Fun times!

Happy 16th anniversary to us!!!

How blessed we have been.... Xo

Cheers to messes!!!

Kisses for Daisy

Daisy has proven to be the sweetest kitten on earth! She loves to be with our girls.... She is a treasure to our family!

Tea Party!!!!

We hosted a little tea party this morning... I am not sure who had more fun:) Last night Kev came into the kitchen to see me icing these cupcakes and shook his head! Yes, I truly have 'too much fun' sometimes:))) The party has come and gone, a simple little tea party just for fun! xo Our special guests were cousin's Brierly, Livy and Calista and Mara's friend Emma!

xoxo

A lovely summer so far....

What an incredible summer it has been so far....

We are so happy to have Victoria home for the summer! Hannah and Mara-Grace adore their time with their big sister so much. I have never seen a kinder, more giving (of time) and patient sister. Victoria is a constant supply of new games and fun and songs! Some that teenagers love, and so do Hannah and Mara! It is funny to see them get so excited when Tori plays them a new song! If there is anything too mature in the lyrics she changes them to be appropriate. Victoria is so special and sometimes I worry that I do not post enough about our Tori. At 15 however, I walk a very fine line of what I know Tori would appreciate me talking about and posting approved pictures! I will post this though, yes a bit of a brag session, but I am so proud of her! She has completed the 9th grade with flying colors and some awards! Victoria was given High Honours in History, Computer Science and Science & Tech. And she was given Honours in Phys. Ed, English, Mathematics and Visual Arts. She was given medals in History and Computer Science. She is a dedicated student and we couldn't be more proud of her! Now, bring on Grade 10 in her new school!!! Victoria is finding the summer a little long without her friends and routine. She is looking forward to meeting some friends her age (but loves her time with her little friends! LOL)

Mara-Grace is having a splendid summer. I must say, sadly, she really wasn't doing very well about Sunday's and mass. Most weeks for many weeks, she would sit there with her head down, not participate and cross her arms and look away from anyone who spoke to her. She even stomped back from coming with us for communion one week. Boy, was that embarrassing! She was having a very very difficult time adjusting to the idea of a new parish and a new priest. We went to different churches, in hopes that one would call out to our needs/ideas. We are happy and relieved to report that we have found a church that seems to suit our family well. The first 2 weeks there Mara-Grace was again, unimpressed. It is always around communion that her mood turned from grouchy to heartbroken and angry. I said some prayers that we could reach her as church was something she always looked forward to. Of course her beloved Fr.Jerome was there which was much of the excitement for her! I think we broke through a little with her when I explained that I understood she missed Fr.Jerome very much. And that this is normal. But I also told her that Fr. Jerome would be sad to hear that she is so angry and sad at church. I explained that it would make Fr. Jerome happy to hear that we have found a church to belong to and participate at. This was the turning point... She slowly opened up to the idea that maybe she should try to find some special things about our new church. For instance, Fr. Joe is our new priest. Fr. Joe and Fr. Jerome both start with J and they both have O's and E's in their names! This was VERY interesting to her! Also, she likes to look at the stained glass windows at our new church. Fr. Joe has been very kind to her as he knows she was very sad ( I explained it to him when he greeted her and she ignored him outright!). I am very relieved to say that Mara-Grace is now looking forward to mass tomorrow morning! I believe we have seen the light! Apart from church, Mara has continued to love our new adventures here! Today she picked a whole bag of acorns for me! These are very special treasures to her (as they should be!). She went to bed excited tonight as I told her that tomorrow morning I have a little surprise for her and for Hannah. The surprise is a few books on summertime and going to the beach. We are talking alot about our upcoming trip to Maine.

As for Hannah, life is changing quickly! She is changing daily! She is growing and glowing! She is such a beautiful little soul. A few of the firsts lately have been:
Being 23 months old (as of yesterday!), tasting a bite of a toasted marshmallow, her first Canada day, meeting many new faces of family at a baby shower last weekend (that is where the pic in the last post was taken) She runs like the wind now! She is a perfect mimic! She has the most amazing sense of humour! She loves to throw her toys! Yesterday, I heard her saying, "Thank(tank) you Mommy" I looked into the living room to see her talking for her dollhouse baby to the Mother! OMG she is playing and talking for her toys!!!! She also talks through story books now when reading 'alone'. She loves her bedtime stories and can point to all of the animals/insects in one of her favorite books. She also adores Goodnight Moon and points to all of the pictures mentioned. She even puts her finger to her lip and says Shhh (ch ch)for the Old Lady whispering Hush! She rarely forgets her Thank You's and she knows when to say Sorry when it is appropriate to do so. She says three word sentences mostly. And also says Goodnight! So cute. She can say every one's name in our immediate family and pronounces tori like Torgi:) She LOVES to say Daisy!!!!

