Thankful Thursday

This week I'm thankful for ...

~ snow and the joy it puts on my daughter's face.  She would spend the entire day (and night!) out there playing and tromping around in it if we would let her;

~ an extra snowsuit for Maaike ... 'cause when one is wet, it's SO handy to have another available;

~ coffee after some long nights with a coughing child;

~ Breaking Dawn and catching up with friends;

~ my newly shorn dog and the fact that I don't have to vacuum fur bunnies every 5 minutes;

~ my husband, who loves me despite (and tolerates all) my whackiness, and supports me no matter what;

~ passing the 30 minutes I had to spend colouring my hair on the phone with my Mom;

~ my Mom.  She would shake her head to hear it, but she's one of the strongest people I know.  I don't know how she handles it all without complaint;

~ brunch with a friend who is moving back across the water far too soon;

~ my bank card and the fact that it just keeps working and working and working (ha!)!!!  How did we ever survive without these little genius inventions?

~ my morning exercise routine that keeps me sane and fit at the same time;

~ the fact that it's only one month until Christmas Eve ... !!!

~ being able to stay at home and help raise the most amazing, incredible, inventive, curious, imaginative, smart, awesome and adorable little girl on the planet.  She is, bar none, my proudest achievement.

Family Pics

We got our family pics done this year -- professionally.  And I say that tongue in cheek.  We have had awesome friends do photo shoots for us and they turned out just as nice.  Unfortunately, said friend went and moved away so we had to look at alternatives.  The pics are brilliant, despite the fact that they totally broke the bank!  I don't think we'll go this way again, but here's a little sneak peak ... once Christmas passes I'll post more.  : )

 

1st Camping Adventure of 2011

It was a little damp, a little cold, a little eye-opening (we def need a new trailer ... one with a bathroom), but still lots & lots of fun on our first camping adventure of the season.  We stayed at the Porter's Lake Provincial Park in Nova Scotia for the long weekend with awesome friends.  

All in all, despite the weather & the fact that one family had to leave due to a medical issue, 

a great time was had by all.  Let's do it again soon!

Dutch Irish Hex

Hex signs are a form of old Pennsylvania Dutch folk art which, in the more recent years, have became more commercialized for the tourist market. Some people think hex signs hold some form of magical powers; but most see them as purely decorative, or "chust for nice" as they say in the local dialect.

I recently found out that one of the most popular hex symbols is "Dutch Irish", featuring a large green shamrock (good luck of the Irish!) at the heart of it. A pair of Irish Distelfink birds shower the shamrock with a double dose of happiness and good fortune. And trinity tulips, a familiar symbol in the Netherlands, adds a dose of faith, hope & charity.

To me this symbol is overflowing with love, just like our little family. Must find one somewhere to hang in our house ...

Sleigh Ride

It was a beautiful sunny day yesterday, perfect for a few toboggan runs and a sleigh ride!

Bundled up kiddos, all in a row ... can you tell who is who?

Ready to go!

Someone was NOT happy about taking this little sleigh ride!

But she finally warmed up and started to check out her surroundings.

Happy Family!

Mike & Pete, the beautiful horses who hauled us around Rotary Park.

"Snow" much fun!

Snowmageddon

Well, another (at least) 30 cms of snow fell on an already chock-full city last night. It's really getting out of hand, and there's certainly very little room left to put any more of the white stuff around here. Thankfully we have someone ploughing our driveway this year so we don't have to worry much about it. To think we were worried just before Christmas that we wouldn't get enough snow to make the snow removal services worthwhile! HA!

Back deck.

Front window ... the snow has crept past the sill.

Our fence is 5-6 feet tall, depending on where you're standing in the yard.

We have to shovel the yard to keep the dog from "wandering".

Between our house & our neighbour's. Our car is in the foreground,

hers in the upper left corner.

Anyone else ready for Spring????

Proud of our Soldier

Best Daddy Ever