In case you missed it, I organized a gift exchange this year between whoever felt so inclined to join! It was motivated by me lamenting a little that I had previously been a bit insulted when someone had made a crack at how “you can always count on Hailey to give you something homemade or second hand.” I hated that, because yes, its true, I do that, and I also think its an awesome thing. It left a bad taste in my mouth, especially when I was aching to make homemade gifts for most people this year. I blogged about it a bit and I received a handful of supportive comments saying homemade gifts are the BEST gifts. An idea I’d had for a while began to take shape, and people were into it! The homemade gift exchange was born into a group of people, many of whom didn’t know each other.

Altogether, our group was 23 people. There were a few guidelines and stipulations, and people had to agree to them before they could proceed. It sounds all official, but I had to make sure no one would end up giftless, so the biggest one was that people had to agree to a “consequence” if they didn’t end up making a gift. The “buyout” was a $25 visa gift card.

NO ONE bought out!!! I fully expected a couple of people to just get lost in the busyness and opt out last minute, but NO ONE did!!! I am SO happy with that!

Between the group, we had all kinds of gifts! We had a wreath, two paintings, a plant, a stuffie, cards, two different batches of salsa, a couple of signs, a journal, soaps, bath bombs, candles, jewelry, a macrame, mugs, crocheted bags and cloths, knitted mitts, decorations, candle holders, cup cozies, and aaaaall kinds of baking!!! MY GOODNESS!! I am SO happy with how it all went! I know some people felt like it was a bit of a scramble, and others were done way ahead of schedule. I was done very early, yet I’ll admit, I even delivered mine late :/ Booooo Hailey! Its ok, though. She got her gift 😉

I really enjoyed organizing this little thing, and I felt like many people enjoyed it along the way! I had a handful of people say they’d do it again, and I had many people tell me they were interested but didn’t feel equipped to do it this year. And I had some people say they liked it but might not do it again. All totally acceptable answers!

That being said, I hope we do another one next year 🙂

Yesterday was a total whirlwind. A good solid whirlwind of Christmas concert festivities and everything in between but WOW! You better believe I slept like a rock last night! It was a great day, but my body is over the busyness of the season that is prepping for Christmas! Lol! I’ll tell you all about it. 

So yesterday was the day that the preschool and elementary school did their Christmas concerts! As we experienced when Laela was in preschool, its a pretty full day, with one concert in the morning, one in the afternoon, and one in the evening. This last month, Brady’s work has picked up in a HUGE way that we are SO grateful for, but it didn’t leave him room to take the day off completely like we had planned. So he raced in for 6:00am, worked for 2.5 hours, and was back around 9:00 to get ready and help me get everyone out the door to make the first concert at 10:00. We even had time to pick my mom up 🙂 Whew! 

The preschool Christmas program was completely adorable. They sang songs they had practiced hard, and those kids actually knew the words!! They were well behaved and paid close attention to their teacher. We are SO fortunate to have such an amazing teacher for our little ones to learn from. I feel like we have an extra special bond with her, where she has been such a warm, loving, safe place for Laela and now Rowan, but realistically, I bet every single family and child feels that bond to her that I feel. 

After the kids sang their songs, their teacher passed out gifts for each child, and we all made our way to the gym for treats and visiting for a bit. Rowan was SO excited for his gift. Each child received a mug with their letter on it! The mugs look like those little tin camping mugs, you know the ones I mean, but they were actually strong, ceramic, grown up mugs! Each child also got a hot chocolate packet and some marshmallows, chocolates, etc. SUCH a good gift!!! Our family sat and ate crackers, meat, cheese, fruit, veggies, and treats to our hearts content before hauling out and going home for nap time. 

Nap time turned out to be a bit of a hack, where everyone was tired but also pumping on adrenaline, and the boys didn’t fall asleep. Waverly did, but it was short lived because everyone had to haul up at 1:00 to make it to the 1:30 Christmas concert at the elementary school! 

