The First Decade

Today is our 10th wedding anniversary. Wow. Where does the time go? I can remember our wedding day like it was yesterday but then I think of all that has happened since we've been married and it seems like a lifetime ago.

On this day, 10 years ago, I was anxiously waiting to walk down the isle to meet my groom at the altar. I wasn't nervous, just excited. I knew that getting married was the best decision of my life.  At the top of the stairs of the church, after my 5 beautiful bridesmaids walked down the isle and my 2 adorable flower girls rang crystal bells to announce my entrance, I waited with my arm linked in my Daddy's. I think he was more emotional than I was.

Finally, I heard the Bridal March begin to play and we rounded the corner into the sanctuary. The pews were filled with our loved ones. Everyone stood and turned to watch me, but my eyes only sought out one other pair- Chris'. We locked eyes and I was so calm as my Dad and I came to the front pews and my Mom joined us. We walked the few feet that seperated us from Chris and my parents hugged both Chris and I and my dad put my hand in my groom's.

I remember standing on the steps, only half listening to what my cousin, Wayne, was saying as he welcomed the congregation to the day of our union. I was just so happy to be there, my hands in Chris's, looking into his eyes. The ceremony was great, and it was so special to us to have so many loved ones there to witness us joining our lives. We could hardly wait for that first kiss as husband and wife and jumped the gun a bit so we got to do it twice!

Finally, we were Mr. and Mrs. Graham! After exiting the church and hugging and shaking hands with those that came to bless us with their presence, we went outside to where my family and I had arranged to have a Corvette waiting as our "get away" car. Chris loves Corvettes and it was so fun to be able to surprise him with that as our ride for the day.

As our wonderful day came to a close and we headed to Edmonton to spend our wedding night at the Fairmont Hotel MacDonald, we began our lives together, full of joy, optimism and most importantly, love.

Over the last 10 years, we have walked through heartache, loss of loved ones, loss of pregnancies, health scares, moves, job changes, financial worries and the stress of post secondary school. But through it all, we have done it hand in hand, side by side- together.

We have also had so very many moments of pure happiness, and it has been those great moments that have allowed us to get through the darker moments together.  We have travelled together, had 2 wonderful, adorable boys together, have bought 2 homes, have supported each other in our ventures- whatever they may be.



 

Us at a University function, Spring 2000

 



 19 days before Luca was born, June 2006

 

 Us, 5 days after becoming parents

 

2 weeks before we would become a family of 4

 

And new baby Levi makes 4!

 

 

There is no one in the world that I could imagine spending my life with. We've seen each other at our worst and have celebrated together at our best. We're comfortable to sit in silence together or to stay up late, laying in bed talking, long after we should have been asleep.  We love to travel together and also love to stay home and just hang out.

Chris is my rock, my best friend, the one I want to tell things to first and the one I need a hug from when I'm having a bad day. He's the one I miss when I'm away for a weekend without him. He's my other half, he completes me.

I'm so proud of the marriage that we have. Its by no means "perfect" but its perfect for us. We love fully, we are comfortable to disagree with each other but we talk things through respectfully. We hug and kiss in front of our kids. We hold hands.  We are happy to show the world that we belong to each other and that we are proud of that.

I am so proud of the father that Chris is and the amazing provider and husband he is to me.  He always puts his family first and makes decisions in the best interests of all of us. He makes me feel special and beautiful.

He's respected at work and works hard to be professional and knowledgeable. He doesn't take his job lightly, even when it frustrates him to no end. He displays integrity, no matter what the situation.

I'm looking forward to everything that our future holds- the good and the bad because I know that together, we will get through anything. We are far better together than we are as seperate units.

Happy Anniversary to the man that has known me for half of my life. The one that has seen me at my worst and still chooses to be with me. The one that makes me feel cherished, even after 10 years of marriage and 13 years together. I love you more than anything. Ten years down, many, many more to come.

 

School!

Summer has come to a close and school has started.

Both boys were so excited to begin school- Luca in Grade 1 and Levi in Preschool. They had new clothes, new shoes and new backpacks and lunch kits. They had been wearing their indoor school shoes around the house in anticipation.

