Good bye 2012...

I am always fascinated to look back at our year and realize all the wonderful things we have accomplished/experienced/achieved.  Some highlights for us:

Ethan graduated from Elementary School with high honours
Ethan started High School and made the honour roll and met a wonderful group of new friends
We sold our house and bought a brand new house - was never in our master plan - just happened
Bella started in a brand new school and made all new friends and also made the honour roll
We had two weddings in the family in the summer
We learned a new baby will be joining our family next spring
Marc's brother got engaged

A not so highlight of the year - my one and only uncle on my mom's side (and my only uncle in Canada) was diagnosed with blood cancer.  We are still living/coping with that day to day.  Chemo and radiation are doing their jobs, but we need more.  He needs more.  And we pray for him every day. 

I am grateful for 2012 and the blessings Heavenly Father gave my family.

I look forward to 2013.

Happy New Year all.

Ciao

That is what I call GOOD customer service...

I admit, with much guilt, that I no longer scrapbook.  It was a great passion/hobby for me.  But from time to time I still create something.  Mostly it is hand made cards these days.  I appreciate them.  The quick gratification of getting a project done in a matter of minutes.  Which is all the time I have these days anyway...  Tonight I was at my most favourite scrapbook store to stock up on supplies for cards I am making for some special people at my firm, and while I was waiting to pay for my goodies the employee called me BY NAME!!  I have not been in the store for several months.  And yet she remembered me.  And, even more impressive, she remembered my blog!!  Talk about an ego stroke!  :)  It was very heart warming and much appreciated.  And now of course my loyalty has been cemented to them forever!!  Thank you sweet miss for making my week. 

Off to make some gorgeous cards.

Ciao all.

It is that time of year...

Time to begin Christmas decorating.  I truly enjoy it.  The process of deciding what I want to do and then making it happen.  This is our first Christmas in our brand new house.  Our colour scheme in this house is very different from our other houses - very modern.  So I think I am going to go with silver/white/green (it will look stunning with the greys in our house). 

Happy decorating all.

Ciao.

Good bye to a sweet friend...

Maureen Mace.  Passed November 13, 2012.  This dear woman was my English teacher in high school.  She was also my homeroom teacher - from Gr 8 to 12.  In Gr 12 she took me on as her teacher's aide.  First time she ever allowed anyone to be in her classroom teaching with her.  She was tough.  She was downright mean at times. She was exact.  She was demanding.  And she had a heart of gold! I loved her.  She understood me and she treated me like an adult - even when I clearly was not one.  She was my mentor all through high school and after I graduated I continued to keep in touch with her. She was at my wedding.  She was a special friend.  And I am sad that she has passed. Good bye my sweet friend.   Thank you for your time and your energy and your talent and your friendship for all those years.  And thank you for teaching me all that I know! 

On my mind...

A lot of time has passed since I last updated my blog.  Did not realize that September came and went and left me behind...  There is a lot on my mind.  I will share as follows:

1 - We have been in our new house three months now.  I love it even more today than I did that very first day we walked in and bought it.  BUT this is a huge house and it is hard to keep clean.  Well, MY kind of clean.  I am tired all the time and I am constantly doing something that involves cleaners and rags.  Dusting is especially challenging with 12 foot ceilings and iron railings/wood everywhere...  I would so love to be able to hire a house cleaner, but alas that is a luxury not affordable at this time.  So I guess it is time to develop a new plan for this house - what I can and cannot stomach vis a vis "cleanliness".  Or in other words, the kids HAVE to do their part now.  Six bedrooms and five bathrooms is an awful lot for one person.  :)

2 - My uncle is sick.  "C" word sick.  I can't even say it out loud.  I am terrified.  And at this point we are not even sure what we are dealing with.  Bone maybe...  Blood maybe...  We are waiting for a bone marrow biopsy and then we will know for sure.  He is trying to be strong for us all, but it is not working.  He is my mom's only sibling.  My mom has always counted on her brother for strength.  My mom has always been the sickly one.  And now the tables are turned.   And my mom is terrified which makes me terrified.  So we wait for the test results and we pray for comfort and we will develop a plan. 

3 - My sweet cousin Marie is expecting.  This is wonderful news!  She was married last October.  Baby is due in the Spring.  I cannot wait for a new member to join this family and to have a baby around again!!  I am already planning her shower.  Sooo many ideas!!  Very exciting.

4 - High school really agrees with my boy.  He is amazing.  Super freakin' crazy smart amazing.  And he has made some new friends.  Good boys.  I am grateful.  I am happy.

5 - Grade 4 is proving to be a challenge for my sweet girl.  Change from comments to letter grades is a big shock.  She is not adjusting as well as I thought she would.  She is not me.  She lacks organization - something that is so second nature to me and to her brother.  She is really a mini Marc.  So now I have to actually teach my girl how to organize herself.  And this is causing me anxiety.  Serious anxiety.  HOW do I teach what I think everyone should just KNOW??  This is not going to be good...  And I would ask Marc to do it but I hate his concept of organization, so I don't need two in the house like that!  Sigh. 

6 - I am saddened by the tragic death of Amanda Todd.  And I am sick to my stomach at the aggressive bullying that she endured.  WHAT is wrong with society??  How did this become okay to treat others in such a manner??  And where are the parents of these children??  Hey parents - newsflash for you - since these kids are minors, you are legally responsible for their care and well being, oh, and their actions.  Sleep well with that knowledge.  I can't even begin to imagine the horror of a child taking his or her own life...  And again I worry for my sweet girl.  There is unconditional love in this house.  There is support.  There is caring.  There are rules.  And there is God.  I pray each and every day that the work I do in these four walls is enough to build up and protect my children so that they are immune to the stupidity and selfishness of others. 

Well, that is uplifting now, isn't it?!  I need food.

Ciao all.

First day of school...

 

 

 

Grade 4 and Grade 8.

Where has the time gone??  Sigh...

 

 

Labour Day...

Summer is over and tomorrow begins another new school year.  I am always anxious for my children at the beggining of each new school year.  Will they have fun?  Will they get a good teacher?  Will they make new friends?  But this year, my anxiety has hit an all time record high.  Brand new school district (since we no longer live in Surrey) and TWO brand new schools for my kids.  One starting high school (and this alone sends me into convulsions...) without any of his elementary friends, and one going into Gr 4 in a brand new built school (still amazed that they have it ready for tomorrow!!), again without any of her little friends.  Oy, the acid churns...  And get this - my children will walk to school for the first time EVER.  Yup, you read that right.  We have lived out of catchment their entire school lives up to now.  I have had to drive them to and from school everyday.  No more.  Both kids will walk to school now.  Bella to and from, and Ethan from.  He will get dropped off in the mornings as he starts school very early.   And I am anxious about them walking!  How stupid am I??  I worry that I have not taught them proper street crossing etiquette.  Have I taugh my kids to always walk with purpose?  Don't dawdle.   Pay attention to their surroundings.  Do my kids even know how to read a street sign just in case they get turned around in the new neighbourhood??  Right now not feeling very confident...  So to my children, have a wonderful 2012/2013 school year.  Make new friends.  Make good friends.  Be safe.  Be kind.  Be respectful.  Be productive.  Be included.  Be studious.  And don't forget to message me every day when you get to school and when you leave school.  And during school as well (as long as you don't get caught!! he heeee).

Happy Labour Day all.

Ciao.

My house, so far...

This is my new house so far.  My entrance way; part of my kitchen; and my great room.  Time to get my pictures up and really make this house sing!! 

Ciao all.



Officer family wedding

Welcome to Heather.  She is amazing.  We love her!!

Where has JULY gone??

Okay, so since I last posted, we have moved; set up house; settled in; attended a family wedding; had family come and stay with us for a week; and now are getting ready for a long weekend trip away and another family wedding!!  Where has July gone??  

Our new home...

This is the stock photo of our new home.  It is gorgeous.  Six bedrooms/5 bathrooms.  Crazy.  And I am so blessed to be able to have it.  We move in just 10 days.  My house right now looks like a hurricane hit it.  I cannot stand the chaos - the packed boxes stacked in the living room ready to be moved.  The constant cleaning up and clearing out.  I scrubbed the bathrooms on Saturday because I needed something in this place to be clean!  Thank goodness I work and do not have to be at home and look at this stuff!  I must say, even though this is our 6th home and 6th time moving, this time around it is going to kill me. I am really getting too old for this.  I have never felt overwhelmed by packing before.  It is just packing.  You put things in boxes and label them.  Not hard.  Not rocket science.  But this move has proved to be challenging.  We have accumulated STUFF.  And, FYI, I HATE stuff.  So I have been caught up in the getting rid of stuff and paring down before I pack, hence the stress and extreme anxiety.  As I said above, my new house is gorgeous.  The floors are all hand scraped maple.  The carpentry work is amazing - trayed ceilings and crown mouldings and chair rails everywhere.  The tiles and chandeliers and awe inspiring - even my main floor powder room has a custom made chandelier!  My house will speak for itself and will not need much extra to class it up.  I have parred down to what I really LOVE so that is all that will be on display.  Side note - if yáll are close by, come end of July I am having one huge garage sale!!  I will keep you posted.  Come and rid me of my stuff and put it in your own house!  :)   So I just keeping plugging along.  It will all get done and the movers will move it all and then I will unpack it all.  Sigh.  Another daunting chore ahead...   But for now I am just trying to keep my sanity (and my health) and survive until month end.  Wish me luck and pray for me.

Ciao all.



SOLD

A lesson in patience.  SOLD.  Now on to the next chapter in life...  :)

Happy Mama Day...

To my mama and my mother in law, to my sister, and my aunts.  I love you all.  You inspire me to be better and do more for my gorgeous children.  Thank you for being in my life.  Thank you for loving me.  Happy Mama's Day to you!! 

Ciao all.

A lesson in patience...

Our house has been on the market for one month now.  We have had dozens of showings.  No offers though.  And I am discouraged.   I am not sure, now, that putting our house up for sale was the right thing to do.  We have some serious competition in our neighbourhood - seems I am the leader of the pack...  My house went up and then a whole flock came on ...  And that upsets me.  I am proud of my house.  It is a superior product.  But I guess it is only superior to me.  Maybe it is not desirable to anyone else.  But again, I have to believe that Heavenly Father lead me to this path.  So I guess this is yet another lesson in patience.  Not in my time but in His time.  I am not very good at this patience thing. 

Food for thought...

So true. And it took me way too many years to realize this.

Ciao all.