Musing on the news

I have to admit I am a news junkie..... I love to read the newspaper and it can be any paper, I'm not fussy. I not only deliver the Kamloops Daily News here in town every morning but can often be found reading it while I am walking. There is just so much to be discovered in the paper! Whether you are looking for recipes, crosswords, sports news, how to redecorate your house, what happened in the accident down the street, there is always something interesting in the paper!!
So I came up to bed and was supposed to be working on my picture storybook ( I have 23 pages almost done of our trip to Hawaii, yeah!!) but got sidetracked by the news!! and on the computer its fun too. I love to read about what is happening in other countries and how are they doing.
I have been reading glimpses of the story of courageous Ingrid Betancourt who survived years of captivity in the jungles of Columbia. She is an amazing woman and has been talking about how her faith got her through.......(she lost years of her children's lives!) I just can't imagine it, people really are so remarkable resilient and strong. So its these stories of faith and courage that get me through all the rest of the bad, the evil, the stupid that can be found in so many of the other stories.
But I better get sleeping, the news comes early in the morning!!

Our Rebecca is 12!

It's almost hard to go back and get the old pictures out.....makes me miss my little ones. Here is Rebecca when she turned two with her older sisters........ and now here she is 12!
Loved this one of Rebecca taken by Maranda Schwarz about 4 years ago, looking so sweet and innocent.

We had her whole class over for a pool party 2 days before her birthday so I made a huge cake for it. She was thrilled to have them all sing Happy Birthday to her!
Hanging out with one of her best buds....Breann Frazier!

Rebecca with her older sisters........they look a little different here than the first picture! I am so lucky to have all these beautiful girls!

Happy Birthday Rebecca!

Melodie off to Victoria

Here's our Melodie heading out for her third year of respiratory therapy. Since its her last year she will be doing 2, 6 month practicums, one in Victoria and the other in Vancouver. We were hoping she could have one in Kamloops but it didn't work out. She has 2 roommates, Dani and Courtney that are both in her program as well so luckily they were able to find a place together (its so expensive in Victoria!). Don drove her down (in his new truck!) the last day of May so she could be there a week before she started. She is excited about finally working in the hospital and I think time is going to fly by for her, as opposed to sitting in the classroom!

We miss her already but it sounds like she is having lots of fun. She has already attended the Young Single Adult Church ward there and has been going to the activities. We also hear that she is trying to persuade the young men down there that she is really not in dating mode..... (since she has a young fellow up here that she talks to every day!)

We talk to her almost every day! Thank goodness for cell phones, when I went off to college I think I phoned home once a month because it was so expensive and I was sure homesick sometimes. We've already got a cute little letter from her with lots of stickers, trademark Melodie!

Her first little apartment......

Battle of the Books

Believe or not even though I have super reading kids, not one of them entered the Battle of the Books held every year here in Kamloops until Mitchell did this year. He has been reading the books with his class and then he was chosen to be one of the Grade 3/4 representatives. I was totally surprised when he came home and told me...... then when I talked to his teacher found out he really did have one of the higher scores (even though he hadn't read all of the books!). So we had a team from Grade 6/7 and Grade 5 and these 3 little Grade 3s, not a one in Grade 4 and it was all their first time. What was even funnier was that Mitchell was the only boy (not that he really appreciates that right now). So they went to the Zones where they won 2nd place and even won a medal..... they were so thrilled!

They had to answer 30 questions on quite a few books, Lafcadio, James and the Giant Peach, The War with Grandpa, Frindle, Leaving the Log House, The Seven Treasures, Because of Winn-Dixie, Bobby Baseball, Harriet's Hare and Invisible Harry. When they went to Districts a week later (top 7 teams out of the 23 in the city), they didn't do quite as well, but the questions were harder and I think they were up against more Grade 4's, but it was a great experience for him! Hoping he and Rebecca will both do it next year, only we are going to start reading earlier!