In the last few weeks of August, I was counting down til school was back in. The bickering, whining and fighting were really getting to me.

Then September 4th came- the day we'd all been waiting for.

The boys ate and got dressed in their First Day outfits, had faux-hawks gelled into their hair, backpacks on and out the door.

Chris went in to work late so he could join me in taking the boys to school.

First to be dropped off was Luca.  Hand in hand, him and I walked to the doors. The Friday prior, we had gone to meet his teacher and he had chosen a desk and a coat hook. He was ready and eager.  Before the bell went, he hugged and kissed me and ran to join his friends in the line up at the doors.

I anxiously waited for him to file inside, and put his shoes on the rack. I waited until I could no longer see him. Then I turned around and walked to the truck where Chris and Levi were waiting. I barely got in and got my seatbelt on before the tears began to fall.

I don't know why Grade 1 was difficult for me. Luca had already done a year of preschool and a year of kindergarten, so why was this transition so much harder for me? The only reason I can think  of is that he is away from me for 7 hours a day- more hours than I will spend with him during a regular weekday. He's old enough to have lunch at school, and navigate a day without me helping him.

Part of me really does feel like "Grade 1 today, University tomorrow". Its such a cliche but really, WHERE DOES THE TIME GO?!

Anyway, back to the day. With me wiping my tears, Chris began the drive to Carstairs, where Levi attends preschool. Levi chattered the 15 minute drive and was also very eager to rush into school.  Chris and I both walked him up and into the class. 

Without any hesitation, Levi hung up his coat and backpack, put his lunch kit on the shelf and went to sit on the carpet and put on his shoes. I followed, thinking he may need his Mommy a bit, but no. He immediately started visiting with the friends he already knew and no doubt making new ones. I hugged and kissed him goodbye and was dismissed with a little wave.

Holding hands, Chris and I walked down the hall and out of the building, a brand new chapter in our book opened. And again, I fought tears.

 

Its a strange feeling to be without children playing in the background. I went to Dee's for coffee first, so it didn't really hit me until I arrived home to a quiet house, alone.  I ate lunch alone and in silence.

I was eager to pick up Levi and hear about his day so I left early and sat outside the school until it was time to go in. I just needed to be there.

I was greeted with a huge smile and a bear hug and tales of how fun preschool is. He told me of the dragon story they read, the hockey they played in the gym, snack and lunch at the tables and the dressup clothes he wore while playing with friends. He said he didn't really feel like drawing a picture when the other kids did so he just didn't.  He was disappointed when I told him he'd have to wait until Thursday to go again.

We got home with just a little while to play before we walked to get Luca from school. Luca also came rushing out with his arms open for a hug, a big smile on his face. He said Grade 1 was awesome but couldn't remember what he did except for the "jitter juice" they made to take their jitters away. (juice, pop and whipped cream apparently).  Later he said that he had fun at recess, played playdough and decorated writing books.

Both my boys had a fabulous first day and are excited for school. Now that I've had my little cry sessions, I'm excited for them. And I have a feeling I may just enjoy my 2 mornings a week kid free.... ;)

30 Years

Yesterday was my mom and dad's 30th Wedding Anniversary.  These days, getting to that point is rare.

 

It would be a fairy tale to say that for them to make it to 30 years was easy. There were hard times- financially, emotionally and relationship-wise. I'm sure that there were times that it would have been easier to walk away and give up than to keep working through the mud to make their marriage work.

If I'm perfectly honest, there have been times that I have thought myself that perhaps it would be easier for them to be happy if they were apart. I'm so glad to say that they have proved me wrong.

The last few years have really been different for my parents- when I see them, they are happy. There is laughter, smiles, hand holding, holiday-taking. They seem to be falling in love all over again.

Perhaps its because their beginning was rough. It wasn't like the movies- there was no romantic, sweep-me-off-my-feet kind of courting. They dated in high school and got pregnant with me as teens. They could have gone their separate ways and seen each other at my birthday parties, Christmas, etc but they didn't. Nine months after I was born, they married in a church ceremony with their family and friends present.

