Dream Dog

A boy's best friend is his dog, right? And every boy dreams of hooking his dog up to a wagon ... or a sleigh, right?

Our boys did! They have a dream dog!

Misty, willingly pulls firewood through the snow on the sleigh. She makes the job faster & funner!

After practice with the wood, Misty was "trained" and now gives 2 year old (tomorrow is her B-day)"Taya" fun, fast rides too... Faith Mattaya knows how to hang on really tight. She loves it!! It's one of the joys of living in a house full of boys!

Meaningful Memories

Two years ago today, my little sister went to heaven. At nearly 41 years (she's 40 in the picture above), she had far outlived her life-expectation. She was physically & mentally challenged, yet in spite of her condition she left a legacy, through the efforts of our parents -- because our parents (along with a few other such parents in our community) foresaw the need their challenged children would have when they would be adults.

A pilot project group home was begun in the mid-80's in small-town Hague, Saskatchewan. That first home, Sunshine Housing, was an astounding success. So much so that, by the time of Vonda's passing on September 8, 2008 there were no less than 42 such homes around the province.

My sister Vonda had some of the best years of her life as an adult, with fewer health issues and great opportunities living in "her own home" in Saskatoon. Thanks in great part to the SAI program workers.

And ... the legacy lives on in the life of our youngest brother, also challenged, who even today enjoys a quality of life beyond our best imaginations for them. And of course, many others also benefit from the legacy -- not only those challenged, but also the support staff people and their families who benefit from the career opportunities and love these precious people have to offer. A whole industry has grown out of this legacy. Small town Hague thrives, in part, because of what Sunshine Housing has to offer -- they now have not one, not two, but three houses which are home to challenged adults & offering respite to their younger peers.


A Precious Memory:
As I had requested, my folks sent this picture of my little sister Vonda in a special dress Mom made for her:


The other day, we made another memory -- we dressed up our own little Faith Mattaya in that Holly Hobbie dress Mom made for Vonda. It fits Faith Mattaya at 18 months except for the length. Vonda wore it at about 9 years of age.





Dressing Faith up in this memorable dress is just like playing dolls. We doubled the precious memories!!!!

I am just so glad that we have the assurance of meeting Vonda in heaven one day ... and the knowledge that she is in a better place with no more suffering really blesses me too.

Back on Home Turf

Corbyn's back. We're glad to have him home again ... yup, we missed him while he was away. Faith Mattaya welcomed him back too -- at just 15 months, we weren't sure what her reaction would be ... would she have "forgotten" him? Or would she be shy? Nope, not at all, there was no hesitation to run and give him a big hug - even though she had just awoke from a nap. The pictures are a blur, it all happened so fast ... but the essence is there so I've posted them anyway.





Maybe I can convince him to write a post to let you in on a bit of what his trip was like ...

Little Helpers

In the beginning, work was a pleasure. We know that God created it as a good thing since it was created before the fall of man.

Have you noticed how young children revel in "helping Daddy" or being "Mommy's helper"? Doing a job well or doing something without being told makes little ones stand tall ... then again, we all feel good after a job well done, don't we?

This struck me as being material for a blog post today when I was buying dishwasher soap -- I buy the dishwasher tablets. For two reasons:

1. In my opinion they do a better job getting the dishes clean.
2. Then my little helpers can do that extra little job too. It is a reward that makes filling the dishwasher worth their while!


The cashier that served me had never thought of letting little ones do this job, but she realized right away the value of the idea.

She was equally impressed with another idea that I shared with her - that of storing dishes in the lower cabinets in your kitchen. Again, so that little helpers can readily help to set the table and/or empty the dishwasher. Little ones as young as three and even younger can begin to help around the house. Everyone can earn their keep, so to speak -- after all, everyone likes to eat!

"If a man will not work, he shall not eat..."

These are just a couple ways that we can capitalize on the natural joy that our youngsters have when working. Making it fun and meaningful at that age builds in them the character quality of responsibility and establishes worth in the family.

It also prepares them for life ... and isn't that what parenting is all about?

Walking with Mama

... makes me tired!

Peek!

My Favorite Doll

Birthday Baby

Our baby turned one today. She got a baby of her own to mother ... and that she does! Here she is checking the baby bottle -- making sure it is not too hot?? Smile!



Faith Mattaya has brought sunshine and joy into our home!

This new baby doll is very large, but to her it must seem more real because she sure plays with it constantly -- different than with her other dolls. Actually, I wasn't going to get her a doll this year yet because she already has quite a few that others have gifted her with etc. Actually, I wanted to go shopping for a doll and buy a doll for her(having never had the need/opportunity to buy dolls before, lol)!
BUT I really was going to wait until another year ... then I saw how very much Faith Mattaya enjoyed the baby doll that Rebekah let her play with when we visited a couple weeks ago. Thanks Rebekah! What a blessing you shared with us!

Happy Birthday, Little One!

Favorite Toddler Toys

An empty pop bottle! (For safety sake, tighten the lid well.)







And a cardboard box ...

They're Here

Finally, Faith Mattaya is getting some teeth. Not that waiting is a problem, but it's nice to have them coming in to accommodate her abilities with regular table food.

