Peanut Returns

 All is well again in the Stannix home! Peanut has been found and returned safely to his living quarters after two days on the loose. Camilla was so so sad. I was worried he had suffered a terrible fate and we'd never find him. Late tonight, when I was almost asleep, I crawled out of bed after realizing I hadn't taken the dog pee and put her to bed for the night. I turned on the stairwell light to find the little furball looking up at me. I slowly approached, talked to him and put my hand out. He didn't run away! At my "hello" Reese came running out the bedroom barking (assuming someone was here) and scared him away. I made a mad dash around the basement chasing around the little critter and trying to get it before it disappeared behind packed boxes. Shaking from adrenaline, but smiling, I ran next door to mom and dad's "Wanna go on a hamster hunt?!" Mom gladly joined and we started going through the storage room, tidying up a bit. Just as we were about to give up for the night, I turned around one last time to find him looking at me from the middle of the room. I sharply whispered, "MOM!!!" He slowly went behind a box again, but with two of us we were able to coax him out with food. he escaped our grasp once more and made a dash down the hallway. I cornered him and then he ran through my legs. Then mom got down on her hands and knees and tried to grab him, but he ran behind her and I into the laundry room. Sleepy Hyrum, who had been woken by all of the commotion, quickly came to the rescue and scooped peanut up off the laundry pile. After we got him back in his cage Hyrum ran upstairs to wake his sister and share the good news. I will rest a lot easier tonight knowing that Peanut is back in his cage and my girl is happy once more....once I stop shaking that is.

Cotton Candy Skies

 We woke this morning to cotton candy skies. The soft sunrise was much welcomed after a terrible sleep. A crying girl came to my bedside at 2am to tell me that the hamster we had just picked out last night is now missing! The door was closed and there was no sign of his whereabouts. We've had a sick boy and a sick dog all day (which is cause for concern). I dreamed of the missing hamster all night long and woke a little bit grumpy. The kids are moody and I've endured tantrum after tantrum. There's been a chill in the air all day long with flakes softly falling every now and then. The day ended with dark clouds rolling in from the West. More snow I'm sure! There is still no sign of our newest family member, Peanut (pray the dog didn't eat him), but we will keep hoping he turns up somewhere! There's carrots and apple slices all over my house, set out in hopes of luring him in. Wish us luck!

Rainy Days

I woke to the sound of the boys playing happily in the living room. "It's like we're in space!" They were having an epic lightsaber battle in the darkened living room. I slowly opened my eyes. They were sore just like the rest of my body. I could hardly walk when I got out of bed. The rain that I fell asleep listening to continued drizzling all day.

I took the little boys on a grocery run and filled up a cart with good things to eat. On the way home I gave Ollie the rest of my smoothie. There wasn't much left and I thought he would drink it quick. Before we even left the parkinglot it slipped from his chubby hands and ended up all over the van. I had no paper towel, so it was decided that we would just go home and deal with it when we got there.

I napped the little boys in the early afternoon, snuggling Fin and admiring his lashes. As I lay beside his little body I reminded myself that there is a time for rest. I've been so go go go that I've forgotten to take breaks.

When the kids got home from school they played in the yard with Grampa. I looked out the front window and admired the way the autumn leaves contrasted against yet another stormy sky. I watched Joe hut the ball to Grampa while Ollie toddled around the yard.

I made a big pot of chicken soup for dinner to warm cold bodies. "This doesn't taste very good, but thanks for dinner," said one boy quite seriously as a smile of gratitude stretched across his face. I laughed out loud. At least everyone else liked it. Daddy called to say he's on his way home a day early. We can hardly wait to see him!

Autumn Magic

Today was the first warm day we have had in a while. With all of the snow coming and going I have felt a little bit gyped out of Fall. We haven't had nearly enough time to play in the leaves and the golden Autumn light.

We watched another spectacular sunrise this morning before sending the kids off on the bus. I got a few chores done and then we spent the rest of the day playing outside.

Childhood is so magical and I am so grateful that I get to spend these days with them. I love watching the boys make new discoveries and explore the world around them.

We will be busy soaking in these colors before they all blow away soon!

Autumn crafting

The littles were all off school today and I was excited to have them home with me! Once we had finished breakfast I got to work creating a morning craft. We spent a good hour cutting leaves and gluing them onto paper plates to make Autumn wreaths. We hung them all over the house and they make me smile! 

 

Sunday Snaptshot

Today I am grateful to have Mr. Stannix here with us! We had a wonderful time at church and enjoyed afternoon pie over at my parents place!

Welcome Autumn

 On the first day of Autumn we found ourselves in the middle of a Winter wonderland once more. The trees look so beautiful dressed in white!

A bump picture was taken. Just six more weeks to go until we meet this little one!

We spent the afternoon in Innisfail at the Fall Festival jumping on bouncy castles, eating pickles on a stick, and getting our faces painted. The littles had so much fun!

The evening brought us to the home of good friends where we shared a meal, and good conversation. Then Joseph fell asleep on me and I thought it was the sweetest thing, so I had to take a picture to remember for later. Sure love this big boy of mine!