The next 20 or so years would really test them in so many ways. There were some really tough challenges that they had to get through. There were times they almost didn't make it through together. But they persevered, humbled themselves to each other, asked forgiveness and moved on.

As their daughters grew up, moved out and began to start families of their own, mom and dad were able to spend more time on their relationship.

It warms my heart to see them now. When at times I have questioned it, now they genuinely enjoy being in one another's company. Do they annoy the other and fight at times? Of course. Who doesn't? But what impresses me and what I want to learn from them is their conscious  decision to make their relationship work, even at times that it seemed easier to walk away.

Mom and Dad, I'm so proud of you and want to thank you for giving Chris and I a real marriage to help model ours after.  I'm happy that you two have overcome some really difficult hurdles in your 30 years and that you have gotten through them together.

Happy (belated) anniversary and here's to many more!

xoxo

The whole family, Christmas 2011

Friday Photo Post

Some photos from our summer so far...

This and That

As usual, I did well at blogging for about a week and then fell off the map.  Sigh.

Anyway, here are some snippets of what's been going on:

• I said goodbye to my Blackberry and got an iPhone. I'm in love with it. So many really cool apps and so far the quality has been fantastic.  The only complaint I have is the same as many others in reviews I read before buying- the battery life is not super.

• Dee and I are almost half way through the Couch to 5K training program. It is 9 weeks of interval training three times a week to go from being pretty much a couch potato to being able to run 5K.  As you may know, running 5K has been a goal for a few summers now and I haven't achieved it. This year I will do it! Our town has a 5K run that benefits the food bank in the fall, so that's our goal date. And the other benefits to running are something I'm really loving- the loss in pounds!

• In just a few weeks Luca will start Grade 1 and Levi will begin Preschool. Gah!

• I'm pretty sure both boys have grown a few inches over the last month. They both seem so tall and just so much older!

• August 1 marked the start of my on-call period from now until December for babies. I have 1 per month at this point. I'll also be subbing again this school year so I'll be pretty busy! As usual...

• My sister Sarah and her boyfriend Mike have bought an adorable little house in Hinton. Mike was transferred there and they move next week. I'm super excited for them as they start this new chapter but I know I'm going to miss them terribly. Its been nnice having Sas only 45 minutes away and having both planned and impromptu visits frequently.  Now perhaps a wedding will be next?!? ;)

• The construction beside us is a serious thorn in my side. At 7am on the nose they begin working. For a few days it was so loud and was vibrating the house so badly that the CD I was trying to listen to kept skipping! And forget trying to sleep in...

Techie Tuesday

My boys are such "techies".

A few weeks ago I joined the iPhone community. My Blackberry bit the dust and I opted to go with an iPhone rather than another Blackberry. Chris already has an iPad so the boys are quite familiar with it.

When I got my phone, the boys wanted to play with it of course. They were asking for a game that Chris has and I didn't. I told them I didn't have that game and Luca's response was "well you can just transfer stuff from Daddy's iPad onto your iPhone you know."

Seriously. How does that kid know that?!?

Then about a week and a half later, while on our way to visit my mom, I was telling the boys that Gramma had an operation and that they had to be really gentle with her.  Levi says "How do you know Gramma had an operation? Did she text you?"

Clearly kids know that texting has become a main method of communication these days! Haha

Summer Bucket List Update

 

I can't believe its already August! We've blown right through July and have just a month left of summer. Looks like we've still got lots to cross off our summer bucket list too!



Here is a list of some of the things that I am hoping we will do this summer:

• go camping
• go on a hike
• make bubbles
• make our own sidewalk paint and draw masterpieces on the driveway
• go bowling
• have a picnic lunch
• visit the splash park
• go on a road trip
• go to the beach
• have a weiner roast with friends
• visit 5  3 new parks in the city
• make our own playdough
• go to a drive in movie (there happens to be one in town in August!)
• go "fishing" in our kiddie pool
• watch fireworks
• play mini golf
• stargazing/ watch a meteor shower
• make and enjoy our own popsicles
• run through the sprinkler
• read a chapter book as a family

Holiday Hangover

We're back from our week of camping at Gull Lake. It was fantastic. We really couldn't have asked for anything better- the weather was unusually hot (about 30 degrees every day), no evening thunder storms, the beach close by and we figured out how to use our AC on 15 amp power!

Every day we woke up, had breakfast and headed down to the lake where we would meet up with friends and spend the day playing in the water, in the sand and just lounging around in the hot sun or warm shade.  Most days we spent about 7 hours of the day at the beach. Lots of great conversations, fun activities and wonderful memories were made.

After the beach, we headed back to the trailer for supper, which was usually sandwiches as it was far too hot to start a fire to cook the meals I had planned. Then it was more time with friends visiting, riding bikes and playing at the park and making glowstick art in the air before everyone fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillows.

It was a perfectly wonderful week and I can't wait to do it again next year at the same place with the same fantastic friends.

But now that we are home, we're back to reality. There's dishes to be done, floors to be vacuumed, laundry to be washed, appointments to attend.....  I'm finding it hard to get back into the swing of normal life, wishing I was sitting on the beach, drink in hand and a book on my lap.

Ah, well. My holiday hangover will soon disappear...

Saturday Night Leftovers

• Summer is in full swing and we have been BUSY! We went to Ponoka last weekend for the Stampede and Luca's birthday. The weather was fantastic and we had fun at the parade, midway and my mom and I took in a rodeo performance.

• We came home for a day and then the boys and I headed to Lethbridge to spend a few days with Tasha and her girls. It was great to see them as always, but the boys' behaviour was less than stellar. Made for a long couple days with me constantly policing them. The next visit Tash and I have is going to be sans kids.

• I was going to donate blood while in Lethbridge but it turns out since I was in the Dominican in April, I can't donate for a full year. So, I will put donating blood on my 2013 goals list and try again. Unless I go somewhere tropical again to get out of doing it... ;)

• I don't think I've really mentioned it on my blog before too much but my BFF is moving to Houston, Texas when their here house sells. It makes me sad to think about. As often as we can, we try to spend quality time together. Today we had a great girls day that started with pedicures, then lunch with a slushy drink then something we've been talking about doing for ages....we got our noses pierced! Dee had hers done when we were at Augustana (cough...13 years ago...cough, cough) but it grew in many years ago. I'd never had mine done and have been wanting to do it for a while. So, I'm now sporting a cute little rhinestone stud in my nose. I was so surprised with how quickly it was done- literally it was a 2 minute process. That's not to say it didn't hurt, but it was fast!  You only live once, right? And what's a little tiny hole in a nose anyway? Chris calls it my midlife crisis.... tee hee.

• Tomorrow we are taking our week of holidays this summer and heading out camping to Gull Lake. I took the month of July off from doula work so that we could actually enjoy some family time without the phone ringing. We also have friends camping there at the same time- Luca's kindergarten teacher and her family and some family friends. It should make for a fun week and hopefully some tired boys each night!

2012 Goals Check-In

Well, here we are 6 months into the year, so I thought I'd check in on my goals for 2012 to see how I'm doing. Its not looking great.

• Run 5K. I got close this past year but in 2012 I am going to do it. Along the same lines, I'm going to make an effort to walk more rather than hop in my truck. To make this measureable- I'm going to choose walking or another "healthier" option 3 times a week.

PASS/ still working
I am walking more when I am in town. I'd say I am successful at choosing walking over driving 3 times a week (now that the weather is nice). I'm still working on my 5K goal- my goal date is September 29th when our town holds its annual Fun Run.

• Donate blood. This was also inspired by Tasha. Both of us are 30 and up until last week had never donated blood out of fear- of the unknown maybe. Tasha did it on New Years Eve and said it was no problem. Donating blood is something that has always been at the back of my mind as something I should do, especially since in 2005 I was the recipient of 3L of donated blood when I had emergency surgery.

FAIL. However, I am planning to donate blood when I got to Lethbridge to visit Tasha next week. I need someone to help me follow through with it. I'm scared!

• Blog more frequently. I know I've been sporadic and I hope to blog at least once a week, if not more this year. (Tom and Lisa- hold me to this! If I'm not blogging, email me and kick my butt in gear! For those that don't know, Tom and Lisa are my brother and sister in law that live in Ottawa and are probably my most frequent visitors to my blog. Its the source of much of their information on our family. :) )

Uhhh....FAIL. I was doing really well for a while but then I sort of fell off the wagon. Oops.

• Keep a Thankfulness Journal. I saw the idea on pinterest about 2 months or so ago and marked it as something I wanted to do. Then I was gifted this beautiful journal by a client and knew that I would reserve that book for this project. I started it today and my goal is to write in it daily and have 365 entries by this time next year. (Since its a leap year, I can miss 1 day over the whole year.) I think it will be a great activitiy, especially when I have days that I am frustrated or feeling down to force myself to sit and come up with at least 1 thing to be thankful for.

FAIL. I did well at this for a while but forgot a few times and then got out of the habit. I didn't think it would be so difficult but there were days that I had a really hard time sitting down and writing in it.

 

• Allow my children to do more activities and projects that may create messes. I tend to disuade them from doing certain activities due to the mess it will surely create, but I'm going to try not to be so uptight.

PASS. I'm getting much better at letting the boys pull out the paint and playdough.

• Start saying no more. This past year, with my doula business picking up, I found that I was getting overwhelmed with the commitments that I had taken on. I'm always eager to volunteer for something and then end up regretting it when I stress over getting it done and trying to fit it into my other daily activities. I'm going to choose my commitments more carefully.

PASS. I've resigned from my position on the Steering Team at MOPS and I'm thinking longer before volunteering for things. I'm trying to choose to do things that are really important to me and that I have enough time to do well.

Summer Bucket List



I was inspired by Tasha to create a summer bucket list. I didn't realize that it was such a popular thing until I started noticing it all over Pinterest and a quick google search brought up hundreds of ideas. If you are interested, start here, where I borrowed the adorable picture from.

Here is a list of some of the things that I am hoping we will do this summer:

• go camping
• go on a hike
• make bubbles
• make our own sidewalk paint and draw masterpieces on the driveway
• go bowling
• have a picnic lunch
• visit the splash park
• go on a road trip
• go to the beach
• have a weiner roast with friends
• visit 5 new parks in the city
• make our own playdough
• go to a drive in movie (there happens to be one in town in August!)
• go "fishing" in our kiddie pool
• watch fireworks
• play mini golf
• stargazing/ watch a meteor shower
• make and enjoy our own popsicles
• run through the sprinkler
• read a chapter book as a family

What's on your summer bucket list?

Star Wars Birthday!

Luca celebrated his birthday early this month because he wanted all his school friends to come. Since his birthday is a week after the end of school, we decided it might be easiest to do it early.

Being a social little boy, he wanted most of the kids in his class at his party, so we just went ahead and invited all 19 of his classmates, 16 of whom attended. With Levi and the siblings of friends, I think we had 22 kids in total.

Being June in Alberta, it has rained most days. As the birthday party date approached, I was getting more and more nervous about having up to 20 kids running around inside my house. To make matters just a bit more stressful, being that Luca wanted a Star Wars party, each kid was going to be wielding a Light Saber.

I must have done a realyl good deed because the day of the party brought sunshine! The party was scheduled from 1-3 pm and at about 3:15pm it started to rain. Wow!

For the party, I had a Light Saber making station. Chris got some pipe insulation from Home Depot which came in 6ft lengths. I cut each one in half and used Duct Tape and black electrical tape to make "handles". I then set out a variety of different colored electrical tape for the kids to create their own unique light saber.

They had a blast having battles out in the field behind our house!

We also decorated name badges which I quickly laminated, punched a hole in and put onto string.

All the kids had a blast and there were only minor light saber battle injuries to report!

Luca also had a special day to celebrate his birthday at school. He got a special birthday crown and sticker, a gift bag from his teacher and he was excited to be able to bring cupcakes to share with his classmates.

Kindergarten Graduate

Thursday was Luca's last day of kindergarten. I'm amazed at how quickly the year has flown by and how much he has grown- both physically and emotionally.  Next year my boy is going to be in Grade 1.

He used to say that he wasn't excited to go to Grade 1 because they don't do centers, but on the last day of school, they watched a little video that the current Grade 1s made and one boy said that they get to play LEGO in Grade 1, so now he's excited. He's also excited to get 2 recesses!

