Happy Thanksgiving

Well, yesterday was Canadian Thanksgiving and we had a great time at Steve and Rebecca's. We had a wonderful meal and fun visiting with friends and family. I forgot my camera so I don't have any pictures to post! :( I like celebrating two Thanksgivings. We get three turkey dinners for three consecutive months (including Christmas) and it is always good to be thankful so I highly recommend it! It is probably not good for the waistline but oh well! ;) I am hoping to have a big dinner to celebrate American Thanksgiving with some american friends here but anyone is invited. The more the merrier! I have never really cooked a turkey before (without my mom helping me) so it should be an adventure! I am thankful I am in a mixed marriage! :)

I have a cute Madalyn story to share. Yesterday, Madalyn found some of Malcolm's mints on his bedside table and she asked me if she could have one. I couldn't really see them so I asked her what they were and she said, " a Tic-Toc". It took me a minute to figure out what she meant. They were Tic-Tacs. It made me laugh!

I had better go and try and get everything done that I need to today. We are leaving on Thursday to go to Regina for Malcolm's Dad's retirement party. It should be lots of fun and I am really excited! Next time I blog I will post some pictures!

Fall Pictures

Today it was a beautiful Fall day so I thought I would take some pictures of my sweet girl! I think some of them turned out pretty well. I am hoping to find a pumpkin patch to go and take her picture at sometime soon as well. I just love the Fall! The crisp, cool air, the leaves falling, football, apple cider, wearing new boots (I just got some!), a holiday that reminds us to always be thankful and the list could go on.

We have had a pretty busy couple of weeks with lots of company and the launch of Journey Church. It was all pretty exciting! I will post pictures of some of those fun times later but for now just enjoy these of my beautiful girl!

Ballerina Girl

This picture was taken so Nan can see that mommy did a good job on my bun! :)





















































Today was the first day of ballet! Madalyn did not want to leave and threw a fit because she wanted to go back in and ask her teacher something. I think it was to make sure she could come back again next week! I would have let her go ask but she was already teaching her next class. She came home and showed me what she learned. I then had to do it too and she would correct me if I did it wrong! Too funny! We might have created a ballerina monster!

Preschool went okay today. I can't figure out why but she was not that excited to go and even said she didn't want to. She did not cry or anything but she wanted me to stay with her. I did for a little bit and and then left and she was fine. Her teacher said she did great so I don't know what is up. I guess we will just take it week by week. I did get a picture of her with her teacher who seems really nice. Hopefully tomorrow will go better!

Fun Pictures

This is the funny picture I was talking about in an earlier post that I think is so hysterical! Madalyn did not like me holding Siena and would Not smile. We got this picture that just says it all! Too Funny!

The next day we got some great shots of Madalyn and Siena! She loves her cousin whom she calls Baby Siena.









What a sweet baby girl!




















Fun in the sun!!





















I LOVE this picture! Madalyn still talks about Great Grandma, Grandpa & Auntie Lo and wants to pray for them every night.



Malcolm and Grandpa Reynolds

It was so great to see Grandpa R and visit with him a little bit. What a sweet man! Madalyn prays for him too!








This is the day they planted our tree before we got our grass. I thought it would be fun to take Madalyn's picture by it every year so we can see how much they both grow. That is if our tree survives! It is looking kind of sick. Do you like Madalyn's outfit? This was her day to pick if you couldn't already tell! :)

First Day of Preschool

Yesterday was the first day of preschool for Madalyn and she did GREAT! She already knows her teacher's name (Mrs. Patterson) and she said that she learned about trains and that they go in a circle. :) Her teacher said that she did very well and had fun playing dress up with some of the other girls. I am excited she is in preschool too! I get to sign up to go and help and bring snacks a couple of times and they have some really neat activities planned throughout the year. It was kind of hard to leave her but she did so well and just went in and started playing after giving me a hug. I think it is because she is just getting so big! I went to the gym and had a good workout and it felt really good so I think this is going to be really good for both of us!


We got her swimming pool out the other day and she had a great time swimming in the fron yard!

I better go! More later!

Still Here!

I have tried to update and post some pictures a couple of times but I couldn't get blogger to load my pictures. I seem to think that I can't post if I don't have pictures! ;) What to say? What to say?

