We Have Surfaced!!

Hi Everyone!

I know it's been a terribly long time since my last post. All I can say is that it's been terribly busy!

On the first of December, Matt and I moved out of the apartment we had been staying in, and moved in with our friends, Desiree, Duane, Aliyah and Jaden (thank you so much for not letting us be homeless!). Then it was a race against the clock to get the Peach Tree reno as done as possible, clean the apartment and return the keys, and clean the townhouse so that it's ready for viewers.

Once that was all done, we had to re-arrange all the boxes of belongings that are stacked in Geoff and Milja's basement so that I could re-pack all the stuff that was not packed in a manner that is suitable to be moved to Alberta (I must confess, I packed a lot of things haphazardly - thinking we could just drive them gingerly across town). We had to have that done by Wednesday, December 5, so that we could leave Mackenzie on Thursday, December 6th, get to Vernon on Friday the 7th and catch our flight to Calgary on the morning of the 8th. With lots of help and a small miracle - we did it!!

As soon as we got to Didsbury, the little town about 45 minutes outside of Calgary that Barry is staying in, we began the househunting whirlwind. We looked at 7 houses on Saturday afternoon, 3 on Sunday and another one on Monday. Matt and I then flew back to Vernon on Tuesday evening. I think we may have found something!! There was one house that just kept jumping out at us - and thankfully it wasn't the biggest, fanciest, or most expensive!! We have put in an offer and I'll keep you posted.

For now, we are at my Mom and Dad's in Vernon, still a bit busy (it was off to Kelowna for a pedicure today - my Christmas gift from Ashley - thank you!!!) as well as Christmas shopping, vehicle maintenance, etc. We are hoping to stay home all weekend, get into the Christmas spirit, decorate, bake and just enjoy the family that we don't get to see all that often.

For those of you who tracked us down or messaged us on Facebook - thanks for loving us!

We are missing all our Mackenzie friends lots and will keep you all posted on our plans and the goings on from here!!

Love and blessings,

Laura

Ooohh! My Poor Little Boy!

Wow! Last night was a rough one. Why does Matt always wait until Barry is away to get sooo very sick?!

Last night was "Girls Night" at the church. We decorated it all up for Christmas, then had some great snacks and played a few games. It was about 10:00 when my dear friend Char dropped me off at home (she was going to drive my babysitter home for me) and I was greeted by the most heartbreaking scene when I walked in the door. I could hear Matt crying for me from down the hall. I went running. Matt's antibiotics have done a number on his bowel. The poor little boy had an accident and was sooo upset. This is a huge embarrassment for him, he hasn't even wet the bed since he was 18 months old, and he was horrified. I got him all washed up, Char brought over a pullup, some children's Imodium (just in case), Powerade, and my laundry detergent (which currently resides at the townhouse). Bless you Char!! What will I ever do without you?? Matt went back to sleep fairly quickly. I, however, was up disinfecting the bathroom until almost midnight.

Matt slept soundly for the rest of the night, but I heard every cough and every time he rolled over, I was up a lot checking him, and am happy to report that he's still sleeping. It's a very good thing the sub service didn't call me today. I feel like a zombie. I did, however, manage to squeeze out a smile when Matt came out of his bedroom this morning with nothing on his bottom half, (he wanted that pullup off!!) and a pair of underwear clutched in his hands. He triumphantly told me that the "bad" night is over, and he wants his "unders" back.

Wishing everyone good nights, because good nights mean good mornings!

Hugs,

Laura

Sick Boy

So, last week our boy started to cough, and by Sunday night we were all exhausted. When he gets congested like this, he wakes up LOTS in the night, unable to go back to sleep because every time he lays back down, the coughing starts again. Poor Barry had to leave for Crossfield on not very much sleep.

Each day he seemed to get a bit worse, until on Monday he woke up and whispered to me, "Mommy, there is no voice."

I couldn't help teasing him a little bit, so I whispered back, "Matthew! Where did it go?"

For the last two days the only thing that got a smile out of him was when I told him that when mommy was a little girl, and her face got all pale like his is right now, Grandma would look at me and tell me, "Your eyes look like two pee holes in a snowbank." He would grin and wheeze out a little voiceless laugh.

We managed to get in to see a Dr. yesterday, and he told me that Matt has tonsillitis. I'm not shocked. So, he's on antibiotics, and is already starting to be too rambunctious for the small little space we're living in right now. I'm sure that he'll be well enough to head off to school tomorrow and then he'll be feeling 100% within a few days.

As far as the Peach Tree is concerned. I have called a contractor and he came to give me a quote yesterday. The quote was within the budget and the best part is that he said he had a little gap in his week, and the only day he could fit me in is...TODAY!! He should be there right now...putting up window casing, door trim and baseboards. I can hardly wait until I can go clean it and then it'll be DONE!

That's about it for now.

Blessings,

Laura

Finished??

