New choices

We had our appointment on Friday to make all our new selections for the house. What a crazy time it has been with all of it. After a few e-mails to the manager we finally made some new selections. Here they are:

Emily really likes this funky floor so we decided to go with it!! I like it!! This is their shower tile, floor, cupboards and counter.

This is for the master ensuite. We upgraded to ceramic tile on the floor to match the tile around the tub. Just flows better that way!!

This is what we changed to on main floor to. I decided in the end that I really did love the light maple cupboards so that is what we went with. Rob almost had one of those "Your right" moments because this is what he has wanted all along!! We are not getting that hardwood at the bottom...it is to represent what colour the fireplace and the railings will be. The ceramic tile is for the front hall. The vinyl is the kitchen.

I LOVE what we ended up with. The change was actually better for us as we like the new choices much better!!!

Really?????

We got an e-mail today from our builder saying that they are changing cabinet companies. We have to pick everything again!!!!!!! They are going to pick out what they think is the best match to what we had picked...but if I don't like it, we have to pick again. We are a little stressed about it. We upgraded a few things like our railings and fireplace to match the cabinets. Hopefully with the new company they can do that too!!! Too stressful!!!!

Fall

Some updates on us:

*our foundation is in. We are very excited to see some progress instead of an empty field!!

*Emily joined the swim team and seems to be doing well.

*she is also trying out for the cheer leading squad.

*Noah joined the junior band at school...but doesn't really like it.

*Rob is starting a new job on Monday. It is with the federal govt. This means no more overtime or over night working for him YAY!!! We are excited to get his time back!!!

*I have done about 50% of my Christmas shopping. I did most of that on line!

*Emily turns 14 in 6 days. I cannot believe that I have a 14 year old!!

*I am excited to meet Christina and Steve's baby soon!!

*I need to start packing and painting this house!

Final Choices

We had our appointment yesterday and this is what we decided on.
This is the kitchen cupboards, counter, vinyl floor, carpet, railings and front hall tile.


This is the master ensuite.

This is the kids bathroom.

Now we just need it to be built!!! They did tell us that they expect foundation to be in in the next 3 weeks!! So exciting!! We asked also about closing dates and they are right on track for us to be in on time!!!!

Think we have it

I think we have made our final choices. I think!! I am still not convinced about the ceramic tile that goes in the front hall (shown on the left under the railings). We might have to go back in today and look at that again. Our appointment is Wednesday to tell them our choices. I honestly want this part over with so that we can just enjoy the rest of the process!

can't decide

I thought I had made my mind up and had picked the colour of the cabinets in the first picture...but I have always really liked the colour in the second picture. I don't want to regret the decision...this is something that is not easy to change later!
Which do you like?

choices for the new house

Rob and I have been going to the design center almost every Sunday to start picking the things for our new house. We have our first appointment tomorrow. This is our structure appointment. We get to pick things like railings, fireplace, doors and windows, hood fan options, home theater packages, and many many more!! We are going with mostly standard things but still have a few choices to make. We will have to sit down tonight and finalize that!
We should have another appointment in 2 weeks. This will be for picking kitchen and bathrooms cupboards, floors, counters etc. Here are a few pics pf the choices we made. Let me know what you think!



This is the kids bathroom:
This is our bathroom:

This is for the main floor. The ceramic tile on the left is for the front foyer and powder room. The carpet is for the whole house (minus bathrooms, kitchen and laundry room). We will put in hard wood floors at a later date. The vinyl is for the kitchen and those are the kitchen cupboards and counters.

We had originally picked chocolate brown for the cupboards but as you can see we have gone the opposite direction and picked a light maple cupboard. This is more Rob and my style.

I am getting very excited to see my house. We have a paved road now and foundations should be going in within the month. They are right on schedule which we are glad about!! Only 9 months to go!!!!

2 graduations and a birthday

Noah's birthday was this past Saturday. I cannot believe my baby is 11. Where has the time gone? He told me on his birthday that he will always be my little boy...it was cute!! He did not want a big party this year but choose to go go-carting with some friends of ours...Steve and Christina and their boys Josh and Jonah. It was Christina's birthday too. It was fun!!



