provision

Lately, it has been difficult to write. Not that there isn't alot going on but it is almost a question of where should I start? Crazy way to start a blog post hey? Anyways, thanks for checking in....

January has brought with it some things that have affected me to the core. I have learned that (again) ultimately, I cannot control my own life and what I think I need. I have learned a far deeper trust in God than I have sensed in a long time, and am continually being reminded of HIS provision. sounds a little vague and to be honest, I am not yet ready to put it all out there. However, here is a glimpse...

We are hoping to get the house done by April 1st at the latest. We have plans ( I always have a plan!) to paint the house over feb break. Enter my husband's appendix. Yep. Emergency surgery on Thursday and no lifting anything over 10 pounds for over 4-6 weeks. it capped off an already crazy week of me being back at work full time, followed by the flu for my little princess, and some other discussions and happenings in our life. My questions was really? Why now? but I am learning to recognize that those moments are what make life truly worth living, where we see God at work....

**my sister, parents and another good friend helped me out BIG TIME with the kids for the last 5 days.

**my dad and another amazing friend have offered to get a good start on the drywall in the basement NEXT WEEK. (= tears of gratitude for me)

** a couple that have become great friends over the last few years brought supper tonite for us- an incredible gesture.

** my husband is healing well and has had a couple people stop in to visit.

** I have recognized the need to smile and be thankful for these moments because we never get them back.

joy in the craziness. at church this week, the questions was asked "when did you last feel at peace?" oddly enough ( or maybe not), it was when my husband went in for surgery. In that moment, I knew that the only way I was gonna get though this was to lean on God and trust Him to work out all the details. A glimpse of His daily provision in my life...

this week also marks 3 months since the last update from Canadian immigration regarding our adoption. basically they will issue a statement as to whether or not the process will be open again. We are hoping to hear something positive and praying for resolution. Will keep you posted!

Thanks for reading til the end. It is a bit all over the place but I am learning....and learning is almost always a little messy!

Blessings,
Candra

Our clan minus 1...

Very happy family....

and very silly kids...

We pray for you daily - our already wonderfully loved fifth child from across the ocean! 

Hope you are ready for these moments of pure happiness and silliness...

Love, Mommy & Daddy and the clan

Blessings,

Candra

In a glimpse

This past year has brought with it many great memories and adventures... Looking back it has been a year of change and transitions. And I thought I would recap for my own sake and if you would like, feel free to join me in looking back over a great year:

January
I started back to work at my job, which I love! I was blessed to have 9 months of time at home with our little man and he and our little princess transitioned beautifully to daycare! January also brought with it frigid weather which my husband weathered to get the floor system done on our new home...

February
Was a great month as my husband and I got away for our annual getaway sans kids. We are firm believers in time away as a couple ; not only does it strengthen your relationship but it also strengthens our relationship with our kids and gives us perspective on our lives. We usually read a book on marriage and set goals during this time and have tonnes of fun! And the kids get to create memories with family and friends. This year we got to head to a warmer place with sun, beaches and oceans- it was incredible and we are incredibly thankful for moments like these in our lives

March
This was a great month because two of my most favorite people in the entire world celebrated their birthdays. 30 years apart to the day my little princess and my husband were born! And we also celebrated 1 year since our referral of little man...wow.

April
The beginning of spring is always welcome and April is synonymous (almost) with Calbreak. Riley has been part of this incredible ministry for the last 10 or so years and again had the opportunity to be a part of this crazy time with tonnes of youth on buses headed to sunny California. sounds like fun?!? it really is! it is sometimes hard for us who stay put but knowing that daddy/husband gets to share Jesus with people who have possibly never heard is worth it! remembering our time in little man's birth country was also part of this month as he officially became a part of our family 1 year ago....

