::m i s s i n g h e r::

If I close my eyes tight, will you come to my dreams?
Will you dance? Will you sing? Will you be alright?

If I close my eyes tight, I can see your bright smile, hear your sweet laugh and feel your gentle   s q u e e z e.
Though tears I may cry and sorrow my heart aches, I will see you again, make no   m i s t a k e.

The chapter is over before it began, your story in life, edited without our premission.
Taken too soon, so many things left undone.

In eternity you walk, in my dreams you talk.

If I close my eyes tight, just for  t o n i g h t.

Although the chapter left undone, the story left to go on........... it will. New beginings, new trials, new ups and new downs.
BUT,
Just for tonight I will leave the book open, your chapter exposed.
Your  l i f e,
 a gift like the  r o s e.

::m i s s i n g  h e r::

and so it begins..........

the H1N1 vaccine had become available in our neck of the woods as of yesterday. People have been lining up since 4:30am today to recieve their shot from one of the four vaccine clinics dispersed around our city. There will be 9 less people in those lines as we are refusing to go and be injected with their concoction. Our radio stations keep running ads. I don't really watch TV so I can't say if it's on there or not.
Once upon a time I would've been in those lines, feared into believing the quackery. Since that time I have read and researched and then read and researched more. I strongly, strongly urge you to do the same and come to your own conclusions. Do not let fear decide the health of your loved ones, educate yourself to make rational decisions.

As for me and my family, I will put my trust and faith into our immune systems designed by our heavenly Father and the foods and nutrients to nourish it. Plain and simple. Even if we do contract the flu (be it seasonal or H1N1) I will still trust natural herbs and good food to help our bodies fight it off.

Read before you get the shot. Plain and simple.

Blessings!!

Well, it's FrIdAy!! WOOT!!!

It's hard to believe that on this day (not date) last year I was out with my mom and 1 day away from turning 32wks preggers with Breanna....who knew that I'd come home that night, crawl into bed and be awoken a bit later bleeding?!?!? I can't believe how quickly a year has passed by. I am in the process of writing a small essay reminiscing of that day and the time after, I will post when it's done.

This was a R E A L L Y long week here. We were hit with a very benign virus, more of the nuisance variety than anything. Snot, snot and more snot. Sneezes and sore throats. I am positive now that our usage of herbs and homeopathic remedies combined with a healthy diet is playing a huge role in how quickly the kids are able to fight off things. I am a true believer in it!!! Not only that a nice cold smoothie feels like heaven a scratchy sore throat....what better way to get some much needed fruits and veggies into their wee bodies!!!

I am tired, exhausted is a better choice of words I think. Matthew has been absolutely bitter today. I can't blame him though, his nose is still pretty stuffy and we all know how much that blows!(haha, humour me!!!)
I WAS going to have spent this past week making and finishing the children's Halloween costumes......*sigh* I suppose it's much more fun to cram it all into a few days before halloween, no?

Tomorrow is proving to be just as busy. We're heading to Costco, Superstore and my healthfood store. Then I have to bake Breanna's birthday cake (which I haven't even planned out yet, not to mention I haven't even written up my grocery list....thankgoodness I have a master list on hand!!!)...where was I?.....Oh yes, then while I am doing that and IF the weather co-operates, Bill is going to put up the outdoor Christmas lights!!!!
Hurray!!! You have no idea how happy I will be to take down all the halloween-ish stuff and replace it with jolly old St.Nicholas figurines and Mangers and lights.........ok, ok, let's get through the next week first!!

Well, Matthew has taken it upon himself to have a meltdown so I'll wrap things up on here with a few pics. Hopefully later I can get on again and post an update in the homeschool blog since I have a few things I want to put there!!

Autumn In all her Splendor

Yup, this is by far (next to Christmas anyways) my most favourite time of year. So pretty. Now we prepare for winter, the trees are basically bare...all the leaves have fallen to the ground in a crunchy, munchy mess. Now we wait for the white crystals to glisten upon the bare branches, like glass jewels radiating iridescently in the snowy air.

