His Name ....

Our son would have turned 30 years old today. He

was born at this exact moment on a rainy night ~

March 25, 1996 @ 2:20 am. Weighing just 1 pound

and 10 ounces, he was at the time, our tiniest baby.

He never opened his eyes or took a breath but to us,

he was beautiful and perfect. Stillborn but born still.

We miss him every day and will never forget him.

Our Earthly children have always been our focus,

but each and every day, we remember with love all

our tiny but very wanted babies who live afar in the

stars. For time and eternity, until we meet again, his

name is Bretton~Elijah Lucas. Precious and loved.

💗 Chy 💗

A New Journey.

Well, we've started on a new journey in our lives. After almost 12 years of missing our first puppy, Celtic~Raine (aka Celti), whom we loved for a solid 16 years, it was time to welcome a new little one in to our family. We have spent the last year thinking about this, research breeds, and training, and dreaming about a tiny pup to fill our arms. Celti was a Bichon Cocker, and very much more Cocker Spaniel than Bichon Frise. This time, we couldn't find a BC, so we tried to find a breed that would have a similar temperament, and a hypo~allergenic pup as well. After feeling like we'd never find just the right breeder, we stumbled on Alanna and her family. She breeds "Poochons" which are Bichons and Poodles. We fell in love and after many conversations, we started the process of becoming an adoptive family. 

Yesterday, we visited Alanna and her family to choose our puppy in person. We had paid our deposit back on May 24th, our puppy was born on July 4th, we received photos and updates over the last few weeks, chose a pup, with a back up via email and photos, and then finally got to meet in person. The family was warm and welcoming, the puppy's were truly cared for and loved, and I'm so thankful that I was able to restrain myself and only choose one puppy, and not the other 8! And we chose the little one from the photos that we fell in love with. A sweet ball of fluffy fur, with some white markings that made her even more endearing. Right from the start, I said the little spot on the top of her head is in my mind, a kiss from Celti from Heaven. That made our choice even sweeter! 

I'll do another post actually introducing our new addition once she's home and settled.

💗 Chy 💗

Hello August

One of my favorite Summer months, while waiting for

my very favorite season of Fall. I love August for a few

reasons ~ it's our Wedding Anniversary each year. It's

the month of my mom~in~laws birthday. And my sweet

cousin too. I loved August as a kid when we spent lots

of time out at our grandparents cottage on the beach. I

loved it as a kid when we would go shopping for new

clothes and back to school supplies. I always start my

Christmas shopping and planning in August. And now

that I've started mastering the art of gardening, this is the

best time of year for my growing landscape. All in all,

this is the loveliest month around! What do you think?

💗 Chy 💗

Silence.

When she goes quiet, it's not

because she has nothing to say.

Her silence isn't emptiness ~ it's full.

Full of words too heavy to speak.

Full of emotions too raw to unravel.

Full of pain that feels impossible

to put into sentences.

She's tired.

Tired of explaining herself over and over again.

Tired of being misunderstood.

Tired of holding it all together when no one sees

the cracks forming beneath her surface.

Her silence isn't indifference ~ it's exhaustion.

It's the weight of carrying battles no one else can see.

It's the struggle of fighting wars within herself while

pretending everything is fine on the outside.

Sometimes, the deepest battles are fought in silence.

The loudest cries go unheard because

 they never leave her lips.

So if you notice her retreating into quiet,

don't mistake it for peace. 

Ask her what she needs. 

Give her space ~ but also let her know you're there. 

Because behind her silence lies a heart that's

breaking under the pressure of keeping it all inside. 

And maybe, just maybe, she doesn't need

 solutions or advice right now.

Maybe she just needs someone to

sit with her in the stillness.

To acknowledge the storm without

demanding an explanation.

Because her silence isn't

weakness ~ it's survival.

And sometimes, the bravest thing a woman

can do is stay silent when the world

expects her to speak.

~ Unknown

💗 Chy 💗

Dream Flight.

We discovered when we were planning our trip that

our credit card gives us free entrance and free meals

at the Westjet and the Air Canada lounges. So once

we were checked in for the trip, we totally indulged!

