First day

Today at six years, three months and three days old Mckinna spent her first full day at school. She was so excited, nervous but excited. One of the strongest parts of Mckinnas personality is her ability to look forward to all things new. She has been looking forward to this day for a long time and I think that it was all that he had hoped for.
Anthony dropped her off this morning as he did when he started kindergarten. First days are bitter sweet for him. It hurts him to see them growing up so fast but I also know that he is proud to see them grow and change and take on new challenges.
I spent most of my day missing her and I turned that ache into prayer. Every time I would feel my mother heart yearn to have her here close to me I would pray. It is my hope that my children are able to be a positive example of love and compassion to those around them. I pray that they will be able to love like Jesus and win hearts, minds and souls. I pray that they will be strong, faithful and courageous. Above all I pray that shame, defeat and guilt will not hold them down but if they come will be stepping stones to take them to new heights in faith and love (although I would prefer that they never come.)
I am not sad at moments like these. I am all to aware that there are many people who for various reasons will never get to experience moments like these. I count it a blessing to be able to see my first blessed baby girl grow to become a spunky, energetic first grader. I have been blessed to watch her grow, change and bloom. This is not a privilege that I take lightly. Thank-you God.
This day has made me even more aware of just how precious this short time is. Throughout the day I found myself reflecting more on the moments that will soon quickly pass. Before long I will once again be alone in the shower. It will be hot, I will actually have time to use soap and water will not be pooling around my ankles for the shower bath. Before long days and perhaps weeks will go by without me hearing anyone cry out for mom. Things will no longer be sticky or broken and perhaps my house will stay clean for at least a little longer. Mostly I will miss the amazing ability my children have to LOVe and live with no boundaries, worries or cares. I will miss their simple requests for one more kiss. Their fighting for who will get to sit in my lap for the story. I will wish once more for someone to ask me to sleep with them. One day, not long from now, no one will hold my hand, or at least without a lot of coaxing. I know that these amazing, beautiful, spirited gifts from God will not be little for long and I need to drink that in. I need to caress their perfect skin and pour out as much love on them as I possibly can.
Six years has flown by and I know that time will unfortunately not move any slower.
I love you my little blessings and I am so proud to just be your mother. I have been proud of you all since I bore you into this world. Before you could talk, walk or read I thought that you all were amazing. I pray that you will know everyday that you are loved simply because you are perfect just the way God created you.

