Thoughts About Working.

Most of my married life I have worked outside of the home. Doug and I both worked full time when we were first married. I worked at the DQ and most of my shifts were the same as Doug's so were got to spend a lot of time together. I worked up until three before Anson was born and then I got to go on maternity leave for a year. A month after my maternity leave was done, Cameron was born so I didn't go back to work. When Cameron was 6 months old I went back to work evenings and weekends at the DQ. It was great because we never had to get a sitter and Doug was able to bond with his two little munchkins. The only down side was that Doug and I didn't get to spend too much time together that way. I stayed working part time until two weeks before Brandon was born and I got to go on another year of payed maternity leave. A month after Brandon's first birthday I went back to work at a boat rental/restaurant. I gave up two summers/fall working there. After that stint I was sick and tired of working evenings and weekends so I started applying for jobs at different banks. I figured that if I would be working outside of the home that it might as well be something that I would enjoy and not have to work anymore evenings and weekends. I got a job at a bank back in September. For the most part the job is going well except that I'm working way more than I want to. I started to get really stressed and frustrated. I started to think about what I wanted to spend more time doing, and it included things like; doing crafts with Brandon, volunteering at the boys school/and going to school functions, being available to help friends/family in need, being able to keep a cleaner more organized house and having the time to plan and cook nutritious meals for the family. After assessing what I really wanted to be doing, I wondered if work would still fit into the picture. For those of you who know me really well know I get restless quite easily, and if I don't get out of the house I get discouraged and unmotivated, so I feel like I still need something, I'm just hoping to cut back my hours at the bank to 7hrs a week and then spend more time doing the things that are really important.

Lots of Snow

Up until today we didn't have very much snow, but today we got dumped on. As a matter of fact most people are snowed in. There were only about 40 people in church today. I'm so thankful for a 4x4 in weather like this.

This is how we found our new to us Ford explorer this morning. It'll will be nice to have the garage done and be able to park inside. Doug is working hard to make that happen.

Our Christmas was Merry.

Time flies when you are busy. I felt a little unprepared for Christmas this year. In mid September I started my training as a CSR at the bank. I worked full time for six weeks and came to the conclusion that if having a full time career and being a Mom is having "it all", then I don't want "it all". Right after my training Doug went for major knee surgery. In the midst of working, feeling like a single parent at times, I was suppose to try and get ready for Christmas. Well 9 days before Christmas, Doug had a follow up appointment for his knee in the city and I was able to start and finish my shopping. We only had a small budget this year, so we weren't able to do a lot. The day after we got back from the city we found out that the transmission on our van needs to be replaced. Fixing that along with other things that need repairs on that van would cost just as much as replacing the van so needless to say we are unexpectedly shopping for a different family vehicle. We have gone through a difficult past few months, but can see that God is showing us things in us that aren't very pretty, things that that need to be changed. I'm so glad that God loves us too much to leave us the way we are. Also in the past few months we have been so blessed by family, friends and the Church family. I'm so overwhelmed by people's goodness and God's goodness to us. I feel so undeserving of it, but am very grateful for it.

Christmas did come whether I felt ready or not. We were able to celebrate at home with the boys first thing in the morning. I thought that the boys were at an age where the excitement would make them wake up super early, but surprisingly the slept until quarter to eight. We read Matthew's account on the birth of Jesus and then we opened the few gifts. The boys went Christmas shopping with the school again this year. They get to go to the Salvation Army thrift store and buy anything for $5 and under for a quarter. It was neat to see what the boys picked out for each other and for us, and they were so excited to give those gifts. From Cameron I received a brand new home interiors candle in a jar. Not my favourite scent, but special none the lest. From Anson I got a pepper shaker of a Chinese looking cat.. He thought it was neat looking and so do I.


After our family time we headed over to Doug's parents. Doug's Mom is on crutches so his sister and I did a lot of the meal preparations. It wasn't actually that much work. I'm not one who desires to be in the kitchen all of Christmas day. I would rather keep the meals simpler and spend more time hanging out as a family. And thankfully that was the case this year. At Doug's parents house we usually read Luke's account on the birth of Jesus and then everyone gets to pick a favourite carol and we sing the first verse, then we open gifts. The boys always seems to enjoy themselves even if they don't have any cousins to play with. Maybe if they did, they would bug poor uncle Rhys so much.

