Thursday, 28 August 2014

Week 8

On Monday morning of Week 8, I let the boys outside on their own. When I opened the door to go out myself, I saw James having the time of his life:


Our last group of cottagers arrived that afternoon, most of them visiting Waupoos for the first time. I’ve found that some weeks offer more opportunities to get to know people – last week I had the privilege of spending time one on one with several women and was moved by their stories of courage in the face of adversity. We also had a lot of really great kids here last week. There were several baby-lovers among them, so Callum spent a lot of time being passed from arm to arm, delighting everyone with his easy smile.

One of my favourite activities of the week was an outdoor Zumba class. Even Callum was grooving to the Latin beats!




Friday was Brendan’s birthday, so I invited the other farm couples over in the evening for some delicious chocolate peanut butter cheesecake. I have to admit, I was quite proud of my accomplishment when Lee-Ann said in disbelief, “You made this? You MADE this?!!!”

To extend the birthday festivities, the Baker’s, Gernon’s, and Jenkins’ came to Saturday’s open house to surprise Brendan. Our last potluck of the season was a great success and we enjoyed sharing it with our friends.

After saying goodbye to the cottagers on Sunday, we headed to the Capital Fair to see the sights and support Danny in his bbq competition (he had lured us in with the promise of ribs and chicken barbecued to perfection!). We were hoping Liam and James would enjoy the kiddie rides but they weren’t that interested. I think they were just too tired to have fun. Here’s James on the first of two rides to which we subjected him:



He liked it at first but then started to frown. The ride stopped just as he was gearing up to cry.

Danny’s barbecuing scored much higher than the rides:



It’s quiet around here now that the summer vacation season has ended. Liam keeps asking when the cottagers are coming back. He’s doing well with the transition though. Having the Garcia kids around helps, but he’s also spending more time building roads for his cars on the living room carpet. He loved the active pace of the summer, but I think he also missed his down time. He’s been playing with cars this way since he was just over a year old and it seems to be therapeutic for him. He was becoming a wild thing in the last few weeks, so it’s a relief for me to see him return to his former self!

Scrunchy Faces (The summer staff taught Liam how to take selfies.
Now he wants to take them all the time... )


James has grown up a lot this summer. His vocabulary is expanding daily, allowing us to become better acquainted with his joyful, mischievous, affectionate personality. He has also decided that it’s time to potty train, which has mommy awestruck. It took a full year and a half to potty train Liam, with tears from both trainer and trainee. I’m trying not to hold my breath, but it looks like things will be MUCH easier this time. James is taking this big boy step like a pro, with very few accidents.   

Surveying the garden stones
My sweet Callum is already seven months old, adept at crawling, eating solids, and melting hearts.  I can’t believe how quickly the months have gone…




We’re leaving for a holiday in New Brunswick next week. Looking forward to some family time after a very full summer. We have many memories to savour and much to fill our hearts with gratitude. It will be nice to have some time to let the summer sink in and recharge before the start of autumn.

Thursday, 21 August 2014

Week 7

Last week the rain thought it was invited for a vacation at Waupoos. It arrived on Monday afternoon, with all the other cottagers, and stayed until midday on Sunday. The sun finally came out once everyone had gone home.  We made the most of our rainy week though, with some great crafts and indoor games. Our host family were well seasoned Waupoosers, so they knew how to keep things fun, even on a dreary week.

Enjoying a sunny Monday morning before the rain came!
Making sun catchers
Another one of our crafts this week. Liam's is the orange and purple one at the back.
Sabrina made the adorable octopus!  

Who am I?!


Story time with Erica
Apparently this is called Rock, Paper, Scissors World Domination!
Liam at the talent show, flashing his teeth (he sang a song about them!)
James and his best bud, Gabriel Garcia

We also had another visit from Andrew and his reptiles:




On Saturday, our dear friend, Fr. Maxime Allard, came to celebrate Mass for us. He has an unbelievably full schedule, so I am always touched when he makes time to visit our family, and am delighted that he is now willing to make himself available for the Waupoos community. In his homily, he spoke about expanding the circle of those we serve – not just focusing on the people close to us, but being willing to bring the gospel beyond our immediate circles. His words inspired me to reflect on the expansiveness of love. Love has a drive within it, an energy that propels it to grow, to reach out, to go beyond, to break barriers. As I journey in faith, I’m understanding more deeply that love pushes against the categories we construct. It doesn’t discriminate or compartmentalize the way our minds want to do. It’s easier to understand things when they are clearly defined and differentiated. Love challenges us because it strives towards unity. It doesn’t analyse and break things down to be chewed and digested in neat little morsels. It rushes over us like a torrent - a fierce and awesome expanding tide. Giving myself over to the expansiveness of love is a bit scary. How much will I have to give? How many ways will my heart be broken? But it’s also exciting: how will God use my life to manifest his glory? What role will I play in the coming of his kingdom? In the end, I’d rather take my chances with love and the unknown than allow fear to barricade my heart. Not loving seems a far more perilous risk.

