The countdown is on...

Well the countdown is on & things are getting crazy busy around here. (as if they weren't already). It seems like every day & every evening is packed with either taking care of kids, move details, last minute church stuff (more of that for Bryce than me, although we both are speaking in church in 2 Sunday's) and it's just one thing after another. Ad I am just tired. I swear I feel sleepy just about every day. It seems like we are up late every night chatting About this and that... You know how it is, by time the kids are all finally sleeping, we finally can talk to each other & have real, uninterrupted conversations. So that just makes things worse in the end, I'm just more tired & still have as much to do, lol. Oh well, it is what it is.

Friday night I spent the whole evening folding laundry. Yup, that's right, the whole evening, and I still have 3 more baskets waiting to be folded! Bryce was at a work function so I was at home manning the fort. I spoke to Lindsay for a good chunk of the evening (I love my headset, I can talk & do whatever for a very long time. Money well spent!) Anyways, I spent the whole time folding and chatting, which helped the process along. By the end of my marathon folding session, I just kept thinking, I hate this laundry, it never ends, it only gets worse every week, it's tormenting to keep up with... AND I DID THIS TO MYSELF!! No one twisted my arms to have 5 kids. Sigh. I love having 5 kids, but I'm not going to lie people, the work that is involved is utterly exhausting some days. And I feel like a laundry slave. AND I MAKE MY KIDS FOLD & PUT AWAY THEIR OWN CLOTHES! and I still feel like a laundry slave after all is said and done. Sigh. I'm kinda hoping (but not really expecting) that when we move to the new house with main floor laundry, that I will 'keep up' with it. OK, stop laughing, get yourself up off the floor, I might actually keep up... LOL LOL LOL. I know, I know, it's just going to be in my face & I won't be able to hide it in the basement anymore. Instead people will stop by and see the mountain... Although maybe they'll feel bad for me & grab a basket & fold it, lol. Of course I wouldn't let anyone do that, I'm just kidding, kinda. ;)

So this is my last week of watching kids in Shilo. I'm very very happy to have a break for a bit. I've saved up money like a mad woman, we can float along for awhile without me working if we have too. But I'd rather keep it in savings vs. spending it on groceries. So I'll give myself enough time to unpack & get settled in & spend lots of time with my own kids. I'm looking forward to that. There are so many fun things I can do with the kids in St Albert & in Edmonton, I think it will be a nice break for all of us! And I'm going to take the time to 'rest up' (lol) so I can keep working & maintain feeding these 5 kids ;)

Well I think my blogging window is over. It was nice while it lasted. This is therapeutic to have a laundry rant. It didn't make the 3 baskets fold & put themselves away, but it was a good rant. Night all.

Madi's birthday

Madi's birthday was on May 13th & she turned 4 years old. She was some kind of happy! She told me all month that she was turning 4. (Me typing this comment does absolutely no justice to the comment... it was priceless hearing her say it... I think I'll be the only one (& Bryce too) who will have any effect when reading this... sorry to the rest of you!) Then her birthday actually came & WOW was she ever excited. If she was a puppy, her tail would have been wagging all day long, lol. She cracks me up! Once again, my typing/explanation is doing no justice, lol. (I must be tired, what's new....)

Madi wanted a birthday cake with butterflies on it. So she asks, I make. That was the whole point of me learning to decorate cakes! So I went online to get ideas & showed her a number of pictures & she wanted all of them (of course, what 4 yr old doesn't want every cake they see!) but she choose one that was 2 tiered with butterflies going up the side of the cake. So I made her this cake. I love how well it turned out! Every part is edible too, and I made the butterflies sparkly. (The things I do for my kids... 2 days of my life swamped with daily activities & squeezing in a big old cake)

I was just going to put Madi's birthday pictures but now realize that they are all on Bryce's phone & Bryce's Dad's camera. Sigh. I thought I had it all together. Not quite. Oh well, I'll get them and post them another time!

Long story short, Madi turned 4 and she is happy about it. We had a great day with her & I went down memory lane (of course, I'm too sappy not to go down memory lane... it's my favorite street you know, lol). It was fun to look at pictures of her from last year's party & to remember all the fun things about the last 4 years. I LOVE MADI! She's such a fun child! I love her spunk, her playfulness, her crazy smile, I love it when she asks for "black black black licorice" (not sure why it has to be black x 3, but that's how she asks... and ewww, black licorice, yuck! It's like she's 90 yrs old or something, crazy Madi!), I love watching her play, watching her try to brush her long mane of hair... tucking her in at night... she always wants a really good squeeze for a hug, and she used to always want a kiss, but now she giggles if I try to kiss her. So funny, so many good times with Madi. Love her so much!

And I promise to get my act together and get those pictures. Don't ask me to put a date on it though, lol!

We found a house ☺

We went to Edmonton on the 15th May and spent the week house hunting. Very stressful having 5 days to buy a house. Not for the faint of heart, that's for sure. We went to Edmonton we 3 or 4 houses we were really hoping to see/buy. When we spoke with our realtor on day one, he told us that the homes sold or had pending offers on them, and one had some sort of "disaster" and wouldn't be able to show their home the week we were there. (which by the sounds of "disaster", we no longer were interested in their home!!) So we were literally starting at square one. We saw about 25 homes the first 2 days (I lost track after awhile). On day one, there was only 1 house we would even consider buying, and it was a little on the small side, but we could make it work if we had too. On day 2 we found 2 more homes we really liked alot, both of which had great space and work would very well for our large family. One was in Edmonton and one was in St Albert. We debated which one to put an offer on... the one in Edmonton was awesome (I loved it sooo much) and it was pretty much a turn key home. The only thing it needed was central air conditioning & Bryce's dad told us he would put one in for us (LOVE THAT MAN!!). It was also only a few steps away from the kids school, which was a huge benefit. The one in St Albert was great too. Bryce really loved this one, I did too... Bryce was cute though... after we drove away from that house, he didn't really want to look at any more homes. He even said his heart was with the one in St Albert. (If you know Bryce at all, this is NOT the kind of mushy, gushy, emotional kind of comment one would hear from him. He REALLY likes this house.) Anyways, the perks of the St Albert house are that it's close to my family (like a 2 minute drive), the house has SO much room, so many bedrooms, an office, a bonus room, a great yard backing onto a little forest. In the evening we could hear the frogs and crickets. Very nice to be in. OK, so we had 2 great homes that would work for us & they were in our price range. After a great debate we decided to put an offer on the house in Edmonton. Mostly b/c we wouldn't need to do any work/improvements to the home & it was close to the kids school. Our realtor went to put in our offer and found out that it sold the same day we looked at the house. We were shocked & disappointed but happy and relieved that the house in St Albert was our close 2nd choice. So we put an offer on the house that evening, there was a little negotiating, and by 10:30 (ish) that night, our offer was accepted ☺ Hooray!

