We are blessed to have a dog that is so good with kids!! The only problem is he is also very protective of them so no tickle fights unless he is outside!!

Max and Matthew

 

 Max and Alexander

You can't really see Max in these ones but he is hidden behind Matthew. I kept hoping for a better picture but getting Alexander to stop moving is challenging.

 Max, Derrick and Amethyst

Gratitudes
-that spring has finally arrived
-that we have amazing friends to give us rides or loan us their vehicle while ours is broken down
-that Jake is finished his 2nd year of schooling and I will be picking him up tomorrow

 Emily had another Foods lab to do this week, so we were treated to Butter Dipped Biscuits. They tasted a lot like crazy bread or bread sticks from a pizza joint. Very yummy!!

I was putting groceries away and turned around to get the bag and fold it up and I got a surprise in one of them.

I have become a distributor for Young Living essential oils, so if anyone wants to get some more information or to sign up leave a message for me on the blog or click here. I started using the oils last year and have completely fallen in love with them. So I thought I would give the business side of it a go.

Gratitudes
-That I have a kid that is enjoying cooking and I get to enjoy the food.
-That I found an awesome company and love their products.
-That spring seems to have arrived for good!!

Emily, Matthew and Alexander

An eventful week around here.

First Frank was promoted at work, he is now a supervisor. The only thing that sucks is that he was sent to the other store, the one that is on the other side of town. So as of right now we are driving him, and he is paying us gas money.

Second was Jake was delivered to Calgary on the weekend for the second part of his course. He will be down there for 2 months. He will only have 1 part of his course left after that.

Third was the van decided to start acting up on the way back from Calgary, so back into the shop it went on Monday. It was there for 2-1/2 days. But they got it figured out and it is working well now. It is an old van now so we know to expect stuff to start happening, but it is frustrating none the less.

Lastly is................ Rebekkah's birthday was yesterday, she is officially a teenager. Their house is under major renovation right now, so the birthday party was here at our house. It was a Dr.Who themed party and the kids had a blast.

Captain Jack Harkness and the 11th Doctor

   Emily's attempt at a pinata, she made a Weeping Angel.

 

Gratitudes

-That we had a wonderful birthday party for wonderful girl.

-That we have wonderful friends

-That we have a warm home so we can hide from the cold weather.

I was sick all last week, turned out to have a sinus and throat infection. I have been on antibiotics for a few days now and am now feeling a lot better. Thank goodness.

Tracey, Riley and the boys were down last week and I didn't get a good visit. I was so sick I couldn't even cuddle my grandbabies, because I didn't want to make them sick too. At least I got to see them though.

Yesterday Emily did her foods project for school and she did an amazing job. She had to choose one thing off the list and decided to do 2 instead. She choose to make a chef salad and a dessert called Elaichi Kela or Red Bananas with Cardamom. Everyone loved both dishes and for the first time ever she ate tomatoes and has decided that tomatoes are not completely evil. She said they weren't too bad at all. LOL

Gratitudes:
That I am starting to feel better.
That Emily had so much fun cooking us a meal.

Not a lot has been happening around here this week. Just the basic day to day stuff.

Emily had an art class yesterday and loved it, like always. They were working with chalk pastels and making the Northern Lights.

Every year the Esplanade does a student art show and Emily entered a few of her things again this year. They ended up selecting three of her items for the show, so she is pretty excited about that. The show opens sometime in March and they will be doing the judging towards the end of March.

Gratitudes
1. That the weather has been absolutely beautiful this week.
2. That we were gifted with a complete fajita kit for dinner, I just had to throw it in the slow cooker this morning. It was yummy!!
3. That Tracey, Riley and the boys are coming to visit next week.

Back Again

It's been awhile, but I am back. The last couple years have been crazy and busy with everyday life stuff. So I am just restarting from today!

 Here is a picture of the girls on a hiking trip with Miywasin Youth group last spring.

Gratitudes
1.That it is warming up outside.
2. That we have more than enough.
3. That I have kids that enjoy spending time with us.

 

So this summer the girls have been doing lots of reading and cooking. This jello dessert with strawberries and whipped cream is one of their creations.

 

 

The boys have been working alot trying to get all the money to pay off their grad trip and Frank wants to pay off his drama trip to London also and Jake is working on getting himself a nice set of knives, he has just finished filling out all the paperwork for the apprenticeship and he is pretty excited.

Rob has been working hard and I have been working around the yard and doing some painting at the church.

Emily and I are really excited about going camping next week, the boys have to work, so they will be staying home. Rob is going to come out on the weekend to join us, so the boys are happy to have the house to themselves for the weekend.

Other than that not much going on besides getting stuff read for mom to come out and school to start. We are waiting on some quotes for our bathroom and are hoping it can get down real soon.

I am going to try this again, if I manage to post only once a month I will consider it a triumph. After all it will be more than I managed over the last little while.

Anyways, lots of new stuff happening around here, so I will give you the some of the kid's highlights:

-David moved up to Kitimat, he is working at the A&W up there and taking some security courses.

-Jake got a job as a prep cook at the Medicine Hat Lodge. He is especially excited because they offer apprenticeships too. He is also playing ruby again this year.

-Frank directed his first play last month and did a great job. He also went up to a drama festival in Red Deer and had a lot of fun there. He is still at KFC and still saving up for his trip to London next spring.

-Emily and Rebekkah are just finishing their schoolwork for the year. They took belly dance and piano all year and loved them both. They have a dance recital coming up, they will be performing at the Canada Day celebrations.

That's it for now I will try to post some pictures soon.

Flood

New numbers from Medicine Hat: Peak will be Monday a.m. The report has Saturday at 6 p.m. - 2000 cubic meters per second and Sunday 3 a.m. 3800 and Monday am from 5100 to 6000 c/m/s.

To put things in better perspective, where the waters sit now, we could see them rise 15-18 feet. Here's what happens at different levels (varying water elevations are a factor as well, but this will give you an idea):

3000-4000 cubic meters per second: Water is over banks.
4000-5000 cubic meters per second: Water is just underthe braces of the bridges.
5000+ cubic meters: Bridge closures can be expected.

Right now the river has crested and is running at 5300 c/m/s. All the bridges have closed except the Transcanada and it looks like it will be staying open for now.

Here are some pictures that people have posted on Facebook.

 

Gratitudes
1. That we live on higher ground and won't be affected by the flood.
2. That the city had a few days to prepare and evacuate.
3. That event though they keep predicting rain whn haven't gotten very much.