Do you see that? Just a matter of hours until Christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!

funny ideas

Jamin: Mom do you know what this is?

Me: hmmm

Jamin: It's a popcorn egg

Me: No it isn't, it's a popcorn kernal.

Jamin: No, it's a popcorn egg, and it must be hatched under our warm bottoms. (he then sits on it)

It didn't work.

New Arrival

I know it's late, but I just had to share. This is a picture of my new nephew Jeremy Nicholas. Congratulations Duane and LeighAnn and Stephanie on your new little baby boy. He is such a cutie. Can't wait to see you all again this weekend!

The best job

For the past week and a half my family has been sick. In my last post, I mentioned that we were on the mend, but then Ethan ended up with an ear and chest infection and Aaron with an ear infection. Thankfully Aaron wasn't too bothered by it. I think we caught it early enough. For a few days I've had 3 kids on antibiotics. But after a couple of almost sleepless nights, getting up with Ethan, I think he's starting to feel better. He was happier yesterday and finally had a decent nights sleep last night.

Being a mom isn't easy. I think the hardest part is seeing your kids sick and feeling so helpless. You want to help them and you do everything you can to make them more comfortable and in the end, it just takes time. And it doesn't help when you're completely exhausted yourself. I'm sure all you moms know exactly how that is.

And through all the sickness, and exhaustion, I just cherish those moments when all the boys want is to sit with their mommy. I'm their mom, and even though I'd rather that they weren't sick, I'm thankful I'm the one who gets to take care of them when they are. It's all part of the job, the best job in the world.

It's not every day you get moments like these. Moments of quietness. And with that, the moment passed. Na, it's still pretty quiet in here, Jamin just walked up behind me and said "boo" and "did I scare you?". I just put the two youngest boys down for a nap. They don't always nap at the same time. In fact, lately Ethan has been having a nice long nap in the morning and early afternoon but by the time I get Aaron to sleep, Ethan is waking up or soon will be. So today, they are napping at the same time. We'll see how long this little break will last. But for the moment, it's mostly quiet.

So I know, I haven't been blogging much lately. In my defense, the last couple of weeks have been busy and if not busy then someone's been sick around here. We've been to Winnipeg to have our pictures taken, then back to Winnipeg for Christmas shopping and to pick up pictures. Then to Austin to spend a Sunday afternoon at a dear friends baby shower (hi Lyla!). What a sweet little boy they have and what a nice afternoon it was. I got to hold a wee little baby!!! And then on Monday we had Jamin's birthday party. Then Tuesday Tiffany had an Avon party. (if you get the chance to go to one, you should, it's nice to see some of the products they have before you order) Tuesday was also the start of our not so fun week at home. To keep a long story short, between fevers, coughing, healthlinks, coughing, fevers coming back, healthlinks again, more coughing, a trip to the doctor, antibiotics, a Christmas party and of course more coughing, I think we're on the mend now. Trust me, you don't want me to bore you with the details of the last sentence.

So hopefully you'll hear more from me in the next little while than you have in the last month or more. I will try.

Yesterday we celebrated Jamin's 5th birthday! I can't believe that 5 years have gone by already. He's grown so much and learned so much over the years. Jamin has been a real blessing in our lives and is such a joy to have around. My life wouldn't be the same without him. Happy Birthday Jamin, we love you so so much!

Here's the pics, finally!

Before:

After:

It's been done for a while. I'm just late with the pics. What a job it was. Thank you to everyone who had a hand in helping us! Jeff's Uncle, his dad and my dad helped us a lot and we couldn't have done it without them. And Steven and another one of Jeff's uncles helped with the cement work too. Thank you so much everyone, we appreciate everything so much!

A little bit of everything

Here's just some random stuff that's going on around here these days.

Our house is finished, finally. It has been for the past week or two but I've been lazy and haven't posted my pictures yet. I will.

Jamin has been walking into the school all by himself for the past couple of weeks. I had to bribe, I mean reward him, to finally go in on his own. It's wonderful. I now only have to unload my van full of kids when I pick him up.

I got a new area rug in my living room. Again, I've had this for a while, but I haven't been blogging lately.

I've been recruited to be the Sparks Director for our AWANA program in our church. AWANA is a club for kids and we meet every Friday night. We do games, learn bible verses and have council time (singing and a message) and the kids can earn shares(AWANA money) and use it at our AWANA store. The Sparks are kids from Kindergarten to Grade 2. They are a great bunch of kids and I've found I'm attached to them already. Jamin is in Sparks this year. He's having a pretty good time I think. Kids older than Grade 2 can go too, I just happen to be working with the Sparks.

I've taken up knitting, well sort of. I started a scarf and I haven't done anything with it for like a month. Maybe I'll have forgotten how to even do it by now. Maybe I'll post a picture if I actually get it done.

It's 1:15 in the afternoon and my TV hasn't been on once yet today. It will be come 2:00 cause that's when Days of Our Lives is on. It's kind of nice having the quiet. Well, almost quiet. I can hear the kids playing in the basement. Jordan is over playing today and it sounds like they are having a really good time. But that's the kind of noise that I love. Happy noise.

I need some ideas for my flower bed. I know, it's going to be winter soon. But I need to make a plan so I know what to do with it for the spring. It's full of hostas right now, which I love, but I need something else. Anybody got some ideas? It's a full shade area so I'm limited.

You can tell your kid watches too much TV when he starts reciting commercials. Like, "we should get a blizzard, they're only $2.99" or "mom, if you want to look really beautiful, you should get bump-its". Really? Do I really need bump-it's? There have been more, but I can't remember them.

That's about it for now. Hopefully I'll get some pics on here soon.

Caden Bogusky

Last night Tiffany and I went to visit Quinn, Lyla and their brand new baby boy Caden. What a sweet little bundle he is. Congratulations to the both of you on your little boy! We wish you all the best and God's richest blessings!

almost finished

the garage

There's more to come.

the door

The old

The new

Big Day

This morning I took Jamin to his first day of Kindergarten. Sob. I always knew this day would come, but I had no idea it would get here this fast. He's still my little boy and it's hard to let him go. I know, it's only Kindergarten, but it's the beginning of more and more time away from me. And he'll only get bigger and one day giving mommy hugs and kisses and saying I love you won't be so cool anymore. As it is right now, I get hugs and kisses all the time and he tells me he loves me too much. But, I am so proud of him and I know he'll love "big" school and he'll make new friends and learn so much. I love you too much too Jamin!!!

Aaron didn't want to be left out of the events of this morning, so he put his backpack on too and was quite happy that I took pictures of him. It won't be long and the day to send him to school will be here too. I won't even think about that right now. One's enough.

And I can't leave out my little Ethan. No backpack for him. Yesterday he was 5 months old. Seriously? He's my newborn!

I have been so blessed. I know I've said that before, but I can't help but say it again. I just love these 3 boys so so much!

Time is going by fast and I've realized that I'm getting old. And to kick off getting old, I've taken up knitting. I'm not even kidding.

A Song

(to the tune of Happy Birthday)

Let's all sing this together:

Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday dear TIFFANY & STEVEN!!!
Happy birthday to you

Happy Birthday to two wonderful friends!!! Hope you guys have a fantastic day!

The Truth

For the past couple of months in our Sunday School class, we've been watching a video series called The Truth Project. It's a multiple DVD series which contrasts what the world/society promotes as truth versus what the Bible claims is truth. The series is quite broad in scope, and it covers such areas as science, ethics, family, theology, social structure, philosophy, anthropology, etc. Usually, the world's view of things is opposite what the Bible's view is, and vice versa. Here are some links you should check out. I highly recommend you watch some or all of this series if you get the opportunity.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJ8ikrDisDU

http://www.thetruthproject.org/

Posted by Jeffrey.

9 years ago today...

was a very warm day, just like today. The sun was shining, it was absolutely gorgeous. A great day for a wedding. And it just so happens there was a wedding that day, mine. 9 years ago today, I married the man I love.

9 years later the scene is a little different. The sun is shining and it is another gorgeous day. There is a cement truck in my driveway and the men are outside pouring a foundation for our garage. Two of our three boys are having a nap and the other one is playing with lego in the living room. Makes me smile, to see what has all changed in the last nine years. We've been through so much together and I'm thankful for every minute.

Happy Anniversary Jeff. I love you so much and I'm so very thankful for you and our 3 boys! I hope we have many many more years together. Love you!!!

Going, going, gone...

Remember this?

Gone!!!

Post #101

I can't believe this little guy is 4 1/2 months already! How time flies. He is such a sweet little baby, he's happy most of the time (I say most of the time because teething has started and it's making him a little grumpy) and he sleeps good at night. What a wonderful little boy I have! I love you Ethan!!!

What started out as we would like new siding...

They have to dig 6 pier holes (3 feet square and 5 or 6 feet deep). Doesn't sound like a lot of fun in this heat but I sure do appreciate all their hard work. Thanks guys!

progress

renovation update

Our garage is sinking due to the fact that it has no foundation. That's right, just some wood in some dirt, doesn't hold up so well. So before we can go ahead and make our house all pretty, we have to fix the garage problem or it could eventually cause damage to our house. We are still waiting on getting a permit for this project so not a lot has been done. At least when all is said and done, we'll have an actual garage and not just a lean-to (however you spell that) with sort of walls.

We're still debating over a color for the house. I've narrowed it down to two, but the one I really like costs quite a bit more than the other. What to do, what to do. I'm thinking, go with the one I really like cause we'll probably have to live with it for a long time. What's a few extra bucks anyway, right?

That's about it for now. I'll keep you posted.

thinking out loud

Have you ever felt like you need to talk about something, but you don't know how to go about it or you're not sure what to say? Like your afraid that if you bring it up, it'll just make it worse so you just keep it to yourself and don't say anything at all?

Me too.

Stolen from Sonya

First the rules:1. Respond and rework. Answer the questions on your blog. Replace one question that you dislike with a question of your invention, and add one more question of your own.

2. Tag other people.

Now the questions:

What are you wearing today? So far, pj's, later I'll go find whatever is clean. I need to do laundry.

What's for dinner? I haven't thought that far ahead.

What would you eat for your last meal? I'd probably go to Tony Roma's for some ribs, or to the Olive Garden for some soup and salad and the chicken con broccoli then I'd have the White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake that I've been wanting to try for some time now. Mmmm..... And I'd wash it all down with a big glass of Coke. It's my last meal, why not?

What relaxes you most? sleeping, I like to sleep.

If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would it be? I would say Hawaii but I'd want to spend more than an hour so maybe to a spa and have a massage or a facial or something to pamper myself.

What language do you want to learn? I would love to speak spanish, but I'm not going to.

What do you love most about where you currently live? I'm close to family.

What style is your current home decorated in? Kid style. Is that a style? There are usually toys and blankets and crumbs scattered all over my house.

What is your favorite color? I never used to like green, but I'm starting to appreciate it a lot more now.

What is your favorite piece of clothing in your own wardrobe? My blue t-shirt from Roots.

What were you doing ten years ago? I had just graduated from high school and was working at Memory Lane Cafe.

What are you going to do after this? Feed Ethan and go have a shower.

What are your favorite films? Robin Hood Men in Tights, most chick flicks

What are your favorite books? Bringing up Boys and my Bible.

Do you collect anything? No.

What makes you follow a blog? I basically just read the blogs of friends. Occasionally I'll check out other ones, if they're interesting.

What was the most enjoyable thing you did today? my kids climbed into bed with me this morning, that was pretty nice.

What is your favorite thing to do when you have free time? I love to go to dinner and a movie.

What is a talent you wished you had? shut off my emotions, is that a talent?

Who is your favorite actor? Patrick Dempsey, why not?

Other than Blogger, Facebook, Twitter, etc. what are your most frequently visited websites? save.ca, Portage Online, The Weather Network

What was your favorite subject in school? grade 12 math

As a child/teen how did you envision your adult life? I hoped to be married with kids someday.

How much time do you spend on your average blog post? too much time.

If you could would you want to control the weather? I'd say yes but then my husband might be upset with me, he wouldn't get to play much hockey.

Tiffany's Question: If you could have any job/career you wanted, and money wasn't a factor, what would it be? I'd volunteer somewhere, not sure doing what though.

Sonya's Question: What major event are you really looking forward to? Getting my house all fixed up. Other than that nothing major happening.

Angela's Question: Who is your favorite singer/band? Garth Brooks, Celine Dion and Rascal Flatts

I'm tagging: everyone who is reading this. Leave a comment letting me know if you're doing this so I can check it out!

Birthday

Happy Birthday Hes! Hope you have a fantastic day!

Home renos, again

A couple of months ago we put in an application for a grant to fix up the outside of our home. We got some quotes and took pictures of our house and sent away the application. We were told that if we were approved we would get a phone call. That was supposed to happen 3 weeks ago. If we were rejected, we would just get a letter in the mail. That day came and we didn't hear anything. I was a little disappointed. So yesterday morning Jeff got the mail and lo and behold, our rejection letter arrived, only it wasn't a rejection letter after all, we were approved! (I guess our house really is ugly after all, yay!) Then yesterday afternoon, Jeff put in an application with MB Hydro to help pay for the insulation we want to put on our house. This morning I got a call from the lumber store saying that our application for that had been approved!

We now know how we'll be spending our summer! I'll keep you posted with pics. It's a big job because there is so much to do before the new siding can go on, so this could take a while. Here's the before.

Prayer request

If you could remember my niece Vanessa and her family in your prayers, it would be so greatly appreciated. Thank you.

The boys!

Happy Birthday Aaron!!!

Yesterday we celebrated Aaron's 2nd birthday!

The time has flown so quickly, my baby has grown into a little boy.

Playing with friends!

Enjoying a meal with some family!

We can't forget the cake!


And presents!

Happy Birthday Aaron! We love you so very much!