Swimming In God's Word

Today as I sat by the pool while Elliot, Emma and Griffin had their swimming lessons, I was thumbing through Jeff's Message Bible.  I kept flipping it open to Proverbs, and I found a passage that really spoke to me.

Proverbs 2:10-14  Lady Wisdom will be your close friend, and Brother Knowledge your pleasant companion.  Good Sense will scout ahead for danger, Insight will keep an eye out for you.  They'll keep you from making wrong turns, or following the bad directions of those who are lost themselves and can't tell a trail from a tumbleweed.

Today, Bryce, Elliot, Emma and Griffin went back to their Mom's.  They'd been with us for the past 7 days, and now they'll be gone for 7.  This up and down, yin yang pattern is proving to be quite difficult for me.  Toss in the fact that every other weekend Alyssa is in Winnipeg at her Dad's, and I kind of feel like a juggler at the circus.  Except I keep dropping balls and watch them roll away from me, or I throw them up way too high and they conk me on the noggin.  And sometimes it feels as though everyone's watching me.  I'm in the center ring, and a hushed audience is staring at me intently, silently wondering if and when I'm gonna screw up big time.

It's in moments like these that I feel like I'm chasing tumbleweeds.  I'm desperately trying to stay on the normal trail, but then 4 kids leave, and the sudden change makes me feel lost.  I've never been particularly good with change.  I actually really suck at it.  But...being part of a blended family means constant change.  Hmmmmm.  Are you sure you can handle this Cheryl?

Well, I sure can't handle it on my own.  I am so very glad that I have an amazing God who sticks by me.  Who speaks to me through His word.  Who carries me when I feel weak.  Who picks me up when I stumble, and redirects me when I start chasing tumbleweeds.  Who has blessed me with a wonderful husband who is a man of God, and loves, cares for, and supports me.

God, please give me Your wisdom today.  Help me through the dark, brambly woods that I find myself in right now, and lead me back to Your sunlit trail.  Amen.

Supper @ the Krahn's

Jeff: How was everyone's day?
Alyssa: Please pass the rice, soya sauce and carrots.  Oh, and a pork chop.  Please.
Emma: Good.  We went to the pool, but only swam for like one hour, but yeah.
Elliot: Dad, did you have any meetings today?
Alyssa: This pork chop is two thirds fat!
Jeff: Yup, 1 meeting.  Whoa!  Go easy on that iced tea!
Griffin: Dad, why do so many girls work at Red River?
Elliot: Oh Dad, so can I go camping with Brady?
Jeff: Because I guess ladies like to be underwriters.  And we'll see.
Griffin: What's that black thing in my carrots?
Emma: Ladies should be underwriters, and the men should be overwriters.  Like you, Dad!
*Bryce and Cheryl look at each other and burst out laughing*

.....and so on, and so forth.

Jeff, you made some fantastic pork chops on the BBQ today.  Love you babe!!!  :)

Mr. Griffin Webster

So today I had the privilege of interviewing Griffin.  I asked him to give me the definition for the following 14 words.  This is important information, and I strongly suggest that you print out this list, post it on your fridge, and memorize it.  The knowledge he imparted goes to show you that he is indeed - a very wise 10 year old.

1. idiosyncrasy: a complete idiot
2. beach comber: a comb you only use at the beach
3. scullery: to gulp something
4. reticulum: a hamburger explorer
5. pedologist: someone who digs up dinosaur bones
6. tarragon: an object with a lot of points
7. chauvinism: a really good actor or actress
8. matriarch: a really old painting
9. drudgery: very, very sad
10. menagerie: a doctor who works on your brain
11. unimpeachable: peaches that cannot be teached
12. wharfage: parts of a hog
13. gherkin: a big butterfly that is pink, blue, orange, black, & yellow.
14. hemorrhoids: an exercise that's like butt-kicks

A Berry Good Day

 Today I took Alyssa, her friend Amber, Elliot, Emma and Griffin to my parents' place to pick raspberries.  

 We picked 6 containers full, and there were still many more left on the bushes, hanging in mouthwatering clusters.

Griffin had this awesome idea to use the bottom of his shirt as a pocket to put raspberries in.  LOTS of raspberries.  :)

I thought for sure his shirt would be permanently stained, but I actually managed to get the stain out...using Oxi Clean!!!  That stuff is way more awesome than I thought.

And now, the raspberries are sitting pretty in our fridge.  But not for long.  I hear Bryce saying something about smoothies........mmmmmmmmmmmmm........smoothies.  Gotta go, talk to you later!

Random Ramblings #1

Kay, here are a few thing-a-ma-jigs on my mind, right at this moment.  That's right folks, this is coming to you......live!!!

Emma made up a song about Lake Minnewasta, and when I took Alyssa and her friend Amber camping there a few days ago, they sang it about a billion times.  The song goes like this:

"Lake Minnewasta
 smells like fish pee
 I think there's a part of me
 in Lake Minnewasta."

