Happy Anniversary

No doubt of what I'm thankful for today, my sidekick aka my hubby Chris.

We've been married for 8 yrs today. He's been my constant companion through thick & thin. What I love about him is he is kind & caring. He loves me just as I am; perhaps that sounds cheesy, but its true. Its been said I have a strong personality & he knows how to let me be me without being a pushover. That's a blessing for sure.

I feel I'm a blessing to him too. He has his own unique character & I hope and pray I challenge him just enough to be a better man, with enough tenderness to love him for who he is.

Marriage may not be all butterflies and romance, sometimes it's jogging pants, no make up & watching cheesy sci-fi shows. I don't hear the romantic theme music play when he walks in the door from work, but I enjoying hearing his stories from the day & telling him mine.

This cheesy little love story wouldn't be complete without the addition of our wee man, our love bug, our son. Having him has only brought us closer together & allowed us to express love more deeply.

My heart is so grateful for what God has done in both our lives & for His plans for us as a couple & a little family.

Making Hot Chocolate

Just a silly moment before bed, making hot chocolate. Thankful for fun little moments with my wee man!

"The world has changed..."

"I feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air. Much that once was is lost..."

I didn't write an entry yesterday because honestly I didn't feel like it. I received some news I didn't want, nothing serious just a little disappointing. It was just an all around kind of crummy day.

I was thinking tonight of something to write about & had it all planned. Then I was watching the news & changed my mind. The world around me is in such turmoil; the particular news item I saw was about Syria. I saw disturbing images of children that had been used as human shields. What struck me the most was seeing a little boy lying in the back of a pick up truck, I'm not sure if he was alive or dead, he looked to be around the same age as my son, three or four years old.

I saw other images of mothers running down the streets from gunfire grasping their children for dear life. A man very candidly said "why will no one help us, we are people not animals".

Kind of puts my world in perspective. Maybe things didn't go the way I was hoping, perhaps I was inconvenienced by events in my day, but all in all my world is pretty great. I have much to be thankful for, a free & safe country I call home, a wonderful home to live in, a family, knowing my son is lying warmly in his bed & I have food in my fridge, just to name a few.

I cannot explain why these things happen in our world. I know where hope & peace comes from, but my heart and mind have a hard time processing such atrocities.

"The Quest stands upon the edge of a knife. Stray but a little, and it will fail, to the ruin of all. Yet hope remains while the Company is true".

What I come away with tonight is a thankful heart, but a troubled heart. We cannot cease in praying for justice & peace in the world.

(Quotes are from Lord of The Rings)

Church

Just wanted to say I'm thankful for our little church. Love the fact that they've been doing a series on families & parenting. Learning a lot, meeting lots of great people & feel like we are part of the family. Most of all feeling blessed at what God is doing in our little family- God is faithful.

Swimming Lessons Complete

It was the wee man's final swimming lesson today. Thankful he made it through with a few tears but mostly fun.

This was his first real group lessons without me, so I think he did pretty well. He doesn't really like water in his face or being told what to do, so some weeks he wasn't too happy. Who can blame him, yet all the things he learned in some small way will prepare him for life apart from me. His first lesson I just wanted to pick him up & say "it's okay you don't have to stay", but I knew this is something he needs to do to learn and grow.

Thankful for the new skills my wee man learned, beyond just swimming & thankful that I'm learning along with him, when to protect & when to let go.

Late Night Owl & Friends

I've probably mentioned this before, but just in case you missed it, I am a night owl. Which for the most part I am thankful for; it's only a little challenging on early mornings.

Which brings me to my next point, friends coming for breakfast. I am so thankful for my crazy friends from near and far that are coming tomorrow. With these particular friends I can be myself & I don't even mind if they see my house a little on the messy side. Now that's when you know they're good friends, they can see you & your house not at their best. (morning is definitely not when I'm at my best- haha).

On that note I'm thankful I've got some pick me up to get ready for tomorrow & very grateful to have friends to share my Saturday morning with.

Hope you have a blessed Saturday with good friends too!

Paully

It's my youngest brother Paul's birthday today! What better time is there to say how thankful I am for him.

He is a unique character, always has been. He's kind hearted, caring & generous, not to mention a little on the rowdy, daring & just ever so slightly rebellious side. He's dependable and fun; a big hit with my 3 yr old because he's always up for being over the top silly. He has a style all his own!

I'm so thankful for my little bro... thankful we always have a great time together & thankful for who you are!!

