eye candy.

 

 

checking out the first snow with daddy in the mornin’.

 

WARNING: lots of hat pics following…. 
these are the snazzy new lids my mom crocheted for my babes.  cute, yes?
i think she should sell them and make one meeeeleeeyon dollars. 

 

oh, and hosanna got into the markers a few weeks ago.  heh.

but she thought it was pretty cool though, so…..meh.  no deal. as long as she had fun.

hellooooooooooo!??!

anybody still out there?
i dare not even check my sorry blog stats these days, not having posted in, um…well….3 whole weeks.  so, i guess this entry is likely just for my own cathartic good.  i’ll do my best anyhow. 
to be honest, i have no real excuse for not blogging.  i could make one up (what do you mean NaBloPoMo means we have to blog every day?!?!?! i thought it meant we weren’t supposed to blog for at all!  sheesh.  now you tell me! …….good thing i didn’t sign up for that anyway.  heh)  but i guess really it comes down to life being…well, life.  which is bizzy-for-shizzy, and now with my firstborn no longer napping during the day, well…let’s just say that busyness is extreme.
with.no.breaks. 
none. 
ever.  
ok, maybe some. 
but not many.

christmas is nearly upon us, and the weather is COLD!  which is wonderfully cozy and delightful.  the kids are now outfitted in their new snowsuits. (well, not now , they are in bed sleeping, afterall.  what kinda mom do you think i am?) but they have their fun warm clothes and new hats (courtesy of my mom and her amazing crafty skills!!  pics of those coming tomorrow!) 
i just purchased sufjan stevens’ christmas album today on itunes.  it’s very chill, mellow, fun and festive, and musically excellent.   its great.  seriously. 

we we’ve just about finished the basement, which is now the “playroom” and will function also as a guest room should any persons want to come and visit us.  (please do!)  it turned out REALLY nice…i, for one, can’t believe it is the same room.  so gezelig (which is the dutch word for “cozy”, said with a lot of throaty spitting.)  of course we are still needing some toy storage and accessories (hey ikea. here we come.  although we vow over and over again never to purchase anything else from you, we keep returning like a dog to its vomit.)  did i seriously just say that?!?!  iiick.

yes, well…i’ve started my christmas shopping, but just barely.  picked up a few things here.  (a fun girls only outing with my mom, all 3 of my sisters, my daughter and my new niece!)
a little birdie told me that nana and papa are sending a gift to the kids soon.  (i can link to that, can’t i?  i don’t think my kids really check this blog too often…) 
but, shhhh…don’t tell ‘em.  um, i am really excited about this.  i LOOOOOOOOVE playing house, dolls, kitchen, barbies, anything like that.  yeah, still. 
i am afraid i might spend too much time playing, and not enough time doing what i oughtta. 
but that’s ok. 
the kids need me.   

well, i hope this blog entry kick starts me back into action.  i’m feelin’ it.
i truly hope i have not lost everyone’s attention.  (all 3 of you…)
i may gather together my courage and check my stats now. 

have a good night, and i’ll be back tomorrow, Lord willin’ and the creek don’t rise, ya’ll.

here he is!

well, jeremy’s gone and made himself a daddy-blog. 
yay!

you can check it here…or go to my blogroll…..

another one joins the blogosphere.    yessssssssssssssss!    

**and something else that’s pretty amaz-zA-zing…
this video that my MIL emailed me yesterday.  i mean…seriously.  so cool.  i wish my kids could take this class.   

 http://www.childdrowningprevention.com/index.html

watch, and be amazed!

happy thursday!

try it! you’ll love it!

so i’ve recently become enamoured with smitten kitchen.  a food blog that will make your mouth water.  so many great pictures, recipes and commentary that’s equally as engaging.  its just an inspirational blog.   so many great food ideas,  documented so interestingly and well.   
the other day i made some pumpkin butter, a recipe i pulled off of smitten kitchen.  and oh.my.yum.yes.  delight.

spread a bit of that on fresh baked croissants.  yum!  morning is bright.
(oh, and it’s SO easy to make….and you can refrigerate it for quite a while….)

here’s the recipe:

Pumpkin Butter
Adapted from AllRecipes

1 (29 ounce) can pumpkin puree, approx. 3½ cups
¾ cup apple juice
2 teaspoons ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/3 cups brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Juice of half a lemon

1. Combine pumpkin, apple juice, spices, and sugar in a large saucepan; stir well. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes or until thickened. Stir frequently. Adjust spices to taste. Stir in lemon juice, or more to taste.
2. Once cool, pumpkin butter can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge.

