Getting Dizzy with Sara

Not much explanation needed here...oh to be a kid!!

New Hairdo!

I was finally able to do Sara's hair today!

It always seems to take forever for their hair to grow...

So I wait patiently until it's just the right length....

To make them look so pretty and refined....

 

One way or another I'll get little pigtails of some sort in there...

Bath time is Great!!!

Ginergerbread Houses

 Every Christmas Break...

 the kids enjoy...

 putting together...

 gingerbread houses!

 Lots of icing and candy....

 makes for very very....

happy children!!!

Breakfast with Becky

Christmas Eve morning we enjoyed a pajama party! 

My long time best friend Becky came over with coffee and orange juice and I made pancakes and we enjoyed a lazy breakfast together - I do love Christmas break!!

After breakfast the kids enjoyed a story with Aunt Becky...how many people can we fit in the papason chair?!?!

Dishwasher

 As soon as the dishwasher is open...

 Sara comes running...

 She knows not to touch...

But wants to sooooo badly...

Does this look like a face who would do it anyway??  :)

The Jar

 This is a peanut butter jar.

 This is also a peanut butter jar.  But after being rinsed out with boiling water.  I thought I'd be all "quick" about the cleaning the jar by using freshly boiled water.  Um...apparently not.

They really don't make things like they used too - back in the day I'm sure that a peanut butter jar could hold it's shape when being washed ;)  well...maybe...

Sara's Favourite Thing

Just a video of Sara's most favourite thing to do here...good thing she wears an undershirt to prevent carpet burn!!

A Few House Pictures

So, I suppose it's about time I posted a few pictures of our new house.  Honestly, we are truly blessed by God to be here, living like kings and queens!  I think I need to pinch myself to remind me that yes, this is our new home!  We absolutely LOVE it here - the space is just so refreshing!!  The kids helped me today by hanging out in each room for the pictures...we still have a lot of "decorating" to do - but the basics are out and we have lots of time to slowly make this house to how we want it!



Caleb's Room

 Anna's Room

Esther and Sara's Room 

The Parent's Room

The Living Room

The Family Room

The Island

The Kitchen

The Dining Room

The Rec Room

Happy 10th Birthday Esther!

Esther, you are 10 years old today. 

It seems like such a short time ago you were a little baby in my arms - completely dependent in every way.  And now look at you!  You're an outgoing, vibrant, cheerful, wonderful and independent young lady! 

We are so incredibly blessed to have you in our family - your love for all of us as family and friends and above all for God is evident everyday to us, and we are so thankful for you!

May God bless you richly in this year, and for many years to come!

Ahhhhh....Home Sweet Home

Just a Few Things That I'm Going to Miss...

 My indoor mailbox - I'll now have to walk to the box a few doors down to get my mail :(

 I LOVE the character of these old vents in our house - my Dad painted these up real nice for us when we renovated - I'm going to miss the original look these vents give to the house!

 Although this baby created more work for me - nothing beats having fresh clothes/sheets off the line in spring time after a long winter!  Thankfully I'll have a small single pole clothes line at the new house - but I'm going to miss the size of this one for sure!

Our dining table, chairs and bench.  Unfortunately we gave this up in exchange for closing our deal on the house - I'll miss the bench especially (lots of extra storage in there!) - and the fact that we could squish 3 kids on it when we had company!

Old picture, but a lovely reminder of the garden I used to do!  This was taken the first year I planted a veggie garden - slowly over each year I did less veggies (just too many to harvest!) and had nice flowers to cut and put in the house - definitely going to miss this!

*sigh*

Out of everything, I think I'll miss the swing set the most (ok, maybe the kids a bit more even!).  It has been the best thing we've bought, both for our kids - and any company we've had over.  Our own personal playground!  This will most definitely be missed!!

Open Spaces

As the house empties out, there are more spaces the kids can get into - and I think Sara is enjoying her freedom to explore without being told "no"!!

Anna the Helper

Anna loves to help - I think any kid does when it comes to being able to help with  "grown up" stuff .  Today Anna and I picked up and bunch of boxes from my parents house - she helped load them in the van, take them out and bring them downstairs.

And later today I came down and found that she even started packing for me...what a big helper ;)

 

 

 

Dundas Peak

Yesterday we enjoyed a beautiful hike with our good friends to the Dundas Peak.  The weather couldn't have been more perfect to enjoy this perfect fall day!  Just a few shots of the amazing scenery...

 Tews Falls

 The Family (thanks Mike!)

 No need to adjust the quality of the colours on the pictures - they were just amazing on their own!

 Kid shot - took more then a few to get them all smiling ;)

 Gorgeous view at the top of the peak - thanks for a great shot Karen!

 Colours were so vibrant - I love this time of year! 

Final shot of colour - can't wait for another hike :)