Merry Christmas!

Christmas Walk

Tia and her boys

"sisters"

Super "Dubbya"

Tia and the boys

I have not posted over the holidays. Been too busy sharing in some wonderful times with my family and my little sister.

I am so glad you came Lisa. I will remember our visit forever :)

I am short on words, I suppose the heart is still a bit heavy with the goodbye's so instead.....

Here are some wonderful photos and videos of our time!

Havin fun :) (one of the rare times they are ON the sleigh)

He, He, yeah its a bit blurry, but what do you expect, Dave took it while running next to the sleigh

Lorena, Tasha, Deanne and Michelle

Beautiful as ever, and dramatic as always!

Sleigh ride baby!

Ha I guess great minds think alike!

Saturday we had a sleigh ride to celebrate my birthday. However, it was quite nice as two of my friends, Deanne and Tasha share the same birthday, so it was triple the fun!

It was a blast. Aside from when my dear husband threw me off the sleigh and it took me at least 20 minutes to get back on. Ya can you say out of shape??

It was so nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of town out to where the snow was thicker, and instead of hearing cars and things the faint sound and smell of horses lingered in the air. *which to my son was not necessarily pleasant. Apparently nine year old boys are obsessed with horse poop.

We attempted some Christmas Carols which was pretty funny actually. Apparently, we don't know the words as well as we thought.

I thought Michelle was gonna die laughing at me when I sang "corn pop" in frosty the snow man.

It was a wonderful memorable time, and I am so thankful for my husband and Chel who so generously put it together!

Thanks :) Love ya!

mom and her boy 

and here I sit at the computer.

My poor son, is crying out in his sleep. While he and everyone else in my house seems to be able to sleep through this, I just cannot.

There is nothing worse in life than when your child is hurting and you cannot do anything to stop the pain.

We took him to the Dr today, and they have us watching him. He figures it is just a flu, however I am starting to think it might be something else. I have never seen him suffer with so much pain. I just pray to God it passes soon.

I have spent a lot of time holding him in my arms the past couple days.

It has just seemed to hit me how fast he is growing, and how quickly the days that his Mom is his world are fading away.

I turn 30 in a couple days, and I am transported back to 10 years ago when I was carrying him.

There was so much pain in my life then. I had so many questions about what kind of parent I would be, or how I would manage on my own. I worried that I would screw him up badly because I was so young, and because of the circumstances of his birth.

One thing led to another, and I was hospitalized the month before he came. Thank goodness I had such an amazingly supportive family that came to keep me company and help me keep my sanity.

I remember though, how the doubts faded away the first time I sat in the Neonatal Unit at the hospital with this tiny child in my arms. How I looked down at his tiny, fragile body, with the tubes coming from his head, and thanked God for the gift of this child. I wondered what on earth I had ever done to deserve something so beautiful.

There was a bond between us I cannot explain. Something about such joy that came from sorrow. It was he and I against the world.

My sweet little baby boy.

Sometimes as life hurries us by, I forget to remember. I take it for granted. I do not take every waking moment to appreciate the gift I have been given. Not just in my oldest, but in my youngest child as well. In my husband, my parents, my sisters, my friends.

In this season, whether you believe in the birth of Christ or not, I urge you to remember the gifts we are given everyday.



I know that right now, in this moment, I am thankful...

And so, I thought it would be fitting to list 13 favorite memories, and favorite things that I love about my little sister!

1- Well, because it is the holiday season, I will first share one of my favorite Christmas memories with my sister. Seeing as she is five years younger than me, I knew before her about Santa. So, my dad who thought he was a brilliant man, went to good ole Canadian Tire and purchased a timer for the Christmas tree. He hooked it all up, so that the lights would not come on until 9 am on Christmas morning. Well, he sat us down and told us that Santa had told him that he would turn the lights on when he comes and therefore insuring Mom and Dad some extra sleep.

So, you can imagine when the oldest sister (who has ALWAYS had trouble sleeping) noticed the beautiful Christmas lights flashing in the hallway at 4 am, that she did what any mischievous older sister would do, and woke her little sis, to inform the very sleepy parents that Santa had come.

