Here and Gone Again!

We woke up to a pretty winter wonderland! Quite a treat for this late date in winter.

After church (and boy was church ever empty!) the boys went straight into the yard to play. They know that snow doesn't last very long in these parts.

After the snow man was obliterated they made Liam a snow chair. Liam asked us to take a picture with him and the remains of Mr. Snowman.

And now six hours later it's a rather sorry sight.

I think the rest of the week is just going to be the usual rain. And it will be once again the usual routine around here. Keith is back to work on Monday. Finally! His doctor gave the 'all clear' for a week of light duties and then back at it full force. He's feeling so much better! He's been seeing his chiropractor and having massage therapy. Both have been heaven-sent!

Liam and Chad are now both over their head colds. I can't even count the amount of Kleenex we used this past week...it was a doozy.

A Girl for Me

I'm really excited about Luyba who is going to be a part of our family in a long distance kind of way. MEI partners with an orphanage in the Ukraine and Heather just got back from a trip to visit and has met Luyba. She kept a blog up to date while she was there about her visit and I felt a stirring in my heart to sponsor one of these kids. When she returned I was able to chose from several pages of girls who needed sponsors and for some reason this sweet girl stood out to me. She's 12 years old and loves crafts, math, sausage and potatoes!
The Good Shepherd Shelter is the only one of it's kind in the Ukraine. The only other option is state-run orphanges which are very 'orphan Annie' like. They get really good care here and a Christian influence which is the best part of all. Since MEI is so closely involved it's easy to feel quite close to the kids. There is a missions team from the high school going this spring to help out and I am able to send a package over to Luyba with some small gifts. I love that! It makes me feel so much more connected with her than to my World Vision child.
If you want to get involved with Good Shepherd I'm sure I can help you out. 100% of your sponsorship money goes to the program which is most encouraging.

Ireland-Not So Long Ago

I've packed away my albums until our move. I did get a new scanner (yippee!) but now have no material to scan. 'Take Me Back Tuesday' will be on hiatus until after the move.

I'm quite certain you are devastated.

Frozen Smiles

The sun was shining today. I felt it wrong to stay inside despite the extremely cold temperatures so we took a little trek out to Cultus Lake. The sun had a hint of warmth but it certainly wasn't comfortable at all! I find that with each passing year the cold bothers me more and more.

The cold air should take care of those lingering germs. Liam had the flu on Friday and Saturday. Chad has a nasty head cold. Good times.
Liam was happy on the first half of our walk. After his fingers went numb he was more than a little cranky. It also didn't help matter this was all happening during his regular nap time.

Mwah! I love this man.

Many of the old cottages have been torn down and replaced by fancy homes. They each have quite the unique architectural design and it was fun to stop and stare into all their windows!

If you've never been walking along Cultus Lake, this makes a really nice Sunday afternoon stroll. Just pick a warmer day.

No Turning Back

Well, all documents have been signed. Subjects removed. The process is complete! We have bought a home and sold a home in less than a month. What a whirlwind this has been.

From start to finish it's been a 'God thing' as my realtor put it. Can I just say that I really really appreicated having a Christian realtor. If you ever are looking for an excellent realtor we would highly recommend Dave Kropp. He was incredibly reliable, an excellent listener and just so very friendly. He made this whole process very smooth and for that he has our loyalty!

Now that there won't be anymore showings, I can let the house cleaning go to pot. I will start packing today actually. There is much to be sorted and discarded.

And so if anyone would like to lend their moving services for April 1st or 2nd we'd be happy to have you!

Stop and Give Thanks!

Every now and again I stop and just think about how blessed I am. I can stand in one spot, look around and count so many things for which I am grateful!

Here are my 'thank you' items for today.

A warm, safe place to lay my head every single night.

A tool that has taken away all my bad hair days. Okay, this is really all about vanity but I am truly thankful I own a flat iron!

Beautiful tulips give to me by a dear friend that brighten my kitchen and make me smile.

Flowers you can eat given to me by another dear friend for Valentine's Day.

Medication that is readily available to help my husband. How grateful I am for ambulance services, ER departments, 24 hour pharmacies and extended health plans!

Worship

I just love this new song we've been singing in church lately.
It makes me happy and very encouraged!
For my church-going blog readers...what song is your church singing that you love best?


