Re-Cap!

It has has been awhile since I have written anything. Once again, as everyone says life is 'flying by.' So much has happened in this past month, so here is a quick re-cap. We went to Calgary at the beginning of November for a few weeks for my little brothers wedding. (I still can't believe he's married... bought a house, and a dog!)  We flew back for the first time and it was WONDERFUL. 18 hours of driving vs. 1 hour of flying... um yes please. The girls loved flying on the airplane and were very well behaved. We rented a car in Calgary so we could come and go as we pleased. We spent the first few days at my sister's house and it was so fun to be there. It was our first time sleeping at their place as usually we sleep at my families. We arrived the day before Halloween so we carved pumpkins together and got the kids ready together. That was so special as we haven't had a Halloween together with our kids yet. However it WAS FREEZING outside and all the kids had to bundle up in snowsuits under their costumes... Oh the memories! I don't miss the freezing Calgary air, that is for sure!

We also got to go see my grandma in her new home. She moved from her Condo to this beautiful Seniors facility in the south of Calgary. It was so special to see her new place and have a nice visit. She is 92 years old and has lived alone for a long time, so it is comforting knowing she is with many others in a safe place. Grandma totally spoiled her great-grandchildren, she had chocolates and cookies and then when she took us on the tour of the facility (equipped with libraries, a theater and a gourmet dining area!) she got the girls both an ice cream cone! It was a very special visit!

Friday night was the rehearsal and my mom put on a FANTASTIC meal at her house for over 25 people... she is amazing!

Both the girls were flower girls with their cousin Ella and their cousin Max was the ring bearer. Uncle Joel had to hold a box of raisins at the front of the room to get Max to walk up the aisle, it was pretty cute!!! The girls did amazing and the wedding was beautiful. Nikayla looked amazing, and my brother looked so grown up and handsome! The reception was at Priddis greens and was the most beautiful reception facility I have seen, and we have been to A LOT of weddings. All in all it was a fantastic day, and we were so thankful and blessed to have been a part of it.

We had majority of the girls that I went to El Salvador with. It was a very neat little reunion and so good to see all those beautiful ladies!

The following day we headed to my parents home and spent a few days there. It felt quick, but we still got in some fun times. We went to the zoo one day and spent the ENTIRE day walking around, the highlight definitely being the new penguin display. 

We also spent time with Steve's family and checked out the new science center with them, but were a bit disappointed, I definitely liked the old one way better!

The whole family came out on Saturday and it felt a lot like Christmas as my in-laws cooked a big turkey dinner and it was so nice having the family together.

I sure have learned to cherish these big family get together's as they are so few and far apart and both our families are growing so big.

When we got home, it was nice getting back into routine. Danika was happy to be back at school, she is doing very well. We got her first report card back and there are a few areas that we still need to work on. She is in a letter help class every day of the week and she really enjoys it as they get to play on i-pads. She is still quite behind on where she should be reading, so that is something we are working on every day. Her teacher has noticed her enthusiasm for school and said that Danika "Loves to learn!" She has such a passion for reading right now and is working really hard on sounding out words, and has memorized many of the 'site words,' Steve and I are both very proud of her!

I am now 27 weeks along in my pregnancy so almost 7 months! I have been feeling great, not too many complaints. And the baby is so active... I think she may be a gymnast! I have also started feeling the constant rhythm of hiccups! But I feel quite big. I have never been pregnant in the winter before so I am finding it tough to fit into clothes and none of my coats do up anymore! But thankfully my sister gave me a bunch of maternity clothes and a big, thick coat for winter... thanks sis! Love you... and I will be saving everything for you... just in case! ;)

Adessa is growing so much. She is such a big girl now. Our days spent at home are very enjoyable and I look forward to them. She LOVES puzzles, colouring and games and can spend long stretches of time doing them. She is such a smart little girl. She is very much looking forward to meeting her new little sister (I don't think I have mentioned that yet... but we found out we are having baby girl #3!!!) The other day she told me she was going to teach the baby to ride her bike, and she would just hold her on her lap! AH... I'm sure Adessa will be very helpful!!!

In-Laws Come for a Visit!

Grandma and Grandpa came down for the Thanksgiving weekend and we were blessed continually by their love and generosity. It was such a special visit and we are so thankful for them!

They arrived late Saturday night and the girls stayed up to sing Grandma 'Happy Birthday!' We had birthday cake and there were lots of hugs and kisses. It was so nice to celebrate with them!

