Well, it's Mother's Day again! I'd like to wish ALL of the mothers out there a very wonderful Mother's Day! Mothers come in a lot of different forms ... There are mothers whose babies are in Heaven waiting for us, those whose babies are very much alive and very active every day, those whose babies are all grown up and moved away, and those who never had babies - for whatever reason. Moms also can be moms to furry and feathered creatures great and small - they all require our nurturing, love, patience and guidance.
You are all special on this day. I wish a special blessing for all of you!
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!
This is what I awoke to this morning ...
Chrysanthemums are one of my MOST favourite flowers! I always love to see fresh flowers on the counter or the table - aren't these beautiful????! And so bright and cheery!! I am also being taken out for breakfast! YUMMY! Another of my favourite things (I have lots!!)! DH and I used to go for breakfast once or twice a month before we had kids - I really miss it sometimes.
It's raining her for our Mother's Day, but that doesn't matter. What matters is that my two kids are healthy and happy and all my furry and feathered ones are an absolute joy. I am blessed beyond measure .... I hope that you are too!
Thinking of all you Moms out there today - you are loved and you are blessed!
Well, last Saturday was certainly a very fun day! Sorry it's taken me SO long to get on here and write about it! As you know from my previous post, it was my dear friend Connie's birthday! She's 29 AGAIN - we're not sure just HOW LONG she's going to be that age, but she does look ageless, so I guess as long as it works.....
As I said, we had a great day. Connie, her niece, Grace and myself went out shopping, eating, laughing and more shopping and more laughing! It was so fun! So glad that Grace joined us - she is a lovely , Godly lady and it was a priviledge to have her along and to get to know her a little better!
Here's a pic of Connie & Grace outside of our favourite store in Abbotsford, which was our first stop ...
Aren't they gorgeous???!! And speaking of gorgeous, just LOOK at these beautiful flowers! Of course, Connie is more beautiful than all of them, isn't she? No doubt!
After a few stops, we enjoyed a lovely lunch in Fort Langley. The food was excellent and the company was beyond measure! Here's a photo of the three of us - I thought about not posting this photo as I really dislike having my photo taken, but I figured I'd be leaving out a large chunk of our day if I didn't. As my mother always said, "cameras don't lie". I certainly don't hold a candle to Connie or Grace, but I guess I'm the way God wants me, so I have to be content with that. Notice the grey hair and the need for a dye job?
As I said, we had SO much fun! Connie's DH had prepared a wonderful spaghetti dinner for us for when we got home and it was SO yummy! He also looked after my dd, as my DH and ds were away in Edmonton at a hockey tournament. So, it was a great day and so nice to enjoy the fellowship and love of these two lovely ladies and then be treated to a wonderful dinner.
It was a great day and I was blessed beyond measure to be a part of it!
Grace & Connie - thank you for such a wonderful day!
I almost forgot - THIS was a wonderful find I made on this special day. I got this Mixmaster for $35!!!! It's in brand-new condition!!! It doesn't have dough hooks, but I've ordered some online for $15, so should have them soon! I'm not too fussy on the colour, but it doesn't matter - it's what it does that's important, not the colour, right? Besides, I've wanted one for a long time!
Today is a very special day. My dear friend, Connie (aka Schatzi from New Beginnings), is having a birthday!!!!!!!! She's 29 AGAIN (sheesh, how many times are you allowed to DO that???!!)! Happy Birthday my sweet friend!
A more loving, giving, loyal, godly, dedicated friend you could never wish to have - and I have all that and more in Connie. My life has never been the same since we met back in 1999 (RIGHT, dear??!!! ) We've been through so much together including flying to Africa (Liberia) to bring home their adoptive daughter. What an adventure!!! I am always blessed in seeing Connie, and love her dearly.
Today Connie, her niece, Grace, and I are going shopping ALL DAY to celebrate Connie's birthday! Can't wait - should be LOTS of fun! When our shopping day is over, we will come home to a delicious dinner cooked lovingly by Connie's DH - isn't that wonderful!!!???
And so, if you have time today, please take a moment to visit Connie and say hello and wish her a very Happy Birthday.