We went back to our hotel and were so happy that we didn't have to go through another day of going through peoples homes. I was so excited it was hard to sleep. And then I was freaked out that we had put an offer on a house... a little scary. The housing market in Edmonton is very expensive, I was so anxious about everything that night. I had a horrible sleep. (I'm broken these days... since I've had Dallin, sleep doesn't come easy. I can be totally exhausted and still not sleep. So if I have anything at all on my mind, I may as well kiss sleep good bye, it's not going to happen. It's made for a very long year.) Anyways, we had to wait until Thursday to have the house inspected. I was just praying and crossing my fingers that things would go well. If they didn't, then we would have to start all over again and we were flying out Saturday morning! Not much time for anything! We have 5 kids, it's not like there are a ton of homes that can work well for our family. If we had just as couple or a few, the market would be bigger for us. It is what it is. Thankfully the inspection went very well! We were thrilled and relieved to not have to start all over again. ☺

So things are good. We found a house, it is a nice house with lots of room for our children, there are 3 1/2 bathrooms (we only have one bathroom for 7 people right now... it's brutal, to say the least), we got the house for $80,000 less that what the owner initially tried selling it for, there's nothing wrong with it, Bryce is happy he can hear frogs and crickets whenever he wants (lol), it's in a nice neighborhood, there's a park just a hop skip and a jump away... so many good things.

I am SO glad we have worked our butts off the past couple years. We have scrimped & saved every penny we could so that this could work out. I am very grateful for this opportunity, it is such a blessing for our family. I know most people already have homes, and maybe have been in one forever and a day, but for us, it was a hard one to accomplish. It hasn't been an easy thing for us. Going through school and having baby after baby during school, then getting into the military and having just enough (OK, not even enough) to get by... Bryce has only been a Captain for 2 years... once he hit captain, we finally had enough coming in (combined with me working like mad) to start to pay down the student loans, pay off our van, and save up $$ for a down payment. It has been a long road for us. But boy do we appreciate it. I don't take this for granted at all. About 3 years ago Bryce & I were looking on the MLS and did the mortgage calculator/affordability thing . At that we would have only been pre-approved for a mortgage of about $57000... the only thing we could find on the MLS in that price range was literally a shack. I mean it, it was a shack in the middle of nowhere, Manitoba. I cried and cried and cried... I didn't feel like it would ever happen. A house was so far out of our reach. It makes today a sweeter experience for me. I SO appreciate, and recognize all the blessings that have happened so that we could get into a home. It's overwhelming, I just can't express enough gratitude. It's been a long road, and truthfully, I wouldn't trade it. I am glad that I know the difference (well, soon will know the difference) between not having and having a home with enough room & bathrooms. Simple things make me happy these days. ☺

I've been thinking about this all week, and Bryce and I have been reflecting all week of the events that have led to this. I have wanted all week to have a moment to write this down. Glad I finally have a chance....

So we move from Shilo, Manitoba to St. Albert, Alberta at the end of June. Our PMQ will be packed up on the 28th June, the truck will be loaded on the 29th, and we will hand in our keys on the 30th. July 1st we will start our drive to Alberta.

So excited to leave, but it's kinda hard too. Tonight we took the kids to the park and Dallin was trying to climb on the structures and go down the slide, and he was playing with the pebbles. It was sweet to watch... and then I went down memory lane (no surprise there)... I remembered my little Madi being that age, doing similar things in the same park. This is where my babies discovered their world. It's where I've raised my children, my baby Madi, had a baby (Dallin)... I watched my kids walk down the road to the school many mornings and looked for them at lunch time and after school. This is where my life has been with my family. So many memories here. I am excited to go to a better location with so many more amenities and opportunities for my family... but I know I will cry when we leave. I always find it hard to drive away from our home and know that this chapter is over. It happens every time (we've moved 14 times since 1997). I guess I'm a sentimental fool, haha.

OK, gotta stop going down memory lane. I'm getting teary on myself. Can't cry at night you know, my eyes will be red and puffy in the morning! ;)

Here are a few pictures I took.

This is the park that is at the end of our street. The kids are going to love it ☺

Here is the front of our house.

This is the view of the back of our house (picture taken from the bonus room).

This is the view from our master bedroom. I love this neighborhood! I'm looking forward to all the walks we'll take with the kids. It really is such a great location!☺

Here's our eating area. Pretty hardwood floors & fantastic view. So great!
I hate the pillar thing. Bryce doesn't mind it... he keeps telling me we just need to have a toga party and then I'll love it! Funny, funny man! We're planning on taking it down at some point. I think it's tacky. Maybe it's just me, but I could do with out the pillar. It will be a good joke between me & Bryce though... maybe we should keep it, it's brought us so many laughs already, lol!

Here's our bonus room.

I was going to post more pictures of the bedrooms and such but a room is a room is a room. They never look like much. I'll post pictures again after we move and get settled in.OK, that's it for tonight. Oh wait, I'm adding one more picture...

Our friends Amy & Dave Sopkow watched our kids while we were gone. They took this picture of Madi with their little puppy, Gizmo. Madi LOVES Gizmo! Good thing it's a little dog, Madi could actually hold it! ☺

That's it for tonight. I am done blogging. I'm sure Bryce would like me to resurface again and walk away from the computer. So I will. Night all ☺

Soooo we are moving!!

So it's official... we are moving to Edmonton by the end of June/early July! Woooo! Very excited! Bryce found out this past Thursday that he didn't get into med school, but you know, that's OK. Both moves, to Edmonton or a move to Ontario for school, had their pros and cons. It was bitter sweet hearing that he didn't get in. Disappointing because we really hoped to have the opportunity, but so great in that we get to leave Shilo (yay!) and be closer to family, to a temple, to good friends and to every amenity one could imagine (YAY YAY YAY!) and of course to BUY A HOUSE! That is seriously SO SO SO exciting! We've saved up enough money so we can buy a house and a nice one at that. ☺ I am so so so excited about having more than one bathroom. It almost brings me to tears when I think about having a house with enough room and bathrooms... oh life is good! (although, maybe the fact that I am this excited about bathrooms suggests that I need a life, lol!) So we are planning to go on our house hunting trip May 15th-21st. We've arranged for Amy & Dave to come stay with Noah, Adam & Madi and June is going to stay at Rejeana's house. We are going to bring Dallin because he's still pretty little. It could be a very long week for him and for whoever would be watching him... I don't want to put him or anyone else through that. My opinion is that if Bryce and I cannot handle ONE baby at this point, then we really have issues! Well, everything is falling into place. Now to find a house... I have waited so many years to do this... so happy, so grateful! I'll post pictures once all is said and done. ☺

