Sunshine and Lemonade Party!!

Just this last sunday we had a birthday party for Shiloh and, another adorable camp kid, Kaylia! Kendra and I had so much fun planning, and making, and baking and putting it all together! Ben came up with some crazy games for the kids!! Our theme for the girls was Sunshine and Lemonade, pinks and yellows, and it turned out FANTASTIC!!
These were just some of the decorations. The lemonade stand has been such a big hit with the kids! They have played Lemonade Stand so much, using pretend money to buy their goods :)



Here are the camp kids playing at the lemonade stand while waiting for the party to start.

Let the games begin!!






And then there's the food table. It was so much fun!



Then of course it's cake time!! Here we are with the birthday girls! And it was officially Kaylia's birthday!!

This and That

We knew spring had sprung when Trev went and got out the girls bikes for them to ride! They have spent countless amounts of time riding them up and down and in and out of puddles, getting completely soaked thru and having a blast doing it!

So, I was talking to my mom on the phone the other day and Goober kept trying to interrupt and show me something she had colored. And they know that if I am on the phone, to wait, unless it's really important. I decided that it must be important when I heard her say "I need to go wash it off"! I instantly realized that she had not colored on paper when she said that. This is what she had done. . . . . .lol

A lot of us full time staff went to Kenora, mainly to pick up canoes for camp, but also to enjoy dinner at Casey's together. After dinner we went to pick up the canoes and load them on top of our vehicles. That was fun and different. We have discovered that if any hwy needs work, the 44 up to West Hawk could sure use some help!!

Yesturday I dropped Chloe off at our friends in Rennie while Goober, Shiloh and I joined Vanessa and her two girls out for Busy Bee's, a moms group in Whitemouth, for the morning!! Natasha is usually fairly reserved and uncertain in new places, but by the time we left she was asking to come back!! It was loads of fun!!

Stepping out and being real

A lot of friends whose blogs I follow share deep personal stuff along with the everyday, and I love to read all of it! The personal challenges and growth others share has been a blessing to me. I learn how they overcome and gain helpful insights from it and it brings the relationship to a deeper level even though we may not see each other much, there's still that personal deeper connection of being real and not just talking about the weather. Relationships are so amazing when there's nothing to hide and when you take risks, debate opinions and are ok with having different views on stuff.
And so, I feel as though I want to open up myself and let people see the real me, without holding back and trying to pretend I have it all together. I have this fear that if someone were to look beyond the surface of me they will be repulsed by the ugliness that is hiding underneath. Recently a friend challenged me (on her blog, actually) to stop pretending I have it all together and be real about every aspect of my daily life. My ultimate hope in doing this is not to have the spotlight on me, but instead that you will see I am just as human as the next person and that God is what keeps me from falling to pieces!! So, I am going to take a leap of faith and share something that is a big part of my life.
About a two and a half years ago I was diagnosed with depression. I fought it for a many years before doing anything about it. I believed I could control it and if I just worked harder at changing myself, I wouldn't struggle with it. Finally it got to the point where my thoughts became very dark and that scared me. So I went to my Dr and he started me on some medication and the change was dramatic. In some ways I felt relief that this was something I needed 'help' conquering and that I wasn't just failing at getting it right. I really felt like a cloud left my head and instead of every little thing irritating me, I felt so free of anger and despair of being out of control. But after a couple of months on the medication, I still felt like I was still trapped and that I had only gained a little more space in my cage. So Trev and I, together, went to counseling. I was uncertain about it because I had tried it before and had been told that they didn't know what was wrong with me and couldn't help me. But with this couple and the Holy Spirit's leading, I began to break thru so many things that were suffocating me and I found more freedom than I'd ever known before. My eyes were opened to a lot of strongholds the devil had on my life. I'd love to say that I don't struggle with depression anymore, but then I'd be lying or in serious denial and given my family's history with mental illness (depression, manic depression, bi-polar) chances are this could be a lifetime struggle that I can choose to let control me and bring me and everyone around me down, or I can accept it and live, as best I can, the life God has planned for me. There are days I struggle just to want to get out of bed and do what needs doing for that day. Some days that I do get out of bed, I probably shouldn't have. Some days are harder, much harder, than others and some days are amazing and great. It's a constant struggle. God has been so good to me, He's the one I cry out to in my low moments, He cheers me on and encourages me in the good moments and He's the one who has helped pull me out of dark places just by shining His light, His Truth on the lies in my life. He comforts me, He loves me no matter how nasty I get and He always hopes and expects better for me. He has surrounded me with amazing friends and family and the most amazing husband, Trevor, who doesn't deserve the junk I have, but loves me regardless and supports and encourages me and prays for me constantly. God has blessed us with the most amazing girls, who are teaching me everyday about God's unconditional love and so much about how and why He loves each one of us. God has taught me so much thru them, and all the people who are in my life, I am so blessed by each one! So now that this ugly blemish is exposed I feel a freedom to be myself and be a better wife, mother, sister, daughter and friend.