Back to reality

We arrived home just after 6pm last Sunday. After leaving Vancouver at 4am the drive home was really quite uneventful. I am sure that God must have been more then aware of the suffering of parents on long journeys thus creating a plan to have some genius design the built in entertainment system. Life saving :)
The rest of our Vancouver trip was fantastic and draining. The wedding was beautiful, amazing and most certainly a very cool experience. The rehearsal dinner was at a beautiful house with expansive grounds. The ceremony went off without a hitch and the girls looked and acted like angels. The reception to follow was a lesson in the art of Chinese celebration and culinary skill. What an honor to see Justin commit to being Angeline's husband.
We followed up the wedding with a family trip to the aquarium since Anthony was out for the few days. It was fun but busy. It was neat to see the girls experience things like touching starfish for the first time. Following the aquarium we spent the evening swimming and enjoying the amazing company of my cousin and her family. They always open their arms and their home to our chaos which is such a blessing. It makes my heart happy to see the life that my "little/twin sister" has built for herself and the amazing kids she is raising.
On Sunday Anthony had to head back home to get back to the grind. It was sad to see him go and the girls were sad he could not stay longer. We spent the day with some of the family at the fish farm catching trout. Charlee seemed to have the "lucky" rod and every time it got cast out it managed to bring in another fish. You might think that catching fish is a good thing but after she caught three and I let each sister reel in one and the girls aversion to eating fish I quickly knew that we needed to pawn off some fish. Thankfully the trout farm allows you to donate your fish.
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday we went down to Black Mountain with Grammy, the boys and great great nana. The girls had such a great time running around playing all sorts of made up games with the boys. They swam in the pool and played mini golf. Spent some time at the park and riding bikes. Their favorite by far though was the nightly campfire. I was just pleased as punch to not have to cook, thank God for amazing mothers :)
The remaining days of our trip we hung out with Aunty Cor and then spent our last few days back at Casa de Boyer. All in all a crazy but fun filled adventure.
Since arriving back home we have laid pretty low by Kish standards. Since the fair was in town this week we spent Tuesday morning at the parade. Wednesday we headed out to the Tot lot in Coaldale for Pop out. Thursday we blew the wad and spent the afternoon riding all sorts of midway attractions. It is so cool to see the girls got to the fair each year and be able to enjoy more and more rides. Mckinna even went on her first "big" ride. I'm not sure that she really liked it but she was a super trooper. Charlee seems like she may turn into a hard core ride junky as at three she is riding the kiddie roller coasters with her hands pressed toward the sky. Kamryn seems to really enjoy the rides as well although her favorite by far is still the carousel. Next year we are truly going to have to commit a full day to enjoying all that is Whoop Up days.
Next week Mckinna starts grade one. I am a little nervous to see how she does. I know that she will do great and I am happy she gets to go to the first grade but honestly I will miss having her here. She has been my sidekick for the last six years so it will be eerie not having her with me to enjoy everything all the time.
Kamryn and Charlee both start preschool the following week. That means that on Monday an Wednesday mornings it will just be me and Jordynn. After having four babies in five years this seems a really odd to think that I will have a few hours each week with only one. I have been so blessed to have healthy, growing children.
Speaking of babies. I think that I may have finally accepted both in my heart and my head that our four beautiful daughters will be all of the children that I grow in my belly. I struggle with this decision as I see others having their fifth but I think that this is not only my plan but perhaps the plan that God has for my family...if he thinks otherwise then I will graciously accept. I do still feel that perhaps our family in the future will have more children that although may not grow in my belly will be my children just the same. As in all cases I know that ultimately God is in control and has a plan far greater then mine so I will rest in that knowledge.

Vancouver vacation

Well another summer has come and we once again find ourselves in beautiful BC. Our drive out was uneventful but fun. Thanks to Grammy (aka my mom) the girls and I spent a night in the under the sea room at the Catlegar Super 8. Their queen sized triple bunk makes sleeping accommodations easy. The girls spent all the time there playing in the pool and waterslide which makes a parent feel not so guilty for keeping them in the car for five plus hours in a harness. Upon our arrival in the lower mainland we had the pleasure of seeing and staying at Aunty Cor and Uncle Ryan's new house. It is amazing. We spent Sunday at church and playing in the spray park. I go to snuggle Auntie Deanna's newest bundle of joy who is already four months old and cute as a little button. Today the girls, Grammy and I spent the day at Jungle Jacks with great great nana. That woman is remarkable for being 91 years old. I can only hope and pray that God gave me a good helping of her strong genes. The best part of her is that she loves doing whatever the kids want and then watching. She doesn't complain or make us go elsewhere she just makes due, comes along and watches. It is pretty special to be able to spend time with her and to have her spend time with my children. The days ahead will be busy but hopefully exciting. We have Justin's wedding to look forward to. The girls are super excited to wear their dresses so hopefully that goes off without a hitch. Cannot believe that summer is almost over. I am so lucky to get to spend so much amazing time with my kids having fun, memorable adventures. Hopefully my kids see them as that :)

