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Happy Thanksgiving to you & you & you. 

(picture me nodding to each and everyone of you like Friedrich in The Sound of Musics "So Long, Farewell") 

I hope you & you & you had a wonderful day!

&

Happy Anniversary to the man I married 9 years ago today. He's pretty awesome. It's such a blessing to be his wife! 

Sugar, Spice and Everything Nice

She arrived Thursday, August 28 @ 5:32pm, weighing 7lb 15oz.

She arrived healthy, adorable and much loved.

She arrived as a wonderful blessing to parents entirely dependent on her Heavenly Father.

She arrived!

Now therefore, our God, we thank You and praise your glorious Name. 1 Chr 29:13

Emma Grace

(more pictures to follow... :)

Kindergarten: Check!

A mere week ago, it seems, Hadassah was off to school for the very first time. Since her first day of Kindergarten she's been delighted. With her teacher, with her classmates, with the overall school experience. She's skipped out of our car and on to conquer a new school day two times a week for the past school year, and yesterday she skipped for the last time. 

To the Kindergarten door, anyway.

What a fun thing to witness - a summary of your daughter's school year recited in song, memory work, poems and even a play! Tim and I thoroughly enjoyed Hadassah's Kindergarten Graduation, despite all that it meant. (she's done?! already?! how time flies!!) 

The three girls that made up her senior kindergarten class were so excited. Their morning started off with a rehearsal for the program, and then they helped to set up for when family and friends arrived. They, along with their JK classmate, sang their sweet little hearts out, recited for all to hear and even put on "Three Billy Goats Gruff". 

And then it was diploma time!

And then? Then it was family picture time.

Congratulations Hadassah! We know what a blessing it is that you've graduated from Kindergarten in a school that proclaims God as King - and pray that you will always know that blessing too! We praise Him for this day, as we do every day with you.

Delightfully Good News to Share

Some local residents might've noticed my husband making a 7-11 run last Saturday evening. In the midst of snow and dark and shivering conditions, my husband braved the winter weather to bring home something just for me. With chattering lips he burst through our door and thrust the cold cup into my hands and said "Here, take it, my fingers are numb!" 

That first sip was delightful. Delicious. Just what I wanted needed. 

And do you know what he picked up for me yesterday while he was out? And do you know what I swung by to grab on my way home from doing groceries today? Can you guess what was purchased several times in the past few weeks? 

Tim Horton's frozen raspberry lemonade will do. In a pinch. And when I'm home and have no desire to leave the house and no husband home to beg and plead to go on my behalf, I have whipped out our Magic Bullet to make numerous smoothies. 

All in the middle of a frightfully cold winter, no less! 

My only concern is: Will the wee little one growing away inside of me have a food aversion to Slurpee's and never be able to enjoy them with me when they're old enough to share? Because even when I'm not pregnant, I do love a good Slurpee and appreciate Slurpee drinking company. 

Catch that? Yes indeed, I am expecting. See? Delightfully good news! I'm pleasantly curious as to God's timing (adoption and all...) but I'm so thankful for this gift of new life!!! Tearfully thankful. And fully trusting God's plan for us. Lord willing, come the end of August, Hadassah will become a big sister in a way we weren't sure would ever happen again!

Yay! 

So besides the Slurpee cravings, how else do I know? Well...

... I put Hadassah to bed and then go to bed myself. Not every night. But often!

... Mac & Cheese is back on our menu, rather regularly. But it has to be No Name brand. Not just any no name brand, but No Name brand, in the yellow box.  Because Kraft? Just doesn't cut it.

... My husband has to eat the sub I just warmed up for him awfully quickly because once it comes out of the microwave boy does it smell!!

... And so does any meat, with the exception of chicken. Oh the nausea! 

... As a general rule, (you know - when I'm not pregnant) I detest naps. I can never nap for the suggested 20 minutes, but always end up sleeping for at least an hour followed by 2 - 3 hours to wake up followed by much tossing and turning at night to get to sleep. Now? Naps - cat naps and 2 hour time outs alike - are much appreciated! 

... Tears. They come often. And over the silliest things! Listening to Adventures in Odyssey with Hadassah, reading a pin on Pinterest, finding the first picture Hadassah drew that I could actually figure out what it was without asking. (it was a giraffe, by the way...) My husband has been such a trooper! Although I think I've safely hid many of them. Due to their ridiculousness!

So now that this news has been shared and the hint to bring me a Slurpee if you visit me anytime between now and the end of summer has been dropped, there's only one thing to find out! 

Where can I buy a Slurpee machine?! 

O come, let us adore Him!

It's my hope that your Christmas Day is a celebration of the birth of our Lord and Savior. Whether alone or surrounded by family, praise God and sing "Glory to God in the Highest"!

