Safe Journey

Have a safe journey Matante. You will be greatly missed.

We all love you.....

So long, farewell, aufwiedersehen.... until next time.

Having Fun

Here is Lucas making Nathan laugh. Seriously he is the only one who can make Nathan laugh this much. It's hilarious!

The Circle of Life

Well, I am officially 37 now. *grumble, sigh, yawn*..... I must say thought that I had a wonderful birthday. I was truly spoiled. Got to sleep in, woke up to presents and flowers and breakfast and didn't have to do too much all day. Lucas and Nathan took me out for lunch and James made supper and cleaned up after. So all in all it was great!


As I turn a year older though, it always makes me think about life and death and how quickly our time goes by. These days, as my grandmother lies in a hospital bed fighting for her life, I think about it so much more. It reminds me of when Mufasa is telling Simba about the Circle of Life in the Lion King. The circle of life is certainly happening in our family. My cousin and I have had babies this year and sadly we will more than likely lose our beloved grandmother in the coming days/weeks/months as she has a very aggressive cancer. While her body may be leaving us, her spirit never will and as our children grow, we will tell them all about their great-grandmother and how loving and caring and non-judgemental she was and how she selflessly devoted her life to helping those less fortunate. And we will hope that some of her qualities will live and be passed down to our future generations as our Circle of Life continues.....

Resemblance

Here is a picture of Nathan`s dad at around the same age as Nathan is now. See the resemblance? OK, so Nathan is way cuter, but look at those little chubby legs, don't you just wanna grab them and pinch them??

Discoveries

Nathan met a new friend today......

They played pat-a-cake

They kissed.....

They gave high 5

even played footsies.....

I think this is the beginning of a long wonderful lasting friendship.

Hunger

Today I am troubled. Once again James received a call through his church from a family that have nothing left to eat and can't make it until next pay day. This is the second call he has received in a few months from different families. How is it that this happens in today's society?
Of course I know the answer to that all too well..... the high price of everything and the low wages some people make. I make decent money and find it hard sometimes to make it from pay cheque to pay cheque.

What can we do as a society so that no one has to go hungry, no one has to suffer the incredible humiliation of having to beg for food.

I have been so lucky and so blessed throughout my life. I know it wasn't always easy for my family, but somehow I don't remember ever suffering or going hungry or having to beg for money or food. And even at the lowest of my own low, somehow I was always able to feed myself and my children. For that I have my family to thank for always being so supportive whether it be emotionally or financially.

Unfortunately not everyone has family they can lean on and that's where we come in. We, as a society, need to be available to help those who need it no matter what it is, and to not always look for something in return.

I am thinking I will start a network of people whom I can call on short notice in times like today when a family has nothing to eat, people who will be willing to donate either food or money to give to this family. We are all one and we need to look out for one another. By helping one, we help all.

To those of you from Charlottetown who read my blog, please let me know if you would be willing to help out when required.

Enjoy your day and be grateful for all the blessings you have in your life.

Jo

A day at the Exhibition

Oh what fun kids have at the exhibition. I remember when I was young, it was the highlight of my summer! Here is Lucas enjoying himself.....



He loved this ride and went in it about 4 times.

The bumper cars didn't move very far for the kids, I think there were too many people and the little ones got crowded in the corner.

Nathan made a new friend! Lucas won this nice bear on the first shot at throwing a ball in a hole in the wall. He was quite proud of himself.

All the fun is over now until this time next year!.....

The Perfect Family

Today I need to vent about something that obviously bugs me. A friend recently gave birth to a baby boy, she already has a daughter. So I've heard several people say: "Oh now she has the perfect family". So tell me, why is it that a perfect family is a mom, dad, son and daughter? Does this mean that every other family is imperfect? Do people with 6 daughters or 4 sons or people like me, with 2 sons from different fathers and no husband, does that make my family imperfect? That has been bugging me today. I think every family is perfect because of the fact that it is a family. Family has such a different meaning today than it did years ago. There are so many reconstructed families and adoptive families and foster families. To me, as long as there is love then it is a perfect family!

Here is my perfect family......

You reap what you sow

Here are my 2 first sunflowers......




Can't wait for them all to be in bloom!

I'm pooped!

It's just so exhausting to play sometimes.....

