bridal shower

i spent a little bit at the church today celebrating the upcoming marriage of a dear lady and her fiance. she is a beauty through and through.  

she was the kid at youth who always had the questions about EVERYTHING we taught her.  and wrote out notes and questions that came up in her own Bible reading time during the week.  she wanted answers.  we had better be willing to find the answers if we didn't already know them.  she challenged us, the leaders.  i love that about her.  

she is a dreamer as well, that makes her an amazing writer.  

last night i realized it was her bridal shower this aft. 

Gasp!!  

i hadn't bought anything yet.  

she needs something unique, like her. 

something that creams Nicole! or Nikki! :) 

i didn't want to go out on a hunt.. i thought for about 2 minutes and ran to my husband 

"bookends.  she needs cool, unique bookends!"  

they're readers, she's a writer...bookends made so much sense to me.  

so hubby said, alright let me know what you want and i'll go make them.   

what do you think of when you think of Nik?  i think of...Fantasy!  oh..not too easy to make into bookends in one night.  

then i had it...Scrabble tile bookends. 

I drew it out and gave it to hubby.  

he went down stairs and cut some wood, and brought me up the tile pieces.  

i got to work wood burning the letters and their values.

then he brought them down putting them altogether.  

we were able to get 2 clear coats on them last night and this morning he went down for the sanding and final coat.

(that's the first letter for each of their names.)

i had to make the card before i went. 

i was so excited to bring them.

love this gal.

she has encouraged me over the years, in many ways.

she makes me laugh.

she makes me cry.

she just makes me smile.

i am so excited for her and her upcoming wedding.

what a beautiful grade 9 she was when i first met her..

what a beautiful lady she is now.

what a stunning...beautiful...lovely bride she will be.

i hope someone is watching her hubby's face when she starts her walk down the aisle because that will be spectacular.

still winter

the date: Wednesday March 26 2014.

the temperature: -5*C in the sun.  that sun is a trickster.  

when i woke this morning the voice on the radio said it was -22*C

we received more snow yesterday.

i don't shovel anymore.

we haven't for a few weeks now.   

except for when we needed to clear a parking spot for my parents - in an area that no one had parked all winter.  

the sides of the parking spot were taller than the car.

i woke up saturday planning to run 11K.

i looked out the window.

overcast and snowing.  

*sigh*shoulder slump*

i couldn't do it.

i ran on sunday instead.

bright sunshine, had the best run all year so far.  and the farthest.

then the temps dropped again.

like i said earlier...

it snowed yesterday.

beautiful large snowflakes.

but the fact that it was snowing was the problem.

no matter how beautiful they were, they were coming at the end of march.

we've had snow since our first snowfall at the beginning of November.

we've had a lot of snow.

it has been bitter cold or snowing.

it's been a long winter.

my cat wants to go out when the sun is shining through the window.

then i open the door and he gets this confused look and turns and walks away - "not yet"

the sun is shining more.

i've been listening to the birds singing more often, and hear them playing in the branches.

that first robin i have not seen though.

less layers are needed most days.

i have tried to not complain about the winter.

it is a blessing having the 4 seasons to enjoy.

i am thankful for where i live, knowing full well that winter is a part of it, a huge part of it.

we have a ski hill 15 minutes away, we need winter here.

but we are primarily cottage country... we need summer too.

this has been a long winter for those whose employment is geared to no snow.

i just want spring.

i want to wear my birks...without freezing my piggies off.

i laughed the other day because i walked into the house and had muddy shoes...

i had mud on my shoes

not snow!

then it snowed again.

i can feel the warmth of the sun.

i know it is slowly beginning to feel like the beginning of spring.

i watch the icicles melt.

then reform overnight.

i see our canoe that got crushed by the amount of snow we received, and am thankful it was the old, already patched one anyway.  but look longingly at the other one who stood the test of winter.

i love the sparkles of light on the snow...there's so much snow, they're everywhere.

we laugh that our girl walked over and picked off the icicle dripping into the rainbarrel...she walked on snow the same level as the top of the rainbarrel.

winter is beautiful. 

i am thankful for the winter memories i have from this long winter.

quinzee sleeping, the girl learning to ski, the boy snowboarding, sledding parties, skating, hiking out back, getting out to take frosty photos, skijoring lessons for the dog, watching the dog slide down the hill because he loves snow, running on the snowy days, and enjoying that they're not bitter cold.  being inside with the family on a bitter cold day watching a movie, eating popcorn, watching the kids play- even in the bitter cold - while waiting for the bus, and the temp, not affecting them, snow days.

spring is beautiful.

i'm ready to be barefoot outside again.

i'm ready to run on grass.

i'm ready to have a picnic outside without snowpants and mitts.

i'm ready for thunderstorms, and showers.

i'm ready for rain coats, spring jackets, rain boots.

i'm just ready.

***

running selfies:

*all photos taken by me

with Gertie

edited in photoshop elements

happy 5th birthday my girl.

five years ago (yesterday) i went bowling with the youth group at church.  

it was St Patricks Day and i was almost a whole 40 weeks along in my pregnancy.

yes, i still bowled.

it was awkward, but so much fun.

we went to a house for pizza after.

then it was time to come home... 

we did have a little one to put to bed.

we arrived home and i went and placed out boy in his crib...

then i peed myself.

well, it felt like that.

i quickly covered him and stumbled out of his room calling my husband.

we figured out that my bladder wasn't weak.

my water just broke.

baby was due in 3 or 4 days...

guess bowling is a great inducer.

after a night of not sleeping we went to the hospital.