My grandma who is 93 just recently moved into a seniors home and did some major downsizing. She asked all the family whether or not they wanted her china... and no one did. But I sure was ecstatic to have it. Tom and Patrice brought it down with them, and I am so blessed to have it. It is so beautiful, such a simple, timeless design, that I will cherish forever. We had Thanksgiving and I was blessed to set the table with the 'good china' and the beautiful white table cloth grandma gave me. She has always been such a special, Godly woman in my life and has blessed our family in so many ways, including praying for us daily. And I feel so blessed to have her china! 

We were brought 2 special items, one being the china and the other being a grandfather clock. Steve's Grandpa (Tom's dad) built the grandfather clock with one of his buddies when they were in their 70's and when he passed away he left it to Steve in his will. Steve's dad brought it out and helped Steve set it up in the kitchen, it has yet to start working, but we are excited to hear how it sounds. 

The first part of the visit the weather was like Spring. On Sunday night we took them out on the boat and showed them Maple Bay and the beautiful mansions along the rocks. We then boated across to Salt Spring Island and docked at the restaurant for fish n chip's. It was a perfect night. We sat out on the patio, it was so warm and had a great time. We seriously LOVE having our little boat!!! When we got back to Crofton someone left some fish at the end of the dock and there was a swarm of otters that came up on the deck and they came right up to us in the water. It was pretty neat, obviously someone is feeding them! 

We went for a few hikes while they were out and fall was in full force. It was so GORGEOUS. The first hike was out to Chemainus river where the HUGEST salmon were jumping out of the water, we thought they were otters at first, it was pretty neat. 

Tom went to work with Steve for a few days and that was so helpful, such a blessing for my hubby as he has been so busy at work. Patrice and I were able to get Leah's wedding album done on-line, we went to Cowichan Bay for buns and had lots of nice visits. They also took us to the Chemainus theater on Wednesday night for the buffet and to watch 'chickens.' It was Steve's first time and my first time at the buffet- we were not disappointed. It was another wonderful night. 

I truly feel so blessed to call Tom and Patrice my father and mother-in-law and was so thankful for the opportunity to spend a week with them. 

Tent and Ruckle Island

I love how our little boat has opened us up to so many new adventures right out in our front yard! Leah and Zac came and visited us last weekend and on Saturday we took the boat out to tent island. It is a protected island basically right across from us. We parked the boat in the sandy, protected cove, had a picnic and explored most of the island. It was gorgeous! There was a family there that goes to Danika's school and they boat over and try to do lots of camping there, as they pretty much have the island to themselves. It was such a gorgeous day and we had such a great time with Leah and Zac! 

Uncle Zac checking out the hundreds of starfish with the girls

Danika and Lize in our boat

Sunday after church we launched out of Ladysmith and 'raced' Mark and Caroline to Ruckle island where Mark's family has a cabin. It was another gorgeous day and so neat to check out the cabin. The island is unserviced so everything was powered by solar panels. The cabin is at the top of these cliffs and overlooks endless ocean view. We explored the island and checked out some other cabins. I like the idea of the cabin, and it was so gorgeous, but you have to boat EVERYTHING in and out! 

BEST BUDS!!!

Adessa and Kailey found a little cave in a rock on our adventure  walk ... they were very brave to climb inside!

The boys and their matching trucks and boats (Mark is bigger... and so is his truck and boat... haha!) 

Cowichan Valley Exhibition and The Circus!

When the exhibition was in town we went with the Nagtegaal family to check out all the animals. They also had rides and Lize went on her first roller coaster ride... Danika felt like she was pro because she went on one already this summer! They were pretty cute! 

Adessa and Kailey were having so much fun!

Sisters on their last ride!

Caroline with all the girls.... eagerly waiting for the circus to start! 

Little Bird

We have been keeping our eyes open for a good deal on a boat, just for fun. But then this little boat came up on used nanaimo and when we checked it out, it was just too good of a deal to pass up, so we happily purchased this little boat... and it has been such a great little investment for our family. It is a little 14 foot Double Eagle... hence the nickname we gave it "Little Bird." I grew up on the lake with a boat and have so many good memories with it, and I want my kids to have that too.

The weather has been so amazing and so every weekend we have been taking it out exploring. The first night we took it out on the ocean in front of our house (10 minutes to be on the water!) and explored down to Maple Bay and then back to the Tent Islands. It was a beautiful evening and the water was like glass. I am so excited for all the memories to be made!

The girls LOVED the boat!

