Merry Christmas!

Where is He that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen His star in the east, and are come to worship Him.    Matthew 2:2



Merry Christmas everyone!
Not the way I wanted to do this but it has been a crazy few weeks for us so this is the best I can do at the moment. We have gifts to be made still, gifts to be sent, cards that never got penned and photos never taken.
So I hope to send out happy new year cards and gifts....we'll see how it goes considering we accepted an offer on our house on the 23rd and if all goes well we are to be out before February!

Anyway it is time munch munchies and then on to the bird so I am out!
Here are a few photos from this morning....more to come.
Love to all!

Day two, oops.

Already messing up. I just couldn't catch a moment to sit and do this yesterday so this means two posts today, eek! Here goes one.
Day two's theme was 'bright'. So I thought I would share this not so bright idea that I had that seemed bright at the moment.
You would think I would have learned by now to stop asking for dumb things like...."I want to be blonde all over."



Not such a bright idea.



Now I have an appointment for tomorrow to go and get some colour put back in. I seem to have issues with communicating with my hair stylists over colour. This is way too white!

I might as well have some fun with it though while it lasts.....




Just to creep you out a little :-)

Seven days, day 1

As a challenge and for fun I decided to get back on the 'seven days' bandwagon!
See you around for the next week...or at least I will try to be around.
You can see what this is all about here.

November - Movermber

What was with that anyway? Mustachios all around,  moustaches, you know what I mean....we got in on that action a little, you'll see later.
November.
Another busy month.



Not as crazy busy at the lake, things are going slower now that Dave is working in the city again and we are relying on outside help to get things done. The one thing that Dave didn't want to do was mud and tape and the guy that we hired...AMAZING!











It started to really feel like a livable place! Well almost. A toilet would take it that much further in the right direction.



So our visits out there were less frequent but that was ok. We were pretty busy in the city doing things like....turning 30!



I shouldn't say we, Dave turned 30 seven years ago so obviously it was my turn. That was a blur of a night, ha, ha, just kidding, it was a nice relaxing evening with a few girlfriends. But turning 30, whew, that crept up on me.
 I spent some time thinking about my life's journey to this point.  I do feel 30 when it comes down to what I have been through and how my mind has changed. I still feel like the same giddy and energetic 20 year old that I used to be too though, but with less energy and more wisdom. I still have the same thought patterns, like the same food and struggle with distractions but it is like life has become broader and I am comfortable with who I am.
In my 20's I stopped judging myself by what I though others might think of me and focused on what I thought and what God says.  I learned a lot about sacrifice and forgiveness, both giving and getting. Love and acceptance and humility and humbleness. I learned not to judge others but to observe and make choices for myself based on what I saw and learned through others. Does that make sense?
Just because I may do something differently than the next person doesn't mean either of us is wrong. What is right for me might just be different than what is right for that person and we can love each other anyway and also for those differences.
By no means do I feel like I have it all figured out, goodness no! All of this is still in progress. I still struggle with listening and not talking all the time. My friends are very patient, I admire them. But I do feel like I am always growing and usually in a good way, if I am not feel free to prod me. That is another thing I am working on. Taking criticism or unsolicited advice and not just getting irritated and defensive but actually listening. Still hard.

So 30 is not so bad. I thought I would be different when I look back. I was supposed to be more organized and for some reason I thought I would be taller. I am still short and have clutter issues. But I am happy, life has taken many turns in the last 10 years that I could not have ever anticipated and for the most part they have been good. All growing experiences.
Anyway, there I go yapping away....

Back to November!



I have been really busy painting. I have to get busier too, I am forever behind...I am sorry to those who have ordered and are waiting...it is coming! And a massive thank you to all those who have been buying, it has brought some much needed extra money for us at this stage!
 A good excuse to get some painting done during the day is to host an art class. Not really used as an excuse to paint but an excuse to visit a good friend. The house was clean and the art stuff was out, why not teach the technique I have been working in lately. I could do that more often, I just love to see how others, especially children interpret a medium for themselves!



 Hudsy bear. Charmer and risk taker.



Ethan the comedian. I did not see the humour in the spilled crackers... but apparently that is not what this was about since Hudson had dumped them and ran.



Here is one of the pieces done in November...the rest are here.