Oh man, I will never ever forget my dad's sleepy smug grin when he announced that "No, sweetie, Santa hasn't come yet!" and I got to inform him that "Oh yes Daddy, Santa did come, the Christmas lights are on" So, Daddy dearest, and oldest daughter bantered back and forth for a second, until he realized that he was out of luck, and off we went to enjoy the delight of Christmas morning.

There was magic in being the oldest sister for me, I loved watching Lisa's excitement, and being part of it. I loved watching for Rudolph with her every Christmas Eve, and putting out treats for Santa. Lisa and I would always stay up really late with our nervous anxious excitement of what the next morning would bring.

Yikes, all that and I am only on number one. HAHA. Ok, well...Onward...

#2- Ok, this memory is not actually mine. But I remember it all the same. One year my little sister and her best friend decided to go caroling. Off they went the brave little souls and caroled their little hearts out. It was (and you can correct me if I am wrong Lisa, but this is how I remember it) a couple weeks later that we noticed Lisa had a bunch of money, that mom later found out she had got from caroling, that people had assumed they were raising funds for some charity. HAHAHAHAH....I need to try that.

#3- I am not sure how many years it was in a row, but I know for awhile there, my mom and dad would let Lisa and I go watch a movie together at the theatre on Christmas Eve. It was so wonderful, just her and I. The one that stands out most for me is "Prancer" you remember that one Li? I can remember us standing outside after twirling around in the big fluffy white flakes that were falling down around us. A picture perfect Christmas Eve.

#4- HAHA, ok while this may not make much sense or be near as funny to the rest of my readers, I nearly died laughing when this happened. Fast forward to one of the last years that Lisa and I had Christmas together. I believe I had Drew at the time, but was not married yet. Well, anyway, for some reason Lisa and I had the giggles more than usual, and had been laughing all through the church service. My mother had threatened to separate us. Well, we finally got it under control and were solemnly singing along to one of the beautiful Christmas hymns, when a fly flew onto the overhead projector, thus making it appear huge. This was funny to us, and we started at it again. Just then, one of the ladies from our church who happened to have a larger than life personality, who unfortunately was also doing the overheads, decided to smack the fly. OMG, we both lost it. Nothing like some yuletide hysterics.

#5- Ok, since I am on the church Christmas memories, there is one that is not really funny, but one of my most favorite memories of all time. My family was not raised in church, in fact, I was the first to devote my life to Christ when I was 16. My little sister followed, and then by the Grace of God, my mom and dad. So, church on Christmas Eve, became something so much more to us then perhaps to others who had been doing it all their lives.

One year, my sister did an interpretive dance to the song "Go light your world" by Kathy Troccoli. It was my far, one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen. Oh Lisa, I wish you could have seen it through my eyes. She wore a white dress, and it flowed so beautifully. You are gifted my sister....and my only wish, would be that someday you will pick up those dance shoes again. Of all the things I feel you have been lied to about in your life, that is the worst. You were born to dance, a gift from the Father, it is part of your heart - and that was something your dance teacher never understood.

#6- Do you remember the year we got the Cornsilk cabbage patch kids? Lisa and I had both wanted them so badly, and my smart mom, decided to wait until the end of Christmas day to give them to us...They were beautiful. As an aside, being a mom now, and understanding the pure insanity of fad toys, a huge shout out to my mom for going to the lengths I am sure you did to give them to us. I never thanked you enough. Millecent and Erica. That was there names. :)

#7- Now this memory does not necessarily have Christmas as part of it, but it was all about gift giving. When Lisa and I were small, every week we would do this gift exchange. It was hilarious, we would make up a package of stuff that was ours and give it to each other. We must have regifted almost everything we owned. Back and Forth, until we truly forgot who had it originally.

#8-HAHAHA, ok I just thought of this one. I think this might have actually been the last Christmas I had with Lisa actually. Lisa came home from University, and I was excited to host part of Christmas that year. So, I devised this wonderful Christmas brunch from my cooking magazines, and Lisa came over that morning to share it with us. Well, I made this overnight French toast bake, and it was awful!!! Inedible. YUCK. So then, we moved to the next dish. I for the life of me cannot remember what it was, but it was definitely equally yoked with the French toast. Oh man, my reputation for a good cook went right out the window. Luckily my smoothies were good. I hope you are ready to try again Lisa!

