Gorgeous Colors all Around!

Fall Colors ~Taken today by Jo

What a gorgeous fall day! I am thankful for every day the weather is crisp yet warm enough to be comfortable without a jacket. As I drove down our road this morning, the leaves were so pretty that I had to really concentrate to keep my eyes on the traffic. The beauty of the early morning sun reflecting on the colorful leaves overwhelmed me that I had to pull over and take a few pictures. I love my province this time of year. It is very picturesque. Everywhere you look you see the gorgeous masterpieces God creates with his eternal paintbrush. All I can say is WOW! To top it all off, He also painted a gorgeous sunset for us to enjoy. What inspiration for an empty canvass to a budding artist :)

Here are a few pics of what I see every morning on the way to preschool with the Twins:

Tonight's Sunset!!

I Am Blessed ~ Rachael Lampa

I love this song...it is one of my favorites. If your sound is on, it is the first song you will hear today as you read my blog. My playlist is located at the bottom of the blog if you want to hear it again. Here are the lyrics to such a wonderful song:

BlessedBy: Rachael Lampa

I may never climb a mountain,

So I could see the word from there.

I may never ride the waves,

And taste the salty ocean air.

Or build a bridge, That would last a hundred years.

But no matter where the road leads,

One thing is always clear....

(chorus)

I am blessed, I am blessed,

From when I rise up in the morning,

Till I lay my head to rest, And I feel you near me,

You sooth me when I'm weary.

Oh, Lord,For all the worst and all the best,

I am blessed.

All along the road less traveled,

I have crawled and I have run.

I have wandered through the winds and rains,

Until I found the sun.

But watching eyes, Asked me why,

I walk this narrow way, I will gladly give a reason,

For the hope I have today....

(chorus)

You've given me joy, You've given me love,

You give me stength, When I want to give up.

You came from heaven, To rescue my soul.

You are the reason, I know,I know.

(chorus)

For This...I am Thankful!

I am Blessed

I am Blessed

When I wake up in the Morning

Til I lay my head to Rest

I am Blessed

I am Blessed

On this beautiful Thanksgiving weekend, I want to take a moment to list 10 things I am thankful for:

#1. I am a child of God and he is my best friend

#2. I have a loving Husband and 5 wonderful children

#3. I have a great family and extended family

#4. I have true friends who walk in when the whole world walks out

#5. I am fortunate to have all my grandparents still alive and in good health.

#6. I have a wonderful pastor and wife, who guide me in my walk with God

#7. I am fortunate to be a stay @ home Mommy

#8. I have a nice home and food on the table

#9. I am blessed to live in such a great country

#10. Kisses, hugs, butterflies, kittens, puppies, flowers and the beautiful masterpieces God creates through nature....ETC :)

~♥~ Happy Thanksgiving ~♥~

Quench the Flame Before it Becomes a Fire!

Our children have been learning all about Fire Prevention this week. Tonight they got to attend a fun night at the Fire Hall and had fun learning techniques to prevent fires. They came home with their eyes shining and proudly showing everything that was in their treat bags. They got to tour the inside of the fire truck as well and had fun making a lot of noise. They even had the opportunity to put out a little fire. They were tired and went straight to bed when they got home. Rachael, however had a bad migraine so she wasn't able to attend.




As I think about the fun the other 4 had, my mind takes me back to when we were younger and my brother and our cousin set the field on fire. They were playing with matches and I can't recall what exactly happened but they came running in the house crying that there was a fire. Thankfully, it was dealt with before the house burned down. Needless to say, they were remorseful and to my knowledge never tried that again. LOL How ironic is it that my brother who help start that fire now puts them out as he is a volunteer fire fighter? Putting a full fledged fire out is no easy task and it usually takes more than one person.



Everyday in parenting I try to put out little flames before they become a full fledged fire. It may be a flame of jealousy, anger, name calling, bickering and fighting. Or maybe it was a flame of sadness, insecurity or frustration. Regardless of the flame, I try hard to look for teachable moments in raising my children. I want them to know that all though those feelings may be normal to have at times, they are not good feelings to hold onto. Sometimes, however, I am so busy putting their little flames out that I don't pay attention to my own flames that are smoldering in my life and the next thing I know I am on fire. Stressed out and wanting to stop, drop and roll but not having the strength to feel I can.