Anson and Cameron showing off some of their loot. Cameron was thrilled to get a Calgary flames shirt. Doug is not a a flames fan at all, Cameron choose that team because his friend with the same name as him cheers for them. We'll see how long he stays a fan.

Brandon is crazy about trains (and balls). He loves his new train set and even goes to bed with the trains.

It was a very special Christmas. I love spending it with my boys. But most of all I'm so thankful for Jesus - the greatest gift ever given. I don't know how I would deal with life's circumstances without him.

A Beautiful Day!

Today the weather outside was perfect. We enjoyed it by going out for lunch by the river, going for a walk to a playground, and then having a picnic supper at the park and tossing a football around. It was just so great to be able to have a relaxing, fun day with my four favourite guys. I'm so blessed!

Tomorrow I start my new job at the Royal Bank. I have a casual position as a client service representative. I have to train full time for six weeks, and then after that it will only be a couple shifts a week. I'm looking forward to the six weeks being done. But Brandon will be in good hands so that truly is peace of mind. Anyway if I come to mind, I would really appreciate your prayers.

Still Under Construction

This summer the garage has been our project. Doug worked long and hard to get the old one tore down and as I'm typing, there is hammering going on to get the new one put up. It has taken a lot of time and effort but in the end it will all be worth it.

Cameron used to have a shirt the read, "Be patient with me I'm still under construction" (something like that anyway). I think that totally applies to my life right now. God is working to get rid of the old and build something new and better. It is not easy but in the end it will be worth it. I'm just so thankful that God cares enough about me to work in my life.

Two Weddings and a Funeral

June is wedding month for our family. Doug and I each have the last of our single siblings, getting married this month. Janelle's wedding will be pretty relaxing for us for the most part. Doug is an usher and I have to look after the punch table for in between ceremony and reception. Oh ya and we have to try to keep an eye on Brandon during the out door ceremony. Did I mention that it was going to be relaxing? Well let me change that to busy but still enjoyable. As for my sister's wedding, things will be great for me since I am flying out by myself. No boys to keep track of. My dress for the wedding is at the seamstress right now. I chose to do the dress with the v-neck, but I'm getting sleeves put on, since that is a requirement at the church she is getting married in. Now I just need to get some sandals for the weddings and decide whether or not to get a pedicure done. $40, is it worth it???



Don't worry, we don't have a funeral to go to in June, but I do feel that I death has occurred in my life. A death of a dream that is. I have had a certain dream/desire ever since I was a little girl and just recently I have come to realize that it wasn't in God's plan for my life. I did pray for God's will to be done in my life regarding that dream and that I would be OK with whatever the outcome was. Turns out that the outcome was different than I had hoped and of course that makes me sad, but I have to trust that God knows best. He can see the big picture, and besides sometimes life is not all about me.



Brandon has really been testing our patience lately. Ever since his ear infection he wants to sleep in bed with us and he can't seem to fall asleep without me laying beside him. Although he seems to go to sleep OK when I'm not around, so maybe he'll break that habit when I'm in Ontario. Brandon also is very ready to be potty trained. Anytime he has a wet diaper he takes it off. Hopefully we'll have our new toilet in soon so I can begin the task of potty training.



The other two boys only have a month of school left. Which includes activity day, swimming, and children's festival field trip for Cameron. Overall I think that the school year went quite well. Anytime I would ask Cameron how school was he would tell me that it was the best like always.
They both never complained about having to go to school and would always seem to look forward to it.



The bathroom renovations are slowly getting done. It turned out to be quite a big job. But the end is in sight. All we have left to do is plumbing for the sink and toilet and finishing up the vanity and linen closet. Hopefully I'll get to post pictures of the new bathroom soon.