OK, my whole point of blogging today was to make a record of a funny comment Noah said today. Oh the boy cracks me up, he's funny and doesn't even realize it! OK, today is my friend Janet Olsen's birthday, she plays the piano in primary, at church. Well the primary presidency decided to have her come to the front and have everyone sing happy birthday to her... which meant she wouldn't be anywhere near the piano. So someone commented and said to the kids, "I guess we'll have to sing accapella." Noah heard this and his response was, "But I only know English." Wow, that cracked us up when we heard that... seriously hilarious!! Oh my Noah, sweet, dear Noah... he was so serious about it... and we were sitting behind chuckling. Such a good comment. I never want to forget it... and that's why I am blogging today. ☺

Well, it's Mother's Day today. I'd really like to say that it's a blissfully, easy going day... but getting up at 6:30 in the morning to get all my monkeys ready for church and then to come home and have to feed everyone... it doesn't really feel like any other day of the week. I almost wish it wasn't mothers day (I know, I know, I'm bad for feeling this way)... it gives the illusion of the potential of the day going smoothly, that my children will all dawn their halos and never fight, that the house will be spotless, that all meals will magically appear. Reality is, having 5 kids just takes alot of time and alot of work... and always with nowhere near enough sleep. Sigh. But the good things I like about it is that my kids came home from school on Friday and couldn't wait to give me their Mother's Day gifts that they hand crafted themselves... and I honestly just love their excitement and how their eyes lit up while they tell me about what they made. That is what makes Mother's Day worth it to me. That and watching Dallin try to walk independently of furniture, and the sweet smile I get from him when he sees me. That's what's good about Mother's Day. I guess, now that I think about it, who really cares if the house is clean or if meals magically appear, I have my kids. And for whatever reason, they seem to love me, even though I am so far from perfect. Funny how that is. I am grateful for my family. ☺

Well, I guess I should go see what the rest of the world is doing. It's been a nice few minutes of quiet to sit and blog. I'm guessing that the next month or so will be crazy busy getting ready for the move. Oh and did I mention the best part about not getting into med school? I don't have to pack my house myself, the military pays for it to be done... and unpacked too. So sweet, so great! One less thing to do...

Have a good day all!

Cakes, cakes, cakes

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention in my last post, I have been making cakes for people like crazy. Im not advertising at all, it's just been word of mouth. I'm having a GREAT time doing it & happy to make some extra cash. I'm not spending any of the money either, just holding on to it just in case we need it or want to spend it on something. It's mad $$$, I figure I'm not counting on it as income, so if I get extra $$$, I just hold on to it. No point adding it to the family budget, unless we need it of course. I'm anticipating using it to fund our house hunting trip if Bryce gets into med school. We have just about enough to pay for the trip & hotels with the money I've made in the last couple months. Yay! And if we go to Edmonton, the military will pay for the house hunting trip. Then I don't know what we'll use the money for. ??? I haven't thought that far. Either way, it never hurts to have a little extra. (And it's about time we have a smidge extra! It's only taken 13 1/2 years! lol)

Anyways here are the cakes I've made this past year. This month (April) marks the 1 yr anniversary of me taking my first cake decorating course. I've done ALOT this past year! SO FUN! Loving this hobby ☺

My fearless children ☺

Today we took the kids to the Family Day activities that they had on the base. Bryce calls it the "mandatory fun"... they are required to be there. Tonight he's at another mandatory fun thing for work. I think he's going to just make an appearance & head back home. (yay!) Anyways. back to the afternoon activities! (I'm always getting side tracked, lol) We took the kids to the base, and usually the activities are held outside but we are having a blizzard right now. Can you believe it?!!? This place makes me crazy, for real! So all the activities were inside the 2VP building. They had bounce houses, face painting, petting zoos, LAV (light armored vehicle) rides, the kids could climb all over everything, they had a spot where they could lie down on the ground with machine guns (crazy!), a night vision room and a zip line. The kids had a blast! I was glad to get out of the house with them. ☺ You should have seen them all go on the zip line! The guys set up a zip line from one side of the building to the other side... the kids zip-lined (if that's even a word, lol) above all the activities. MADI even did it! And none of them were scared & they all LOVED it! So awesome! Glad my kids like to try new things & weren't scared! Seriously, I thought Madi would back out. Nope. She jumped off and off she went, smiling the whole way & kicking her little 3 yr old legs! Go Madi! I was a proud mom watching my fearless kids!

June was having a saucy day (not sure why, I never really know why... I'm just here for the ride, I guess). Bryce had talked to the kids before going in & went over the rules. You know, like behave yourselves, use you manners, that kind of thing. Then he added in, please don't embarrass me, we are going to be with all my co-workers, soldiers & his bosses. Not a biggy, I thought. When we went in, June started acting up & being super saucy. Sigh. At one point she wanted to do something & when we told her she had to wait a moment, we weren't quite ready. Do you know what she said?!? It was something along the lines of "you better do this or get ready to be embarrassed". Man oh man, Bryce & I both had words with her! Now I'm not saying all this to rip on June... here's the funny thing. When we came home Bryce & I were talking to each other about her remark and we were thinking of ways that we could embarrass her (all totally in a joking manner... not for real... although, maybe we will, lol). I told Bryce next time she makes a comment like that, we should turn and give each other a big hug & kiss in front of her and everyone else. SHE WOULD DIE of embarrassment!! We had a good laugh... gotta find something to laugh about ;)

I'm feeling pretty good about things. Still don't know where we are moving yet. Only a few more days (5 sleeps!!) til we find out if Bryce gets in to med school. But I'm not crying every day like I was a couple weeks ago. Somehow the stress of not knowing feels like it's lifted. I just feel peace. Whatever happens, happens. I know that we, as a family, will go where the Lord wants us to go. I do really hope Bryce gets in, but I trust whatever happens will be what is best for us as a family, as a couple & as individuals. Still praying like mad that it's med school... soon this will all be a memory...

Well Bryce is back from his mandatory fun. Good man he is. Glad he's back. I'm exhausted tonight, so glad to have him here to help with the kids. I'm going to go now. I want to spend some time with him while I can!

Monday, Monday....