This is Noah on his birthday...he has new glasses here too!

Noah graduated grade 5 this year and is off to middle school in the fall. This is him the day of the ceremony. He is pretty nervous about the new school, but I think he will do really well!!!

Emily graduated grade 8 the same week. I cannot believe she will be in high school in the fall!!! SCARY!!!! This is her and Rob when we took her out for a celebration lunch after her ceremony.

This is her getting her certificate. She looked very lovely!!!!!

been awhile

I am a terrible blogger. I never remember to update it...but love reading other people's updates. Anyway, here are a few things going on on with us.

*1 year from today we get our new house. I CAN"T WAIT!!!!!!

*we are going up to Lac L'Achigan this weekend to help fix some cabins. I have no experience with this....hope I can help!!!

*I need a new bike. I am riding Rob's old one that is so rusty it squeaked all through our bike ride on Sunday...very embarrassing!

*Noah is going to turn 11 next month...I feel really old!

*Emily's grade 8 graduation is coming soon. We went a bought her a really pretty dress. We are also hosting a grad party for her here...20 13/14 year olds will be here!!

*Emily is going to Toronto for her grade 8 trip next Wednesday.

*Noah's hockey team...the Pittsburg Penguins are going to the finals again...I wonder if they can pull it off this year?

*I am so happy for our friends Steve and Christina who are having a baby!!! I can't wait to meet him or her!!

*I am glad it is not me having another baby!! :)

*I have not planted a thing in my garden yet

That's all I can think of for now!!

saying good-bye

Our church has decided to move to a different location. We are moving to a area highly populated with young families. Our hope is that we can grow our church family. We were struggling in the location we were in. Today was a day for "Celebrating Woodroffe". There were pics set up from the past 40 years and it was fun to look back. We had a praise service this afternoon to celebrate all that went on at Woodroffe over the years. We had a lot of fun. I am a little sad today because this is the church where I grew up and where we were married. There are a lot of great memories in this building. But we were reminded today that the church is not the building but about the people in it!! We need to remember this next week when we start our journey in a school for the next few years. I am thankful for all the memories that I have and look forward to all the memories we are going to make!!!!

NEW HOUSE!!!!!

Rob and I have finally done it...we bought a new house!!!!! When we bought the house we are in now 5 years ago, we knew that when it was time to renew the mortgage that we wanted something better. Our main goal was to be debt free (besides the mortgage) before we could buy another. We made that goal reality this January!!!
We debated back and forth about going brand new or buying resale and decided to go with new. This will hopefully be the last house for a long time and I really wanted the experience of picking everything!! The only downfall is the long wait. We do not get possession of our house until May 27th 2010. But this is our dream house, so we were willing to do that!! It also gives us time to save for closing fees, lawyers and taxes!!
The floor plans below are for our house. It is the Highwood model with Mattamy homes. On the second floor where you see the computer loft we opted for a 4th bedroom instead. It changes things slightly but this will give you a good idea.
Needless to say we are very excited. So are the kids!! We look forward to watching things go up over the next months. I will be taking tons of pictures that will no doubt end up here!!

Sad day!

I was so sad to find out yesterday that the Dining hall at Lac L'Achigan had caught on fire. They are still investigating what happened. I have so many memories from there as a kid. Many music camps and then working there for the summers. New memories were made last summer when we started a music camp again after 15 years. No one knows yet how this will affect this summers camping season. I am praying that it will all work out so we can run camps again!
The first picture is of the dining hall but the fire was actually at the other end. You can see some of the damage in the second picture.

comic for the day

Mean Moms

I got this in a e-mail and thought it was worth sharing!

