The End of this blog and a new beginning...

If you click on the title of this post, you will be linked to the blog that officially takes the place of this one. Off to England is in the laborious (but most enjoyable) process of becoming a blurbed hardcover book. This blog should have really been limited to my Once in a Lifetime trip to England but it morphed into something much more to me. I've re-discovered a serious love for journalling - incorporating a passion for photography and more recently, grandchildren (!) all of which makes this forum simply irresistible. So this summer, I hope to put the finishing touches on my book and then I will be closing down this blog and continuing with This Pilgrim's Progress. I thank you for visiting and look forward to keeping in touch with you 'over there'.

Pictured above is a beautiful heirloom quality book by John Bunyan, featuring the inspiration of my new blog name. Below, you get a peek inside the covers where a large, luscious font delivers the Old English story in its original form. Next to the Bible, it is considered one of the most widely read books - throughout the last few centuries-

It easily makes my top three choices for the next extended read-a-thon.

WHEN??? she wails pathetically.

Poor Christian with that symbolic burden on his back!

A regular visitor to our daily stock of cat food. We have a big bossy Blue-Jay swooping in daily for his fair share as well. Obviously, I had no idea what I was starting when I began this feline mission post!

It was definitely a Crock kind of day - we (the fabulous five grandbabes plus my daughter) were outdoors for most of it, blowing bubbles and generally soaking up the sun.

A scraped knee is positively calamitous until

Curious George pops out of the First Aid Kit.

....Oh, AND another trip to the pond WITH Hippo for good measure!

Blowing bubbles with one hand...capturing the bubble dance by camera with the other.....you get the idea? It didn't seem to diminish the excitement one iota.

Synopsis of Sorts

• The three musketeers came by invitation for a two night sleepover.... here's a pictorial tour of our first day together - which was beautiful and breezy by all accounts!

Well, well. We seem to be no worse for wear considering that two of the three got up around midnight for some TLC.

I made the mistake of mentioning pancakes for breakfast. With chocolate chips.

Micah has the sort of recall that makes an elephants memory seem infantile.

• Also mentioned 'in passing' was a possible trip to the pond fountain after breakfast. I had no idea that wee man Micah could scarf down a pancake like that! The journey to the front of the property was waylaid momentarily at the sight of this shovel - apparently begging to be used.

Rachel loves the courtyard gates as much as I do. She could have played the proverbial gate-keeper all day had I not mentioned one other thing to them....

Okay, so here's the proof - I keep my promises when I'm 'reasonably' able - he got his five minute awe with the fountain. Still keeping a highly cautious distance from the 'shoreline'.

Also per typical, Danielle threw caution to the wind and needed to be chased more than once!

Then I reminded the munchkins that we were going to visit Diana for cookies and juice in the office andthat set them off at a dangerous clip toward the house again.

Nothing like snacks to gain compliance and did you know that grandmothers have "license to abuse all known house rules" written right in their contracts?! :)

One last 'kick at the can' for the Rachinator with Mr. Mischief right beside!

They all have this uncanny sense of GPS on locating this Diana lady of ours....I actually had to run to keep up for crying out loud!

Ahhh.....she even had SPECIAL ginger smiley face cookies for the occasion. What a great gal!

We really enjoyed playing boss-man in Grandpa's absence. Hee-hee.

Yep. Rachel always goes for that extra touch of authenticity!

Much to my delight, our grandkids are thoroughly intrigued with the Aslan type figure-head on office wall. He adores it but 'respects' it enough to not want to go anywhere near it without adult supervision.

A thankful goodbye to our gracious host

And of course, we could not leave without a run through the shop. A supervised run, yes.

This Pilgrim's Progress

Finally, something new to read, please enjoy. Plenty of pic's coming down the pipe too!

Tailgate Party for Tots

March 6, 2009 was a record breaking day.

17 celsius is the warmest it's been since daily temps have been recorded.

I had the pleasure of hosting three grandchildren for a few nights.

We took advantage of the weather and made for the outdoors in a hurry...

The last of the snow piles in our yard...it must look a bit mountainous yet to these little guys.

They certainly weren't too eager to climb it!

