Category Archives: Kids

All kinds of cool stuff for kids to do

We are Family

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Well! It has been a busy week and weekend with lots of things happening! I have been working long hours at my new job… settling in to the routine there. We moved my brother and his family to a new place this weekend, and said goodbye to church friends moving far away. In addition to all the outside things happening in our little world, our little farm has been growing too… sort of. I think one of my hens is turning into a rooster. We were told 98% guarantee that our birds were girls. Not so sure now. We may have fallen into the 2%. Time will tell if we have to change Mavis’s name to Morris.

What do you think of Mavis compared to her “sister”?

Not to mention the kids will be back from summer jobs and heading back to school next week! Where did the summer go?! I must admit, I did miss them. My grocery bill won’t be happy about it, but my heart will be. (Don’t tell them I told you I missed them!) All in all, my week has been all about relationships and the dynamics of “group”. And so, I muse.

“Heritage is something that belongs to us by reason of birth. It is the history of a family. Where a family came from and all of the traditions, customs and more have been passed down from generation to generation make up a family’s heritage.”

I got thinking about that dynamic. Family. Do we really bond only because of birth… or is it shared experiences? Grouping by commonality. My flock of chickens are not sisters, yet they certainly have group dynamics and drama and customs and well… function like a little “family”. Especially if one turns out to be a rooster ! Her…er, his… role will be protector and provider.

What about our church family? Traditions and heritage are certainly part of that group. We bonded with our church friends and will miss them when they are gone away because we have shared spiritual lessons and have learned together. Family dynamics.

“Family dynamics refer to the patterns of interactions among relatives, their roles and relationships, and the various factors that shape their interactions. Because family member rely on each other for emotional, physical, and economic support, they are one of the primary resources of security or stress.”

Workplace drama? Security, stress and economic support. That sounds like co-workers. I don’t know. I certainly am not a sociologist. I certainly don’t understand the psychology of any type of group dynamics. Yet, I know they exist. I know they are a big part of my life — and a big part of yours. God designed it that way. He provided a way for us to co-exist. And if one group of people don’t work for you, another might be the one that does.

Photo by fauxels on Pexels.com

Did we make the trek to the city to help my brother simply because he’s my brother? Partially, yes. We should be able to count on family… because they are family. Still, you and I both know that life doesn’t always work out as we plan. Sometimes friends “stick closer than a brother”. God gave us those fall backs too. He knew life was gonna get messy. We are going to need somebody ! And they don’t always have to share your DNA.

Like usual, I have no real finite lesson to draw here. I have nothing new to teach you about relationships. I simply know that they “are”. And I was thinking about them this week and how they all work out to grow and shape and mold us. I’ll be glad when the kids come home. If for no other reason that I can make them do work around here. Just kidding. They’re family.

Building Blocks

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Greetings my friends! I’m still here! We’re packing, purging, and getting our current house ready to list. All the while I’m beginning to dream about the “farm”. I’ll be too late to plant the garden this year but will take on the pond this summer. And learning to appreciate sunsets from my wraparound porch. Still, my brain is currently occupied with boxes and shelving and storage and … stuff. I have way too many books. And crafting projects. And paper notebooks. However. The current bane of my existence is LEGO. Read about my first experiences here. I hate to say it but not much has changed since that post oh so long ago. In fact, it’s kinda funny that Lego was involved in blog changes then… and blog (okay whole life!) changes now.

Okay. So let’s recap the muse about Lego again. Denmark, 1916. Woodworker named Ole Kirk Christiansen is known as the “creator” of Lego. His original shop was building houses and furniture but the Great Depression caused the crew to focus on smaller projects like wooden toys. The term “Lego” is loosely translated to Danish for “play well” leg godt. In Latin “I put together”. The name stuck.

Photo by Rick Mason via unsplash

Fast forward through some tweaking and brick adjustment, and by 1958-60’s Ole’s son, Godfried had taken over the family business and began the big switch to plastic bricks over wooden ones. I was shocked to know that Lego Canada wasn’t fully established until the late 1980s. The bricks had made their way to North America sometime before, but Canada didn’t have its own branch until then. My childhood. I must be old. Now, of course, we have Lego amusement parks, online clubs, T.V.’s Lego Masters etc. etc. And no age limit to builders. AFOL is a thing: Adult Fans Of Lego. My grown son is one.

In fact, the whole house is filled with Lego maniacs. Someone inevitably receives a box at Christmas. During the pandemic, weeks were spent building Hogwarts giant castle complete with minifigures and moving staircases. And so the conundrum of moving it all. No one is willing to part with it (even though I hear you can fetch $60 a kilo for the loose bricks). I have a large, I’m talking knee-deep, bin full of loose bits and bobs and teeny tiny pieces I painstakingly sorted from various shelves and jars. I’m still finding random bricks here and there. I was chastised for not keeping the kits together… but what’s a mom to do when there are sooo many? Plus I have built kits collecting dust on shelves. Any hints? At this point, I am open to all and every suggestion. Message me. Please.

I suppose I cannot complain. We have been blessed with the resources to give such creative projects to our kids (those kits aren’t cheap… even second-hand!) And I am thankful that this hobby is one the whole family can participate in. Skills are required and bricks are boredom-busting… at least for a little bit of time! I love Christmas afternoon. The little baggies are all over the dining room table and heads are bowed in brick worship and concentration of builder booklets. Even our girls.

So my muse takes me to Ole Christiansen again. Could he have built my soon-to-be new-to-me-century farmhouse back in 1900? Would he know his toy would become a worldwide phenomenon? Will I ever find a solution for how to pack, sort, and store all those tiny bricks? I need perspective. Hebrews 3:4 says:

 For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.

I must remember that houses, Lego bricks, dishes, books and treasures I find are human things. Made by some factory and shipped from Amazon. Even the precious ones are created with human hands. God is the builder of our relationships. Our connections and our friendships. Our families. He orchestrates the timing in our lives of who arrives and who leaves our blips in time… and the whys of when they are there. I’m glad you all are out there. Connected to me in a weird way through my words on a page. I may not know you… and I may know you well. Your purpose in being here is real. I’m glad. And if you have an idea on how to organize Lego for moving: I’m very glad! Message me!