Gratitude

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. ~ JFK 

After a weekend full of family and good food, I am stopping by to wish you all a happy thanksgiving. I have so much to be thankful for!!

Welcome Little Prince

William Harry was born at 1:27 am on August 29th, weighing 6 lbs 14 ozs and sporting a thick head of dark hair. I can hardly believe he's finally here!!

Farewell, 2011

Christmas has come and gone. A surprise visit home from my sister who has been in Africa for the last six months was the best present ever. We spent our holiday with family and friends and it was wonderful. 2011 has been good to us. We watched Medea grow and change, moved to a new home, and have made many wonderful memories. I am so excited to see what 2012 has in store for us!! Happy New Year all. May this year be the best one yet.

Jim Henson Was a Wise Man

"The attitude you have as a parent is what your kids will learn from more than what you tell them. They don't remember what you try to teach them. They remember what you are."
~Jim Henson

Grateful.

This weekend was spent enjoying the food and company of family. Once again I am reminded of how much I have to be thankful for.

Back on the Wagon?

Wow. I definitely fell off the blogging wagon this past year!! I don't know how well I'll be able to keep up with it now that I have a little munchkin to care for, but I can try. Medea was born on September 7, 2010 at 9:23 am. It was definitely love at first sight. She is now just over five months old, which I can hardly believe. She is definitely cooler than her parents.

Meet Squirmy...

It's probably about time to announce that Russ and I are going to be parents! Yay! And yikes! Exciting and scary all rolled up into this tiny little bundle.

Gratitude.

This weekend Russ and I were able to spend thanksgiving with my extended family, which is always an exciting time. This year there was much to be thankful for:

• All of my sisters and I were able to make it home this year

• Russ and I met Maria, the Brazilian exchange student who is staying with my parents for the year

• My cousin Ben was at thanksgiving at my grandparents (Ben spent the last year in New Zealand, and this weekend was the first we'd seen of him since he came home!)

• My cousin Jana and her husband Dan announced the exciting news that they are expecting (the first!)
  

• I was able to wander around my old high school and take some pictures and refresh some memories before it is sold (the town has built a fancy new school)

• There was copious amounts of delicious homemade food to be shared

• There was much conversation and laughter to share

• The snow held off on our drive home until we arrived in Edmonton

And finally, my wonderful, awesome and somewhat nerdy husband came across this sweet video on youtube:

Father's Day

You can see where I get the goofy from...
Happy Father's Day, Dad! Love you lots!!

Love is Friendship Set on Fire.

Congratulations, Lisa and Tyson! It was a beautiful day!

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day, mum! Love you lots!

Caryn in Cairo.

One of my sisters, Caryn is in Cairo, Egypt for three months, working at St. Andrew's Refugee Services. She is a teacher's assistant for a second grade class composed of children mostly from the Sudan and Darfur. Caryn used to be a major homebody, but one day, she got the travel bug, and has been going ever since. I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little jealous of the experiences she has had and will have, but it's still really exciting to hear about her adventures. If you want to follow along, visit her blog Caryn in Cairo, which she has been updating almost every day.
(The photo is from her blog.)

Family.

Friday was my mom's 50th birthday. Russ and I took the week off, and showed up at my parents' house on Monday. My mom had no idea. She had thought that the only daughter coming home was Cher, who was on reading week. Mom and dad went to a B&B on Tuesday. Tuesday night, the doorbell rings, and Cher runs up to get it. Russ and I remain downstairs. We hear Cher squeal, so we go running upstairs, and there, in the entry way, is Caryn!! Caryn is going to school in Winnipeg, and so no one had any idea that she would be able to come home! She planned it in January, and told no one except her friends Leesa and Brandon, because they picked her up from the airport. Christine came home on Wednesday, so when mom and dad got home on Thursday, we were all there. Mom was speechless. It was a great birthday surprise!

Christmas Time is Here!

I enjoyed my first married Christmas with Russ and the fam, and it was wonderful! I hope your Christmas has been merry and bright.

