Fully Furnished

When you're so excited about finally getting your bed that it's impossible to nap!

Boxing Day

Today the littles begged and begged to go back to Strawberry Hill for some sledding. After a light dusting of snow, we woke to the most beautiful Winter scene. 

The temperature wasn't as friendly as the last time, but the littles didn't seem to mind. We all bundled up and loaded in the van just after lunch, leaving Ollie at home napping under the care of Gramma.

I lost count of how many times Fin went down the hill with Daddy and whoever else would ride with him. 

It was enough times  though that he kept asking to go down, but only if someone would carry him back up. 

The cold nipped at our noses and cheeks making them rosy and frozen.

The littles thought it was fun to link arms and form giant groups as they slid down the hill. There was a few minor accidents, lots of laughs, and memories made.

Mr. Stannix and I had a few more hilarious rides down the hill, turning and laughing hysterically as we went. The couple who sleds together, stays together!

Grampa was able to take in a few more runs with the littles and they lasted way longer than I did at the hill.

After taking baby home to nurse, he snuggled with Gramma for a little while so that I could make hot chocolate for all. Another successful day of fun!

Christmas Day

Christmas Letter 2018

Dear Family & Friends,

We wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! We hope this letter finds you well and that you are enjoying time with family and friends. With moving and the very late arrival of baby number six I didn't get around to stamping and sending out Christmas cards this year, so we are doing a virtual card/letter instead.

It has been another busy year for the Stannix family and we are so grateful for all of the opportunities we've had this year to learn, stretch, and grow! We've made a lot of big decisions this year and there has been a lot of changes.  We began the year with the exciting news that baby number six would be joining our family in November. Mike & I enjoyed a wonderful trip to Europe in May for a little bit of work, and a celebration of our 10th anniversary. In the Fall we packed our home and moved to the Acreage to be closer to family and follow a dream Mike has always had to start his own accounting practice.

Camilla (9) has grown up so much this year! She is such a responsible big sister and brings such joy to our family. She loves to teach lessons during family home evening and often comes prepared with it all written out on a piece of paper, along with pictures and games for the boys. She enjoyed trying out gymnastics this year and became quite good at it. She excelled in violin and enjoyed her teacher very much. She recently started piano lessons and has caught on pretty quickly. She loves music, and reading, and playing outside. She has been such a big help with baby Sawyer and enjoys snuggling him and even changing the odd diaper. 

Hyrum (7) grew two whole inches since his birthday in April. He is now taller than his sister (though she doesn't like that too much) and likes to rub it in. He has taken a recent interest in art and loves to sit and draw at the table. He can look at any picture and draw something that looks almost exactly the same. He enjoys being outside and loves to play ninja's with his brother Joe. 

Joseph (6) is enjoying grade one this year! He loves to learn and figure out how things work and his teacher is super! They focus on different themes each week like making apple sauce and homemade ginger bread houses. He loves being hands on and comes home happy and content. His active brain is enjoying being stretched and he is improving his reading so much! He enjoys being outside the most and has really loved the extra space at the acreage to run and be free. 

Finley (4) likes to be the funny one in the family. He makes us laugh every day and has such a charm about him. He enjoys eating breakfast with Grampa and playing bomber man on the TV. He has started some preschool learning at home and loves working in his booklets when his mom isn't too busy to sit and help. With the older three in school he has enjoyed being the big brother at home and is super helpful. He loves playing with his little brother Oliver and helping with the new baby.

Oliver (2) is super fun to be around and brings such joy to our family. He talks and pronounces his words so well and he seems so grown up lately! He has his moments, but for the most part he is very happy and agreeable. He likes to be silly with his big brothers and join into any wrestling match the moment it begins. 

Sawyer (1 month) is such an easy going baby! We feel so blessed to have him in our family. He sleeps like a champ and doesn't mind the noise and chaos one bit. He does four hour stretches at night and often sleeps right through the morning school routine which allows mommy to help the kids and make breakfast. He smiles at us and coos and has a very pleasant way about him. 

Mike took his young men on an amazing hike this Summer (over 52KM) near mount Assiniboine. It was a lot of hard work and planning, but enjoyed by all. The theme was resilience and the young men all came away stronger than they left. It was an amazing experience for all involved. He has recently finished work at KPMG and we are so happy to have him home with us full time again. He has partnered with a friend in Edmonton and will be starting his own practise here in January. We are excited about his shortened commute and the opportunity to have him working closer to home this year! 

I enjoy being able to be home with the children each day, and have really enjoyed living right next to my parents this Fall. It's fun to be able to teach the children and be at the crossroads each day as they leave and come home from school. In my spare time I enjoy creating, baking, crocheting, and most recently gardening and canning. I really enjoyed our trip to Amsterdam and London in May and am already planning and looking forward to another trip in a few years. 

We have been so blessed this year with great friends, loving family members and service. We are grateful for each of you and the support we've received this year through all of the craziness and fun!

Love,

Mike, Addie, Camilla, Hyrum, Joseph, Finley, Oliver & Sawyer

Christmas Eve

Today brought us to Strawberry Hill for an afternoon of sledding and fun! I'm not a big planner, and we have a new baby, so our Christmas break has been pretty quiet. The littles don't seem to mind though as they are easy-going and prefer to just relax at home and play around the Acreage.

Grampa came along too, and they thought it was pretty fun to go down the hill with him. We are pretty lucky to have a Grampa that can still sled and have fun with us!

Daddy was also a favorite to sled with, and he got in a lot of good runs with the littles!

The boys discovered another path a little further over that started slow and then dropped off and sent you flying to the end! It quickly became a favorite. I was amazed at how many times their little legs carried them tirelessly back up the hill.

Mr. Stannix and I squished onto a crazy carpet a few times and I may have screamed the whole way down the hill. He made fun of me for slowing us down with my hands and we crashed at the end. It's been a long time since I've laughed that hard and felt that kind of rush. My butt hurt, but my heart was full!

After finishing a giant pot of hot chocolate, Mr. Stannix got started on a double batch of Grampy's Tacos. Finley Gardiner was Mike's great-grandfather and the recipe has been passed down through the family. It's a Christmas eve tradition to make Grampy's tacos and Mr. Stannix just keeps getting better!

We turned on Christmas songs and the kids "oo-ed" and "ahh-ed" at his mad flipping skills.

My job is to fill them with meat and get them ready to fry.

We ate at the big table next to the Christmas tree with Gramma and Grampa! We almost ate every single taco and didn't have much for left overs. 

The kids had been asking about Christmas jammies all day and were so excited when it was finally time to open our Christmas Eve present. It's always jammies, but knowing this doesn't make it any less exciting for them!

I managed to get a decent group shot with everyone in it. I especially love the way Fins head is resting on Joe's shoulder and Ollie's gentle touch on Sawyers head. I sure love these littles!

Camilla loved snuggling Sawyer for most of the night, until it was time to watch our Christmas movie.

This sweet babe melts our heart every day!! He made a pretty adorable little elf and rocked his first Christmas hat.

Soon the littles set out Cookies and Milk (with a nice little booby trap attached) and hung their stockings with care. Then it was off to bed while the adults wrapped presents until nearly 2am.

Christmas Eve Eve

 Just a few more sleeps until Christmas! It's so hard to believe how quickly December has gone by! Sawyer is a whole month old today. I feel like I blinked and suddenly here we are! Lack of sleep has caused most of the days to blend into each other, but we are so happy to be snuggling this baby each day!

 He's just barely big enough to fit into the cloth diapers now! I love fluffy baby bums!!

The kids asked if they could sleep around the Christmas tree tonight. They all grabbed pillows and blankets and made little beds. Most of them went to sleep right away, but a few of them took a little longer and kept coming up to mooch snacks from the adults. Daddy and Grampa happily shared as the two boys snuck in multiple times for chips. I hope these nights will be happy memories for them in the future.

Christmas Break

The kids are officially on Christmas break and it feels so wonderful to be free from schedules and school lunches. We are enjoying a slow, quiet Saturday and picking up the last of the groceries and treats in preparation for Christmas. We are all giddy excited for next week and loving our time together as a family!

Finley Turns Four

Tonight we celebrated Fin's fourth birthday with batman cupcakes and a new fish! Daddy finished up his last day in Calgary and is now home for good. We are looking forward to a few weeks together as a family before he starts work in January.

Finley put in a request for Batman cupcakes a little while ago. If I had used icing instead of sprinkles, they may have turned out a little bit nicer looking, but they sure were tasty!

He put on two yellow and two blue candles, and eagerly blew them out!

I can't believe how big he is getting! He served up everyone else before keeping a cupcake for himself. 

A little while ago when we were at the pet store he asked if he could have a fish. He was thrilled when he opened his present to find a bright blue Beta fish. He promptly named him roll-down-windows and spent the rest of the evening watching him swim!

Four Years

 Four years ago we were living in Edmonton, Mike was finishing up three months of work in Calgary, and my little sister was just married. It was a crazy time for our family. I was due to have our fourth baby on December 27th and was hoping he or she would stay put until after Christmas. We were pretty surprised when our Finley arrived a week early and loved celebrating Christmas with a new babe at home.

 It's so crazy to believe that tiny baby is now FOUR years old! He is so grown up and such a wonderful little soul. All day today he has been saying things like, "I'm four now, so I can be patient." or "Hyrum can go first, I'm four now, so I'm big and I can wait." He's always been pretty easy going and obedient. At the grocery store he typically behaves better than his older siblings and is such a great listener. He adds so much character and fun to our family, I couldn't imaging it without him!

 We sure love our Mr. Finnegan! Happy birthday buddy!