Heading Toward 2014

Congratulations, if you are reading this you are one of my few remaining faithful blog readers.  If I could provide you with a medal I would.

Thanks for hanging out....you are loyal peeps!
I will endeavour to blog a few times a month.  Now that I have an iPhone and can blog from the Blogger app, I hope to be inspired to blog on the fly.

2014 is coming quickly and there will be no predictions, hopes or resolutions.

One day at a time is where it's at!

 

I reckon most of my time, energy and thoughts will be taken up with these men in my life anyhow.

Happy New Year!

Come In!

Our new front door is finally installed and we are very happy with the new look.  We found it hard to agree on a color but in the end threw out the red idea and went for grey.  It's a nice, solid wood door that should keep out the cold and any possible thieves!!!

Christmas Catch Up!

The boys all ready to go to their school banquet.  Looking mighty fine, wouldn't you say?

 Christmas Eve at the parents.  One goofy shot is a must!

 And then us all normal-ish.

 The boys 'big' present this year from Nana and Grandad were snowshoes.  Keith and I also got a pair for ourselves and look forward to adding a new winter activity to our weekends!

 Christmas morning at home.  The boys all slept in and we enjoyed a leisurely time of gift opening while the breakfast casserole baked in the oven.  

 Keith and I just exchanged a few stocking stuffers.  We spent a lot of money this fall on the roof, car, and front door so nothing more was necessary!

 Liam asked Santa for Lego and Lego he did get.  

 The older two got Kobo Glos.  Perfect gifts for my bookworms.

 Keith's family was set to come over for a turkey dinner that evening and I was making the meal on my own.  It turned out great and was much easier than I thought it would be.  It pays to be very prepared and organized.  I had a booklet with notes that I followed!

 There was plenty of food and lots of dessert too.  We had a great time.  Nate and Chad organized some games after supper that we adults enjoyed as the three little guys ran around the house like crazy people.  

We enjoyed opening some gifts and visiting after dessert.  It had been a long day and it was pretty hard to get myself up off the couch afterwards.  

So, Christmas has come and gone once again.  Just so thankful, that we are all healthy, happy and together.  I know that these are the greatest Christmas gifts in themselves!

Christmas Balls!

After 'de-Christmassing' the middle school today (Friday was an unexpected snow day so we had to come back to work!) we stopped at High Street for a quick lunch at Mucho Burrito.  I recommend...it was very tasty and fresh!

Who can resist a photo-op with big red ornaments?  Climbing them was unwise...they seemed a bit wobbly!

Frosty

In our neck of the woods you must enjoy it while it lasts!

Flub-dump

Good news!  I like good news!

Keith and I applied for life insurance back in February.  We both had some but decided it wasn't enough with our boys now in private school and a bigger mortgage...these weren't factors many years ago to consider.

Keith passed his medical exam with flying colors (I was surprised to be honest) and I failed (and that surprised me more!).  Rejected, failed, not accepted.

This was due to the fact I disclosed in my healthy interview (because I am an honest person!) that I had rheumatic fever as a child and now have a heart murmur.  They retrieved my medical records in storage as my most recent doctor retired but they weren't happy with the information they found which was really nothing.  My previous doctor never did any testing on my heart.  All my testing (EKG and Echocardiogram) was done when I was a teen and that doctor was LONG gone and those records are likely destroyed by now.  I remember the results of those tests being favorable but my verbal say so wasn't good enough for the insurance underwriters.

So an appointment was made to get an echocardiogram.  That was a four month wait but finally was done on Dec 4th.  

Today I went to see my GP to discuss results.  First of all, I have to say that my new doctor is very prompt.  I entered the office at 10:49 am, was called into the room at 10:50 and was out the door to my car by 10:56 am.  Very efficient which is a blessed change from most medical professionals.  Anyhow...the report said that my heart is very healthy in every way.  No valve damage, blood is flowing properly and it's of normal size.  All excellent news in regards to my life insurance hopefully being approved and putting my mind at ease about this 'alleged' heart murmur I thought I had.

Over my life most doctors have said they can't hear my murmur and a few have said they can hear a soft one.  Today my doctor took a listen and said she 'thought' she could hear something.  But the report says 'no murmur' so I am going with that!

Toasty Warm!

This is Christmas spirit week at the middle school and yesterday was 'winter wear'.  I was very comfortable all day but my poor co worker Jessica was sweating buckets!

The Christmas Carol

We wrapped another successful ACT production of 'The Christmas Carol' over the weekend.  Thrilled for BOTH my boys as they were in their element.  This was Chad's debut performance with ACT and he did very well.  Proud mama here!

Gorgeous head shots!

The ghosts of Jacob Marley, Christmas past, present and future really gave a fright so we had to go and show Liam there was nothing to be scared of.  He was able to see that there was a friendly teenage girl under the grim reaper costume instead of something sinister.

Nate was a superb Bob Crachit and Tiny Tim was so cute.

Liam was proud of his big brothers!

