SNOW DAY!!!

Well, half a day anyway!! Threats of a winter storm last night, so when it was snowing and blowing this morning, they canceled bus runs. No matter, I was driving the kids in anyway, as I was helping in the kindy class and participating in the carol sing etc. Yesterday afternoon I made chocolate dipped marshmallows for treats for school. YUMMY! So I wanted to take those in (cuz really, how many can you eat yourself???). The snow got worse. And worse.

Just before kindy let out at 11:30, the school board made the call to close the schools. YIPPEE!! There's a TONNE of snow on the ground, a tonne still falling, it's blocking our front door in (Michael will have to shovel his way IN to the house I am thinking!), and blowing like crazy!!

I want to take pictures but the camera battery is dead. UGH. I think the charger is IN THE VAN OUTSIDE>.. so, um, NO! LOL!

I will get pics later tho :)

16 Inches! WOW!

So my sweet darling JA has been asking since mid August to have her hair cut again. The last time she did it (April 2006, she was 5.5) she donated 18 inches of hair in a braid. We were giving it to Wigs For Kids. She wanted to do it again. I delayed in making the appointment (not sure why now, it's so much easier this way!). Finally, on Thursday December 4th, we had an appointment. We went to the salon right after school. She was giddy with excitement!! It took FOREVER to brush thru her hair to make it usable! After that, Natalia sectioned it off and braided it into four skinny braids.


After that, she started cutting!! If you look closely in the mirror in the photo, you'll see the biggest smiles on JA!!


They measured the braids after they were cut off... and it was 16 inches!! WOW! I was amazed that her hair grew so fast in just 2.5 years! The staff in the salon remembered her, and she felt like a celebrity! LOL!



She got her hair washed, cut, and styled. She turned into a little Diva for a few days, constantly flipping her hair around!! It has been SO much easier to take care of... and she's already planning to grow and donate her hair again! Sophia will go next time... the first thing Sophia said when JA came home "I didn't get my hair cut!!" And pouted. LOL! Next time baby girl, next time!


(and yes... Mommy cried when they cut her braids off... I'm not always a big fan of change, and WOW the heart of my little girl!!)

Mom to 3 winner of blog candy

I haven't heard from you since I made the draw. I click your name in the comments, but it doesn't give me an email or any way to contact you!

If I do not hear back from her by noon on Friday, I will draw another winner!!

The Winners!!

ROSE can you please email me at beaudrybunch at cogeco dot ca (beaudrybunch@cogeco.ca if that links up!) YOU WON A GROOVY PET!!! Please email me your snail mail address so I can get your pet to you asap!! :)

Thanks for playing along!

Groovy Girls Blog Candy!

ETA: A few have emailed me saying they have nobody to give the doll/pet to! If you want to enter, feel free, and then donate it to a family in need, or your local food bank, or somewhere that is collecting new toys for Christmas!! :)

So I thought I'd like to share the wealth, so to speak. Last month when we won the Groovy Girls I wondered what I would do with all those dolls and pets!! I donated a pet and a girl to the Port Weller School Winter Wonderland raffle table. I am keeping a girl and a pet for each of my daughters for Christmas. That leaves me with 5 dolls and 2 pets! I am keeping some to use as birthday gifts... and I thought I would do a giveaway for a Groovy Girl and a Groovy Pet!! The best thing about these dolls is that they are the RSVP dolls! They come with a tag that has a code for going online to play games, change their clothes, and have oodles of clean fun! Check them out HERE to learn a little more about them, and all the cool possibilities!

I am showing a photo of a random girl and a random pet, but those might not be the ones you win!! I will have random.org draw 2 winners on Sunday evening, and I will let the winners know. To win a Groovy Girl or Groovy Pet, please leave a comment on THIS post, to gain a 2nd entry, link back to my blog and post a SECOND comment including the link back direct link!! :D Please let me know in your comments if you would like a PET or a GIRL! :)



When I draw the winner, I will email you immediately, and if I do not hear back by Monday at noon EST, I will have to draw another winner. I"d love for you to have your Groovy Girl/Pet for Christmas!

Happy Christmas!!!

God is BEYOND amazing!

I just have to say... :)

Just a few updates:

Michael did NOT get the job he interviewed for last week (or the week before I guess!). He did get a letter saying that they liked what they heard and saw, but there just isn't work for him right now. So we are looking again. Things may perk up after Christmas!

We had a fabulous trip to Muskoka to visit with my brother and his two kids. We go every year at this time to celebrate the kids birthdays. THey have a luge run in the back yard, and I will post pics when I take them off the camera! It's amazing!! I will write more about that later too.

GOD IS BEYOND AMAZING, and that is what I have to say about that!! We have been so truly blessed these past weeks since losing our source of income! EI has kicked in, and with good budgeting skills, we'll be OK! BUT that is not all!! Oh not that is not all! We have had so many unexpected blessings dropped into our lives, that it just brings me to tears... for fear of singling anyone out, I will have to leave it at that, but WOW GOD.... I can't even be thankful enough!!

I will sh are photos later today I hope! I have 3 hours to myself this afternoon to get caught up on Christmas card/ornament orders, make some more, and enjoy the quiet... perhaps I'll watch drivel on TV or put on some Christmas music...

Have a blessed day!

Please pray for Michael!