AND we were officially " paper pregnant" again !!!!! We completed our home study and filed all of our paperwork with our agency for our next adoption (aka 5th child!) and have been waiting ever since. On a side note our oldest 2 kids over the last couple of days/ on separate occasions have said that all they want for their birthday is their new brother/sister. Nothing else. How cool and amazing is that ? I am continually amazed at how God works ithe hearts of not only us as parents, but in our children's hearts as well. and he stirs up a passion in them to care for the orphan...love.it.

May
The house continued to move along and although we are brand new to this process, God has given us incredible patience ( which is often a feat for me!) and are thankful for all that has been accomplished- roof system is going on!
I was reminded this month how important family is and what a privilege it is to be a part of a family that trust and lives out daily their walk with God. we headed to Pomona Acres ( my grandma & late grandpa's farm) for a family reunion with my dad's side of the family. It was fantastic and my kids loved the wide open spaces and many adults who would play with them. Games of standstill, kick the can, worship service and White Valley and lots of visiting were all great parts of the weekend. And the joy on my Grandma 's face.

June
My 2 handsome boys had birthdays this month, which were so much fun to celebrate! my oldest decided on a movie party for 2 friends and our family which was just perfect for him! we celebrated with more family where he got his cake ( a black skateboard ramp complete with tech decks!). And our baby turned 2...eek! so crazy that I am a mom to 4 and the youngest is not even a baby anymore. another major milestone this month is that my beautiful girl finished grade 2 and my handsome son finished kindergarten. they had a great year and I am so proud of them!

The second half of the year will come in a second installment, as this is hetting far too long! Summer holidays, new school, a move for Journeys church, a quick trip to LA, soccer, ballet and more house build.
It is always good to reflect on a year. The first half of 2011 brought with it alot of joy and fun and change. But also hard work, perseverance, grief, sadness. It is sometimes hard but necessary to be reminded that ultimately, my life is not my own. God is in control and as hard as I try to control my own life, it never goes as smoothly as I would hope. amidst all the changes and transitions at this year has brought, God is always there. gently pushing and encouraging. Stripping away my layers of independence, control, selfishness, entitlement and pride. And wrapping me instead in His love, the fruits of the Spirit and with His Grace and forgiveness.
That was a bit of aside but important for me to remember the journey that the first half of the year brought with it!

Blessings,

Candra

Holidays....

Merry Christmas everyone...if anyone it still checking in on the blog. it has been too long! I will expand later but December has been a unique month and has seemed very long at moments and too fast in others. We are having a great time celebrating with family and giving thanks for the amazing gift of Jesus' birth.
No new news on the adoption front but are so excited to welcome our fifth child into our family and there were even gifts for him/her under the tree! Blessings to all of you as you begin a new year with new adventures & new memories!!!

This song says it all...All I really want for Christmas is a family....hope it touches you as it did me, in a big or small way.

Blessings,
candra

100th post and thoughts on distraction...

As I was getting ready to write this, I realized that this is my 100th post on the new/revised blog! wow....

Anyways, I have been thinking lately how easy it is for life to get in the way - to be distracted by it rather than living it. I now this sounds sort of crazy but stay awhile and I will elaborate!
If I think about everything that is in our life right now - marriage, 4 kids under age of 8, church community friends, working, school, soccer, ballet, building a house, living in a rental, moving church locations, reading and learning about adopting an older child and of course, waiting for the next little one to arrive - life can seem fairly unmanageable at times. And I am sure your lists of what life entails are just as long if not longer.!! So lately my time with God, with my husband, with my kids and with friends has been stretched thin - cause I get sucked in. Distracted.  Distracted by all that needs doing (which by the way, always seems not include laundry - if anyone has any miracle ideas of how to keep on top of laundry, please let me know!)


But life is not all about what needs doing. I get distracted by the tasks. And tonight as I went through pictures, as I played Playdough with my princess and Wii with my son as I watched my kids play together in the living room and do gymnastics  &  as I talked for a few quiet moments with my husband ..... I was reminded that I need to be intentional with my time. And also my thoughts. That to be living life - I need to enjoy my days, to get into the Bible, to carve out time with my man, to say YES to my kids! To find Skype & phone dates with my best friend, to go for coffee with more great friends. To slow down and decide what is important and what can wait a few days (laundry is definitely on the wait a few days list!!)

