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

BAD BLOGGER!!!

I certainly am a bad blogger. I can't believe how long its been since I was last here. So much has happened since my last visit.

First was the Retailer's Event in Edmonton. Had a fabulous time - but BOY was it busy. 7 Gypsies, Heidi Swapp, Canvas Concepts, Cloud 9 Design, Bazzill Basics and Becky Higgins all taught classes. My favourite were definitely the Cloud 9, 7 Gypsies and of course Becky Higgins.

Amy and Nancy were great - they are very sweet and alot of fun. They are amazingly creative women who were very inspiring. They really know how to get you excited about what you do. The Cloud 9 stuff is really yummy, so it makes it really easy to love their stuff. Becky Higgins was amazing too! We each got a copy of her new book "Family History Scrapbooking" which is a great book. It came at a great time for me too as I am presently working on my dad's history album.

The whole weekend was really great and we met alot of amazing people. A very successful weekend in my humble opinion.

And now we get back to reality. The new Snowflakes kit is ready to go on sale and we are really excited about it. I love the colours of this new kit and I hope you do too! We are moving up to 50 kits for April so thats pretty cool too.

And, in other news, Chris has been offered a job in a new company! Thats huge for us, since he has been with IKEA for almost 10 years. The best part of this job offer is that it would be Monday thru Friday working 9-5. SOOOOOOO much better than 3 a.m. mornings, middle of the night phonecalls and shift work. Praying for the best solution for us. As soon as I can tell you all more I will. He has lunch with someone from the company tomorrow, so we will see what happens.

Love to you all! Hope you have a wonderful day!

Take the first step in faith - you don't need to see the whole staircase, just take the first step. Martin Luther King Jr.

Happy Valentine's Day

So, what are you doing for Valentines Day? What wonderful things do your significant others have in store for you? Do you do something for your kids for Valentines Day as well?

I finished Chris' valentines gift last night so we'll see what he thinks. Here is the first part of the Valentine's gift that I got Chris.

















I have a heart shaped MR album that I have to finish this morning. It has photos of us for the last 11 years together. The kids LOVE Valentines Day - they love to give Valentines to their friends and classmates. Today is one of their favourite days.

I hope that you all have a wonderful Valentines day and that the ones you love appreciate you all!!!

Where there is love, there is life. Mahatma Gandhi

Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength; loving someone deeply gives you courage. Lao Tzu

A new week

I for one am looking forward to a new week. The last week has been really busy and really exhausting. This week is looking to be no better. I have a husband who is looking at a new job offer and has meetings all week. I have two kids who are losing their best friends because they are moving to a new province and just aren't coping very well. I also have 3 parties and playdates this week with 5 other autistic kids. I am exhausted just thinking about it. But I am sooooo excited about next weekend - going to the Memories Wholesale Retailers Event. I think it'll be neat to meet Becky Higgins - would love to pick that lady's brain thats for sure!!!

I am seriously looking at entering MM Idol again this year. Didn't make it last year and I probably won't make it again this year, but I DEFINITELY won't make it if I don't at least try. Got a few other irons in the fire too - hopefully they work out as well.

How is your week shaping up to be? What are you guys up to? Tell me whats new in your life - I love hearing from you and what you are up to. Thanks for all the comments about your fears over the last little while - I appreciate the love and the honesty. Makes me feel not quite so alone.

Never a dull moment

at our house, thats for sure. This morning at 7 a.m. there was a knock at the door and a very large teenage boy was asking if he could come into my house and call himself a cab. Because Chris was in the shower, the kids were having breakfast and I had NO CLUE who this kid was I asked him to wait outside and I locked the door behind me. Talked to my dh in the shower and he told me to send him across the street to the corner store - they'd let him use the phone there. He was gone when I got back and so I called the landlord just to tell him what had occurred. The landlord went to find him and when he would not leave the building he called the police. Turns out the kid had just recently gotten out of jail, hadn't checked in with his parole officer and was carrying a gun. He had hoped someone would let him into their apartment and then he could rob them so that he could go home to Slave Lake.(at least that's the story he gave the cops) The police came to my door so that I could identify him before they took him away and asked me a few questions. The kids thought it was pretty exciting having the police come to the door to interview their mom! Not the way I wanted to start my morning tho. How are you all doing today?!?!

What about you?