When I think of my dear friend, I am reminded of this scripture:
John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
So, Connie, my dear, special friend, I hope that today is the beginning of a year full of dreams come true and answered prayer for you! Love ya, dear! You are a very special lady and I thank the Lord for bringing you into my life - I am SO blessed by you!
My dearest friend, Connie came over for coffee this morning so we could discuss some wedding shower arrangements for her beautiful daughter, and also to DO THE DRAW FOR MY BLOGGY GIVEAWAY!
I printed out each entry ...... and then put them into a tin ..... shook them up REALLY well .....
The we said a little prayer .... then Connie made the draw .....
And .... the winner is .....
Amanda at seventhheaven !!!!!!!!! CONGRATULATIONS, AMANDA!!! I will be contacting you by e-mail to get your particulars so I can get your winnings off to you hopefully today or early tomorrow morning!
Thanks so much to EVERYONE who entered my fun giveaway celebrating my 100th post! I'll be having another giveaway, but not for a few weeks.
I'd also like to thank Connie for helping with the draw!
Today is your LAST day to enter my blog giveaway. Check out here to see what it's all about and what I'm giving away. I wish everyone luck and don't forget in order to be eligible, you MUST post about my giveaway on your blog. Leave your name and contact info on the original contest posting(comment section) and I'll be making the draw on Thursday, May 1st, in the afternoon. I'll get my dear friend, Connie to pick a name from a hat.
It's been a couple of weeks since I've blogged. We've had a nasty cold/flu go through our house - first it was me who was sick, then dd, then the latest one was ds. Let's just say that we've gone through MANY BOXES of Kleenex and lots of fever and cough medicines between the three of us!!! Hopefully we're on the downside of it now.
And now, onto the exciting part of this posting......the GIVEAWAY! Since this is my 100th posting, I thought I'd celebrate by having a little bloggy fun and having a giveaway. All you need to do is post a comment telling me you'd like to be entered (one entry per person, please), and on May 1st, 2008, we'll draw one name from all the entries! I will then contact you about getting your prizes! Please be sure to identify youself on your comment (ie. no anonymous entries, please!). The only condition of entry is that you mention my giveaway on your blog - isn't that easy?
So, what am I giving away? Well, I have two Bayberry scented soaps, a Nicole Nordeman prayer journal, a copy of "Redeemed", signed by my dear friend and author, Donna Dawson, a copy of "Day By Day With Billy Graham" - a devotional book, a small birdy notebook, and 7 packages of three Crayola Kids' Flossers (one-time dental floss pics for kids).
I hope to see lots of entries.
**The draw was made on May 1, 2008. Go here to see the winning name. **
So, DH's family came over yesterday evening for a nice Easter dinner. We had a great salad with baby greens, grapes, feta cheese, tomatoes, and cucumbers then followed by yummy ham & scalloped potatoes along with red cabbage, corn, steamed cauliflower, bean salad, potato salad & buns. For dessert, we had a wonderful apple crisp that SIL Anna made and brought - YUMMY! I LOVE apple crisp! We had a great evening, and DH did a lot of the clean-up and ran the dishwasher, so that was a real treat!! This morning, I just had to unload the dishwasher and get another load going.
From left to right - FIL, BIL, SIL, MIL. It's always nice to have people over, but I do get stressed by it before-hand. This time, DH helped me cut up stuff for the salad and that helped a lot while I was cleaning bird cages and vacuuming. So, we were all able to have a nice visit. DH's father was in the hospital last week with a seemingly minor incident (for 5 days), but you just never know. I think this has made him look at things a little differently - I could be wrong, but it's sure the impression I get.
It's been nice having the kids home for Spring Break. They're at ages now where they're able to help out a little more and it's a more enjoyable time overall.
Hope you all had a great Easter weekend. He is Risen!!
Blessings to all!
~ Audrey ~
P.S. This is post #97 - stay tuned for my bloggy giveaway for my 100th posting!!
Today is ds's 12th birthday - can't believe it's been that long since I spent 3 days trying to deliver him! We are going out to dinner tonight to a restaurant of ds's choosing - it's a buffet in Abbotsford that he loves. I've been under the weather for the past 4 or 5 days, so I'm hoping to be able to actually feel well enough to feel good about going or at least put on a good show.
I hope that today is the first day of a year full of dreams come true for you, my little man. May God be with you today and always - I love you so much!