Any Autumn pics to share? Leave me a link so I can see what Autumn looks like in your neck of the woods!!

Blessings!!

Friday Photo Flashback

Keep with the theme of sister hood this week.......

My sister and I at my grandma's 80th birthday, eight years ago!!

This would've been the middle of September so I would've been just turned 23! My sister would've been just turned 16! I had three kiddo's at that point in time!!

Too funny seeing these pics!!

For more Flashes back, go check out More Than Words!!

Wordless Wednesday

This weeks pic for Wordless Wednesday features two of my four daughters, the two oldest.

I love this pic of these two, to me it encompasses the value of sisters and how important they are in our lives.

Of course they don't have to be blood siblings, noooooo, our sisters come to us in the form of bff's, sister-in-laws, mom-inlaws, aunts, grandma's and neighbours.

Take the time today to tell the sisters in your life that you love and treasure them. I know I do!!

Have a blessed Wednesday!!

For more Wordless Wednesday fun head over to ~Wordless Wednesday~ and ~Five Minutes for Mom~

In which they sneeze and whine..........

Well wouldn't you know it, we seem to have a virus floating through. It is thus far, remaining fairly mild. Just annoying, which in turn makes the children annoyed, which results in me being annoyed by the annoying whining!
So far we have Kayla and Mariah first on the list. Every few minutes I hear "Mommy, my throat hurts" or "Mommy my nose is stuffy" *sigh* Good thing I finished up my tinctures last night, now they can sit and do their thing for the next six weeks!

Other than that, not much else is new or interesting around here.

I have finished my TO DO list for Christmas gifts!! I can't wait to get started!! They are almost entirely handmade and will be made re-using/re-purposing items!! I would love to share the list on here, but I fear my dear sweet blogger, you would not hold the secret so well!!! First though, I need to complete costumes for the kids. I have two girls who are being butterflies and one who is being an Egyptian princess. The boys are still somewhat undecided, but I am sure it will revolve around something creepy!

Not much longer until I can take down all this Autumn/Halloweenish stuff and turn this place into a Christmas/winter wonderland!! Sunday Nov 1st is the day!! Although not the tree. That one waits until the first Sunday after Alex's birthday which this year is Nov 29th!!Whoohoo!!! Ummm, but I think we need to find a tree first...we donated ours last year because it was going to be too big for our new house. Soooo, now we need to figure out that one! We really like nice full-type ones, but it can't be more than 6' tall....the search will go on!!!(and the saving too!!!)

Some of my homeschool order should be arriving later this week, although quite a few things are on backorder so hopefully that won't take very long.


Well the dryer has rung to tell me the load is done!!(how thoughtful!lol) and I have a few loads awaiting me on my bed (it's an attempt to MAKE me actually fold the laundry, you see, I dump the baskets on my bed with the thought that I will HAVE to fold them before going to bed that night. Too many times though, I just toss the pile back into the basket!!!ROFL!!!) ...........

Blessings!!

Friday Photo Flashback

This is Bill and I back in December 1995 at his parents house. I had just turned 17 and he was just coming up on his 23rd birthday. We had just celebrated a year of being together and a year of being engaged. (we got engaged 3 mos after being together). Back before our first baby and living on our own. Life was pretty easy I must admit, living with hearts filled with dreams and plans of the future. We were both working full time, Bill was working at a pharmaceutical company and I at a nearby daycare center. We were living with his parents in their basement and they were kind enough to not charge us rent. It's crazy to think back to those days, where we just hopped in the car and went to the grocery store and bought whatever sparked our fancy. Or when we would say "Hey, let's go see a movie" and not think twice about it from a financial standpoint.

