Psalm 103:1

Summer Swimming Session Success!

Two weeks of daily swimming lessons has come to an end.  Taylor, Levi and David just finished their annual two-week crash course in the pool.  We spent 2 hours every morning at Tansley Woods.  All three completed their levels and are ready to move on again.  David completed Swim Kids 3, Levi did Swim Kids 7, and Taylor just finished a Swim Patrol class and is ready to take on Bronze Medallion.  I am amazed at how comfortable they are in the water, by how much they improved this week and I am also blown away by Taylor's endurance...swimming 24 lengths of the pool.  Wow!
Now that the swimming lessons are out of the way, we can start to get ready for our big camping trip to Bon Echo! 
CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU THREE!  WE ARE VERY PROUD OF YOU!

Hosta Afta the Wata

Yes, a ridiculous title...I couldn't help it.  It has been a rather hot day, so let's just blame it on the heat.

Gave the garden some water this afternoon and took some more pics.  Hosta flowers after the shower...beautiful.

Inspiration from the Garden

New Bloomin' Lily

Well I've had to be patient with this one, but it's finally blooming...worth the wait.

Orillia in July

Amber and Taylor recently spent a week in Orillia visiting with our family there.  It was a week filled with girl-fun and relaxing.  They enjoyed the time to be with their grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins that they do not see very often.  The Schenk girls from Michigan also spent the week there, so it was quite the girls' camp.  We are very thankful to the Orillians for taking care of the ladies for the week.  The girls had so much fun and they can't wait to do it again next year?!?  

The boys stayed home with dad and mom, but we did spent a day in Orillia visiting as well, and the kids had a great time in the water.  David and Levi tried out tubing behind the smaller aluminum boat and David even caught a rather large fish.  They threw it back in the water after we got a picture, and as far as I know, he swam away.  Taylor also showed us her water skiing skills and Amber enjoyed a wild ride on the tube with Opa at the controls.  It was a lovely holiday filled with memories the kids will keep with them for a long time.

Jeremiah Tree

Took this picture this spring along the lakeshore @ Burloak Park.  Thinking about framing this one...

Sunday Snapshots

It was a beautiful Sunday yesterday, and while my hubby was relaxing with a book, I took some time to enjoy the sunshine and snap a few pics.  The sun was out but there was thunder rumbling for a good 45 minutes before the dark sky rolled in and dropped just a few drops of moisture...just a few...

Healing Update~Reasons to Praise God

Well, it has been 13 days since I cut my finger.  I'm starting to get used to typing without the pinky.  (Strange how we adapt.)  The finger looks to be healing fine, but it is still tender on one side.  I'm not exactly sure why that is, but I suspect because it was rather deep, I must have hit a nerve or something.  I hope once the wound itself is done healing, that the pain will also go away.  Once in a while it just stings or throbs and aches, so perhaps things are just healing on the inside.

I'm glad that God the great physician has it in control.  Watching and feeling the healing process is another reminder that we are fearfully and wonderfully made.  Times like this make me thankful for my health and make me appreciate my other 9 healthy fingers.  I have been staying off of the keyboard and organ these past couple weeks, and I'm looking forward to this little finger being 100% healed so I can make some music again.

9 days                                                                            13 days

All this attention to a little "owee" makes me think about Jesus.  One of the aspects of His public ministry was healing people.  He taught people, proclaimed the gospel, and also healed.  It must have been something to witness the healing that went on during the time of Jesus and the apostles. 

I just finished reading through the book of Acts, and I was struck again by the amazing power that even the disciples and apostles had during that time.  But thinking about the miraculous acts also made me think about the many multitudes of people who witnessed these things and still didn't believe He was the Son of God. 

"Jesus said to him, 'Because you have seen Me, have you believed?  Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.'" (John 20:29)NASB

What a gift faith is.  We wouldn't even believe if He didn't first give us the gift of faith.  We have an awesome God.  It's all from Him...I have lots of reasons to be praising God!  I am so Blessed.

  

"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast." (Eph. 2:8-9)NASB

Donation Time!

Well, the day has finally arrived.