Do you ever worry about anything? Are you ever afraid of anything? How does it affect you? Does it change who you are? I was made to realize that my fears change me - they make me a person that I don't want to be - that I am embarrassed to be. The person that others see is not who I really am. I come across as loud and overbearing. I become obnoxious - like I need to prove myself. The funny thing is I am scared and insecure. I am afraid to be around those who don't know me. Those who know me tell me I am kind, loving and giving. But others don't get to see that because of my fears. Tell me? Do you have any fears? What are they

Whether you think you can or whether you think you can't, you are right. Henry Ford

Good Monday Morning!

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend! I had a pretty busy weekend. Friday night I enjoyed a crop at Scrapping Fanatics! That's my gf Jayme's place and its FABULOUS!!! I love hanging out there - but more importantly I love shopping there. Her stuff is awesome and so are her prices. Check out her store - tell her Mona sent ya! Every other Friday night she has a crop and gives away prizes. Lots of fun and great challenges too. Then on Saturday night Anam and I went to Canada's Crop for Kids crop. Didn't get much done, but then at crops I rarely do! I spent more time chatting with Janine and Trisha than I did actually getting something done. And then my poor boy ended up getting sick with the stomach flu. We all got it at Christmas and so when he didn't get it, we'd thot he'd got lucky and avoided it. Well, not so lucky for him he ended up sick all weekend. Thankfully he was doing better this morning and got to go to school.


Anyway, here's one thing that I did get done this weekend:
Next to my kids there is nothing that I love scrapping more than my nieces. This is my gorgeous niece Brianna. She is the cutest thing and I love her to pieces. Most everytime I call Winnipeg and talk to my sister, she and her little sister Aliyah ask if they can come to my house

for a sleepover. I wish they lived closer so that I could actually have them over. I am hoping

that one of these days my sister and her kids will
actually be able to spend some time out here with
them. Anyway, these are pictures from last year but I just love them. The colours are so brilliant that I just needed to play with them.

Then I got some pretty exciting news today. Anam and I are going to a Retailers Event on Feb. 17&18. Its great - Becky Higgins, Bazzill, Cloud Nine, Canvas Concepts, the Heidi Swapp team, 7 Gypsies, 3L Corporation, Creative Imaginations, Cosmo Cricket, EK Success, Fiskars, Heidi Grace Designs, Making Memories and Provocraft will all be there teaching classes or doing Make 'n Takes. They're all gonna have their new winter CHA stuff there too!!! I am sooooooo excited. Anam and I thought it would be a good idea to go to get the "Just Like Snowflakes" name out there and a little more recognized. I am really excited to go!

We build too many walls and not enough bridges. --Isaac Newton

So, I was tagged!

My gf had this on her blog and she tagged me. So, here goes:

A=Available - Nope
B=Best Friend - Lisa and Juanita
C= Cake or pie - cheesecake
D= Drink of choice - coffee or lemon tea
E= Essential item you use everyday - my computer
F= Favorite color - red
G= Gummy bears or worms - definitely bears
H= Hometown - Winnipeg, Manitoba
I= Indulgences - scrapbook shopping
J= January or February - February
K= Kids and Names - 2 - Kiana and Malachi
L= Life is incomplete without - my husband and kids
M= Marriage date - September 7, 1996
N=Number of siblings - 2 sisters, 1 sil
O= Oranges or apples - mandarin oranges
P= Phobias or Fears - losing my family
Q= Favorite Quote - We know God wants His best for us, we just don't know how difficult His best will be. C.S. Lewis
R= Reason to smile - my kids
S= Season - Summer - LOOOOOVE the heat
T= Tag 3 or 4 people - Alright - 1. Anam, 2. Ki, 3. Heather
U= Unknown fact about me - I was in a movie that was shown worldwide when I was 13. I even got paid for it.
V= Vegetable you don't like - any cooked vegetable.
W= Worst habit - biting my fingernails.
X= X-rays - knees, stomach, liver, teeth, head, back - you name it and I have had it x-rayed.
Y= Your favorite food - anything Italian
Z= Zodiac Sign - Virgo

We did it!!!

I think we did pretty good for our first kit! It was exciting to see how thrilled people were with our first kit! Can't wait to see how our next one does! We are doing our mail out on Monday! And the best part is that we are delivering to Canada, the US and Europe!!!! How awesome is that!!!! Thanx to all you ladies who have been checking us out and hanging out at our site. I love that you love what we are doing!!! I am so excited that people like what we have to offer. To be honest, I thot we would TOTALLY suck, but we don't!

So, we've got a quiet weekend ahead. I am working on the new kit this weekend. Chris and I have also decided to work with the College and Career age group at our church. They are looking for leaders so we have agreed to do it. I look forward to it - our 18-24 year olds are looking for leadership so we wanted to be able to offer it to them!!!

