Christmas

Another Christmas come and gone. I hope that you all had a wonderful time with family and friends! We are still recovering from our holiday season - it goes by so fast and is so exhausting (especially for the kids).

We were all spoiled again as usual - our girls especially! I am still trying to find a place to put all of the new things that our loved ones so thoughtfully purchased for us. Greg has been spending a lot of time with his Play Station trying out all of his new games, I have been enjoying wearing my new clothes and the girls have been spending their free moments playing with their new toys.

This year, Santa brought Emily a Rose Petal Cottage. For those who don't know, it is a life size playhouse for girls (and boys too I suppose) and Emily and Danica have enjoyed playing together in it. It's quite funny to see them playing "house" together and I get some small glimpses of the next few years as their bond as sisters continues to grow.

We had the opportunity to spend quite a bit of time with our extended family. We had numerous suppers and visits (my waistline is living proof of how much eating we did). We even had the opportunity to meet our new nephew, Tate. He was born at the end of October but as he lives very far away from us, we did not have the chance to meet him until now.

Emily and her cousins had lots of time to play together as well. I am always pleased with how quickly the kids fall back into their play time together. I can still hear Bennett calling for Emily!

Our best family shot (unfortunately)

Tate and Auntie Julie

Taking a break from gift opening

Cookies and milk ready for Santa - unfortunately Santa had to wait until after 10 pm to stop by as one excited little girl would not go to sleep!

Keizer wondering if this was finally his present...

All ready for church

Danica and Rosie hanging out

We tried hard to get a picture of all the kids together - unfortunately, these were the only three who co-operated

Tate with Uncle Greg (you have to wonder what he is thinking)

Success!!

Emily had her singing challenge this past Sunday and she did a great job! She sang, did her actions and most importantly - there were no fish lips to be seen. Of course, we had discussed the whole fish lips issue and if you ask her what the rule was for Sunday, she would tell you that no fish lips were allowed.

This will most likely be my last post before I break for the holiday season. I'd like to take this opportunity to wish all of our blogging friends and their families all the best over the holiday season and in the New Year. May the peace of our Lord and Saviour fill your heart this season.

Blessings!

Greg, Julie, Emily and Danica

I have reservations...

This past Sunday after church, the Sunday school kids met in the sanctuary to practice their songs that they are going to be singing this upcoming Sunday.

All the kids were lined up and they all started to sing and do the actions to the songs - all of them but my child that is. My child instead chose to turn her back to the front of the congregation and stare at the kids singing behind her. When she did finally turn her attention towards the front again, she started making fish lips.

On another note - I am extremely grateful for a heated, indoor parking space at work. Could it be any colder???

Miracles Happen

Just over a year ago, I was sharing a meal with a dear friend of mine. I was nearing the end of what was a fairly difficult pregnancy with Danica and we were discussing some rather bad news of hers. She was just starting the process of seeing a specialist because she was "broken" (in her words) and it was not likely that she was going to be able to conceive a baby on her own.

The lunch that we shared and the conversation that came from it touched my heart immensely (I posted about that lunch briefly here - The van Leeuwen Clan: Good Friends) and I have spent that last year and a bit praying daily for this friend and lifting her up to God.

One day this past spring, I received a phone call from her that filled my heart with joy - she had taken a pregnancy test on a whim and of all things it came back positive. Since then, I have been blessed with being able to share in her pregnancy.

On Monday, at 5:30 in the morning, God's plan came full circle and little Maxwell (Max) Rorke was born. He weighed 8 pounds 5 ounces and was 21 inches long. I cried at my desk at work after getting the phone call that he was here and that he was healthy. He is the cutest little thing and my heart actually aches with happiness for my friend.

Miracles really do happen...

Waiting

Update - he's finally here!!! See baby side bar for some details. Pictures will come once I get to see the new little guy! Yay!!!

Do you ever find it is harder waiting for one of your best friends to have her baby than it was for you to wait for you to have your own? I think she is getting tired of my twice daily phone calls to see if her wee one is about to make their grand entrance...

I am - a child of God, a wife, mother, daughter, auntie and friend.

I want - a full night of uninterrupted sleep (Emily has taken to this annoying habit of waking up in the middle of the night and coming to our room and informing us that she is not going back to bed)

I wish - that I had more energy to finish decorating my house. I have all the stuff at home to finish it all off - I just find other things to do instead.

I know - who I am, where I stand and who truly loves and supports me.

I hate - losing and being wrong.

I fear - losing my loved ones too early. I pray often that God will protect them and spare me from that pain.

I hear - Keizer snoring, Danica cooing and Emily playing in her bed (yes she is still playing - a full two hours after bedtime).

I crave - meaninguful and true relationships.

