We found a home in time for my birthday at the end of October. New home, new blog.  Please visit our new home at Little House on the Big Hill.  I'm holding on to A Gratitude Attitude, but not sure yet what direction it will take.  See you soon on The Big Hill!!!

Little Snowflake from Super Simple Songs

Finding a Home

We moved out of our rental home on August 20th...a lovely place it was. 

 We embarked on an adventure; tenting, swimming in ponds, listening to wolves and coyotes fighting in the night, getting more fresh air than we ever remembered getting before.  Discovering the depths of our friendships.  Learning to really trust.  Bonding as a family.

 Then we were invited to Vanderbrook Farm, where we have been for the past month.  

What is so special about this place?

Just ask Lucy.  

God can bless us anywhere we are, no matter what happens to us.  

For to those who love God, everything works for good. 

 Everything.

Moving On...somewhere, somehow.

It's been a happy place to live for the past three years, and I would have been content to remain here forever.  However, we must move on for several reasons.  So we plan to start moving on August 17th. Where to?  That hasn't been made clear to us yet.  We want more than anything to settle in this area around Killaloe, but banks won't give us the financing we need to do that.  They will finance us to live in Pembroke. Since Bob works here in Killaloe, we are hoping and praying for a miracle, but well aware that we may have to move to the city.  That is all I know for now, but I hope to give regular updates on the process.

Even though the High school is in Pembroke and Air Cadets are too, I'd be sad to see the Backwoods Canadian Girl become a city girl (no offense to city girls). I'm sad to think dear Husband will have to drive that far every day (I know many people drive that and farther--but I'm entitled to my feelings).

Now to look at the bright side....close to library, cathedral, and parks...and cadets and high school.  The children will be back to homeschooling.

Now my garden must go to weed because purging and packing must begin.  I think about the Transfiguration--and how the apostles wanted to set up tents and remain there with the Lord.  No, they had to go back to the valley and be of service there.  What this means to me is that as much as we want to stay here, it is time to 'pack up' and go wherever it is that we are supposed to.  Please pray for us.

Why We Are Grain-Free

Family members and acquaintances keep asking me why I'm bothering with the paleo diet for my family of 10 when it is so much work and so expensive.  I try to tell them that for the first time, we are feeling healthy...we didn't even know we weren't feeling well on our impoverished grain-heavy diet.  Others are concerned about our weight loss...even though we feel better than ever.  They give me strange looks when I suggest I'd get rid of telephone and internet before going back to that way of eating.  I think I'd live in a tent first.  I just can't put a price on thinking clearly and relative peace in the home. 

Four of our children have had their tonsils & adenoids removed because they were chronically large from infancy.  Three more of my children, before the diet change, were referred to the ENT for the same problems.  By the time they were able to have their appointments (months after starting the paleo diet) the ENT gave me a strange look.  He said they're big, but not nearly large enough to remove.  What?  Those tonsils were "kissing" just months before. Wow!  He gave me a strange look when I wondered out loud if it could be the grain-free diet.  His look said, "you, too?" 

School lunches are the most difficult, but my kids are troupers when it comes to food.  We haven't tried dairy-free yet, though I've slowly been tapering off on it, hoping nobody notices my effort.  When I do buy dairy, it's as natural as I can find it.  Gluten-free pepperettes, berries, fresh fruits, dried fruits, salads, and occasional yogurt or cheeses go in their lunchboxes for snacks.  Very rarely gluten-free potato chips are sent (for very special occasions, or if the school is providing a lunch they can't have).  

Banana splits or sundaes are the new birthday fare, because I don't have the time or budget for baking enough grain-free cake for a crowd.  I'm considering purchasing or making a waldorf-style birthday ring for the candles now that there is no cake to stick them in.  Hey, maybe I'll make my own out of clay, made to fit the beeswax birthday candles I make.  Kids can help--yay!

Gluten Free

Okay, aren't we all sick of hearing, "gluten-free"?  Well, now I'm going to say it.  I am gluten-free, too!  I stopped buying spelt or oats before Easter, after a Doctor-friend of mine said I would benefit from the GAPS diet.  I made bone broths and we ate lots of eggs and veggies.  It was tough packing school lunches and I wanted bread, but I didn't buy any of it and we made do.

Want to know what happened after just a few days?  I could think clearly.  I felt calm.  I went down for my naps and could not sleep because, for the first time in years, I didn't need to!  Lucy behaved sweetly.  There was more calm in the house than I ever experienced.

Then came Easter, and what would Easter be without Babka (special bread)?  What could a little bit of spelt do?  Well...it was disastrous.  I was an emotional wreck.  Kids seemed to be climbing the walls.  Nobody could deal with anything, and what happened to Lucy's sweetness?  It dawned on me-- we crashed and burned.  A little spelt did us in.  Oh my.

Apparently this is a normal response for people who stop eating all wheat.  You heal from its effects...but you react awfully when you consume even the smallest bit.  So, Easter was tough.

Now that the Babka is all gone, we are getting back on track and after several days "clean" of grains, I'm feeling strong again.  Calm is slowly being restored.  So this is the new normal for us.

I would encourage everyone to try a GAPS diet for a week, with a warning:  Be prepared!  Quite likely you will not be able to return to gluten without very nasty effects. 

Baby Antics and CHEO trip.

I'm not so sure about this Mommy...are you really putting me down?

Okay, so now I'm like, MOBILE!!!

Then, we get the call Wednesday night.  A last minute cancellation for surgery at CHEO (The Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario,,in Ottawa), and could Oldest Son fill the spot Thursday morning....EARLY???  Sigh, if we say no, it might be months of waiting, and he has waited long enough.  Those tonsils and adenoids need to come out so he can sleep well.  So, here we are trailing behind Big Truck...why is he on the road so early???

