PICTURES!

I had to post all the pictures below only two or three at a time because of their size...so, there are several posts. Happy viewing.

3 Years Old...II

Just a quick disclaimer for those of you who are wondering if I can post pictures taken professionally. I was given permission to do so by my friend Corrie who is also the wonderful photographer who took these pictures. I will say that if you would like a copy of something you see, I will print it and send it to you. :)

3 Years Old!

3 Months Old!...II

3 months old!

Family Pics

Back in February we got pictures taken by our friend Corrie in Nipawin. The occasion was that Libby was three months old. We had pictures taken of Liam at the same time so thought it would be cool to do it for Libby too. The story of the pictures for Liam is for another blog post at a later date.

Here are the family shots. They are rather large file sizes so I will post Liam's and Libby's separately.

A handful here, a handful there

I have a problem. An addiction really. One that I am trying to break but so far have not been completely successful. The problem centers around my pantry and my lack of self-control. Do you think when the Fruit of the Spirit are mentioned in the Bible they are talking about self-control as it applies to semi-sweet chocolate chips. :) Well, I have a feeling that what they list there can apply to all sorts of life situations, including fist fulls of chocolate chips. I remember that my good friend Doris (now hanging out with Jesus) used to have the same struggle and had recently kicked that habit before she passed away in March 06. It's silly but part of me feels a little closer to her and her memory when I sit on the couch with a good book and a little dish of chocolate chips.

However, I have actually improved a lot. Just so you don't think you could walk into my house at any given time of the day and see me in the corner with a bag of chocolate chips and melted chocolate all over my face and hands. The fist fulls now only happen once in a while with exceptions for bad days, brought on by my children's behavioural issues or lack of sleep the night before. It has also been better since I joined Curves and I have some accountability in the area of fitness and weight. An area where I have seen some very encouraging improvement in the last three months. So, all this to say that these pictures of Liam reminded me of my own issues. This is him during a snack a couple days ago and come to think of it, I think he's actually eating something healthy like raisins. Oh, wait...never mind. At closer inspection I see that he is partaking of the chocolate Easter bunny that Uncle Brad brought by the other day. We do get this honestly as it runs in the family.







The picture above is the picture that reminded me the most about my deep-seeded chocolate chip issues. It reminds me of those pictures you see on the tabloid covers with someone like Brittney Spears walking out of somewhere with her hand out in front of the camera covering, in her case, a bad haircut, so the photographers can't fully see the gruesome details. Consider this next sentence the small print...in using this example I am not wanting to or attempting to put myself in the same category as Brittney Spears. :) I may consider myself to have much different ideals and morals but no matter what each of us has done or not done we are both in need to improvement when it comes to the Fruit of the Spirit...as I am daily reminded whether it be with chocolate chips or patience with my three year old.

Well, I feel a little hungry...I wonder if there are any more chocolate chips left...just joking. Maybe I'll grab an apple. :)

Mommy's Little Helper

This video just came to me today in an email from my Aunt. It made me laugh and reminded me of how much Liam wants to help with things around the house. Anything from putting on his own socks to cracking eggs for cookies. He will not be viewing this video. :)

More from a three year old's perspective

Liam asked if he could take one picture the other day. I was there so I thought it would be okay. I got called away to something else and a couple minutes later returned to see Liam still walking around with the camera. I asked him to relinquish it and much to his disappointment he did. Later when I downloaded the pictures onto the computer I noticed that my cute little boy has a bent for photography...or just likes to press buttons...probably more the latter. He took several more than the ones below but I won't bore you with the blurs that I think are actually close ups of things in Libby's room.

Our little rock star

We bought these sunglasses for Liam sometime during his first year of life and they quickly became known as his Bono glasses. For those of you who are not U2 fans or know who I am talking about, here is a picture.



It has come to our attention in the last few weeks that Libby either has a very long tongue, a short tongue tie, or just really likes to show off her tongue so we are noticing it more. The picture of Libby above made me think of Bono but with that tongue the lead singer of Kiss, Gene Simmons also came to mind. I was going to include a picture of him in his Kiss get up but decided against it. They are kind of on the scary side...not "ahh, texas chain chainsaw massacre" kind of scary but more "seriously, what were those guys smoking" kind of scary. :) Feel free to look it up on your own time.

The things kids say

The last two mornings at breakfast Liam had said something that has made me laugh. Yesterday I opened the curtains to see that it had snowed quite a bit over night. Liam sighed and said, "I guess it's not summer yet". This morning he was eating breakfast and talking about his Leapfrog letters on the fridge (this is an every meal occurrence) and he once again was lamenting the fact that we lost the "Q" a while ago. He looked up at me and said, "maybe outside there is a Q shop". If it only were that easy. :)

1920's Bookie or Amish Man?

So, what do you think? It's the Co-op's big anniversary celebration and because Brad works there (in the Nipawin Home and Agro centre) he and the rest of the employees were supposed to dress up like they would have in the 1920s. This picture was taken on Monday when my parents and Grandpa were here. We had a good laugh because with the beard a few of us thought that Brad looked more Amish than someone you would meet in an opium den in the 20s. What do you think? Does Brad look like he should be milking a cow (minus the tie) and driving a buggy or dancing with a girl in a flapper dress?