I search - for God's direction and leading.

I always - straighten my hair - everyday, no exceptions (ask anyone who came to visit me in the hospital after having my girls - no exceptions).

I usually - do 8 loads of laundry on Saturdays.

I am not - a patient person - I want what I want and I want it now.

I miss - dates with my husband. Those are harder to come by these days.

I love - my husband and daughters more than anything. I would give my own life in an instant for any one of them.

I never - pay a bill late. Every bill we receive is paid on time and in full.

I rarely - watch what I eat. This stems from my patience issue mentioned above.

I cry - with every emotion. When I laugh, when I'm mad, when I'm sad...you name it.

I lose - my mind in traffic. I have road rage, I can admit it. It's a good thing I live where I do and not in Vancouver or Toronto.

I am confused - when bad things happen to good people. I don't question God's plan but I don't pretend to always understand it.

I should - work out. But that...yeah, that will never happen.

I worry - that we won't be able to have another baby when we're ready again. I'm not saying that it's rational but still I worry.

I dream - about what my girls will be like and what they will be when they get older.

Not Me Monday

A new installment on our blog - each week I will attempt to post a Not Me Monday post that shares a few things that I most certainly did not do during the past week.

This past week:

I did not clean my floors after my dog scooted his bum along them to "wipe" himself clean.

I did not eat my toast and peanut butter in the van on the way to work. I did not slam on my brakes only to have my laptop land on top of said toast and peanut butter.

I did not allow my dog to lick my child's back for five minutes only to discover that she had pooped through her diaper and he was "cleaning" her up for me.

I did not accidentally "bump" a car in front of me while driving on my way to work. I was not eating another round of toast and peanut butter at the time.

3 Years Come and Gone Already

Coming home from the hospital.

First birthday.

Second birthday.

Third birthday.

8 Kids Under Age 4...

We forayed into the great unknown this afternoon - we hosted our first "real" kids party for Emily's third birthday. Up until now, her parties (and Danica's for that matter) have consisted mainly of family and a few good friends. This year though, she has actual friends and we wanted to give her a kids party and let her celebrate with them.

We rented some time at the Wellness Institute and let me tell you, it was the best thing ever! We showed up at 3:30 and were given our own private party room complete with tables, chairs, fridge, stove, microwave oven, island counter, sink, CD player, the works. We decorated the room with streamers, happy birthday signs and princess tablecloths.

At 4:00, all of our guests had arrived and a staff member from the Wellness Institute came to our room and took all of the kids to the gym where they had every type of fun thing for a kid to do. They had a bowling lane set up, a ring toss, hockey net with sticks and pucks, a basketball set, these bouncy things that the kids sat on and bounced around on (and yes, they had an adult size one, and yes I tried it out), scooters (we all remember those from gym class), and tons of other stuff too. The kids ran around and played like crazy for an hour and at the end of that hour they played with a parachute and played a game of cat and mouse with it (brings back memories doesn't it?).

After that, we headed back to our room, where the pizza we had ordered was waiting for us and all the kids sat down for pizza, cake and finally opening up presents. By 6, we were all done, and the best part of it was that I didn't have to clean a single thing up!!!

Here are some pictures from today's festivities.

Happy Halloween!

Another Halloween come and gone. We had beautiful weather this year and the girls enjoyed themselves! Emily had a few meltdowns along the way but by the time we did a few houses in our neighbourhood and the candy was flowing freely - she was happy as could be!

Danica's 1 Year Stats

This morning was Danica's trip to the pediatrician to have her one year shots and to have a quick check-up done. She's in great health and all is good. The poor thing had to have 4 needles today - as my sister-in-law Evelyn put it so well - she was a little pin cushion!

She is in the 90th percentile for her height (30.5 inches) and her weight (24 pounds 10 ounces). She's a big girl but when you start off at 9 pounds 10 ounces, it's not highly likely that you will drop off the charts! Danica is slightly heavier than Emily was at a year but half an inch shorter than she was at this time. I'm sure that she will slim down like Emily did in the near future now that she runs everywhere she can.

Happy Birthday Greg!

Last weekend we celebrated Greg's 33rd birthday. We had family over for dinner on Saturday and had a nice night together.

Normally we have a big party at our place with friends, but after two straight weeks of hosting family for dinners, I was tired and wasn't really in the mood to have 30 people over again. Instead, we headed out for drinks with friends in a combo birthday party for Greg and our friend Kelly. A good time was had by all - I think there were a few hangovers making their way through the group this morning.

The kids "helping" to open presents.
Ready for the snow to come.
I'm attempting to grow Danica's bangs out but the problem with that is that her hair is always in her face. This is my new solution - antennas!