He's got a job interview at 9:00 tomorrow morning!! YAHOO!!! The best part about it is that it's local. Ok, so maybe that isn't the BEST part, but that is certainly a perk, since we have been looking near and far (I sound like Grover! LOL!)

Thanks all! I will update when he gets home!!

Excellent news about Tricia!!

I am thrilled to have this update from Nate about his dear wife Tricia!! I have been praying for them for a number of months now, and WOW God is TOTALLY amazing!!!

Check out his post to see TRICIA'S MIRACLE!!

Groovy Girls!

I read some blogs. OK, so I read A LOT of blogs. Well, I have lots of blogs in my bloglines roll, but I don't read them all every day. There are a few that I do. :) One of the blogs I read daily is Because I Said So by Dawn Meehan. She is hysterical! She has 6 kids!! She is still in her right mind :) She also has another blog entitled Because I Said So Reviews as a 'spin off' to her every day blog. She's famous! Well, a lot more famous than I ever will be!! She gets invited to cool events, movie screenings, and many companies have asked her to review their product, or she has found a product she loves and shares that info with her readers. One such company is the manufacturer of Groovy Girls! They had asked Dawn to give away 3 sets of 13 dolls (well, 8 dolls and 5 Groovy Pets!). Out of 563 entrants for the contest, I WON!!! I WON!!!!!! I WON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We nearly have Christmas taken care of now (YAY GOD!). So the girls will be getting some Groovy Girls for Christmas, and Zachary will get some Groovy Pets! These are from the RSVP line and are similar to webkinz in that you can go online and register them and do fun things with their rooms, and clothes and stuff. I can hardly wait to get them!

Delicious Baby!

I just heard about this site today! This is her write up about herself and her site:

"I'm Debbie, mother of two delicious kids and I write about traveling with little kids. I keep track of my favorite activites, hotels and restaraunts in my City Guides. My site also has tons of tips, including information on flying with kids and babies, favorite travel toys and jet lag solutions."

Wow, for those of us with children, and who like to travel (close and far!) this is a great place to check out! Thanks to Nancy for pointing me to her!

So, back to Delicious Baby! She's giving away a FLIP! Until today I had NEVER heard of such a thing. Oh, but now that I know, I can't wait to win it, or have Michael get a new job so we can buy one! (and of course I want a pink one!) LOL We do have some video capability with the camera we used to have (and now borrow the same version from my In Laws), but I haven't a CLUE how to edit it or get it from A to B to share it! This FLIP sounds like just the thing for me :D So go check out this post to see what it's all about!

God is *SO* good!!

No, we haven't found a job yet. We have some leads, and we are following up on them. Tomorrow, after a quick trip in to Value Village to get him some new to him jeans, I will drop him off downtown to get the EI stuff completed while I head to the dentist (also downtown, we are so getting good at this!) and get my cracked tooth fixed. :)

But onto why God is so good! Last week Michael did some odd work for his dad, so he got paid yesterday! WHOOHOO!! Nice. Then today we went to church. Between church and Sunday School I went to check our mailbox for anything new and interesting (usually it's not so interesting - old Sunday School papers, etc). Today I took one new thing out... my eyes bugged out of my head, and I looked at Michael and started to cry (quietly, afterall there were people looking!). Someone had left us a Sobey's gift card!! On it was a little printer sticker that said "a gift card for x amount to help you out at this time!" WOW!! I was totally floored, and amazed, and WOW'd by God and the generosity of our church family!! If it was you, and you read this blog, we are ever so thankful for your beyond kindness gift! It will be put to good use, and probably saved for closer to Christmas time!! YOU ARE A BLESSING and GOD IS AMAZING!!!

So we asked you to pray

And now I will share why. The long and the short of it is that recession has his the Beaudry home. Michael lost his job last Friday due to cutbacks. God has totally been providing for our family this week tho! Michael has been able to help his Dad out every day so far (not always a full day, but work none the less!). I have been really learning (and struggling) to be extremely frugal, to avoid 'the deals', and to shop for what is necessary THIS WEEK only, and not for a rainy day. We have some job leads, Michael has put in 4-5 resumes this week in between working for his Dad and church.

It's so easy to slip into 'whiney' mode and the 'blame game' mode as well. It's nobody's fault we are without a job (well, if that one company hadn't broken their binding contract we'd still have a job!), nobody is an inefficient worker, no slackers, just really cruddy timing.

We are trusting God. The children are learning to be more frugal, and have stopped their 'we want this' 'we want that' whining. I think they get it. Most of the time. Julie-Anna had even offered some of her birthday money to buy us ketchup!! It brought a tears to my eyes that she would be so self sacrificing for our family.

It's a struggle, no question about it. God is faithful and will not abandon us in our time of need. No doubt about it. I have to remind myself of that many times a day... some days are easier, some days are not.

Please continue to pray for us.

Thank you!!

Sheetload of Cards - BLOG CANDY!

WOW... what a great thing!! Check out this GIVE AWAY that's going on there!! It rocks! :D I should start doing give aways. :D

This is what you'll win, er, will share with three other winners I mean! LOL!

Please pray for us.

That's all. Thank you.

Americana here we come!

Whoohooo!! We're just eating lunch, packing the van, pickin' up JA from school early, and off we go! The kids have NO IDEA that we are going somewhere so fun!! If you wanna check it out, go HERE it's going to be fantastic!!