Taylor has been growing out her hair for a little while now, so that she might be able to donate that beautiful blonde hair for someone who needs it. Since she starts swimming lessons today, we thought it would be a good time to take it off before it turns 'green' from the chlorine in the pool. So, the hair is off, her head is much lighter, and now she'll just need a professional hair dresser to straighten out the 'mommy' cut she got.

♥Proud of you Taylor!

Taylor's "mom" cut is all straightened out by Melissa...Yay! 

Ouch!

Ever do something and then go...what'd I do that for?

Well, I must admit that I usually hurt myself when I'm in a hurry.  This past Saturday, we were going to go up to Orillia in the morning to visit family, leave the girls there for a week's holiday, travel to Lindsay, take the boys out for dinner for David's birthday, go to Heritage Christian School for Garry Schubert's retirement party, and then travel home because I was supposed to play organ Sunday morning.

We make plans, but God directs our steps... 

I ended up smashing a glass while taking it out of the cupboard.  I think I hit the hood of the stove in my haste, and it broke and cut my hand in the process.  I had small cuts on my thumb and ring finger, and my little pinky...well it didn't fair quite so well...

I kinda knew right away that it was going to take more than a bandage job. 
Rick took me to Mac and a wonderful, friendly, gentle doctor from Uganda stitched me up. 
The cut was deep enough to let me see some exciting stuff, but thankfully there seems to be no nerve damage.  Once the finger was frozen, I watched the stitching.  Amazing stuff what these doctors and nurses do day in and out.  Amazing.  It is always inspiring to just contemplate what they do while you're sitting there waiting for their help.  I just thank God that it was not a very serious injury and I am so thankful that He is the great physician who will heal this little finger.  Four stitches later, a tetanus shot to the arm, and we were out of there in under two hours.

Our trip to Orillia was delayed by about 4-5 hours, but we did manage to fit in all the activities we had planned on participating in.  It was a very late night, or should I say early morning when we got back to Burlington.  I suppose I will need another week off from playing the organ so that the finger will be ready to play the keys again.  Sometimes we just need to slow down...

(My apologies to those who do not like pictures of a "graphic" nature.)  This blog will eventually be made into a book, so this is more for my records AND for my curious sister who is disappointed the stitches will dissolve and disappear and she won't be able to remove them for me.

Incredible how the body heals.

                                    2 days                                                                           5 days

                                                                                                      

David is Eight!

Our little man David celebrated his 8th Birthday last week Friday.  It was the official last day of school, but with his teacher being gone to a family wedding, David skipped school and spent the day at home with mom!
It`s hard to believe how quickly the past 8 years have flown by.  I can still clearly remember that June day when he was born.  We were living in Washago at the time, and he was born in Orillia (just like his daddy.)

So, here are a few pics from our quiet birthday celebrations. Grandpa and Grandma gave David a football movie the week before his birthday, so we enjoyed watching that together.

Delicious `Death by Chocolate` cake...so yum! (I didn`t give it that name...)

Hockey poster from Amber

Beads from Taylor-he requested them (loves to make things for his stuffed animals

and for the girls in this house...)

Mommy took David shopping on his birthday, so he got a few new shirts, lego, and a variety of goodies that included treats, reading books, painting and colouring materials...

(Amazing what you can find at the dollar store!)

David received some birthday $$ from family in Orillia, so he enjoyed picking out some great stuff.  He is cheering for Spain, Brazil, and the Netherlands (in that order) in the World Cup Soccer tourney, so he got a lovely hat and ball, and also a great new tennis tool... 

A Few New Blooms

One of the joys of being a gardener is watching the flowers come out for the first time in the Spring.  It`s also a perk to have perennials that bloom at different times, even into early summer.  So, now I have a few new blooms to post.  Enjoy!

Water Fight ~ Schenk Style

June 19th was a lovely warm day.  A gorgeous Saturday to get some work done around the house and also to enjoy the sunshine and heat.  With the heat came the request to get out the sprinkler and when that happened, a water fight broke out.  I gladly manned the camera while Rick enjoyed control over the garden hose.  The kids had a blast and our lawn also got watered at the same time.