This week we spent the night in a hotel near where we used to live. We had a few doctor's appointments spread over two days so it was a nice little holiday to take! We truly enjoyed the pool at the hotel. There has been an extreme heat wave and not to sound spoiled, but we have missed our A/C and pool we grew accustomed to in our old house! Kevin's parents surprised us with a portable AC which does an incredible job of cooling down the kitchen, great room and living rooms. The upstairs has been sauna like with the extreme heat! Usually at night it truly does cool down with the river and the mountain air but not in this heatwave!!!! The hotel was a treat this week!!!!

The pics below have been taken over the last few weeks. Mostly our girls having some summer fun! There is one taken of the back of our house. There are a few in the pool this week! Hannah loved the water and Mara-Grace is a fish! She is almost ready to swim on her own!!! Both little ladies adore their lessons from Victoria! Wow! She is incredible with all of her ideas!!! She had taken a course specifically on how to teach children. It sure was wonderful! I loved watching them!

Lots of love xoxo Enjoy the summer sun!

Memories in the making

This is Hannah enjoying the day!

1st ever Canada Day cupcake!!!!!

Happy Canada Day!!!!!

Much love for a fantastic Canada Day!!!! So thankful to have Hannah home to celebrate her 1st! Xo

Quiet angels

Right before our move, we received the most generous gift for our Mittens for China mission.

What an incredible surprise and relief as I had not collected anything since sending our last bundle to China and was feeling way behind! Out of the blue this arrived chock full of mittens, hats and scarves!!! So many colors, sizes and sets....

This is a long overdue blog thank you to quiet angels who give so willingly of their time and talent.... In this case, the angel's name is Glenda who will forever be thought of by me as The Goddess of Knit Gems!!!!

Xo

How blessed we are...

I am soon off to bed, but couldn't let the day pass without acknowledging the earthquake we had today. It measured 5.5 and was considered to be small, but it definitely was terrifying in my opinion.

I was on the phone with my Mother when I realised what was happening. I yelled that we had to get outside to Mara-Grace who was playing in a large box (and told me afterwards that she thought I was mailing her (we'd played that!) and it was her box that was jumping). Thankfully Hannah was in my arms already and Lady who seemed to sense something before it happened was already at the door! Poor baby Daisy was sleeping on my bed!

Kev was home as he works from his home office most days now. He came out to where we were and he grabbed Mara out of her box and we ran outside. It seemed to last and last.

After the initial scare of it, I felt panic set in. I had driven Victoria to meet her cousin into the city to shop. They were in a packed, popular shopping centre in a city I know Victoria isn't quite familiar with yet. She was even set to take a bus home and I was to meet her when she got off. Anyway, I called her cell phone once I got a line out. And nothing..... I called and called and I couldn't reach her. I was shaking to the core. This is when I was really the most terrified. My imagination was running with all of the possibilities.... It took us over half an hour and finally we were able to reach her.... I had been able to connect through to her voicemail and left her a message saying what had happened and to phone me immediately. Nothing....... Just before eventually getting to talk with her, we received a text message from her saying that the shopping centre was evacuated due to explosives and asking us to come right away. OMG My poor girl... I could only imagine how scared she was.... Thankfully we were able to reach her after this and we explained what was going on.... The downtown core was evacuated and we wouldn't be able to drive to her.... She was safe, she was outside and she was calm as I talked with her. I told her that her best bet was to take the planned bus home as it was coming within 20 minutes from that point. So, that she did.

I am so thankful to know that everyone was safe during this..... How blessed we are.... It sometimes takes an unexpected near emergency to remind us what is most important in our lives. I am so thankful.... I held my three girls a little extra today. We really are so blessed.

Much love from our home to yours. xoxo

Daisy enjoying her newest home!!!!

Daddy bought Daisy Mae a new home tonight..... Now THIS is some scratching post!!!!

Xo

Happy father's day!!!!!!

Xo

Some Saturday sillies!

Xo

So many gifts....

I wish that I could have found a moment (a long moment) to sit and write about how we have settled in etc. before now....

Now I feel that unless I devote 3 hours, I won't be able to capture everything! I will try....

Our move went well (despite the moving truck having the keys locked inside half way to our new home:) All went well and we so appreciated the helping hands that were essential for this move.

Our new home is 2 hours away from our old home... So, it definitely required more planning than a move within the same city. Thankfully, all went pretty smoothly!

Our girls as I have mentioned have settled in really well. Hannah had trouble about 4 days in for two nights. But I think it may be due to her trying to cut her molars and not the changes at home. Poor pumpkin. She is such a patient, sweet peach. She truly was easy going with all of the unpacking and settling. She seems to delight in each day.

Victoria has been back and forth and after her trip with Kevin to Vienna, she stayed during the week with her friend and her family in order to go to school etc. Now it is exam time and she writes her final exam on Tuesday. She is well settled into her room which in in the basement but has been re-done for her. She seems happy with her choices! And she also has a job interview for a summer job at Subway on Wednesday. Keep your fingers crossed! She really wants the experience and it will take up her time a little this summer as she is here without any of her friends yet.

Mara-Grace has embraced this move whole-heartedly. I am so thankful. We tried to prepare her as best we could and it seems to have comforted her. She is very happy here and enjoying country living! We even have new 'friends' in the field below... The cows and calves (SO CUTE!) have arrived at their summer retreat and we have been enjoying watching them! Daddy and Mara even walked down to the river one evening. Mara-Grace doesn't skip a beat! She is busy from the morning till bedtime! She has forgone her naps btw... I so miss them! But, it is also nice to have a little time alone with Miss Mara. She and I take the extra time to garden together etc. The only real upset has been mass.... We actually have attended a few different churches in hopes to find the right fit for our family. Mara-Grace was most upset last week. Our parish and Father Jerome are most missed. Apart from that, Mara-Grace is really happy here. She even has had the chance to meet a special little friend named Emma and this has made a big difference and opened her world a little more!

Although I have yet to take any real settled pictures, the house and unpacking is definitely coming along! I had done all of the unpacking I could do while Tori and Kev were in Vienna. Now Kev is settling his office (will finish building the doors tomorrow) and after that, we need to re-organize the shed and garage and get rid of a few leftover boxes and we are FINISHED!

Funny story... (well, now anyway~!) For the two weeks I was alone with our little girls, I tried to settle all I could. It was a lot of work and I found myself working most nights as my 'helpers' slept! With a new home, comes new noises and different critters! The spiders are definitely a little bigger here (they are wood spiders) and you see different beetles and June bugs, fireflies etc... The other night we saw the most beautiful moth. It was HUGE. I thought it may have been a bird at first! It was actually a Luna Moth. Gorgeous. Sadly, they only live a week as they have no mouth.... Anyway, while alone I thought I heard a mouse.... Turns out it probably was a Chipmunk outside... Ok, so I realised I have to get used to country living again! I did grow up here after all ao it must be still in me!!! Anyway, I was rather worried about the possibility of coming face to face with a snake (still am really, but I am improving daily with the help of enjoying my flower beds that Mara, Hannah and I have been hard at work in! And I haven't seen a snake yet!) and thinking I might die if I see a mouse and am alone here to try to capture it. Anyway, so thankfully nothing 'adventurous' happened in the mouse/snake dept. while I was 'alone'... I did however have an adventure with a baby crow who I prayed for and worried about as it wasn't flying! It had landed in the house gutter and then was on the ground. The mother was frantic. I was too.... Poor little guy. I am happy to report that it did indeed take flight on day two of operation Novena for the little guy!
Anyway (funny story time!) last week Mara-Grace came walking down during her "quiet time" and she says, "OoOOOH Mommy, guess what I just saw upstairs?" I had no idea and wasn't impressed that she was down again! hehe And the conversation went like this:
M-G A Mouse!
me Are you sure?
M-G yes Mommy!!!!! (the excitement in her voice!)
Me It wasn't a spider?
M-G NOOOOOOOO
Me I don't think so Mara.... I don't think we'd have a mouse at this time of year in the house.. Did it have a tail?
M-G Yes! And ears and everything! And it looked at me and ran into the linen closet...

