Labour Day

     The best and most relaxing Labour (what does "labour" mean anyway [Sarcasm]) Day holiday we had before school started. We got a lot accomplished and it was the best way to keep the school jitters away.

Sooo many tomatoes this year!

Manual manure spreader (and a new driver who couldn't keep his eyes to the front, because he was so excited about that manure!).

Having a ride on the new tractor (I haven't gotten a chance to drive it yet).

Alphabet, the pony, helped with the weeding (aka "weed-eating." :D)

And a fine-looking garden at the end of the day.



Art credits go to bigger brother - accomplished artist, ain't he?

And of course, no day goes by without an "incident"!
As the story goes (related by my little brother), the bigger brother was rototilling when it suddenly lurched forward. The bigger brother flew through the air (so I was told, although exaggeration does run rampant in our family) and landed on his bottom into a batch of thistles (apparently they were just regular weeds, but who knows). As my little brother recounts, "I was just laughing my head off!"

 

And a gorgeous sunset (God's absolutely beautiful creation).

(I believe this was from another day)

On the Shores of Lake Huron (Canadian Side)

     Yesterday: We were guests to this beach while visiting some church friends. As two of them are leaving to Germany, we (as in my sister, R, because one of those leaving is her godmother) were hoping to see them one last time. Unfortunately, I didn't think of bringing my phone along to the beach to take pictures. I guess I will have to keep the memories in my head. ...

     F was "muddied-up" - with very wet beach sand - and then washed off over and over again by Damaris, who never tired of her own little motherly game.

     She helped me dig a hole until we reached water. We made a pool for her from that hole with a slide to go with it, but she preferred the slide.

     All these sand toys, yet the kids ended up pushing a huge piece of driftwood into the water and seeing who could stand the longest. Imagination is such a lovely thing.

     "Marco..." POLO!!..." cries came from across the water (Ever heard of that game? the person who is "it" shuts his eyes and calls, "Marco." All the others that are playing have to answer, "Polo!" until the "it" person tags someone by locating from where they call.) An older couple (on their way home) walk past some of the kids sitting on driftwood, and the man grins down at them, "Marco!" B answers, "Polo!" and everyone laughs.

     N leans against the foldable children's picnic table and gets a surprise of his life when it collapses and sends the watermelon, washing water, and tomatoes to the ground.

     Of course, we cannot miss contests between all the boys: B and F decide to match their strengths - one Judo, the other having no formal training that I know of. Equal (or almost-equal) strength.

     Monkey-in-the-middle, playing ball (just random passing), showing off kicking skills, etc. Such a lovely and fulfilling day.

 

"This Beach was purchased on 1977 by concerned local residents to protect it from commercial development and to allow all residents of Port Franks access to this pristine non-commercial family beach."

Some education about the sand dunes (I always think it is fun when places have all these interesting signs, but sometimes, I don't get to read them if we hurry).

Well, they certainly don't leave any room for excuses, but needless to say, I did find some things that would have been less desirable on a beach

Tried to show that sailboat.

 

On our way home, we also stopped at Pinery Provincial Park.

There was a storm on the horizon.

And as we came down, there was the most fantastic lightning display across the sky (I wish I could have gotten it.)

It's quite beautiful, actually.

Another thing = the smoothest stones and shells you can find.

My favourite thing was the driftwood on the shore, either sun-bleached or freshly tossed.

Great God, who made such beauty. I am never tired of the water (lake, ocean, river...).

We stopped at Best's Flame-Broiled Burgers for ice cream (so hot!)

They had a beautiful awning for us to sit under where we could watch the lightning but feel safe at the same time.

Lightning pictures.

     We also drove by the marina at Grand Bend hoping to catch a glimpse of a storm on Lake Huron, but we couldn't see very well. Maybe one day we will go there when it is light.

Driving Stick-Shift

     I am learning to drive standard. I was thrust into this responsibility when my sister got herself a new, more suitable, and automatic car and gave me her old one. I started with just the knowledge of having to press the clutch while switching gears. As I started driving, I learned other lessons, on top of the typical driving lessons, along the way. As day after day found me stalling several times in one intersection after another, I found myself panicking (especially if there were cars behind me); patience is what I learned. When learning something that's full of multitasking, it is important to stay calm, know that it is something that requires effort, and have patience - you won't learn everything at once. After asking my sister how to keep from stalling, I am better, but it still needs practice. And when I stall, I find that there are many people that understand (still, if only everyone would: one car behind me in an intersection. no. parking lot! literally honked right after I had stalled it - it was almost simultaneous).
     One couple offered their help to me after I had stalled several times in succession at a gas station and had waved them on. Finding out that I was driving standard, they gave me a piece of advice, "Don't be embarrassed."
     Running the gauntlet on the streets of Fergus (stoplight, after stoplight, after stoplight), I stalled the car once at each intersection with a pick-up patiently following along behind me. On the two-lane highway going out of town, the pick-up pulled up beside me, and the young guy behind the wheel suggested that I "leave the clutch in, if that helps." I thanked him (which I hope he heard and realized how thankful I actually was for his thoughtfulness).
     I am thankful that there are people willing to help and make things easier, particularly when I feel so frazzled and frustrated.

I am glad I was homeschooled.

     People homeschool for many reasons: religion, quality, etc. It wasn't until I was halfway through fourth grade that my mother started schooling me and my siblings. Now, I don't know any particular reason that my mom decided to homeschool other than that she has said that she always wanted to; perhaps there was an underlying reason (the school we attended for half a year after we moved could have had something to do with the thought becoming an action - it was not the greatest). Anyway, for me, I find it the best decision that was ever made.

 Even now, I remember the feeling that I did not fit in anywhere (I still don't, not really). I almost never had anyone to play with during recess, I had "friends" but really they weren't, and I am socially awkward even now. What did homeschooling do to me? Because I was at home alot and did not associate with many people outside of my faith, I became a much, much stronger Christian than I think I might have been had I gone to public school; I could take my time with my schoolwork to learn it perfectly; I learned to love what I learned; my mother also encouraged us to learn what interested us outside of the mandatory math, English, science, history, geography, and health so that we could become a "well-rounded" person. Particularly, as I got older, I learned to value my education, and regretted not taking the time to learn things that I could have. Being homeshooled, having my sister to apply to college, and learning about other large (and "not-so-large") families who found the value of homeschooling also motivated me to apply to college. Little did I dream that I would actually pass my first year!

Fort McMurray, Alberta

     Everyone has heard about this massive fire, I am sure. It is about as big as Toronto, give or take a few kilometres/metres/feet/inches. When I hear or read about this inferno, I always think of God's judgement on Sodom and Gomorrha.
     Despite the public's opinion that nothing can be done to stop it, I believe that God is in control and, if it is His will, the wildfire will be stopped. If you know the story, the people of Sodom and Gomorrha were so wicked that God rained fire and brimstone down on them and their city. Only Lot and his wife and children escaped, though Lot's wife turned her head back and was immediately turned into a pillar of salt.
     The amazing thing about this fire is that no lives, as of yet, have been lost. This could be about to change, however, as a number of people are trapped in the mountains with the only way out being through the fire. I wonder if they are saved, spiritually. Perhaps - which is what I think - God is wishing that the people who face this giant will think of the end times and repent.
     This is a time to pray: pray that the people of the city and beyond may find God's grace and forgiveness, if they haven't already; pray that God may send the necessary rain to stop the fire if it is His will; and pray that no lives be lost if it is His will, as well.
     Also, don't go back for or stay with your pets! God has given animals wonderful instincts, and they can survive things that humans cannot. Pets are not humans; they don't have souls. It is not so important that they survive.

Colours of Early Spring

          Shades of Brown

     I have been wanting to post for a bit, but I got busy. Just on Thursday, my phone flew out of my pocket while I was running and it broke. It is very likely that I have lost everything that was on there, so I probably won't have many pictures for a while. I still have a small camera, but it doesn't take memory cards anymore; therefore there is only room for maybe 9 pictures. We'll see how everything goes...

Dr. Ben Carson

    
     Ben Carson was the greatest pediatric neurosurgeon in the world whose fame is the first successful separation of craniopagus conjoined (joined at the head) twins. Why is this so significant?

• He was black. When he was growing up, there was still a lot of discrimination against African-Americans, which gave him a difficult childhood. He had less of everything because of it.
• His mother was single and mentally unstable. She had to work full-time on top of her mental issues to support her 2 boys, which meant the boys didn't have much, nor did they always have a mother.
• He grew up in Detroit. There were not a lot of amenities or good things around the slums where Ben Carson grew up - he grew up playing around the railroad tracks.
• He was poor. There wasn't much money to go around and so they had less of a chance at anything in life.
• His mother did not have much of an education; therefore, she couldn't always help him with school.
• He had a temper. How many times he was glad that God had spared him from ever seriously hurting someone because of it.
• He is a Christian. We all understand how hard it is to be so up high in the ranks, but how difficult it is to stay a sincere, true Christian.

     And yet, Dr. Ben Carson survived and became strong. His mother brought it on herself to raise them as strictly as possible and they were too respectful of her as a parent to even disobey her - if only all children were like that nowadays. He had to work doubly hard to reach where he wanted to go, but he got it. His mother couldn't read, but she still "marked" their book reports and the boys were none the wiser. He came out of a poor childhood, but he became rich.

Faith Healing

     What I believe is significant is that one of Jesus' disciples (Luke) was a physician - a doctor. True, they didn't have as advanced medical treatment, but we can see that Jesus must have approved of doctors. I believe that in this day and age God has given us many doctors, nurses, and other health professionals to be "healers." That is not to say, however, that faith doesn't play a part in our health. When my sister had her surgery, it went much better than the surgeon anticipated, because she had so many people praying for her (it was actually a miracle, because the surgeon was quite surprised that it went much better than expected).

God gave us scientists to discover medical breakthroughs - God gave them amazing brains. God still plays a part in health care and healing, but, now, He brings it through other hands. We are still humans, however advanced; therefore, we cannot always know everything or we make mistakes. During those times, only God can heal, either in heaven or here on earth.
     Only faith healing? I don't think that is an appropriate option, unless there are not medical professionals at hand - then you practically have to go by faith. The best option: use all the healthcare professionals God has given you and pray that they are blessed and have the wisdom to heal.

Damaris

Little Fratz (Ham) - just like her older brother.

Her tongue matches her sweater!

Making "cute eyes."

She loves playing with Nativity figurines; unfortunately, those are glued on.

She came in all excited, because she had a knapsack; I told her to smile.

Bundled up and ready to play!



At the office - tired and grumpy.

She does not like being put to sleep, but she loves to pretend to sleep.

Peek-a-boo!

Having fun "sledding."

Checking the water pump. My brother likes to tell the story of the one day that she got scared of the water pump's noise as it turned on, and now she is fascinated with it.

Watching Kittn eat.

Copying her older sister.

Enjoying the rides without the motion.

"Can I have Lea?" she always asks when she barges in my room.