Rain, wind, clouds and yes finally some sunshine!!

The first 5 days of our holiday have gone by pretty quick.  It certainly got off to a shaky start.  First of all when we arrived at the airport last Wednesday, I had quite the scare.  Josh was parking the van and me and the kids and all the luggage were trying to get checked in.  I have always done the checking in while Josh parks so this is nothing new and I am always very organized, all the papers, passports, confirmations etc in the right places.  So I got out the confirmation numbers, filled in the customs papers and headed into the check-in line up.  I reached into the front pocket to grab our passports and pulled them out to count them (hey when you are dealing with 6 people, you count ALOT!!  So I counted 1,2,3,4,5......... 1,2,3,4,5.......a little panicky, reach back into the pocket - nothing.  Check the floor around us, nothing.  Check the pocket again - nothing.  So I check them to see who's is missing, it's Josh's we are missing.  Call him, he doesn't have it.  Get out of the check in line up and start to really panic, flight leaves in 2 hours and we still need to check in, clear security, clear customs and make at least 3 or 4 bathroom breaks.  SO I retrace my packing in my mind and then I have a flashback of me telling Josh to sign his passport (we just renewed them a few weeks ago).  So where is it?  Did I leave it at home?  I start to go through the backpack again and Low and behold, there it is, in a different pocket!!!!  Thank goodness.

So we check in, go through security where they kindly throw out my brand new shampoo and conditioner (my fault for putting it in the carryon by accident - when will I learn!!)  Then on to customs and off to the gate.  Yeah we survived the first leg.  Fly to Seattle then go get lunch as we have a 3 hour lay-over.  So about 45 minutes before we are supposed to take off we head to our gate.  If you have ever been to Seattle airport -it's big.  You have to tram to some gates.  So we find the gate we belong at.  Double check the boarding passes and sit down and wait for them boarding calls.  NOTHING.....now it is 20 minutes to take off and nothing.... so I go over to the gate and it says Maui - not Oahu??  I talk to the lady at the desk and she informs me that they moved gates...great we didn't know because our boarding passes were printed in vancouver..... and the gate is back at the other end of the airport.  So we and all our carry ons stroller kids etc go flying back to the tram, and find our new gate, we hopped on with about 12 minutes to spare.  A bit of a stressful start to the 6 hour plane ride!!  But from there the 6 hours were not too bad.  the kids were so good, many people even commented to us after, how well behaved they all were.  Leah was exhausted but she hung in there and she didn't barf all over me like she did last year!!

We got to the hotel a little late, put the kids in bed and settled in.  Then we woke up the next morning to a massive wind storm, like wind like you've never seen.  It was still warm but WOW!!  It was so windy you could not go out on the beach without being pelted with sand.  The next day it poured, and poured and poured.  We went the zoo in the rain - it was actually nice because the zoo was very quiet and because it was raining and not super hot all the animals were out and about.  We actually had a great time.  Got a little wet but still had fun.  The next day the sun arrived and it has kindly stuck around.

The resort is beautiful, the beach we are on is amazing.  the kids can snorkel right inside the bay and they have seen lots of fish and even a big sea turtle!!  I love running on the boardwalk.  It I lived in hawaii I am sure I would be in far better shape.  There is nothing more exhilarating than running in the early morning along the ocean boardwalk with the amazing smells, the warm breeze and the sound of the waves.  It is my favourite way to run!  It is very hard to go home and run on the treadmill after running outside in Hawaii!

Here are a couple of shots, they aren't the best but they give you an idea of what we have seen.
I am not a fan of any pictures of me - this picture is no exception to that, but I am rarely in any pictures so here is proof that I am here in Hawaii with my family on a cloudy day at the beach!

Two of my favourite people in all the world!

This is North beach at the tip of the island, it is where all the surf competitions happen - if you look close you can see a person in that wave, it was a pretty big wave!

The beginning of the sunset - taken from our deck.

Beautiful hawaiin sunset from our deck.

This is Oahu on a VERY windy day!

Zoe creating things in the sand! And a little Birdie in the rain, he didn't seem to mind it!!

I wanted to finish off by saying that I have kept up part of my news years resolution.  The first part of it was to do an act of service for at least one member of my family every day.  I have not gone particularly out of my way to do this because really all day every day, I am serving them, especially my kids.  Its my job and I wouldn't have it any other way.  I still look for ways to serve them, but I have continued to find things to be grateful for every day.  I try and think of things every day because when I do I am happier and have greater appreciation for all I am blessed with.  My thought of gratitude today is for my sense of smell.  I love fresh smells of nature and there are no shortage here in Hawaii.  First thing int he morning it smells amazing outside.  It is a combination of fresh sea air, flowers and wet plants.  It is amazing and I am grateful to be able to enjoy it!

