Friday 28 October 2011

3 in 30 wrap-up

It is hard to believe that it is already almost the end of October. This month just flew  by. Now it is time to start to settle in and get ready for the winter weather.

This week went much smoother as far as my goals went.

1. Finish reading the bible in 90 days.
Whoohooo I am so happy to say this is going to be accomplished. I have only two chapters left of Revelations left ( which I will finish before bed) Than for the first time in my life I will have read through the entire bible.
This has been such a learning experience for me. I found out so much I did not know and yet I know that even though I read through it all I only skimmed the surface. However now that I finished this reading program I am searching for a new one. If anyone has any suggestions feel free to leave me a comment.

2. Stay off of glutens.
I did it!! 8 weeks gluten free! I feel so much healthier! I very rarely have an upset tummy now. My gas is almost completely gone. I am starting to have a lot more energy, and my cravings are disappearing. I think that I will start making bread again for hubby and the kids and get back to making more homemade goodies for them. I just also will make a few 'goodies' for myself as well.

3. Get more organized.
This has been a hit and a miss this month. I feel better and more together than I did last month but realize that I need to work on this more. The lists help a lot which I already knew so just have to remember to keep making them.

As far as the next 3 in 30...

Well....

1. Get some of my homemade Christmas gifts done.
I plan to hopefully make each of our children a quilt for Christmas and to do that I must get on that pretty soon.

2. Keep working on my Christian growth.
I plan to do my Monvee pack and figure out where I need to study and how.

3. Be a better spouse.
I read on another ladies blog that those this was one of her goals for the month of October and I loved the idea so much I decided that I wanted to do it for November. I am married to an amazing man and I think it is way beyond time that I show him just how much I appreciate him and everything he does for myself and our family.

I hope everyone has had a great month and I am looking forward to reading every ones goals for the month of November.

Today I am linking up with Sam at Sam's Noggin and Ashley with the weekly 3 in 30 challenge.

Wednesday 26 October 2011

Truth Tuesday

This is truth Tuesday a day late.
My excuse is that hubby came home last night. We watched a movie with our son and his friend and then off to bed.

So my daughter and I have been fighting a lot lately. I find I am shorter with her, have way less patience and some of the really minor things really bug me.

In turn she has been more sullen and has gave way more attitude. She has been sulky and not at all herself.

Now some of this can be blamed on hormones. (for both of us). I have mentioned that she is 13 right.

However Monday I thought I figured out what was wrong. We were not starting our day with God.

As you know we are homeschooling this year. Up until hubby and I left on our holiday, Sarah and I were starting each school day with a daily devotion, a small talk about what we had read and then wrapping it up with a prayer.
When we returned from holidays I never started that up again. 6 full school days later I figure it out.

Now as much as I like to tale credit for this you know this is ALL God. My daily bible reading yesterday morning took me to James 1 19-21.

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. (James 1:19-21 NIV)

How's that for him screaming at me.
Ok Lord I get it.

So we started the morning back with our devotionals, talk and prayer and lo and behold it was immensely better. We were both calmer and happier. Even her dance went better.

I find I must wonder when am I ever going to learn that I can't do it myself. That I need Him to survive. Not just to survive really either but to thrive.

I hope I finally figure this out soon.

On a side note I am very close to being done my B in 90 days and I am looking for another daily bible reading plan. Any suggestions??!

I am linking up Truth Tuesday with Sharla over at AThe Chaos and The Clutter.

Monday 24 October 2011

Our holiday pics, part three the finalie

So here is the last of the pics.
We stopped at the Last Spike to take some pics and hopefully get some souvenirs for the kids. We couldn't find souvenirs that we were happy with but managed to take tons of pics. I snapped this pic of my handsome hubby. I am really learning to appreciate the fact that we both have decent cameras now. I love seeing his prospective on stuff.

How I love this man.

I guess turn about is fair play. He grabbed my camera as I ran to the washroom and as I walked out he took a few of me.

I love the angle on this one. Not necessarily the subject. Hahaha

Fresh snow on the top. Brrrrr.

I wish I had this view everyday. Might just have to frame it and put it on my dresser so I do. :)

Well that is it folks. I took so many more and so did my handsome hubby. In fact I have not even had a chance to look at his yet.