Today is going well. The kids are in school today, Bryce has the day off, we went to town to get groceries in the morning, fed everyone lunch & sent them all back to school, babies are napping (Dallin & the other little day home boy), Bryce went to the gym to work out while I went on the elliptical this afternoon. So far, so good. ☺

It's actually warm outside & most of the snow has melted (YAY!) and I am wearing capris for the first time this year! HAPPY DAY ☺ Annnd, the capris I put on, I couldn't fit last summer and I am wearing them comfortably. Ahhh. Baby body is finally going away. Not gone, but at least I'm headed in the right direction. Bryce put an app on my phone called Daily Burn. We both are using it daily to keep track of what we are eating & what we are doing for exercise. It's basically is journaling. Funny, I did it just out of curiosity to see how I was doing calorie/nutrition wise. Now I am doing it every day (except I didn't bother for Easter, too much food & truthfully, I didn't really care!). I have lost a few pounds just by keeping track of what I'm eating. Bryce has been doing it longer than I have and I think he said he's lost 7 or 8 pounds. Not bad. I don't even feel like I'm on a diet, cause I'm not! I still eat what I want * when I want, I'm just more aware of what I'm eating/ I sure feel good. Funny, hey, I feel good when I'm taking care of myself, novel idea, lol!

Well, I think for Family Home Evening we are going to put up the trampoline tonight. There are going to be some happy kids tonight! (not to mention all the kids in the neighborhood who end up over in our yard, they'll be pretty happy too!)

Well, this was another quicky blog entry. I better get going. I need to start making some dinner. Kids will be home from school soon & babies are still sleeping. So I am off!

Oh, and we still don't know anything about med school. I'm biting my nails (not literally, that's gross!) it's just driving me crazy not knowing!!! Oh well, this too shall pass & it will all be a memory soon enough...

Now I'm off!

Remembering why we celebrate Easter

Just remembering WHY we celebrate Easter.
**Turn music off on sidebar so you can hear the video clip**

Just checking in ☺

Yes, I am still alive. I realized that it's been a little bit since I've posted anything. Things are such a ZOO around here half the time I don't know my name or if I'm coming or going! Oh well, that's what I get for having a full life. ;)

Not much has changed. We still have 5 kids (yes, a big pat on the back for having the same head count at the end of every day, lol!), I'm still doing my day home, still teaching cake decorating at Michaels, still decorating cakes for people just about every week now, STILL waiting to hear where we are moving (this one is making me a little crazy not knowing!), still doing the church stuff (of course, wouldn't change that for anything), still working out however which way I can 3 to 5 afternoons/week)... yup, I'm still alive & doing a bit too much, as always.

15 sleeps til we find out if Bryce gets into med school or not. Bryce has his posting message to Edmonton now, but we're just sitting on it until we hear back from NOSM (med school). So we're either moving by the end of June to Edmonton or by the end of July to Thunder Bay or Sudbury, Ontario. We'll either both be gainfully employed in Edmonton... or students & working PT in Ontario. Nothing like not knowing what's going to happen. I'm trying hard to stay blissfully distracted... it's either that or I cry... I'm overwhelmed a bit, I admit. So blissfully distracted it is! Can't cry every day... OK, well , we all know that I am perfectly capable of crying daily (just ask my family)... but that's no way to live life. Monday I cleaned like mad to keep my mind off things. Yesterday I worked on cake things all day (rather in every spare second I wasn't taking care of kids), grocery shopped last night, today I took June, Madi, Dallin & 2 day home kids with me to Brandon for Junes appt. Now I'm blogging (kids are sleeping... woot woot!) & I'm off to get on the elliptical & drown out my worries/stress & just forget about everything for a short time. Then to make dinner, then feed everyone, then to the church tonight... and on it goes, and goes, and goes. Two weeks technically should go by fast, but a watched pot never boils and I keep peeking at the pot. This may be the time where I loose my mind (lol, as if I haven't lost it already!)

OK, that's my quicky blogging post. Off to get on the elliptical before babies decide to wake up!

What a busy day...sigh...

Today was such a busy day! I completely forgot the kids had the day off. Noah came home from school yesterday and announced that they had no school. What?!? How did I miss this? Honestly, I even had it written down on the calendar, although ironically, it was written down on for Thursday, not Friday. I had it wrong all along. Sigh. Whatever, it's not a big deal to have the kids home, they are MY kids after all. But then I still had the day home kids here and I thought, well at least *N* was going to school today ~ he's in a different school division. Then *N's* mom called me just as I was going to send him off to school, and she told me that his school was cancelled because the weather was colder than -46c. Really?!!? So evvveerrryone was home today AND it's so cold I can't even begin to have the kids go outside! And I had forgotten about it, so my mind wasn't in the right mind set to begin with. Sigh. And June and Adam were fighting by 9:15 and *N* was tattling left right and center by 7:40am. Not really a great start to the day. So I read everyone the riot act (as I always do, lol) and let everyone know what I was expecting from them... you know, be NICE to each other, quit tattling on everyone and everything, keep your hands to yourselves (& teeth too!) and let's TRY to make this a fun day! Nothing like reading the riot act by 9:15 in the morning. Sigh. There was alot of sighing today, if you couldn't tell. In the end, the day went OK, nothing a couple snacks, waffles & fruit for lunch, crafts, crafts and more crafts, and the Wii and a couple movies couldn't solve. Oh and June & Madi went across the street to Rejeana's house for a couple hours during nap time... sweet. (BIG thanks to Rejeana for inviting them over!)

I also decided to make a ton of bread this morning. I figured if I'm stuck inside, I may as well make as much bread as I have time for. So I made 10 loaves and 2 batches of buns (I use the buns for mini pizzas). It's kinda funny though, I feel a bit like a hoarder when it comes to bread. I feel like I can never have enough! I made 6 loaves a couple days ago, so I think I now have about 14 loaves total in the deep freeze? Something like that. I think it should hopefully last until next weekend. Hopefully next Monday (that's about 9 days away from now). Bread is such a staple in our home, we can eat a loaf in one meal. So if we have toast for breakfast and then sandwiches for lunch, that's easily 2 loaves in one day. We are eating machines! And then the kids LOVE to have toast and honey as a bedtime snack. (For Noah, it's almost a ritual to eat toast before bed, no kidding. He's almost incomplete if he doesn't have it, he's funny that way. I swear that boy has a hollow leg or 2, he just eats and eats, I can barely keep up... and he's not even a teenager yet. Scary!)

