| high five for friday |

1. Bennett and his crack. Mum Mums. Thankful for the ability to stop a baby from whining... for a few minutes. It may be "bribery", but it works. Don't judge me. 

2. This is our new thing. Morning breakfast dates. In between first nap and second nap.

3. Thankful that we are just a quick trip to visit Dad on days when we need to get out of the house. It's cheap entertainment!

4. Started watching The Hills series for the... thousandth time this week. Never gets old.

5. There is simply no place like home! Made this and put it up in our house this week. Yes, that is the province of Saskatchewan.

| high five for friday |

... it was so good, I made ya wait until Saturday! not really, I just forgot.

1. bennett meets banana.

2. i rearranged my bookshelf.

3. last weekend we did some re-arranging, and added our desk to our bedroom - just until our basement is finished. i needed some place to put my stuff.

4. lots of reflection on how thankful and blessed i am to have my mama's boy.

5. baby turned 6 months this week. growing so fast.

| high five for friday |

 

1. Another youth formal come and gone! It was a great night. Love our youth group, and all of our leaders. We are so blessed. 

2. This is the first year that I have prepared a CHRISTMAS CARD. It may be because Bennett is here, or it could be because I am addicted to Pinterest. But this year, I thought it was neccessary to have a Christmas card. I was going to have a professional pic taken of him, and one of us as a family, but it just wasn't in the finances this year - so I made my own. Once he stopped gnawing on the live wires, and looked up at the camera I managed to get a good shot! I winged it in photoshop, and came up with this. It works! 

3. I decided to go through some boxes of clothes in the basement - because I have been buying stuff from Value Village since I found out I was having a boy. I found a whole box of 6-12 month old stuff, which is awesome because all of B's shirts were too short in the arms! 

4. We got to hang out with some friends this week, and played Pictionary. It was so much fun, even for the 2/4 of us that despise playing games. 

5. Baby leg warmers. On my wish list. Ridiculously priced - so we made our own. It's amazing the variety of socks they have at Dollarama. I was just there quickly picking up some paint, and bought a few pairs on a whim, with the hopes that my vision would become reality. 

 

| december joy dare | 11/31

three gifts ice cold: 

 

1. my daily coffee: it's usually freezing by the time i drink it, but it's still a gift to me! 

2. saskatoon wind: although it freezes the nostril hairs, it is refreshing, and i like getting some fresh air once in a while. especially DRY air. 

3. ice cold milk: especially in my cereal. nom! 

| december joy dare | 10/31

three gifts unframed art: 

i randomly started doing the posters for our youth ministry a few years ago, and it has become a nice creative outlet for me. i am by no means profesh... but, i enjoy it, and Matt keeps asking me to do it.

1. e68 jr high

2. relentless young adult conference

3. elevate fall events

| december joy dare | 9/31

three gifts ugly beautiful:

1. a mess: there is freedom in not sweating over having a perfectly clean house. i use to do it all the time. i am learning that my rest is just as important as being organized. sometimes i just need to go to bed in the midst of a disaster.

2. the birthing process: what can i say... i have never felt so ugly and so beautiful at the same time!

3. ugly faces: this is mine and my cousins fave thing to do together. i love how even her "ugly" faces are still so beautiful! xo

| december joy dare | 7/31

three gifts from my savior:

1. life:  new life & new beginnings.

2. peace: the ability to be calm in the storm. good nights rests even when my mind is exhausted.

3. hope: for a great future, His will fulfilled, and a life of joy.

| december joy dare | 6/31

three gifts sweet: 

the following all came from a gift given to us by some of the girls in the youth group. and by us, i mean matt... but we share.

 

1. ferrero rocher: we devoured those real quick! 

2. toffifee: these won't be around long

3. lindor: these are almost gone... i hid them.  i think i can hear my man searching downstairs for them right now.

| december joy dare | 4/31

a gift circling, crowning, crafted: 

1. circling: gotta love those circular orange chocolates ( i struggled with this one... ha!)

2. crowning: this hat was made by my friend, Jodie, for Bennett! Brynlie Oliver Beanies is her business, you should check it out and order something! she does an amazing job! we get a lot of compliaments on this hat when we are out and about!

3. crafted: my brother in law, Mark, owns a sign design business Grafik Visuals (probably not the right way to describe) but--- he made this for us, and we had it up in our home in Belleville. we have another one for this house, and i have yet to put it up. i don't know why, because it's one of my favourite things.

| november joy dare | 3/31

three gifts shining: 

1. elim christmas production: seriously, amazing. every year that i have been at our church i am amazed. i feel so blessed to be able to attend these performances, i especially love that they have the  saskatoon symphony joining in the music. amazing.