Wow! I can hardly believe that it's the 26th of November already! Barry and I didn't end up getting the townhouse renovation finished, and he started his new job in Crossfield TODAY. YIKES!! Here's what happened:

We got home on Thursday night to a very deflating message on our answering machine. The people who we thought were going to purchase our townhouse are unable to proceed because it looks like the wife will be getting laid off from her job. So, we were not feeling particularly motivated on Friday. We had no viewing to "hurry up and be ready for" so we didn't hurry up at all. We did some cleaning up, drank lots of coffee with some great friends who just happen to live right next door to our townhouse, and just enjoyed being together. While that was a very nice day, I'm in a bit of a pickle now. The window and door trim and the baseboards need to go up, and then we really are completely finished, so it's not like there's a ton of work left. The problem, however, is that I can't use a mitre saw. I've asked Barry to teach me on numerous occasions, and he always finds some sort of reason that now is just not a good time, something about all of my arms and legs staying attached?! Hmmm.

So, I guess I have a couple of choices. There are a few guys from our church that have offered to come and help out, or I could phone one of the renovation/contractor people in town and hope that they would have time and not charge me an arm and a leg. I'm sort of heading down both paths and whatever works out first is what I"ll go with. I've called the contractor and have been unable to get an answer. I suppose we'll see if he calls me back. In the meantime, I'll talk to the friends who have offered to help, and will let them know that I'd very much appreciate a hand.

In other news, Matthew was "helper bear" again at preschool. This will be his last time to have that very special honour at this pre-school. Being helper bear comes with many perks, Matt got to change the date on the calendar, and it was his turn to be the share bear at circle time, so he brought a favourite library book to show his class. It also means that it's my turn to be in charge of snack for 20 kids (peanut free and healthy). What fun!

As you may have noticed from the picture of Dixie in the snow from my last post, we have plenty of the white stuff here in Mackenzie, and Matt is NOT liking this winter at all!! Every time we get in the car to go do errands, he asks me, "Mommy, can we go somewhere so, so, so, so hot to a beach?"

I laugh and tell him that we can go to the beach in the summer, but right now it's winter time. In my head, I'm amazed that even though he doesn't know the right terminology, he's only four years old and already he's asking me for a tropical holiday!!!

Well, must head out and get the rest of the window casing that is put up painted and looking very beautiful for whoever is going to buy our newly renovated townhouse.

Hugs,

Laura

The Goings On

All right. I suppose since it's really going to happen, I should just go ahead and blog about it. I've been putting it off because I'm having a tough time.

Barry has accepted a job as the Director of Operations (fancy title, basically the same thing he does here) for Palliser Lumber in Crossfield, Alberta. He actually gave his notice at Canfor a while ago, and was finished work there on the 9th of November. Yup, I know, I've been in denial for a while now.

I haven't really noticed that he's not going to work, though, because I'm certainly not enjoying the benefits of having a "house husband." He's been putting in 12 hour days working to finish our Peach Tree townhouse before he leaves Mackenzie on the 25th of November. Talk about racing against the clock!

In that week off he was able to finish all the carpentry that needed to be done (cutting out "windows" between the living room and kitchen, cutting the wall away from part of the stairway, drywalling the basement...as well as finish the baseboards and window casing upstairs, and get more than half the flooring in the entrance and kitchen done. Man, I have a talented hubby!) Today, myself and two other ladies worked steady for only a couple of hours (I was so lucky to go and have an eggnog latte with a great friend after church before getting down to work - thank you Charlotte) and I was amazed at how much we got done ! We primed the basement, and got one coat of ceiling paint done throughout the kitchen and entrance way. It is amazing how fast things go when you have help (and great conversation makes it fun - thank you Char and Dawn!!)! We have a busy week ahead, and hopefully the whole place will be done and ready for revealing on Friday!!

The plan is to finish and flip that townhouse! Barry is heading out right away and once some more details are taken care of (like somewhere to sleep on the Alberta end, plus repacking much of our belongings for a longer journey than originally planned) Matt and I will follow.

How am I feeling? So, so sad, and yet, peaceful and calm too. We have got such an amazing church, wonderful group of friends, and "dream come true" type of loving care for Matt here, it is truly killing me inside to even think of leaving. At the same time, the forest industry in BC is in a scary place, and after much prayer, many tears, (not to mention some kicking and screaming on my part) and a lot of tough consideration, we still come up feeling that this is what we are to do.

I am so thankful for our season in Mackenzie. We have grown a lot, learned a lot, loved a lot, and made many "forever friends."

Things are very much up in the air, stressful, and just overall overwhelming right now, so all I can do is take things one day at a time, and remember, "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." Matthew 6:34 NKJ

So, with a heavy heart our chapter in Mackenzie is coming to a close, but I believe that the relationships God brought us into here are just beginning.

Be blessed,

Laura

Long Weekend!!