Needle Day

Today my little munchkin went for his 6 month needles. Although I am sure it must be so painful, he quickly got over it and was full of smiles!


He now weighs 20lbs 8 oz (86th percentile) and measures 26 3/4 inches (63rd percentile)

A healthy, happy, perfect little boy! I love you my baby!

Wonder why?

Today I am wondering why it is that we are unable to completely accept people for who they are and love them for it. Why is it that certain people rub us the wrong way. Why are we programmed to like a certain person but not another. Are we born this way or is it taught to us? Sometimes I do think we are born this way. I remember when Lucas was a little baby, there was one person in particular that made him cry all the time, and yet with most everyone else he was the happiest, smiliest little boy. Why did he not like this other person? Did he perhaps sense it in me that this was not my favourite person in the world or was he just preprogrammed to not like the certain characteristics associated here.

As an adult, why do I still have trouble with certain people? Do I let my ego take over too much? The ego loves conflict and pain and wants to put others down, knowing this, why can't I just shove my ego in a closet and only let the loving spirit out?

When there is someone getting to me, it does not make me feel good, and if I say bad things about a person, it does not make me feel better either. In the moment it seems like it will, but I feel guilt after.

In the past few years after studying A Course in Miracles which deals with this very issue, I found I had to push aside certain people in my life who I felt were bringing me down because they thrive on putting others down to make themselves look and feel better. I find I get influenced very easily and get caught up in negativity, it takes over my life without me ever realizing it. It seems only once I am out of it that I realize how much it was making me ill. I do not want to live in a negative environment. But I guess in order to live in a perfectly positive envoronment, I would have to isolate myself in the woods or something. No matter where I go, there will be negative people, and I myself can be negative by times as well. I guess all I can do is control my own thoughts and behaviour. I can't change anyone else.

When I look at Nathan I see only love and innocence, where does it change? Why does it change? Can we not all live in that loving environment forever. We are all one after all.....

Thank you!

To all my family and friends:

Today I wish to give thanks to all my family and friends and everyone who has touched my life. Even if sometimes we don't stay in touch as much as we would like due to our busy lives, I want you all to know that I still think of you and wish you well.

I have a wonderful life, 2 beautiful children and am surrounded by extraordinary people. Life is great and that is in large part due to all of you! Thank you for all the little things you do to make my life the super life that it is.

I love you all!!

Jo

Vacation 2008

Well, we are now back from our summer vacation to Quebec and Ontario, and what fun we had. Here are a few highlights.....


We stopped to camp on the way up. The kids did great but mommy didn't sleep very much and was quite tired the next day.

We went to Gatineau to visit Jenn, Bill, Maelie and a gaggle of miscellaneous pets.
We went tot he Museum of Nature at which point Lucas stated that this was the baest summer vacation ever!! I guess he was happy to visit a museum FINALLY! You know, since I NEVER take him to museums...... Being that he loves dinosaurs and sabre tooth tigers and stuff like that, he was quite happy. 150 pictures later, we left.




Nathan enjoyed some new musical instruments that cousin Maelie let him play with.




Our next visit was to Park Safari which was a great day, if you take out the part about the car overheating.....


We fed some beautiful animals



Isn't she beautiful!!?

Then we got attacked by ugly animals. This one resembles the one that snuck in my window and scared the heck out of me! It slobbered all over me and my car and just would not go away. I could not put the window up as it's head would have been stuck there, I could not go forward or backward as there were a million cars bumper to bumper and animals all over the road, so basically I just screamed and tried to shoo it out the window.


Nathan learned how to drive



We went to the National Park to attend my high school reunion. The park was nice as usual. The reunion ended up being just us and another girl who was a year younger than me. I guess it just isn't as important to everyone else as it is to me.... *sigh* May have to try again next year.



Lucas posed with his goggles



This is my mom's teepee. The kids were supposed to sleep in it, but ended up being too scared. Of what I'm not sure.....
Lucas got to ride the 4 wheeler, he was quite happy about that!

We did the feeding of the wildlife at mom's too....

Who needs to go to the zoo anyway, just stay up late enough at night and the wildlife comes alive on the back porch.

Nathan took time out to smell the flowers....

And like all else, all good things must eventually come to an end. We are back home to routine, bills and having to make meals again! *sigh*

Hope you are all having a good summer!

Thanks for taking the time to read all about mine!