I also starting work at the restaurant/boat rental store again. So far things are going pretty good. I don't mind the work. Last year I really didn't like the waitressing part, but this year I'm more comfortable doing it and actual enjoy it. I only work on evenings and weekends so Doug watches the boys when I'm gone. Which is a great bonding time for them all. I also see my job as a great ministry opportunity. I have already been able to share about my faith with one of the high school girls that I work with.

It it also anniversary month for Doug and I. On the 10Th we celebrate 9 years of marriage. The 9 years have gone by quickly and pretty much uneventful. We have moved once (from a two bedroom apartment to the house we now own), Doug has gone from working part time at the family business to full time, and I have worked on and off at the DQ and now this restaurant. Oh ya, the biggest change for us has been that we are now parents of three boys. When we were first married I read a stat about how much time the average married couple spent together talking and it was only a few minutes a day. Back then I just couldn't believe that would ever happen to us because we were spending two or more hours a day together. Well 9 years later I believed that it has happened. In between our jobs, rushing the boys off to soccer and meetings we only get a few precious minutes a day together to talk. Especially since Brandon joins us in our bed every night. I really think that we need to start a regular date night once a month.

It's been awhile

This summer has been crazy busy, I have hardly had time to think about my blog, let a lone update it.
This is the first Sunday I have had off in August and we made the most of it. We went for a boat ride this afternoon and then took the boys mini golfing. Then we headed over to my in-laws where our church congregation had an evening service around a camp fire. It was a great way to spend what seems like the last Sunday of the summer. I say that because the boys start school on Wednesday, and that makes it feel like summer is over.
Part of the reason that life has been so busy lately is because I went back to work. When I first started my job I mentioned to my employer that I only wanted to work two Saturdays, one Sunday and the odd evening a month. Well I have been working every Saturday and Sunday and two evenings a week. It is too much, I have no desire to work that much. Anyway if I don't get a backbone soon and tell my employer to cut back my hours, my husband it going to make the call for me. I'm actually thinking about finding a part time day job. I'm not completely crazy about that idea either, because I would have to find someone to watch Brandon, and he cries a lot when I leave him anywhere other then with Grandma, also I would like to be available to go to school functions, and be involved with that as much as possible. But after working evenings and weekends for three years, I'm ready to be done with that too. Especially with the boys going to school during the day, I feel like by heading to work in the evening I hardly get to spend any time with them.

OK, now it's your turn to tell me what you think. I would appreciate any one's input on whether I should find a part time day job or stay working evenings and weekends. I would love to just stay at home full time but that doesn't seem to be an option.

We're Back!

On Tuesday we arrived home from Ontario. We had a wonderful time visiting, swimming, visiting some more, and of course attending my sister's wedding. I'm so glad that the boys were able to get to know their cousins a bit better and their grandma also.
Now it is time to get back to a normal routine, which is going to be different for the summer. Anson only has two more days of school left, and I am going back to work for the summer. I am working at the Regional Park at a store selling fishing gear and ice cream and such. The odd time I will work at their restaurant which is in a different location. It is not my dream job, but it works well because I will only be working when Doug can watch the boys.
I am excited for the summer even though it will be a busy one.

This and That

On May long weekend we went to the city for our friends Lindsay and Rob's wedding. It was a very nice wedding. I would have enjoyed it a lot more if we wouldn't have had Brandon with us. Oh well, I'm so happy for them and was glad to be able to share their special day with them.

In less than two weeks I fly to Ontario for my youngest sister's wedding. I'm looking forward to it and am extremely excited that the whole family is going to be together. My Mom, all eight sisters, 7 bothers-in-law (counting the groom), and the 27 grandchildren. Anyway it is going to be a blast. I'm sure that the boys will enjoy playing with their cousins. They don't have any cousins close by, which really is too bad.

This week has been a crazy one. On the weekend some of us were starting to get sick and then by Monday all five of us were sick with a respiratory cold. So there has been a ton of coughing going on, and I haven't had a voice for the last three days. This is the first time that it has ever happened to me and it is very annoying to me and to people who have to try and listen to me. At least it has really made me appreciate the fact that normally I can talk, it is a lot easier raising the boys with a voice, now I can only glare at them when they are misbehaving.