To preserve: Spoon hot pumpkin mixture into hot jars, filling to within 1/4 inch from top. Remove air bubbles; wipe jar rims. Cover at once with metal lids, and screw on bands. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

ok! go make! enjoy!!!

let me know!

all the details…

one thing that i love about God is that He is concerned about, and looks after the details of our lives, if we trust them to Him.  i was reminded of this yesterday.

the story begins sunday.
well….actually a couple of months ago.

we got a puppy.
this was a bit of an impulse decision.
i mean, seriously.  who in their right mind gets a PUPPY when they have 2 toddlers?
well, ok…so we were warned and advised, etc.  but we went ahead in our
naivite (sp?).

over the past 2 months, i have struggled, screamed and pulled out my hair.  this puppy was very cute, and very friendly and would eventually grow up to be a wonderful family pet.  i was NOT going to give up and be weak.  i would PERSIST and train this puppy if it was the last thing i did.   to be honest though i was SO ready to be free of this crazy responsibility.

fast forward to sunday.  we went to church, as always, and left the pup in the yard.  little did we know that she was going crazy and BARKING and YELPING endlessly for a few hours.  we got home, and the neighbour was quite upset.  told us we needed to do something about the dog.  apparently every time we were gone, she would freak out the entire time.  (we didn’t realize…i mean, we weren’t around to hear it!)

so, after feeling really badly and wondering what to do, we made the decision to get rid of the dog.  it made me feel bad, but SO RELIEVED!!!!!!!! 
but….now we needed to find her a good home.

we decided to post her on freecycle.
i was nervous to do this, envisioning all kinds of weirdo’s wanting my dog. 
so i prayed, and jer prayed.  very simply asked God to be in control and to bring the right people.
well, the next morning i got an email from an interested lady.  i gave her a call, and she was a sweet danish lady.  she and her husband had recently bought a farm with 23 acres!!!!!!  (run, tennessee, run!)  and their dog of 16 years had died last year.  they recently started talking about getting another.  her husband had this week mentioned to her that he wanted to get an australian sheep dog.
AND….one day prior to our conversation, her brother-in-law was talking to her about freecycle.  she had never heard of it before, but checked it out. 

and there was our post.

i told her….”well, i think this was meant to be”.

i knew it was right.  when they came to the door i gladly handed over the puppy, knowing it was best for her, for us and for the new family. 

once again, God answered our very simple, trusting prayer. 

he even cares about our pets. 

so, this ends the puppy saga.

i feel happy and free,  and glad to give her the room she needs so desperately. 
and i am thankful to the Lord for being real and present in our lives. 
even in all the little details. 

He is goodness.

 

some new family favourites…

little miss may-may playing in the tissue paper at amelie’s baby shower.  wheeee!

jos wondering “what the?”    (holding his newest cousin amelie)

my dear jer-jer doin’ his sexy coca-cola ad pose. 

and me, being my usual retardo self.  
happy sunday night!

winter’s on its way.

so i woke up this morning to a white frosty lawn, and butter that was hard to spread on the toast.  (we keep our butter dish on the kitchen table so its easy to use).  
i guess this means that winter is really gonna happen.  soon.  *sob* *sniff*

i am a lover of warmth.  i am a loather of the cold.  it gets in my bones, and it makes me wanna cry. 
BUT,
even though the thought of facing another long and arduous canadian winter makes me cringe, something warms up inside of me at the thought. 
there really is no better time than winter for making a cozy home.  candles, cinnamon scents, warm freshly baked bread, little white christmas lights, cozy sweaters, sluffy slippers,  kids in snow suits with red rosy noses and cheeks, curling up with hot cocoa and a good book or movie and a big cozy blanket, thick chunky stews and soups, chili and corn bread,  long hot bubble baths, woollen mitts, hats and scarves
……mmm……there really is no substitute. 
i admit….something is already longing for the cold winter. 
but you can believe that by february i’ll be singing a different tune. 
however, until then, i will anticipate all that the winter promises.   

(plus jer looks so cute in all his winter gear.  joshijah too.  this photo was taken last march.)

camping out. but not fun-camping.

today i am camping out on the couch.  i have had this cold for well over a week now, and i keep feeling worse, then better, then worse again.  so…i’ve decided i just need to park my butt and R.E.S.T.  yes.  i am going to do as little as possible today.  i have a feeling i will be watching a LOT of bob the builder, franklin, rolie-polie-olie, etc. 

the kids are both seemingly on the verge of sick also.

here’s a quick snap to help you visualize our cozy get-well-soon-on-the-couch kinda day. 

pj’s
duvet
oj
toast
movies

sounds cozy, yes?

pray that we get well quickly!!!  or else we may have to endure a few more days of this. 

have a great thursday.