Okay, so judging from the amount of comments that get posted on my blog each week (VERY, VERY FEW!!) I sometimes wonder if anyone even reads this thing. I'm guessing that people do, because everywhere I go I'm getting comments like "there's nothing new on your blog" and "you say you blog at least once a week, well, it's been more than a week". So, here we go.

This has been a wonderful long weekend!! On Saturday evening Barry headed out for a men's poker night - these poker nights are the strangest phenomenon - there's no gambling, no booze and the group just keeps growing and growing!! The guys love just playing for bragging rights! I think it's the neatest thing! So, Matt and I headed out to a friend's house for a movie. Knowing that the movie would go past his bedtime I told him that he would need to go to sleep at their house and then I would take him home once he was sleeping. Bless his little heart! He did sooo well. He went to sleep with no fussing at all, and when I transferred him home he was out like a light as soon as his head hit the pillow! I am so lucky!

Then, on Sunday, we were so blessed to have Barry's parents and his two sisters come for lunch. They drove all the way from Vanderhoof, so it was a lot of effort on their part, and we sure appreciated it. It was pretty crowded here in our little basement suite, but we all squished around our little table and enjoyed a wonderful visit. We were not at all surprised to note that our little Dixie stole the show completely, and we had to be extra careful to make sure that Barry's sister, Debbie, didn't smuggle her out the door. Later that evening I went out to a "girls' pj night" and enjoyed lots of great food, a sappy movie and some great conversation. Not to mention a wonderful foot soak with a foot fizzie and I got to come home with pretty burgundy toenails!! I don't spend time on that sort of stuff very often so it was a pretty special treat!! Thank you Andrea for hosting and to everyone who came and made it so much fun!!

Today saw us headed out for coffee and play dates, then off to family skating with a bunch of friends. We are so blessed to have so many people here in Mackenzie who love us! Our life is so richly blessed with great relationships. Matt had a great time skating!! He did serious laps around that rink for a full hour!! He concentrated so hard on running, then gliding, then pushing out his legs to scrape up snow and stop! I was VERY proud of my little man.

Well, as many of you have guessed, and lots of you already know, there's news in the making. I'm waiting until I have some more pics of our Peach Tree to post and some more details confirmed before I blog about it, but stay tuned!!

Blessings to everyone,

Laura

Happy Halloween!!

Well, Halloween has come and gone, and as usual I felt as though I limped through it, and I promised myself once again that next year I would make it much more fun for Matthew. Halloween is just not my thing. I truly don't have anything against it, and as a kid I LOVED the whole candy thing, I just seem to be so much more excited about Christmas that I forget Halloween is even happening. My poor son, I really do need to step up a bit more for him and give him some wonderful childhood Halloween memories!

Stephanie came to my rescue and brought a pumpkin over for her and Matt to carve. It was hilarious! She handed over the felt (does she know that Matt is 4?) and he drew ALL OVER it! She ended up just carving a nice smile into our pumpkin (the best she could do given the interesting face map she had to work with), and then her and I got to chatting and forgot about the pumpkin seeds in the oven!!! Oh well, Matt thought he did a fantastic job of helping her (he sat next to her and refused to get his hands "yucky"), so I suppose the pumpkin carve was a success.

Matthew decided to be Spiderman (again). I don't think he actually realizes that he can be something different, which suited me just fine as this year space for costumes and time for shopping, creating, and even deciding is desperately limited. We are so thankful that God has given us wonderful friends here in Mackenzie who came to our rescue and salvaged our "flopping" Halloween. We got to have "Creepy Treats" at the Jackson's and then we joined up with the Rachkowski's for the actual door to door deed, and the firework display at 7:00. After that it was home to check out the loot (man oh man, did he ever bring in a HAUL) and I was so pleased that there wasn't one single "unsafe" (homemade, no wrapper...) candy in the whole bag. Way to go Mackenzie, we are very Halloween savvy!

That was pretty much it, a fun evening was had by all and I would definitely call it one of the best yet!!

Blessings to you,

Laura

The Patient

So, on Tuesday our little Dixie dog had to go to the vet and have an operation. We had decided to get her spayed, and she had an umbilical hernia that needed to be repaired, as well as a couple of blocked tear ducts that needed flushing (plus they gave her a tattoo in case she ever gets lost). So, she had quite the ordeal, and I was so glad when I went to pick her up and she had pulled through just fine! The vet gave her an injection for pain that lasted 24 hours so it didn't wear off until the worst of it was over for her, and she's still in pretty rough shape! She has only managed to eat about ten rice krispie sized kibbles since Monday night, and she's having a tough time moving around. Her incision is pretty long and I think it pulls on her when she moves, she sometimes tries to trot along beside me, and then sits down really fast and tries to look at her belly to see what's feeling so weird down there. I decided to get her a "party hat" because I had a hunch that she'd be a licker. Sure enough, as soon as we got her home, she was fixated on that incision and COULD NOT for the life of her leave it alone. So, whenever I'm not able to keep a steady eye on her she has to be wearing it.

