One Little Monkey

Jumping on the bed!
(and yes, she has a side pony tail)

Notice the clothes? This is how Alexandra *helps* me put them away!

Seriously, if I could still jump on a bed without fear of it breaking, I would SO be there!!!

Sunshiney Day

Today, was not that sunshiney. In fact, it snowed (again) but it was warm and we did make it to the library for story-time, showed up and saw that there was a puppet show too. The kids had fun, even Owen!
These pictures were taken about 3 1/2 weeks ago (my lonely roll of film has been sitting at Walmart that long in all the excitment of a new camera!) when we had a beautiful Saturday.

Sliding..

Thankfully, our snow banks are no longer that high. The warmish weather has been slowly melting them down. There is still lots to go, but slowly.

When my mom was here, we bought the kids rainboots and jackets. Spring!! I love Spring. I love the splashing in the puddles, the muddy yards and filthy little kids. Soon and I am ready!

A Post

It's been about a week since we have left the house. We're all been sick and I haven't felt like dragging the kids out and about simply to 'get out of the house'. HOWEVER, this morning when Anthony went to school, Alexandra threw a FIT because she "want to go to playschool...I want to go to playschool NOW!" You can't reason with a 2 1/2 year old. Playschool, is Thursday, today is Tuesday. I think, when Owen wakes up from his nap we are going to go to the mall. Simply to 'get out of the house'!

Thanfully I am feeling better today. My sore throat is gone and my energy is (mostly) back so we are going to go off on an adventure. Cuz the walls are starting to close in and the kids are going to, very soon, be swinging from the rafters (or, that is they would if we had rafters for them to swing on!)

I am loving my new camera, although that being said, I am NOT loving the learning curve that

comes with it. Too many buttons and settings and 'things'! Ah well, it took me a while to get used to my F80 when I first got it so I do know that, eventually, this camera will feel at home in my hands as well. Just struggling with trying to get some good pictures in anything but the auto mode right now. Cuz if I wanted to shoot in just auto, I would have bought a point and shoot!

Well, my mother-in-law is here to play with Alexandra so I should go and say hi and see if she wants a coffee!

i heart faces -B&W Adults

This week's theme at i heart faces is B&W, head on over and check it out. This is my first time entering in the adult category, and I wasn't even sure I was going to. But I found this picture of friends of ours that I took back in Oct. and thought it was a good one to use.

i heart faces - -B&W Kids

This week, the theme at i heart faces is B&W. If you haven't chekced out their blog, head on over and see some great photographs, and join in on the fun too!

What a week!

Sunday Anthony woke up with a fever of 102, needless to say I stayed home from church cuz he was feeling miserable. It's always so sad to see my kids sick. Monday, Alexandra and I picked my mommy up from the airport and then we all just hung out around home. Anthony was still feeling sick on Tuesday so he stayed home from school and Alexandra was starting to feel warm.

Thankfully she never did get what Anthony had. But by Thursday Owen had a fever and was snotty and coughing and all he did was cuddle in my mom's arms. Sometimes sleeping, but mostly just cuddling. It was sweet to see but I knew he was feeling yicky cuz that is so not like him. Friday I got sick and am, after being able to sleep most of yesterday, feeling better today.

My visit with my mom was good, but it went by WAY too fast, she left Friday. And because the kids were sick, most of her time here was spent doing things like this.... and this...

and more of this...

and this.

But the kids adore her and she was glad to be able to snuggle and cuddle with grandkids that grow too big too fast.

Just some 'Xandra

This little ball of energy sure keeps us on our toes. But the smiles she brings are priceless. . .

.

My Anthony James

This sweet boy of mine has been sick since Sunday. :( He looks so sad in this picture, I can almost hear him saying "MOM I'm sick, enough playing with your camera already!" But, when he's NOT sick, he keeps us entertained!

A Little Bit of Owen

Climbing... Laughing...
Peek-a-booing...

Bubble Watching...

Just plain goofy...

And boy oh boy do we love this little guy.

I Heart Faces

Kids Entry - Wonder

This week's theme at i heart faces is wonder. My entry this week, is my son Owen. It was his first time watching us blow bubbles.

Voyageur Festival

Yesterday, was 3 hours of wonderful, sunshiney outdoor fun at Fort William Historical Park. It was also an afternoon of....

fun in the snow

Maple Sugar Toffee

Crafts...

Sliding....

(it was Owen's first sled ride!)

Snowshoing....

A wonderful way to spend valentine's day, surround by the people we cherish and love, while laughing and talking and living.

Post #3

So I've kinda been in a funk lately (just incase you in bloggy land hadn't noticed) and I don't like writing when I am in a funk. In fact, I don't really like doing much of anything but hiding under the covers on my bed (and maybe eating lots and lots and LOTS of sweet, sugary, goodness that my hips really DON"T need!!!!) But seeing as hiding isn't really practical ( my kids think hide and seek is a GREAT game and I can never stay hidden for long), I go and I turn up my worship music REALLY loud and dance with my big kids (Owen just laughs from his highchair, or attempts to climb up my leg if he's on he floor).

My two favourite songs right now (other than World's Apart by Jars of Clay cuz that's my all time favourite and has been since I was 16) are Mighty to Save and My Savior My God. But The Power of The Cross is a close third. They speak to my heart and fill me in a way I have been longing for, for awhile.

On a totally unrealted note, I am SO thankful for my kids and Troy. I am thankful that they are all healthy and full of life and energy. There are so many heartwrenching stories in blogs I come across, families who have been devastated by something. And I am blown away that God has seen fit to spare my family. I will never understand why some bare a pain I know nothing about while others are spared. I'm not God and it's not for me to understand, but I stop and question Would I have the strength of faith to make it to the other side, not just with my faith intact, but with a faith stronger for it? I can't answer that because I haven't been there. I don't want to go there (although I know that they haven't wanted to go there either)
My life, it is such a blessing and one that I often find I take (very much) for granted. I don't often remember to stop and praise Him for this wonderful, blessing filled life of mine. I get caught up in...I don't even know what... and forget about the things that truly matter. And my friends, those things, aren't really things at all.
Tonight my heart is aching for this family in particular, but there are others too. I don't have the words to pray but I am thankful that Jesus can interceed on our behalf when we do not know what or how to say it.

This post is starting to take a trip down a path I wasn't really ready for tonight. So thank you for sticking with me.

"The LORD your God is with you,

he is mighty to save.

He will take great delight in you,

he will quiet you with his love,

he will rejoice over you with singing."

Zephaniah 3:17

A {slightly large} Quartet

Fridays, the kids and I head to a friend's house for a playdate and a time of prayer. It's great. There can be up to 20 kids running around upstairs while the moms connect with one another. I am treasuring it.
Today, being the day before Valentine's, one of the other mom's surprised us with singing. Her husband, is part of a quratet that goes around singing a set of four accapella songs for people the day of and day before Valentine's. They are REALLY good, and I don't know about the rest of the ladies there, but it sure made me feel special!

Listening to the wonderful voices

Even {some of}the little boys were into it

Troy surprised me yesterday by saying that I could go out and look at digital cameras. He decided that we would probably end up spending a small fortune on film and processing in the next five months so it would be smart just to buy the camera now. And let me tell you, I am in love!!! I'm SO excited and have taken close to 70 pictures since 9pm last night. I ended up choosing the Nikon D40.

Tomorrow we are thinking of taking the kids to the Voyageur Winter Carnival out at Fort William Historical Park. I think they will have fun, it'll be a GREAT way for them to run off some pent up steam, it's not supposed to be fridgid AND I can play with my camera!

Monday is a holiday here, called Family Day. So what better way to spend the day, then drive (the 3 minutes) to the airport to pick up my mom. The kids don't know she is coming because I didn't feel like dealing with the continuous "Is she here yet?" "Can we pick her up yet?" questions that are sure to arise. So I'm going to the airport with Owen and bringing her home to the other kids.

Hope your weekend is filled with smiles and hearts and love (and maybe a little bit of chocolate or flowers too)