Jerilee got there before us and saved us spots! It was SO nice that she came out, yet again, to see our children’s Christmas concert ❤️ 

The Christmas concert was really really sweet. It was very Jesus focused this year, which I liked a lot! It wasn’t like, acting out the Christmas story, but lots and lots of songs that were sung centred around the birth of Jesus. YAY!!! 

We were pretty far back, so pictures were hard, but we took some of ourselves between songs 🤷‍♀️ 

These count, right? 

Now, I’ll admit, after this concert, I was BEAT. I’ve mentioned it here and there, but I’ve actually been living in a pretty significant amount of pain for the last few weeks, and I’m wiping out easier than usual. I’m getting better, which is great, but I still tire out. Yesterday, I felt so overwhelmed, and with Brady being home, I was able to go upstairs for a bit in the afternoon and take a rest. It was MUCH needed, and I actually had energy for the last concert that night! Thank you, Brady, for giving me a break when we both know we both needed it. 

My mom went early to the evening show and saved me a spot with her. We were much closer to the front, and she brought her camera! (She brought her camera to the preschool one too, so ALL photo credit goes to her! The good ones, anyway! Quick disclaimer here: There are so many more CUTE pictures, but I’m obviously only posting the ones of my own kids, out of respect for the other parents! But, back to the blog…) The second run of the concert felt smoother than the first, but that might’ve just been due to the absence of my younger ones. Laela was bright and outwardly happy and into it! Dekker was SO sick and looked pretty deadpan the whole time, but he dutifully did the actions and said he had a great time! 

They did great! They were both in great spirits upon pickup, and chattered like crazy the whole way home. 

The house was dead quiet when they got home, with all three little ones fast asleep. The big ones easily fell asleep, and I admit, I woke every single one of them this morning for breakfast. I didn’t mean to wake them all, but I had to wake the big kids and the others woke up my default. But man. I wasn’t the only one wiped out! 

Dekker has a shred of his voice back, so he’s back to school! He really want to be! Laela is there today, too. Both of them have movie parties today 🙂 They’re going to thoroughly enjoy their last day at school before Christmas break! As will I! 

Our band had the opportunity to play locally last night at our family restaurant. It was pretty thrilling to my heart to see the building FILL as we got ourselves settled. My mom brought Dekker and Laela for supper and music, and Carrie’s husband brought her older kids, too! Besides them, there were MANY others who made reservations and intentionally came to see us. It was such an honour to be so well received. 

We’ve never played at this place before, so we were not prepared for the noise level! Its totally expected when families are eating supper, but WOW! We should’ve brought our little sound setup! We ended up punting a good handful of songs because they were just too quiet, and we all sang together on many songs that were supposed to have solo parts. It was the only way we’d be heard! 

About 45 minutes in, Brady broke a string on his guitar playing “You’re a Mean One, Mr Grinch” a little too aggressively. We limped through the last song or two, and took a break.

After the first hour was up, the crowd started to thin out, a few newbies showed up, and we decided to go again. We had a great table of youth from our church right in front of us who sang along and clapped and made it extra fun. We even made our way through a couple of the quieter ones 🙂 

While we sang, the kids played and ate and coloured. 

I love that they’re old enough to come to stuff like this now ❤️

Carrie’s husband joined my mom at her table after a while and wrestled my kids around. It was really nice to see my somewhat reserved Laela hop onto his knee and tease him. VERY cute. 

We played from 6:00-8:00, save for that one break in the middle. It was SO fun. We spoke to the owner and thanked her for having us, and she seemed really happy with how it had all gone! She said she’d love to have us back anytime we feel so inclined 🙂 That felt good. 

I’d call our first gig at Granny B’s a great success! Maybe we’ll do more local stuff after all!! 

I’m not sure where the lists say different milestones are supposed to fall, but I like to celebrate them as they come my way.

In the last couple of days, Waverly has started to pretend!! It is SO cute!! 

