Thoughts

I have been taking a little more time to observe our children and I have decided that they are hands down the cutest kids in the world...yes I do realize that every parent feels this way about their children!!

Anyway, I love how Emry smiles! Her top front teeth are quite prominent to say the least, just like mine were when I was that age only I had a super huge gap between them! And my older sister, who was a typical older sister and was constantly annoyed by her little sister, always teased me about my teeth! Well I became super self conscious and still am little bit about the way my teeth look! And because of this I have wanted to make sure Emry isn't self conscious like I was! I am proud of her for embracing her big teeth by smiling the way she does! Her school pictures were adorable, the same exact smile in each pose, her lower lip tucked under her top teeth! I also love how helpful she is to me with the boys! The other night she read Calum a story and even laid with him for a little bit while I was putting Armin to bed! She even willingly changes Armin's diapers, even when they are poopy! There are definitely times when she is defiant and says no to us, but her helpfulness far out weighs her defiance!

I am in awe almost daily with Calum! There are not words to describe that boy! I love him to pieces even though he exasperates me quite regularly! He truly has a very tender heart, just like his daddy, that many people do not get to see, again, just like his daddy! When he gets in trouble the first thing he wants is a huggie to make him feel better! When someone else is in trouble or hurt or even just sad, he goes to them with a hug! When he asks someone for something and they give it to him he always says "thank you, that really was very kind of you!" I love how he sings and knows the words to quite a few songs...Rumor Has It-by Adele, Lovesick-by Selena Gomez, and so many more, but my absolute favorite is What Makes You Beautiful-by One Direction! He will start belting that song out where ever we are, on tune even..."that's what makes you boodyfull!"

And Armin...oh, my dear sweet Armin!! I always thought he would be the quiet one!! Totally not so! He is a great mixture of both Emry and Calum, a definite over reactor like Emry and super loud like Calum! Yet he too has his own personality...he is starting to talk and can most clearly say the typical first words, Da-die, Mom-mi, hi, bye-bye, more, meelk, car, vroom, pee-pee, tinky, Umry, and the word that has won him the most points...Aunnie Erwin!! He is also quite a sly little guy, when he is told quite firmly not to touch something he points at it again, almost like he is about to touch it but instead he gives a little smug grin!!

Something that has started here in our home...since all the flies have decided to make themselves at home in our house...is having one of the pesky things as a pet! Calum is afraid of flies, weird for him, so Jared said that the fly was his friend Roger!! Now at supper when we see a fly Emry says "hey, there's Roger!" And then Jared says in a very disgusted voice that it wasn't Roger! Then Jared will call for Roger and soon enough one of the many flies will land on his shoulder and he says that this fly is in fact Roger! The kids seem to really love this and the angelic sounds of giggles fill our house! I love how Jared takes time to be silly with our kids! Quite often a game of tag breaks out, or ninja moves or even wrestling lessons! Our children adore their daddy, and I must say so do I!!

I love my three little rascals so much and with out them in my life I guarantee my life would be quieter! And maybe at times that would be pure perfection, but I would feel lost without them! I only hope I am being the mother they need and teaching them all they will need to know as they venture into this very unforgiving world! I also hope I am able to instill in them a level of confidence that will help guide them through the temptations that will surely await them! The future does scare me, the unknown terrifies me, but one thing I do know that creates peace in my heart is that as long as I trust in my Heavenly Father to guide and direct us I know the rest is out of my hands! And this one principle I have definitely tried to drill into the minds of these three precious little souls! I couldn't be more grateful to have been given this responsibility of teaching, guiding and most importantly loving these perfect little people, and I will forever be indebted to my Father in Heaven for giving me this opportunity!

Four Years Older and Wiser Too...

Today is Calum's fourth birthday, and what a special day for a special boy!  We had quite the weekend of celebrating!  It all started friday night when we met my dad in Champion for a quick visit on his way to Texas for work!  The kids love their Grandpa Glen and always get hyper when we see him.  Emry and Calum were having races up and down the side walk and soon Armin got in on the action!  Dad gave Calum his birthday present, a t-shirt that couldn't be more fitting for Calum...on it says "I am only here to annoy you!"  He loved it and we had a real hard time getting it off of him, we let him sleep in it because it would have been too big of a fight to get it off, but the next morning was a different story!  We finally agreed on his shirt from Grandpa Glen last year, his Stampeders jersey!