Merry Christmas from us to you!

A Celebrating Kind of Day

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14 / 15 / 16 / 17 / 18 / 19 / 20 / 21 / 22 / 23 / 24 / 25 / 26 / 27 / 28 / 29 / 30 / 31 / 32 / 33 / 34 / 35 / STOP!!

Someone in our house is having a birthday today! And I'm rather in love with him...

Happy Birthday Tim! I hope your day with us is a memorable one... :) Hadassah and I have a plan! Hour by hour he'll be opening a new card with a little note/surprise. And now I must go, because 9am needs to be opened very soon!

Our Thanksgiving Table

Thanksgiving is so close for our American friends! I know we're missing out on a great spread and great friends by being here and not there this weekend - but it's thanks to those festive days off that we get to see the American's in our family this weekend. (watch out Andrew & Cherise...Avery might be staying on this side of the border! ;) 

I mentioned sharing some pictures of my Thanksgiving table, since it was fun coming up with the decoration this year! So I thought I'd do so while Thanksgiving is on your (American) mind. I grabbed something from the mantel, jars from the cupboard, candles from the coffee table centerpiece, ghords and mini pumpkins from one side table autumn display, leaves from another. Hadassah collected some nuts on our autumn strolls. And after a little Pinterest inspired napkin folding, I had a table I was pretty happy with. 

People have asked me what we've been eating off of since I sold my green dining table set AND my yard sale find/makeover. Would you believe me if I said the floor? Probably not, eh? So smart you are. We've been eating off of this World Market set...

(love it so far!! met my criteria in so many ways - it fits perfectly in the space, plus has extensions for the ends when we have company over - has character but no major lines that crumbs can get lost in - super happy girl right here! For the curious ones, here's a pic I found where you can sorta see the legs as the table sits in the background of chaos, most of which I've cropped out... :)

It turned out to be a great thing, buying this table shortly before Thanksgiving. We didn't have a lot of people at our table, (my parents joined us so, 5!) yet lots of decor. Add the plates of food and we were definitely needing those table extensions!

And those plates of food? So yummy! Makes me wonder if we should drive over the border to celebrate again tomorrow...!

Thankful for family, food a plenty and fun memories!

Country Living Fair >> Good Times !!

While I haven't subscribed to Country Living in a few years now, I remember when I first read about the Country Living Fair. It was described as the magazine in real life and while that was exciting to read, they needn't have told me that, for they had me at "Fair". 

I knew I had to go. 

Ok, "had" sounds so demanding, as if I'd never be happy if I couldn't go. Obviously, I could've lived without going to the Country Living Fair. But when my sister said she'd be happy to accompany me on this fun little road trip (Chatham Ontario to Columbus Ohio), there's no way I was going to refrain from grinning, getting giddy and making a happy overture to her about how exciting that was and thank you so very much! Country Living Fair? Check! 

After our adventure-less drive to Ohio and a decent sleep on the rather hard mattress of our luxurious roughing it glamping camping cabin, we drove into Columbus and settled into the longest line I've ever been in. Ever. (and it wrapped around almost twice this long around this fence!)

This was gonna be good!

And it was. It had such lovely booths and displays.

Loved this cabinet. Would've loved to take it home except I have no spot for it. Sigh.

And then there were the ideas! So much inspiration for things to try at home.

(loved those doorknob picture holders by Cash & Cari from RePurpose)

The amount of people blew me away. The amount of people tugging along wagons, carts, and little suitcases boggled my mind! Such wise people! Clearly they've done this sort of thing before. Next time Jen...next time you can be one of those wise people!

And then there was the food. Mmm the food. Our favorite? ("Should we get the small one? Do you think it'll be enough?" Slight pause... "Uhhh, no. Let's get the big one.")

It was a busy, long day. But Country Living did a great job of making it truly lovely.

I did make a couple of purchases - one in particular I absolutely love. But more on that another time...

There is quite possibly no better way to have a sister's time out. Thanks Trac, for joining me and making it a fabulous, memorable trip!

 

Somewhere Out There >> Adoption Hope

Somewhere out there is a little girl, possibly even a little boy, who will soon make Hadassah a "big sister". 

And that, my friends, is such a big deal. A great big exciting, nerve-wracking and wonderful deal! For Hadassah. For us. For the little child who will soon be taken away from everything (s)he's known since the moment of birth until now and placed into our family where, by God's grace, we will be able to provide stability, hope, joy. And love.