(no St Patty's baby for me)

it was time to meet our baby #2.

not long until we met...

her.

yes, i had a daughter.

bring on the pink and ruffles!

***

today she turns 5.

my baby girl.

my beauty.

i sometimes call her my Merida. 

(from the movie Brave)

when she's afraid but i am encouraging her to have courage i call her my Merida..

because Merida has courage.

then we recite her favorite verse

"When I am Afraid I will TRUST IN YOU! Psalm 56:3"

yes, she yells the last part and points up high, so i know she's not meaning me, but God.

She makes me laugh.

i make her laugh.

i read her her favorite Calvin & Hobbes and get her giggling.

she is bright, sweet, creative, silly...

she loves to read, and is excited that her brother told her when she turns five she will 

"learn lots more words"

and get to go to SK in September.

she is curious, adventurous, stubborn.

she is a joy.

she is a blessing.

she wishes she was the older sister...

(that's ok, her brother wishes he was the little brother)

she adores her brother.

she admires and adores her daddy.

she misses her grandma and grandpa, and papa and gramma.

i love to watch her.

i love to listen to her.

i love hearing her and her brother play and laugh together.

i am so glad that we have been blessed to have her as our daughter.

happy birthday little one.

this morning, when she was ready for school,

she told me "mommy i'm going to dance"

she cleared the floor in the living room and after i turned on the song of her choice...

she danced!

hey guess what...more running selfies. oh well.

  haha my selfies are back!  

that's right.  

another post dedicated to...ME! 

these are always taken at the end of the run.

my face usually lets you know how the run went.

i've found myself figuring out what face i'm going to make before i even get home.

that's right, i make multiple faces in the last kilometer, as i figure out how i felt about the run.

when i think about how i look, as i'm doing that, i begin laughing.

my run usually ends on a high note because i make myself laugh, even when i'm worn out, exhausted, sore, tired...

i took this one...

just because.

why not.

i did 9K... i'll make whatever face i want.

i glanced in the window as i was about to take this photo.

my little girl was watching me as she ate her breakfast.

i made a face at her then snapped it as my selfie.

it was a good run, this face tells you nothing about it.

the wind was COLD.

and a lot of it.  

it was trying to stop my forward momentum.

i won.

but it froze my face.

 *all photos taken by me

with Gertie.

edited with Photoshop Elements

they grow up fast.

I have a daughter.

the other night i went into her room to turn out her light and kiss her forehead.

i sat on the bed and brushed the bangs out of her closed eyes.

i cried.

i stared at my beauty laying there all curled up under her blankets.

she turns 5 in under two weeks.

she will be going to school full time next September.

i think it all hit me at once.

i just sat there, crying quietly.

stroking her hair.

watching her sleep.

the kids are growing up.

slowly..but not too slowly.

my girl.

-wants to lose her teeth like her big brother.

-can read and write the words: mom, dad, wow, love, from, to, jack (our dog).

-draws me something at school every day i send her.

-is nervous at school, but gets on that bus, after a prayer, with courage.

-knows that "when i am afraid i will trust in you (God)" Psalm 56:3

-wants to do ski slope style, just like Dara Howell, in the olympics.

-is learning to ski this winter.

-loves to dance, sing, create, laugh.

-she is Elsa. she is my Merida. she is Astrid.  she is going to act, just like mommy, one day.

-she wants to meet Dara Howell.  she made her a valentine.

-she is a dreamer.

-she is beauty.

-loves Calvin & Hobbes.

-she will always be my girl.

just not so little anymore.

-she turns 5 in just under two weeks.

i love this girl so much more that i could have ever imagined.

i am excited to watch her grow, to learn, to explore, to go on adventures, to fall in love with life, to grow closer to God, to grow in her courage and strength.  

and my boy...

oh my first born.

i became a mom when i had you.

i also love you way more than i ever thought possible.

my boy.

-has four adult teeth already in his mouth 

(his 6 year old molars came in, they're adult teeth).

-has four adult teeth at different stages of growing in.

-can read a whole Hot Wheels book all by himself.

-draws zombies, army men, animals all the time.

and then writes the names and sounds very well.  

sometimes they're spelled right, but we can always tell what they're supposed to say.

-loves school.

-asked to take lacrosse intro, without us even having to encourage him.

-next it's ball hockey.  

(this was the kid who cried and got scared going to sunday school every week)

-wants to do snowboard cross or half pipe in the olympics one day

-wants to do biking in the olympics one day - "some people do both olympics mom"

-he wants to be a police more than a firefighter. - "the police stop bad guys, mom."

-he wants wisdom like Solomon

-his favorite verses are: 

God has breathed life into all of Scripture...it is useful for training us to do what is right.  2 Timothy 3:16

Faith is being sure of what we hope for.  It is being certain of what we do not see.  Hebrews 11:1

(both in the NIrV)

-loves Calvin and Hobbes.

he turns 7 this summer.

but he still loves cuddles and Bear.

***

running selfie:

*all photos taken by me

with Gertie.

edited in Photoshop Elements