Winter or Spring?

Yesterday, it started snowing. It snowed. And snowed. And rained and snowed.

We woke up this morning to about 30-40 cm of WET, HEAVY snow. Tree branches were broken, power lines were down. We were all up getting ready for a regular school day when our power suddenly went out. I watched out the window as 4x4 pickup trucks were barely getting down our street.

The radio station listed numerous school closures, but made no mention of any Lethbridge schools. We tried contacting the buses to see if they were running...line was busy. We tried calling the schools to see if school was canceled...no answer. So we waited. We saw buses turn into our neighbourhood, but we knew they would get stuck coming around our street. We then watched them leave...empty. No kids.

Wayne thought he would try to get to work. He made it out of the garage by about a foot, before getting stuck in the driveway. We then spent the next 1 1/2 hours shovelling just enough to get him un-stuck and down to the main road. By then, the snow had turned to rain and we were drenched. He did manage to make it to the main street which was plowed and was on his way.

We were without power for about 6 hours. All the kids got a "snow day"... the first snow day in Lethbridge since 1986!! Azia and I made some cards for a couple of hours. The boys built things with Lego. Emmy went back to bed.

It is amazing how much we (and especially the kids) rely on electricity. "Can we watch a movie?" "Can I play X-Box?" "Can I warm up the leftovers?" It made me glad that we had an "old fashion" phone that was NOT cordless, a battery/solar powered radio, big, bright windows that let in the sunshine and kept the house relatively warm. It also made me realize just how prepared (or unprepared) we are if there was a really substantial emergency. We have about a year supply of food and basic shelter (tents). Still need to store some water.

Thankfully, by early afternoon, the power was restored and the snow is slowly melting away. It will probably take a good 2-3 days to melt all of it away. The long term forcast is predicting more typical spring like weather for the rest of the week...and "shorts weather" by this time next week.

Ahhh, got to love southern Alberta!

Thankfully

Wayne has released his newest CD, "Thankfully". Of course, it is the best one yet, (although I say that with every CD he releases). There was a great article written about him HERE and after many frustrating years trying to get his product into Deseret Book, they have placed it in most of their stores and have it available on the Deseret Book website.



This album seems especially personal as he has 2 songs written about specific friends of ours. One is "The Face of Jesus", written about a little blind boy and a talk that his mom gave. They used to be in our ward and he was in nursery with Cardiff. LOVE this song. The other is "Thankfully". This had some inspiration from a family we knew quite a few years back, who lost 2 babies shortly after their births due to anacephaly. Everytime he performs these songs, you can be sure, there is not a dry-eye in the crowd.


"Duty to God", which is also on the album, was selected as part of the EFY soundtrack for the 2010 year. This is HUGE! Every youth that attends EFY receives a copy of the CD. This is a big accomplishment and an even bigger testament to Wayne's songwriting talent. He has been close to being on previous EFY albums before, but his songs have always been cut before final production. (It is not Wayne singing on the EFY version however.)

In addition to the new CD, Wayne was invited to be part of a youth conference for the Vancouver Temple region. They are anticipating 1200 youth to attend. We will be in Vancouver, BC for that at the end of April.

Birthdays....

12 years ago, I became a mother to the sweetest, calmest, prettiest baby I had ever seen. Today, that 'baby' is a mere 4 inches shorter than me and now a maturing, helpful, loving, young tween.

I often look at Emmy and wonder how we've come to this point. She is articulate and smart. She loves her younger siblings; especially Sawyer, who reciprocates that love. She loves to dance and sing. She has become an early leader in her flute section in her first year of band. She continues to take piano lessons (not by her choice) and is getting better at not complaining. She LOVES shopping...hmmmm, I wonder where she gets that from? She loves her friends and keeps good friends around her. She completed her Faith in God award and is excited to go to Young Woman's.

I will admit that Emmy and I don't always see face to face. I think we are more alike than we know and we often butt heads on things. But I know how blessed we are to have such a great girl for a daughter. So far...not too much to stress about. I'm sure that will change in the next few years!

Things that I adore about Emmy:

- She is so creative. She always has been. Always making "projects", choreographing new dances, making her experimental desserts and drinks for everyone.

- She LOVES to learn...about everything! DNA, the body systems, mythology, world history. She is constantly making lists and notes and crossword puzzles about the things that interest her.

- She is helpful - to her brothers, as a babysitter, to her teachers.

- She is a reader. This pleases me because I am so-not-a-reader. I'm thrilled that she loves the written word and is often engulfed by one of the books she is reading.

- She is beautiful. She has beautiful, thick dark hair, big brown eyes, perfectly straight teeth and adorable dimples to go with her beautiful smile.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, EMMY! WE LOVE YOU!

...more birthdays...