I've packed up homemade pizza, roast beef, snacks, breakfast foods, and we'll stop for some chips and buns on our way out We'll eat out for supper tomorrow night I think, but it might end up being McD's.

YEEEEHAW!!!

Emma's Spine

Many of you know that I went to Bible College in British Columbia. I made lots of friends there, but moving back to Ontario and staying here, well, I lost touch with many of them over time. Now, because of Facebook, I am begining to find many of those friends! One of them is Corinna. She's an amazing mom of 4 kids, and wife to Keith (who's romance story is similar to mine!). Most recently she started a blog all about her daughter, Emma. Emma has scoliosis. Yesterday she underwent a grueling day long (I believe like 8 hours or more!) spinal surgery. Emma's story can be found HERE! I would like to encourage you to pray for Emma, her parents, and her other siblings. This was HUGE. GOD WAS AMAZING!! Sorry, that should read God IS amazing!! He is continuing to provide the peace and assurance that this family needs when they need it! As a mom, I am marvelling at the strength that these parents are showing!! Corinna and Keith, if you happen to be reading this, know that you are being prayed for across the country, and potentially around the world!! There is no other way to describe this, but GOD.

Cupcake Bites

I recently found this blog, Bakerella! She has some fabulous recipes! The one that caught my eye tho... was these cute cupcake bites on a stick!! I didn't put mine on a stick. I didn't want the grade 3 boys at school to turn them into some kind of weaponry ;) LOL!

I did make them, and indeed you do NOT need the entire can of frosting. Had I only read it in detail BEFORE I put the whole can in!! Oh well, they turned out and taste DELISH!!

So I am taking these to school tomorrow for the kids Hallowe'en parties :D I bet they will be a huge hit! I baked a chocolate fudge cake, used cream cheese icing, and rolled them. Then I dipped the bottom in Merckens milk chocolate, the tops in Merckens white chocolate and then dipped it in fall themed sprinkles while the chocolate was still wet.

Kids and Cell Phones

Why do kids want cell phones? Why do parents think that children should have them??? I honestly don't think the logical reasons that some folks give for their children having cell phones is ... well, logical!! Do you not remember BEING a child... a kid, a teen, etc?? Did you ALWAYS tell the truth about where you were going, who you were with, etc?? (ok, I did... there wasn't an ounce of rebellion in me at all!!). So you give your child a cell phone, so you can know where they are at all times, who they are with, what they are doing, and when will they stop doing that and come home. So a cell phone... unless they are supposed to be playing in traffic, or on train tracks where it will be obvious from the background noise... who is to say your child is where s/he says they are!?

"Hello, Mom?"
"Yes, darling."
"Yeah, I'm just at Susie's house, and I wanted to let you know."
"Ok, thank you! Please be home by 9."
click.

HA... your sweet darling just outsmarted you, and she's not at Susie's, but she's walked to the Avondale by herself, well, WITH Susie... but def NOT at Susie's house. You believed her. She tricked you. Cell phones. Ugh.

I'm not saying YOUR child is like that, or will be, nor will mine. It's possible I suppose. It's a matter of trust. Trust between parents and their children. I'm trying to build that kind of trust NOW with my children, so that when they are just *dying* to have a cell phone, it won't be such a huge issue. Ok, so in 10 years, it might not be an issue at all, as it will all be by video, and this will be for naught.

So... I'm content to let my children be children for as long as possible... they grow up tooooooo fast as it is, why rush it?!

Confessions Of A CF Husband: The Latest

Confessions Of A CF Husband: The Latest

Pray for Tricia!

There's a blog I follow. I have been following it for many, many months now. I don't know this awesome family personally, I feel like I do. He is so forthcoming about their struggles with a micro-preemie baby, undergoing double lung transplant surgery (Tricia), and now Tricia is struggling with PTLD, which is a form of cancer that is sometimes found in post-transplant patients. I won't say much more, as Nate says it so much better and from the depths of his heart.

Here is the latest post from Confessions of a CF Husband:

Tricia's PET Scan (Monday morning) shows that the chemo has done very little to affect her PTLD, and, in fact, some of the spots in her lungs have grown, and the lymphoma has possibly spread to a lymph node in her chest (outside of her lungs). They are stopping the current R-CHOP treatment, since it is obviously not doing her any good, and performed another biopsy on Tuesday morning.

That is literally all we know at this point. We arrived home late last night. We should hear back from Duke later this week about what the biopsy shows and what they recommend next.

We are very discouraged as we very distinctly recall the cancer doc telling us a few months ago, "If this treatment doesn't work, Tricia is in serious trouble..."

Nate

If you pray, please do so. Please ask your friends and family to do so. This family, among many many many families I realize, needs us to hold them up in prayer to the God who brings all comfort and healing!

Thanks everyone :)

15 minutes and more!

I started to tidy up my scrapbooking area. It quickly escalated into more tidying around the basement...plus some other long overdue junk getting KICKED TO THE CURB!! Well, some of it is getting kicked to Freecycle including books, shower doors, the crib, books and other misc STUFF. YIPPEEE!!!