Madalyn is as sweet as ever! She starts preschool on Thursday and I think she is going to love it! Today we were at this children's store and she was playing with one of the dressed up manequin and she says, "Mommy meet my new friend". I think she is really going to love having some new friends to play with two days a week. Next Tuesday evening she starts ballet and she is going to be in HEAVEN!!! I am really excited for her too! I have to say I have always wanted to have a little girl to take to ballet class. it must come from when I was a little girl and my favorite book to read was "Little Mommy" about this lttle girl who took care of her dolls like a mommy. It was a Little Golden Book and I can't find it anywhere so if anyone has it or has seen it let me know. Fun childhood memory!

I have a show I like to watch - Rockstar: Supernova and it makes me laugh how into it I am! I think next week is the final show and tomorrow night we find out who the final four will be. I really like Toby! I thought Storm did well tonight and liked her original song plus she is from Portland. Just a fun mindless way to relax in the evening. Malcolm watches it too! It is a fun thing we do together.

I have such random blogs when I don't use pictures to guide me. I will try and post some soon with some Madalyn stories because this blog is suppose to be about her and I think it is much better that way! Later gators!

Holidays in Victoria and Washington

We left for our holidays about two and half weeks after we moved into our new house. We flew to Victoria and spent the weekend with friends and then rode the ferry to Vancouver, B.C. so we could drive down to Vancouver, WA. Thanks so much again to Bonnie and Todd for letting us use their car for the week! You guys are great! And of course, here are some pictures!

Our fun friend Elise had us take girls and guys pictures at the party on Sat. night
The Guys! Madalyn had a great time with Graham (the one who is holding her)
Taking a nap
The ferry ride is just Beautiful! And so are they!

I love the West coast but for some reason I always have to move away! I think heaven is going to be the Pacific Northwest for me so I can enjoy it for all eternity and not have to leave! ;)

This is when we met up with Auntie B and Uncle T and Baby R to gt their car. Cute picture of Madalyn holding Ronan.
Uncle Todd and Ronan wearing their matching shirts Bonnie Made. I thought this was a cute picture! I forgot to turn this picture around but you get the idea!

Here we are in Washington at my parents house playing with good friends!

Madalyn and the girls petting Deer Darlin
Yummy cupcakes (or pupcakes as Madalyn calls them)!
Malcolm having fun playing with Kirk and Matt!

Well, that is the first part of our trip in Washington. More pictures tomorrow!

I'm Back!

I don't even know where to begin it has been so long since I have blogged! We are all moved into our new house, have gone on vacation to see my family in Washington, have had our Journey Stampede breakfast and Day Camp, and we just got back from our vacation to see Malcolm's family. It has all been very memorable and fun but also very busy and I have not taken the time to blog about it all. It didn't help that we didn't have internet access the first month and half in our new house! Anyways, I thought I would just back track a bit update and share pictures as it all happened because I don't have anything too exciting going on now. :)

I will start with our new house. A picture tour of the downstairs.

Front Door






Our house is perfect for us and we are so blessed! I need to find some curtains (and money to get them with) for our living room because in the evening you can't sit on the couch because the sun is blazing throught the window! I also need some help hanging pictures! I feel like it is such a commitment once you put the nail in the wall. Too much pressure!!! Anyone want to come over and help? I have a sample of pink paint that I am going to try out in Madalyn's room so hopefully I can get going on that soon. I will post pictures when her room is all finished. I am praying for a project friend to move in on our street. I like to do big house projects with a friend to bounce ideas off of and also to make it more fun! I have lots to do!!! :)

I have the funniest picture of Madalyn that I can't wait to post but it is from the vacation we just took so it won't be for a while but it will help motivate me to keep blogging. Thanks for reading and commenting while I was gone! I want to be a better commenter! I really can't believe how addicted I am to reading blogs! It is just so fun keeping up with everyone! I really am going to go now! Next time I will try not to use so many exclamation marks! LOL (Lordy O' Lordy) That is what my mom thought LOL stood for and THAT makes me Laugh Out Loud! She is a funny lady! Enough!!! BYE!BYE!

