goodbye september.

While I usually find myself excited for the arrival of October, eager for the crisp weather requiring cozy knits and Pumpkin Spice Lattes I instead find myself wondering where the heck September went? I seriously have no idea and I actually feel robbed of a whole month. Please tell me I'm not the only one feeling this way!??! Apparently the whole month snuck right past me while I was enjoying the lingering heat and adjusting my household to include one more. October is wonderful. October is fabulous. October is my favorite month out of the whole year...I'm just not ready for it! I usually spend September gearing up for October. October means digging through stacks of Rubbermaid bins to find all of the fall/winter clothing that I didn't get around to organizing into just one bin and instead dispersed it into anything that had room enough to spare. October means starting my Christmas gift making if I hope to have another handmade Christmas. October means cleaning up the yard that I was just getting used to spending time in. October means gearing up for a Halloween sugar-induced coma in November which requires one to stockpile toilet paper and canned goods so as not to sink too far into filthy slobishness (i think i just made up a word). October means beginning the heartache of seeing my tan fade to pasty white after spending so long trying to procure it. Sigh. And after all of this you're left wondering why I love October...and I do love October. I just usually spend September dealing with all of the frustration of seeing our warm weather slip away and by the end of the month I come to terms with the situation we find ourselves in in this northern climate and am ready for all of the loveliness of autumn to begin. But no, not this year. September got away on me and only this morning did I realize that tomorrow is October and that I have not done any preparation what-so-ever except in printing off a recipe for a homemade pumpkin spice latte which I suppose is all one really needs to do to prepare for fall. Ugh. Someone tell me they are in the same boat!

prunella and i.

Meet my new purse.

I started making my new purse today and I was so excited about it that I even finished making my new purse today.

Actually, Prunella did most of the work and I just helped out here and there.

I'm very happy with how it turned out.
Especially the green flower.

oh, go read a book!

Well, that's just what we did. Rhonda (my sister-in-law who lives 3 streets over) invited the kids and I to hop on the bus with them and head on down to the library. I haven't actually been to the Millennium Library since it was re-opened so it was a nice treat, that and the weather was unbelievable today! Considering I have a library fine of $50 left over from high school I tend to avoid the whole 'book-borrowing' scene...who needs free books anyways? I actually enjoyed reading all of the huge books to the kids (Robert Munsch is always a favorite) while Rhonda looked for potty training inspiration. I may have to come back when we are in the pit of winter weariness and are in need of some new scenery. They've even got a coffee shop, count me in!

king of the castle.

So I made Rhys a castle today cuz, you know, who needs to spend 150 bones on the Schleich one when you have a perfectly good, albeit old diaper box, some toilet paper rolls and some construction paper! "Not I!"
I don't really know what I was thinking though, sure it turned out great and he hasn't stopped playing with it all day, but who in their right mind makes their toddler a castle at 7:30 in the morning! Don't do it! It's not a good idea! If you're ever tempted...just don't! Someone slap me. I need to re-think this time management thing. Sure it was a good thought to make the super-cool castle first thing in the morning so that the 'spirited' four-year-old has something to do all day...but one doesn't actually follow through. I couldn't figure the stupid thing out for the life of me and I ask you...WHAT IS THERE TO FIGURE OUT??? It's four walls with some toilet paper rolls stuck on the corners! There. That's it! But no, I was trying to do math and math and I don't get along on the best of days, and then I wanted to make a draw-bridge, and then I thought a little matching village would be fun....well, I simply don't go through enough toilet paper to facilitate the building of a whole village so we just stuck with the castle (and a few trees). Anyways, all my silliness aside, it was actually a fun project and Rhys is really happy that he now has a home for all of the knights that he got for his birthday.

getting better.

Today I made Zucchini Bran muffins, Corn Chowder, Rice Pudding and Biscuits. I did the laundry, cleaned up toys and had my sister-in-law over so the kids could all play together. I did dishes and read over some recipes that I'd like to try out. I also checked Facebook twice, read the Free Press website and looked up some craft ideas. I accomplished all of this while caring for three toddlers.

...I think that I'm getting better at time management.

things i've been able to accomplish while avoiding facebook for the week.

1. Upcyle my shirt (see previous post).

2. Go to the Walk-In Clinic and wait for 2.5 hours to see a doctor for 5 seconds.

3. Take the kids to the park.

4. Make a monster batch of cookies.

5. Read 6 McLean's magazines (I happen to really enjoy this magazine and if anyone would like to bless me with a subscription for my birthday {Oct.13th} I would promise to love you forever).
6. Convince Rhys to get a haircut.
7. Prep the kitchen for James to paint it.

8. Visit the local thrift store and buy a bunch of fabric, a table runner, two tank tops and a whole pile of children's books for $4.
9. Exercise 5 times.
10. Take the kids to play with their cousin's on two occasions.
11. Keep a way tidier house.
12. Successfully take care of three toddlers (meaning that they actually get fed and their bums actually get changed).
13. Overall feel like a better more useful human being.

upcycle.