Saturday morning Grandma Debbie and Mark came over for a birthday breakfast!  They gave Calum a cool helicopter that really flies, a rubber band propelled jet plane, a Lightening McQueen watch, which he hasn't taken off, a dinky car that moves and flips by itself and a great orange plaid shirt!  It was a good morning and nice to be able to spend it with my mom and Mark!

That afternoon we headed to Calgary for a Puzey family reunion, which was a lot of fun!  We hadn't been to one since Calum was only 8 months old and Jared had recently broke his knee.  It was good to see all Jared's cousins and Calum met a great friend...Jared's cousin Troy has a little boy who just turned five and his name is Kingston, well Calum and Kingston were inseparable and Calum even cried when he realized Kingston left while he was in the bathroom and he didn't get a chance to say good bye!  He desperately wanted him to come to our house so they could watch Lego Nijago together!  Troy also got a huge kick out of Calum, especially since Calum insisted he share his orange pop with Troy, using the same cup!  What a good sport because he did and I think doing so instilled a genuine form of trust with Calum!  Calum also said his classic "awkward!" when we all laughed after sharing a slobber filled cup with a complete stranger!

Grandma Puzey with all her grandkids at the Puzey reunion!  Lollipops are thanks to Aunt Sheila!

Sunday was the day we actually celebrated Calum's birthday!  Arren and Buck and their kids came over, as well as Myrna, Rachel and her boys to help us celebrate!  When Rachel got to our place Liam carried the present in and when Calum opened the door he said, "Oh, Eeumm! That was kind of you to bring me a present, thank you so much!"  He was so polite all evening with everyone, I was so proud of him!  We had chilli cheese dogs and fruit and it seemed to go over well, and was a super easy meal to make!  After we had cake and ice cream, I asked Calum what kind of cake he wanted trying to steer him in the direction of a Lego cake because that is what Jared and I got him for his present.  But he had his mind set on a batman and Robin cake!  It was actually a lot easier than I anticipated it would be it was just switching the icing colours in my one icing tube that made it a lot of work!

I also made chocolate cupcakes filled with caramel and a milk chocolate icing for the grown ups!  They were so yummy!  I love making cupcakes!  It was a fun evening with family and Calum was so polite and went around and gave everyone hugs after he opened their present.  When he opened Grandma Puzey's present he jumped up and down with pure delight...she gave him a Superman and an Ironman costume!  I noticed the pj's that Liam was wearing the other day and thought for sure that Calum would love them so I had Rachel pick up a pair for him, so when Liam walked into the house wearing his Lego jammies last night I made sure to put Calum in his and they looked so cute in their matching pj's!

I had to teach yoga this morning so after the boys and I took Jared out for lunch, and being that it is Calum's birthday we let him decide where to go!  He chose pizza, which made us happy because it is probably the least expensive place to eat in Vulcan!  After we went and had an ice cream cone!  And because I teach yoga again this evening we thought yesterday would be a better day to celebrate!

I can't believe he is already four years old, time sure does fly by.  I love the little boy he is, the tender heart that he has and his sense of humour.  I love his antics and the joy he finds in life.  I love how energetic he is yet I also love that he will sit on the couch and read a book, and when the story is all done he always says "Amen!"  I love how he looks out for his little brother, especially when they are outside and he gets very concerned when Armin starts to wander away!  I love how he looks up to his sister and lets her help him with trivial things!  I love how he is a big tease just like his Daddy!  I just love him so much sometimes it is hard to put it in words!  Lately I have been asking him to give me a kiss and before he does he always asks what day it is, so I will tell him and he will say "Nope, only kisses on saturday!"  I would love to be in his head and see what he is thinking and why!  I look forward to what this next year will bring and I hope I will cherish everyday because by his next birthday he will be in Kindergarten and life will change once again!

My Favourite Time of Year

Autumn is my absolute favourite time of year! The cool, crisp mornings! The beautiful sun shinning a radiant orange into our bedroom window every morning! The beautiful colors of the sunset shinning in through our kitchen window as I do dishes! The not too cold, not too hot weather so I can wear sweaters! The many colors of leaves, reds, yellows, oranges, purple! The golden colors of the fields ripened and ready to harvest! The bright lights of the combines, swathers, and grain trucks going back and forth through the fields! I just love autumn!

