Wednesday, December 31, 2014

December 31, 2014

We rang in the new year with good friends - playing games, snacking, and building relationships. There are wonderful people here in Medicine Hat!

Tuesday, December 30, 2014

December 30, 2014

Service is never convenient, but always important. We helped a friend in our ward make a last minute move to Calgary. While it wasn't the best timing for us, it felt great to help.

Monday, December 29, 2014

December 29, 2014

While I absolutely love our Christmas decorations being up, it's always somewhat of a relief to get them taken down and packed away, too. Back to crisp and clean!

Sunday, December 28, 2014

December 28, 2014

Our Christmas Card display this year - I always love looking at all of the cards and feeling the love.

Saturday, December 27, 2014

December 27, 2014

A very happy surprise this morning! The girls made breakfast for us - including scrambled eggs, oranges, and juice. What thoughtful kids!

Friday, December 26, 2014

December 26, 2014

We just had to take the family to check out the amazing light display set to music put on by this member of the community. I can only imagine the amount of work that went into this!

Thursday, December 25, 2014

December 25, 2014

A wonderful Christmas spent with each other, opening gifts and eating treats - then had Aunt Goldie-Ann over to share Christmas dinner. Perfection.

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

December 23, 2014

A fun evening at the movies - I took the kids to see Night at the Museum 3, then Lyndon and I went to see The final Hobbit movie in the evening. We love seeing movies as a treat.

Monday, December 22, 2014

December 22, 2014

Time to unwrap a new game! Typically when we do this, it's a boardgame that we unwrap, but this year we decided to try a new wii game that can have 4 players at a time. Huge hit with the kids!

Saturday, December 20, 2014

December 20, 2014

We headed to Calgary for an afternoon of eating, playing, and visiting with family. We love our relatives and want the kids to have a close relationship with their cousins. It was a great day.

Friday, December 19, 2014

December 19, 2014

For our December Daily activity today, the girls each got to unwrap a new book to read. These were the books they each got and I think they were all pleased with their choices. 

Thursday, December 18, 2014

December 18, 2014

The past couple of days I have been so thrilled to watch these girls perform in their school's Christmas concerts. What pleased me the most was the fact that most of their songs were about the birth of Christ, which is unusual for schools, these days - sadly.They sang their hearts out and I was so impressed by the level of difficulty their songs were. They were amazing!

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

December 17, 2014

This poor guy went under the knife today to get his deviated septum repaired. As always, he was a trooper and acted like it was nothing, even though I could tell he was in pain. I hope this proves to really be an improvement for him, with his breathing issues. Love this guy!

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

December 16, 2014

Our city has been covered in a beautiful hoar frost, so Lyndon and I went out to a spot overlooking the large church building to take some photos. I was surprised by the incredible reaction I received from this image. I knew that I loved it, but had no idea how much others would love it, too. It has become one of the most iconic photos I've taken, thus far, and I love it.

Monday, December 15, 2014

December 15, 2014

Tonight we treated the family to an ice cream sundae bar. We invited Bob and Claudia over to share and they brought their famous homemade chocolates, which we love, love, love! Perfect night!

Sunday, December 14, 2014

December 14, 2014

My amazing girls sang  a beautiful rendition of "Mary's Lullaby" in church today, while I accompanied them on the paino. I was so pleased with their effort, which paid off in a musical number that touched those who were listening, very much. Well done!

Saturday, December 13, 2014

December 13, 2014

It was a very busy day today, starting with the Primary children performing some Christmas songs at a Senior's center, followed by the ward Christmas party at the church. This time of year is always filled to overflowing with together time - and we love it.

Friday, December 12, 2014

December 12, 2014

An Evening out with good friends. We ate at a yummy Thai place, then headed back to their house for games, desserts, and lots of laughs. Good friends are a MUST!

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

December 10, 2014

The girls recorded a beautiful Christmas song for their grandparents in B.C. along with a Christmas message for them. It's hard not being with them at Christmas time.

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

December 9, 2014

My turn for a December daily activity! I asked to take a photo of the girls in front of the tree. They lovingly (if reluctantly) obliged :)

Monday, December 8, 2014

December 8, 2014

Time to decorate a little Christmas village out of gingerbread! Note to self - next year, make extra icing!

Sunday, December 7, 2014

December 7, 2014

Our yearly tradition on the first Sunday in December - we watch the First Presidency Christmas Devotional. This year we watched while cuddled up by the fire in our basement. Lovely!

Saturday, December 6, 2014

December 6, 2014

We treated the kids to a trip to Lethbridge to see "Meet The Mormons" in the theater there. It was so worth the drive and the ticket price. I felt the spirit and was reminded of the goodness of the Gospel. I know how much it has blessed my life and I am grateful to have the knowledge and testimony I have.

