Jock Strap Discovery

I really, REALLY wish I had a picture or two to go with this story. You'll just have to use your wildest imagination possible for this one.

Yesterday we were at Kenny's softball game like we are every Wednesday night. Our good friends, Trevor and Ginny come as well... Trevor plays on the same team as Kenny. Anyhow, the guys were out playing hard and my boys were with Ginny, myself and Ginny's kids.

Ethan got a little curious like he typically does. He saw Trevor's baseball bag full of goodies and just HAD to take a peek. He pulled out a yellow and white thing. He asked our friend Jason what it was. Jason said, "Oh, that's a face mask". So, Ethan put it right up to his face wondering why he couldn't see out of it.

Being the neglectful mother that I can be when chatting with a friend, I didn't notice this transaction taking place. But after a minute I saw Ethan. "Take that off your face!!!" I yelled. "That's a jock strap! And it's been in Trevor's crotch!"

Then I heard Jason laughing hysterically. "But Jason told me it was a face mask", Ethan replied. Ewwww! Once I explained what it was to Ethan and Brayden, they figured they would take the cup out for a test drive.

They each took turns (many turns) shoving the cup down their shorts and hitting each other right in the nuts with various object including their hands, baseballs, baseball bats, rocks ,etc. They would thrust their hips forward each time someone came at them with a hard object and would respond with an "ooooh, yahhhhh" every
time they got hit without it hurting.

Ginny and I sat in utter amazement and confusion. What is the obsession that men have with their groin area anyway? Why trust the cup? Why trust your brother with a hard object aimed directly at your jewels? Why try on some other guy's sweaty cup in the first place? So many questions, so little time.

It was truly hilarious and it made me so happy to have boys because even though they are a tad gross at times, they sure are entertaining!

Membership does have its privileges

So as most of you know, Kenny and I have taken a 2 year break from paid pastoral ministry. It has been hard because Kenny thrives in the role of pastor and it is his true calling. However, one of the wonderful perks has been the fact that he works full time at Ashley Furniture. The hours are not family friendly and there is no paid holiday time, but we have found one LARGE benefit for us... new furniture!

In the course of the last year and a half we have managed to get new furniture for a large portion of our house. We figured there was no better time to get quality
furniture than right now! Today we received the last delivery of furniture that we will be getting from Ashley (we hope). And so, we thought you might find it interesting to see all the gems we have acquired from the world's largest furniture company.

Our first purchase was a sofa and loveseat. Kenny really wanted leather. I really didn't. But when I sat on this set I fell in love. A year after getting the couches, we got the coffee table and end tables.


Our next purchase was a new kitchen table. This one came with 6 chairs and a bench that can seat 3 people. The table opens up to be a big square instead of a long rectangle. We can have 9 people at the table and all still feel in close proximity to one another.


Today we got this bedroom suite. The mattress was purchased a year ago. It's a Tempurpedic and I think each night I lay in it and announce "I love our mattress!"


And on another topic, Brayden had his first 3 BMX races this week. He came in 2nd place in all 3 races! I'll try and get the video of those races on the blog some time. It was fun!

Entrepeneurship profits!

My boys, especially my oldest son, totally love the whole concept of earning money. Today the boys were very eager to finish all their household chores because they knew it would result in the weekly allowance. But they also had some more ideas in their heads.

They put themselves into an entrepreneurial expedition today. They made up a batch of iced tea, gathered the cups, table, and spare change, and decided to have an iced tea stand. Kenny gave them the brilliant idea of going to the ball diamonds where a tournament was taking place.

So off we went! Before they had even finished setting up the stand, there was a line up of thirsty consumers. Everyone was more than willing to fork out the 25 cents required for a tall glass of sugar water.

Brayden was the stand manager, and like many managers, he had trouble allowing his employee - Ethan - do anything! But they worked it out and in a 2 hour period they made $22! Not bad!


Their plan is to buy a dirt bike... hmmm, they may need to do another 15 stands before they can go shopping. I better buy my iced tea in bulk!

Babies and Sports, Sports and Babies

My life has been filled to the brim lately. I'm not sure I have had a free moment to think, let alone accomplish anything! And the funny thing is, there are really only two things that I have been doing that have filled my time: sports and babies.