I love cyber days

I am grateful for cyberschool.  Avri who is in grade 6 this year is part of a program her school offers called "cyberschool".  2 days a week she works from home.  She participates in a 1 hour online lesson with her whole class and then spends the rest of the day at home completing her assignments and submitting them on line.  It is so great because it has allowed me to have more time with Avri outside of the regular hussle and bussle of our life.  SHe absolutely loves the program - Avri is very much a home body and she is close to both Josh and I.  She is also quite shy but cyberschool has offered her a different learning environment 2 days a week and it has really helped her to connect better with a few of her peers and she is sort of starting to break out of her shell a little more.  She is loving all the technology and computer programs that she is learning how to use.  She is very good at computers!!  She understands them better then me half the time!  I have noticed such a positive change in her this year.  Her teacher is also wonderful so he deserves some good credit too!  I am very grateful for the public school system that we have available to us.  It is not perfect of course, but it is really good and our experiences with it over the past 7 years, with 3 different kids is good.  This program in particular is so great.  I am not confident enough, organized enough, or motivated enough to homeschool my children but I do find it a little hard to let them go to school 5 days a week for 6 hours a day.  I worry about not having enough influence in their life.  The beauty of this program is that it allows the student to connect to their home just a little bit more, but I don't have to do the work:)

Today's act of service for my family was for Avri.  I helped her proof read and complete a power point story that she created with pictures and words.  She is so creative.  I really enjoyed spending the time with her and getting a little glimpse into her creative mind!

It was a great day - we didn't get much new snow today, we were kind of hoping for some more snow to play in.  Oh well maybe tomorrow!!

piper update and fun in the snow :)

Oh my gosh today was a wild and crazy busy day around here.  IT started out terrible with 3 grumpy kids to get ready for school!  HAPPY MONDAY!!  I have to say it was one of those days when I shut the door behind them I was grateful to have a few hours with just one child!!  I had a million things I wanted to get done in case we got snowed in for a few days, so Leah and I headed out to get groceries, gas and do a few errands.  At Costco we found a super fun sled ( I couldn't resist when I saw it, I knew the girls would be super duper excited!!)  We managed to get all our errands done and beat the snow!  Then we came home and did some laundry and house work and got ready for the girls to come home from school.  I started to pull out snow pants boots, mitts and hats and get us organized to go out and play in the snow.  This is not super easy when we are talking about 4 kids in ever changing sizes!!  I managed to find stuff that would more or less fit but at the very least keep them warm enough!!  They were pretty excited to try out the new sled!!  So this would be my act of service for the day - playing in the snow for an hour with the kids.  To some people that would be just plain fun, but I don't particularly like the snow, I don't like to be cold and I still had a few zillion things to do in the house, but I knew they would love it so I grabbed my camera, the sleds, the dog and out we went!!  It wasn't ideal for sledding because the snow was very fluffy but we managed to make it work!  This was one of Leah's first experiences with snow, she loved it!!  Avri handed her a snowball and she wound up and chucked it at me ;)  Piper was having a hayday out in the snow, jumping and rolling around.  I think she was happy about her test results from the vet!  I got the phone call about 1pm today from our vet and when he told me that it was just a cyst and it was all removed with no further treatment needed, I was so relieved.  I have tried so hard not to dwell on it or think about it too much over the past week but it definitely was on my mind.  This time it was happy tears!!  I swear she had an extra skip in her step too!!  Check out how much fun she was having in the snow with us today!

 Happy to be out in the fresh air and catching snow flakes on her big pink tongue!

 This is Piper making snow angels!!  Even a few stitches can't stop her!!






The girls and I had a ton of fun out side!!  The snowman is actually from Saturday - Josh made it with Zoe and Leah.  It is the cutest thing ever, Leah is constantly talking about "frosty" in the yard and tonight she requested that frosty put her to bed ;)  I tried to explain that he would melt if we brought him inside.  She talked to him today and brought him snow cakes - so sweet!!  My older girls were so good to the younger two - pulling them up and down the hill on the sleds (it just wasn't quite slippery enough to go n your own).  Here are a few pics for your viewing pleasure!

We had so much fun outside.  The girls were supposed to dance tonight but we were beat from being outside all afternoon, and the snow was coming down in buckets so we decided to hang out at home and have a family night!  It was pretty nice not to rush all over the place to three different dance classes.  We finished the night baking cookies (Avri Mika and me) and they were yummy!!  So tonight I am grateful for my girls.  Having girls was a huge dream of mine (I am sure I would not have been disappointed with boys and absolutely adore my 3 nephews) but I always wanted girls to do all those girly girl things with like hair, nails, crafts, baking and all things fun!  I never in my wildest dreams thought I would end up with 4!  How blessed am I to have 4 daughters.  They are by far the best part of my life (ok Josh is pretty great too!!) and although having four kids has some (ok lots) of challenges and many people think we are crazy, I wouldn't change it for anything.  It's nights like tonight when we jump into our jammies and bake cookies together that I realize just how lucky I am.  All four of them are very different, some are more like me, some are more like Josh and all four are their own individual person and I am proud of each one of them.  I am very lucky to me mom to these 4 girls.

let it snow!