Now for some very silly old photos...

Last but not least...if you ever become a criminal this is the shot we'll use...

Sunshine

It's been a little cloudy & gloomy here these past few days, so the beautiful sunny day was a welcome change. I'm glad we had some rain because everything was starting to look crispy and brown due to May being such a dry month. A sunny warm day does just lift the spirit somehow & today I'm grateful for that.

Camping Season

Bring on the campfire! We finally got some camping booked for the summer. July long weekend is our first camping adventure of the season. We usually stay at a provincial park, but they were so booked up basically anywhere within 5 hours of where we live, so we found a private campground that looks great.

We have a tent trailer & really enjoy getting away in the summer. We've been many miles in our little camper, all the way out to Newfoundland and back. We've seen a lot of our beautiful country, mostly on the East Coast; someday we'll make it to the West Coast.

Camping really is a great way to spend time with your family & to just let kids be kids, get dirty & discover something other than what's on T.V. Not to mention instilling the true meaning of becoming a pyro! (haha)

I'm thankful for all the time we've spent together camping as a family & looking forward to the start of another great summer!

Below is a peak at some of the fun we've had camping together!

Where it all started...me & my Grampa Mac! :) Miss him!! xox

The Weekend's a Wrap...feeling blessed!

My weekend started out at a Friday night concert of an old friend's, old band..Rise. It was a lot of fun. I did in fact chase my 3 year old around for most of the show, but honestly I count that a blessing. I remember being a young teenage girl & going to events just like this one & dreaming about the day I'd be married & have my own little family. I recall seeing Mom's chasing after their little one's & wondering if that would ever be me. Being at the concert, with hubby & son in tow, what a great feeling.

In addition to the show being a lot of fun & reliving some old memories, it's great to have friends that I've kept in touch with for a LONG time! Feeling old, maybe a little, but mostly grateful. I always thought it was amazing when my Grama Mac would tell me about friends she had stayed in contact with from her days as a young girl; I hope when I'm 80 something I will be telling my grandkids similar stories.

Saturday was filled with the usual routine of coffee with another great long time friend & then off to swimming lessons. After that I dropped Liam off to spend some quality time with Daddy, while I went to check out my new Costco membership with my Mom. My Mom & I had a good time just wandering the store, aimlessly for the most part just checking out the bargains & the people.

Here's what I observed while people watching at Costco; such busyness & generally not a lot of happy faces. I know it was a Saturday & all, but I found it a bit overwhelming in some ways; not so much the volume of people, but the many who seemed so dissatisfied with life and all this stuff surrounding them. I wonder what would happen to all these people, to me, if all the "stuff" was suddenly gone.

Now I'm not a doomsday believer or constantly thinking of the end of the world, but when I look around and see all the things going on in the world it does make me wonder. The world as we know it is really very fragile & sometimes I think we get so caught up in the day to day race that we forget how truly blessed we are.

In contrast to the busyness of my Costco trip & the volume of stuff, I watched a show called "Secret Millionaire" Saturday night. The show's premise is that a millionaire moves into a poor part of the country for a week & finds deserving people or organizations to give some of their money to. They volunteer & connect with people & conceal their true identities & wealth. They are given the same amount of money to live on as food stamps or government assistance would provide for someone in that same neighbourhood.

What I found so amazing about the show, based in the USA of course, is how poor some of the neighbourhoods really were. This was not some third world country, it was right in the middle of the land of dreams, the land of plenty. One of the stories was based in Los Angeles & I found it so sad that there were many people sleeping on the streets and just trying to get a handout of something to eat. This scenario taking place in the shadow of some of the richest people in the world really amazed me.

The message that I want to give from all this, to myself more than anyone else is I am blessed. I have a roof over my head, a family that loves me, a job, & health; these are the things I need to remember the next time someone cuts in front of me at the grocery store or the line I'm in is taking to too long. I am part of the blessed minority, I have peace. I know my blessings are not of my own doing & I never want to take that for granted.

Now I don't have bundles of cash sitting around to give away, but I don't believe that's what's asked of me either. Even time is precious to me due to my work schedule & having a family, but there's always something I can do to help someone in need. Volunteer when I can, give financially when possible, pray & really give of my heart. Remember the poor, we have so much & yet in the province, state or country you live in there are those who will go hungry tonight or will fight just to have a bed to sleep in.

Thankful for all I have, but I don't want it to end there I want to give back- I just need wisdom & a willing heart to do so!