SHOUT OUT!!!

Need to do a great big shout out to my gf Sue and her two great DT members (so far) Kat and Tammy. Just Cre8 is a great new site that opened up. They have BEAUTIFUL kits and they also have a great community. Definitely a Canadian site worth checking out!!!

The proudest momma around!!!

Well, Malachi's birthday turned out to be much better than any of us expected. Every month they have assembly and certain students in each class get achievement awards. Most of the time they are for kindness, perseverance, friendship - basically awards surrounded around interpersonal and social skills. DD Kiana has gotten about 4 of them in the last two years- her autism is atypical and doesn't affect her interpersonal skills. Malachi on the other hand (because of his type of autism) has never gotten one. Well, this afternoon in assembly he got his FIRST EVER achievement award. The teacher explained that he had improved sooo much this year that he no longer needed an aide in school and that he was consciously trying to be more outgoing and trying to make friends and be social. He was so happy and proud of himself that he was in tears. He came running over to me crying and saying "Mommy, I'm so proud. This is the best birthday EVER. Are you proud of me mommy?' Well, this momma was in tears. He has come SOOOOOO far in the last year at school. He is such an amazing kid - and for this to happen on his birthday made the day even more wonderful.

On that note, I need to give a HUGE shout out to Technique Tuesday - what an AMAZING company they are. Autism is more common than pediatric cancer, diabetes and AIDS combined. Technique Tuesday has decided to make a difference and to help those of us who are touched by Autism. 50% of the proceeds from THESE PRODUCTS is going to fund autism research!!! So go out and support Technique Tuesday - buy these products in April!!! Hopefully they will help to find a cure for autism!!!! And thank you Technique Tuesday for stepping up and addressing an epidemic that affects 1 in every 150 children - including my 2 beautiful babies!!!

And finally a great big shout out to my S! friend - Michelle Engel!!! She got an Honorable Mention in CK's HOF 2007!!! YOU ROCK my friend - CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Thanx everyone for sharing in my excitement and joy today!!!

Happy Birthday Malachi!

My baby is 8 years old today - I cannot believe it.

He's growing up right before my eyes. He lost his first tooth last night too - you can see the space in his teeth. He has the cutest little lisp right now. And this morning he woke us up at 5:30 so that he could open his birthday presents - he wanted them before school. He's such a little man - wanting to be tough and grown up like his dad, but still needing the special cuddle time with his mom. It won't be long until he'll be too big for that, so I am just enjoying it as long as I can. My wish for you my son is that you grow up to be as wonderful, loving, caring and thoughtful as you are now.

Malachi decided that he wanted to wait until my parents come to visit so that he can share his birthday with his Oma who has her birthday next week. He decided that we are taking Oma and Opa to West Edmonton Mall Waterpark for the day and then we are going to Chuck E Cheese for dinner. Oma's birthday is on the 31st so they will have a birthday party and birthday cake together.

Happy birthday my beautiful baby boy! You will always be my beautiful little man!

Busy Weekend

Good morning - how are you all doing today? Whew - what a weekend - so glad its over though. How was your weekend?

I spent Friday night and Saturday all day scrappin - got about 4 los done. Spent Friday night at the online crop at my gf Jayme's place - Scrapbooking Fanatics. You definitely need to check out her place. She's got great stuff and she has amazing prices. (that's my little plug for this morning) It was easy to get stuff done because DH went to the Edmonton Rush game that night. Saturday, my gf came over and we scrapped the day away. She's new to scrapping, but she's already got the bug. She wants to scrap every minute that she isn't working. She's amazing - her dd is only 2 and she has the first year done and is working on year two. My kids are 9 and 8 and I'm not that far yet. So, we opened some champagne and scrapped the day away. Chris and the kids were feeling kind of under the weather but I medicated them and sent them to bed.
Sunday turned out to be a nighmarish day. Because Chris and the kids were feeling under the weather, I went to church alone on Sunday. I was doing worship so I had to be there at 8 a.m. and right before the service started, I called to see how they were all doing. Malachi was throwing up and had a fever of 106.2. Needless to say, I didn't do worship. I went home and took him to the ER just cuz his fever was sooooo high. Turns out he had an ear infection and after the 3rd dose of antibiotics he was fine. Man, everytime he gets a fever it scares me. He rarely gets them, but when he does they ALWAYS spike that high. I kinda knew it was no big deal, but because it was so high, I worry anyway. But looking at him today, he's running around and playing TMNT - you'd never know he was so sick yesterday. The wonders of antibiotics I guess.

And I finally did it - I finally got one. Got what you ask? A Purple Cow - I LOVE IT!!!! I have been eyeing it up for awhile now, but I finally got me one and it is amazing. It is the best cutter I have ever owned. Definitely worth the money you pay for it, let me tell you. Even the guillotine isn't that daunting. But my new favourite thing - for now anyway(LOL)

And, on a sadder note, Janet Kent died on the weekend. Janet was Chris' grandfather's partner. They had been living together for many years. She lived a long, full life and died at 97. Grampa Hall's heart is broken. She was a lovely lady and our lives were better for having known her.