When I asked him how they did so well, he said: "Well Mom, the girls decided what book it was and then asked me if I agreed and I usually did!!" Can you tell he lives with a lot of women!!!

Concert!

So yes I'm insane but I actually agreed to take this group of yahoos to the Rascal Flats concert in Vancouver the first week of April. Of course they bought the $100 tickets months ago and then it came to the week before and I realized we had better make some plans. I had just come back from Europe a few weeks before and was so happy to be home but since Don was working the next day....... I was the chosen one!! We left right after work that day, the concert wasn't until 8 but I wanted plenty of time to get there, you never know what Vancouver traffic will be like!

So we drove down, the kids had an absolute blast... said it was the most fantastic concert they had ever been to (how many have they been to.......like 2!!) Anyway, I went to a cute little scrapbook store for a little more, then went to eat and then spent the rest of the time reading the second book in the Twilight Series.....

I was dreading the ride home with good reason, I knew it would be late and getting out of Vancouver in the dark..... I had too many navigators and too many trips as the passenger to feel very confident. We finally got out of there by midnight, had to drop a friend of Melodie's off (it was just off the highway I was told..... which was right but getting back on the highway was a nightmare!), I ended up back on the number 1 west back over the Port Mann bridge heading back to Vancouver at 1 in the morning. I couldn't even vent because I had all these impressionable teenagers behind me, I just had to grit my teeth and try to find a way to turn back around. The only thing that saved me that night was the Mel and Kevin both have their N's so they were able to drive part of the way, it made the world of difference.

So note to self......... make them take the bus if they buy out of town tickets!

Have to admit, they were very grateful......... lots of THANK YOU MOM!!

Kub Kar Rally

I realized that I haven't written anything about Mitchell's first kub kar rally! This is his first year in cub scouts and he just loves it! The leaders are wonderful and he eagerly heads out every Tuesday night. They are working on all kinds of badges right now and I think he has about 5 by now.

You can imagine his excitement for the kub kar rally, he was able to go and watch last year......but this year he was going to be making his own. You can also imagine Don's excitement, his only son's first kub kar rally. I think he was almost as happy as Mitchell! So the two of them worked on it, finding patterns, buying paint, heading over to a friends garage to saw it out......and then creating it. They really worked hard and it turned out to be a beautiful spiderman car (we think). The rally was in Clearwater, so I wasn't able to make it (too many other things scheduled that day!) but Don filled the van with Scouts and they headed to Clearwater on a Saturday a couple of weekends ago. They came back pretty happy because Mitchell's car had taken first place at least 6 times (apparently this was awesome!), so even though he hadn't won any of the big prizes, he was still pretty proud of his car and so was his DAD!!

Bologna Snobs

Okay, I'm taking a break from my travel blogs because this one has been in my head for a few days! What is a bologna snob?

I have to go back to my childhood when we lived out in the country and frankly we were not a rich family. Lunches if they weren't peanut butter and homemade jam (we owned a blueberry rock and had tons of wild strawberries which are very tiny!!!!!), then we had cheese and mayonnaise sandwiches a lot. Mom used to buy those huge 5 pound blocks of cheese that lasted forever (now that I'm a Mom I know they last about 2 weeks!) and so that's what I remember we had most (plus tupperware cups with drink crystals inside that we would fill with water at the water fountain and thus have juice!!). Mom also reminded me that it was almost always homemade bread too, how did she do it!!! I don't think it was until we moved into town that she started buying lunch meat and of course it was mostly bologna or salami. So I learned to love bologna sandwiches, with mustard and butter on white bread! Real healthy I know but they are just so good, not too many tastes..... just butter, tangy mustard and the bologna! ( I also like mock chicken, the meat with mac n cheese, or the kind with pimento in it, not real fussy with lunch meat).