So next week Dallin turns one. My baby! He's growing up! What happened to this year? I feel like I was pregnant just a little while ago. He's changed alot in a year. My mom always is the first to remind me how much a baby changes in one year. She's right though. A year ago he couldn't really do anything other than eat, sleep and poop... and now he's crawling and laughing and walking around furniture and he copies so much of what we do. He's so much fun! I'm so glad we chose to have him! What a blessing it is to have another baby in our house. I'm trying hard to enjoy these last moments of him crawling around... before I know it, he'll be walking... and then he'll get an opinion... and before I know it, he'll be going off to school. Sob, sob... I wish they could all stay babies! Although, when they grow up, there are so many more fun things we can do together. It's all good. One of our favorite things about this year is that we have and 11 yr old, 9 yr old, 7 yr old, 3.5 yr old and a baby. We have every age & stage pretty much under the age of 11. It's great! (most of the time, lol... I might now say it when they're being stinkers, lol) What a blessing though to have these people in our lives. I'm so glad that we've chosen to have me stay at home and raise our babies. It's not an easy thing to do, and heaven knows when I'm changing the 5th or 6th dirty, yucky diaper in one day, I'm not loving it... but it's worth it. When things are good, they are oh so good. ☺

I'm taking Noah to Winnipeg tomorrow for the Cub Car Rally. He's really excited! I'm excited for him and I admit, I'm SO excited to get out of Shilo! I love going back to the city. I miss living in a city, and I really miss the amenities a city has to offer. Hopefully soon we'll be somewhere bigger... at least where the grocery stores are only a few minutes away, not 1/2 an hour ride down a small highway!! Oh the things that make me happy these days, lol. But that's another story for another day.

Well, I'm off to spend some time with Bryce. ☺ The house is finally quiet and peaceful. ☺ So nice! We may actually be able to have a conversation without being interrupted 90 times, lol.

Night!

May 5th...

Bryce told me today that May 5th is when NOSM (Northern Ontario School of Medicine) will be notifying applicants of acceptance/rejection. Sigh. It feels sooo far away! I'm trying hard not to think about things. I just wish I knew what was going to happen this year. Move 12 hours west or move 12 to 18 hours east? Will Bryce be employed or a student again? Both situations have their pros and both have their cons. I'm starting to get my head around Bryce going to school again... although I still wish the military program would have sponsored Bryce. Stinky cutbacks. Oh well, one way or the other, something will happen and in the end, all that really matters is that Bryce & I and the kids are all together. I'm hoping that regardless of what happens, Bryce will be home more months of the year... or how about this, the WHOLE year! Although, really I can't complain too much lately, Bryce has been home alot this past year, he's only been gone a couple times and not for very long stretches of time.

And that's what's on my mind today. That and I really wish I could wiggle my nose and the laundry would do itself... but that won't happen... it's a nice dream though!

Dallin was so funny tonight!

We had Family Home Evening (FHE) tonight and Madi was in charge of the song. OF COURSE she chose Jesus Wants Me For a Sunbeam, it's her favorite! And anyone who has seen her sing it, it's pretty funny, she has to jump everytime sunbeam is said in the song. Tonight when we sang the song, all the kids really got into singing and jumping to sunbeam, it was so fun! Love it!! Anyways, we were about to go on with FHE and we all noticed Dallin sitting on his knees and he would make an "aaa" sound then bounce up on his knees. We realized after a few of those, he was still trying to sing the song! So of course, Bryce and I both grabbed our phones and started to record him and all the kids joined in and sang to Dallin. What a blast, sometimes our kids are so much fun! Anyways, here's the video clip. (remember to turn the music on the side bar off so you can here it.)

Oh! How could I forget!

OK, anyone who knows me I LOVE LOVE LOVE a good deal! And that I love running... but since I have 2 compressed discs in my back I'm not supposed to be doing anything that will compress my spine too much. Needless to say, it's been a long 8 months of popping many Ibuprofen pills daily and dying to run b/c the rest of me feels fine! Sigh. Well what does a good deal & running have in common? I found a way to exercise that doesn't hurt me (yay!) and we got it for 70% off! Bryce bought me an elliptical! We're still waiting for it, long story short, the one we ordered the over sold so the company upgraded us to this one:

Now just to get it here. I'm hoping by next week it will be here and then when kids sleep in the afternoon I can work out... can't wait to feel healthy again and even fit my pants too! ;)

I read this the other day and what a flood of memories!

I was waiting in the car (We weren't in our van! We had borrowed our friends car to go to the Regina Temple, and they had taken our van and all 5 kids for a sleep over... it was wonderful!) and Bryce had gone into the hotel to check in. I decided to peek on Facebook and see what the rest of the world was doing. Julie Mason had posted this thread about a military wife and what she knew about deployment. So of course, being a military wife, I had to read it. Next thing I know, I'm sitting in the car trying not to cry. Oh the memories of all the many times Bryce has been gone, whether it's been on exercise, or to take a course or teach one, or to be deployed to Afghanistan for 7 months or even to just the Olympics in BC for 3 months... I could relate to just about everything this lady had wrote about. I never realized when Bryce joined the military that the first 4 years he would be gone for 26 months... and the last year he has only been home because Dallin was born last March (wow, a year has almost passed!) and Bryce took parental leave for 7 months. (which by the way was WONDERFUL and so needed for one and all!!!) Anyways, I am posting the link to the article mostly because I want to have it for myself, and if I put it on my blog, at some point I will be able to find it again. If anyone is actually reading this (lol, I always figure I'm the only one! Or maybe Bryce reads it if he realizes that I'm blogging, lol)... anyways, if anyone is actually reading this and you are even a little curious what military family life is like, take 5 minutes and read it. I have such a huge appreciation for what this lady wrote, it's true to form. This is REALLY what it's like to have my husband deployed and this is REALLY what it feels like to stand in my shoes... and all the other military wives out there. One of the great things I have loved about living on an army base is knowing that I am not alone in my challenges, everyone here has either gone through it or is going through it and we all know that we will continue to be alone and miss our husbands. Sigh. I'm choosing to sigh instead of cry... although, tears aren't far away.

www.herwarhervoice.com/blog/?awesm=fbshare.me_AaD9H&p=1313&utm_content=fbshare-js-large&utm_medium=fbshare.me-facebook-post&utm_source=facebook.com

Here's the article... I'm posting my thoughts in red....

What a Military Spouse Knows

As many of you know, my husband came home from our third deployment not too long ago. During the deployment, a reporter asked me to share “What I Knew” about deployments and military life. This was my answer:

As I forced my hands to unfurl from his neck, feeling the familiar sting in my nose as tears pushed against my will, the words rattled and echoed in my brain. “Not again.” (I hate that feeling!)

I watched him walk away–that uniform, identifiable gait—and my heart bent and splintered as the reality of a third deployment began to shower over me. (so true, I know Bryce by the way he walks in his combats)

I picked up the phone, dialing the numbers my numb fingers always meander toward, and sat in silence while she tried to ease my pain. “I can’t imagine…He will be home….I’m here.”