So, I went to look.... I should rephrase this... I went to the landing at the front entrance and looked up towards the linen closet and as I did.... OUT Came a Mouse! OMG I jumped (way to go Mom... with all attempts at keeping cheerful and calm and I wanted to faint!) and the poor little mouse jumped! And Mara did too. Then I ran into the other room and told Mara to quickly run down and tell Daddy! I know, so stinking brave of me to send M-G! And Mara comes back up to tell me that Daddy cannot.... WHAT?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!??????? So, thankfully the laptop was in the kitchen. I emailed Kev something like this...

PLEASE COME UP!

Kev: I am really sorry, but I cannot. I am on a very critical call

OMG How long I ask....

Kev: 30 minutes

Me: There is a MOUSE. I REPEAT THERE IS A MOUSE

The 30 minutes was really 20 minutes. But it really felt like an eternity. It seemed like hours! I tried to be brave and I wanted to scream!!!!!!! My imagination was running wild with thoughts like :
-is it alone?
-how did it come in?
-why on earth upstairs?
-where is it now?
-does it have a family?
-poor little thing, how will I capture it and set it free?
-what if it gets hurts?
-what if we cannot find it?
-what if it's family is wondering?
-where is it's family?
-could it be part of a gang?
-Did it look gangster mouse?

I even said to Mara, "Let's think about Cinderella and her mice!" LOL She says, "Oh yes Mommy, let's make a list (she knows me so well) and we'll think about what the mouse loves!"

FINALLY Kev came back upstairs and says how busy he is but he will take a look. Not a minute later he is back! UMMMMM no sign of the mouse.... NO Kidding! I wasn't the sweetest wife at this moment... I fully expected Kev to drop everything and help find this mouse! Kev felt that he could have been anywhere by then. Ok, true.... don't remind me. So, I said that if we haven't found it, and safely brought it outside by bed time we were checking into a hotel! LOL I was dead serious! I know now that I was being silly but if it were to happen again tomorrow, I may think the same way. Yikes! So, Kev did more work and I sweat it more and more... Now my imagination is running like a freight train! I am so worried about the mouse at this point.... It must be hungry, thirsty, WHERE IS IT?!!!!!!!!!!!! And what are it's plans?!

So, Suppertime came and I said to Kev, "you go ahead and eat. I cannot... I am not hungry, I am worried sick. PLEASE go and see if you can find it Kev. PLEASE" Kev went off grumbling a little again. Now, I should explain that I am constantly talking to St Anthony and he always helps me find whatever it is a looking for. Perhaps my mind should be my next request?!!! Anyway, I prayed like no other to St. Anthony. I asked him PLEASE help us find the mouse and Kev was going to put a bowl over it and a cardboard under and take him outside.... That was my grand plan. I knew it was a long shot to find a mouse hours later. Well, I didn't get through two lines of my prayer and Kev called out, I've got him!!!!!! I was so incredibly thankful and relieved..... The poor little one was so tiny. I don't know what he was thinking! The only thing I can think of is that we had brought in Kev's new desk the night before and it was cold and raining, and the door was left open, could it have come in? There are no signs of mice here.... But we are in the country and such things have been known to happen (trying to remind myself that there has never been a mouse upstairs in over thirty years and this means I am good for another thirty?).... We did buy some safe traps JUST IN CASE....The kinds that do not hurt the mouse in any way..... I really am so thankful all was ok in the end for our adventurous little visitor. Poor little thing was rather cute really....As Kev showed me him I asked him to spread the word to his friends that we will not be running a mouse motel here....

Ok... it is getting late and I am babbling on! Are you still reading?! :)) Now as per my title, we have had so many gifts lately....
-coming 'home' full circle really... and it has gone so well
-the gifts of seeing first hand all of the gifts of Mother nature unfolding before our eyes
-new friendships
-seeing our girls get to really know their grandparents. Now when we turn on my parents street Hannah calls out, her version of Poppy! She adores my parents! LOVES to see and call for Poppy (bopbop/baba). She still hasn't wanted to come right up to my Gran yet, but she is getting there! She blows kisses and talks with her!
-We have been given the gift of being home with Hannah 6 months now!!!!!! What an incredible 6 months it has been.... Such a tremendous gift our Hannah is.... She also has just turned 22 months!!!!!
-We've also been given the gift of being closer to everyone in our families.... So nice to make plans and know we are now closer in distance.
-yes we miss our parish, and community and special friends, but we have been given the gift of keeping in touch with them too! (You know who you are, please do too!!! xo) We have been given the gift of knowing that distance doesn't really change those who are special to us...

