Our Last Friday

Dixie had a haircut yesterday, and came home with the cutest little pink bows in her ears and one on her collar. She would not sit still for a picture, every time I get out the camera she "stands up" and waves at it, so this is the best I could do for you.

It has been so nice and sunny here lately, Matt and I have enjoyed lots of outside time.

This is Boco the rock star, treating us to some evening entertainment.

Well, I suppose that all good things must come to an end, and this is our last Friday here in Vernon. My poor mom is already tearing up at the thought of Matt and I leaving, and so far I haven't been able to convince my dad to caravan along behind us to help with the big "unpack."

I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful family.

This past week has been great, beginning with my "retreat" with my sister. We had so much fun wandering and browsing through the mall (and I did find some great sidewalk sale deals!). Then we had movies and guilt free junk food at her place, a great breakfast the next morning and I even got to meet her new horse on my way home. Misty is wonderful and I hope that she does great things for her new owner!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Matt and my mom were having a wonderful time all their very own. My mom had prepared a treasure hunt for Matt, and he absolutely loved it. He started outside and had to find several pictures that had been hidden (hung in the trees, and on the decorative sleigh, etc). Once he had found all of them, he had to come inside and find the matching pictures hidden in the house. The last matching picture was near two gingerbread men that were pointing the way to the treasure (some treats and a sticker book in a "treasure chest"). She definitely knew how to keep his mind off the fact that mommy was gone!

As is par for the course, Matt has been saying some pretty hilarious things this week:

Grandma: "Well, I'd better get going, I have to stop at the Credit Union."

Matt: "You get to go to Kindergarten??"

For the rest of the day he peppered her with questions about what she got to do at Kindergarten, and if she had fun there.

Matt: "Grandpa!! Did you get to go to the circus today and pick out a costume?"

So that's what they call working in the RCMP detachment!! Sounds about right.

Maybe I'll get Matt's hearing checked again...

Well everyone, I'm off to read in bed for awhile.

Blessings to each of you,

Laura

Reflections

Well, I'm almost making my goal of at least one blog post per week. I'll try to stop back in to put up some more pics for you, but for tonight, I'll just give you a quick update.

Last weekend was a bit of a write off - I succumbed to the sore throat that had been chasing me for a while and ended up quite under the weather. We didn't stray too far from home. I tried to keep the week moving along at a reasonable pace for Matt. My parents had plans on Sunday evening, so Matt and I had a picnic supper in the play room. We put a blanket out on the floor, and enjoyed a simple meal just chatting and playing together. My sister and a co-worker came for supper on Monday and were treated to a fantastic concert by Boco - the newest rock star in the house. I have no idea where Matt comes up with these names. Tuesday saw us heading out to his drop in ABC Gym program at the rec centre, and Wednesday was story hour at the Library. I found another drop in activity at the rec centre for Thursday and then bright and early on Friday morning, Matt and I headed out to the Kelowna Airport to pick up DADDY! We spent the day in Kelowna and went appliance shopping - the house we bought in Alberta doesn't have any appliances in it, so we had to go and purchase some things. I'm praying that I get a job soon, as things are starting to add up!

Saturday was a nice day at home, playing in the snow and going for a walk, then dinner at Ashley and Jeremy's house. This morning was a bit rough, as it was the return trip to the airport for Barry, and Matt is so ready to be together again - and so am I. I love my parents dearly and am so thankful for this relationship building time with them, not to mention their generosity towards us. It's wonderful to be here, and it will be fantastic to get settled in Alberta and be a family with Barry and Matt agian. I am truly blessed.

Tomorrow I'm heading off for a "retreat" with my sister. Jill has invited me to come and have a break from the responsibilities of "single parenting" for a night. We are going to start out shopping, scouring the sidewalk sales at the mall for a deal that might make a good "work" outfit for me (I'm definitely planning for entering the work force) and then we'll head back to her place for some yummy treats/appies and maybe a nice glass of wine. We'll pick up a few movies and paint our nails (something I never do with Matt around) and I'm even getting to have a sleepover. I'll head back here fairly early on Tuesday so that my mom doesn't have to handle Matt on her own for too long.