It is then I realize that I can't put that fire out myself. I need God to pour his anointing oil upon those flames and quench those horrible fires that don't belong in my life. The only fire that should be burning is the fire of his holy spirit. That burning passion to do the right thing and serve God with all my mind, soul and spirit. The kind of fire that causes us to lay it all down and rest in his hands. What better place is there than putting our life into the hands of the one who created us? He knows us better than we know ourselves. I don't want to be like those foolish virgins in the Bible who let their lamps burn out before the bridegroom came. I want my fire for God to burn bright and not allow anything to quench that fire. It is only the flames that don't belong in my life I want to quench before I get burned badly and I know with God's help I can become more wise in taking care of myself in those area's. I also want to encourage you who may be reading this blog to go ahead and trust God if your being burned by a fire that hurts badly. He can heal your hurts if you'll give it to him. I know that for a fact because He's done it for me!

Happy 27th Birthday to my Twin Sisters!!

It is so hard to believe that 27 years ago today my Mom had a second set of Twins! I was 6, my brother 4 and the first set were 2 when Michelle and Melissa were born. I still remember vividly this day and how the Doctor's gave Dad a choice. Shall we save your wife or save your baby girl (my little sis, Michelle) Dad told them he couldn't make a decision like that and that he was going to pray and guess what? After a very difficult birth, my mother and my little sister both survived! That's the Power of Prayer!

Happy 27th Birthday Michelle and Melissa

We love and miss you xoxox

Love Joanie, Conrad, Reuben
Rachael, Hannah

Emily and Alex

A Hot Cup on a Chilly Day

For the first time in a long time this year, my hands felt like icicles as I buckled the Twins in the van this morning. With the wind whipping through my hair and my eyes watering from wind tears, I could barely move my hands when I got in to drive off. How I longed to wrap my fingers around a hot cup of something!!! Coffee, Tea or Hot Chocolate, I didn't care. Just something HOT! I made a note to self....wear gloves from now on!! Winter is just around the corner and already the ever changing leaves are are being ripped from their branches from the fierce October winds we've been having lately. We hunkered down for Hurricane Kyle but the tree's barely moved. The winds that we've had these past couple of weeks have been worse than the day the weather channel warned the Maritimes of the Hurricane!

One of my favorite pastimes is sipping a hot drink and sinking back into the couch as I read a great book (which usually is the greatest book of all...the Bible). Recently, I discovered an exquisite tea called "Chocolatey Chai Herbal Tea"....oh, what a TEA!! Not only does it tantalize your sense of taste but your sense of smell as well. Just smelling it as it steeps causes tension to leave your body. I am still a avid coffee drinker but this tea is starting to take the place of those evening coffee breaks I used to share with my wonderful sister, Michelle. Every time I make a cup and Alex is near, he'll exclaim "Mommy, you smell so good...It smells good in here. MMMmmmmm can I have some?" LOL He is right it does smell GOOD! It's like a warm hug on a cold day ;-)

Lately, I've been finding it very difficult to recharge my batteries. Maybe the charger is in need of repair or maybe I am plugging into the wrong things to recharge them. There's been a few times I've went to bed wishing I spent more time on my devotions and plugged into the One who can super charge my batteries. It's in those moments that I feel so thinly spread I may snap that I have to remind myself, it's OK to say no once in a while and God is patiently waiting for me to destress in his arms. That's even better than a warm hug. To know that we have a loving God that is just waiting to calm the storm or to calm us as we face the storm. I heard a pastor the other day say..."We are either entering, in the middle or coming out of a storm." With that knowledge we can be better prepared and thankful that storms never last long. There are brighter days just around the next bend. I am reminded of a song I heard a lot as a child:

"Storms never last do they Saviour

Bad time will pass with the wind

Your hand in mine stills the thunder all the time

And your love makes the sun shine again."

I don't know where I would be without God. He has kept me through some of the hardest storms of my life where even my faith in Him took a beating and I wondered "God do you even care?" I was shaken to the core but yet I trusted him that he was there somewhere and he would help me at just the right moment. Many times he has placed people in my path to encourage me or inspire me to keep holding on. Over the years, one thing I've learned about God is that he is REAL and He is ALWAYS ON TIME. He loves us with an everlasting love!