Michael ripped out the toilet and the vanity/sink last week, and next is the tub from the front bathroom upstairs. Just calling the garbage people now to come for the toilet and the tub (what a motivator for him to get it out!) :D Now to get the flooring stuff and get the front hall/old bathroom done so we can have a mud room!! WINTER IS COMING! (did I really say that?!) Michael is off to L. St. Amand for trip 1 of 2 to get patio stones. The shed is getting built!!

Back to scrapping... so I've made a little 'area' for my new Big Shot, just gotta get a storage something or other figured out for the dies that I have right now. I've got paper in a box to recycle (not good pappers!!)... and I am PURGING... i should photograph some of this stuff for the yardsale... hmmm, tonite, while CSI, Grey's and ER are on! Maybe...

I've got photos that need to be hung up! I bought 3 'floating frames' at JoAnn's today. They are super cool, and I fully intend to hang up the kids school photos this year! :D I got a cool wall vinyl thing to hang up with them about 'family'. I can't wait!! I also purchased a plate stand to put my scrapbook pages on display (thanks to KAREN T for the inspiration for that!).

This purging feels GREAT!! I should sleep well tonite :D

I'm on a roll!!

I WON! I WON!! I WON!!! :D

WHOOOHOOO!!!! I just got this email:

Looks like it's your lucky day - http://laylekoncar.typepad.com/6degrees/2008/10/winner.html

Please reply with your mailing address and we'll get a Garland Product kit in the mail to you in a few weeks when all of the products are in stock.

Thanks for playing!

Layle Koncar
Director of Marketing
Scenic Route

I CAN HARDLY BELIEVE IT!!! SUPER HAPPINESS HERE!!!

This is what is in the kit:
"The Garland Product Kit includes 5 sheets of double sided cardstock, 1 Scrap Strip, 6 background sheets, 1 12"x12" die cut shapes sheet, 1 12”x12” die cut alphabet sheet, 1 sticker embellishment sheet, 1 chipboard embellishment sheet and over 200 alphabet stickers." I want to post a picture, but I can't seem to do it.

Hannah Montana is in the house!

...in our house, on a cake that is!! :D It was JA's birthday party today. She opted to have a pampering/Hannah party. So the girls paired up and painted each others toe nails, then decorated with nail art things. We had fruit smoothies, a fruit tray with dip (which they devoured nearly the entire thing!!), cake, and presents! We had a great great time, altho the house did smell like nail polish for too long!!

I made this cake. My friend does cake decorating as a side business, so she made me this icing sheet. I put on decorative sugar sprinkles, and some edible glitter on the top border. The kids loved it! It tasted pretty darned good too :D


Here's a few photos of the big event :) I didn't take nearly enough :( Michael took the little kids to his Mom's for the duration of the party... so I was busy doing everything and not taking photos :(

Pierced!

So it's JA's birthday on Tuesday. I'll post about that later. She has been bugging and bugging for over 2 years to get her ears pierced. So one day last Feb or Mar I said "Ok, for your birthday, you can get them pierced." She's gonna be eight I reasoned... she can take care of them. I was really hoping that she'd forget!! She didn't. So off we went to Ardene's at the Fairview Mall yesterday, straight from school. She was such a trooper... picking out some nice blue earrings (of course... what other colour is there?!), sitting so still, and BAM, it was done!! Here's a few photos from the big event! :)




Waiting to get her ears pierced.


prepping the ears


all marked and ready for action!


a double shot!


Ok, Mommy, now take my picture!


...but let me check myself out first!


Blue, of course... what other choice was there?! :)

I am borrowing this paragraph from Confessions of a CF Husband since he puts it so well! No need to reinvent the wheel! :)

"Squidoo (an online group that raises tons of money for charities) is giving $80,000 to the charities of your choice. Basically, anyone who wants to participate can vote for one charity (from a list of about 50...don't vote more than once or all your votes will be deleted)...Squidoo will donate $2/vote. You don't even have to sign up for anything! Feel free to CLICK HERE and vote for any charity you believe could use $2. You have until October 15 to vote!"

Hey, we all have something we are passionate about, so why not? :)

Computer parental controls?

Do you have them on your computer for your kids? I trust my children, I trust everyone who uses our computer. I don't trust the internet! It's true. One day JA was at youtube because her friend told her how to get Hannah Montana episodes on it. I don't mind her watching there. So I sent her down to watch an episode. Mike came down to check on her success, and Holy Hannah! Oh, not so holy!!! It sent her to various things to do with Hannah Montana... in obviously photoshop altered situations!! YIKES!!! In all innocence she went to look for something wholesome, and came upon crud. She didn't know how to get out of it. It was awful!!

So I want to get some kind of parental controls on the computer. I don't even know where to start. How do you do it? Where do you get it from? What does it prevent?? I would rather not have the kids stumble on this crap, or the babysitter, or anyone who might use our computer!

So... any suggestions!?

The busiest week ever

This week is insane. There is soemthing taking me from home every night from Monday-Saturday. It's crazy! There are several things taking me away during the day as well.... lunch duty at school (YAY GOD for providing a little job for me!), volunteering in the JK/SK class, going to the USA, election training... I can't wait for Wed afternoon when Michael and I might get a little time to ourselves while the little ones go bowling with Grampa! :D

It's JA's birthday on the weekend... well, it's next Tuesday, but her party is this Saturday. Hannah Montana. Spa/pampering. Should be fun! :D

A Fond Farewell

So yesterday we had a little farewell party for some friends of ours. They are part of our church, and their daughters (aged 9 and 6) have played with our children since they were born. He recently quit his job here, but was unable to find another... and Saskatoon lured him away! After 2 months he returned home to collect up his family and take them back to Saskatoon. It was a sad thing leaving church yesterday, knowing it will be a LONG time before we see them again. They are departing from here on Saturday morning for a LONG trip West (and North!). They are starting a new venture in their lives - new home, new church, new friends, new life!

We want to wish the Bivands God's richest blessings as they set forth a new path in their family journey!! WE WILL MISS YOU!!!

Cool Blog candy!

I just saw THIS at Sheetload of Cards, and WOW they look SUPER COOL!!! Check it out. The contest closes at midnight TONITE!!

Another 15 minute day!

A bunch of things I want to get done today :) This fifteen minute thing ROCKS!!

• make chocolate cake for Michael's birthday dinner
• go to Curves
• put away laundry
• vacuum living room
• steam clean the marker from the carpet
• sweep and mop the kitchen floor
• run the dishwasher
• do dishes
• clean out fridge
• make birthday party invitations for Sophia's party
• make lasanga for supper
• clean upstairs bathroom

So that's my list for today :D

15 Minutes at a Time

I have followed FlyLady off and on for the last several years. Sadly, it's mostly off! LOL! But a few principles have stuck out to me. First... you can do anything in 15 minutes! Use the timer!! Set routines. We have routines here. With starting school, we have set out new ones... and next week we'll get into them full force. This week is sorta laid back.

So with that said, this next part is more for me than for you! I'm going to make my BIG list of what needs to get done, and come back here and strike out what I have accomplished. I did this a while ago while preparing for a trip. It worked wonders, and it felt good to come and strike out my list!!

• catch up on all laundry
  
• fold all laundry
• get Michael to put all laundry away
• sort seasonal clothes
• get a box for clothes that do not fit etc to donate
• list a few items for sale on kijiji
• declutter the girls bedroom
• fix the girls bed
• declutter OUR bedroom
• sew the little tear in our duvet cover
• work on Sparks scheduling
• get ready for supper - peel/dice potatos, cook chicken
• go to Curves
• get Stampin' Up! stuff to Hardwicks
• fill dishwasher
• make lunch
• vacuum living room
• tidy scrapbooking area
• work on the Port Weller scrapbook for next week
• declutter the craft cart for the kids
• steam clean the living room area rug
• sweep and mop the kitchen/dining room floors
• declutter the kitchen counter
• declutter the microwave top
• declutter the top of the fridge

I think that about does it for now. I don't intend to get all this done today, but things are happening!! I'm determined to start fresh this Fall... I'm aiming to be EARLY or ON TIME for all events and appointments (which for those who know me well, know how this will challenge me!), keep the house clear of clutter, and do daily devotions (which are going well btw!)

Have a fabulous day... hug the ones you love!

Back to school!

Whoohoo!! I am always bitter sweet about heading back to school. I love getting back into a routine. I hate getting up early. This year was a bit harder, as the wee Sophia was starting JK!! Amazingly there were no tears (from ME, not her! LOL!).

We had a fabulous first day... The kids got to school early, we found their teachers without hassle, and they all got settled.

Here are some photos from the day!


Are they excited or what?! LOL!


JA started grade three today... where has the time gone?! Wasn't it only last year that I sent her off, tearfully to JK!?


SK bound!


JK bound!!


The JK/SK teacher... she's phenomanol! I'm sure today was not an easy day for her!


I arrived back at school to take a couple more photos, and to make sure that the kids all got on the bus like there were supposed to. Sophia turned to me and nearly shouted (while pointing accusingly at me!)... "YOU!!!! GO BACK HOME!!! I am taking the bus." And that was that. She did let me take some photos tho

They all reported having had a great first day back to school! JA had a wee bit of homework already, but I am SURE that is b/c she is so social.... LOL! It's going to be a good year... :D

Brian and Stephanie's Wedding

So we went to my BIL's wedding this past weekend. We spent two nights in a hotel, which worked out wonderfully!! The reception was amazing, with yummy food, good friends and family, dancing and lots of laughs!! The speeches were good, and Michael even made two!! Steven put his foot in his mouth during speeches, and I felt vindicated for the faux pas he made at our wedding ten years ago! LOL!

Here's a few photos from the day:

This is Brian's face when he first saw Stephanie in her stunning gown!


The Beautiful Bride and the Boastful Groom!


Zachary, practicing for his own day of escorting beautiful women down the aisle!


JA and Sophia in their matching dresses.


All the grandkids, not the best photo ever, but at least everyone is looking and has their eyes open! LOL!


All the Beaudry Men. What a handsome bunch!!

Not today!!

So I awoke at 5:07am when Michael got up for work. Normally I head right back to dreamland. Not today. Ugh. I laid around, praying, thinking, for about an hour. So I got up, hit the bathroom, and came back to bed. I read for an hour. So now it's close to 7. I finally fall back to sleep and the two younger children wake up. Ugh. JA is out sleeping at her friends house, so only two kiddies to deal with :)

While I was awake the first hour, I hear Sophia coughing with this nasty nasty dry cough. It's only getting worse as the day progresses. WHY!? Why today... this weekend. We are heading to London for Michael's brothers wedding. Two nights in a hotel. It's not conducive to sleeping for the children in the first place! LOL! So I guess I'll stock up on echinacea suckers and motrin, and tylenol cold for kids. *sigh* It will be a great weekend away! :D

Powerful!

