Under the weather

I have caught the dreaded cold that's been migrating in our house. I have been feeling under the weather and especially today. I had a horrible sleep- thanks to a plugged nose, a sore back and an active baby who kept kicking me throughout the night. I think I got maybe a total of 2 hours of sleep. So needless to say, I am so tired. On top of that I have a headache and I feel nauseous today.

I feel like I'm in the first trimester with a congested head PLUS all the joys of the third trimester.

Anyway I had to find a way to stay awake today. I kept the girls home from school today for a sick day and I made some elderberry syrup and fresh homemade bread.

I felt like it's been productive and has helped me take my mind off of my day.

I love my helpers!

January 2019 Passion Rally

Today, I attended the January 2019 #YLUnites Passion Rally. This time I enrolled the girls in the kids camp so it was fun to bring them along too.

The rally itself was so good. The main speakers were Carla Green and Corey Deacon. Carla spoke about taming stress. Corey is a neuroscientist from Calgary and he spoke about disease prevention.

All the talks were motivating to improve wellness and inspired me to improve my lifestyle.

The girls had fun doing who knows what at the camp! They left with happy faces and we came home late tonight.

Dazzling

For Christmas, my sister gave me some lovely earrings. They are dangly feathers made out of recycled tires and they are rather quite simple and beautiful.

This sparked some sort of hidden love for earrings! I rarely wear makeup and my hair is usually in a messy bun so I never really feel "pretty" or "stylish." But when I wear earrings, I feel a bit more bright and confident. 

Anyway, I recently discovered a new Canadian company called Newborn Feathers which hand makes all their jewelry. A friend (of a friend) was hosting an online party so I jumped on and I bought a few pairs. They arrived today and I'm so impressed!

Cuddles and snuggles

Little Theo isn't feeling well today. He's such a cutie all snuggled and sleeping on the couch. I could just squeeze and smooth his little body all day! He is especially more cuddly today and I appreciate that I get to spend time with him.

15 weeks to go

I felt pretty today so I took a maternity photo of myself. I am nearing 25 weeks, almost nearing the third trimester. For the most part, I feel pretty good. Right now I crave avocado toast A LOT! Can't wait to meet this little one in 15 weeks!

Boisvert/van Bruggen Christmas

On January 3, we headed out and embarked on a journey to Canal Flats, BC. There we would meet up with my sister's family to celebrate Christmas with them. This was a holiday I was most looking forward to this year.

The drive took a bit longer than expected because there was a big snow storm in the mountains and we took the longer route to avoid that.

The cabin that we rented was perfect! It was a lovely log home with many rooms. It had great accommodations and fit all 11 of us comfortably. Everyone was impressed by how stocked the home was. The owners even left the Christmas decor up which was perfect for our occasion. I wish I took more detailed pictures of the place!

We arrived around dinnertime on Thursday night and the van Bruggen's were already there. We settled in and ate supper (which was a yummy Mexican casserole that Gerrit made.) The kids had so much fun together. After they went to bed, us adults wrapped the "present ball" and played a board game.

The next morning after breakfast we opened gifts. There was so much love in the room. So many thoughtful gifts were given. After the gift exchange, Amy prepared a bunch of crafts and we all crafted for a long time. There were gnomies and candles and lots of little brilliant creations made by all. Crafting took us into the great of the afternoon, some kids played upstairs, some played downstairs. They went outside to roam the yard which had a play structure to climb on. There was apple cider and snacks and before we knew it, it was supper time! Justin and I made soup and we brought buns for dinner.

After dinner, we settled to the living room to play the "present ball" game. There were dozens of wrapped gifts wrapped into a big ball and taped up. The idea is kind of like "hot potato" and when the music stops, the person has to rip open the ball and find a gift. It kind of turns into sheer chaos by the end but everyone had a lot of fun.

After the final remnants of the ball had been cleaned up and everyone was satisfied with their treasures, we had pumpkin pie. Yes, from our beloved, lowly pumpkin that we grew in our garden this year. It was delightful. Amy also brought cookie dough so we ate delicious homemade cookies as well.

The night was busy and the kids were tired and everyone fell asleep rather quickly. Us adults stayed up a little longer, snuggling by the fire and having some "grown-up" conversations. It was lovely.

The next day was home day. The morning was full of getting ready, organizing and packing up. We said our goodbyes,  embraced and lots of tears were shed by a pregnant, emotional auntie. Saying goodbye is always the hardest 😞

We then began our long journey home. The scenery was beautiful and the weather was sunny. We came home late Saturday night, exhausted. All of us had no problem heading to bed that night.

Overall, it was the most perfect getaway ever. ❤️

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Till we meet again, mountains.

Happy New Years

I rang in the New Year by myself this year as Justin went to bed at 9:30 last night....

I enjoyed watching the Magic Kingdom fireworks and also eating some pecan pie though!

New Years always brings me to a time of reflection and connection. Reflection of the past year: what happened, and what I've learnt. Connection to the next year: Where do I want to be and what can I improve in myself?

I have a love/hate relationship with resolutions. I love making them. I love feeling motivated and inspired. But at the end of the year, I look back and I hate when I realize that I haven't accomplished much. Justin has mentioned that it's easier to break down the long term goals (even just for the year) into shorter short term goals. So that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to focus on the next four months (in four months, we will have a new baby and I'll reevaluate my goals once our new life has become our new normal.

So here are my goals for the next four months (Based around the 7 Oola's)

Faith

Daily scripture study, daily prayer, weekly FHE, family scripture reading for the Come, Follow Me program (incorporated into our bedtime reading) and regular temple attendance (once a month)
Attend YW activities once a month

Family:

Weekly family counsel meetings. Regular family walks (M,W & F nights)

Fitness: 

Obtain more flexibility and stamina. Do pilates and/or yoga twice a week. (Tuesday and Thursday nights when Justin's at Jiu Jitsu.) I also want to eat better by not snacking so much. Limiting  weeknight TV watching will help in this area.

Field: 

Fun:

Crochet projects: Slippers, scarf, Ella's scarf, Valentine garland, Easter egg carrots

Friends:

Connect with one friend once a week. Either "coffee" date or playdate or something...

Finance:

Stick with a budget and kill our debt.