We have received a warning that there are three bears roaming our neighbourhood, and the other day I woke up to find our garbage can lid way across the yard, then a few feet beyond that (into the forest) was the can, then past that was the black bag, then the white kitchen bag, with not much garbage left. So, I put on the lovely yellow gloves, cleaned up what was left of our garbage, and I was snapping the lid back on when I noticed that the lid has actually been punctured by what looks like some pretty big sharp teeth!!! Okay, so Matt and Dixie DO NOT go outside alone anymore!

Well, that's all the pre-Halloween news! Will give you a Halloween update as soon as I can.

Bless you,

Laura

Life in the Basement

So, we have been living in this basement suite (when will the renovations be done!!!???) for about 6 weeks now, and we have had snow on the ground about three times in the past few weeks. Things are starting to get pretty chilly around here! For the past two weeks our landlords have been away, which has been wonderful in the noise department. It has been so nice and peaceful - no crashing and clattering coming from upstairs. There is, however, a down side. They have left the furnace OFF!! Can you believe it?? It is so cold in here that when we wake up in the morning, I come straight to the kitchen to turn the oven on (and I'm not cooking dinner at 6:00am), then, when Matt gets up, he brings his blankets out of his bed and him and Dixie snuggle up in front of the space heater that I have set up in the hallway. It is really not a very good situation, and there's going to be a planned power outage from 2:00 until 4:00 this afternoon so I'll have to make sure I have this place nice and toasty BEFORE that happens so we don't freeze our little toes off!

As far as progress goes with the townhouse, I did have the living room painted...until Barry and Ryan tore the walls out!! We wanted to put some "windows" in so that you can see through from the kitchen to the living room, so that it would be more open, and I had checked with Barry to see if he could just sort of "buzz" out the squares and leave the rest of the walls alone...he assured me that this would be no problem. Things were a different story once he actually got going. Turns out he needs to put in a header, which meant that all the drywall had to come down...and I'll have to re-paint that wall once the header is in and the new drywall is up. Not really the end of the world, but there is just so much destruction going on that now I feel farther behind than I did on Wednesday. Aaaahhhh! So, if any of you are at all handy, feel free to drop by!

In "Matthew" news, his newest word is "crazy." We were driving home from the townhouse the other day and he asked me "What are we doing now?"

I told him, "Nothing much. We're done work for the day and we're going home for supper now."

"How crazy is Mommy!" he laughs from the backseat. What a little monkey.

Well, that's about all the news from around here.

Love ya,

Laura

Helper Bear

So, this past Wednesday was Matt's turn to be "helper bear" at pre school. He really loved it, I made a (healthy) snack for all the kids in his class (helper bear's mom is in charge of snack) and it was his turn to bring something for show and share during circle time. Matt's pre school teacher had mentioned that it would be best if it was something educational, like a favourite book, rather than a toy, so I had to so some serious convincing that the T-Rex that can actually growl and move it's jaws should stay home and he can show all his friends at school a book called "Five Little Ducklings." This book has a really cute little rhyme to it and he loves it so much he has it memorized, so I though it would be nice that he could actually "read" it to his class. He told me that it was really fun and he liked it, so I guess that everything went off without a hitch!

Every night as we say prayers before bed, Matt chooses some people to pray for. We've had a few talks that "who" means a person, and a person is a human, because when we started this whole tradition, he always wanted to pray for an activity that he was hoping would happen the following day, like going swimming or skating or to the play gym. So, last night Matt says to me,

"Mommy, ask what humans will I pray for?"

"Okay, Matt, who should we pray for tonight? And remember, who means a person, not a play date, and a person is a human."

" I want to pray for you and me and we love each other and don't fight, and for you and me and Daddy and Dixie to all sleep in a row on the roof, and then we will wake up and dig BIG wholes in the grass to play!!"

WOW!! What on earth goes through that little mind?

So, I prayed that God would help us to love each other all day and not to argue (can you tell we're getting a little stressed with the renovation chaos?) and that maybe one day when we're camping we could all sleep in a row. Matthew actually stopped me mid prayer, and reminded me that we were to sleep on the roof!! What a kid!

This weekend we are going to try and get all the baseboards and window trim done on the upstairs at the Peach Tree townhouse, so that next week I can take photos for you and do the grand unveiling!!

Matt has two more skating lessons left and then it's into swimming lessons for him, he doesn't seem to like the structure at skating lessons, he spends much of his time laying down eating the "snow" and licking the ice. EEeeeewww. He's been begging me for swimming lessons, and for some reason, he is able to pay attention and do really well in the pool, so for now we will stick to that and will just go skating as a family on Friday evenings, much more fun for everyone!