I love this song, and the presentation is amazing!

So more about Accountability

I was just reading a blog post by my friend Coralie where she reviewed a good book. I'm linking back to her post for two reasons - I can win a copy of this book, and I can't do it justice to summarize her words about the impact this book had on her. Please check it out! The title of the book is Wild Goose Chase. I'll include a photo here to peek your interests!

As for the accountability thing... I have been doing very well. I have a couple of friends who check in occasionally (I'd love it if more did that! LOL!). It is life changing for sure!! But more on that later. I have pictures to share (when they get off the camera and are resized!)... and updates to share as well! :D

name that spider

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwww!
Can you tell me what this is?! I don't like these unwanted, unwelcome, TOTALLY DID NOT INVITE YOU INTO OUR HOME visitors!!!

Camping Calamity!!

So we went camping this past weekend. We stayed local, and went to Jellystone in Niagara Falls. Let's just say that we agreed it's probably the last time we'll go there. ...and it had nothing to do with the weather! LOL!

So it rained, and rained and rained. Then it rained some more. And then some more. We did manage to stay pretty dry tho, so that was nice. Our wonderful friends blessed us with an awesome kitchen tent... screened in, had wind flaps on all 4 sides, but one side we poled up to make an awning. It kept us dry!! It kept our stuff dry!! We ate DRY!! LOL!

The kids had fun. There were crafts, colouring, wagon rides, and activities for the children, and sometimes for the family. We did swim a little. The kids and Michael went mini-golfing. We got pictures with Yogi Bear.

Zachary had a big accident on a pedal cart, or rather UNDER it... he's pretty banged up, but he's fine. It was TERRIFYING for us though!

I'll have pictures to share later today, as they are still on the camera!!

Thunder, Lightening and Soccer...

They just really do not mix. Period. The coaches manual even says that the games go ahead in RAIN... but as soon as there is ONE boom of thunder and/or one crack of lightening, the game is to be called. Makes perfect sense. Apparently, they don't always teach their TWELVE YEAR OLD referees how to make these kinds of life altering decisions. :roll:

So we get to soccer (Zachary's) for 5:30, and the clouds look menacing. My friend (another soccer mom) who took some meteoroligy classes in uni., said "oh, those are thunder clouds, no mistaking it!" But the game started, as there had been no lights or sounds.

Fast forward about 1.5 minutes. boom...... Boom.... BOom.... BOOOOM! Along with that came sheet and bolts of lightening. The game goes on. UM NO!! The 12 year old who has reffed for only 3 weeks simply doesn't make the call. The parents are kinda wondering. A couple parents start pulling their kids off the field. I try to be one, but Zachary doesn't pay attention, or can't hear me. Let's give him the benefit of the doubt! LOL!

I then step in. I'm not the coach, but Michael is. I tell him "YOU get out there and call this game, RIGHT NOW!" For Pete's sake (man he takes a lot that Pete!)... CALL THE FREAKIN' GAME!! I get the attention of the other two coaches and tell them the rules state, you know it, now get out there and get that kid to call the game. They talk to him, he says "I will defer to you as coaches." COP OUT. So *I* call the game! LOL! Then the ref does, and the other teams coaches agree that it's not safe. WELL DUH! The other game going on beside us continues, but when they see OUR game is over, they call theirs too.

That isn't the end!! LOL A parent from the other team is like "oh come on, this is ridiculous!" She was pissed for them calling the game!! I turned to her and said "it's only ridiculous until YOUR child, or another child or adult gets struck by lightening. It won't be so ridiculous then. It's in the coaches handbooks, the game is called on account of lightening." She just miffed at me. :eyeroll: Honestly... really!?? The 'storm' continued for a while... so the game would have been called anyway!

NOW we are off to JA's game, and see how it goes! LOL!

Accountability

Last week, Michael was looking for his old work notebook. He still can't find it. He did find a notebook full of some notes and prayer requests from several years ago that I started. It was like a kick in the pants really. The dates just blew my mind that it had been so long! :(

So today I started again. I got out the notebook, a pen, and my Bible. The kids and Michael watched some TV for 'rest time' and I closed the door in my room and started to read and write. I have a book to help me read my Bible in a year, but couldn't find it. So I simply went to 1 Corinthians and started to read. I read 2 chapters. The theme I kept reading over and over is "GOD IS FAITHFUL!" Oh how true that is!! God has proven himself faithful time and time again in our lives - in the mundane, and the magnificent! Not that God *has* to prove himself, but it's just something, well, something we as mere mortals seem to desire. 1 Corinthians 1:9 says "God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful." And then onward in 1 Corinthians 2:5 is says "so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power." I so need reminding of that... more than I'd like to admit!!

So I'm asking for some accountability. I want to read my Bible and talk with God every day. I want it to be more meaningful. I want to set aside time daily to do that... and keep notes. I want to add your prayer requests and praises to my list, and see how God is working in your lives as well as my own!!

If you have a moment, will you do this one thing for me? Leave a comment or an email, just a little 'poke' to see how it's going :)

Thanks all....

