2013

As 2012 comes to a close, I can't help but breathe a sigh of relief. This year brought a lot of amazing memories and experiences and of course, 2012 brought us this guy.

 

He is such a source of joy and I can't imagine our lives without him. We are so so blessed.

 

2012 has been a hard year emotionally for me. It's been a year of struggles and disappointments within myself. I'm super thankful for the most amazing husband who understands, loves me, and helps me with everything. I'm so thankful for these three who constantly bring me joy.



I'm excited for 2013 - changes, goals and hard work. I'm excited to find myself again and I'm thrilled to celebrate 10 years married to this guy (the big one in the middle).

I'm not setting new year's resolutions, but I am looking forward with hope and joy. I'm looking forward to pouring more love into my kids and family. Love.

 

 

Be blessed in 2013!

Christmas 2012

I won't bore you all with thousands of pictures of our Christmas this year. I tried to choose just a few that showcased this season for us. This year was a pretty laid back Christmas in regards to travelling and Christmas gatherings and I loved that. Although it definitely wasn't as laid back as last year...

 Ahhh... I can *almost* feel that warm, relaxing sunshine...

But onto Christmas 2012. We did the usual gingerbread house decorating, and even kicked it up a notch by also decorating a gingerbread train.

This year we thought it would be fun to do the Elf on a Shelf tradition. Gavin giggled every morning when he found Alvin in a silly place. I can definitely see how this is going to be fun in the years to come.

 

Christmas Eve for our family usually isn't anything too special, but with our kids getting older, we're trying to start some new traditions. We had a special supper and all settled in our jammies to watch a Christmas movie. Before bed, we spent a long time talking about the real meaning of Christmas and how it's Jesus' birthday and we read the Bible story.

We. Are. Blessed. Plain and simple. Here are our three wonders, all decked out in new Christmas jammies from the neighbours.

 Christmas morning. Lovely.

 I hope that you all had a fantastic holiday.

From our house to yours...

This just in...

On December 22, this guy finally rolled over from his back to his stomach. We had pretty much given up on him. We was already five and a half months old. We referred to him as "Lazy Bones" and laughed about his lack of rolling. He had almost rolled when we were home in November and my mom was desperately trying to get him to do it. A few days later, my mom was out again and she tried and tried, but to no avail.

 

My parents were out for a quick Christmas at our place and mom was standing right there when Eli finally rolled. It was so great that she was actually there when he finally did it. Since then he's only done it a few times, but he's definitely getting quicker and better at it.

 

Now he's learned a new trick. I can't believe he's old enough already, but ma boy is sitting!



 

The one with the hair...

She's still in love with having her hair done. She chooses the hair do every day and loves when people comment on it. We watch the how to  on youtube together and she sits while I work on it. 

The other day she figured it was about time she got to do my hair. She drenched it with water (I think that might have been payback as she's always complaining when I have to spray her hair) and started working. I was shocked that she actually knew how to braid. It turned out much better than I thought.

She is always wanting to practice on other people's hair. We even have sparkle hairspray now - thanks, Santa! Any volunteers?



G-man

 

It's a good thing Gavin is so lovable, because man oh man, that boy is a piece of work! We've known that he has allergies since before he was one. At that time, we pulled out all the rug on the main floor and got rid of the dog that we had because she shed. We went even further and had him taken for allergy testing in Winnipeg but he came back clear for all of those skin poke tests.

 

But yet, he's always stuffed up, he had major ear problems which led to having tubes put in his ears and his adenoids taken out, he is a major mouth breather and most recently, he's started having itchy skin. He'll scratch his belly until it bleeds. Poor boy.

 

(A bit of a back story. In university, my allergies were out of control. I was taking at least 2 allergy pills every day and still suffering from symptoms. When Chris and I were told we couldn't get pregnant and that the waiting list to see the fertility specialists was 4-6 months, I went in desperation to a naturopathic doctor. She was fantastic and ordered blood testing for food sensitivities right away. The tests showed that I shouldn't be eating eggs. As soon as I stopped, ALL my symptoms disappeared. Oh and I was pregnant less than three months later.)

So, we had decided to take the plunge and have the food sensitivities test done on Gavin. The test results were a bit overwhelming. All those long black lines are the "do not eat" categories. No dairy, gluten, eggs, beef and wheat. Pretty sure all that leaves is fruit, veggies and sugar. ;)

We've made a lot of changes. I talked to a lot of people and got some expert advice. We've been gluten and dairy and (mostly) egg free for over a month now. Have we seen a lot of difference?

Sadly, no. We've had a few bad nights with him complaining of a sore tummy and his rash. It feels like two steps forward and three back.

I just want my boy all healthy. We do have something pretty big up in January that we aren't ready to blog about just yet, but if you could all send up some prayers for healing for G and for more creativity in cooking for him, that would be great!

Siblings

They bickered and fought for three hours before bedtime. They purposely pushed each other's buttons. But come bedtime, they really do love each other. Who needs bunk beds?

I asked this morning if it's fun sleeping with Gavin. Her response? "Yeah. Except for all that snoring!"

Life.

I am sorry. I know this blog has been ridiculously quiet lately. I am hoping to have a few more blog posts up in the next few days, some of which might shed some light on why I've been too busy and distracted to blog.

 

Let me quickly toss up a few pictures. Look - my cute kids! ;) (For the record, this is a photoshopped photo. There was no way I could get all three kids to look at me with all 6 eyes open!)



In November, we went to a wedding and danced the night away. There really weren't many people on the dance floor besides us, but we had a blast!

Chelsea adored dancing with Grandpa.  

This guy has been growing and growing, laughing and laughing. He's five months now (I'll post about that soon.) We are so blessed!

 We saw Santa. Gavin is super cute, talking about Santa and the North Pole all the time. He even asked Santa about Alvin, our Elf on the Shelf. Santa was so great and played along, asking all the right questions and Gavin was so happy!

 And with that, good night. I'll be back soon - promise!

Today has been a busy one. I didn't have a chance to really process the news until just about an hour ago.

28 dead in Newtown Connecticut. Another school shooting. 20 sweet, innocent children - gone. All day this has been rattling around in my head.

I'm a teacher so school shootings strike me pretty close to home. When I'm at work, I'm in a room with 20+ kids every day. I am responsible for them. Their parents trust that they are safe. It is so horrifying to think of something like this. The sadness and devastation that is ripping through that community right now breaks my heart. One of the parents of a survivor said, "It’s alarming, especially in Newtown, Connecticut, which we always thought was the safest place in America." Don't we all think that? Winker is a pretty safe place. But so was Newtown.

I just keep thinking of those parents. How I would feel if today, I sent my sweet sweet C to Kindergarten and never saw her again. Today was a usual day for us - playing in the morning, then a rushed lunch, quick getting dressed and bundled for school and a quick drop off at the parent loop. Today, I grabbed her jacket in the van, pulled her close and gave her a kiss. I said what I usually say, "I love you. Be kind. Be smart. Be a good friend." But what if it had been a bad day? What if it was a day where I was frustrated at her snail speed? A day when I knew she'd be late, so I pushed her out of the door to the house towards the car and said, "Hurry up and go" instead of "I love you?" To some of those parents today, that was their last moment. It was just an every day, normal moment. How do you go back and change that?

My heart is broken for these parents. It really makes you stop and check yourself. What if I didn't have my kids with my forever? What if today was the last? What if that was your last cuddle, hug, word or moment?

Tonight, I've got a three year old in my bed. He snores so loud and takes up more than his share of the bed. But tonight instead of carrying him back to his room, I'm holding close. I'm wishing my bed was big enough to fit two more babes in here. I am thoughtful and heartbroken. My heart is so heavy. So tonight I will snuggle and pray and pray and pray.

Eli - Baby Dedication

On Sunday, December 2nd, we were able to have Eli dedicated. I'm so honoured that Pastor Tim, the one who married us, has been able to dedicate all three of our children to Jesus.



 

I've always loved the name Eli. When I was in high school, I had a very good friend named Ely (same pronunciation, just with a Y). He was there for me when I felt like I didn't ever fit in. He taught me solid life lessons about being strong in your faith, accepting yourself and others, and being true to yourself, despite what others think. He was smart and funny and kind. For a few years, he was like a brother to me. After high school, we didn't keep in touch - I'm hoping he is happy and well!

We joked that the name Eli means height. I'm pretty tall and Chris is 6'4" so we knew he really didn't have much choice in this area. I laugh because now every time I call "Eli" it's like I'm calling him to grow taller!

Pastor Tim gave Eli the verse 2 Corinthians 4:14 - "We do this because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus, and he will bring us into his presence along with you."

Eli - you are incredibly sweet. You bring an intense joy to my life that I didn't even know I was missing. With your spark and your never ending smiles, you complete our family. You really are the happiest baby I've ever met! It's so easy to make you smile and you love to talk and call to get the attention back onto you. Your brother and sister love you so much. There's never been any jealousy or resentment. People comment on how you look so much like your older brother Gavin, and although I see it, every time I look at you, I see such a special, unique little man. It is such an honour that God called us to be your parents. We promise to pour our heart and soul into raising you into the Godly man that you've been called to be.

 

You, my son, are so amazing and I can't wait to see what your life holds. Love you, little man!

Rub-a-dub-dub

Three of the cutest babies ever in a tub...

Currently

Watching: Gilmore Girls. Definitely my favourite tv show of all time. I love having it playing while I'm in the kitchen.

Listening to: Eli's swing music. He naps in his swing during the day, so it seems that tune is playing endlessly. Also listening to worship music playing on my sweet wireless speakers in my kitchen.

Planning: Our Christmas break. Chris has two weeks off. So far our plans include me sleeping, a lot!! Eli went from waking up once a night to a few times and I don't seem to be able to get myself to sleep any earlier.

Thinking about: All there is to do before Christmas. Finishing Christmas shopping, buying stocking stuffers, Christmas baking, teacher gifts, Christmas concerts - the list goes on!

Loving: my super handy husband. I was in the middle of doing laundry when my washer gave me an error message. According to the manual, we needed to call the repair guy, but my husband would never allow that. He took it all apart and fixed it. Woo hoo for saving a few hundred bucks! Also - Woo hoo for having neighbours that let us haul a super soaking wet load of laundry to their house to finish up while Chris is fixing the washer!

Stressing about: Gavin's allergy report. It came back basically saying avoid all dairy and gluten with beef and eggs also being up high. I don't even know where to begin. He eats so little lately anyways. I hate taking away some of his favourite foods.

Looking forward to: pedicures with a friend on Thursday night. Also - sleeping on Christmas break.

Reading: Baby-Led Weaning. I'm hoping to try a different approach with Eli than I did with the other two.

Making me happy: realizing that Gavin and Chelsea really are friends. He misses her when she goes to school and she asks for him as soon as she's home. They talk as they fall asleep and often Chelsea will ask to snuggle him in bed as they are falling asleep.
 

Wishing: that winter wouldn't come, or would at least be as mild as last winter. Anyone who knows me at all, knows that I hate being cold and I am not a winter fan. Add in three kids and toques, mittens, ski pants, parkas, and scarves and I'm planning on not leaving the house until Spring.

Thanks to Holly for the inspiration for this post!