Here's wishing everyone a very Happy New Year! I hope you had a wonderful Holiday time and that you are ready to take on another year - with God's help, of course!
It seems that all the high-calorie food that has been loitering around the kitchen over the holidays has attached itself to my body in the form of extra weight. My mission for this year is to try to extract myself from it! Honestly, there is just so much food around during the holidays, and my self-control in that department is just non-existant. So, I'll be making it a priority to lose the extra pounds I've gained. Not an easy task, but a necessary one for the good of my health. I also have a wedding in June to attend, so would like to be slim and trim for that, but will not put any unrealistic expectations on myself. I just need to keep it as a goal for myself and with lots of prayer and God's help, I will try my best to attain it.
We had a very laid-back New Year's Eve. We stayed in and watched a CSI marathon from 8 p.m. I caved in at 11:15 and left dh and the kids up to usher in the new year. Pretty bad when I go to bed before my 9 and 11-year-olds, isn't it? I just have never been too good at staying up late.
And so, another year has come and gone. Good-bye to 2007 and hello to 2008! I hope that this new year is full of dreams come true for all my friends in blog-land. I have enjoyed "meeting" everyone through comments and Show & Tell Fridays and links from various blogs and random blog viewing over the past year - and to think that at this time last year I never dreamed of having my own blog!! Wow!
I haven't had time to post in quite a few days. Been so busy with Christmas stuff and life in general. We had a nice Christmas. We enjoyed a pretty laid-back Christmas day with my Dad coming down to watch the kids open their presents and open a few himself from Santa . We had a rather large breakfast of Fried eggs, sausage and toast close to noon, so we were pretty set for the day and just snacked for dinner.
I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas and enjoyed some family time and great food! I just LOVE turkey! A turkey dinner with all the trimmings has to be one of my favourite meals of all-time (although it ALWAYS tastes better when someone ELSE makes it)! We had our big dinner on Boxing Day. We had hubby's parents here and a girlfriend of mine who is single, along with my Dad, who lives in a mobile home here on our property. So, there were 8 of us total for Christmas dinner. It was YUMMY! I don't even have a photo of the set table because I was so busy preparing everything. Oh, well!
I do have a turkey story to tell about this year's dinner, but that's for another time. Funny now, but awful and VERY stressful at the time! In the meantime, here's a photo of our Christmas tree from this year (below). This photo was taken at 6:45 a.m. on Christmas morning when it was still dark out and nobody but me and the dog were awake. I was sitting on the couch with my coffee admiring the tree and the reflection of the lights in the windows behind and imagining what it must have been like in that stable when Jesus was born......absolutely Amazing!
Horrible news yesterday about Benazir Bhutto's slaying in Pakistan. I'm sure that country will be very unstable for a very long time to come because of this. The people of Pakistan can use our prayers! If you have a few extra moments today, please remember them in your prayers.
I wish you all a very Happy New Year, although I'm sure I'll be posting a time or two before the actual New Year. Although I love Christmas and all it represents, I do get a bit stressed and am always glad when it's over. Doesn't that sound horrible? There is just so much to get done, and it's just so nice to sit in front of the tree on Christmas eve and be "ready" for that big day. Does anyone else ever feel the same or is it just me?
A belated Happy Thanksgiving to all the Americans out there. We Canadians celebrate our Thanksgiving in mid-October, so ours is but a distant memory now. I hope that everyone in the U.S. had a wonderful day with lots of love and yummy food surrounding you! We ALL have so much to be thankful for here in North America.
I have to make a comment about this day you Americans call "Black Friday". That sounds so dark and hideous - I heard the reason for it being called that (that it's the biggest shopping day of the year, so the retailers are "in the black"), but can't help but wonder if they couldn't call it a bit nicer name. Just an observation from a Canadian. I know it won't be changed, but the name just sounds so scary! Anyways, I hear that people were lining up and camping out at some stores overnight to get the great deals early on. I hope that you enjoy your big shopping day. I, personally, couldn't be bothered to fight all the crowds.
I have begun decorating for Christmas. I got a few things put out yesterday. I am just going to do a little bit everyday so as not to be too overwhelmed. I'll post some photos soon.