So fast forward a few years to my family......... who are all bologna snobs!! If its not black forest ham, I don't know why I bother buying it!! They turn up their nose and refuse to eat it......or just complain and whine about it!! Why don't you buy the nice deli meat they say........ and I tell them because I flatly refuse to spend 10 bucks on a few slices of processed meat that is sliced super thin! At least with bologna you can buy the thick slices!! Not only that but only one likes mustard, someone else doesn't like mayonnaise, someone else wants the tomato in a separate container because it makes the bread soggy........ and I start yelling, "Do you think this is a restaurant? Because in this house you are going to get what you get and like it!!!" They don't believe me.......

So the package of bologna sits lonely in the fridge because I can only eat so many in one day....... maybe I should just go back to buying that big hunk of cheese!!!!

Thum, Germany

After Prague we headed for Thum, Germany. We needed 3 buses whenever we travelled! Thum is just this little town but Nadine and I loved it, way less tourists, quieter and just fun. We were only here for a day, stayed at a hostel for the first time but were able to do a little shopping and found some chocolate for our family. I found the cutest little butterfly hoodie for Rebecca!

This is the first hostel we stayed at, this one was pretty much like a university dorm! You picked up your sheets and then brought them back down the next morning. You shared the bathrooms with half the floor so long line ups for showers. Breakfasts were buffets that you just went and helped yourself......... breakfast was interesting in Europe. Most of them had buns, meat (like the sliced deli kind) and lots of cheese. Occasionally you could get a boiled egg, yogourt or cereal (corn flakes or muesli) but not always, so basically you were eating a meat and cheese sandwich for breakfast most mornings. They always had nutella as well!!

I know I look like the Pillsbury dough boy in almost all the pictures of me!...but we were told to layer and layer I did! I almost didn't bring this jacket but Don picked it out and said I would need it.....he was sooo right. Some days were downright cold especially with the wind. What was funny was that some members of the tour were glad I was wearing pink, amongst all the black and dark blue jackets they could always find me and know they were heading in the right direction, lol..

Here's Mr. Ed Schnellert with the OKM band. They were able to have a practise session with the band in Thum and they did soooo good. They really are an awesome band and so fun to listen to. Nadine's son Jeremy played a saxophone solo with a girl from Germany and they did well considering it was pretty spur of the moment! We had a BBQ that night, which in Germany was a potluck! So all the families brought lots of food and we all ate downstairs, danced and listened to lots of English music.....

Couldn't resist taking this picture of a billboard in McDonalds (this was actually back in the Czech Republic) because its all in the czech language and the money is in crowns. We had fun trying to order but a lot, most people in Europe speak 2, 3 or even more languages! One of our guides said she only spoke 5, now her mother was really smart because she could speak 11!! Eleven languages!!!!! How could you keep them all straight in your head, insane!! So my measly 1 and a half just doesn't cut it!! So here you are, McDonalds was in every major city and we even found quite a few Burger Kings!

Europe!!

I am writing again.......thankful for a gentle reminder from my friend Marj Cooper! She mentioned that she checks my blog and that I haven't written anything since Feb 9 and I realized that I just need to get started again.

I have been gone the last couple of weeks to EUROPE!!!..... and writing about it seems like a mammoth task, at least in Hawaii I wrote from there but this time I didn't bring my laptop, we had such a busy itinerary and I wasn't sure how secure things would be. Anyway, it will never get written if I don't start, LOL.......

Appreciate all you who read this, especially grateful for wonderful friend bloggers who take the time to write a little note!

So my friend Nadine Edis called me the beginning of March to see if I wanted to go to Europe with her! (Technically speaking her husband Warren phoned Don first...... and asked how he would feel about sending his wife to Europe!! Don came to the table with a big grin on his face....) I want to mention how grateful I am to my whole family who were so happy for me and who totally took care of the house while I was gone! It had to be tough but they were so good about it..... I did make sure I brought lots of presents home and chocolate!!