This was such a bonus as I was personally so very

anxious about getting on a plane to fly over the sea.

Partly because of 9/11, but mostly because of my

vast and dangerous food allergies, making travel hard.

With extra epiPens and a bag full of Reactine, we set

off and found the lounge to be quite the experience.

There was a number of food items to choose from and

as we didn't know what the onboard food would be,

it was lovely to enjoy 2 bowls of warm chicken noodle

soup, fresh bread, fruit, veggies, spring rolls, cookies,

and ginger ale. Dh had some items I couldn't eat too.

There was several hours to kill and this worked well.

The lounge was comfortable, with big windows to see

planes arrive and take off, and soft jazzy music in the

background. We talked, took photos, relaxed and by

the time we were ready to board, the anxiety was gone.

The YEG sign at the airport. One thing we laughed

about was having to walk out to he the "prop" plane

for the 1st leg of our trip. It was just dropping us off

in Calgary for our connecting flight but it still felt funny

to be on such a big trip yet we had to walk to the plane!

Once we were in Calgary, we took the tram to the gate

and a short time later, we were on our way, in the air!

The trip in total was late afternoon our time and we

landed in Paris, France around noon the next day.

We did lots before we left, making sure that life,

work and our home were all in order so we could

truly enjoy without any worries. It's always a lot of

work but worth it to ensure we can focus on the trip.

💗 Chy 💗

 

Book Collection.

Years ago, I watched a show about hoarding

and it scared the heck out of me that having

"collections" can lead to over crowding in a

home. Since then, and now that our children

are grown and the house isn't full of toys, we

have made a very conscious choice to still love

our items that we collect but ensure they all

have a spot AND that we don't have to have

every single item within a collection. This

has worked well for us. However, the book

collection we have amassed over the years is

a bit much! So much so we've actually joked

that we need to build an addition on to the

cottage that would be exclusively a library!

I know many people who read a book and

pass it along, and we do purge at least once

a year. But the books we have, we do read

again and again, and can't imagine parting

with them. Too precious to us! Is it actual

hoarding? No, it is our love of reading ....

💗 Chy 💗

Yes, I CAN Cook!

I may have said this before, but I'm pretty sure my kids grew up thinking I didn't know how to cook. The truth is, I love to cook and baking is a passion. But I can rarely get into the kitchen because my dh loves to cook and he took over the cooking when we got married. He wanted me to concentrate on my studies, on my career path and then our family. Even when he went back to University, he would be home early in the afternoon, and dinner was his commitment. Truly I didn't fight it, as I would rather cut the grass or play with the kids. So it was a great arrangement. Now that I have a very small contract after retiring from palliative care, I've been figuring out ways to get back into the kitchen. I collect recipes ~ grand dinners I want to create, baking to fine tune and scrumptious dishes to explore.

The photos above show my latest attempt to feed my family and have them love my dish, knowing the daddy guy had no hand in it! It's a Garlic Parmesan Cheese Tortellini Chicken and Broccoli. And I can happily report it went over very, very well. Easy to make, so tasty and everyone had more than one helping! I had one tiny helping that was leftover today for lunch. Next time, I'll make a double batch so we can have more the next day.  A great success!!

I'm off to gather more recipes ....

💗 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 💗

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 💗

 

My Birthday.

A beautiful ice cream cake from DQ.

Strawberry Cheesecake Blizzard ~ my favorite!

A lovely collection of gifts from my dear family.

White chocolate from Purdy's, a white chocolate

Kit Kat (bit of a theme here), the Christmas edition

of The English Home, along with the annual insert,

a bag of my favorite sour candies and a pair of soft

slipper socks to wear on cold Winter nights. Not

shown is the amazing heating pad that dh found.

It's as long as my body, heats from top to bottom

and is also a massager. We had quite a bit of fun

going thru all the settings and killing ourselves

laughing! Dh is always trying to find ways for my

body to be warm as I'm always cold. Thankful for

his kind heart and creative gift giving. I wish I was

as creative but he is easy to please. Loved my day!

~ Chy

Northern Lights.

No words tonight. Just pure wonder. Click on each

photo to see the beauty that was our sky last night!

~ Chy