And then she said six words that shot through my ears, penetrated my brain, and stiffened my spine: “You know how to do this.”

She was right. I do know how to do this. I intimately know the all-too familiar lump in my throat. The year of being both father and mother, making the best of a situation. I know exactly how one year feels as I X each day off my calendar. And I know how to ensure that while our lives are on hold, we still live. (OH how I can relate to that... it's being in survival mode)

The truth is I know a lot:

» The thought of being alone for a year doesn’t bother me. The fear of being alone for a lifetime—does. (amen!)
» Flat rate boxes can hold twenty whoopee cushions, four kindergarten projects, and five perfume-scented letters.(it's amazing what I have been able to fit into his packages!)
» Technology can be a double-edged sword—one side delivering his face; the other a brutal live-action feed of explosions and camouflaged body parts. When Bryce was in Afghanistan, Madi was only about 8 or 9 months old... we used to SKYPE with each other and Madi knew who her daddy was through a computer screen. It was wonderful and sad all at the same time... how wonderful for her to know his face and his voice (It helped ALOT when he finally came home) but how heart breaking to know that my baby knew her daddy through a computer screen... and for Bryce to miss all those months of holding his little girl. Oh tears!)
» Murphy’s Law is a constant companion. The moment he walks out the door, anything that can break, collapse, bleed, or explode–will . (WAY TOO TRUE! And she forgot to mention kids puking)
» Five hours of uninterrupted sleep is a gift from the deployment gods (yup)
» Holidays are hard, but manageable. (yes)
» Deployments come and go, but sand from his boots never leaves.
» Nothing can replace a handwritten letter. Through those beautifully folded pages, he is holding my hand again. (letters were always exciting to get, the kids loved them!)
» When the National Anthem is played, I know goosebumps will rise on my arms, and a lump will fill my throat. (yes, Remembrance Day has a whole new meaning for me)
» The silence in communication following a war zone attack is agonizing.
» Laughter is a powerful ally. (thank heavens for that!)
» Each deployment offers two options: grow or regress. This is a choice. (I totally agree! Many people have asked me how I do it. My answer is always, I have no choice but to do it. My choice is to keep standing and not to fall. Standing is hard, but falling really hurts, and I don't mean physically)
» Cereal is always a dinner option. (That is one beautiful dinner option!)
» Videos of lost teeth, ballerina recitals, and preschool graduations can be emailed to Iraq nearly instantly. ☺
» Five powers of attorney and the intimate details of his will are needed to navigate a deployment.
» White out blizzards can actually bury a truck in five minutes.
» Rosie the Riveter was right: We can do it. (I have done and can do... although I will always opt to have Bryce home!)
» Children cling to hope and the promise of tomorrow. (tears when I read this)
» Living in each moment together is possible when facing the fear that it could be your last.(more tears, no words to express, just tears)
» Welcome home kisses are sweeter than the finest chocolate.(Those are the BEST hugs and kisses ever!)
» Anger will grip me and depression can hold me, but another military spouse will steady me. (thank heavens for those who have stood by me all the many times Bryce has been gone)
» A six-year-old child can feel the absence of her father so deeply that she can suffer from clinical depression. (more tears)
» A military spouse will often hold her/his tongue, silencing a story, for fear of sounding “unpatriotic.”
» The sound of a bugle can make my heart swell with pride or collapse in sorrow. (Same with seeing the flag when it's at half mast... so sad)
» Duct tape and a monkey wrench can fix nearly anything.(LOL, so true and funny too!)
» Despite the protesters and those who tell me I “knew” what I was getting into, I know there are countless American citizens who will go above and beyond to show they support us. (I always hate it when people say stupid things like this is what we chose, it's true, we chose this, but it doesn't make it easier. Thank heavens for those who ARE supportive and recognize that they can sleep soundly in their beds at night and work whatever job they choose to work... while my husband and others will stand on guard and will fight... and are willing to die for all of us to be free.)
There are many things I know.

I know how to change the brakes on my truck, rappel from the side of a cliff, shoot a double-barreled shotgun, balance a checkbook(check), earn my keep (check), and kiss a child enough to feel like two.(alot of hugging and kissing in my house... so hard to be everything to everybody x 2)

But there are still so many things I don’t know.

» I don’t know how to start my heart again when I see a death notification car on my street.(that's a hard one)
» When that knock echoes on the door of my neighbor, I don’t know how to forgive myself when I am relieved.
» I don’t know how to hug him enough to last a lifetime, or kiss him just so in order to feel satisfied—should our reunion be at the foot of a pine box.(been there, done that... more tears)
» I’m not willing to learn how to pretend he doesn’t exist, to keep him out of our life while it goes on without him, or to build a wall so high he has no way to scale it.(amen)
» I don’t know how to stop his panic attacks, and I have no idea how to make my nightmares of rampant bombs and lifeless limbs disappear. (so grateful Bryce came back Bryce and this isn't an issue for us)
» I don’t know how to adjust to his presence in my house when our floor rarely feels the weight of his boots. (just when I finally am completely used to survival mode, he comes home and all the routines have to change again!)
» I don’t know how to tell his small children that, yes, he leaves them all the time. But because he loves them so deeply, he is willing to die to keep them free. (tears again)
» I can’t understand those who would question my desire to stay with him, or how I can peacefully sleep beside a “killer.”
» I am amazed and confounded that despite all he has seen, he still has the courage to laugh.(it really is amazing)
» I don’t’ know how to give up on my family.
But, most importantly:

I have no clue how to still my pounding heart when he finally walks through our door again, I don’t know how to pull my hands from his sand-stained neck and say goodbye, and I don’t know how to ever walk away from a man who stands while many choose to sit.

Wasn't that SO good? Anyone who is military will agree that this is accurate. I enjoyed (not sure that's even the right word) reading this, so many memories, so many tears. Would I change it? Maybe it's a sickness, but no I wouldn't. I'm proud of Bryce and all those who serve our country. I'm so grateful that I can sleep at night safely, that I am free to practice my religion, that my children are safe to walk to school and play in the neighborhood, that my family is safe while we travel and that we never have to worry about driving over explosives... we are free. I am grateful for that. Having said all that, I do appreciate Bryce, I do appreciate it when he's home and can be Bryce, and a husband and a father. This may not always be our lot in life, but for now it is. I'm glad for all the opportunities for growth, and am glad when the hard moments pass.

