Birthday Boy's Party...

I meant to post these awhile ago but the whole month was such a busy time that I'm just getting around to it now.  Little man had a great birthday!  He's been asking for his birthday cake for months already!  He wanted a Blues Clues birthday cake.  It was a fun time and so wonderful to see him so full of joy.  He was spoiled rotten, to put it mildly!  Here's a few pics from the party...

We are looking for Blues Clues, we are looking for Blues Clues...

Isaac's been asking for a guitar and a wheelbarrow for months now...

Auntie Kim surprised all the kids with handmade signs for their rooms!  Thanks Auntie Kim, they're beautiful!

Isaac also got a 'scooper'! (aka scooter)  He loves his new 'scooper'...

And of course there's the 'some assembly required'....

A few of our party guests....

We are thankful for this little man who lights up our lives.  His sense of humour brings us all so much joy!  It is truly a blessing to be  parents to Isaac.  Happy Birthday Little Man...we love you!

Birthday Boy

Here's our man...growing up so fast!  Yesterday was Isaac's 3rd Birthday.  Party pics to follow...

Sweet Six...

phew, glad I didn't have to type sixteen instead of six!  It hardly seems possible that our little Abby is 6 years old already!  Abby celebrated her Birthday this past week and we started off with a family party.  Abby was in her glory.  Dress on, face washed, hair done, and re-done, and ready to party.  One of the beautiful things about Abby is her ability to be so transparent.  Whatever Abby is feeling is right at the surface of her being.  Abby was so full of joy on this particular evening.  She had requested a barbie cake, and a barbie cake she got.  She enjoyed time with her cousins, opening gifts, and showing her gratitude to each of her party guests by thanking them with a hug after opening each present.  It was so fun to see our little girl so happy and excited to celebrate.  So, Abby, on your 6th Birthday we wish you a wonderful year ahead, filled with the things you love! 

A little about our sweet six year old girl:
She's wild and crazy and always up for an adventure!
She's dramatic and wears her heart on her sleeve.
She thrives on affirmation and affection, and gives it back just as quickly
She's an outdoor girl and loves nature and animals
She's always singing....always, always singing
She comes up with the best one liners. Ever.
She has an imagination like no other
She loves her brother and sister
She's a cook at heart and loves to help in the kitchen
She's quick to help and usually cheerful in spirit 
She seems like she's never paying attention, but she hears everything!
She has a wise old soul and says and understands things far beyond her years
She loves her heavenly Father and seems to understand His love for her
She's a tomboy, who wears dresses.  And ruins them. All the time.
She's already boy crazy and has a crush on her gym teacher.  Heaven help us.
She's a precious gift that we are so thankful for

Here's Abby giving Uncle Ken a huge hug to thank him for the gift certificate entitling her to her first ever flight with Uncle Ken. 

Happy Birthday Abby, you are so loved.

Season of Celebration...

In terms of celebrations, the month of August is a busy one around here!  It all starts on the 19th with Rob and I celebrating our anniversary.  This year we celebrated the big 1-5!  Hard to believe that we've been together for 17 years, and married for 15 of those years.  I am so thankful for such a dedicated and loving husband.  On our actual anniversary we were right on the brink of leaving for holidays.  This meant packing and preparing rather than wining and dining.  Rob did surprise me at work with a gorgeous bouquet of flowers and some chocolate.  Later in the day I received his beautiful card with a coupon he had made for a promised date night in Vancouver that he has special plans for.  We're waiting just a little longer until we're back into the swing of fall routine so we can really relax and enjoy ourselves.  I don't know what his special plans are, but he promised that they include the waterfront, so I know it'll be great!
A few days after our anniversary is Olivia's birthday, and a few days after that it's my birthday!  3 events all in one week! 
I've had a fabulous birthday so far.  I say so far because tonight (I'm writing this Sept 17th) I have one final b-day celebration with a friend, and earlier today my work place threw me a little birthday party since I was gone during my real birthday.  It's so fun when your special day is spread out over a few weeks!  I truly am blessed with an abundance of friends and family who take the time to show their love to me.  One of my birthday events involved getting together with our 'Ladies Who Lunch' group for a fun lunch out in Chilliwack.  I was spoiled with cards, gift cards, quilt patterns, stamps a beautiful fall wall hanging and more!  Here's a couple of pics to note the celebration.  The top pic is lunch with the girls at our favorite tea house, Appledorns and the bottom pic is just a little of my 'loot'!  Check out my tree of gift cards galore!  I love gift cards, and this year was plentiful!  One of my favs:  the itunes card from my bro-in-law.  He's given me itunes for a few years now and it's the perfect gift for me.  I always have my tunes plugged in when I'm working out or gardening.  The gift of music is priceless to me....but the gift of coffee, good coffee from Starbucks or Tims, is a close second!  So here's my shout out of thanks to those who took the time and effort to make my b-day special.  With birthdays as great as these, I say 'bring em' on. (one at a time please)

Double Digits...