I don't know where the weekend went but it has come and gone so fast that it feels like it never really happened!!   It was a fun weekend though.  Friday was a good day - how can't it be a good day when it is hot dog day at school!!  I was grateful for hotdog day, I am not even kidding.  I LOVE hotdog day because it means that I do not have to make a lunch for 3 kids!!  3 kids who all like different things.  A lunch that can not include anything with peanut s(or any nuts for that matter) as it is a peanut free school!  I really dislike making lunched, especially at 7:30 morning.  In fact there is not much that I do like to do at 7:30 in the morning, but lunch making is very low on the list!!  So Friday I was very grateful for hotdog day!!  My act of Service for Friday making hot breakfast for the family.  I even got up earlier than usual to make them all fresh waffles with strawberries and whip cream and orange pineapple smoothies.  Let me tell you, this  makes me very popular!!  I love giving the kids (and Josh) a nice hot breakfast before they leave for the day.  It works out especially well when I don't have to make lunches that day!  Then while the kids were at school I made a cake for sweet niece who was having her 1st birthday party that night.  I love to bake and decorate cakes and cupcakes!

Then I left Josh with the kids to take dinner to an older lady from our church (93 years old!!) who just got released from the hospital.  She really doesn't give a hoot what you bring her for dinner, what she really wants is company.  So I had 30 minutes to visit with her before I carried on to the birthday party for my niece and nephew.  We had a great time at the party!  We didn't get home until around 9:00 and then I had to make some cupcakes for our highland competition on Saturday!!  Again I love to bake so offered to bring 2 dozen baked goods.  They need approx 10 dozen things donated to sell.  I made some really cute rainbow cupcakes :)

Didn't get to bed until 1am!!  And of course the snow was coming down in buckets!!  I had a hard time sleeping because I was so worried about driving in the snow for the competition on Saturday!!  Saturday we were up around 6:30 to start getting ready.  I had to be out the door by 7:45 to go help set up.  thankfully the snow had stopped but on Saturday I was grateful for the snow.  I think the snow is absolutely beautiful!!  It looks amazing when it coats everything, all the branches and fences and ground, especially when you rise at 6:30 on saturday and it is 100% untouched!  that is awesome!  But the real reason that I am grateful for it is that my children LOVE it.  They woke up giddy with excitement because they have been waiting all year for it!  They love to play in it and toboggan in it build snow man and have snowball fights.  I love their enthusiasm for it!!  Saturday's act of service was for Avri and Mika - we stayed extra long after the competition so that they could play with their friends out in the snow.  It is nice that all the girls from their dance school get along so well!  They did great dancing too.  Avri got 3 first places and 1 second place, she won the aggregate for her category.  Mika won a 1st place and a 4th place.  She would have placed in her reel as well but they had a fill in who made a mistake that effected her - too bad but that is just the way it goes! She was happy with how she did and so was I!  Zoe got first place in all 4 of her dances!!  She was pretty thrilled with herself!  Busy day, but a good one too!

Today was pretty quiet in comparison to the rest of the weekend.  Church in the morning, then the kids played outside in the snow for a long time in the afternoon.  They had their friend Emma over and they played great together all of them!  Today I am grateful for my warm house.  I love my house.  It is not always as clean and organized as I would like it, there are usually toys on the floor, dishes in the sink and laundry piling up but I am so grateful for it.  When the weather gets so cold like this I shudder to think that are people who have no where to go, no where warm to sleep.  I am so grateful that that is not a worry for me. My act of service was for Mika this evening.  I may sort of  favor her sometimes.  My sweet Mika, she is your classic middle child who struggles to find her place in the family.  She needs a little extra love, a little extra reassurance, and a little extra attention.  She is a gift to me. SHe loves to help me and do things for me.  So tonight she wanted me to put her hair in a bunch of braids so it would be all wavy in the morning.  I'll try to snap a picture before she leaves for school.  Although a small part of me hopes it is a snow day so they can stay home and play in the snow all day :)

Peacocks and Music.