I'm looking forward to the Christmas Ornament swap coming up! It's always lots of fun to put a little package together for somebody else!
Well, that's it for now. I hope you have a great Black Friday .
I've joined a Christmas Ornament Exchange for bloggers! It sounds like such fun! Visit The Open Window to find out more. Deadline to join is November 16, 2007. Check it out!!!
Well, today is my birthday. I certainly don't feel my age - I still feel like I'm in my 20's most of the time! I'm so thankful for everything I've been blessed with in my 44 years! Yep, the cat is out of the bag - can you believe it?? FORTY FOUR!!! I feel like such an old fart when I think about those numbers!!
I LOVE my birthday present - a new Canucks jersey from hubby and the kids!!!! I'm so excited!! I also got a beautiful bouquet of flowers!
I also got a wonderful gift from Connie yesterday. She gave me two beautiful cast iron tealight holders shaped like autumn leaves - they are GORGEOUS! We also went to the Kilby Christmas cottage for an open house/preview before they officially open to the public on Thursday. We stopped for lunch at the Kilby General Store - mmmmm! Salmon sandwiches and Ministrone soup - it was delicious and the atmosphere is always wonderful. It was raining pretty heavily and we were the only ones at the General Store. So, Connie, thanks so much for your beautiful gift and a wonderful day out yesterday - how fun! How I treasure our friendship!
Connie also prepared a wonderful birthday dinner on Friday night. We were all invited over and she made a mouth-watering roast with all the trimmings and my absolute FAVOURITE for dessert - STICKY TOFFEE PUDDING - mmmmmmmmm!!!!! Oh, it was SO yummy!! Thanks, my dear, for a wonderful evening and for preparing such a feast for my birthday - you are one in a million!
Ahhh! I can blog again - there was some trouble with the Homestead server apparently, and so we couldn't enter the body of a message - just the title.
I hope all the Canadians out there had a great Canada day on Sunday, July 1st! This great nation of ours deserves to be appreciated! Happy 140th Birthday, Canada!!!
I've been slowly getting my kitchen back into shape. Everything was packed away, and so I'm just doing a box at a time in between everything else. Hubby and ds went to Calgary to a hockey tournament and have been gone since last Wednesday evening. They should be back tomorrow evening or Wednesday mid-day. They were going to visit Drumheller and some friends and then come home.
Dd goes away to Christian youth camp next week - a WHOLE week (5 days) away from home - now THAT is a bit scary for me. YIKES! She's only 9! The only time our kids have been away from home to sleep is at their Oma and Grandpa's house - DH's parents. I just have to pray that God keeps her safe. DS goes a couple of weeks after that. I'm sure they're going to have LOTS of fun, and it's the stuff that memories are made of, but it's hard for me.
The parrots are settling back into a routine after being shuffled back and forth in their cages to different rooms while the cupboards and stove were being installed. The glue the cupboard man used was pretty nasty with fumes, so I put them down in the living room with 2 fans pointed out. You can never be too careful with the birds. Remember the canary in the coal mine? Well, they used a bird because their respiratory systems are so sensitive. Anyways, they seem to be just fine and are back to themselves. Theodore, my Timneh Africa Grey, thinks he's a crow these days - squawking away - it's just SO annoying, but I try to ignore it because to do anything else will reinforce the behaviour and he'll just do it more. Grin and bear it. I tell him that it's a good thing he's so cute!
Well, that's about it for tonight. I have to get my bird newsletter finished tomorrow - I'm already behind on it. I also need to bake some banana loaves and some cookies in my new (new to ME, anyways) oven!
Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there! Mothers who already have children to hold, mothers who are expecting or who are waiting for children through adoption or other avenues, and those mothers with babies/children in Heaven....I wish you all a wonderful day!
I love country living. I'm a stay-home mom of two children - one biological and one adopted from Thailand. Wife to a wonderful hubby. Also Mom to 8 parrots, 1 Jack Russell Terrier, one cat, 3 goats, 1 guinea hen, 4 roosters, thirteen plump brown hens, one oversized duck and a beautiful pea hen. Daughter to the King only by His grace.
Notice the grey hair and the need for a dye job? 
Oh, it was SO yummy!! Thanks, my dear, for a wonderful evening and for preparing such a feast for my birthday - you are one in a million!
