Snow Day...Tricked You!

Today was a great day!

It started off with all of us getting ready for the day, only to discover that it was a snow day, or so we thought. I jumped on Facebook for my quick 5 minute morning review and saw that a friend, who lives nearby, had posted about a snow day. Again?! Without thinking I commented loud enough for the kids to hear that it was ANOTHER snow day. I'm pretty sure Austin was back in his pj's within 30 seconds flat and ready to enjoy another day at home. As if he hasn't had enough time at home this winter. As I checked the school bus website, just to be sure, I discovered that, although many of the bus routes were cancelled, ours wasn't. Oh man! Austin was ready to kill me. I sadly apologized to him and told him to go get ready for school. He was not impressed. Lucky for him, within about 5 minutes, it started blizzarding and Andrew and I decided that they could stay home anyway. I'm so glad that we did because around the time that they would have been walking to the bus stop and boarding (without wearing a seatbelt-I hate that!), it looked like a white-out out there! I felt guilty that they were missing another day of school but so happy that my babies were safe and warm at home with me. 

The girls needed something to do while they were both home for the day so we got started on some cute snowman friends, made out of styrofoam balls and little bits of craft items that I had in my craft bin. They had a blast putting the snowmen friends together and I was happy to be doing something productive with them (considering that doesn't happen very often). 

Here's the finished snowman friends!

Lili's has a hat and Kali wanted hers to have a surfboard so that he could go surfing. Olaf plays in the hot sun, why can't Kali's snowman, right?!

Austin and I listened to a couple John Bytheway talks today. For those of you that aren't familiar with him, he is an LDS motivational speaker that works mainly with the youth of the church. He's hilarious and the kids just love him! At first Austin was irritated that he had to spend his snow day listening to a 'church talk' but it wasn't long before Brother Bytheway (we call each other brother and sister in our church as we are all children of God, therefor we are all brothers and sisters) had Austin in stitches. I highly recommend his talks to anyone. If you want children with high standards and gods morals, John Bytheway is the man and offers excellent talks. It led to a great discussion between Austin and I and I felt blessed to be enjoying this moment with him. 

After lunch (Austin cooked-bonus!) I put Lili down for her nap and Kali was resting with a movie, I decided that I needed a project. I was in the mood! I didn't want to go out in the storm (although I would have if I had to) so I needed something that I could make from what I had on hand. I knew that I had a bunch of unused fabric in the basement and have been wanting to make a rag wreath for a while now so I went with it! With Valentines Day only a week or so away, I decided to use some of my red and white fabric to make myself a Valentines Day wreath. A few hours later, and lots of tearing and cutting fabric into small pieces like so...

 and then tying them onto a coat hanger that I had shaped into a circle like so...

 I had a finished project. It turned out pretty good!

I still had quite a few pieces left so I started a second one, this time with the coat hanger in the shape of a heart. 

I have the round one hanging on the front door,

and the heart one hanging from the chandelier in the eating area.

I have to say that, paired with the red, white and pink flowers that Andrew brought home for me yesterday, it's looking quite like Valentines Day is upon us. 

Even after Andrew had come home around 6pm, I was still feeling quite ambitious (it has definitely been a high day-even I noticed my speed talking) so Andrew and I decided to go on a little date downtown for some famous poutine from Smoke's Poutinery, while Austin made dinner (that's two meals for Austin in one day!) for he and the girls. I had heard that their poutines were really good but had yet to try them so we gave it a try. I got the traditional poutine with jalapeños and sautéed onions (next time I'll do without the onions-yuck),

while Andrew tried out the Philly Cheesesteak,

which I know looks really horrible in this picture but it was really good! I hate when Andrew and I go out to eat and there are so many delicious sounding items to choose from (I LOVE FOOD!!!) and I carefully select mine (and let's be honest here, I usually select his also because I'm stuck between two things so I pressure him into getting the other item that I really want to try) and his ends up being better than mine! That's the worst! Well it happened tonight, but I am happy to report that I didn't complain, nor did I end up pouting until Andrew finally decided to trade with me. I quietly ate my own poutine (okay and maybe took a few [really big] bites of Andrews). Overall, I wouldn't rave about the poutine, nor the setting (I wasn't expecting much-I still had my track pants on), but it was nice to just sneak away from the kids for an hour and enjoy some alone time. Here we are enjoying our poutines and each other.