I am very pumped up for tomorrow as my handsome hubby will be coming back home. He was gone 10 days this time. We all miss him around here so much when he is away at work. Although we have tons planned for his days off so time will fly at least it will fly while we are together.

Have a great night everyone!!

Sunday 23 October 2011

Happy Birthday to my firstborn

Wow can it really be 20 years ago that this handsome young man was born?

This is the boy that made me a mom.

I always spend the days leading up to my children's birthdays, the day of and sometimes the day after in reflection of what was happening 'x' amount of years ago.

So I thought I would reflect with you this year.

As I said this is my firstborn, he is my first experience with full term (and over by 10 days) pregnancy and labor.

The 21rst we had a small blizzard here. Hubby and I lived outside of town and our vehicle was not overly reliable so we were mostly staying at his parents place. That day we decided to go out to our place and grab some more stuff. Well...I did mention that it was snowing and profusely blowing right? So hubby decides to take a back road that was snowed in. Here we are 4 x 4 ing jumping over drifts and I was overdue.

Well the next day (22) I'm feeling tired not quite myself. No pain but no energy either. We were shopping with my mom in law and I decide that I've had enough and so I went over to my sister's for a rest. We decide to have supper there and spend the night. My sister made a great supper and for dessert I requested ice cream and homemade chocolate sauce. So off to bed at about 10 we all go.

At 11 I wake up with some pretty darn good labor pains. Now I also should mention that I had a month of false labor and waking hubby up for them to just disappear. So now when I wake up Rob he tells me to try and go back to sleep. I know this is not happening and he very quickly realizes that it looks like the real deal so he runs and gets my sis so she can drive us to the hospital. I do not remember how she seemed to me but I do know she ran a red light getting me there. :)

Now I won't go into all the details here but suffice to say it was fairly fast. I was sick to my tummy and I'm also allergic to Demerol so they gave me a shot of gravel/morphine mix which I loved.

At 2:32 am a very healthy 8lb 7.5oz baby boy was born.

We off course were so thrilled.

It was also made extra special for my hubbies parents as their firstborn grandson was born on my father n law's birthday, 55 years later.

Matthew Robert you have made me so proud! I love you so much. You have turned into an amazing man and I can hardly wait to see what God has in store for you future!

Friday 21 October 2011

3 in 30 update

Well this has been an interesting two weeks. I can hardly believe how fast time is flying by. Before you know it, it will be December and Christmas.

Ok so I have some good days and some bad days.
1. Finish reading the bible in 90 days.
I must admit shamelessly that this was really hard while we were on holidays. I was so exhausted at night that I would only read a bit of the daily reading so was falling farther and farther behind. It is not overly a bit deal to me if it takes 90 days or 100 days just as long as I read it through. However since we have been back home for the past week I have been reading the full amount required each day and feel so much better because of it.

2. Stay of glutens.
This is going amazing!!!!! I was really concerned when we went on holidays that this would be extremely difficult and I will admit it was a tad challenging, but I did it!! They had pizza for the wedding supper and I had chili she had made from the night before. My husband really supported me through this all and that made it also alot easier for me. I am feeling WAY better and although I have only lost 2 pounds I am losing inches. My wedding ring actually came flying off today as I was wiping my hands on my shirt. My tummy feels better and when I do bloat up I immediately try and figure out what went wrong. My energy is slowly coming back which I am also grateful for. So far so amazing! I am just finishing up week 7. I will admit alot of the cravings are going away. I even made homemade gluten free pumpkin cookies today. They were sooooo good. My daughter kept stealing them. :) Looks like time to make her the regular cheaper version.

3. Get more organized.
Ok this is so funny I know that when I am organized that things just run more smoothly. I am more content and easier to handle. However since we got back I am having a hard time getting back into the routine. This is most definitely a work in progress for me. I am doing it bit by bit. One step at a time.

I hope that everyone had a great week.
Hop on over to 30 in 30 weekly linkup.

Thursday 20 October 2011

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful for the fact that we have had no snow so far. Do not get me wrong I love snow!! I love when everything is so fresh and clean. However with temps still above zero everyday snow would be messy and dangerous right now. Although it would not stay for all winter yet, it would make driving treacherous.

