Love this!!

(Thank you Christine for posting this on FB)

First snowfall.....

We woke up to our first snow fall yesterday morning.  The children were soooooo excited to open the curtains and see it so white outside :)  Even though it was just a dusting, they couldn't wait to get outside to play in it!!  Thankfully they were both healthy enough to go!!

They called me to show me they had written 'I love Mom' in the snow :)  

At one point Rosie ate the snowball Abby was trying to turn into a snowman and Abby was stomping back to the house...thankfully I managed to soothe things by suggesting Rosie come inside for a while, but I caught the stomping on camera, which I love:

Worry Dolls....

We found some great little kits at Walmart last week for making worry dolls - for just $1.98 you get 4 dolls to make!!! Abigail and I made worry dolls each :)  I then showed her how to make Gratitude chains and she is going to make some as gifts for people for Christmas :)

I also bought some pipe cleaners which I am using to shape into things as the base/ framework for small sculptures.  The first thing I made was a sitting figure.  Sam liked him so much though that he seems to have disappeared :)  

Dinner with friends...

Last week I met up with some friends for supper...it was such a great evening and I finally got to meet someone I had wanted to meet for a long while - although I felt like I had known her for ages anyway!!

It was great catching up with everyone!!

xxx

Shopping with the girls...

Had to run some errands last Thursday, including taking Susannah to the Doctors,

and to Walmart for some bird seed and a few groceries.  While we were in Walmart we strolled around the Christmas decorations and the girls has a blast setting off all the musical and dancing toys!!!  I think at one point they had every single one going!!

I took the opportunity to snap some pictures of some ideas for crafts to make at home with the children too!!

five questions.

1. What's the last thing you spent too much money on?   Gasoline.  Breaks my heart every time I fill up my truck lol - $100 a time!  Especially when Leanne tells me that it costs her half that to fill up her little Beetle (my favourite car) and lasts her a month!!  Sigh.....I love my car...love that I don't have payments on it...love that has no problems...that it's such a great size for us....but it's definitely a gas guzzler :( 

2. What celeb chef would you want to make you dinner?  Jaimie Oliver....especially after the article I read on him this week.  It was so interesting.  

3. Where do you hide things when visitors pop over or do you let them see the real deal?  Drawers....it's usually only a few things out on the tops so I'd open drawers and slide it all in lol....for the most part the house is usually tidy....dusty and the floors usually need to be swept...but its normally tidy...geez I have 4 kids here and a dog - the place is comfortable and lived in - if you come to visit us then you have to accept us as we are!!

4. Who is your oldest living family member?  My Nan - my Dads Mom, who turned 100 in July...

5. What is your favorite DQ treat and drink combo?   I normally have a small cookie dough blizzard unless it's the Fall and then I have a Pumpkin Pie Blizzard :)  with a diet coke.  

Today was a busy day...Susannah headed to West Edmonton Mall with two school friends - they went swimming at the water park for the afternoon.  Abigail and I had an appointment downtown, so we got up and drove down.  We stopped in at the Reuse Centre for a few things - although it was a bit too soon after our last visit and they didn't really have anything.  I don't think we will go again until Feb time...

Next we headed to the Bottle Depot.  Abigail wants to start recycling bottles and cartons for money.  We have always just put them into the recycle program where they are collected at the end of the driveway, but Abigail wants to start making some extra money, so I said we would go and find out about it!  I did tell her that she needs to be responsible for it all but I will take her to the bottle depot every few months with the bags.  So she is going to bag everything up and sort it and store it and when we cash it in she will get the money.  We went in and got the information we needed - they were very helpful in there - the guys in there were pleased to have visitors I think and they had a little dog who Abigail fell in love with!!  So Abigail will get 10c per juice box and water bottle and everything under 1 litre, and 25c for anything over 1 litre.  Pretty good going!  More than I was expecting!

After that we had a meeting to go to downtown, so we headed to that, which lasted about 20 minutes or so...not too bad at all.  Then it was off to the Stollery Hospital to visit a friend who was in for surgery on her leg.  While we were there they were given discharge papers which was pretty wonderful!  They needed to borrow some equipment to help in the bathroom getting in and out of the bath and using the toilet etc while the leg is healing.  The equipment loan centre is at the General Hospital on Jasper, and I knew how to get there, so was happy to rush back downtown before they closed.  

So we headed back to Jasper and got there in time to collect the items.  In the picture above you can see the waiting area in the equipment loan room.  It is run by the Canadian Red Cross.  It was quite an interesting 'field trip' for Abigail!!  And for me as I had never been in there either!  