Also, today Alyssa and Emma were making diapers for adults using old pantyhose, and they also fashioned a stylish white version for our dog Charlie.  Poor, poor Charlie.....

Right now, Elliot, Griffin, Emma, and a friend are watching the movie Supersize Me.  And they're pigging out on popcorn and candy.  AWESOME!!!!!!

Jeff and I have a major punch-buggy match that's been going since we were dating.  I am so obsessed with "bugs" that I have now started to dream about them.  In the last dream I had, I owned a black one.

For some odd reason, I strongly dislike the movie Despicable Me, and the kids think I'm crazy.

Snapshots from Spruce Woods

Thank You Mr. Redneck

Our family went camping to Spruce Woods Provincial Park from July 12-14.  I had visited this park as a teenager, but for everyone else this was a first time excursion.  Our ride there was gently sprinkled with "Where are we's" and *sigh* "Are we ALMOST there's" from the back seats, but Jeff & I were thoroughly enjoying the breathtaking sights along the way.  It's amazing how very exciting hills and valleys can be when you've lived your entire lives in the prairies.  

Our campsite (bay 8 sight 13 to be exact) was sooo awesome!!  It was ginormous...we could easily have set up 10 tents on this sight!  And it was grassy, surrounded by lush trees and bushes, and it was directly across the road from the camp office, the firewood supply, and the bathroom.  Awesome!!!  Our friends Ben & Cindy Klassen and their 3 daughters set up camp at the sight directly beside us, and we had a wonderful time sharing this experience with them.

The campground surrounds Kiche Manitou Lake, which has a very nice little beach.  The water was cool but not frigid, and thankfully nobody encountered any leaches.  We also rented paddle boats, and explored the unique horseshoe shaped lake in this way.  

I would have to say that the highlight of the trip for me was the 7 km hike through the Spruce Woods forest and Spirit Sands.  The sights truly were breathtaking, and trudging through the large area of sand dunes brought to my mind many a Bible passage.  I tried to imagine what it would be like to wander in the desert for 40 years, and suddenly I was very very thirsty!!!  We did not bring enough of our own water along, so we did what we had to do.  Yup.  We pumped water from a well that had a sign beside it saying, "DO NOT DRINK", and...........that's right!  We drank it!!!!  It tasted like pennies, but we were so parched that it was as if we were gulping the most exotic tropical beverage known to man.  Now don't you go and worry, thinking to yourselves that we are totally, irresponsibly bonkers to have done this.  Before we poured liters of this liquid down our gullets, we had a talk with Mr. Redneck.  I do believe that was actually his name!  So Mr. Redneck of Glenboro told us that he's been drinking water from that well every day for the last 30 years, and it ain't never done him no harm.  Thank you Mr. Redneck.  That's all we needed to know.  ;)  

So yeah, highlights of the trip:

1. The beautiful scenic drive
2. Huge grassy campsite
3. nice, clean beach
4. paddle boats
5. mostly sunny (one 2 hour thunderstorm on Saturday)
6. free firewood (right across the road)
7. touring the interpretive center with all kinds of preserved (?) wildlife creatures
8. acquiring our very own Provincial Park passports and getting a Spruce Woods stamp in them.
9. hiking through the woods
10. walking on the Spirit Sands dunes
11. camp stove and campfire cooking
12. hanging out around the campfire
13. talking to Mr. Redneck
14. drinking questionable well water
15. watching our dog Charlie and Ben & Cindy's dog Zeke play together
16. coming back from the beach to find that a raccoon had stolen most of our potato chips

It was an amazing time of friend and family fun and bonding.  Till next time...........

The Way We Almost Became the Brady Bunch

So I'm going to just fill you in on how our blended family came to be.  I (Cheryl Krahn) have 1 daughter, Alyssa.  In June of 2012, I met and began dating Jeff Krahn, and he has 4 children, daughter Bryce, son Elliot, and twins Emma and Griffin.  We got married on March 23, 2013.

We have Alyssa with us 12 days out of 14, and Bryce, Elliot, Emma and Griffin 7 days out of 14.  This has created quite the juggling act in this circus of ours!!  It is now July, and while certain things are beginning to feel somewhat "normal" (whatever that means) everyone is still adjusting to all of the changes going on.  But all is well, the children get along nicely with each other, and every week our relationships with one another grow stronger. 

Jeff and I have placed our new family in God's hands, and are trusting Him to lead us.  God is truly amazing, and we thank Him every day for bringing us together.  We pray for our children.  For healing.  For wholeness.  For joy.  We've already seen glimpses of all of these things in our children's lives, and it makes my heart feel like it's gonna burst!  :)

So there you have it.  A little intro to our family dynamics.  Oh, and just so you know... each and every one of our kids is absolutely awesome!!!!!
Bye bye for now......

Multiply By 5

 

My thoughts exactly!  :)