I finally have a sewing space of my own! Ya-hoo! I'm so excited to be able to keep all of my sewing/craft things in one corner of the house and not have to haul them out every time I want to be creative. It makes a huge difference, believe me. Anywho, today was the first time that I actually used Prunella in her new space. I had a shirt that I had bought from VV a loooong time ago and I finally got around to taking it in. I totally understand that most people will think this is the ugliest shirt on the planet, but that's probably why I like it. I think it's cute. It was actually a maternity shirt so I had to take it in a whopping 8 inches on each side and now it fits like a glove. Yay for re-purposing and yay for my new space! I have big plans for my sewing area so I'll have to keep you posted as it evolves.

a bit of erskine life.

{this isn't ammie playing peek-a-boo, she's just mad}
{oooo, one girlfriend! *cough* i wonder who that is!}

{opening gifts at the birthday party. thanks to everyone who came

by the way, rhys had a blast!}

{it's julia...need i explain more? (and this is why we get along so well)}

{church picnic + bouncy castle = new heights of excitement}

{rhys trying to impress his lady friend}

{the erskine brothers were in charge of the meat...it's just so fitting.}

{a whole pile of veggies from my garden. all of the hard work pays off in the end}

and now he is 4.

Yet another year has flown by leaving me spinning around wondering where the time went. Rhys is four today! I can't believe it. I know it doesn't mean much when it's not actually your kid, but it's crazy. Seriously. I'm not going to do a mushy sentimental post this year (but if you want one you can go here and read last years) but I will say just this one thing...ready?...You know your son is four when he starts making fake moustaches and wearing them around the house. There. Happy Birthday Rhys!

hope.

So I've been rather absent from blogdom lately and for that I apologize. I truly feel bad for all of my faithful readers who stop by every day hoping to get yet another small glimpse into the crazed life of Bria, or a laugh at my expense, or a look at how weird my children are. Instead of being updated and entertained I've unjustly left you to watch 'Pasta Restaurant' over and over again. I'm just joking, I know that you don't stop by every day. Anyways, my blog has been fairly quiet this week because my mind has been the opposite and I fear that if I start typing I won't stop and then I'll say things that aren't ready or needing to be said. And so I've just kept my distance...until now. Here we go.

I had a friend come over the other day for a much needed heart-to-heart. I called her the day before to ask her if she could find some time to be with me while I wrestled with a few (many) heavy things. She came over the next morning and I must say that I feel blessed to have her in my life. Friends like her a much needed breath of fresh air. It turns out she had been praying for me and had been led to a specific verse so she decided to share it. The words rang true and ministered to exactly where I found myself at. The verse was Romans 5: 1-5 which says, "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we rejoice in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." ...

Hope does not disappoint us. Hope does not disappoint us. That line took my breath away and since that day I've been saying it over and over and over. Truth be told, I noticed my heart begin to change and grasp at this idea of hope before my friend shared this verse with me but when you are faced with the truth of scripture as it directly relates to what you are thinking and feeling in the depths of your being...man, it's like fireworks.

At a time where I should be writing about how the world is against me, I find myself writing about hope. Actually I find myself thinking about it, praying about it, and most of all trying to figure out how to live it. Hope has been swirling around in my mind and heart for a few weeks now and I've been slightly reluctant to open the can of worms.

As many of you know I've been fairly (read: insanely) stressed these past few months, and indeed these past few years. Life, for me, seems to be getting harder and harder and harder. Why has God brought me through this? Why is God allowing this or that or the other thing? I ask myself these questions day in and day out. It's not that my circumstances have become less...bleak (there are still many things that I have no clue what to do with), it's that I've begun to look at them in a different light and put my hope in the Lord and not in man. I'm not sure why God chose these past couple of weeks to perform a heart change in me but I'm glad that he did. I've started seeing God's blessing in my life, I've started seeing his hand at work, I've started running to him when I feel panicked or anxious. Part of this movement was brought on by listening to one of my favorite pastors from a church in the States talk about the book of Ruth. He spoke about God's invisible hand of providence, sanctified suffering, how Ruth was faithful and not foolish, how God is sovereign and good, how Naomi was brutally honest about where she was at, oh, there was so much more. (I suggest you just head on over there and listen to it! I posted a clip from the sermon a few posts back and you can access the whole sermon through that.)

I think that's what I'll leave you will today. I have a lot more to say and hopefully I was able to formulate my thoughts enough to convey where my heart is at. I honestly feel so strange for feeling all of this. It is against all odds (or at least it feels like it) that at the end of each day my heart has stayed intact and that my hope is in the hands of the Lord, and that, my friends, is because God wants to help, and He can, so He does.