"Do you hear what I hear?"

Christmas music is playing pretty much 24/7 around here and I LOVE it!!!  I know, Christmas isn't hear yet, it's still November and the Americans still haven't even had Thanksgiving, but really, around here its CHRISTMAS!!!

The Christmas Tree vendors came out this week and so tomorrow we're going to go get us a tree!!!  I can't wait to decorate it with the kids and then redecorate it once they go to bed - hehehe!  Yep, that's a family tradition too here!  The kids have come up with a bunch of ideas for the advent pockets and can't wait to open the first one - which is coming up soon - and the dining room table is officially off limits with craft and sewing supplies strewn everywhere.  I'd love to show you what we're up to, but, well, can't ruin a surprise and some of you just might be getting something that our hands have made so . . . you'll have to wait until after Christmas to see!  But, there is something that I have fallen in love with - yep - I even called Braden yesterday and told him that a craft I found has taken his place. (okay, so it hasn't really taken his place, but it is absolutely adorable and I LOVE it and . . . . no more of that - I wouldn't want you guessing what it is!!!)

For a little bit of non-Christmas 

news - Brade has just gotten another "toy", although it is said that it is necessary for work - but it is a toy, nevertheless!!!  Work has decided that he needs an iPhone, so with no questioning, an iPhone is just what B brought home yesterday.  That boy can now surf the net anywhere in the house that you can take a phone - oh joy! (that's sarcastic, just in case you didn't catch it).  But, the truth is that it will be really nice for him to have.  He was looking for an outfit for a shoot last week and had to come back home to his email to check it out again, while with this he could have found it right at the mall - so - it will be nice for him to have.

So - I'm back to making a few more gifts, getting a few more supplies and - oh ya -waiting for pictures of my new nephew!!!  Yep - Riley James Larry Spratt was born on Nov 25 @ 11am, coming in at 7lbs, 3oz and 21 inches with dark, longish hair.  I'm supposed to be getting a pictures of my new baby today so I'm playing the waiting game.  I can't wait to finally see the other boy on my side of the family - Kaleb's happy because now it's 4 girls to 2 boys!!!  He's not the only one!!!

Advent Calendar Pockets

I found this great idea for advent countdown on the web that I just had to try - and it worked out really great - and easy!  Each pocket will have a piece of paper telling us something to do as a family - together.  The kids are really excited about this and have come up with a pile of ideas - I just have to coordinate the ideas with weekends and nights that I'm working.  Some of their ideas are making a gingerbread house, tobagganing, watching a Christmas movie, going on a horse-drawn sleigh ride, making sugar cookies, making Christmas decorations, making Christmas presents, and the list goes on and on.  I still have to decorate the stairwell with garland, so it's looking, well, not right, especially with the decorations still on the piano, etc - but this weekend Christmas decorations come out!!! YAY!!! The music already is playing, hot chocolate steaming and today snow is slowly falling (but melting before it hits the ground).  And the sewing maching is humming like crazy making a bunch of Christmas gifts - you never know if it's yours!!!  Only 38 more days 'til Christmas you know!!!

It's a . . . purse!!!

So . . . I went to Fabricland (starting to be my favorite store - to my kids' dismay!) to pick up some material for a craft that Emma is doing and came upon some cute wool material. Yep - I had to pick it up and then a lining material and then an appliqué that is just darling! Then, before bed I kinda just whipped up this little purse (and it is little - the fabric for one side was only 8"x10") so that Emma had a matching purse for her outfit for church this morning. What is getting into me?!?!?! Now, I loved it so much that I think I'm heading back to Fabricland and I'm going to pick up a bunch more material so that I can make a little stash of them and use them as presents for Emma's classmates - and they are the perfect size for Webkinz and don't cost the $20 that all other parents are spending on them - soooo cute!!! I just thought I'd let you in on what I'm doing - I'm loving this!!! (WHAT'S HAPPENED TO ME!!!)

(pssst - the pattern is from online - called the Jordy Purse - and you can find it at Crafter, just click here.)

PD Day Project - Monsters!!!

I don't know if you guys know, but I've actually been cooking meals for supper - yep - bet you don't believe it!!! I've been doing crockpot cooking so that I can try out recipes for when I'm teaching and supper needs to be made for the babysitter and Brade. Most are winners now that I've switched to the Company's Coming Crockpot book - the internet ones, well - not so hot! Kaleb has even started getting into it - helping me make meals when he gets home from school just before noon.

Today was a Professional Development Day at school, which meant NO SCHOOL for the kids! Yay for them and oh no for me . . . I had planned on going shopping and getting all my "stuff" to do some Christmas projects and forgot about them being at home . . . and then Brade took the van so we were stuck at home . . . and the TV quit working so no TV/Wii/Movie (needs a new bulb -ug). Anyways, it was gorgeous outside so I got all my Fall clean up done and now I'm ready for when it snows - yay for me!

I had found a website, Little Birdie Secrets, where a mom had taken her children's drawing a created them into their very own stuffies and thought that I'd give that a try. I hadn't planned on it, but with nothing special today for the kids I thought this might just work - and it did! The kids had a blast and it kept them busy (and not complaining either!) for about 3.5 hours!!! How's that!!! The kids did all their own sewing of buttons (Navia included) and eyes and a few other parts and did all the stuffing. All I had to do was a few sewing machine lines and ta-da - - - their very own monsters! They are adorable and Emma said that now there aren't monsters under their beds, but rather in their beds and under their covers - hehehe! Anyways - great idea for a rainy day and all it takes is some felt and buttons! The kids went to bed saying that the LOVE PD Days because they always get to do something fun and they are taking these creations to school for show'n'share on Monday! Yep - success!!!

First Time Doing Buttons!

Emma's Monster "Orbit"

Kaleb's Monster "King Monster"


Navia's Monster "Princess Monster"

Family Date Night

It's been a little bit since I've sat down and added anything here, but what can I say . . . life has gotten a bit busy . . . but I'm here now!!!

Since we've been here we've started doing "Family Date Nights" - which the kids LOVE, and so do we! They are stay at home nights that the kids and I cook up a huge meal for Daddy, set out candles, etc and make supper really special for when he gets home. Then, after supper, we play games, watch movies, etc. We don't go anywhere special because we've found that when we do we end up with grumpy kids because it's usually on a Friday night, after Daddy gets home from work.

So this past Friday was our Date night - the kids helped make supper and we had cheesecake for dessert - yummy (and dessert doesn't happen very often in this family!) Then after supper we had a Hungry Hippo tournament - which was LOUD!!! The cool thing about the game is that even Navia can play - and sometimes even win without anyone's help - although Emma kept on putting her marbles in with Navia's when we counted them at the end of a round - sisterly love!

After that we needed some time to just relax, so on went a movie and relaxing happened. It was a really good night!

This weekend we had another big moment - Brade led worship for the first time since we left Airdrie! I did keys and vocal and we had a guy at Brade's work do drums and his brother on bass and another friend on electric, while Brade did acoustic. Then a girl from Arlington Woods (a past church that we worked at) who is now attending this church sang background with us. It was a really good morning - although I'm pretty sure that 6:00am didn't seem to come so early when we did this before!!! The church was 1/2 hr away, so we picked up our babysitter, Amanda, and took her with us to watch the kids while we practiced and then she just went to the children's programs that they had there during the service. The church that we did worship at is called Renaissance Church and held in a high school's theatre. To get back to playing was amazing!!! But I really think the best part of it all was doing worship with my husband again - can't really put it into words, but it's really cool! If you click on the bottom

Halloween Part Two

So I guess part two was longer coming than I thought, due to mostly being absolutely exhausted!!! The kids had a great time trick-or-treating and Emma had fun at her Halloween party. It was kinda funny because there were numerous Hannah Montana's and they all wanted Emma to be their friend because that's how they are in the movie - girls!!! (Check out the new youtube.com video - it's Emma loving Freeze Dance)

Lola, Hannah & Hannah

The kids had a late night and brought in way too much candy - and that's not an exaggeration!!! Three pillowcases full!!! It's not going to be fun in the house with the begging for candy and the sugar highs and the mom stealing the kids' candy - LOL!


On Saturday night Brade and I went to our Halloween party. We had Mike and Cynthia's son, Ryan, babysit the kids. We put them to sleep before he came, he plugged in his XBox to the TV and when we got back he was still in the same position - boys! He stayed overnight in Emma's room because the party was still going on at his house and no kids allowed is the rule, so we took him home Sunday morning.

Polar Opposites!

Brade decided to go as a "Joe Dirt" type character and I was Mrs. Peacock from the Clue game. I had peacock feathers in my hair and carried a dagger and the game card that said "Ballroom". The evening was a lot of fun but we didn't stay too late - getting home around 1:30am. Yep, we're getting old!!! I guess the night didn't end 'til around 4am. The costumes there were amazing though . . . there was a Sonic Hedgehog (way too much work for this one!!!) and an apple with a worm (husband got stuck in the hot, padded apple costume while the wife got to have the light worm one - hehehe!), and Cynthia was a swamp creature (it took me 2 hours to do her hair Saturday afternoon and I guess 2 hours for Mike to take it out after - we used egg whites, acrylic paint and pipe cleaners for the top - but she said the pain was worth it - although I don't know if Mike agreed after his arms froze up trying to figure out how I wound the hair - oops!).

The old "Glencoe" Crew
Swamp Creature (Cynthia), Mrs. Peacock (Carrie), "The Birds" victim (Colleen)
(yep, that's a crow on her head!)

Today we did a pot-luck at the church (yep, even made it to church this morning and not too late either!!!) and then took off to an Ottawa 67's game. The Riverside South Community Association organized it with cheap tickets, etc and the kids loved it. They even got to do the high 5's to the players when the game was over. Emma had to sit with her friend Victoria because it was "more fun with her friend that her family", but we won't hold that against her! Every time the 67's scored Kaleb would yet out a girly "ya-hoo" and I have no idea where that comes from, but let's blame it on the in-laws (hehehe!).

The boys just "hanging" at the game

Anyways, it was a good weekend and now I just can't wait until Christmas!!! The trees are at IKEA on November 26th, so I have a little time until the tree gets set up, but that doesn't mean that the music and the other decorations have to wait!!!