Minneapolis and More!

The past two weeks have been crazy busy with major work projects at camp and then straight on to a mini vacation in Minneapolis. There were so many people who came out to help with the new flooring in two of the full time staff houses. Our girls loved having more kids to play with them! A bunch of the girls who had come, and I made these super cute owls!


Then Vince and Kendra came for a day and it was just so nice to have a relaxing visit. And see baby Jackson again! Chloe is our little Mother and couldn't resist holding the little man for a bit :)

Then we got ready to go to Minneapolis. I was really nervous as how the drive would be handled by our three girls and amazingly we pulled through with no major meltdowns and activities left over that we didn't even try!! So I guess we were prepared well! I did do a lot of research and talking to other parents who have taken their kids on longer road trips. Their ideas are golden and we had so much fun! The thing I am most thankful for are audio books!! We had a bunch of great ones, but our girls only listened to the 'Little Women' book (at least twice!). I totally got into too. I think I was the only one who cried when Beth died, lol.
Here's a craft the girls had a blast with! I found the glasses at target along with the foam stickers and let them go wild decorating them!


We spent a night and a day on our own in Minneapolis before Ben and Kendra, Anika and Kaylia joined us. The girls had so much fun in the giant jetted tub that we filled with bubbles!
With the Duecks we spent a full day shopping (at IKEA! and the Mall of America) The girls found a lot of things to amuse themselves with, many seats to sit on and beds to lay down on. And this zebra picture I fell in love with and am contemplating having it in our living room.



We also spent one day at the amusement park at the Mall and also the Aquarium, both of which the kids LOVED!! Chloe went on almost everything and had a blast! Goober was a bit bummed out that she couldn't ride everything, but she LOVED the rides that she did go on!! Shiloh did really well too!

Mother Daughter Weekend!!

We just had our Mother/Daughter weekend and it was wonderful!! Our speakers were wonderful and definately challenged me to be a little more Mary in my Martha world :) The women, young women, and girls that came were so great! My own girls always had someone to play with and my amazing husband took care of the house, the girls while I ran around with a couple of the camp ladies to keep things running on schedule!
Being as busy as we were I wasn't able to take as many pics as I wanted to but here's a few that I managed to fit in :)
Melissa and I worked on the final setup on friday and Shaya and Shiloh played so nicely together, while Goober and Chloe played Uno together! And Ben hung up all the lights around the dining hall, in between helping to get everthing else ready for the ladies arrival!




Just a few of the end result of our decorating efforts! Classy, elegant and a little bit glamorous!

In the past month. . . .

Here's just a few highlights from our past month. So first off. . . .we got a new washer/dryer set for our house at camp!! They are so great!! At first Trev was so pumped he went gung-ho doing all the laundry he could find! If we ever have our own house, I have a feeling that we will be buying a set just like this one! :)

We also celebrated Christmas with my family the 2nd weekend in January! It felt a little strange not having the gatherings at "Christmas time" in December. But it was a fun time making new traditions and putting all our focus on Christ. Then there was so much to look forwards to in January as well!! Spending time together, playing, talking and of course eating!


This is our girls with closed eyes waiting for the dollhouse that Papa made for them

I love spending time with my girls outside! Chloe could live outside all the time, if she could! And Goober needs a little bit of coaxing, but this year she's been asking to go outside alot and on the warmer days spends a good chunk of time out there! Shiloh just loves being outside, watching her big sisters or sliding with Chloe on the hill in our front yard. I love that my girls enjoy the great outdoors!!




We have spent some good times with friends lately too! Our friends from Altona brought a little Z120, and they let all the kids have a turn driving and hauling their friends around on gt's! That was great fun!



And this is Natasha with Shiloh all cuddled up!! :)

And also our good friends the Jensens :) All our kids are 5 months apart except for the babies, they are nine weeks apart!



We also went to Altona to visit the Enns'! That was so much fun! The kids all had a blast and it was just so nice to spend time with them!

Shiloh popped two front teeth in one weekend!! She is constantly gnawing on her fingers, so I wouldn't be surprised to see more new teeth in the near future! We had a very hard time getting a picture of her teeth because she kept sticking her tongue in the way, so Trev had to hold her tongue back and keep her mouth open. It looks a little mean, but there was no harm done :)

Speaking of teeth. . . Chloe lost another one! She has been wiggling and wiggling it for a while and at one point was going to let Daddy take it out, but then Trev figured it could use a couple more days or so. Chloe was nervous about that, but really brave too! Then one evening WAY after she should've been sleeping she came out of her room and said her tooth fell out! So there we have it, another baby tooth is gone, she looks so adorable with her gappy smile and my baby is growing up !