"Jesus, Beside Us"

Elizabeth and I were out getting groceries yesterday and as we were driving in the van we were listening to a CD of songs from a Vacation Bible School Clara went to this summer. One of the songs is actually a song we've been learning at our church over the past number of weeks so it was sounding familiar to Elizabeth. After the song was over, she says, "Jesus is beside us, right, Mommy? We don't have to be afraid of anything 'cause Jesus is beside us." I didn't bother to correct her...the name of the song is actually "Jesus, Messiah." I was just impressed that she was singing along to one of the songs from Clara's "PBS" (ie. VBS). Elizabeth loves to use words and isn't afraid to try big words or even make up her own words. Mom and Carl got the girls new dresses a little while ago and Elizabeth's had sequins all over it. She called them "sparkydots"...I guess because they looked like sparkly polka dots. One day I was correcting Elizabeth for something she had done and she got rather upset with me and stormed off down the hallway towards her room. When she got to the end of the hall she yelled back at me, "That's in-CRED-ible!" I'm not sure what she thought the word meant, but it was all I could do not to laugh.

Ella is going through this stage right now of putting on hats. She has her favourite purple corduroy hat and looks for it first thing in the morning. She throws it atop her head and crawls around with it all askew. She also LOVES to pretend she's talking. She points and gets her tongue rolling and everything. The expressions are priceless.

Clara has started making her own breakfast with a little supervision. Her favourite is "mommy-style oatmeal" (basically just oatmeal with blueberries and yogurt on top). I can't believe how grown up she's getting. She is loving making her own bed in the morning now too and is so proud when she gets the pillows and teddy bears arranged. Today, however, she was very distraught that it wasn't perfect. I could hear John telling her that things don't always have to be perfect. Sometimes we need to accept when it's "good enough." Oh, the lessons a 5 year old must learn (and I think John and I are still learning that one in some areas).

Well, here are some pictures I found on John's iphone...just some shots he's taken this summer. Enjoy!

This one was taken on Canada Day. We took the girls to some free kids' activities at Victoria Park. They loved it!

Later that night John and Carl and I took the two older girls back to Victoria Park for the fireworks. Ella stayed with Mom since it was way past her bedtime. I was impressed that both Clara and Elizabeth watched the fireworks since other years the noise has scared them so much they usually just bury their faces against our shoulders. I think they both really liked it this time!

The girls love this pool that was given to us this summer.

Clara recently had a "date" with Banky (that's what she calls Grampy Carl). She dressed up, Banky came to pick her up, and Daddy told them not to be late. She was so excited! They went to Pizza Delight where she got to pick something out of the Treasure Chest after her meal...her "treasure" (see below) ended up freaking Elizabeth out when she got home so Clara's first day with her funny disguise was also her last.

I'm continuing to teach Clara a bit at the piano here and there. She really wants to learn, but when she decides to practice, everybody wants to. Clara can play "Mary Had a Little Lamb" very well with one hand, and we're starting to introduce a bit with her left hand. Her fingers are still so small she gets very frustrated trying to practice her C chord.

This shot was taken the day we went to see Will and Kate. Clara was all dressed in her princess best. It's a pity we basically stood in the rain for two hours just to catch a glimpse at a distance. Clara was so funny when we got back to the van that day. She said, "Mommy, I just have to tell you...that was (pause for dramatic effect) NOT fun."

One Saturday a few weeks ago we went out to a restaurant in Brackley for breakfast. Next door they have trail rides and pony rides. The girls were so excited to go for a pony ride! Clara adores horses. I just hope she doesn't have my allergy to them someday.

Our church had their "Big Apple Adventure" New York city themed Vacation Bible School the last week of July. It was a wonderful week! Clara and Elizabeth both got to participate in the preschool class. Elizabeth especially loved the craft rotation. That's all she'd talk about after VBS each day was how much she loved the crafts they did that day. I think she might have a bit of her Grampy Gary's talent!