I figured it out when I thought she had a hair in her hand. We’re a hairy bunch over here, and Wavy sometimes find little hairballs (or, lets be real, big hairbsalls) and brings them to me. She used to try to eat them 😳 Seeing her with a big, long beard hair hanging out of her mouth was pretty horrifying. But now, when she finds them, she knows she shouldn’t have them, and brings them to me. Sometimes she even brings me a single hair, of which we have many. In the last couple of days, she’s come to drop something in my hand, but there is no hair. I figured she just lost it it on her way over, but thats not the case! I know now!

She has a particular toy she likes. Its a Paw Patrol hovercraft thing, with a hatch that opens. She has begun reaching into it, pulling out a little piece of air, and either popping it into her mouth, or offering it to me. I LIVE for this milestone!! 

Its grown a lot in the last couple of days already 🙂 I asked her if it was a treat, and now she’ll say “teet” when she offers it out. She’ll share them with others, and sometimes even goes for the psych and will offer it, but quickly pop it into her mouth and laugh like a psychopath. 

She is HILARIOUS and SMART and I’m SO PROUD of her! She’s developing beautifully. A little faster than I’d like, sometimes, but I’m so thrilled that she’s such a sweetie pie. 

I’m out of practice having a garage. For the last month or two, it’s been filled with doors, trim, and shelving that is being painted. I’m SO thankful we have that space to work in, don’t get me wrong. But we didn’t have a garage to park our van in for quite some time. That’s been challenging as winters set in, and we’re used to having the cover from the wind as we get the kids loaded into the vehicle. I know, I know. First world problems. Not complaining. Just saying, I’m out of practice.

Ive gotten used to starting the van early, hauling everyone outside, etc., though I don’t prefer it. Whatever. Work with what you have, right?

We finally have the garage mostly free of materials, and the van fits inside again!! 🥳 So today, I was able to load everyone up to take Rowan to preschool inside the garage! It was a bit of a chaotic scene this time. Rowan couldn’t get his seatbelt on. Dekker did ok. Solly argued with me for the five thousandth time that he does not like his jacket or his boots, so I hauled him out there in his shorts and tshirt 🤷‍♀️ Judge if you must, but he was fine. Once they were all settled, I had to go wake Waverly up from the night. I threw her in a jacket and realized her feet were bare. Instead of taking time and tying her boots on, I grabbed. Pair of wool socks that kind of just live on our front steps (Yes, we’re classy like that) and slipped them up over her legs. She LOVED that! I made my way out to the garage and buckled her in. I closed up and peeled out to make it to preschool on time.

And I had a lapse. I forgot my own jacket. I was rushing to get everyone out the door that I completely missed thinking of myself. Because #momlife. I let Rowan out of the van and walked him to his preschool, just shivering. Everyone else there was appropriately bundled, because it’s COLD today!!! My bad, my bad. Just had a total brain fart.

Upon unloading the kids, Solly came to the van door and asked me to help him. He was pretty cold, lol! I mentioned he maybe should’ve worn his jacket and boots, and he agreed. Lesson landed. He ran into the house, and I jogged behind him. It was COLD.

I blame my mom brain and my lack of coffee thus far this morning. I’m anticipating a morning coffee date, so hopefully I’ll be a bit sharper when I go pick Rowan back up. Also, I’ll likely be able to leave the kids at home with her, so I won’t be having to think of everyone else is that moment!

Hailey!!! Wear a jacket!!!

Thanks, Hailey. Will do.

We finally got our act together enough to have our kids going to Sunday School full time this fall! They have loved it, and were really excited to be in the Christmas play this year! 

I’ll admit, the Sunday’s leading up to the program have been a bit of a scheduling nightmare, but a pretty short lived nightmare, so we rolled with it. Just lots of having to shuttle different age groups to church at different times. This Sunday, there was a setup in the basement, with coffee and muffins, so everyone had a place to be while their Sunday School classes weren’t on. 

So we brought Dekker and Laela for 8:50 ish, and then Rowan and Solomon for 9:30. Brady and I were on the hook for one song, so we waited and chatted and fed Waverly muffins in the meantime. It was pretty relaxed, except that Wavy gets kind of overwhelmed at church, so she was SUPER clingy, and my poor body aches so bad. But hey. I’ll never turn down the snugs. No way. 