Ok, so there is nine memories....So now for a few of my favorite things!

#9-She has a great smile! The best really
#10-She is smart as a whip. Seriously, she amazes me
#11-She has a great sense of humor, one of the best, and she puts up with my not so funny stories
#12-She too can wiggle her nose (a Newton thing)

and lastly, but certainly not the least...

#13- She always has been, and always be, whether near or far, my best friend, and one of my greatest supporters.

I love you Lisa! I can't wait to see you :)

100 posts!

Wow, that seems crazy.
One of these days I would like to print this all off and have it binded. Give it to the boys as a keepsake of there crazy mom's ranting and ravings.

Today was eventful, I went to a ladies baking thing at Heart to Heart (Albright's Women's Ministries) it was fun, and I ended up with some nice baking.

I came home however to the shock of my new dog Snoopy having chewed the back of my loveseat off. This did not sit well with me, and I have to admit to sitting down for a good cry right then.

I so do not want to go down this road again. Our last dog Chumley was a Border Collie, and very high maintenance.

I had no sooner sent in the payment to adopt this little guy then he started to act up.

However, in his defense, he has had a long, and difficult road. I feel sad that he is so frightened in his kennel. The poor little guy must have been just beside himself to do what he did to my couch.

So, we went out and purchased a new plastic kennel that is all enclosed. We are hoping this will help with the problem. I am planning to help him adjust to using it over the next couple days and hopefully this will nip it in the bud.

He is such a sweetie otherwise.

I have added a couple funny pics. These are handprint reindeer antlers Wes made at school.

Well, I was thinking about what I should write about tonight, and figured that while this is an embarassing story (one of many) it is also very entertaining while at the same time, a bit of a conundrum for me.

A week ago, I realized that I was getting a tad too hairy for my liking. Being from the genetics that I am, I am blessed with very bushy eyebrows, and heaven forbid, a bit of a moustache. (Oh shoot me now)

So, in the spirit of trying to save money as I have been doing lately (with me off work) I decided that I would tackle the job myself and wax the beasties off!

Well, this is entirely fine in theory, however, I really have very little experience, and those of you that know me, know that I am anything but graceful.

So, anyway there I stood, in front of the mirror in my bathroom, with my melted wax in hand, and very carefully applying the thick gooey evil stuff to my face.

Well, wouldn't you know it the phone rang. So, I carefully balanced the wax on the sink and ran off in search of the phone (which really is another issue because I really felt that my dear husband should have answered it, but alas, he was busy checking his fantasy football scores AGAIN)

My dear little doggie snoopy decided he wanted to check out the wax, and managed to knock it over. So, I did what any woman with a face full of wax would do. I started yelling at the top of my lungs. Which brought my oldest son to my side to see what was the matter. Instead of feeling sorry for me in my plight, he continued to stare at what was now the hardened wax on my face.

I am sorry for that mental image my son.

So, thinking I would be brilliant, I tried to clean up the hot sticky wax with some papertowel. Yep, you can imagine that worked well.

Fast forward to the next great idea. Hey! Its wax, I will put a terry cloth towel over it and rip it off, just like it was an eyebrow. I great big gigantic eyebrow!

Well, that did not work either. So, I figured I would leave the towel on and pull it off after it hardened.

So, the next night I attempt to rip it off, and I pull and pull, and it finally gives, but not before I am thrown across the room and hit my tailbone on the wall. I look at the towel and am perplexed to see that my flooring is now attached to my towel.

So, I look down at the subfloor and notice some water damage. So, I stuck the towel, and flooring back on the floor, which now, needs to be completly redone.

Moral of the story- its a hell of a lot cheaper to pay 20 dollars at the salon.

To those of you that visit at my home. Seriously man, just look away from the towel. It will be there for awhile. Maybe someone will take pity on me and bring me a nice festive holiday rug to throw over top of it.

Uh huh.

Merry Christmas.