Mean Moms

Someday when my children are old enough to
understand the logic that motivates a parent,
I will tell them, as my Mean Mom told me:
I loved you enough to ask where you were going,
with whom, and what time you would be home.
I loved you enough to be silent and let you
discover that your new best friend was a creep.
I loved you enough to stand over you for
two hours while you cleaned your room,
a job that should have taken 15 minutes.
I loved you enough to let you see anger,
disappointment, and tears in my eyes. Children
must learn that their parents aren't perfect..
I loved you enough to let you assume the
responsibility for your actions even when the
penalties were so harsh they almost broke my heart.
But most of all, I loved you enough to say
NO when I knew you would hate me for it.
Those were the most difficult battles of all.
I'm glad I won them, because in the end you won, too.
And someday when your children are old enough to
understand the logic that motivates parents, you will tell them.

Was your Mom mean?

I know mine was.
We had the meanest mother in the whole world!
While other kids ate candy for breakfast,
we had to have cereal, eggs, and toast.
When others had a Pepsi and a Twinkie for lunch,
we had to eat sandwiches.
And you can guess our mother fixed us a dinner that was
different from what other kids had, too.
Mother insisted on knowing where we were at all times.
You'd think we were convicts in a prison.
She had to know who our friends were
and what we were doing with them.
She insisted that if we said we
would be gone for an hour, we would be gone for an hour or less.
We were ashamed to admit it,
but she had the nerve to break
the Child Labor Laws by making us work.
We had to wash the dishes, make the beds,
learn to cook, vacuum the floor, do laundry,
empty the trash and all sorts of cruel jobs.
I think she would lie awake at night
thinking of more things for us to do.
She always insisted on us telling the truth,
the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
By the time we were teenagers,
she could read our minds
and had eyes in the back of her head.
Then, life was really tough!
Mother wouldn't let our friends just honk
the horn when they drove up
They had to come up to the door
so she could meet them.
While everyone else could date
when they were 12 or 13,
we had to wait until we were 16.
Because of our mother we missed out
on lots of things other kids experienced.
None of us have ever
been caught shoplifting, vandalizing other's
property or ever arrested for any crime.
It was all her fault.
Now that we have left home, we are all educated, honest adults.
We are doing our best to be mean parents just like Mom was.
I think that is what's wrong with the world today.
It just doesn't have enough mean moms!

Emily's braces

This was Emily before she got her braces on in November 2007.

This was the day she got them on.

This is today just before we left to get them off.

This is Kim making the mold to make her retainer.

This is Emily after she got her braces off. She is actually chewing her first piece of gum in over a year here!!! She looks great! She was supposed to have her braces on for another 4-6 months...but her teeth have moved so well that she got them off early!! We still have to pay for another 5 months unfortunately!!!!

You look great Emily!!!!

LOST is back...FINALLY!!!

Rob and I were pretty pumped last night to watch the season premiere of LOST!!!! It had ended for the season last May and it has been a long wait to get some answers. Typical of LOST, we did get some answers but a whole new set of questions came!! It looks like it will be a good season!!!

COLD!!!!!!!

It is freezing here today. They are saying -38 with the windchill! BRRRRRRR. I think I am going to drive the boys over to school instead of making them walk!

Christmas pics

Noah reading his new Pokemon book

Playing the game of Life with my Dad

Fibi had a taste of turkey and then parked herself here while Rob carved the rest.

Playing games

Christmas table

Christmas 2008

This Christmas was very nice. There were only 6 of us on Christmas morning. I was quiet and relaxing (we did miss our Toronto relatives though!!) We got up and Emily and Noah opened their main gifts from us. We got out some food after that...some muffins and fruit to eat while we opened the rest of the gifts. In our family we watch everyone open their presets in stead of doing it all at once. This means it takes awhile!! We were opening until after 11:00!! We had a bacon and egg breakfast after that!! It was delicious!!

We played some games in the afternoon smelling the turkey while we played. We got the kids the electronic game of Life as our family game this year. I think we played 3 games that afternoon!! We ate turkey dinner around 6:00. Everything turned out really well!! I was proud of myself. We enjoyed a birthday cake for Jesus for dessert! That is a family tradition.

Overall it was a lovely Christmas. I think my kids are finally learning that Christmas is not about how many gifts you can get and getting everything that you want. They were very thankful this year and took the time to appreciate everything that they got. I am glad they are finally getting that!!