ELEVEN?!?!?!?!?

Sunday November 19th, 1995 at 5:48 pm our beautiful baby girl was born. She weighed 5 lbs, 15 oz. She was tiny but she demanded control the minute she was born. Her eyes were wide open and looked up at me with attitude right from the start. She was beautiful but a little demanding at the beginning. She refused to eat...I tried to nurse her but she wanted nothing to do with it. She ate nothing for the first 5 days of her life. We finally gave up after her loosing so much weight (and she wasn't big to start with!) and gave her a bottle...she drained that pretty quick. She also had a mild case of colic and only slept for 20 min at a time some days and nights!! But how could we not love her....she was our baby girl!!!

I cannot believe it has already been 11 years. time is going very fast. I miss my kids being little!! I do enjoy things with Emily now too though. She likes to go shopping and we have good conversations about life. She is still young enough that she likes to tell me her secrets and dreams...I like that! She still likes to be tucked in at night and have a cuddle every now and then...I like that too!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EMILY

I will post about her party later...we had fun!

Shout

We had a great weekend. Friday night was spent doing homework with the kids. We knew we had a busy weekend so we wanted to get it out of the way. Noah had gone to a friends after school...he was not impressed to come home and do homework!
On Saturday the kids went to Jr. Youth Councils in Brockville. Dana picked them up at 8:30 and then we had the whole day to ourselves. We took Mom and Dad to Lone Star for Mom's birthday. It was a great meal!
On Sunday we had a Youth Service at church. Here is a picture of the kids singing with Shout. Emily is the first one of the row on the left side...yellow shirt. Noah is 3rd from start of the row on the right...red shirt.

LOST

All I can say about last night's episode is WOW!!!. I am very disappointed that they are taking it off the air for 3 months but they did not disappoint with last night's show. Read about it here. It comes back on in Febraury with 16 new episodes. I can't wait!

Good movie

We decided to take the kids to the theater tonight...cheap night on Tuesdays. We saw Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause. We highly recommend it. We are big fans of 1 and 2 as well. The kids loved it. If you get a chance...you should go!
Another good thing...on Tuesdays they have a special. You pay $8.95 each and that includes your ticket as well as a popcorn and drink...not a small either...they were huge! (Noah had to pee twice...Emily once!)
It was a fun night!! The kids promised they would not be grumpy tomorrow either!! Here's hoping!

Very Sad

I find this time of year slightly depressing. I cleaned out my garden recently to get it ready for winter. I cut down all the plants that will regrow next year and threw out all the ones that won't. I took all the plant stands and decorations and put them all in the shed. I took down the decorative fence and threw it out ( I want stones put in next year). It looks...yucky in the front of my house. Those that know me, know that I love to garden and love my plants. I still have 16 plants in the house...I know, a little extreme...but they keep me happy until spring!

Trick or Treat

Both kids costumes from the summer(while camping) were great but not very good for trick or treating in the potential rain and with it being cold. So last minute costumes were thought of. Noah was Scooby-Doo 2 years ago and Emily decided to be a Sens player. She raided Rob's hockey bag and borrowed my jersey. I was very proud!!! I told her I could knock out a tooth and she could be Dany Heatley but she decided to be Daniel Alfredsson and keep her teeth.
Even though Noah was sick they had fun and got tons of goodies!!

Noah

So..I am standing at the schol yesterday waiting for kids. I am talking to the other moms like usual...one of them mentions that 2 kids in her sons class have scarlett fever. She went on to say that it started with a high fever and then a really sore throat....and then they got a rash on thier tummies and backs. She asked about Noah bing sick. I told her with onfidence that Noah didn't have that...he just had a cold. I head home and decide to check Noah's chest just to make myself feel better. Guess what I found...A RASH!!!!
So, after all the daycare kids leave we head over to the new clinic in Barrhaven...not sure what the wait will be...it is Halloween after all. Turns out we were the only ones in the place. The doctor (who had to be 80) checks Noah out and declares that he has Strep Throat. For those of you that knew me growig up will remember that I used to get Strep Throat every winter. He was put on antibiotics and is not allowed back at school until the rash disappears..he thinks probably Monday.
his throat is still really sore but with a full day of antibiotics today he should feelmuch better by tonight. the fever has broken so that's good!!!
Hopefully he will feel better soon.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!