Life Lately

Brandon is 11 months old already. Today was a really good day with him. He napped really well and didn't whine. But I must say that the past month has not been so great. He has been cranky! I blame it on teething, but unfortunately he doesn't have any teeth as a result yet. Brandon is a very busy boy. He loves to go through my cupboards, as you can see in the picture above he helped himself to some Cheerios (he doesn't even like Cheerios anymore). He stands by himself for a few seconds and has tried to take a step, so I don't think that it be long before he is walking. (Both Anson and Cameron were walking by this age) Brandon no longer eats baby foods, he likes to eat what we are eating, his favourite food seems to be pasta, and of course he loves bananas. I can't believe that in one short month we'll be celebrating his first birthday.
Granny G (Doug's grandma) came for a visit last week. The last time she was here Cameron was a baby. It was great to see her again.
Sick day - This is how Anson spent his day. Unfortunately he had to miss school because he was sick. It was hard for me to see that Anson was not feeling well, and I wish so badly that there was more I could do for him to help him feel better. I just hope that tomorrow he is himself again and that no one else gets the bug that he has.
On Sunday our church had their annual sleigh and chili social. The weather was gorgeous, and we all had a lot of fun. I feel very blessed by our church family.

My Day

Life with one vehicle

7:50 - Get everyone in the van and drop Doug off at work. Come home
8:45 - Get all the boys in the van again and pick up Anson's friend and drop the two of them off at school. Come home.
11:45 - Get my two youngest boys in the van again and pick up Doug for lunch. Come home and
have lunch.
12:45 -Get in the van again and drop off Doug at work. Run a few errands and then head to the
grocery store. Get home after 2:00
3:00 - Get the boys in the van again and head to the school to pick up Anson and his friend.
Drop off his friend and come home.
4:45 - Get all the boys in the van one last time and pick Doug up from work. Come home.

On days like today I think that it would be less busy if I home schooled.

The Seasons of life

Today is a beautiful fall day and I can't help but want to be outside to enjoy it before the colder days arrive. So since our garage was an embarrassment I thought it would be as good a time as any to open the garage door and clean it out. Brandon was napping inside and Anson and Cameron were riding their bikes on the driveway. I was happy to be getting a lot done with minimal interuptions. But as I was finishing up I discovered that Cameron had been busy taking things out of the garage (that I had just put in the right spot) to set up 'house' in the front yard. That wasn't too bad I thought at least he is using his imagination. But then he got a bright idea to pick up a had full of leaves and scatter them all over my clean garage. It reminded me of the times that I have just finished cleaning the windows and five minutes later there are finger prints all over them, or it seems like right after I am done mopping, something sticky gets spilt on the floor. Sometimes I wish for the time when something stays clean for more than an hour after I am finished cleaning it. This is the season I am in at this point in my life, and I have to remind myself not to sweat the little things and not to take this season forgranted.
A couple years ago, Doug helped the boys make the sweetest mother's day gift for me. He had Anson and Cameron put their little hands in finger paint and stamp them on a piece of paper and then he wrote a touching poem on each. I often reread them when I find myself losing focus of what is really important in my life. I just wanted to share the poems with you, knowing that you will be touched. (Im not sure who wrote them or even where Doug got them from)

Sometimes you get discouraged
because I am so small
and always leave my fingerprints
on furniture and walls.

But everyday I'm growing
I'll be all grown up one day
and all my little fingerprints
will surely fade away.

So here's my little handprints
just so you can recall
exactly how my fingers looked
when I was very small.


Lots of little fingerprints
smudging up the wall
my traces through the livingroom
and up and down the hall.

Smdges on the furniture
and on the t.v. screen
all removed by polishing
to leave things sparkling clean.

Muddy little footprints tracks
across the kitchen floor
Mommy's mop and bucket comes
and then they are no more.

But Little children grow so fast
and memories of handprints fade
this souvenir will bring them back
and as you see it's all hand-made!

Getting started

I have been wanting to start a blog for a while now. I think that it will be a great way to journal the happenings in my life. While at the same time sharing them with loved ones. Hopefully by doing that we can be an encouragement to each other as well.