Madalyn and Daddy

Madalyn did really well while we were away which makes it SO much easier for me to leave. The couple of days after we got back she did seem like she was a little more grumpy and kind of mad that we left her for two nights but she just didn't know how to express it. I might just be reading too much into it and she was just overly tired or something. She is fine now and back to her old self. The day we got home we were playing outside with some of the kids who live around us. They started playing hokey in the parking lot so Malcolm got his stick and joined them and then Madalyn had to get in there and play too! So she helped Daddy and had a great time! Malcolm had fun too and was excited that she was loving hockey so much until she said she wanted to get a princess hockey stick! That's my girl! ;) I think you can play sports and still be girly! The two CAN coexist! Here are some pictures.
Sweet little girl with a Big hockey stick. She needs a little princess one!;)
Cute hockey girl!
Getting a lesson

Mountain Retreat

Last week Malcolm and I went to a Minister's and spouses retreat in Canmore, Alberta (really close to Banff!). The retreat itself was really good and it was wonderful to be in the mountains again but it wasn't what I thought it would be for us as a couple. :) Lets just say it was a growing experience and I learned some things about myself and our relationship so in that respect it was good! We will have to go back for an anniversary sometime! There is something about getting away from the city and being in such beauty that is relaxing and reminds you of the majesty of God. We went on a walk with Troy, Debbie and Jackie. Mark had to work (we missed him) but we still managed to have some fun! ;) We laughed and shared and I was reminded once again that I am so glad that we are on this "journey" with them. I have posted a few pictures below.


Thr river we were walking by with a spectacular view!
It was a beautiful day and I wanted to capture this image I saw when looking up!

Happy Mother's Day!

I have the BEST Mom!!! I think the word that describes my mom is FUN!!! She is so much fun to laugh, walk and talk with and she comes up with the greatest ideas for anything you might want to do or plan. I know that I would be pretty boring if I did not have the influence of my mom thinking out of the box to come up with fun things and to be a little spontaneous! I think it is very telling that I pretty much married the male version of my mom! ;) I Love that she is my best girlfriend and I don't know what I would ever do without her to just call up and chat about anything! She is also the Best Nan and I love to watch her and Madalyn play and have a good time together! She has touched many with her love, acceptance and servant heart! I love you Mom and hope you have a great day!

More Pictures and Stories

Way up high on Daddy!!!
She put on one of my aprons and her ballet skirt and a hankerchief on her head! For some reason she is always topless in the outfits she creates.
She fell asleep on Mommy! Sweet Girl!


I have a few new stories!

The other night Malcolm was home with Madalyn and while they were playing he tooted. Madalyn then tells her Daddy, "Be sure to tell me if you need to go poop!" I wonder if she has heard that a lot here lately! :)

One other night Malcolm and Madalyn went to the store and he asked her if she was ready to get out and go in to the store and she says, "Absolutely!"

Madalyn has this book called "Where Do Kisses Come From?" and one part of it says, "Kisses come from chocolate covered noses". The other night I made some chocolate covered strawberries and Madalyn had a couple. The next day she kept asking for chocolate covered noses!

We are trying to get ready for our move but it has been slow going so far! I have some sweet friends who have offered to keep Madalyn for the day so I can do some major packing! It will help Soooo much! This Monday through Wednesday aftenoon we are going to a minister's retreat and I am really looking forward to the time away even though I will be behind even more when I get back! Malcolm asked me to sing with him, Troy and Debbie at this retreat and for some reason I said yes! It will be fun for the four of us to sing together but I am still not real comfortable with it yet so I pray I can be in the right place spiritually so it is no big deal. It used to be I didn't want to sing in front of people because they would be hearing my voice but now that is hardly the issue. It is the standing up there leading people into worship with our wonderful Savior thing that gets me. I don't want to be performing or it to not be authentic but I don't want to just be standing up there just singing. I don't know how Malcolm does it!!! He is very encouraging and I love being up there with him!!! I am glad that he wants me! ;) I have the BEST husband EVER!!!!!!

I hope everyone has a good rest of the weekend and Mother's Day!

Fun with Auntie B and Cousin Ronan

Today Madalyn's Auntie B and Cousin Ronan had a two hour layover in Calgary on their way to Regina. We went to the airport to see them for a little bit! Madalyn had a great time and we had a nice visit with them. Uncle Todd's dad, sister and nephew were there too. Madalyn started calling Todd's dad "Grandpa". I thought it was really cute! This morning I was reminding Madalyn (Auntie B had told her yesterday) that we were going to the airport to see Auntie B and Baby Ronan. Madalyn then goes on to tell me, "Uncle Todd has to work - too bad!" I think she really wanted to see Uncle Todd too!

We have had a really good weekend so far. Tomorrow will be busy because in the morning we are going to visit another church plant called The Lantern and then tomorrow afternoon we have our Journey launch team gathering. I haven't done ANY packing yet! I think I need someone to kick me in the rear to get movin or we won't be ready!!!! :) Have a great rest of the weekend!

Auntie Xana and mini-Todd
Uncle Malcolm with his sister and sweet Ronan
Sweet! Madalyn loves her cousin

Madalyn and Auntie B