Wishing ....

.... everyone a beautiful year.

I loved 2014 and hope that this New Year

is another year full of healthy, hope,

happiness and heart filled moments.

Happy New Year everyone!!

Warm.

In this wintery season of cold weather ....

.... may you find warmth with family, love,

peace, home and good health.

Sad puppy ....

Hi everyone!

We had so much fun with our son's puppy. He's full grown but to us, he's such a tiny pup, a ball of fur. Very social and eager to be played with. But not yappy or whiney at all. He did get sad each day when our son went to the gym to work out. We'd keep him busy but at one point, he'd realize that his dad was gone and then he'd go stand by the gate. No crying, just standing quietly, waiting for the door to open. And then he'd be jumping around until his dad would pick him up to cuddle. So cute to see the two of them together.

Miss the little guy. 

Looking forward to our next visit!

Gifts!!

Hi everyone!

So much fun last week opening gifts and sharing happy moments. Here's some photos from the day:

Momma and son having fun.

Great gramma opening her family gift.

Our little guy getting excited!

A proud papa!

Searching through the paper for the gift.

Just what she wanted!!

A special Disney gift for the "Director."

A Victorian puppy set for our babies.

What did you receive for Christmas?

My Stocking!

Hi everyone!

Every since I was a little kid, one of my favorite parts of Christmas morning is opening up my stocking. Tiny gifts, without any idea of what will be inside! And a mandarin orange with scrumptious milk chocolates in the toe.

My honey found S'mores from Butter!

And a pretty sweet vintage postcard.

I've always wanted a sock monkey!!

All my goodies, including a new journal.

What was in your stocking this year?

Christmas Breakfast.

Hi everyone!

I rarely eat breakfast on a daily basis but Christmas morning is one time I will truly indulge, especially when I am presented with wonderful creations like this:

What does your Christmas breakfast look like?

Letter from Santa!

Hi everyone!

Every year since our children were small, we've set out a plate of cookies and a mug of milk for Santa. We have the sweetest set for doing this but unfortunately this year, it was packed away for the new house. Thankfully, our little guy made this plate for his momma to use on Christmas Eve. Dear Santa recieved some of our very fresh cream cheese sugar cookies and milk. And look what we found later in the evening, after Santa had been by for a visit:

Remnants of a visit ....

.... and a letter left for all to enjoy!

Is this a tradition in your house?

Santa!

Sitting so regal. 

Observing all the action!

For our Tea Cupboard.

Hi everyone!

For me, the holidays are about family, good times and incredible food. I love to give gifts, watching my family and friends be so excited about something they wanted or didn't even know they would. The laughter and giggles, the paper and excitement. So much fun to look forward to!

I'm always so humbled when a gift comes my way. I want to truly cherish the moment and carefully, so slowly, unwrap each package that lands in my lap. This gift was tucked beside the tree and when it was given to me by my oldest daughter, I was wracking my brain trying so hard to figure out what it was. This year was particularly difficult to come up with any ideas of anything I wanted, so my family truly had to figure out my gifts without any input from me because I had no list to share. Our new house, good health and happy family members are all I truly need. So this gift was quite special as it wasn't something I would have thought of asking for. And the minute I saw it, I was in love!

Peeking to see what it is!

And then so thrilled to turn it over.

A painting, just for us, 

for above our new tea cupboard.

It's going to be fun searching for the perfect frame!

Do you have a special gift you received this year?

Festive Piano!

Hi everyone!

When we decorate for the holidays, we tend to decorate the whole house. Here's what our piano looked like this year. I didn't realize until after I uploaded the shot that the tree showed up nicely in the painting over the piano. Pretty!

Is your house still decorated?

Memories of Christmas 2014.

Hi everyone!

A few posts highlighting our last Christmas in our current home. We'll miss the memories we've created here and will cherish them forever. Looking forward to creating new ones over the years in our new home.

We were so lucky to have our oldest son come home for the holidays. He landed on Sunday morning and didn't have to leave again until late Saturday night, so we had a full week to spend with him and his new puppy, A!

Nine in the morning and the snow is almost gone.

Pretty trees to decorate a booth.

Festive greetings from the airport.

Pretty trees!

Beautiful music to entertain travelers from all over.

Sweet yet confused looking reindeer!

When we were waiting for our son,

these little birds flew in the open door!