The Desert Song

This is my prayer in the desert
When all that's within me feels dry
This is my prayer in the hunger in me
My God is a God who provides

This is my prayer in the fire
In weakness or trial or pain
There is a faith proved
Of more worth than gold
So refine me Lord through the flames

And I will bring praise
I will bring praise
No weapon forged against me
shall remain
I will rejoice
I will declare
God is my victory
and He is here

This is my prayer in the battle
And triumph is still on it's way
I am a conqueror and co-heir with Christ
So firm on His promise I'll stand

All of my life
In every season
You are still God
I have a reason to sing
I have a reason to worship

This is my prayer in the harvest
When favor and providence flow
I know I'm filled to be empited again
The seed I've received I will sow

~Hillsong Lyrics

Getting Close

A few positive developments around here lately.
1. We have a signed accepted offer on our house. Subjects to be removed on Feb 22. My sigh of relief will be heard around the world when that happens.
2. Our water issues that were caused by the city's installed of an upgraded water meter were resolved yesterday. They fixed all the leaks and put in a new PRV (pressure reduction valve). Out of 18,000 meters installed so far they said these issues have happened in 30 homes. That's a .001% chance...lucky us.
3. Keith's back is improving and he's going to work tomorrow. He's going to the doctor this afternoon and the chiropractor on Friday for their professional assessments.
**Back from the doctor now and he's off for another seven days. Has to get x-rays and some deep tissue massage to work out the spasms. He is up and mobile but walks around like an old man :)

Of course in my mind I always knew things would work out but generally my emotions get the better of me. I look forward to having all this stress behind us so we can get back to being the parents we should be, the employees we should be, the friends we should be....I could go on and on here!
Thanks for hanging with us.

February Snow

No time to be creative this morning. You clever cats have probably figured out this is me. Mid 1970's to be sure!

Better

My lovely blog friends are so supportive. Your comments lifted my spirits, thank you!

I'm feeling better.

My family is grateful.

We had an offer on Saturday evening and countered it today.

We are still working out a few issues with completion and possession dates but are very close to having a deal.

That will be such a relief.

On the heath front, Keith is improving. He's still really sore and taking all his meds. He tried to cut back the T3s but it was too soon. He'll probably be off for a few days this week. He is not supposed to drive so going to work is sorta pointless as much of his day is spent driving to and from inspections.

And Happy Valentine's Day! We're not the type to make a big stink about it but we do take a moment to share cards and give the boys some sweets.

I hope you are shown you are loved in the love language that says it best!!!

Four

1) Four places I regularly go to:
- Public Library
- Superstore
- Church
- My parents house


2) Four people who e-mail me (regularly)
- Kori
- Jillian
- My Dad
- Bargain Moose

3) Four favorite smells
- Chlorine (swimming pool smells...just smells CLEAN to me)
- Johnson & Johnson Baby Wash
- Fresh Bread
- Keith

4) Four places I would rather be right now
- Mexico
- Hawaii
- England
- Caribbean

Pressure Cooker

Sometimes too much happens at once. I don't do well under extreme stress and right now that's where things are at.

At this moment so much is going on that I feel that I am not firing with all cylinders!

On top of this house purchase/sale, showings, Liam's weird new sleep habits and a busy time at work, Keith's back went 'out' on Wednesday. I got the call to pick him up from work at 8:00 am and since that time I've been on an emotional roller coaster. To make a long saga short, Keith was taken to hospital by ambulance Thursday night to deal with the excruciating back spasms. I was brave through it all but now that he's home and doing so much better (thanks to narcotics) I am losing it emotionally. Too much right now...just too much.

Can we just fast foward a few weeks to a calm point please?!

Transition

Last Saturday we decided that it was high time Liam moved from crib to bed. He's a big boy in so many ways now. We had thought about switching him over when we move but then decided that maybe a new house AND a new bed might be a bit much. By moving him now, we get rid of one more piece of furniture in the storage room which is great.


No tears of sadness with the 'baby bed' being taken down. A BIG thank you to Auntie Keri who generously loaned me her crib for our surprise baby Liam!

And here we have Nathan and Chad's first bed all set up for Liam. He's pleased as punch...as if it wasn't obvious!

I asked him to pretend to sleep. He could not stop grinning!

And now it will be interesting to see how he does with the new freedom of being able to get in and out of bed on his own. He had never climbed out of his crib (none of my kids did) so we're entering new territory here. I hope that Keith and I made it VERY clear about not getting out of his bed and always calling for mum or dad first. We'll see!

