The First and Last Snowman of the Year

Wednesday night is daddy and Kaley night and you never know what fun adventures will occur! This past Wednesday was no different. I passed them coming home from church while they were on a sled ride and they turned around quickly because Kaley had something she needed to show me...


a snowman! We had a couple of really mild and warmer winter days so most of our snow had melted away. But, since we live in Ontario and you never know when the snow will come and go, we got another snow fall with the really wet and heavy snow. It was perfect for a snowman and they made a great one.

Unfortunately it warmed up the next day and the snowman was no more, but Kaley and daddy had a great time and some good memories of winter fun.

Happy 3rd birthday Kaley!

Our baby girl turned 3 today! We never thought three years ago that parenting would be this much fun. As I was thinking back to before Kaley was born, I remembered a song that I heard while I was pregnant that I quickly coined as "Kaley's Song." I heard it again the other day and thought I'd share it on this special day.

We love you SO much Kaley girl! You make us proud to be your parents and we thank God for the blessing that you are to our family. Love~ Daddy, Mommy, Chloe and Baracus

Kaley's Song
a.k.a. My Wish by Rascal Flats

"My Wish"

I hope that the days come easy and the moments pass slow,
And each road leads you where you want to go,
And if you're faced with a choice, and you have to choose,
I hope you choose the one that means the most to you.
And if one door opens to another door closed,
I hope you keep on walkin' till you find the window,
If it's cold outside, show the world the warmth of your smile,

But more than anything, more than anything,
My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.

I hope you never look back, but ya never forget,
All the ones who love you, in the place you left,
I hope you always forgive, and you never regret,
And you help somebody every chance you get,
Oh, you find God's grace, in every mistake,
And you always give more than you take.

But more than anything, yeah, and more than anything,
My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.

This is my wish
I hope you know somebody loves you
May all your dreams stay big

Getting Back the Healthy Habits

It is funny how quick healthy habits seem to go by the wayside and how LONG it can take to get back to that place where those habits are simply a part of the every day routine.

Unfortunately for me, I didn't realize how far off track I had become until it was a week before Mark and Kaley were to leave for a weeks vacation to Calgary. I can't explain it other than I was in a *funk*. I wasn't sleeping well, eating well, my emotions were all over the place and it felt as though I was in crisis mode. Needless to say, I was looking forward to the week where I could get back to the place where I was the person, wife and mother that I needed to be- where love, grace, patience and compassion flowed freely.

It took a couple of days to clear my mind, relax and to focus on the important things that needed to be put back into place. After some much needed time to pray, talk with God and journaling, it became clear what I needed to do:
*start the day with prayer, and reading the Bible
*go to bed early and get up early
*exercise
*start using health food supplements again
*plan out my week

I had originally started with a HUGE list of things I wanted to change and then quickly realized that it was way too high of expectations and it would be hopeless to maintain. These were the things that, if implemented, would make a big difference-yet were relatively easy to put into practice.

Now, to make these things a habit once again!

This is an amazing Bible study that I recently started again.
I did it the first time about 12 years ago and I am loving it so far!

This is part of my eating healthy plan:
My food guide, protein powder, hot lemon and honey water, fish oil and coconut milk.

My Week Planner-
If I plan my week according to what I need to do and want to do and the actual time it will take to complete the tasks, then my time can be used effectively and purposely.

A Sweet Valentine Present

Kaley girl has one day a week where she goes over to her Auntie Wendy's house for the day. She has such a fun time there and today was no different.

I went to go pick her up and she had a surprise waiting- a beautiful pink cake that she baked with Wendy. Wendy asked her if she wanted to make brownies, and Kaley said that she wants to make a cake for daddy and mommy and chloe. When Wendy asked her what kind of cake she wanted to make, she said a pink cake with sprinkles-and that is exactly what she made! Wendy makes THE best cakes and it was delicious!

It was such a sweet thing that she did. I love to see this genuine, loving and caring part of her personality come out. What a precious little girl. And a big thank you to Wendy for doing such fun activities with Kaley, she sure loves her time there!

DIY Headboard

My amazing and very talented husband has been hard at work again! Well, to be completely honest, this project has been done for about two months, but I am just getting to post it now...such is my life:-)

We bought our bed shortly after we were married - mostly because we would have killed each other had we continued sleeping in a double bed. Needless to say, back then we had enough money for the bed, but wanted to wait until we moved here to think about a bedroom set. It will be 10 years this December, and we have YET to buy a bedroom set:-) I'm actually glad that we didn't, because the furniture that we have fits perfect in our space.

But, we have wanted a headboard for quite a while, so Mark asked if I could find a picture of what I liked and he would work his magic and add his special touch on it, and thus created this...in one afternoon! He really enjoys being able to make things like this. He does such a beautiful job of giving our home character with his special touch.

The next big project when we have the money saved up, is to add some paint colour to the walls, so when that happens, you will really be able to see the headboard even more!

Canadian Coupon Sites

The other night, Mark and I were watching a show called Extreme Couponing. It was a really neat show and I must say that there was a part of me that sparked an interest. After that show, Mark and I went on the computer to find out where and how to get coupons in Canada. Here are quite a few internet sites where you can find coupons to use here in Canada. Have fun!

Just coupons:
Web Saver-http://www.websaver.ca/en_ca/
Go Coupons-http://www.gocoupons.ca/
Right at Home-http://www.rightathome.ca/default.aspx
Coupon Click-http://www.couponclick.ca/
Loonie Coupons-http://looniecoupons.ca/
Fabulous Savings Canada-http://www.fabuloussavings.ca/

Company coupons:
Proctor & Gamble-http://www.brandsaver.ca/en_ca/coupons/index.php
General Mills Canada - https://lifemadedelicious.ca/#
Kellogg Canada-http://www2.kelloggs.ca/

Store deals/Promotions/Coupons:
Smart Canucks-http://smartcanucks.ca/
Frugal Shopper Canada-http://www.frugalshopper.ca/links/
Canadian Free Stuff-http://canadianfreestuff.com/
Flyerland-http://canadianfreestuff.com/

Blogs for Canadian coupons:
Money Saving Canadian Mom- http://www.moneysavingmomcanada.com/

Canadian Attractions:
Attractions Ontario-http://www.attractionsontario.ca/

What about you? Do you have any favorite internet sites that you use?

The Princess Sleeping Bag!

Ever since reading the story, Franklin Has A Sleepover, Kaley has wanted a sleeping bag. She has made sleeping bags out of her blankets and pretended that her Woof Woof is sleeping in one too. We looked for them here, and there was a pink one, but she wanted a princess one. No such luck:-( My mom said that she would look at the stores in Minnesota and sure enough, they had a princess sleeping bag in her favorite color...pink!

Here are a few pictures and a video of her opening it up! Thanks dad and mom, she sure was excited to get a package in the mail:-)