I Tired Something NEW!

So one of my goals for this year is to try new things. To be adventurous, to learn something, or to even eat something I hadn't before. Life is to short to not experience all that you can. So yesterday I tried something new and LOVED IT!

I took Tyson and we went cross country skiing with my parents. It was SO much fun. It couldn't have been a more beautiful, calm day. You never know what kind of weather you are going to have in Waterton, but this day was perfect. We skied to Cameron lake, which was 5km round trip. It is a very easy flat ski/hike. We passed a few people along the way, some were skiing others were snowshoeing. All were having a great time! It was so nice to get out and be active. To also spend time with Tyson. He was so enthusiastic and caught on so fast. He could easily out ski all of us. He also FELL a lot more that we did too, but I did manage to fall a few times and we all had a good laugh.

When we got to the lake we had a wonderful little break and ate our lunch. There were the most tame birds there & they were so pretty. They would come right up to us and eat the bread out of our hand. Tyson really enjoyed this. Grandpa even put some bread on his nose and the bird came and took it.

It was a great day and something I look forward to doing again very soon. There is nothing better than spending time with family on a beautiful day!

My Obsession...

As of late I have been on a crocheting spree. I can't get enough. My hands like to be busy and they have been SO busy crocheting that now I fear I have carpal tunnel in my right hand. or that I may develop arthritis. Oh well it is for a good cause. I have made my boys several hats, invented my own way to add ear flaps too. Grace has so many hats she could wear a different one every day of the week. Now that my kids are all decked out in head gear I have started making them for friends. My deal...they buy the yard...I make the hats. Sounds like a great deal to me!

Now that my friends kids are decked out in hats I have started making preemie hats and donated them to the Foothills Hospital in Calgary where I have a friend who is there with her preemie baby. These ity bity hats are SO cute! I have enjoyed every moment crocheting them, knowing that somewhere some baby's little head is going to stay warm. It is good to help others, even those we don't know. I have no idea what families those little hats are going to, or who's baby is going to wear one. But it is a great feeling to know that maybe in some small way I may have brightened someones day.

I have found some great websites with FREE crochet patterns. For all you crochet enthusiast have fun looking at all these fun things you can make.

Care Wear

Suzie's Stuff

And I am currently working on this...SO CUTE & EASY!

I have also started making dish cloths. Crochet dish cloths are the BEST! They are a great project for someone who is just learning to crochet. I found a whole bunch of FREE patterns here!

Just found this pattern...aren't' they SO cute!

If you haven't tried a new craft/hobby...DO IT! Even though we have graduated from High School, College or University doesn't mean now we stop learning. Try something that you have always wanted to. Do your brain some good and put it to work but learning or trying something new. Or just get better at something you like to do.

Happy Crafting!

Good Books...

Tonight Tyson & I finished reading this book:

We haven't ever finished reading a Ready Freddy book before, always seemed to start and not finish because Magic Tree House would take over our reading time. But tonight as we finished the last chapter I was so happy with the message behind the book. I took the time to explain to the kids how important it is for us to be good sports, to encourage our team mates and to NEVER give up! I am excited to read the other Ready Freddy books we have on our book shelf.

Isn't it great when you can read a book and learn about a great life lesson? I love that, especially in kids books. I love to read and I am so happy that Tyson does too. He is fascinated with all the Magic Tree House book & I can't believe how much he is learning form them. I surely didn't know about the Civil & Revolutionary war when I was 7! Nor did I know about the Volcano that erupted and buried the city of Pompeii. If you haven't read your kids these books....DO IT! You and them will learn so much!

I am on book number 4 of the Harry Potter series and I am almost done. I can't wait to be done! I must admit that I didn't think I would EVER read those book, I'm not to into magic and wizards, but I have been pleasantly surprised and have really enjoyed them. So happy reading everyone! Oh I know there are you "lurkers" out there that occasion my blog...so why not post a comment and tell me your favorite book or a book you are currently reading. I could always use a GOOD book suggestion. I have no clue what I am going to read after I am through with Harry Potter...so give me a few ideas...PLEASE!