Ready to List

 I was back and forth to Strathmore a couple of times this week. Thank-goodness for family close by and able to watch the littles while we take care of some things. One night my Dad and I arrived back home in Rocky at 4:00am after a full day and night of scraping the ceiling in the basement so that we could re-do it. Thanks to a lot of help from family and a brother-in-law who knows how to fix ceilings, we were able to get it done! Every wall practically had to be repainted to get rid of nicks, finger prints, and pencil marks (that was my job). I also freshened up most of the baseboards with a fresh coat of white paint. After my dad left this morning I spent the entire rest of the day cleaning up, vacuuming and staging. It was so weird to be in our empty home all alone. It did not feel very homey at all. It was filled with echoes and felt rather empty without our family photos on the walls and children running around. I definitely shed a few tears tonight as we pulled away. Mr. Stannix and I were able to drive back to the acreage together in the evening. We stopped at Costa Vida for a much needed dinner (I hadn't eaten since breakfast). We hit snow and rain on highway two, saw lots of wildlife on the back roads, and were feeling pretty glum. We are pressing forward with faith that everything will work out, and that we are doing what the Lord wants us to do. Now, do you know anyone who wants to buy a beautiful home?

Capturing Light

When I woke up I looked out into the field and admired the frost, sparkling in the morning light. While the house was quiet, I pulled on my rubber boots and wandered outside to snap some pictures.

After saying hello to Mr. deer, I went back in to greet the littles and make a batch of waffles for breakfast. It turned out to be an absolutely beautiful day and we spent lots of time playing outside!

 Ollie discovered the overgrown sandbox and had fun digging around and getting dirty.

 Tonight we let the last of the sun's rays warm our faces as the autumn air nipped at our noses. The littles were filled with energy and needed to burn some off before bed. Despite the late hour, I let them play outside and enjoy. Someone suggested running around the acreage before bedtime. I followed them all and snapped pictures of the golden hour while they weaved in and out of the pine trees and past the field.

Capturing light fills my soul and left me feeling extra grateful for these littles and their strength and energy.

Sunday Snapshot

 Happy Sabbath!!

Be Thankful

This week my house still feels disorganized. There's boxes everywhere and we are making due with what we've got. I miss Mr. Stannix and my friends back in our old town. I've spent this last month taking things one day at a time, pushing away the tears and putting on a brave face. Most days I am able to look for the bright spots, and we have found a lot of joy here!

I do know that when I am thankful for all we have and those who are in our lives, I feel more at peace. Life is wonderful and we are so blessed to have what we do!

After school the kids couldn't wait to get outside in the sticky snow and build a snowman. They ended up working together and constructing a pretty great snow fort!

Our fluffy dog even enjoys being outside in the snow, though she's not a huge fan of the cold!

Happy Friday!

Winter has arrived

The snow decided to stick around and we woke to a glorious Winter wonderland! The kids bundled up in what little winter gear we had and trudged through the snow in their running shoes to catch the bus. 

The snow was wet and heavy and continued to fall most of the day. 

The little boys dressed in warm coats, toques and rubber boots and went outside to play. They jumped, threw snow, and even tasted it's coldness. Ollie was so excited about all of the fluffy white stuff!

In the late evening my Mom and I chopped a whole lot of tomatoes, peppers, and onions to simmer into Salsa! We stayed up way too late waiting for it to be done and putting it in jars.

I think it was well after midnight before we started to wind down and get to the end. I scooped some warm salsa into a dish and enjoyed dipping my tortilla chips for a midnight snack.

I fell asleep to the sound of lids popping as they sealed. These jars of salsa are always a treat in the dark months of Winter.

Harvesting

We woke to grey skies and chilly winds. The kind of wind that bends trees and makes the leaves dance from their limbs and swirl around the yard. I started a batch of bread after breakfast while the children colored together on the livingroom floor. We hustled to get everyone out the door on time to the bus and then chatted with Daddy on the phone while he drove in to work. When I had finished on the phone Fin looked at me and let out a frustrated sigh, "NOW can you help me play pipano?"

We had a slow morning finishing the bread, vacuuming the floors and tidying bedrooms. When I looked out the window I noticed a few flakes of snow swirling around with the leaves. The snow had arrived as promised. We spent the rest of the morning hurrying back and forth from the greenhouse, bringing in the produce before it got too cold. The snow surprised us coming so early and we were trying out best to get in as much of the harvest as we could. "I can see a pickle!" Fin yelled, as he looked up at the tall cucumber plant. His perspective from the ground helped us find a lot of hidden "pickles" which we piled into a box and brought inside.

While we worked, Fin chatted away. "I can see my breath! It's cold in here!" Fin exclaimed as we picked tomatoes from the vine. We had crates of tomatoes inside already, but wanted to make sure we didn't waste any. I think we calculated around 1200lbs of tomatoes this year.

Soon we had rosy cheeked boys, and drippy noses. We bundled in warm sweaters and jackets while the crisp air nipped our noses. In the afternoon the boys went up to the orchard with Gramma and Grampa to help do a quick pick of the apple trees.

While this cold snap stays we will be canning tomatoes and salsa and pasta sauce and whatever else we can create.

In the late afternoon I turned on the oven and made up some carrot, apple, zuchini muffins. We roasted a fresh chicken for dinner and ate it with garden potatoes. The best comfort food around.