Fishing with Daddy 

I love where I live!!! 

Life for REAL

Middle of July I found out I was pregnant... it was quite the shock. Steve and I had 'decided' not to have any more children as we felt stretched with 2, without having any family around to help. But we hadn't done anything 'permanent' about it, so of course the chance was always there. And so it happened. It has been quite the journey over the summer trying to keep it a secret and not knowing how far along I am,                                                                                                        since my body had been messed up for awhile this year due to trying different forms of birth control.
I got in with the midwives and they scheduled me for an ultrasound on August 30th. When we went in we were expecting to see a little peanut, and be only 6 weeks, max 8 weeks. But apparently we were quite off! Yesterday I FINALLY heard back the results as the ultrasound techs are not allowed to say anything. And on August 30th I was already 14 weeks... WHAT?!? So that puts me at 16 weeks... almost half over and never really knew for that first month and a half!
We are excited... now, but in ALL honesty it took us quite by surprise and the last couple of weeks I have been having some anxiety attacks over it. Danika started school last week and was put in a K-1 split, and the first day she came home crying saying all her friends in the grade 1 class were running away from her and she doesn't get to do computers or any of the 'big kid' things. She feels like she is stuck with the 'little kids.' And my heart hurts for her. But we prayed about it and talked about seeking out the kids who don't seem to have any friends and help them out... since she knew what it felt like. That seemed to be a good solution and yesterday went 100% better.
Since Danika started school, Adessa has been overwhelming me. She has had her big sister as a distraction all summer, but since Danika is gone she is at me side ALL day, asking questions, wanting to help and all I want to do is get things done! I know I need to be more patient, but I feel like my patience is run dry and in the afternoon all I want to do is curl up on the couch and sleep... but of course that isn't possible with Adessa! I am tempted to look into preschool for her, but part of me feels guilty as I didn't put Danika in until she was 4.5 years. old. SIGH!!!
This week has really been tough- The past 2 days Adessa has had a bladder infection, needing to go on the potty every 10 minutes and crying and screaming when she does... its awful. So I got her into the Dr's yesterday and got her on antibiotics and she seems to be doing SO much better today. However when I was doing her hair I found a few little bugs clinging to her scalp... ICK! I picked out 4 or 5 in total and saved them in a little jar for Steve to see, and then did the lice treatment on her. But I hit my breaking point this morning and had a good ol' cry session, which I haven't had in ages... there was  A LOT of pent up tears in there and cried them all dry. Adessa was so concerned and kept asking what was wrong, but I told her moms need to cry sometimes too... just like little girls do.
I am just overwhelmed, usually I am such a clean freak, washing bathrooms frequently, vacuuming, dusting, washing windows, doing laundry and always trying to have a sparkling house. But I have been SO behind that I haven't touched my cleaning supplies in 2 weeks!!! And all my fruit trees outside are BURSTING with fruit ready to be picked and canned, or passed a long to friends, but I have had nothing in me and it feels like  no time.
When the LONG list of 'to-dos' ran through my head I just wanted to curl up in the corner and lay there all day, but then I saw my bible on the counter and the daily bread for today. I read it and spoke straight to my heart. The passage was all of Psalm 16, but the verse that leapt off the page was

v. 8- "I know the LORD is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me."

That verse washed over my whole body and set such a peace in my heart, and even though I haven't accomplished many checks on my list today, I love that God met me where I was at. And for that I am thankful.    

Never Forget

Saturday morning we headed out to a good friends bake sale at an antique farm sale. The girls were off playing and we were browsing and visiting when we realized we no longer saw Adessa, we asked the girls where she was, and they didn't know. Steve and I calmly started walking around calling her name and asking friends if they had seen her. After about 5 minutes the panic settled in and my calm pace turned into frantic running and yelling her name. We circled the farm a few times to no avail, checked inside, behind, in front. I was in hysterics. I started bolting up the driveway and saw Steve holding Adessa and I just broke down and grabbed her and sobbed... along with a few good friends. That was the scariest 15 minutes of my entire life and I will NEVER forget that feeling. 

Apparently Adessa had decided to walk to the van (parked on the side of a busy country road) to get Meeko out to come play with the other animals. Thank goodness that the husband of the house was at the end of the road charging admission to get in... which at first we thought was a bit unfortunate, but after that I was SO grateful! 

Every single bad thought had raced through both Steve's and my mind and we couldn't shake the feeling the rest of the day. But God is good and kept her safe and I will never forget that and pray it never, ever happens again!