Ronin. 3 months old and a smooshy chub-a-muffin! He still doesn't giggle much but does do a lot of chatting and cooing.



Uh, oh. This was just supposed to be November. But the next photo was taken on the last day of the month and I see there are more to come, hmmm.



Grandma came to visit for a few days and helped out with so much. One morning the kids did a matchbook style school project with her and then in the afternoon she took Kait and Ethan on a field trip. Off to downtown they went on a city bus. A new experience and one they are still talking about, it was such a treat!



Now I see we are in December, whoops. Oh well it was just the first.
Out to the lake we went with Daves mom to show her how the place is coming along.



The walls were primed and the ceilings painted.



And this time it is not me that is doing it. It does feel weird to not be the painter but I just cannot get the amount if time needed put aside to to a job like that.



Since doing our first house and tackling that massive paint undertaking we have had a few kids. Somehow I just can't do what I used to do without 500 interruptions so it just wasn't going to happen unless I had a few years to putz away at it.
So we have hired that job out to one of my friends husbands. He is a pro and wow, does beautiful work!
This week he is out with the paint colours that I have chosen and I am so nervous. The colours I chose are cooler than what I usually choose and are beachy themed. The opposite of the warm oranges and yellows that Dave loves. I hope I didn't make a mistake. In my minds eye it will all come together but my eye has been wrong before so here's hoping. That is the weird thing about hiring someone. When I paint I often tweak the paint colour as I go along if I don't quite like the hue. I grab my acrylics and pour in pigment until I get the colour I like. No tweaking this time, no control beyond what I have already done. However I know that the cut in lines will be perfect, that makes me happy!



And then we are on to flooring! It has been chosen, ordered and picked up. Now Dave just needs the time and manpower to get it in.

The kids are getting excited as it is coming together out there. Ethan has been the one that is the least reluctant to move. Once it happens (if it ever does, it feels like it will never happen!) the adjustment will be slow but I think it will be ok. He chose the paint colour for his room and that was big.












Hudson has this habit of laying on the floor if he gets upset or when he falls he will roll around for a while. He likes attention and this is his way of trying to get it.
At the lake house he got the attention. He was covered in drywall dust! Kinda hard to miss that he rolled around on the floor for a few moments in a fit. Not the type of behaviour I would normally photograph, but this time, I just had to, we were all cracking up so bad!





Kait is the one that is excited, she can see the vision for the place and we talk about where stuff will go, I hope the adjustment goes well for her.







Ronin. November the 2nd he started rolling. Two and a half months old and on the move.



And maturing so quickly.




This was our tribute to Movember.



I make one ugly dude!



Howdy!

Handsome, no?
And we are done with November!

Let's take a walk through October

So much for the cool weather I had feared. October came with beautiful sunny days.
Jackets came off and the lid of the sand box did too.



We headed out as soon as we were up and took in October as if it were July!



Dave had taken the whole month off to work out at the lake house so that gave us a great excuse to get out of the city.
To the beach we went, of course!



And there wasn't a better place to do school! The beach was barren with people back to work and school, perfect for us!



Science experiments with sand and water and mud were carried out.



We figured out how to make cement.



And found out why castles collapse.



We watched the leaves fall and crunched them under our sandy feet.



It felt so wrong for October, but I wasn't going to complain!






And the weather kept lasting. More days in the yard, kids swinging, collecting bugs.



So back out to the beach we went. This time the leaves had all fallen but it was still so warm.



I loved how desolate  and calm it was, like the calm before a storm. I knew winter was around the corner. Despite it being so warm there was that hint of a winter breeze. It was going to come.



So we were determined to soak up every last summer ray.



The kids found sea foam to decorate their castles.






And waded in to the still warm water.



I snuggled with our newest bundle.
The beach is just the best place to be. It brings me an inner peace..gives me a sense of balance. Everything is all good when I am at the beach. Maybe this is why I am excited to move out there.



Dave took a break and came down to join us for a picnic and to push the stroller up the hill for me.



We tried to stay out of his hair as much as possible but at the same time we were all excited to see how it was coming along at the house. Well, that is all of us except for Ethan. He doesn't want to sell the city house, this gives him some anxiety. Change is hard for him so we do a lot of talking.