Brother and Sister

This was taken last weekend when my parents and Grandpa were visiting with us. It was a busy weekend...soccer tournament, Board meeting, visiting, mom getting sick...all in all it was really good to have them here. The kids did a good job of sleeping and being happy when awake, even with all the company. It was actually a fairly easy transition for the kids from company to just mom during the days following their visit. For the last couple days we have enjoyed more company. Our friends Matthew, Robin and Nathaniel are here because Matthew took a class this last week. It's been really good to connect with them again. So you can see why I haven't blogged lately. :)

The Doctor Called

I just got a call from my doctor this evening and I do indeed have Strep Throat for the second time in a month. I am on a different kind of penicillin this time and my doctor feels this one will work better than the one prescribed by the doctor on call in the ER ward last time. I'm thankful that I was able to hear back from my doctor already and hope things clear up quickly. I'm also thankful for the ability to see a doctor when I feel sick, have them know how to diagnose the problem, and receive drugs that will make me well again. All this only took $2.46 out of my pocket, plus the gas to drive to the hospital and pharmacy. Sometimes I am floored at how much I take for granted. There are people all over this world who will never experience that kind of freedom. I am reminded of a friend of ours who is a missionary in Zimbabwe. She teaches midwifery at a mission hospital in Karanda and she just recently shared about her ministry at a Ladies night we had at church. Women have babies on the side of the highway by themselves because they have no one who can come with them and no other way of transportation. If it wasn't for mission hospitals no one would be able to have the help of a doctor or medication and even then it is hard to come by. Without even thinking I assumed that I would have Liam and Libby in a nice comfortable Labor and Delivery room surrounded by machines and even a jacuzzi tub for my aching back. I assumed, when I jumped into my car yesterday that I would be able to see a doctor when I walked into the hospital. I was even slightly irritated that I had to wait a while before getting into a room. I sit here pondering this and feel ashamed...and then I feel thankful and want to not take these things for granted.

Emergency Room, Throat Swabs and a call from the doctor

Yep, that pretty much sums it up. I had strep throat last month and I think I have it again. I had a high fever last night and my throat just keeps getting more and more sore. Linds was able to stay home for a bit this afternoon so that I could visit Nipawin's version of a walk in clinic. Our walk in clinic is actually our Emergency ward at the hospital. Of course they will put the more pressing needs ahead of someone with a sore throat but I always feel bad when I go there with something that in comparison to a gun shot wound is pretty inconsequential. The last few times I have had to go there I don't feel as bad because getting in to see a doctor in this town can be difficult...and I have a family doctor. I think we have had a few doctors move on in the last couple years which doesn't help things. Anyway, I went in today and the doctor took a swab to send to the lab to see if it is indeed Strep. He says he will call with results. I've had my share of throat swabs over the years and my fair share of visits to the ER or doctor's offices with throat things. I can thing of a few things I would rather do than have a swab taken but it does usually lead to a cure and feeling better...I'm up for that. We sure have had our share of illness this winter and I hope this will be the last of it for a while. Parenting is just a lot easier when one feels healthy and has energy.

Thinking about summer

The weather has been a bit warmer this week and it got me thinking about summer. Here's a video I took of my guys while we went camping at the Nipawin Regional Park.

I'm not sure if you will be able to catch all the dialogue but the jest is that Liam is talking about checking out the barn later (there is a small petting zoo type barn at the park) and he is roasting his first hot dog. Don't get us wrong here, as much as I would love to keep away from all the scary things that make hot dogs unhealthy this is not his first hot dog, just the first time he has roasted one on his own. Can't keep those little people (or my husband) away from the things. :)

The Many Faces of Libby

In my attempt to get as many pictures of Libby as we have of Liam, here are some close ups I took last week.

We have the "Whoa, what is that thing mom is holding...oops, now I'm falling out of my Bumbo seat"


Then we have the "Winston Churchill...filling her pants look"


Oh, we can't leave out the "someday I want to be a singer, better practice keeping my mouth open. Man this tongue is a weird thing"


"Okay already, Mom I will smile if you get that camera out of my face"


"Here, will this look work for you? I call it the 3 month old thinker"

Bumbo Seat

A couple weeks ago I went to a local store with the intention of purchasing a Bumbo seat. Friends of ours had one with their little guy and I've had my eye on them ever since. I had to dish out a bigger amount of cash than I probably should have but it has been a great addition to our baby repertoire so far. They were designed in South Africa and are made out of polyurethane. The support of the chair allows babies to sit upright before they can do it on their own. This is great for our spit up queen who needs to be upright following feedings. It's also nice to have her closer to us. She can be up on the counter with me when I'm preparing supper and down on the floor beside us when we are playing games. Thank you to the campus ladies who contributed money to our gift...this is what I ended up buying.

Playing outside in the snow

The other day I decided that we had been in the house far too much with the cold weather. It happened to be on the warm side that afternoon so we bundled up and headed out to play with Liam's sand toys. They might be designed with sand in mind but they worked well and helped bring sanity back to this mother. I can definitely tell that Liam does not get the fresh air play time that he is used to during the warmer months. Sometimes I feel like grabbing the duck tape and taping him to the wall with his feet about three feet from the floor. Since that act would probably score me that "worst parent of the year award" I decided playing outside was the next best thing. One of the cool things about being a parent is that I get to do things over again. Playing in the snow is something that I remember I loved to do. The novelty has worn off a bit for me but it's fun to hang out with Liam. Libby at this time was inside having a snooze. As much as I love me son I think I might have rather done that activity.

After a bath

I love wrapping my kids up in their towels after a bath and seeing their little faces peek out. Now Liam stands up in his towel while I wrap it around him and runs through the house looking for the other parent. "I want to see Dad". This is probably from all those times that we paraded him in front of the adults visiting while all wrapped up in his towel.