Happy New Year.

Happy New Year 2025!!

I've read so many posts tonight with a common

theme ~ an excitement to be done with 2024 with,

as so many have shared "the bad year I wish never

happened." I'm so sad for this common sentiment.

As someone who has had some not so great times

in my own life, including moves far from family,

the losses of parents and grandparents, the tragic

losses of 8 of our 12 babies, and disappointments

with moments that didn't quite work out. I'm sad

because even though any type of loss or not so great

experience can make us wish for better, there is a

lesson to be learned from the bad things that happen

to good people. Or the things we can't control that

make life difficult for a time. The lesson is what we

decide to do with anything that life throws at us. I

do firmly believe we have choices, not in what did

take place, but how we'll navigate it. We can give up,

lean in, ignore it, or grow and heal. I choose the last

one, even if at times it appears it will never be ok. I

do believe things can turn around, and with intention,

we can learn so it doesn't happen again, or we can 

be better than the experience. I hope this all makes

sense. I hope that whoever is having a difficult time,

remember that you are alive, breathing and every

morning is a new day. Namaste for whatever life

has sent your way. Be well. Stay safe. Live and love.

💗 Chy 💗

Goodbye December.

Very frosty month full of wonder and excitement.

The opening of our new centre. Welcoming new

team members, and sweet new families. Gifts to

share and kind words to the World. Twinkly lights

and yummy treats. Moving my aging mom to her

new home. Planning for a big trip. A great month!

 💗 Chy 💗

Child~Focused Quote.

A favorite quote for Dr. Gordon Neufeld. We were

fortunate to meet him a number of years ago at a

homeschooling conference. Even my youngest dd

at the time was intrigued. Hanging this at our centre.

💗 Chy 💗

Magical Fairies.

This was me as a child, seeing things

that the adults around me said didn't

exist. It was a true magical world to

me but only to me. Now as we care

for little ones in our new centre, I can

see the magic in their imaginations!

💗 Chy 💗

Educator Gifts.

Because we are so honored to have the most amazing

team members at our centre, it was important to both

of us that we celebrate and honor them. For our first

day of operation, we gifted them each a journal, a

key and a star, representing memories they can write

about, the key that they hold to each child's heart,

and the star because they are all "rock stars!" It was

fun to watch them open their gifts. We are thankful!

💗 Chy 💗

 

Quiet Cozy Day.

Last night, I spent some time working on our Christmas gift to each other ~ a vintage signed print by an artist with a vision. I'll share the story one day.

This morning, we woke up with plans to head in to the Big City to visit the Old Antique Mall and to see my mom. But we woke up to large snow falling from the sky and decided not to chance driving down the highway with reports of blowing snow. It seems to have calmed down now but we're settled in after some tidying, showers and comfy clothes, and will now just enjoy being home in our little cottage. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were family focused, Boxing Day was friendship, and tomorrow is our day to welcome our neighbors down the lane in. So today was to be a bit of shopping and visiting. We don't have to work over the next week, so shopping and visiting can happen on another day. We're heading out to shovel, then lunch, then dh is playing some games with our dgs and dd's, and I plan to keep writing to planning for 2025. More family dinner tonight, some favorite shows to watch, and an early night as tomorrow will be quite busy with groceries in the morning, tours at our new centre for families wishing to join in, then home to tidy and make food for the evening. Excited to visit and enjoy the company.

                                  Enjoy the day!

                                      💗 Chy 💗

Christmas Eve.

My favorite Christmas Eve print.

Reminds me of sleeping at my

gramma and grampa's house as

a child. We had to kneel beside

the bed to say our prayers. It was

a warm, cozy spot and full of love.

💗 Chy 💗

Magic in the Air.

A beautiful print depicting Christmas

night as families all over the World wait

for the jolly man in the red suit!  A time

of peace and hope, and magic in the air.

💗 Chy 💗

Wintry Day.

We are officially snowed in today! Yesterday, a heavy snowfall warning was issued for our region and we quickly shifted our day around so we could stay home today and just work, while the snow fell silently outside. One promise we made to each other was that if we moved to the country, we would not chance our lives if the weather was bad. So far, for the most part, we've been able to navigate this each Winter. It was hard when I was at the hospice to travel all the way into the Big City but I managed to work thru it all. But now we have more flexibility and it's made Winter less stressful. The snow started last night and has been falling all day. Road reports have not been good. We plan to venture into town tomorrow for a Christmas breakfast with the Chamber and to visit my mom's new care home as she moves on Monday. But we'll wait to see if the roads get better. Not worth the risk if we can avoid it. 

The one thing I love about snowy days out here is how beautiful our landscape becomes. It's so quiet out here and the snow sits so prettily wherever it falls. In town, there is such a rush to shake the flakes off everything that it's not as breathtaking. We feel so very fortunate to have this beautiful spot we call home. And snowy days means we can be inside, cozy and safe in our little cottage.