Jacob Marley did almost TOO good of a job being a scary ghost.  Yikes...well done!

Time for a wee rest and then we prepare for the spring show.  Aladdin!

Bitterly Cold

Golly, it's been cold these past few days.  We are definitely spoiled by a milder climate.  These sub-zero temps and arctic outflow winds can seriously make night time walking an effort in pure survival. 

Seeing Santa

Liam was rather quiet during his visit to Santa today.  We checked out the Santa at High Street since we are missing the fire hall kids party this year.  Liam politely answered all of Santa's questions but was unusually mute.  It wasn't until I saw this picture and the placement of his hands that I realized just how apprehensive he was about this whole ordeal!  Too funny.

My Weird Family

This WON'T be arriving in your mailbox anytime soon.

Lots to Look Forward To!

My week wrapped up!  

Oh this week flew, but don't they all?  Keith has been so very busy in the garage every spare moment working on pieces for the set of 'A Christmas Carol'.  I have been single-parenting it quite a lot.  But still have managed to find time to get in my power walks each night.  One day I dragged Keith away from the power tools, another night I took Nate and the rest of the nights were spent on the treadmill.  I only exercise to maintain these days since my eating isn't as disciplined as it should be!  Thankfully I thoroughly enjoy my power walks and don't like to miss.  The boys will be at rehearsals all weekend as next week is the big production.  Liam and I are going to put up the Christmas tree (well, that's the plan anyhow!) and go see the Christmas tree lighting and parade at High Street Mall.  Have you been there yet?  I really like that new mall...it's a great addition to Abbotsford!  

 Last weekend, Liam 'helped' me make Banana Chocolate Chip muffins.  I have to admit I wasn't too sad when he lost interest fairly quickly.  I am not so great at sharing my kitchen space.

On my day off, I was out around the lunch hour and got a brilliant idea to meet Keith for lunch.  He was pleasantly surprised by my phone call and we met up for Chinese food.  It was a such a nice time that we decided that we would do this once a month.

I am looking forward to Christmas break already.  I have about 2/3 of my shopping done and have my baking list sorted and my ideas for Christmas dinner pretty much solidified.  The music has started playing on the radio and I'm starting to feel that lovely coziness that Christmas brings.  Liam is singing carols already that he is learning at school and Chad has been playing carols on his clarinet.
So thankful we have Christmas to break up the long winter!

Catching Up & Winding Down

 Hey friends.  It's been a while...sorry!  I'll just bring you up to date with a few snippets of the past week or so.

 Our new electric fireplace was looking pretty empty but I wasn't sure what to decorate the mantle with.  A few days ago I went down the Christmas aisle at Costco and these little owls spoke to me.  I find that it's the 'Year of the Owl' in decor and while I am not generally a trendy gal I just loved these pieces.  And they were very affordable.  They like their new home.  They told me.

On Remembrance Day we went to support Keith and remember the soldiers at the local Cenotaph.  It was a fairly balmy day...dry and around 14 degrees.  Liam was very restless but it was a meaningful ceremony none-the-less and I'm glad we went.

Kori and Heather must have made some secret plans and left me out.  NOT nice!  Actually we find that unintentional matching days happen more often than not in our office.  It's a sign we're all bonded and like-minded!  In case you were curious, Kori is doing incredibly well in her new position at MEI.  I'm super proud of her!

1980's & Nerd Day at work was so fun.  We are all of fairly similar age so we were nice and comfortable with our outfits, mannerism and have fun playing the top hits over the internet.  Like, totally rad!

 Liam is keeping us on our toes and constantly entertained with his hilarious one-liners and funny stories.  He's become quite 'infamous' at school and he's endeared himself to the office staff, admin and teachers at both the elementary AND middle school.  

Ah yes....the traumatized child.  Liam watched the movie 'Charlotte's Web' for the first time and was beside himself with grief once the movie was over.  Charlotte died and Liam could not be consoled.  Poor tender-hearted little lamb.  The same thing happened to Nathan 10 years ago!  

And now for the winding down news.  I have lost my bloggy mojo.  I am finding it rather a chore than a pleasure.  I already post most of my current events on facebook so to duplicate my photos and updates is rather tedious.  My readership is way down, my picture taking is also rather dismal (crappy camera to blame?), my time on the computer is shorter and well, it's just not like it used to be.  I will most likely discontinue regular posting after Christmas.  I will keep the blog open and perhaps will post 'big events' as they happen but the day to day 'stuff' of life will not be recorded on this medium.  

It's been a good ride!  

Feels Good to Give

All ready to drop off their Samaritan's Purse shoe boxes at church this morning!

Reached My Limit

My boys like to drink water and this is a healthy and proper thing to do.  They also like to drink water, leave the cup randomly on the table or counter and then forget which one is theirs.  Then they take a new cup.  Repeat, repeat, repeat.

This had to stop.

The mother ran out of patience with this untidy habit.

My solution was to give each child a 'spot'.  Their cup may live in this spot only and they will only take out ONE cup per day.  

