark so we were able to catch the part that we had missed earlier in the day.

And after checking later that day for the outage – it was not fixed until 530pm and it happened because some trees fell on the lines due to high wind.

We were blessed by this lady at the OBrien Theater and are thankful for her willingness to let us see the end of the movie.

Many thanks from our whole family.  You have made our day on July 6th, 2018!

Home alone

For the first time in thirteen years, my husband left the house for a week of training.

In the past, we went to training together – I’m thinking our church planting course a few years ago.

Not this time…   The opportunity was open for Rob.  God opened more doors to make it possible.   It is a perfect fit for him.

So on Sunday, he took the plane at 830 in the morning and won’t be back until next Saturday in the afternoon around 4pm.

Me…. I braced myself for being emotional.   I was – a bit.   The kids reacted differently… during that Sunday.

We couldn’t go to church because dear daughter woke up with a HUGE rash all over her upper body and face.   She had had fever a couple of days before.  I went to the Renfrew Hospital to get her checked.   They couldn’t do anything for a 24 hour fever apparently.

But last night, when I put the boys to bed I saw that Jérémy had some sort of rash – different than his sister however.  It was itchy…

So this morning, I braced myself and went to the clinic with four kids in tow as well as Nintendo DS, iPods and iPad.

We waited patiently…

Turns out that Jérémy has poison ivy.   Apparently he went to play in the bush either around the RV or around the zodiak.

Jasmine on the other hand – I still don’t know what it is.  

Both have cream as both are itchy.  Different rashes but same effect…

Both got swapped for strep.

Back home, the adventure of the Monday was not complete.   I had sent my oldest son to dig the Slip ‘N Slide for later this week.

He found it all right – along with manipulating a box with Javex in it… which cause wreck on his clothes.  A good pair of short and a t-shirt with iron man wrecked….   I loved these shorts.

So I send him for a shower….  He was singing a Christmas song on top of his long.  Yes it is July 4th by the way…

Then the mailman came with a box from one of the publishers from which I review with five books inside.  I’ve been waiting for them but Canada Post was on strike in June…  They arrived FINALLY!

Then I received an email from a new company I contacted, they want me to review some of their products – more games coming our way.

Lastly, I will receive a new DVD with art lessons from See The Light.  

Now my kids ages 3 to 10 wants to watch an episode of Little House in The Prairie with me.

The day started crazy… it finishes beautifully.

I was suppose to do work on my courses… haven’t find the time yet.

There is always tomorrow!

What’s in a name?

In the Bible, a name has a special meaning.

Abram means “exalted father” – problem was he didn’t have any kids.   Then God changed his name to Abraham “father of a multitude”.   God had a plan for him.   A grand plan…

Sarai got her name changed to Sarah but both names means princess.

Isaac’s name means “laughter”.

Theophilus means lover of God.

And I could go on like this throughout the Bible.  Even places had their special names.

Beersheba means well of the oath.

Jerusalem means city of peace.

Gethsemane means oil press.

God himself has many names (as well of Jesus) and each of them represent a special aspect of Him.

El-Olam is the Eternal God.

El-Elyon is God Most High.

El-Shaddai is Gold Almighty, the All-Sufficient One.

You might wonder where I am going today.  For my post on NaBloPoMo, I thought of sharing the meaning of my kids’ names.

******************************

From the name book written by Dorothy Astoria

Alexandre Emanuel – age: 9 years old

ALEXANDRE
Language/Cultural Origin: Greek
Inherent Meaning: Defender of Mankind
Spiritual Connotation: Brave Protector
Scripture: Jeremiah 22:3  TLB

“The Lord says: Be fair-minded.  Do what is right! Help those in need of justice!”

EMANUEL
Language/Cultural Origin: Hebrew
Inherent Meaning: God With Us
Spiritual Connotation: Gift of God
Scripture: John 3:16 NKJV

“ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

Dominic Matthias – age: 6 years old.

DOMINIC
Language/Cultural Origin: Latin
Inherent Meaning: Belonging to the Lord
Spiritual Connotation: Faithful Disciple
Scripture: John 6:39  NLT

“And this is the will of God, that I should not lose every one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them to eternal life at the last day.”

MATTHIAS
Language/Cultural Origin: Hebrew
Inherent Meaning: Gift of God
Spiritual Connotation: Honor to God
Scripture: Psalm 104:1 KJV

“Bless the Lord, O my soul.  O Lord my God, thou art very neat; thou are clothed with honour and majesty.”

Jérémy Jonathan – age: almost 5 years old.

JÉRÉMY
Language/Cultural Origin: English
Inherent Meaning: God is Exalted
Spiritual Connotation: Humble
Scripture: James 4:10 NKJV

“Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.”

