Merry Christmas!

I know I am a little late, but I wanted to wait to post until I could post some photos. Shane got me a new camera for Christmas so I was taking lots of photos! The first two pictures were taken on Christmas Eve (when Shane gave me my camera). The first at the Christmas Eve service at church and the next picture of Will and TBone on Christmas Eve morning.

These next pictures were taken on Christmas day. The first one is William trying out his new ski-doo sled. It is still too cold to take him outside to use it but I think I will try on Saturday if it's not too windy. He really likes climbing on and off it when it is inside so hopefully he will enjoy it when we take it outside and pull him around in it. 

This picture was taken Christmas night. We gave William a candy cane at about 7 pm. He enjoyed it throughout the hour taking bites and carrying it around while he played. By 7:45 he climbed up on the couch with me, laid down and fell asleep just like that! Haha we think he just crashed from all that sugar. He slept for about a half hour then was up and ready to play again! He really enjoyed his second Christmas!

 We are PRAISING THE LORD right now as a friend of Shane's (whom the church has been praying for since Shane was a kid) got saved! It is so amazing to see answered prayer and even better when it happens around Christmas time! 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!!

Christmas time = Christmas things!

I am excited to be in the week before Christmas. I think the days leading up to Christmas are often more fun than Christmas day (although Christmas day is a ton of fun!) Christmas day goes by soo fast though and you just feel exhausted by supper time. This week leading up to Christmas I am really enjoying myself and enjoying spoiling William and Shane with Christmas treats.

Shane made a list of Christmas desserts he would really like to have so I have been working hard on them and adding a few of my own ideas. So far I have made: banana bread, banana cookies, gingerbread men, sugar cookies with jam filling, forgotten cookies, and peanut butter crunch bars (made with a peanut butter free substitute called pea butter). They all have been really good. We are enjoying them. There are still 2 or 3 more desserts on the list but I am in no rush I still have the rest of the week.

Sunday night we got to go Christmas caroling with our church. We went to the long term care (basically a nursing home at the hospital) and also to the old folks home (an apartment complex with just elderly tenants). At both places we had a great turnout. Both Shane and Mr Forney shared the Gospel between songs. It was a great opportunity. One of my favorite parts of the night was when we were at the hospital. After we sand "The First Noel" one of the elders started singing it in (I think) Inuvialuktun, which is one of the native languages here. Mostly just elders speak it so I don't hear it very often but it was so neat to hear her sing the whole song in that language. Also she sang "O Come All Ye Faithful" in the same language. It was a blessing to hear.

William and I just had a nice afternoon. We played and baked for a little bit then had to run some errands. After the errands we went to the local cafe and shared a strawberry smoothie. It is so much fun now that he is old enough to enjoy those kinds of things with me. He is such a great companion!

Well, have a Merry Christmas!!!

Sandy

My William is ONE!!!!!

I can't believe how fast this past year has gone by. On Monday we celebrated William's first birthday! I am soooo thankful for my little boy. He is my best buddy and I don't know what I would do without him. He is just like his dad in how he is so sweet to me. Here are a few photos from his party!

December already!

Well, it is December and William only has one week left before he turns one!!!! I can't believe it. Shane and I keep remembering back to this time last year. I was huge and every day we would wonder if that would be the day William would be born. Now we have had him for a year and it went by too quickly! He has grown so much and he is not a baby anymore. He walks around everywhere now, he waves bye, says hi as people come through the door, folds his hands to pray, blows on his food to cool it down, etc. And this weekend he started a new thing. I used to hold him and rock him and sing him a song before laying him down to nap. But now he won't let me do that anymore! He just leans towards his crib like he wants to lay down. So I lay him down, he rolls over and falls asleep! Proof that I need another baby Haha.

