Our House in the Middle of Our Street

17! You're FINALLY 17! You can drive independently, and you have read the manual, watched professional drivers and gleaned tips from others about this test that you've been dreaming about for years. You were given a car by a friend of ours, cleaned it to perfection, fixed it up in places, and have driven your sister and friends all over for the past week in near-unbridled joy. I am so happy for you (and I'd be lying if I wasn't happy for me, too)! You are such a mature and kind-hearted young man. You have big plans and are taking the steps to proactively execute them. You are sweet to your sister even if you'd deny it in front of your friends, and your relationship with her has come full-circle back to being as close as you two were in your littlest years.  You have so many goals and you work hard to achieve them! You prioritize what's important to you, and are willing to cut the rest. Although I sometimes wonder how you will remember to get to appointments with...

This has taken me much longer than I anticipated to get a book list together from my libraries' archives, type out, and fill out with links. The links are primarily from Massy Books , an Indigenous-owned bookstore in Vancouver, BC, but when they couldn't be found there they are on amazon.  I didn't give any descriptions of these books because you can click on them to know more, and there are  so many listed. Each and every one of these picture books and young adult (YA)  books,  have been read by my family. Yes, some of them are about political figures or events during the civil rights, but most are about black or people of color who have done amazing things: art, science, inventions, history makers or  fiction books with diverse characters.   With the Black Lives Matter movement happening right now in the US, I thought I'd share some that stood out to us in the past two years of our reading. Diverse books are important in any home, and every single on...

camping with friends at Cultus Lake  What is your favorite color? Blue Who are some of your friends? Cole, Zac, Kate, Joshua, Matthew, Mattias, Kellan, Ethan biking the Glen Valley dyke trail  What do you want to do when you grow up? undecided What is your favorite animal? dog  hiking somewhere in Maple Ridge around Christmas What is your favorite thing to do with Anikka? .... (long pause)... skiing What is your favorite thing to do with your friends? talking and playing video games  meeting the new farm members What do you like to do outside?  garden, bike, drive the truck, ski,  What do you like to do inside?  play my piano, read, watch TV Calvin jokes are still favorites around here What is your favorite food?  steak or pasta What is your favorite drink?  fizzy drinks Snow day forts! What is your favorite restaurant?  Olive Garden  What is your favorite subject in school?  math (WHAT?!) Trying to fix mom's old laptop What is...

Happy Birthday, Anikka! It's hard to believe our baby is now fully in tween-hood and double digits. We love you and love who you are: an artist, a good friend, a deep-thinker, a cuddler, and someone who shows courage. We pray health and joy over your next year! Candid of Ani checking out Frida Kahlo's art and self-portraits during a co-op Art class   What is your favorite color? blue and purple Who are some of your friends?  Isla, Kathryn, Rachel, Nyah, Marie, Anya, Phoebe, Audrey, Charlee, Charlotte, Ana, Anna, Ashlyn What do you want to be when you grow up?  a mom What makes you happy?  art, and Copper What makes you sad? death  Ski bunny Ani! What is your favorite animal?   cat, dog, horse, unicorn , bird What is your favorite book?  Wings of Fire (series) What is your favorite thing to do with Mom?  read or bake What is your favorite thing to do with Dad?  play games What is your favorite thing to do with Lukka?  bou...

Ani and her elephant stuffy, Mary     Anikka is turning SEVEN today. My little Valentine girl has grown up so much in this past year, and has had big changes from last year, even in little things like inches grown, a big haircut, learning to ride a bike and ice-skating with more confidence, and learning things like somersaults and cartwheels in gymnastics, and going to a girl-scout-like group at a local church, all by herself. You can see her interviews at ages FIVE and SIX by clicking on those links.      Ani and her new Rainbow Dash and new Cinderella blanket from Grammy What is your favorite color? blue and green Who are some of your friends? Rachel, Kathryn, Isla, Ana, Ashlyn, Danika, Ziana, Eva, Keziah What do you want to be when you grow up? work at a dog shelter What makes you happy? jokes, laughter What makes you sad? fighting my brother Ani at Terra Nova Park in Richmond, BC  What is your favorite animal? panda ...

Shannon Falls view  On Labor Day, Stefan and I had planned to take the kids up to Squamish. Originally we'd planned a day up there with friends, but with schedules, timing, and weather it hadn't worked out. I wanted to get up there before the rains came, and before our upcoming trip, and since we had 3 days off together, I knew we'd be able to spend 1 of those up in Squamish. Stefan looked up hikes, I packed enough food for a lunch and a decent snack, got the kids ready in exercise clothing, bathroom breaks, and something to do in the car, and we took off relatively early. The traffic was excellent (holiday) and we got to Squamish in an hour from our house, which is unreal. So far, so good. The walk up to  Shannon Falls  was...not a hike. Since I had no preparation for what we were doing, I was a little disappointed when there were a hundred tourists just looking at a waterfall that was relatively far away, but oh no...we had not even begun!  the top ...

 Lukka building a fort at Ft. Langley I suppose I can start out with throwing out any old 'cons', or reasons against homeschooling to really get you curious. Does she hate teaching math? Does she think her kids will be weird? ( Nope .) Does she find the homework battle exhausting? Is she secretly insecure in her ability to school all grade levels and subjects?  Really, I could care less about these questions. The main 'con' of homeschooling, the one that stays the same year after year, when the 'pro' list gets bigger year after year, is this: I have to be with my kids all day.  I once heard a panel of women speak who all made different educational choices for their kids, and what I remember the most from that 60 minute segment was what one lady, the homeschooler, said. She laughed and remarked, "I have to be with my kids all day, and I get to be with my kids all day".  Sit there for awhile. Read it again if you have to. I have...