Nadine and I, with one of the other "Shadow Tour" group members Olesia Thompson (Lesia). We are waiting at Okanagan Mission Secondary School to head for Vancouver and then London and then Europe!

Wanted to post this picture so you have an idea of the mammoth task this was. Nadine and I were traveling with her son Jeremy's band. This consisted of Grades 10, 11 and 12 and it was 120 students. We also had about 30 adults with chaperones and extra parents (shadow tour). From the beginning, Mr Schnellert the band director had the kids lined up in a "centipede" with their chaperones in front of them and this is what we did every time we went anywhere.... to count heads and make sure we didn't lose anyone. So keeping track of 150 people, all their luggage and band instruments..... being late was NOT an option! Anyone late really regretted it.....

In Vancouver heading for London's Heathrow Airport (the worst one I've been in!!!)

Our first hotel and only hotel in Europe was in Prague, Czech Republic. Nadine and I were on two different flights so she got in about 7 that night and I didn't get in until midnight. There is about an 8 hour time difference so we were into tomorrow when it was still yesterday at home, lol...... It was a wonderful hotel, they have heated towel racks in Europe!! From the beginning realized everything took about 3 times as long because of the amount of people and the line ups! But we were in Europe!!!!!! We had to laugh because every time it rained we would remind ourselves that at least it was Prague Rain!!! Will write more tomorrow.....

Sewing Again

Wow, I've let a month go by without writing! I just have to stop worrying about it so much and just write. I was kind of annoyed by a letter written by the editor of our Daily News today........he was writing about bloggers, came across that he feels most of us are pretty lame, the only real writers have taken some kind of journalism courses or are real writers! It was kind of condescending if you ask me.......
Writing is about what you want to put down into words about what you know and want to share with others. I admire anyone who takes the time to just write, doesn't mean it's always interesting to everyone but even if it's read by a few, even if its just family then it has served its purpose!

Here I have a picture of the dress I made for a girl I know who just had her first baby girl. Haven't sewed for awhile and had lots of fun with this dress, learned something new every time I do one.........it made me go back and look at some of the others I've done...... I'm so much happier with the ones I do now, can see how much I've learned but have so much more to go. It also brought back all those happy memories I have of sewing matching Daisy Kingdom dresses for my 3 cute little girls! I miss those days and really miss them when I pull out their Easter dresses, their cherry dresses with the matching hats and their swirly wedding dresses......... can't believe how many dresses I have made over the years, so happy to have had all my girls to sew for!

I'm excited to sew more, but this week I have been really trying to work on our business books again, another tough thing I have to tackle. Cute little baby dresses are way more fun...... looking forward to heading to Vancouver next weekend with Don for his CE courses, I am going to the fabric store Dressew and happily browse through all their lace and ribbon!!

Some Books Should Not End

There are some books that you just wish wouldn't end...... and today I closed with sadness Shannon Hale's fifth book called "Book of a Thousand Days" not because it was sad but I just wanted to keep reading about Khan Tegus and the lady's maid Dashti! I just loved this book, almost more than her others! Well it's so hard to decide, have to admit though Tegus was such a wonderful man..... and Dashti so humble, heroic and fun. Shannon Hale shines in her witty, romantic dialogue.........how can you write about years being held captive in a tower and keep it interesting and gripping but she does!!! Just can't wait until all my girls read it and we can talk about it, Vanessa shoddied it (reserved it!!!) as soon as she saw it in my excited hands bringing it home from the library.
I have been trying to find time to read it amongst a surprise birthday party we held for one of Vanessa's friends (22 teenagers here last night) and then I was asked to teach a Relief Society class today so couldn't read it until that was done. So supper was pretty simple tonight while I tried to cook and read at the same time, it was a little late!! I started it yesterday in the afternoon and finished it with a pang at 9:30 tonight.......
So now I am buying them all!!!! I usually look for books in the library first and then if I like them I buy them....... and since all my girls love these books they'll be keepers. In fact I might have to check their suitcases when they leave home, lol.....