Well I sort of failed at the new years resolution today - kind of half failed I guess.  It was a very busy day and it really just zipped by and it wasn't until I walked out the door for a baby shower at 6:00pm that I realized I hadn't really done my act of service for someone in my immediate family today.  I don't even know where the day went.  While I was flying into Costco at top speed this afternoon to get some much needed groceries I saw something kind of catch my eye in the frozen dirt in the garden bed where we parked.  I bent over to get a closer look and I noticed that it was a feather - a peacock feather!  It had the peacock eye on the end of it and it was quite pretty, so I picked it up and as I did I was thinking how much Zoe would love to take this to school for kindergarden show and tell!  That was what one part of me was the thinking, the other part was thinking ewwwwwww, who knows how many weird and nasty germs are festering on this feather, don't even think about picking it up (never mind bringing it home for your daughter to tote around and take to school with her.)  But the soft side of me took over when I thought of the delight it would bring to Zoe, who every week looks for something unique and fun to bring for show and tell.  I was right - she was beyond excited when I showed it to her.  Her brown eyes got big as saucers when she saw it and I told her should could have it.  Then she reminded me of the time we had a peacock in our yard!!  Really we did!  A few years ago we were out front and the kids were riding around on bikes and what do you know this peacock comes sauntering up our driveway.  It stayed in our back yard for 2 days!!  The cat was horrified  by it and the dog was intrigued!   Then it got scared for whatever reason and let out this HONKING noise that was so loud it scared us all half to death!!  We ever have video of it that the kids love to watch!  So after reminiscing about the peacock Zoe says "I am pretty sure this feather is from that peacock that was in your yard mom!"  What a sweetheart, I am glad I went against my first eww gross instincts and kept the feather for her!!

My gratitude thought for the day is for music.  Music is a huge part of my life as well as my families life.  We enjoy all types of music in this house!  I like the way music can cheer me up - I love to listen to it loud when I am driving by myself in the van.  I love to listen to quiet music when I am feeling a little mellow. I love the way it makes we push harder when I am running, and I love how much my kids love it - Leah loves to be sung too before nap or bedtime (everyone of our kids loved to be sung to before bedtime).  In fact Leah loves to sing too - sometimes I am out in a different room and I can here her singing the same songs to her dolls that I sing to her.  Every morning when she wakes up she sings to herself in her crib.  It instantly puts me in a good mood (no easy feat when you are not a morning person!).  I love country music, I love pop music, I love kids music, I love jazz, I love classical, I love christmas, I love church music - I love it all!  I also love to sing.  I am not the best singer, and I am certainly not the most confident singer but I love to sing.  I think music is such a great way to express yourself!  I wish I had of taken the piano lessons for longer as a child.  I sure hope my girls stick with it too!

Anyhow off to bed, I get up early on Fridays to cook hot breakfast for the family.  Tomorrow we are having home made waffles with strawberries and whip cream :)  YUMMMMM!  And we have a busy weekend ahead of us.  We have a big dance competition on Saturday, a birthday party tomorrow night, a church activity and the list goes on!  Happy Weekend.

Sunshine is like medicine for the soul

Well today was a really good day considering I did not fall asleep until after 3:30am with insomnia and worrying about how the poor dog was feeling. Let me tell you 7AM did not feel very good today! But I was so happy to wake up to sunshine today! That is my gratitude item for the day. I am so grateful for sunshine, especially in the bleak winter months when it can go weeks without showing it's beautiful face! I think I may even be one if those people who suffer from S.A.D. (that seasonal disorder). I usually slip into a bit of a funk after Christmas when we know there are still several months of cold wet weather with no fun holiday like christmas to focus on. So days like todaynwhen the sun shines I am so grateful for it! Even though I was short on sleep I was pretty chipper all day!

Leah and I went out to do some running around and it was so sunny that we stopped to play outside. This is my act of service for the day. I am pretty wimpy ( ok actually very wimpy ) when it comes to being cold but Leah is nit bothered by it one bit. In fact she didn't even want to wear the jacket! It was seriously worth the suffering. Leah had such a great time running and jumping and playing. I loved watching her and it felt great to get some fresh air!

Piper seems to be feeling a bit better today. I have given her some extra hugs and pats. Last night I ended up sleeping on the couch because I could hear her banging her cone around downstairs. I wanted to take it off but I had to keep an eye on her so she didn't chew at her stiches. A few years ago she was hit by a truck (long story) and had to have surgery on her foot. A few days later she managed to chew off the big bandaid and chew all the stitches out which meant back into surgery to have it all stitched up again. I don't want to have pay for any more vet care than necessary.

Well off to bed. On an exciting note, I went out to fabricana tonight and picked out fabric to have curtains made for my bedroom! I'm pretty excited!

Bad news is never good...

