The Merry Month of May

As the end of the school year approaches, a certain restlessness fills the atmosphere at our house. The days are getting longer and summer is well on it's way. The children would rather stay outside and play instead of going through the whole bed time routine. During the school year, we try our best to have the children in bed by 7:30- 8pm. This time of year however, there's still lots of day light left as we tuck them in and bid them goodnight. Despite the fact that they days seem longer, they are flying by so quickly that it's hard to remember what happened yesterday. I still can't believe how fast the month of May went. Here are a few highlights:



Mother's day fell on the second Sunday of the month this year. It was a beautiful day for me. The children and hubby showered me with lots of gifts and after the morning service we headed over Doaktown to see Hubby's Mother. She was hosting a big dinner for the family. We had a fantastic time visiting with his family. It was nice also to see his brother who was visiting home from Alberta. I am so thankful for a Mother, Mother in law and Grandmother's who love God and know how to pray. We love you all dearly! Thank you for your guidance and prayers down over the year. The song Prayer Warrior comes to mind when thinking of these precious ladies. I hope you all had a fantastic Mothers Day!

The second highlight of May was our annual Atlantic District Youth Convention. For the first time we went as a 'partial' family. (The twins who are 4 stayed with their grandparents and we took our 3 oldest children.) In previous years we had gone as Youth Leaders and had chaperoned several youth groups over the years. We have some very fond memories of Youth Convention especially the one in 2007 when Rachael, our now 10 year old received the precious gift of the Holy Spirit in accordance to Acts 2:38. We have always left each convention with a passion for a closer walk with God and revived in our spirits but this year was by far the most phenominal Convention we had ever attended. We were stirred, changed, inspired and determined that we were going to reach the lost no matter the cost! God certainly used the special speaker, Bro. Matt Maddix to challenge us to become Soul Winners and Prayers Warriors. It was amazing to see the response of the youth of this District as walls were broken down and they received a tremendous touch from Almighty God. The last night of the convention, 90 people received the Holy Ghost!!! What a power packed, anointed service that was!

This pic was taken just after our daughter Hannah, age 8 received this precious gift and she has been excited about it ever since. She tells everyone she meets!! We are so excited about what God is doing and what he is going to do with the Atlantic District Youth!

On Saturday of the Convention, I got to spend some time with my best friend Amanda who is home from the Mission Field. She and her Hubby are expecting their long awaited first baby!! It was so nice to see them and spend some time catching up on things. We are keeping them daily in our prayers and are so happy for them. We don't see them often enough and are thankful for any opportunity God provides for us to fellowship with them. We are so thankful for true friends who are there no matter how many miles may separate us.

Just as April was busy, the calender filled up quickly for this month as well. Last weekend, our son Reuben had his Navey League Cadet Reward Ceremony. He has completed his first year in the NLC and we are very proud of him for sticking it out even when he wore a hole through his sock during a 2hour drill! (LOL) He has learned a lot of great skills and has had fun at the various camps and functions he was able to attend. He is looking forward to attending Camp Barnacle this summer. Way to go Reuben!

As the saying goes, "April showers bring May flowers" I wonder... What do May Flowers bring? Only time will tell!

Have a great week ;-)

Bloom Where You Are Planted

I have a confession to make and it might shock you!!! I do not have a green thumb, actually its rather fleshly colored. (Tee hee) Anyhow, it is the truth though. I am not a good gardener. I tend to get impatient waiting for things to bloom and grow and half the time I don't have a clue if I am yanking up weeds or gorgeous flowers. I have decided I should stick to planting tree's and creating rock gardens. The less maintenance the better. All though, part of this problem is due to the fact I am so thinly spread that I don't have a great amount a time to devote to tending to a garden, the other issue I have is lack of knowledge. Every spring I get the urge to plant and create a beautiful flower garden but I seem to have a problem not knowing where to start. I always find it amazing how fast the tree's and peoples gardens bloom out with all the spring blossoms. We have already mowed the lawn a few times this month and have had some awesome weather. I've got a start on a tan already and summer hasn't arrived yet LOL. I love being kissed by the warm rays of the sun especially those first warm days after a cold and dreary winter! I am sure those little blossoms asleep under the blanket of snow feel the same way!

We planted some trees this month. The children had a blast helping Hubby and I make our yard look more beautiful and do something positive for the environment. They also create a nice hedge and once the fencing is done between them, our property will be more visible to potential future buyers. While they were busy planting, I was busy doing something I really enjoyed -taking pictures of it all!

