The Temple

Last night I had the opportunity to go through the Calgary Alberta Temple with Emry and my Dad! It was so wonderful...a wish that has partially come true...to be in the temple with my dad!

The tour started with a short video in the chapel building right next to the temple, and it was perfect for setting the tone for the rest of the tour. It talked about the significance of temples since the beginning of time, the restoration of the gospel and why temples are significant to us today! It also talked about the the first settlers to Calgary who were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as well it talked about the Cardston Temple and when it was built. It was quite an amazing video, I especially loved Elder Jeffrey R. Hollands testimony about the blessings of eternal families we can receive through the temple!

After the video we were taken over to the temple grounds, where our tour guide explained the difference between the chapel where we hold our Sunday worship and the temple! Even as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints I found I learned many new things last night!

I was in complete awe of the beauty of the temple, and I was truly impressed with the attention to detail! I am so proud of Jason and the talent he possesses! When we were sitting in the celestial room, it truly was amazing the strength of the spirit present in that room, it was totally overwhelming and instantly brought tears to my eyes! I leaned in to Emry and told her this room is my favorite of all the rooms in the temple because to me it feels like it is apart of heaven, she gave me her biggest most beautiful grin and nodded her head! I looked over at my dad while we were sitting there and I thought I could see a peacefulness in his face!

It truly was a wonderful experience and I felt so proud to be there with my perfect little girl and my dad, a truly amazing opportunity! I am looking forward to the day I get to take my mom through the tour and then again with friends of ours from town! What a great opportunity for anyone interested in knowing more about this wonderful gospel and the great feelings of peace that come from living a life that so closely parallels that of our Saviors! I love my dad so much and I was thankful I was able to share something with him that is so important to me, something that builds the character for the type of person I am striving to become! It was a very special night, I truly do love to see the temple!

A Perfect Autumn Adventure

Yesterday after church I made us a picnic lunch, we changed into some matchy matchy clothes and we all piled into the van for a lovely sunday afternoon drive!  I had originally asked Jared if we could go for a drive through the Kananaskis to see all the beautiful fall colours before all the leaves fell off the trees.  He thought it would be too far for one afternoon, which I did agree, so instead he suggested we go for a drive west of Claresholm up to the forestry area where we have gone to get a Christmas tree in the past!  I readily agreed so off we went!  Once we got into the forestry area we decided to drive up to the ridge and have our picnic lunch there where there would be a great panoramic view!  And what a view it was, the clear blue sky, the orange, yellows and greens of the trees cascading down the foothills, cars driving the highway far off in the distance, the sounds of birds and wind rustling through the trees!  It was a gorgeous day, and reminded me of when we would go out to Waterton for Thanksgiving, a crisp yet refreshing fall day!  The cool air puts a reddish hue in our cheeks, while the warmth of the sun still warms us to the core!  Oh it was a wonderful day, I truly feel close to heaven on days like that!  The kids had fun exploring and taking pictures and just looking around at all nature has to offer!  We did take some family pictures which all turned out quite cute and I think they will make a beautiful addition to our wall above the stairs!

This was the first picture we took, and I loved the composition, it's too bad the sun wasn't in front of us!!

Having our picnic! 

He is quite the boy, I was happy I was able to capture this funny face!

We thought about taking the highway all the way up to Longview, but once we finished our picnic we were ready to head toward home so instead we turned east at Chain Lakes and headed into Nanton, making our journey a little shorter but still a lot of fun!  We got home just before 7:00pm while the sun was just making its decent behind the mountains and the lighting on the big poplar tree at the corner of our drive was magnificent!  So again we all piled out of the van to take some more pictures!  I honestly think those pictures turned out much better than the ones taken in the foothills!  We had fun and Emry desperately wanted to take mine and Jared's picture, which we had fun doing!  Then we headed over to the bale yard to try some pictures against the stack of hay bales.  This too was fun...Calum and Armin were gathering wood to make a campfire and had fun scouring the ground for sticks and grass!  They will make good mountain men when they are older because it seemed like even at their young ages they knew exactly what to do!  Thank goodness neither of them had any matches or the cows may not have had any food for the winter!!

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!