After reading about B10 & J10 covering themselves in snow up to the shoulders my dad sent me this picture of both of us at the beach.  I look very serious about the whole buried in sand concept!

Today I happen to be celebrating my birthday, while half way around the world my parents are celebrating their fiftieth wedding anniversary.  My birthday is actually the day before their anniversary but with the time difference we can make one phone call and cover all the congratulations and best wishes!  Last week I managed to send off a little parcel to them with cards, a drawing, a poem, a book and a dvd slideshow of pictures of our family from 1990 until now. We all contributed something and the postal service co-operated making it possible for them to open the package before they left to join my brothers’ families, their brothers and sisters, and some friends for a party on Saturday night.

The dvd slideshow was fun to put together because I started with Andrew’s and my wedding photo and then picked a few photos from each year since.   I found such cute photos of the children.  An absolute favourite of all three has to be this one:

I am very thankful for these three children, my wonderful husband and my dear parents.  I hope that Andrew and I can celebrate one day, as my parents are this weekend, a happy marriage of fifty years.

After days of requests from B7 the children and I headed out to buy a Christmas tree last Saturday. We did not venture out to a Christmas Tree farm, miles out of town, as we did one year. That time we drove out to a farm with friends so we could have the whole experience: riding on the cart out to field, tramping through the snow, choosing the tree, drinking hot chocolate and collecting greenery for a wreath. It was freezing! By the time we had walked down one row of trees we were so cold we didn’t care which tree, we just wanted to get back where there was a fire. Hot chocolate did not go very far in warming us up or in giving me the warm happy feeling of going out into the forest and bringing back a tree. This is why I don’t leave the city to buy my tree any more.

Last weekend we found our big Balsam fir tree fairly quickly. As we have cathedral ceilings and very little furniture in our living room I like to fill it with a big tree. I put it in the van and tied the back door down as it wouldn’t shut. On the way home we made two quick stops leaving B7 and A11 in the van as I couldn’t lock it. After the second stop L13 and I came back to the van and it wouldn’t start. I tried a couple of things, and checked the manual. The temperature was -17°C outside and the van, having been open for a while was not at all cosy. A11 and I managed to shove the tree a little further into the van so I could at least lock it while I called Andrew for assistance. We waited in a coffee shop, thawing out with hot chocolate and coffee until he came to save us.

Our tree is now decked out in bows, bells and baubles collected and made over the last 17 years. Its lights are turned on around 4 o’clock each afternoon as it gets dark and there is a growing number of gifts around the base. B7 has set up his train track to surround the tree.

Choosing a tree in Australia was a slightly different experience. We did go out to a Christmas tree farm, not far from where we lived, but we chose from rows of pines not firs. There were a few other subtle differences also. That is our little Miss L in the photo with my dad.

Seven years ago, on our first Thanksgiving, we were invited to a neighbour’s house to celebrate with her family. As Thanksgiving is not a celebration in Australia we had no traditions of our own. We were thrilled to be included in a family celebration with new friends we had known for only one week. We were sitting down to a full and delicious meal and I was checking my mother’s watch from time to time. My neighbour noticed and joked that I was timing contractions. I was!

We took the girls back across the street and tucked them into bed before calling the midwives to meet us at the hospital around 10:00pm. At 11:52pm our big baby boy was born. By 4:00am I was back in my own bed with a baby in a bassinet at the end of the bed.
So blessed, so thankful, so delighted to have our Canadian son.

Seven years later we are no less delighted but feel even more blessed and thankful for him and the joy, love and excitement he brings to our lives. Happy Birthday B7.

Towards the end of the summer for some reason I remembered Get Smart, the tv show, and how much I had enjoyed watching it as a child. Consequently we introduced our children to Get Smart. As I imagined they would, they found it very amusing and kept asking for more. After eight or so episodes we are taking a break, but the damage has been done. There are new phrases in their repetoire. I have often used, “Good thinking, 99,” knowing that they children had no idea what I was talking about. Now they do.

B6 has incorporated Maxwell Smart’s lines in a rather unexpected way. They keep popping up during his math lessons! When reaching a familiar type of question he comes out with, “Ahh, my old friend, Complete the number pattern”.

Or when he needs a bit of assistance I might prompt him with a question like, “What are we counting by here?”

To which he replies,”I’d like to handle this myself, if you don’t mind. Now, what are we counting by here?”

Perhaps when he gets a wrong answer he will start using, “Missed it by that much.”