I will most willingly wait until the temps start staying consistently below zero everyday. This by the way is zero Fahrenheit for my non Canadian friends. :)  

I am also thankful that the farmers were able to get their crops all off and all the fields cleaned up in preparation for next spring. This is not always possible every year. A few years ago we had snow October 10 and it stayed all winter long.

All this being said I will treasure when we do get snow. I love looking at it fall, being out in it, playing in it and also being inside on a cold blizzardly day all snug and warm under a blanket with a cup of hot chocolate and a good book.

I am linking up today with Brandy over at The Marathon Mom.

Wednesday 19 October 2011

Our holiday pics. part two

Time for some more pics.
I thought I would throw in a few today from the ferry. We managed to arrive at the ferry terminal in just the right amount of time. While waiting the small half hour for the ferry, hubby went to the restroom and I ran and grabbed Starbucks (yummmm). Then it was time to load and away we went.

Here we are!!!!!!

The market where I ran into to get some Starbucks!! Yummmmmmmm.....

Driving up the ramp into the ferry. I took about 6 pictures of this I was so excited. I think my handsome hubby thought that I had lost my mind.

Another ferry similar to ours.


Looking out over the pier at my gorgeous ocean. Oh how I have missed you.


I was taking pics of my hubby and the outside when he grabbed the camera and told me to pose.


The ferry heading back to the mainland. Not so excited this time, but content none the less. Can you see the rainbow in the background?

God's glory for all to enjoy and believe. There was a complete arc of a rainbow that I attempted to capture but had difficulty. I managed on my cell phone to get it in threes.


I think this pic might find its way blown up and framed in our home. For a born and raised Saskatchewan girl I find such peace in this picture.

Well that is it for part two. Hopefully within the next day or so I can post the rest.





Tuesday 18 October 2011

Truth Tuesday


As you all know my handsome hubby and I managed to squeeze in a little holiday this past week to Vancouver Island, British Columbia. What you may or may not know is that for 5.5 years we actually lived there. My daughter was born in Campbell River and both my boys started school in Sayward.

I miss it so much there it hurts sometimes. I miss the smells, the air, the scenery ( not that I don't love the scenery here it is just different there) I guess I should say that I miss the green as well. Any of you that has experienced island life will understand that statement.

I have a sister and her husband that still live on the island as does her son and her daughter and her family. We also have some amazing friends on the island. Friends that both my handsome hubby and I share. Here it is more my friends and his co-workers.

I went to a fantastic church there. My daughter was dedicated at it. I joined that particular church ( the only one that I have ever joined). I had a great Christian support group there.

We left for one thing mainly and that was in search of enough money that we could support ourselves. We were a family of five and were not making enough for a family of one.

Now my husband has a great job, we have more than sufficient funds and I am lonely.

I have some networks of people that I know, mostly sporting/dance parents or old work acquaintances. I attend an amazing, wonderful, soul satisfying church. However I only have a very small handful of friends.

I have a couple great amazing fellow Christians women that I am friends with and then I have a few fantastic non-Christian women that I am friends with.

However I tend to hold back from them all. None of them know all about me. I am scared to become to close. I tend to hold back just a little.

My Christian friends do not see the crazy adventurous side of me and the non-Christian know nothing about the Christian side of me. I tell them yes that I am Christian, they know how much it means to me. I plan other events around church and church activities but of course we are not able to connect on that level.

You, my blogger friends whom I have never even met know more about me than they do. You understand my burning desire to know more about his Word. To become a better parent and build a deeper connection with my children. You know my struggles and my triumphs through home schooling. You also know that I love to be a bit adventurous. That I love to quad, sled and camp. That I tend to do the jumps and attempt some tricks with my outdoor vehicles. You also know how much I love to photograph.

So why do I have such a hard time sharing with my 'friends'? What exactly am I scared off?

Wow this is quite an in depth look into myself this week.
Hope I haven't scared you off.

I am linking up this week with Sharla at The chaos and the clutter for this weeks Truth Tuesday.