I Have Everything...But the Kitchen Sink...LITERALLY!

Kids, aren't they GREAT! They bring us so much joy and happiness but I have learned along the way that you CAN'T have nice things with a small growing family! Does anyone else feel like this? Thankfully I don't have many horror stories to tell about how destructive my little munchkins have been, but I have a few.

Our latest incident was how our oldest broke the kitchen faucet. It wasn't totally his fault and the tap was getting harder to turn on and swivel from sink to sink, but never the less he put the final touches on it and now it is broken. No big deal right...wrong. Do you know how expensive a new one is? More money than I was planning on spending right now. But I can't go without water in the kitchen and especially since my dishwasher has been broken for almost 6 months! That is another story...LOL! So my handy (not really) husband took it all apart the other day with intentions that I would go and buy one in the morning, which I did...and got the wrong one. There were SO many and I had no idea if it was a 3 hole or a 1 hole installation. I quickly found out that he sent a woman to do a man's job! So I bought what I thought was the right faucet with the help of a Home Depot employee and headed for home with high hopes that I would be able to wash the breakfast dishes. Well that didn't happen. I didn't buy the hose I needed...didn't know I needed it, and the faucet didn't fit with out sink. So unfortunately I didn't get running water. But the dishes DID get washed! Mind you I had to haul water from the bathtub to the kitchen sink. And while I was doing this it made me reflect on what life would have been like as a pioneer. They didn't know the luxury of having running water in their home. They either had to fetch it from the well or the nearest lake or river. The didn't have the convenience of turning the tap to hot or cold. I didn't complain about having to haul water to the kitchen. As I hauled the 3 buckets of hot water to the kitchen, I had thoughts of thank fullness. I was thankful that I knew that in another day I would once again have running water, that I had a husband that could install the new faucet. That I had the luxury of HOT water when ever I wanted it, I didn't have to boil my water to bathe my kids or have a drink of clean water. How often we take such little, simple, everyday things for granted.

Later last night I was also very thankful for indoor plumbing! As I became ill and spent 1/2 the night throwing up I just couldn't imagine being a pioneer. It isn't fun being sick, but to be sick living on the prairie, in the wilderness, in a tent seems so much more worse! I was also very thankful to have a husband who holds the Priesthood. As I travelled back and forth from my bed to the bathroom I couldn't remember feeling so terrible. The thought came into my mind that I should as Tyler to give me a blessing. Then thought like, "you shouldn't wake him he has to get up early, " came into my mind. And still the nagging thought that I should ask him to do it was stronger. I am so happy that I did and that we was willing to get up and give me one. I knew that his sweet words and through the priesthood power I was able to feel better and get a few hours of sleep before my kids woke up.

I guess I learned a lot yesterday. To be thankful for all those little things. To not take everyday luxuries for granted. And to rely on a power greater than myself.

Kids...

This CRAZY, full of LIFE, INTO EVERYTHING girl keeps me BUSY to say the least.

She keeps me hoping all day long. She is full of spunk and has a wonderful, playful personality. She is happy ALL OF THE TIME, which is so nice! She is a great sleeper, 12 hours a night at least and will still nap 2 times a day at 18 months. So today while I was keeping up to her I thought I would let her color with markers. What did I expect an 18 month old to do with it but put it in her mouth...of course. She did a good job at coloring on the paper and NOT the chair, but with my back turned for only a milisecond, she put it in her mouth and bit down on the tip. BLUE everywhere, thank goodness they are washable! So instead of reacting like I normally would with the usual GRACIE! I said, come on lets go take a picture. Now I have these cute photos of my baby girls first art project.

Here she is reading her picture. She is just babling away. It was so cute

.

This boy LOVES LEGO!