Well, that's pretty much an update on us!

Hugs to all,

Laura

Cola

We are coming up on the one year mark of the death of our dear old girl, Cola. She passed away on Halloween of last year. I have been thinking about her lots lately, and missing her tons. She was so faithful, friendly, with just the right amount of protectiveness, and she absolutely LOVED our Matt.

So, the other day we went for coffee at a friend's house, and on the way over there Matt spoke up from his carseat, "Mommy, I wish we could have coffee at Jesus' house."

"That would be so nice Matt. Jesus loves you and would love to play with you."

"No, I want you to have coffee with Jesus and I can pet Cola again."

As you have probably gathered, we have told him that Cola went to be with Jesus, and he has not forgotten.

On a much happier note, we have a little Dixie with us now, who is very much part of the family. Matt still asks when she is going to grow up to be as big as Cola (Cola was a shepherd/husky cross and Dixie is a Shih Tzu). He doesn't believe us when we tell him that she is going to stay quite small and she will never be as big as Cola.

In other updates, I had a GREAT day in Prince George on Friday. Pine Centre had a sidewalk sale on, Starbucks has pumpkin spice latte, and it was just so relaxing to spend the day away with a friend, enjoying freedom and great conversation. THANK YOU Desiree! We'll have to do it again when we both need a little escape from the everyday routine.

Things are going along SLOWLY at the townhouse. Barry spent most of the weekend at work and so we have seen little progress in the last few days. He is hoping to employ one of our friends who is not working right now to get things going a bit faster over the next week or two. I am getting anxious to be out of this little apartment and so I trudge along at the painting. By the end of this afternoon I should be done the entire upper floor. NO MORE semi gloss red, purple and green (what were they thinking??), we now have a nice eggshell mushroom sort of colour.

Well, skating lessons start here in a little while, so I must run.

Hugs to all,

Laura

GRRR

This picture was taken in March 2004, so Matt was about a year and a half old. I posted it here because the events of last night reminded me so much of how much he loves the "shampoo mohawk" hairdo.

Well, life in our little basement apartment is crowded!!! By the time dinner is ready, every inch of our six inch long counter is covered, I've tripped over Dixie 8 times and I've told Matt twice to stay out of the kitchen (which involves walking three steps into the "living room").

So, last night I had visions of a relaxing evening for me. I had dinner finished (miraculously) by 6:00. Matt was in the tub, I was pretty much done the dishes and all was looking good. There was going to be time to curl up with a book!! I had washed Matt all squeaky clean while the water was still filling the tub, so when he was done playing all I had to do was pull him out, dry him off, jammy him up and put him away for the night. Sure enough, I hear his little voice calling me saying he's done and ready to get out, so I head into the bathroom. I am greeted by BUBBLES EVERYWHERE!! He has grabbed his dad's shampoo and has squirted it all over the place to make bubbles. Then he realized that it wasn't just bubble bath, it could really lather. So, he lathered up his hair (again) and made it stand up on end. There were so many bubbles going on in there I had to put new water in the tub to get him rinsed clean.

This morning Matt and I picked Aliyah up for pre-school. That little girl absolutely fills my heart with joy. Desiree came outside to wave goodbye as I was getting Aliyah all buckled in, and told me what Aliyah had said to her this morning. Their conversation went something like this:

"Mom, do you know Matthew's mom, Mrs. Candline?"

"Yes, Honey, of course I know her."

"Well, I love her. I love her like I love you. She's a nice mom. But you don't need to worry. I love you as much as I love her, okay?"

Oooohhh. Who on earth could resist that??

As I'm sitting here blogging waiting for Matt to be dropped off by Desiree (one of us takes the kids to pre-school and the other brings them home - it really is a wonderful arrangement) my phone rang. Sure enough, it was Desiree, calling to say that our children have been scheming at school. She went to pick them up, and they had discussed their day, and decided that Matt should go to Aliyah's for lunch, then stay for a short play, and that Mrs. Rachkowski could bring him home AFTER all that has taken place. I was so not expecting that whole "Can I go here to play" stuff until AT LEAST grade one. I guess I was wrong, seeing as Matt is now having lunch at Aliyah's.

Well, I must go have my own bite to eat and get ready for the afternoon of clearing out the renovation debris, going to the dump and washing the truck.

Blessings,

Laura

Prince Matthew

Well, yesterday Matt went to his first ever "drop him off and pick him up later" birthday party. I went in and stayed for a little while just to make sure he was doing all right, and I noticed that I was the first Mom there to pick up my little prince when it was close to time to wrap it all up.

The birthday girl was Matt's friend, Jewel, turning the big "5"! Matt was the only boy at a princess themed party, so to help him feel a bit more masculine, he got to be the prince!! He had a special prince crown instead of the tiara's that the little girls wore, and when he arrived he got a car to play with instead of a necklace to wear, his plate and napkin had cars on them instead of princesses and he got to drink from a special goblet and sit across the table from Jewel instead of having a pink princess glass like all the little ladies around him. He felt very special and for the rest of the day insisted upon wearing his crown and being called "Prince Matthew."