And one incredible gift came home today.... Yes, we have a new baby.... She already has a special place in my heart... She is a three month old kitten named Daisy Mae Maia and she is the sweetest little darling I have ever seen! We have wanted to adopt another kitten since the loss of our precious Mischief 3 years ago.... We also didn't want to rush things. Lady is getting quite old now (thankfully she seems really content here but she is slowing down at a rapid rate) I wasn't sure it would be fair to her.... Kittens are busy etc... Anyway, when we talked about moving we also said that when we are settled we will adopt a kitten. Well, our girls have been talking about this non stop! And the time seemed right... My worry being mostly for Lady... Anyway, we bought all we need for a new kitten this week and yesterday we called our SPCA which told us they just sent their kittens off to a pet shop which has an SPCA counter there. So, being the evening, we didn't want to bring anyone home too late, and without our girls but there was a slight possibility if needs be too. So, we hired Tori to babysit and Kevin and I went out last evening to take a peek (with plans of returning with our girls today). There were three little kittens there..... Oh they were sweet, and Kev was all for bringing one home.... I don't know what it was but I looked at them and made eye contact with one little girl and although I knew I would love her, it just didn't seem right... It didn't feel right for some strange reason.... I cannot explain it and Kev was floored! I feel the need to give EVERYONE a home, now we have the chance and I just didn't want to jump in..... I stuck to the plan of wanting to come home and think about them. The little girl (we wanted a girl this time) was so busy. Non stop busy and I worried about Hannah and Lady.... Anyway, when we got home I was so undecided. I went to the Humane Society website and looked at their adoptable cats/kittens and I came face to screen? with a face I loved immediately... I just knew...... It felt so right but I was apprehensive to get any one's hopes up in case her write up suggested she wouldn't be right for our family (dog, kids etc...). We made plans to get to the shelter for opening and take a peek at little Maia.... Well, that is what we did. The five of us got there for opening and we went in to a room that was full of so many beautiful cats and kittens. I had room for all of them in my heart, but we quickly sought out Maia and I knew.... I held my breath and was so relieved to read that she is not afraid of children or of being picked up by children etc.... She is active, but loves to be cuddled and loves to sleep on your bed. Tori's dream! Btw, I dreamt of her all night! She was our perfect fit! We spent quite a while filling out her paperwork and she came home with us. Such a darling, calm and yet playful personality. She purrs and has used her litter box and ate and drank and cuddled and is an absolute doll.... We are all head over heels in love with her! And Lady is interested in her, and patient with her. She is comfortable and calm, but at this point does hiss at Lady who looks as though she isn't taking it personally. I now think that Lady may enjoy this new little life with her... She always loved Mischief and loves to visit my folks who have two cats. She looks happy and I am relieved. While Daisy Mae Maia does hiss at Lady, she is also not too scared to sit and dose in the same room as Lady. These are great signs. She also has loved exploring the house as long as Lady is not walking around! I think they will be friends once she gets more comfortable and trusting of Lady. We are happy to see that Lady isn't afraid of her! Lady is a bit of a chicken (so they say) I just know she is a Momma's girl! :) So, our darling little Daisy Mae Maia is home at last! Our family seems complete! xoxo

Much love from our home to yours. xoxo

Garden gnome???

Here is my littlest helper garden gnome Hannah! Note how dirty she is and of course has taken the liberty of not only pulling weeds but shoes too!!!! I suppose baths will be on the menu before lunch today!

Stawberries!!!

Not sure if the video will work this way, if not I will send it later!

Have a berry nice day!!!! (couldn't resist!)
Xo

Starry-eyed in the stroller

I asked Mara-grace to keep an eye on Hannah for a minute while I RAN to get the laundry.... I would say they kept their eyes on eachother! Xo

Cuties in the kitchen!!!

Xo

Our two littlest campers

There is nothing like camping out- IN!!!!!