~Hubby getting ready to dig another hole!



~Reuben mowed the grass while Daddy dug

the holes!

~The Twins helped Daddy put the tree in the hole!

~Time to spread the mulch!

~Alex & Emily carefully water the trees!

~The almost finished result!

*You can see our neighbours garage in the background of this pic.The tree's help to section off our properties. Our plan is to put fancy fencing in between each tree. We opted for that instead of just a fence. We can't wait until it's finished!*

As I stated earlier, I personally do not have a green thumb and even plastic plants don't survive me! HAHA.....Well actually, it's more like they don't survive my rambunctious children. I'll never forget the time I bought a real, gorgeous tropical plant for the house. I was diligent in watering it and caring for it. To my surprise despite my ungreen (is that a word LOL) thumb it was growing so beautifully, until one day Alex decided to give it a 'haircut and use the stems as a microphone! I was so sad to see all the lovely green leaves on the floor and determined in my heart I'd never pay over $60 for a plant like that again! Even though, I got a little upset, it was hard to stay angry and discipline him for it because he was so cute at explaining why he did it. I did manage to capture a picture of him singing into the limbs of the plant. :-)

~Alex singing into his new "microphone"

after he gave the plant a "haircut"!!! Kids are so creative eh?

Even though I don't have the coveted green thumb, I do love flowers, plants and tree's. When we bought our house a few years back, there was a gorgeous flower garden in the front of the house. Needless, to say I tried my best to weed it but unfortunately, I don't think it was just weeds I was pulling out of it. I tried googling gardening tips and pictures of the difference between weeds and actual plants but I didn't have much luck. So, I just pulled everything out with the intention of replanting. The only plant that survived my antics was a beautiful flowering bush in the middle of the garden. It's a small tree that blooms out vibrant red blossoms and I have no clue what it is. I love it though. It's so pretty. My decision this year about that garden is to turn it into a rock garden around this beautiful tree so that the tree can stand out and not be cluttered. It has grown a lot over the past 3 years and is taking up a lot of room in the flower box. One thing I have learned though through this experience is that most plants do bloom where they are planted.

You know, our life is often like a garden. Sometimes, we allow weeds such as sin, anger, bitterness and hatred to grow choking out the beautiful person that we really are. We can often get to a place where we are not content with what we have and long to be planted in someone else's garden. However, keep in mind that you and I are right where God wants us. He has planted us in these specific spots for a reason. Every day as his plan for our lives unfolds, he desires us to bloom so that we can touch the lives of others and lead them to Christ. He wants us to bloom where we are planted and if we allow that to happen, we will live a life of joy, peace and happiness.

~Jeremiah 29:11- "I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out--plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for." ( The MSG Bible)

Overheard in Storeyland

While bathing the children the other night, Emily was the last to get in the tub. Meanwhile, I was running around getting everyone ready for bed. All of a sudden, I heard giggling so I stood outside the bathroom door to investigate the cause of such bubbly laughter. Hannah went in to brush her teeth while Emily was still bathing but got distracted by squirting lotion all over Emily.

"More...More, it's not working!' Emily demanded then fell into another fit of giggles as Hannah put more lotion on her.

"There that should take it out if you just rub it in!" Hannah encouraged with a fit of giggles.

"No, I need more," Emily insisted "I am still full of WRUNKLES!" (aka wrinkles)

Immediately I figured out what was going on...Emily had soaked in the tub so long she was wrinkled up and the girls figured lotion would take them out!!! There was so much lotion that I had to drain the tub and give her another bath. To them I appeared to be reprimanding them for getting into the lotion without permission but on the inside I was laughing. There truly is NEVER a dull moment in Storeyland!

Storeyland Update Part II

Hi there!!! As promised here is part two of the highlights of what's been happening in Storeyland over the past 3 months. If you are on facebook, you may already be aware of what we've been up to and may have already seen some of the pictures we post here, we want to thank each and everyone of you who take the time to read our blog. The purpose of this blog is to inform family and friends that live far away as to what's been happening in Storeyland. We also hope to inspire, encourage and uplift our readers with some of our posts. We welcome any comments you may have! :)

Our 5 cuties pretending to be characters on

Little House on the Prairie

April 2009

For some reason April seemed like a very slow month all though it was full of some great events like Easter, the Atlantic District Ladies Retreat and Hannah's Birthday. Easter at our house was a little different this year. Unfortunately, Rachael and I got very sick and wasn't able to attend the Easter Services. It was the first time we had ever missed church on Easter Weekend. She was extremely disappointed that she wasn't going to be able to wear her new fancy dress. We had gotten all the children a new Easter outfit this year. It had been quite awhile since we bought them some fancy clothes so we went all out. Suits for the boys and gorgeous, satin/lace dresses for the girls. They looked so sweet. Like little prince's and princesses. We also got a brand new niece, Sophia who was born Easter weekend to proud parents, Doug & Nancy! Doug is Hubby's brother and this is his first child. She is adorable.