Fever

Noah had a fever yesturday of 103. We keep giving him advil and it comes down but as soon as the advil wears off it goes back up. He is home from school today. The fever is down right now and it has been four hours since advil so maybe it has broken!! He is in his jammies and playing lego in his room. I hate it when he is sick. Excpet that he turns into a cuddly boy when he is sick. It is really the only time I get good cuddles these days! I love Noah cuddles!!

Colds

All of the kids are doing this today...and needing me to wipe thier nose every 5 seconds...
I think I will need a lot of this today!!!!

NICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sens 7- Leafs 2
GO SENS GO!!!

LOST

LOST was awesome last night. To find out what happened last night go here. The preview for the next 2 weeks look amazing. I can't wait!

And,I just want to add...GO SENS GO. Beat those stinky Leafs again tonight!!!!!!!!

Stuff

*the sens won last night...against the leafs...6-2
*we play them again on Thursday
*where has the month of October gone????
*2 months today is Christmas
*Rob started a new job last week...at a company called Lixar
*I am very proud of him for starting a new job! Congratulations Rob!!!
*Grace (daycare) has finaly stopped crying all day long!!
*Emily came home yesterday and said she actually does need a costume for school (she told me last week she only had to wear orange and black). Now we need to come up with a make at home costume (it cannot be store bought)
*Noah has to wear his costume Friday. We also get to go to a school dance with Noah Friday night. He was upset because he did not have a date......Are you kidding me??????
*I found a kids channel during the day that shows Curious George cartoons...it is awesome!
*to date I have knit more then 25 dishclothes and a few other surprises for Christmas
*I love knitting!!!!
*it helps ease my stress
*I have a lot of stress right now
*I am trying not to worry about things...not going so well

that is all for now

Imagine

Girls Night!

Emily and I are going with Dana and Baylie to the Sens game tonight. GIRLS NIGHT!!
We should have a lot of fun!
GO SENS GO!!!

Confused

Last night's episode of Lost was weird and creepy but still really awesome!!!!!! There was a lot of information given last night but it still explained nothing. We are even more confused now then before. But I like that because it leaves us wanting to see next weeks episode!! I LOVE this show.

very proud!

Emily came home from school yesterday with a huge smile on her face. She said she had 2 good things happen to her. First she was happy to find the note I left in her luch bag telling her that I loved her. Right after she read that the teacher handed her a note for us. The note said that she was being nominated for student of the week at her school. Her teacher nominated her for her hard work and that she is always willing to try!! She was so proud of her self and we are very proud of her as well. Many of you know how much she struggled last year so this is a nice change in pace. I can't remember a day she came home last year with a smile or in a good mood. We had a stressful year last year. This year is going much better. She is even going to a workshop at lunch (she went all on her own) to help with her organization skills.
Her name gets put in a ballot box now and once a week they pick a name out to be the student o the week. Once your name goes in it will not come back out until you are picked. She can't wait for her turn to be that student!!!
Good job Emily!!