That's pretty much an update on us. I was thinking this week about all the little blessings we receive every day that we need to remember to be thankful for. My week has been full of them:

• Matt made a "friend"at the drop in on Tuesday
• The perfect "drive right in and don't parallel park" space was open a the Library on Wednesday AND it still had time left in the metre. Yahoo!!
• My mom's office is right down the street from the rec centre, and they close at lunch, so we can go and have picnics before the Thursday activity
• A computer tech at my dad's office was able to fix my removable storage device so I didn't have to go to "rent a geek"

One last thing. As we were heading home from church today, Matt asked me what we were doing next. The rest of our conversation went something like this:

"Going home for lunch."

Matt: "I'll tell you the choices, okay? We can go to McDonalds, we could go to the rec centre for ice cream, or we could go swimming. Which one do you choose?"

Me: "Matt, we've already been to Kelowna and to church. We are going home and we are not coming into town again today. That's my decision and it's final."

Matt: "But Mommy, if you decide first and tell me then I cannot decide!!"

I pretty much laughed the whole way home. His ability to logic and reason out how he wants things to go is really kicking in. He's just hysterical as he tries to express it.

So, I wish everyone a very blessed week.

Laura

Friday!!!

Feeding the ducks with Grandma

Ashley and Auntie Jill (here for dinner)
Going "under the floor" with Grandpa
to put the Christmas boxes away


A secret for Mommy

Yahoo!! We've made it through the week. I can't believe how hard it is to go from being sooo busy that I hardly have time to think, to having no schedule at all. There are still a lot of things I need to do, it's just that my days aren't planned as the deadlines aren't "in my face" like they were in Mackenzie. Also, Matt doesn't have any pre registered activities here in Vernon, so I'm not in the situation where I run around and get as much as I can done during the two hours he's at pre-school. Instead, I try to break up our days. I aim for at least one outing each day.

On Tuesday, Matt was able to attend the ABC Gym program at the rec centre, then on Wednesday he went to the Library story hour. Thursday was a bit of a let down, as we were hoping to go public skating in Lumby (nearby town) and when we arrived, there wasn't a soul to be found. The rink was open, and the ice was all nicely zambonied and looked ready to go, but we were the only living things for miles around...okay, that might be a bit of a stretch. We were the only people anywhere near the ice, so we decided we shouldn't help ourselves and we came home to take Dixie out for a walk.

Today, we went to my mom's office for a "picnic" lunch, after which we walked down to the creek and fed the ducks that gather near a little foot bridge. I was hoping to get Matt a drop in spot at "Little Kickers" - a beginner's soccer program, but sure enough, the two drop in spots got taken by someone willing to register for the whole session (until the end of March). So, in order to stop the tears of disappointment, we went to my dad's office and kidnapped him for a "date". We went to a video store and picked out some Friday night entertainment, and then he treated us to a wonderful surprise at Starbucks. I was able to score one of the very last eggnog lattes of the season, and Matt discovered that Starbucks has chocolate milk for people his size!! Who knew?? I sure didn't - but I have a feeling that Matt won't just quietly assume that Starbucks is a store for Mommy and Daddy anymore.

My little monkey is starting to cough quite badly, and I'm hoping that his tonsils are not acting up again. he's been waking up in the night quite consistently lately, and I'm getting pretty tuckered. Our nighttime rendezvous goes something like this:

"Mom, can I snuggle in your bed?"

"Sure."

"Okay, Matt, if you're not going to settle down, we might as well get up."

"Can I watch a cartoon?"

"Sure. You can go turn it on."

A few minutes later...

"Mom, I can't hear it."

I look at my watch...

"Matthew!!! It's the middle of the night! You can't be watching cartoons now! You need to be sleeping. Go to the bathroom and then you have to go straight back to sleep in your own bed!"

"Ooooh Mom! But sleeping is just hard."

So, there you have it in a nutshell. At four years old, Matt is finding that getting back to sleep when he wakes up in the night is "just hard". I have no idea what to do about this latest development, other than to check my watch immediately when we wakes and send him promptly back to bed without the song and dance (or the cartoon). I'm praying that this is temporary and that once we are all settled in our new home (still a few weeks away) that he will go back to normal.

Happy Friday everyone,

Laura

Making Memories

Tobogganing with Auntie Kim (my cousin)

Christmas Day games with Daddy and Uncle Ray (Auntie Kim's hubby)

Building a snowman with Grandma

Putting the angel on the tree with Grandpa

Hi All!