Prince Matthew has been begging me to go swimming so I think I'll take this afternoon off from painting and take him. I should probably stop telling him "No, honey, there's no time for swimming, we have to paint the townhouse so that we can live there soon." Speaking of the townhouse, the bathroom is ready for paint!! Once that's done I'll take some pics and post them so you can see the finished product.

Smiles,

Laura

Progress!

Well, it seems like it's been an awfully long time since I blogged last. Things have been pretty hectic and busy around here. We had a wonderful weekend in Edson with our friends the Jansens, and the most strenuous thing we did all weekend was go to a craft fair. Heidi and I relaxed and drank coffee, Barry and Paul were goofy for three days, and Matt truly believes that Nicola and Chane are his cousins. They were so fantastic to him, and played with him the whole weekend. It was exactly what we needed! Thank you Jansens!!!

As soon as we got home on Monday afternoon, it was time to unload the suitcases and turn around to head to the church, where we enjoyed a scrumptious turkey dinner with our Life Group. It was a great evening, with good food, good friends, and even some excellent music. We are truly blessed.

Once Tuesday rolled around, it was time for reality to hit. We were back into routine and back to the renovations. I'll try and snap a few pics this week and get them posted so you can all see the "progress." Things are starting to take shape a bit. The master bedroom is painted and the new light fixtures, outlets and light switches are up (thank you Ryan). Those finishing touches make a huge difference, but man, do they ever take a LOT OF TIME! Barry has put the sealant on the tile in the bathroom and is almost done putting together the new vanity. By the end of next weekend the upper level should be completely done and we should be able to get all of the boxes and furniture labeled "bedrooms" out of the basement at our old house. I bet the Clarkes are beginning to wonder if they'll ever be rid of our belongings!

Well, we're off to get ready for church, and then Matt has a birthday party to go to this afternoon. He is going to be the only boy at his friend Jewel's princess party (Jewel's mom assured me that there would be a prince role for Matt to play - so Barry doesn't have to have a complete fit).

God Bless,

Laura

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hi everyone.

What a day!!! It began at six, with me off to the gym to run and lift a few weights, then home to get ready for work in case the sub service called. They didn't (praise the Lord for days off!). After that is was one catastrophe filled stop after the next until 6:00 this evening when Matt informed me that it was time to go home "where we belong". Bless his little heart for coming everywhere with me and being so good the whole way through!!

The past few weeks have been quite a roller coaster for us. Barry was supposed to have last week off to work on the townhouse, and he ended up going in to work for two days, and having to go to PG one day, which left him two out of his five days of holidays to really work at the place. BUT in that short amount of time, my man was able to finish gutting the upstairs, tile the bathroom and begin the laminate flooring in Matt's bedroom (which I have painted). Things are going VERY slowly over there, and we were both feeling extremely guilty about heading off to Edson for Thanksgiving. We could really use a break though, and are telling ourselves that after a mini holiday we will be much more motivated. So, next week it looks like if I don't get called in to work, it's a painting I will go!!

Matt is in skating lessons and is loving it. I got to watch him today (the last few lessons I've had to work, so Shirley took him) and he actually sprawled right out on his tummy, smelled the ice, then rolled over and proceeded to make "ice angels". He gets distracted pretty easily, but when he hears the instructor call the group together, he perks right up and follows along really well. Today they started to skate backwards, which was hilarious to watch.

As I mentioned, we are heading to Edson for Thanksgiving, to see our dear friends, the Jansens. Matt is so excited he can hardly stand himself. I could hear him playing with his toys in the tub tonight, and "they" (the toys) were talking about how Alex the T-rex can hardly wait to go to Auntie Heidi's house in one more sleep. He told me last night that if he had a really fast car would drive to Edson and Vernon, to see Chane and Grandma and Grandpa. He is really starting to catch on to how far it is to different communities and he does a great job remembering who lives where.

Well, the pig stye that was our truck is now nice and clean and the suitcases are packed, so that's my cue to get some rest before our long drive tomorrow.

Wishing you all a very Happy Thanksgiving, and God's richest blessings.

Love,

Laura

Camping Season is Just Beginning!!

Okay, so camping season for this year is actually winding down, but camping season in terms of the seasons of our lives is just getting started for us! We have purchased an RV!!! Yahoo!!

This past weekend (the 21st) we picked up our trailer and took it to Vanderhoof to put it at Barry's mom and dad's for the winter. Our brilliant plan was to put it under the roof/carport area that they used to keep their fifth wheel. So, we get there and we're looking at the RV and at the carport - the RV is too high!! There's no way it's going to go in. We ended up parking it in the "corral" (fenced area where they used to keep horses).