The Ugly Peach Carpeted Stairs Are Gone!

You are looking at the ugliest carpet there ever was and it has been sitting on my stairs for the 7 years we have lived here!! This week Don and I spent hours ripping it all off and it looks so much better I think!!! We did not know what we were getting into.........those stairs had at least a MILLION STAPLES and we tried to pull them all out. What is it with carpet layers.....do they really think if they miss one square inch it might come off!!! We also have holes in our plaster walls and one stair has an ugly big hole from the central vac that I never use because it is such a pain!! So we're not done.........but oh what a difference!!!
Even got Sandra over for her opinion......I am hoping to grab her and get her to teach me how to finish them so they look fabulous, right now they still have paint spatters and are looking a little rough. So goal by July.....have stairs completely done!
I am also responding to a challenge in an email from my cousin Isabelle, its a 365 photo-a-day goal for 2008. Just take a picture every day of what is going on in your life, obviously I'm a little behind since its January 11 but want to at least try to get as many as I can! Its supposed to help you be a better photographer and help you see your life in a whole new way!

So today I'm still admiring my stairs!

New Year 2008

For New Year's Eve we headed over to the Fraziers......we were down to 2 kids again! Melodie was in Kelowna with a big party that going on at the Edis house and Vanessa went to a party held at Laura Cleasby's so we had just our little ones.
As you can see everyone had lots of fun...... lots of eating and talking. The kids lasted better than we did as usual, they were wide awake and running around at midnight. In fact they were quite happy to run out into the road with pots and pans yelling "Happy New Year" with the Dads following. We have done this before, kind of glad we were doing it on the Fraziers street though, lol.
A new year ahead always makes me wonder what it has in store for us. Where will we go, what will we learn?

Will Tim and Danielle be okay? Where will they move to when their apartment contract comes up in June? Will Tim find a work focus he is happy with? Willl Danielle still be working for Justin by the end of the year? Will we be able to see them for a little while this summer?

What will happen to Melodie when she heads to Vancouver for 6 months to complete her practicum for respiratory therapy? How will she manage when Kevin heads out on his mission? Will she be able to work for a few months when she is done or will she head out on her mission right away?

Will Vanessa be able to pass her N so we can have another driver? Will she be able to pass her piano exams? She'll be starting Grade 12 this year and will need to start thinking about where she wants to go next year. Will she be able to make her Grad dress like she wants to?

Rebecca will be going into her last year of elementary! Will she continue in piano or will we be able to start her in voice lessons like I want to? I know she will be so happy to enter the Young Women program in June when she turns 12! Mitchell will be starting Grade 4 this fall, how will he do in soccer and swimming? He will be in Primary by himself for the first time when Rebecca moves up. Will he be willing to continue in piano?

Are we going to be able to do any renovations on the house? Will we be able to at least put in a shower and redo the bathtub? Will we be able to plan even one get away? Will Don still be serving as Bishop by the end of the year? Will there be any changes in the ward or its boundaries? Don wants to be able to buy a truck and can we pay off his business loan by the end of the year?

Will I be able to find a part time job that I like? Will I be able to keep writing as consistently as I can? Will I still be serving as Stake YW Secretary for the rest of the year? Will I be able to try and fit at least one learning class this year? Will I start scrapbooking again, get some sewing projects done?

Lots of things to think about and do in 2008! Looking forward to what will happen in this new year!!

My Girls

Thought I would write at the start of a new year how grateful I am for my girls. I love being the mother of 4 daughters and as they get older they are now becoming my best friends! It still amazes me some days to think that I am the mother of 5 children, where did the time go! How can I have a daughter that is turning 21 tomorrow? Wasn't I 21 just yesterday?.....and how did I get so lucky getting the girls I did! They are the best part of my life! I am so often amazed at what they can accomplish and do. They are so much more confident then I ever was at that age.......