Sports: With 3 men in my life I have found myself running from one sporting event to the other. Each man desperately needs my presence at their events... for moral support I guess! They love the fact that I cheer loudly and listen to them replay the entire game for me. On Monday nights we drive to to Vernon for Brayden's BMX practice. Oh yes, my oldest son has decided to live on the wild side (I thought that would never happen)! On Tuesday nights Ethan has soccer which most of you have seen in previous blogs. On Wednesday nights Kenny has softball. This is a big deal since he was not able to play last year with his knee surgery and all. By the end of Wednesday night I am all cheered out! But I love watching my guys doing what they love to do. And frankly they are all some of the best guys out there!

Babies: I usually like taking one or two doula clients per month. This month I was asked by 5 women to attend their births. I said yes to three. I knew it would be busy and busy it was! I went to a 14 hour labour a week and a half ago. I've never seen anyone push for 4 hours before! She was an amazingly strong woman. Then on Wednesday I drove like a bat out of hell to barely make it to a 2 hour (start to finish) birth! She went from 2 cm dilated to baby in her arms in 30 minutes flat! WOW! Then yesterday I attended my first home birth with a midwife. What an amazing experience. I have never seen such a wonderful birth. She laboured with the birds singing out her window. She pushed quietly with no nurses yelling "push, push push!!!". And we all sat and drank tea and ate muffins once it was all done! I have no idea why more women don't choose this option for their birthing experience. It was peaceful, safe, and comfortable.

At any rate, I am ready to slow down now. However, my house is calling my name and my kids are yelling it! I need to finish getting our house in tip top shape to sell it. Time to scrape the fingerprints off the walls and go through those cluttered closets.
Ugh! I think I'd rather stick to babies and sports!

Things that have kept us busy

Our good friends, The Barkman's from Calgary came to visit us... look at all those kids (and they have a bun in the oven)!


The boys went fishing in Vernon during the kids fishing derby (no fish caught but when Brayden pointed out that one guy took too many fish he gave one to Brayden)!


Kenny and my dad spent 3 days building a bathroom in our basement


After Kenny kicked my dad in the finger with his steel toed boots they both needed some therapy!


The boys went to Walmart with their wallets. Ethan came home with a plastic skateboard that both boys enjoyed doing tricks on (man, does anybody feed that poor kid? He's skin and bones!!)

A Turtle Eulogy

Dear Mister Turtle,

Thank you for allowing me to find you on my walk along the river the other day. It was so nice for you to be there right where I could easily capture you and take you away from your natural habitat. I'm sorry that you almost dried out completely on the 30 minute walk back to the van. I really tried to learn about turtles and your preferred environment for the entire 2 minutes I looked it up on the internet. And I did my best to recreate your natural home life in the cramped plastic container that I stuck you in. Yes, I know, the salamander was a force to be reckoned with in there, but he was Ethan's pet, what can I do? Please believe me when I tell you that I made a valiant effort in giving you both land and water to dwell in. I even thought you might like the wilted lettuce leaf I left for you.

However, I have to admit that I was not surprised to see you clinging to life after I came home from work that day. I was not certain that the ramp I made - so you could get out of the water - was all that sturdy. I was not sure that you and the salamander would get along well, although I did keep that hope alive. And I began to second guess my choice of food for you... perhaps worms would have suited you better.

At any rate, please accept my deepest apologies for kidnapping you and subsequently killing you. I want you to know that when we flung you into the river after your passing we did it in love. Your death taught us a very important lesson, and we have since allowed the quickly deteriorating salamander to go free as well. If we see your family we'll be sure to let them know that you have gone on to a better place and that your death was a quick one (I think the truth would hurt them too much).

You were a cute turtle. I thought those little squeals coming out of your mouth were shouts of joy. oops. We'll think of you every time we look at that cramped plastic container.

Soccer Star

Well, Ethan has finally arrived. He has officially started soccer! He has waited 3 long years to get to this moment. In that time he has spent countless hours watching his brother do soccer, softball and karate. Each year he asks if it is his turn to play. And each year I have to say "no". But this year my "yes" was music to his ears and he counted down the days until soccer started.

For those of you who do not know my little Ethan, he is a bit overzealous a lot of the time. His name means "strong" and that pretty much describes him. So, as you can imagine, he is totally going for the gusto out there on the soccer field. Those poor other 4 and 5 year olds... I do have pity on them as he plows his way through them and on top of them just to give the ball a wack. I should buy a bulk pack of "I'm sorry" cards and start handing them out to the parents already.

But hey, the kid is having a blast and frankly, he is one of the best dang soccer players I've ever seen!


Great save! Ethan didn't let one past him all night


While punching his way through the crowd of ball seekers, he takes a tumble but jumps right back up again


Using all his pent up energies to kick the ball


Playing a little one-on-one with Grampa Jessop