We would really like it to be under some sort of cover for the winter, because we get pretty major winters around here, so we have made a reservation at a former dairy farm in Vanderhoof who is now using their "milking barn" for RV storage. We planned to go back to V-hoof (which is a 7hr round trip drive from Mackenzie) on the 13th of October to pull the trailer 10km down the road from my in-laws to the storage place. I know, that's a whole lot of driving for very little pulling. That was the plan until God sent us some angels in disguise!! Our dear friends Desiree and Duane are also going to store their trailer in Vanderhoof for the winter, and they have soooo kindly offered to pick up our trailer from Barry's mom and dad's place, tow it down the road and park it in storage for us!! We are so blessed to have wonderful friends. No 7 hr drive to pull the trailer 10km!!! Don't worry, Mom and Dad Candline, we will come back for another visit once the townhouse is renovated, but right now, it's a race against the clock to get these renos done.

So, thank you Desiree and Duane, we owe you guys big time!!!

Well, I'm off to phone the storage place and let them know that our trailer will be arriving tomorrow.

God Bless,

Laura

Boys Really Are Born Like That

So, Matt went for a play date with his friend, Aliyah, the other day. They have been good pals for a few years now (so, basically half their lives). We typically do a joint birthday party for Matt and Aliyah, and Desiree (Aliyah's mom) and I spend lots of time together, so these two are very much like siblings.

When I went to pick Matt up after his day with Aliyah, Desiree told me this funny story that I thought I'd share with all of you.

Aliyah, "Matt, you're going to be the husband and I'm going to be the wife, so you have to call me sweetheart all day."

Matt, "Okay, 'Liyah."

Aliya, "No, Matthew, call me sweetheart."

Matthew, "Right, sorry 'Liyah."

Do you think that poor little girl was just about ready to pull her hair out and strangle her "husband"?! My gosh, at four years old he already just says "yes" without listening and drives her insane!

Hope you chuckled,

Laura

Demolition!!!

Oh my goodness! We took possession of our Peach Tree Estates Townhouse, and we have started to rip and tear!

Okay, so I'll tell you our plans from the top level down.

Top floor: This is where the bedrooms and main bath are. We are going to put down all new flooring (laminate in the bedrooms, tile in the bathroom), new vanity, medicine cabinet in the bathroom and new light fixtures, plus a fresh coat of paint throughout.

Main floor: This is the kitchen, entrance way, half bath, and living room. We are toying with the idea of knocking out the half bath to make the kitchen larger. In any case, we will put in new cabinets, counter tops, flooring, light fixtures and paint. We are also scraping the stalactites off the ceiling and re-doing it. Might not sound like much, but so far it's been a heck of a lot of work.

Basement: Play room, laundry and storage. We are knocking out a wall, moving another one four feet over to make the play room larger, putting down new flooring, cabinets for the laundry room and storage (using the old kitchen cabinets) paint and new light fixtures. Again, it might not sound like much, but just wait till you see the before and afters.

I have taken a few "before" pictures of the upstairs and I wanted to take some of the kitchen as well, but before I got over there with my camera we had a moving mishap. I had asked Barry to empty the freezer before we moved it. Hmmm. We moved out of 607 Babine Drive on a Sunday, and on Tuesday morning I went over to the townhouse to do laundry. I walked in and was greeted by a terrible smell. A freezer tray of meat had been left on the counter and it had proceeded to thaw!!! The blood had seeped into the corner seam of the counter top, under the sink, even under the cabinet under the sink, creating a need to remove the counter tops, cabinets and some of the linoleum IMMEDIATELY!!! So, needless to say, destruction took precedence over any photography/blogging needs. I'm glad that we were planning to tear all that out anyway, if it had happened on my new counter tops I would be madder than Cruella De Ville.

I'll keep you posted on the goings on and will try to snap a few pics of various stages.

Have a blessed day!

Laura

Moving Day

So, on Sunday, September 16th we officially moved out of our house and into the basement suite next door. We were blessed by having a group of guys from our church come over and help us (even though we really didn't move far, and we only moved the stuff we will be NEEDING between now and the completion date). The purchasers are graciously allowing us to leave most of our belongings in the basement of "our" house - thank you Clarkes!

We will be staying in the basement suite until we are finished renovating our townhouse. We're planning a pretty major reno, so we're hoping to be in our "new" home around the beginning to middle of November.

After all the moving was done and I was driving Matt to a friend's house to play, he filled me in on his take of the afternoon's events:

"Mommy, you were very bossy at those mans. You know better. You are not the boss of them. You need to be polite and STOP frusertrating them."

Wow. In the busyness of the afternoon I didn't even realize that Matt was carefully noticing that the men did the carrying and Mommy did the telling them where to put things. I hope he takes his own "bossy is frusertrating" advice.