And that's it for now! I need to go be 'mom' again and feed some kids! Better to do it before the melt downs begin! ;)

Reading to Madi

Tonight was my turn to read to Madi and she wanted me to read her a story about fairies. She was pretty cute tonight, as I read to her she felt the pages~ they were covered in sparkles, what 3 yr old girl doesn't love that! ~ and she chatted away as I read. I'm not sure she even listens to what I'm reading but that's ok, she happy and that's what counts. At one point she told me that she wants to have wings so that she can fly too... Ah, to be 3, who knows what color the sky is in her little world. I wish I could remember being that age, it seems so nice and innocent and simple.

Today is also the first Sunday in about 2 years that I was able to have a proper fast. (pregnant and nursing so many times in the past 11 1/2 years has stopped me from having real fasts) it was really good. We decided to have a family fast today. We sat down with the kids last night and decided what we would fast about and started our fast together. Tis morning both Noah and June jumped ship, they both were too hungry to fast, we didn't force them, we told them that it was their choice but reminded them that they should close their fast with a prayer. Adam on the other hand (he's only 7 yrs old) decided he was still going to fast. I was shocked, I figured he would have ended his fast too, but he didn't. He made it all the way to the end of church, and here's the real kicker, he was actually happy throughout! If you know Adam at all, you know he is our physical needs child.. If that boy is hungry or tired, watch out, he's a grump! W do all we can to keep him well fed and rested, it makes everyone's life a little earlier. Anyways, I am SO proud of how well he did today! It was really good! My fast went well today too, I'm glad to be able to do it again and believe it or not, I look forward to the next fast. :)

Tis past week was a whirlwind for me. I thought it would be a slow week, what a joke. I spent sun up to sun down doing things for everyone and did A few things for myself. The ONE thing I have decided I need to fit in my life again is to get some decent exercise in again. I have been very limited to what I can do as I have 2 compressed discs in my back and my right leg is in constant pain or discomfort... Sigh... I'm not enjoying this trial, but I'm trying hard to be patient and not to complain. I just keep taking my ibuprofen all day long and do my best not to miss any doses. I need to get into the orthopedic surgeon sooner than latest, but I'm just waiting for my appointment. Oh well, it is what it is. Anyways, I feel like I'm never going to loose my baby weight, and making cakes for everyone every week isn't helping matters, so I decided that I will just do what I can do to exercises and if it hurts, I won't do it. So as if I didn't have enough on my plate, I'm now doing double time during my days so that I can squeeze in some kind of workout. (its a sad little workout compared to what I used to do, but at least its something) so my week is too full now, and this next week doesn't look any different. Man, to think that when I only had a couple children I could barely manage to get much done. Bryce and I often recall the times when Noah was first born, I hardly got out of my house coat the first 3 months... Granted I almost died after having him. But still, now I have 5 kids, run a day home , work at Michaels one evening a week, make cakes for people, make bread every week, do my calling, visit teach, try to be a mom, wife and even sometimes try to be just me... I have a lot on my plate. It's definitely a full life. Oh well, it's good. I just need to remember to take time to do what's most important, not just do the good things, there's definitely a difference!

I'm glad I'm taking a few minutes to blog, which in my mind, is really my journal writing. Bryce writes just about every day, he's such a good example to me. Love that man!

Oh, one more thing, yesterday Noah went to a friends house. To most people, their kids have play dates all the time. For Noah, this is a HUGE deal. Noah met this boy, Gregory, at the CATC, they were in the day program together. Both Noah and Gregory have Aspergers Syndrome, both boys struggle socially. We are thrilled, as are Gregory's parents, that the boys are getting along and are actually reaching out to each other! It was neat for me to meet Gregory, I have never met anyone else with Aspergers, and as I watched the boys talk to each other and to us, I saw so many similarities! Wow, Noah really does have Aspergers and I can totally see how psychiatrists can make these diagnoses just by sitting down and talking to them. Noah has all the markers of Aspergers. I was thinking about it today and pondering this, I have a child with a disability. I remember many years ago, before I even had children, I always felt impressed that I would have a child with some sort of disability. I never told anyone, it would sound crazy to anyone listening, but as the years unfolded, I always wondered about that impression. I think I always thought it would be a more obvious disability and for so many years, I thought Noah was a quirky little boy... Little did I know, the quirks were actually something else. Funny though, when Noah was given his diagnoses, I thought to myself, how does this change things? It really doesn't change anything. Noah is still Noah, he's still a wonderful boy, still quirky, but we just know now what things we need to do to help him, and realize that some of these quirks aren't just going to go away... He won't grow out of them necessarily. Bt thats ok, I love him, just the way he is! I have said many times, I would have 5 more kids if I knew they would be like Noah, funny hey, he's the one who has Aspergers! Besides, who wouldn't want a child with Aspergers? I get SOOO many hugs daily from Noah! I wouldn't change things for anything! Love that boy! :)

Next thing I'm going to try to squeeze into my already busy life, (because I'm not busy enough, lol!) I'm going to try to take an online photography course. I figure why should I pay someone else for something I could learn to do. So my dad emailed me a link this morning for a good site, I'm going to try to find a few minutes every day to learn something new, and then hopefully I'll figure it out and can just do my own pictures of the kids. (although I have been doing my own pictures of our kids for awhile, but maybe I can make them look more professional)

And that's it for today. I'm also going to try to get more sleep, lol, here's to hoping! I hear sleep helps...

AND this is WHY I stay at HOME

I have been meaning to do this for awhile now... I'm finally posting this video clip! This is exactly why I stay at home with my kids. This is Dallin just figuring out how to crawl back in early December and Madi being the ham that she is!

☺Turn the music on the sidebar off if you want to hear the video clip ☺

I know the video quality is crummy, I recorded it on a low quality so I could email it to Grandma & Grandpa Hogg & Aunty Lindsay... they were just saying a day or 2 before that they were missing seeing Dallin & the kids.

And I just found this video clip... I couldn't resist adding it. This is my kids in a nut shell... they're nuts!

Sunday, Sunday...