Funny enough though when I look at that girl in the picture, I don't feel that different on the inside from her. She knew what she wanted out of life and knew that the man sitting beside her was going to be there for the rest of her life. She knew that she would have kids (at that time I was hoping for at least 12!! and Bill was looking at possibly 2!lol) and she knew that she would love being a Mama. Although she didn't know how to cook worth a darn, or do a budget (well a real budget anyways), she was willing to learn and eager to learn. Much like the woman she grew into is today. I look at her and see her youth, but I know that inside she was wise beyond her years, she had seen many things at that point and had already been through so much. While they were difficult and trying they helped to shape who she became and she will continue to evolve into as the years go on.  As for Bill, well, why is it that I can stare at his picture and see no physical changes? He still looks the same to me now as he did then. That same grin, those same eyes that sparkle.  *sigh* He still makes my heartbeat a little faster and my face smile a bit more when I'm near him.

So much has changed and yet so much has stayed the same. I'm so grateful that our strength with each other and for each other has only become more deeper as the years go on.

I love you sweetie!!

Have a blessed Friday!!!

Wordless Wednesday

The lazy days of summer have come and gone. It's official. We have about 4-5cms of snow covering our grass. The kids went outside this afternoon and built a snowman!
So as we say goodbye to another season, we welcome another.
Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn!!








For more Wordless Wednesday participants check out ~Wordless Wednesday~
Blessings!!

I. AM. EXHAUSTED.

I know that sounds somewhat absurd coming from someone who has seven children, but whoa. The other night I was up with Breanna a million billion too many to count times with her teeth. I was at first thinking if it was something I ate, as any Mama with an allergy stricken nursling will tell you can cause for an awful night should you eat an offending food. Then after nursing her for the millionth time (she just kept coming off and on her latch) I decided that it must be just her teeth, which she now has two pearly white razor sharp teeth peeking from her gums. Last night she slept, ALL NIGHT. Her brother however, did not. His excuse, NOTHING!
I have no idea what was up with him, he was up every hour. I tried him in our bed and he kicked the daylights out of me, stole my pillow, stole my blanket, kneed me in the stomach, smacked me in the face, launched his head into the small of my back, and pulled my hair. I decided that if he was just going to do those things, he could go back to his bed and submit his stuffed animals to the abuse. I did this no less than 8 times. I sat with him and tried to talk to him, but he would just flop over and crash.

Yesterday morning as he lay snuggling me, HE complained about ME! "Mommy, stop movving yer feet", "Mommy stop it" and finally I said "Matthew I am just breathing, not moving at all" his reply? "Mommy stop yer breefing it tis bugging my sleeping" *sigh*

Suffice to say, I am sooooo tired. I was supposed to go to my local AP meeting tonight, but I had to email Kelly and cancel, I am just to wiped and come this evening, I am certain it will be worse!

Good thing I can pretty much bake with my eyes closed, since I am baking bread and pumpkin pie today, and hopefully some cinnamon buns.

Wordless Wednesday oct 7th

Ahhhhh, the very essence of Autumn...The Pumpkin Spice Latte.

This is what I am sipping on as I write this,  and I thought it'd be a perfect idea for this weeks edition of Wordless Wednesday.

You too can enjoy this yummy treat right now in your home, mine is dairy free but you can make it how you like. Here's the recipe:

1/2 cup strong coffee

1 cup of 1/2 and 1/2 OR goat milk OR soy milk

1 1/2 tbsp canned pumpkin

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Combine the 'milk' and pumpkin in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat until steaming (DON'T BURN..blech!!!!)add yor pumpkin pie spice (omit the spice if you used already spiced pumpkin puree). Then carefully pour into your blender and whip on high for about 20-30 secs until it's all frothy looking. Pour the mixture into your coffee mug and then SLOWLY pour the strong coffee into it. Do not mix and a nice froth foam will set on the top. Sprinkle with some more pumpkin spice if you wish and ENJOY!!!

Happy Wednesday!!!

