It's like riding a bike

For the first time in a very long time I was able to go for a bike ride. The last two nights I went out by myself for a little jaunt. I haven't rode my bike in forever and a half. Between being pregnant or having just had a baby or it being winter I have not ridden in like 3 years. And lets be honest I didn't ride it much before that - too lazy. So Today I have a sore bottom - I think I need a gel seat. Now if only Fred and I could get out together minus the little ones....Actually we do have a bike trailer that they can both fit in. By the end of summer Nathan should be big enough to wear a helmet so he can come.

Since Facebook

I think almost everybody I know is now on facebook. I think that facebook has casued people to avoid there own blogs. I think facebook is so addicting that people are spending there online time on that rather then in the blogworld.

My own thoughts on facebook....it is kind of neat but yet I am not convinced I love it. It seems kind of like a race to see how many friends you can get. Then once you get them that is it. And how weird is it that peoole make plans and stuff on a wall to wall so that everybody can see it?

I can say this- I wish I could have bought stock in facebook

Uncle Ronnie

Last Thursday I received word that my Great Uncle Ronnie had Cancer, quite progressed and aggressive, It sounded pretty bad my mom said. I just seen my Uncle Ronnie on the 14th at my Grandma J's memorial. He seemed fine - a little mellow perhaps but I didn't give it a second thought- we were at a memorial after all.

Uncle Ronnie is a Tall Robust man. Dark hair and Dark beard. I don't know why but he has always reminded me of a lumberjack. He has always appeared so gruff but he has always been a big softy. He just turned 60 last August.


This morning my mom called to say that the Doctor gave him two days and they had moved him to palliative care. He didn't last that long and died this evening at 7:30. I guess he had been feeling under the weather for a couple month's. He thought he had pneumonia. He finally went to the Dr on Tuesday and was admitted to the hospital right away.

I feel very sad for his family. His youngest grandchildren are twins and they just turned one this month. His youngest daughter didn't get there in time. She lives in Fort St john and had to fly to Calgary then rent a car to drive to Medicine Hat - she was about 1/2 hour away. They were all together last weekend and they had no idea that would be the last time.

I am realising more and more that Life on earth is so short, and so out of our control.

Like a Child

Sometimes I wish I could express how I feel like a child does. Samantha is a open book, she tells you or rather shows you exactly what she thinks. When Fred walks in the Door at lunch Samantha stops what she is doing and runs to him...huge smile, eyes beaming shouting "daddy daddy daddy!" Sometimes when we are upstairs playing and it is about time for Fred to be home - I let her stand on her toy box and watch for Fred's truck. Same thing "daddy truck, daddy truck when she sees him pull up - she is so loud that Fred can hear her once he opens his door.

On the other side when Samantha is not so happy we also know it. When we are driving in the van and the sun gets is her eyes she just screams....I wish I could do that sometimes when I have a physical discomfort I wish it was acceptable for me to just scream..for example right now I have a very annoying piece of popcorn caught in my gums, I wish it was acceptable for me to just scream...imagine the tension relief.

Sometimes when Samantha is playing with others she is not the best sharer. Younger girls especially seem to bring out the bully in her. And the one she is the absolute worst with is her cousin Elizabeth. If Elizabeth has anything that Samantha wants she crosses the room and takes it. Sometimes if she doesn't think I am watching she will cross the room and just push Elizabeth down and then take the toy. Of course we are right there and don't let her get away with it. I admit sometimes I wish I could do the same thing. When somebody annoys you, don't you kind of wish you could push them down, or sometimes don't you wish you could just take there toy? Shopping in walmart during the Christmas season is so aggravating to me, I always tell Fred I wish I could just flick people in the back of the head - that would make them get out of my way. Of course I don't do this and I never would. But Samantha does.

Also when does burping, tooting become socially unacceptable? When Samantha has a toot she pats her bum and says "mantha stinky" I figure at least she is warning people isn't that better then being horribly embarrassed if one slips out? Or isn't it good that she take responsibility for it rather then being in a room full of people and everyone wondering who made the bad smell.

It's a Sad Day

It is a Sad day in the Best household. We have just moved Nathan to the Big Car seat. No more Baby bucket. Being that we are only planning on having two kids it is time to pass it on to some Friends expecting there first baby. He is growing so fast. This also will be a bit of a adjustment for me when it is time to go out...How Do I hold Nathan while putting in Samantha or how do I hold Samantha's hand in a parking lot while I buckle up Nathan....I guess we will figure it out soon enough. Time is going so fast. We are going to be empty nesters before we know it.

Spring has Sprung!

Want to know how I know? It is not because I didn't have to wear a coat today. It is not because I hear the birds in the morning, and it is not because there is absolutely no more snow.... The reason I know it is spring is from the amount of gophers I have seen, - both dead and alive. On my drive to Medicine Hat today they were everywher on the 22x from Calgary to Gliechen. I personally hit two. The road looked like a masacre had occured.