JONATHAN
Language/Cultural Origin: Hebrew
Inherent Meaning: Gift of the Lord
Spiritual Connotation: God’s Precious Gift
Scripture: Psalm 92:4 NKJV

“For You, Lord, have made me glad through Your works; I will triumph in the works of Your hands.”

Jasmine May – age: almost 3 years old.

JASMINE
Language/Cultural Origin: Persian
Inherent Meaning: Jasmine Flower
Spiritual Connotation: Messenger of Love
Scripture: Isaiah 55:11 NKJV

“ So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void.”

MAY
Language/Cultural Origin: Hebrew
Inherent Meaning: Gift of God
Spiritual Connotation: Blessed
Scripture: Psalm 92:4 KJV

“For thou, Lord, hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands.”

As you can see, the middle names of each of our kids have the Gift of God in either the inherent meaning or the spiritual connotation.   It was important for us that this was reflected in their names because they are indeed gifts from God to us.  

And this week-end, we saw that Alexandre was carrying his name very well.   We were invited to a birthday party and he was the oldest child there.   Nevertheless, he helped a lot with the younger kids during games with his brother Dominic and was overshadowing his little sister at times.    Result:  People around us were impressed by the two older kids and kept telling us about it.   This was so nice to hear and to “digest” as well.    As a mom, hearing these kind of comments is important as it confirms that what I am doing as a parent is good. 

Thank you Lord for our four kids.  They are indeed precious.   May your hand be upon them throughout their lives.

Something sweet just for me

Check out the cool chocolate my kids got during Halloween...!  Isn't it cute?

The best part is that my kids gave them to me because the REALLY know I love this little creature and that I am known to be the Canadianladybug on the net.   I do have sweet kids!   I love them.  LOTS!

This little ladybug comes in three flavors - caramel, a green paste and a pink paste.   The pink paste one is the best I think - flavor is like cherries.

Blessings from Alberta...

... when we least expected it, we got a phone call from friends in AB.   Roger and Margie were pastor and wife of a church in Fredericton last year.  Now they live in Alberta.    We met more than 2 years ago in Cochrane, AB during an orientation session at the denomination where our churches would be link to.   Back then it was known as the CCSB now it's the CNBC but we are still southern-baptist.

So 2 years ago we met and we clicked.   Us 30 something kids and them older folks.   We lost contact but found each other at the CCSB convention in PEI last year.   We reconnected as though we haven't lost contact - you know what I mean?   It was so nice to see them and be able to stay at their place for a few days afterwards (yes they invited us to stop and stay a little while).   They babysat our kids while we went to see the new Hulk movie back then - a must for my husband.   We had a good time with them and were sad to leave Fredericton but we had to go back home...  Now my kids had another set of grand-parents...

Anyhow, Margie called to chit chat and it was nice to hear her voice.   She went through a lot in the Fall with strokes and she is back on her feet with no residual problems.   But she called to encourage us and it meant a lot for us because sometimes planting a church can be difficult.   And she is so loving as doing so.   Both of them are doing great and I'm very happy to hear that.  

Now I wish we could visit more easily but Alberta is not next door.   Hubby says it will take a lot of convincing to drive there.   My point is simple - you drive there with the RV going through Canada, and you come back via the US.   Obviously, we would have to go to Vancouver to see hubby's sister and her family...  but how many times in your life could you do that.  

So I am praying that someday we can do it... bring the kids out west, discover the plains and the mountains, if we are debt free and we have enough contracts to cover the cost.   This can't be done in one month - not with the amount of sight-seeing I like to do *grin*...  

Hey, a girl can dream... and ask God to provide.   After all doesn't the scripture says: "Ask and you shall receive."?   So Lord I ask.   Please make my dream a reality some day.

Most helpful 2nd grader

I think I have the most helpful 2nd grader in the world!   I am blessed with all my kids but this one helps me like there is no tomorrow.

Yesterday while we were chatting with other adults - Alexandre didn't want to play with the younger ones so I put out all the food leftover - burgers, hot dogs, cake... all in plastic containers and in the fridge.   I'm so proud of him.  

He was sad that his friend Émilie couldn't come so he kept occupied...

Like I said....  he is such a sweetie.   I think I figured out his love language - service and spending time with us.

Learning to slow down and asking for help from your kids.