Our sweet 'little' Livi-Bean officially turned double digits this year!  Hard to believe that we're here already.  I remember so well being blessed with this baby.  She will always be cherished.  Enough mush...on to the party!  Well, if you read my earlier posts you'll know that we were in Oregon during her actual Birthday.  Being that she's a late summer baby, it's hard to get friends to attend her party.  Lots of people are still on vacation and unable to come.  We've tried doing it in June, before the school year lets out, we've tried just church friends, we've done small parties, we've done it all.  This year we waited until school was back in and had a very well attended party!  There were 4 friends that couldn't make, but 7 that could!  Livi and I talked about where she wanted her party, when, and what theme.  She remembered her cousins, Emily & Julianna, having a movie-night themed party and decided that's the theme she wanted.  I was so proud of Olivia.  She did all the decorating and most of the prep work.  She made my job easy, especially when she requested vanilla cupcakes with chocolate icing.  Here I thought I was going to have to make a movie reel shaped cake! (don't think I didn't google it people!) 
We started by stamping 80 'tickets' to divide amongst the girls.  When each girl arrived, in her pj's as requested, she received a bag of tickets.  From there on in they had to use their tickets to 'buy' their movie, pizza, concession and b-day cake.  I joked with them that they'd better save tickets in case they needed to use the bathroom.
The party was a roaring success.  The girls loved the decor, the theme, the slide-across-the-floor-in-your-sleeping-bag-eat-a-marshmallow-and-slide-back game that we played.  Olivia chose Camp Rock 2 for her movie selection.  The girls watched half the movie, then had an 'intermission' to play games, eat cake and open gifts, then the concession stand opened and they went back to the movies.  The second half of the movie turned into an impromptu dance party.  Yes, it's true, I had to use all my restraint not to join in and show them how it's done.  I need to maintain my 'cool mom' status and that would've blown it.
All in all a great evening.  No, no sleepover.  I'm just not that brave yet.  Wishing you a wonderful year ahead Olivia, you are such a ray of sunshine in this home!
P.S...just so it's on record Livi, we measured you the other day, and as of your 10th birthday you are officially 4'11". Unbelievable.

Dear (Not So) Ol' Dad...

Happy Birthday dear Dad! We celebrated my Dad's birthday this past weekend. He was fortunate enough to have 2 brothers here, one from up North, and one from the South! He enjoyed a weekend of breakfasts, visits and a mini-B-day party at our place. I could never put into words how much I love both my parents. To honour my Dad for his birthday I'll just say a few words...My Dad is gentle, slow to anger, sharp as a whip with his humor, and has this uncanny ability to apply common sense to everything in life! Dad has always been an amazing example of what a Dad should be. I have great memories of growing up with my parents and am so thankful that they provided these for us. Dad and I still have a wonderful relationship...he's here lots, helping with the kids, being the bestest 'Bumpa' ever, delivering me non stop coffees, and working on restoring his old truck. He listens and sympathizes with life's frustrations, and encourages me in so many ways. I don't know how dad manages to stay so calm and level headed with some of life's curve balls, but he does. I could go on and on, but the point is, he's a great guy, and respected by everyone. For his birthday I made him apple pies instead of a cake...he loves apple pie! So, happy birthday Dad...you are the BEST and I love you forever.

B-day for the Books...

I had a superb birthday this year! The celebrations started before the actual day and didn't seem to end for the following 2 weeks. Why? I dunnno! It's not like 34 is a super celebratory kind of age, but hey, who am I to argue? There was hot Starbucks delivered to my door on the actual day by my bestest friend, tons of flowers, cards and gifties, cakes...tooo many cakes, family dinners, staff party (which included a memorable birthday rap) and time spent with great friends. I didn't get pictures of all the fun events but I did grab a few of this one. These are some of my most wonderful friends in the world. These gals took me out for a night on the town in Whiterock and we made just a few more memories for the books....and oh, did we laugh...ooooohhh, did we laugh!
p.s....we missed you Christa & Tam!

The Big 4-0!

Hard to believe that my man turned the big 4-0 this month....good thing for me that he robbed the cradle;)
Rob is such a laid back kinda guy that this milestone wasn't a worry for him...he still has goals and dreams he wants to see happen but the numbers don't scare him! I don't need an excuse for a party but this occasion was ripe for planning the perfect party! Rob is passionate about farming and even more passionate about John Deere, so the theme was easy enough! Yellow and Green all the way! Instead of doing the huge-blow-out surprise party..which, for the record, we did for his 30th, we went with a casual evening with wonderful friends out on the patio with the bbq fired up. I asked Rob to pick about a dozen people he'd like to party with and that was the guest list. Now, there were a few major players who couldn't make it but we partied into the evening nonetheless. My gift to Rob was a mini scrapbook album filled with all things yellow and green. It was meant to be a tribute to the life he has committed himself to and the integrity that he lives it out with. Farming has been much more difficult for Rob since his dad passed away suddenly 3 years ago, but he carries on because he loves it. So...Happy Birthday Rob! You're are the most kind-hearted person I know. Rob is slow to anger, slow to judge and quick to forgive....He loves the Lord first and foremost and the kids and I are next on the list. Here's a few pics from the special occasion.