Parker turned 7 this week too. This year he decided to have a party at our house. He is quite the popular boy with the girls and he decided to invite 3 girl classmates to his party. One of the little girls has a little crush on him and spent most of the 2 hours chasing him around. Parker isn't used to the 'chasing' yet and started to get a bit annoyed with her. I reminded him to be nice and that she just likes him and that's what girls do. Now, why am I having to have this conversation with a barely-7 year old? I don't know....

What I love about Bud...

- He has a huge variety of weird faces and sounds. I will admit that is annoying right now, but I'm sure I'll look back and think of his oddness with fondness.

- He is a really great big brother. He enjoys trying to teach new skills or things that he has recently learned, to both of his younger brothers.

- He is creative. He likes to collect "things" and then turn those things in to other "things".

- He is full of energy. Always moving. Always doing something. Always busy.

- He makes me laugh. Whether it is something funny that he'll say, a face that he'll pull, an sound that he'll make, he can always make us laugh.

I LOVE YOU BUD!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

and more birthdays....

My little SoyaBean is 2!!

5 things I love about this boy:


1. He makes the funniest faces as he tries to express himself with his limited vocabulary.
2. He is very particular about which clothes and shoes he wants to wear everyday. There
is no swaying his opinion.
3. He is loves to 'sing' when he hears a song he likes.
4. He always wakes from his naps or in the morning with a huge smile and a blanket shoved into his mouth.
5. He is the one that completes our family.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BEAN!

Olympic Pride

There is something about the Olympics that brings my emotions out. The Winter Olympics are in Vacouver, BC this year. It is only the 3rd time that an Olympic Games has been held in Canada and it is the 3rd time that I have been able to participate in some of the celebrations.

In 1988, the Olympics were held in Calgary. The torch came through Lethbridge and the father of one of our friends was one of the torch bearers. I remember venturing up to Calgary and seeing a medal ceremony at Olympic Plaza. Karin Lee-Gartner won bronze in one of the skiing events.

We were living in Salt Lake City in 2002 when the Olympics happened there. Again, we saw the torch as it came by our apartment. However, they closed the University of Utah down for a month or so during the Olympics. We decided to escape the craziness and security to get into our own parking lot and came home to enjoy some good ol' CBC Olympic coverage.

This year, we saw yet another Olympic flame ignite the excitement and pride in our community. This time, it was my children with eyes full of amazement and excitement as we watched the flame come down the street.

In every instance, seeing the Olympic flame and feeling the united spirit of everyone around really touches me. I can feel the lump in my throat as the torch is proudly held high on the relay. I cry when I see a lifetime of dreams shattered in a split second. I cry as I see athletes win and fulfill a lifetime of goals. I cry watching medal ceremonies. (Yep, I'm a blubbering fool....) A friend informed of this video and again, that lump in my throat was there again. Here is a bit of the 2010 Torch Relay in Lethbridge.

The Commercial Factory

Go, Canada, Go!!

Christmas Highlights

Christmas has come and gone. I was so wrapped up in parties, concerts and dinners here, there and everywhere, that I felt like I had little time left to relax; let alone blog. I didn't even get a family letter out this year!

So here are some highlights of the holiday season.
-We were hit with a wicked, winter storm at the beginning of December. The snow lasted all month...no chinooks. Temperatures stayed fairly cold...around -20C to -30C for a long time.
-We hosted Wayne's work party at our house. There were about 45 people over and we threw a pretty great party; complete with catered food from Chopstix and the ever-competitive gift exchange.
-We hosted a Burton Family Home Evening her at our home. Everyone except Brian's family (and Elder Rob), were here. We had a great meal, played games, sang songs, exchanged gifts and watched the Luke 2 video clip.
-Jade, Mike and the boys came and stayed for 2 weeks at our house.
-We hosted Christmas day at our house. It was a lot of fun and a lot of work. (Now I really get an understanding of all the work my mom goes through every year to pull of Christmas!) Lots of presents, lots of smiling kids, lots of happy parents, lots of Christmas joy.
-Wayne took Parker skiing for the first time. Even though the start was a bit rough, Parker ended up loving it and is excited to go again.
-Azia was not able to go skiing this year as she has committed to participating in competition for dance and that is a rule...no skiing after Christmas (so there is no risk of broken limbs).
-We found a much quieter sledding hill than the Sugar Bowl and had fun taking all the kids sledding. Cardiff strapped on Parker's skiis and tries going down the hill. He had so much fun and can't wait until he is old enough to go skiing for real.
-We enjoyed may great family dinners at our house; including one on New Year's day complete with bbq steaks and crab legs! YUM!
-2010 was rung in fairly quietly. We had hoped to have a bunch of friends over to celebrate, but with nasty colds and flus going around, 4 families had to back out and a few of our own kids got sick. We spent the evening playing Blitz with Deb and watching re-runs of GLEE.

I'm excited for 2010. I have a feeling it is going to be another blessed year.