Speaking of baby, this pregnancy is going along smoothly so far. I will be 14 weeks on Wednesday. My morning sickness is basically gone but if I get too hungry I get sick. I heard the baby's heartbeat last Thursday. Heart rate was 158. It was very special to hear that. After I nurse William he will look at my belly and I tell him "baby" and rub my belly. Now he will sit up from eating and rub my belly softly and last night he even leaned down and kissed it! I think that is so neat! I never told him to kiss it and he has never done it before. He is already a good big brother :-)

Well, have a good week. Next week I will get some pictures on here!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I know Thanksgiving was yesterday, but I wanted to wait until today to post so I could put up some pictures.

 

Enjoying the leftover apple slices from the apple pie I made

 

We were so thankful to have Shane's parents and the Forneys with us for Thanksgiving

 

The pies I made. (from left to right) Chocolate cream pie, cheesecake, apple pie, lemon meringue pie

 

Sleepy after eating so much

-22 degrees F!!!!!!

All I can say is that it is cold out there!!!! I have been staying inside trying to stay warm other than when I have to walk TBone. Thankfully Shane walks him early in the morning so I don't have to! Not much else is going on around here. Just getting excited for and thinking about Will's first birthday. We think we might do a truck theme since his favorite toy is his Hess truck. 

Anyway, here are a couple pictures for you. Have a great week!!

 

November is here!

November greets us with a cold air! It is 0 degrees here in Inuvik this morning! I haven't been out yet but Shane said it felt COLD!! Hard to believe this is only the beginning. By January it will be -40!

This week has been good so far. Sunday I wasn't feeling well enough for church but my friend Holly took the Sunday School class to her house (next door) and had Sunday School there so that I could sleep. (Sunday School is normally held in my living room). Then my friend Crystal took William to nursery for me so I was able to rest during that time.

Then Monday morning I woke up feeling half decent! I was not 100% but WAY better than I had been in a week or so. So I got some laundry done and started working on all the things that needed prepared for the church Harvest Party which was last night. So the morning went by pretty fast. I was even able to clean the living room and kitchen! Shane's sister visited me for the afternoon. She brought her 3 month old son and 2 of her daughters. William loved playing with his cousins. He had such a good time!

Then last night we had the church harvest party. They really do it up! We had lots of games and lots of food and lots of candy! Not as many kids came as we had thought would come, but there were a lot of adults. Everyone had a great time! I will post a few pictures of last night. Have a great week!

Will playing with his buddies

My niece, Tamara, enjoying her caramel apple

Mrs Forney and Mrs Lennie watching the games

Billy laughing so hard at her husband trying to eat a apple off the string

Sorry I am late!

I know, I am two days late posting. I am sorry. It has been a rough past few days with morning sickness. This morning, though, I woke up feeling half decent! I have already done one load of wash and the second just finished in the dryer! Also I dusted the living room, cleaned the bathroom, did the dishes and cleaned the kitchen! It feels soooooooooo good to finally be able to do some work. Now I am a little tired but I really want to finish the laundry before I lay down. I just put the boys (William and his friend Kai) down for their second nap. Their morning nap only lasted a half hour so hopefully the afternoon nap will last much longer. They went down pretty easily so that is a good sign! 

On Monday Mr and Mrs Forney had us and our friends Steven and Holly over for supper. Mrs Forney made a caribou roast with potatoes and carrots. It was sooo good. Will especially enjoyed it. He at a lot more than he normally eats. Then Steven and Holly have a little girl same age as William so the two of them had a good time crawling around and getting into everything after supper. It was a really nice evening. 

Well, I better go get that laundry done. Have a good rest of the week! Here are a few photos for you!

 Will and his friend, Kai

Best Buds

Trying on Dad's hat

Will the big brother!

Well, the news is out now! William will be a big brother next May. We are all very excited about it. I am only 8 weeks along so a lot could happen so we do ask for your prayers.

There isn't too much new going on around here from last week. I am babysitting a boy named Kai who is just 1 month older than William. They are having so much fun playing together everyday.

