WRAD Memories

Over the past month or so, I've been sort of trying to figure out how to embrace Christmas in a more reflective way- to get beyond the secular to the sacred. I'm not sure it happened. Now that I'm on the other side of Christmas for another year, I find myself reflecting once again on just what exactly is the point of all of it? I did pretty much all the things that I thought would help us reflect on the WHY of Christmas as well as spend time together as a family making memories: baking, advent readings, Christmas concerts/plays, skipping school for snow days, etc. And I wonder, did I even manage to plant a seed in my childrens' subconscious minds about WHY I was having them do any of this stuff? To focus on the WHY (Jesus needing to come and die for our sins) instead of the STUFF. Somehow I can't seem to shake the feeling that somehow we (read- they) STILL missed it. Sort of like the people did when Jesus first came- they were looking for a revolutionary...

Okay, I'm just going to say it- Christmas really isn't my favourite time of the year! It probably has a lot to do with the fact that my husband intensely dislikes this time of the year. He doesn't have very fond memories of Christmas from his childhood and so it's really poisoned his attitude. As a result, most years Christmas is merely a blip on the calendar, and then we keep plowing through- basically ignoring the whole thing insofar as we can. Having said that, I decided that this year I wanted to do things differently. To slow down and put some thought into WHY we even do this in the first place. I started by getting an Advent book and candles- so that we'd have a daily reading to do. The story is quite interesting (and very gruesome at times), but as we're working our way through it- I'm realizing it's the right book to help us learn and remember. Then, I decided that we'd scale back the school work (which wasn't too difficult beca...

So, I've NEVER taken my kids to Playland. I've always wanted to, but the reality of having more than 1 or 2 kids means that getting into places gets REALLY expensive- REALLY fast. I don't even want to think about how much I paid for us to get into Disneyland (for a day and a half)- and I think Rebekah was even free! Anyway, I managed to discover that on Tuesdays over the summer, a local radio station was doing a promo. Now, not only would we be able to get in and have an all-day ride pass, but we were going to do it for $10 per person! That little deal saved me $100. So, I mentioned it to my sister-in-law and we figured out how we were going to ditch our 3 year olds and went. Okay, first thing to remember for next time (should they do it again next year)- come early. We spent an hour waiting in line to get in. I was SO NOT expecting that. Thankfully the line kept moving and we had snacks to occupy ourselves, but it cut into the time we had available. Second, dou...

Many years ago, I was really intrigued by the idea of decorating cakes. I wasn't too bad in the kitchen (after a pretty steep learning curve when I first moved out), but I wanted to try decorating cakes. So, for my birthday one year, my mom bought me one of those kits from Michaels. Here are two of my first attempts. Jeremiah's birthday cake March 2007 Elijah's birthday cake March 2007 Needless to say, I've come a long way since then. For starters, I actually took a class so that I could learn how to make icing. When I made the cakes above, I had actually run out of icing sugar and my husband had the car so there was no way I was venturing out in the middle of a Calgary winter with three kids to buy more. So it was REALLY runny. Not only did I finally take a class, but Elijah took it with me as well. The next few pictures are from that class. The first class is all about technique, buttercream decorating & making basic flowers. Thes...

It's June! Already!?! This year has really flown by. June marks the end of my 4th year of homeschooling. In some ways I still feel like a 'newbie'- like I'm just starting out, wondering how it all is going to work out and if I'm going to mess up my kids' education! When we first started out, our home school area was a corner of our playroom. Needless to say they were more interested in playing than school work. Just to make life more interesting (besides being pregnant with baby #5 when we started), we decided to close in the covered sundeck and create a bedroom & home school room. I did okay until we hit the drywall stage- I gave up doing any 'formal' schooling till it was finished. In other ways, I'm almost feeling like a seasoned veteran. I even have the occasional mom who is newer at this home schooling gig asking me, 'How do you do it?'. Oh my! If they only knew! Anyway, it's a question that even I have ask...

In the chaos of home schooling and life, it's easy for days (if not weeks) to go by without really connecting with them on an individual level. This is also complicated by the fact that the four boys all share one room- which means that one-on-one conversations can't really happen. So, in an effort to put more structure into my days- I've re-instituted 'mummy time'. I originally got the idea from a book called Large Family Logistics by Kim Brenneman (a book I highly recommend!). Kim is a home schooling mom of 9, so she knows what she's talking about! From Monday through Friday, each child gets their day- like a special helper. One aspect of it is that I try to give them at least 1/2 hour during the day for only me and them to do something of their choosing. Then, at night (if they want), they can sleep by themselves in the tv/guest room where we can have a private chat about whatever they want. Today was 'mummy time' for my oldest, Elijah. He's...

Hey there, welcome! My name is Tammy and this is my blog. I'm married to my husband, Graham and together we have five kids: Elijah (12), Jeremiah (10), Samuel (8), Noah (5 1/2) and finally Rebekah (3 1/2). Yes, my kids all have bible names and yes that was intentional. I home school my boys and try to figure out ways to keep my daughter entertained without resorting to a screen (which happens more often than I would care to admit to anyone). I also now sell Creative Memories because I love taking pictures and I love telling the stories that those pictures represent. This blog will be about me, my life, my WRAD memories and hopefully all the things I learn along the way. Not because I think  I'm perfect and have it all together. Let me be totally honest with you- my house is a mess most of the time, the laundry piles never seem to disappear and I can't recall the last time I saw the top of my dresser (or desk, or some of my counters for that matter). So, why should you...