That triple runabout stroller is a riot to maneauvour. Seriously, Rachel could handle it no problems and she made sure she had the chance.

You can see Micah trailing in the distance; he didn't want to have any part of that tom-foolery!

Since I was the one in charge of laundry anyway - I let them discover the joys of puddle-jumping. Both of them were a trifle hesitant to "just git in there and go for it".

Pfft! Did they think I was going to demonstrate for them first?

Our first official tailgate party. A good time was had by all, including grams who sat on one end with a camera around her neck, sipping a Tim's coffee thoughtfully supplied by her son.

We wiled away two hours in the great tepid outdoors

before retreating inside for our lunch and naptime...

Oddly, the twins were just getting fired up! They spent close to an hour rough-housing in this chair together, giggling hysterically while Danielle played nearby - giving them the occasional glance of indifference. It was very amusing to observe.

Ah...warmed bottles and jeans almost thru the dry cycle.

What a great way to cap the morning!

Potty Training

Jules - the thoughtful and wise one is undergoing the potty training regiment.

Her mom is diligent in this matter and has met with success - using stickers and a chart for positive reinforcement and rewarding "jobs" well done! :)

Today, I had the distinct pleasure of having my gaggle of grand-babies all in one spot together.

Julsie - being so motherly in nature - took it upon herself to encourage her cousin to this new stage of maturity. Micah, in his typical boyish manner, was on the Fisherprice cell-phone, telling mommy (and anyone else who would listen) all about it

...undoubtedly, a ploy to spare him from a similar attempt.

I simply could not resist making a digital record of the drama as it unfolded.

The Fabulous Five

Here they are, from the eldest to the youngest....five of the most wonderful little people currently part of my existence and better still, pieces of my heart.

Micah Levi: Little in body - Big on imp-ness

Rachel Yvonne: Secure and Sweet of personality

Juliana Christine: Thoughtful and wise

Danielle Justine: A Beauty not to be left behind OR overlooked!

Elyse Joanne: DNA of such great delight!

Passive or Proactive...what are you?

Link: Expelled No Intelligence Allowed

Explanation to follow tonight - but first!...I'm going to enjoy the tepid, almost balmy temperatures outdoors and go for a long walk with my beloved. See ya'll later!

...several hours later.

By the way, last week, my Word of the Day taught me at long last, what "dot dot dot" is officially called: An ellipsis!

So,now we both know. (Don't you feel better about yourself?)

Not only have I enjoyed a lovely walk in the interim, but had it capped with a dinner date at Canyon Creek to boot! Spoiled rotten I am and I know it. It was most enjoyable to fellowship around the table with all our kids again - a tradition fast approaching extinction as each one enters adulthood. *sigh*

But I promised an explanation of this odd, seemingly 'out of the blue' post and I shall preface it with an anecdote of my past.

Many years ago I treated the kids to a day at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) in Toronto.

It began with an elaborate, limited-time special exhibit on dinosaurs. It was a fascinating & serious thrill marred only by the overt and shameless propagation of the evolution theory. The "silence" of any other plausible theory in this display was deafening - at least for those with ears to hear it. I remember feeling angry that my childrens' innocence was being thus manipulated. The attendant for this exhibit merely shrugged his shoulders when queried. This bugged me even more.

In England this past summer, where I had the privilege of attending the remarkable C.S. Lewis Summer Institute to sit under the tutelage of many fine scholars of both Oxford and Cambridge - aka two institutions of the finest "seats of learning", Darwinism reared it's ugly head once again. Let me quickly clarify that it was exposed but not supported by this conference.

My naive notion that our civilized society of the free west had at least put it in its proper place - that of being only one of the theories about the origin of life - was painfully dispelled.

On the contrary, I discovered that a certain Richard Dawkins, today's foremost militant atheist is defending the outdated Darwinian worldview with a belligerence that borders on hysterical. In the media, he is commonly referred to as Darwin's Rottweiler.

Do yourself a huge favour...pour yourself a drink, sit down and watch the video.

Then press the link above, do some research and think about in which camp you belong, the passive or proactive one.

Expelled Trailer