Once we had everything we headed over to our friends house in Sherwood Park to drop the items off.  The dad and sister were there and Abigail and her friend (the sister) decided to get the goat out and have a go at 'goat riding' which was hilarious to watch!  

One mention of us getting one of their kittens though, and I decided it was time to head home ;)

We got home and the house smelled AMAZING - the stew we had made was ready to eat, so we all tucked in!!  Yum! 

I had a migraine, so took some Advil pm which allowed me to sleep all evening.  Thankfully now my head is fine.  Our friends are home form the hospital which is good to hear.  Susannah is back from the waterpark and all is good.

Tomorrow is another day.....and I am looking forward to meeting a new friend and catching up with some old ones :)  

Attitude of Gratitude!!! Day 9

Today I am grateful for the fact that I made todays supper yesterday (with Susannah and Abigail's help) and we had a yummy beef and Guinness stew to come home to tonight.

 I am grateful that I am no longer the person I was 18 months ago, and that I have no fears of driving anywhere - it meant that today I was able to help a friend in a way I wouldn't have been able to back then. 

Today I am grateful for happy and healthy children and that even our friend who was in the hospital is now home and recovering.  

Today I am grateful for my truck, that it gets us everywhere we need to go so safely. 

And I am grateful for Advil pm which helped me nap this evening and get rid of a migraine I had no stronger meds for.

My Beauty :)

Wednesday tag....

1. Of all the tools and gadgets you own which do you most enjoy using?  My Macbook Pro.  I was going to pick my Iphone which I would have picked as my 'can't live without' gadget...BUT I prefer to USE my macbook.  

2. When (if ever) is impatience a virtue?  When your child or loved one is sick and you are advocating for them with medical practitioners who aren't listening or taking symptoms seriously enough...when you KNOW or FEEL something is wrong or more serious than they are saying and you want  more done than they are doing...

3. What temperature do you keep your thermostat set to in winter? Do you have another way to heat your house besides a furnace of some type?  It is set to about 67f Not sure what that is in C.  If it gets really cold we turn it up to 68 or 69.  We also have two fireplaces.  They are natural gas but look real.  I love them :)

4. Do/did you have a close relationship with any of your grandparents?   I loved all my Grandparents - only my Nan is still alive and she turned 100 years old this year.  She s my dads mom.  

5. When did you last have a family portrait taken? We've never had a professional family portrait done.  Lloyds Dad took a picture of all of us a few years back.  I haven't had one taken since Lloyd left.  I have pictures of all the children together from last Christmas by the tree.  

6. What does the word patriotism mean to you?   Being extremely proud of your Country and willing to stand up for it and protect it.  

7. Do you like to play cards and if so, what's your favorite card game? Yes I like to play cards.  I loved a game called 'Kings' when I was a child - we used to play it with my dad and used to 'bet' on the Kings with half pennies - we saved them all up in a bottle just for card games - and kept them even after half pennies weren't used in circulation any more.  I don't remember how to play Kings any more but I still love to play cards like Rummy (21's) etc etc.

8. Insert your own random thought here.  I slept all evening after taking Advil pm for a migraine - and now I have no clue how I am going to sleep tonight.  

Art Every Day Month....

For AEDM today, I spent time this morning with Sam - he sat and worked through several pages of a book I chose for him at the library yesterday called 'How to Draw Weirdos'.  He loved it!  he did a great job of drawing all kinds of monsters and devils :)  

I think he did fantastic - and he is only six!!

Sam LOVES art!!  :)  

This evening I also donated one of my canvases to a silent auction.  You can read about that on my Lionheart Art Facebook Page (link at the bottom of my blog).  If you have anything to donate to the silent auction, I am sure they would LOVE to hear from you!

Attitude of Gratitude!!! Day 8

Today I am grateful for waking up on the very edge of the bed because two little warm bodies had crept into my room in the night...it's nice to be the safe place they come to.

 I am grateful that I had a nice afternoon out with Abigail.

 I am grateful that Susannah is suddenly addicted to reading and gave my choice of Authors a chance - she is reading a book a day at the moment because she is enjoying them so much!

 I am grateful for a morning spent with Sam watching Ghostbusters 2 and drawing 'weirdos' from a library art book - and reading about famous BIG buildings around the world.

I am grateful it is bedtime - I am so tired my eyes are stinging!

xxx

Snapshots from our Monday....

Cuddling up together to watch Edward Scissorhands last night.  The children really enjoyed it:

At the library yesterday I enjoyed a London Fog while I made notes:

The children made friends with a boy at the library and they all spent time on the computers as well as selecting new books:

Susannah last night while watching the movie.  Crazy girl:

Abigail.....so Beautiful :)

Me and my girls....