Where does the time go?

I have not posted in quite some time. My intentions have been very good, but my follow through has been rather wretched.

We have been busy. Bronwyn has lost a couple more teeth. Gavin has learned to ride his bike. He is starting to master stopping. Starting is still a problem, but it will come. Mari has been up to mischief. Oh and Bronwyn got her hair cut, I'll have to get a picture - she looks pretty cute!

Wes continues to be super busy with the house and I am busy running around after everyone. Oh and I have decided to start reading again, but I'm on the hunt for funny and engaging books - so if you have any suggestions I am open to hearing them.

Happy Easter

We are still here. I have been shockingly neglectful of the blog. The good news is I took a bunch of pictures yesterday and the kids are all dressed up today so I shall take more. So be patient exciting times ahead!

Lost tooth and my fashion forward girl

A couple pictures of the girls. Bronwyn with the new gap in her smile. And Mari in her own fashion creation. We were just leaving to take Bronwyn to school. She knows how to draw attention.

My cute kids

I decided last night that I needed to do a post and share some of my kids "cutenesses." (And Mom I put it in parenthesis because I know it isn't a word.)

I thought hard to come up with something but still couldn't. I think it is because there are too many things. I can't narrow it down - or I really don't listen to them. Who knows?

Of course, typing that made me think of Mari's latest. If I say I have to think about something she says, "Like my Jo-Jo, fink, fink, fink." She means Winnie the Pooh. She calls him Jo-Jo, thanks to Grandma, its a long story!

Bronwyn lost her first tooth. She lost it at school, so she got to go to the office and get a little tooth shaped container to put it in and a sticker and oohhh boy did she enjoy that. She came running out of the school at home time with a smile so large on her face, I could see the big gap immediately. On the way home she said, "Mom, I am such a big girl now."

Gavin, well, he has been unusually argumentative and for him that is saying a lot. He tried out a karate class last week. So yesterday he said to me, "Don't argue with me Mom I know karate." Wow! Where to start with that eh?

We have a few days of school and then we have our spring break. We are looking forward to the break.

If I can think of more cute things I'll write them down. Fink, fink, fink.

My beautiful toes

Last week was silly busy! Just one thing after another. This week won't be so bad, but we did "spring ahead." So I am expecting the kids to be a bit cranky this week. I'm an optimist!

We are having beautiful weather here and it feels like spring, although I'm not naive and I know it can snow many times more this year. But we are just enjoying it and breathing in the potential of spring. Lovely.

The girls did my toes the other day, notice I didn't say toe nails - I said toes! Oh my feet were so pretty.

We tried to float some boats down the gutter the other day, with the neighbor kids. There was a lot of built up ice in the way, so I gave the kids garden tools to chip it out. Yup, 3 - 7 year olds with rakes, spades, pitch forks and snow shovels. It looked like a scene from a third rate horror movie, I mean except it was bright and sunny and the kids were laughing, but you know if you used your imagination...  No one lost an eye - which is really something of a miracle.

I'm off to bed to try and sleep off the time change.

My nephew is an adult today

My heart is a bit sad and a bit shocked at how much time has passed.

Today is my eldest nephew, Jared's 18th birthday!

I still remember the first time I held him in my arms. He was just over a week old and Jon and I drove to Edmonton to get a glimpse. We had gone out and dropped a stupid amount of money on totally useless clothing (the stuff that is way cute but never gets worn) and off we went.

I couldn't believe how beautiful he was. He has an absolutely perfect head (maybe because he was a c-section baby). I was absolutely smitten! For years I carried pictures Jared, Josh and Kennedy in my wallet and would show them off shamelessly. Ask me if I have pictures of my kids, ahem! My standards have slid a bit. (I was going to scan in a picture of him as a baby, but with all our renos I have no idea what box the old photos are in.)

I happened to be at Tom and Pam's when they left for the hospital to have Joshua. Jared was 2, he had beautiful curly hair and he was BRILLIANT. I remember laying in bed waiting for him to wake up, worried that he would be upset that his Mom wasn't home. I was sure he'd cry and be hard to console. Finally I heard him stirring. I started talking to him before I entered the room, so he'd hear my voice and know it wasn't his Mom. I said, "Jared, your Mommy has gone to get a baby, so its just you and me buddy." By then I was in the room looking down in his crib. He gave me a great big smile and said, "Yeah."