Well, we got through another weekend. And I made it through the kids having Friday off, lol, like it was hard, lol. Friday went well. In my last post I said I wanted NOTHING to do with cake, especially after the marathon cake day on Thursday. I went downstairs afterwards and the first thing June said to me was that she really, really wanted to make cupcakes and decorate them. June got a cupcake decorating set for Christmas ~she wanted it all year~ so she wants to use it any time she can. Of course, I was totally caked out and told her how I was feeling... but I also told her she could use the leftover icing and practice her techniques on her practice board. That just wasn't going to cut it for June. She begged, she got out the bowls and all the supplies and put on her apron and came back and told me she could make it and that I wouldn't have to do it... all I had to do was to tell her what to do. How can I say no to that? So I mommy-ed up and put on an apron and helped her make the cupcakes, but decided to make it a learning experience, so I had her do everything. Teach a man to fish... teach a girl to bake! She was so happy! And I was nauseated making another batch of cake! haha... I got over it when they came out, it's so hard not to snitch a little here and there. Oh, I really need a new hobby that DOESN'T include food! Anyways that's how Friday went, it was about making things with kids and coloring and play dough and watching the kids sled down the snow piles in the driveway! Good times, good kids, I'll keep them! ☺

My girls Madi & June! Love them!
(Madi is 3 1/2 yrs old here... although she's convinced her birthday is every day lately, oh, and that she's turning 9! Funny girl! And Miss June is 9 1/2 yrs old here... she's really growing up to be such a nice, beautiful girl, inside and out!)

Putting the cupcake liners in the pans...

I couldn't resist this picture of Madi & her crazy grin!

June is such a GREAT teacher and big sister! She is SO good with Madi, I'm so proud of her! She will make an excellent babysitter one day (I wish that day was here already!) and an even better mother! I'm so grateful to have my girls! ☺

Friday night Amanda brought the sample smash cakes back to me and on Saturday I was able to pick up the CD with the images. She did such a great job! They look SO much better than my pictures of them on the stove! I need a new talent, it's photography. That's the next thing I am going to learn and become good at.... even if it kills me and everyone around me, lol! And where will I find the time? Not sure about that one yet, but I am determined, I'll find it one way or the other. Life is more interesting when I'm trying to develop myself ~ learning is good. Anyways, here are a few of the pictures Amanda took of my cakes.

And now it's Sunday, I'm blogging and just reflecting on how sweet life can be when I take the time to stop and think about it. Bryce and I were looking at the slide show at the bottom of the page, it's the one I put on when I first started the blog. As we watched the pictures come up, tears came to my eyes, my little children, how sweet and little they were... and now they are growing up. It's great that they are growing up, there are many wonderful things that come with that... but it saddens me a little, my time as a mother with a house full of children really is limited. It will end, they will all grow up and leave the house. I feel so grateful to have my children, I just don't even have the words to express how much I love them! I hope that one day they will come and read 'moms blog' (and maybe even my grandchildren) and I hope that they will know when they read these posts, how much I adore them. Happy tears! And those are my thoughts for the day ☺

PS Bryce is happy I'm blogging, it's the closest thing I have to writing in a journal. Bryce is fantastic at journaling... he has tons of journals, good for him! He teases me constantly about whether or not I have even written about the kids births, funny man! OK, so maybe there are HUGE gaps in time in my journals, but I'm getting there. I tease him back though, I tell him at least my journals have pictures and videos! lol... good times ☺

This has been on mind alot lately

This has been on my mind alot lately. Bryce shared this with me a few months ago and we often go back to watch the clip. I've had many moments over the last month where I have been able to sit and ponder this. (I know, shocking, I do sometimes have time to sit & think, haha!) I have felt the tender mercies of the Lord many times... it has been at the front of my mind alot lately. It's so good to recognize all the times the Lord has influence in my life, I'm sure it happens more than I have - no, make time to recognize. I'm going to try to find more moments in life to ponder the good things and to count my many blessings.

Speaking of blessings, I have all 5 of my blessings home today! It's a PD day so the kids have no school! It should be a good day, I hope. At least it's reasonably warm outside and they can go out to play... and I can go out with them too! The 2 things on my to do list today are to get groceries (the poor fridge is BARE... it's perfect for cleaning, lol) and I think I'll make bread today. We can never have enough bread in this home!! My not so little eaters will eat me out of house and home if I don't keep up on things. But that's another story for another day.


☺ ***TURN OFF MUSIC ON SIDEBAR TO HEAR*** ☺

And this is what I did in all my spare moments yesterday... holy cow cake day! A local photographer (Amanda Lazarski Photography) approached me and asked me if I would be interested in making "Smash Cakes" for the photo shoots she does for children turning one. These cakes are for the child to do whatever he/she wants to do... eat, smash, smear, whatever... all the while Amanda takes the pictures. So yesterday I made up some samples. Amanda will be photographing them today for me... sweet! I know they'll look MUCH better than my own take a picture on the oven pictures, lol.

I'm glad there are no cakes in our home today. I don't even want to see cake for at least a couple days! Although, now that I think of it, I have to make one for Monday... I'm teaching at Michaels and will need to have a cake there for the Decorating Basics course. Sigh. There will never be an end to cake now, lol. Whatever, it's fun to make... I just need to stop picking at the cake and at the icing! And that's another story for anther day!

I'm off, I'm going to spend some time with the kids! ☺

We didn't think today would go this way!

WOW WOW WoW wOw! Today was supposed to be just a regular day. The morning today was normal, lunch came, that started out normal. Bryce and the kids came home for lunch. As I was taking lunch out of the oven, Bryce was upstairs and started yelling my name... honestly, I thought he just needed something... then he yells from upstairs, "Melissa! I got an interview invite to NOSM!!" (NOSM is the Northern Ontario School of Medicine) (Bryce had checked his email when he was upstairs and he got the interview invite via email.) I started screaming, we were both hooting & hugging & jumping, the kids had no idea what we were jumping up and down about... they thought we had lost it for sure! Then I started to cry, and cry, and cry... so many happy tears... we have been married for just over 13 years now and it has been a long road for us. Marriage wise, we are great, but honestly, there just has never quite been enough to go around. I married Bryce for love, he only had a bike and a backpack, literally, no exaggeration there. If Bryce can get into medical school and become a doctor, it will be such a blessing! We will be able to do so much more for our little family, like braces, missions, marriage, college/university, hey... how about putting them in a real house! (haha... the house will come this year, one way or the other.) What a day, what a day... we didn't think he'd even get an invite to this school... he just applied because it was one of the schools he was able to apply to. WOW. Such a blessing, truly one of the tender mercies of the Lord... so many happy tears today.

I have no idea if he'll get in. 1800 people applied, Bryce was one of 400 who got an interview invite and there are only 64 spots available. I'm so proud of him for trying so hard... everything from studying like a mad man, to killing himself (and sometimes me!) working on his applications, to continually studying the sciences on a a daily basis. If anyone deserves a chance at med school, Bryce does. (I know, I'm biased) His interview will be in Thunder Bay, Ontario on March 26th. Looks like we'll be booking flights and a hotel. Wow. (Did I mention that already?) Bryce will find out in another couple weeks if he gets an invite to University of Calgary by end of this month. I hope he gets to have one there too, but we'll see what happens. I'm just grateful for this opportunity! Yay Bryce!!