This year our neighbor planted durum, such a beautiful wheat crop...a bearded wheat with dark brown hair?!  I am not sure what the bearded things on the wheat are called!  But anyway, we had our Ward Harvest Potluck this past Tuesday and Myrna and another lady from our ward were asked to be in charge of it, Myrna also asked me if I could help and I was to be in charge of getting something together for the table centre pieces.  I went out to the durum field and cut a bunch of wheat to plop in vases for the tables.  It looked so beautiful and very fitting for a harvest dinner!  I also cut some for my own house and love walking into my main living space and seeing the stalks of golden wheat glistening in the morning sunlight.  I didn't think I had many Autumn type decorations but I did find some place matts that my Grandma Bev had made and I also put those on my table.  So much fun, I really love having my own home to decorate!

Yesterday I was able to spend the day with a lady from our ward who needed a ride to Calgary to get stitches taken out of her hand.  It was so nice being able to visit with her and get to know her better.  She even had me drive her car, which was a 2011 Dodge Journey, so a pretty nice ride!  I loved the drive up seeing all the trees changing from green to yellow and orange.  We met up with her daughter and had a nice lunch at Denny's and then we made our way home!  I taught my third yoga class of the week when I got back to Vulcan and then met up with Jared and the kids to watch the Senior boys Volleyball game!  It was a nice day, a beautiful fall day!

These past few weeks of September have been busy!  Emry started piano lessons last week with a lady from Vulcan and she really seemed to enjoy it, and her teacher thought she had a lot of talent already...a lot of that thanks to Grandma Puzey for taking the time to get Emry started with learning to play the piano!  I started teaching yoga this past Monday and will continue for the next 10 weeks.  I teach Monday morning in Vulcan, Monday evening in Champion and Wednesday evening in Vulcan.  I was a little apprehensive the week before classes were to start but once I finished my first one Monday morning I remembered how much I love to teach!  The boys are signed up for Day Care Monday mornings while I am teaching and they both seemed to love it, I think it will be good for Calum especially to get out and interact with others before he starts Kindergarten next year!  Jared and I were able to run to Lethbridge last Friday night to get a birthday present for Calum and were lucky to also get his Christmas present!  So now I am getting ready to attend Pincher Creeks Ward Conference on Sunday with Myrna and the rest of the Stake Primary Presidency, I think I forget to mention that I was called into the Stake Primary Presidency as the Secretary with Myrna as the President!  I am excited for something new, and even more excited to work this closely with Myrna, obviously living together for over 4 years didn't ruin our relationship!  Something I am extremely grateful for!  We also have a Puzey family reunion on Saturday, which will be fun to see everyone.  And Sunday after Myrna and I get back from Pincher Creek we are having Calum's 4th Birthday dinner with my sister and her family, and Myrna, Rachel and her family!  What a special boy, I honestly can't believe that he is going to be four, time really does go by too fast!

I was looking through old pictures on our computer and I found these priceless ones from when we lived in Carmangay!

I really loved our first home, a perfect place to start our life together!

I also found this picture of Emry and Grandpa Puzey, they were best pals!  She often got to hang out with Gramps Saturday mornings while Myrna and I were working at Weight Watchers.  I know they developed a super close bond, one that Emry will always hold dear to her heart and not ever forget!

I love how they are sitting in the same way!

Counter Tops!

Jared installed more of our kitchen countertops last night, now he just has to do the island!  They look so amazing and I can't believe how much it changes the look of our kitchen!  A lot of happened in our house over the last two weeks actually!  We hired Adam to come and finish more of the finishing work, which has taken a lot of stress off Jared!  He cut down and installed all the bedroom and closet doors, installed the door knobs, put all the cabinets pulls on in the kitchen, put in our master shower door and put the cold air returns in too!  All the little finicky stuff that Jared just hasn't had any time to do!  Over a year ago we had Adam do all the taping and mudding, he also installed the hardwood and tile, and installed the kitchen cabinets, he did such a great job we decided since Jared hasn't had time we would have him back!

Slowly but surely our house is getting finished!  It has taken quite some time but has totally been worth the wait, I love our home and I so look forward to spending years, and years here with our precious little family!

Yesterday I also tackled our storage room, which looks pretty good now, and is totally organized!  I love living in a neat and organized environment and slowly our house is getting there!  My next big project is my craft room, and definitely within the next few weeks so I can start Christmas cards and presents!!