I also remember him saying to me that day, when we were playing ball. "Go get the ball Auntie." I said, "No, you go get it." He came over put his hand on my knee and said in a VERY sweet voice, "Please." Well, I really had no choice at that point did I.

Well, he is no longer a curly haired little cherub, he is a young man! 18 years old. Wow.

So Jared, just know we love you very much and are very proud of you (and your brother and sister too).

On a related note, some of you have asked how Pam is doing.

The reports are that she has made it through her first month or so of the treatment and the doctors were extremely pleased with her success. She has proven to be strong and resilient. She has now entered into the next part of the treatment, which she can administer at home. I now ask for your prayers that this will go well, have the desired results and that the side affects will not be too severe.

Name that tune

On my way home from Langdon tonight. Driving through the darkness, listening to my ipod with three sleeping kids in the van (so in other words I got to pick the music), I reflected on the lovely day and the busy week ahead.
A great song (a super oldie) came on and it starts with one of my all time favourite lines from music (or anywhere else for that matter); "With only fear and good judgement holding us back, we sailed out on the northern sea." Isn't that awesome. Can anyone name the song and the group? I'll give you a virtual high five and you will have the satisfaction of having it known that you are truly a Canadian music aficionado.
Guess?

Last week was a bit of a blur for me. I actually came back from the retreat pretty wiped, and with a bit of a head cold (I blame that on Joan). So it took me quite a while to acclimate myself.
Yesterday we took the kids swimming and had a lot of fun. Today of course the usual mayhem at Grandma and Grandpas.

Good times all round.
So we go into this week - with only fear and good judgement holding us back... HA HA! That should be the Davis motto.

I promise to start taking pictures again soon. I have been a bit negligent lately. My children will wonder what happened to the winter of 2012 - no pictures to prove we lived through it.

Ladies Retreat

We arrived home last night from a weekend at the Sister Triangle ladies retreat. It was a very good weekend. I came home very tired, but also glad I had the opportunity to go.

Thanks to everyone who made it such a success and to all the ladies who made my life just a bit richer!

HA HA

Found them. And some folks say prayer doesnt work!

I've lost my keys

Little bo Mommy has lost her keys and doesn't know where to find them. Leave them alone and they will come home??

Came in last night with the kids and set the keys somewhere - we have exhausted all the usual places so now its just a waiting game... Well that and Ishould likely givet he house a good cleaning to see if we can't locate them somewhere.

Sheesh! STUPID KEYS!

Wes is busy looking, I'm bloggin (hee hee), Mari is finishing Wes' Iced Cap, Bronwyn is in the bedroom listening to Gavin who is giving a concert, a recorder concert. He was sent to his room to preform, until he improves of course, at which point he may be allowed out, maybe...

So wish us luck. The keys just have to be around the corner.

What is love?

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

Random thoughts & a request

We had a super refreshing weekend. Just a super lovely time. The kids played really hard.

Wes wasn't feeling well so he stayed home Saturday. He has been working so hard that I think he was plain worn out. He was back up and running by Sunday morning.

On the house front we will hopefully be having the framing, heating, plumbing and electrical inspections this week. I am so excited to be onto the next phase. And hopefully DONE!

I know many of you who have hung in and continue to read our blog are people who pray. So I now have a request. My sister-in-law, Pam, had a cancerous lymph node removed. They were super pleased with the surgery and with her quick recovery. She is now undergoing a treatment that helps reduce the risk of the cancer spreading (just in case there were some tiny bits still left in the system). I am sure I am not doing the details justice.

I am asking if you could pray for her and for their family. We are so confident that she will do well and that her general great health will play in her favour. The treatment sounds as though it can be very hard to go through. So please pray that she will have good results and that she will remain cancer free.

Your prayers have given us strength in our dark days and I continue to thank you for caring for us.

February 2nd is Lavine's birthday

It is ground hog's day. Today. Which means, I think of my Grandma. And so far today, I think of her a lot.

She was and is one of the weightiest presences in my life. Her personality could not be contained in a few descriptors. No. She was someone who walked with people. She held relationship at a premium. She understood its value.

She was tough. Really tough. Funny. Really Funny. She was kind in her own real sort of way.

I loved her very much. But more importantly I am thankful for her. For her example. For her life. For her passion.

Miss you Grandma.