Summer and Birthdays

Time seems to move so incredibly quickly. I am so blessed to be able to be a part of this incredible journey called life. Every single day I feel so incredibly undeserving of the many, many blessings that I have been given.
First big event was Mckinna's sixth birthday. I cannot believe that she is six years old. It seems like just yesterday that I was peeing on a stick for the first time, waiting anxiously for the result. Feeling those first miraculous movements of this new life being created within me. Now she is going into grade one. She is a funny, spunky, outgoing, precious little girl. She desperately wanted to have a party but I am holding out until next year before we open those flood gates. Instead we quietly celebrated by going to the Taber pool with our good friends Wade, Crystal, Carter, Grady and Madden. I made her a mermaid cake and I was pretty pleased with the outcome.
Although the summer has been wet we have managed to go on a few nice little camping trips. First was parklake with the Matchetts. Next came Little Bow with the Packards. Finally we spent a whole week at Parklake with Crystal and Glenna. All the trips were so very memorable. We are enjoying our blue bomb. It is amazing to see the three big girls curled up together after a long day of playing.
I will finish up this post with another milestone. Charlee has turned three :) We celebrated with friends on Saturday and then the family on Sunday. Although the rain came down we had a nice enough evening to celebrate outside. All of my beautiful little girls make me smile every day. Charlee is a great mix of tender and tough. She is independent and stubborn and yet the biggest suck. She asks me every night if I will sleep with her and it takes every ounce of my will to not just cuddle her forever. I am all to aware that time passes way to quickly, especially when it comes to our children.
I pray that God will span the many gaps that I manage to leave in my journey of parenting. I am also so thankful for the time I have had with my little family.

Why must my kids wear bathing suits??

I am not talking about while swimming here. I am talking wake up every morning and run to the bathroom to claim their bathing suit as their chosen outfit for the day. Seriously, this happens daily. As I type, at 5:00 in the afternoon I have Kamryn begging, not even just a little bit but a LOT to find her a bathing suit. Why might a four year old need a bathing suit at 5:00 in the afternoon when we are NOT going swimming? What is the appeal of that spandex fabric strutting around the house? I have just been informed that if I "pretty, pretty, pretty please find her a wim suit then she wioll call me the best mom ever" I had no idea that was what it took to gain that kind of status, from now on I will ignore all other duties and instead focus on primarily hooking my kids up with a steady supply of designer bathing suits.

Our Little Turtle is One!

We celebrated our last "1st Birthday" in the Kish household. It happened to fall on mothers day so the party took on a little bit of an adult feel. I went all out and made Jordynn a turtle dress and turtle cake. It is amazing that I have been blessed with four amazing daughters and that my youngest one has already lived out her first year. I am so happy that I have gotten to see her go from being a tiny baby to be a full fledged walking toddler. She finally got her first two teeth just a couple weeks before her first birthday. She also learned to walk about the same time and was sporting some pretty nice road rash just prior to our big celebration.
Now some details about Jordynn. She loves her monkey, soother and bottle. She is fiercely stubborn and can be quite the little pincher. She is also tender hearted and loves to snuggle. She weighs about 20 pounds and is my pickiest eater so far. She loves to "taste" food before she eats it. Did I mention how much the girls and I love her? The girls tote her around like a little doll and Jordynn's face lights up whenever she sees them. Kinna loves to tickle her and kiss her, Kamryn loves to carry her and Charlee loves to talk to her two inches from her face.
I will never regret my children getting older. I count it an amazing blessing everyday that I get to spend with them. Although some moments (like now with two kids crying and several requests flying from the bedroom) I may not be as composed or nurturing or loving as I wish I could be I do know that my children know they are loved. What a blessing to be called mom.

Happy 8th Anniversary

Okay so this is really not the day of our anniversary but I was too tired to write this last night.
It is funny how I kinda envision this romantic movie"esh" kinda day folding out but yet really everything is eerily normal with a small dollop of romance. Anthony and I went out for dinner at the Keg and small talked about where our life has come from and what it may someday be. We followed up our romantic meal with a grocery shopping trip to Safeway because it is 15% Tuesday and I desperately needed to get groceries.
By far the best part of the day is the thoughtful card my husband placed under my pillow that speaks of the things we will look back on when we get old together. Oh and did I mention our love fern? It is actually an ivy plant purchased from Safeway but lets hope I can keep it alive at least for a while. Not sure why I needed one more thing to be responsible for but at least this one doesn't talk back :)
I am so blessed to have an amazing, hardworking husband who loves me. I know that I do not deserve his lie and most days I am not even sure how he stands me, let alone loves me. I am so happy that eight years and one day ago he decided that he would sacrifice the rest of his life to provide for me as his wife and his family.
I love you Anthony.