Monday 17 October 2011

Our holiday pics. part one

I thought I would start and sort through some of the pics I took tonight. I will not post any wedding pics as I do not have permission from the individuals to post them. However suffice to say they are hilarious as it was a themed crazy hat wedding. As I continue through my pics if I find some of just myself or my hubby I will post them. Until then you will get scenery pics as I am getting used to my new camera. ( Have I mentioned how much I LOVE it!!!! Thank you so much honey!!!)
Hubby and I drove up island the day after the wedding to Campbell River. We lived in this community and close to this community for 5.5 years. It is where I feel very comfortable and a drive around was needed to reminisce. Hubby took me down one road to see if I would get lost (his fav thing to do to me as I have NO sense of direction and drive mainly from landmarks). When we came to this spot I had him pull over so I could take some pics.
It was a bit of a blustery day and we spent quite a bit of trying to take pics of leaves floating around. I loved the look of them stirring about on the road.
Love how this leaf is just caught on this branch.
Love the color of the moss. I also love just how much moss is on the trees.

I love this pic of my handsome hubby. I am such a lucky lady.

The sunrise on the ocean the next morning.
Roberts Lake up the island towards Sayward. As a family we used to camp at this lake so it was really nice to stop and take some fall pics here.

Shoreline.

Love the raindrops on the leaves and branches.
The road in.

I think that is it for tonight. Hopefully more tomorrow. Off to the orthodontist tomorrow for Sarah. So much fun so little time.

Have a great night everyone.

Saturday 15 October 2011

Versatile Blogger Award

Wow I was so excited to find out today that Sharla at The Chaos and the Clutter honoured me with the Versatile Blogger Award. Thank you so much Sharla, I feel very honored. I started out this blog as just simply a diary of sorts for me but it has grown into so much more for me. I have learned so much about myself and have grown into a better woman because of it.

So here it goes.

The rules for this award:

-Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them.

-Tell your readers 7 things about yourself.

-Give this award to 15 recently discovered bloggers.

-Contact those bloggers and let them in on the news.

Seven things about me that you might not already know:
1. I come from a large extended family. I am the baby of 6. My mom had 14 brothers and sisters and my Dad also came from a family of six siblings. My husband is from a small family. He has one brother, his Mom has two siblings and his Dad also has only one. This can make the family dynamic interesting. As you can imagine at our wedding my side was full and spilled onto his side.

2. I have always wanted to be a Mom. When I was little I used to pray to God just to give me a baby. I was going to have four children, two boys and two girls. Names Donald (after a favorite cousin whom I lost way to early), Brad ( after my only brother), Grace ( after my aunt who passed away when I was three) and Isabelle ( another aunt who had passed away but she was only a baby herself).

3. I love outdoor activities. I love to quad, sled, swim, walk, etc.

4. I also love to take pictures. I am not the greatest but I am teaching myself. I pour over different websites looking for ideas and then attempt them with my camera. My handsome hubby recently gave me a new camera and over the course of a week of holidays I took tons and tons of pics.

5. I sometimes think it would be amazing to have lived in the 1800's. I do not mind hard physical labor and I love the sense of community that you had. With the big barn dances, celebrating together and worshipping together.

6. My husband and I have been married for 20 years. I met him when I was 18 almost 19 and we were married exactly 14 months after we first met. Although our road has not always been smooth by a long shot we have grown so much together and I am more in love with him now than I was 21 years ago.

7. I love decorating for the holidays. Any holidays. I love them all. I love getting together with family and celebrating every one. I enjoy being in my house when it is decorated for whatever the season. (Although I must admit, Halloween and Christmas are my two favorites).

Now for me to choose 15 blogs might be a bit of a challenge since I only have just recently started blogging and reading blogs but here it goes. These blogs are ones that I really enjoy and go back anxiously every day to see what is on their mind. I truely believe that if I lived nearby some of these wonderful ladies we would be fast friends.

The Macs

Dancing Again

Sam's Noggin

Lost in the Prairies...Found by God

Our Goodwin Journey

Bold Turquoise

Love my Life

The Marathon Mom

A holy experience

Homeschool on the Croft

Weird, Unsocialized Homeshoolers

Tolivers to Texas

A Penny Saved

Monkey Munch

Seeking Harmony

As you can tell by these blogs the interests that are in my life.
Have a great weekend everyone and Sharla again I thank you.

Thursday 13 October 2011

Thankful Thursday

I'm home!!
We had an amazing time!!
Tons and tons of laughs and tons of tons of memories. Made me long even more for being back in B.C. I miss my mountains so much and it was so great to be in them!

