Our church's fayre today was really fantastic and we enjoyed getting nearly new puzzles, games, Lego and a child's bike as well a the pony ride, fishing game and throwing stuffed toys at tin cans not to mention the awesome bbq hamburgers! It was a lot of fun. Check out: www.saint-anthony.be There was a lot of Irish music as well and Daddy enjoyed a Guiness! We were really blessed with sunshine when it had been raining for many days before.

I am quite tired now but before I sign off, I want to say that we really enjoyed talking to Ninong in Calgary and that his sense of humour is inspiring. But what happened to the balloon I sent him along with the flowers?!

We went swimming today after school which was lovely and quiet, compared to on a Wednesday afternoon. The pool was almost to ourselves. We played with putting dinosaurs on floaties and repairing submarines and these kind of activities in between bubble beds and jets. We have really taken advantage of that club and enjoyed what it has to offer.

I took some bags of baby clothes and women's clothes to the shelter before the pool. The woman remembered me from Christmas and thanked me about 5 times for these donations which I collect from other people, mostly members of the BCT whom I do not know. I felt really great. It is a small thing that I can do but cleary, it means a lot.

We officially became members of St. Anthony's Parish church in Kraineem on Sunday so I am saving some other used clothing for Sunday's sale. We like this international church and was introduced to it by Tasha, my girlfriend from Australia. The pastor is Irish and I enjoyed his pro-active sermon last Sunday which Claudio and I talked about at lunch today.

Well, time to watch Dreamgirls. Hope it is cute.

All the best to all of you...I almost signed my name!

Today was hot and muggy but then clouded over and a storm passed through with lots of lighting and thunder...I love that calm before though when the skies are so grey and brooding. It was really beautiful. We invited Frunty's friend, Leah, to visit afterschool. We spent a bit of time at the park and then came here to feed Felix Ashley. I set up the paints for the kids on the deck but we all had to move in when it started to rain. It was so green and lush looking out back, with the grey sky and my bright red geraniums.

Pit decided to paint one arm gold and then got furious and cried when I explained we had to wash it off. He was tired from having gone to the pool with his own little friend, Etienne and his mom, Heike from Germany, this morning. The kids all made really lovely works of art. Frunty is awesome with his combination of colours. I enjoyed my time with the three kids and was able to prepare dinner while they painted away at the table...the beauty of open-concept.

I know no one is reading my blog anymore. I quit writing for a very long time. I did not record the day to day things anymore in the blog format, only on my wall calendar. Sometimes we all need breaks.

Pit calls our bunny "Actually" instead of Ashley and we are swapping his name to Felix who was our original rabbit but because he was so wild, we traded him for the calmer one we now have.

We enjoyed a bbq with the Running Club, Moms-on-the-Run and Friends which I co-created with Bente. It was really very nice company and there were lots of cutie kids. The little ones enjoyed the trampoline and tennis court with various games while the big folks played a bit and discussed how our 20K run went last weekend. My sore throat has returned so it reminds me how crummy I felt running last Sunday. I am glad I don't have to run this weekend although I would like to do so.

I just feel really grateful that our club has taken off so well and that we have some super great guys and gals as members. We are thinking about the Paris-Versaille run in September as our next goal and it is only 16K. I think if we all keep on training, it'll be just fine. The Amsterdam half and full marathon sounds good too because it is flat so we will have to decide which one we will go for...I guess some of us could do both.

Gotta get to bed. Great day!

After karate today, I told Frunts I wanted to take his picture with his teacher, Frederique. The way he put his arms around his teacher was very touching. It touched me. Frunts looks up to this teacher and told me in the car, on the way back to Annaya's birthday party, that he is going to try to get each and every belt but that he doesn't want me to wash them but understands now that I will have to do so. I am so happy that he is enjoying his karate which is supposed to help the nervous type.

We got back to the party where Pit had stayed and he gave me a nice kiss good-bye but didn't notice us return. He sat and kept eating his cake. He is such a sweetie and seems quite secure when we leave him at school as well. This is a dream come true for me...to foster a sense of security and confidence in my children. I work on this everyday, in lots of ways and so I love seeing signs of this in them.

Annaya turned three and it was a lovely party. Jess' folks from England, originally AFrica, are really sweet and I enjoy seeing them when they visit.

We miss Mowgli. Our kids gave Annaya a barbie with dog and named him Mowgli already. Hope she likes it. Gotta hit the hay. It was a busy day with the Little Gym, pool, party for Pit but fun. I had really hoped he would have fallen asleep before the party in the car but he was too excited I guess. Frunts was also tired tonight but got pumped up again with Episode 1. Boy are they into Star Wars right now!

May the force be with you.

It was a beautiful day today, weird with the sun and foreboding grey clouds yet it never did rain. The wind was lovely and not too cold. Just right. We walked from our home to the club for swimming. I enjoyed an hour in the steam room while the kids played in Asprini Land. Then Frunts had his lesson and we played in the warm pool. Pit is getting more and more comfortable swimming just around the step area, from side to side a little and diving a tiny bit for his ball. Frunty says he enjoyed his lesson even though his favourite teacher, Phillip, aka Sporticus, was not there and there was a sub.

Pit has started school and it has been a few weeks now! I already here him speaking French in the playground to other kids. It is amazing to watch the wee ones grow. Pit has picked up some funny things from school as well for example, all of a sudden, he wants to hold his doo-doo and suck his thumb. Luckily it is not a habit so he just does it once in awhile and Frunty does too, I think for fun. If it keeps up though, we will have to discuss the implications on the teeth.

On May 24th, Pit swam for the first time at our club's pool. Daddy put a ball in his mouth and went under water. Pit, who had been dunking his head for a week or so, went under water to get the ball at which point Daddy would move backwards and bit and Pit would swim to grab the ball. It was just so fun watching him do this.

Frunty is really doing well with his swimming, soccer and karate. I think next year he will just choose swimming and karate though even though we all love Coach Eirik from Norway, Albert's dad, it just gets to be a bit much. Afterschool is for unwinding and after a full day of sport/play/study, it is good to just take it easy. Frunty's karate teacher is the number one karate whatever you call it in Belgium and Luxembourg. Frederique is about 18 and his dad always comes on Friday to watch the lesson too. Frunt looks up to Frederique and I think he is a good role model. Learning a martial art is very good for anyone and everyone and when we settle, I will start myself. Our club doesn't offer a martial arts class for adults but just started with a self-defense class which I plan on trying.

As you all know, we put our dear dog down on May 15th at 10:30 am. It was a really traumatic experience and we have all suffered in our own ways since. Kids are more resilient so they are getting over this loss quicker. We bought them stuffed toy dogs which they cuddle. This was Pit's idea. I still find dog hair here and there and we haven't put away Mowgli's bowls, bed and other items. I can't write anymore other than to say that if you have ever lived with a pet for more than a decade, then you'll know how quiet the house has become and how heavy our hearts are now.

On a happier note, I completed the Brussels' 20K even though I was quite sick leading up to race day and had almost no energy during the hot, sticky route. My head was pounding and I had to walk a lot. I really should have been in bed but after 5 months of training, running up vineyards in Italy, around fields of gold Colza in France, through thunderstorms and severe wind warning, hopping over fallen down trees in Brussels, I was not going to miss this event. I know I could have done a lot better than my 2 hours 33 minutes but there it is.

I will write again soon. It's a good habit. I just find that I get busy living and enjoying the kids and that is fun too...to enjoy it in the moment. But on the other hand, I don't want to forget...not a second of it.