In November 2008, I was schedule for surgery on my right foot to remove a bunion that was causing pain and problems.    Honestly, I was wondering why I had to go through this with 4 kids aged 7 and under (including a little one under 1 year old).   But it turned out that it wasn’t this bad.   As I write this, I still have 3 weeks in a cast – weeks where I can’t drive obviously so I am trying to make the best of the situation…   During this time I have the chance to slow down – literally.   And I have the opportunity to ask my kids to get more involved in the day to day life in the home.    I must honestly say that I am blessed to have these kids.   The older ones are helping a lot with their younger brother and sister as well as helping in the house.    Can you believe that my 2^nd grader helped with the laundry thanks to a product I have reviewed recently?   Yes you read that right – Alexandre has done laundry!   I plan to use to new skill in the future as it will permit me to prepare something else while he loads the washer.   Picking up time is done with less whining and crying too!   How did I do it?   Not sure but the rule now is if you are done with it, you pick it up.    It removes lot of things on the floor and permits me to walk without worrying if I will slip on some toy…   Another plus of having Alexandre at home is that he can help me to bring his baby sister downstairs.   You see it’s a little bit tricky for me to go down the stairs and I need to keep a hand on the railing.   Since Jasmine is not able to go down the stairs by herself, well I need help.   Homeschooling has slowed a bit during the week following the surgery but its back on track since then.    Homeschooling had permitted me to have some help when I needed it.   Homeschooling also trained my oldest to household duties which he wouldn’t have learned at school.   Homeschooling permits my kids to grow close to each other and me to get to know them.    The other day, I was sitting on the sofa and enjoying their laugh and play while resting my foot.   Oh the joy of hearing them having fun together.   Homeschooling has allowed us to be close and to explore together life with its ups and downs.   Events happen sometimes and the fact that we homeschool permits us to be flexible.   

Oh and if you are wondering… YES I can’t wait to be able to drive so I can get out a bit more!   But for now, I am enjoying the rest and peace of being at home… and even without the cast on, I will have to continue to slow down a bit since there is another 6 weeks without impact activity that will follow. 

Blessed like there is no tomorrow...

...   I've been blessed by a vendor I contacted to eventually buy his product so that my husband and I would like to go through.

I will tell you more about it another time but right now I'm floating on a cloud.   So happy.  It's getting shipped today... 

Yeah!

Done

It took two days to put two coats of fresh paint in our school room.  The little room is located in the front of the house.  From the window we can see the porch and the street.   The wall are blue-grey kind of color.   Thanks to my in-laws I will be able to move some furniture soon....

For tonight, we are washing the carpet with our machine and then we will put the humidifier for the night to remove the humidity...

Hopefully, tomorrow morning I will be able to move the bookcases and the desks as well as starting to put the books at their proper place...

So exciting!   Can't wait to have it complete...

Oh!  And I need to bake a cake for Jérémy as his birthday party is on Sunday...

Spring is back in town...

The snow is melting... slowly.   And it was cold.   Everyone was starting to wonder if spring would even come.   Well this morning I got a confirmation that spring is indeed arrived (even with all the snow still piling up).  

I just saw two robins... fighting their territory on my front lawn.

Sweet!

Ladybug girl...

 

This little bug caught my heart...   I already found a little dress with a ladybug on it!   And a friend in the states will order the ladybug tights on gap.com for me because they don't deliver in Canada and I can't find them around here anymore...  

Happy Birthday Dominic!

Dominic is turning 4 years old today!   Amazing how time flies sometimes...  

I love you buddy.  May God guide you every day of your life. 

Make a slideshow - it's easy!

Thanks goodness for friends in the States!

Yesterday it was the last day of January sale at Leapfrog.com   and I also had a 20% coupon from Homeschool Buyers Co-Op to use on that specific day.

However, when I was going through my order, I realized I couldn't get it shipped to Canada.   So I e-mailed my friend Heidi and asked her if I could get it shipped to her place and then her ship it to me after.  No problem she said.

So after I came back from Downtown because I had to get my health card renewed and a picture taken, I continue with the order while hubby prepares lunch.   He also looked at the things on sale and added some...  Well believe it or not, that website knew that my credit card was not from the states and wouldn't allow me to continue...  Bummer!

So after lunch and feeding the baby, I picked up the phone and called my friend...  She was surprised to hear my voice since we mostly communicate via e-mails or our blogs...   I'm glad I was able to talk to her.   Wish I could visit soon...  we shall see how long it takes to have Jasmine's birth registration to order the birth certificate and then how long to get the birth certificate to get a passport...   Long process believe me!

Anyhow, Heidi agreed to order the stuff and we did it on the phone.   We then send her the payment via paypal.   Technology is GREAT!   It is so easy... When she will ship it to me she will let me know how much and then we will send her payment for shipping via paypal again.  

Now I am waiting patiently (yah right!) for the LeapPad books we just ordered...   I'm so excited that I can't wait to see how my own kids will react to this.

I wonder if they will arrive before Dominic's birthday at the end of the month as we have some for him in there...

HEIDI you were a blessing for us yesterday!!!   Thanks again for your help!  

When it rains, it pours...

LOL - I am not talking rain per say but more like contests winning...