Ok, so seeing as how November was National Blogger Month, and I barely wrote at all, I was inspired by a Frugal friend of mine Shan (who by the way, I think writes one of the most entertaining and wonderful blogs ever) to try my hand at doing a bit more with my blog this month!

So, it is my challenge to write 15 new blogging blips (that is what I will call them for lack of a better word) between now and the year 2007!

That is on average once every other day. Oh and this one counts! HEHE.

Ok, all my friends in the blogosphere, anyone care to join me?

Smilin 

at the park 

very comfy 

Snoopy 

Almost two weeks ago, we brought home a dog from a shelter that rescued him from death in the states.
We have never done this before, but the thought of saving an animals life has such a huge impact on me, that we decided we would give it a try.

So, Snoopy has come to stay with us. He is somewhere between 2-5 years old. (No one seems to know for sure) I do not know to what extent he was abused, but I can tell you from the moment we saw him his sad eyes told a story. He was so timid and quiet we were unsure what to do with him.

At first he would not follow us up the stairs, and he would quietly shadow us, ever cautious, always waiting for our hand to come down on him.

We bathed him, and he lost so much hair it alarmed me. The poor little guy was so thin and bony you could easily see his ribcage.

He had trouble looking at us for a day or two, and slept most of the time.

I remember David carrying him gently up the stairs for bed time and him staying put afraid to move.

This dog is simply not the same now. Within the two weeks we have had him, he is no longer afraid of us. He runs up the stairs after us! He snuggles with us at bedtime, goes for at least two walks everyday, to the dogpark on Sunday, eats like a horse, and we have even heard him bark a couple times.

He still cowers sometimes, still seems unsure a bit near strangers (especially men), but for the most part his growth has restored my faith in the impact we as humans can have on the lives of animals.

My oldest son, came to me the other day while I was sitting with snoop, and said "Mom, do you know that Snoopy is your therapy dog?" I looked at him, smiled at his profoundness, and asked him what he meant. He explained that he had read about how dogs can provide therapy to people in hospitals and schools, and said that he knew that I was sad sometimes and that Snoopy had been sent to us to make me smile again.

And that...he has.

Congratulations Wesley!
We are so proud of you!!

I love, love , love her voice. The lead singer of Lone Justice. Just found this one, and guess what? I love it too. :)

My soon to be astronaut 

a bit big for the milk truck at the mall, isn't he? My how they grow! 

being goofy 

getting really really wet 

ok its a water gun, get your thoughts out of the gutter!!!! 

lots of fun! 

Happy in the water 

My sleeping beauties, on our family vacation to the states this weekend. 

but I have needed some time to think, and reflect and all that typical moody, brooding, creative crap I do.

I eluded to the fact that I have had some changes going on, and that is indeed the truth. I do however need to be careful how I verbalize them for probably obvious reasons (wink)

Truth is I am sitting at the computer right now, its after eleven in the morning, and while I would be typically running around getting stuff ready at work, I am sitting here typing to you and sipping my coffee. Oh, and breathing, I am doing that too.

Those of you who visit here, most of you know me pretty well, or at least think you do, :) and so it should probably not come as a surprise that I was in need of a break. The past two years of my life have held some of the most intense moments. I have gone through things I never would have imagined I could, or would, but I did, and truthfully, the scars are still there, blaring and red, and raw, and a constant reminder of what I face everyday.

I want you to know that I think the scars are so important. They remind me everyday of where I have been, what I have come through, and what my family is capable of overcoming. They also console me sometimes when the memories of my past find their way into my head and heart.

I am a sensitive sort, have always been. I cry at long distance commercials, and at movie previews. I can sob over a song I hear in the supermarket, or the smell of a hairspray I wore when I was 15. I suppose it never really occured to me that this was not very healthy, it seemed normal enough to me. I had always been that way, so why should it be any different now?

I apologize for the sporatic posting, I am aware that I am all over the place, however beggars cannot be choosers and you are lucky I am updating at all.

The snow is really coming down now. Its swirling around the pine trees in the empty lot beside me. It seems to wrap itself around the tree and slwoly I can see it covering the needles. It seems peaceful, almost like the tree and the flakes are dancing. It is striking.