For more Wordless We3dnesday fun head over to 5 minutes for Mom- Wordless Wednesday

Bits of Randomness

Ha! look at that, TWO posts in a row!!! this is just a bits and pieces type post though.

Heading out to see my Grandma tonight and have a coffee with my mom tonight. the meeting went well yesterday regarding my Grandma, nothing new to report on.

I have a pine tree in my front yard!! A Colorado Spruce to be exact!! I am so excited, it's so pretty and cute. I cannot wait to put little white lights on it this winter!!

I did finally put up a post over on  My Food Blog if ya'll have a burning desire to check that out!lol

Also, while your feeling click happy why not head over to Alyssa's Blog (my oldest daughter) and give her a nice bloggy wave. And if you still have not fixed your clickiness desire why not head over to Cherie's blog (my sister in law) and give HER a bloggy world welcome!
Ah yes, the blog bug has bitten!!

well, best get going on the rest of day!!
Have a blessed Tuesday!!

Happy Monday!!

Everyone have a good weekend? We did. We headed over to my health food store and I did a small stock up on herbs to have on hand. Herbs to boost and nourish the immune system. I still need to get a few more and then I should be well prepared should we get hit with any colds or flu's this year! I also need to get a couple more homeopathic treatments to have on hand as well.

Breanna is so VERY close to crawling!! She moves backwards pretty good, but still needs to master the forward motion. She also has a TOOTH now!!! It's her bottom front one and the one beside will pop out in the next day or two I am certain. I REALLY need to get my hands on an amber teething necklace now!! Matthew's bit the dust a while ago, but boy was I ever happy to have had that for him during teething, it was awesome!

We also did some more decorating for fall around the house, I still need to make some homemade potpourri once I pick up some cinnamon oil.

Um, what else??? Still waiting for the last bit of my homeschooling order...which reminds me I should email them on that and see how it's coming along.

No too much on the go this week. I may try to slip out for a coffee with my Mom tonight or tomorrow night. They were having a meeting regarding my Grandma this morning, so we'll see how that went. Thursday is a general meeting for my local Attachment Parenting group  I will be heading to with Kelly who is so graciously coming and picking me up, bless her heart!

This weekend is our Thanksgiving weekend!! WhooHoo!!! So later this week I will be busy baking bread, pies, buns and probably some muffins!! This week should be a good week for baking too, since tomorrow is supposed to turn cooler and I believe this weekend they are calling for up to 5cm of snow!! Yesterday it snowed off and on, but nothing stayed all that long on the ground. Won't be much longer before it does though!!!

Well, guess it's time to get off of here...I can smell a present wafting from Breanna!!It's a glamorous I tell you!!
I am going to try and get on here later and do menu plan monday over on my food blog..here's to hoping!!!!

Blessings!!

Friday Photo Flashback

Ok, so I am cheating a wee bit. I am going to post two pics, I could not decided which one was worthy of today's carnival, so I decided on both!!


This one is mainly just for a good laugh because any Mama who is around my age (30ish) will be able to relate. This pic was taken October 1991 and I was in grade 8 and had just turned 13. Laugh and remember away!!!





Yup, I was so totally wicked!!!lol and you can bet that my jeans were pinned at the ankle (the true 'skinny jean' ) and I was wearing an Esprit tee with rolled up sleeves. (and enough hairspray to cement a new sidewalk)and I am certain that either NKOTB or Debbie Gibson would have been playing on cassette in my bright yellow sony walkman!!(although there is a small chance that it may have been Poison...I did begin listening to them near that age....lol) Ah yes, the days of yester-year!!


Ok, now onto pic number two. One to which my family will remember oh-so-well!!!
Bwhahahaha!!



