I was recently approached by a fellow blogger in regards to writing about being thankful for the things that we have. Heather, who writes the blog mesothelioma.com/heather , is an eight year survivor of mesothelioma- a rare cancer caused by asbestos exposure. She is on a mission to spread awareness of this cancer by sharing her story. She was diagnosed in the month of November and now, every November, created '30 Days of Thankfulness' where she acknowledges something that she is thankful for. She approached me asking if I would do a blog post acknowledging something that I am thankful for! Of course I said yes!
I guess it is difficult for me though, to only acknowledge one thing that I am thankful for. I have so many blessings in my life in which I am grateful.
I am grateful for my children. I am thankful for the chaos that they bring into our lives. I am thankful for the joy and love and constant business that they give us. I am thankful for their own unique personalities that keep us laughing and keep us connected as a family.
I am thankful for my parents. I am thankful for the childhood they gave me and the never ending support and love they give to me, my kids and to Matt.
I am thankful for my siblings. My sister, who, although we may not always see eye to eye, is someone that is always there for me and is such a huge part of my life!
My brother and my sister-in-law who have given me two beautiful nephews to love and to cherish. They have given me someone to talk to when I am alone and who always brings me such comfort.
My two other brothers who keep me on my toes!
My aunts, uncles and cousins who are a constant joy in our lives! I am so thankful that whenever we get together, we get to sing, dance and have a wonderful time together! I am so grateful that our crazy family enjoys so much just being together and appreciating each other's company. From Ontario, Alberta, Vancouver Island and the lower mainland-we all love each other!
My mother-in-law who, although she lives a distance away, always thinks of us and remembers the important dates in our lives!
I am so thankful for my husband who often times gets up early just so that he has time to go to our local Tim Horton's so that I wake up to a fresh cup of coffee. A husband who always makes me feel beautiful even on the days when I am definitely not feeling that way! A husband who has bathed babies, changed diapers, done laundry, dishes, washed floors, and who now takes kids to the pool and to sporting events and who is just always willing to do anything to be a great dad and a great husband. How lucky am I ?
There are so many things to be thankful and grateful for and there is no way to mention it all. I have lived through losses of special people, illnesses of loved ones and hurt that life can bring. Through it all, there is always something that is good, something that is beyond us and something we should be thankful for!

The sun is shining! It is beautiful, but so cold! These fall days are my favourite, though! Nice and crisp and refreshing! I'm going to enjoy it before the rainy days come!

I'm home from work today because Caleb is sick. I hate when any of the kids are sick, but today, it has given me an opportunity to get some things done around the house. I was feeling a bit like my house looked like a tornado had passed through it! I have found lately that as soon as I walk in the door, I'm off to the kids sporting events or school meetings or driving someone somewhere and I never get the chance to actually clean! Today was my day! Now to just keep it this way for the next few weeks would be great!

As I haven't written anything for a few weeks, here's a recap. Adam got his first report card since entering high school. He's always been a hard worker and put a lot of effort into his school work, but I was amazed when he brought his report card home. Straight A's! I'm a very proud mom! Out of those A's, his math mark was 97%!!! For me, who always struggled with math, I couldn't believe it! He's doing so well!

Adam also has started to play basketball on his high school grade eight team. I'm trying to convince him to pick jersey # 20 as that was my number when I played. I'm thinking he doesn't really thinks it's cool to be the same as his mom! He told me he's going to try and get # 11.

Anna and Caleb haven't yet received a report card this year. I'm sure there's will be great too! They're both playing soccer and they're loving it! Caleb is the top scorer on his team and Anna is one of the top as well. 

A couple of weeks ago, I was asked to go to a yoga class. I thought for sure that I could do it. I always assumed yoga was relaxing and peaceful. Did I ever have a rude awakening!!! I walked into the class with my friend. This was the first time either of us had ever tried yoga and we were both completely naive in what we were expecting! We walked in, rolled out our mats, and got all comfy, ready to relax. About 15 other people were in the class. They were stretching and laying on their mat waiting for the instructor. She came in, turned the lights off, and turned some soothing music on. I was ready!!! Before long, people were in the most uncomfortable positions, legs everywhere. I tried some moves, and just about died! During one of the stretches, my legs, and my friends legs, were so shaky and wobbly I thought for sure there must be an earthquake going on!We both just about broke out in laughter in the middle of the class. Once it was done, and we were able to move our legs again, we realized this was advanced yoga......maybe next time we'll start with a beginner session!

We are in the full swing of things trying to get ready for Christmas! I LOVE CHRISTMAS! I'm trying to convince everyone that we should put our tree up December 1st.....not sure if Matt's on board yet!

Gotta run!! My sick boy is calling!!! Enjoy this beautiful sunshine!!!!

Around our house, the topic of winning the lottery comes up quite often. Matt and I talk about how nice it would be to not have any bills, or not to work, or be able to share the wealth with others. When life gets super busy, and overwhelming, it is not uncommon for one of us to say that we are going to win the lottery! Of course we know the chances are slim to none, but it's not a bad dream to have!
The other day, while the kids and I were hanging out in the living room, enjoying a lazy morning, the topic of the lottery came up. Anna told me that once, a long time ago, when they were all quite young, all three of the kids woke up in the morning before Matt and I, got dressed up in their very best clothes, convinced that that was the day when our family was going to hit the jackpot! She said they were completely shocked when it didn't happen!! Oh my goodness!!! I had no idea that they had done this many years ago. I love my kids and I love the way they are!!!  They're older now, and understand that the chances are slim that we'll ever win, and they're ok with that!!! We'll always have the dream, and will probably always mention the lottery in the tough times, but we're good with what we have!

