What? What do you mean? It's April already?!!??

OK...I know, I know.  They say times seems to move faster as you get older so my excuse is that it should still be January.  It's not my fault that time moved so fast that we ended up in April ALREADY!

The truth of the matter is that 2015 has been a really crazy and busy year so far and it will continue to be so for some time.  There have been celebrations, sicknesses, everyday life and then the real reason I've been scarce...packing, moving and renovating!  Those are all huge jobs and it's crazy to think it's only been just over a month since we moved out of our house.  It seems all of our energy revolves around our renovations.  In the end, they will be worth it but in the meantime, they make things crazy!

Anyway, just so you can all have a peek at what we're doing (Colette), I thought I would FINALLY post a few pictures of the progress (?) if you can call demo that :).

First, we had to pack up 10 years of stuff - Oi.  I hate moving but I actually hate clutter, too, so it was nice to clear some of it out.  Unfortunately, I got sick with a (TWO WEEK!) cold (mine never last more than a couple of days) so I didn't get as much purging done as I would have liked.

Before the contractor came in, we did some of the demo ourselves.  This is what my kitchen looked like when my father-in-law was done with it!

Then the contractors came in...down came the wall (YAY!!)

...and out came the bathrooms.

The beautiful panelling and fireplace were both gone, too.

With destruction come reconstruction, too.  It was so exciting to see the beam in place.

It is taking further shape now, too, though it still has far to go.  The cabinets are in, but that is just the start.  Still so much to go!!

I do have a photo shoot of my youngest son to edit and blog about (from January) but hopefully I will manage to be gone for a much shorter time this time (though ball season is coming and we have three different teams this year!)

Until next time...

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas from our home to yours.  May you ponder the true meaning of Christmas this year and live all year with the knowledge that Christ came to forgive our sins.  There is no greater gift than that!

For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given;and the government shall be upon his shoulder,and his name shall be calledWonderful Counselor, Mighty God,Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6

Until next time...

All Grown Up!

So, as we spend our first day of Christmas vacation just hanging around at home, I thought I'd finally post those photos of Alexander's 9 year photo shoot that I had promised.  Since it was such a nice fall/early winter, I was hoping for a nice day so that we could do some of them outside.  It was not to be.  This was one of the few bits of cold weather we've had.  However, I did discover that the winter sun shines nicely into our master bedroom and I really think that these worked out great there.  The wall colour even accented his shirt nicely!  Anyway, here they are...

I think this is my favourite one...

And, of course, he wanted one by the Christmas tree (the lighting wasn't as good there!)

Until next time...

My Dashing Boy

So, as is my tradition with my boys, it was time for Evan's birthday photos.  I'm still trying to figure out the best way and place to do these and so we did a little more experimenting.  It was a beautiful day so we just went out in the yard.  Evan is just so photogenic that I can't help but get good photos.  He does have a little trouble with squinting when it's so bright out but these really turned out wonderfully.  Here are my faves.

Stay tuned for a post of Alexander's.  They are done and waiting their turn, too!

Until next time...

Big Boy!

This was the other big change in our house this fall...Bradley is becoming such a big boy!  He was so interested in sleeping in Jonathan's bed, that we decided we should probably get him one.  After all, this is the longest any of our kids had been in a crib.  In fact, when Grandma was here, she let him go on Jonathan's bed at nap time.  After that, he always wanted her to put him to bed so he could spend time on the bed!

We got him a double just for the extra sleeping space if we ever need it for company.  He's adjusted quite well, though he does get out of his bed more than the other kids do.  That's OK, though, he still really likes it!

Until next time...

Birthday Bash!

Finally, we got here...to my Evan's birthday.  I can't believe how much faster time seems to fly the older I get.  My second born is now 7!  He certainly had a fun time celebrating at school, with friends and with family.  It seems like just yesterday that he was a baby, sleeping in his car seat.  Now, he's growing up.  He is a very creative boy and loves school.  He has a zest for life that makes our lives interesting, too.  We love him so very much.

This is his actual birthday with the cupcakes we sent to school.

Here was his friends' party.  They decorated their own cupcakes and were generally just a large group of young boys so it was a bit crazy at times!

This was definitely the hit, though.  We found shrinky dinks and the kids got to make them.  Watching them shrink in the oven is ALWAYS the best part!  If you notice the tiny space between my oven and the cupboard, that's because the delivery guys were there bringing our giant fridge in at the same time!

Then, we celebrated with family.  Grandma & Grandpa Stein even managed to come down.  This was Evan's request for a cake.  It was all about the six candles around the side and a 7 in the middle.  It's nice when they want simple things at times!

There you have it.  Now, seven years old and we're sure looking forward to the years to come.

Until next time...

Fall Fun!

So, while I wished for summer not to end, fall did eventually arrive.  On the bright side, the weather was very summer-like for a good part of the fall.

The biggest excitement (?) of the fall is school starting.  Half of my kids are gone everyday and this was their first day...

Fall also brings football in our house...CFL, NFL and touch!  I didn't get out to many games this year because the scheduling didn't work well for having the little one out at the games.  We did all attend the wind up, though.  How fun that they get to play at Mosaic Stadium.  This is one of the coolest things the kids get to do.

It was FREEZING that day.  We weren't quite dressed for it, even.  I think this photo of Bradley is adorable but it was before he melted down.  The only time he would quit crying was when we actually walked out of the stadium.  Eventually, he and I went out and sat in the van with the heat cranked.

Field trips are always great fun, too.  I love to go with the kids whenever I can.  It must have been 30 degrees the day we went to Pumpkin Hollow and we were the only ones there so it was just a fabulous day for the kids.  I don't have many pics because most of them have classmates in them so here is one of Evan at Pumpkin Hollow.

Then I went out to Flying Creek with Alexander's class for their outdoor ed trip.  Those are always a lot of fun, even if there are no bathrooms!  The valley really is beautiful.

The other wonderful thing about fall is produce from the garden!  Truthfully, my garden needed another month because the spring was just too wet and cool.  These veggies were better because I left them in the ground, even after it froze.  They did taste yummy and the harvest wasn't too bad.

Fall can be such a lovely time of year and it really was this year.  The snow even held off a bit.  Now, we're back into busy schedule and things are crazy as they always are this time of year but this is our life!

Until next time...