Typical Sunday Evening

Life with two little girls is a world filled with princesses and dress up, barbies and babies - and oh yeah, lots of tea parties as well.

Just Cause I Haven't Posted In A Bit

All clean after tub tonight.

I've Been Busy

I can't believe that it's been so long since I last posted! We have had a really busy few weeks and time has flown by. February always seems to be like that - I think it's a combination of having a lot of social things going on during the month and it being year end at work.


First things first - let me send a big thank you to all of you who were prayer warriors for my uncle. His surgery was a success. The doctors found two cancerous tumors when they started the surgery and were able to remove them both. They gave him his first dose of chemotherapy during the surgery and he was back home and recuperating the same day. His oncologist is very optimistic that they were able to remove the entire tumor(s) and that they got all of the surrounding cells as well. He also feels that they caught it very early and so the chances for a full recovery are very high. Uncle Tony has to go for chemo treatments once a week for six weeks and then they will do some more tests to see how he has responded.


Greg and I celebrated our wedding anniversary on the 14th. It feels like only yesterday that we were saying our vows and starting our new life together. Now five short years later, we have two beautiful little girls, a home, a dog and a marriage that I am proud of. We are so very blessed.


I also celebrated my birthday this past month. We had friends over to celebrate and we had a great time. I love having people over and getting to see everybody all at once is an added bonus. I also got to spend some quality time with my friend's little guy Max so that was an added bonus (I can still rock a baby to sleep so I haven't quite lost my touch!).


We had family over as well for dinner for my birthday and that was also a nice evening. I was spoiled as usual this year - a new tv, books, a new coffee maker, a digital picture frame, clothes, Bath and Body works stuff, ice skates, earrings, a new Willow Tree ornament (which are my new favs), my favourite hard to get face wash and the list goes on. It was a great month of celebrating!


We also spent an evening this past month with good friends and had a dinner party with them. It was one of the nicest times I have spent out in such a long time and I enjoyed every minute of it. We had the most wonderful meal, played a rousing round of Taboo and just generally had a great night. After evenings like those, I am reminded once again of the true treasure that those friendships are.


We also spent a morning at the baby and kids show and had a meet and greet with Max and Ruby. The girls had a great time and sang and danced along to the show that they put on.

Bananas in PajamasDanica enjoying the show.
Max, Ruby, Miss Spider, Danica and Emily.
I've had some requests for this one of my nephew.

Enjoying a hat from Disney on Ice.

Prayer Request

We found out earlier this week that my uncle has bladder cancer. He is heading for surgery on February 13 and during that time they will remove his tumor and run some tests to determine what stage the cancer is at and how best to treat it.

It would be greatly appreciated if those who were able could lift my uncle up in prayer - for the doctor's skill to remove the tumor, for strength for my aunt and uncle as they face this new period in their time together and most importantly for healing.

Our Weekend Away

We just returned from a weekend vacay of sorts. Our fifth wedding anniversary is coming up shortly (I still can't believe that five years have come and gone so fast) so we decided to get away for a bit and spend some much needed alone time together.

My mom and dad took the girls for the night and we headed out to Country Charm Resorts. It is a couples only resort that has 10 luxury cabins that surround a man made lake. We chose one of the cabin's that had a home theatre room in it.

It was so terribly nice to get to spend some time alone. In the madness that is everyday life, it seems like time can fly by and I feel like we haven't even been able to say hello to each other without being interrupted by one of the kids or the phone or the dog or something else altogether.

Here are some pictures from our cabin...

Happenings

We have been busy lately - I can't think of anything specific that has taken up a lot of our time but it seems like the days are flying by faster than ever.

The weather here has finally broken and we have been taking advantage of the milder temperatures. We have been skating and tobogganing and have very much enjoyed going out without having to put on our ski pants!

Work continues to go well for both Greg and myself. I am finishing up my December month end and gearing up for year end which starts in a week. I have a lot of things to get done in the next week but I still am finding time tomorrow to go shopping with a girlfriend from work over the lunch hour (you gotta have your priorities in order). Greg moved to a new department at work and is still in training for his new position. His schedule is much better now and we know his work hours a long time in advance.

Happy 2009!

Another New Year and another opportunity to take some time to reflect on the past year and anticipate the one ahead. We had a wonderful 2008 and look forward to all that 2009 has to offer.

I always like to take a few moments and review how the past year went and to take a hard look at some of the things that I would like to have changed. It's like taking stock of your life and weeding out the negatives in the hope of gaining more positive. It's not always an easy process because for me, it involves looking at myself and my relationships with others and evaluating what needs to change. It can mean making some difficult choices and removing contact with some people or simply stepping back with others. It can mean making more of an effort with someone else and it certainly means trying to fine tune myself (I am a continuing work in progress after all!).

I won't share all of my resolutions (as some of them are private) but there are a few that I will share if you care to read about them:

• I will stop worrying about how I might screw up my girls and instead focus on how I loved my girls each day.
• I will finish decorating my house and finish off all the small things that need to be done.
• I will continue to love my job and be grateful for the fun that it is. I will work each day as if I am working directly for God.
• I will have a better attitude for teaching Sunday School (anyone who knows me, knows that I am not a teacher by nature).
• I will leave the cleaning and laundry and chores and live in the moment with my kids.
• I will let go of past hurts and see those around me for who they are - one of God's children. I want to be accepted for who I am and must therefore do the same for others. No, they might not always meet my expectations but I'm sure that I don't always meet theirs.

I also took some time this year to reflect on my marriage. I am continually grateful for my husband who loves me unconditionally and who is here day in and day out loving me and our girls. Loving another person and standing by them is not always an easy task and here is 2009's ten secrets to a happy marriage:

• God has you here to serve one another. Love acted out is serving.
• Women need respect and nurturing. Love your wife so she knows you'd lay your life down for her. Continue to date her and admire her. Share a hobby - find something you can do to have fun together.
• Laugh often.
• Be patient. Love crumbles quickly under the weight of unmet expectations.
• Spend more time trying to fix yourself than your spouse.
• Keep short accounts. The Bible says, "Do not let the sun go down while you are angry." Make it a habit to forgive.
• Determine up front that divorce is not an option.
• Learn about love languages. Not all people show love or receive it the same way. You want a back rub and your spouse wants a clean kitchen. The love languages are fairly simple: acts of service, time, physical touch, gifts, and words of affirmation. Learn them. Love is better received when it's in the language that person speaks.
• Words of affirmation are a love language for all men.
• Men are born to be leaders. he cannot lead unless she gives him the confidence to do so. If you love your husband, build him up. Confident men do not seek love outside the home. (Courtesy Karen Kingsbury)

Certainly this is not an all inclusive list but each year, I try to find a starting point and work from there. I've had other lists that I've put up in the house (I'm a visual person) and I find it helpful to have the reference point.

We wish you all the best as 2009 unfolds. May this year be a blessing to you and your families!