Maternity Photo's

 This weekend Naomi and Emma announced that we were going to be taking maternity photos! While we watched the Sunday morning session of General Conference, Naomi did my hair and make-up while I snuggled a sleepy Whitney. We snuck out after lunch to a nearby park where my sister snapped some pictures. The girls did a great job posing and trying to make me relax. I'm not the kind of person who likes to be singled out or given special attention, so it was hard to be natural about it. Ha! I think my favorite part was skipping and swaying through the clearing after Naomi showing me how it's done. But it was so fun to hang out with my sis and sis-in-law for part of the afternoon. They are both so lovely. I can't wait for this sweet babe to join our family next month!

Thanksgiving Feast

It has been so wonderful having family in town for the weekend. Camilla and I have been getting in our baby snuggles with miss Whitney and Kieran here. Whenever a baby needs a nap I am happy to rock them to sleep! 

Camilla is going to be such a big helper with this next baby of ours! She is getting so big and I love that she is able to hold Whitney on her own now!

My mom put on a fabulous meal for all of us and a few uncles and aunts who joined us. Sadly, I only got a picture of my mamma's pies!

We had fun gathering all of the cousins together for a quick picture in the leaves. It's so fun for our kiddos to have little cousins to play with now! We are super thankful for family this weekend!

Gather

I've been admiring homemade signs in pinterest as of late and thought I'd try my hand at it!  With a little bit of help from my dad we cut and nailed some boards together. I used some left over paint from our renovations and finished it today! I saw a cool tutorial where they printed the letters out mirror image and transferred the ink onto the sign by rubbing over the letters. I shakily hand painted the word "Gather" and it turned out not half bad for a first try! I was super excited to hang it in the kitchen, where we often gather and chat and spend time together as a family. In a world that is getting increasingly busy, it is sure nice to slow down and spend time together as a family.

Thankful Trees

After school today we made our traditional "thankful trees". This year we used a free printout and glued some tissue paper leaves it it. The children each wrote something (or ten things) they were thankful for beside their tree. It took a better part of the afternoon and helped curb the fighting that usually happens before dinner. Sometimes it's good to pause and think about what you're grateful for. I especially love that Joe put "Mom's yummy dinner" and "Dads jokes".

Morning Light

Early Blizzard

It snowed all night long. We have SO much snow! I sent the kids to school bundled up warm in Winter gear. They jumped and rolled in the snow the entire way down the laneway. I dug my van out of the snow in my Dad's Winter boots because all I have here are flats and crocs. I wore my crocs with barefeet to town (I hate wet socks) because I can't seem to find my running shoes. I spent a lovely morning at the church with a group of ladies painting wood pallet pumpkins. I loved it! Then I made a quick trip to the grocery store sans kids. We enjoyed a quiet afternoon before the rush of piano lessons, dinner, and bed time. I was super tired, but craving something yummy. Once the kids were tucked in I made a quick batch of pumpkin muffins. I put the cream cheese icing on shortly before midnight and then headed to bed.

Hello October

 We woke to snow covered pine trees and gently falling flakes. The kids all put on their snow gear before heading out to the bus, all but a particular boy who wouldn't wear his snow suit. It was quite the battle before he finally agreed. The rest of the morning was slow. We visited, tidied and wore slippers on our feet. I put some beef barley soup in the crock pot for dinner and then made up a texas sheet cake to curb my chocolate craving. My little baking buddy gladly licked the icing bowl after I was finished with it!

The boys played outside for hours after school. When dinner was finished, Camilla helped clean the kitchen, wipe the table, and replace the table cloth. We had a fabulous Family Home Evening. The older kids then read scriptures together while we giggled at Fin's shower singing. I tucked each of them in with a warm wheat bag and a song. Ollie's speech is so clear these days and I couldn't help but smile when I left his room and he yelled, "Night Mom!" Welcome October, we're so glad you're here!

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!