I miss my Danielle and know she misses us. I realized the real sisterly bond again this last week when Melodie went to Calgary for the weekend. She spent most of the weekend in the hospital with Danielle, who after gallbladder surgery had to go back in again because of a blood clot and then had to stay for 4 days! I was so proud of Mel who could have been out partying and shopping in Calgary but instead chose to stick with her sister and keep her company! I know it made such a difference for Danielle. She was pretty bored and lonesome since it was her first real time in the hospital and she was so happy to have Melodie with her. I hope and pray they will all stay close and realize how special that sisterly bond can be! I love you Danielle, Melodie, Vanessa and Rebecca!

Christmas Reading

If there is one thing I desperately want to give my children it is the love of reading! Loving reading means you will never be lonely, bored or have nothing to do..........there will always be stories, cartoons, adventures and countries to visit in your imagination! During the holidays we have been trying to get in lots of reading time. Mitchell and Rebecca's favourite place to read is on our bed.....they think it is the comfiest in the house (probably is, but we are not spring chickens anymore, lol)We have been getting into Beverly Clearly's Ramona books... which I still love to read. My big girls take over for me sometimes! We actually saw a Klickatat street when we lived in Oregon! We have also started "Wanted-Mud Blossom" by Betsy Byars which is another fun book! We heard it on tape while driving and I just love the "Blossom" books........I also love to have them keep journals, we're not always as good as we should be so I'm grateful they write them in school as well. One thing we have tried to be faithful in doing is writing to our four missionaries (Andrew Lamb in Wales, Keenan Kicia in California, Lauren Razeau and Cory Jensen in San Salvador/West Belize mission) at least every month! Mitchell has drawn them some pretty cool pictures that we hear end up on their walls or refrigerators! It is such a fun family activity if we can all get together........I know our boys are so happy to get them!!We have discovered the most wonderful books during these holidays..........we have been reading all the books by Shannon Hale. I found a reference to the Goose Girl on one of the blogs I've been reading so decided to try it and absolutely loved it........in the meantime before I could finish it Vanessa snagged it and finished it before I did! She raved about it to Melodie, who read it in about 3 days during her finals, she was reading it in one of her labs when a friend saw her and borrowed it to read it. So then Melodie checked the library and signed out 3 more, Enna Burning, River Secrets and The Princess Academy! We didn't see those two girls for about a week...........they read all of them, I had to fight to get my hands on one..........

You now know why my family had to help me cook New Year's Eve, I was READING "The Princess Academy" and hated to put it down........I understand this is a Granger family trait, which is why I really try to find skinny books.

Just hoping Danielle is not reading this because we bought her one of the books for Christmas (when she comes out middle of January).....I know she is going to go out and buy all the others! Just waiting to get our hands on the new one "Book of a Thousand Days"........

Christmas Thoughts

Rebecca and her new glasses! (her old ones broke at school and she taped them together on the side and coloured the tape black.....when I saw them I asked her to please not tell anyone her Dad is an optometrist!!!) Thank goodness she already had an appointment at the office because when Don heard of it, voila new funky glasses! She is pretty happy with them. She also got her cast off today after we went to the hospital and our Dr. Desai took a look at the xrays, she still needs to be careful though.
Our REAL tree this year that Don and Melodie went HUNTING for in the grasslands up in the hills! We had to cut at least a foot off to get it to fit, and as you can see some of the branches are perpendicular to the tree...........but Melodie seems to think it is our best one yet!!!
Danielle and Tim weren't able to make it home this year and I thought I was okay with it until I pulled out her stocking!! Had a good cry, this was our first Christmas without her! I was also sad because I know how much she misses us....... luckily she was thinking and planning because about a week before her and Tim sent us a webcam! We set it up(I use we loosely since Don was in the study for hours.......) and it was a surprise Christmas morning! So fun to use and although it wasn't quite the same, it really was so much better than a phone call. So happy with the technology we have..........