2. listerine zero: an oral health super star. keeps those teeth squeaky clean, and shining bright!

3. saskatoon shines: this is a print in our room. caught the sun set just at the right time.

| december joy dare | 2/31

three gifts bright:

1. the sun: duh.

2. my son: he is bright, brilliant and full of personality! and guess what... he's formula fed! *gasp* i know, i know, how could it be? well folks... it's true. just like him mom.

fun fact: i was formula fed in 1984 & i can count on one hand how many times i have been sick. ponder that. 

3. christmas ornaments: sparkly and bright.

| december joy dare | 1/31

three gifts white: 

1. white scarf - warmth from the cold saskatchewan air.

2. the perfect accessory - dollarama pearls.

3. medication - they are expensive. i prefer just paying the filling fee. 

| november joy dare | day 30

three gifts astonishing: 

1. apple crisp: this never happens. i was craving apple crisp all night, and i actually had the ingredients for it!

2. friendship: reminded lately that true friendship always picks up where it left off... that no matter what you go through, or how long you are separated, a true friendship is never lost!

3. joy dares: the fact that i completed this month of joy dares! i never finish anything.

| november joy dare | day twenty nine

three gifts red:

1. my favourite mugs: friends from our last church gave us these when they got a new set, and they hold a mean cup of coffee...

2. the best dishcloth: i randomly bought these from Homesense a few months ago, and they are the BEST cloths I have ever used. they grab everything!

3. betty crocker recipe book: Matt's grandma Shirley gave me this recipe book when we first got married because she was concerned that I couldn't cook. I like to put it on display to remember her.

| november joy dare | day twenty eight

three gifts in community: 

1. our community: i love our area of Saskatoon. it takes 2 minutes to get from my house to work, there are lots of parks, and we are close to Wal Mart (hell on earth, but neccessary).

2. community of students: i love our youth group and the relationships that are building between all of the kids. this is the first year that i am really noticing a sense of community and relationship building. it's awesome.

3. church family: i know i go on and on about our church, but it is truly a blessing to be a part of a community of believers who love one another. i love our church's desire to see people grow in their relationship with God and others. it is my goal as i go forward to build more meaningful and deeper relationships with those around me. church is a blessing!

| november joy dare | day twenty seven

a gift handmade, held, happy. 

1. baby foot mold.

2. father and son.

3. happiest with him.  

 

| november joy dare | day twenty six

three gifts prepared: 

1. t-shirt screens: this is all i want for my birthday, and Christmas. Preparing them today so I can make them in the next week or so. Look for it in pinspirations! :)

2. foot molds: preparing this for Nana Bombay for Christmas.

3. lights: going to pull out the Christmas decorations today. I'm not putting a lot up, but going to use them for our Elevate Christmas formal, and a possible baby Christmas pic! Stay tuned.

| november joy dare | day twenty five

three gifts ugly beautiful:

1. my home today: love my home it is beautiful, but today... it is ugly due to disaster.

2. birthdays: another year older (sad) but I have lived another year of life (beautiful), and this year has been the best year of my life, because Bennett is here. I still function out of the mindset that I am 20 years old. I kind of stopped looking at myself as being any older at that age... but, sadly, I am 28 in two days. Getting close to the dreaded 3-0. Sigh.

3. Saskatchewan winter: I know I have mentioned this a lot... the winters can be ugly because of the cold, but the snow is so beautiful, and when the sun comes out- it is magical! ha I don't usually use the word magical. Interesting.

| november joy dare | day 24-ish

my OCD and perfectionist personality traits are going crazy over the fact that I forgot to do this yesterday! UGH! I ruined a streak. Oh well. 

three gifts humble: 

1. the disaster: Every once in a while it's good to remind yourself that you can't do it all. I have no desire to do anything but rest this afternoon, and my house is a pig pen! oh well. my sanity is more important, and I can clean later, when I am fully charged. We are all happy.

2. this child: I am humbled to know that God would give me such a good gift. Every day I love him a little bit more, and I didn't think that was possible.

3. my church family: there are so many amazing people at my church. SO humble, caring, genuine, true, loving, Christ-like, merciful, and real. Whenever I think about the gift that God has given us in this church, I thank God, and I am humbled to know that he would place us at Elim in this time. This pic is of my friend Charmaine, with Bennett from today. It's so nice to have other people love on Bennett, especially when we are so far from family. I wish you could hear him shreaking - it was hilarious.

| november joy dare | day twenty three

three gifts only in Christ: 

1. salvation: "for by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." - Ephesians 2:8-9

2. new life: "this means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!" - 2 Corinthians 5:17

3. steadfast love: "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." - Lamentations 3:22-23