Well, we are enjoying a little rest here in Vernon; we don't have too much to fill our days right now, and it feels great (if a little bit strange). I know that as soon as January comes to an end and we head to Didsbury to settle in it will be back to routine and busyness.

I'm looking around for a drop in play gym that I can take Matt to this month, as he's getting a bit bored. He's grown accustomed to having pre-school and either swimming or skating lessons to keep him busy, and with his energy level (high all the time) he definitely needs some sort of outlet. We went to the library last week and they have a drop in story time, so we'll hit that one morning a week, and if I could find one or two other activities I think that would be full enough for me.

Ashley and Jill (my sister) came for dinner last night, and it was so nice of my mom to open her kitchen and let me "host" the dinner. I was able to plan the menu, do all the prep in peace while my dad played army guys with Matt and just feel a little bit more normal, like I'm still able to entertain and have people in for dinner, which I love to do. We really enjoyed spending the evening together, and Matt and I are thinking of going to Kelowna on Friday to visit with Ashley, as she has the day off.

There's not too much else that's new and exciting. I'm going to email our real estate agent today and see if he can forward me some interior pics of our new house so that I can share them with you. I'll keep you posted on how that goes.

Our townhouse in Mackenzie still hasn't sold, so if you're praying...it would sure help if it did. Also, I have applied for several jobs in and around Didsbury, and would appreciate prayer that one of them would work out.

Blessings,

Laura

Happy New Year!!

Hi All,

Well, as you all know, I have not been a very good blogger for the last part of 2007. Sorry. As you may imagine, things are nuts in the Candline world.

Matt and I are staying with my Mom and Dad for the month of January, as we did end up purchasing the house in Didsbury, but we don't get possession until the end of the month. Barry has managed to find a place to room and board for the month, and with the lack of rental accommodations in the Calgary area, this seemed like the easiest arrangement for our one month of transition.

We had a wonderful Christmas at my parents' place, and it was so nice to have Barry come and join us for over a week. On Friday, the 28th, we made the long trek up to Mackenzie, to see some friends and to finish off a little bit of work that just didn't get done on the townhouse. It was a fast but good visit, and thankfully the roads were much better on the way home than they were on the trip north - the drive up was not pleasant at all, but our foray south on New Year's Eve was a nice winter's drive. To all of our Mackenzie friends that we didn't end up getting to see - I'm so very sorry!! We didn't get to see nearly as many people as we would have liked, the townhouse consumed much of our time, and we had some business to take care of as well. We sure do miss you all and hope that you will come to see us, and also that our next trip to Mack town can just be fun and games!!

We have kept ourselves busy here in Vernon; Matt loves the church that my parents attend and asks to go there every day. We've been shovelling snow, building snowmen, going to Kelowna to see Ashley and Jeremy, enjoying visits from my sister, and just loving our very long vacation.

Over the last month or so, Matt has been saying some pretty funny things that I thought I should share with you:

On our flight home from the house hunting trip in Didsbury, Matt was seated next to a HUGE biker looking guy. He was pushing 300lbs, had a beard down to his belly button, and was dressed in pretty much head to toe leather. Matt looked him up and down, and proceeded to inform him (loudly), "Wow!! It must be way past your bedtime!" I though for sure it would be a miracle if we got off the airplane in one piece, but, in true Matt fashion, the biker was won over by the end of the flight. As the plane made its final descent, the scary dude was coaching us in the finer details of swallowing to make your ears pop.

A few days later, Dixie was having a bit of a coughing spell. My mom picked her up and tried to calm her. Matt rushed over and petted her gently, saying, "It's okay, Dixie, you're not dead yet."

Every evening after dinner, my parents take their tea and dessert (yes, my mother makes dessert for every meal!!) into the living room, and they chat while they enjoy the Christmas decorations. In the days leading up to Christmas, Matt made a habit of coming with us and putting on a concert. He sings along to whatever music we have playing, and every now and then he will tell one of us (using a stage name that he has made up for us) that we are allowed to "take our chairs off" and dance behind him. The best backup dancer wins a prize at the end of the concert (usually a high five). The star of the evening prefers to be called Punster the Rock Star while he's performing. I have no idea where he comes up with these things, but he keeps up cracked up, that's for sure!

Anyway, I must run and get the Rock Star into bed.

Love and hugs to you all,

Laura

P.S.

I will upload some photos when I figure out more about my parent's computer.