The first week!

Whoohoo!! The first week at the new job is behind him! :) It was an excellent week! Things got settled with his shifts/hours, and the are not the greatest, but they are not unreasonable (as some suggestions were!) It looks like he'll be making a wee bit more money then he was initially told. :D That's a huge blessing!! We learned a few interesting facts - F-B Tool made the die for the Canadian Toonie! How cool is that?!! It's a place that is going places!!

Only God could provide for us the way things are going :) YAY GOD!!

A Quick Update!

So this past Tuesday, JA headed to the trailer for 13 days with Mike's Mom. I whipped her up a little note card for each day with a little message for her. She's called home twice. We miss her. A lot. She'll be home next Sunday... many sleeps away yet!! It was hard for me to let her go... she is only 7 after all!! She's having a great time though - feeding chipmunks, bunking with her two older cousins (Ricky aged almost 12, and Jessica just turned 10), and swimming... lots of swimming!! Apparently last night she roasted 4 marshmallows - 2 were PERFECT GOLDEN, and 2 she burned! LOL! I can't wait to hear more about her trip!

So today... today was Michael's last day at the old job. 10+ years of the same place. He starts his new job on Monday. It's an exciting time in our lives!! There's a bit of turmoil going on at the new shop with the changing of the shifts... and it's not making me a happy camper - however, it did lead to my floor in the kitchen/dining room getting EXTREMELY well cleaned! LOL!

I will have pics to share later...

Congratulations to MEG!!

Using Random.org she was the chosen winner for my BIG NEWS post!!! Thanks for all the comments guys!

I will get your prize off to you shortly, Meg :D

Fast and Easy Super Hero Capes!

I stumbled on this blog quite some time ago. It's called TIP JUNKIE. She has some scrapping tips, some household tips, recipes, and whatnot. Well today, I found SuperHero Capes made from old t-shirts!! Here's a totally unknown to me kid modeling one :) She gives great instructions, and I may just try my hand at it! :D

How will I survive??

I don't know how I'll survive the pre-teen years... and my kids aren't really that close yet!! I'm sure that God knows what he's doing. No, I *know* God knows what he is doing. As sure as I know that God knew NOT to give me more than 3 children. Really. Truly. I can only be a mom to 3. I can take in 'spares' when it is necessary, but it just confirms that I should. not. have. more. kids. :D I love the three I have.... I could not ask for better kids.

OK... so I'm complaining. I don't like doing it here. I am just at my wits end tonite with 5 kids, a late bedtime... ugh. Tomorrow IS another day. :)

OK, don't forget the BLOG CANDY that I am giving away at THIS POST! Leave a comment there, and enter yourself into the draw!! I will visit random.org to find a winner!! Keep your eyes peeled!

A gas Card giveaway

So I visit my friend Nancy's blog. She posts things that are freebies or givaways! Now there is a gas card giveaway. At the price of gas these days, WHY NOT?! LOL!

Check out THIS BLOG to see what I'm talking about :D

Have a great day! :D

A new endevour - Photography!

So my friend Karen asked me to come to the beach at sunset last night to take photos of her and her husband. They turned out FABULOUS!! I thought I would share a few here with you. I'm LOVING this venture, and would dearly love to take it further... to find classes that fit my schedule would be good! LOL!





Thanks to Karen and Mike for letting me share these with you! I will share a few more tomorrow.

The BIG news!! Two Week Notice Man!

Ok, so several of you have asked if we are expanding our family... a resounding NO to that! LOL! No room, no money, no more mental reserves LOL!

So without further ado...

MICHAEL HAS A NEW JOB!!!!

I have so been wanting to post it for about 6 weeks!! The interviewing process has been lengthy with 3 live interviews, a few phone calls, one walk through, and FINALLY an official job offer! :D His start date is July 21st. The hours are fantastic, the pay is decent, the environment is so clean you could eat off the floor! It's climate controlled (boy I bet he wishes he were there today!), pension plan, etc. It's amazing.

He'll be working at F-B Tool & Die and it's only 2.4km from home, where he is 6.3 km from home now (not a huge difference, but at 1.35 a litre!!)


He's in the same field, but it's a change as he's been with his current company for 10+ years. It's time to move on!! He says this could be the place he stays at until he retires. I can see that too!! YAHOOOOOOOO!!! GOD IS SO AWESOME to provide for us this way! :D

So to celebrate, please leave a comment, and I will randomly draw a winner for some BLOG CANDY next Monday!

The Last Day of school!

I am about a week and a half behind in posting this, but thought, better late then never :D

So here are photos of the kids and their teachers.

JA finished grade two, and she had a fabulous teacher in Mr. Reimer! At the end of grade 1 JA and her friend P. didn't want to have Mr. Reimer for a teacher... he called one Elvis, and the other Julie-Wahnah! LOL Of course, both girls ended up in his class come September. By the end of the first day, you could not have asked these girls to change classes! Thank you Mr. Reimer for a fabulous year!



Zachary had Mrs. Goodman this year. She was JA's teacher for her two years in Kindergarten. Mrs. Goodman retired this year!! HAPPY RETIRMENT Mrs. Goodman!!





Both kids passed into the next grade, and Sophia will join them when she enters Junior Kindy in September... may how time has flown by!