So to end this thought, here are some pics of things I that made me pause and smile tonite....

candy! Which is now all gone...

LOVING snow!
Too bad is it supposed to be 12 degrees celcius and we just bought sleds! 

my and my sisters...and one very sweet little prince!

And remembering some amazing times from last year at this time...
Love you a tonne my amazing friend!! 

Have a wonderful evening everyone and enjoy the weekend ( & first Sunday of Advent!)!

Blessings,

Candra

Conferencing....

It has been a good day. I took my 2 older kids to three way conferences today and heard marvelous things about them. They are both doing so well and I am super proud of them. Then I got to spend some time at home with all 4 of them before heading out for the afternoon. My husband and I are attending an adoption conference this weekend, which started today. Got an eggnog chai to start and then sat back and listened to a fantastic speaker. Some key things I took out of today:

*** That loss is in inherent in adoption. Loss in the child's life. Loss in the life of the birth parent. Loss of culture. Etc. I have read a lot about this but it was good to hear someone talk about it. At first, I don't think I fully understood how important it is to understand this. As a mom, I want to protect all my children from hurting and loss but I can't. I can pray for them, talk with them and learn all I can about how to help them so that when questions come and feelings are drawn out, that they have a safe place to fall and be safe and be loved.

*** Sensory learning is so important in adoption. The speaker spoke about replicating the child's sensory experiences that they have had as they are welcomed into the family. Things like sounds they are familiar with, food they like, letting the child assist with choices about decorating their room. I don't think we thought a lot about this with little man. he has done incredible thus far and has attached so well. As an aside, today he said I was leaving " I miss you". Too sweet. Anyways, I think with the child we are waiting for this will be so important as he/she have had so many more experiences/ preferences etc. It was a good reminder today.

*** I think that last thing I took away from the conference is that we are doing good as parents. and as adoptive parents. Usually I am pretty good at picking out what I am not doing. But today it was good just to learn and to take some things out of it that we can work on. To realize that some of it we have thought about are doing . And we gained a broader perspective on adoption as a whole and all the people involved.

Looking forward to more conferencing tomorrow!

The rest of the night was family movie night and cuddle night. Just a how a good night should end!

Blessings,
Candra

Time for an update!

It has been too long. It has been a VERY busy start to November and bloggin has been left in the dust. However, I am determined to get back to posting regularly and thought I would update you with a few fun things going on in our family!!

well..this is fun for me! A completely organized pantry, LOVE.IT. Lasted all of 10 minutes til the kids need a snack!

sunday afternoon rest & cuddles. 

little man got a hair cut and he is so proud of it! Hangin out with daddy.

fun times on the couch. They are not supposed to be jumping off of it. Daddy was taking pictures...

...mommy was not home. But, they are loving it!

pumpkin carving was a hit!

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i have this in my pantry right now. A gift from my husband. My favourite cold drink....

trick or treating! Were out for an hour and a half and loaded up on candy...little man was sick.

Other quick updates...

House build: we are creeping closer to being in! Insulation Vapor barriering and finishing framing this weekend. Electrical is almost in. Thankful for help this weekend and very excited about being in, hopefully end of Feb.

Adoption: WE are anxiously awaiting news of immigration opening up again....Our agency that we are working with have been accredited (a beautiful answer to prayer - not only for us, but for all the hard work they do on behalf of all families) so they are set to begin referrals in the near future! We pray everyday for our next child and can't wait to have our fifth child home!

Other than that....

Lovin life. Life is full. Thanking God for our health. Our church is moving buildings which is awesome. kids are enjoying school. Ballet. Soccer. Christmas shopping. SNOW! Piano lessons. Family time. 

Enjoy your weekend...even if it is full!

Blessings, 

Candra