Isn't he cute?! I love that he makes an effort to look somewhat presentable when we go out. When we first got married, I was lucky if he didn't have the worst case of bed head known to man every time that we walked out the door! He lived in hoodies, jeans and running shoes and only showered on odd days (okay, so I made that last part up-sort of). Six years later (this month), he regularly wears collared shirts and dress shoes and well, the bed head... I guess it's a trade mark because it's still there. But hey, I was wearing track pants so what can I expect? 

It's getting late now but I hate going to bed after a really good, high-energy day. 99.9% of the time I will wake up the next day exhausted and worn out from all my many ambitious adventures the previous day. Thankfully, I seem to be in a better place lately and despite what 'down days' come my way, I can expect them to be better than any 'good day' when I'm in a bad place. That's positive thinking right? 

One more picture of my sweet Austin before I head to bed. He rarely let's me take his picture so I don't have many of him but here's one that exemplifies him perfectly.

Yes, he is just a big goofball! A goofball that makes his whole family laugh, even if we are laughing at him and not with him! I love him! I love all my babies! 

And on that note...

Nighty night!

My New Found Love of Reading!

I just went to grab my book, 'Heaven is Here' by Stephanie Nielson for me to reference from when I tell you all about it (as I promised that I would) and I remembered that I lent it out to my brother-in-law. I cannot possibly give you a review without the book in my hand other than to tell you that it was AMAZING!!! I loved every second of it! She did such a such a great job of telling her story, something that was very hard for her to re-live, I couldn't put it down. In fact, I read it in only a couple of days. For me to get through a book in a couple of days, it has to be good! What a heart wrenching story but with the healing power of the atonement she was able to overcome her greatest trials! The last few chapters I literally sobbed like a baby as I read! Just ask Andrew! I sat for at least an hour crying tears of joy and an overwhelming sence of gratitude for the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life! It was truly amazing and I want to share more with you but I don't have my copy in front of me and I also don't want to ruin it for you. You have to read it yourself. Go, right now! Get on line! Order it so that you can read it! Here's the link...

Heaven is Here by Stephanie Nielson

I told Andrew that I was going to buy a second copy because I know that the amount of times I will be lending this book out, I will never get to see it again. I haven't bought another one yet but we shall see how long it is before I get it back and the condition that it's in. I put it neatly into a plastic zip lock bag and expressed my love for it, so I'm sure that I'll be getting it back in one piece.

I didn't realize how much I enjoyed reading! Once I managed to get the kids down so that I could hear what I was reading, without the many interruptions, I actually loved it! I guess I have always enjoyed it, I just have never really made it a priority. I'm glad that I did because it helped me through a couple of 'down' days that could have been utterly waisted on feeling miserable. The combination of the feel good book that it was and the fact that I was making good use of my time helped me to get through those days a little easier. 

I'm now onto 'The Child Whisperer' by Carol Tuttle, given to me by my friend Kathy. It was a gift for helping her throw her daughters birthday, the one that I blogged about last week. She has been telling me about it for ages and I've been saying that I'd love to read it. It was so thoughtful when I received it, all wrapped up nicely in pink (my favourite colour) paper and a pretty bow. I can't remember the last time I got a beautifully wrapped gift like that. I felt so special!

"The ultimate handbook for raising happy, successful, cooperative children." I mean come on, who doesn't want that?! I'm excited to get into it, although I haven't had much time yet. I'm going to cut this short tonight so that I can get a bit of reading in. I'll let you know if there are any genius parenting tricks that I learn along the way. I could definitely use some! 

Andrew and Austin just got in from seeing a movie and Austin will have 500 stories to tell me about the movie before he winds down and goes to bed. He's already begun talking and I haven't even finished my post. Wish me luck! I LOVE MY KIDS!!! (I really do!)