So, whats up for the week for you? Me, I'm doing more scrapping this week. My gf wants to come over on Tuesday and scrap again. And Thursday is my ds' birthday. So its a busy week over here.

Hope you all have a wonderful day!

Beauty is all around us, from the smallest things to the biggest. All we need to do is look with the eyes of a child.

What a great day!!!

Hey all - how are y'all doing? We have got a beautiful day here today - its sunny and warm. It really feels like spring is around the corner. I am having an AMAZING day. I woke up tired, disappointed and sad, but after reading my bible and spending some time in introspection, I am feeling awesome!!!

How are you guys doing today? What have you been up to? I am scrapping like a mad woman this afternoon - trying to finish off 5 cjs and just getting them out the door. I am also working on my BOM today and some DT calls that I am entering. We got free tickets to go and see "The Last Mimzy" on the weekend. Malachi is really excited to see that.
We've also got to take the kids back to the Glenrose Hospital tomorrow and introduce them to their new psychiatrist. That could be interesting - Dr. Hapchyn has worked with Kiana and Malachi since they were 3 and 4. I am hoping that Kiana deals with the change well - you never know with autistic kids, thats for sure.

Tell me, what are you happy about today?

The more you reaffirm who you are in Christ, the more your behavior will begin to reflect your true identity. -- Neil Anderson

Good Monday Morning!

How are you all doing this morning? Normally I hate mondays, but the kids are home from school today so I got to sleep in until 9:00. Then my kids crawled into bed with me to wake me up. They decided that they needed to bake a chocolate cake today, so that's what we did. UGH - I love chocolate but not at 9:00 in the morning before my first cup of coffee.

Looking forward to a busy week this week. I did some photos for our church and they want power point presentations done, so I am working on that. I am also working on a power point presentation for my dad's 65 birthday party. That means searching through about 2000 slides and finding what we need. I am also working on an album for a friend - her ds used to play for the Edmonton Rush (til he got traded to Colorado) and she kept every newspaper article, picture, postcard and anything else that mentions him on it. Can you tell she's a proud mom? Anyway, not all her stuff fit into one album so I am working on album number 2 for her now.

I am also selling chocolates for the kids school. Kiana is sooooo funny. On Thursday the teacher gave each child in class a box of chocolates and started explain to them what the chocolates were for. Kiana(as per usual) wasn't paying attention and when she came running out of the classroom shouted out "Dad - look what the teacher gave me!!! AND ITS FREE!!!!! Just for me!!!" She thought that she had been doing so well in school that she got these chocolates all for herself to enjoy. She was heartbroken when she realized that not only could she not eat them, but she had to sell them to other people. Needless to say, thats a definite sbing moment!

Finally, I wanted to give a great big thanx to all my amazing friends. Your phonecalls and emails have been awesome and I love you guys. You all RAWK!!! You are the best friends a girl could ask for. Hope you all have a cool day and thanks for checkin' in. Love ya, bye!!!


Never count your friends on sunny days for they all will be around. Count your friends on the rainy days when the clouds are grey and lightning shakes the ground. It is then you painfully see the type of friend they really are.

So, after much thought and discussion

my dh did not accept the job that he had been offered. Initially they offered him $30 000 more in salary than he was receiving now, but when they went out for coffee it turns out that the salary was less that he was receiving now and that he had the "potential" to make more money based on commission. Needless to say, Chris felt that a guaranteed salary that is $20 000 more than they offered him to start with them was better than switching over companies. Oh well, Chris is going to be working with a headhunter, so hopefully something better will come along soon.

And I am busy planning my ds' birthday. He turns 7 in two weeks and we need to get something planned here. My parents are flying out for his birthday and we cannot wait to see them. I haven't seen them since my grandmother's funeral last October. They are only here for a few days, but we have already got a weekend full of WEM waterslides, Chuck E Cheese and lots of other great things planned.

Well, off to get some paperwork done! Hope you all have a wonderful day! Love to you all!!!


We know God wants his best for us - we just don't know how difficult His best will be. - C.S. Lewis

Have you ever?

i found this on renee's blog. i thought it was kind of a cool thing. highlight the ones you have done. let me know if you do this.

1. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
2. Swam with dolphins
3. Climbed a mountain
4. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
5. Been inside the Great Pyramid
6. Held a tarantula
7. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
8. Said "I love you" and meant it
9. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea(does a lake count?)
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby's diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was shit faced
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland (this summer)
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
7. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Posed nude in front of strangers
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie (documentary shown worldwide and on television when I was 12)
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an expert
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music - with Fred Penner as a kid
87. Eaten shark
88. Eaten fugu (pufferfish)
89. Had a one-night stand
90. Gone to Thailand
91. Bought a house
92. Been in a combat zone
93. Buried one/both of your parents
94. Been on a cruise ship
95. Spoken more than one language fluently
96. Performed in Rocky Horror Picture Show
97. Raised children
98. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn't have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds (45.5 kilograms)
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Petted a stingray
110. Broken someone's heart
111. Ridden a bike
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Petted a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad and The Odyssey
135. Selected one important author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone's life