No. 3 turns 4!

To my dearest baby girl,

It's hard to believe that you are four today!

I still remember the painful delivery like it was 

yesterday but all that hard work was definitely worth it.  

You complete our family so perfectly!  

You are loving, generous and so full of life.  

I cannot wait to see what God has in stored for you!

I love you all the way to the moon and back,

Mommy

Many firsts...

Our family has gone through many firsts lately and we wanted to share them with you:

• First day of Grade 3 for A, First day of Grade 1 for N, and First day of Preschool at Dino-Mites for E.
• First Ballet recital for Miss E and she was so stoked to perform in a cute popcorn costume (and to put make-up on, of course!)
• First Krav-Maga experience for the boys and they loved it
• First amazing VBS at the Tap
• First time camping at Fort Casey
• First family bike ride to Garry Point
• First time that our home is DIAPER-FREE!!  Miss E finally doesn't need diapers at night and honestly, we are jumping for joy because this is definitely a huge FIRST for us :)  :)  :)  

• Our first cruise, and it was a Disney Alaskan Cruise!!!  

Here are some of the professional pictures that we took during our cruise.  Enjoy!

Looking back and pushing forward

2014 was not an easy year.  It was difficult watching loved ones go through cancer, illnesses, marital problems and divorce.  The teacher's strike was blah and despite our best efforts, what we ended up getting after weeks and weeks of negotiation, I am not sure if it was all worth it.  My initial reaction was to fix all problems and pray that everything will go away but what I've come to realize is that I am never in full control of anything at all.  As my father-in-law said the other night "we need to trust the Guy upstairs".  I needed to accept suffering as part of my life on earth and "trust in the Lord with all my heart and not lean on my own understanding but in all ways, acknowledge Him and He will make my paths straight"  Proverbs 3:5-6

Much easier said than done, though.

If I choose to look at things from one lens, then I would only see the negative but there were some really awesome things that also happened this past year.  Aidan has been really helpful and responsible and continues to astound us with his fervour to learn.  Noah absolutely loves Kindergarten (and his teacher!) and wonders why there's a winter break because he would rather be in school.  Emilia is stringing many words together and we are finally understanding the full extent of her thoughts!  She loves to sing and go to ballet with her little friends.  My hubby continues to be supportive in many aspects and I am grateful that he's constantly trying to make things better for us at home i.e. his on-going renos!  I know that I am surrounded by an amazing supportive community of old and new friends.  

Special visitors for Christmas: Poh poh, Uncle Nick and Auntie Wendy!

With 2014 in the past, I brace myself and push ahead for 2015... 

I leave you with one of the songs that have helped me a lot this past year:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mqd8MoiCbcI

Happy 3rd birthday, Miss E!

Exactly 3 years ago, this little girl entered into our lives and has truly completed our family in many ways.  She is a passionate "go-getter", and a ball of joy.  When she laughs, she laughs with her whole being: squinty eyes, body chuckling, and at times, almost hyperventilation.  When she has her mind singularly set on something, just WATCH OUT!  

"I do it myself!" is her favourite exclamation.

And yes, you can do it, Miss E!!  With God's help and our full support, you can probably conquer the world...   

Happy 3rd birthday to our spunky girl!!!

pure joy

A while back, we were looking through our family pictures and realized that it's been way too long and our Emmy was just a baby, around 8 months old.  We thought what better time to take our new family pictures than Autumn!  We envisioned beautiful fall colours and leaves tossed up in the air....and that's exactly what our dear friend, Sharon, was able to capture for us.

The kids never seem to cease to amaze and humour us with their sayings.  Noah just asked us tonight if he could sleep in Emmy's room and he justified it by telling us that his sister is a "gorgeous angel"

Location:  Shaughnessy Park

Many, many thanks to Sharon and Joe!!  We love our new family pictures!!! 

http://www.chicgeekphoto.ca

It's September already?!?

This should have been Noah’s first day of Kindergarten and Aidan’s first day of Grade 2 but….

alas the BC government and the BCTF has yet to come a resolution.  I strongly stand behind my colleagues who are taking a stand for the rights of our students.  Before this whole fiasco started, I decided to take a “one year” leave of absence to spend more time with my kids.  Even though, I am not physically wearing my sign or striking, I am with you in solidarity, BC teachers :)

This past summer has been such a whirlwind!  A good, fun, sort of a whirlwind.  It started off
with our block party, then followed by Canada Day, birthday parties, impromptu playdates, Victoria weekend, Pioneer Camp, Whistler trip, Blueberry picking with the Mukais, Anacortes camping trip, "Mel and Iz" Bellingham shopping run, Aquarium and finished off with the Fort Langley oTentik experience.

It’s been a full summer, indeed and despite how much I do love summer, I am looking forward to going back to a life that is more “routine” like.  Let's hope that school will start sooner than later.  I thrive on lists and routines!

Emmy and Tinky :)

I came up with a few lists (just for fun) to share with you all.

Best playground in the lower mainland:

1. Terra Nova Rural Park
2. Centennial Beach
3. Kitsilano Beach
4. Garden City Park
5. Steveston Park

Best restaurant according to Aidan and Noah:
Dinesty

Best movie according to Vince:
About Time

Best Emilia phrases:

“I love you guys”

“I want to be Cinderella and I want you to be Vince” as said to Mommy.
_____________________________________________________________________


I better get going as I believe that the kids are attempting their own version of the ALS ice bucket challenge inside the house...

You are 5!

Dearest Noah,

I can't believe that you are 5 today!  You have brought so much love and joy into our family by your contagious laughter and generous heart.  Shortly after your birth, I had to be rushed to the ER due to some residual placenta that caused a lot of bleeding.  You did not fuss at all while we were at the hospital for over 24 hours.  Despite it being such a scary experience, I was very thankful to have such great care at SMH!  While at the hospital, I remember glancing at you, and thinking, "this is one chill baby!".  You are still that chill baby...

I love every ounce of you, my cuddlebug!

Mommy

Mind trick on BC government

If only life was easy like in the eyes of a seven-year old boy.  Aidan told me that I should try the "mind trick" on the BC Government by wishing and making them *in my mind* that they will give public school teachers a fair deal.  How I truly wish that I could do that?  My optimistic side kicks in and is truly hopeful that an agreement will be reached by the end of this weekend and that the strike will be averted.  But.....

After 12 years, there has been deep cuts within our education system.  We are truly at the end of our rope!  Personally, I teach part-time in a Grade 6/7 classroom in Vancouver, BC.  My class is composed of thirty students in which six of them are designated and are on IEPs and I have a few other students who require extra help but are not designated.  I only have a 0.5 Support Worker and some resource time.  It is not enough!  I am constantly trying to come up with creative ways to teach so that every one of my students have a fair chance at learning.  I fear that many of students are falling behind and I know that with the proper support, they would be able to catch up.  Teachers have taken 0 percent wage increase since 2002 in order to have class size and composition, but the government took that out and increased class size and completely disregarded the compositions of classrooms, making it into a "no limit" for special needs students within the class.

In January 2014, The BC Supreme Court reaffirmed that provincial legislation limiting teachers’ bargaining rights is unconstitutional, restored collective agreement provisions stripped in 2002, and ordered the province to pay $2 million in damages plus court costs.  Instead of the government righting this wrong, they have decided to appeal and take no blame in this fight for students.

I'd really like to try the "mind trick" on the BC Government and hope that they will improve our class sizes, class compositions and staffing levels for specialist teachers to increase one-on-one time for students.  

One can only hope!