Friday, December 5, 2014

December 5, 2014

We were treated to a fun pantomime by our friend Verne Hyde, who rented out the theater for a select few friends and clients. It was so much fun and lots of laughs. We had a blast.

Thursday, December 4, 2014

December 4, 2014

Tonight was shopping for each other's Christmas Eve gifts. We always draw names each year and pick out a little something special for each other (with a $5 limit.)

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

December 3, 2014

The girls made these adorable snowman laterns from milk jugs and a string of white lights, in Achievement Days tonight. Awesome!

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

December 2, 2014

Time to try our hand at making some peppermint fudge! It worked out perfectly - the creamiest, smoothest fudge ever!

Monday, December 1, 2014

December 1, 2014

Time for the first ice skate of the year, and the first of our "December Daily" activities!

Sunday, November 30, 2014

November 30, 2014

BB invited her friend, Kali, over to make some Christmas crafts and have fun in their jammies. She is a very nice girl and they get along like peas and carrots!

Saturday, November 29, 2014

November 29, 2014

Our stake is awesome. They put on a wonderful evening called "A Night in Bethlehem". They decorated the gym to look like Bethlehem, including authentic looking stalls with shop keepers selling their wares, a silhouette of the old city on the walls, people dressed as roman sentries and other people from that time, and a live nativity that was put on every half hour. We were each given a little satchel filled with "gems" that we could spend at the stalls, buying everything from apples, olives, and bread with honey, to cookies and desserts, and even a little dreidel game. We had to pay our taxes, though, which always stinks :) I loved it, and if they put it on next year, I'll be dressing up!

Friday, November 28, 2014

Thursday, November 27, 2014

November 27, 2014

I think I'm finally getting the hang of this knitting thing. I finished up this chunky cowl in a couple of hours. I'm hooked :)

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

November 26, 2014

This really cool circle (halo) around the sun appeared and we just had to capture it. Stunning!

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

November 25, 2014

We waited a while to see this movie and weren't disappointed! We thought it was great, if a tad slow, and was faithful to the book. Now to see the last installment - Mockingjay Part 2!

Monday, November 24, 2014

November 24, 2014

I baked and photographed these ooey gooey, chocolate peppermint marshmallow brownies for a post on HowDoesShe. Seriously drool-worthy and completely amazing.

Saturday, November 22, 2014

November 22, 2014

Special day! JJ won the Student of the Month award for the entire school for November - only one student is chosen for the entire school. As part of her award, she was given a gift certificate to Ruckers, so we took the girls to celebrate. BB even broke one of the high score records! Such a fun day.

Friday, November 21, 2014

Thursday, November 20, 2014

November 20, 2014

I hosted my first ever "Favorite things" party at my house for me and a couple of gal pals. We each brought our favorite snack to eat, visited, did a "favorite things" quiz, and exchanged our favorite things under $5 - we each brought 5 of the same "favorite thing" and handed them out to the guests. Each guest went home with five new "favorite" items from each other. I loved all of them, and have used them lots. It was such a fun night. I'll have to do it again!

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

November 19, 2014


 Another fundraising event for Canadian Humanitarian - this time in Medicine Hat. The keynote speaker was the inspiring Ted Jaleta, a world class master's runner and motivational speaker, who shared a bit of his amazing story of survival as he escaped war torn Ethiopia and made his way, eventually, to Canada. Incredible story of strength and perseverance. The event was emceed by Rick Castiglione who was a news anchor and now films documentaries, one of which he did for Canadian Humanitarian. It was a lovely evening and a very successful fundraiser.

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

November 18, 2014

The perfect type of snow to make some cute snow people - including a girl in a dress and a pony tail!

Monday, November 17, 2014

November 17, 2014

It's earlier than any year in the past, but we decided to decorate of Christmas! It just seemed like time, and it felt great! Too bad Lyndon was feeling sick tonight and couldn't be a part of it. Maybe next year!

Sunday, November 16, 2014

November 16, 2014

A special evening - it was Young Women in Excellence. TJ and B both shared their Personal Progress projects, TJ sang a duet with her friend, Alicia (accompanied by me on the piano), and TJ even curled JJ's hair to match hers. It was a lovely evening, beginning to end.

Saturday, November 15, 2014

November 15, 2014

The men in our ward held a Nacho Libre party and a few of them just had to dress the part. Hilarious.

Friday, November 14, 2014

November 14, 2014

A first, for me - homemade marshmallows! Homemade PEPPERMINT marshmallows, at that! Major yum factor going on here - and aren't they so pretty?

Thursday, November 13, 2014

November 13, 2014

Hello winter! The trees are weighed down by the heavy snowfall we got last night.