He will play with it all day. He is unhappy if one of his creations get broken. He especially doesn't like it when his little sister takes his pieces. She can run away very fast with a handful Lego. It is an ongoing game with her I think. I love how Lego lets kids be creative. Sure they all come in a box with a specific project to make & my kids love that, but once the project is made and it gets broken they love creating their own things as well. Sure there are a MILLION little pieces all over their bedroom floor, I can't count the number that have been vacuumed up, but they love it and that is all that matters. In

my opinion you can NEVER have enough Lego!

So even though kids are a LOT of work, they take a LOT of patience they are WORTH it!

Routine...

I like routine...always have. I seem to do the same things in the exact same order everyday. And when the routine gets messed up it throws me off kilter. I loved the Christmas holidays. They were busy, hectic, a blur, loud, and chaotic. The routine was broken..demolished...non existent. I was happy when the 2 weeks came to an end and the routine started again. Kids off to school, beds made, kitchen clean, piano practised, books read, bed time routine, scriptures read, and ME time. The kids have been less crazy and so have I. LOL!

I am so very thankful this week for answers to prayer, for miracles. For 3 healthy, beautiful children. As I have had a friend in mind all week who had to have an emergency c-section and her baby was only 1lb. 7oz. I reflected on the birth of my children. It was such a happy, exciting time. Sure each delivery had a few scary moments, Tyson had to have the vacuum and Carson wasn't breathing when he came out but after a few moments they were screaming, pink and healthy. I can't imagine what her and her husband are going through as they were told their baby would die if it wasn't taken from her womb. And then knowing that he still didn't have much of a chance once he entered the world. I was relieved when I heard that this tiny baby was breathing on his own and that he was slowly gaining weight. They do have a long road ahead of them, a long hospital stay, and I am sure many sleepless nights, but it seems their worst fear is over, he will live! We are all thankful for that!

My sister introduced me to this musical artist awhile ago and I just love her music. Check her out on iTunes. My favourite song of hers right now is "If only I had today." It really makes me think about what is important in life. Is it really important if my house is spic and span when I ignored the child that wanted a story read? I think not. Our children are only little for so long, they only think mom & dad are "cool" for so long. They are only teachable and receptive for so long. I don't want to look back on my life in 20 years and regret and thing " I should have..." spent more time with them, listened to them more, played with them more. Life is busy, hectic and very demanding, and sometimes I loose site of what is important. Thank goodness for simple sweet reminders that help me put things back into perspective. Life is good, prayers are answered and miracles happen everyday.

Wow I can't believe that a year has gone by and I find myself faced with the adventures of a new year. How exciting! I love January, it is a fresh start, a time to reflect and a time to make changes. I have been thinking alot latley about what things need to be improved on in my life...and there are many. So many that at times it feels like too big of a task to undertake. LOL! But I will choose a few things this year and make them a priority to improve upon. So here is to a fresh start and to bettering ourselves.

Christmas has come and gone and what a whirlwind of a few weeks it was! My house was filled with excitement, too much food, laughter, many loud voices, present, wrapping paper, family and friends. It was great. I loved the way we did Christmas this year. We were able to be at our own home and put our kids to sleep in their own beds. It was so fun to see the excitement on their faces as the bolted down the stairs to see what Santa had given them. I was very impressed with how grateful they were for what they had been given. Carson kept saying thank you and "this is the BEST Christmas EVER!" I had Christmas dinner here at my house later in the day and it was so nice to have my family with us. The kids had fun playing together and we all enjoyed visiting. I realized just how truly blessed I am. I thought about all those families or people who didn't have a warm place to spend Christmas, a Christmas meal to eat, and presents to open. It made my heart ache for those people and my heart swell for all that I have been given. I thought about the items we donated to a family in need and it made me feel good to know that at least one family wouldn't be going hungry or without presents when they otherwise would have. There is nothing better than serving at Christmas...but I need to do it all throughout the year as well....one of my goals for this year. Now on to a few pictures: