Santa's little helper

Today we were visited by one of Santa's elves and he's going to be staying with us until Christmas Eve. He's small, wears red and listens to the children and reports back to Santa if they're being naughty or nice. He's an Elf on a shelf.

I heard about him last year but decided Charlotte would be too young to understand the concept. Even this year. she doesn't completely understand the idea of Santa. The Elf, who Charlotte has named Shakey (AKA Micos) sits somewhere in the house each day and watches what's going on. He doesn't talk to children, only Santa and Mommy & Daddy, but Charlotte can talk to him and tell him what she'd like for Christmas. Then, each night when she and Harrison are asleep, he goes back to Santa and tells him the news of the day and if they've been good or bad. He then comes back before they wake and sits in a different place. Charlotte then has to look for him in the morning.

Charlotte is one very excited little girl these days. She's had her world turned upside down in the past 3 months with the arrival of her little brother and she doesn't always listen to everything we say. Don't get me wrong, she's very good most of the time, but we've found recently that she's really testing her limits. I know that's part of being three, but we thought with Christmas coming up and the craziness of the season, this Elf may help her control herself as much as anything. I've found lately that we've been having to talk to her about her behaviour more than usual. We try to reason with her explain why what's she's doing is wrong, but we just seem to be going in circles. I know it's just a phase, but maybe Shakey will give her a different way to look at things.

So far, it seems to be working. Charlotte didn't come upstairs after she went to bed, the first time in a long time. But, it's only been day one.

Let's see what will be happening in a couple of weeks.

Welcome Shakey!

Shakey arrived today while Charlotte was at school

Shakey just sits, listens and watches everything

Daddy reads the book about the Elf on the shelf to Harrison and Charlotte

The Muppets are back!

Do you remember......


Ladies and Gentlemen, It's The Muppet Show!

It's time to play the music
It's time to light the lights
It's time to meet the muppets on the Muppet Show tonight.

It's time put on makeup
It's time to dress up right
It's time to raise the curtain on the Muppet Show tonight


Ah, the song that started every episode of the Muppet Show. I LOVED the Muppet Show. Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie, Gonzo, The Swedish Chef, Beaker, the two old boys (never knew their names) and of course Animal, just to mention a few. I used to watch it every week and of course, the movies, loved those too. Have you ever wondered what happened to them?


Well, they're BAAACK! Yup, they have a new movie. They join Walter (The biggest Muppet fan), Jason Segel and Amy Adams in a bid to save the muppet theatre. The theatrical movie brings back all the regulars and includes new songs as well as the old including The Rainbow Connection. 

Source: muppet.wikia.com

Andrew and I took Charlotte and Harrison to the movie this afternoon. I don't know who was more excited, Charlotte or Andrew. The movie was great. Lots of fun. Cheesy? Of course! It's the muppets. Worth the price of admission? Yes, even the popcorn and New York fries. Worth it all. It's just like the weekly show. No special effects, no 3D, just the muppets in all their glory. By the end of the movie Charlotte was dancing in the aisle (literally, so it's a good thing it wasn't too busy) and even Harrison, after lunch and a nap was cooing and caaing at the muppets on the big screen.


If you have kids, or are just a fan of the gang, you won't regret it. I don't think so anyway. 


Oh, and by the way....


Mahna Mahna
Do doo be-do-do
Mahna Mahna
Do do-do do
Mahna Mahna
Do doo be-do-do be-do-do be-do-do be-do-do-doodle do do do-doo do!


Link to the Mahna Mahna song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bJxYRtGUM4&feature=related


Here's a link to the trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4YhbpuGdwQ

Santa Came to town - A party and a parade

Today we had the Children's Christmas Party at Andrew's work followed by the Downtown Christmas Parade.

Before the parade, Santa took time out of his busy schedule to pop into the party to hand out some gifts. The kids were very pleased to see him. We then all bundled up and went out to watch the parade and to see him again. The parade seemed a lot longer this year with lots of bands, dance groups, floats and all the characters kids love. I have to say, it seemed a little long to me, well, to all the people around me, but a Starbucks pumpkin spiced latte half way through helped to keep the chill at bay. The main thing, Santa did finally arrive, which to me, after a two hour parade was a Christmas miracle.

Say Cheese! 

Do I hear Santa?

Believe it or not, Charlotte was happy

So was Harrison

Waiting for Santa with Thomas

Letter is on it's way to Santa

Hi-five!

Taking a break

Favourite part of the parade

"Look Charlotte, Santa's coming"

"What's all the noise? I was asleep"

Nice seeing you Santa!

A Letter to Santa

With the Downtown Christmas Parade this Sunday, Charlotte sat down to write her letter to Santa. She had her own ideas as to what was to go where, so she wrote the first draft.

 Mommy helped with the second one. It was Charlotte's idea to put the Rapunzel dress in the top right hand corner.

"What else do you want to say"

Asking her what she wanted to put in her letter, she said she wanted to tell Santa she'd be leaving him a cookie (because he'd be eating a lot during the night) and carrots for the reindeer.  I don't think she quite understands all that is Santa. As we wrote it she kept wanting to ask for things for her friends.  

Charlotte will pass her letter (along with Harrison's) to the letter carriers on Sunday and will eagerly await a letter in return.

Snow Day!

So, today we had our first snow day. Here's what we did...

After a yummy hot bowl of porridge, a cup of coffee, and watching Seamus' last day on Canada AM, we headed outside to start clearing the snow.

By the time I had the kids and myself dressed, Andrew had most of the driveway done, which was OK by me!

Lesson learned - Ask Charlotte if she needs to use the bathroom before dressing her.
10 minutes outside, I heard - " PEE!!!!"

Our best friend during the winter. We love you!

Andrew, work called.... 

they're closed for the rest of the day! YAY!

Charlotte, is that snow yellow? No Mommy, I didn't pee on it!

The shovelling put Harrison to sleep

Our sleeping angel

Our little snow angel

Daddy snow angel

Mommy & Harrison snow angel

The latest addition to our family

Hey Mom, what's been going on?

After all that work and play, it was time for hot chocolate and marshmallows.

A great snow day indeed.... until we heard the plow!

Charlotte's first play date

I had a very excited little girl today. Today marked Charlotte's first play date with a friend. Every day she goes to school, she comes home talking about Maren, Olivia and Claire. So I decided I needed to get in contact with the Moms to see if they'd like to come to play. I took the opportunity at Charlotte's Halloween party at school to talk with the Moms. They said the same thing. Their daughters talked about the same girls and Charlotte. So, I got all their info and told them we'd set up some dates.

So, today, Maren and her Mom came to visit. Charlotte was so excited. She came up this morning with two of her ballet dresses. One for her, one for Maren. She had plans that they'd be dancing. She's been practicing her ballet you see, and wanted to dance with Maren. I tried to explain to her that the dress may not fit but she was having none of that.

I told her she'd have to tidy her room (it wasn't that untidy, just a couple of things out of place) but instead, she got out all her stuffed animals so that she and Maren could play with them. We made some muffins and she patiently (some what) waited.

When the doorbell rang, so did she. She excitedly welcomed Maren (who came with chocolate chip cookies) into the house and off they went to her bedroom. A little while later they were up again looking to have their toenails painted. Once they were done and their snack was eaten, they were off again downstairs. They returned a little while later with their outfits changed. Maren was wearing Charlotte's ballet dress (the one she had on at first) over her clothes and Charlotte was in one of her princess skirts. Luckily she had also put on a top (a rare thing when wearing this skirt). I wonder if Maren may have insisted! They danced around the room, Charlotte practicing her toe pointing and then it was downstairs again. And so it continued until it was time for Maren to go.

To say Charlotte had a great time is an understatement. She so enjoyed her time playing with another little girl her age. While Mommy and Daddy will be the first to wear a tiara and have a tea party, it's just not the same. We'll definitely set up another date soon.

If her room is any indication, she had a great time!

After the play date

After the clean up party

Feeding Harrison for the first time

We went to friends for supper on Friday night and as any outing calls for, I was packing Harrison's bag. Diapers, wipes, extra change of clothes, burp cloth, bottle and milk. Charlotte, as usual was shadowing my every move, asking what I was doing, and why I was doing it. As I was getting Harrison's bottle ready, Charlotte asked me if she could feed him. I have to say, I was blown away. She'd never asked in the past. A lot of that is because I breast feed, but I have used bottles and she has seen me use them.

I never thought of asking her if she'd like to feed him. Most times when I am feeding him with a bottle it's when we're out and about or someone else is feeding him. So, when she asked, I immediately told her of course, when it came time to feed him she could.

When it did come time to feed Harrison, Charlotte was watching TV and I forgot about her request. She came into the room though and saw me feeding him and asked if she could feed Harrison. She did a great job.

Thanks to Colleen for taking the pictures so we could document this very important event.

Muffins and a visit

Today, Charlotte, Harrison and I went to visit my Aunt, Uncle and Cousin who live a couple of roads over from us. My Uncle recently had surgery and we thought we'd walk down to see how he was.


I thought I'd make some blueberry muffins for us all to have once we got there.


This recipe is from allrecipes.com but I was introduced to it by my friend Sarah. Sarah and I used to work together and often shared recipes. We often brought our baked goods in to share which is what Sarah did with these delicious muffins. Sarah now lives in Halifax and I miss our chats and fun we had each day, but we keep in touch via email and I LOVE her blog halfsweetvanilla.blogspot.com


This recipe makes 6 large muffins. They don't rise a lot, so you can fill the paper cups to the top and get a nice sized muffin. The quantities  for the topping makes more than enough for 6 muffins. I put the leftovers in a plastic bag and refrigerate it for the next time I make them. And if you try them once, you will make them again.


To Die for Blueberry Muffins


1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 cup fresh blueberries (I use frozen)
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon


Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners. Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture. To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.


Here is the link http://allrecipes.com/recipe/to-die-for-blueberry-muffins/detail.aspx


Enjoy!

These are to die for!

Boys vs Girls

Boys and girls are different in so many ways. How does the poem go?

What are little boys made of?
Snips and snails, and puppy dogs tails
That's what little boys are made of !"
What are little girls made of?
"Sugar and spice and all things nice
That's what little girls are made of!"

Today we went to Andrew's little brothers' birthday party. They turn 9 next week. The birthday party was at Wallnuts and 8 of their classmates attended. Charlotte and another little girl were there, but they didn't climb the wall. Instead, they played upstairs, amusing themselves the entire time.

Happy Birthday Dominic

Happy Birthday Joshua

As I watched the kids climbing the wall I also noticed how they interacted with each other. The girls kept up with the boys in all aspects of the climbing, in fact, there were a couple of girls who were better than most of the boys there. They were just as strong and able to climb to the top. It was the way the kids acted while waiting for their turn that I found interesting. The girls, they stood patiently, waiting for their turns. The boys, they ran around, climbing the walls (literally) and goofing around. Why is it that they act differently?

We've been raising a princess for the last three years. Not intentionally. I have no idea where she came from. Growing up, I was the total opposite to her. With Charlotte, everything is pink. She only wears dresses unless the situation does not call for one (like climbing a wall) and Barbie is her best friend. Don't get me wrong. She always has a rock in her pocket and is fascinated with worms and snails. But yet, there are subtle differences with the boys in her daycare. Boys just seem to do things differently. While Charlotte will walk down a set of steps, a boy will run and jump down them. Of course, seeing that, she then wants to as well, but it wasn't her first instinct.

When the kids came upstairs to eat, it was like watching two different species. The girls all sat down quietly, waited their turns, ate their food and spoke quietly. The boys, well, all but two of them, shouted, grabbed as much food as they could, and sat on their chairs like they were ready to pounce at any moment. They were all having a great time, but in two completely different ways.

I looked down at Harrison who was in my arms and I wondered what he was going to be like at 9 years old. I looked over at Charlotte who was sitting quietly with Holly, eating her cupcake. I wondered what she would be like. Will she still love dresses and dancing as she does now or will she be interested in something else? I look forward to watching the relationship between Charlotte and Harrison grow and change. I know they'll have their differences and they won't always see eye to eye, but I also know that they'll always have each other and will look after each other as they grow.

Look Mom! One hand!

Now where do I go?

As the kids got their loot bags and left with their parents, they all had one thing in common. They'd all had a great time no matter how they went about doing it and that was the most important thing.

How a boy becomes a Boob Man

Many women have encountered them. Those men who instead of looking you in the eyes, stare at your other pair. Don't get me wrong, not all men do that. Some men have no choice, hell, some women have no choice when they see a pair coming at them in all their glory. Boobs are great, really they are. Some are big, some are small, some you just don't see at all.

My question, how do boys become boob men?

I have one theory. Remember, it's just a theory. I breast feed. I decided that if I could, I would. Not everyone can. Some babies just don't latch on or there isn't enough milk production. Other women decide it's just not for them. It's an individual decision that every pregnant woman makes. When making that decision they take a lot into consideration. Researchers say breastfed babies have lower rates of illness, it boots their immune system, it helps the Mom lose weight, and more.

If you have breastfed, or are considering it, you may or may not know that there's one, shall we say side effect to breastfeeding...... your child just doesn't look at you in the same way. I don't know if breastfed girls are different from breastfed boys. I didn't notice it with Charlotte, but Harrison, well, see for yourself. He's a Boob boy. Will he be a boob man? If he's like his Daddy, I say there's a good possibility.

Hey Babes! Mama's up here!!!!!

Hello Weekend!

Well, It's the weekend. Again. It's amazing how fast the weeks are going by. I'm into my 4th month of my maternity leave and Christmas will be here before we know it.

About a month or so ago I started writing in my diary all the things we had on between then and Christmas. There weren't that many weekends that we had free. Between family birthdays, tree hunting, family gatherings and trying to fit in a few meals with friends, the weekends are very busy. Fun, but busy.

The craziness starts in full form next weekend, but this weekend is pretty busy too. We started Friday morning by taking a trip out to Topsail to visit Nana & Poppy. We're off to friends tonight for supper. I'm really looking forward to the adult conversation and catch up. They too have a little boy, so I'm going to enjoy spending some time with him.

Tomorrow will be a day of dance and shopping. Charlotte has dance, I won't be dancing. Well, not a lot. Maybe a little around the kitchen. While I've been doing some of the Christmas shopping during the week, It's nice having another pair of hands in the shops. Andrew likes shopping though, so while most men dread the stores, going out and getting bits and pieces for Christmas is fun for him. I say it all the time. He's different. In a good way though.

Sunday will start with a swim with the kiddies in the morning followed by a family birthday at Wall Nuts. I'm really hoping adults can climb the wall too. I think it'll be a lot of fun.

And then, it'll be Monday and the week will start all over again. Crazy.

So, whatever you do this weekend, have fun. And maybe take a moment to dance. Charlotte is always dancing and is a very happy little girl.

Coffee and a Chat

The house was quiet. The babes were asleep, Daddy was fighting the bad guys and Mommy was sneaking out of the house..... yes, she'd be back, but for a hour or so, she was going to sit in a coffee shop and chat with another human being that she didn't see every single day. Yup. Mommy was meeting a friend for coffee. Something she hadn't done in a LONG time.

And so, I went to the local coffee shop for adult conversation with my best friend. We'll call her Jill. Ok, so being friends for 32 years means the conversation is not always that mature, sophisticated or note-worthy, but it's conversation that doesn't include the words pee, poo, no, no, no don't do that and raspberries. Well, not all the time anyway.

Sitting there, catching up, it was nice to be out without the kids. Don't get me wrong, I love my kids so very much. I can't imagine my world without them. But boy, it was nice to be out and not having to worry about where they were and what they were doing. It was also nice not to be at Walmart or Dominion. That's usually where I go sans children. Shopping for the mundane.

While chatting over a gingerbread latte, the subject got onto food as it usually does. Jill told me about her love for gingerbread cake and I told her I had made a great Pumpkin Gingerbread for Thanksgiving. She asked for the recipe and so, I thought I'd share it with you all. If you don't like pumpkin but still enjoy gingerbread, I think you'll enjoy this. You don't really taste the pumpkin, but it does make the cake very moist and delicious.

So, I returned home after my coffee with plans to meet up again soon with Jill. We're going to try and make it a monthly thing if not more regularly. We both needed to get away from the usual evening routine and it was perfect. 

Thanks to my husband for holding down the fort. I brought him back a Vanilla latte so it wasn't all that bad!

Here's the recipe I found on allrecipes.com

Pumpkin Gingerbread

3 cups sugar

• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs
• 2/3 cup water
• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 
  
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans. In a large mixing, combine sugar, oil and eggs; beat until smooth. Add water and beat until well blended. Stir in pumpkin, ginger, allspice cinnamon, and clove. In medium bowl, combine flour, soda, salt, and baking powder. Add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture and blend just until all ingredients are mixed. Divide batter between prepared pans. Bake in preheated oven until toothpick comes out clean, about 1 hour.

I made one loaf and then used the rest of the batter to make muffins that I then put in the freezer. They're nice to have with a cup of tea in the afternoon when your kids are asleep, or, for your afternoon break at work.  Another idea is to make mini loaves and give as hostess gifts. 

Enjoy!

Spelt Bread

Today was a day of rest... for Harrison. With his Christening and then two days of out and about, the little guy needed some sleep. And sleep he did.

So, while he did that, it was tidying, cleaning and baking for me and Charlotte.

Charlotte wanted to help... really she did! 

Once the tidying was done, I decided to try my hand at making some spelt bread. I can't eat a lot of wheat and I do like a piece of toast in the morning. I've tried making spelt bread in my bread machine but it comes out quite dense. Good for toast, but I wouldn't eat it in a sandwich. My Mom gave me a spelt recipe that is very easy to do and makes just a couple of loaves at a time. I had a loaf of hers a couple of weeks ago and it was very good. So light and fluffy. The secret - light spelt flour and very little kneeding.

I got my spelt flour yesterday. The flour needs to be light, not dark and a company in Donovan's (G.J. Shortall Ltd.) sells it in a 20lb bag. A lot of flour if you aren't going to make a lot of bread, but worth it is you do. I tried making it in the bread machine yesterday. It didn't turn out as well as my last batch. This morning, I gave the more traditional way a go. It turned out pretty good. Charlotte liked it. Not as good as Mom's though. But, practice makes perfect. I'm looking forward to breakfast tomorrow.

Here's the recipe:

SPELT BREAD
1 Tbsp. yeast
2 cups warm water
3 Tbsp honey
3 Tbsp. melted butter
2 tsp. sea salt
6 cups spelt flour

Combine warm water and honey in a bowl.  Add yeast.  Let stand 10 minutes or until the yeast softens and rises.  Stir in the butter and salt and three cups of flour.  Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon.  Add remaining flour in increments until the dough becomes too stiff to stir.  Then place dough on a lightly floured surface and knead for about six minutes, add remaining flour if and as necessary until dough becomes smooth and elastic.  DO NOT OVER KNEAD.

Place dough in a lightly greased bowl.  Cover and let rise in a warm draft free spot for about 1 hour or until double in bulk. Punch dough down to deflate it and divide in half.  Form each half into a smooth loaf and place in greased loaf pans.  Cover and let rise in a warm draft free spot for about an hour or until the dough has risen to top of the pans.  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place the pans on a heavy baking sheet and bake 45 minutes or until tops are light brown and crusty.  Remove bread from oven and the pans.  Place bread on baking sheet.  Turn off the oven and return bread to oven to crisp for 5 minutes.



Enjoy!

Warm bread with molasses and a cup of tea. Yummy!

Fruit Cake - You either Love it or Hate it.

Fruit cake. These two words make a lot of people stop in their tracks as if they've been hit by one. Especially around Christmas time. Not everyone is a lover of this fruity cake. Cups and cups of raisins, currants, cherries, mixed fruit, that's a lot of dried fruit for anyone. When it's combined with spices and flour and turns out dry, then the only thing it's any good for is keeping your stocking atop the mantle on Christmas Eve. Well, stop here folks. I make a mean fruit cake if I do say so myself. I do have practice though, because my husband Love, love LOVES fruit cake. Not only do we have it at Christmas time, but, believe it or not, it's also his birthday cake. To say my husband is a fruit cake connoisseur is a little bit of a stretch, but he is particular and gives this one two thumbs up.