They chirped and entertained us all.

Finally, our son was here, with puppy A!

Sweet and tiny, a pure ball of fluff!!

Almost all my family together.

Heading home for a lovely visit!

Did you have any family visiting over the holidays?

Fireworks!

Hi everyone!

We just enjoyed the Annual New Year's Eve Fireworks outside in the centre of town. Loud, musical and colorful, you can see them all the way to our house. Our community has a big party every year and the fireworks at eight p.m. are the highlight of the evening. The big city beside us has their countdown and fireworks at midnight, so technically, you could get in two shows in one night. We did that one year and truly felt our display was so much better. Amazing!

Have you enjoyed any fireworks yet?

The Best Gift Ever!

Hi everyone!

Tonight, I received the best gift ever! A dear friend who lived in our community for years and was such an inspiration to me in both my personal life and in my career, moved to B.C. a few months ago. I was sad to lose such a wonderful individual from my circle. We could still converse by Facebook and email but it's not the same as having her here.

But guess what happened just an hour ago? She contacted me on Facebook with the news that she has moved "back home" and asked if we could get together to visit. I'm beyond thrilled! With such a busy life raising so many kids (our own as well as a few extras here and there), being in school, working first part time then moving to full time and being a wife has meant that my friendships have been few and far between. Not exactly what I envisioned but truthfully, if I can't commit all my energy to a healthy friendship, I won't go there. Now that life has settled and I have more time, I'd like to rekindle my current relationships and even venture into creating some new ones. For now, I'm humbled to have this lovely individual back in my life and can't wait for our first visit once she's settled! Yippee!!

What does friendship mean to you?

New Year's Eve Film.

Hi everyone!

We're having a very quiet New Year's Eve after several busy days. On tap? This intriguing movie: 

Catching up before we see the third film.

Are you a Hobbit fan?

Capture December: Day Thirty-One.

Hi everyone!

I am so proud that I was able to finish the Capture December Photo Challenge. I honestly thought I would not get through the entire thirty-one days. In the past, I've tried a few times to participate in an activity that had a deadline but unfortunately, I get so distracted so easily that finishing isn't always possible. This time, I did it! Very proud of myself and I'm actually now looking forward to another opportunity in the future to participate in a photo activity. 

For the final day of the challenge, I chose these photos from Christmas Day to depict the prompt "Fun." Our little guy received a large gift from Mr. Claus and he was so excited to open it. Grampa had fun helping him out too!

What's inside?

Ooooh, the excitement builds!

The tongue is out ....

.... and still there when all is revealed!

Time to read the instructions.

And later in the day, when it was all set up.

What was a fun moment on Christmas Day for you?

Capture December: Day Thirty.

Hi everyone!

We're almost done the Capture December Photo Challenge. I hope you've had fun participating or following along. This is the first time I've ever done something like this and although I had to play catch up twice, this was a very helpful exercise for me in terms of commitment and follow through. I'd love to do another and encourage anyone who wants to have prompts provided to facilitate writing or photography to try it out. So glad I did participate and finish!

For day thirty of the challenge, the prompt was "Your Winter Wonderland" and I chose this shot of our eldest son and his puppy out at our acreage. It's the first time he's seen the new house. And his pup, Anakin, now has the distinction of being the first of our pups to be out on our property. This is our snow! Not a lot, just enough to make it Christmacy and festive. None is predicted either for the next two weeks. It might end up being a "dry" winter. Not good for the farmers but great for those of us who aren't crazy about the white stuff to begin with. 

What does your Winter Wonderland look like today?

Capture December: Day Twenty-Nine.

Hi everyone!

The prompt for the Capture December Photo Challenge for the twenty-ninth day of this month is "Skyview" and this is the one picture I shot for the entry: 

What did your sky look like tonight?

Nana's Gift.

Hi everyone!

B wanted to make sure that his nana, my mom, would get a special gift, just from him. He was very proud of his purchase and then wanted to make sure that it was wrapped well, by him, with paper he chose and lots of tape!

He was enthusiastic about the size of tape strips.

And eager to give detailed instructions.

Helping to place the strips just right.

All done and ready for under the tree. 

On Christmas morning, nana was very excited to open this very special gift. I hope he will always remember his generous and loving gift to his nana as much as she will remember receiving it from him. A very lucky lady!

Did you give gifts to a special nana as a child?