First earlier this week, I learned that I won the baby of 2007 contest at www.momsmoments.ca which gave me a 25$ gift certificate at www.amazon.ca !   I spent it the same day on books for the kids...   LOL What can I say I can't resist.  No really, these books will go with my library of Come Sit By Me activities - things I really wanted or can't find at the city library.

Then this morning in my inbox I had a message from my dear friend HEIDI who was letting me know that I had won a devotion book from her website.  To be honest I really need something to get back into my devotions...  Not sure where my time is going lately but boy I am busy...   I see docteur appointments left and right for the next few weeks...   They are either for hubby, me or one of the kids... but it has to be done.  Finally got my appointment with the foot specialist to check out my bunion - took a year and a half believe it or not.   Then Alex has an appointment with the eye specialist to see if he has strabismus like Dominic...  These are just a few examples of what I mean by having appointments left and right...

My boys and their little sister...

Make a postcard - it's easy!

Introducing Jasmine May!

On December 19th, I went in to the hospital to have my c-section...  and we met our daughter for the first time...   After debating between two name, we finally picked Jasmine...  And to be honest, it fits her perfectly.   She is a sweet little one who doesn't wake up a lot and let mommy sleeps a night.

 Some of you might want to take a peek to our new angel.   Here's some pictures...

Make a scrapbook - it's easy!

A little health issue...

Yesterday I went to visit my OB - regular appointment....  but I had the surprise to learn that I had a bit of high blood pressure which I never had the other three pregnancies.  However, it is no critical to the point that I need bed rest or be admitted at the hospital or be on medication.   So praise God!   But I still need to slow down, don't do too much and relax...  MMmmmM!   So no running around anymore...  No doing too much either I guess.

So if you read this, I would appreciate some prayers to control this and for me to learn to slow down.   We have decided to slow a bit the pace for homeschool since we have the feeling that Alexandre is a bit in advance... and I want to keep things until May or June.  He is more than half-way in his MathUSee and half way the second book for the reading program in French.... Can't go in book 3 yet since it is for grade 2...  So it won't hurt him to have a few days off - or weeks off I guess.   I will do a couple of things in the morning but not as much as before.

Gymnastics is finished for the Fall.   Winter session starts in January but since I can't drive for 5-6 weeks... well I decided it would be better not to overdo it.  So hopefully there will be space in the Spring session...

Happy birthday Jérémy!

Jérémy is turning two today!  

A two year old who likes to follow his big brother.   A sweet little boy who is our little birdy since he makes his nest when he goes to bed.   A gentle little boy who takes cares of the baby dolls at Sunday School.

He is growing so fast.   He is a little sponge trying to learn a lot.   He likes to repeat after us and to makes us laugh...

I love you my son and I pray that God will guide you all your life.

 

A picture from God!

This morning, I'm up early somehow... 530am.

I go downstairs and see white through the windows of the main door.   But I am unsure if it is really white or not.

So I get in my office and look through the windows.   What do I see?   A picture from God - literally.

In front of my house there is a small tree which is in the same family as a lilac tree.   There is snow everywhere (first snow!) and beside the tree a wild rabbit just sitting there.   Oh I wish I was equipped to take a picture of this magnificient picture.   It's still dark outside... but the settings is just perfect!

I thank the creator for this postcard just for me...  I can't wait to tell my husband about it!

Glasses anyone?

Okay, here's an update on Dominic...   I think I had mentioned that we will have to go see an eye specialist for him because his left eye was going inward at times...  if not, well here you go...

We had the appointment last Friday.  Took nearly 3 hours 30 minutes to complete the whole appointment.   Alexandre and Dominic were good.  Thanks to mother-in-law, Jérémy was with her during that time...  Not sure he would have had the patience...

Anyhow, we met the specialist  a gentle man who explained to us that Dominic had strabismus but that it didn't affected his vision so no patches...  Two options: glasses or surgery.   His strabismus is not very bad... only 1.75 on both eyes while there is cases worst than him.   So we are going for glasses for now at his recommendation and then check if it helps.   Last resort would be the surgery...   I pray that we avoid this option as much as possible but I know he is in good hands.

So we got a price for glasses at the clinic but we wanted to shop around.   There is would have been 226$ for one pair of glasses.   We went at two other places.   First one was about the same price... so this was not an option.   Then we went to Costco.   They didn't have a lot of choices but there was one pair that seemed to be nice on him.   To top it off, there was a coupon that week for when you get another pair of glasses it would be 60$ rebate on it.   So we got two pairs for 140$ believe it or not...   If one pair breaks then we have a spare right away...  Same model... no fluffy thing for a little 3 year old.

Now when we get them, we will have to make sure he wears them as much as possible...   which means training.   He needs to understand that glasses are fragile.  I promise to post a picture when we get them!!!