Fantabulous February

Before March is behind us, let me update you with what kept us busy in February. It was another month without snow. This winter, other than December, has been short on snow so far!! I actually don't mind the snow, but I'll take the mild February weather that we enjoyed as well.....maybe if I knew what March had in store for us, I would have enjoyed those mild temperatures even more!!

Fun around the house. This girl and her creativity. She always is making some fin-angled thingamajig, an idea that pops in her head and away she goes, creating, twisting, gluing, tying, stretching, bending - using things around the house in other forms than what they were made for. Below she came up with the idea of using bracelets and pipe cleaners to make herself some glasses. She walked around with these one for the better part of the day. What a clown!! I love it!!

 Oh, and things are not just made for herself....she made sure she had one for her stuffie as well.

Nathan and I managed to get away for 2 nights and 3 days. Not a long time but a blissful time!! We went back to where we went for our honeymoon 18.5 years ago: Sir Sam's Inn. Unlike back at home, there was a tonne of snow here! So we took the opportunity to frolick in it, first by going dog sledding and then the next day by going downhill skiing.

 

 

 I am not usually a dog fan (make that an animal fan), but certain dogs I have an instant connection to and I could take them home. I love these dogs.

 

 

The Sir Sam's ski resort isn't large, but that was just fine for us. Neither one of us had been on skis in quite some time.

 

I feel so incredibly blessed to walk life with this man.

Thank you to my parents who had the kids for a few days!! Speaking of my parents, way back when they celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary, us kids got some trains made as a gift. You see, trains are one of my dad's most favourite things in the world. And seeing that we know a very gifted man that does amazing things with wood, we asked him to make a number of train sets - one for each family. The idea was that the names and birth dates would be burned on and then it could all be displayed.

It took a number of years to actually get the display up, but alas, up it went in February. My parents have this hanging on the wall in their cottage. What do you think?! Doesn't that look pretty cool?!

Ours is the second from the top, on the right. Here is a close up....

 

I notice that everyone in the family has been posted in the above pictures except for one. This monkey of a boy......mischievous, I tell ya! But oh so fun!!

Looks like I'll be back next week as March comes to a close. Enjoy these days, savouring each moment at a time, knowing you'll never get it back. See ya soon!

Alimentation , Relaxation , et Plus de Nourriture

Well, after a few blog posts on the heavier side, it is high time for a lighter post. So I thought I'd give you a History, Geography and French lesson, using Old Montreal.

Huh?! Not light enough for you?? But I bet you are wondering why I would choose Old Montreal.....am I right?! :o)

About a month ago, Nathan and I were able to skip out of town for three days. Nathan has a consulting business on the side, and one of his clients lives in Montreal. He usually flies there by 8 in the morning and is home again with us just in time to tuck the kids into bed that night.

This time however, we thought we'd take advantage of the fact that he had to go to Montreal by extending it from 1 day to 3 and with me tagging along. Although it was not a long getaway, it was perfect enough - just long enough to relax, do some sight-seeing, enjoying our time together, and before we miss our kids too much, we were picking them up from friends.

Before it was 9 o'clock the morning we left, we were already trying out our Gr. 9 French by reading the signs all around us. It certainly didn't get us anywhere! Thankfully there are just as many English signs as French signs.

After popping in to say hi to his clients, we left and explored a few touristy things like this place:

 

We climbed the many steps, paid our dues (for a map of the place) and were struck with sadness for how idolized Roman Catholicism is with all their saints, candles, rosaries, etc. While we admire their dedication to the religion, we can't help but want to shake them and say, "But guess what?! You don't *have* to do any of this 'cause you can't earn your way into heaven!!!  We have a Saviour that has done it all for us!! We just need to live our lives out of thankfulness for the gift of salvation, and live for God alone, not for this saint or that saint."

In the meantime though, we walked through the many halls in somber silence, looking for the one thing Nathan wanted to go to this place for: the organ. We found it - well, the pipes anyway. We were not allowed to go up to where the organ was.....(not this one - more about that later). This thing was H.U.G.E. Oh, to hear people sing in this place......

 

We then left and found a look out over Montreal

 

We headed to the main hustle and bustle areas, taking in all the sights, sounds, and foods. I may or may not have eaten all of that....it was very thin, people!! Like paper-thin! (and yummy, I might add!)

While we strolled the busy streets, we came across another church. Nathan was still on an organ-hunt as he didn't get to see the one in the oratory. So in he walked, where he not only got to see another huge organ, he actually got to *play* it!!

 

4 hours later, I finally was able to pull him away from it. Ha - just kidding, it was 3.5 hours. Ah, who am I kidding - he played it long enough to make sure there wasn't a speck of dust in a single pipe once he was done :o) We went to find our hotel, which was right downtown in Old Montreal.

Have you ever been to Old Montreal?! Wow - what a gorgeous part of the city. The cobblestones. The buildings. The narrow streets. The atmosphere. If you can, go. It is just all so amazing.

We walked the streets in the evening, taking it all in. We found a quaint little restaurant for supper, 'cause you know, I hadn't had much for lunch. Ahem. I enjoyed some salmon and Nathan had bison and deer

 

The next day, Nathan had to be with his clients all day. That left me with many hours on my own. What to do? WHAT TO DO?!?!

Well, a bath was in order, then reading my book, then snoozing, then a massage, then back to the room for more snoozing, some more reading, and some TV watching - channels other than Treehouse and Giselle's Big Backyard :o)

Finally around 2 pm I strolled outside, hungry and wanting to take in the sights

 

My lunch - yummy quiche and oh-yeah-that's-right-I-still-don't-like-French-Onion Soup.

And seeing that I was so busy reading, bathing, and relaxing that day, I figured I earned dessert. Don't look at it too long - the calories will make their way through the screen to you!! (and once again, I may or may not have eaten it all......what?! Doing nothing all day makes one starving!!)

Nathan got back just in time to take me out to dinner with his clients, to a restaurant that was a horse stable 100s of years ago. Not only was the food the best (yes, I came back from this getaway needing to wear stretchy pants....), the architecture of this place was amazing!!

 

 

The next day, we relaxed in the morning and then headed back home in time to pick up the kids before the day was done. Like I say, it wasn't long, but it was long enough. We had such a great time together, treasuring every moment. Not only does our marriage benefit from this, so do our kids!! They have connected parents! If you are married, I know going away is not always possible, but then make sure to have time for each other at home. While it is so important, it is often forgotten as life gets busy. But don't let it - do what you need to do to keep that marriage going, and with a spark!

I am so thankful to God for allowing us the opportunity to spend a few days together. It's such a blessing to be best friends!!