All they want for Christmas is a NEW COUSIN...

When Emily was sharing her exhaustive Christmas list with Ryan and Heather on the phone a few weeks ago, she suddenly turned to me and said "Uncle asked if I would like a cousin for Christmas!". CONGRATULATIONS GUYS! All I can say is THANKS to my brother and sister-in-law for taking it upon themselves to make me Auntie Ang. I'm not sure if that sounds hoaky so I keep toying with my title: "Auntie Angie" "Auntie Angela" "Auntie A" "Taunte Angelica", or just simply: "Angel" :) Heather's new Motherhood Blog contains all the nitty-grittys of a girl's first pregnancy. Things are pretty textbook so far and we pray that they continue that way. I can't wait to hug that beautiful Mama-to-be in a few weeks from now!

More wrinkley nose goodness. Thanks for all the latest comments guys!

We just can't believe what an awesome walker the little man is becoming already. I love his recklessness and determination. He just won't give up! Why did I think that all babies were inherently reluctant to walk?! The last two days we've been watching Tommy teach himself to get to his feet from a sitting position, without any help. He kind of rocks himself onto his feet-Up Kerplunk Up Kerplunk Up, woo hoo! He's off and running (well, not running) to the next adventure. Almost certainly you'll find me hollaring after him "It's the amaaazing baaaby!!", which is probably getting old and will no doubt make running away from me his next pursuit.

6:30 AM...Waking up to the pine scented dreaminess of Christmas-time. We managed to block Tommy's path so that he could scream at the tree from a safe distance.

Whenever I visit Emily's school, the kids excitedly tell me how funny she is. More than anything, Emily wants to become a Tiger-Trainer when she grows up. And probably a Scientist because they seem to know everything. And live in China because of the architecture. She's doing well, but, it's not like being a grade oner hasn't offered it's share of drama, yeah already. Hate it. What do I do? My many questions led me to google for some insight and I found this article written by someone who wanted to uncover the reasons he was unable to find the social status he craved in high school. It's kind of unrelated, and I don't see many similarities between his school and the ones I've attended (I went to 4 different highschools!). But the reasons behind his message that school is BS, in numerous ways, make it a worthwhile read if you're interested.

Santa was busy having his picture taken with people's pets for Stink up Santa's Costume Day or whatever Walmart was promoting when Emily's voice carried over to him from a distance: "Mom, did you know that Santa's here?". Suddenly we hear this robust "HO HO HO! A LION!" echoing through the mall! She waved and he kept going on with the Ho Ho's, straining himself to see her like she was the only kid in the world. Finally, a convincing Santa! As we passed by, he scandalously left his sleigh to reward Emily with a candy-cane. Afterwards, we amused ourselves by letting Tommy have a little forbidden fun for himself.

We couldn't believe our eyes when we opened the blinds on Sunday morning. Just enough snow to make you feel like Christmas is coming and that it's not necessarily a bad thing. Poor Arctic Dreamer Steve, he took one look and just shook his head.

Somehow the snow and the sunshine inspired another early morning trip to Robins. Hardly as interesting as some people's Sunday destinations, but as you can see, we made the most of it. Digital Cameras Rock Period.

Emily has envied her neighbor friend for her lion costume since the day they met. When we returned from Robins, our awesome neighbor kids came to our door bearing her little heart's desire-which has been conveyed more than ever since we started reading the Narnia series. It was probably one of the funniest things I've ever seen. Not like we needed another cat, but anyway.

Steve takes Emily for an art and donut session once or twice every weekend. This time Em's good 'ole pal Cheyenne was invited so they could catch up as they no longer attend the same school. Afterwards, Emily was invited to hang out with Cheyenne's family for a warm, sunny saterday picnic and play time at Willingdon beach. Thanks again Monice!!

When Tommy goes down for the night, we get to have a couple hours with Emily all to ourselves. Last night we went through some craft magazines and made Christmas cards. It doesn't seem like the greatest photo, but it's times like these I'll want to remember.

Tommy's talents extend as far as making sniffing sounds with his wrinkled nose and walking at the same time.

Nothing's better than a yogurt tube right after school.

Mom, this pic is just for you, because I know you love those poofy lips as much as I do, grape yogurt and all!

Okay, another one just for my mom. There they are! All six of them!

At this point, Tommy's life mission couldn't be more simple: Touch the little plant while mommy says "no".

Just up from a long afternoon nap. Tommy loves hanging out by the window to see what the cats are up to, or if the sheep are grazing nearby. Or just to squeal and alert us that there are still a couple of balls sitting on the grass.

Thanks to Steve for capturing me in my happy place.

I was digging through some of the old pics already in my puter files and found this lovely one of my lovely one.

A day in the life...

Emily the Incredible, Tom the Fashion Victim, Ang the stay-at-home-mom-who-likes-it-that-way, Steve the Kaber Toss Champion, Fall Frolics, Pet Snails, A Harvest of Wild Mushrooms and Mouth-watering Tomatoes.

A Sunday at the log cabin. Lesa's and Jildaz's friends from Vancouver bought a property near Powell River at the same time we moved here. After 2 years of painstaking labour and trips back and forth from the city, they've finally settled into their gorgeous new home. This means we have some new pals that don't require a ferry or two to visit.

I hired this exotic beauty to help out around the house so I could watch soaps and check blogs all day.

Poor, poor mannequin...
They can take her body, dress it up in a $4 starting bid nightmare for eBay, they can even take her hands, but they will never take her soul. Even now she maintains a dignified and unsuspecting glance through the window pane. But if not in the eyes, in the hands we can see that somehow she knows her body is being used for wrongful purposes such as seen below...