Bright Eyes + Blue Eyes blog

We're back in Caronport, and I will eventually be posting some photos from our fun vacation in Montana and Tennessee. Meanwhile, check out the blog I just added to my blogroll--Bright Eyes + Blue Eyes, written by two sisters. Abbie is a friend I met in Scotland--now living in Georgia with her husband and two children. Her sister, Ellie, blogs about her current life in Tanzania with her German husband. I'm always eager to see what they post next.

Do we expect our leaders to be extroverts?

Interesting guest post on the Jesus Creed blog. I'd be interested in your thoughts.

I know that for me, I require vast amounts of peace and quiet and space in order to function at my best. This is probably my biggest challenge in parenting small children. I was talking to a friend who asked, "Can you have alone time when Will naps?" Well, yes, but that is just a drop in the bucket compared to what I need. And that need can feel almost as strong as the need to sleep--it's hard to override. But if I'm not functioning at my best, it's only my family who realizes this. I wonder how much more of a struggle it is for people in a professional/ministry setting to feel like they need to operate in ways that are counter to their personalities?

I think the questions about how personality affects our spiritual practices are also very interesting!

Garden photos

Last year, my in-laws gave me a book for my birthday called The Vegetable Gardener's Bible by Ed Smith. I studied this book quite a bit throughout the winter, and decided to experiment with some new gardening methods this summer. The basic idea is that plants thrive the most when their roots have the most room to grow. Raised beds and wide rows help facilitate this, because there is more loose soil for the plants, and clearly laid out paths which keep the gardener from compacting the soil. There's also a wealth of information in the book about composting, seed starting, companion planting, as well as advice for growing specific herbs, vegetables, and fruits.



Here's my attempt at this! We did not run the tiller through the garden this year, because it disrupts the complex soil ecosystem, destroys worm tunnels, and can create a hard "tiller pan" down in the subsoil. Instead, I deeply loosened the soil with my pitchfork, added aged manure from a nearby sheep farm, and created raised beds with no supports.




One of my gardening helpers!




I made a compost bin--it's just four wooden pallets set up in a square, and tied together in two places with straightened hangers.





I planted two clematis varieties. Both are purple, but one blooms early in the summer and one later.

At the Saskatchewan Legislative Building

Before dropping my Mom off at the airport in Regina, we walked around the grounds of the Saskatchewan Legislative Building. Set on the beautiful Wascana Lake, I always enjoy visiting this beautiful part of Regina.



The provincial legislative building



Nana and kids




Feeding the geese

A walk in Buffalo Pound Provincial Park

It cleared a bit toward the end of the week, and we headed out to Buffalo Pound Provincial Park. There's a lovely marsh walk in the Nicolle Flats Nature Area, and here are some photos.




































We roasted hot dogs and made s'mores in the new firepit Eric built.



Nana and the kids had lots of fun with chalk!

The Western Development Museum

Like I said, we had to figure out some good activities to do in cold and rainy weather. So we went to the Moose Jaw Public Library, and the little children's museum just downstairs from it. All of us spent an afternoon relaxing at the Temple Gardens Mineral Spa--the mineral pool is like a large swimming pool with warm water, and has both an indoor and an outdoor section.

Will's favorite, however, was the Western Development Museum. There are four of these in Saskatchewan, and each one focuses on a different aspect of local history. Much to Will's delight, the Moose Jaw museum is all about transportation. The building is big enough to house full size trains, planes, boats and cars! And the lobby has model trains that kids can play with, and an old car and plane they can climb around in.

A Visit from Nana!

My Mom flew from Michigan to spend a week with us. What fun we had! Unfortunately, it was cold and rainy for most of it, but we managed some outdoor fun toward the end. Our first priority was an early celebration of Kate's 5th birthday! We'll be away on June 30, her actual birthday, so this was a great time to give her some early birthday presents and include Nana!


With Nana and some cool princess sunglasses!



This washcloth comes with a matching towel



Princess stories with attitude!




Big Truths for Little Kids





Kate has been wanting a bike for a while, and I've been noncommittal, saying we'd check out the local garage sales. When she asked for a princess bike, I'd say that wouldn't work, because she couldn't pass it down to Will. So she was thrilled when Eric appeared at the door with a princess bike and helmet! We had been storing it at a friend's house, and he snuck out to get it while we were eating our cupcakes.




Kate and Nana made these chocolate cupcakes, and Kate decorated each one individually for us. Will sure enjoyed his!




Our little family