Weekend

We had a good but very busy weekend. On Friday night we went and helped Steve and Christina start thier move. There new house is very nice and they are very excited to finally be in thier own house!! We didn't get home until midnight so I was pretty tired! (Friday afternoon had been spent cleaning the house because 2 of my daycare kids had head lice...I had to vacum a lot of my house!!!! It is all gone now...thier heads are clear too)
Saturday morning I picked up my Mom and went to pick up some things for my Dad's 60th birthday party. Then we went to the church to set up. My Mom had invited 50 people to this party...and they were all coming!
I went to the mall after this to get Noah some new pants...he is growing so much that none of his pants fit. I was also able to find myself some good stuff. Brown pants, brown cordoroy skirt and an orange fleece sweater. I got Rob a new shirt as well. I came home after this and got everyone ready and then headed to the party. We had a lot of fun. Dad knew that there was gong to be something but not that many people. We also did some speeches...Emily and Noah wrote one themselves and said it. It was pretty cute! Rob was the MC for the evening and was pretty funny!! It was a good night overall but I was exhausted by 9pm and wanted to go to bed!!
On Sunday Rob had to go to Kemptville after church for a band concert. The kids and I did groceries and then came home and they wanted to watch Star Wars...so I put that in and we all snuggled uner a blanket and I had an awesome nap!!! I love Sunday afternoon naps snuggling with my kids!!!
I will post some pictures of my Dad's party when I get some.

AHHHHHHHHHH

I had to scrape the van this morning. I am NOT ready for winter. I even turned the heat on! "sigh". I want summer back!!

Lost

Another new episode tonight!

Happy Birthday Dad!

It is my Dad's 60th birthday today!!!
Dad, I love you very much and I am so glad that you are my Dad!!!!
Happy Birthday
Melissa

Good Turkey

We had a great weekend. Saturday morning we woke up to the phone ringing. It was Peter and Loretta...they invited us out for breakfast. Good meal...good friends!! The rest of the day was spent doing errands..gorceries etc. We had family bible study again that evening...had a good session.
Sunday, we went to church and then to Mom and Dad's for lunch. After lunch we went for a walk in Gatineau Park to see all the beautiful colours. It was fun. Then we came and got the turkey dinner ready...it was DELICIOUS!!! I love turkey dinner. The turkey, stuffing and whipped potatoes.....yummy!!
We had a good game of "Deal or No Deal" the electronic version. A good game for the family. We also watched the Amazing Race. What could be better?
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Being Thankful

It is the time of year to be thankful. I am thankful for so many things. Here are a few:
*Rob, Emily and Noah
*both our extended families
*my parents
*my mother in law
*our friends
*our church
*my job
*Rob's new job
*our home
*that we have food to eat everyday!
*we are all healthy
*both my kids have good teachers this year
*that I have a green thumb!
*that it is Friday before a long weekend!!!!!
*that I can sleep in tomorrow
*I will be thankful that Rob makes it home safely today (he had to fly to New York for work today)

I am sure that I am thankful for more. Maybe I will post more later. Right now I am thankful that all the kids here are sleeping and I am going to knit!!

OUCH

Oh Dear...not good
Leafs 6 - Sens 0
OUCH!!!!!!

First game of the season

Hockey is back!!!! The Ottawa Senators had thier first game of the regular season last night against the
Toronto Maple Leafs. Great game!!!!!! (although we did take some time off from it to watch the awesome premiere of LOST!!!) The Sens won 4-1!!!!!
Go Sens Go!!

funny again

funny

TONIGHT!!

Tonight...9:00pm ...channel 7

Footprints

Footprints in the Sand - The Poem
by Mary Stevenson

One night a man had a dream. He dreamed
he was walking along the beach with the LORD.

Across the sky flashed scenes from his life.
For each scene he noticed two sets of
footprints in the sand: one belonging
to him, and the other to the LORD.

When the last scene of his life flashed before him,
he looked back at the footprints in the sand.

He noticed that many times along the path of
his life there was only one set of footprints.

He also noticed that it happened at the very
lowest and saddest times in his life.

This really bothered him and he
questioned the LORD about it:

"LORD, you said that once I decided to follow
you, you'd walk with me all the way.
But I have noticed that during the most
troublesome times in my life,
there is only one set of footprints.
I don't understand why when
I needed you most you would leave me."

The LORD replied:

"My son, my precious child,
I love you and I would never leave you.
During your times of trial and suffering,
when you see only one set of footprints,
it was then that I carried you."