When it was time for us to practice our song with all the kids, we took Wavy with us and set her on the stage behind where we were playing, gave her an egg shaker, and she was good to go! 

Everything went smoothly and simply, and we just hoped she’d do the same during the service. To clarify, people are ALWAYS willing to hold Waverly when we go up front at church, but if she were to cry, I didn’t want anyone to have to leave and miss out on the program. So, this time, I was hoping we could take her up and she’s just cooperate. 

The program kicked off with the younger kids reciting some lines. Its always a super cute part of the Christmas program, where no one can remember their lines, and no one can understand anything they say, but its very very cute. This was the first year mine were in it! Rowan repeated after his teacher and said his line. Yay Rowan!! Solomon, on the other hand, was sitting rather than standing, and when coaxed, he insisted into the mic that he didn’t know how. His teacher rolled with it seamlessly and said his line for him. And then he repeated it riiiiight after that. She got the mic close enough to catch him saying the end 😉 Yay Solly!!! 

Our worship team – Carrie, Brady, myself, and our honorary member, Waverly – went up at that point and sang a song for offertory. Upon reaching the last chorus, the big Sunday School class danced up the aisles and did actions. I choked up hard. Its SO awesome to see so many children in our church.

The play was next. Every kid had a role and a line! Laela was a shepard and Dekker was an angel. 

The play went off great! Everyone knew what to say, songs were sung, etc. Our band snuck back up towards the end to finish it out with a shortened version of the song we’d sung earlier. Once again, Wavy sat patiently behind us and shook her shaker. 

I wish I could share more pictures, but they’re obviously not all my kids so I cant ❤️ You’re just going to have to trust me that it was adorable and awesome. 

We brought home NINE treat bags 😳 Merry Christmas, kids!

Jerilee gifted our family an experience this year, which is SO wonderful!! We love some good gifts in boxes, don’t get me wrong, but being able to go somewhere and do something is also excellent, because not only does it make a memory, but I also don’t have to find a  home for anything. Lol! I had mourned to Jerilee how badly I wanted to take my kids to a new event in the city – Glow Saskatoon – but couldn’t swing it financially this year. She JUMPED and fought past my ego to take my family. She even got tickets for herself, my mom and Cher, because they, too, are our family. I’ve been eagerly awaiting this day!

So yesterday, we went! It was FREEZING but we made our way in and waited int the entrance until everyone was assembled. Sadly, on the morning of Glow, my mom called, and had to back out of our Christmas date. She was SO sick, sounded SO bad, and was in the thick of the super duper contagious part. In an effort not to spread her sickness to others, she opted to stay home. She was truly missed.

Still, the show had to go on. So we piled into Hall D at Prairieland and were immediately both dazzled and super overstimulated! Hahaha!

I’m not going to be able to caption everything AT ALL, but what I can tell you is that is was 110% worth the money to be there 🙂 ALL of us had a blast, not just the kids. 

There was a game for the kids to play, to find all the people with the stamps, and once they got ALL the stamps, they got a candy cane. There were SO many photo opps. There were princesses to take pictures with and Santa to chat with. There were, of course, things to buy, which we bypassed, but no one missed them. Most importantly, there were so many lights, so much room to run, and a big ole playground. 

It. Was. Awesome. 

Some kids were more keen on photo opps than others, so dont judge me for not having as many pictures of some of the kids! I did my best! Some just NEVER stop moving!

I wanted one picture of me and all of the most important ladies in my life. Its missing a VERY important member, but I’d say it still turned out 🙂 

I also I really wanted a family picture. It was a labour of love, but isn’t that what family is?

I dont think we could’ve had more fun. I am SO thrilled we got to go after all, and so grateful to Jerilee for taking my entire family on a Christmas date! We loved it! 

I hope Glow comes back next year!! 

Last night, between 7:30 and 8:00, there was a knock on our door. A family on our street sang a Christmas carol on behalf of our local Christmas basket organization, and handed us a floral arrangement, all wrapped up to save it from the cold. It was short and sweet and really, really lovely. 