I do want to ask you to pray for a woman named Jennifer. She is not really a friend of mine, but I have met her a couple times at the healthy babies group I go to. Sunday morning her house caught on fire. I don't know all the details about that but I know alcohol was involved. Her 9 year old son's arms are burnt up and down and he is in the hospital and her 3 year old daughter was killed. It is a very sad situation. As far as I know Jennifer is not saved but maybe the Lord will use this to bring her to Him. Please pray for her and her family.

Have a nice week.

Another Beautiful Morning!

I am sorry I did not update yesterday. We were pretty busy. Yesterday was Canadian Thanksgiving. Shane, William and I went to Shane's parents' house for a yummy supper. There were a lot of people there. Including the babies there were 19 people. All of Shane's parents' grandkids were there so we got a couple good pictures of them all together.

Yesterday was the beginning of our white winter. We have had snow off and on for the past few weeks but yesterday it snowed all day. It is here for good now. I love it. It is a little hard to push the stroller in the snow but that's ok. I am so thankful that the dog doesn't come back muddy from the walks anymore! It is 30 degrees (F) this morning. It feels so nice! Much warmer than the past few days. Anyway, here are a couple pictures from Will's first Thanksgiving!

 Will and his oldest cousin, Braeden

Will and his 2 youngest cousins, Tanner (2 months) and Kingston (6 days)

Me and Kingston

All Will's cousins from Shane's side of the family

(left to right)

Tamara, Tanner, Tyanna, Will, Tyra, Braeden, Kingston, Kerina, and Kaleb 

Good Morning!

Well, I can't believe it...October is already here! I think I will go through the heavier coats today and pull a couple out...it's about time to put away the fall coat. This morning the dew was more like ice...very slippery. But it was such a nice morning for a walk! It is getting bright enough for a walk at about 8:30 am so that is usually when we go. Slowly the sun is taking longer and longer to come up.

Well, here are a couple photos from the past few days. Have a great week!

Last Monday In September!

I can't believe October will be here this weekend! Time is just flying by! I am enjoying the cooler weather here in Inuvik. 32 degrees F here this morning. Will, TBone and I went on a walk this morning. William doesn't mind the cooler weather. He wears a hat, neck warmer, boots and his carhart jacket to keep him warm. And then I put a blanket over him in the stroller. I am trying to take him out everyday so that he can get used to the cold gradually. We had our first snow this past week. It is all melted already but it was still fun to see the snow falling. It got me in the mood for winter...in the mood for Christmas :-)

I decided to stop babysitting Kody. He was too much to handle. I couldn't give William the attention he needed because Kody was always into something. It was a really hard decision to make but his mom understood and was able to find him a new sitter. I am still the backup sitter, though, so from time to time I will still watch him.

Not much else new going on here. I hope you all have a great Monday and a great week!

Good Morning!

Well this week was ladies night. Including myself, there were 9 ladies there. It was a really good time. We studied Psalm 39 and then one of the ladies had a question about God's forgiveness. Mrs Forney taught us a little about God's forgiveness. It's so neat how although that was unplanned, it was a great addition to our devotion. God is in control of everything!

Shane left for Whitehorse yesterday with his dad. They left around 2 pm and I am figuring they must have arrived somewhere between 5-6 am. I haven't heard back from them yet, though. They went for a "stock up" trip. They took a big van and a trailer so they will have plenty of space for everything they need. Shane is planning on getting canned goods, meat, gluten free food, diapers, wipes, paper towels, toilet paper, etc...that kind of stuff is way cheaper in Whitehorse. So before he gets back I am going to try to have my cabinets and shelves and spare room all organized so there will be space for everything he brings back. I will get working on that this evening.

Well, here are a couple pictures of when we got Will's portraits done at 8  months. Enjoy!

A couple pictures

Here are a couple photos from this week. As you can see Will is just getting bigger and bigger! Have a great weekend!