I am so excited!

I'm drafting tomorrow's entry. I wish I knew how to have it auto post, but I don't!!

Stay tuned for the big announcement and exciting news. In light of that, I will be offering some BLOG CANDY for those who leave a post comment!

I have much to share beyond that... a day trip to Marineland, end of school photos and such. :)

So she's moved...

...and I seem to have survived. Oh many tears were shed. When the new owner came to check and see how things were going with us getting out (he already had his key!).... I had to hand over my copy of the house key, not without shedding a few tears.

I did get my roses out, some raspberries, and chrysanthemums. They are at the neighbours for me to pick up in the morning. We left the trailer there with a boat load of garbage in it that must be picked up tomorrow, along with the picnic table that my brother wants. I told them we'd be back for it, but my brother disappeared with my Mom's car (thus no trailer hitch!). Hopefully we can zip back tomorrow to get them picked up!!

We got all her belongings into the condo. The storage room is FULL... about 2/3 of the boxes are unpacked, altho I'm sure to be re-arranged as time goes by. We had great help from my Aunt and Uncle, my brother's friends, and a couple from our church. The kids were excellent as well. :D

I kept humming a tune today... it's from High School Musical (JA is influencing my choice in music these days! LOL!).... "it's the start, of something new..." Today really is the start of something new. A new begining, a fresh start.

So I'm off to bed. We'll see how Mom made out... Kala and Kyle got to sleep there with her tonite. She has cable TV> She gets channel 51. She gets Hannah Montana. JA will be over visiting often! LOL! The kids were totally enthralled with the closed circuit TV at the front door... so JA, Michael and I had to wave at Mom, Kala and Kyle on our way out! LOL! We'll see how they thought we did!

Tomorrow is day two of swimming lessons, and our 3rd annual Canada Day BBQ and fireworks!! I'll have photos for you later... I hope!

It's just a house, right??

So my Mom is moving tomorrow. After 35 years in that house. 2/3 of my life was spent in that house. I grew up in that house. Learned to drive there. Had my first sleepover there. My kids slept over there. So many memories, so much time... so much attachment. Someone please remind me that it's just a house. My memories aren't going anywhere... just that Mom is. She isn't going far. I had two major requirements for her to move - yes, I had to do it ;) Anyway, I wanted her to still live within biking distance (right now she lives only a few blocks away) and she had to get a condo with a pool! Well, when the kids are a bit bigger and have more stamina, we can still ride there. It's only about 8 minutes away by car. Not bad. She did get a condo with a pool. Altho she met the criteria I had set forth (and no, that wasn't her reason for buying her condo! LOL!)

So tomorrow morning while I am taking 5 kids to swim lessons, my brother will be out getting the moving truck, Mom will be at home packing up the last minute things and getting herself together for the big move. She will enjoy those last hours just her and the house, her memories and her belongings. After lunch her home will move, and her house will stay. For where your heart is there your home is also.

The change will be good. Settling into her new home will be good. I just don't always do well with change, and this is a doozy.

I have slowly been bringing her 'home' here... a piece of furniture, some memorabilia, and lots of flowers from the garden!! Tomorrow I plan to dig up the last stuff - my Great Grandmother's Wild Roses (aka Nanny!), some chrysanthemums she transplanted from my friend's place a few years back (thanks Sharon!), and some raspberries, because I cannot stand the thought of actually having to BUY them... and now at least Mom can enjoy her raspberries without having to care for them. My brother is intending to get some berries too! LOL!

The kids picked some berries today, probably the last we'll get from this year's crop. Tomorrow night someone else will be enjoying them.

Ok, I gotta stop here, as the tears are falling fast and furious. I can't go thru the day with puffy eyes and a headache tomorrow!

I'll post moving day photos, the old homestead and the new condo... the friends and family... the new home. If you see me, I'm always ready for a hug. I know I'll need some!

Oh it gets more exciting every day!

....and I still can't share it with you!! Is this killing you?! Bwahahaha!! We still covet your prayers and I hope to share some BIG NEWS with you all in the next two weeks!!! :D :D :D :D

Joan... am I driving you crazy yet?!?! LOL!

Father's Day!

It was family Sunday at church yesterday, and the kids Sunday School classes got up and sang together. One of the little girls who is 8.5 years old, got up and played the piano to accompany the kids singing "The Wise Man Built His House Upon the Rock." She was excellent!!

Of course, Sophia and Zachary did not sing. Sophia informed me when she didn't sing at the pre-school graduation that "I didn't need to, my friends were singing!" LOL Zachary just doesn't do well sometimes... it's hit or miss.

So here are some photos of them!


The whole group - aged 3-12


Mr. McColl on guitar, with the 'singing, whistling, clapping' singers doing "This Is The Day!"


Grumpy Gus.


Finally enjoying himself! LOL!

The Strawberry Festival

After Sparks Camp, we got home and got ready for the Strawberry Festival in Pelham. Our friends belong to it (he is a volunteer firefighter), and invite us every year. I think this is our third year going. There's games for the kids, good food, strawberry shortcake, firefighter activities (last year we went up in an aerial bucket, this year they could spray the fire hose - which we forgot to do, sadly). We ate well, played a few games, the kids got prizes. We visited with some farm animals, and watched a trick horse and a guy doing some fancy lasso work!