Much to be Thankful For...

Thanksgiving flowers from family

Lovely fall days

A wonderful husband

I hope that everyone else is feeling thankful for life's blessings!

I Blame Facebook.

Yes, I blame my lack of postage on the addiction that is facebook. That, and I'm pretty sure that no one checks this thing anymore anyways...once again, because of facebook...Lots of things have happened in...five months...wow. That's pretty bad.

Let's see...in the last five months, Russ and I have had the pleasure of watching friends get married, (thanks for inviting us, Arden + Erika, Mary + Patrick, Alvin + Fiona), and this makes me realize that we've entered into that phase of our lives...everyone is transitioning from the college phase into the falling-in-love-and-getting-married phase. It all seem so "grown-up"...

Another, much sadder event in my life has been the passing of my Grandma on my dad's side. It's strange, because I wasn't as close to her as I am with my mom's parents, because she lived in Washington, and we only saw her once a year. She was a very strong lady though. That I know for sure. I mean, she was diagnosed with brain/spinal cancer and given a few months to live...6 years ago. Last February, the doctors only gave her a few weeks to live. On October 5th, they said she wouldn't survive the weekend. She passed away in her sleep at 6am Thanksgiving Monday. In a way, I'm just glad she is no longer in pain, and take comfort in the great memories that I do have of her.

I suppose that this would be where I say something profound about the phases of life...but I just don't have it in me today...so I shall leave it at that.

Wind, and Rain and...SNOW?!?! Oh my....

So, apparently, it's WINTER??? Though we have not yet got snow on the ground...it's freakin' gross out!! It's been a while since I've posted anything...but I haven't felt that there has been much to post. I'm still in Save-On hell, and every day it sucks a little more life out of me. Seriously, if I didn't hate Chad with such vengence, I'd consider going back--but I hate Chad. I'm getting exceedingly frustrated with the job search. Russ is doing well in school--in that he is the smart kid everyone sits by so they can cheat off of him...you know how he is. Right now I'm in Olds, visiting my family. My parents have another Japanese exchange student living with them, named Haruka. She's totally cute! Honestly, not much is post-worthy, and thus, I end this brief update.

Born to Be a City Girl...in a Small Town...Bigger than Olds...

So today is my first full day in the bustling metropolis of Cold Lake. It is my first-ever visit to anywhere more north than Edmonton...and I haven't even been to Northern Edmonton...I'm chillin' with Russ's family, and having a pretty good time. Today Russ is going to be taking me out on the town, which should be interesting...
Tiny bit of trivia-there is no Bank of Montreal in Cold Lake. Actually, the closest one is in Wainwright...so now we have to find a bank so we can deposit our money so that we can pay rent...or else the crazy landlord will kick us out. Oh well...Russ is putting on pants now, because if he goes to the bank without pants, i think that they will ask us to leave, even if we tell them that he needs money so that he can buy pants...or something...but yes. I'm off to have fantastic adventures here by the lake that is cold...

The Sisters!! Christine, Cher, me and Caryn.

Sister Act II

A couple of weeks ago, my baby sis Cher came up to Etown to stay with her big sisters, and we had a blast!!! And then, when the time came for her to return to Olds, I went as well, because it was our parents' 25th wedding anniversary, and we had a big open house planned. (It went well, even though the scrapbook that i was putting together as their gift was finished at 3am the night before!!) And during the week that I spent in Olds, got to sleep in Cher's room on a mattress on the floor because all the bedrooms were full, but it was great, because it was like a two week long slumber party! When I returned to Etown, i was homesick, and missed Cher, because we had just spent over two weeks together every day...and now she's coming up to stay for a few days!! I get to take her back-to-school shopping at west ed, and i'm so excited!! My other sister Caryn is coming up too, so we will all get to be together before Caryn heads to Winnipeg to school. That's gonna be weird, because I won't get to see her until she comes home for Christmas. .. But yeah.
Look out Edmonton, cause here come the Wheeler sisters!!