First Day of School

Today was Emry's first day back to school, and even though I breathed a huge sigh of relief I am also really going to miss her throughout the day! Grade Three! Where in the world has the time gone? I look at Armin and I see Emry in every way and wonder how and when she got so big, she is the second tallest in her class, the tallest being a boy! She looks so grown up and the questions her mind has boggles me most of the time!  I am so proud of her and the girl she is becoming, I do dread the day she becomes a young woman, mostly because I don't want her to grow up! But I do want her to learn and grow and experience the joy that life can offer when she makes the right choices! I hope by that time we have instilled in her the tools she needs to do this! I love her so much and I am so thankful we have her in our care to lead and guide her!

Last Hoorah Before School

We really haven't had any time to do much as a family this summer!  Jared starts to get really busy the second week of August with harvesting and the cows have truly been a full time job on top of a full time job!  We did get away to Kalispell for a weekend and one night out on the boat, so we thought we would do another late evening get a way!  Friday night we decided to head into Lethbridge and take the kids to the water tower to eat!  Emry went with my dad and I when Calum was really small and has wanted to go back ever since!  What in the world were we thinking?!  Emry had a good time but it was quite late by the time we got there, 8:00pm, and the boys were not wanting to sit after sitting for an hour in the car!  They really did like looking out the window and seeing all the cars below, and it was neat that the sun was setting while we there and we were also able to see the city all lit up!

Emry had the most expensive meal out of all of us, a steak sandwich off the kids menu!  Jared and I each had a salad and Calum and Armin shared a grilled cheese sandwich, so really our bill wasn't too bad considering the prices of the food on the menu!  The entire trip was totally worth Armin's reaction in the elevator!  He is absolutely terrified of them.  On the way up he clung onto Jared for dear life and when we reached the top his little body shook and he clutched even harder onto Jared.  Once the door opened he seemed to relax.  On the way down we made him walk onto the elevator himself and once he knew where we were going he bolted and headed straight for the hostess.  He would rather go to a complete stranger than ride on the elevator again!  Once at the bottom we asked him if he wanted to go on the elevator again and he said in a very concerned voice, "Noooo!"

Armin, looking very concerned in the elevator!

We finished off our last weekend before school started by having a super yummy dinner with my dad!  In the middle of August he flew out to Vancouver where he met his brother and together they travelled to Tofino where they boarded a little fishing boat.  They spent the day salmon and halibut fishing and caught quite a few!  They sent a Chinook Salmon out to be smoked, and they each took home a few halibut.  Dad also caught about a 6 pound Koho salmon and brought it home for us to cook, because of how much Emry loves salmon!  So we decided to cook it up today, and it was so good, so much better than what we can get at the store and honestly we think Costco salmon is sooo good!  We completed our super yummy salmon dinner with garden potatoes and carrots!  I made a new cupcake recipe too and it was really good...Milk Chocolate cupcakes with a milk chocolate icing topped with a dollop of fresh mint icing!  A really nice sunday afternoon!  The best part was having the kids watch Grandpa cut the head and fins off the salmon, Calum was terrified and had to leave the room but Emry was quite intrigued and even got right in there and touched the fish scales.  She didn't go as far as Grandpa did though...he kissed the fish and then made it talk!

The green flecks in the white icing is fresh chopped mint leaves, it so reminded me of when I used to work at the local mint field picking weeds out of the mint swaths!

It has been a good summer, and I hope Emry feels like she got a good break from school.  We did go to the zoo with my mom and dad and to the beach at Little Bow with Myrna and Rachel, we also spent a few afternoons at the pool.  Emry was able to go out and check cows with Jared and the kids spent hours in the truck while Jared and I put our escaped bull back in with our cows, not once but three times!  They also spent time with friends from church and with my sister while Jared and I baled, and the kids also made weekly trips with me to the dump where they were usually given a sucker by the lady who works there.  We had many sunday get to togethers with my sister and her family, and we were able to spend time at the beach in Calgary and after had a yummy barbecue with all the Puzey clan at the Atwood's!  Lily and Gilbert also spent a few nights at our house, which the kids loved!  They played and explored and just had fun!

I found all these pictures on the camera from when Lily spent a few days and nights with us!  They had so much fun!

So overall it was a good summer, lots of work had to be done but we also had lots of fun doing it, and despite the fact that we are truly wondering if the cows are really worth it, we still have spent time together and have been able to teach our children great values about working together...hopefully!!