So, when Harrison's Christening approached, and it was time to bake his cake, what else would it be if not fruit? I took the opportunity to make two smaller cakes instead of 1 large one so that we'd have one for Christmas. That's one less thing I have to to bake in a couple of weeks. My Mom on Sunday made the very good suggestion that we put the rest of the cake away for Christmas. HA! HA! HA! Keeping fruit cake away from my husband, and alas it seems Charlotte, is like, well, trying to keep chocolate from me!

Below is the recipe I use. This is my Nan's recipe. Mom always made it growing up so yes, I too like fruit cake. At Christmas.

Nan's Boiled Dark Fruit Cake

1lb currants
1 lb seedless raisins
1 cup mixed fruit
1 cup red cherries
1 cup nuts (optional)
1/4 cup rum
2 1/4 cups warm water
2 1/4 cups white sugar
1 lb margarine
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp salt
3 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
3 eggs

Measure fruit, rum, water, sugar, butter, spices and salt into a large pot. Bring to a boil. Stir often and boil for a couple of minutes. Cool.
Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder and stir into cooled mixture. Stir in eggs and mix until well blended. Batter will be quite wet.

Line pan with greased wax paper. Pour batter into pans. Bake at 275 for 3 1/2 hours for a large cake, 2 1/2 hours for smaller cakes. Let cool. Wrap well and store in cool place.

Enjoy!

Thank you little one

When you're an innocent little baby, you have no worries, no fears, nothing to hide. All you do is depend on the ones around you to love you, feed you, clothe you, keep you warm and safe.

When you're an adult, the opposite is true. You have your worries, your fears, things to hide. People depend on you to be loved, fed, clothed and kept warm and safe. I can't imagine my life without these things. Sure, I'd like to have less worries and fears, but they make me who I am. The people who depend on me, well, I depend on them just as much and for that, I thank God every day.

When I look at my little innocent baby, no matter what is happening around me at that moment, I can't help but smile. Especially when a raspberry gets this result. Thank you little one.

Mom, you're HILARIOUS!

Harrison's Christening

Today we celebrated Harrison's Christening. Joined by family and friends, we had a lovely service followed by a get together where Harrison was showered with love.

Harrison was wonderful. He hardly made a peep during the service and then had a cuddle with everyone while all the time was full of smiles. (Except when we made him put the dress on again!) I felt very proud of both him and Charlotte today and appreciated so much the time spent with all our family.

I found today very special in so many ways. I was raised a Catholic and attended church weekly growing up, but once I became an adult and moved away from home that changed. It's not that I don't believe in God, or in something greater than us, it's just that I guess I don't feel I get a lot out of going to church. Part of it is that I don't agree with all the rules of the church.  I find it difficult listening to the sermons when I don't necessarily agree. I guess it's a matter of listening and making your own decisions as to what you get out of it. I see God all around me, when I look at my children every day, on a beautiful sunny fall morning, on a crisp clear night when the moon is full. I feel that you don't have to go to church to be religious or believe in something greater. But, as I sat in church this morning, I found myself for the first time in a long time considering going more regularly. Part of it is for my children. To give them the chance to make up their own minds as my parents did. The other part is for me, to continue my growth as a person and a parent. Hopefully as we all grow, so will the church in it's beliefs.

Getting Charlotte and Harrison baptized was the beginning of their journey to self discovery and a continuation of mine. I can only give them the start that my parents gave me and hope that whatever path they choose in life they will be happy and healthy.

Fruit Cake & Cupcakes. My first attempt at a fondant decorated cake.

Our wonderful family 

My two beautiful children. 

Harrison and his God Parents, Mel and Uncle Darrell

Big Sis and Baby Bro

After all day, Harrison let me put the dress on one more time to get a couple of more pictures

Last but not least