Everyday telling of a story

lots on my mind right now

Lots going on these days. Where to start?

1. My mother-in-law broke her ankle, had surgery and is in a resting home getting better because she has no family other than Dan and needs help getting around. Dan is an only child and it's been super difficult being so far away and not being able to help her so I've been talking to her twice a day keeping her company. She's very lonely. It's very sad.
2. Because of my mother-in-law's accident, my father-in-law has been temporarely been placed in a nursing home because he needs care 24/7 and with my mother-in-law absent, well he's just confused and very frazzled.
3. Dan's been sick. Thankfully it's just a mild cold not the flu. Talking about the flu, I can't wait to vaccinate my entire family. It's the best way to protect Dan and Joshua since they are most vulnerable to the flu. They get pretty sick.
4. I've been given a great volunteer opportunity with my Church. I will be working at the Church office one afternoon a week doing some data entry and I've been training for a couple of weeks. I'm loving it!
5. And last but not least. It's Big Trout Lake Christmas shoe box time! Which means I am crazy busy coordinating all of it. So grateful that it's going well so far and I'm extremely excited. Our kids are so excited about it and yesterday at my Home Church I organized a wrapping party to wrap all of our shoe boxes so they look pretty for the kids in Big Trout. 

And that's all I got for now :)

halloween in pictures

My handsome little cowboy.

Sometimes he makes this little face, with a pointy little chin. I love it!

The Sheriff and his deputy sheriff. Aren't they handsome cowboys?

Here's Dan looking very manly with his stuffed stallion...

And here's my beautiful Juliet. She sure looks like a Renaissance princess.

And this picture was not planned I was just adjusting some settings but I loved how delicate she looks here. It's such a random shot and I love how it turned out.

happy halloween

I decorated a few of these little take out boxes for Danelia and Joshua's closest friends and filled them with goodies. I love the kitty one, it's so cute! 

Have a nice trick-or-treating time and remember to be safe!

loving autumn

Just wanted to share some pictures I took from last weekend at the apple orchard.

 

These colours of fall make me so happy.

All these shapes and textures makes me want to take more and more photos to capture it all.

a new favourite

We went apple picking this weekend to a new (to us) apple Orchard called Frootogo. It was very nice, smaller than Chudleigh's but it also had farm animals and there's no admission fee to pick apples :)

Joshua loved being pulled in the wagon.

We headed straight for row 20 where the red delicious were.

Joshua being the apple picking expert went for it right away.

Danelia was going for the reddest and prettiest ones. We picked about a dozed apples.

There was also a good size corn maze field for the kids to get lost in.

Some hay stack climbing.

We went on a wagon ride, bumpy and fun!

We looked around the pumpkin patch to find the perfect pumpkins.

Last thing we did was visit the farm's bakery and we bought some apple pie and apple cider. We all skipped dinner to have a BIG slice of this delicious pie! 

darling, just you and me

I spent the entire week with Joshua at home. He was sick of course but it felt just like the good old days not too long ago when him and I were day to day companions before he started school. The first few days were tough because I was not getting any sleep at night. It was like having a newborn baby, waking up 2-3 times each night to comfort, medicate and cuddle him. It was not easy but I was the only one who could do it because I didn't want Dan to catch anything from Joshua.

Once the fever was gone, he was his old self, energy levels got back to normal and his appetite increased too. We coloured some pictures, went to the library to get some dvd's and books and went shopping for a Halloween costume. This kid has changed his mind about the costume many many times and has finally (to my dismay) chosen to be a Cowboy again. I guess I should be ok with that but I was looking forward to dressing him as a little pirate ;) I got him a pair of jeans and a plaid shirt that he will wear under the same leather vest as last year. I got him a brown cowboy hat this year instead of black just to switch it up a bit.

Danelia on the other hand has no clue what she wants to be for Halloween. I've given her many ideas but she doesn't like any of them. She better hurry or there will be nothing left in the stores. I do wish she would let me make her a costume, I've been thinking about an Ice Queen costume made with duct tape and I would do her make up in a silver and white palette, she would look so pretty!

Oh yes I forgot to mention that Dan climbed the CN tower yesterday. He didn't beat his record of 24 minutes instead he got 30 minutes, he was disappointed but he expected that as he didn't train for it. I'm just proud of him for being committed. He actually organized the climb for his company (he did it last year and did such a good job, his boss asked him again) and fund raised more than he did last year.

Tonight I'm going to volunteer for a Compassion event, pray that many children get sponsored!

14 years since we said "I do"

Today marks our 14th Wedding Anniversary.

I could write a million things about you that I love but that would take forever and then some. So instead I will just tell you this: Thank you for being here for me and with me all these years (17 years since we first started dating). I know I'm not the easiest person to understand and I can be oh so eccentric. You put up with my moods (good and bad and some days really bad) and you never seem to get tired of me. I often wonder how can that be but that's why we are so good together. I learn from you and you learn from me. I teach you patience because you never give up on me and you teach me how to be compassionate because that's what I see in you everyday. You teach me so much more that my heart is full of gratitude towards you.

Of all the men out there, I got the best one of all.

I love you

a little bit sick

10AM - Joshua is sick. He started feeling sick on Saturday after his swimming lessons. He had redish cheeks, glassy eyes and an upset stomach. He had a bit of a sore throat and his temperature started climbing. I treated it with some Advil and his temp went down but a few hours later it would return. 

Joshua and I stayed home from Church on Sunday morning because he was still having a temperature. It seems to me like it's some kind of viral infection but we'll find out later when I bring him to his doctor's appointment this afternoon.

1PM - He's been hanging out at home watching movies and Mario Kart on YouTube. Last night was rough, he kept waking up so I decided to sleep in his bedroom on the floor on a foam mattress. He kept waking up every 3 hours or so. I'm tired but so is he.

3PM - Right now he's napping in my bed with his bear Chico. I put on some music for him and closed the blinds and he fell asleep. I will be waking him at 4:30pm for his appt. 

6PM - Came back from the doctor's and she said it was a viral infection so we have to let it run its course. She advised we switch to Tempra or Tylenol because the Advil might be upsetting his stomach. Joshua wore the mask on his face when we were in the waiting room and he didn't like it when people were staring, right away people freak out because they think it's H1N1. Joshua will have to miss school for another day and will go back if there's no fever for 24 hours. The one thing that bothers him is his tummy but I guess there's not much we can do about that except give him bananas, apple sauce and rice. Hopefully my little guy will feel better soon.

a day at the orchard

Yesterday I went to the Orchard with Joshua and his class to pick some apples. Joshua was quite excited that his mommy was going with him, he loves it when I go to his school and spend time in his class helping out. We rode the school bus together all the way to Ancaster to Carluke Orchards. 

  Once there, we were given a tour of the Orchard and saw many different apple trees and apples. I didn't know that apple trees produce better under the age of 20, once they reach that age they are cut down to make room for new trees. I also learned that the McIntosh apple is grown more than any apple in Ontario. I love McIntosh apples! This Orchard produces about 500,000 apples per year and it was not a huge Orchard compared to the one I visited last year. After the tour all the children got to pick two apples from the red delicious family and we were allowed to give it the taste test right there on the spot. Joshua loved picking his apples and sampled one of them and gave mommy a bite too, it was crisp and juicy, a really yummy apple!

Once he finished his apple he threw it under an apple tree as instructed by the tour guide (apparently it is good compost food for the apple tree) He kept the other apple to bring home and show it to his sister. He was so proud to say that he picked it himself. I don't think he wants to eat it, instead he loves looking at it and petting it as his prized possession. 

I want to go to the Orchards with Danelia as well as she loved apple picking last year. I'd love to get me some apple cider and some freshly baked apple pies. We're looking at trying a different farm this time around, but we'll go this weekend as apple season is fast coming to an end. 

lovely autumn

 

I took this picture of our maple tree in front of the house 3 years ago. It was around this time and the leaves were turning a beautiful red colour. I'm itching to go around the neighbourhood with my camera to capture some incredible bits of this wonderful season, my very favourite. There is just something about fall that I love so much, the crisp air and the warmer clothes, the colours surrounding me are a spectacular feast for my eyes. There is just so much to take in, I can barely stand it. I think God must've had a lot of fun creating Autumn! And to think that He created it for His own glory and for us to enjoy makes it even more special. 

*to create your own "polaroid style" photo, go here *

so thankful

Thanksgiving in Montreal was marvellous!

Lots to be thankful for. Seeing our family grow as time goes by is a wonderful blessing to witness. This is the first picture I have of all my nieces and nephews from my siblings. Here they are, all together, loving each other and treasuring this time spent together. I love how they are all surrounding the newest addition to the family, little Josef, right now he's the center of attention and the recipient of all our praises and kisses. He's brought so much joy to his cousins and they are truly enjoying showering him with affection and love, surely Josef is a very patient baby and doesn't mind at all. It was a short visit but one that will keep our hearts full of joy until we see each other again at Christmas time...67 days to go to be exact (based upon our arrival and not the actual Christmas day :)

So thankful for these memories, so thankful for my family in Montreal and so thankful that we get to raise our children in the Lord!