First Things First

Faith Mattaya took her first eight steps on her own the last day that Timothy was eight years old. She walked to him upon his encouragement. She was 9.5 months old.

Now, a week later, when Grandma & Grandpa W. arrived for a weekend visit she took off walking knowing what she was doing and doing it frequently, enjoying the freedom and the praise she gets from all of us.

The funny thing is ... she's walking before she even has teeth! Ha,ha! First things first! She's definitely been a mover since day one -- that was even the difficulty that put my labor and delivery with her into the high risk category. PTL all went well then and still is to this day. God has given grace & mercy sufficient for each day.

Swing, Swing

The warmer Fall days are back, tenaciously holding Winter at bay for a bit ... we took advantage of it with some time on the swing. Soaking in some of that all important vitamin D from the waning sunshine.

Our active little girl has not spent much time in her swing because she always manages to wiggle herself out of it -- until today! I discovered this wonderful solution to that problem: put her into the swing in her carseat ... perfect! It's safer for her -- and probably more comfortable. Thank you God for inspirations!

Round 'n' Round

Dish Duty

Faith Mattaya has an incredible desire to do dishes. In that, she takes after her paternal Grandmother though the dishwasher may well be the attraction for little Faith - an open dishwasher is her invitation ... and it doesn't take her long to get right in there to "help", lol!!

No Respect

The baby got bit by a hornet - and she was just innocently sitting in her stroller near the edge of the garden watching Daddy & her brothers pick some tomatoes.

This year the hornets are awful ... and they are no respecter of persons.

Our four youngest have all experienced the hornet's fury now.

So, what do you do when someone gets stung by a hornet or a bee? Here's what we do -- and it has worked these four times now:

Look around on the ground for the nearest plantain plant (every yard we've lived on has been host to this blessed weed)


Grab a leaf, dust it off (or wash it if water is nearby). Chew it for a bit in your mouth, then spit out the masticated leaf into you hand and apply immediately to the sting area. Let it sit on the sting for about five minutes then wash it off -- the pain & swelling seem to disappear.



Minutes later, hours later, even the next day all you can see is the site of the bite - no other evidence.



Try it next time you or yours get a bite. You'll be glad you did!


~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The thought immediately ran through my mind that God is no respecter of persons. He makes it to rain on the just and on the unjust.

Simple Things

Boxes, scraps of wood, sticks, stones ... oftentimes it's the simple things that bring a lot of pleasure.

A simple swing brings a lot of pleasure outdoors at our house. The twins spend many happy hours swinging:



We are thankful that our new farm came with a nice big swing ... and it is so nicely situated near the house and the firepit so we adults can enjoy watching the children play while we sit around the fire.

Here an old tire gets a new life:


We had left our tire swing behind at the other farm in SK, so Daddy & big brothers have made another for Faith Mattaya. She really enjoys it.


All of the Klassen babies have enjoyed the tire swing. All the boys have had their turn sleeping in it. I'm sure Faith Mattaya will have her turn sometime yet too.

Planting a CSA Garden

We put the first potatoes into the soil on May 1, 2009. So far we have planted potatoes, corn, peas, spinach, herbs and some zuchinni (under hot caps).

Daddy supervises Timothy, Benjamin & Bronlin doing what they deem as the "best part" of the job - cutting the seed potatoes while Faith Mattaya gets the cushy job, Overseer of Operations.


Everyone can help plant:



As always, clicking on the picture will open it in a larger window for a close up view.

April Flowers

May I say that Faith Mattaya ...is my favorite April "flower"? ... she certainly is growing!


It is interesting to me to note that she is even more content when I have my daily serving of hemp hearts in my morning milkshake. I shouldn't be surprised though because I feel better myself when I don't miss it. The key is to always have hemp hearts on hand!!!! Check out my earlier post on the Energizing Shake.

Happenings of Spring @ Klasse Woods

Sorry it's been so long since my last post ...

Early last week we had another final snowstorm which left us with another 15-20 cm of heavy wet snow. This week it is melting quickly.

The same day, Corbyn, our eldest young man celebrated his birthday:


Then for the weekend our family traveled to Saskatchewan for a Wiebe family Easter gathering. It was a fun time had by all ... but like these things go - it was too short.


Baby Faith travels well - she enjoyed naps, books and family singing times best of all during the trip ... the rest of us enjoyed those things too!

We enjoyed introducing Faith Mattaya to many of our family and friends.

Around the farm, we've seen many summer birds returning now ... robins, meadowlarks, and marsh hawks to name a few.

Brayden snapped a picture of what we think must be tulips emerging from their winter beds:


Spring is all around us now ... we welcome it with joy though we enjoyed winter to its fullest as well!

Thank you, Lord for the seasons.

Beautiful in Blue

First she was Pretty in Pink, now we can see, Faith Mattaya is also"Beautiful in Blue" - thanks to Auntie Deb who gave her a blue sleeper adorned with ribbons & ruffles, butterflies & blooms. The blue perfectly matches her eyes.


Can you tell she's starting to "coo"?


Her smiles come readily now when she "connects" with you: