Another Year Gone

This weekend has been wonderful, despite being sick. I have enjoyed watching General Conference with my little family and getting my house back in order. My bathroom sparkles and so does my kitchen floor. I definitely feel a greater sense of peace after listening to the talks this weekend. Today we spent the day at my Grandparents place again. My parents and Uncle came up for the day to enjoy Conference with everyone. I was surprised first thing in the morning by Camilla who came to my bedside with birthday wishes. She was so excited to give me their present that she had been hiding in her room. Her secret keeping efforts are getting much better! Mr. Stannix surprised me with an awesome card and a night out to the spa with Camilla. He's such a thoughtful guy. It was so awesome being able to spend my special day surrounded by family and being inspired by great church leaders.

Cami girl snoozing while Gramma watches Conference.

Since I never get pictures WITH my parents anymore, I thought I'd take the opportunity!



A few of my favorite talks here, here, and here.



They're Great

We spent the day today at my Gramma and Grampa Hudkins place. The kids had fun playing with different toys and spending time with their Great Gramma and Grampa. As soon as we pull up Camilla recognizes it as "Gramma Hunkins". It was nice to be able to spend the day with them and I feel so lucky to have them so close. They are a great example of selfless service and Christlike love. I am so grateful for them and all that they do!

Teething

Last night was rough. I felt like a ping pong ball bouncing back and forth between Joe and Hyrum, and then during my breaks I was busy snoozing in the chair or finding lost slippers for Camilla. Our little home is bursting at the seams and its frustrating having no where to go with a teething baby in the middle of the night. Nonetheless we carry on. We've been filling our mornings with outings and our afternoons with naps. Amidst feeling stressed and tired I find the most joy out of getting down on the floor and really playing with the children, or dancing around to some Mindy Gledhill in the late afternoons when we have the house to ourselves. My favourite moment from today though was when we were all sitting on the kitchen floor. Camilla and Hyrum were playing their wooden kazoos and Joseph was laying on my lap. He looked up at me with his giant blue eyes and gave a grin with his hands stuffed in his mouth. I was glad I had a camera in hand to capture his sweet little face. I sure hope his little teeth come in soon!

Windsday

Today we got together a birthday package for Uncle Arland to send off to Chile. His only big request was good ol' Smarties. We hit up the dollaramma last week for a funny card and lots of Smarties to send. I told Camilla the letters and she signed her very own name! She's getting soo big!

The chillens helped me package it up this morning and off we went to the post office. It looked like a beautiful day to walk, but in the end I was glad I'd brought extra sweaters for everyone. The wind was awful!

Camilla had fun gathering boquets of leaves and picking up sticks.  I was given lots of special leaves as gifts. Hyrum hid from the wind in the stroller.

We finished off our time at the mall by picking up some bakery donuts and a steamer for the walk home. The kids were troopers! We hit lots of puddles on the way home to make our adventure extra fun. Besides that we boogied to get out of the chilly wind as quick as we could!

Camilla's a fan of the jelly filled just like her mamma!

Easter Recap

We spent part of our Easter weekend at the Acreage. Mike ended up with a bit extra time off work, so we decided to escape the busy city. The weather was perfect! We got a lot of visiting and outside time in. Hyrum and Camilla love the extra space to run.

One of my favorite places to sit first thing in the morning is in the recliner. Joseph actually fell asleep in the sunshine on my lap while we visited. I soaked up the cuddles from my sleeping babe and continued to enjoy the warm sunshine pouring in through the front window.

This time around we were able to spend a bit more time with Great Gramma and Grampa next door. Hyrum and Camilla loved sneaking over for treats from Gramma. She's been working hard knitting. Last time we were out she traced each of the kids feet and hands. She had knitted them little mittens and is now making matching socks. I couldn't resist snapping a picture of Gramma sizing up the heal on Hyrum while Great Grampa held the back of his sweater to keep him from falling. I love that my Grandparents are able to spend time with my children, it's such a special thing!



Mr. Stannix and my Dad took the kids out for a long afternoon walk over to the next subdivision. I guess on the way home Camilla ran most of the way and beat her Daddy to the house. Mr. Stannix said that by the time he reached the end of the laneway he was out of breath and Camilla's little legs were still going strong ahead of him. She has so much energy! I love to see her enjoy life. 

We also enjoyed quad rides and being pulled on the sled.

I loved watching Hyrum and Camilla dodge Grampa's snowballs on the front lawn.

The kids kept Grampa on his toes and gave him a nice leg workout.

 I enjoyed relaxing and visiting the most! My mamma also cooked a delicious Turkey feast for Friday evening. There is nothing better than a home cooked meal! We spent the rest of the evening decorating easter eggs. Thank-you pinterest for the genious idea of using a whisk! The kids had fun. Hyrum wanted to be Mr. independant with a spoon and ended up smashing one of his eggs. I just chuckled as I grabbed a new one. They did pretty good!

We forgot to champ them before we left on Saturday, but Mike's Nazi/missionary egg ended up winning. Apparently it had a pretty mean point to it! The tradition continues.

My Little Lumberjack

Tonight I escaped up to my bedroom for a few minutes after Joseph had fallen asleep. I had just bathed him, massaged him with lotion and put him in some clean Jammies for the night. My Mum picked up these adorable Jammies for twenty-five cents. They are cozy and when Joseph wears them he reminds me of a little lumberjack. Tonight I was enjoying the way his little body melted into mine. As I sat on my bed I could feel his little breaths on my neck as he cuddled his head into my shoulder. His chubby feet brushed my lap and I couldn't resist rubbing them. They were so soft on my finger tips. I couldn't believe how much room this once tiny baby took up snuggled on my chest. I sat there with my eyes closed for just a few minutes and soaked up the moment. Just as I started dozing off, I heard a little voice calling for me downstairs. "Mum, where are you?" said the little voice as it went and checked each room. Just as Camilla made it to the stairs I arrived at the top and smiled at her. I feel so privileged to be called "Mom", and it makes me feel special when my kids search our house calling for me. I hope they will always find safety in my arms and in our home.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter from the Stannix Fam!

More to come of our Easter celebrations.

Made My Day

We celebrated Easter a day early so that we could focus more on the true meaning of Easter on Sunday this year. We have spent the last couple of days at the acreage enjoying the warm weather, time with family and my Mamma's cooking. We had Turkey dinner yesterday complete with Mum's famous dressing. 

This morning the Easter bunny came and left some goodies for the kids. They ate every last morsel of chocolate the bunny left for them. We left early afternoon because Mr. Stannix had a hockey game tonight. Just as we were saying good-bye Hyrum ran out the door and across the yard. Earlier he had gotten his pants wet sledding, so we were just going to take him home without them on. My Mum and I shared a laugh as we watched him take off across the yard as if someone was chasing him. His long legs carried him quickly as his little diaper bottom wiggled in delight. It felt good to laugh that hard. I got so much joy out of watching him. He reached his final destination full of giggles.

It made my day.

Crafting With the Littles

We've had fun getting ready for Easter around the Stannix home!

The littles and I have enjoyed many mornings of crafting.

Big thanks to pinterest and some imagination.



Spring Splashing

It's finally starting to feel a little bit like Spring. The snow is melting like crazy and the children are enjoying it! Hyrum found some gum boots that I had stashed away for him last month and wanted to wear them. They had a lot of fun splashing together!

The day before we built a snow fort in the backyard and went sledding off the deck. At one point the children were both "showering" under the drain pipe of the garage, fully clothed in their winter gear. They came in sopping wet. It was refreshing today to dig out the gum boots and enjoy some splashing sans snow gear. Camilla even found some green grass! She got pretty excited, which made me excited.



Last night I dug out a favorite blanket for Joseph and it still had the faint smell of sand and sun screen. It made me crave warm Summer days, the park and the beach. We are definitely ready! For now I'll enjoy big bear hugs from Joe.