Every few days we would go out and see how Dave was doing. We were so glad that the warm weather was lingering since our furnace installation wasn't booked until the later half of the month.



And wouldn't you know it, we ended up at the beach again. I was so happy.



This time the water was cooler so most of the time was spent playing in the sand and collecting cray fish claws. The winds were shifting and it was getting to be sweater time.



Back indoors we came as the days got windy. Still sunny but it was feeling like fall. Fall inspired schoolwork was brought out and a field trip planned.



We headed out on an eco ed trip to a local farm in the valley with a group of our homeschooling friends.



The kids hiked, collected leaves and made leaf rubbings for their lap books.








There was so much room to explore and run, I can only imagine living somewhere like that, it was so nice!









It was challenging too though. I had to take a stroller, there was no way around it and once there I wished I had taken the jogger rather than the tandem. However Sherry was there (she home schooled her oldest 18 years ago, back when I was home schooled and is still home schooling her younger ones) and she was a trooper and helped me out with the stroller.






Back at the education room (converted garage)  kids worked on their lap books.
Field trips are fun but so much work. Naps get screwed up and bums still need to be changed, but thats just the kicks of having a toddler and baby along for the ride.





Evenings in October were hard. Dave would come home late and be wiped. This was often the image of our evenings. A sacrifice of our time for one month to get our future put together. I missed Dave so much but it was also a time for me realize once again how much he means to me and how much he is missed when he isn't around. He really is a strong support to me.



And Ronin....of course with only being a month and a half old a the time he still slept a lot and that was good. We seemed to be a a pretty good groove with him too, he is just the groovy type.



And so loved. I really had thought that Kait would be the one to be smothering him with kisses all the time but it has turned out to be Hudson with Ethan right behind him.



Kait loves him but is still praying for a baby sister to come along next. Ahhh........sigh.

He is soooo munchable though!



Oh yes, and then it snowed. Just a few days after being at the beach we woke up to a thick blanket of snow. Beautiful. I was caught off guard even though I knew it must come. We had to dig out winter stuff and I was a little sad inside.



But the furnace had just been installed and the insulation was sprayed in. Just in time.





Dave was out plugging away now working on the electrical..it was almost time for drywall!





Sean (Daves friend) came down for a weekend to put up all the board. I was surprised that he was only coming for the weekend, how would they ever get it all done in just a couple of days?!



I had to see it to believe it and headed out there after giving them just over an hours notice.
The ceiling was going up!



And voila, all in a weekends work!
I was blown away, thankful to Sean and Dave. That guy was earning brownie points now!



I love him....makes my heart warm.
Well most days, we have our moments, believe me. I wish we didn't have moments, but I guess that is a part of being human. We get annoyed and irritated and snippy. I wish we could be all lovey and dovey all the time but we are like a roller coaster. There are just too many things going on all at once.



As I munched baby toes the last of the drywall went up.









And then it was done!
I was back in the city trying to get the house ready to hit the market. Doing all the last minute cleaning and fixing of things. Caulking and painting things that had been put off, but finally that was all done.



The house was clean and ready for for viewings.



And then the snow started to melt, whoooot!
It all melted and the sun came out and it was t-shirt weather again.
Back to the beach!
 Just kidding.
We did go out to the lake, it wasn't quite swim suit weather though.



We hung out in the yard instead.





October was drawing to a close. It got cooler again and Dave had to wind up his work out there. He was to go back to work in November so everything that he could do had to get done.



We did workbooks in the evening in October.





It turned out to be an interesting time of the day for school. The goofy side of the kids would come out. Fun but not ideal. We are back to day time schooling now.



And then October came to a close.
We forgot all about Halloween in all the business and that was fine with me. I am not so sure about that day. I ended up taking the kids to Sunday school and then heading over to my mom and dads for supper.
My mom had bought a few bags of candy for the kids and any other kids that came by their place. As tradition is in my parents house Emily (my little sister) takes a brick of goat cheese to an elderly Norwegian neighbour in exchange for a few goodies. So the kids got dressed up and headed over to her place with the cheese. However they did not come back for quite some time and when they did they had loads of goodies....from most of the neighbours on the street.



And then it snowed again.

  

This time for good. And I think that winds up October, whew!