Busy Weekend

This weekend was very busy and I feel more tired now then rested. Friday was a really long day. I had a new daycare child start and she is having a little seperation anxiety. She screamed all day (except for her 2 hour nap...thank goodness). It made for a really long day. Then we had a girls night at Jodie's house on Friday night. We ate a lot of food that was not good for us and had some good conversation. We had a lot of fun. On Saturday I will have to admit that Rob and I slept until 10:30 am. It was very nice. Emily had a eye doctors appointment and then we did groceries and other errands.
A new bible study was started at the church for young families. We went to that on Saturday night. I think we are really going to enjoy it.
Sunday was the usual busyiness...plus it was youth night at 4:00 pm. Both kids were singing in Shout. They did a great job.
Now I am watching the Amazing Race and then I am going to bed!! Get myself ready to start another busy week!

5 more days!!!!!

Friends

Friends

A friend is someone we turn to
when our spirits need a lift.
A friend is someone we treasure
for our friendship is a gift.
A friend is someone who fills our lives
with beauty, joy, and grace.
And makes the whole world we live in
a better and happier place.

- Jean Kyler McManus -

tonight

It's cold

My kids asked for mittens to wear to school today. I cannot believe it is already time for mittens. It is very chilly on our way to school. I miss summer already!

Good Weekend

We had a nice relaxing weekend, which was nice for a change. Friday night there was a meeting at the church about the Treasure Principle. This will be the theme at the church over the next 6 weeks. We are starting a bible study for young families and this will be the theme for that as well.
On Saturday, Rob went and helped Jason and Heather move so I took the time to clean the bedrooms upstairs. I have a new 1 year old starting this week and I needed to clean out an area to put the playpen in Noah's room. I went through all his clothes and took all his too small stuff (yes he did grow this year!!) and bagged it up. I did the smae in my closet and bedroom. Tidied up some and packed away some stuff that I will never wear again. It feels good to clean out some stuff! In Emily's room we took apart her bunkbed (she decided that is wasn't girly enough) and took it to my parents and got the single bed from there and set it up in her room. She is right...it looks more gilry now!!
Sunday was the ususal routine...church. After church we came home and made lunch. Remind me later and I will tell you how I wrecked my stove while cooking lunch!
Anyway...it was a nice family weekend...I like those!

Excellent

Both shows were amazing last night. I will admit that I cried through the second half of ER. I have been watching that show since the beginning and some seasons are better then others. Last nights was the best premiere they have ever had!! I cannot wait to see what happens next week. Anyone else enjoy it?

2 premieres

2 of my favorite shows premiere tonight. Grey's Anatomy and ER. Can't wait!

Rally Day

It was Rally Day at the corps on Saturday. It was a great day. The weather co-operated and it was a nice sunny day. We had a tunk tank, batting cage, jumpy castle and cottoton candy...what else could you ask for? The worship team sang a few sets and a good crowd came out. Well done everyone!

12 years

Happy Anniversary Rob! I cannot believe that it has been 12 years. We have stuck together, gotten each other through some tough times, had a lot of great times too!! We have 2 wonderful children and are a very happy family. Thanks for putting up with me for 12 years. I love you!!
Melissa

update

I took Noah to Shout tonight and he seemed ok. He admitted to me after that he gets really nervous when the group sings in church or anywhere other then practice. I said I understood that nad that we could pray more about it. He said sure and that he would try and stay and see how it goes.

Thanks Ian for your comment. Even though you were in Toronto and we didn't see each other very often, I miss you more now. You and Lauren are in ours and especially the kids prayers every night. Emily prays for you and Lauren before anyone else.

kids

Emily and Noah are both doing really well in school so far. I know it is still early, but last year at this time we already knew Emily was not going to have a good year. This year is totally different. She comes home with a smile on her face everyday (which is very nice to see). She is liking all her classes and made some good friends. 2 in particular are Emily and Mallory. She is really enjoying her music class and likes the fact that she is ahead of eveyone else. She is practicing every night to stay that way!!
Noah is doing well too. He has lots of friends...in particular Harrison and Megan. He has had homework already and is handling it really well. He was very excited yesterday because Star Wars Lego 2 came out yesturday and he has been waiting about 6 months for it to come. He was in his glory last night.
Speaking of Noah, he has us a little worried at the moment. He is involved in a group at church called Shout ( it is like singing company for all you old Salvationists) and last year he had a great time there. This year however he does not want to go. He claims his tummy hurts at every practice. Anyway, we are encouraging him to go to a few rehearsals to see how he feels but he is adament that he does not want to go. Please pray for him to get over what ever it is he is going through.
Thanks

very proud of myself

I decided this year to plant a few seeds in my garden instead of just flowers. I did not get my hopes up for them to grow. Well, to my surprise they did grow and they are doing well. The only problem I am having is the squirrels are pulling them down to get the sunflower seeds out of them.

First day went well

The kids had a great first day of school. Noah went into grade 3. His teacher is Mrs. Ladman and she seems very nice. He is in the same class as his best friend Harrison so he was happy. Emily went into grade 6 at a new school. Her teacher is Ms. Heavenor. She is in middle school now. She was pretty nervous about it. She has to take a school bus now too...which made her nervous as well. She made it there fine (she did make me go to the bus stop 20 min early so she wouldn't miss it!!). She made some new friends right away...which is what we were hoping for (after her troubles with friends last year). She said she only got lost once...going to the bathroom...but otherwise she did great. They both came home with all good things to say. We are hoping for a good year for both of them!!!!

Wet

So we got a little wet on the weekend. The rain started about 3:00 Saturday afternoon. We prepped the kids that Halloween might be cancelled. Well...the rain stopped long enough for the kids to do the parade (and they both won first place!!!!!) and do some trick or treating. Then it downpoured!! We ended up putting the kids in the van at minight because the tent was leaking and no sign of the rain letting up. We went back on Sunday and it was just drizzling so we stayed. The rain stopped that night and we had a great campfire. We had fun even though we were wet and cold!!
Here are some pics of the costumes:

Very Sad!

Steve Irwin: The Crocodile Hunter died yesterday. Very Very sad! His children are only 8 and almost 3. Read more here
Please keep his wife and children in your prayers during this tough time!

It's working

Keep praying eveyone...the rain looks like it will hold off for Saturday now but is supposed to come on Sunday. Let's keep praying that it doesn't come until Monday!!! If it holds off Saturday then the kids can still have Halloween. YAY!!!!
Melissa

RAIN!!

ok...I just checked the weather and they are now calling for rain all day Saturday and all day Sunday. Not cool when we are camping. Let's all start praying for better weather for the weekend!!!
Mel

School Supplies

Wow...is anyone else astonished on how much it costs to get your kids ready for shcool? It costs a fortune. What bothers me is that I have to send 25 pencils for Noah. Do you really think that he is using 25 pencils?? No...I am suppling enough for all the parents that do not supply thier kids with pencils!! The other thing I do not understand is 3 boxes of large ziploc bags. THREE!!!! I don't even know what they are for!!!
Anyway...just a little rant.
Melissa

Bye James

My favorite player on Big Brother, James, was voted out last Thursday. Now I want Mike Boogie to win. As long as it is not Will!!!!!
If you watch...who do you want to win?

Star Wars

I have come to the conclusion over the weekend that my son is OBSESSED with Star Wars. It is all he talks about. He plays it on his game cube, his game boy, he has watched all the movies and could recite any line or part to you. He is a star wars freak. He is going to turn into one of those guys that buys the $5000 Darth costume just because it is cool!! Oh Dear!!!!