Last night, we were at severals events, and in between dh commented how he was loving our activie social life but couldn't wait to get home to the cottage to be cozy and warm! I totally agreed. Loving this time in our lives but home is where we most often want to be. Today, I slept in a bit, knowing I didn't have to travel in, then had a hot shower, put on my cozies and settled in on the comfy couch to work away at several projects. We applied for funding for Summer Students, attended a webinar on marketing our new centre, caught up on emails, posted on Social Media, read a lot, wrote a bit and tonight, I hope to bake a bit for our Christmas Celebration on Friday for all our littles and the parents. On Monday, we'll work a short day, and have a Christmas lunch for our team, then head home to get ready for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We have our neighbors coming over a couple of days after the holidays to celebrate (we have them over each year) but the rest of the time will just be us. We do hope to visit with our son and his little family. Waiting to hear what their plans are, If not before, then after. Love the holidays every year!

Wishing you a beautiful evening and hope you are cozied down in your little cottage, wherever you live and with whatever weather you have in your neck of the woods! 

💗 Chy 💗

Frozen Treats.

We let our pumpkins, uncarved and

unpainted to be left out for the deer

visit our cottage often. Since I took

this photo, they've devoured 2 of

the gourds, and the other 2 we did

move away from the brick pile for

easier access. A lovely treat for our

little friends in the woods. Yummy!

💗 Chy 💗

Door Prize!

Today we attended our local Chamber of

Commerce Breakfast as we do every

Thursday morning. Surprise! We won

one of the door prizes. Such a treat!

💗 Chy 💗

Closed for Winter.

Officially, our bird bath is now closed

for the Winter. I feel bad for the many

birds who visit it during the Spring,

Summer and Fall. Nature has taken over!

💗 Chy 💗

Wave of Light.

Tonight at 7:00 pm all over the globe,

families who have experienced the loss

of a precious baby or a sweet child, at

any age, for any reason, gather to share

their stories, and their love for those

who understand and share the journey.

Each year, since 1998, we have been

so fortunate to have our local funeral

home open their doors to our program

and our families. Our service is in the

afternoon so families don't have to

worry about traveling out to our tiny

hamlet in the dark. In the evening, we

all post photos of our candles from the

service, in memory of our angels,

as families Worldwide participate in

the Wave of Light for 24 hours. It's a

beautiful evening, and there is so much

comfort in knowing we're supporting

each other. But we also always wish

events like this would never have to

be in place. Heartbreaking but needed.

Tonight, with love, our family remembered:

Bretton~Elijah Lucas Roberts

Ciara~Rose Kennedi Roberts

Birkley~Finn Kensington Roberts

Cabriola~Ireland Laci Roberts

Cambria~Sage Kassady Roberts

Beau~Harper Levi Roberts

Cree~Raven Lyric Roberts

Bentley~River Kai Roberts

Never forgotten. Love forever!

💗 Chy 💗

Festive Day.

Another shot from Winterfest that I

forgot to post. Dh and I had fun posing

under the festive arch out in the hall.

A popular spot to get a nice picture.

💗 Chy 💗

 

Pink Chair.

I have a co~worker who is not fond of

the color pink. We're currently searching

for an office chair for her and I couldn't

help but save this one to show her. Love!

💗 Chy 💗

Winterfest.

Winterfest was held this year on my birthday on the

30th of November. It was lovely to head in to town

to visit with friends and community members. With

music, goodies and trees to auction off, a fun day!

💗 Chy 💗

 

Celelbrating Twice.

Our dear neighbors down the lane

stopped by the other day to bring us

each a sweet gift for our birthdays

that were in November. We are loved!

💗 Chy 💗

Creative Salads.

Another "gourmet salad" I created the

other day. So much can be added to a

salad and I'm having fun creating what

I can with what we have. So yummy!

💗 Chy 💗

 

Creative Bedmaking.

Dh and I have an ongoing battle with

making the bed each morning. It's now

become quite the feat to make sure we

outdo each other with our respective

"creative bedmaking" skills. Here is

dh's latest attempt: a tree with bears!

💗 Chy 💗

 

Before the Snow.

Before we had snow, I took these two

photos that showed a bright sun on the

way home from our centre one day. It

was bright and hopeful, before the snow!

💗 Chy 💗

Friend Brunch.

I recently met a dear friend for brunch

at a sweet little cafe not far from our

hamlet. The food was amazing, the

company wonderful but oh our server

was not nice at all. I've never had such

bad service. We both did not leave a

tip, though we didn't share this until

after. I know everyone has bad days

or hard moments but there was no need

to treat the 2 of us as if we were a real

burden for her on this frosty but sunny

 morning. I hope her day did get better!

💗 Chy 💗