I'll start with my act of service - I really wanted to do something for Josh today since I have yet to do something for him since this started but today was so busy, dog had surgery, cyber school for Avri, dance class, piano lessons, gutter people coming to give quotes on our overflowing gutter issues and homework, homework, homework!  So it wasn't the biggest thing but I brought in the garbage cans and the recycling bins and set them back up in there spots.  I know kinda sad, he got a little gipped but he did thank me for it!!  And hey the wheels are broken on the darn cans and it is not easy to drag them up the driveway which is a bit of a hill!! And it makes me appreciate the fact that he does this for me every week!!  Or for our family I should say!  I have to say Josh is so wonderful, he never complains about anything, he just gets things done.  Unlike me who probably complains enough for the two of us!!  I am pretty fortunate to married to such a patient guy, he is really my best friend, I just love him!  Ok thats my mushy thought for the day!!

It's actually been a hard day.  Our dear Piper had to have surgery for what we thought was a sebaceous  cyst on her back hip.  I dropped her off at the vet at 8am (no problem at all when you need to get a bunch of kids to school for 8:20am but we managed.  Then I had to pick her up at 4pm and some how get three kids to a dance class at 4:30 on the other side of town!!  It was challenging but we did it!  I am glad I went by myself to pick her up from the vet though.  When I went in to get her the receptionist said - George want to talk to you about having the lump sent off to pathology.  I was surprised because yesterday he said he thought it was just a cyst?  So she went and got him and he said that to him it looked like it could be cancerous.  He said the lump was very unusual along with the tissue around it.  He felt it should be sent off so we could have a better picture of what was going on.  So with a huge lump in my throat I paid the $500 bill and put my poor sweet piper in the van to go home.  As soon as I closed the van door my heart broke.  I just wasn't expecting that.  She is only 7 1/2 and she has been pretty healthy.  Although I do have to say yesterday when he was squeezing it and I got a good look I thought it looked a little worse than the average cyst?  You know I will be ok if she is sick and not got a whole lot longer to be with our family.  What I am not ok with is telling my 4 girls this.  The will be devastated.  I had tears in my eyes several times since, thinking about it and watching Avri sit on the floor in front of her bed for 30 minutes tonight just patting her and loving her.  Avri has had her since she was 4 years old - they have grown up together.  Avri is just like me, she is a total animal lover.  I remember being a child and loosing a pet and how hard that was and I just want her or the other girls to have to go through that.

So this brings me to my gratitude thought for the day.  I am grateful for Piper.  Funny how when something is threatened to be taken away we all of sudden feel more attached.  I love her, she is a great dog.  She is smart and gentle and loyal and protective.  She is the sweetest dog I have ever known.  I feel safe at home when Josh is out and she is here with me and the girls.  I feel safe when I walk or run on the dyke with her.  She keeps me company when I garden outside, or wash the van.  She is a wonderful companion and is she is incredibly good with all children.  All of sudden all the things she has done to drive me crazy like dig a hole or rip flowers out of my garden, get into the garbage or have nasty diarrhea on my brand new $300 cream shag area rug, seem insignificant! I guess we will see what the future holds, it may be ok - although the look on the vets face and what he said didn't make me feel very confident.  We find out next week what the pathology report says.  Til then I will not being saying anything to the kids and I will hope for the best.

Here are a few shots of the recovering Piper.

Feelin a little sleepy after the anesthetic.

OUCH!!  The incision is about 4 inches or so.

You know its bad when you are even getting sympathy from the cat!!

Publish Post

pets and vets

WOw this week has got off to a busy busy start.  Its going to be one of those weeks that just whizzes by!  I had to take my dear Piper (our 7 year old golden retriever) to the vet today which brings me to my gratitude thought for the day.  I am so grateful for good veterinarian care.  Piper has had this bump on her back for a few months.  We took her to the vet and he said it wasn't anything but to keep an eye on it.  It was starting to get  a bit bigger so I was planning to take her in but on the weekend it practically exploded and she started biting and chewing at it.  I was horrified when I noticed it!  I would take a picture and put it on here to gross you all out, but honestly it grosses me out so much I can not take a picture of it because that would require me looking at it.  In fact when the vet squeezed at it I almost gagged.  He said it needed to come off and he was able to squeeze her in for surgery tomorrow!!  He is such a great Vet (George from Pitt Meadows Animal Clinic).  He did not charge me for the visit today because she is coming back tomorrow.  He has been so good to our pets!!  I say I am grateful for good veterinarian care because we have experienced both good and bad vet care during our pet owner days!!

