Overdue Update

It's been way too long since I've taken the time to update this blog.  Shame on me.
A lot has happened in our neck of the woods in the past couple months, I shall try to be brief...so hang on...

Rick and I celebrated 20 wonderful years of marriage with a "no-kids" camping trip this summer to Bon Echo.  The kids were sincerely concerned that we would not be able to manage setting up camp without their help and muscles, but we managed just fine by ourselves.  It's amazing what you can do when you stand on a picnic table! That being said, I certainly missed their dish-washing skills...

Everyone is back into the swing of things in the school department.  Amber (gr.12), Taylor (gr.10) and Levi (gr.9) are diligently working at their particular subject areas for their first term at King's, and the girls are also back on the basketball court.  I've had the opportunity to watch a few games, and they are off to a nice start!

 I think this was Amber's 14pt game...she was tearing up the court...even impressed Coach Stewart with her left-handed lay-up...Gotta admit that it was so smooth I didn't even notice it was her left hand...

Rick and Amber celebrated birthdays in September...Sorry, no candles for Rick...

David (gr.5) and Rick (Mr. Princi"pal") are the only Schenkies left at Trinity, so David has a lot of responsibility being the only child who can keep an eye on daddy at school.  It's a lot of pressure, but he seems to be up for the challenge.  Our young man David is once again busy training for cross-country...he has his first X-country meet this week.

I am busy teaching/directing/herding 20 beautiful JK students three days a week.  It has been a steep learning curve for both the kids and myself.  Every day I seem to throw some plans out the window, or save things for another day, because you just never know what might go down in a day in JK!  I am having lots of fun, and God has blessed me with great health and a voice that has kept up with the all-day chatter.  I have two wonderful ladies who help out in the class as well, and they are a wonderful blessing!

Now I need to give my house a little attention...for some reason the house still doesn't clean itself...

Party Time

It is Canada Day weekend...the weekend when sister-in-law Caroline throws a party to celebrate Canada's birthday, but also that of Brian and Daniel.  So, this morning we ventured up to Orillia with the holiday weekend traffic to join some of our family for a sunny day at Opa and Oma's.  The weather was lovely and the company was great.  A wonderful time was had by all.  (We even managed to catch a glimpse of the Snow Birds as they put on a show this afternoon.)

Double Digit David

On June 25, 2002 God blessed us with this little man.

A picture is worth a thousand words...

Need I say more?!?

Birthday Time

Happy Birthday 

Taylor Joy!!!

We celebrated another birthday this week in the Schenk home.  We thank God for blessing our Taylor Joy with 15 years and pray He'll bless her with many more!

Teenager #3

Last week our Levi turned 13.  We had been so busy with school and sports stuff, that by the time his special day came last Sunday, we were seriously ready to relax and party.  We enjoyed a lovely day together as a family with a special visit from Grandma and Grandpa too.

Amber's Birthday

It doesn't seem possible that we have a child ready to get behind the wheel...but Amber say's it's true.
She turned 16 this weekend and we had a lovely time celebrating this milestone.  It was a weekend filled with quality family time, basketball, amazing weather, shopping, dinner out, youth group, church, a visit to the lake and of course some very delicious cake...

HAPPY SWEET 16 AMBER!!!

David's 9th

David turned nine recently...mom is slow to post the pics...

Taylor is 14!

Our Taylor girl turned 14 on Monday.  We celebrated earlier when we visited Orillia, and we celebrated on Sunday when Grandpa and Grandma came over, and we celebrated again on Monday when it actually was her birthday.  What can I say...we love to party! 

I can remember the day Taylor was born, and I can remember wandering the halls in the wee hours of the morning b/c she would not sleep and I was sharing a room with 3 other women with babies...it was a busy Good Friday, that March 28th...

Little Taylor was only content to stay close to mom and sleep snuggled up in my bed.  I don't think the nurses were too happy with her sleeping with me, but a mom's gotta do what a mom's gotta do.  Thankfully we went home in a day or two, cause I was t-i-r-e-d and I didn't sleep very well in a hospital, especially having to share the bed with a baby.

I thank the Lord for giving us Taylor and for blessing her with health and talents and a heart that desires to serve God.  We pray God will bless her with many more years and keep her close to Him.

Some Thoughts on the Words..."I Love You"

Those words are said a lot in this house.  We tell our kids we love them.  I speak those words to my husband several times a day and he also says them frequently to me.  I never grow tired of hearing them.  They never grow old.  They are not just words.  Love is demonstrated through acts of kindness to one another.  Love is a fruit of the Spirit, and as far as the fruits go...it's the one on the top of that list.  Don't you think that being on the top of the list means something?

Love is the summary of the law...to love God with all that we are...to love Him above all and our neighbour as ourself.  We are commanded to love.  Husbands are commanded to love their wives...Titus 2 tells the older women to encourage the younger women to love their husbands and to love their children.  Our marriage and our family life is to be characterized by love.  The Bible is full of examples of love and explicit commands to love...not just the ones we find easy to love. 
We love our children just because of who they are.  We love them even when they disappoint us.  We love because God first loved us.  We love because of what Jesus has done for us. 

Well, it's the beginning of a new year.  I pray that I will grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ in the year 2011.  I pray that I'll grow in love as I should...that I'll forgive others as God forgives me...frequently and completely.  That I'll display those fruits of the Spirit more and more.  I pray that when December 2011 rolls around(DV), I will be able to look back and again see God's faithfulness in my life. That He has drawn me closer to Him and that He's made me more like Jesus.  How exciting it is to have a fresh new year to live for Him.  Who knows what God will bring our way this year...