I am so thankful that first of all we were able to go and help celebrate this day with our wonderful friends.
I am thankful that we drove there and back with no issues. We caught the ferry and only had a few minute wait before we boarded. Because we were travelling off season we were able to get cheaper than normal hotel rooms. I am thankful that we travelled down memory lane.

Oh wait I almost forgot. My handsome hubby bought me a brand new Canon Rebel T3 before we left!!!! My dream camera. I have been drooling over this camera for years.
I took so many pictures. Over 2200. That is not counting the over 200 I deleted. I LOVE my camera!!!

So in the next few days I will upload a handful of the pics so you can see what an amazing time and see the amazing views we saw.

Until then I am going to enjoy some time tonight relaxing before real life hits tomorrow.

I am linking up today with Brandy at The Marathon Mom.

Friday 7 October 2011

3 in 30 update

1. Finish reading the bible in 90 days.
Ok this has been more difficult for me this past week. I am still reading everyday, but a little less. I have been crazy busy this past week getting ready to leave on a holiday which actually as soon as I write this post we are outa here. I am hoping to get back on track soon.

2. Stay off of glutens.
I have been doing really good with this. Although when my hubby was home it was harder and I know this weekend is gonna be brutal with Canadian Thanksgiving but I will work hard at it. I had an upset tummy the other day because I had ate too much and I realized how nice it was not to be sick anymore so that is a really good incentive.

3. Get more organized again.
This obviously is a work in progress. I made my menu plan for the month again. LOVE doing that. I also had tons of lists going to get ready for this trip. I need to get the day more planned as we are always running here and I feel like I am falling behind.

Ok to sum it all up I am doing about a C. Not great but still passing. I am hoping that when we are away this week that I can still keep up with number one and two.
I hope everyone is managing great with there 3 in 30.

Have a great week everyone. Also have a very Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!!!
Hop on over to 3 in 30 challenge weekly wrap up.

Thursday 6 October 2011

Thankful Thursday

A nice get away just the two of us!
I am so pumped up!
My handsome hubby and I are going away to Vancouver Island for a friends wedding. We leave tomorrow and plan on being back on next Thursday.
I am so thankful for the chance to be able to do this.
My hubby worked so hard last month and we were able to save enough to get away for this trip.
I am very thankful that it is just the two of us. As much as I love spending time with my kids and I really honestly do, I also need to spend time with just hubby and myself. We have our 'date' days but to get away from it all will be so nice. No work phone, no kitty litter to clean, no running here and there. Ahhh......
I am also thankful for the chance to see our good friends. We have known him for over 19 years. We have seen him through different relationships and then he met this one. She is a beautiful lady in and out. I am so happy for both of them.

Now saying all this, I more than likely will not be writing here till we get back. Then I will post a million pics I promise.

Linking up with Brandy at The Marathon Mom.

Tuesday 4 October 2011

Truth Tuesday

Yep its that time of the week again.
I have been so bad lately about posting on here. Sometimes life takes a front seat.
Anyway...Not what I wanted to talk about.
I LOVE doing laundry.
Ok stop, no seriously, quit laughing, yep you read it right the first time. I honestly do LOVE doing laundry. I love every aspect of it. I love sorting it, washing it, hanging it out on the clothesline, putting it in the dryer. Folding them and then even putting them where they need to go.
I realise that it may seem weird or funny to you. But I really do love doing it. I love the smells, the feels and the simple accomplishment on being able to do this for my family.
I love having clean clothes, towels, etc. Fresh sheets are the best.
I really love doing laundry in the summer when I can hang the clothes on the line. There is nothing more soothing to me than watching clothes flap in the breeze and then putting line dried clothes away.
This summer since I started blogging I started to do more research on laundry soaps, softeners, etc and have since started using vinegar as my fabric softener. I love it. I prefer it over the old stuff. The laundry just smells fresher and cleaner. It is cheaper and WAY more environmentally friendly. I am hoping to make my own laundry soap someday but honestly am a little scared of that yet.
When I am organized in here I am able to do at least a load a day and it makes my heart happy. I much prefer to do laundry than cook supper.

Ok so this may be a very unusual truth Tuesday but it is the truth non the less.
Hope everyone is having a great week so far.

Go over to Sharla's Truth Tuesday over at The Chaos and the Clutter.