As for the service I had 2 today!!  I helped Mika with some memorizing for her highland theory and painted her nails while she was practicing it.  She is such a smart kid, she can remember things so easily and she LOVES to learn.  I have to say that painting my girls nails is one of my favorite things to do!  In fact I have a slight obsession with OPI nail polish!  I think I have somewhere around 50 bottles!  I justify because hey there is 5 of us girls in the house so they go to good use ;)  The second act of service was later this evening after dance when I was driving Avri home from her dance class at 7:30pm.  I took her to McDonalds cause she was starved after a 90 minutes dance marathon class, and we sat in the car and chatted and enjoyed each others company.  I really needed to get home to the mounds of laundry awaiting me but I decided to take a few minutes with her alone and just hang out and chat.  (Ok and it was pretty nice for me to leave the chores behind while munching on fries and sipping diet coke:)  Sometimes these charitable acts end up being as good for me if not better!!  I am really enjoying taking time during the day to think of things I can do for family members and reminding myself of things that I am grateful for.  Sometimes I get on such a roll when I start thinking about it that I become overwhelmed.  I have so much to be grateful for.  I really think that it is important to remind ourselves of what we have and how blessed we are.  Everyone has things to be grateful for and when you take time out to think of them you become even more grateful for what you already have in all aspects of life.  Of course I am just like everyone else and there are plenty of things I want or wish I had but I am trying really hard to be happy with the life I have.

As for this week - it is a busy one with dance classes, piano, dog surgery, a baby shower, a few family birthday parties and it ends with a big dance competition ( for our association Fraser Valley Highland Dance Assoc) and a church youth activity for Avri!!  Better get to sleep, I need to be well rested this week!!  P.s I need to think of something to do for Josh - he is the only unserved one so far!!  Shouldn't be too hard, he is pretty easy to please!

bye bye weekend

I think my weekends are going to have be just one post.  It is so crazy around here on the weekends and this weekend was no exception.  We did have a great weekend though and we managed to sneak in some family time!  On Saturday we even foolishly decided to brave Costco together....all 6 of us.....at dinner time.  Proved to be a little difficult but we managed which brings me to my first act of service.  The kids really really wanted to eat at costco (yummmmm greasy fries, gravy and jumbo hotdogs!!) and hey I shouldn't complain, it was only $12.00 to feed our whole family but I really didn't want to eat there.  Also by the time we got to the checkout it was 5:55 and they close at 6:00.  ONe of my service rules that I didn't really add in the beginning was that it can not be something I paid money for.  If you know me you know I love to shop and that would make it just far to easy and alot less meaningful.  So anyway I decided what the heck I will let them have their dinner at costco and even let them have pop!  We were going to eat out anyway but lets just say that costco was not my first choice.  I survived though.

My saturday gratitude was for sleeping in :) yep I love love love to sleep especially in the morning as I am a total night owl (you might have figured that out since I am usually typing up this blog at 1am.  On Saturday my little Zoe got up first at 8am but she quietly played on my ipad and got herself a granola bard while waiting for everyone else to wake up!  I didn't get up til almost 10am!!  Such a treat!!

Today (Sunday) my act of service was for Avri.  She has been trying really extra hard to practice her piano more and learn her songs faster and she has been doing a great job.  She had a song that she was struggling with a little so I came and sat down with her and spent 10 minutes or so going through it with her.  Crazy thing is she is on her way to passing my piano knowledge!!!  In fact she knew things I didn't!!  But we worked on it together and we figured it out!  She loves it when I try and play her songs through.  She has great natural talent when it comes to piano - she sometimes lacks the disciple and motivation but she is doing better and seeing some results.  I am very proud of her.

My gratitude today was for church!  After such a hectic week, I love going to church on Sunday's with my family and taking a break from the crazy and hectic life that we lead from Monday - Saturday.  I love my friends that are there, I love the music and my children's primary teachers, who patiently teach my children each week that they are a child of god and that he loves each one of them for who they are.  I am so grateful for that knowledge that God is aware of me and that he loves me unconditionally.

After church I started in on a fun pinterest project that I found, my dear friend Nikki came over and helped me cut ribbon for it and kept me company while I plugged away.  It took alot longer than I expected but that is usually how these craft projects go!!  I will try and attach a picture of the valentines wreath made out of ribbons- and here is to another week!!  The picture doesn't do it much justice and they sticky finger prints on the french doors are embarassing!!

Yeah for Friday

Leah and I had a lazy day at home today catching up on chores and starting some of my new years organizing projects! I love organizing and wish desperately that I was more organized but I am really giving it a serious effort!

My act of service today was with Leah. After we did a huge overall on the play room she wanted me to help her get down her Dora play house and her little Dora figures. I decided to get down on the floor and play Dora with her. I wish I could say that this was something that I did often (playing at floor level with my kids) but I am so busy with house things and day to day busyness that I often don't take the time. I really enjoyed it and in fact we were having so much fun that she came into the kitchen and helped me make lunch. It is days lime this that I realize that they are only smallmfor such a short time. Right now they still love to do things with me ( I hope that never ends but I am sure it won't always be as easy as it is when they are 3 or 5 years old!)

Today I am grateful for corner stores. Sounds funny but the dinky little (albeit overpriced) corner store on 216th has come in handy so many times! It is so nice not to have to go all the way to save on, or even worse superstore when a recipe calls for something I don't have! Today it provided me with a $3.99 tiny bag of brown sugar! I could not have finished making my yummy monster cookies without it :). It has saved me several times!

Monster cookies are yummy, especially if you love coconut!

Recipe
3 cups flour (I use half whole wheat and half white)
1 teas cinnamon
1 teas baking soda
1 teas baking powder
1 teas salt
1 1/2 cups butter softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 tablespoons vanilla
3 eggs
3 cups rolled oats
3 cups choc chips
2 cups coconut

Mix first 5 ingredients set aside. Cream butter and sugars. Add vanilla and eggs. Mix well. Add dry ingredients and mix til just mixed. Stir in oats choc chips and coconut. Drop by 1/4 cups (yes they are big!) onto greased cookie sheet or parchment. Bake at 350 for 12 min or until slightly browned. Makes 4 dozen BIG cookies :)

Happy weekend everyone! Oh and ps the pork chops sucked that I wrote about yesterday. You win some you loose some!

busy day!

It's going to be a short one today.  It was such a busy day with cyber school, orthodontist appointment in New West, 2 dance classes and 2 piano lessons!!  We were just going non stop (or at least I was!!) all day! I still managed to fit in my act of service!!  I helped Avri with a socials studies map of Japan.  She was assigned this yesterday and it was to be finished today but we spent 2 hours going to the orthodontist and she was behind.  Cyber school is great because it allows her to work somewhat at her own pace but she is still learning about how to manage her time.  Anyhow she spent a long time on her map but need some help with the fine lining and the legend and scale.  I enjoyed helping her - dinner suffered though so the kids had cereal and we had leftovers.  Luckily the pork chops will still be fresh tomorrow!!  I am trying a new very simple recipe for them.  You spread honey mustard on the pork chop then coat it with italian bread crumbs.  Then you cook them in olive oil in a deep frying pan with a lid on a med heat for 6-8 minutes.  I'll let you know how they turn out tomorrow!

As for my gratitude - today I am grateful for my sister in law Carrie.  She has become one of my dearest friends and a wonderful Auntie to my 4 girls.  She is a huge part of my life and I am grateful for her.  There are so many things about her that I am grateful for and she has become a huge blessing to our lives but the reason I chose this for today is because she is teaching my girls piano (In fact this is the 6th year she has been teaching my kids!!!).  Carrie is an amazing pianist and one of the most patient teachers I know.  My girls adore her and love spending time with her learning piano.  Normally she teaches them at her house but they are in the midst of finishing their basement and instead of cancelling the classes tonight she drove to our house and taught them here.  I am starting to see the pay off of these lessons as they are now able to read music and memorize pieces of music.  Piano music is one of my favorite things to listen to and I am so happy that my girls are learning how to play.  Avri actually thought about quitting just before christmas but changed her mind after giving it much thought.  Avri is very busy and finds it hard to find time to practice and sometimes it doesn't come that easy to her.  Because she has Carrie for a teacher and she loves her Auntie she is persevering and staying with it.  I am very thankful for her and her dedication to teaching them.

On a side note I am grateful that our cat Oscar is alive tonight!!  I went into the laundry room after putting the kids to bed and decided to throw on a load of towels.  When I opened the front loading washer door our big fat orange cat sort of fell out.  First off it scared the absolute heck out of me and then I quickly realized the seriousness of the situation and that if I had not gone in to laundry he would have died in there suffocating.  As it was he was damp for all the condensation from breathing in the enclosed space and he ripped up a bunch of the rubber seal around the door.  I have no idea how long he was in there but I am assuming a few hours.  I had this horrible vision of me having to tell the girls that he died in the washing machine.  How devestating that would have been.  Thankfully he is alive and fine and maybe short one of his 9 lives!!!

So Far So Good!

Day two - I think what is really great about my 2 New Years Goals which are 1) to provide and act of service every day for at least one person in my immediate family and 2) to post something that I am grateful for, is that all day I am thinking about this.  Of course I am sure every day won't be quite so charitable but today I was really thinking about it and trying to store up a few ideas for the next few days!

Today I got up early (ok just before 7am, but hey that is very early for a non-morning person like me!!) to bake cookies for the kids to take in their lunches.  School lunches are like the bane of my exsistance sometimes.  3 kids, they all like and dislike different things and their school is 100% nut free.  Not just peanut free, nut free.  I don't have a problem with this as I can only imagine the stress this causes parents whose children have life threatening allergies, but wow is it a challenge to make lunches every day.  Anyway today I decided I would get up early to make their favorite (nut free) chocolate chip oatmeal cookies with rice crispies in them YUMMMM!!  In fact I'll add the recipe so you can try it out and see for yourselves that these are in fact very yummy, and easy!!

