Remember

Today is my Mom's Birthday...and although she isn't here to enjoy her special day (I believe she's having a much better time celebrating her birthday in heaven) my family and I will be remembering her and thanking God for blessing us with a wonderful daughter, wife, mother, and grandmother for the short time that we had her here with us.

Many who met my Mom described her as a generous, enthusiastic woman with a passion for learning and teaching - I'm so fortunate to have reaped the many benefits of having this woman as my mother and friend. Just over a month ago, I received an email from one of my mom's close friends. In her email she told me that I have my mom's thoughtfulness, conscientiousness and energy. That one little sentence made my day. I like to think that I have some of my Mom's traits and characteristics...I hope I take on many more of her parenting skills as I develop as a mother myself.

Happy Birthday Mom...I think of you so often and miss you always.
Penny

Can't wait to Craft!

I've finally started unpacking and setting up my craft room! It's exciting to see all the craft supplies out on display and soon I'll have it functional. I'm revisiting the craft rooms I was eyeing up last fall...maybe now I can figure out a way to make this craft room functional and pretty! I definitely prefer unpacking to packing. It's exciting to figure out how you want rooms to look.

I have a lot of pictures that have been taken over the past month that I need to share. Pictures from Annika's birthday parties and other get-togethers...there's lots to share. Now that we're really starting to settle in here at home, I'm beginning to feel a bit more like blogging. The stress of the move is pretty much behind us now. (There's just the stress of what to do with our old place hanging over our heads!)

Hope you're all having a fabulous week, despite the weather. There's a chill in the air - it feels like winter will make its appearance long before it should!! Brrr....time for a hot chocolate.

Penny

Home, Sweet Home

Well, we're moved in! It's been a hectic week of packing, prepping, and planning...and whatever other "p" words go along with moving...maybe "Pain in the you-know-what"!! We're sitting on our sofas watching some boob tube right now, relaxing after a full day of shopping and unpacking. I'm surrounding by empty boxes (which is a good thing, right?) and pockets of chaos are everywhere. But it's happy chaos, and we can see our home taking shape in the midst of the mess. And it's nice.

I've shared with some of you that the move was more emotional than I expected. I cried for a while on Thursday/Friday, thinking of the little home that we started our family in together. They were partly tears of sadness at the thought of leaving our first home but they were due also in part to trepidation about the future. I've mentioned before that I tend to fret, and boy did I fret...about moving to such a HUGE house (it's going to be a lot more expensive to heat this sucker!) and about moving so far away from where we've lived forever. (Both of us have always lived on the north side). It's funny though...as soon as the movers started lugging in our furniture and boxes into the new place, the nervousness and sadness were very quickly displaced with excitement for the new memories we'll be making in our new family home. We hope to hold many family gatherings and enjoy the company of great friends in our new space. It's going to be good.

So now we have reached the end of our moving long weekend, and what have we accomplished? Well, we've set up our home office/sunroom area. We need to get some area rugs and some accessories to finish off the space, but it's off to a great start. I like how it's coming together. Scott spent a lot of time putting books into the shelving units he and my dad built yesterday. It's looking good! The kitchen is unpacked, thanks to help from my Aunty Audrey and Heather. Our front den is set up with our tv and sofas, but we've still got some work before this area is set up. And our dining room table now boasts our new table and chairs...they look great!

Next step: area rugs, pictures/art up, sectional for the family room. Oh yeah, and clean up!! Fun times ahead!
This update is dedicated to my good friend JIAB. This one's for you... :)

Have a great week all...back to work tomorrow. Let's see how long my drive to Sherwood Park will take...sigh.
Penny

Just a Couple Days

Moving day is looming on the horizon...one full day to really get the packing finished, loose ends tied up and ready myself for the movers. Friday we get the keys so we'll be over to the new place to refamiliarize ourselves with our new home. Maybe we'll do some measuring, start figuring out where we'll put our things. It's exciting - I'm really looking forward to getting in there!

We're tired. it's been a long month getting ready to move while renovating our place. But we have lots to look forward to...living in our new home PLUS a warm, relaxing vacation in Jamaica two months from now!

OH, and I'm in my last 9 days of being in my twenties!! YIKES! :) I'm into my fourth decade in a little over a week! I'm ok with it...it's just another day, another year. As long as I am able to spend my days with my family and friends...I'm happy.

Enjoy your long weekend all! My next post will likely be from our new digs.

Penny