It stopped raining long enough for a game of soccer.
The boys love wearing their uniforms!
Cheese!





Monday, 11 August 2014

Christmas in August

Last week the kids painted Christmas bobbles, made paper Santa’s, marshmellow snowmen and reindeer, and ate gingerbread. We even had a large Santa standing in the lodge for a while. He sang off-key Christmas songs and did a sort of jolting dance. He ended up being put away – I’m not sure whether it was for fear that the children might break him or because he was scaring them!

Christmas crafts
Dancing with the crazy Santa!

Other activities of the week included lots of swimming, playing with kittens, soccer, a daily dance class with Erica (our program coordinator), and numerous renditions of “Let It Go” at the talent show. Brendan even joined in with the singing:







Dance class

Brendan's first time as wagon ride driver
Smores!
We had a dance party on Friday night, for the first time this summer. The lodge was decorated with Christmas lights and we danced like crazy until the old folks were too tired to go on. I think the kids would have gone all night if we had let them! The bigger ones anyway – we let Liam stay up until his eyes began to glaze over and then Brendan brought him home. Though from what I hear he still put up a fight before going to sleep – it’s hard to leave a good party!


I had a nice chat with one of the moms on Saturday. She was here for the first time with her three boys. She said that the older ones had gone through a bit of wifi withdrawal, but the younger one was having a blast. He told her he had never been so happy in his life. It doesn’t get much better than that! 

My three boys are pretty happy here too:








Saturday, 9 August 2014

Feathers & Faith

Last week we began helping with farm chores. Since staff take care of most of the maintenance and cleaning during the summer, our initiation to farm work will be gradual. On Monday morning, the kids and I put on our rubber boots and raincoats and ventured out early in the morning to meet Millie (our farm hand for the summer), so that she could show me how to feed the animals. As I mentioned last week, we have chickens, turkeys, rabbits, sheep, ducks, cats, and a pig. Millie feeds the animals every morning and mucks out the stalls on Mondays, so I learned how to do both this week. Our family is now responsible for feeding the animals and closing their pens on weekday evenings, since the staff are gone by 5pm. I’m sure this chore will be more onerous in the winter, but right now I’m enjoying it. I like bringing the baby chicks into the barn and listening to the hens cluck softly as they settle in for the night. I get a kick out of how frantically the turkeys peck at their food as I drop it into the trough. I like talking to Maple and Dapple, our sheep, as I coax them into their shed, and hearing Wilbur snort and grunt as he rolls around trying to find a comfy spot to sleep. I do these chores after the kids go to bed, but they were eager to help when Millie was showing me the ropes on Monday morning. Liam was very interested in what food each animal should get and James insisted on helping me push the wheelbarrow of mulch. He clutched one handle with his little fingers, ready to take charge of the whole operation. It was fun to see the two of them stomping around in their boots, learning about animals and wheelbarrow and mulch: one of the farm’s gifts to us.   

We had lots of fun activities again last week, and a great group of cottagers. One family showed us some Inuit games on talent night, showcasing their family heritage. Liam learned Inuit throat singing, and could later be heard throat singing as he played with his cars at home. The father of the family told us that throat singing was originally developed as a way of soothing babies who were worn on their mothers’ backs. The vibrations of the mother’s body as she sang would comfort the baby and help him fall asleep. In the games version of throat singing, the object is for two people to sing face to face without laughing. This is easier said that done!

The theme of the week was Angry Bird. Here's Liam modelling my Angry Bird mask.

Making birdhouses (and colouring)

We got kittens last week! They're a huge hit with the kids!




My favourite day last week was Saturday. The priest who said Mass for us delivered a fantastic homily, which spoke directly to our ministry at Waupoos. He reminded us that we must love always, in all circumstances. He also said that only the wounded heart can bring healing to others, can forgive, can be genuinely compassionate. We are all wounded, and this is not an obstacle to loving, but in fact, allows us to love more deeply. He spoke with great passion and conviction about the truth of the gospel; his message was inspiring and spirit-filled, a testament to what our faith is all about.    


Brendan and James were in New Brunswick for the weekend. Here's Jamesie on his first flight!


And sporting his new kilt from Nana: