happy #4 aydan

My baby is 4 years old today.

It seems like only yesterday that she was born.

But it seems that way for me with all 3 of my kids!

About Aydan...

a little lady

great manners

loves to be the center of attention

enjoys wearing pretty dresses

likes to have her hair done

loves playing with stuffies and dolls

loves to be outside, when it's warm or cold

can put up a good fight against her big brothers

( verbal or physical )

has a giggle that will always make you smile

she is a treasure to have around

We love you so much Aydan and look forward to

watching you grow up even more.

nov 24th 2000

To answer all of your questions...

Yes, it was our anniversary.

Yes, it was 10 years ago that we 'tied the knot'.

Yes, I am so thankful to be married to my soul mate.

Yes, I am proud of us.

( insanely proud )

Cheers to many many more 10 yearses!

next month

Aydan will be 4!

Weirdness.

I want to make her birthday cake this year.

How in the world am I going to top last years cake???

( it's not about topping it, because

amanda's creative cakes

will not be topped! )

I'll have to just do my best.

aydan's earrings

Here she is in all her glory!

Aydan had been talking about getting her ears 'pierce' like mommy for the last 3 weeks or so. She first brought it up when she was 2 that she wanted to be like mama with pretty earrings. I thought she was too young and told her we would wait a while. I guess she thought that our wait had expired. Jeff said to go for it, once it's something that she has got in her head she's not going to stop until it's done.

(kinda like her mom huh)

It's going to happen eventually anyway we might as well do it.

Our friend Jodi is a hair stylist and said she would pierce

her ears whenever the time came. I'm glad we have a friend who could make Aydan comfortable and give her the truth. We told her it was going to hurt and we'd be doing them separately so she was going to have to sit very still.

She only cried a little bit but she was so brave.

When they were both done she looked in the mirror and said

very matter of factly...

"They are so pretty, thank you Jodi."

Now my little almost 4 year old has her early birthday present.

I can't believe she's so big!

it's november

I know I haven't posted in a while but I'm just so thankful that harvest is over and we can get back into a more 'regular' schedule. I've been enjoying it. Even though I'm not huge on routines, everyone needs to have some sort of normalcy. I'm thankful for harvest because It's who we are. It's in my blood. We're a farming family. And I love it. I love to see things grow and how God watches over it all. It might not always turn out exactly how we envision it, crops failing or even bringing in too much surplus,

He is faithful through every situation.

I also love when it's over.

( insert huge sigh of relief here )

Winter is not my favorite season. I do love that we have been so spoiled and have yet to see a snowflake. I am thankful that we live in Manitoba. Yes I said it. Because we don't have to deal with tsunamis or hurricanes. Volcanoes or sandstorms. It's just snow and cold. And it does go away for a while so I am thankful.

Maybe I should have titled this post I'm Thankful.

Just because I am!

potato harvest

This year the harvest has been kinda slow.

The ground is wet and hard to drive on.

This is Jeff's truck...

Need I say more?

This is the almost 4 foot hole it sunk into.

Now the truck needs a new radiator and Jeff won't be able to drive for a couple days.

It's a good thing God knows our need and we trust that He has us covered, no matter the situation.

Oh to be a farmer!

otter falls resort, whiteshell provincial park

I need to blog about our 'extended family' vacation that happened in July.

I know I'm behind big time I just have been waiting for all of the pictures to come to me.

Every year for about 10 years there is a group of people

that head on up to Otter Falls Resort in July for a week.

It didn't start out as a full week of camping when it began.

And it definitely didn't have the almost 50 people involved as it has now.

But living things grow and growing things thrive.

So...

We 'camp' in style!

Cabins and Boats.

Jet Skis and Tubing.

Fishing and Eating.

This year my cousin who owns a pontoon boat let us borrow it.

What a nice guy, eh?

*Insert applause here*

It was cleverly named the "Party Boat".

Crusin' in the party boat,

jumpin' off the party boat,

sun bathing on the party boat,

gettin our fish on the party boat.

That was fun!

Jeff was the best captain ever. Here he is with his gaggle o ladies.

(We figured the picture might convince some of the other guys to go out and buy one of these boats. You know, because of all of the places you can go on one.... sheeesh.)

Liam caught 1 fish. Connor and Aydan were both skunked.

I caught 4 fish, a 'Bernie', a 25", 28" and a 31".

The biggest fish I've ever caught!

We spent time on the beach followed by ice cream at the shop.

We played card games and had 'naps'.

All in all it was a pretty great time.

And we're already counting down until next years trip.

It is nice to be home though...

ahhh... calvin

quading

Two posts in 1 day???

Who is this woman???

I just have a lot to say is all.

That and I got a bunch of pictures from Gramma and Pa D

from both of the days where I forgot my camera at home.

Days where we had so much fun that just has to be shared

in picture form on a family blog!

We spent Sunday after church at the Doell 'farm'.

Along with some cousins who have awesome toys.

It was a dirt biking, quad driving, kite flying, dike exploring kinda day.

(the kite flying was a bit of a gong show so no shots of that)

Finished off with Hot Dogs and S'mores around a fire.

Aydan made a brand new best friend.

Raquel is fabulous. Just ask Aydan.

('Kel is the big girl, she is fun)

So here's some shots from our Sunday afternoon adventure.

I sure hope we can do it again soon.

the tinkertown post (finally)

Having Liam and Connor's birthdays so close has been great for me. I have usually planned only 1 party and everyone is happy. This year I didn't want to do the friends from school party. Courtney and I got talking and Sam's birthday is close with the boys too. We decided to do a big family hoopla.

At Tinkertown!

It was awesome. Harvest Festival eat your heart out.

The rides were perfect, the cotton candy sweet and the lemonade ice cold.

The only bad thing.... I forgot my camera at home!!!

I even packed 'everything' we would need before church so it would be ready and waiting when we were on our way out. And still, I left it at home.

Along with Sam's gift.

Smart.

Now we have Liam who is 10

Connor who is 7

and Samuel who is 2

(and Aydan who was so disappointed that she didn't have a birthday

at the same time as everyone else... she got over it with cake)

I'm so blessed to have such an amazing family.

Especially a sister who orders a cake with Liam and Connor's names included on it.

(piped in before her own son's name... she is a gem)

I love them all to bits and can't imagine life without all these peoples in it.

Good thing Gramma D remembered her camera.

So these are the shots from our fantastic day.

poolside

For Father's Day weekend Jeff went fishing with the guys.

So my mom and I decided that we would head on up to

Winnipeg and spend the night in a hotel poolside with the kids.

It was a lot of fun. The pool was great for small children

and the theme was perfect... dinosaurs!

We spent Friday swimming and for supper we

went to Mongo's Grill. The kids love that place!

All of the choices and guys throwing around

eggs and cups of rice.

Amazing!

Saturday morning we swam some more

and got ready for checkout.

Went to Perkins for breaky, did some shopping

and then we went home.

The fathers got home at about 5 ish and we

exchanged stories, had leftovers and then we were done.

Beat.

Finished.

Kaput.

Ready for a good nights sleep in our own beds.

happy 50th

It was a grand day. June 10th that is.

My Mom's birthday.

Her 50th birthday.

She's a special lady and I love her so much.

I was going to bring my camera and take all of the

necessary embarrassing pictures of her

and of all the people who love her.

But I forgot it at home.

(yeah... go brains go)

So I wrote her a poem and will share it with you.

Happy Birthday Mom!

I love you and appreciate everything you do

I'm the woman I am today because of you

Sometimes we haven't seen eye to eye

And I remember all those times we cried

But we've grown into such amazing friends

And I believe we'll stay that way until the end

I'm proud to call you my Mother

And blessed that God chose you and no other

I know that life would not be the same

Without you being the one to play the game

So, sweet birthday blessings to you

I pray that you receive all the joy that is due

so small

grass

We've got a pretty big backyard for in town and now that we have grass,

granted it's still slightly patchy,

we have to mow it.

We think Liam is old enough to learn how to do this.

So Friday came along and this is how it looked.

Father teaching son...

Son trying so hard to mow a straight line...

Other children playing after tidying up the toys...

There were only a few strips of grass left when

Liam had finished. He was tired and hot but I think he

liked it. Being able to do something a little more 'grown up'

and have some responsibility is good.

I told him that it would get easier,

the more he does it the stronger he'll get

and the easier it will be.

But it's still a job and jobs are hard sometimes

and sometimes you don't wanna do it

but it has to get done.

Responsibility.

Let's see how he feels when it has to be done

every week, or even twice a week!

summer

I cannot wait for summer!

I think I'm more excited about it than my boys.

I have so many fun things planned already like...

Swimming Lessons

Camping at Otter Falls

Picnics in random parks

Beach days

Van A's Cabin

Possibly a trip to Saskatchewan

and of course

Birthday Parties

It's gonna be fun filled, action packed, good times!

No sitting around and waiting for school to start up.

Not like we ever do that, the school year always seems to sneak up on

us and spoil our summery fun.

Look out Summer 2010

Here we come!

(ps, i miss you beautiful sunset. can't wait till we meet again soon)

our finished basement

It's true.

It has been finished.

The boys even make their beds!

And put their toys away.

(For the most part)

I think they have a new appreciation for their own space.

The entertainment room...

Technically half of it, the other half doesn't

have anything in it yet!

Check out the pot lights... and those snazzy tiles...

The hallway

and laundry room door

exciting...

Liam's room...

Connor's room...

And the moment you've (Julie)

all been waiting for...

The Bathroom!

I'm so overwhelmed with thankfulness

to be able to call this place home.

I love having enough...

maybe even too much space!

It's just fabulous. We are so blessed.

ideas

It seems we've always combined the boys

birthday parties together.

It's just been easier that way and they haven't said anything about it.

This year I think it would be nice to let them

have their own parties.

With their own friends.

I'm just really bad at parties.

I like to have family over and BBQ and cake it up.

But when it comes to the friends and goodie bags and balloons and stuff,

I'm just clueless.

Now I need some ideas.

What should we do?

Does anyone have any good party ideas, on a budget!

i love

... my family

... lasagna

... crave

(the best hair product ever!)

... the color blue

... singing

... ice cream

(chocolate covered cherries blizzard is #1 right now)

... painted nails

... black and white pictures

... a new shirt

... when the kids bike home from school and throw their backpacks on the floor and ask "what's for snack???"

(scratch that last one... who loves that?!)

... Liam's brain

... Connor's tenacity

and

... Aydan's "I'm so cute" smile

... lots of other things but that's good for now.

my fave

This is my most favoritest worship song right now. Technically I love all worship songs but this one, for me, takes the cake.

It's all about Him. There is no other reason for this whole existence except to have a relationship with Him.

I love it.

I just love it.

Enjoy.

Revelation Song

bathroom basement

Or should it be basement bathroom?

I keep saying it backwards and after I've said it about a dozen times

people just pretend to know what I mean.

We got a great deal on a bathroom vanity at...

Rona

of all places!

$200

(insert gasp here)

As soon as it's installed there will be pictures.

Oh yeah, it's all coming together!

munchy monday

Munchy Monday is dead...

Wow, that didn't take long at all!

I found out that I can't stick to a scheduled post every week.

So, I'm back to my super awesome random nature!

Why mess with a good thing?!

shoppy

Went out for some groceries on this fine Saturday

Turns out all the kids wanted to do was play

We got us some lunch and wandered the mall

There was a lot to be seen by all

Got the van nicely washed

We know it won't be long till it gets sploshed

Off to CO-OPs for the rest

Cuz that's where I likes my shoppy the best

report cards

I can hardly believe that term 2 is over for my boys.

That means grades 2 and 5 are fast approaching!

Yikes.

Parent teacher meetings are today and I'm looking forward to them. I used to be scared of meeting the teachers because of how I thought they were judging my kids. This year the teachers genuinely care about the boys. They know that they have strengths and weaknesses and they praise the strengths and stretch them in their weaknesses. I feel they know who Liam and Connor are inside and they aren't trying to fit them into some sort of box or mold.

I am thankful for teachers.

munchy monday

So... I didn't do any baking this morning.

But I went out for breaky with some super good people!

Bacon and scrambled eggs, hash browns and toast.

Classic.

I think that still counts!

Have a great Munchy Monday all!

;)

rant

Here goes...

I am so tired of the kids and their crazy morning 'routines'.

Every school day I have to stomp down the stairs and kick them outta bed. Then remind them that their hair looks bad and their breath stinks and that maybe they should do something about it! Complaining they go to wash their faces and brush their teeth, fighting about who is going to be first. Finally with minimal screaming and searching for their hidden agendas, we make our way to the van.

not this morning...

Today there is no school.

You'd think that means sleeping in and jammies all day.

Nope.

My kids get up earlier than they do on a school day.

Consistently.

Every time there is no school or when Saturday comes along.

Every Time!

They get up all chipper and ready for the day at 7:30.

(did i mention that it's every no school day?

just to clarify.)

Sunday's are a different story.

They have Sunday School and that has the word

'school' in it

so they must be woken up on this day.

I guess I should be happy.

Soon they will be teenagers and I'll be complaining

that they don't get out of bed until the afternoon!

munchy monday

I'm starting a weekly trend.

Munchy Monday is born!

I'm going to try a new recipe every Monday and let you know how it turned out.

On this Munchy Monday I made Pineapple Muffins.

They were really tasty and if you know me,

I can't do a new recipe without changing it up a bit.

Here's what I did.

2 Cups Flour

1/2 Cup White Sugar

1 Tbsp Baking Powder

1/2 Tsp Salt

1 Cup Crushed Pineapple

1 Egg (beaten)

3/4 Cup Milk

1/4 Cup Butter (melted)

- preheat oven to 375 F

- grease muffin tins

- stir together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt

- drain pineapple and reserve 1/4 Cup of juice

- make a well and pour in wet ingredients to dry until blended

- mix in pineapple

- in a separate bowl mix topping...

1/4 Cup melted butter

1/3 Cup brown sugar

1/2 Tsp cinnamon

1/2 Cup flour

- crumble over tops of muffins

- bake for 20 mins

- makes 16 muffins!

This is my revised version from what I found online

and I think you'll like them.

I used fresh chopped pineapple but you can also use canned.

I tried with muffin papers to line the tins but they like to stick

to the sides so I'd advise just greasing them instead.

Have fun and enjoy your Munchy Monday!

angels

We are still finishing out the basement and trying to pin point where we are in our 'budget'. The bathroom is going the be the last finished room I think. Just because it's the most expensive. And I'm pretty sure we've exhausted our credit limit with Pic A Dilly! :D

Yesterday Jeff said to me that I need to go to Canadian Tire. I said why? He said to pick out a vanity light and a wall sconce for the hallway. I was all yeah yeah yeah, ha ha whatever. Then he throws down this $100 gift card for Canadian Tire.

... speechless ...

We don't know who gave it to us just that they felt lead to.

So now we have all of our lighting.

Thank you mysterious giver.

We are humbled and appreciate you!

hidden meanings

Today I am seriously wondering if there is some sort of hidden meaning in this situation.

I don't know if it's just me or if everybody does this.

I love to crochet. I am not a gramma, I just love to crochet!

The thing is I have a hard time finishing projects.

I start something and get all excited about it and want to see it completed...

and then I see a new pattern...

and then I see new yarn...

and then I have a new idea that I just can't wait to try out.

So I stop production on first said project to start a new one.

I think I have 4 or 5 projects on the go and none of them are close to being finished.

Now I'm thinking all deep and stuff and wondering if this is who I am.

Am I just a 'starter'. Can I not see things through until the end. Do I have no self discipline at all. I'm trying to see the good in this but I just can't find it right now.

Reading this over it sounds silly, but I feel better!

And I think I'm going to get my buns away from the 'puter and pick up some yarn.

(to finish an existing project of course)

tired

Today I feel tired. My body is tired. My brain is tired.

So...

I take pictures of the happiest person around.

All she has to do is snuggle up next to me and say...

'Mama, let's just have a nap on the couch.'

Yup. Sometimes it's good to be tired!