Haha...okay here's the story with this one. this was taken near the end of November 1997. It was Alex's first birthday. I was 19 and Bill was 24. I was VERY particular about what foods Alex could eat and always made sure they were nutritious and healthy and homemade.(although I did buy jarred food *shudder*)Anyways...I decided that I would bke and make Alex's cake from scratch using wholesome ingredients and I used the recipe found in the What to Expect the First year book (*shudders again at those books...The What to Expect series...ick!) for Carrot Cake. Except, I used pure apple juice instead of apple juice concentrate...uh-huh...AND I am fairly certain I messed up with the baking soda and powder ratio and quite possibly the flour...heck, I just MESSED IT UP!!!! It tasted awful!! In this picture i was looking at Bill thinking in my head "Gimme a break, it's NOT that bad stop being so dramatic!" and Bill is desperately trying to find something to safely dispose of his mouthful of cake and poor Alex...awww, just look at that poor babes face!! Sheer disgust and anguish over his cake. So, yeah, that was my first attempt. Cut me some slack, I was trying!!!!ROFL!!!


Have an awesomely blessed weekend!!

Give handmade this year

For more info on this head over to Crunchy chicken .
I LOVE to give handmade for Christmas, I also like to give consumable items as well to cut down on waste. This year my plans include

• bath salts
• warm bags made with rice(awesome warmed and put on stiff muscles!)
• yummy treats to eat
• blankets for the kiddo's and possibly Pj's

I will add to this list as I go along since I am still just in the planning stages.
What are your plans? Make it a goal this year to either make some or all of your presents or even buy handmade stuff if you're not creatively inclined! 


I will keep updating this as time goes on! have fun with it!!

$75 Grocery Challenge Update and other happenings.......

So we did it! We managed to stay within our budget of $1190 for the month, which is about 40% less than we would have had if I was still babysitting my friends daughters. This month it's a little bit higher since I do not have the Used Toy and Clothing sale or Bill's licence and renewal to worry about, but still it's much less than before! I discovered that it's very possible to do and manage it just takes a lot of effort and time. This month I plan to follow the same plan as last month since it worked so well last month. I also have to plan for Thanksgiving dinner next weekend!!YUM! I need to practice and figure out how to make a GF/DF pumpkin pie, which I am fairly certain I can do. 


Speaking of grocery shopping........it's that time again! Last night we went to the Costco near our house...ugh, we will not be doing that again. We'll make the trip to the one farther away. Tonight it's Superstore!



Oh yes, the Used Toy and Clothing sale...it went pretty well. Although I was robbed! I had about 4-5 prs of pants stolen and I'm 99.99% sue of who did it, but what can I do? I will however be on the lookout in the spring sale. I was pretty certain this same woman stole a few things at my last sale, but I think I was in denial that someone would actually steal at a USED toy and clothing sale. Now, I know. SAD!!!! They had nothing for Alex or Breanna or Mariah and a few for Matthew. I did get Matthew a full piece snowsuit, but he still needs pants and some hoodies and a few long sleeve shirts. Breanna still needs a few things and Alex still needs some PJ's as well as Robbie. WHEW! Ah well, bit by bit it will come together!! Of course there was TONS for Kayla and Alyssa's age groups.....sooooo much in fact! They however, are good for clothing.




I went and saw my Grandma on Tuesday night. I had a nice visit with her gave her a little massage on her feet and legs, which I think she really enjoyed! They say she only has a few weeks left. My Grandmother however, is clueless. Dementia is weird that way I guess. We looked through some old pictures of hers and she was able to tell me who all the people were and where they were when the pic was taken. She was also able to recite a few school type poems to me for fun. She says the food stinks there. I'm going to miss her when she's gone, she is such a spicy sassy woman, even at 88 years old!


The temps are begining to drop her now. I don't mind it all that much. I like the thoughts of cozy cool nights. Hot tea, flannel jammies, warm baths, soft fluffy blankies, and warm yummy snacks! Then of course, the BAKING!!! Whoohoo!! I have so much on the go and in the planning stages for that. I also have to get my rear end in gear to make other various Christmas gifts for friends and family!! So much to do!!


Well, I'm going to wrap up this post since I have to more to get up as well on here and an email to send!!

Blessings!!