Upcoming event

I have been asked to speak at the Sister Triangle Ladies Retreat at the end of February.

I have been working on the subject matter and trying to come up with something that will not bore them all. I hope I'm on my way. Of course, I have tried to discuss it with Wes when the house is finally quiet, usually when we are in bed. He has drifted off to sleep, doesn't bode well.

The biggest obstacle I have at this point is my shocking decrease in brain function. Hmmm.

What would you say to a group of Christian ladies?

I've lost my motivation

I put it down somewhere and I have no idea where to find it.

In other words, I have been very tired today. Normally Monday is my "productive" day. I usually get a lot done, not today! Nope.

Tomorrow will be better, I hope but I'm not sure as I'm too unmotivated to even make a plan - ha!

The weather is much better this week. The glitch of ugly cold winter last week has subsided and we are back to the lovely mild winter we have been enjoying.

Family news:
Gavin is growing again - must stop feeding him.
Bronwyn has her dance recital this weekend. She is very excited about that. She was excited cause she was able to show off some of her dance moves in her class at school.
Mari, well Mari stuck her tongue to the metal rail outside. None of our kids will be doing that again soon.
Wes is working super hard on the house. It is coming nicely, although I'm getting anxious to see some visible progress - you know like drywall.
Me, did I mention I'm tired today. Well, I am. Tomorrow will be a better day - it always is. If I could find a way to get our blasted children to stop coming to bed with us at night it would likely help.

Here's to a great night sleep for you and me!

The return of the routine

So here we are the first day back at school. Back to setting the alarm clock, making lunches, drop offs and pick ups. The break was lovely. It was wonderful to not have my day driven by the school's clock. I loved the time off, but...

It is nice to get back to the routine. To have the day broken up into tangible chunks of time. So as much as I resent the 'school schedule' it is also rather helpful. I find that I am more productive and can accomplish more when I have time lines. Having chunks of time in the day without three kids under foot also contributes to productivity.

Not that I am too concerned with productivity. My neighbors girlfriend was visiting with me one afternoon on her way in. I was doing yard work and was frustrated with how little I was accomplishing with all the help I was getting.

I laughingly said, "It has been almost seven years since I have actually completed a task, or accomplished anything." She laughed politely and then pointed at the three kids and replied, "Looks to me like you have accomplished a fair bit." I stopped and said, "Well, yes."

But that did give me pause for thought. Why yes, I do accomplish a lot.

This Christmas break we enjoyed our two weeks off and we played really hard. Really hard! And that was great.

Now it is back to business, time to get things done.

Post Christmas fun

The kids have been having a blast playing with all their new toys and gifts. They have been crafting and reading and drawing.

Yesterday I took them to Toys R Us so they could use some of their gift cards to get a few things. I picked out something I thought Mari might like and ohhhhh has it been a hit. It is a little make-up kit with a mirror and all sorts of make up. She played with that yesterday for hours. By the time she was done she looked like a radish! She took a look in the mirror and said, "Wow!" With excitement. I looked at her and said, "Wow," too, just with a different tone of voice.

I think I took a picture I'll try downloading it tonight.

The kids are enjoying the slow relaxed mornings of holidays. I have a feeling we will all miss that when school is back in.

Wishing you all the best of the season.

Annual Christmas Card

Best wishes of the season from our house to yours.

May God bless you in the coming year.

The Davis Christmas weekend

So we aren't terribly great at getting into the Christmas spirit as early as other folk. This year has been no exception. We all got the stomach flu last week so that slowed it down a bit more than usual.

This weekend we made up for our lack of festivities.

After a play date with school friends we went out to Airdrie to take in the Festival of Lights and a nice dinner with Grandma Joan.

Saturday we were able to get to go to Grandma and Grandpa's and finally do the ginger bread houses, some tobogganing, help set up their tree and just generally have fun.

Sunday Wes & Gavin went and picked out our tree. Then we had a potluck with our church friends. More tobogganing. And another potluck with another group of lovely friends.

In all that I managed to cook for both potlucks and get the laundry all caught up.

Whew!!

We are very excited for the Christmas break. I just love not having to comply to a school schedule and I think the kids are very ready for a break. They are also very excited about Christmas. Oooh busy times.

Budding photographer

We got Bronwyn a little camera for her birthday and she just loves it. She takes pictures of everything. I thought this shot was pretty cute and decided to share it.