Hope you are all doing well - especially after that nasty weather we've been having. Gimme a shout - tell me how you're doing!

I found it!

So I finally got my mojo back!!! DOn't know where it went, but I finally found it. I got 4 los done in the last 24 hours. This one is called Striving and its based on Proverbs 31. The perfect wife and mother - that's what I want to be. I love the Blush papers - but then I love anything Basic Grey.


Then there's this one - its photos I took of the kids this year when they were decorating the tree. The paper is some scraps I had left from last year. Its a sketch I picked up from Pencillines. Its nice to be working on stuff again!

Kiana has been sick so I was kinda surprised that I actually got anything done between running for glasses of coke and cleaning up after a vomitous child. I will be so glad when all the flus and bugs are over. We've had 3-4 different bugs in our house - Malachi's been the only one lucky enough not to get sick!

Hope you are all well - if not, I hope you get well soon! Love to you all!!!

2007

Well, its finally here and I am really excited about it! This new venture has me excited, nervous and worried about what this year will bring. Will we be successful? Is this business gonna fly or flop? Are people going to want what we are selling? Only time will tell, but I am looking forward to the outcome anyway.

On that note, Lea and I are working on the kits today! Getting them ready for next week when the store goes live. Have I told you how much I love MAYA ROAD?!?!?!? Caroline has some of my most favourite scrappin stuff - her bottlecaps and ribbons are glorious!!! I can't wait to see what others think of this fabulous kit. I hope they love it as much as I do.

Have a wonderful day!!! Come visit us at JLS!!!

THE TIME HAS COME!!!!!

Just a few more hours and its here!!! JUST LIKE SNOWFLAKES will be going live on January 1, 2007. The store and the kits won't be up and running for a couple more weeks yet, but we want you to get a feel of the site and what we want to do!!! Come check us out - see what we are up to and where we want to go! This is an exciting venture for us and we hope that you will come and try us out. Give us some feedback - tell us what you think! Just make sure you come and check us out! Can't wait to see you there.

So here it is!!!

Here are the first of my creations from our first kit! I am so excited about it. I have always loved these bottle caps and have never been able to find them in the lss, so when we decided to do this as our first kit I was really thrilled about it. I can't wait to show you the rest of them. They are very cool!

So, how was your Christmas? Did Santa bring you everything you asked for? We had a really nice Christmas over here. Chris bought me accessories, including a new lens for my camera - its on special order so we are still waiting for it, but I CANNOT WAIT to get it. The kids were spoiled (as is usual) this year again. They got everything they wanted on their list and then some. We also had a nice Christmas Day dinner with another family in our church from Winnipeg. That happens mostly every year - we spend Christmas with another Winnipeg family who didn't go home and spend Christmas with their family either. We had alot of fun and the kids enjoyed it too.

Then yesterday we took the kids to the Royal Alberta Museum. They had some really cool displays called: Lego Ocean Adventure and Bob the Builder: Build it Project.

Malachi really loved it - it was neat to see all the cool things they made out of lego. They had a hammerhead shark, dolphins, squid, and as you can see octopi and stingrays. They also had portions of a submarine made out of lego and the kids could put on underwater gear and pretend that they were under the sea.

They also had a cool Bob the Builder room where the kids could ride the machinery, play with Bob's tool and draw blueprints for Bob's new project. All in all the kids had alot of fun. I will have to post pictures of the Bob the Builder room and some more of the other lego stuff later. It was really cool. I really wanted to take the kids to see this lego stuff because this is the last time that the Lego display will be touring Canada. After that its going into retirement. I am waiting to see when it goes to Winnipeg - hopefully we will be in Winnipeg when it is there and then the kids can go and see it one more time.

And finally, even though I always break them, I am going to try AGAIN to make some New Year's Resolutions. I figure ONE of these years I am going to have to try and keep them anyway. I just got a membership at a gym and I am determined that I am going to work out and lose that 50 lbs that I have had on me for the past year. I need to be in shape - whether I ever get to the size I would like to be (ya, like when I was 25-lol) is only a pipe dream, but I really would LOVE to be in better shape.

So tell me, what are your New Year's Resolutions? Do you make them? Why or why not? Share them with me - I would love to see how you are doing with them later this year!!!

I don't make New Years Resolutions - I have hopes!

Now is the accepted time to make your regular annual New Year's Resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them. Mark Twain