This group is a volunteer group who gathers food donations, as well as other donations, and tries to help people in the upcoming season. Its geared towards people who have struggled or experienced hardship in the year. People are asked to “nominate” families who would benefit from some food or some general recognition.

I don’t know who specifically, but I do know that more than one person mentioned our family to the organization, and that is how we got these ❤️ 

I know we are not the only people who lost this year. I know we’re not the only people who experienced a miscarriage this year, either. But to have that recognized and acknowledged by our town feels monumental. It felt huge to have our church support us the way they did through our loss, and to have the town in general added on to that is a pretty huge honour. This is also not the first time we’ve been gifted this way from the same organization for the same reason. I am so thankful to the people who recognizes our losses as real losses. Not everyone gets that. 

To you who did put our names in – 
To you who orchestrated our gift – 
To you who delivered our flowers – 

Thank you ❤️ I appreciate it more than you know. This doesn’t “fix” anything, but it warms my heart. And for that, I am truly grateful. 

At the end of the day yesterday, I couldn’t even turn my head. It was pretty painful, and I constantly pushed down my worries about it, as I had been forewarned that my knots were BIG and I was going to feel my treatment after the fact. I did. She was not kidding. Wow. But I woke up feeling more awake than I have in a while, and in less pain. Now, let me be clear. I was still in pain. I am still in pain. Full body pain. But nothing is impossible to use. Everything is totally usable. Just a little achy. That is a HUGE victory for me!

It probably doesn’t sound like a huge deal to many people, but if you’ve spent literally any time with me in the recent past, you’ll know how decrepit I’ve become. The last few weeks have been bizarrely painful. The last time I felt this level of pain for this length of time was in my pregnancy with Solomon. I was at SUCH a loss by the end of that pregnancy, I remember crying to my physiotherapist and my doctor, saying I felt legitimately handicapped. That SCARED me. While its been a different pain this time, its been pretty debilitating, honestly, and I’ve suuuuuper hated it.

Today feels hopeful. I feel like I will catch up and move freely again. I’ve been feeling pretty “doomsday” in that department as of late, and while I’m in no way “all better,” I’m a little better! All over, a little better. That alone is a win.

My surprise moral at the end of this is that if you feel like you can do something to help someone else, and you have the capacity, time, and head space for it, DO IT! I received a treatment and a brace yesterday, and I am worlds apart improved today! Thank you Lord, for healing, and for working through people around me!! What a gift.

Evenings are filling fast! You guys too? With all the craziness, Jerilee and I have started to have more morning or daytime dates, so we actually get to hang out, even though evenings are super full. Today was one of those days!

First, my mom came and sat at our house while I took Rowan to preschool. She left shortly thereafter for another commitment and Jerilee showed up maybe an hour later for a date! She was here for only about a half hour before I had to go retrieve Rowan from preschool. She happily stayed with the kids while I went and fed Waverly, as she was on the verge of dying of hunger, or so she was leading us to believe.

At preschool drop off, I had complained about the pain in my hands and wrists, and when I went to pickup, someone had lovingly brought me a brace she had used when she had carpal tunnel. I was SO thankful, and we all started talking about the kind of hand pain I was experiencing. One of the women there inquired a bit more and offered to help me.

I won’t go into big detail, because privacy and respect and all that good stuff, but Jerilee sat with my kids even longer while someone came over and adjusted my body for probably twenty minutes or so, as a gift. She advised me on a few things, and helped me feel hopeful and capable again. I was so thrilled.

Jerilee and I spent the rest of the afternoon together. She opened her homemade gift exchange gift, which she LOVED, and we ate cookies for lunch. It was an excellent day ❤️

Part of me felt bad, as though I was just “fitting her in,” but I decided to throw that out the window, because that is NOT what this was. I am SO thankful to have a friend who willingly comes my way for only a few hours, because our lives and full and we still value our friendship so much! So thank you, Jerilee, for making the effort! I’m SO EXCITED for our family Christmas date on Saturday!!!!! 🎄 😍 ❤️