Today I am grateful for a person - my 8 year old (almost 9!!) daughter Mika.  Mika is probably my most challenging child most of the time, but she has a side to her that is an absolute gift to me.  She loves to help.  She always has, since she was a tiny girl, loved to help.  Her teachers comment all the time on how helpful she is in the classroom, everything from clean up to helping others with their work.  And she does it out of the pure love of doing it.  Today i was in a rush (pretty common for this household) to get dinner in the oven.  She helped me by opening a few cans of black beans, grating some cheese, stirring and mixing while I did some chopping.  She emptied my dishwasher, then she happily entertained Leah (who was grouchy cause she missed her nap) while I finished up dinner.  I came upstairs and she was sitting in the rocking chair reading her a story while Leah sang songs beside her.  It melted my heart.  At that moment I thought, I am so grateful for her and I know I always will be.  I know that she is always going to want to be part of our lives and help us.  It is just who she is and I am so proud of her!  p.s. the chicken enchilada's she helped me make were pretty good too!!

Rocky Road Cookies
1 cup butter (softened)
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teas vanilla
1/2 teas baking powder
1 teas baking soda
1/4 teas salt
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup white flour (can substitute all white)
1 bag mini choc chip ( reg size work bit the mini are yummy!!)
1 3/4 cups rolled oats
1 3/4 cups of rice crispies

cream butter and sugars, add eggs and vanilla and mix well.  mix baking powder, baking soda, salt and both flours together add to cream mixture, mix til just mixed, add oats, crispies, and choc chips mix until just mixed (I use kitchen aid on slow setting).  Drop by spoonfuls onto greased cookies sheet ( I bake on the silpat mats - so easy!!) Bake for approx. 10 min at 350 til lightly browned, LIGHTLY is the key.  They should be soft and chewy!!

ENJOY!

Happy New Year - Resolution time!

Let me start by saying that 2011 was a wonderful year for my family.  We were generally healthy, and happy most of the time!  We travelled a little bit, enjoyed the girls highland dancing and the business is doing well!  I hope 2012 is just as good to us!  As the new year approached I started to think of what kind of resolutions I wanted to make.  Of course the old given's popped into my head, be healthier, eat healthier, exercise more, spent less money etc etc.  Of course those are all great resolutions and I hope to be able to do a bit better in the "health" department this year but I really wanted to do something a little more meaningful this year.  So I thought about what kind of things make me happiest  and what kind of things I could improve on and most importantly what kind of things would benefit my entire family.  So the two things that I came up with are


1) To do one act of service for a member of my immediate family EVERY day.  Not each member but at least one.  The only rule I am giving myself is that it can not be something that I already do daily - for example cooking dinner, doing laundry or driving kids to school or activities etc.  I of course will do my best to keep it as even as possible (you know it may be easier to do something for some people than others;) but I am trying to do my best to include everyone on a weekly basis.


2) Consciously be grateful for at least one thing EVERY day.   The following quote sums up why I want to focus on gratitude - "Gratitude is a mark of a noble soul and a refined character. We like to be around those who are grateful. They tend to brighten all around them. They make others feel better about themselves. They tend to be more humble, more joyful, more likable."  I want my children to grow up to be compassionate adults and I really feel that the best way for me to acheive this is to to teach them to be grateful and to charitable.  If I want to teach them this then I certainly need to set  an example for them.  So this is my New Years Resolution.


I am going to try to post what my daily acts of service and thoughts of gratitude are.  I probably won't get a post in every day but I will do my best and I will note what they were for each day.  I am actually really looking forward to this!


So for today my act of service was organizing my daughter Avri's drawers and helping her stick up some name letters that she printed in vinyl up on her wall.  I enjoyed her company as we did this together while she took a 15 minute break from her cyber school studies.  She is 11 years old and in grade 6 and she is such a sweet girl.  She is so even tempered (not like me) and thoughtful and sweet and good to her younger siblings.  She rarely gets upset with anyone.  I am so proud of the person she is and who she is becoming.  I adore her.  


And today I am grateful for hot baths.  I love them.  I love that when all 4 of my girls are in bed and I am sore from yesterday's workout ( you know the other resolution to be healthier) that I can slip into a hot bath with a good book and forget about all the chores and day to day tasks that are awaiting me on the other side of the bathroom door!  I love the way my cats sit on the edge of the tub and play in the bubbles all the while keeping me company.  Even if it is only for 45 minutes I love that I can relax and escape from my responsibilities and then come out feeling relaxed and refreshed!


That is it for tonight but you will be hearing from me a little more often on here as I account for my daily resolutions!  Here is to 2012!


Below are a few pictures of christmas concerts, gingerbread house making highland competition and the girls performance with their dance school at the old folks home in  Maple Ridge.