Rinse and re-use, I say!

Plunging Into Debt

We are officially the proud owners of this tank.  It had been something we had talked about for several months now.  Doing the two car thing to do family activities to include William was getting pretty old.  I was also tired of going to church in two separate vehicles.  We can now happily seat eight peeps in one place...this 2013 Pilot is very roomy and fun to drive too.  It's got a few bells and whistles such as a back up camera that have been fun to use.  It's our very first NEW car....the inside smell is lovely.  I wonder how long it will take to smell like 'eau-de teen & child'?

The biggest thing that prompted this to happen over the weekend is that we found out that some issues that our CRV was having, were going to possibly be expensive to fix.  It also needed new tires and brakes.  Now was a good time to trade it in....even if we had to say good bye to our new hitch and roof racks!  

The dealership gave us a great trade in value (shocking) and with $5000 off the price due to clearing out the 2013 stock we timed it just right.

Hello car payments!

'I Learned a New Word Tonight'

This is what William told us as he sat in the fast track section of the ER room on Saturday night.

As he and his friends were walking home from town on Saturday night a car hit them while they were crossing an intersection in a cross walk.  It was dark, rainy and the boys were wearing dark clothes but they did have the right of way.  The car was just accelerating to turn left so it wasn't going too fast...it could have been so much worse.

God had his hand on the whole thing as an ER nurse on her way to work saw the incident, called the ambulance and stayed on scene.  She's the one that called me at home to let me know what happened.  One friend didn't get hit, the other was bumped and William was bumped down to the ground, hitting his shoulder and elbow.  

As we rushed to hospital, the police were still at the scene (not to far from our house) and we were able to stop and get the 'scoop' from them.

At the hospital we were met by the home stay rep from school and she dealt with all the financial and insurance matters.  

After a fairly short wait, William was x-rayed and seen by a doctor.  He's pretty much fine...sore and bruised.  The international grape-vine went nuts and before we knew it another friend showed up in the ER to make sure William was okay and actually had called home to China to tell his parents.  These parents phoned William's parents and caused quite a worry because they didn't have proper information.  Brenda gave this boy a severe tongue-lashing about jumping the gun on spreading information that was not his to spread.  William's mom called his cell directly and I think felt much better after speaking to him and knowing for sure all was well.

So......that was a bit stressful.  William and his friends got a chat from us too about not paying attention when they walk.  Often, they have headphones on and are head down texting and walking.  Danger, boys!

So, what was William's new word?  ADVENTURE!

Halloween '13

 This year's designer collection done by my artists in residence

 A kitty as per his request

 All ready to go out with his youth group to collect for the food bank

Roar!  Ready for some treats!

Fall Finds

These mushrooms are beautiful.  I hate to eat mushrooms of any sort but they are interesting little specimens!

It's Busy But Beautiful Life

This week's highlights:

*Nathan handed his completed Missions Trip (for next spring break) application in at school.  We look forward to seeing where God sends him.  Keep posted for updates. His Planning 10 class also visited Tabour Court this week and he had a great time playing 'chair volleyball' with the seniors.  He's very comfortable visiting with seniors and can't wait to go back.  I love this kid!

*Chad had a soccer tournament, a cross country race, early morning volleyball practices, a vastly improved road run time, early morning Robotics and a play test in band.  He's a going concern...and handling his busy schedule quite well.  I love this kid!

*Liam has had a few emotional melt downs at supper this week, is getting 12 hours of sleep a night and using up every drop of that stored energy throughout his days, attended the school fun fair, dunked a teacher on his first and third throw of the ball, memorized a few Bible verses without a problem and has had the greatest one-liners for our amusement. (his latest is:  My heart is dripping with love-ness for you Mummy)   I love this kid!

*Keith has been overworked and stressed but thankfully is coping alright and once he comes home shifts into 'Dad and husband' mode pretty well.  I am thankful that he works so hard and do pray that his managers see how hard he works and how desperately their department needs more staff (they are short four people) so that Keith doesn't burn out.  And yes...I do love this guy too!

*I have been enjoying this crisp, dry weather.  The leaves are gorgeous and the foggy mornings that turn into sunny afternoons have been wonderful.  Work is ticking along and I still love showing up and seeing what exciting things will transpire.  We have so. much. fun.  I'm blessed!

Feeling thankful and never taking anything for granted.  There is too much going on with friends and family around me to feel anything less.

Happy Friday friends and have a great weekend.

Cowboy & Cake

Western day at the elementary school.  Liam was the cutest cowboy I'd ever seen!

 My dad and his three most favorite grandsons.  It's always a bit of a competition to see who gets to sit next to him.  My boys think it's simply hilarious to try and ruin each picture I take with cross eyes.  They will pay.

 My mom and her requested birthday cake.  It's PW's Prune cake and before you go and gag yourself silly over a PRUNE cake, you oughta try it.  It's quite amazing!

 William's 17th birthday this past week so we had a dual party!