Christmas Writing Challenge #4: December Activities

December Activities that help you remember that Christmas is coming? I can think more of what I do now as a Mom than I can really remember as a kid. Most of my growing up years that I can really recall were spent in Northwestern Ontario in a little town called Finland, next to Emo about an hour from Fort Frances (in the Lake of the Woods area). We lived on this farm (where we built our house) for about 5 years before we moved out to New Brunswick.
This part of Ontario has very, very cold long winters and I know -25 below was the normal temperature. We had a wood stove and we always felt like roast turkeys because all of us kids slept in the top of the house.......Dad would build up the fire at night so it would last until the morning, but we would swelter til it died down. I know much of December was spent gathering firewood!
Christmas for us was always going to bed really early Christmas Eve because my Mom and Dad kept the midnight tradition........they would wake us up at midnight when we would open all our gifts and then we would have a midnight buffet, eat for a while and then go back to bed to sleep in until late. It was always exciting and we never protested going to bed. We would desperately try to stay awake but it never failed that Mom and Dad would have to come in to wake us up because we had fallen asleep..... then we would run down the stairs where the tree would be bursting with presents. I'm not sure if they were ever wrapped, Dad never believed in wrapping paper, he would always say that he could buy another present for the cost of wrapping paper!
But me, I love wrapping paper and since I buy it in January it never costs much........so wrapping paper or bags is a must for me.
My parents would always invite friends or single people over so often we had our neighbours over for this midnight feast. I think it stemmed from the Roman Catholic faith they grew up in where they went to midnight mass.
Although I would like to have kept this tradition, when Don and I tried it a few times, our kids were so tired and didn't want to get up......and I was so insistent about their bed times because I like to sleep, so it didn't really work for us. We just put our kids to bed and wake them up in the morning. Besides until a few years ago, I was usually up for hours wrapping presents. I discovered that I love wrapping when I have lots of time, so I try to do it every couple of days or whenever I get enough presents around to do it, or no one around to see me doing it........what an amazing difference, Christmas Eve is so much more fun now and not so stressful!

Christmas Writing Challenge #3: Me + The Big Guy in a Red Suit

I am responding to Amy Sorenson's third writing challenge about what did we know of Santa and how did we find out about the real Santa!

I've struggled with this a little, I don't really remember any moment that I found out "the truth", in fact even today I like to keep his spirit alive in our home! One of my earliest memories though is when we were on Cortez Island and we were all together as families (my Mom, her parents and some of her sisters), so lots of cousins. We were all excited because we had been told that Santa was actually going to pay us a visit ( I think I was only 7 or 8) and we waited all night, then in came Santa big tummy and all with his great big HO, HO, HO and of course we all started to giggle and whisper to each other......"that's not Santa, that's Grandpa!" But we loved it anyway and anxiously waited to see what he would pull out of his big red sack! I'm pretty sure we were all at my Aunt Marie-Line's house, I seem to remember wooden log walls and the pungent smell of wood smoke.

Fast forward to a few years ago and in our house there are always presents under the tree from Santa and of course the stockings....... well this particular year I decided to be totally organized and had all of our presents bought and wrapped and put them under the tree a day early, that way Christmas Eve would be so stress free! Forgetting the intelligence of little ones..... you can imagine my dismay Christmas morning when Mitchell who was only 3 or 4 I think, said to me "Didn't Santa come Mommy? and I said: "Yes, of course!" to which he responded, "Well he didn't leave any new presents under the tree, because I counted and there are the same number!" I don't remember what I told him, but I do remember backpedaling fast and that was the last time presents came out early!!!

I am a lunch time supervisor at my children's school here in Kamloops, Parkcrest School and just the other day I overheard a conversation that made me smile from ear to ear. Two little girls came up to the other supervisor Mrs. Canning (her grandson is in the school) and one asked with great earnestness, " Mrs. Canning, do you believe in Santa Claus from the bottom of your heart?" to which Velma answered with great firmness: " You bet I do!!" Wasn't that cute and it just made my day!!