Sigh, I am thankful for this moment, this one right here. I suppose I will file it inside with so many other moments. You know the kind? the ones that make you thankful you are alive in that moment. For me, they are the moments that I know there is a God.

Wow, I really am all over the place! Anyway, I am hoping to write more often now that I am at home. Slowing myself down, resting, and renewing...

I just want to add a few more things, since this post is so out there anyway...

Mom, I miss you. I want you to know that I love you....that you have been my strength, my reason for wanting to be a better person. You are the best, and no matter what we have been through, those memories that I have collected through the years, so many of them are shared with you. I am so proud of how far you have come. You are an inpiration to me.

Lisa, awww....you rock. LOL. Stand tall kiddo. Stand tall and embrace finding yourself. You are the truest of people I know, beautiful.

Meesh....you crazy woman! LMAO, without you, I am not sure how I could have survived these past couple years. I love ya, you are a huge part of my heart. We have many adventures in store for us!

David, not sure the words will ever really do justice to what I feel about you. You teach me about myself every day, you challenge me, frustrate me, support me, hold me, and love me. You are my partner in every sense of the word. I am blessed to share my life, my love, and my sons with you. I love you.

Cher, I know we don't talk much anymore, and I think that needs to change. I know we keep up with each other via our blogs, but I would love to be a bigger part of your life, especially now. You will be a wonderful mom! I am so excited for you. I think of where you and I have been in our lives, my son will be ten when your babe is born, who would have thought? :)

L- I know you don't like stuff aired out on blogs so I will cut this short. I am so thankful for you. You inspire me all the time. I look forward to our friendship growing. I just have one request, sing more often will ya? I love your voice.

to all my old but good friends from SA- Just in case you don't know, just in case I have not told you - I miss you. I wish you all the best in your new lives, but I think you need to know that you have had, and continue to have a huge impact on my life. Blessings to you my friends. Tasha and Colin - you know, you still are right around the corner, did I mention that I am thankful for that? Let's do games night soon!

Ok, so now that I have written out in public things that are better said in private, I will sign off for now.

I am sorry for the mushy, its just that right now, its where I am at.

I will post some pics soon, including one of me with my new nose piercing.

Oh, ya forgot to mention that one eh?

Sandi Thom I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker with flowers... (HQ)

The song that never ends....Ok, so as much as I LOVE this song, it is permanently STUCK in my head!

.....Ohhhhhh I wish I was a punk rocker....

A recent picture. I have not updated in a while, so it is my plan to do so this week. I have some things changing in my life right now, so I will take a moment to keep you posted! 

My husband has been gone all week on business. I would like to report that I have been more than self sufficient without him, and that it was a breeze parenting on my own, and I suppose that would be partly true.


I had a family meeting on Sunday with the boys and devised a plan of attack for the week. I was quite impressed with my brilliance, however by Wednesday, I had developped this awful sinus-migraine-chronic neck pain thing, and so most of my great plan went out the window.

I would love to report that I was the picture of patience and the best Mom around, but I did lose my temper a couple of times. (When almost the full bottle of cleaner got spilled on the boys new books, and they left took a shower and flooded the basement)

but....overall, I did ok.

I had some really great moments with my boys, and I was reminded over and over again, of just how fast they grow up. School is back in full swing, and it amazes me that my I have a child old enough to be in Grade Four! ( I had my first date in grade four - we went to see Beetlejuice in the theatre. I also married my first husband in Grade Four, lol)

I have not slept well this past week, that much is for sure. I would try, and toss and turn. I think I have had less than a 3 hour a night average. My brain just won't shut off.

All the alone time, and my thoughts begin to scare me. It is amazing the things we can get all worked up over when we have nothing to occupy our minds. So, my goal
is to just relax the rest of the week, and not let myself get all stressed out.

To remind myself of all the reasons that I am who I am. All the reasons I choose this life everyday.

Tomorrow is Friday. Family Movie Night......time to cuddle up with my boys and mounge down on Pizza and Popcorn.

My favorite thing.

Wes turns seven!

and last but not least, my beautiful Hibiscus who is COVERED in buds and blooms!