Psalm 63:7 ~Because thou (GOD) hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.

Another Storeyland Update :)

Even though it is windy and chilly out today, it is still a beautiful day. Wow, time goes way too fast. I actually wrote a bit each day in October but didn't have a chance to publish it, so instead of having a bunch of blogs for you to read I am posting them all into one starting with the first of October, then I will create a single one for today :)


October 1st:

Yesterday was such a wonderful day! I got to have lunch with my brother and his wife. I really enjoyed myself and what a fantastic way to spend the morning. Time just went way too fast though! I needed to be back by dinner to pick up the Twins. That brief three hours away from them goes super fast. Amanda and I enjoyed our girl time together and I guess my brother who left a bit early was outnumbered by us girls as usual LOL I still haven't figured out the puzzle he gave me as I left! It's a brain teaser for sure. Amanda, thanks for such a wonderful morning. I look forward to our next "date" ;-)


Today was a catch up day for me. It seems the more I do, the more there is to do. I decided to make homemade biscuits and chili. Guess I scored brownie points with the kids tee hee...They loved the hot butter brushed biscuits. Then Reuben and Rachael rushed off for their first night of Cadets. I am so glad that they wanted to join this program. It teaches self-discipline and many other great attributes that are beneficial to children in today's society. Hannah, the Twins and I did some baking tonight which diminished pretty quickly. My children just love to bake. I also ordered Reuben's cake today too. He wants a knights castle. I can't believe his birthday is on Friday. Where does the time go?

October 2nd:

Oh my goodness, it took me forever to get the kids out the door this morning. Reuben almost missed his bus and the twins just wanted to watch cartoons. They just didn't want to go to School today. However, I wasn't about to keep them home, I knew that they would be wanting to go after the cartoons were over. Sure enough, as soon as I dropped them off they were practically pushing me out the door. I had a very busy morning. I almost forgot to pick them up. We headed into Freddy where we had lunch with Daddy. Oh the twins loved that. They just love going to get Daddy from work. They always want to run across the front lawn and look at the Ducks but it was raining so we stayed put. We had fun looking for presents for Reuben this afternoon. The countdown is on...he turns 11 tomorrow!


October 3rd:

11 years ago today, God blessed us with a baby boy and he was also referred to as our miracle child. I was told I'd never have children but God is a healer and he chose to heal me. I'll never forget the day Reuben was born. My word, I ate like 6 fudgescicles before my water broke LOL. Not much wonder the child loves chocolate :) Our lives got richer on this day 11 years ago. To our fantastic son we want to say....

Happy Birthday Reuben!!!

Love Mommy, Daddy, Rachael

Hannah, Emily and Alex

We love you and

We are very proud of you!!

We asked Reuben where he wanted to go for his birthday supper and we were secretly hoping he would choose a nice restaurant but instead he chose McDonald's...so much for a yummy Chinese dinner LOL. Instead we had to settle for burger and fries. We did let him open a present from us and Nan & Pup. We saved one for his party too. Unfortunately, he has to wait a week for his party but he still had a great time afterwards we went shopping. He of course wanted to spend his birthday money. Needless to say, the children were tired by the time we got home.


The weekend was busy and in there somewhere was a tiny bit of family time. I wasn't feeling well and so I spent a lot of time resting. The children had a blast and even got to roast marshmallows over a bonfire with hubby. I am so thankful that I have him and that he does fun things like that with the kids. He even got some yard work done too.


October 6th:

Do you ever have days when things just don't go as planned. I am so disappointed that my plans had to change for today. Instead of spending time with a great friend, sipping tea and swapping parenting woes....I was home experiencing more woes! I noticed one of the kids marked all over the stools with Permanent marker. Where they find these in the house I don't know because I thought they were all put up high in the cupboard. I think I have an artist on hand who is practicing his A's. He tries to write his name on many things. One time it was my shoe, another time the inside of my shoe, the walls, the table, the cupboard etc. It reminds me of the time when we first moved to this area, we were renting a house and Reuben wanted to make sure his friends could find his room. So, he drew blue arrows from the front door all the way across the kitchen, dining room, foyer, up the stairs to his room. On his door and on his walls. For the longest time it wouldn't come off and we would just say to his friends who came looking for him.......just follow the blue arrows LOL