I love the magic of Santa and his spirit of generosity and kindness. Reality comes soon enough to most children, if we can help them to believe from the bottom of their hearts, Santa will continue to bring them joy for years to come!

Christmas Writing Challenge #2: Most Vivid Memory

White Christmas!

I am writing about a couple of Christmas memories that I have from my childhood and luckily I actually have pictures of them.

I can't even remember where this was taken but I do know that I had been asked to be in a Christmas play at school (I think I was in Grade 1) and my Mom was asked to work on my costume. She spent several hours making this dress out of tissue paper and I thought it was so pretty! I loved the garland on the bottom.....unfortunately as soon as I put in on I wanted to take it right off because it was "picky"!!! My poor Mom would not budge, I was wearing that costume no matter what....... according to my Mom I complained about it all night but apparently I looked beautiful on stage!

Here we are Josee, Eddie and I (Kasandra) posing for a Christmas picture! I do know this picture was taken in our house on Cortez Island in British Columbia. We lived here for several years, where we were close to my Mom's family. Funny what pictures will bring to your memory..... I remember getting this barn as one of our Christmas presents and we were so excited, I don't remember who it was for. What I really remember is the curtains in the background (Mom must have found the material on sale, lol) because Mom sewed them and then would pack them up and put them up in whatever house we were in. I'm glad we look so happy, I have lots of happy memories of Cortez Island but some real sad ones as well...... thank goodness my parents tried to instill happy Christmas memories in us!

So Christmas resolve: take pictures of special presents this year and realize that it only takes one really good one to have Christmas be memorable!!

Christmas Writing Challenge #1: Wished-for Photo

I have been thinking of a challenge that Amy Sorenson with her The English Geek blog gave us....... to write about a Christmas picture that we wish we still had! I am already behind on her writing challenges (story of my life) but wanted to write this one.

My family and I lived in a school bus that we converted to a trailer that was painted turquoise (they got a great deal on the paint, go figure it was turquoise!!!) for almost two years. My Dad was a cook and so we would camp our trailer where ever he was cooking and live in it. We finally moved to Northwestern Ontario where we parked our trailer and started building a house on a quarter section of land that we bought. I remember going to look at the land with my family and walking through knee high snow with our every breath showing in front of us, it was so cold. The land must have been dirt cheap!

We started building our house that spring, I don't know how much my Dad really knew about building but I do know there's no way an insurance company would have insured our house......we had sawdust in the walls for insulation and I remember laying newspaper down on the floor beneath the floorboards ( I remember this because my Dad kept stopping to read the paper and we were getting annoyed with him because he promised to take us to the fair when we were finished!) We worked on it all summer and by the time school started we were so anxious to have it finished, it was going to be so much bigger than our trailer. You have to understand, we were a family of 7 living in that bus....but at least we could let the two dogs and cat out once we had our own property!

We finally moved in on Thanksgiving Day and talk about being thankful! That Christmas we finally spent in a house and what I really wish is that I had a picture of our first Christmas tree! Dad went out the week before Christmas and brought back a tree for us to decorate.....the 5 of us, my older sister Josee and 3 younger brothers Ed, Bill and Ted and I were stunned! It was worse than Charlie Brown's Christmas tree, I swear it had about 7 branches total. We all looked at each other in disbelief, a whole forest to pick from and this is the tree Dad brought home..... we fired him that day! From then on every summer we would tromp through the woods, find a perfect tree, tie a big ribbon on it and go back in December and cut down that one. I wonder if my siblings still remember that tree........ I would love a picture of it....... then I could show my kids when we set up our tree how lucky we are!!!

So note to self to make sure I take pictures every year of our lovely full tree.....artificial or real!