I've posted some pictures of our "old" home so that you can see where we lived, for those of you that haven't been here to visit us.

Blessings,

Laura

Company

I decided to take Matt out to Warren and Angela's today. They have five acres out in the country, two horses and lots of wonderful leaves which create the perfect place to take a picture for our Christmas card.

We pulled up to the house and I must admit, I was driving without my glasses. Not completely against the rules, but probably not the smartest idea I've ever had. I'm squinting into the sun and I see this large black "dog" shape on the deck, next to the BBQ. I think to myself, "When did Warren get a huge black dog? Jeepers, they're moving in a few weeks, I didn't think now would be the time to get an enormous dog." Just then, the "dog" turned its face towards me, and sure enough, it was a bear. I'm not even so sure it was black, it might have been a brown one, but in the sunlight it was pretty hard to tell.


He looked at me for a few minutes and then wandered behind the house towards the corral. The horses, Gus and Tank, were less than impressed. Matt and I drove down towards the barn and sat in our truck watching him for a few mintues, with Matt saying, "Mommy, close your window, he will bite you with his sharp teeth!". The bear sure didn't worry about our prescence, or the fact that the horses were around. We took a few pictures and then headed home, even though he did wander to the other side of the fence, I still wasn't about to let Matt out the truck. No pictures for us that day!

Blessings to all,

Laura

To The Rescue!

We have been having some wonderful weather here lately, bright, sunny warm fall days. We decided it 's way too nice to be inside so we headed off to the park to meet some friends. Matt was riding his big two wheeler bike (with his training wheels that are too far off the ground, so they rarely touch the pavement anyway), and I was jogging along beside him. We had been there about half an hour when Matt came screaming towards me absolutely bawling his head off. He had his first bee (wasp) sting. It got him right on his neck and started to swell up pretty much right away. Poor guy.

We decided we needed ice cream therapy, so my friend Desiree put her two kids in her nice big double stroller and I coaxed Matt back onto his bike. Thank goodness we didn't have far to go, every time Matt moved his neck the sting would start to burn again, he would bawl, close his eyes and swerve all over the road like car bait!! We made it to the rec centre and the ice cream place was CLOSED! Figures. So, we left the bike there and headed to 7-11 for a slurpee (by this time some sort of treat was needed by everyone involved). We accomplished our mission and just had the kids settled on the grass outside the rec centre with their slurpees when I spotted the Purolator truck at the church. Everyone who lives in Mackenzie knows that Andy Barnes, the pastor of our church, drives the Purolator truck. Yay! Desiree sees me eyeing it up and reads my mind, "I have no idea how else you're going to get Matthew home. There's no way he's going to ride his bike all that way, and you'll have nothing but a battle on your hands if you push the bike and try to make him walk. I'll stay with the kids - you run and ask Andy for a ride." What a good friend.

Off to the church I go. I tell Andy our tragic tale and he smiles kindly, "Let's go."

Once back at the slurpee picnic I pick up Matt's helmet and tell him that Mr. Barnes will drive us home in his big van. Matt has been having some trouble with the whole Mr. /Mrs. concept this summer. He calls both men and women Mrs. Probably because most of the adults he's around just happen to be the moms.

He looks up at me and says "Mrs. Barnes?" (Mrs. Barnes is Matt's pre-school teacher).

"No, honey, Mr. Barnes. Remember how the girls are Mrs. and the boys are Mr?"

Moments later we are home safe and sound, Andy is unloading Matt's bike from the back of the Purolator van and Matt smiles at him and says loud and clear, " Thank you Mrs. Barnes the boy one!"

So, after that whole big long saga, THANK YOU Mr. Barnes for saving the day!

And for the rest of us, ice cream really does make everything better.

Happy Birthday Steph!

Sunday, September 9th was Stephanie's 20th birthday!!! Happy Birthday Kiddo. We love you and pray God's richest blessings upon you. "...being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:6

God has a wonderful plan for your life, and we look forward to seeing you pursue your dreams and fulfill your potential.

First Day of School

Wow! Matt is a big four year old now, and Wednesday was his first day of pre-school. I can't believe how fast his "at home" years are going.

He was so excited when he woke up that morning, he actually ate his breakfast with no song and dance, just got right down to business and then wanted to get dressed and brush his teeth right away! We were ready half an hour early, which is nothing short of miraculous for us, considering that on the days I get called in to teach I usually drop him off at the day care (Grammy Shirley - the most wonderful care giver EVER) in his pyjamas, unfed, and still blinking the sleep from his eyes, (that poor woman, bless her).

While Matt loves the routine of going to school and he's very eager to listen and learn, his teacher did tell me that he does not want to have anything to do with the writing table. If he could bypass that one and go straight to the "hammer" table, he would spend the whole free time hammering and building away. Hmmm...sound like Daddy's little buddy?:)

I'm off to pick up the boy of the hour from school day #2.

Blessings,

Laura