Night night!

Another Wonderful Weekend!

A quiet weekend with nothing on the calendar sure filled up quickly with visits from family and friends, a tobaggoning outing, lots of pranks and of course, the best part, CHURCH!

I was so excited Friday afternoon when I looked at the calendar and discovered that there wasn't much going on. The scheduled youth Temple trip had been cancelled, which meant that I didn't have to get up early Saturday morning and make the long drive to the Temple, 2 hours away. As much as I love when Austin gets to go with his friends to do the work of The Lord, I also find it a blessing when our weekends are quiet and we get to enjoy simply being together as a family and not rushing through the busy weekend. Our friend Cole (he's just a little older than Austin, but we love him just as much so we can call him our friend too!) came over on Friday to join Austin on the temple trip (which we didn't know was cancelled until after he got here) the next day, so he got to join in on our family time. Lucky him! 

Friday nights are usually pretty quiet for us. We like it that way. There's nothing better than curling up in my pj's with a good book or a movie to enjoy (BY MYSELF!!!) after the girls have gone to bed and the boys are busy gaming. In dealing with my illness I have learned that these quiet, selfish moments are critical for my well being. I set myself up with everything that I need, a drink, something to munch on, a warm blanket and I'm set for the evening. No need to move an inch. As a mother, in need pretty much all of the time, these moments are very much appreciated. 

Because we had company on Friday night (we like to be involved when our kids have friends over so that we can get to know the people they hang out with, so yes, he was OUR company) we decided to watch a movie together, but it didn't take long to see that the boys had other things in mind. They headed outside, which to me was a great idea! How often do we see our children headed outside these days? Hardly ever! They are far too distracted with their systems and devices, so when the boys offered up this outdoor adventure, I was more than game. Little did I know that those little stinkers had concocted a plan to plastic wrap and tp (toilet paper) mine and Andrews vehicles. Oh, they thought they were so funny! I didn't see it (Andrew cleaned it up before I had to witness it-he knows me well) but they had also found it funny to tp my bedroom. I should have known that they were up to something the moment they wanted to make a trip to the local dollar store. I did question why they returned home with plastic wrap but was satisfied when I asked what it was for and Cole responded with, "My parents wanted me to pick some up." Apparently I'm more gullible than I thought. 

The worst was the following morning when Kali, my 4 year old, woke up from her long nights sleep and headed into the bathroom to take a morning pee pee. The poor, sweet girl almost cried in embarrassment when she discovered that her pee was running down to the floor instead of into the toilet. Those brats had plastic wrapped the toilet seat and poor Kali didn't know what was going on. 

The pranks continued anywhere from salt in our beverages to hundreds of meaningless pictures filling up the memory on our phones to silly string and fog horns (ask Andrew how much he loves fog horns!). Even though I was nervous the entire time about how far they would go (I don't deal well with mess in my house!), I was happy to see them having a good time outside of their devices. Next time I'll be sure to suggest Cole's house as the sleep over spot. ;)

Saturdays are always so nice when we can take our time getting up and making breakfast (which usually turns into lunch because it takes us so long) and decide to do whatever plan comes to mind in the moment. This particular Saturday we decided that tobogganing was going to be the adventure of the day and we bundled up (all except Cole who wore nothing but a sweater) and headed for the slopes. Funny enough, we got a phone call from some friends letting us know that they were heading to the slopes at the very same time as us, so we met up. What a blast! Who doesn't love tobogganing?! It was a very wet day and by the time we left every one of us was dripping with wet snow but we didn't let that get in the way of our fun! One more quick stop to Timmies for some hot chocolate and donuts and we headed home. 

My brother-in-law Sam came over to spend some time with us that evening, so we decided on a family game night. We started off with Apples to Apples Disney Edition, Kali and Lili's favourite, and after they headed to bed, dare I say we enjoyed a game called, 'Munchies'. It's a nerd game (says me) that I would normally never even entertain the idea of playing, but because the rest of the fam was excited to try it out, I sucked up my pride and agreed to give it a try. It took me about 2/3 of the game to finally get the idea and just as I was starting to really be able to play, Andrew pulled out some crazy wild card and won the game. Boo! I was so close to winning! 