I've mentioned our hope to adopt a couple of times on the blog. I've drafted several posts about it. Yet I've never managed to click "publish". One particular draft was long, sharing a lot of details about PCOS, infertility, a miscarriage and how that led us here, to this point. And I could talk a lot about the process. Oh there are plenty of lengthy paragraphs I could write, stories and feeling I could share. But the sum total of it all is this: God is good. And faithful. And sovereign. And praise-worthy! So in an attempt to leave you with only that thought, I'm going to give you a simple update and hope that you forgive my lack of details. 

Today we handed in our signed copy of the draft of our Home Study. (You might remember seeing this picture on my Instagram feed ages ago...this isn't a picture of the actual Home Study, but the envelope was the same and it was adoption related. So for the sake of having a picture with the post, I've cheated a little...) We've completed training, we've been evaluated by our case worker, we've tweaked our home to meet their criteria. We've waited! :) And soon, perhaps as soon as a month, we will be matched up with a little addition to our family. The concept crashed over me and my emotions yesterday and swept me away. Not only the idea that we will go from a family of 3 to 4 in mere months, but that God has had us matched up before the beginning of the world. Mind boggling. Isn't it? 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

Ephesians 1:3-10

We covet your prayers!

Once again I've teased you with instagram pictures but no posts! What can I say? Vacation and vacation catch-up. Two delightful chunks of time, one always following the other in a highly necessary way.

One delightful thing that's happened - one of the most recent things even - is that we've had family pictures taken by Julianna of Red Rubber Studio. Tuesday night we headed to St. Thomas and smiled away despite sweltering heat. She did an awesome job - I love 'em! - and you can have a peek if you like. Check them out at their blog here.

One glance? Ok...

Thanks Julianna, for capturing our family. I can't wait to get them in frames! It's a good thing my very own Target is now open...

A Little Getaway

Every once in awhile it's nice to book what I now term a 'minister's long weekend'. (Mon & Tues) Holiday Monday's -and thus long weekends - make very little difference to us because Tim takes every Monday off! And so several weeks ago I snagged a Groupon hotel deal for Niagara Falls and away we went.

Our first stop was a night at Grandma and Pa's - much to Hadassah's delight. And then they joined us Monday as we toured Niagara Falls.

When I booked this little getaway, it occurred to me that perhaps it wasn't the prettiest time of year to go seeing as things were just really starting to green up. Boy was I wrong! The flowering trees were in full bloom and the tulips and daffodils were absolutely lovely.

Our day was full. With yellow raincoats, thoughts of wonder at God's power in creation, pleasant garden strolls, fun food in a Rainforest (Cafe), and ice cream, of course!

We were pretty tired once we got to the hotel! But Hadassah can't let a hotel pool go by unnoticed, so we had a nice swim before heading to bed. The next day we did a bit more wandering, ate breakfast on a patio outside with a nice falls view, then visited Bird Kingdom. I must admit, I was a bit leery about this detour! But what a great place. The high ratings on TripAdvisor are true!! If you want a cool place to bring your kids - Bird Kingdom is the place! Sorry...no pictures. But we did manage to squeeze in a couple of family pictures.

One.

And two. (see it?)

Hadassah was one excited girl about this trip. Equal parts excitement for the Falls and "the street filled with kids stuff where there's upside down houses and scary houses that I wouldn't want to go in cause I'd be too scared and there's a big Ferris Wheel that I went on and games and lots of fun stuff!" :) And since watching their kids have fun is often a highlight for parents, Tim and I also had a very lovely "long weekend".

Happy (belated) Birthday Tim!

So I'm squeezing this in at just under a month later. Tim might even want to forget about this day at this point, since he turned...

...but we can't let him forget, can we? No, I didn't think so. (he told me I cannot say how old he turned on my blog, but he never mentioned that I couldn't take pictures of decorations...! ha!)

The day started with Hadassah reminding him that she's Daddy's Little Girl by wearing her size 4 pj's. Why mention the size? Because although my daughter is 4 years old, nothing 4T fits her anymore! So when she wore these pj's just for her daddy, she had to squeeze into them. One glance at these two and you'd be correct in guessing that neither of them cared too much...

 
Hadassah and I spent much of the day in prep for when Tim came home. We baked a cake...

(epic fail on the cake, by the way!! i am no cake baker or decorator...!! lol)

We decorated...

 We opened the door to some special guests and got to partying...

Tim and I went out for supper with some friends and so Hadassah only got to celebrate Tim's birthday for about an hour and a half...but I do believe she enjoyed every minute of it! (note the "birthday boy" badge Tim is wearing - Hadassah spotted it at the dollar store while we were gathering decorating supplies and just had to buy it for him to wear)

Despite your birthday being a month long gone, o husband of mine, I do hope you enjoyed your day. I certainly am blessed to have you for my best friend and husband, so it was a pleasure to celebrate it with you. Love you!