What a lovely Christmas break we had as a family.  It was such a blessing just to be together and celebrate this wonderful gift of Jesus. 
Just prior to Christmas I celebrated 40 years of life.  How can it be that I am 40?  I still remember being a young girl and my mom turning 40. 
Isn't life amazing?  The older we get, the younger we think we really are...I'm not so old really, am I? 
All I have to do is ask my youngest.  He thinks 40 is a pretty big number...It's all perspective, I guess.

I believe that the best gifts don't have to cost a lot of money.  They don't have to be wrapped in fancy paper.  Sometimes the best gifts are the simplest.  For me, this card was one of those gifts.  It struck home and reminded me once again how God has blessed me.  Are husbands supposed to make you cry on your birthday?  (My dad says happy tears are ok...)

I am posting pics of the card I received from Rick for my birthday...probably illegal to do so...but I wanted to share it's message...and I want to be able to read it from time to time...(just in case the paper version does accidentally get misplaced...)

♥I am so blessed...

Playing Catch-up

I am so behind in the blogging...have been a little busy with things....Levi's 12th birthday came and went and we had fun celebrating, but I neglected to post the other pictures...shame on me!  (Love this smile!)

 

Taylor and Levi have been busy with their volleyball lately.  They both had one tournament so far, and they will have another one next week.  They are enjoying this a lot, and mom and dad had fun cheering them on!

Taylor was also involved with the Spelling Bee this year, and she went with one of her friends to Beacon Christian School to be representatives for Trinity.  She didn't come home the champion, but she had fun and did her best.

The Huizinga clan got together just over a week ago to have pictures taken.  We went to Rosa-Flora in Dunnville, and it was a rather painless procedure.  It went quickly and there was very little crying involved.  Grandpa and Grandma had pics taken with the grandkids and we did shots of everyone as well as individual family shots.  It was high-time we took pictures, because last time we did the family thing, Jay and Shar did not have any children.  Now they have four!  It was a nice morning and I think we came away with some nice pictures.

Amber is still playing basketball.  The junior team had a nice season and they even made it into the playoffs this year.  However, they came out of the regular season in 8th place and had to play the 1st place team...needless to say, the playoff experience was short lived.  Amber was asked to play with the senior team towards the end of their regular season.  She was able to participate with the seniors at the Christian School tournament, and later this week she will be going to Welland for a few days with the seniors and will be competing at OFSAA.  This is quite an honour and accomplishment for the team!  We look forward to cheering them on!  "Go King's Go!"

The rain is falling outside, but inside the house is shaping up for Christmas.  This past Friday the kids had a PD day, so Taylor and I picked up a Christmas tree...(one in a box).  That's right...I don't know what came over me this year, because we've always had a real tree.  FYI: Rick was on board with this decision...and he is very happy with what we've come up with.

The girls and I also decided on a new theme for the tree, a blue, white and silver one.  I really felt it was time to get some fresh decorations...the old ones were looking rather tired.  I think it's safe to say that all it needs yet is a bit more ribbon, perhaps a matching skirt, and a few presents.  

So far we are all enjoying this tree...(especially yours truly.)  On the positive side, I don't have to worry about watering it or cleaning up all the needles, and we can enjoy having the tree up for a longer period of time.  I suppose the down side is it doesn't smell pretty like a real tree, but that's OK.  I've come to terms with that and I also have a wonderful solution...my favourite cranberry scented candles to take the place of the absent pine smell.  I think it's a win-win!

All I need to do now is get past the inevitable birthday that is coming this week, whether I like it or not, and then I can get on to getting the Christmas cards in the mail and all the fun that the December Christmas season brings!



Autumn Update

Levi celebrated his 12th birthday this past weekend.  Wow!  It's hard to believe he's almost a teenager.  He's really shooting up, is trying to keep up with his sisters in the height department, and has surpassed me in the shoe size department.  With all the growing, one thing remains the same...he is still my kind-hearted little man.  I pray that never changes.  I thank God for making such a joy for a son.  I am truly blessed.

We celebrated his birthday all weekend, really.  Enjoying cake and family time, the school bazaar and visitors from Orillia, and then more cake and treats, and presents of course! It was a lovely but very busy weekend.

Levi enjoyed his "birthday week."  He loved the fact that there were only 3 days of school last week.  On Thursday, I took the kids to St. Jacob's to the market for the day.  We met Ken and Dana and their gang, (minus Joshua and Caleb who were at home holding down the fort, or should I say farm.)  It's been a while since we've visited with them, so it was funny that we had to go to the farmer's market to enjoy a little chat over lunch.  They came over for a visit after they were done at the market.  It was a great surprise.

Well, today is already the first day of November, (one of my favourite months of the year.)  The time is flying by and with school and sports keeping the kids VERY busy, they'll be ready for a break come Christmas.

As far as sports go, cross-country is finished, and both Taylor and Levi had a great season.  They were also both on the school soccer teams, and both teams placed 2nd at the tournament.  Now they are into volleyball, and I believe there are two tournaments coming up, so I'll keep you posted.  Amber has been VERY busy with basketball.  Their regular season is over, so we'll see if they qualify for play-offs this year.  They did post a few victories this fall!

Yesterday was a lovely autumn day, so we went for a family walk...dragged all the kids out of the house this time.  I don't think they wanted to go at first, but I think the pictures are evidence that they had a great time once they got out there.

 Saw this original pumpkin on our walk yesterday...