Sunday mornings are always hectic. I would love to know one family who has it all together on Sunday mornings getting ready for church. It's simply not possible. As Sundays are meant to be the one day a week that we devote to our Sunday best, it takes a lot of effort to get everyone showered and cleaned up, outfits picked out, hair done, make up on (I shouldn't be including make up as I'm the only one in the house who wears it and I can't even say that because all I apply is a little face cream, some lip gloss and mascara), snacks packed, breakfast eaten, and out the door on time for church. For those of you that don't attend church every week, it's like getting the whole family ready for a wedding every Sunday! It's exhausting and I always dread the stressful hours that lead up to Sunday morning church, but once we are there, the Spirit takes over and fills my heart with so much love, I am so grateful that we made the effort. 

For me, going to church is so refreshing. As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Sunday is a day that we devote entirely to serving The Lord, without all of the distractions of the world. We do not play sports or go shopping on Sundays. We don't eat out or even put gas in our vehicles. We don't spend any money on Sundays at all. Anything that we feel we may need on a Sunday we simply prepare ahead of time on Saturday and if we have forgotten something and feel we may need it on Sunday, well it has to wait until Monday. I love it because it teaches us to be prepared as well as shows our dedication to The Lord. Sunday is a day of rest from all of the previous days stresses. It is a day to reflect on the challenges and mistakes that we made throughout the prior week and to be able to repent and partake of the sacrament and renew of our covenants that we have made to our Heavenly Father. When we are baptized, we are making a covenant (promise) to our Father in Heaven that we will keep His commandments and do as He would have us do. As none of us are perfect and we all make many mistakes throughout each day, Sunday is a day to be able to tell Heavenly Father that we are sorry for our mistakes and as we partake of the sacrament (bread and water), we are renewing our covanent with Him. It is truly a blessing to be able to feel His forgiveness each week and to be able to have a fresh start Monday morning as we venture back out into the world where we try so hard not to be so easily distracted. For us (Latter Day Saints), serving The Lord is something that we devote our time to each and every day of the week, not just on Sundays, so we need the extra boost to help us get through our week as we maintain a balance in our families, work, service, and callings that we hold within the church. It can become overwhelming at times and we always depend on the help of our Heavenly Father. When I don't make it to church, usually because one of the kids are sick, I really feel that void throughout my week. I need and depend on being able to renew my covenants on Sundays and feel so blessed that I have the knowledge of the Gospel in my life. I can honestly say that Sunday is, by far, my favourite day of the week and I look forward to it all week long!

Over all, it was another wonderful weekend, accompanied by many challenges (I won't bore you with the ugly details of my weekend). As I reflect on all of the blessings that I have in my life, at this moment, I am especially grateful for my health. I have felt pretty good since Christmas (Christmas is always overwhelming for me!) and although I'm still struggling with my 'new life', I'm grateful that I have been feeling somewhat balanced. I'm happy to say that the month of January came and went without any major episodes and I am ready to face February with the same hopes. As I never know what to expect with my illness, I can't be too certain of anything except, without the Gospel of Jesus Christ in my life, I would be lost. I would be without hope for my future and at many times, would find myself feeling as if I have no reason to live. Im so grateful for this blessing in my life and I encourage all who are without it to seek it out and invite it into your lives. The blessings will flo and you will be so full of love and gratitude for your life and hope for your future! 

For more information about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, visit our website at,

lds.org

For those of you that take the time to read my blogs, thank you. I know that they are long and can take some time out of your busy days. I start them with the intention of keeping it short and to the point, but once I get going, the words just start flowing. You're encouragement and support is overwhelming and I am grateful to be able to share my stories and feelings. Whether I am reaching out to some of you or simply just adding to your reading, I am grateful that you take the time to follow my blog and I will continue to write as often as I can. For nothing else, it is helping me and I can always use the help! 

Happy reading! Nighty night!