A New Week

Well it is Monday again. Today started my second week babysitting a boy named Cody. He is 21 months and a hand full. I am learning how to work with two babies on two different schedules. They play together really well, though, so that's good. By the time I get the hang of it I will begin babysitting a third...an 11 month old. This will be interesting!

We are all looking forward to the Forneys coming back. They will be here Wednesday. They have been gone for over a month.

Thursday will be ladies fellowship again. Hopefully we get a good turnout. A couple ladies have already told me that they will be there. Well...babies are up from naps so I better go. Have a great week!

Finally getting settle back in

Well, I have been home for almost a week now. Things have been crazy around here for me. I spent the weekend cleaning and trying to organize. I am all unpacked but baby's room is still a mess. I am getting to that slowly but surely. Tuesday I started babysitting a little boy named Cody. He is almost 2 years old. It has been a bit of a challenge so far because he really isn't on any kind of a schedule. I am trying to work on that while trying to get Will back on the schedule we were on before we went to PA. It's only the second day of this so I am sure it will just get better from here.

I am looking forward to the ladies' meeting. It will probably be next Thursday. We will be studying Psalm 39. I have been studying it for almost 2 months now (since I was supposed to do it August but got cancelled) and I have learned so much. It just gets better and better. David had so much that he could have complained about but instead he went to the Lord and talked to Him. He realized that he is no better than the enemies he wanted to complain about and then realized he needed to get right with the Lord. The last few verses are David asking God to help him because without God we can do nothing...we would be nothing. God is really teaching me and I can't wait to teach what I have learned to the ladies here.

Well, not much more to update on. So, here are a few pictures. Have a great week!

 

Will and his friends he had over yesterday. His cousins, Tyra and Tanner, are on his right. Tanner is only one month old. On his left are Cody (the boy I am babysitting) and his cousin, Tamara.

 

Ready for a walk. It's getting cold fast here!

 

Will and Tanner

I am coming to PA!

Well, as most of you know, my Poppop passed away July 30. Shane really wanted me to be at the funeral. We prayed and prayed that I would be able to. The Lord provided all the funds and now I will be on the plane Wednesday and in PA on Thursday. I will stay until August 31. Please pray as I travel with Will. We have several LONG flights and lots of waiting around in airports. On top of that I will be by myself...no Shane. I am so thankful that I can be at the funeral and visit with all my family. Praise the Lord!!!

Happy 2nd Anniversary Shane!!

Today was our second anniversary and Shane made it wonderful! He cooked wings in my new deep fryer for us and a lot of our friends. I think he cooked over 16 pounds of wings and they all got eaten! Plus tons of veggies, cheese, sausage, crackers, chips and fruit salad! It was so much fun! I love you my Shane!

Lady Bug Release

Yesterday Will and I went to the community greenhouse. They were having a kids day and releasing a bunch of lady bugs into the gardens there. Will enjoyed watching all of the other kids run around and of course watching the lady bugs. Here are a couple pictures of that:

I am thankful that this week is Shane's last week working evenings. He has been working evenings since May. He decided to stop so that he can work with Mr Forney more. He wasn't getting much of a chance to train Shane since Shane was always working.

I have had a good week this past week. I am so thankful for my husband and all that he does for me. He is such a great help and blessing. I don't know what I would do with out him!!!

Not much new this week...just staying busy with day to day things. I am looking forward to next week's ladies' meeting. We will be going over Psalm 39. It has been such a blessing to me as I study it and read it over and over again. Each time the Lord teaches me something. I suggest you read it and really learn what it means. I have memorized it a year or so ago but never really understood it that well. It is even a greater Psalm now that I know what it means!

Have a great rest of the week!!

Monday Again!

Well, there is not much new to update on so I will post a few pictures of William for you all. We try to stay pretty busy. We get out to the library once or twice a week and we get to the pool once a week. We take a lot of walks, too. I am so thankful for my little buddy <3