Liam's room isn't often so tidy but with our house being on the market it will be looking this spiffy all the time. Where's my maid?!

A Reluctant Soccer Player

Chad plays soccer each week. Chad doesn't LOVE soccer. Chad doesn't LOVE anything that requires moving his body in a quick motion! It's always been the case. Chad peters out from work or tasks quite quickly. He loses motivation and it just becomes painful for everyone involved. After almost 10 years of knowing this kid I've positive it's nature NOT nuture. This will most likely be Chad's last year of soccer. There is no point for Keith and I to be paying the fees and spending a load of time on the pitch for something Chad doesn't really enjoy. What I have told Chad is that he must find some alternative activity. It just won't do to have a child play Lego in his room 24/7 as he would be happy to do! What activities or programs do your kids enjoy? Perhaps we'll be inspired!

At least the boys play at a really nice field with beautiful views. That's been great.

I think we might have a soccer player in Liam. He just loves dribbling that ball around and shooting nets!

Something New

After setting up some field trips at school recently for snow-shoeing, I had the idea that I wanted to go myself! I told Keith that this would make a great birthday treat for me. So Keith made all the arrangements and we took ourselves up to Cypress Bowl on Sunday morning. It was pouring here at home so we hoped that meant lots of snow up there. It didn't. We got soaked!

We took the 2 hour guided tour which also included a stop at a 1920's lodge for hot chocolate and cookies. It was well worth it. The guide was so friendly and informative. We really enjoyed ourselves.

The trails were beautiful. It's not hard to snow shoe at all....easy peasy! It's an excellent work out...I really was huffing and puffing trying to keep up to the guide at times. If you go snow shoeing without a guide then you have to stay on the trails. Forging your own path in fresh snow was MUCH more enjoyable!

It sure was wet but all the trees were so pretty covered in snow.

My camera obviously had a few rain drops on the lens here. We had a great day out and ended it off with a delicious and well earned Chinese food supper.

My Silly Billy Goats

Camping at Okanagan Lake 2005

I Get Paid for This?

I love many things about my job but the best part is the fun we have. My co-worker Marci is about the funniest and craziest person I know! This was her birthday gift to me. I laughed so hard. I am happy to say this bra would NEVER fit me!
You might have wondered why I was wearing pigtails to work...or maybe not. It was PJ day at work for my birthday! What a treat.

Keith brought me flowers at lunch. What a sweetie!

And lunch too. All my very favorite rolls. I love sushi!

Marci and I even have fun while we are doing tedious chores such as cleaning up the storage room. We didn't have any students in the school on Friday so we were able to get loads of work done.

Just really thankful for my job at MEI!

Sharing

Liam LOVES birthdays. He loves to sing, blow out candles and eat cake. It was a joy to share all these things with my little guy. I often think that having Liam has aged me in many ways but there are also plenty of ways in which he keeps me young. Simple pleasures bring him such joy, such as helping mom blow out her random number of candles. Good thing there weren't 38 of them on there! I would have been out of breath!
Thank you to my mom for making me a most delicious birthday supper and scrumptious cake.

Artist in Residence

Keith was asked to design the poster for ACT's production this spring. I had nominated his name as a back up 'artist' for posters and programs during our AGM when they were rounding up volunteers (and told him after the fact!). So between parenting, life, being an acting supervisor at work and organizing this house business he manage to design this amazing poster.

The director of ACT is most thrilled with the outcome and I'd have to say it does look mighty spiffy!

Keith has plenty of creative talent flowing in his veins. He's excellent at drawing and designing. Did you know he used to be a draftsman in his previous career? It was good for him to have a creative outlet for this poster. He did such a good job that I am quite sure they will be calling upon him to do this again!

I Only Love Liam...

...on the days that end with 'y'.

Happy Frida'y' everyone! It's my favorite day of the week.

Perfect Timing

Just how did Chapters manage to time the arrival of this long awaited book in time for my birthday? Thank you Chapters and thank you to Sonya who awarded me the gift card to Chapters in the first place!

Official

We bought this house via word of mouth. We've got an offer on the new house via word of mouth. Seems to be a pretty effective advertising technique! Please pass along the word if you know of anyone looking for a great family home!

The home we have an offer on (I won't say it's ours until subjects are removed!) has photos online for those of you interested.

www.siebertteam.com

It's the one on Nootka Street

Cute and Chubby

Now I'm just chubby! Ha ha....always been a girl with meat on my bones and I'm okay with that (most of the time :)).