Cold

I caught Rob's cold and I am not happy about it!!!
Melissa

Good week so far

The kids have been surprisingly good this week. I was worried because after being home for 2 weeks with thier parents they tend to forget the rules and act out a little more when they get back. I am still waiting for that to happen.

Not much is new around here. I am trying to get the kids back on an earlier bed time so that in 2 weeks when we are back in school it won't be a huge shock. It isn't going well though. Last night it was still 9:15 before we got them tucked in. Oh well!!

We are going camping for Labour Day weekend. Where we go they have Halloween for the kids on Saturday night. My kids have learned that the homemade costumes are the ones that win prizes. Last year Emily was grapes and she won second prize. This year Noah is an Oreo cookie and Emily is going to be a tub with a shower on it. I will post pictures when we finish them.

I am excited because I don't have to cook dinner tonight. We are having dinner at our friends Glenn and Dana's. Noah is sleeping over there and Baylie (Emily's friend) is coming here. Should be fun.

Anyway...that's all for now!

holiday pictures

This is the view from the deck of the cottage we stayed at.

Rob on water skis for the first time.



The kids on Wasaga Beach



Chuck E. Cheese's

Back to work

Both Rob and I are back at work today..(sigh). We had a great break. Thank you Rob for a great holiday...and for grouting the floors!!!!
I must admit that I missed the kids. It will be nice to get back into routine. I even got up this morning and ran on the treadmill. I wonder how long that will last??
Melissa

We're Back

We have made it home from our trip. We had a GREAT time. I admit though it was really good to sleep in our own bed last night!!!!!
The trip started off going to a cottage of some friends of ours...Ken and Melody Bailey. They have a cottage just outside Huntsville...right on a lake. It was gorgeous. It was also very relaxing. I got to sit on the deck on a lounge chair...practicing my new hobby...knitting...while the kids swam in the lake all day. They had a blast. They swam and played in the water all day. Rob went water skiing for the first time. He did a great job. Emily and Rob went on the tube behind the boat and then Rob tried it solo. He did great. His dismount was even better!!. A full cartwheel in mid air!!! Besides forgetting sunscreen for Noah ( he was burnt to a crisp!!) and Noah getting stung by a bee the last day, we had a lot of fun.
After the cottage we went to Wasaga Beach. We stayed in a dump of a hotel...the people above us decided to jump off thier beds until 1:00 am. The next day was spent on the beach building sand castles. It as a little chilly...we wore sweatshits all day...but the kids still played in the waves and swam a little. We had a good day.
We went to Rob's sisters from there to spend some family time. We went to the trailer, went to hurch...Rob got to play in the band!...took the kids swimming and spent some good quality time with Rob's family.
We left there Monday morning and still had not decided what to for the day but the weather decided for us...rain!! So we asked the kids where they wanted to go...Noah's pick and apparently dream was Chucky Cheese's. We spent about 4 hours there and the kids had a lot of fun. A good time if you are thinking of going!!
From there we drove to Ian and Lauren's. They are moving to Winnipeg in a few weeks and this was our last chance to spend some time with them before they left. We spent the night there and said our good-byes in the morning. It was hard knowing we would not see them for awhile. They will be missed by all of us!!
From there we drove home!!
Today and the rest of the week will be spent finishing our floor project.
I will post some pictures of the trip soon!

Vacation

We are leaving today for a few days so I probably won't be able to post until we get back. I will update you on our trip when we return. Have a great week!!
Melissa

WOO HOO

YAY!!!!
I am now officially on holidays!!!!!
Melissa

7.5 hours to go

I am almost on holidays!!!!

Your opinion

We are trying to decide what to do on our holidays. Do you think we should go to Wonderland (been there before) or to Ontario Place (never been there). We can't decide which one to go to. Ontarion Place is cheaper but we know what to expect out of Wonderland. Although my neighbour said her family liked Ontario Place better.
What do you think?
Melissa

4 MORE DAYS!!

4 more days and then I am on holidays. I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!
Melissa