Since I was about 21 or 22 years old, I have been the driver of a minivan. Yes, the minivan is practical and convenient for families, but, to be honest, I never felt 'young' or 'cool' cruising around town in my good old mini in my early twenties! I often laughed as most of my friends had little 5 speeds that they whipped around in or they had fancy vehicles. I laughed as I pulled in to places in my family mobile toting around my three young children. I always wondered how long it would be when, once again, we could be driving around something other than a family mobile.That day was yesterday!
We had been looking on craigslist for a few months searching for an affordable vehicle. Matt was constantly looking at the good old faithful minivan. We talked about how nice it would be to switch it up, buy a 4x4 or an SUV, but everything we saw seemed so out of reach. Yes, we still had to buy something that was in our budget and couldn't just grab the first thing we saw. Thankfully, we came across a Ford Explorer that was perfect and that we could afford!!! YAY!!! I am now a driver of something other than a minivan!!!
I have to chuckle to myself though, because as much as I'd like to think I'm cool, or young, I'm still driving around with three kids in tow. I am no longer in my twenties and really don't worry about being 'cool' or 'young'. I'm still driving a family mobile and I wouldn't change a thing!

We Survived!

Well September is almost over and we have survived! We have survived the first day of school, homework, sports practices and games, making lunches and just being organized.  Thank goodness! I find September always starts with a bang and it takes a while to get into the swing of things. We have our routine down now and all is good!
Adam started high school this year. I can't believe that I have a child in high school!!! It still seems unbelievable! He is loving it and has settled in nicely. He's made a bunch of new friends and seems to be embracing his new opportunities! I love it!
I am also back at work. I am truly enjoying getting up each day and having something to do. I do admit though, that I am missing my days at home. I am missing having all of the laundry complete before the kids come home. I am missing having a clean house, a dinner that is prepared and lunches that aren't thrown together. I am missing just having some time alone. On the other hand, I know I have it really good and I know that so many other families are doing the same thing. Just trying to get through each day the best that they can. So many families rushing in the door after working and trying to prepare a healthy dinner, trying to help with the kids homework and trying to put a load of wash in so the kids have some clean clothes to wear! Everyone is just trying their best! So if you come over, and you see a plate of french fries and chicken strips, know that that was my best that day!

The last day of summer holidays. I can not believe it's over! I am not ready for the early mornings, the chaos of school and sports and the routine. I know it is inevitable but I'm not quite ready to let go of the lazy summer mornings drinking coffee on the deck, sitting in my pj's, while all of the kids stay sleeping.
Since my last post, my beautiful Anna turned twelve. She is turning into such a beautiful lady, inside and out. I am so proud of who she is and so proud to call her my daughter! I love her spunk and her caring heart. She truly is one of a kind!
For her birthday, we got her a scooter. She loves heading to the skate park with her brothers and loves polishing up on her skills. Anna is usually the only girl at the park. I love that about her. I love how she has the confidence to enter a place full of boys and just go for it! She never holds back and truly believes she can do anything! Last week, while spending another morning at the skate park, Anna did a super cool trick, but then ended up on her back. She got up, climbed out of the half pipe, and told me that she was  hurting. We waited a bit to see if the pain would subside. After about half an hour, the decision was made to go to the clinic to get checked out. Off we went. By this point, she could barely get into the van and had a very hard time sitting at the clinic waiting to see the doctor. The doctor looked at her and touched her back and ribs and came to the conclusion that he thought her ribs were broken! We went for x-rays and thank goodness they weren't broken, just badly bruised. Ahhhh......
To end off the summer, we headed out to a beautiful lake just past Hope, B.C. We went with friends of ours and it was amazing! We loaded up the canoes and headed out to the remote Silver Lake. Stunning is the only word that can describe this place! There were only a few other people there so we basically had the place to ourselves. We were tucked in between huge mountains in this little valley. The water was beautiful and the kids had a blast! It was pure relaxation and truly peaceful. It was a great way to end the summer!

Summer suddenly started flying bye...before we know it, it's going to be back to the routine day after day. I am so not ready for that yet!
One of our summer traditions, is to go camping at Cultus Lake. This year, I was unable to stay overnight because I needed to be home with our international students. At first, I was super bummed that I couldn't be up there every night with Matt and the kids, but when I woke up each morning in my own bed, I didn't complain! I drove the short distance each morning with Tim Horton's to deliver to Matt and to my brother Ryan, who was also camping with us. They didn't complain either when fresh coffee was delivered!
We were a little bit worried that this camping trip wouldn't even happen. About a week prior to the trip, Adam got super sick. We spent a full day in the emergency room. He had blood work done and a bunch of tests completed. We were sent home from the hospital and told to wait for results. The results came back positive for E-Coli....the poor kid was sooo sick! By the time we were going camping though, he seemed to be on the mend. He had one night of being sick and had to go back to the lab in the morning for some more testing! Other than that, the camping trip was a huge success!!
The kids went for many hikes, late night swims and discovered creeks. Caleb fell into the creek with his favourite purple shoes!!!!!! We laid them in the sun and they dried out quite nicely! Caleb also learned to do back flips off of the dock....I stayed away from the beach when he was doing this otherwise I would have had a heart attack! He's such a daredevil!
There was a fire ban on because the weather has been so hot and dry. A King camping trip without rain doesn't usually happen so we set up some tarps etc just in case it rained. Surprise, surprise the first night we were there, the skies opened up and poured on us! There was thunder, lightening and a downpour!! We still couldn't have a fire so we huddled around a little propane stove.....it was actually super cozy and a ton of fun! It wouldn't be camping without some rain!
Here are some pics of our Summer Camping Trip 2013! I love making memories with the kids!!