Luca and his fantastic teacher, Mrs. Chicilo

Luca came up with what to write and did it all on his own.

 He even drew a picture of himself and Mrs. Chicilo!



Along with a Tim's card, we made this little card to go in the potted flowers that he chose for her.

Luca's report card was great. The only negative thing was that this term he discovered his "whisper voice" as his teacher put it and was quite chatty at carpet time and had to be reminded to listen. I can't for the life of me figure out where he gets that from.... ;)

He's an excellent reader and his math skills are great. He loves to figure things out and he is getting to be quite a little artist.

A friend said it best when she commented on my facebook post. She said 

" Every year is something new, and I always have to remind myself not to be sad that they are growing, but to be extremely proud of who they are growing to be!!!!"

Those were wonderful words to read and a great reminder. (Thanks Jackie!)

I am so proud of the boy he is and the growth that he has demonstrated. While a little bit of me is sad, I am excited for the changes and new stages that are coming!

Friday Night Leftovers

• Somehow, June has been my busiest month for subbing this school year. Students are done on Wednesday and I am still subbing Monday and Tuesday next week! Usually mid-June is when I can assume I will be done work.

• Luca's last day of kindergarten was yesterday. A full post with pictures coming soon.

• I often work out at the Hutterite colony that is nearby. Last week I had promised some of the students that I would make and bring brownies if they did well on the math test that I was preparing them for. (Side note: Personally, I think Hutterite cooking is amazing so I find it quite funny that the kids love my Betty Crocker brownies so much! Haha ). True to my word, I did bring them their treat last Friday afternoon. I took the boys out with me and they absolutely loved the kids and loved playing there after school was out. One of the boys took us on a tour so my boys could see calves, ducks and puppies. The boys had such a fantastic time it tooki me half an hour to get them to finally leave. The only thing that finally worked was to tell them that we were going to come back on the last day of school to celebrate with them at a BBQ. Since that day, the boys have asked every day how many more sleeps until the "colony BBQ".

 Luca loved this calf that kept licking him

 Luca learning about how they milk the cows

 Checking out the ducklings

• Luca celebrated his birthday early in the month because he wanted his friends to be able to come and he wanted to have a special day at school. Another post to follow on this crazy birthday party!

• Luca's class was doing inline skating this past week and he absolutely loved it! If we weren't already getting him a 2 wheeler for his birthday, he'd be getting roller blades!

• Last week I volunteered at Luca's school for Sports Day. Levi got to come along and was so excited to be able to pack a snack in his lunch kit and eat snack with Luca and the other kids in Luca's class.

• 
  
  
  After 5 years in this house and enjoying our lovely view, construction started in the field to the North of us this week. Its been quite loud- with equipment starting up at 7 AM on the dot and going until 6 PM. I'm already noticing an increase in the dirt that is coming in our windows (if I forget to close them) and that is migrating to the edge of our yard. At some point in the near future, the powerlines that are along our property lines will be buried, so we are anticipating some loss of grass, shrubs and trees. :( 
 
 

This was our view (taken the day we moved in, 5 years ago)

Levi watching the equipment work from our kitchen window yesterday

The current view from our window.

Hands Down, The Best

Today we celebrated the man of the house- the fun, devoted, hard-working, loving father and husband.

While I appreciate all he does every day, it was nice to be able to use today to let him know how special he is to us.

The boys and I painted a ceramic popcorn bowl for him last week:

The list is endless but some of the things we love about Chris are

• how hard-working he is
• that he loves to spend time with his family
• he loves to show the boys new things and do special projects together
• he plays Lego Batman Wii with Luca even when he doesn't want to
• he loves to wrestle with the boys
• he is such a good cook
• he cleans up
• he does the bedtime routine with the boys most of the time- baths and stories
• "Turbo Boosters" in the truck
• watching movies together
• building Lego together
• his hugs
• and so many more.......

Chris, we love you more than any words can express. You are our rock, and life just woudn't be complete without you. You are such an amazing, natural father and the best husband a girl could ever dream of! We are so lucky!