The Ladies Retreat was by far one of the best I had ever attended. With topics such as Parenting Your Children in the Age of Seduction etc One of the highlights was our dear elderly Sis. Priest singing a special. I had the opportunity to stay with some very special friends, Michelle and Holly. We shared a lot of laughter and were ministered to in such an inspirational way. I am thankful for friends that can encourage and share in special times such as these. It definitely felt like a retreat. I came home with my batteries recharged and loads of advice on parenting children in this day and age.

The following are some pictures of the highlights of April 2009:

Easter 2009

~The Twins Easter Morning in their

new outfits just before leaving for

Sunday School.

~All though this pic was taken at YC 09, it

is the only pic we had of our 3 older children

in their Easter outfits...due to the fact that

Rachael was sick with influenza Easter Morning!

(Reuben was missing his suit coat in the pic)

~This was an Easter collage I created

for our profile page on FB :)

~The newest addition to the Storey Family!

Hubby brother Doug and his fiancee Nancy are

proud parents of this adorable Princess♥

Happy 8th Birthday Hannah!!

It is so hard to believe that Hannah turned 8 on April 30th! She has grown into such a social butterfly. She loves to be surrounded by friends and family. She enjoys being outside and anything that involves physical activity. She is such a joy to have around and a precious gift from God.

Hannah....Age 3

Hannah.....age 8

Ladies Retreat 09

Sis. Priest ministering in song at the Ladies

Retreat. I believe she is over 80yrs old!!

*The updates for the month of May will be done in a separate post. Hope ya'll have a great weekend!!! God has given us beautiful weather! SpRiNg has definitely SpRuNg in the Maritimes!!!

God bless!!

~The 7 Storey's

Storeyland Update

Dear Family and Friends:

It certainly has been a while since I've written anything on my blog! I may have to do the update in 2 parts!!! When I signed in tonight, I realized that my last post was in February!! Wow, time certainly goes fast! Life gets busy with 5 children and when I decided to take a short break from blogging to concentrate on other things, I didn't realize how long that break would be. My apologies to my faithful readers who may have been a bit disappointed to see I took a 3 month hiatus! Here is a quick update to bring you up to par as to what's been happening in Storeyland!

March 2009

Rachael turned 10 on March 3rd!! We went to Amherst during March Break as part of her double digit birthday celebration. The children had a blast at the Super 8 motel which had an 80 ft water slide etc. Rachael is such a beautiful little lady. She is very artistic and creative. She is a joy to have around and is very helpful! She is a precious gift from God!

Happy 10th Birthday Sweetie!!

Rachael.....age 2

Rachael....age 10!!

The following are a few pictures we took in Amherst NS. They had an ice storm during March Break and we actually had no power at the hotel a couple of nights. We had a blast when that happened. All the guests came out of their rooms and hung out in the halls were the emergency lights lasted for 45 minutes. The children enjoyed a movie via a portable DVD player on a night stand in the middle of the hallway. I had brought a bunch of cupcakes for our children to decorate and we ended up sharing with the other children who had a blast decorating cupcakes in the dark. We shared a lot of laughter and fun that night and got to meet a lot of great people. It made our stay even more special. We took what could have been a boring night for the children and turned it into a memory they'll cherish forever.

~The children watching "Horton Hears a Who"

just after the power went out.

(This pic was taken before the crowd arrived!)

~The ice on the tree's was beautiful to see but

left quite a mess for the power crews to clean up!

It was nice to get away from the norm for a few days! The rest of March went by really fast. My precious Mother celebrated her 50th birthday on March 23rd! She is looking younger everyday!! I hope somehow I've inherited that gene. LOL My sister hosted a 50th party for her to celebrate such a milestone. We are so happy to have a praying Mother who is young enough to hang out and have fun with us. She had me in her teens and sometimes we are more like sister's than Mother & Daughter...she is very special to me :)

Happy 50th Birthday Mother!!!

~Mom and Rachael posing at her party

with the painting of a wolf Rachael did

for her 50th birthday!!

~Storeyland update....to be continued :)