Oh How she missed him

I am creating a slide show to have playing at my Grandma's memorial this weekend. So one of my cousins sent me a whole bunch of photos. This was among them. It is Grandma standing at her husbands gravestone. My Great Grandparents married in 1931 and they had 49 years together before he died in 1980. She was left missing him for 27 years - nearly my whole life. Until the day she died I never seen Grandma without her rings. My cousin told me she once asked Grandma why she never made a new "friend" and she replied "After having a love like your Grandpa and I had, nothing could compare" Wow! While doing this slide show and seeing pictures of Grams throughout her life I can't help but think of all the things she wasn't able to share with him. I think of all the happy times that would have been better if she could have rejoiced with him. And the sad times that might have been a little easier if she could have grieved with him. I don't think there was a day that went by that she didn't think of him, long for him. Grandma died almost six weeks ago and I bet you she is still catching him up on the happenings of the last 27 years. What a Reunion that would have been!

Reece Allen MacDougall

So in the previos post I held mispelled his name. It is Reece Allen MacDougall.

A new Nephew

Reese Allan MacDougall joined our family today. Weighing 8lbs 8oz and 21 inches long. I totally called girl and was totally wrong. Nadine and Darren originally went to the Hospital this morning only to have Labour stop on the way there, so they went out for breakfast and then walked the mall. Nothing happened so they decided to drive back to Langdon to have a nap. They left for the Hospital again at 4:00 PM and he came at 7:30. Pictures will follow just as soon as I get some. We are so excited to meet the little guy! Our Family is growing! Fred's parents had 5 grandchildren within 22 months and my parents had 5 grandchildren within 27 months.

Oh the Anticipation

My Older Sister Nadine is now in Labour. I got the call at 6:00 AM to go pick up my nephew Camden because it was Hospital time. So we anxiously await the call saying if Cam has a sister or brother. The great part about taking Cam, is that we will be the first to get the call! So Exciting. I have been calling girl all the way through her pregnancy so we shall find out today. Oh the suspence. I am glad we found out both times what we were having, I think I would have drove myself crazy with wondering.

This is the Stuff

This Is The Stuff
words and music by Carolyn Arends and Connie Harrington

Riding along on a big yellow school bus
Elmer’s glue and a brand new lunch box
Writing my name for the very first time
With a pencil that was bigger than me
From jumping rope and skipping school
To doing things that grown-ups do
Life goes by like that big old bus
If you miss it, it’s history

Paper dolls and paper weights
Scraped up knees and hearts that break
Dreams to dream and plans to make
Love to give and love to take

Chorus:
This is the stuff
The smallest moments
This is the stuff
I need to notice
This is the stuff
Life is made of

Walking along as my life unravels
Looking back at the road I’ve travelled
All the things that matter most
Have caught me by surprise
Misty eyes and silent prayers
Promises and secrets shared
Friends that keep you up all night
Laughing till you cry

Life’s made up of little things
Ties that bind and apron strings
New beginnings, old routines
Love and heartache in between

Repeat chorus

I have always liked this song and lately I have been thinking about it a lot. The part I love most is the chorus

This is the stuff
The smallest moments
This is the stuff
I need to notice
This is the stuff
Life is made of.

Lately I have had a lot of moments with my Kids that I catch myself thinking "This is Why I love my life- I need to remember this" Just Yesterday we went for ice cream and Samantha had her first ice cream in a cone - it was great. We were trying to teach her how to lick the cone - she would stick out her tongue to copy me but wasn't really picking anything up. It was so fun to watch her learn.

I have a really small pocket size digital camera, that I need to start carrying with me- well rather I need to make sure it is charged all the time- it is always in my purse. It doesn't take the best pictures ever but I think I'll take my chances and try to catch some of these moments

5 months

Our sweet little Baby Boy is growing so fast. Nathan was 5 months yesterday, and he is growing and developing so quickly. He has been rolling over for about two weeks now. He has two teeth and we have a sneaking suspicion he is working on some more. He is truthfully one of the most happy babies I have ever seen, I know I am a little partial but I still think it is true. He absolutely adores his sister and loves to watch her play. He loves it when she lays on top of him- he just giggles. He doesn't like sleep as much as his sister did, but we still can't complain. Only one more month till he can start eating solids - well mush, a part of me is kind of sad for that. There is something so special about his utmost dependence on his mom. We thank God everyday for blessing us with two amazing children and we pray for guidance as we try to raise them in a way that is glorifying to him.

Silly Girl

Happy Birthday Anthony

Happy Birthday Anthony! We have only known Anthony for a little over a year, but it sure feels like a lot longer. Anthony is the kind of guy you instantly feel comfortable around. We feel blessed to have friends like Kim and Anthony and look forward to celebrating many more happy occasions with you guys in years to come!

Recyclemania

So Fred and I have signed up for Residential recycling. I was getting so tired of our infrequent trips to the recycling depot. We would wait until our bin was full- well overflowing if we are being honest. Also because we didn't go that often we were throwing out things like milk jugs rather then recycling. We had never looked into recycling service before because we assumed it would be too expensive. So not the case. We went with Recycle blue after a recommendation from Fred's coworker. They charge $130 a year with weekly pick up. That works out to $2.50 a week. So worth it! Plus they take things that the city recycling depots don't accept - hard plastics like shampoo bottles, yogurt containers etc. So far we are in week two and it has almost been a game to see all the stuff we can recycle-today I figured out I can recycle our wipes containers and the bag from Shake & Bake. Yahoo (that speaks to our lack of adult entertainment around our house!) We are excited to see how much it reduces our weekly garbage.