He's mighty sore, but it was an extraordinary adventure and Oldest Son is recovering nicely.

 

By the way, if you have a child who needs the services of an ENT, I highly recommend Dr. Bromwich at CHEO.  He has four young children of his own, and is very family-friendly.  Four of our children are patients of his, and he is very careful and thorough. 

  Enlarged tonsils and adenoids can cause many other problems.  If you can't get them down in size within a year, consider seeing a specialist.  I prefer natural remedies whenever possible, and I don't like children having to undergo surgery with general anesthetic...but it is easier for them to have them removed at a younger age, if natural remedies don't succeed quickly.

Meet the Secker Kids

Artistic First Child, otherwise known as Backwood Canadian Girl, started High School this year, and went with a group of Students on a pilgrimage to St. Joseph's Oratory in Montreal.

Cadet Second Child wants to fly.  The chance to fly has him learning  to iron, polish boots, and spend weeks away from home in the summers.

Hands-on Third Child loves to knit, paint, sculpt, and bake.  Her painting reminds me of her--a sunshine!

Dramatic Fourth Child keeps us entertained with her joyful exuberance.

Affectionate Fifth Child is also very athletic and adventurous.  She is a world-champion hugger! 

Thoughtful Sixth Child is always concerned about others.

Sweet Seventh had her Third Birthday and can you tell she loves Dora?

Baby Eighth Child is snuggly soft and pure delight!

Yarn Along Wednesday

Okay friends, this is my first foray into the Yarn Along adventure over at Small Things. 

I have been working on this silk baby balaclava from Ninny Noodle Noo for weeks.  Now you see how often I get to it (smile).

I am reading "These Are Your Children, a text and guide on child development".  It is a very old book from 1953.  A blast from the past.  It is fascinating to read ideas about raising children from that era...and the pictures are amusing too.

 What impresses me most though, is how little has really changed. 

Kids have always been kids.

Resolution

A couple weeks ago we enjoyed a visit with Deacon Daniel, a jolly Franciscan.  As we sat around with coffee, he asked if we had made any resolutions.  I hadn't given it any thought.

He got me thinking.  After all, resolutions are kind of fun to make, even if they do get broken.  So now I have one.  My resolution for 2013 is to look at a day from a different perspective.  Lately I've been looking at a day as going from 6am to midnight.  Not anymore.

Everyone would benefit from learning more about the importance of sleep. 

Of course, there are times when it may be of spiritual benefit to temporarily lack sleep such is practised at St. Patrick's Purgatory.  Any mother knows that love sometimes demands that sleep be temporarily disrupted.  However, most often I sacrifice sleep for the sheer pleasure of silently doing whatever I choose. 

I resolve to believe that 10 pm is late, very late, and time for bed.  If 10 is late for me, it is way too late for children.  8:30 is late enough for them.  Because 10 pm is late, and the kids need to be in bed by 8:30, supper must be earlier. No more late night suppers.

Of course, bad habits don't die so easily.  It's the mindset I am changing with the hopes my actions will follow.  I resolve to believe that God designed us with a need for sleep...the purposes of sleep known fully only by Him.  I surrender my belief that sleep deprivation is a virtue (not that I ever confessed that belief, but hey, actions speak louder than words).

Now, knowing that I won't always succeed in surrendering the day at 10 pm, I have a back-up plan.  Years ago a mother told me that she knew she required 8 hours of sleep to be her best self.  She had a newborn and was unable to get 8 hours sleep in a row.  So, she resolved to stay in her pyjamas and sleep every opportunity she could get until she logged in 8 hours...even if it took until 2pm or whatever.  She did not accomplish much in a day, and it was humiliating if someone came to the door in the middle of the day and she was still in pyjamas. 

That's my resolution:  Plenty of proper sleep. 

With this change of perspective, the day is now much smaller than it was, and my dream bubble of all the things I might accomplish is burst.  The day is short...will I spend it in a fury to accomplish all the things I am "supposed" to?  Or will I focus on being more present to the people, big and little, around me?  Hmmm, there's another resolution!

A Day in the Life...

I thought I'd try an experiment.  First, take a well-fed, dry and happy baby, and place her on a clean blanket on the floor with a pillow behind for protection.  See that smile?  Now, take that very same well-fed, dry and happy baby AND...

 put her in the playpen with the happy images and bright colors and a happy assortment of toys.  Look at her face!!!  Now, please tell me what is the great difference between the floor and the playpen?  Needless to say, I scooped her up and carted her on my back for some time.  I'm grateful for my Ergo baby carrier.

Now it's time for lunch!!!

 The paper-crafting continues in the Secker home, framing the winter-white with splashes of colour.

Crafty Cans

Christmas gifts need not be expensive.  One of the favorite gifts was one of the least expensive.

Add some of this, a little more expensive:

We didn't even bother wrapping these: (Yes, we use this stuff-- but that's another story.)

Go over to our friends at Wabi Sabi Wanderings for a tutorial on decoupage,

and the possibilities are endless.

How useful, entertaining, creative, and pretty is that?   Practically perfect in every way!

Eldest daughter painted this after learning about the art of the Haida at school.  Do you think she has some connection with the bear?

I just had to find out what the bear means to Native Americans.  To them, the bear refers to protection, motherhood, discernment, childbearing, freedom, courage, power, and unpredictability.  Hmm, yes, makes perfect sense now.

Soapstone carving of a polar bear by my eldest daughter.   She gave it to me for Christmas.