heart broken

my poor poor karys...it's difficult to watch a five year old grieve

she has loved and adored cats since she could speak!

and, since we caved into her wishes over a year ago and got her a kitten, she has loved and adored her "Cricit" (Cricket) cat!!


needless to say, we've lost the cat...she's gone, and has been for over 2 weeks now! see the ziploc bag at the top of the picture?? yup...it's FILLED with little pictures and notes to/about Cricket and (don't judge me) a chunk of her fur they found when she and Daddy were on a walk looking for her!

it's hard to see, but I honestly forget about it a LOT of the time...until moments like tonight when she drew this card and wrote this note and was biting the insides of her cheeks to make the tears go away...

i have let her know that it's okay to be sad...it's good that she's writing these things to help her remember her kitty...and it's certainly helpful to cry! so...cry she did....and it nearly broke my heart!

how to comfort her? how to help her when she wonders "why?" what to say when she asks if God will bring her back?

my little girl is sadly getting an adult dose of reality...

i wish i could take it away...

now, my question is, does another kitty really fix things or make it worse??! and i'm the mummy who has to make the call...*sigh*...i've never wanted that cat back so badly!

prima ballerinas

last weekend we were all very busy with the girls year-end dance recital!

it was SO MUCH fun...and the girls can't wait to do it again! they are already asking when they can go on stage again!

karys was in two different dances and avery was in one...

getting ready...for her shirley temple "animal crackers"

waiting patiently in her jazzy ballet outfit

before the show poses...

and they're done!!
(i think their favourtie part was getting to wear make-up!)


we're glad for a little break this summer, but very excited for next year's dance already!!

::Sissy is Five!!::

okay, to be honest, this on snuck up on me! i mean, i KNOW, i have been teaching this girl Kindergarten for the past 4 months...but FIVE?!?! Already?!?!

i'm still in a bit of disbelief, but we DID enjoy Karys' day...fully!

it all started the week before the girls' birthdays when we headed into town for, what the girls thought, a trip to Costco!

and although we DID fit in a much-needed visit to the big-box-suck-your-bank-account-dry-store...our main intent for the trip across the water was....

Stanley Park's Bright Nights...with our favourite girls!! Unfortunately, we failed to snag a picture of all five girls...but fun was had by all! An event most certainly needed to be repeated next year!!

it was crisp and cool, a perfect addition to a wonderful Christmas event...and a great way for us to celebrate their birthdays...doing something simply... enjoyable!!

so, once their actual birthdays rolled around, it was nice to be able to just focus on the day and what we were going to together to make the entire day enjoyable and dedicated to the girl at hand:) (in case you're not aware, our girls birthdays are 5 days apart, and then our anniversary falls 9 days after that, so this is an expensive, blessed month, to say the least:))

Karys birthday comes second, but certainly not the least!! she has come to the age where she can remember the traditions we do for birthdays, and get excited with anticipation about what's to come!!

so...here she is, with her birthday pancake...and early presents from Gram


and later that day, we had set up a surprise for her!!!


4cats just opened a new studio here in the local mall, and i could not be more excited!! I thought it was a perfect way to allow Karys some alone, big-girl time on her special day! so i signed her up for a 2.5 hr course and we told her right before!! she was so excited!! and had a great time!!

Later that day, we had some family over for cake and presents...and Karys liked nothing more that to have undivided attention!!


the shirts suits her perfectly...and she LOVES her new game!!

all in all, it was a great day celebrating my first baby...turning five!!

here's my baby, 5 days after her little sister was born!!

so cute!!

mummy loves you Sissy, i love seeing you become such a little lady, a better sister each day...and such a big helper to me!!

::dance, dance, dance::

yes, the birthday posts are coming...i have the pictures uploaded and just need to do the posts:)

but lookie what we've got heeeere!!!

last week we had the privileged of sitting in on our girls' dance classes (3) to see what they've been learning this term!!

avery, i believe, is the youngest in her class, and has had quite a difficult time letting me go...but she has stayed a few times and certainly enjoys the class when she does decide to let go of her inhibitions.

all the little "ballerinas" in her class are SO.CUTE!! and...SO.TINY!! so, it's extra special to see them....




Karys is in her second year of ballet, and is a natural!! She LOVES her class, and LOVES her teacher! (which i was happy for, because it's a new teacher this year)



she is also in her first year of a combined class of tap and modern dance...this one was SUPER fun for us to watch as we had NO idea what she did in this class...or how she was doing!


she likes this class too...but maintains that ballet is her FAVOURITE!!

we love our girls...and love getting to be a part of what they love!!

{last week...in a nutshell}

...brought to you by the letter "Bb"














We've been homeschooling for over 2 weeks now...and wouldn't change a thing!!

THIS is what's RIGHT for our family...

THIS is what we NEED at this moment in time...

THIS holds such significance in the development of US as a FAMILY...

THIS, I wouldn't change for ANYTHING!!

{let the games begin!}

well, the first week of 'school' ...aka: life...has come to a close

here's a snippet of what we've enjoyed doing...

our morning song list...

for calendar time!

Calendar close-up!
We have "Weather," "Days of the Week," "Months of the Year," memory verse, and some songs that help to learn/recognize the names/spelling of our family members!

this INCREDIBLE resource is available on-line HERE...and it's all FREE!!!
We LOVE it!!

***********************

After Calendar time, we "get to it"...having more fun;)

Awesome "Math tool" from Discovery Toys

Lots of fun for her...

AND her!!

Most days our "baby" goes for her nap a little after the calendar/math fun...

and that's when we do our big girl "work"

but even THAT'S fun!!

So...the first week we focused on the letter "A"...
and this is what Karys' "A" page looked like...

SO CUTE!!

*************************

And....as IF the first week of Kindergarten wasn't major enough...







my big girl learned to ride WITHOUT her training wheels on the second day of school!!!!







and I missed it ALL...because I ran in to get the camera!!

and THIS is the face that met me when I came out...

sheer JOY!!

So...it's done...and we're SO HAPPY!

What we're doing is what we've dreamed about...it is SO right for our family...we are in a good place right now!

we ARE blessed...

{in her glory}

karys has been counting down the days (since the end of June!!) until her soccer camp would start!

well, today was finally THE DAY...and she was in her glory!! little people... outdoors... sunshine... physical activity!

getting the low-down

checking to make sure i'm close by

warming up

-e-v-e-r-y-b-o-d-y-s-t-r-e-t-c-h-


partner shuffle there


partner shuffle back


"this is how you stop the ball...never use your hands!"


sweet success!!

and she can sleep soundly tonight, with the confidence that we'll be heading right back to soccer in the morning!!

i find such joy and peace watching my girls enjoy their activities...kind of gives me a glimpse of how God takes such delight in blessing me, His child!