More Basketball

This morning we woke up to this view and took off for breakfast at Denny's. 

Lily was excited to wear her new outfit that Camilla picked out for her yesterday.

She also loved snuggling Lainey in the stands while cheering "LETS GO REBELS" as loud as she could. She is the best little cheer leader around!

Again with the gorgeous sunset views on the way to the evening game!

We played fairly late and did not get home until after midnight. It was a wild & fun weekend! I always love spending time with Mr. Stannix and my kiddos!

 

Down South

This morning we drove to Red Deer for Mike's Colonoscopy appointment and everything came back clear and good! He slept off the drugs while I drove us to Lethbridge (with a pit stop in Calgary for Costa Vida of course) to cheer on Camilla at her basketball tournament! 

We dubbed it a "girls trip" and took all three of our daughters along. The boys were happy to stay and hang out with Gramma and Grampa for the weekend!

When we checked into our hotel it was FREEZING, so we bundled up while we waited for the room to warm up.

The sunset views on our way to the first game in Stirling were gorgeous! I wish I could have captured the geese flying over head. 

It was a good game and we loved cheering on our big girl! She's so great!

 

Lainey Grace: One Month

ONE month with our Lainey Grace! She is a pretty easy going girl. She is adored by all of her older siblings and they still fight over who gets to hold her. She sleeps anywhere from 2-4 hours at a time and is usually happily awake otherwise. She coos and smiles and is starting to recognize when we are googling over her. She is getting used to her car seat and when she fusses, it's not usually for very long. 

I still love sneaking her in for naps with Cooper and snapping pictures of them together! We are so glad she is ours!

 

Naptime

I love naptime.

 

A Frosty Morning

The view from my bathroom window this morning reminded me why I love living here so much! The frosted trees are hard to beat!

We had a relatively slow day with lots of naps and nursing.

The evening brought us to the gym to cheer on our favorite big sister at her basketball game!

When we got home, I tucked everyone in, and then snuggled Lainey to sleep while Camilla did her Chem homework. Being a mamma to bigs and littles all at the same time is wild. 

I love it!

 

Intentional

The word I have been pondering for this year is "intentional". I want to live life on purpose and do more things that fill my soul. To me this means being present, slowing down, simplifying, embracing creativity, noticing the small things & setting aside time for the Lord.

As a mamma of many it can be easy to fill my day with house work and chores and not leave any time for creative expression. it can be easy for me to be distracted with responsibilities and not present when the children need me. I can literally fill every moment of my day with errands, laundry, dishes & making meals which can sometimes leave me feeling drained and depleted. 

I want my children to learn how to enjoy life! I want them to catch me dancing in the kitchen, singing along to my favorite tunes in the car, playing piano, learning guitar, or smiling from ear to ear from the thrill of sledding down the tobogganing hill. If this past year has taught me anything, it's that life is too short for "later".

Today I filled my soul with banana muffins and a warm cup of tea as I admired the frosted trees. I'm excited for what this year will bring!

Lainey is hitting some new milestones this week and my favorite one is smiling on purpose!

These sweet grins melted my heart this morning!

Lily has been such a big helper, always asking to hold Lainey so I can "get stuff done". 

She is the sweetest! 

 

Home From Church

When I woke to the sound of someone puking at 4am, I initially felt grateful that I had been able to sleep that long. With the babe still asleep I was able to quickly clean it up, get the boy situated on the couch with a barf bucket and head back to bed. While we were getting ready for church another boy ended up puking at the top of the stairs and it was decided that we would stay home for the day! Camilla took four healthy children with her to church and the other five stayed home with me! I am so exhausted that a day of rest and tidying is much needed.

 

The Flu

We've had a little flu bug run through the house that has left me feeling more zombie than mommy. I found myself still awake at 1:21am. I spent most of my night walking around the house in a half asleep state trying to console Cooper downstairs and get Lainey to sleep for more than two minutes. I was so tired I could barely walk straight and I pretty much had to hold my eyelids open with my fingers. 

Cooper followed wherever I went today and cozied up next to me to sleep. It made for quite a lapfull at nap time!

Lily spent a lot of time zonked out on the couch!

Praying for an easier night tonight!

 

Visiting Friends

Today we were invited out to our friends place to hang out for the afternoon and join them for dinner. Our morning started slow with frost covered trees, cuddling on the couch and naps. 

The drive South of town was gorgeous with all of the trees cloaked in white! The kids spent some time outside being pulled behind the skidoo & sledding. They also gathered around the table for some games and fun!

Sadly we had to leave right after dinner to get the boys back to town to ref hockey, but we so enjoyed our time visiting!

Goodnight!

 

Skiing

The two older boys have been dying to go skiing but with me having a new baby and Mike recovering from surgery still, we haven't been able to go as a big group yet. 

We compromised and dropped them off at Canyon for the day together. Mike drove them in, and then we both went to pick them up at closing time. 

While they were gone, the rest of us visited, hung out, played games and snuggled Lainey!